Sunday, May 3, 2009

Mr Ho's (Small) Big Breakfast & Mr. Pieman, Hartamas Shopping Centre

How great is this three-day weekend? I actually feel rested for the first time over a weekend in a long while. When will we ever see the four-day working week materialise??

Finally made it to brunch with Dianne after months and months of planning, navigating weekends away, work schedules and whatnot. We agreed on Plaza Damas with Fogal's protein extravagance in mind, but then detour to Mr. Ho's Fine Foods, one of the latest F&B entrant at Hartamas Shopping Centre.

Adena, aged 7, a bundle of precocious energy. I remember her vividly as an infant, then a sassy toddler like it was just yesterday!

All three of us get the Big Breakfast which comes with coffee or tea. Mr. Ho's brews Avanti - this is good, a strong and robust kickstart right before midday.

If you think there's nothing Big about this, you are spot on. Mr. Ho's serves its Big Breakfast in two sizes and in an attempt to exercise some balance on account of having missed my morning swim because of an accidental hangover, I go for the Small size. Two triangles of very thin wholemeal toast, a tablespoon of baked beans, one pork sausage, a SHRED of bacon and one egg, sunny-side up does not make for a very filling breakfast - it's almost like a tasting platter. The other Large size is apparently twice the portion of this, which would be about right. However, at a mere RM9.90 nett for the Small with good coffee, I'll admit that we get what we pay for.

With obviously room for more, I keep my eyes open as we walk around the mall a bit and spy Mr. Pieman, a kiosk in front of Mercato supermarket.

Mr. Pieman has four pie flavours - Rotorua Chicken, Waikato Beef, Tauranga Vegetable and Kaipaki Apple. I find the obvious NZ reference curious and a quick poke around the website reveals that the founder picked up pie-making from the Kiwis. The kiosk also sells a Potato Top version, in beef and chicken.


Rotorua Chicken (Small). I love that the pastry isn't puff and offers a lot more substance (and less mess!) when you bite into it. Also, the filling is generous - plenty of chicken in a peppery white sauce. While it tastes fine on its own, I do find that a little bit of Heinz ketchup went a long way with this. RM2 per piece or get 5+1 for RM10.

Potato Top - the potato crust is baked to a crumbly texture and melded well with the filling. I'd expected the filling to be different from the pie's, on account of its name but as both were very small servings, I don't find it too much and they filled me up very nicely.

The verdict? Mr. Pieman is certainly an interesting addition to Hartamas Shopping Centre and the general deficiency of good pies in KL; I would definitely venture back to try its other flavours.

14 comments:

Sean said...

hmmm, those pies do look a bit more interesting than king pie's stuff..

ck lam said...

It's good to have this type of breakfast for a change from the usual hawker fare.

-j- said...

looks good!!!

choi yen said...

The Breakfast Set definitely not enough for me :P

backStreetGluttons said...

We are so glad that Mr Ho & Mr Pieman have made this May Day a truly Dear Ms 550's Day !

Mr Love should be a little worried now that there are so many other men

boo_licious said...

cool, must go check out Mr. Pieman one day. Thxs for the tip.

worldwindows said...

The place takes a bit more effort for me to go. The pie is interesting. Reverse technology I guess from the Kiwi.

Bangsar-bAbE said...

That's a teeny weany breakfast set! I'll have the large one, AND the pie!! =D

TechSmacker said...

Wow. That place has certainly changed since i last worked there.

Unknown said...

hmm..... the pie seems nice....

Rebecca Saw said...

totally agree! moderation is the key *wink* (referign to the small brekkie set). but for RM2 is worth it me thinks

minchow said...

Sean, King's Pie really needs to buck up its game. Competition only spells more choices for us!

CK Lam, Sundays are usually when my cravings for fry-up breakfast kick in. And when that happens, not even the best CKT can derail me!

Duckie, tastes pretty good too!

Mimid3vils, yeah, it really was tiny. But I really appreciate that they have smaller sets for kids and small eaters though.

BSG, haha, no holiday would have been complete without the abundance of my line up of food-related Misters!

Boo, yup, well worth checking out. And let me know where you think they sit in the Malaysian pie-meter.

minchow said...

Worldwindows, the Kiwis really know a thing or two about pies! I love how even the squeezy ketchup dispensers are designed to poke through the top of a pie. Hmm must go get my hands on one of those.

Bangsar Babe, yup, I think the full set + pies will be just about right for you, hehe

Gourmand Extrordinaire, you worked at the shopping centre? Where where? Retail employees have the best stories to share!

Food Paradise, yup your eyes do not deceive you. I think the filling relied a bit too heavily on pepper though.

The Nomad Gourmand, yeah but exercising moderation led to me being completely ravenous less than two hours later. Sometimes gluttony is plain good! Hey I am really having trouble accessing your new posts. Very strange lah.

MrPieman said...

Hi, I stumble upon your blog and find your blog interesting.

Can I treat you some pies?

MrPieman
http://www.facebook.com/ilovemrpieman