The Red Beanbag

Before the 4 of us shared lunch at The Beato Steakhouse, we went for breakfast at The Red Beanbag at Publika too for one of us is a coffee lover. The 3 of us had to wait for about 30 minutes for a table and by the time we got a table, the 4th friend (ramen lover) had finished his ramen meal and joined us for dessert.

Smoked salmon, 2 poached eggs, hollandaise sauce, spinach, bread - MYR24

French Toast with almond flakes, maple syrup, fruits - MYR15

Banana Walnut Bread, Maple Syrup, Coffee Peanut Butter - MYR15

Passionfruit, Orange, Yogurt with no added preservatives and no added sugar - MYR7 and it tastes good. There were two cups of coffee which I did not take any photo of and I do not know the total bill amount because my friend picked up the tab for this meal. All four of us shared all the food here.

The Beato Steakhouse

Yesterday (Sunday), my friend who is a steak lover finally agreed to accompany me to Publika to try out dry aged beef for lunch along with 2 other friends.

Definition of Dry Aged Beef

Part of the menu (copied from Beato's facebook page). I am not sure whether the other prices are current or not so I have covered them. We ordered Dry Aged Beef - Grain Fed Ribeye 250g and Wet Aged Beef - Tenderloin (Filet Mignon) 200g.

We were served 4 warm rolls - crusty on the outside and soft inside - with balsamic vinegar on the house while waiting.   

Dry Aged Beef - Grain Fed Ribeye 250g (MYR39/100g) so it came to MYR97.50 with only grilled garlic and a slice of lemon accompanying it.

We asked for it to be done 'Medium well'.

3 types of mustard were served with the dry aged steak - horseradish mustard, dijon mustard, and wholegrain mustard. Personally I do not think mustard is needed at all, the beef tastes very good as it is.

Wet Aged Beef - Tenderloin (Filet Mignon) 200g at MYR60/100g so it came to MYR120 for this thick small piece of steak with grilled garlic and a slice of lemon. 

We ordered this to be done 'medium' but I find it too red for my liking. Very tender with the special beef taste. Four of us shared these two plates of steaks.

We also ordered a plate of grilled sea prawns and scallops from the appetizers section in the menu - MYR39 - for sharing too. Total bill came to MYR297.55 with 3 glasses of cold water on the house. I like that the steaks were served without any sauce so that we can truly taste the beef. Will definitely come here again for special occasions but will choose 'medium well'.

Located at Solaris Dutamas (Publika). There is another outlet at Bangsar. I think every steak lover should try out this place at least once.

Wobbly

Jelly Coconut (MYR6.50) bought from Dusun stall in LG Midvalley/Gardens Mall. Very soft wobbly jelly and refreshing too with young coconut flesh which I always scrap off completely to eat without leaving any behind. I do not know where Dusun sourced this coconut but the texture is like Joez Coconut Jelly from Penang.

Once in a blue moon

Put salmon into boiling water and bring to a simmer. I found myself poaching salmon today and the way I cook is I don't use any seasoning at all so this is just salmon and water. 

Did something today I would not usually do. I saw fresh salmon atlantic fillets selling for MYR5.99 per 100g and so I chose one and paid MYR26.24 for it. Then only it dawned on me that I have to cook it because my mother is not at home today and I want to eat it fresh so I use the more than lazy way to cook it, just put the salmon as it is into boiling water and leave it to simmer after running water over it to wash away any unwanted bits on it.

Took out a piece with skin (the grey patch at the side is the skin) to make sure that it is fully cooked.

Break up the salmon into pieces using a fork and a spoon so that the thicker parts will be cooked too. Removed the salmon when it is just fully cooked and eat it as it is with my spouse with no seasoning at all.

The water is so oily from the salmon oil and I am not going to cook any soup or sauces with it but it is a waste to pour it away so what do I do with it?

Put in 4 slices of wholemeal bread to soak up the water.

And eat them all up.

That is why I do not cook because when I do, I usually end up eating a lot and is so, so full after that.

Yau Yu Ong Choy

"Yau Yu" is Cantonese for squid and "Ong Choy" is Cantonese for Water Spinach (Kang Kung).

I asked for the peanut sweet plum sauce to be served separately and not mixed into the dish and the old lady asked me using English, why I made such a request. I replied that I do not like to eat sauce and do not want to eat so much sauce and she told me, it is not nice to eat without mixing them together but she still complied with my request. Actually I find the dish quite nice to eat this way. Costs MYR8.

The peanut and sauce served separately.

Penang Koay Teow Kitchen

Update: 22 Aug 2016 (Monday) - This eatery is no longer operating at this location. I have no idea where it is located now.

Duck Egg Koay Teow - MYR8.50 nett - there are two big prawns and plenty of deep fried pork lard (chu yau char) so definitely can order this again but will request for the pork lard to be omitted since I don't eat them.

Duck Koay Teow Soup - MYR7.50 nett - my spouse feels that the koay teow noodle is too soft but the taste is good with deep fried garlic bits in the soup.

 Clean and tidy eatery

Penang Koay Teow Kitchen, 19-G, Jalan Kuchai Lama Maju 6, Jalan Kuchai Lama, 58200 KL. Will be back to try the other items. Closed on Wednesday.

Beef Tendon

\

This is what I wanted to eat when my friend was eating Yoshinoya beef rice - Braised Beef La Mian at Din Tai Fung, MidValley MegaMall - MYR20.50 - for the two pieces of soft beef tendon in the noodle and that one piece of very tender beef with tendon in the meat. This bowl will last me till end of the year.

Can't eat here and not order the Xiao Long Bao so we ordered a small portion of 6 for MYR11.20

Then I saw this - seems like a new item on the menu - so I ordered a plate because I have a weakness for red bean. 

Red Bean Rolls - MYR6.50 for two. Not oily at all and though it is sweet, it is not very, very, very sweet so eating one piece should be fine, not cloying at all. The total bill came up to MYR47.20 after 10% service charge and 6% government tax including a cup of bottomless hot chinese tea (MYR2.50) that only one of us drank.

Fully occupied for brunch on Sunday until we had to ask for the tea and ginger condiment when there were no signs of them long after all our main food were served.

Yoshinoya is back!

Took over the space vacated by Watami Japanese Casual Restaurant at the 3rd floor of MidValley Megamall, same floor as the cinema. I remember years ago, it used to be located on the Lower Ground floor where Rasa Utara restaurant is now.

Self-service - place your order at the counter, pay, wait and carry your tray with food to your seat.

Shares the dining area with a drinks counter and Hanamaru Udon.

The full menu - apart from beef, they also serve salad, chicken, egg, curry. Please click on the above menu to view the bigger version.

My friend bought a bowl of regular beef rice bowl - MYR9.80 nett. The beef is sliced thinly and I noticed there is quite a lot of fat on the beef slices. These are not raw beef slices but cooked ones. I did not order anything because I wanted to eat somewhere else.

Must not forget to take your own pickled ginger to go with the beef rice from another counter.

There was quite a queue at the Udon counter - will try this one next time.

Super Tasty Mee Hoon

Very, very soft and tasty stir fried bittergourd  meehoon - MYR15.90

As usual when we are at Oriental Cravings, One Utama, we will order Chicken & Wine Mee Suah - MYR23.90 and Wat Dan Hor (as shown below).

Cantonese Style Stir Fried Noodle (Hor Fun - Wat Dan Hor) - MYR16.90 - The price for each dish has increased by MYR1 since July last year.

Peel Paus

Bought a Char Siew (BBQ Pork) Pau for lunch (MYR1.70) and as can be seen, the skin has some black dots on it.

So I just do what most people do when they buy paos from roadside stalls or coffee shops - peel off the skin. Is life too short to peel paus? Obviously not when the skin has obviously been left out in the open for quite a while.

Is this a cost saving measure? Still no signs of the fillings and I am nearly halfway through it. I think many of you make better paus than this.

Abiu

One day, my mother asked me to eat an unknown fruit she bought from the market. The fruit seller at the wet market told her that this fruit is from the Amazon area, South America and is good for I-forgot-what-it-is-good-for-sorry.

It has slimy flesh around the seeds

Quite sweet and I could not detect any special taste though some of my siblings say that it has a weird taste.

This is how it looks like. The name is Abiu (Pouteria caimito). You can google for more information if you are interested. Not sure how much it costs too here.

Shed meal

Yin Yong (Cantonese style stir fry hor fun and deep fried mihun with egg) - Wat Dan Hor - MYR6.50 served in a pretty ancient plate that has seen better days.

Hokkein style stir fry yellow noodle (Hokkein Char) - MYR6.50 served in a common red plastic plate. I guess they ran out of ancient used plates.

A Dai Char  (Big Fry Up) stall set up in the back lane of shops. These stalls are very commonly found here and despite the not-so-comfortable dining condition, there are still many people who frequent stalls like this.