fast feast

its the fasting month and jakarta is a feast for both the eyes and belly.
thus far, the metaphysical hunger is greater than the physical hunger but jakarta can be decent for the soul if not sumptuous for the stomach.
anyway. this all brings us to resto kembang goela which is a renowned restaurant right in the city's business district along jalan sudirman. the restaurant, which tags itself as the isles of colourful spice, is in a handsome house filled with batik pieces in a parking lot behind plaza sentral.
also, in local parlance, kembang goela means candy. goela is the bahasa indonesia spelling for gula in bahasa malaysia which means sugar in english.
but there is more than candy in the store.
there is food.
good food from across the archipelago of 17,000 islands that blends together the best of the east and west - a melange of chinese, dutch and spice islands - for a feast to end a fast.
the kicker was es van midden java - thats dutch for ice from the middle of java - and for the rest of us, its cendol with ice cubes, not crushed or shaved ice. a colleague remarked that of course, penang has great cendol and specifically, the famous penang road cendol.
for the uninitiated, cendol is a pandanus flavoured and coloured starch noodles in a coconut milk with palm sugar syrup and ice - cubed, crushed or shaved.
i wondered who actually created the first cendol or es van midden java? the mamaks, chinese, dutch or javanese, sumatrans and what have you? apparently, it is from java.
my colleague, she travels to eat, did all the ordering.
we had keropok which is standard fare with some sambal, asem-asem noni (similar to clear thai tomyam) that just did the trick, ikan krapu bakar (grilled grouper) that was fresh and tasty, oseng brocoli (chinese-style brocolli) that was not that crunchy and tahoe telur beledek (egg with soya bean curd) that went well with is lovely dark soy sauce and something to really try.
ok. what else because it didn't end there.
we also had bebek bumbu lengkuas (duck friend with galangal and spices), ayam laos (fried chicken), bihun goreng (fried rice vermicelli) and my favourite and possibly the most awesome of dishes - the dendeng balado (thinly sliced pan-fried dried beef with chilli dressing) that is definitely the bomb.
scrumptious. delicious. just heavenly.
of course, it all went together with rice. had an extra helping of rice as the sambal - ground chili relish - came late. we had sambal ijo (green chilli), sambal terasi (the usual belacan) and sambal mangga (manggo sambal - quite nice) and drinks to go, including some sweet tea.
as it was the fasting month, the feast was quite fast. we finished in no time but lingered on for a colleague who was a bit late but no less hungry than the rest of us.
we were so full we couldn't try any more dishes or even the desserts.
if you are ever in jakarta, go try it for a good meal.
kembang goela is at plaza sentral parking lot, jalan jenderal sudirman kav 47-48. call +6221 5205651 for reservations.

alcoholic angpows

well, its official! the lunar new year is over with a number of maidens having littered rivers with oranges.
wonder if they had added some vodka to give it a kick and get their man.
apart from oranges, i received a few angpows for the lunar new year, especially a double ang pow from a friend who just tied the knot a few weeks before the earth rat festivities.
more than the angpows was the selection of single malt available with the mound of micro oranges at his home in kuala lumpur, instead of the usual pilgrimage we used to make to his ipoh hometown.
started out with the standard laphroaig that is a firm favourite of the mistress of the home.
had a few drams and then proceeded to the tamnavulin 12 year old, which i was reminded was the bottle from a trip to india several years ago. talk about keeping a wee dram for some time.
the tamnavulin distillery was mothballed in 1995 which would explain why any bottle one would come across would be part of a three 333 ml bottle package at an airport duty-free outlet, the other two being a dalmore 12 year old and an isle of jura single malt.
casked in oak, the 40 percent alcohol by volume speyside single malt is pale straw in colour and has an aromatic nose with a distinctive oily scent that leads to a fresh palate with a hint of mint, spice and sweetness.
it finishes off to an appetising and attractive chocolatey ending that leaves you wanting for more. which was something we all did during that trip across the subcontinent where single malts was the balm that salved our souls in the hot days and nights of the indian summer.
think i was the only one imbibing from the wee bottle. but each dram is precious until the owners do decide to reopen the distillery.
anyway, it was time to switch whiskies and settled on the singleton 12 year old, the younger single malt to the 18 year old. duh!
well, this younger singleton also comes in a flask-type blue bottle and is only available in asia with the european version called the singleton 12 year old of dufftown.
the 40 percent alcohol by volume gold single malt has been casked in sherry casks which adds a caramel note to the nose and definitely a toffee taste that brings to a pleasant finish.
this single malt by global beverage giant diageo's glen ord distillery is rather fresh and sweet thanks to the sherry cask character.
it is comparable to the glenfiddich 15 year old solera or the glenlivet 15 year old.
nice.
the night was proceeding fine and the host decided to fish out the glengoyne 17 year old single malt from his cellar. it was his latest acquisition from the airport duty-free and one that he had wanted to open for a long time.
the highlands single malt is 43 percent alcohol by volume and appears honey gold, hinting at its brilliant fruity and chocolatey bouquet that just demands you to have an immediate taste.
its rich and viscous with a complex mix of sherry, chocolate, nuts and fruits to bring a sweet and spicy finish that leaves you wanting for more.
a delightful dram that truly shows its age and quality.
fact is, i realised that all three drams drunk that night had some chocolate influences apart from the laphroaig of course. well, i guess the host does love his chocolates.
the other thing i realised is that i keep taking the same angle of photos for the bottles. something to think about.

gongxi grog

the lunar new year celebrations are continuing in full swing an we had had better selection of single malts this time, including some rare gems at the house of sin, as the man is called among friends. he brought out bottles of single malt for his party that began in the afternoon.
i got in late at night for the party and there were a couple of bottles at the table. one was a chivas regal 12 year old while the other was more enticing.
it was the cragganmore 12 year old scotch whisky, a single speyside malt quite renowned around the world for its aroma.
with 40 percent alcohol by volume, the gold-hued speyside malt has a complex aroma that is at once fresh and delicate with hints of fruit and smoke.
the palate is smoky and a wee bit sweet with a lingering peatiness in the finish. suffice to say the bottle finished pretty fast.
time for another bottle as the few of us looked at the host with pleading eyes. the mandarin oranges at the table was no help as we lounged to welcome the year of the earth rat in proper fashion.
out came the macallan inspiration 1851. unlike the other the macallans that we have had, the inspiration is bottled in a design from the 19th century and even stoppered with a driven cork and sealed in wax. the wax took some time but i finally ripped it apart with the help of a ribbon beneath the wax.
phew! the things one do for single malts.
the 41.3 percent alcohol by volume whisky has been sherry casked, like other macallan whiskies. It is copper gold in colour with a nose filled with fruits, spices, nuts and malted barley and just a hint of smoke.
the palate is smooth and spiced with ginger and cloves for a nice sweet not so smoky finish. not exactly the best on offer from the macallan but good enough to pass the night in anticipation of something better.
having said that, the bottle went out quite fast too.
the host was on song and decided to bring out a bottle that was sold to him with the caveat that it can only be opened on his wedding day. but since he didn't think that was going to happen in a hurry, and it had been seven years since the bottle was purchased plus it was my inaugural attendance to his party, the bottle was taken out of its case and opened with a flourish befitting the occasion.
the bottle was a rare knockdhu 23 year old cask strength speyside single malt whisky.
heck, he had a bottle that was numbered 3 out of 3,000 bottles bottled with the cask strength single malt. hows that for a limited edition whisky.
with 57.4 percent alcohol by volume, we were astounded with the fruity nose that just had that hint of smoke to make one imbibe the wee dram faster.
the palate was fruity and creamy like a summer strawberry sorbet. truly one for a wedding. the finish was a bit spicy but this is one single malt that belied its age and indeed a pleasure to drink.
a great start to the lunar new year it was.
yum seng!

toddy tales

what could possibly be the malaysian national alcoholic beverage?
you know, a sort of pina colada?
after some deliberation and much tastings, some of us decided that it should be toddy - the pungent fermented sap from the flower of coconut trees with quite an unsavoury reputation but goes well with savoury food.
go figure that one out.
or rather, go find some toddy and try it.
we did, a day after merdeka and an occasion long planned among a few friends.
we made our way from kuala lumpur to shah alam where we followed a good friend to weave our way through the traffic to kapar for the second day of the merdeka makan minum madness.
and that's where we found the toddy shop, which can turn raucous when many have too much to drink.
which is quite easy as it is quite an affordable drink with a gallon costing as much as a can of beer.
we had two gallons and a whole lot of seafood from the neighbouring seafood restaurant that sort of exemplified the muhibbah malaysia - chinese food and indian drink that in a less fermented form was a malay drink called nira.
and of course, there were several servings of curried wild boar to provide the savoury for the unsavoury. apart from wild boar, the ala carte dishes that go with toddy include the wide variety of game such as monitor lizards and civet cats.
none of that was available that day!
now that is so very malaysian. and so very us in the table of seven.
back to the toddy. it was sweet but reeked with the pungency of roasted onion and garlic - like some sort of sour cream and onion chips.
but it was great and reeked - or stank - even more as it warmed and continued fermenting.
we delayed the fermentation process by chilling with ice bags in the pail.
and one of us gave up due to the smell and taste.
in true fashion, the experienced hands at the table ordered a bottle of guinness stout as a mixer for the toddy, the conventional wisdom being that both were pungent with the bitter stout cancelling the acidic toddy.
it worked.
the rains washed in and we washed away the food and toddy with a round of beers, freeing our minds and souls in a celebration of independence that marked malaysia's merdeka.
toddy, anyone? and as national drink of malaysia?
it get's my vote!

the short food crawl

the plans were ambitious but april 1 - april fool's day - struck us down after three stops of good food around kuala lumpur city.
it started to rain just as we embarked on our journey at the stroke of midnight april 1, ending up at the burger stall near the esso petrol pump in medan damansara.
we ordered the malaysian favourite - burger special - meat patty sliced through the centre and grilled on a hot plate, then wrapped in a fried egg with paprika powder before the usual condiments of onions and lettuce plus mayonnaise was added to the burger in a seeded bun.
excellent. the burger boys finished cooking in five minutes and we took the same amount of time to polish it off.
we then moved on in the light drizzle to bangsar for some really good mutton and oxtail soup stall in lucky gardens but the stall owner had shut down for the night.
with time to spare, we moved on to the city in search of hokkien noodles but that stall had also closed for the night.
we finally headed a couple of streets away to a chicken rice stall near an equally famous chicken rice shop.
the meal was simple - steamed chicken with steamed rice in chicken stock and some excellent blended fresh chillies and lime sauce. barley water and hot chinese tea provided an able complement to the meal.
we were already quite full but pressed on in search of good food, rumbling through the tung shin area in search of something light to eat but gave the variety of food available a miss.
we wanted something light and right at two in the morning.
so we headed to the northern edge of kuala lumpur for some dimsum - steamed and fried bite-sized meat and vegetables - that probably inspired the spanish tapas and persian meze.
the row of shophouses in jalan ipoh was packed with people as we found a table and ordered the variety of dimsum being steamed in giant wicker baskets or fried in giant woks.
we ordered a few and struggled to start eating as the clock struck two, finishing most of it 30 minutes later and washing down the food with chinese tea.
that was that. we had had enough. we went home promising to attempt the crawl soon.

peeking at the duck

this is not a wood-fired pizza oven but the oven for roasted peking duck at min jiang in one north, rochester park in singapore.
min jiang is, to put it plainly, one of the more famous sichuan restaurants in singapore with peking duck being its signature dish.
which is why we ended up there for the dinner that presages the end of the annual company meeting held in singapore this year.
we had beers first of course.
that was followed by an eight-course dinner that looked like tapas but felt like a heavy dinner after a while - unlike most chinese dinners.
the chef came over with thin slices of crisp duck skin - very very thin and crispy actually - that glistened with fat and tasted delicious with just the barest dip of the sugar bowl.
everyone agreed that it was great. quite unlike what we have ever had in a while.
the chef, bless his soul, then expertly carved the peking duck and separated it to two lots of duck meat and skin.
one was wrapped in pancake with condiments of spring onions, cucumber and chinese hoisn sauce while the other lot was spicied up with garlic and radish strips.
both lots went in double quick time with the first lot bringing out the essence of roast duck while the spicier lot teased our palate and brought forth an explosion of taste that is quite hard to describe.
we tried to prolong the sensation and even considered ordering extra peking duck but orders had to be placed one day in advance. damn!
the other dishes were standard chinese course fare except for the sea cucumber that did not go down well with the crowd. think it was just too gooey for us.
the dessert of black beans with ice cream capped off a splendid night friends, fun and food - not in any particular order though!
min jiang one north is at 5, rochester park. call +65 67740122 to order your meal.
and that was really quite the end of the singapore travel for the moment.

pigging on chinese food

well, the lunar new year celebrations are swinging just nicely with kuala lumpur getting slightly deserted - unlike yesteryears when it got really quiet.
some friends have started on their way home for their reunion dinners while others are planning feasts across the number of chinese restaurants that remain open through the lunar new year period.
there was a time when one would be hardpressed to find a chinese shop open, let alone the markets and supermarkets but kuala lumpur is a cosmopolitan city now - and there are lots of choices for the gourmet and gourmand in us.
which is where i found myself and some friends a week ago for a simple meal in the isthmus in the northpoint condominiums in midvalley city. been there a couple of times but never had time or inclination to eat, review and snap some photos, lazy sod that i have been lately.
but this dish called cina kampung got to me.
its a simple vegetarian dish comprising a range of vegetables and achar pickles plus an egg for those inclined to add variety to the meal.
the steamed rice went with the host of malaysian herbs such as serai, beans and crackers for a completely satisfying meal.
there is a whole range of dishes that defy description and whatever you do, don't call it fusion because it is just a better way of cooking dishes combining the best of all genres.
go for it.
gong xi fa cai!

good food ipoh

if there is anything that can be said about ipoh, its that it has arguably the best chinese, and to a certain extent even south indian, cuisine in malaysia.
the the one-time world tin-mining capital and now just perak's capital city is really the secret food capital, attracting foodies and those looking for a cold one to its various restaurants and stalls in well-ordered food courts around its speck of territory in the kinta valley.
ipoh's hor fun - not to be confused with its euphemistically-named health centres that dot jalan yang kalsom - is one of the ipoh dishes that has found fame all over the world. its just flat rice noodles in soup with fish balls and some vegetables that goes well with cut chillies in soy sauce.
how about ipoh's hor hee, which is a laugh to pronounce but a treat to eat. its fishballs and fishcakes wrapped in a wrinkly skin made of processed fish flesh in soup.
we couldn't get enough of this soupy dish during a trip to ipoh on the first day of the recent chinese lunar new year celebrations. visits to a couple of friends' homes ended up with all of us frequenting the stalls along the road to the sam tet school.
and what else to round up a great evening of partying in ipoh? it was a tough choice between ice-cold bottled beers - they sell them like it was going out of fashion - and ipoh white coffee.
i opted for the ipoh white coffee in a guinness glass filled with ice.
the coffee was a treat, sweet, caramelly and creamy with a hint of butter in it.
definitely the best way to end the night in ipoh.

kiss from a rose

its kiss from a rose today, the song by seal from the batman forever soundtrack that came to mind at dinner.
this time we were having a jacob's creek shiraz rose to accompany a rather elegant chinese meal at the elegant inn in taman connaught kuala lumpur.
there was a difference. it was no ordinary wine dinner not that any wine dinner is ordinary.
this was the launch of the dining table - a group of gourmands dedicated to good food, great drinks and gregarious friends. and we started it auspiciously on 8.8.2005 with jacob's creek chief winemaker philip laffer whom i met over the weekend.
the evening started with the shiraz rose and proceeded to an array of jacob's creek's wines such as the riesling, chardonnay, grenache shiraz and the shiraz cabernet - all matched with the best hong kong style dishes that elegant inn's chinese restaurant could offer.
chef wesley ng, a young kelantanese, pulled out all stops in the show kitchen for the three tables that constituted the dining table.
claypot chicken wonton in a soup that was boiled for hours was the start and whetted our appetite for the rest of dishes that was quickly cooked in the show kitchen in front of us.
the shiraz rose accompanied the lotus meatcakes with hong kong silverfish and eggplant deep fried with garlic flakes, contrasting the wine's fruity flavour with the salty fish and eggplant and the sizzling meatcakes. nice was an understatement.
something fishy was in the air next. a steamed live tiger garoupa, with its intrinsic sweetness set in a sauce and complemented by a riesling. but the subtle wine lost out to the most excellent fish in taste.
out came the chardonnay to do battle with the next few dishes. we drank it with the hong kong style stir fried vegetables with garlic and crabs fried with salted egg yolk it ably matched both dishes though the crabs were distinctly and appetisingly in a class of their own - and the this image is but a poor and unworthy representation of a wonderful dish.
the chardonnay also ably accompanied the home made beancurd with meat and prawns. the beancurd just melted in the mouth, slipping and sliding suggestively with the wine in the mouth.
the night was still young and the circle of gourmands were swapping tasting notes when chef wesley ng put on a show in the kitchen.
he was frying elegant inn's special fried rice, swirling and twirling the rice and ingredients in a wok over high heat, and the results spoke for themselves.
the rice was fluffy and tasty and went pretty well with the grenache shiraz.
never quite got to the last dish of sweet and sour pork cheeks. well, i don't eat cheeks, just nibble them and frankly, sweet and sour isn't really my cup of tea, so to speak.
had the shiraz cabernet though. quite plummy.
that was the start and end of the dining table's first dinner. and an autographed bottle of jacob's creek shiraz rose was the souvenir of the night.
what an auspicious and unique start the dining table. looking forward to the next one!

a spiritual journey in chinatown

candles. wine. wafer.
it struck me that this had all the trappings of a holy communion. but this was a different spiritual journey in kuala lumpur's chinatown, a warren of lanes more famous for game, gambling and maybe gangsters.
candles flickered from every imaginable point and then some as i made my way through the treasure trove that is peter hoe's evolution and beyond lifestyle boutique at the lee rubber building in petaling street or chinatown.
green, gold and beige was the theme and the main offering of the night was good food and exquisite framingham wines from new zealand, known to most now as middle earth and formerly kiwi land, and also aotearoa, land of the long white cloud.
the candles lit up the cocktail of crispily fresh framingham sauvignon blanc that went quite nicely with the also-crisp warm foccacia with shredded mushroom. wine and wafer communed and commingled in me.
the straw-yellow sauvignon blanc 2004 had hints of lime and fruit, particularly grapefruit with a robust body and a refreshing but dry finish. just nice.
was the messiah in town, i wondered as wine and wafer kept replenishing before the call came for us to ascend the stairway to heaven
up we went through the art-deco building and onto the roof-top where candle-lit tables with wine glasses competed for attention with the sounds and smells of chinatown, the shimmering city skyline and the twinkling stars in the night sky.
good company surrounded me as the appetiser announced its appearance with the familiar fragrance of curry leaf. it was a crispy tuna dumpling infused with curry leaf paired with a framingham dry riesling.
the tuna dumpling (chinese sui kow or japanese gyoza) appeared to be a rather tasty fish vadai that went well with the riesling, which tasted of honey and toast with a lime and fruity finish.
all too soon, the ever-efficient waiters brought the second offering of the night, a first course of smoked salmon kerabu style with basil oil that partnered a framingham classic riesling.
the wine dominated the salmon, tasting sweeter than the previous riesling. lionel lau, speaking on behalf of distributors pernod ricard assured us the sugar content was the same. to me, it was fruitier with a pronounced peachy taste with lime hovering in the background.
the 150 select crowd at the rooftop were kept busy as the waiters swept in with the main course quickly, offering us charbroiled lamb cutlets on a chinese yam rice with pak choy and crispy kai lan together with a glass of framingham pinot noir.
the cutlets were crunchy and juicy, the wine spicy and plummy. i could go on but let's just say it has to be savoured. hints of cherries and berries in the wine combined well with the lamb and its bed of rice and veggies for a great finish to dinner under the stars.
the night did not end there. we quickly swapped the rooftop for peter hoe's boutique for wine, women and song.