It’s A Noodle Bar, Bangsar Village II

Posted on March 9, 2010 by Lyrical Lemongrass

Last Friday, I experienced my first emotional breakdown in ages when I was caught in a traffic jam heading towards the KL Convention Centre for Babyface‘s concert. After sitting in the car for 2 1/2 hours in KL’s rush hour traffic, the air conditioner in my car suddenly stopped working. Things went downhill from there. Unable to wind down my window in the Smart Tunnel, I persevered in the heat, sweat dripping down my back, and my body feverish from a bout of flu. Within minutes, a loud clanging sound emanated from the engine. I panicked. Don’t die on me now, don’t die on me, I prayed. In my stationery position, I glanced at my side view mirror, and *gasp*, I could see smoke billowing up from the undercarriage, diffusing the light from the car behind me. OMG, the car’s going to explode, my eyes widened with apprehension. I had obviously been watching too many car chase scenes on TV which end in a fiery blast. I called Bald Eagle on the mobile phone, sobbing and saying my goodbyes.

As I approached the open air carpark where a long queue had already formed, my car rattling louder than a construction site, I gestured to the driver in front of me to let me through first. I circled my arms in a big O with a whoosh at the end, my eyes showing the terror that I felt, as I acted out an exploding car scene (mushroom…kabooom!) to the driver so that he would take pity on me. The fella was obviously lacking in compassion or imagination (c’mon dude…it’s a universal exploding car gesture!) and ignored me. Bugger. To cut a long story short, I made it to the carpark in one piece with no explosion in sight. Babyface should realise that I almost gave up my life for him.

The concert helped calm my nerves; I’m a sucker for soppy love songs from the 80s, so when Babyface sang Gone Too Soon as a tribute to Michael Jackson (many years back, a tribute by Michael Jackson to Diana, Princess of Wales), I let go of my angst, wept a bit and generously allowed Bald Eagle to hold my hand. The similarities were startling. If my car had exploded that night, Gone Too Soon would have been Bald Eagle’s tribute to me. Like a comet blazing across the evening sky, gone too soon…..

Hehe.

There’s a reason why I’m an accountant and my brothers are engineers; upon inspecting the next day, my brother pointed out to me that the compressor for my air conditioner had konked out (ta-da…the source of the loud engine sound), and it would cost me RM1,500 to replace it. Like Bald Eagle, he laughed at my exploding car theory. (My brother has no imagination either.)

I’m poorer by RM1,500, but I’m alive. Everytime I close my eyes, I thank the Lord that I’ve got you, and you’ve got me too…..

**********

Golden Sauce Noodles

This post is about love. My love for 80s love songs, my love for Bald Eagle and my love for noodles.

Originally supposed to be called Canoodling (or at least, that’s what the sign on the scaffolding indicated before it was removed), It’s A Noodle Bar finally opened its doors after overcoming its teething problems. The decor is very much industrial with a hint of quirkiness in the form of suspended table lamps from the ceiling. The menu is extensive enough with its main servings consisting of a variety of Asian style noodles. From familiar dishes like assam laksa and pan mee, to foreign sounding names like golden sauce noodles and Indonesian baba noodles, the only type of noodles missing would probably be Western pastas.

Raw Salmon with Relish

Fried Eggplant with Chicken Floss

The Raw Salmon served with diced onions, cucumber, pomegranate and pineapple relish and basil leaf was an interesting concoction but lacked a slight saltiness that would have made it more enjoyable. I’ve always liked deep fried eggplant with spicy chicken floss (the first time I tried this was at Robson Heights Seafood Restaurant in Seputeh and I was bowled over by this dish); the version served here was less crisp but still tasty. At RM5, I thought it was very reasonably priced.

Indonesian Baba Noodles

Fish Fillet Vermicelli

The Golden Sauce Noodles came in a bowl of yellow, mildly sour and very milky curry (thanks to a generous helping of coconut cream) which was further thickened with shredded kembong fish, and garnished with pineapple, cucumber and keropok. I preferred this over the Indonesian Baba Noodles, which came in a spicier gravy together with chicken, potatoes and eggplant. The flavour of the curry lacked depth and didn’t seem to be dominated by any particular ingredient (eg. chicken or fish or prawn). My favourite for the evening was undoubtedly the Fish Fillet Vermicelli, which was served with snapper fish slices in a murky white broth of soybean soup. Quite unusual but it was a combination that worked well.

Tong Sui

Several types of tong sui are available to sweeten the palate and mitigate the spiciness of the meal. We went with the snow fungus, gingko and egg tong sui which was pretty good. The tong sui here are priced between RM4 and RM5.50, quite affordable for shopping mall prices.

Ice Blended Apple, Elderflower and Lychee (in foreground) and Ice Blended Green Tea Soy Milk with Vanilla Ice Cream

Shochu – Kaikouzu (Sweet Potato) & Ko-tamba (Chestnut)

A good variety of salads are also available for those who do not want to consume too many carbs. If they are anything like Delicious‘ salads, I reckon I’ll be a fan soon. (Note: It’s a Noodle Bar and it’s neighbour, For Goodness Sake are part of the Ms Read group)

It’s A Noodle Bar
2F-29, Bangsar Village II,
No. 2, Jalan Telawi 1, Bangsar Baru, KL.

Giovino, Changkat Bukit Bintang

Posted on March 3, 2010 by Lyrical Lemongrass

Greek Dolmades – Rolled Vine Leaf with Rice

I confess -I have no knowledge of Greek food, which begs the question, is it fair for me to give a critical appraisal of something that I know nothing of? I could let my tastebuds decide, for after all, if my tongue has been on active duty for *cough* forty *cough* years or so, it has to be a rather reliable tool, yes? Bald Eagle was in Greece a couple of years back, but he had painful memories there (watching Liverpool lose in the Champions League final) so broaching the subject of Greek food is suicidal (for me). Thanks to a recent reading of The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, a book that in many ways paralleled Plath’s life, I have enlightened myself on the many ways of suicide and societal oppression, and a reference to Greece may well be another means of meeting my maker earlier than anticipated. So, what to do, what to do, I envision this land that I have never been to before, and images of Mamma Mia! The Musical flash before my eyes together with mountainous terrains, corinthian temples, Plato and moussaka.

Which brings me to the Greek Moussaka in Giovino. Bald Eagle would approve of this moussaka, simply because the lamb bolognaise, mashed potatoes and bechamel almost entirely masked the presence of the vegetable he detests the most – eggplant. This is where our marriage suffers; I have always favoured eggplant, but have been forced to eat it on the sly from the day we said “I do”. My kitchen has never seen an eggplant before, and this is a tragedy indeed.

The Greek Dolmades is apparently a rather popular appetizer. Stuffed with rice and herbs, this is refreshing and zesty. The Spanacopita and Kreatopita are names that roll of the tongue as effortlessly as they are consumed. Both are made with rather fluffy and airy phyllo pastry, one with sauteed spinach, and the other with minced meat. The Greek Bifteki looks deceptively like a piece of steak, but I liken it to an oversized burger patty, layered with emmenthal and bacon, making it an extremely flavourful piece of minced meat. All 300 grams of it.

To read more of Giovino‘s offerings, which include Italian food as well, check out Eat Drink KL’s quadrilogy.

Giovino
32, Changkat Bukit Bintang,
50250 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-2141 1131

Spanacopita – Baked Sauteed Spinach in Filo Pastry

Kreatopita – Baked Minced Meat in Filo Pastry

Greek Moussaka

Greek Bifteki (300gm)

Warm Double Chocolate Flan with Vanilla Ice Cream

Pork Schnitzel, Duck Salad

New Formosa Restaurant, SS2 PJ

Posted on February 25, 2010 by Lyrical Lemongrass

This morning, I was late for work by more than an hour due to a number of accidents on the highway. Several things frustrate me daily, but in this instance, the lack of consideration and the egotistical nature of certain drivers irked me. If you hit a car in front of you, for Pete’s sake, move to the side of the road and negotiate lah. Don’t stop in the middle of the highway, centre lane, no less, and assume that the world stops for you just because you have a tiny dent on your rear bumper. I. Don’t. Care.

When we bought our place in Bukit Jelutong many many years ago, traffic was a lot more bearable. Now, the sheer number of cars on the road coupled with an increase in the number of inconsiderate drivers makes it a nightmare for me to drive to work every morning. I normally say a prayer before I start my journey. In addition to the usual request for world peace and an end to global hunger, I pray for the roads to be clear so that I may make it to work within half an hour. Based on my recent experience on the roads, I can only postulate that God has a queer sense of humour.

I seem to be lacking constants in my life. Change is good, but not when it’s about a worsening traffic condition. Another constant I am missing is my hair colourist, Randall. It was an affair that brought out the glow in my skin and made rainbows out of my grey days. Now, Taiwan owns him.

If Taiwan has my Randall, then we, Malaysians, have Jeanie, a Taiwanese who made Malaysia her home thirty years ago after falling in love with and marrying a Malaysian chef. Together, they started New Formosa, and to this day, business has been brisk. I was first introduced to this place several years back by my blogging idol, Boo. I remember enjoying the dishes, one of my favourites being the Butter Eel, which was fried in a crispy, sweet batter. Another dish which caught my fancy a couple of years back was the steamed crabs in unpolished rice. The rice was so fragrant and tasty that I wrote on my blog that this dish would be forever etched in my memory.

Thanks to Jeanie, we were introduced to the Chinese New Year menu, a delightful mix of decadent ingredients that made up the Chinese New Year requisites. How can one say no to the Fu Lu Shou soup (a Taiwanese traditional Fo tiao Qiang Monk Jumping Over The Wall) which contained a variety of expensive ingredients in a herbal soup – dried baby scallops, shark’s fin, sea cucumber, fish maw, chinese mushroom, yam white cabbage, spare ribs, diced chicken, wolfberry, dried longan, bamboo membrane and shao xin wine. We agreed that it was a steal at only RM36 a bowl.

My favourite Butter Eel formed part of a two-combination dish together with Dried Oysters in a special sauce. (RM48) The dried oysters were particularly intense in flavour, but because of this, one could either love it or hate it. I loved the Gingko Ham (Hunan’s special traditional ham dish) (RM45) which was served with bread. This reminded me of the dried meat sandwich that one could buy off the road in the old days, although the ham was of a far superior quality. The preparation of the ham is tedious, as it is steamed for a prolonged period to remove the salt.

Feng Sha Ji (roast chicken) reminded me of a turkey at Thanksgiving, all dressed up and stuffed, although this chicken was roasted with red scallions and stuffed with “eight treasures” (including chestnuts, dried shrimps and rice). The chicken was very flavourful and moist. We were also served a yam and duck tart, which was already sliced into individual portions. The duck was steamed for two hours, after which the bones were removed, the meat extracted and then mixed with flour to make this dish. The Steamed Giant Grouper (Nian Nian You Yu – every year has extra fortune) was served with black fermented soy beans and minced ginger and garlic. Very tasty. I’m still waiting for extra fortune to come my way, but why be greedy? I shall be satisfied with just good traffic daily.

For desserts, we were served an assortment of puddings (mango, green tea aloe vera, honey and custard) and Or Nee (sans pork lard, hence the skinny version) which is a yam and gingko creamy confection. There was also a live performance treat where fried pieces of yam coated with sesame seeds, honey and maltose were plunged into iced water resulting in a hardened and crunchy/brittle surface. In the process, long threads of hardened sugar formed over the skin, like ice sculpture pieces. They were not just things of beauty; they were also extremely delicious.

A picture speaks a thousand words, they say, so I shall leave you with several thousand….

Salmon Yee Sang RM39

Two combination dish – Butter Eel and Dried Oyster RM48

Steamed Long Tan (Giant Grouper) Taiwanese traditional style RM58

Gingko Ham RM45

Feng Sha Ji Roast Chicken RM55

Two varieties of Prawns

Fried Vegetables with Pomelo Sacs and Almond Flakes RM30

Assorted Puddings

Or Nee

One happy customer

Fried yam

Thanks, Jeanie, for the lovely treat!

Note: The featured menu is available until February 28 2010. The restaurant is open throughout the CNY period. For other delectable goodies, check out their website.

New Formosa Restaurant
46, Jalan SS2/24,
47300 Petaling Jaya.

Tel: 03-7875 1894, 7875 7478, 019-335 3274.

Business hours: 12 noon to 3pm, 6pm to 10.30pm.

Closed from the 16th to the 19th day of the first Lunar month.

A Whiff of Lemongrass

NOT a food blog

Category Archives: FOOD TYPES

It’s A Noodle Bar, Bangsar Village II

Giovino, Changkat Bukit Bintang

New Formosa Restaurant, SS2 PJ