absolut ginger

I think this restaurant needs no introduction for Selayang folks. It has always been packed for as long as I remember. In the receipt, it was stated Shun Jie Seafood Restaurant, but the signboard shows Hoi Yuen. So, I was not sure of the real name of this restaurant. This is the same restaurant that I have blogged about good vegetarian meals and prawn mee in the mornings.

I have yet to try ordering dishes. So, this CNY, I took the opportunity to have a meal there.

I didn’t know what to order and what’s good, so I asked the waitress to give us some recommendations. She recommended the following:-

Kong Lam Har (RM82)

Steamed Patin fish (RM44.50)

Gwei Fei Tofu (RM11)

Sambal prawn French beans (RM13)

When she suggested “Kong Lam Har”, I was apprehensive because it’s going to cost a bomb! I asked for the price for 100g. When she said RM8, I was further surprised! Casa Venicia is selling 100g at RM25!! I quickly snapped up the offer and instead of eating half prawn per person, we ended having one whole big prawn to ourselves! I asked for 3 big prawns and it’s 1 kg already! Casa Venicia’s prawns are better but then, I think this is quite alright for my taste (also, the waitresses here are far, far more friendly!). My other two friends felt that the prawn was a bit hard and elastic. Hahaha!!!

As for the fish, I think they have other selection of fish too. But being CNY, we rather stick to a safe (cheap!) choice, which is the patin. It came up to RM44.50 for 850g. Takeshi complained that patin was too fatty. But I like patin fish. Fatty is good what. Ada Omega 3! Haha! We saw a lot of tables serving assam tilapia. Perhaps, that is the shop’s specialty? Perhaps, I shall try that in my next visit.

Their specialty tofu is a winner! It has slices of abalone on top of egg tofu, covered in thick oyster sauce and generous chunky garlic!

The French beans in sambal prawn is also delicious! The prawns are finely chopped and the French beans are not overly cooked to maintain its crunchiness. Sambal is not too hot either so, I guess it’s good for people who cannot take too spicy food.

Overall, it was a damn good meal. For RM156.50 for 3 during CNY where prices of goods soared like crazy, I think it’s a fairly good deal as well. Good deal, great meal!

Hoi Yuen/Shun Jie Seafood Restaurant
No. 1, Jalan SJ 1,
Taman Selayang Jaya
68100 Batu Caves, Selangor

Closed on Thursdays.
*The seafood is only served at night. This restaurant serves equally good noodles for breakfast and lunch.

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Posted by Gina

Gong Xi Fa Cai for Tiger Year 2010!

Since my birthday and Chinese New Year coincide on the same day this year, my friends decided to throw me parties a week in advance! It’s always very thoughtful of them! Thank you very much!

“Sing Long” Yee Sang from Jusco, RM19.88. If you notice, no “fish”. You have to add on yourself. Haha!

Over the lunches and dinners, we had yee sang as well. I was told that yee sang is only being eaten in Malaysia. I’ve always thought yee sang originated from Hong Kong! A quick check on the internet revealed otherwise. My friends were not totally right either. In fact, I read from the Wikipedia that, yee sang was actually eaten by fisherman in Guongzhou, to celebrate their catch on the seventh day of the Chinese New Year, also known as “Renri” – “Human Day”. Hahahaa! Direct translation sucks! This delicacy existed since the Song Dynasty! Then, in the 1960, a Singapore chef in Lai Wah restaurant formulated a new recipe for the yee sang that we enjoy today. For more info, you may click here.

Well, I think this blog has been deprived of food pictures lately, so, here are some of the stuffs that my friends cooked over the weekend. So, salivate away! Haha!

Vegetable penne pasta with sausages and garden salad

Fresh Yee Sang from Sek Yuen, 1 mai for RM40

Nam Yue fried chicken

Guilin mee hoon with minced pork & mushrooms

Pita bread with chopped ham and cheddar cheese

Gong xi fa cai, fellow readers and friends! May you be blessed 10,000 folds this Chinese New Year with immaculate health, abundant love and endless prosperity!

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Posted by Gina

Salmon lou sang

During dinner last Sunday over salmon lou sang and poon choi at UK Four Seasons, we spoke about a few things, amongst which, the Chinese tea culture.

Have you guys ever wondered why do we tap our fingers on the table when a friend pours us tea?

Poon Choi

A friend’s dad used to work in the timber industry. Those who are familiar with hiking understand very well that they should not call out names when they are in the dense forest. Calling out names would invite spirits to also call out to you and would somehow cause mishaps and accidents. So, most hikers would keep silent as they hike and would not walk anymore when it turns dark. So do the timber workers. When they work, they would not talk to each other and do things as quietly as possible in order not to disrupt the spirits in the forest. Hence, when it comes to lunch and drinking tea, they would go about it silently and they would tap their fingers on the table to show their gratitude when someone pour them tea.

We also learn that, this gesture has been carried out since the many Chinese dynasties in yester centuries. Amy pointed out that, there was a story in the Ching Dynasty back then which the thanking gesture of tapping fingers eventually made its way till today.

A quick check on the internet reveals the origin on tapping fingers on the table to gesture thanks.

In the Ching Dynasty some 300-400 years ago, the emperor liked to dress casual and visit his kingdom. Servants were told to stay low profile in order not to reveal their master’s identity. One day in a restaurant, the emperor, after pouring himself a cup of tea, filled the servant’s cup as well. To the servant, it was a huge grace having the emperor pours him a cup of tea. Out of reflex, he wanted to kneel down and thanked his master. But he was stopped because that would give away the emperor’s identity. So instead of kneeling on his knees, the servant knelt with his fingers.

That “thanks” knock is still in use today in the 21st century.

I am in the festive mood already for Chinese New Year this year, which is very rare. Don’t know why. I have been going out to have reunion dinners with friends. I am looking forward to the reunion dinner with the family this 13th February in Port Weld, Taiping. It’s going to be big!

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Posted by Gina

My aunt and uncle came from Taiping to attend a wedding this Friday. So, we took them out for dinner together with my family and other cousins. So altogether, there were 12 adults and 2 children. Yes, we were pretty noisy bunch.

I went to Casa Venicia Restaurant earlier to pre-order the food. It was a weekday and yet it was packed. Anyway, it’s no surprise since this place offers really great tasting food. Most of my office colleagues especially bosses would come here for their lunches and even bring guests. The manager appeared a little snooty but, he is generally okay. He apologized for keeping us waiting for an hour as they were short handed and only one cook was doing all the cooking when we visited. They have another branch in Bangsar.

Please pardon me for the lack of quality in photos. My family members are bunch of piranhas. Any dish laid on table would be gobbled up within one minute! So, I was given only 5 seconds to take photos of each dish. I missed out taking 3 other dishes because they were all half eaten by the time the dish on the lazy susan was turned to where I was sitting!

So, without further ado, here are the goodies we had for dinner.

Salad Prawn. This is a must order! The cubed prawn is pan fried and still crunchy under generous dollop of fruity mayonnaise.

Black Pepper Venison. Its meat is tender and black pepper is not overpowering.

Marmite chicken. It’s quite a tasty dish but my aunt didn’t quite like it. She said too much marmite is used that it tasted somewhat bitter. Another favorite that usually goes on well with my colleagues is the claypot chicken with salted fish. Perhaps you may want to try that.

Kong Lam Har. This is the ultimatum dish! Not cheap though! It came at RM100 per kg that night. We had 5 prawns and they cost us RM110! It’s as big as the size of your palm!

Nyonya sotong. This is quite a delight to tuck in. You can also order fish to be cooked in this style.

I didn’t take pictures of the “sei dai tin wong”, stir fried vege and a bowl of mah por tau fu because I didn’t have the time! We asked for rojak taufu, which is one of its specialty but unfortunately, it’s already finished by then so, we had to switch to mah por tau fu. Perhaps, we could go  again another day.

Restoran Venicia
1st Floor, Casa Venicia Club House
Jalan Bukit Idaman 1/3
Bukit Idaman
Batu Caves

Tel: 03-6136 2010

Casa Venicia Restaurant is closed Tuesdays.

Check out also, the write up on this restaurant on masak-masak blog.

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Posted by Gina

Table for 12

I was at Carcosa Seri Negara for English afternoon tea last Saturday. Seriously, if WL didn’t mention this place is going to be closed down for good, I wouldn’t have gotten my lazy ass to get there. The quaint place is tucked away in city centre, surrounded by lush forest, you would feel as if you are going to Fraser’s Hill for a quiet get away.

Cozy ambience

However, when we got there, there is no such thing as a quiet get away. We saw a French flag hanging from the balcony. They were having some sort of a carnival. Silly me for not taking pictures of the camaraderie! They have black faced painted clowns, horses and horsemen!

This is my first time having high tea so I didn’t know what to expect. The funniest part is our friend asked for coffee instead of tea. The waiter playfully told her that, this is called high tea and not high coffee. Haha!

There were many choices of tea. I requested for fruity fusion based tea – raspberry royal. It tasted like Swedish berries from Coffee Bean.

View from outside

The three-tier goodies were filled with sandwiches, biscuits, cheeses, cookies,  fruity tarts, cakes etc. We were also given choice of plain or raisin scones. To top up it all up, strawberries with cream were served. *heart*

Three-tier goodies for five!

After the delightful high tea peppered with care free chats and shared jokes, we took a stroll around the area. By then, the French carnival was over. We were in awe with the historical building, admiring pictures depicting auspicious moments like the Tunku Abdul Rahman declaring Merdeka and lamenting that it’s such a waste that this place might probably be closed down for good. I wish there is more to be done to preserve such a heritage mansion.

14 Comments | In: Makan-makan, Society | | #
Posted by Gina