KK Mayflower Seafood

When we first moved to Kota Kemuning more than 3 years ago, it was still a relatively quiet and peaceful suburb.  We love it for the tree-lined wide roads that were a breeze to drive on.  Everywhere you turn, there are matured trees and lush greenery.  The commercial area in the Anggerik Vanilla precinct wasn't too crowded and you can easily get parking even right in front of the banks!  Well, 3 years down the road and the place has now become a bit more congested.  With a medical centre and a Carrefour being opened in the area, traffic has definitely increased.  What's more, there's now even a constant traffic jam during peak hours at the first roundabout - times have certainly changed!

Businesses in the Anggerik Vanilla area (just after the McDonald's) have come and go.  There're always new shops coming up or changing hands... but maybe not as bad as Taipan USJ, yet.  Recently, there's this new restaurant which opened up in a corner lot that has been drawing the crowds.  Yep, it's the KK Mayflower Seafood Restaurant.  Obviously the "KK" here stands for Kota Kemuning and not Kota Kinabalu!

The star attraction here for us is their Crabs.  There're not that many restaurants in KK here that serve fresh crabs, so you can understand why Mayflower has now become our favourite haunt whenever we get the crabby urges!

Their Black Pepper Butter Crabs remain a firm favourite with us...



As you can see, their crabs are huge and were definitely moving about in their baskets before they were cooked and served - superfresh!  The use of black pepper is a touch of genius because this adds so much flavour and aroma to the crustaceans.  Believe me when I tell you that this is a finger-lickin dish.



We also tried their Salted Eggyolk Crabs... thick cluster of cholesterol-laden yolks clinging to every inch of the crabs.  A tad on the dry side... it would have been better if there's a teeny bit of gravy.



The Sweet & Sour Crabs were just, well... sweet and sour.  Good for those who like mopping up the sauce with toasts and such.



I still prefer their Black Pepper Butter version, hehe!  Price of crabs is in the region of RM35-38 per kg.

One dish which we kept ordering repeatedly is their Oatmeal Squids (RM12)...





It looks very similar to the fried butter version... but in this case, somehow the oatmeal does wonders with its added crunch and taste.  We can munch this happily on its own.

If you love your rice, then you would love their Claypot Curry Fish-head because this is one dish that will make you refill your rice - the curry is very addictive!  What I love most about this is that the pot comes filled with an assortment of vegetables too, almost to the brim!  You don't really need to order another vegetable dish actually.



But if you really must have a vegetable dish, then I would recommend this... Pucuk Paku with Belacan (RM12)!



... or Braised Eggplant with Minced Pork (RM10) ...



Actually those 2 dishes are not a good idea if you are trying to avoid carbs (like rice) because they will definitely have you telling the waitress "kah farn!" (more rice please!).  Well, don't say I didn't warn you!

If you have more people dining with you, perhaps you may want to try their Yam Basket - I love the soft powdery texture of the yam!



We tried their Taufu (beancurd) Soup done the poor-man-version of sharksfin soup.  I found it a bit starchy but then sharksfin soup is supposed to be like that, right?  Save the sharks, have some taufu instead!



Like I said earlier, this place packs in the crowd and it gets worse during weekends.  The noise level in the place can get to eardrum-piercing levels, so it's advisable to get there either very early or later after the crowd has dispersed.


KK Mayflower Seafood Restaurant
2G Jalan Anggerik Vanilla V/31V
Kota Kemuning
40460 Shah Alam
Tel: 012-928-0860 (Sam Tee)

Angkoos Galore!

Ever since I started making angkoos a couple of weeks back, I have been busy trying out various flavours and colours using all-natural ingredients.  For the past few weekends, the steamer in my kitchen has been put to good use and by now, members of my family have gotten quite tired of tasting the angkoos I make!  Fortunately, my neighbour is still very receptive towards my kuih offers, LOL!

From the very first attempt and subsequent attempt when my purple angkoos were born, I turned green and orange in my next few testing episodes.  For the green colouring, I used the all-Malaysian favourite pandan leaves which not only imparted the most delightful refreshing greeney fragrance but also gave the kuihs a startling green hue...



Don't you think they kinda look like those ancient jade pendants?  That's why I'm naming them my Jade Angkoos, lol!  Tired of the usual mungbean filling, I tried using coconut flakes - I cooked them with some gula melaka (palm sugar) first.  Generally, coconuts go well with pandan-flavoured kuihs.





Our local sweet potatoes come in various colours - choose the orange ones, like I did, to give your angkoos this beautiful shine ... my Orange Sunshine!





I tried using crushed peanuts for the filling and it turned out to be a hit! *winks at Devil!*



Oh, I have to thank Kenny Mah and Devil for so graciously agreeing to test and taste these for me...



I got conned at the pasar malam recently when I wanted to buy more purple sweet potatoes.  I was reassured that those were indeed the purple strain but when I steamed and mashed them, what I got was a dull greyish colour!  So what to do, what to do?!  A flash of inspiration - I rummaged through my larder and came up with a packet of black sesame!  So I toasted that, pounded the sesame and added it to my angkoo dough - all is not lost!



Hmmm... what shall I name them?  Black Beauty? or just plain old Black Sesame Angkoo?





Last Saturday when I was strolling through the pasar pagi, I saw some organic beetroot in one of the stalls and bought a medium-sized one.  I was excited to see what the beetroot can do, in terms of colouring and flavour!



I was totally blown away by the vibrant pink that the beetroot gave to the angkoos!  I used less than half a beetroot to get this gorgeous shade of pink...



I have yet to name this "model" - anyone has any good ideas?



Not satisfied with the last batch of so-called purple sweet potatoes which turned out grey, I bought another batch from a grocer in my neighbourhood and got these lovely lilac-hued angkoos...





So there we have it... these are the variants that I have experimented on so far.  There are a few other fresh ingredients I want to try but meanwhile, I'll just let my poor family members have a rest from the endless trays of angkoos that had been churned out from my kitchen recently... unless there are some volunteers out there willing to be my "guinea pigs" on this Project Angkoo?!

Culinary Challenge 1 @ Bayan Indah

One of the fun things I get to do in my job is to organize activities for my colleagues under the umbrella of our Sports Club.  We are constantly thinking (aka "plotting") to come up with different stuff for the people to participate. 

Ever since I experienced the 1st session of  fun cooking at Bayan Indah with Rohani Jelani, I was hooked on that place and went back for a 2nd session a couple of months ago!  As I thoroughly enjoyed my 2 outings in Bayan Indah, I then thought "why not have a culinary challenge kinda event for the Sports Club members?" 

It's something they have never done before and it's an excellent activity for them to not only "bond" with each other, they also get to score points for their respective teams.  The members are put in 7 teams, each named after a bird (eg Falcons, Woodpeckers, Pelicans etc) and we have activities throughout the year for them to score points for their teams.  As the year end approaches, the teams are getting very hyped-up because the competition is now extremely keen - no team wants to be at the bottom of the scoreboard!  Needless to say, they now welcome any kind of activity and they are all out to score the precious points for their teams.

So, to cut a long story short... when the Culinary Challenge was announced, the 16 places were grabbed very quickly, on a first-come-first-served basis. 

16 eager beavers made their way to Bayan Indah in Kg Pencala on that Saturday morning.  We were welcomed by some scrumptious refreshments - everyone chilled and took in the beautiful tranquility of the culinary resort before Rohani did the briefing.



Everyone paid attention and listened intently to Rohani's briefing.  Some of them were not familiar with our local ingredients like galanggal or tumeric... but I'm glad to say most of them knew what ginger, garlic and onions looked like!



The 16 "up & coming cooks" were put into 4 groups.  2 groups had full members, ie 4 Pelicans and 4 Hawks and the other 2 groups were a mish-mash of different birds!  After the briefing, they donned the blue denim aprons and were raring to go!



According to Rohani, her culinary sessions had always been done in a relaxed style and never "competitive".  But because ours was a "challenge" among teams, she had to come up with some criteria this time as she and her team were given the task of being judges for the event.  So... the criteria to base the judging came from these factors:

*  Organisation
*  Cooperation
*  Neatness/cleanliness
*  Time management
*  Recipe interpretation
*  Cooking skills
*  Food presentation
*  Taste

The participants only knew what they were going to cook on that day itself - to avoid any unfair advantage of prior researching, haha!  Anyway, Rohani assured them that as long as they can read and follow instructions as stated on her recipes, they'd be fine :-))



Well, what do you know... even though they could all read but not everyone could follow instructions!  There were lots of laughter when some things went awry but hey, worry not - Chef Rohani was all ready with contingencies - they learned how to "salvage" their dishes, make do with "Plan B" and there's always a way to "repair" your recipe, hehe!

While they were all busy in the kitchen, what did I do?  Well, besides observing all the amusing antics and the different styles of teamwork they displayed, I had time to snap some pics (again!) of Bayan Indah.  This place really has lots to offer, in terms of photography... it's a joy to point your camera at these...



I had lots of time to poke around Bayan Indah (hehe!) as the teams took about 3.5 hours to complete their challenge.  So what did they cook?  From the earlier collage above, probably you would have some idea what was coming... but take a look now at the delicious dishes they cooked...



Curry Chicken... which went well with ...



Roti Jala (2 different methods of folding the lace-like tumeric-flavoured & coloured pancake)

... and ...



Nasi Kunyit (flavoured & coloured naturally from fresh tumeric)

More to come...



Otak-otak (made in little individual bowls for fuss-free serving)



For dessert, everyone made this...



Kuih Angkoo (popular nyonya delicacy)



All 4 groups cooked the same dishes, for fair judging and Rohani & Team actually had a tough time judging them!  Everyone did really well, as you can see here...



See... I told ya - just follow instructions and you CAN cook!

By 2pm, after the judges had made their rounds, everyone sat down to enjoy the fruits of their labour.  From the happy faces, it's evident that they all had great fun and it was a day (half a day, actually) well spent in Bayan Indah!



From this 1st Challenge, because of the awesome feedback given to the rest, I'm happy to say that I'll be organising 2 more sessions there soon.  Of course, all places have been grabbed and we're running "full house" for both upcoming sessions, yo!

Awesome Porkball Noodles @ Kota Kemuning

I started this blog in December 2007 and I can't believe it's now almost 3 years since my first post!  Since the Merdeka mood is still prevailing, with everyone reminiscing over things from the past, I couldn't help thinking back to that first post I did for this blog.  I thought it's a good idea to re-review the place after a span of 3 years :-)

We had just moved to the Kemuning neighbourhood in 2007 and were checking out the food outlets in the area.  This Imbi Road Meatballs Restaurant is one of the 2 more popular noodles shops - the other being the Pun Chun Noodles House.

On days when we're too lazy to venture out of Kemuning, most often than not, we'd head to the "porkballs noodles" place.  Yes, the "meatballs" in the name refers to porkballs, strictly that and none other!  As sure as clockwork, I will always have my favourite Loe-Shu-Fun ("rats' tails noodles"), done "dry style"! "Dry" style here will have your noodles doused in black soya sauce, some lard oil and topped with their signature minced pork...



This is pure comfort food for me - a bowl of this and I'm a happy camper.  To me, for pork noodles done this way, I must have loe-shu-fun - no other noodles will do!

LL and DL will always have their preferred choices - kwayteow and yellow noodles - also done "dry style"...



If you order the "dry style" noodles, the porkballs and BBQ "chinese pig liver sausage" are served separately...



I must mention here again that the soup served here is just pure porky delicious goodness!  There's no MSG added - you can be assured that every yummy spoonful of this soup comes from hours of boiling pork and pork bones - the robust unadulterated sweetness is unmistakable.  LL absolutely loves the BBQ sausages and we always order an extra bowl of just porkballs + BBQ sausages to satisfy his craving!



Another reason why we love coming to this place is that it's a "happy" and "homey" place!  It's a family-run business... and as this place is very popular with the Kemuning residents, I think the owners practically know every one of their customers, especially those (like us) who frequent their place so regularly.  Even so, it's always nice to be welcomed with friendly nods and smiles when we step into the shop.  If we don't go there for, let's say, more than a month, the friendly lady-boss would greet me with "oh, you so long didn't come here hoh!"  It's no wonder the place is always busy, no matter what time we go.



Oh, I must mention here again that their service staff are really excellent.  I think they are Burmese and they have not lost one bit of their "Speedy Gonzales" behaviour - they dart cheerfully around the place very speedily, serving food, clearing tables - really amazing!

After 3 years, I'm happy to say that their food and service quality had been fastidiously maintained.  The only thing that has changed is the price.  A standard bowl of noodles used to cost RM4; now it's RM5.  Oh well, considering how much higher food items now cost, compared to 3 years ago, I guess that's justifiable.




Restoran Imbi Road Meatball Noodles Restaurant
15 Jalan Anggerik Vanilla N31/N
Kota Kemuning
40460 Shah Alam
Opens daily for Breakfast & Lunch
(Same row, further down from McDonald's, a few doors away from Maybank)

Eggs & Mint Leaves Soup

Back in my childhood days in Ipoh, one of the simplest and most delicious, (at least, to me) soups my mom cooked was Eggs and Mint Leaves Soup.  Sounds weird to you all?

I love mint leaves.  I'm not sure if that's an "Ipoh thing" but I love lots of it on my curry laksa, assam laksa (of course!), assam fish, salads... I just love its fresh aromatic flavour.



I also know some people absolutely detest mint leaves - they'll pick it out tediously from whatever dish that's served with it! Hehe, no worries - just pass them to me. Mint is good for you - it helps to relieve stomach aches - did you know that?

Mom used to grow a big tub of mint leaves in the backyard. On days when she's too busy or there wasn't much stuff in the fridge, she'd just go pick some mints from the tub and cook them in egg soup for us. Back then life was simple, our needs were basic and one bowl of Eggs and Mint Leaves Soup can go a long way. On days when my mom was too busy, I took over making this soup. It's really very simple.

All you need are:

2 eggs
500ml water
100g mint leaves
Oil for frying

Method:

1. Fry eggs in some oil. Scramble them up a bit.
2. Add a dash of sesame oil for more aroma!
3. Put in water and boil with the fried eggs for about 3 minutes.
4. Chuck in the mint leaves, season with a dash of salt and serve.



I don't need Chicken Soup for my soul. Give me my Eggs and Mint Leaves Soup anytime - it warms not only my tummy, it's good for the heart and soul.

I'd like to submit this for Babe in the City_KL's annual Merdeka Open House and the theme this year is "Food from our Hearts".

I think this little recipe from me is pretty apt :-))

Koji's Comfy Pillow

This is how my rascal lil dog, Koji, sleeps!



He must think my bedroom slippers are the best pillows in the world!