Train2eat with Danny Chen

De Maw is fairly new... I think probably less than 2 years old and the chef was from one of the notable 5-star hotel. Some say Mandarin, some say the former Ming Court on Jalan Ampang. Though fairly new but it has already created quite a reputation i.e. extremely huge serving, great taste and reasonable price. It is not hard to find. From town head towards Cheras via the old Cheras Road. The easiest and least confusing way would be to take the Jalan Pudu. If you are in town, from Pudu Jail, head towards Cheras until you pass Jaya Jusco at Taman Maluri. Then keep left and when you see PGRM but do not turn into the road leading into Taman Shamelin. Instead just go straight into the secondary road. De Maw is the first shop lot on your left. The restaurant is air-conditioned but it seats probably around 10 tables. So, reservation is a definite must.  The must-try in De Maw.... the shark's fin soup... No offense to our animal protection activist friends but if you do not mind, the soup ...

Lau Heong, is a hidden gem. Tucked in the hustle and bustle of Sentul. Very popular with some 98.8FM dee- jays, of which I had the privilege of dining with. : ) Well, I shall not name who he is but he has been telling me about this place for the longest time but of course, due to his busy schedule, we never quite made it here until this fortunate day when heavens part and the sky rained gold and silver ingots... so drama, right? And this is only for a meal... Anyway, Lau Heong is located in the middle of the shop lot, Jalan 3/48A, Sentul Perdana. A bit difficult to find but if you ask around, I think you will get there. It has alfresco dining and non-air conditioned area on the ground floor and air-conditioned upstairs.  As good as it sounds, the place was very busy and we were lucky to get ourselves a table upstairs. Since I was there with a celebrity dee-jay, I enjoyed the little bit of attention that deflected my way. Little bit la... I left the ordering to you-...

Located on the basement of Ikano Power Station. A few stores away from the Taiwan Shihlin Street Food. New addition to the wide selection of local eateries.  This one is not ordinary by the way... Different versions of 'Pan Mee" (handmade noodle) in mince meat with sambal and raw egg or with chicken rendang. All sorts on the menu, but these were the two i tried. Don't forget to dose it with the spicy, fiery sambal... A bit pricey but worth a try or two...

Where do you go when you have a bus load of hungry guests coming to town?  What else? Bring them to Overseas Restaurant. Convenient location, delicious food and reasonable prices. I must caution you about reasonable price though, play save and go with the all-time favorites. Stay away from the fish because the price is seasonal and can be very expensive. So, what to order? Advanced booking is required for the char siew and siew yoke (roast pork) and if you would like steamy serving of soup, best to also order in advance. Other favorites include the homemade beancurd with petola (seng kuah), the prawns in special sauce (ask for the normal prawns and not the big head prawns, if you are on a budget). The spinach or "yuen choi" in soup is also good. The "captain" recommended the herbal duck which turned out to be our favorite that night. The meat is soft and infused with explosion of herbal flavours... simple and unpretentious dish. Simply delicious. The other recommend...

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...