Din Tai Fung @ Mid Valley Gardens, Malaysia Week

This is for you 3 hungry tummies! Sorry it's taken a while =)


Also, to all my dear readers and fellow bloggers, I'm going to be away for the next week and a half in Malaysia attending a wedding and eating up a storm...

So I thought I'd celebrate by taking you on a few past culinary adventures in the Land of Food... enjoy...


There a lot of food reviews regarding Din Tai Fung (in Malaysia), and I'm waiting anxiously for them to open up in Melbourne (they're already in Sydney)... They are originally from Taiwan, and have recently expanded across the globe, showering us with their delightful xiao long baos...


Not being a fan of most Taiwanese cuisine, I was pleasantly surprised when Big Sis and Big Bro took both Madam Mummy and I here...


We started off with a cold Jellyfish dish (vinegar, sesame seeds and chili)


Followed by some spicy chili won ton (dumplings)


And of course, the famed Xiao Long Baos... (I somehow missed a picture of the vinegar and freshly julienned ginger --> Although, you can see it in the corner of the pictures ^_^)

I'm only a recent convert to Xiao Long Baos... (and I still kick myself for not trying one of the best ones in Crystal Jade in Hong Kong)

These were actually quite good... but I still love the one's in Melbourne's Hutong


Next was an assorted arrangement of delicacy... my favourite... century eggs!!

These were done quite interestingly, served with steamed tofu, salted egg yolk and caramelised pork floss...


Put that all on a spoon and pop that straight into your mouth for a delicious mouthful of texture


Cha Jiang La Mien (Noodles with minced pork and tofu and broad bean sauce)

This was so-so, nothing spectacular.. and was pretty averaged


Of course, we had desserts as well.. =)

Big Bro ordered a glutinous black bean dumpling served in a red bean soup


Mum ordered a ginkgo with yam (taro) soup...



I would definitely love to go again if time permits on my next visit.. or maybe *hopefully* if they do open up in Melbourne, then I'm the first one in!

*Disclaimer: All food ratings are purely based on my own experiences and how I feel about the service, food and quality

Food/ Cuisine: Chinese
Dining Style: Restaurant
Overall Food Rating (Based on the Dining style): 7.5/10
Restaurant ambiance: 7/10
Service/ Attitude: 6.5/10 (They are a tad slow, and insisted on speaking only Chinese...so I kept replying back in English *meh*)
Value for money: 7/10

Address:
Lot LG-207
Lower Ground Floor
The Gardens
Mid Valley City
Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia

Tel:(03) 2283 2292

Din Tai Fung
is open daily

How to get there:

View Larger Map

My Mother's Mee Bandung Recipe...

Hello Folks... Let today be the firsts of Home Cooked Tuesdays

This is quite a big recipe and includes a lot of pictures taken of Madam Mummy cooking and me generally being in the way...

First up, a list of the ingredients used for this fantastic dish.. (Which Madam Mummy claims she learnt from an Indonesian lady)...

I've compiled the pictures to make it easier to follow... as there are quite a lot of pictures!

Start by frying the firm tofu and letting it rest. When you're ready to serve, slice the tofu up.


To make the soup stock, it is very easy.

First, place discarded prawn shells and heads into water (to make stock) and bring it to boil.

Drain the stock of the shells and add in the pork rib pieces, some whole shallots and whole garlic... leave to simmer...


Add some tomato ketchup into the soup to give it a sweet taste


Using a mortar and pestle, pound the dried shrimps, chili paste, shallots to make a paste.

This base paste will be used in all of the dishes and is key to the Mee Bandung!


Sambal Prawn (Chilli Prawns)

Heat some oil in a wok and put in about 2 tablespoons of the chilli paste and fry until fragrant


Add more chilli paste if necessary (if you want it thicker/hotter/spicier) and put in the prawns (deshelled and deveined)


The finished product... would taste even better if you add some petai (otherwise known as stink bean or bitter bean) into it


Sambal Sotong (Chilli Cuttlefish)
To prepare the Cuttlefish, clean it and slice into equal lengths (about 5 cm or more, again depending on you)

Using the same chilli paste as before, add 1 teaspoon of brown sugar (I've been told that this is the secret ingredient)

In another bowl, take a few pieces of tamarind and soak it with water (about a 50cents piece)


As before, heat up some oil in the work and fry the chilli paste until fragrant, adding in the cuttlefish once it is ready.

Add some stock (from the soup, 2 ladles) and the tamarind paste...


Dish up and everything is ready to serve!

Serve with yellow egg noodles, lettuce, bean curd, egg slices, bean sprouts and coriander


A delicious meal that will make you crave for more each after every spoonful!

Som Tam @ Siam Square SOI 5, Bangkok

"Whatever you do in Bangkok, you HAVE to visit Som Tam!!", my dear bronzed friend declared to me.



So when our van from the airport drove past Som Tam on the way to the hotel, I exclaimed excitedly to Madam Mummy, "REMEMBER where that shop is!"...

Turns out, the Restaurant was only 1 road away from Novotel, where we were staying for the next few nights... "Hurrah!"



Som Tam literally translates to "papaya salad".. which is one of the key things to eat when one is in Thailand =)

Wiki says, "Som tam or Som tum (Thai: ส้มตำ, IPA: [sôm ɗam]) also known as Tam bak hoong (Isan: ตำบักหุ่ง, IPA: ɗam bak huŋ) is a spicy salad made from shredded unripened papaya."

As could be seen by the many people gathering outside waiting to get in, and the generous load of newspaper article's stuck to the main door, this was the right place to be!



The really nice wood panneling ...



The place wasn't very big, however, many people were able to be squeezed in their premises

They also sold deep fried pork crackling...!!



My giant coconut (which was pretty expensive.. got charged 55 baht for it... when I can find it outside for only 20 baht)



Pork Crackling served with fresh green chillis



Lemongrass Pork



Fresh Crab Som Tam... Som Tam Bla Rah



Note: The dishes above are definitely not for the faint hearted as they were really spicy!!! Except for the lemongrass pork... Overall food was excellent.. and extremely clean... we came back here 2 days in a row =)

Overall Food Rating: 9/10
Restaurant ambiance: 9/10
Value for money: 7.5/10

Address:
Som Tam
SOI 5
Siam Square

How to get there: You can take one of their Skytrains (BTS) and get off Siam Square station (Same stop as for Siam Paragon Mall)

One Night In Bangkok

Thought I'd better post up my trip to Bangkok which I went to in January with Madam Mummy ;)



Stayed in Novotel in Siam Square... and was tickled to see the options provided by the hotel in the room.. hee hee hee



Bathroom was nice and big... and the toiletries provided were really cool looking...



Traffic was horrendous and madness!



There were a lot of these shrines set up which the local's had set up offerings and passers-by would stop and pray... (which we followed suit)



We stayed in close proximity to Siam Paragon... one of the prettiest shopping center's I've visited and I couldn't help comparing it to KL's very own Pavillion...



Things were double the price of RRP elsewhere, so I refrained from shopping in the malls... with boutiques and roadside stalls as well as markets nearby, why would anyone want to shop in the shopping center is beyond me... 0_0



A living garden within the foyer of Siam Paragon...



Waterway's in their Lower Ground floor was absolutely captivating as well...



One of the funny boutiques signs that Madam Mummy spotted and insisted I take a photo of =)



In the night, Madam Mummy and I just took a stroll around the area (Siam Square) and ate at the roadside...



We ordered Pad Thai, but communication error and we had Stir-Fried Prawns with Rice instead...



CIMB Thai Bank --> JUST FOR YOU My Gigolo



Literally the view next to our table...



The condiments...



My camwhore shot of the night...



The mistaken but still good order of the night ... if I remember correctly, this was just 35 baht... SO CHEAP!



This was a stall selling grilled squid with lots of chillies... SO GOOD.... 70 bht for 3 sticks I think..



Another stall selling some deep-fried snack



The view of a lighted up Xmas tree even tho it was the middle of January =)



And one more...



Tune in for a food review tomorrow =)