Celestial Court, Imperial Hotel Kuala Lumpur

1.

Dead ah? It’s heartening to know that if I’m ever kidnapped, someone somewhere would notice my absence and send me a text message such as this.  As for its effectiveness, perhaps channelling a message like this through a psychic would be a better idea, assuming I were really, uhmmm….you know…..in that condition.

I apologise for the lack of updates.  It has been a month and a half since I last saw my internet stay alive for more than 5 minutes at one time.  It is almost like my grandpa giving himself a handjob.  Yes, I’ve complained (not about grandpa).  I am now on a first-name basis with the customer service department of my internet service provider, and we are fast realising that we can’t stand each other.  I am beginning to think that they are intentionally trying to get rid of me so that I can unload my angst on another service provider.

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2.

On a happier note, we threw a surprise party for hubby’s parents as they celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary.  It was a masterful deception and I think all those involved should give themselves a pat on their backs.

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I prayed for sunshine, and God decided to make it blazing hot.  Moral of the story:  Be specific in your requests.  “Dear God, I wish for sunshine, but not too much…say about 28 degrees Celcius.  Bring out the clouds at 2.18pm so that the floral arrangements I so diligently worked on from 8.00am to 2.00pm do not wilt.  And if You choose to let it shower, please do so at about 3.20pm and let it stop at 4.50pm so that the grass doesn’t get soaked ‘coz You know that this is a garden party.  And please, please, please give me a gentle breeze so that I don’t sweat like a XXX (no inappropriate words please when talking to God) in my very uncomfortable formal clothing which I am forced to wear because there will definitely be a group photo since father-in-law is obsessed about taking family portraits.”  Remember to breath.

Note: Cakes by Audrey (email me for contact information – her prices are very reasonable and her cakes are delicious!), flowers and decorations by Lyrical Lemongrass.

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3.

When I signed up for the Starwood card a year ago, in return for the 500+ ringgit which I paid for the card, I received a stack of vouchers for freebies which included loads of free meals at participating restaurants, subsidised accommodation and cakes.  I’d like to think that it’s human nature to leave everything till the end, which is precisely what I did.  Come 1st April, I looked at the stack, looked at my husband, looked at our schedules and screamed.  There just weren’t enough weeks to use them all up.  So in a mad rush, I used one to treat a friend in Sheraton Subang, another to treat a Makan Club member at Al Nafourah Le Meridien, enjoyed a romantic meal with the husband at Villa Danielli in Imperial Hotel and the final weekend was spent at Celestial Court where we bumped into fellow blogger, Fatboybakes, who was doing precisely the same thing – rushing to utilise his vouchers before the expiry date.  Yes, free food stresses us out.

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Upon comparing the All-You-Can-Eat menu with the ala carte menu, I realised that the difference wasn’t that significant.  (Incidentally the AYCE menu is only available for those presenting the Starwood voucher.)  But ala carte prices are not exorbitant, ranging from RM8 to RM11 on average.

We gorged ourselves on chicken char siu baos (yes, it’s a halal restaurant), prawn wantan with konnyaku in a spicy chilli sauce, chee cheong fun with shrimps and deep fried stuffed chinese crullers with squid paste in a rather sweetish sauce which I found a little cloying.  I liked the yam puffs which contained minced meat and a very faint miso flavour while the husband preferred the spring rolls with shredded roast duck fried to a crisp and coated with sesame seeds.  If there’s one thing I’ve disliked since childhood, it’ll have to be sesame seeds, and when I’m forced to eat it, I literally swallow it.  We also had the deep fried shrimp bean curd rolls with cheese which was rather ordinary and some very good fried rice with a generous portion of assorted meats.  Note that a single serving of fried rice is huge, and can easily feed three.  The roast duck was good and tender, and I thought the accompanying sweet sauce just competed with the flavour of the duck.  Desserts were just okay; my chilled mango pudding was tinted a shade too yellow and had too much of a jelly-like texture.

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Noticing us from a distance, some adorable stray kids dropped by our table and sat and chatted with us.  I don’t really think they were stray though, even if they didn’t have tags on their collars, as they had nice round tummies that had most likely seen foie gras and blue cheese.  The restaurant was soon filled with loud conversations of Ultraman and digging up gardens for lost treasure.  We will not be held responsible for the destruction of any gardens subsequent to this conversation.  We are merely entertainers.  Children have to be accountable for their actions, even if they’re only 5 years old.

Celestial Court
Imperial Hotel
Jalan Sultan Ismail
Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-27179900

Baan Aa-Haan Thai, Bangsar

We had an afternoon packed with activities and our schedule was very tight.  3.00pm:  Wake up from afternoon siesta.  4.00pm: Get flowers.  4.30pm:  Laundry.  5.00pm: Check venue for party next weekend.  6.30pm: Visit mum and dad.  8.30pm: Dinner with family.

At 4.30pm, as we were driving towards our next destination, the husband spotted a new restaurant at Lorong Kurau, Bangsar.

“Let’s drive past it,” he suggested.

“Okay.”  It would only take an additional minute.

“It’s a Thai restaurant,” he said. “Do you feel like stopping for a quick snack?”

My eyes lit up.  Thankfully, my husband and I are like two peas in a pod (except that I’m not bald and he is) and we’re both adventurous in our food explorations.

It would be a quick one, we decided. 

The menu consisted of typical quick meals like tom yum, chicken rice and salads with an average price of RM5.00 per regular serving.

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We decided to share a Thai chicken rice.   The chicken rice came with a portion of steamed chicken and rice sprinkled with fried garlic.  The rice was good enough to be eaten on its own as it was cooked with chicken stock.  An assortment of sauces were available to go with the various dishes – traditional garlic chilli sauce, green chilli sauce, ginger paste, bean paste with chilli and crushed peanuts, and fish sauce.  Even the accompanying soup was delicious.  We found out later that the flavour came from the generous use of parsley.

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The papaya kerabu came with fried garlic, minced dried shrimps and sliced shallots in a tangy dressing of lime juice.

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I love the paku pakis (fern) kerabu, a refreshing salad made with shallots and a blended prawn paste.  A simple dressing of lime juice and sugar was all that was needed to make this a very delicious meal on its own.

So much for a quick snack.  He loved the meal so much that he requested for extra rice.

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We couldn’t leave the restaurant without sampling a dessert, so we got ourselves a mango pulut (glutinous rice).  Thick santan sauce was poured liberally over the sticky sweet rice and the juicy ripe mango went wonderfully with the rice.  I didn’t photograph the custard pulut, which was essentially glutinous rice served with kaya custard.  The kaya reminded me of the homemade type which I grew up on, eggy and creamy without the kerosene-like taste which I sometimes get when I buy commercially made kaya.

What I like about this place is that I can get a quick and decent meal without breaking the bank.  The location is in the older suburbs of Bangsar near NST, so parking, even though limited, is not impossible to find.  Food Foundry’s second location is along the same stretch of shophouses, but frankly, I’d go to Food Foundry only for the mille crepe cake.  But that’s another post altogether…

We left the restaurant an hour later followed by a very apologetic phonecall to mum for the delay – “Busy…yeah…very busy running around….you know how it is on weekends…..yes, yes, we’ll be there soon…!!”  I hope mum is not reading this or I’ll be sent to my room with no American Idol for a month.

Baan Aa-Haan Thai
No. 15, Lorong Kurau
Bangsar, 59100 KL.

Tel: 03-2282 0991

Open daily except Mondays. 11.30am to 8.30pm.

    

Smashed Potatoes and Belanga, The Gardens

1. 

Baby chat potatoes can be quite delusional.

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Some think they’re royalty.

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Some gather with the flock and graze on imaginary grass.

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The brave ones enter the waters like Jacques Cousteau and swim with the sharks.

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But my baby chats…..

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They get smashed. 

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It’s easy, really.  After boiling them in salt water, I smashed them with the back of a mug, sprinkled herbs and added a dollop of garlic butter on each potato, after which I chucked them into the oven and baked them until the skin turned crisp.

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There weren’t any spring onions in my fridge, so I chopped some coriander instead. (The gorgeous plate is a gift from the girl from Abu Dhabi.)

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Just before the potatoes were done in the oven, I sprinkled some grated cheese on them.  I later added some sour cream and topped them off with the chopped coriander.  Now that’s what I call smashing carbs. (And my apologies to them as they never lived to see the Queen.  Or roll in hay.  Or swim with sharks.)

2.

Hubby’s from Kelantan and I love Kelantanese food.  I can’t recall if I loved Kelantanese food before my Kelantanese man, or whether the Kelantanese man came before the Kelantanese food, or whether the Kelantanese food came as a result of the Kelantanese man.  And sometimes, we don’t have to overanalyse things to explain why we love something so dearly.  It’s all about acceptance and drifting along with the currents of Sungai Pahang.

Nasi kerabu

When trying Kelantanese food, there are two staples for me – nasi kerabu and nasi dagang.  The nasi kerabu at Belanga breaks away from the traditional appearance of rice stained in blue, a natural colouring obtained from bunga telang (clitoria).  The rice is a warm yellow, and it is served with various types of ulam or raw vegetables, chopped finely so that the vegetables can be easily mixed with the rice to form a fistful of refreshing green flavours.  I had my nasi kerabu with ayam percik, a barbequed chicken marinated in lemongrass, chilli and turmeric, in a slightly pinkish gravy.  The mound of rice was topped with kerisik (grated coconut) and more gravy.  A slice of hard boiled salted egg and some keropok (fish crackers) completed the meal.

Nasi dagang

On another occasion, upon Paprika’s insistence on eating rice, I tried the nasi dagang at Belanga.  I remember having a packet of uncooked nasi dagang rice sitting in my kitchen for a long time as I didn’t have any inkling how to cook it.  I eventually gave it to my mother-in-law as I figured she’d do more justice to that precious rice.  Nasi dagang has two key ingredients – rice, a combination of glutinous and wild rice (which gives it a slightly purplish tinge) and ikan tongkol.  Everything else is secondary.  The nasi dagang at Belanga was deliciously rich, a perfect foil for the creamy curry.

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Paprika had the nasi dagang with kerutup daging.  Unfortunately, in Paprika’s words, “the meat was tough as nails”!

Laksam

What we both agreed was that the laksam was outstanding.  The white fish gravy with its somewhat grainy texture was a very good canvas for the rolled noodles (not to be confused with chee cheong fun).  A chilli paste is provided on the side if you want it more spicy.

Asam laksa

Also available is asam laksa (noodles in fish based soup).

Check out Fatboybakes’ review here.

Belanga
LG 230B, The Gardens Mall
KL