Grease is Goose, Wei Kee, Pudu

Fresh from a surprisingly agreeable visit to Aquaria KLCC in spite of the weekend family mob, we wrapped up VIP Ollie's inaugural visit to Kuala Lumpur with a visit to Pudu for its distinct brand of roasted meat.

Come back anytime, ya hear?

Dad had been singing praises of Wei Kee for the longest time, having been inducted to the fatty roasted goose a few years ago by KL rellies who admittedly have a better nose for the type of cuisine that excited him.

An Ode to Adipose - the roasted goose commanded respect with its off-kilter fat content. Not the kinda stuff that would make me jizz my pants but Dad was delighted, albeit only momentarily, before his conscience settled in.

The roasted duck was leaner, and went down better with the lot of us.


Duck parts I didn't, couldn't touch but Dad and Fat Tulip lapped these up, and then some.



This Kiam Chai Boey I absolutely adored. Possibly the best use of leftover duck. Could've had a meal of rice and this alone.

We attempted to neutralise all that fat with a simple steamed tofu dish. Made Ollie very happy.

Wei Kee makes no apologies for its lacklustre roasted pork offerings. Goose is the business!

Come for the goose, beware the grease guilt trap!

Restoran Wei Kee

50, Lorong Yap Hin

Off Jalan Pasar

Pudu

The Church of Japanese Curry, Cocoichi

Barely two weeks of work into the year, I am already struggling to remember things that took place in December. All that drinking (which persists "because it's still January and if you even think about starting resolutions before Chinese New Year, you're just passive-aggressive setting yourself up for failure") is probably counter-productive but then again, since when did January and productivity make any sense together?

I wanted to make sure I documented at least this meal, our first stop fresh off the plane, to the church of Japanese curry, Cocoichi. I have been in love with Cocoichi for a long, long time.

Cocoichi is practically everywhere in the Kansai region. It is THAT well-loved. In freezing December temperature, the heat that the curries here pack makes even more sense.

They were featuring some nifty winter specials when we visited. We had the very delightful Gobo salad (burdock root chips). The root's subtle earthy flavour did nicely when sliced and fried to a bewitching crunch.

Also on the seasonal menu were these seductive beauties. Kaki furai (deep-fried oysters), courtesy of oyster harvesting season across various regions in Japan. Fat, slinky oysters captured and crumbed - these were gone in 10 seconds flat!

The main star curry finally arrived, glowing like the good red earth that bears the human race many fruit. My choice topping: Hire pork katsu and ebi curry, Spice level 4. Even though I've long held the aspiration to hit the max level of 10, I think 4's about the highest I'm ever going to go. Any higher and it would've killed my enjoyment of how the tenderness of the pork cutlet dissolved sublimely in the flaming stew.

Pickles galore on each table, as much as you can stomach - absolutely essential pairing with your curry rice!

We all had the Hire Katsu on rice with different sides. Memo went for the vegetable curry on the side - not a tiny bit healthier!

The meal was one of the heaviest I had in a while and we had to abort any other plans we had lined up for our first day. No one minded one bit - first of many overeating milestones!

Get me outta here now!!!

I have developed a disturbing disinterest towards meals here in Motherland, shock horror! I don't know if it has something to do with utter disdain over the general state of the country's affairs, or if I've just been through a spate of uninspiring meals, or if it's the haze, or if it's a sign of disassociative disorder because goddamnit, how can I not be interested in EATING??

I think part of it may also be the fact that I've not left the country for a while, a case of the old familiarity breeding contempt. Thankfully, I have granted myself a trip end of this year with dear Memo, and now I can psych myself up for similar sights & sounds:

CURRY RICE FROM COCOICHI!! Cocoichibanya is a popular chain of curry rice house in Japan. How you order your rice is entirely up to you - 1) select your curry; 2) select your spice level, i.e how much heat can you take from level 1 to 10; 3) select your rice serving and 4) select any additional toppings you'd like. Here, I had a combination order of pork cutlet & shrimp curry, spice level 3 (I've never been able to go beyond 3 and it is my mission next trip to aim to go spicier!)

From menu book on Cocoichibanya website
I've already pretty much decided that this will be my next order! More tender, superior to the regular pork cutlet.

Quality udon at any random noodle stop at train stations or every street corner. This fine serving was submerged in more slurptastic Jap curry at a neighbourhood izakaya.

Omuraisu, or Japanese rice omelette. Props to the Japs for having mastered the art of marrying Western elements into their cuisine and making it their own. I had this at a Western style diner at the basement of the Yokohama train station, with an extra topping of tonkatsu. It was ridiculously filling.

The daily walk from Mag's to the train station. Say Hi to Mag!

People, people, singing traffic lights & traffic at Harajuku

Even McDonald's WORKS here. Breakfast set of Bacon & Egg Bagel & the requisite Hash Brown.

El Torito's excellent guacamole with freshly-made tortilla. This must have used up an entire tree's worth of avocados!

A very delicious typical lunch saba set at Asakusa. Must down with Nama Biru!

There's so much more in store for Memo and me! But the yummiest of them all, no doubt, would be Ollie who keeps growing and growing in our absence!

I can't wait!!! How ever do I make the next five months go faster?

I Not Stupid, thanks to Pork Noodles at OUG

Having been strongly traumatized by my own ineptitude and missing my flight back to Penang this weekend to see Ollie, celebrate Mother's Day with the home crew and get my hometown food fixes, I had planned on getting my prawn mee fix at the famous stall in Taman Sri Sentosa but alas, did not make it out of bed in time.

You mean, you booked on the wrong flight route coming back to see me and realized only when you were checking in at the airport? And you're how OLD? Little Ollie gapes at the foolishness of the nitwit he's supposed to call Aunt.

Ho-hum.

I can't take the scrutiny any longer! Some other type of noodles will have to do, so I swing the car into OUG, park the car near the OUG wet market square and bundle out, sleep still in my eyes.
There are plenty of good eats around here, but I like the look of the Auntie who was serving up bowl after bowl of steaming noodles at Restoran Lucky.

Dry lou shu fun, slippery, cooked just right and finished with the nectar that is dark & light soy sauce and lard.

The accompanying storm in a blue plastic bowl arrived, murky liquid and flooded with minced meat, shredded pork meat, liver, one whole egg, vegetables and plenty of other unidentifiable wreckage from Auntie's fearless commandeering.

The broth is wonderfully sweet and concentrated on all flavours pork, instantly diffusing any self-doubt from this weekend's episode of ditz. The calm that follows the storm of this serving of Pork noodles (RM4.30) settles in. I forgive myself, and also decide that with the abundance of faith-restoring meals like this in KL, my Penang food cravings can wait a couple more weeks.

The stall is situated in Restoran Lucky, opposite the BHP station, for those seeking mercy in a bowl.

Dynamite Ollie, the ultimate Valentine turns ONE!

Valentine's Day disillusionment reaches new heights every year, with increasing recognition that it's nothing more than a cash cow machine for folks in the floral and gift trade. I read with great joy the Valentine's un-love that's been spreading through the blogosphere. Nothing more satisfying for a cynic to have her personal convictions gain critical mass.

However, I rediscovered a new form of love for Feb 14th. No longer will I chortle and roll my eyes at the excessive significance placed on this date for since 2008, it has marked the arrival of Ollie, the Dynamite baby, all-bearer of joy and happiness, into the family.

A pretty adult cake just wouldn't do. We had Ritz's bakery custom-make a blueberry cake in the shape of Anpanman, Ollie's favourite hero (to date). Pretty swell job too, don't you think?

We had t-shirts printed for everyone bearing various hallmarks of Ollie's journey to 12 months. Thanks for a job well done, Fat Tulip!

And birthday yummies...
Osekihan (Japanese red rice), symbolic of happiness and celebration

Chinese red eggs, a symbol of happiness and prosperity

Taka's Japanese pork curry, which begins with about a ton of chopped onions, and left to stew overnight - a symbol of... ummm... surefire overeating?

Gorgeous char siew from the roast meat platter

Mag's renkon sandwich creation...

Two slices of renkon (lotus root) with minced chicken meat sandwiched in between, coated with panko breadcrumb and deep fried. Delicious!

Mama Chow made Jap Chae (Korean glass noodles) - a must-have symbol for longevity. Her version was light on seasoning, heavy on the ingredients - Chinese celery, bean sprouts, carrot, prawns, sliced Chinese mushrooms, pork mince and black fungus.

The happy birthday boy and his pressies, including one very desirable Tonka truck! I could've used one when I turned one!

The adults also got plenty of good buzz from bottomless supply of homemade sangria, which stretched the party until late in the evening. Dear Ollie, may you be blessed with all the love & happiness in the world for years and years to come! You can be my Valentine anytime!

Tasty treats from the greener sides of the fence

There is one thing this time of the year is good for, amidst the insane heat and traffic in hometown Penang, encounters with rellies and the depressing rapid-fire marital status 20-question check-in, compensatory gorging which quickly sinks one into further recession. This is the only time my two beloved sisters, Mag and Memo, return from faraway lands to complete the family entourage, bearing treats and tales, to a chorus of "oohs" and "ahhs".

We know Malaysia, our motherland, is magnificent land of options and opportunities. And so much good food! Yet recent events in middle Malaysia once again tests the patience of those left behind in the move out of the country. And once again, all things foreign start to look greener, tastier, sweeter, fairer, better and well, cooler.

First up from Japan is Ran-chi Pakku (or Lunch pack). Never mind them singing toilets and speech-enabled robots, I still rate this as one of the greatest inventions from the land of consumerist cool. And yes, it's merely a sandwich with the humblest of fillings...

...but get THIS! The sides of fluffy white bread are sealed off so each sandwich looks like a pillow, with choice filling (in this case, egg mayo) nestled WITHIN. No leaks, no lost filling, no mess! I call this the pillow sandwich and it's available at all convenience stores on every corner of the streets in Japan, in a wide variety of fillings. And here we continue our struggle to find a decent, sandwich bar with prices that realistically reflect the average Malaysian income levels.

One of the Japanese New Year goodies is mochi (rice cakes) which are pre-packaged in dried slabs. Pop into the toaster oven for about 3 minutes and it puffs up into shapeless cakes, crisp on the outside and gooey awesomeness on the inside.

To be fair, we do have a decent variety of Jap snacks available here. But somehow this hasn't been picked up as export merch, or not as far as I'm aware. This is Mame Mochi (soy bean rice cracker). I like that it's not as salty as most Jap rice cracker variants in the market and those crunchy soy beans elevate this above a boring cracker.

From NZ comes a different breed of treats. Admittedly, there's not much food-wise I miss about NZ but the wine, oh the wine! With the exception of perhaps Cloudy Bay, NZ wines are sorely under-marketed here. So when Memo returns once a year, she lugs a couple of bottles back, gamely risking the scrutiny of Tuan & Puan Imigresen.

Mount Riley Sauvignon Blanc 2008. The palest straw in colour, it somehow offers clarity upon the first sip. Is good. Is very good.

Memo also brought some other lovely gourmet goodies like macadamia oil and dukka but Kato's aioli brings back some memories - specifically of bread and aioli, chips and aioli, potato crisps and aioli, celery sticks and aioli, aioli and aioli...

The tastiest treat to land on our shores ever, baby Ollie who turns one very soon! Too bad we can't eat this one. Yet.

Mr.Chow & Ollie