Crave 8 March 2013 by Crave Malay Mail

Friday march 8, 2013 S AT I S F Y I N G

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W E E K LY

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NIP YOUR NOODLES Cook up your favourite pinched noodles or pan mee at home

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R E V O C E P I C E R

dough 500g plain ﬂour, sifted 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon cooking oil 3 Grade A eggs 50–60ml water

(MAKES 6 SERVINGS)

broth 2 chicken carcasses, scalded in hot water and drained 30g anchovies (ikan bilis), washed and drained 2 1/2 litres water ½ teaspoon freshly cracked white peppercorns 20g rock sugar salt to taste

These hand pulled noodles have a rustic appearance with its frilly edges. You same dough into strands with the machine. To prepare dough: Place the ﬂour in a mixing bowl and make a well in the center. Add salt and oil; mix to combine. Break the eggs one at a time and slowly combine the ingredients using your hands. The dough would resemble breadcrumbs at this moment and stick to your hands. Gradually add the water until the dough binds together into a ball. You may use more or less water than stated above. Rest the dough in a bowl covered with a clean tea towel for at least 30

meat topping 2 tablespoons cooking oil 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped 350g pork or chicken mince 1 tablespoon oyster sauce 1 teaspoon salt or to taste ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper 150g sayur manis leaves, scalded lightly 5-6 stalks bird-eye chillies, sliced 80g anchovies (ikan bilis), dried in the sun and deep fried in oil till crispy soy sauce

CARROT PAN MEE (MAKES 6 SERVINGS) Play around with spinach, pumpkin, beetroot and carrot puree to give the noodle strands a special hue.

carrot noodles 60g Australian carrot, peeled and cut into small pieces 25ml water, ﬁnely pureed 550 g plain ﬂour 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon cooking oil 3 Grade A eggs

To prepare noodles: Puree the carrots and water in an electric blender to a ﬁne paste. Follow the same method as the mee hoon kueh noodles, except replace water for carrot puree. To prepare sambal: Heat the oil and fry the dried chillies for about 30 seconds or until it turns light brown. Avoid frying too long as the chillies will burn and cause the sambal to be bitter. Remove from the oil and leave chillies. Set aside the chilli oil for later use. Using an electric spice blender, blend the crispy dried chillies coarsely. Remove from the blender and mix in salt, a

sambal 125ml cooking oil 30g (12 stalks) dried chillies, washed, drained, dried in hot sun and cut into 3cm lengths 1/4 teaspoon salt ½ tablespoon ﬁsh sauce

little chilli oil and ﬁsh sauce. Set aside in an air tight container. To poach eggs: Bring water in saucepan to almost boiling point and add vinegar to the water. Crack the eggs, one by one into a small cup and drop it slowly into the water. With a spoon, nudge the egg whites closer to their yolks. This will help the egg whites hold together. Turn off the heat. Cover and let it sit for 4 minutes, until the egg whites are cooked. Lift the eggs out of pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. To serve: Using a noodle ma-

Taster Comments: I love the sambal, especially when you crack the poached egg and mix the noodles with it.”

ALICIA LIM, Housewife

MEE HOON KU

poached eggs 500ml water 2 teaspoons white vinegar 6 eggs 6 teaspoons oyster sauce 6 teaspoons shallot oil 50g shallot crisps 80g anchovies (ikan bilis), dried in the sun and deep fried in oil till crispy 1 spring onion, green part only and chopped ﬁnely

chine, roll out a sheet of the dough into a thinner sheet and cut into desired thickness of noodles. Scald the noodles in hot boiling water for about 1 minute or until the noodles are al dente. Rinse in cool tap water and place into bowl. Toss each portion of noodles with 1 teaspoon oyster sauce and 1 teaspoon shallot oil. Ladle a portion of the meat topping. Top with a poached egg, shallot crisps, crispy fried anchovies, sambal and spring onions. You may also serve a bowl of the broth from the mee hoon kueh recipe. — Recipe by Debbie Teoh. Photography by Kenneth Lim, Gray Studio.

minutes before kneading. Apportion the dough into 70g portions. Knead the dough with the help of a machine or by hand, until it is smooth. Spread some cornﬂour over each sheet of dough, and store in an airtight container. The dough may be stored in the refrigerator up to 3 days at this stage. To prepare broth: Place all the ingredients in a pot. Bring to boil. Simmer for 2 hours over low heat. Strain and reserve for use.

To prepare meat topping: Heat oil in a wok, sauté chopped garlic until fragrant and light browned. Toss in mince and oyster sauce; sauté for a while until meat is cooked. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove and set aside. To serve: Using a noodle maker, roll out a sheet of the dough into a thinner sheet. Remove the dough. Hand pull and pinch into rough small pieces. You can also cut them into noo-

dles using the machine. Scald the pinched pieces or noodles in hot boiling water for about 1 minute, or until they are al dente. Rinse in cool tap water and place in a bowl. Pour sufficient hot broth, sayur manis

Taster Comments: It took a bit more time to ma but it was well worth it, with its s topping and ikan bilis can be pr ALICIA LIM, Housewife

FRIDAY 8 MARCH 2013

UEH

u can also cut the leaves, a heaped tablespoon of meat topping and crispy ikan bilis. Serve hot with some sliced bird-eye chillies with soy sauce on the side. — Recipe by Debbie Teoh. Photography by Kenneth Lim, Gray Studio.

ake these hand pulled noodles silky texture. The broth, meat repped ahead to save time.”

FOOD BITES Chill out at Gastro Sentral, the spot for all-day comfort food. The 118-seater eatery features an open concept kitchen and bar with a casual vibe. Dine on a varied menu of breakfast (11am to 5pm), tapas, soups, salads, Asian goodies, pasta and hefty eats like a 22-hour braised wagyu cheek. As you chill with your choice of tipple, nibble on their tapas bites to stave off any hunger pangs. Our top pick is the tender Asian spiced lamb meatballs, a recipe revived from their previous Middle Eastern restaurant AlNafourah. For a fun touch, you can snack on their homemade nachos served in a paper bag, together with the cooling cucumber tzatkizi dip. The newly

THE MALAY MAIL

COMFORT FOOD CENTRAL introduced prawn satay stole the show, with its bouncy flesh fragrant with the aromas of galangal, kaffir lime, and lemongrass, that one stick is not enough. Inspired by his weekly jaunts for Kajang satay after his golf sessions, Le Meridien Executive Chef Antoine Rodriguez came up with this seafood dish. Even the boat-like serving dish is custom made for the satay, cucumbers, compressed rice cubes and peanut sauce. We also love their moist delicious home baked breads, served in a can. And, desserts of course are decadent treats, such as the pink peppercorn pavlova filled with strawberries, Chantilly cream and basil syrup, and the decadent sticky

Pink Peppercorn Pavlova

toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce. For the month of March, celebrate St Patrick’s Day with Gastro Sentral’s divine shepherd’s pie. Dig under the creamy potato mash to discover a delicious lamb mince filling. Gastro Sentral will also be extending their February seafood platter promotion due to popular response. The platters, stacked high on a wooden board is filled with fresh catch from the sea like Sabah spiny lobster, flower crab, clams and prawns. It comes with four sauces, free flow French fries, jug of beer, four side dishes like tom yum mussels, frito misso, and kung po sotong. The seafood platter starts from RM220 for 2 persons. Gastro Sentral, Lobby Level, Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur. Open:11am to 12am (Sunday to Thursday), 11am to 1am (Friday and Saturday)

Relax at Gastro Sentral

Prawn satay

Shepherd’s Pie

The bountiful seafood platter

Delicious breads in a can

Asian Spiced Lamb Meatballs (front) and Cod Croquettes (back)

EXQUISITE TEA TREATS Head towards Maison Francaise for leisurely afternoon tea pleasures amid its elegant surroundings of its black and white dining room. The tea selection prepared by Chef Franck Lambert is a celebration of all things sweet and pretty from France and Europe. The French chef churns out one of best caneles in town - a cake with a soft custard centre enclosed by a thin caramelised crust and infused with rum. Another standout item is their petite apple tarte tatins, a French classic tart. The selection also includes, two types of Berliners or European styled

doughnuts ﬁlled with chocolate and vanilla, apricot tarts, a raspberry tart made from the tangy fruit and almond paste. For a savory bite, the smoked salmon sandwich is a must-try. The toasted layered sandwich uses Chef Franck’s superb inhouse prepared smoked salmon together with capers and tomatoes. Plans are also underway to introduce a chicken sandwich. You also can enjoy freshly baked brioche with jam, honey and Lescure butter. For your tea choice, choose from a menu of teas by French Dammann Freres such as the smoky lapsang souchong or milder

green tea. Saffron sugar sticks are also offered with your pot of tea. Our favourite tea choice is the restaurant’s own special refreshing blend of chrysanthemum and passion fruit. According to Maison Francaise’s owner Sainy Chun, she will also add Korean red ginseng in the special infusion. In future, the teatime selection will also feature madeleines, the dainty French sponge cakes, cream puffs and nougat candy. Maison Francaise, 5, Changkat Kia Peng, Kuala Lumpur. Tel:03-21441474. The teatime selection served between 1pm to 5pm daily, is priced at RM60++ per person, for nine varieties of pastries and sandwich.

Maison Francaise Chef Franck Lambert enjoying a cup of tea with owner Sainy Chun

EDITORIAL NOTE by Lee Khang Yi

Exquisite tea with saffron sugar sticks

French and European classics make up the exquisite tea selection

Crave Editor

This Friday, we turn towards a street food favourite, pan mee. Cook these comforting noodles, or look towards our guide on where to eat. We also review yummy treats at Gastro Sentral and the delightful French inspired tea treats at Maison Francaise. Last but not least, there are Thai BBQ eats on Old Klang Road. For any queries, email khangyi@mmail.com.my

ADVERTISING SALES Rajan Gopal Senior Manager, Direct & Classiﬁeds Direct line: 03 74951282 rajan@mmail.com.my

FRIDAY 8 MARCH 2013

THE MALAY MAIL

CRAZY FOR NOODLES PAN MEE, refers to flat flour noodles, as literally translated from Chinese. Typically, you can find pan mee in most hawker stalls. Usually a bowl of the noodles is made by the stall owner, and served with a broth made from anchovies, or ikan bilis. It is topped with crispy deep fried ikan bilis, sayur manis vegetables and minced meat. Sometimes, the stall owners add sliced shiitake mushrooms. These noodles are said to have originated from the pinched variety or mee hoon kueh, whereby the dough is pulled and torn into rough squares. This manual pulling of the dough gives the

Fatty Mee Hoon Kuih House’s pinched noodles

squares a distinct frilly edge. Once it is cooked, the squares are silky smooth with a slight al dente bite. Back in the 1980s, Fatty Mee Hoon Kuih House (19, Lebuh Bangau, Taman Berkeley, Klang, Tel:012-3366183. Open:10am to 10pm) , was one of the pioneer stalls to serve the pinched variety. The owner Choo Lan Chee has now passed the reins to his son who runs the show at this busy coffee shop. Expect to wait for 30 minutes or more during peak times, as each bowl is prepared a la minute. It’s well worth the wait, as the ikan bilis broth is sweet and pairs

well with the silky squares topped with pork slices, deep fried ikan bilis and choy sum stalks. If you are hankering for a mee hoon kuih ﬁx at night, look towards this no-signboard stall, along the busy Old Klang Road near Scott Garden. Regulars call this place Ah Tee Pan Mee, (Stall in front of Fatty Bak Kut Teh Restaurant, Old Klang Road, Tel:0127980277. Open:7pm to 12pm. Closed on Thursdays). The affable Ah Tee, who runs this stall with his wife, serves the pinched variety and a choice of thin or thick noodles. The noodles are al dente, cooked in a small pot with the sweet broth, topped with pork slices marinated with nam yue or fermented bean curd, and sliced shiitake mushrooms. The broth gets a sweet taste, from a generous sprinkling of deep fried ikan bilis and shallot crisps. He also sells yam cake and deep fried popiah. As the hand pinched version was labour intensive, and with readily available noodle machines, some stall owners switched from the hand pinched version to the machine cranked noodles. One stall owner that made the switch was Kin Kin Pan Mee (40, Ground Floor, Jalan Dewan Sultan Sulaiman 1, Off Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Kuala Lumpur. Open:7.30am

Ah Tee Pan mee

Legendary Kin Kin pan mee mixed up

to 6.45pm). Long ago, the stall was located under a tree in the Chow Kit area. Nowadays, its legendary noodles, is everyone’s must-eat choice, for al dente noodles, tossed with a poached egg, minced meat, shallot crisps, fried ikan bilis and its super spicy sambal, made with coarsely ground chillies that burns your stomach. The sticky delicious mess of noodles is addictive. The stall also has branches in Pandan Indah, and the food court EAT Food Village in Publika, Solaris Dutamas. The noodles at EAT is priced higher than the Chow Kit outlet, but you can also order pork meatballs with the noodles, for a substantial

Pan mee noodles

meal. Enterprising stall owners also add their own spin to the noodles to draw customers. Tweaks saw the emergence of coloured pan mee, made with spinach, carrot and even pumpkin puree. While most diners, know of the dry and soup version, the stir fried version is a relatively unique way to serve the noodles. At this small stall that trades from the owner’s home known simply as Lucy Stall (341, Jalan Selesa Satu, Taman Gembira, Off Jalan Kuchai Lama, Tel:0122239319. Open: 5am to 5pm. Closed on Wednesdays), it offers a wok fried version of the noodles, with dark soy

sauce, sayur manis leaves, shredded cabbage, pork slices, pork intestine, ﬁsh cake slices and prawns. It’s a delicious mix, especially with the ﬁery sambal belacan dip on its side. Another serving style for the noodles is pairing it with various broths, such as curry, assam or even thick brown gravy or Penang loh style. Paramount Garden Restaurant (55, Jalan 21/12, Petaling Jaya, Tel:03-78735703. Open: 6am to 4pm) serves their pan mee with the thick brown gravy together with eggs, pork pieces and prawns. The restaurant offers a wide variety of noodles, thin or thick or coloured versions using spinach and carrot.

THAI BBQ DELIGHTS By EU HOOI KHAW

TWO new eating places have sprung up at the beginning of Old Klang Road as you turn in from the Federal Highway. One is Coco Steamboat, a branch of a Cheras restaurant famous for its pork bone soup. The other is BBQ Thai, which has a village concept, with a cluster of multi coloured recycled wood huts, a tuk-tuk on display, and tables for outdoor dining under a canopy. For our dinner, we chose a hut painted a delightful lilac to sit in. It was cool and private, with open windows where you could easily wave or call for service.

BBQ Tilapia with Chilli takes 45 minutes to prepare

Thai BBQ Pork Neck

The tuk tuk on display inside BBQ Thai

Crave pays for all its meals and all its reviews are conducted anonymously.

Expect to find perennial Thai favourites on the menu, such as Tom yam, fishcakes, and pandan chicken. Some unusual dishes include Thai curry crab and Thai style fish head with yam soup. In addition, there’s a BBQ menu, with a selection of seafood and meats. You could order individual items or the BBQ platter with a mix of items. We chose three items: squid, pork neck and the tilapia fish. The BBQ pork neck (RM28) was a good choice, as the grilled slices were tender, succulent, and fragrant from its garlic marinade. This was served with a tart spicy dip of lime juice, blended ginger, garlic and birdeye chillies or cili padi. The BBQ squid (RM33) was perfectly cooked. Each tender piece was topped with a paste made from minced garlic, ginger and shallots, which made it tasty on its own. This also came with the same tart dip served with the pork dish. The BBQ tilapia with chilli (RM38) was sealed in a foil packet, and subsequently cooked on the hot coals. This creates a steam effect, as the fish is slowly cooked in the aromatic soy bean paste or taucheo, garlic, bird-eye chillies or cili padi, and lemongrass,

to create an intense hot and fragrant dish. It took about 45 minutes to cook the fish, but it was well worth the wait. We finished the delicious tender fish and the aromatic sauce, with our rice. We also ordered the Papaya salad (RM15) and Thai fried paku (RM13). The fern top dish was spicy with a strong hit of garlic. The Thai fried rice (RM12) was what we had come for since a friend waxed lyrical about it. Unfortunately, it tasted rather ordinary to us. To round up the meal, we ordered the Cassava or tapioca with coconut milk (RM10). The tapioca was sticky but not overly sweet with just enough of the thick coconut milk to make it a pleasant sweet ending. Our second dessert, the Thai water chestnut (RM6.50) was served in an unusual manner. The red rubies or water chestnuts topped a mound of shaved ice on a bed of fresh nangka strips, and grass jelly cubes. Our gripe though on the cooling dessert, was it would have tasted better with fresh versus UHT coconut milk. BBQ Thai, 17 Lorong Jugra, 3 1/3 mile, Jalan Klang Lama, Selangor. Tel:03-79819888. Open daily: 5pm to 1am.