Speed and Happiness at MOS Burger

While Japan is home to one of the world's most prized native cuisines, I have no shame, not a shred siree, in admitting the pure unadulterated joy I get from the sheer abundance of fast food ideas borrowed from the big bad West, moulded and significantly amplified.

"The Taste of Happiness, Everyday, MOS Burger" says the sign. Damn right. Once upon a time, Malaysians enjoyed local presence of MOS Burger. As we did racial harmony and meritocracy. Alas, our happiness was short-lived for they pulled out, leaving us only with inferior interpretations of fast food for an industrialised nation. Come back, you hear, come back!!

We arrived at Tennoji station in Osaka one morning, famished for something traditionally Japanese like soba or onigiri, but we hit the MOS Burger outlet that greeted us right after we got off the subway. I went for the Kakiage Rice Burger and it hit the spot. There is something so right about that rice in the morning, lightly browned and crisp, sandwiching a juicy, flavourful vegetarian patty.

My lovely sister Kah Bee discovered Green Tea Latte for the very first time this particular morning (she resides in NZ and abhors Starbucks). She's not looked back since, and unfortunately, resigning to the annual visit to Starbucks in Auckland to get her fix.

She enjoyed her Shrimp Cutlet Burger, but look, who wouldn't?? Tell me you don't want to take a chunky bite out of this beauty first thing on a winter morning?

We went back to MOS a couple more times over the course of our trip in Japan. During the retail slumber period of the New Year, I dug into the Kinpira (Burdock Root & Carrot braised in soy) Rice Burger for a late breakfast. Wrapped in fresh nori, this instilled HOPE in 2010.

Of course, it's not all dietary fibre that makes fast food legit in Japan. They also make first-class comfort feed like fried chicken, in the form of the MOS Fried Chicken Cutlet. Feeling a little low about starting another year of failings and wailings? This will have you covered.

I am not sure what it takes for the franchisee to wake up and smell the damn green tea latte, but Malaysia needs its MOS! Over and out!

Mall-functioned, Zouk Cafe & Bar, Gardens

Organised retail is a tough call. On one hand, our heinous traffic/public transport conundrum presents a commercial case for the ongoing erection of these mercenary all-in-one monoliths.

But sticking in air-conditioning and opening the shutters are hardly sufficient to convert window shoppers to serious ones, given the stiff competition and growing disdain for these hastily built but ultimately malfunctioning edifices.

Zouk Cafe & Bar at the Gardens in Mid Valley is an example of an outlet with failed potential given the captive traffic who work in the vicinity and starved for choice to wind down on a Friday evening.

Lasagne a.k.a. hunka microwaved rubbery beauty topped with melted plastic resembling play-doh cheese. Tasted no better, I was informed.

Fettucine Carbonara got an indifferent "Creamy" from meal owner, but only because she was well famished by the time the pretty gleaming plate was set in front of her and had no inclination for verbal expression.

An underwhelming Steak Sandwich done rare, which somehow translated to an alarming grey mass of mystery meat.

The Cheeseburger, a far cry from the Ramly outside a 7-Eleven I had later that same evening.

The Seafood Alio Oglio, which was served with thoroughly dessicated scallops. Not the way the mighty Creator intended for this mollusc to contribute to the food chain.

The Doughnut Dippers were hilariously stale and colourless. No one was in a hurry to try this.

Happy Hour beverage prices currently apply only for Carlsberg and house pours.

A disappointment, as with most mall outlets, saved only by the dependable camaderie of battle-scarred colleagues. Next time, we'll know better to get into our vehicles, fight the traffic out a little further for a better class of merrymaking.

The Fat of the Land, Nambawan, off Old Klang Road

Our glorious land is stuffed to the brim with promise and we know, KNOW this. But buried by political opportunism and citizen inertia, we forget too easily and vicariously extol the virtues of giving up and taking off to faraway lands, padded by the belief that the grass (and meat) will always be greener, fatter on the other side.

I had read enthralled about the highly inconspicious Nambawan off Old Klang Road from Masak-masak's post recently. A hidden pork haven in an area virtually unheard of at jaw-dropping prices, no more than a 15-minute drive from my humble neighbourhood... hello, did Xmas 2010 arrive 11 months early?!

The place was pretty empty when we arrived in the thick of lunch hour but we were undeterred, as we usually were about places that had gotten Boo's stamp of approval!

My dining companion Caterpillar, a burger fiend dove straight for the homemade Pork Burger (RM6.90). The serving was a little on the small side, given that he was ravenous. The sight of the untoasted, banal store-bought burger bun didn't help.

However, one bite into the virgin pink patty erased all doubts. It oozed juice, brass and lustrous flesh, everything we could want to realise the elusive potential of this place we call home, on a remarkably hot Saturday afternoon.

From that delectable snack, there was no way to go for me but one of the weekend specials, Roasted Pork Belly (RM12.90). Slabs of exquisite fatty (like FAT, FAT, FATty) pork layered on roasted potatoes, doused in brown sauce and topped with crunchy pork skin arrived, causing some internal mayhem. At that price, this is a new level of bliss. I didn't think much of the applesauce though, which was a shade of puke-green and tasted underwhelmingly colourless. A bit like the promises that we are spoon-fed, and let down by time and time again.

We decided to race for the third main, seeing that the portions were bordering on the side of small and to mix it up, ordered the Stone Charbroiled Pork fillet. The leaner slabs of meat and chewiness were expected but we were still pleasantly surprised by how delicious the dish was.

Caterpillar bowled me over when he declared that he was still hungry and ordered the Homemade Beefburger. I didn't get a picture of it for I was distracted by the host of supermarkets on the street but was informed later by meal owner that the pork burger tasted better.

Clearly, there's wealth in our backyard but we need proper guidance, courage and effort. The location, while a little off the beaten track, was not that hard to get to. Masak-masak's Flickr album has very clear directions.

My Tasty Hall of Shame in Penang!

Just a quick one to showcase my personal Hall of Shame over the weekend in my lovely hometown Penang - after copious amount of alcohol with some lovely folks, we proceeded to do what inebriated souls do best apart from drunk-dialling/texting/tweeting and emotional outbursts... eating!!

We headed to Green House ("Cheh Chu"), perennial favourite supper stop along Burmah Road. I don't recall having been back here since C&C Music Factory was the biggest act on the charts ("Everybodddy Dance Now!")! Mei Shean, having just consumed pasta at watering hole earlier, ordered an extra-lite serving of beancurd, shrooms and pork balls from Beng Kee Bak Kut Teh. She struggled, understandably, and my barmy appetite, released inevitably by Penang, dove in to lend a helping hand.

My Hokkien Mee from the stately stall parked on the shopfront arrived with my slurred orders to add fishballs (fishballs?? I don't even LIKE fishballs) and pork ribs! Fiery, porky and powerful! I was wide awake once this bowl went down, fish balls and every last drop of the lovely broth.

Got my second wind for the night so after bidding my earlier companions goodbye, I raced over to Chulia Street to meet Jenny and Mel having a chinwag at Banana, one of the numerous backpacker joints over some beer. I didn't want to drink anymore and in my intoxicated wide-eyed restlessness, immediately eyeballed the Ramly burger stall parked outside. Rallied the other two to join me in approaching the rather stoic-looking guy working the grill and although rather full at this point, I ordered the Double Chicken Burger with Egg. This was a glorious mess, overflowing with mayo and ketchup but regret set in only after I finished every last crumb.

I paid for this binge dearly, kept up by indigestion all night! Reminder of why I had forsaken the post-drinking munchies for so long... they're deadly!!

"Here's looking at you, Fat Kid", hollers Popeye's, Mid Valley

I've often been known to pooh-pooh fast food, asserting preference instead on the plethora of tastier, cheaper and often more nutritious finds that we are fortunate to find in our great, invasion-friendly motherland.

I am, however, not always this way. Deep inside me seethes an ongoing battle between my present-day disposition and the pervading shadow of the insecure, overweight and defeatist kid of yesteryears, who preys on the comforts of deep-fried junk.

Some days, the fat kid wins. Such as this harried working day, walking past the mint Popeye's outlet on Mid Valley's LG floor.

Vicky W goes for the 3-piece Chicken Tenders & Biscuit. All batter, not much flavour, she says. The biscuit is extremely agreeable though, even beyond whiny adolescent's tastebuds. Soft, savoury, more dense and less buttery than a scone. For a couple more of this, being in frequent company of last few standing kids to be picked for P.E. teams don't seem so bad!

The set comes with coleslaw & mash. Draws inevitable comparison to Colonel Sanders' version and Popeye's wins hands down.

Mash with gravy that's more chicken than the chicken tenders themselves. It's the kinda quiet triumph that the fat kid sometimes enjoys from busting clownish moves on the dance hall at the social and making the cool kids laugh.

I settle for the Chicken Sandwich, which at least offers some token slices of tomatoes and lettuce in between power-packed grease and carbs. OK, not the best the fat kid has had (and she has had MANY such burgers) but it isn't too bad either, given the other choices in the area.

The Cajun Fries are extra crispy and very tasty, sealing the deal and grease quota for weeks. The sort of thing that makes one forget the horrible awkwardness of the first slow dance with boy crush (Where do the arms go, the fat kid wails, round the waist or round the neck?)

I hear the Fish tenders are something else here and I am tempted. With this in the vicinity of work, I suspect Fat Kid will have more internal battle victories in coming days.

Back to Basics at Sid's Pub Bangsar

Reently learned that Sid's opened up another outlet in Bangsar South, much nearer to my workplace and home than the original outlet at TTDI so off we went to check it out one lazy, HOT Sunday afternoon. It'd been a while since I last ventured to the Pantai area and I was surprised to see how the Village (essentially UOA's Bangsar South showhouse) was already nicely inhabited by an Old Town, a Secret Recipe, a 7-11 and Sid's. All the basics to convince you this is going to be prime real estate! Investors, get your cheque books out!

The cool tranquil pub interior offers refuge from the blazing mid-May Malaysian sun. Entrez s'il vous plaît!!

Signature Sid's dark wooden furniture, paraphernalia-adorned walls, one very well-stocked bar. In addition to its proximity to home, this outlet has the advantage of more room, both indoors and out...

...and Strongbow Cider! Much preferred to Blackthorn's served at TTDI's. We have the pub all to ourselves for a delightful couple of hours.

On another visit on an uneventful Friday evening saw a more decent crowd, chugging back them pints. The very decent pub grub at Sid's did not fail us that evening.

Mel's Pork burger. Very meaty tasty patty, the plate flowing with fries. Despite the fact that this filled her up plenty, Mel thought the patty wasn't all that generous - "you just cannot compare this with Ramly's!"she wisely observed.

At this point, unexpected company burst through the door and joined us, lending further hilarity and stomach space for food sampling. Thank you for the pre-birthday surprise, folks!

Eevon's Bacon Butty - I should've snapped a pic of the last few mouthful of her sandwich, which looked like it held about 2 inches thick of bacon.

Vicky has mash and lamb sausages with baked beans. Mash tasted powdery, she proclaimed and left it pretty much untouched.

The pièce de résistance of the evening was the Nevis Burger - basically double-patty and all the add-ons you can handle. When this arrived, the whole table watched entranced as the glistening leaden fat dripped from the top of the grease tower languidly to form a mounting pool of sin at the base of the burger.

AUMMMM!!!!

He collects it, he opens up his mouth wide, he brings it in and he scores! The evening's unquestionable hero for throwing frivolous table decorum out the window as he wiped his plate clean. For what are birthdays if not the most elementary reminders of our individual mortality in the larger scheme of things and the futility of denying ourselves enjoyment while we can?

And on that note, will be back, again and again!

Rasta Food Court, TTDI

Rasta's new location next to the Penchala link is definitely an improvement from the tight squeeze next to the Mobil station at TTDI.

The rainy spell's really freshened up the dreadry weather all around, so Rasta's very airy, extremely open concept was perfect to enjoy some fancy-free, food-court grub in cool, KL evening breeze and parade our flip flops and faded post-office appearances. The setting imparted a strange sense of pliable well-being, enough for me to be persuaded to overlook my disdain of Jason Mraz's Malaysian format radio casualty and agree to go to his concert in March. I hope I know what I'm doing!!

Waffles with ice-cream arrived first - impressive amount of ice cream on lovely waffles, not at all like the stuff they make outside hypermarkets.

Yoda's Bihun Sup - Yoda wasn't ill but his meal suggested otherwise. Very generous vegie quota though, which seems to be an aversion by hawkers everywhere.

An order of Nasi Goreng USA came drowned in gravy of the accompanying beef slices, rendering its consistency porridge-like 1/3 into the meal. The dish owner proclaimed this good though, licking the entire plate clean.

From the famed Azim's Burger Shack, I ordered the Grilled chicken burger. For RM7, it isn't your standard mat burger pricing, but this was real tender, superbly marinated chicken tenderloin, not patty, served with healthy dosage of lettuce and tomato. Knowing their tendency to go crazy with sauces, I asked for less mayo and the result was beautiful. Could've done with a slightly larger bun though!

The requisite Koay Teow goreng made an appearance on the table. Apparently, this was only so-so, with no more than one lonely shrimp gracing the plate.

Rasta is extremely reasonable and there are plenty of halal menus to choose from, including dimsum, kampung curries and even shisha. We paid RM40 for 5 of us, including drinks. Like that there's the tacit trust factor in place, in the form of the eat-first-then-pay self service counter.

Burger et al in the Tanjung Bungah' hood

For some inexplicable reason, Tanjung Bungah has always been my favourite area in Penang. Perhaps it's the proximity to the beach stretch, or the fact that some of my good friends live there, or that it's away from the traffic squeeze on Georgetown's narrow streets. Well, I can now add cheap, yummy burgers to that list.

I'd heard from various trusted sources that this particular burger stall was a solid dining experience but I'd simply not gotten around to trying it until this past weekend. Full-ish from lunch but fully realising I needed to line the stomach for the beery session afterwards, we stopped by the stall located at Hillside, near the food court and about 100 footsteps from Torch where we were due for a chilled out drinking session.

The nonchalant uncle in action, whipping up a healthy queue of orders.


The secret? Simple, sweet ingredients - shredded cabbage and sliced onions on the grill
Our orders, eaten on plastic chairs by the roadside next to the stall, straight off the plastic and wrappers -plain chicken burger and hot dog with the works (cheese & egg).

The chicken patty in the burger, purportedly homemade, hit the spot, flanked by lovely cabbage, onions and other garnishing. I've been put off before by roadside burger stalls before, having found them drowned completely in sauce and moisture, but this particular experience was just right!

The hotdog was a humbler serving but still packed a whole lotta punch! We licked our fingers clean in five minutes flat! The menu's simple - beef or chicken burgers or hot dogs. Prices have gone up from before but they're still a total steal.

After that, we walked over to meet MS at Torch who ordered the surprisingly rather tasty fish and chips (RM15.50). We kept stealing her chips but the entire plate looked like a winner. MS devoured it with great relish. Tanjung Bungah rocks!