Let the Celebrations Begin: Ma Maison – Home Sweet Home

Posted on August 26, 2007 by Lyrical Lemongrass

Our French friend, Olivier, loves the food at Ma Maison and frequents the restaurant quite often with his wife. We’re not surprised, actually. For a restaurant that has been operating since 1995, it has certainly sustained well and is still drawing in the crowds. And why not? All the key ingredients are there. Bald Eagle and I like this restaurant for several reasons.Firstly, the service is excellent. Walking into the restaurant, one is greeted like an old friend by the proprietor, Bertrand J. Langlet. Contrary to what they say about the French (hehe), there are no airs about this one. It is a typical French kiss-kiss/Malaysian welcome.

Secondly, the food is great! More on this one later.

Thirdly, one can get a set lunch, everyday except Tuesday (closed), for just RM28! This includes a free flow selection from the salad buffet counter and a main course.

Talking about the salad buffet, there is a fantastic array to choose from. Cheeses, olives, pate, pastas, salads, breads…….such a pleasing selection! And my favourite? Grilled aubergine….lightly grilled so that the outer skin is a slight crisp and the insides retain its mushiness with a sprinkle of salt to enhance its flavour. So wonderful! And even simple recipes like the potato and egg salads taste great due to the attention that goes into them. Today, I must have taken at least three helpings from the salad buffet as I couldn’t get enough of everything.

For the mains, Bald Eagle’s choice of roasted chicken with tarragon was exquisite, with the flesh cooked just right, staying firm to the touch and infused with the flavours of the herbs.

I loved the Salmon au Gratin. The cheesy sauce was mixed with chopped seafood – mussels and prawns – and drizzled over the salmon, moist and perfectly cooked. Both mains were served with a selection of blanched vegetables and baked sliced potatoes, arranged prettily around the floral plates.

If you’re visiting this restaurant, do note that they accept only cash.

Ma Maison French Restaurant
32, Persiaran Ampang,
55000 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-4256 5410

Closed Tuesdays.

Dim sum, Dim sum, wherefore art thou, Dim sum?

Posted on August 5, 2007 by Lyrical Lemongrass

1.

Monday
Ecstatic Eeyore barged into my room. “We’re doing lunch together on Friday!”, he announced.

“Where?”, I asked.

“Restoran Clan in Sri Petaling. 8TV’s Ho Chak featured their delicious looking tai bao/loh mai kai! So are you game?”

That was like asking the President of the Japanese Food Kawan’s Association if she liked sashimi.

Tuesday

Ecstatic Eeyore suggested going on a diet to prepare himself for the big lunch on Friday.

Wednesday

Ecstatic Eeyore checked and rechecked his schedule to make sure that he didn’t have any meeting between 12.30pm and 2.30pm.

Thursday

“Don’t forget! Lunch on Friday!!”, Ecstatic Eeyore reminded me.

“What lunch?”, I teased.

“Hmmmphhh!”

Ecstatic Eeyore walked out of my room in disgust.

I made a mental note to not mess with his head until after that lunch.

Friday

We found the restaurant. A few tables were occupied. We asked for the star item. “Sorry, don’t have”, the waitress said with a wry smile.

Our faces fell.

BUT….

….it was a dim sum place, after all, and since we were planning to have dim sum together with the star item, we decided to go ahead with our plans.

The trays laden with dim sum arrived.

We weren’t about to let a minor setback spoil our day (yes, we’re highly positive people), so we picked out our favourites.

Instead of describing each item in detail, I shall categorise the food as follows:-

Average (pass the pepper please)

The fried dim sum fared better than the steamed ones. The yam puff (extreme left) was crispy and the filling was substantial. The Hong Kong style chee cheong fun (extreme right) came with a tasty sambal that was rich with aromatic crushed dried prawns.

Bland (no salt?)

The char siew bao (extreme left) was scant in fillings, while the dough was too thick. The porridge came with a generous serving of chopped century eggs but it lacked flavour.

Where’s the toilet bowl?? (I really need to throw up)

The brinjal appeared to have been steamed over and over again – probably leftovers from the previous night. The flesh was mushy and tasteless. I almost threw up.

Oh wait a minute. I did throw up.

Restoran Clan
140, Jalan Radin Anum
1, Sri Petaling, 57000 KL

Tel: 019-382 5455

2.Saturday

After relating my tear-jerker to Boo_licious, she agreed to have breakfast with me on Saturday. It was going to be a replacement of sorts, to get rid of the awful taste from the day before. We also managed to rope in fellow foodies, Precious Pea and Unkaleong to join us at Hong Kee Tim Sum at Damansara Jaya at an ungodly hour of 8.30 on a Saturday morning. I can still hear Unkaleong’s whines of “Ohhh….I’m so sleepy!!! Why so early???” *sounds of stretching like a half-dead kitten in the background*.

And the food? Everything tasted soooo gooooood. Yes, I am probably biased, having almost died from eating bad food the day before, but hey, it really was good.

I experienced a burst of flavour as I bit into the siu mai with minced pork filling. The spinach version was equally good too. We had the Hong Kong chee cheong fun with prawn filling, and if I were to compare it to the HK CCF which I had the previous day, I’d say that the CCF here is a lot smoother but the sambal did not have the “kick” that the other one provided.

We tried an interesting looking dim sum which was essentially fish paste with salted egg yolk filling and coated with almond flakes (3rd row, centre pic). I didn’t quite like the combination of the ingredients; firstly, it tasted rather dry, and secondly, the ingredients just didn’t blend together.

If prizes were given out for the best item on the menu, the Sang Chau Loh Mai Fan (fried glutinous rice) would have ranked tops. The glutinous rice is painstakingly fried together with bits of lup cheong (chinese sausage), dried prawns, sliced mushrooms, eggs and chive. This dish may look rather oily, but it is considerably lighter on the palate as compared to eating loh mai kai (steamed glutinous rice) as less oil is used for the former.

The dim sum is priced between RM2 and RM5 per plate.

Also check out:

Masak-masak
You Get What You Give…Sometimes
Precious Pea

Hong Kee Tim Sum Restaurant (behind Atria)
No 18 & 20, Jalan SS22/25
Damansara Jaya
47400 Petaling Jaya.

Tel: 012-6069787

Opening hours: 7.00am to 3.00pm daily.

Kokopelli Travellers Bistro, PJ

Posted on July 29, 2007 by Lyrical Lemongrass

Jalan Bukit in PJ was a favourite haunt for me during my university days as it was within walking distance from the university, and I could find cheap and tasty food there. Usually, when I had a craving for char siew pao (barbequed pork bun), I’d quickly call one of the more-than-willing fellas to accompany me to Jalan Bukit where we’d get our pork fix before trudging back to our residential college.Naturally, when I heard that a bungalow along Jalan Bukit had been converted into a restaurant, I had to find out more about this place and whether or not it deserved to invade my memories with so much pomp.

It wasn’t difficult to find an occasion to dine. It was Barbie’s last day at the office; Malaysians love to celebrate all occasions with food, and despite the fact that a farewell wasn’t really a celebration, it was still a reason to get together to dine as a family (which we had become over the years).

It was a cheerful sight indeed. A glass facade fronted the old bungalow, with warm lights greeting the guests. There were lots of pretty accents, from glass beads to chandeliers to fresh blooms to quirky tealight holders, obviously a female touch, which made the place look cozy and inviting.

Kokopelli serves both local and western cuisine. From the unpretentious char koay teow and lou shue fun to grilled steaks and pastas, there seemed to be something for everyone. Prices were very reasonable too. The local dishes were priced at RM8.90, while the most expensive steak was priced at RM38.90. The grills (pics above), according to my Makan kaki, were pretty good and flavourful. The Ribeye Steak (RM38.90) and Sirloin Steak (RM35.90) were medium done, but I thought they were still a little overcooked. The vegetables on the side, other than the grilled aubergine, were sparsely distributed among the dishes. I didn’t get to try the baked potato, unfortunately, but it looked yummy with scattered chopped beef bacon (at least, that’s what it looked like). The grilled New Zealand lamb (RM20.90) was a substantial portion, while the grilled salmon (RM32.90) was more suitable for a person with a smaller appetite.

The braised lamb shank (RM29.90) was served in a rich sauce which I found a little too sweet. The texture of the meat was tender, and the flavour of the meat came through despite the generous serving of the sauce. It was served on a bed of mashed potatoes which was milky and creamy.

We had heard so much about the Char Koay Teow (RM8.90) so we ordered a plate to share. I must say that I had set extremely high expectations for the CKT and even if I had lowered my expectations, I’d still have been sorely disappointed. How many ways can a CKT go wrong? It was soggy and greasy (see traces of oil at the bottom of the plate) and very spicy. Unlike good CKTs where the flavours blend in seamlessly, here the spiciness of the dish overpowered the rest of the ingredients. I was also unable to taste the egg in the dish, although I could certainly see bits of it.

The dessert selection was rather modest. We picked two out of the three choices. Everyone agreed that the chocolate cake was better than the pistachio cake, and I suppose at RM6.50 each, I can’t expect too much.

Overall, I’d say that the restaurant is worth a second visit. I’d come back just for the ambience alone.

Also check out:

Kokopelli Travellers Bistro
No 6, Jalan Bukit, Section 11/2,
PJ.

Tel: 03-7956 7505/019-267 6667 (Ariff)

Reservations recommended.

A Whiff of Lemongrass

NOT a food blog

Category Archives: LOCATION: SELANGOR

Let the Celebrations Begin: Ma Maison – Home Sweet Home

Dim sum, Dim sum, wherefore art thou, Dim sum?

Kokopelli Travellers Bistro, PJ