Juăn Chinese Beef Roti in Kuala Lumpur

When in Malaysia, I had to grab a local beef roti to see how it compared to Ameen in Singapore. This one (Lot S.6, 101 Jalan Bukit Bintang) competes with a big street-facing outlet of Mon Chinese Beef Roti down the street. The dough was the best part, as it was not just crispy and greasy, but also noticeably salty, which gave it a nice edge. The filling wasn't as spicy as Ameen though, which means that I still prefer Ameen.

Al - Sultan Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur

One really cool thing about KL is the fact that there are a lot of respectable Middle Eastern restaurants, especially to cater to travelers from the Gulf. But it was only recently that I realized that Yemeni cuisine in particular is dominant here, and this small chain had an outlet near me today.

I think I had a chicken mandi above, but mine was pitched as a "sidr," complete with flaming theatrics and pot thumping. Either way, the rice and chicken were deliciously spiced, even if the chicken was a bit dry. They provided my favorite sahowqa salsa-like sauce, which made it go down easily.

Decker's Smash Burger from Kuala Lumpur

Not to be confused with Decker Barbecue down in Singapore, this is a small burger chain from KL's Chinatown that had a setup in Sepang this weekend. That crispy patty with onions was nice, as was the soft pillowy bun. The bun was a bit sweet, as were the globs of sauce in there, but that didn't stop me from inhaling it quickly.

Food from the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia

It's so cool that the organizers of the F1 race in Sepang this year brought a cultural exchange along, including some local Bahraini vendors and food! One of them was a chain called Lumee, which was doing these wraps featuring their signature beef. It was smoky from the grilling and also pleasantly acidic from a dark lime marinade. There was even a bit of tahini in it, if I tasted it correctly. It was surprisingly tiny yet delicious.



That's not to leave out Malaysian kebab shops though. This one called Azry is a chain that originated from Melaka. I grabbed one of their chicken shawarmas, which to my surprise was loaded with a mildly sweet and spicy curry-like sauce...or I guess it was local chili sauce and mayonnaise, kinda like a Ramly Burger? As much as I preferred the Bahraini one above, I still consumed this quickly.



And then there was a Malaysian taco stall, although this one was from Penang. The use of flour tortillas normally would have been a turnoff, but I didn't mind it that much this time, perhaps because there was just so much cheese loaded into these things. They called these "not birria" lamb tacos above, although what really hooked me was their prawn tacos, which were rich and tangy.

Anak Baba in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur

I grabbed a plate of nasi lemak from this Michelin Bib Gourmand near my hotel this morning (159 Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad). The rice itself was the least exciting part of this plate. Instead, it was more about the super airy and salty ikan bilis as well as the optional side of ayam goreng kuyit fried chicken, which had a very light batter with a touch of ginger in it, if I tasted it correctly. The chicken was a little hard to eat given that it was scaldingly hot and bone-in, but I'm sure that that's a feature rather than a bug.

Laoganma Prawn Crackers and Potato Chips by Oishi

These Laoganma-branded snacks stopped me in my tracks when I saw them in Chinatown last week. We've only opened the prawn crackers for now; they were mild in heat but very strong on the Chinese fermented black bean taste, making them surprisingly earthy. If my information is correct, this wasn't created by Oishi's headquarters in the Philippines but instead their Shanghaojia operations in China. And hence, this was launched for the China market.

Kun Ji Duck Rice at Marine Parade Central Market

I needed something fast to eat out here in Marine Parade today, so I landed on this old school family-run stall that seemed to be rather popular for its braised duck (84 Marine Parade Central #01-25). The meat was indeed tender, and the broth was nicely done. But the duck meat itself got drowned out by everything else, including the meicai that I got on the side. It's quality food that I certainly don't mind eating again if it's conveniently in front of me, but I wouldn't wait in line for it either.

Grandpa's Pomfret Soup from Hup Lok

I really should come here more often. I almost forgot about them, thinking that they only did those prawn noodles. But it turns out that they do a lot more, like that pomfret soup above. And it was delicious, featuring not just super fresh and delicious cuts of pomfret, but all sitting in a savory Teochew broth with ginger, tomato, and seaweed accents. And they don't overcook their rice here either; it's nice and firm. I've been looking so long to find a worthy replacement for Hock Heng after they closed down, and now I think I've finally found it.

Yong Xiang Xing Tou Fu at People's Park Complex

This yong tau foo stall does pre-configured bowls (32 New Market Road #01-1084). And that's the only thing available: no noodles, sides, nor anything else to be found here. Just give them S$6 (US$4.70) and you get that yellow bowl with chili sauce on the tray. That's S$6 in cold hard cash BTW; no QR code in sight.

Pretty much everyone in this area had the same bowl and tray, and I can see why, as the tofu and fish paste were very delicately handled, sitting in a quality broth that didn't taste like that terrible food court stuff. Maybe that's why the Michelin people liked it too.

By the way, I also tried the other bak kwa stall, Bee Kim Heng, while I was here today (#01-1010). It was greasier, sweeter, and not as crisp as Kim Hua Guan, but the meat was very tender. My preference is for Kim Hua Guan, but it's just cool to find bak kwa stalls in a hawker center.

Jyu Sushi by Kiten Omakase in Singapore

Kiten is an upscale kaiseki and omakase place that recently created a more casual offshoot called Jyu Sushi (18 Cross Street #01-04). It's an a la carte menu featuring low prices but on a very limited selection. Fortunately, the quality was pretty good for the few things that I ordered, like that chopped yellowtail above. But the bill could also add up quickly, especially when veering to things like their seared engawa, which was deliciously fatty yet rather pricey for a couple of tiny cuts. In that sense, I'd rather go to Sushidan, which also delivers good quality at a low price but with much wider and interesting variety.

Bae Sik Dang in Tanjong Pagar, Singapore

I've been wanting to try this place (48 Tanjong Pagar Road), as they specialize in naengsam, or frozen samgyeopsal that is sliced 3mm thin and grilled such that the edges are crispy. Unfortunately, it wasn't as thin as I had thought it would be, as I had imagined chadolbaegi instead. This was more like bak kwa.

It wasn't very crispy either, or at least the staff cooking mine didn't leave it on the grill long enough. There were a few pieces that got a little crispy at least, and I realized that the trick to eating these was not to use any of the garnishes like scallions and lettuce because all the sauces covered up the taste of the pork and its fat.

One of the other notable things about this place is the fact that it is open until 5 AM, which means there's a good chance I'm going to come back after a night out on the town. And if so, I should remember to get their bokkeumbap fried rice, which they do on the grill along with the rendered fat and caramelized bits of pork.

The Goma Yuzu Ponzu Hamburg from Yamamoto

I tried chasing down a more purist option at Yamamoto's Hamburg today and landed on this one, as it was basically one of the three cheapest versions aside from a oroshi ponzu and tomato sauce version. I was rather surprised to find that huge stack of julienned scallions on top of it, fearing for my co-workers that I'd have to engage with later in the afternoon. Fortunately there was some shiso leaf in there too, and the bite was much tamer than it looked. The sesame yuzu dip that this plate came with wasn't bad, but I definitely prefer just salt and pepper if it came down to it.