Klang Valley Food – Page 4 – Peter Tan

Kampachi At The Pavilion Kuala Lumpur

Reallybites was in Kuala Lumpur for her convocation last week. She asked where I would take her for dinner. Since she was staying at the Impiana KLCC Hotel & Spa, Wuan and I decided to take her to Pavilion because it was the second nearest shopping complex from the hotel and there were a lot of food and beverage outlets there that we have not tried out yet. We have also not been to Pavilion for a while now because the parking rates are expensive bordering on ridiculous.

We wandered around the shopping complex looking for a restaurant offering food that could tantalize our tastebuds and finally settled on Kampachi. The last time Wuan and I were at Pavilion the restaurant was still not opened for business yet. I needed to traverse one step up when getting into the restaurant and then one step down before arriving at our table. Kampachi at Pavilion fails miserably when it comes to accessibility for patrons using wheelchairs. They should learn from their compatriots in Tokyo in making the restaurant accessible.

Kampachi - Pavilion KL Tendon Set with udon

Kampachi Tendon Set with udon.

Having settled in at our table, we browsed through the menu. It was literally Greek, in this case Japanese, to me. I very seldom eat Japanese food save sushi from Jusco, the occasional chicken teppanyaki at Teppanyaki Mid Valley Megamall and the bentos that I had for lunch and dinner everyday when I was in Japan. My other brush with Japanese food was the shabu shabu and sukiyaki dinner hosted by my very good friends from the Human Care Association in Tokyo when I was there undergoing training on Independent Living. Other than that, I have very little inkling of what Japanese cuisine is all about.

To play safe, I ordered the Tendon Set (RM38.00) which came with grilled salmon, rice, prawn and vegetable tempuras, pickles and fruits. I am a rice person and one can never go wrong with a rice set. Wuan and Reallybites both ordered the Salmon Teriyaki Set (RM36.00 each) which included salmon in teriyaki sauce, rice, chawan mushi, miso soup, pickles and fruits. We all ordered green tea (RM2.00 each) for drinks.

Kampachi - Pavilion KL Salmon Teriyaki Set

Kampachi Salmon Teriyaki Set.

I started off with the udon served in soup. It was smooth and well complimented by the mildly-flavoured soup. The rice came with two prawn tempuras and two pieces of vegetable tempuras. I cannot recall what the vegetable tempuras were though. I passed one prawn tempura to Reallybites as I have cut down eating prawns to a minimum. I like how the deep-fried aroma hit my olfactory senses. Prawn fritters have been one of my all-time favourite and this tempura just took the cake. The salmon was flaky though. I only ate half a portion due to my dietary requirements. Given a choice, I would prefer to have them smoked or eaten raw. It was a hearty meal for me nonetheless.

The ambience was what one would expect from an establishment like this – classy but tasteful. The restaurant was busy as we were there smack right on dinner time. The service staff were polite, attentive and greeted patrons in Japanese. Being the signature Japanese restaurant of the Hotel Equatorial group, one would expect a certain level of quality in their food and service and I am happy to say that they did not disappoint in both aspects. Quality comes at a price too. The bill for the three of us amounted to RM133.40 including tax. This is not a place that I would eat out often. It is to be reserved for those special occasions when a celebration with a touch of class and difference is needed. Reallybites’ graduation was one such event. Congratulations young woman! May you have a bright career ahead.

Penang Char Koay Teow At 1 Utama

Penang char koay teow.

Wuan and I would patronize restaurants serving Penang hawker food whenever we come across any in the Klang Valley. We were at 1 Utama last weekend and were undecided on what we wanted to eat after we finished watching ASIMO in action. We wandered around and came across a restaurant tucked in a corner and remembered that we had eaten there once a few months before. I also recalled that I had a rice set dish which I thought was too bland in taste.

To play safe, I decided to order something else. The last time I had char koay teow was many many months ago. I have yet to taste a plate of nice Penang char koay teow in the Klang Valley. I ordered that anyway hoping that it would appease my appetite at the very least. I also ordered cincau. Cincau or leong fun is a black grass jelly. It is served thinly sliced in a glass of simple syrup and ice cubes. It is one of my favourite drinks. Cincau is especially refreshing on hot days.

It took a while before the dish was served. The moment it was laid on on the table, I already knew I would not like it. First, it did not have that unique aroma common in a good plate of char koay teow. First and foremost, the koay teow must be stir-friend on a kuali that is well heated which I believed was not the case. The heat is to remove the raw smell of the taugeh (bean sprouts) and bring out the aroma of the other ingredients, especially the egg.

The dish had the usual ingredients like ku chai (chives), si hum (cockles), shelled prawns, taugeh, crab meat and egg. What it did not have were bak eu pok (crispy pork lard) and sliced lap cheong (Chinese waxed sausage). The omission of the last two ingredients kind of contributed to the lack of aroma. Penang char koay teow without the bak eu pok is just not Penang char koay teow.

Sauces also play an important role in making a good plate of char koay teow. I guess it was not well blended. The dish was rather bland and not as spicy as it should be. Char koay teow should be a little on the salty side which is somewhat complimented by the sweetness of the lap cheong slices. This dish was none of those. All said, I would rather forget that I had char koay teow that day. It was a total disappointment and I promised myself that I will never return to eat at that restaurant again.

Thai Mango Salad

Thai Mango Salad at Rak Thai The Gardens Mall.

Wuan and I have been trying out Thai food on and off lately. Amongst our favourites is the Thai Mango Salad. Lime juice, fish sauce, cooking oil and sugar are added to a mixture of roasted peanuts, dried shrimps, sliced onions, chopped chilli padi and julienned unripe sour mango. This unlikely concoction titillates the taste buds with a tangy blast of sourness from the mango, a dash of sweetness from the sugar and some saltiness from the dried shrimps and fish sauce.

The mango salad is an appetiser that can be eaten just like that. Sometimes, I like to have it with white rice and nothing else. This dish is simply a pleasure to savour at any time of the day. One of the places that we like to go just for the mango salad is Rak Thai at The Gardens in Mid Valley. We would just drop in for a helping of the salad and then continue with our window shopping after that.