My little Greek adventure

This post has been long outstanding. It's been 3 months since my trip to Greece and the photos (thousands of them!) have been lying dormant in my thumb-drive. Amazing how time really flew! I was so caught up with other stuff the past few months, since returning from Greece & Abu Dhabi. There was the New Year, then Chinese New Year and in between, my medical woes.... which hopefully have been settled now.

So... there you have up there that beautiful pic of the Acropolis, as seen from our hotel window. It's so spectacular, isn't it? Especially when viewed at night! We did climb right up to the site on one of the mornings and the view of Athens from there was breath-taking. I shall cover the sights of Greece in Raynebows later.

We chose a central location to stay - Monastiraki - a very hustle-bustle area with everything right at our doorstep - shops, restaurants and the Flea Market in the Plaka area! The train station is merely 300m away from our hotel - a really "plus" point, especially when we had to lug our baggage to go to the airport! It was such a breeze as the train goes straight to the airport - no need to change train/station at all!

So.... how did I find Greek food?

I shall elaborate more on what we actually ate there... but first, I want to showcase some of their desserts...

I have no idea what they are called. We found all these in a local food outlet which sold cooked food as well as a wide array of their sweets! They were all placed on HUGE trays and quite a number of them were soaking in thick syrup... they do look verrrryyy sweet & rich, don't they??

Their pies and pastries were all served in humongous pieces - just look at these!



These looked like birds' nests huh??
Every restaurant that we ate at, we were served a huge basket of this bread...

They may look nice but actually the texture's quite dense and hard and dry ...
They taste better when toasted with garlic & butter like this...

The Greeks are great meat eaters. Lamb and pork are the firm favourites... beef don't feature much on their menus but are available. Chicken and seafood are not really favoured there... maybe not in winter...

So, LL and DL had a great time feasting on their meat dishes... Pork Chops like the one above... and Braised Wild Boar with Onions...

This was also Pork ... in white sauce and served with garlic rice...

... and another time it was served with pasta...

LL loved their Lamb, cooked in any way... roasted like this...

... or grilled the good old fashioned way...

Me? I found their Moussaka much more appetizing (and not so heavy!)... The soft layers of mashed potatoes and aubergine were tasty, easy to eat and very filling!

Topped with white bechamel sauce and grated cheese, Moussaka is easily the Greeks' favourite fast food... and mine too!

Ohh... here's another favourite of the boys ... Grilled Meat (all kinds!) ... which is sold practically everywhere, from roadside souvlakis to trendy fine-dining restaurants!



A huge platter like this can easily feed the 3 of us!

What about vegetables? Well, you only have one choice - Salads! This is the typical Greek Salad - tomatoes, capsicum, onions, croutons and chunks of feta cheese! I love their juicy tomatoes and capsicum but can do without the feta cheese, thank you :-)

So it's a better option to order their plain Garden Salad - which was just tomatoes and greens served with a dash of vinaigrette dressing!


Oh yeah... the Greeks like to stuff and bake their tomatoes and capsicums too. I didn't quite fancy these... the stuffings were mainly cheese & rice :-S

In the background there is a slice of their Spinach Pie - mashed spinach rolled in pastry...

Soups aint great either - rather bland and oily...

Since we were staying in Monastiraki, we were recommended to try "The Best Pork Chops in Athens" which was located in a dark creepy side alley - it was quite a hair-raising walk that night as we went in search of this place, frequented mainly by the locals. It seems to be a family-run business... here you can see the very-buff son doing his thing grilling the pork chops...

All my close-up pics of the pork chops didn't turn out well, mainly because the lighting was very dim where we were seated. But I can tell you how they tasted - they were extremely salty!!! And hard! Because they were over-grilled! What they did was grill these thin slices of lean pork and then sprinkle handfuls of salt over the meat and then pile them onto a plate to serve to you!

This was the only seafood item we ate while in Greece... a plate of Little Fried Fish - yes, that's how it was listed on their menu! This was at the cafe by the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion.

We had a chance to visit the market in Monastiraki (2 minutes' walk from our hotel) ... what an eye-opener that was!

Firstly, you can see all their workers/vendors donning white coats - very "clinical", don't you think??

Caution: Explicitly gory pics coming up....









Let the pics speak for themselves... hehe ...


Most of their seafood were the frozen kind...


They are big on octopussies...

See how beautifully symmetrical their fish arrangement is??!

Loads of cured meat in the market... sausages, hams, bacons....

... in every shape, size and colour...

Ahhh... Olives are Greece's No.1 produce...

... nuts and raisins too!

I will post about the sights of this trip in Raynebows, hopefully soon :-) So... do check that out later!

Pao Xiang Bak Kut Teh in 1Utama

Much had been written and blogged about this Bak Kut Teh joint. Originated from Klang (but of course - Klang is the mecca of BKT after all!) with its mothershop in Taman Berkeley, it has since sprouted several offspring outlets and they are all housed in upmarket malls like Pavillion and now 1 Utama. As 1Utama is just a hop & a skip away from my office and for the longest time there has not been any decent BKT outlet in this mall, I jumped in joy when I heard that there's now a reputable Klang BKT shop in the mall! Without further ado, I hauled a colleague along and made a beeline to Pao Xiang.

It's a very nice set-up that they have here - marble-topped tables and chinese panellings on the walls. As the outlet is located by the Lakeside area of the mall, there was lots of natural light from the tall windows - perfect for photography!

Pao Xiang's speciality is their string-tied meats brewed in various chinese herbs. They claim that the tying-up of the meats seals in the natural flavours and prevents the fibres from breaking up during the boiling process. So, what you get are these nice chunks of pork with "fluted" skin (a result of the tying process).

The pork was tender - disintegrated easily off the bone the moment you dig in with your fork or chopsticks, while retaining its porcine flavours. However, I find the BKT soup not as herbally fragrant as I would prefer it. It's thick enough though... with a thin layer of oil on top.

Pao Xiang in 1U serves their portions in these little ceramic bowls with a lighted flame beneath to keep the soup boiling hot. The bowl is just about the size of an ordinary chinese rice bowl and each portion of meat is RM10. Not cheap. Soup is refillable though.

If you want something leaner without much fat, opt for the Ribs. Cut into chunks of at least 5" long with decent amount of meat attached, the ribs would go well for the more health-conscious folks.

If cholesterol is not your concern, what is BKT without the "spareparts", right? Go for the "Teng Kia" - that's the multi-layered intestines, a trademark of Klang BKT.


They have various kinds of meat in the menu - like porkbelly, "long bones", "short bones" (referring to various sections of the trotters), spareparts like regular intestines, "teng kia", stomach... and "soft bones" like these...

Order some greens to offset the guilt - I do that all the time, haha! Here it's RM9 for a small plate.

And... drink lots of chinese tea, of course! Black Tie White Lie believes chinese tea washes off the fat you have consumed but I think that's a white lie!

Rice is RM1.50 per plate and the jasmine tea we had was RM7 for 2 pax. Total bill for 2 of us was RM54. Pao Xiang in the malls is certainly not cheap - for that same amount you pay, you'd get pots of BKT in Klang! So... I guess this is only for those of you who suddenly get hit by hyperBKTmania while shopping in the mall and you absolutely must have BKT there and then.

Otherwise... I'd still prefer the typical BKT kopitiam in Klang like this one, with kettle of water on gascooker by the table side - that's the real BKT ambience, man!


Pao Xiang Bak Kut Teh
P282 Promenade, Lakeside
LG Floor, 1 Utama Shopping Centre
Bandar Utama
Tel: 77252599

My Sushi-making Experience

Anyone suffering from post-CNY syndrome? Trust everyone had a roaringly hot CNY! I'm still too full-up from all the merry making and eating sessions to do much blogging - haha, yeah - excuses, excuses!

Just a couple of weeks before the CNY, I attended a Sushi class at The Cooking House, after hearing so much good things about this place, especially from FBB, who teaches there too! I know making sushi is a no-brainer to some of you and I've been a sushi fan for ages... so much so that I thought it'd be good to pick up some techniques from a real expert. So who better to learn from than the affable Chef Alex Lee!

I'd like to share some of those memorable moments I had at the Cooking House.

It's all hands-on...

These were the stuff we were taught...

The ever-popular California Roll

Maki Rolls

Dainty california maki with fancy lettuce sticking out

Simple Mini Maki Rolls

This was MY plate, hehe!
(trying hard to do the Triangle-shaped sushi!)

Besides teaching us how to flip, roll & cut the delicious sushis, Chef Alex also brought along this huge fresh salmon...

... and taught us how to fillet it!

I'm not sure how many of us would actually go buy a whole salmon and fillet it at home - it's really too much work lah! I mean... you gotta scale, gut, debone and skin the bugger before you even get to the filleting part!

Not to mention the "beheading" part too!


But it was very educational watching the chef's deft fingers working magic with the super-sharp knife...


Sashimi, anyone?
... and finally, this plate of wondrous, beautiful succulent salmon sushi was presented...

It was indeed a morning well spent at The Cooking House and I'm looking forward to other interesting classes coming up there soon ;-)

Uncle Chilli's - New Dinner Menu!

Uncle Chilli's in PJ Hilton has been around since the 90's - famed for its fun atmosphere and live bands. Truly it was the place to "be seen" back then. I haven't been to Uncle Chilli's for some time and a couple of weeks back when I was there, the place has been totally revamped. It now looks more contemporary spotting some sleek shiny decor - quite different from the Uncle Chilli's of before! I must say I do like the new retro set-up :-)

It's tagline "The Place Where U Belong" entices one to be more relaxed - like you can sit back, relax and enjoy some casual dining in a fun pub atmosphere. They strive to not serve "overly handled" fussy foods - instead what you get is uncomplicated dishes which do not compromise on freshness. Their new a la carte menu is really simple to handle - a one-piece with comprehensive choices for your selection, ranging from healthy robust soups, hearty burgers (they are huge, man!), sandwiches, pasta, pizzas, mains and desserts.

You can even Create Your Own options, starting from RM22++ (now how flexible is that?!) - from the choices listed. So, go for whatever suits your palate - be as sophisticated or casual in your choices as you like!

If you are a light eater, just having their salad is good enough to fill up your tummy. Like this Classic Caesar Salad here...

The portion is really generous. It came with the freshest crispiest Romaine leaves, a poached egg and sprinkled with tasty bits of turkey bacon and parmesan shavings. Oh... don't forget that thick slice of garlic bread, which was slathered with a generous layer of buttered garlic & toasted to perfection.

The Crab Bisque I had was really good - the robust creamy flavour of the crustacean was very fresh without being overwhelming. Dip the breadstick in it for some satisfying crabby bites!

Their Simmered Roulade of Seabass was served with some really interesting greens - "pico pico" which is actually our super natural "pucuk paku"! According to their jovial Chef Carloz aka Zul Aman, "pico pico" is Maori for "ferns". Topped with a long piece of roasted parsnip with sides of brussel sprouts + sweetcorn, the light pommes puree brought out the light flavours of the seabass. A very refreshing and not-fattening main course, I would say!

If you are one who cannot do without meat, then do opt for their Braised Lamb Shank served with onion confit and a sunny-side egg. That's a lot of tender mouth-watering protein for you! I assure you this will satisfy any meat cravings you have.

On the night we were there, this serving of Uncle Chilli's Burger was shared between KampungBoyCityGal and "Brought Up To Share", we could not even finish this between the 5 of us! It was accompanied by guacamole, spicy salsa and a huge serving of french fries - how to finish la! Just look at the thick slab of chicken patty, bacon and egg in between that giant bun!
When dessert was served, we were almost too full to move! It was a duo too - Passionfruit Creme Brule and healthy Granola Parfait. I love their presentations. The Creme Brule was pure creamy bliss below a crispy layer of light caramel. The parfait was doused with strawberry sauce which kinda helped dilute its rich creamy base. Sweet temptations indeed!

If you're thinking of a great place for Valentine's, Uncle Chilli's would be a good choice - its dining and bar facilities merge seamlessly. You still can have your dining privacy and thereafter move on to the main bar and dance floor for some red-hot action.

Do check out PJ Hilton's own F&B blog: www.ZestPJ.com for the latest updates - they have swanky happening themes & promotions all the time! Currently they have this "A Table for 3, a Bill for 2" promotion - order 3 items from their burger, sandwich, pasta, pizza or main course and get the lower priced item FOC!

At the same time, check out also TheQGuides where you can book your restaurants and be rewarded with cash vouchers. It will save you a lot of hassles looking for restaurants' contact numbers - just click & get your dining bookings firmed on the spot!

Thank you, Frat for the wonderful company at Uncle Chilli's!