Train2eat with Danny Chen

I have often been asked, where is the best Hokkien Mee in KL? Or is the Hokkien Mee in most KL stalls are generally good or about the same standard? Good question. I think it is hard to determine which is the best unless we hold an annual hokkien mee cooking competition (may not be a bad idea). I guess it is really up to individual preference. Some like it wetter and some like it dry. I think generally everyone would agree a good Hokkien Mee must have the "wok hei" and must contain pork lard, at least for the non-health conscious foodies. How ironic? Health conscious foodies? Anyway, here's my favorite pick. Conveniently located at Jalan Imbi, Win Heng Seng Coffee Shop. Yes, the same shop for the pork ball noodle. The Hokkien Mee stall opens in the evening. Besides, Hokkien Mee, must also try the Lo Mee and Cantonese Char  Yin-Yang. You may also want to ask for bee hoon and mee mix for the Hokkien Mee. The bee hoon tends to absorb more liquid, so the Hokkien Mee will be d...

Not only is this place legendary but if you google for Kau Kee , you will find that it is the benchmark for the best beef noodle in Hong Kong. Of course, most would suggest other better alternatives. It is hard to tell, unless you taste Kau Kee's beef noodle yourself and I am glad I did. Kau Kee is tucked away on 21 Gough Street, Sheung Wan, somewhere amidst mid-levels in Central. Along the street you will also find some unique and quaint ID and furniture shops. Don't mistake Kau Kee for Ngau Kee, which is also located on the same street. Kau Kee opens for lunch and then closes in the afternoon and reopens at 830PM. We were there at 8:15pm and it was not opened for business yet. However, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise as the restaurant opened a few minutes earlier and we were the lucky early birds to have a table. I was warned that the serving is very small and so, normally two bowls will be just right. So, I ordered a bowl of beef brisket in clear soup and a beef t...

You have not had "HK dim sum" if you have not been to the City Hall Maxim's Palace. Must go... By the way, this is also the first batch of photos taken with my new Canon PowerShot G10. I will let the photos do the talking. Only piece of advice is if you are going to City Hall Maxim's during the weekend... make sure you are there before 11 am. Understand that they do not take reservations. Good luck and enjoy.

We had a choice between the Chinese steamboat and the Japanese shabu shabu... which was not a difficult decision, since the Nagomi was a much funkier, bigger and contemporary looking restaurant. Large tables with individual hotpot and stove. One of my friend, Keith was recovering from a flu and it was not a good idea to cook in a communal hotpot... who knows, maybe the germs may survive the boiling soup and get to us... For Shabu Shabu, you have a choice of wagyu beef, the premium stuff and the ribeye beef, the affordable stuff, chicken, duck, salmon and tuna... I wonder how does the salmon and tuna taste like in a Shabu Shabu??? You can order it as a set which comes with your choice of soup i.e. beef, chicken and vegetable; a bowl of rice and a huge serving of assorted vegetable, mushroom and udon. Besides the Shabu Shabu, the menu also offers sashimi, sushi and the other regular japanese dishes. We ordered 2 Shabu Shabu dinner sets - the ribeye (yes, the affordable beef) and the duck...

I have heard once upon a time, there is this wonderful restaurant hidden in the midst of the forbidden forest of the Kampung Sungai Penchala. According to the legend, Bora Asmara, was the gateway to the magical Balinese Kingdom of... blah blah blah... Sorry but I can't help it but that's how I felt... the sense and excitement of discovery. You really have to be there yourself to believe it. The moment I reached the entrance, I felt like I was transported back to Ubud in Bali and it was only a 10 minutes drive from Damansara Perdana. I was impressed. As you walk through the balinese swing door entrance, you are greeted by this elevated lobby which unfolds to a courtyard. On your right were several little thatched roof huts for private dining that seats 6-8 and on the left of the courtyard, you can also enjoy your meal indoor. The elevated lobby itself houses several tables for those who doesn't mind the humidity and mossies. As for "moi", the indoor dining was ...

Second advanced birthday dinner with Soon Yoon. Of all places, TGIF? Hmmm... ya, it was one of those days. Craving for something Americano... so, what the heck. Well... service was still good. I remember it was such a novelty to have the restaurant staff sing you a happy birthday song. Of course, I would have killed Soon Yoon, if he requested for it.  Anyway, we were both craving for some red meat... so he ordered the lamb chops and I ordered the strip loin with mushroom sauce by the side and mashed potatoes.  I requested for my steak to be medium cooked. I think it is important that the restaurants get that right and TGIF didn't screw up here. Though it was served on a hot plate, the hot plate was actually cold... so, it was missing the sizzling, oil splattering effects. The steak was so heavily seasoned that it turned out to be quite salty. The pepper were quite coarse, so you have slightly charred residuals all over your piece of steak. The mushroom sauce was too oily and not su...

My dearest friends, David and Cindy insist that they buy me my birthday dinner in advance, since I will be away for work in JB on the day itself. David suggested Chiaroscuro, an Italian restaurant, situated at the Bidara apartments behind Istana Hotel.  Chiaroscuro has been opened for a year now and like other restaurants, it is feeling the impact of the economic downturn. Business was especially bad for the month of January and February, partly due to the Chinese New Year. Chiaroscuro has both indoor and al-fresco dining and boasts of a full size wood fired oven, which is ideal for making good pizzas. Opened by Andrea Zanella, who is the owner and chef who hails from Vicenza, northeastern Italy.  The menu has a good selection of appetizers, pastas and mains which are permanent features on the menu plus a chef's recommendation which is seasonal depending on the produce that is available. Chiaroscuro also cures some of their own parma ham which is highly recommended but unfortunatel...

After the disappointing visit to the Desa Park City show gallery, I decided to have brunch at the Mmm Express restaurant at the Waterfront mall. The show gallery was only showcasing the new projects i.e. the Southgate luxury condominium and the Desa Park City Club House. Staff were not really friendly nor helpful. There weren't any show houses to view. That's what happens when demand is too good for a new development. The properties were seriously overpriced. Even though, the developer, Sam Ling does an excellent job with the up-keeping and maintenance of the amenities... it is still too expensive to pay RM1.4m for a ~1400 sq. feet apartment in Malaysia, at least. Mmm Express is under the Sri Melaka group of restaurants. The menu consist of local delights and a la carte nyonya dishes. We ordered the set lunch menu which comes with a main, drink and dessert. For the main, we ordered the nasi lemak kapitan chicken and nasi lemak kapitan sotong.  Service was quite alright as the...

I haven't had ayam penyet for awhile now. The last time was in Singapore, at Lucky Plaza. So, just out of curiosity and of course hunger, thought I will give this rather fancy looking ayam penyet franchise a try. It is a self service restaurant. You are handed a paper menu - you tick what you want and then pay at the counter and they hand you a number standee and your order will be send to your table. Hmmm... so much for service... and have the rest of the staff standing around "looking extremely busy"... We ordered the ikan penyet, ayam penyet and the tauhu, telor and tempe. Strangely, the penyets does not come with the nasi (rice) and had to order separately... Apa punya nasi penyet ni??? Nevertheless, the fish was quite tasty because of the sweet sauce. Not a lot of flesh and perhaps can be more crispy. The chicken was nice too, taste wise but again, not very generous portion... maybe it is "ayam kampung", hence so skinny. In terms of the price... really not ...

I was having lunch with my colleagues and one of them recommended Maria's Cafe, for it's home cooked western meals. Even though, I have been living in Metropolitan Square for slightly more than a month now, I haven't had the chance to go there for a meal. So, with that reminder, I dropped by for dinner just now.   Maria's Cafe is at the commercial block facing the main road. Take the lift near Citibank to the 3rd floor. It was quite a cosy restaurant. Since it was a weekday, only around 4 tables were occupied. I think the restaurant can probably cater for about 15 tables. So, it didn't take too long for our food to be served. We ordered the chunky beef pie and the spaghetti alia oglio. The beef pie was nice... I like the chunky beef filling and the creamy sauce. I was expecting a red wine base brown sauce because the creamy white sauce filling normally goes well with chicken. Nevertheless, the beef was soft and juicy while the pie pastry was just right, not too crus...

Stumbled upon this place while I was shopping in the Curve. It is a HK style eatery with a life band. Parked at the corner adjacent to Sakai Sushi on the Ground floor, near the escalator from the Curve to Ikano Power Station.  Quite an extensive menu. All day a la carte meals or full course dinner. Reasonably priced.  What drew me to the restaurant was the band. Actually, a singing duo playing acoustic guitar. They were very good. Singing chinese and english repertoire. Both had excellent vocals. Perhaps, only area of improvement would be their english diction. Other than that, they were great.  We sampled their trademark a la carte meals. The kung pao squid rice and sea cucumber scallop abalone rice. The squid rice was RM8.90 and the latter RM16.90. The kung pao squid rice was a bit too starchy, while the sea cucumber scallop abalone rice was missing the main ingredients. The taste was good but I am sure I didn't find a single slice of sea cucumber and abalone. Maybe, what they me...

For those familiar with Bangsar, Jalan Telawi eateries, Chawan is situated at the corner lot, formerly Devi's... opposite Bangsar Village.  Quite a stylish up-market kopi tiam... minimalist decor, ample tables both indoor and out along the walkway. Spacious and airy.  Chawan which means cup in Malay, has a menu that comprises of everyday local delights from all around the country. The coffee selection is extremely interesting. You will find coffee from Kemaman, Batu Pahat, Ipoh, Sabah etc. Quite a change from your usual Arabica beans, or fancy branded coffee names from Colombia, Ethiopia to Brazil etc. What more, Chawan provides a description of each local coffee flavor. Available hot or cold. I chose the Kemaman coffee, which was buttery and smooth... almost with the intensity of buttermilk. So yummy... My friend sampled the Ipoh coffee, which tasted a bit watered down after the Kemaman, but still have this sharp local coffee taste. Since, I haven't had my lunch,  ordered the ...