Spice Trails - Northern & Southern Indian Cuisine @ Paya Serai, Hilton PJ

In conjunction with the upcoming Deepavali celebrations, Hilton Petaling Jaya will be ushering in the Festival of Lights with its Spice Trail buffet promotion at its all-day dining outlet, Paya Serai Restaurant.

The promotion will run from 24 October to 7 November 2016, and will feature authentic Northern and Southern Indian cuisine, specially crafted by Indian Head Chef S. Vengadason and his culinary team. During this period, there will be four menus on rotation, showcasing a variety of curries, savouries and desserts.

According to Chef Vengadason, "We emphasize greatly on food authenticity in our buffet preparation at Paya Serai. Introducing new dishes from the northern and southern part of India such as Mysore, Kerala and Rajasthan with traditional blend of spices and method of preparation, allows me to share my Indian ethnicity through the food I serve."

One of the highlights of the buffet is the Lamb Shank Biryani. A North Indian style briyani, the rice was fluffy and fragrant, with tender chunks of lamb shank. Absolutely mouthwatering. 

My personal favorite at the buffet was the Rajastani Laal Maas, which happens to be the chef's signature dish. It is an authentic lamb dish from Rajasthan, which was a favourite amongst royalties in the past. According to Chef Vengadason, the lamb is slow cooked for 4-5 hours until tender.

 Rajastani Laal Maas and Mysore Chicken

Tandoori Malai Chicken

Lamb Kebab

Fried Fish with Indian Spices

The crab varural (spicy dry curry) was also another one of my favorites-  the crab is cooked in various spices until the sauce is thick. It's so good, it definitely left me wanting more.

The Malabar Mackarel Curry is a Kerala-style curry, which is cooked with tamarind and lots of coconut. The sauce is sightly sourish, hence making it very appetizing - I loved mopping it up with the fresh naan breads.

Paneer Saag - cottage cheese with chopped spinach

Bendi do Pyaza - okra cooked with two types of onions

 Dhall Tadka

Various types of bread such as bathura, masala poori and naan bread.

Mango lassi

Satisfy your sweet cravings with the delectable array of Indian sweets. You can find rasmalai, rava kheer, jelebi, gulab jamun, pineapple kesari, coconut candy and Laddu here. I really liked the sohan papdi, a popular North Indian dessert, which is made from cashew nut, almond and milk with a lovely, flaky texture. The pineapple kesari, made from milk, semolina, ghee and pineapple was another delicious treat.

Gulab Jamun

Laddu - made from dhal flour, ghee and sugar

Rava Kheer 

The Spice Trails buffet is available for lunch, dinner and Weekend Hi-tea and is priced at RM114 nett per adult and RM60 nett per child (Weekend Hi-Tea), RM104 nett per adult and RM58 nett per child (Lunch) and RM119 nett per adult and RM64 nett per child (Dinner).



Location: Paya Serai, Lobby Level, Hilton Petaling Jaya, 2 Jalan Barat, 46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Tel: 03-7955 9122

Website: http://www.zestpj.com/

GPS Coordinates: 3.102164, 101.640573


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Recipe: My Mum's Chicken Curry with Potatoes + Happy Diwali

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a photo of my mum's chicken curry on Facebook and Instagram, and got some email requests for the recipe. So, here it is!

This is an Asian-style curry which is fragrant from the fresh herbs used - ie lemongrass, curry leaves and daun kesum (Vietnamese mint). My mum has been cooking this for us since we're kids, and it is one of my favorite versions of chicken curry. The gravy is so delicious, that you can't help but have extra helpings of rice. We do recommend making a huge pot of this, so that you'll have leftovers for the next day (we like dunking toast in the curry sauce - I think this is quite a Malaysian way of eating leftover curry). Even Hubby enjoys eating it this way for breakfast!

Now everyone, say thank you Aunty for the recipe :)

And to all my readers and friends celebrating Diwali, Happy Deepavali to you all! :)

My Mum's Chicken Curry
Recipe by Baby Sumo 
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 1 1/2 hours
Serves 4-5

Ingredients
1 chicken maryland
1 chicken breast
1 bulb garlic, minced
3 large onions, sliced
3 stalks lemongrass, bruised with your cleaver
8 stalks curry leaves
6 stalks daun kesum (Vietnamese mint)
6 tbsp curry powder
4 medium potatoes, cut into big chunks
1/2 grated coconut
4-5 tbsp cooking oil
700ml warm water
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp light soy sauce


1. First, squeeze out as much coconut cream as you can from the grated coconut, you will get about 60-70ml. Set aside. Then, soak the grated coconut in 600ml warm water and squeeze again to get coconut milk.

2. Mix the chicken pieces with 2 tbsp curry powder, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp light soy sauce. Set aside to marinate for 10 minutes.

3. In a large pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add the potatoes and brown, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

4. Add chicken (from Step 2) into the same pot and cook for 5-7 minutes,until the chicken pieces are evenly browned. Remove and set aside.

5. Add the garlic and onion, and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the onions are slightly softened and garlic is golden brown. Then, add the curry leaves, lemongrass and daun kesum and cook for a further 30seconds. Add the remaining 4 tbsp curry powder and cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Stir in the coconut milk only and bring to the boil.

6. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and add the potatoes. Simmer for 1 hour, then add the chicken and cook for 15 minutes. Stir in the coconut cream and cook for another 5 minutes. Taste and season with more salt as necessary.

Note: If you have any leftovers, simply reheat before eating and serve with toast bread (soldiers). Dip and enjoy!

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*This recipe was featured on Asian Food Channel's Facebook page on 24 October 2014.

Taste Enclave Classic + Chapter Two @ Pavilion KL

Taste Enclave Classic has been open in Pavilion KL since August 2014, and this week we stumbled upon it when we were looking for a lunch place. Located on Level 2, you can find authentic hawker fare here, and the difference with Taste Enclave in Avenue K is that you get table service here i.e. you will be seated by the staff, and will receive table service (look through the menu, the staff will take your order and serve you). I guess you could call this a "classy food court".

There was a slight queue when we arrived since it was lunch hour but still, we were seated within 5 minutes. Over here you can chooose from the famous Sentul Ah Yap Charcoal Hokkien Mee, Ah Hu Bak Kut Teh, Nasi Ayam Singapura, Tong's Roast, Jalan Kayu Prata, Heun Kee claypot chicken rice and more. There is also a cafe here, Coen cafe, which serves Scandinavian cuisine.

Hubby decided to try the Penang char koay teow with duck egg (RM12.90) from Sentul Ah Yap stall. It was decent enough, but slightly lacking in wok hei. Should have went for the Hokkien mee since the last time we had it in Avenue K, it was really good.

Kopi ping (RM3.30) and tea (RM2.30). All their cups and even chopsticks are branded with Taste Enclave.

I thoroughly enjoyed my order of dry wantan mee from Tong's Roast; I opted for roasted duck (RM14.90) and requested for duck breast. The duck meat was juicy and flavorful. It also came with a small bowl of soup and two wantans. We also ordered a plate of char siew (honey-glazed BBQ pork) and siew yuk (roast pork) to share - I was pleasantly surprised that the portion was quite generous and I would happily pay the RM20 charged for it. The siew yuk was excellent, one of the best I've had - super crispy crackling (don't you just love hearing the "cruk cruk" sound as you bite into the crackling) and the char siew wasn't too shabby either.

Dry wantan mee with roasted duck

Roasted duck breast

A glorious plate of porky goodness!

Overall, we had a nice meal here at Taste Enclave Classic. Prices are a bit higher than normal food court/hawker stalls, but it's worth paying for the nice ambiance and dining comfort. Yup, I don't need to sweat buckets to enjoy these local delights.

Checked out the Moschino store in Pavilion KL and spotted these McD-inspired bags and shoes

After some shopping, we stopped by at Chapter Two cafe (near Mercato supermarket) for some coffee and cakes. We shared a slice of tiramisu mille crepe (RM12.90), and it was really really good. The texture and flavours were spot on. I'm impressed.

Really lovely kolam display at Pavilion KL for Deepavali/Diwali

Opening times: 8am - 10pm on Sundays to Thursdays and 8am - 11 pm on Fridays, Saturdays and public holidays.

Non-halal.

Price: Total bill RM58.75.

Location: Taste Enclave Classic, Lot 2.65.00-2.67.00&2.74.00, Level 2, Pavilion KL, 168 Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Chapter Two, P1.02.00, Level 1, Pavilion KL, 168 Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel: 03-2110 6968

Website: www.tasteenclave.com



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