You’ve seen it on fear factor and all the other travel shows, but it so different when you are face to face with your first beetle and all your peers are cheering you on to eat it. You wonder how to eat it, you wonder where the beetle has been and whether its been clean. But the sight of the super hot oil in the wok reassures you. Anything deep fried would be “sanitized” and good to eat. After all, it makes the soft crunchy, the dull shiny and the unedible edible.

I got my first taste in Phnom Penh, Cambodia near the river-side where the Royal Palace is. The night life in that area is interesting. All I tasted was oil and the hard crunchy shell of the bug. But after the first bite, you could be lucky and enjoy and creamy insides of the bug and feel it ooze out onto your tongue. Unfortunately, most are overfired and would have been dried out. Here’s a tip, remember to remove those little spiky legs from any bug you eat. You don’t want to nurse a irritated and painful throat caused by a piece of leg getting stuck in there.

Illustration for TIME by Leigh Wells

Time.com has a special report on the Science of appetite and much more on food. Its a good read for anyone who wants to know all about eating and not eating.

Enjoy.

Island Creamery in Singapore has the nicest flavour of ice cream for the Lunar New Year, Pineapple tart flavour. Its got the rich pineapple sweetness and the dry pastry flavour all embedded in a cool scoop of ice cream. Awesome!

Check it out for yourself at Serence Centre (Bukit timah area, near the Adam Road Hawker Centre) and in the basement of Great World City.

Other Reviews

• Pilgram Parent 
• The Baker Who Cooks 

As you may all know, we (the eating gluts) frequent restaurants around Perth and have had our fair share of good and bad restaurants. One of the worst ones that we went to the other day was Penang Food Restaurant down at William Street. We went there around lunch time on Sunday. When the waiter was distributing the menus, he told us that there would be a 20 – 30 minute wait for the food. We quickly decided what to order (being the kia sus that we are) and tried to place our order. Here’s where the first drama started… no one wanted to take our order! Every waiter or waitress we got said to us the they dont take orders and had to wait for the person taking orders to come around. In the end I had to walk up to the counter to ask if anyone was going to take the order. The girl at the counter pointed me to the order taker and I told her that she has to make sure that the order take comes over to our table. Meanwhile, counter girl came to take our order for drinks. By the time order girl came to take our order, it was like 15 minutes later. Our order was really simple, fried kway teow, Penang Laksa, Nasi Lemak…. Our drinks came really quick….

After 20 minutes, the Penang Laksa arrived at the table and we waited for the rest of the food to come before starting. However, the Penang Laksa was getting cold so we ate first. And by the time the Penang Laksa was fully consumed, the others still had not had their food yet! By this time it was well and truly over the 20-30 minute wait that they told us we had to wait… so I asked the waitress where the food is and said we would walk out if the food wasnt going to arrive and they came back to tell us that they had just started cooking the food!!! That was already 1.30pm. We got in at 12.30pm and ordered around 12.45pm…. U can imagine how frustrated and irritated the hungry ones were!!

So we told them that we were going to cancel the order and didnt want to pay for the meal and drinks that was consumed as they stuffed up our orders. That didnt go down well with the waitress. We asked to see the manager who turned out to be the counter girl and she kept insisting that our order was taken at 1pm. Anyway, we stood up and started walking out, and when my bro walked out of the door, the kitchen reinforcement came out quicker then the drinks as they thought that we were going to walk out and not pay. Well and truly we didnt want to pay as we felt that they didnt deserve our money. In the end we had to part with $30 for food consumed and drinks. What a waste of money. To make matters worse, we overheard the owner telling the so called manager and I quote “TELL THEM FIRST COME FIRST SERVE, NOT HAPPY DONT COME”. If it was first come first serve, their order taker should have taken our order first instead of going to the other people who came later than us!! I can guarantee we wont be going back in there and I dont think we’ll be welcomed back either.

But I totally adore the gyoza/guotie and the xiao long bao.

[The Xiao Long Bao]

So, two weekends ago, we went to feast on these flour and meat concoctions at a Beijing-themed high tea.

While not as pretty as Din Tai Fung’s or as tasty as Crystal Jade’s, our Lao Beijing xiao long baos were definitely good. Each tiny parcel was delicately folded; its warm skin quivering ever so slightly as the steam from its juices escaped, giving off a lovely savoury scent.

I have a ritual of sorts: Pick a bao up gently with my chopsticks and place it on my soup spoon. Nibble and bite off a tiny portion, creating a small hole. Suck and drink up the delicious juices. Then, place ginger slivers soaked in Chinese vinegar onto the dumpling, bite and savour.

That day, we had two servings of xiao long bao between us. That’s 16 pieces haha!

Included in the semi-a la carte buffet was a variety of Beijing-style noodles (dan dan mian and other la mian varieties), guotie with different fillings, and jiaozi (not very nice).

At the buffet table, there was braised mushrooms, shao mai, onion pancakes, Yunan ham, desserts and so on.

As expected, we ordered mostly from the a la carte menu.

When we asked for the bill, the waiter, possibly from his observations of our enthusiastic devouring of them dumplings, suggested we sign up for the Tung Lok (Lao Beijing is part of the Tung Lok group) membership card, which offers discounts and stuff for future visits. To his surprise, we declined. We figured we don’t and probably won’t dine at Tung Lok restaurants often enough to make it worthwhile.

The damage came up to about $18 per person, after taxes. Really quite a decent price to pay for the quality of the food and the quantity we ate. Although, if I can make dumplings like her , I certainly won’t be eating them outside of home!

Lao Beijing
#02-11/12 Novena Square
Tel: 6358 4466
OR
#03-01 Plaza Singapura
Tel: 6738 7207

{High Tea buffet available on weekends and public holidays only.
2.45-5.15pm (4.45pm last orders)
$15.80 ++ per person (adult)}
By Esther Au Yong

Reprinted by Request

1.

Name: Rakuzen Japanese Restaurant

Where: Level 1, 9, Jalan SS 12/1, 47500 Subang Jaya Selangor Malaysia

They serve high quality Japanese food with reasonable prices. Their set meal called the Rakuzen bento is valued for money because there are many varieties in that one. There is also another dish that involves your own cooking of the meat. Their soft shell crab sushi is really good as well. All I can say is I’ve tried most of the menu and they have never failed to satisfy a hungry Calvin. Book to avoid dissapointment.

2.

Name: Izumi Japanese Restaurant

Address: Level 2, Eastin Hotel, 16/11, Jalan Damansara, Petaling Jaya, Selangor 46350 Malaysia

This one has good Japanese buffet. I’m not sure how the pricing is and when do they serve the buffets for this one but I know that they serve pretty good Japanese food as well. I must point out that they provide excellent services when I was there as well. This is convenient for you because it is not so far away from your place. The chef is quite mysterious in his own ways. One of the waiters pointed out that he doesn’t even let his waiters enter the kitchen at all. A place to consider as well. Book to avoid dissapointment

3.

Name: Living Food Restaurant

Address: Next to Malaya Optical 71 JaIan SS21/37, Damansara Utama, Petaling Jaya, 47400, Selangor

They serve Lam Mee. One of my favourite places. Their fish balls and foo chok are very nice and they are popular for their lam mee. Please take note it is quite pricy.

4.

Name: Fook Kee Restaurant

Address: No 1 1a Jalan Desa 1/5 Desa Aman Puri, Kepong

A MUST place to go if you enjoy eating seafood and crabs. Crabs are cheap. RM 20 for a kilo. Go early in the evening or book to avoid disappointment and the long wait. Two types of crab which is a must try; The Salted Egg Crab and the Cheese Creammy Crab. Highly recommended. Can’t miss it because they will have heaps of people. Suggested time to go is 6 pm.

5.

Name: Murni

Address: SS2, at the back of KFC

This is a typical mamak place. A place where people gather around to eat, drink and enjoy fellowship. The number one spot for my church members. Good food although a bit dirty (adds the flavour though!). You won’t miss this place because there will be heaps of people as of 8 pm and later. Some recommendations of food. Clap pot Lou Shu Fan, Hawaiian special, Mee Goreng mamak, Nasi Lemak tambah Ayam goreng, Ayam Special. Drinks – Honey Dew Special, Mango Special, Teh Tarik Kurang manis.

6.

Name: California Pizza Kitchen

Address: KLCC

An italian place which serves really good pizza and pasta. I know it’s quite ironic to eat Italian food in KL because Perth is better but people like me who are cheap would prefer this place. It is not fantastic but it is surely better than most of them around in KL.

7.

Name: Mum’s Place

Address: Damansara Perdana

A mixture of Portuguese and Malaysian food. A frequent customer there with my family. Worth a try if you like spicy food. Recommended dishes would be the Asam Fish.

8. Name: Restaurant Mosin

Address: Taman Tun Dr Ismail, same row as Pizza Hut, a corner shop.

Morning breakfast would be good here. The usual Roti Canai and the Thosai. Love the Roti Telur and Roti Planta. It is crispy and it is served with curry ayam. Plus, it is cheap, dirt cheap. RM 2.00 or less!

9.

Name: Madam Kwan

Address: 65, Telawi 3, Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur

If you intend to have a romantic dinner but would like to stick to Asian cuisine, I would recommend this place. They serve one of the best nasi lemak in KL. The place is classy and a bit pricy but you pay for the atmosphere as well. Not sure how true is this, but most of the waiters are quite sissy. Not that it has anything to do with the food. Just something interesting.

10.

Name: Ikea

Address: Damansara Perdana

For really good curry puff. Surprisingly, Ikea serves the best. I’ve not found anyone that beats theirs yet. So yes, head down to Ikea for good curry puff and hot dogs!

..nivlac..

The recipe calls for:

Anchovy stock

Chilli Pepper powder

All the seafood you want – mussles, crabs, scallops, prawns, etc etc

Choice of noodles – glass noodles, rice noodles, udon

The anchovy stock and chilli pepper powder were purchased at the korean grocery shop. They come in a loose powder form in a packet. But on closer inspection, the anchovy stock is probably similar to the ‘Knorr Ikan Bilis’ cube stock readily available in most Asian grocery shops.

I’ve tried the recipe twice and once with crabs and once without and I strongly recommend with crabs.  Makes the soup sweeter.

…  Jade Forest ….

Entree:

Layered Mediterranean vegetables with fetta cheese, balsamic glaze and basil pesto

Pear and so mainated beef brisket with roast capiscum and garlic aioli

Roulade of chicken breast with mushroom cream cheese and sundred tomato tapenade

Blue Manna crab and prawn timbale, capiscum coulis and citrus olive oil

Lightly Smoked ocean trout avocado salad with citrus and chive salsa

Main Course

Honey mustard glazed chicken roulade, parsnip potato mash, carmelised aubergines and morel truffle jus

Roast salmon steak gremolata with quick fried green beans and asparagus on mushroom risotto

Aged beef tenderloin with skewered scallop, oyster and prawn wrapped in pancetta and sauce cheron

Oven baked Red Empereor in puff pastry cheese with yabbies, artichoke and asparagus ragout

Dessert

Warm pear and almond tartin with lime mascarpone cream

Mango sour cream cheesecake, pink grapefruit sorbet and sweet mango chutney

Sour cherry and Amaretto roulade with Brazilian cream and chocolate nut sticks

Three fruit and vanilla bean yoghurt with mint crumble

Baked kabocha pumpkin custard with sweet potato ginger ice cream

So for appetiser, I zeroed in on the crab and prawn timbale which I thoroughly enjoyed. For the main course, I was given the tenderloin which I was very happy with. The meat was cooked exactly to medium rare perfection. As for the desserts, I have to say that my top 3 favourites were the pumpkin custard, sour cherry & Amaretto roulade and the mango sour cream cheesecake. To top of a very gluttony evening, we were each given a little chocolate cupcake which to every chocoholic dream was an absolute bliss

So I'll highly recommend the Hyatt for any functions budget permitting of course

…Jade Forest

A couple of weeks ago, we had steamboat at home. Another name for this is the hot pot. For those who are not familiar with this, simply put, it is the asian version of the fondue. Instead of the cheese sauce, we have stock inside the pot; instead of the little food pieces that gets dipped into the cheese sauce, we have uncooked meats, seafood, vegetables and they all go into the pot and we scoop it out from there. This meal is great for a winter night, where the soup would warm you up and a great meal with friends where you just sit, talk and cook and taking it easy. A new addition I tried to this steamboat night was that I made my own chilli sauce – in an attempt to have my sauce taste like the famous Coca Steambot Chilli Sauce. I think it almost tastes like the chilli sauce so here's the recipe:

Fresh Red Chillies (grind finely in food processor)

Sambal Chilli or Chilli Sauce

Coriander

Honey

Finely Chopped Garlic (optional)

Easy method – just mix the above ingredients to suit your chilli level.

… Jade Forest