A Gateway to Scallop, the Scallop.Q

It's another Taiwanese invasion that the scallop is landing in Malaysia. Scallop.Q士林干貝燒 has won the Taiwan Golden Product Award by specializing in grilled scallops that come in various flavours. We've found this small store at the lower ground level of Gurney Plaza. Headache, total of 11 flavours to be chosen from! They're Scallop.Q Special严选招牌, Natural Sea Salt人妻海盐, Wasabi Pepper Salt小三芥末, Special Mix随便, Japanese Seaweed日式海苔, Barbecue Bonita酱烧柴鱼, Lemon Pepper Salt柠檬椒盐, Indian Spicy Curry印度咖喱, Sour and Spicy Thai Sauce泰式酸辣, French Garlic法式香蒜 and American Black Pepper美式胡椒. Each stick consists of 4 pieces of scallops.

How're the scallops being prepared? Firstly, the scallops are grilled on the fire and then being wiped with a yellowish liquid that I guess that it's butter. Followed by is to sweep a brownish sauce that I think it's Teriyaki sauce onto the scallops. The last step is to pour the different types of flavoured powders onto the grilled scallops. The powder mix is segregated in numbering such as 1 for Special, 2 is Sea Salt, 3 is Wasabi... The different seasoning is the Thai chili sauce that is indeed in liquid form and it's being brushed onto the scallops.

All of us like the scallops so much that they've stimulated our hunger for more sticks. My favourite scallops are the Scallop.Q Special and the French Garlic. How about you?

China + Muslim = CM + R = CMR

On a treat from our newly promoted boss and as a farewell to our colleague, the dinner is planned at CMR at the D'Piazza Mall. CMR stands for China Muslim Restaurant中国穆斯林餐馆 and this Halal restaurant is using the Muslim Chef that is imported from China. Decorated with paintings in Arabic words and Chinese characters, this ample space is able to cater at least 100 guests.

Dislike of having a fix set menu, we've decided to do À la carte. Starting with their CMR signatory dishes, we've ordered the Special Deep Fried Mutton Chop招牌羊排, the Xi Xia Deep Fried Mutton Sirloin西夏炸羊背 and the Stir Fried Beef with Sweet Potato动感牛肉. Comparing the mutton, the chop is drier while the sirloin is juicier yet slightly more chewy. Both of these mutton are being served with chili powder to reduce the strong smell. I prefer the mutton chop as it's crispier and the awful goat's smell is less. Indeed, I dislike the chili powder as it's not spicy and it's making the meat to taste powdery. The thinly sliced meat tastes a little dry but I like the idea of matching the meat to the sweet potato as the taste is complete that this dish is delicious.

The next to follow is the "ThaiChi" Tomyam Soup"泰中"式酸辣汤 that comes with mixed seafood and the Deep Fried Jenahak Fish with Spices风情烤鱼. I find the dishes to be quite ordinary and they taste indeed quite sweet despite of the red shiny sauce. The same goes to the Stir Fried Petai with Prawn臭豆炒虾 that it tastes as well quite sweet. By the way, I think this should be stir fried prawn as the Petai is too less.

A little towards Chinese cuisine, we've taken the Crispy Yam Ring with Chicken & Vegetable飘香芋环 and the Fried Broccoli with Mushroom西兰花炒香菇. I'm disappointed with the yam ring as the yam is tasteless and it's too compact. The broccoli is neither special to be discussed. Besides, Lai Lee has ordered the Spicy Fried Chicken辣子鸡块. My first impression tells me that the dish is not tasty. The chicken has been cut into too small pieces and there has been too many bones. It's not tasty either that it tastes a little sweet instead of spicy. We've ordered also an appetizer of Deep Fried Seafood Tofu海鲜豆腐 but it's then served as the last dish. Look, the squid is inside the mixture with the Tofu! I find the dish to be tasty and it's really a nice snack that I'm enjoying at.

Personally, there's no clear distinction between the Chinese and Muslim's tastes at CMR. It has come to a level that the food is either not spicy or it's too sweet. I'm happy that the whole team has enjoyed the chatting session and we've come to an agreement that we dislike the food here.

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The Italiana... Spasso Milano at Pavilion

Looking for authentic Italian pizza in Kuala Lumpur or the so-called 'Non-Halal' pizza in Attila's point of view, we've finally found one inside the Pavilion. In my memory, Spasso Milano that is located in Penang is a Halal restaurant. Thus, it's a surprise to me that the same restaurant but at different state is indeed a Non-Halal Italian Restaurant.

Without second thought, Attila has decided to go for their wood-fired oven pizza. Instead of taking the Salumi Assortiti that is served with assorted Italian cold cut, he has decided for his favourite spicy Salami only. Crusty pizza dough that is topped with tomato paste and a very thin layer of cheese that is then being garnished with porky Salami, this is the pizza that can stimulate Attila's mood and appetite. Oppositely, I dislike the pizza here for the weird taste of the tomato paste. The sourness is too strong that it has covered the saltiness of the Salami. I'm just too full to go for a Carbohydrate and thus I've asked for a appetizer that is the Grilled Squid. The squid that is grilled is then being poured with a lemon-based sauce that tastes slight spicy whereby the aroma is being enhanced by the addition of the garlic and black pepper. I find the sauce to be too salty but it goes well with the squid except that the squid is too soft as it's not fresh.

I'm happy that Attila has finally achieved his mission to have an authentic Italian pizza in Kuala Lumpur. It's time to check out if the Spasso Milano Penang is as well Non-Halal...

Bah Kut Teh Dinner

It's a rainy night, we've decided to have a hot pot of Bah Kut Teh for our dinner. We drop by at Beng Heang Bah Kut Teh明香肉骨茶 that is located nearby Su's house at Ayer Itam. They're operating for both lunch and dinner hours. The customers are coming in and out non-stop ever since we've started our dinner here. Apparently, the Bah Kut Teh should taste good here.

Only 4 of us yet we've indeed ordered 4 dishes. The main dish is of course the Bah Kut Teh that is not only consisting of almost the whole pig such as the lean meat, fat meat, pork ribs, 'spare parts' or the pork intestines and pork meat ball but also the vegetarian like golden mushroom, button mushroom and lettuce. I personally find the Bah Kut Teh to be delicious here as I've enjoyed the thick and strong herb's smell of the soup.

For side dishes, we've ordered the Pork Knuckle in Vinegar猪脚醋,  Lettuce in Oyster Sauce蚝油玻璃生菜 and the Tofu豆腐. Su and I have to finish the Pork Knuckle as Phui Yee dislikes the sourness of the vinegar. In fact, the dish is tasty as the vinegar is strong yet it's not too sour that I've hated it and it has indeed stimulated my appetite to hungry for more. The lettuce is quite okay with its oyster sauce. Anyway, I dislike the meat floss that becomes too soft in the sauce. The Tofu is ordered specially for myself alone. The little soup is insufficient to give taste to the Tofu and it's indeed alike a cold dish. Well, we've finally decided to pour the Tofu into the pot of hot Bah Kut Teh.

For those whom dislikes white rice as I do, you can try their Yam Rice. I think that the yam is too less yet the taste is good because of the saltiness and the nice aroma of the dried shrimps.

I like the Bah Kut Teh for its strong herb's taste and it does remind me to the taste that I've normally known of. It's somehow depending on your taste bud, if you'll get fancy over this blackish soup here.

Sawara, 100% Mackerel Fish

Sawara Restaurant has opened its branch at Krystal Point since August 2012. Their specialties are the Steamboat and the Clay Pot Fish Head that are using purely Mackerel Fish. A good reason is the Mackerel fish does not contain strong and awful fishy smell and it's indeed a useful ingredient to add a natural sweetness and freshness to the boiling soup. 4 of us have decided to hangout for a hot steamboat dinner on a cold rainy night.

Based on the headcount, we're recommended with the sharing portion that costs us RM 88. This Set A consists of various ingredients that range from seafood and meat such as Prawn蝦, Sliced Fish魚片, Jelly Fish海蜇, Cuttle Fish魷魚, Chicken雞, Homemade Fish Scoop自制魚滑, Fish Roll with Celery芹菜魚塑, Beancurd Sheet Stuffed豆皮(攔花干), Fish Dumpling魚餃 to vegetables such as White Cabbage白菜, Taiwanese Cabbage小白菜 and mushroom families like Golden Mushroom金針菇 and Abalone Mushroom鮑魚菇. Additionally, the waitress has suggested the Fish Head魚頭 that the soup is sweeter and tastier. I've no clue if there's anything being missed out but I guess we've had enough for our steamboat. Throwing every single ingredients into the big pot and just waiting for it to boil...

The soup is quite delicious as it does taste sweet and fresh without the stinky fish's smell. My favourite is the Homemade Meat Ball自制豬肉丸 and their special chili paste. I like the slight rough texture and tenderness of the minced pork. With their specially blended chili that is spicy yet tastes a little sweet, it matches the steamboat well.

We've enjoyed the steamboat dinner at Sawara. It's not the best steamboat that I've ever had but it's definitely one of the restaurant that I'll revisit for the dish. The only concern is the bad attitude of the waiter that we feel reluctant of having him to take our order and to serve us.

Jammin at Weld Quay

Jammin is located at 2nd Floor that is just on top of Via Pre by Weld Quay. The same owner of Via Pre is coming with a totally new and different experience that  here is a place for lounge, music, live band and they're concentrating in Al Fresco Dining or everything that is about 'Grill'. The Pork Free menu is indeed preparing this place for Malay customers as well. Stepping out from the elevator, the first glance is an amazing view of the spacious area that is equipped with big tables and comfortable sofas or chairs that you can gather for chit-chatting with fellow friends. Alternatively for couples that are looking for romance and silence among each other, you can sit down by the balcony and enjoying the sea view with the cooling wind.

We're recommended with their special of the day, the Burrata Platter. It consists of Via Pre homemade sausage, Parma Ham, Rocket Salad and Melon. The minced meat tastes a little dry yet I like the slight burnt of the grilled sausage that has created a slight crispiness at its outer skin. The saltiness of the sausage is just-to-taste that it's just delicious on its own without any additional sauce or seasoning. The gang has indeed enjoyed the combination of the Parma Ham with the Melon as the saltiness and the strong nutty taste of this special ham goes well with the sweetness of the melon fruit. Oh ya, the platter comes as well with a big round ball of Mozarella Cheese!

I've asked for myself the Aglio & Olio Tutto Mare or the mixed seafood spaghetti. The traditional Aglio & Olio spaghetti that is fried with garlic, chili flakes and olive oil is then being sauteed with mixed seafood such as prawn, scallop, squid and clam before serving. I've somehow felt a lost as this dish here is not added with a special fish delicacy that is called Bottarga. Furthermore, the seafood is not so fresh especially my favourite scallop that I'm suspecting maybe from canned food.

Ending with a sweet dessert from the limited menu during the night, I've taken the Profitteroles that are bignets filled with Chantilly and then covered with dark chocolate sauce. In short, the puffy pastries are sandwiched with fresh cream and poured with chocolate sauce on top before being decorated with grounded peanuts. I'm still wondering, will the dessert taste even more delicious if both the cream and the chocolate sauce are thicker?

If you're asking for my opinion, the perfect choice will be to order my food from Via Pre and then to enjoy it with leisurely pace at Jammin. I like the seafood and porky pasta from Via Pre but I prefer the cozy ambient at Jammin. Is it a difficult request? Ask the waiter for assistance ;)
Do follow Via Pre on facebook if you want to know more about the latest events at Jammin.