五饼二鱼 Five Loaves Two Fish

Hidden in the small corner next to Young Su's Ice Cream at Precinct 88, Jalan Song, Kuching is the small cafe that is so popular on over the internet which is called Five Loaves Two Fish or 五饼二鱼 in Mandarin. After all the hype, finally I get to try it today for lunch.

Hard to See from Main Road

I went around 12 and as lucky to get a table there as it was a really small shop. This shop has a fusion of Taiwanese Cuisine and Malaysian Foochow delicacy. So we tried the Braised Pork Rice 卤肉饭 and Three Cup Chicken Rice 三杯鸡饭. In addition to that we also tried the Foochow Gong Pia with Braised Pork. Service was good and quite fast although there were quite a lot of customers.

Three Cup Chicken Rice 三杯鸡饭

The three cup chicken rice was served first. The portion was quite small but filling enough. The three cup chicken had a good ginger fragrance which is fused with aromatic mint leaves that produced a refreshing taste for the mouth. The pickled vegetables went well with it together with the rice.

Braised Pork Rice 卤肉饭

Braised Pork Rice is actually kind of like a Taiwanese appetiser dish. This is like the larger version. Minced Pork was used and the braised sauce was delicious. The saltiness and sweetness of the sauce was well balanced. I mixed everything together, the braised minced pork, the pickled vegetables and the rice before I started eating. I was really happy with the taste.

Foochow Gong Pia

A foochow traditional dish is the Gong Pia which is the bread thingy that has a tough texture. Inside it was filled with the braised meat. For me, the gong pia is a bit too blend and lack of authentic taste, but the braised meat inside compensated for that. So overall, I really liked the food there and definitely will come back again.

Photography by Nokia Lumia 1020.

Chicken Soup Mee Sua 鸡汤面线

Chicken Soup Mee Sua is one of the most traditional foochow dish and is often eaten during birthdays and chinese new year. The "mee sua" which are the long and thin noodles represents long life. Today is the first day of Chinese New Year and I had this home cooked chicken soup mee sua.

Chicken Soup Mee Sua 鸡汤面线

Just that simple dish. Some people like to add red wine into the soup to enhance the flavour. Well the most important element of this dish is definitely the broth/soup which is actually chicken soup, therefore the chicken must be of good quality. For this time we used "kampong chicken" and thus the meat has more taste and flavouring so the soup was good. Another important element is not to overcook the noodles and only put in the noodles when the water is boiling. A simple dish like that full of flavours. Wishing you all a blessed Chinese New Year.

Photography by Nokia Lumia 1020.

“Dao Sha Bao" 豆沙包 (Red Bean Paste Bun)

Red Bean Paste inside the Steamed Bun

When I was a little kid I often had this "dao sha bao" which is Hokkien language that means Red Bean Paste Bun. I used to love it until I grew older and started to lose my interest in sweet food. Today I went to "The Chef" at Parkcity with my dad for afternoon tea and we ordered this "dao sha bao" again. I once again got to reminisce the times of my childhood as I enjoyed this perfectly tasty red bean paste and the soft chewy texture of the steamed bun. Main thing here is the red bean paste was very nicely made and wasn't too sticky or gooey and the aroma of the red beans stood out. Once again, I believe many people have their own story behind this "dao sha bao". What is yours?

Photography by Nokia Lumia 1020.

For Lamb Lovers!

Black Pepper Lamb

Just love that special taste of lamb although some people gets disgusted by it right? Just want to share a dish at Reggae's Grill, Bintulu that is the Black Pepper Lamb with Rice. For me the main aspect about this dish is the black pepper sauce. A lot of times when I order food with black pepper sauce, the sauce is just sometimes "overwhelming" and lose their aroma ending up destroying the whole dish. However the black pepper that I had this time was at a balanced and gave me the "just nice" taste. One thing I realised is that the chef added mint leaves into the sauce as well to spice it up and onions definitely blended well with the sauce and the lamb.

Balanced Sauce and Lamb

The lamb on the other hand was something quite special. I find that the lamb was deep fried instead of stir fry. The texture of the meat was tender yet chewy which perfectly suited my liking. I seldom dine at Reggae's because I normally feel that their food is just "so-so" and does not really impress me, but today's black pepper lamb really gave me the "wow" factor. So all lamb lovers out there in Bintulu, you would want to try this.

Photography by Nokia Lumia 1020.

Nasi Lemak Fight Off!

This is my first post of 2014! Wishing everybody a blessed new year to begin with. Once again I'm back in Bintulu, Malaysia which is my lovely little hometown and of course, a town with good food around too! Today I would like to write about the traditional Malaysian dish which people love and can have it for breakfast, lunch or even for dinner. Guess what? It is the Malaysian Nasi Lemak! Traditionally Nasi Lemak is served with Coconut Rice, Anchovies, Peanuts, Hard Boiled Eggs, Sambal and some cucumber for garnishing. However, nowadays Nasi Lemak usually comes with various types of meat as well. The most common ones are curry or rending either chicken or beef, fried chicken and even sambal sotong (squid).

So lately I've tasted 2 different kinds of Nasi Lemak here. The Nasi Lemak Chicken Curry and the Nasi Lemak Fried Chicken. Although Nasi Lemak in my opinion always taste better in West Malaysia, the two dishes I tried here was at good standard and resemble traditional taste, especially their sambal which is the chilli paste. First let's talk about the Nasi Lemak with fried chicken.

Nasi Lemak Fried Chicken

So I tried this at Tumis Cafe, in the Park City Commercial Square area. It was a very popular spot for Nasi Lemak that is why I had always wanted to try it, but every time I get there, they were either sold out or closed. Today I did not have the intention to go there but I was just driving pass it and saw that it was open, so I decided to try my luck. So as lucky I was, here's the Nasi Lemak. The main specialty for me was the Sambal (Chilli Paste) and the Fried Chicken. So the sambal tasted different from other Nasi Lemaks that I've tried. This sambal was strong in the aroma of the spices and it was not really spicy, so this is a good news for those of you who cannot withstand spicy food but love Nasi Lemak. However for those who cannot live without chilli, you may be disappointed. Nevertheless, the aroma and taste of the sambal gave life to the whole dish. Regarding the fried chicken wing, normally when I eat fried chicken wing I find them tasteless or else just a little taste on the skin. However, the fried chicken wing here was perfectly marinated and coated with turmeric powder which really brings out the taste of traditional fried chicken. The marinate also went through the inside of the meat so even the meat tasted awesome. So fans of fried chicken, this is your place! My only complain is that the rice was not aromatic enough I guess it lacks coconut milk or they did not put much.

Nasi Lemak Chicken Curry

So now for the chicken curry Nasi Lemak, I had it at "The Chef" also at the Park City Commercial Square area. Notice the sambal here is different as well. This is more of a "drier" sambal if you want to call it that way, the taste of it is also different and it is less oily. Neither the less, it is just another kind of specialty and it is spicier than the previous one. In fact, in the menu, this dish is called Nasi Lemak Chicken Rendang, however I find the chicken is more of a curry instead of rendang, but cannot say that it is 100% curry either. It is kind of a fusion of both so it tasted special. They use drumstick for the chicken and goes really well with the curry/rendang sauce.

So now it is time to take your pick. Curry/Rendang or Fried Chicken? Leave a comment below regarding your taste!

Photography by Nokia Lumia 1020.

Grilled Lemongrass Chicken Chop and Fried Egg on Rice @ Red Silks, Melbourne

My apologies guys for not updating this blog for such a long while. Been busy with uni work and preparing for exams lately. Just want to share a quick post over here. Well as I mentioned I've been preparing for exams lately and of course before studying, I have to fill up my tummy. One afternoon my friend and I were scratching our head and couldn't think of any places for our lunch. As we walked we finally came to Red Silks on Bourke St in Mid City Arcade. It's been awhile since we've last been here and I just want to quickly recommend their Grilled Lemongrass Chicken Chop and Fried Egg on Rice.

Grilled Lemongrass Chicken Chop and Fried Egg on Rice

Appetizing yea? This is really delicious. They truly grilled the chicken and brought out a nice awesome fragrance fused with the strong aroma of lemongrass. It also comes with a sauce which I don't know its name, but it is very similar to the sauce you get when you order Vietnamese Broken Rice. Awesome dish! Wanna have some quick lunch? Come over to Red Silks as they are many good choices of food as well!

Photography by Samsung Galaxy Note II.

N2 Extreme Gelato @ Brunswick St

N2 Extreme Gelato

Very interesting and had been trending like crazy lately especially among dessert lovers is the N2 Extreme Gelato on Brunswick Street. They are famous for their unique flavour combination of gelato and you can even find mind blowing flavours such as strawberry black pepper and miso caramel. Besides that, their gelato are made by using liquid nitrogen and this results in creamy smooth texture. So for the past few weeks, whenever I open up my Instagram I kept on seeing posts about N2 and wondered if it is really that special. I asked a few friends of mine, some said its really good and some said it is just gelato nothing special. So today after dinner at Dumpling Den, my friend and I head out on foot from Carlton to Brunswick to try it out. Took us around 30 minutes to get there on foot and we were lucky that there were not many customers at that time. 

At Work

So next to the counter you see a row high tech glossy white machines operated by the stuff.  So it works like this. You place your order at the counter and pay the bill of course, then the workers will work on your order on one of these machines. So basically your order is freshly made unlike those gelato out there where you choose which flavour you want and they scoop it up for you in a cone or a cup. 

Menu

Hmm, speaking about flavours, the menu is changed every week with different varieties of flavours. One of the previous weeks they actually had a flavour called "Kaya Toast" which is a Malaysian local delicacy. I forgot to mention that the founders of N2 are Malaysians as well. So the menu is visible on the wall the moment you step in the shop. I was lucky today that the very popular "Creme Brûlée" flavour was available this week. Due to it's popularity I decided to go with it since creme brulee is actually a hot dessert and I was curious how it tasted in ice cold gelato form. My friend went for the "French Earl Grey Dulce De Leche" which is basically Earl Gray flavour which was very popular as well. So after placing our order we waited in front of the machines and watched the staff at work making our gelato with liquid nitrogen. Very interesting indeed and since photos tell a better story in this case, here are some photos of the progress. 

After pouring in the liquid nitrogen

One of the workers in action

Finishing touch of the Earl Grey

Finishing touch on my creme brûlée to give it the layer of hard caramel

Watching the whole process was very interesting and I am impressed at how professional they are. Since there were a few orders ahead of us we waited for around 10 minutes which is worth the wait in my opinion. So after putting on a great nitrogen show for us, here came the most important part - the quality and taste. I actually put my expectations quite high for them since there were so many good reviews about it and considering how unique they are. So before we start digging in, I snapped a shot of both cups of gelato. Just an advise for those photographers out there, the lighting in the shop at night is not very good as it was not well lit and there were harsh yellow lighting here and there, so if you photographers are considering taking some good pictures there at night, you might want to consider about the lighting conditions and maybe perhaps bring along a fast aperture lens. 

Creme Brûlée (Left) & French Earl Grey (Right)

Alrighty back to our main topic today which is the taste. So finally after trying hard to get a well lit and steady shot, I started digging in. So I cracked the hard layer on top of my creme brûlée and mixed it with the gelato underneath and took a spoonful. Just as expected, the texture of the gelato was really smooth and soft. The moment it entered my mouth it started melting inside. The flavour was thick enough and I love it that it was not sweet. I guess I've mentioned a few times before in my previous posts that I'm not a fan of sweet stuff and this is definitely something I would enjoy. The hard layer on top had a tiny bit of "burnt" taste and mixed perfectly with the creme brûlée flavour. Definitely a thumbs up and something worth coming for.

I'm loving it!

I also tasted a bit of my friend's Earl Grey flavour. One interesting that we noticed is that there were actually bits of visible earl grey tea leaves inside the gelato. They appeared as dots and we are guessing that the tea leaves were made into powder and mixed into the gelato to give it a good flavour. The same awesome thing about this flavour is that it is really not sweet and the flavouring was very aromatic. On top of that, the super smooth texture melts in your mouth and the flavour immediately "bursts" out and I call that "AWESOME". Definitely another thumbs up!

Thumbs up!

Despite the fact that the cup looks small, you will be amazed at the amount of gelato that was squeezed into that small cup. Definitely more than enough. So in conclusion, N2 Extreme Gelato, absolutely something special and worth coming for with your family and friends. 

Graffiti at the carpark

329 Brunswick StreetFitzroy,

VIC 3065.

Photography by Canon EOS 7D with Sigma 30mm f/1.4