Lao Jiu Lou 老酒楼, Taman Bukit Desa, KL

The owner of Sanuki Udon (our fav udon place in KL!) has opened another outlet in Taman Bukit Desa - Lao Jiu Lou 老酒楼, just a few doors away from Sanuki Udon. We gave this place a try a couple of weeks ago.

The restaurant's simple decor has a Oriental feel to it, with red tables, benches and red lanterns. The food is inspired by fusion Chinese-Japanese dishes from Yokohama, which is home to Japan’s largest Chinatown. Here you will find affordable ramen, gyoza, char siu, as well as steamed prawns and chicken.

The prices of ramen here start from as low as RM8, however do not expect the rich slow-boiled pork broth here. Hubby ordered the minced pork ramen (RM8) which reminds us a lot of Hakka mee. It's pretty tasty and we liked the flavoured egg a lot. Perfectly runny inside.

Since it was a very hot afternoon, I went for the zaru ramen (RM10). The ramen is served cold with wakame, sliced wood ear fungus, cucumber, a slice of char siu and half a flavoured egg. Pretty good value for money.

Chinese tea (RM1) and sugarcane tea (RM2)

Opening times: Tue-Sun 11:30am-9:30pm; closed on Mondays.


Price: Total bill RM21.

Location: Lao Jiu Lou 老酒楼 Old Restaurant, 25, Jalan Bukit Desa 5, Taman Bukit Desa, 58100 Kuala Lumpur.

GPS Coordinates: 3.11074, 101.68479


If you enjoyed reading my posts, LIKE me on Facebook! You can also follow me on Instagram (@babysumo) for more photo updates. Thanks :)

Recipe: Indian Green Bean-Chili Stir Fry

For our second Indian-themed dinner of the month, we had chicken madras and peshwari naan on the dinner table. To complete the meal, I also wanted to do a simple vegetable dish, and chose this classic southern Indian dish. This Indian green bean-chilli stir fry is spicy from the chili pepper and aromatic with ginger and mustard seeds.

This is another quick and easy recipe, using easily obtainable ingredients. If you can't get jalapeno, just replace with bird's eye chilli (cili padi). The green beans are crunchy and very addictive. So good!

Indian Green Bean-Chile Stir Fry
Recipe by Baby Sumo, adapted from Food & Wine (Sai Viswanath)
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients
450g green beans, ends trimmed and cut in half
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 tsp black mustard seeds (biji sawi)
1/2 jalapeño, seeded and minced*
1/4 tsp fresh ginger, grated
10 curry leaves
Salt


1. Bring a pot of salted water to the boil over medium high heat. Once boiling, add the green beans and cook for about 2 minutes, until crisp-tender. Drain and pat dry with paper towels.

2.In a large saucepan or wok, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the mustard seeds and when the pop, add the jalapeno, ginger and curry leaves, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Then, add the green beans and toss, about 30-45 seconds. Season with salt and serve immediately.

Note: You can replace jalapeno with bird's eye chilli (4-6 no.). If I am not mistaken, this is called bean poriyal.

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest- Indian Subcontinent hosted by Chef and Sommelier.

If you enjoyed reading my posts, LIKE me on Facebook! You can also follow me on Instagram (@babysumo) for more photo updates. Thanks :)

Daytime Dating @ Colonial Café, Majestic Hotel KL

Colonial Cafe's elegant setting makes it a great venue for our daytime dating. Furthermore, from now until 25th June 2014, they are offering a special one-to-one offer for their set lunch menu every Monday to Wednesday. That means for every set lunch that you order, you get the other one for free. What a great deal!

Gorgeous place - we love the ambiance!

I would highly recommend that you make reservations and inform them that you would like to have the set lunch, if you want to take advantage of this promotion. The set lunch menu changes daily and include a starter, soup (if opting for 4-course), main course and dessert - 3-course (RM90++) or 4-course meal (RM120++). 

We were here on a Monday and this is what we had. To start, we had the delicious baked Cornish-style crab cakes topped with a poached truffle egg, rocket and sundried tomatoes. Love the warm crisp crab cakes and the runny egg. Great presentation too!

Let it flow, let it flow...

Mains for the day was the prime rib eye of Angus beef crusted with rock salt and black pepper, Yorkshire pudding, roasted potatoes, swede parsnips mash and brussel sprouts. Reading the description we assumed it was roast beef with all the trimmings, but when it was served we realised it was individual steaks and were disappointed that they did not ask us what doneness we would our steaks to be. It was served medium well to us, but thankfully it was still quite tender. The Yorkshire pudding could be improved though. Hearty, comfort food.

Dessert was a generous portion of warm apple crumble with custard and cream. Coffee/ tea is also included with the set lunch.

Force of habit

Other than the set lunch, you can also enjoy one-for-one during Afternoon Tea session at The Tea Lounge until 25th June. Children will also get to dine for free at Contango during dinner every Monday to Wednesday this season.



Price: Total bill RM105. Parking RM10.

Location: Colonial Café, Majestic Wing, The Majestic Hotel Kuala Lumpur, 5 Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel: 03-2785 8000

Website: http://www.majestickl.com/

GPS Coordinates: 3.139059, 101.692617

If you enjoyed reading my posts, LIKE me on Facebook! You can also follow me on Instagram (@babysumo) for more photo updates. Thanks :)

Recipe: Peshwari Naan (Indian)

We love all types of naan, but our favorite is the peshwari naan. Peshwari naan is a traditional Indian flatbread filled with a tasty combination of sultanas/raisins, nuts (typically almonds) and coconut. It is slightly sweet and fruity, which is why we like them - they're lovely eaten with a savoury, spicy Indian curry. :)

The recipe I am using for the peshwari naan is similar to the basic naan, with a few additional steps for the filling. You can use a food processor to make the filling or simply mix ground almonds, dessicated coconut and roughly chopped raisins using your hands. I chose the easier (latter) method of course :)

Indian feast

Baby C and Hubby rolled out the dough, stuffed it with filling, and then placed it under a hot grill for about 2 minutes, you'll know it's ready when nice dark brown spots appear on the naan. Another fantastic, easy and quick naan recipe which everyone can attempt at home :)

Love it! Soft and fluffy homemade naan

Peshwari Naan (Indian)
Recipe by Baby Sumo, adapted from BBC Food and here
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 1-2 minutes
Makes 5

Ingredients
250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
2 tsp caster sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
110 - 130ml milk
2 tbsp vegetable oil
30g flaked almonds (optional)
1 tbsp butter, melted, for brushing

For the filling
50g ground almonds
20g dessicated coconut
35g raisins, roughly chopped
1 tsp caster sugar



1. Sift the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder into a bowl. In another bowl, mix together the milk (start with 110ml) and oil.

2. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and pour in the liquid mixture. Slowly mix together the dough by working from the centre and incorporating the flour from the edges of the 'well', to make a smooth, soft dough. Knead well for 8-10 minutes, adding a little flour if the dough is too sticky or more milk to help it come together.

3. Place the dough into an oiled bowl, cover with a damp tea-towel and leave in a warm place for 10-15 minutes. Form the dough into five balls.

4. For the filling, place the ingredients in a small bowl and mix well until you get a coarse powder. Divide into five equal portions.

5. Preheat the grill to its highest setting and place a heavy baking sheet on the top shelf to heat.

6. Roll out each of the five portions of dough balls into thick circles. Fill half of each circle with one portion of the filling leaving about a one-inch margin around the edge. Wet the dough around the edges with a little water and fold each circle in half to enclose the filling. Pinch the dough around the edges to close.

Rolling out the dough

Fill half of the dough with filling, fold it over, pinch the edges and roll it out to a teardrop shape.

7. Gently roll out each naan into a teardrop or oval shape. Sprinkle over the flaked almonds.

8. Place the naan on the hot baking sheet and grill for about 1-2 minutes until there are nice brown spots on the surface. Brush with the melted butter and serve hot.

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest- Indian Subcontinent hosted by Chef and Sommelier. I'm also linking this post to Little Thumbs Up (May 2014: Milk) hosted by Tze of Awayofmind Bakery House.


If you enjoyed reading my posts, LIKE me on Facebook! You can also follow me on Instagram (@babysumo) for more photo updates. Thanks :)

Recipe: Chicken Madras (Indian)

I specially bought a can of Madras curry powder to make lamb rogan josh. On the back of the can, there was a printed recipe for chicken madras which looked so easy, I knew I had to give it a go.

Madras curry is said to originate from the south of India, and gets its name from the city known as Madras when English merchants arrived there in 1640 (now Chennai). It is a popular curry dish in Indian restaurants in the UK.

Chicken Madras

The original recipe uses boneless and chicken thigh, but we prefer to use chicken breast. The chicken was surprisingly very tender, thanks to the use of yogurt which also has a tenderizing effect on meats. The yogurt also acts as a thickener for Indian curries as well as reducing some of the heat from the spices.

Chicken madras is a quick and easy curry to make. For non-chilli eaters, this curry would classify as fairly spicy, however the level of spiciness was just nice for us.  The curry sauce was thick, creamy and fragrant - we mopped up the curry sauce with some homemade peshwari naan (recipe here). Delicious!

Yet another successful Indian-themed dinner :)

Another huge hit with the kids :D

Chicken Madras
Recipe by Baby Sumo, adapted from Fiddes Payne
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 55-60 minutes
Serves 4


Ingredients
600g chicken breast, cubed
2 tbsp cooking oil
2 large onions, sliced
3 tbsp Madras curry powder
4 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
2 tbsp tomato puree
300ml natural yogurt
Salt, to taste
A handful fresh coriander, chopped

1. In a casserole, heat oil over medium high heat. Once oil is hot, add the chicken and cook until lightly browned, about 5-7 minutes. Cook in two batches if necessary. Remove and set aside.

2. Add onions and cook for about 5 minutes, until softened. Then, add the Madras curry powder and cook for another 1-2 minute until fragrant. Return the chicken along with the cardamom pods to the pot, then add the tomato puree. Mix well.

3. Gradually pour in the yogurt and bring to the boil. Then, reduce to a very low heat and simmer for about 35-40 minutes.

4. Stir in coriander and season with salt. Serve with rice or naan.

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest- Indian Subcontinent hosted by Chef and Sommelier.


If you enjoyed reading my posts, LIKE me on Facebook! You can also follow me on Instagram (@babysumo) for more photo updates. Thanks :)

Bankara Ramen & Tokyo Pastry @ Avenue K, KL

Avenue K is fast becoming one of our favorite spots in KL for shopping and food. Hubby wanted to try the Samba Brazilian Steakhouse, but Baby C wanted to have ramen, so guess what we ended up having. :)

We decided to try out Bankara Ramen, located on Level 2 next to Taste Enclave. Tokyo-based Bankara Ramen has over 60 outlets across Japan, Indonesia and Thailand. This is their first outlet in Malaysia, and imports selected ingredients from Japan. They offer four types of authentic Japanese ramen styles namely Bankara Signature, Tonkotsu, Miso and Tsukemen.

Hubby chose the Kakuni Bankara (RM30) - their signature ramen served in a special pork broth infused with refined shoyu. The broth is lightly salted with a hint of sweetness, and the medium thickness Tokyo-style ramen noodles had a nice texture to it. This bowl of noodles comes with only 1 slice of cha shu and 1 slice of kakuni (braised pork belly). The cha shu is pretty ordinary but the kakuni was really tender, melt-in-the mouth and flavorsome.

Some condiments at the table - pickled ginger and fresh garlic

I went for the tonkotsu ramen (RM22), which employs a slow boil technique to create a milky pork bone soup. The noodles served is slightly different - the thin Hakata-style noodles which I prefer. I was very impressed with the rich and creamy soup, extremely palatable without being too salty or cloying. Drank it to the last drop. Again, this only came with a single piece of cha shu making this a pretty expensive bowl of ramen compared to their ramen competitors.

We also ordered 3 servings of ni-tamago (RM2.50 each), boiled egg marinated in soy sauce and it was really good. Deliciously runny yolk. I would eat the whole plate, if I could!

A classic samurai-inspired dining house

Opening times: 11am to 11pm daily.

Service: Excellent.

Price: Total bill RM76.

Location: Bankara Ramen, Lot 2-7, Level 2, Avenue K Shopping Mall, 156, Jalan Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur. (next to Taste Enclave)

Tel: 03-2181 8618

********************

After some more shopping, we stopped by at Tokyo Pastry for some cakes and tea/coffee, as per Baby C's request. We ordered a cafe latte (RM8), rose french vanilla tea (RM6 - they use Dilmah here), choko mousse tart (RM9.90), and  oreo mille crepe (RM10.90). Service was quick, so we were served in no time at all. The ambiance is pretty nice and relaxed here, and we also enjoyed the cakes that we ordered. Since they had a special promotion on whereby you can get the next slice of mille crepe at 50% off, we went for another one, the hazelnut mille crepe (RM10.90). 

We may return again soon for their afternoon tea set which sounds like good value at RM39 for 2 pax. (available 2-5pm)

Oreo mille crepe - lovely luscious layers

Full of chocolatey goodness!

Hazelnut mille crepe - loved this one a lot.

Mummy and daughter enjoying a spot of afternoon tea together

Hehe mini postbox

Tuning in to the cake channel

Service: Good.

Price: Total bill RM44.30.

Location: Tokyo Pastry, M-20 & SAC-M-1, Mezzanine Level, Avenue K Shopping Mall, 156, Jalan Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03- 2181 7660

GPS Coordinates: 3.159187, 101.713184



If you enjoyed reading my posts, LIKE me on Facebook! You can also follow me on Instagram (@babysumo) for more photo updates. Thanks :)

Recipe: Mango Lassi

Whenever we frequent an Indian restaurant, mango lassi is a must-order for us. Mango lassi is a popular yogurt-based drink, originating from India. The traditional lassi is usually savoury and flavoured with spices, whereas sweet lassi contains sugar or fruits, similar to a smoothie.

Mango Lassi

It is mango season now in Malaysia, so perfect for getting your hands on some beautiful fresh mangoes. Mango lassi is made by blending milk, yogurt and mangoes, and since the mangoes that we bought were really fragrant and sweet, we did not have to add any sugar making this a healthy drink as well. Plus it is so much cheaper to make your own - a single serving of mango lassi in the restaurant can set you back at least RM7 whereas I made a serving for 4 for that price at home.

A nice, cooling and refreshing drink to enjoy with a spicy Indian curry. The kids absolutely loved it!

Mango lassi
Recipe by Baby Sumo, adapted from Much Depends on Dinner
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup natural yogurt
2 mangoes, sliced (approx. 500g)
10-12 ice cubes

To serve
A few sprigs of fresh mint

1. Put all ingredients into a blender and whizz until foamy. If the lassi is very thick, you can add more water or milk. Pour into glasses and refridgerate before serving.

Note: This recipe is from a famous Pakistani restaurant in London called Lahore, shared in the cookbook. If you find that the lassi is not sweet enough, then add a couple of tablespoons of sugar to your liking.

I am linking this to "Cook-Your-Books #12" hosted by Joyce, to Asian Food Fest- Indian Subcontinent hosted by Chef and Sommelier and to Little Thumbs Up (May 2014: Milk) hosted by Tze of Awayofmind Bakery House.


If you enjoyed reading my posts, LIKE me on Facebook! You can also follow me on Instagram (@babysumo) for more photo updates. Thanks :)


*This recipe was featured on Asian Food Channel's FB page on 22 May 2014.