Category Archives: Gastronomy

Chabuton Ramen – Bangkok, Thailand

06 Thursday Dec 2012

Posted by in Gastronomy, Oversea Restaurants, Thailand, Travel

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The poster claims that the owner / chef Yasuji Morizumi-san of this ramen-chain being a “King of Ramen” caught my eye while I was strolling in Central shopping centre (The newest addition of big malls in Bangkok). On top of that, he is also the owner of the world’s first ramen shop to appear in the Michelin Guide.

Interesting… How can I know try, right? Ramen Menu

I ordered the Tonkotsu Ramen and my colleague had the Shio Tonkotsu Ramen. As we were keen to try other side dishes, we ordered the small bowl version at 130 thai-bath (RM13++).

My version is slightly creamier version of the Shio version. Personally, I kind of prefer the Shio version more (it’s a classic case of the other side is always greener… hohoho), but, the original is actually quite good. I like that the noodle texture is really nice and bouncy. The tonkotsu (pork bone) soup is not too salty (unlike some Ramen place I’ve been too). I actually love the pork slices even tough it’s quite fat. The good thing about it is that it was cooked really well that the fat melts right away when inside your mouth. Tonkatsu Ramen

As for the side, we ordered the chicken karaage (friend chicken) and also the Negi (spring onion). The chicken was ok – Nothing fantastic. I love taking my ramen with heaps of Negi. Yum yum…So, I was very happy they offer the availability to order one whole side of it.

Chicken Karaage

Negi

Do I love it? I guess. It definitely has one of the better soups I had tried so far. I drained the whole bowl of soup. Hehehe…

Does it live up to its King of Ramen title? I don’t know. I not yet tried ALL the Ramen in this world to justify that.  ;p

Cendol Bakar – Jalan Kuala Selangor, Malaysia

12 Monday Nov 2012

Posted by in Gastronomy, Local Restaurants

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When I was younger, I absolutely refuse to partake on Cendol.

** Cendol is a local dessert here in Malaysia. Sometimes, we have it as a drink. So, it’s a little weird for my oversea friends to see us having our desserts before our meal. hohoho…In it’s most basic form, it consists of ice shavings drenched with coconut milk and gula melaka / palm sugar with heaps of green noodles.

The reason I refuse to take cendol is because of those green noodles, which is basically the ‘main’ ingredient of cendol. Why? They remind me of worms ! hehehe… So, I’ll always have cendol without the green noodle. I know – I’m weird. Thankfully, I’ve outgrown my childish fear. LOL… I do eat them now… but, I usually leave most of them for hubby (never did told him my fear for these green noodles).

On our drive to Kuala Selangor for seafood, we chance upon this Cendol Bakar signage. We’ve never heard of Cendol Bakar (fired / roast). In fact, it did sound bizzare. How to you roast ice?

Hence, we were really curious about it. So, we agreed to make a stop for it on our way back after lunch.

Aside from the ‘bakar’, I was also impressed with the implementation of drive-thru concept for this dessert / drink. It’s truly an smart move. Most people would refuse to get down from their car on a hot day and would rather drive pass this stall (along a main road). By allowing the guest to order from their car and zoom off with this nice cooling drink would be really tempting. So, it’s no surprise this place is packed !

We ordered 3 bowls between the 4 of us. The durian pulut was really good. I don’t really like the one with Tapai (traditional fermented food – sweet and sour alcoholic paste). I guess that is an acquired taste.

So, where does the bakar comes in? Supposely, they roast the gula melaka first before melting it into syrup. Once roasted, the gula melaka taste is more intense and pack with flavors.

I’m not too sure I taste the difference. But, I do give the boss the credit for this interesting method. It sure pulls in a lot of customers to his place and the drive-thru is seriously simple and effective move. Very smart guy indeed. 🙂

BTW, you can get refill FREE of Charge. And on top of that, the owner gives out free bowls of Cendol to handicapped and poor folks. Just bring along your JKM card as proof. We applaud the boss for his kindness and decided not to take the free refill offer.

Les Charlottes en Ville – Lille, France

09 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by in France, Gastronomy, Oversea Restaurants, Travel

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While strolling around the quaint town of Lille, hub and I stumble upon this little café / restaurant. It’s a bar / restaurant specialises in potato! Interesting.

I’m not a big fan of potato myself. To me, potato has always been like a supporting actor in a plate. Most of the time, I’ll leave them untouched (and hubby will finish it). Since it was close to lunch time, we decided to hop in and give this a try.

The waitress was a really sweet girl and she helped translate the menu for us.

As I was not very hungry, I went with the Entrecôte grillé, sauce poivre (pepper), crème ciboulette (abit like sour cream but, it’s made with Crème Fraiche drizzled with chives). As you can see, the portion of potato is more than the meat itself.

The steak was done to my liking (Medium Rare) but it was nothing spectacular. As for the star of the plate – the potato, it was sublime indeed. The potato is baked so well that each bite melts in my mouth. It’s almost like eating mash. The taste was so good even without the crème ciboulette. Yumz. This time, I finished up my potato…but, i was kind enough to share some with hub. hehehe…

Hubby had the Salade de Chevre (Goat’s Cheese Salad). The Goat’s Cheese was surprising light, and the citrus sauce went really well together. Aside from the slightly burned toast on the side, it is quite delicious.

For main, hub had the La Montagnarde which was basically, mountain ham with baked potato oozing with melted cheese (similar to raclette). Not a fan of the ham but again the potato was done really well… yum yum.

If you are a potato fan, give this little restaurant a try. It seriously open up my eyes about making potato the main star on the plate.