Authentic Pakistani Cuisine

The last time I blogged about food was about Rakuzen. Right after finishing that post, I started craving for Japanese food. So that night we headed to our favourite Japanese restaurant, Rakuzen in SS15 Subang Jaya. As we parked the car, we came across a Pakistani cuisine restaurant just a few shops down the block from Rakuzen. 

Sheesh Mahal is the name of the restaurant and the host had on a full suit. He stood outside the doors, smiling at us from ear to ear. From outside we could see that the restaurant was well lit and beautifully decorated. We stood there for awhile, trying to decide on whether or not we still wanted to go ahead with Rakuzen or try something new for a change. 

My boyfriend and I are big time foodies. We have done the spontaneous foodie road trip before, we try new places any chance we get, we love the food network, you know, we are your typical foodies. 

Yet sometimes, we have our reservations. You know that feeling when you have high expectations of an eatery and then you end up severely disappointed by the food, service or ambience. And seeing as to how we have never heard any recommendations from friends with regards to Sheesh Mahal, we were not so sure if we should try it out ourselves. 

So we dished out our smartphones and checked for reviews on Trip Advisor. Turns out Sheesh Mahal has a four star rating on Trip Advisor and all reviewers had the best of things to say about the food, the service and the ambience. 

So we walked in and were greeted by smiley faces and bright wallpaper. 

My first thought was, "Hmm they have good online reviews yet the place is near empty." Only three tables were occupied, including ours. I later found out this was because the place is still very new. A lot of people come to dine yet a lot more still do not know about their existence. 

My next thought was that Sheesh Mahal's decor looks like fine dining and that we should have been better dressed. But looking around, I found other patrons dressed in t-shirt and jeans also. 

And then I looked at the menu and was surprised at how reasonably priced the dishes are!  The place may look like fine dining but the price is far from. However that does not mean the service is discounted because we were treated like Kings and Queens. The waiters were polite, pleasant, ever helpful and always prompt when called upon. 

We ordered a serving of Briyani Rice, one Butter Naan, one serving of Palaak Paneer (spinach and cottage cheese), Chicken Tandoori and Fish Tikka.

Briyani Rice

The Butter Naan was soft and buttery, just as advertised.

I used to think that Palaak Paneer is such an easy dish to make, nobody can get it wrong, but unfortunately I have experienced bad Palaak Paneer at a restaurant I no longer frequent. Sheesh Mahal's Palak Paneer is creamy, smooth and everything Palaak Paneer is supposed to taste like. Definitely a must have for your next visit.

Well seasoned, soft, flaky Fish Tikka.

The Tandoori Chicken was perfectly cooked, well marinated but incredibly salty. Since everything else they served was perfect, we forgave them for this (hopefully one time) mistake. Anyway other reviewers on Trip Advisor have great things to say about this dish. And you know what, I believe them because apart from the accidental saltiness, the chicken was perfect.

We told the host about the Tandoori Chicken and he apologized profusely. He later offered us a bowl of this delicious dessert.

I apologize for not getting the name of this must try dessert but let me describe to you what it tasted like. It was like flavoured shaved ice. Not too sweet, just nice.

All in all, I will definitely pay Sheesh Mahal another visit in the near future.

Sheesh Mahal

33 Jalan SS 15/5a, 47500 Subang Jaya
03-5621 3671

KLIA 2

A few weeks back, I posted on instagram photos of my Mama, my brother and myself shopping for groceries at KLIA 2. After that, I got a lot of whatsapp messages from friends asking "Why on earth were you buying frozen chicken from the new airport?"

Let me clarify. Firstly, my parents live in Kota Seriemas, Nilai. Now even though the official address says Nilai, Kota Seriemas is really near to the Sepang International Circuit, KLIA 2 and KLIA. For as long as they have been living there, they only shop for groceries at Mydin and Tesco. 

There is really nothing wrong with Mydin and Tesco, in fact both places have everything we need for our every day cooking. However, once in awhile when Papa and Mama have a craving for western dishes, we find it hard to search for western herbs and spices. 

So the moment I heard from Hafiz (my ex on air partner) that KLIA 2 has a Jaya Grocer, I immediately called Mama "OMG Ma, we have to make roast chicken. KLIA 2 has a Jaya Grocer!"

Mama "Jaya Grocer tu apa?" 

After a lengthy explanation, Mama agreed to check out Jaya Grocer in KLIA 2 with me. That weekend I went home to Nilai (I live in KL) and picked up my Mama and Amir (my annoying brother). 

Mama : Jaya Grocer tu apa? (I hope Mama does not read this post. She is going to lose it if she finds out I used this photo hahaha).

Finding a parking was easy. Even though the airport was full of people,(those flying off, those arriving and those who sebok want to shopping shopping like us) I think not many drove their cars. Yes, the parking fee is as expensive as KLIA. The moment you walk into the building from the carpark, you will enter Gateway @ KLIA 2, which is their mall. The mall has many eateries and shops (which I will tell you about shortly).

That day was the first day Air Asia started operating in KLIA 2. There were a lot of people who looked lost and unsure of where they should go to check in. Thankfully every where we turned, we saw an Ask Me person. 

These guys and gals had permanent smiles on their faces and were very friendly and warm. They pointed us towards Jaya Grocer.

This poyo guy is my brother, Amir. 

Jaya Grocer has a cafe inside surrounded by aisles of grocery items. Their frozen section has everything from chicken to beef to fish. Although their prices are slightly more expensive than in KL, I do not find them unreasonable. Anyway, it is not like we are planning to buy our everyday groceries from here. Only for those times when we need ingredients which are not sold at Tesco or Mydin (or Kedai Runcit Ali). 

After we got everything on our list, Mama wanted to rush home. But Amir wanted to look for The Loaf (Oh yeah, we are huge fanatics of The Loaf's Cranberry Cheese Scones). So Amir and I decided to drop Mama off at home and come back that night. 

We were told we could push our trolley to the car. Unfortunately we could not locate a trolley area at the carpark. Perhaps the management can look into this.

So that night, we came back to KLIA 2 and were greeted by a traffic jam!

We later found out this was because it was the first day of operations for Air Asia and a lot of flights were delayed.

After parking the car, we walked all over Gateway @ KLIA. The idea was to list down all the shops and eateries available so next time we want to buy something or eat a dish that is otherwise only available in KL, we could opt for KLIA 2 instead. Yes, they have a Guardian Pharmacy for my shopping pleasure. I mean, which girl does not love the pharmacy ey?

I did not enter Giordano, therefore I am not sure what their prices are like.

KLIA 2 has a large Toys'R'Us. Go go Power Rangers!

I did a mental comparison and I do think Toys'R'Us in One Utama has a bigger selection of toys.

Thor's wife was having a very bad hair day.

Gateway @ KLIA 2 is also home to Victoria's Secret, WHSmith, Jelly Bunny, Carlo Rino, Bonita and the list goes on and on. I believe more outlets will be opening soon.

We saw this sweet little cafe called Nanny's Pavillion but did not stop to dine. Might just try it out next time. We also found Chatime, Marrybrown, Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Dome, O'Briens, KK Supermart (for whatever reason, Amir was really excited to see KK Supermart, padahal kat Nilai pun ada), KFC, Oldtown White Coffee, and the one we came for, The Loaf. Our favourite Abang who was previously the manager at The Loaf Empire is now the manager at The Loaf KLIA 2 (I told you we are fanatics). 

The Cranberry Cheese Scones are priced at RM3.90 each which is a vast difference from KL, where the scones are priced around RM3.00 - RM3.20. Later Mama told us "Hah RM3.90? Baik pegi Empire."

As we were walking back towards the car with bags full of The Loaf's Cranberry Cheese Scones, I came across my favourite Shihlin Taiwan Street Snacks. I was as excited as Amir was when he saw KK Supermart. 

Gimme my XXL Crispy Chicken now!

Okay that was fast.

Again, everything served is slightly more expensive than in KL but if you think about it, driving from Nilai to KL for XXL Crispy Chicken will cost petrol and toll amounting to the same price paid for XXL Crispy Chicken eaten in KLIA 2. Yes? I say yes! Nom nom nom.

In conclusion, if you live in Nilai/Bandar Enstek/Sepang, visiting KLIA 2 for food once in awhile is pretty worth it. However, I doubt the same can be said for shopping. Having said that, I did not exactly check out the prices of shopping items so how about you let me know once you have seen for yourself. Thank you in advance.  

Best Japanese Food In Town

Have you ever been to Rakuzen? I started frequenting Rakuzen after seeing Hanie Hidayah's tweets about Rakuzen in Empire. That was about four years ago and I have never looked back.

Before Rakuzen, I used to eat at Kura, the Japanese restaurant in One World Hotel. Now I know, a lot of you might be thinking, "Ooooh kaya makan Japanese kat hotel. Cewah cewah." But let me tell you, you will be surprised at how reasonably priced the food is at Kura. 

In fact, Kura is owned by Super Dining, the same chain that owns Rakuzen, Zen, Hokkaido Ichiba and many more. They all have the same looking menu. I do believe Sushi Zanmai and Pasta Zanmai are under the same management also. Everything they serve is of high quality, prepared in a hygienic environment, and absolutely yummylicious.

Last year I had the privilege of visiting Tokyo and while in Asakusa, we dined at a proper Japanese restaurant (food is really expensive in Japan. Most of the time, we ate from bento boxes purchased at convenient stores). 

And based on that comparison, I dare say Rakuzen is the closest to the Japanese meal I had in Asakusa. Here are some photos of everything I have tried at Rakuzen over the years. I may not remember their names (I cannot even remember what I had for breakfast today) but I assure you, they are all yum yum for the tum tum. Sumpah, nok. Mak tak tipu!

This I remember. This is the Beef Teppanyaki set with garlic fried rice.

Tempura

Super fresh assortment of Sashimi

I do not remember what this is called but I am an absolute fan of soba. That might be the reason why I ordered this. I always order Zaru Soba on the side. Zaru Soba is basically cold buckwheat noodles served with a side of cold soup. If you opt for Tenzaru Soba, you will get a basket of Tempura on the side.

This is the Dragon Roll. A must have every time I visit Rakuzen. That is deep fried shrimp in the middle and a piece of avocado on top. HEAVENLY.

I am not a fan of Macha (Not the guy at the mamak stall, I am talking about the green tea ice cream) so I always order this for dessert. I forget what it is called but it is essentially vanilla ice cream wrapped in mochi skin, topped with whipped cream. I swear, this was sent down from the Japanese heavens above.

Okay I am getting hungry just looking at these old photos. I may just have dinner there tonight. Oh by the way, Rakuzen has many outlets. Rakuzen Subang Jaya (SS15 - My favourite outlet), Rakuzen Hartamas Shopping Centre, Rakuzen GTower, Rakuzen Desa Parkcity, Rakuzen Empire, Rakuzen Publika, Rakuzen Tropicana City Mall, Rakuzen Ara Damansara and Rakuzen Gurney Paragon Mall. 

If there is one thing I do not enjoy at Rakuzen, it would be the Fried Salmon Skin. The deep fried skin itself is wonderful and crunchy however they drizzle the dish with sweet soy sauce and I am not a fan of sweet savoury dishes. Everything else is wonderful.

If you have never been to Rakuzen before, you should start now. 

Movie Subtitles

So the other day Ben (you remember Ben... my partner back at Fly fm, he used to be round like Doraemon but nowadays he is sporting a new buffed up Hulk Hogan look) called me up out of the blue and invited me for a movie.

Ben often does this when his wife is not available to teman him for dinner or a movie or both, and in this case, as I guessed, Stella was off to Langkawi and Ben wanted to watch a movie and have Japanese for dinner. Surprise surprise. But Ben is so lovable, you instantly forgive him.

Anyways, we decided to watch Oculus, the much talked about horror movie of the moment. Before agreeing to go, Ben asked me over the phone "Before you say yes or no, I want to watch a horror movie. You are okay with horror movies right?"

YES I LOVE HORROR MOVIES. The scarier the better. Last Raya, I dragged my cousins to MBO Citta Mall for a midnight screening of The Conjuring. They never forgave me. 

Even my Aunt who had earlier supported my cause, was upset with me afterwards. But everything is fine and dandy now, and she has given me two of her most loved designer handbags. So yeah, we are good. 

Anywaysssss... so Ben and I headed out for Oculus. I did not find the movie very scary, but nevertheless good. I see it is more of a psychological thriller than a horror movie. Ignore the bad reviews, it is decently rated on both Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB. 

But the real story I am here to tell is the subtitles that accompanied the movie. Sometimes when watching movies at cinemas, I wish just like Astro, I am able to switch off the subtitles.

At one point, one of the characters said "You should talk to your fiance"

And the subtitles translated the sentence as "Awak patut periksa kewangan awak." Ben and I could not help but stifle our giggles.

Later on another character yelled out "Horse shit!" And yes, you guessed it, the subtitles read "Tahi kuda!"

I truly wonder who these subtitlists are. Are they simply given the job so we would have a translation, without any quality control whatsoever? 

What ever it may be, go watch Oculus, you may or may not enjoy it, but at least you can make up your own conclusion as opposed to telling people "Mak Jah sebelah rumah cakap cerita tu merepek." 

Here's the trailer, taken from my BFF, Youtube.

Ps : Look out for James Lafferty, from the used to be famous One Tree Hill. He has grown up to become a very bad actor. Sorry, I had to warn you. 

Kerabu Bunga Betik

Many years ago when I was younger, my mom used to make kerabu bunga betik for our family potluck gatherings. It was always there and I loved the mixed flavours of the pungent onions, salty udang kering and most of all the slight bitterness of the bunga betik. 

It was the most delicious thing to eat with rice. Unfortunately, slowly but surely Mama stopped making this kerabu. Bunga betik is difficult to find. 

For years now I have been yearning to have this kerabu again but nobody has seen any bunga betik anywhere. I asked all my Aunts and Uncles, I scoured markets, googled online but bunga betik was never to be seen again.

And then suddenly, out of the blue, it happened.

Last week I went to the market and one lady was selling BUNGA BETIK!!! I immediately scooped up all the bunga betik she had and called Mama for the recipe. 

It turned out exactly like I remember. Best feeling ever.

For those of you who requested for the recipe on instagram, here it is:

Ingredients

Udang kering (almost the same amount as your bunga betik)

Kerisik

Shallots

Lime

Salt

Bunga betik

First, boil the bunga betik to remove the bitterness. I boiled for about fifteen minutes. You can do it longer or for less time, it is up to you really. After that, drain the hot water and dry out the flowers till they are completely dry.

Next, rinse the udang kering and blend it dry till it's really fine.

Slice the shallots finely.

Mix everything together and squeeze one or two limes, depending on how much bunga betik you have. 

Enjoy!

Creamy Egg Salad

Hey hey so the weekend's around the corner and you probably have time to whip something quick in the kitchen. Here's something that only takes 10 minutes. 

I sometimes make this creamy egg salad as a sandwich or mixed with potatoes to make a potato salad. This time around, I made it as a quick snack to be eaten with chopped celery. 

 

Ingredients:

Two Eggs

Mayonaise

Celery

Salt

Pepper

First, boil the eggs between ten to twelve minutes, depending on the size of the eggs. 

Next, peel the eggs and leave to cool for about one minute. 

Once they have cooled down, mash the eggs. Add in two to three scoops of mayonnaise. You can add more if you want it creamier. Season with salt and pepper and you are done! Chop the celery and eat together with egg salad.

Have an egg-cellent weekend. 

Tiger Prawn Curry

I keep seeing tiger prawns at the market but have never actually bought them. They look so beautiful, I was not sure if you could cook them the same way you cook other type of prawns. As usual, my curiosity finally got the better of me and I decided to try making tiger prawn curry.

And in case you are wondering, tiger prawns are not very expensive, they are pretty much in the same price range as normal prawns of the same size. 

I got this bunch for RM14.50/kg. Prices may vary depending on size. 

After you have cut off the sharp part on top of the prawns head, just rinse them and leave to dry.

Here are the ingredients you will need:

1 Medium onion

2 Cloves of garlic

 2 Stalks of curry leaves

1 Green chilli

Halba (fenugreek)

Biji sawi (mustard seeds)

(you can buy the ready mixed packets with jintan - fennel seeds instead) 

1 Tomato

2 Medium sized potatoes

Small lump of assam jawa

Sliced onions and garlic

3 stalks curry leaves

Use a pinch of halba (fenugreek)

A pinch of biji sawi (mustard seeds)

Fry the onions, garlic, halba, biji sawi, curry leaves and green chilli (I used a red chilli here because I forgot to buy green chilli hehe. Try and use green chilli okay, it definitely tastes better). Just stir it around till the aroma rises and the onions have softened. Don't let the ingredients brown.

Add water, sliced tomatoes and chopped potatoes. Leave it till the vegetables soften. Tambah garam secukup rasa cewah cewah.

In the meantime, briefly pan fry your prawns. Use only two tablespoons of oil and stir the prawns around till they turn red, about 75% cooked. Don't fully cook the prawns otherwise they will overcook when you put them in the curry.

 Back to the curry, drop in a packet or two of curry powder (depending on how thick you want your curry to turn out). Add your prawns, pour in one tablespoon assam jawa juice, stir it for about two minutes and then turn off the fire.

You are done! Get your sambal belacan on and feast. Good luck!

Super Simple Roast Chicken

Before I tried making roast chicken for the first time, I was intimidated by the ingredients and the fact that I'd have to use an oven. 

You see, I have a very old oven that was left behind by my landlord. Instead of coils, it has a burner at the bottom which tends to burn food, instead of cooking it thoroughly. I guess you can call it the unconventional oven hehe. 

But one day my curiosity got the best of me and I decided to give it a try anyway.

I went online and checked out Jamie Oliver's easy peasy roast chicken recipe. He does not bother peeling or finely chopping any of the ingredients. And of course this is good news for people who do not really have time to cook at home. After all, don't we all prefer home cooked food over eating out every day?

Here are the ingredients you will need :

One whole chicken

1 lemon

Fresh thyme

Fresh rosemary

2 carrots

A few stalks of celery

2 onions

A bulb of garlic

Salt

Pepper

Butter

Mexican Pepper (optional)

Olive oil 

Half a cube of chicken stock

3 tablespoons of all purpose flour

Roughly chop up celery, carrots, onions and scatter them around your roasting tray. Just chop off the top of the garlic and throw the whole bulb in. It will caramelize and become buttery once cooked.

Wash your chicken inside and out and pat it dry

Stuff the chicken cavity with rosemary and thyme. Put in as many as you want. Your chicken will be infused with the herbs once cooked.

Use a fork to poke holes into your lemon

Stuff the chicken cavity with the lemon

Smear butter all over your chicken. Next, rub salt, pepper and Mexican pepper (optional) all over. Be generous with the seasoning. 

Plop your seasoned and stuffed chicken onto the pile of vegetables in the roasting tray and sprinkle the remaining rosemary and thyme on top. Splash olive oil all over the chicken and vege. Yummay!

Pop the chicken into a preheated oven and turn the heat down to 200 degrees Celsius. Cook for 1 hour 20 minutes.

Once your chicken is done, move fast. Remove the chicken from the roasting tray to a serving plate. Cover it with foil so the juices stay intact when you are ready to eat. 

Gravy

Pour all the vegetables (including juices) from the roasting tray into a pot. Add water and put it to boil

Add half a cube of chicken stock into the pot

 Add one or two bay leaves (optional). In a separate bowl, mix three tablespoons all purpose flour with plain water. Mix till it forms a smooth paste. Pour the paste into the boiling soup. Once it thickens, strain out the vegetables and your gravy is done!

Serve with salad or mashed potatoes or just eat it alone. Don't forget to upload your photo on instagram and tag me @nadianazir. Good luck!