Train2eat with Danny Chen

 Boss and colleague from Singapore was in town for meetings. I agreed to have dinner with them and their preference was western cuisine. So, I googled the internet for "good western restaurants in KL" and a few familiar names popped up. Frangipani, Le Bouchon... some not quite western ones like Top Hat, Bonton and one which I was not quite familiar with, Hakka Republic. I have been to Frangipani and since, I am totally in the dark about Hakka Republic, so I decided to opt for Le Bouchon. I checked out their website and found out that the restaurant was voted by the Tatler magazine for 8 consecutive years from 2003 till 2010 to be the best restaurant in town. It took about half an hour from the office because of usual peak hour traffic even though, Changkat Bukit Bintang is really not that far away from KLCC. The restaurant was not busy at all at 7:30PM and I was doubting my pick now because the restaurant though very french looking, was also rather run down. A sole wa...

My colleague Eugene recommended that I try Angus, the Japanese Steak House when I was in Singapore for a meeting but I didn't get to it. I know there is a branch here, right here in KL at the Pavillion which opened a few months ago. I had 2 hours to spare before catching "Real Steel" starring Hugh Jackman, so I decided to check it out. The menu was quite straight forward. It was either steak, seafood, salad or pasta. Steak came in a a few sizes starting with 150 grams up to 300 grams. They have a dinner set menu which comes with hors d'ouvres, salad, a main of either grilled King Prawns with Cod fish or  Tenderloin Steak with Lamb Rack. We ordered both. The restaurant was quite empty and so service was very brisk and attentive. First came the bread - a hot piece of crusty bread roll served with soft butter. Absolutely delicious! We were off to a good start. Then came the carrot soup. It didn't look impressive - pinkish c...

Today is a public holiday in view of the Hari Raya Aidil Fitri and as expected the malls were bustling with people and car parks were full. Well, I was craving for a bowl of steaming noodle soup and Pho Hoa just came to mind naturally. It is situated on the Ground floor between The Curve and Ikano Power Station. It is opposite the courtyard away from Sakae Sushi and Kim Gary. I have had the vermicelli with spring rolls and grilled beef cutlets and the rice with grilled lemon grass chicken but today, I was craving for something soupy. For those who are new to Pho Hoa, pho is vietnamese for rice noodle soup. Here, at Pho Hoa, you get to choose what you like in it. To be more specific, you can choose between being safe or being adventurous. Safe means having only beef brisket and beef balls. Adventurous means adding tendon, flank, tripe... basically innards which will make some squeal. Well, I am the adventurous type and will always opt for the "all-in" version. I think most peo...

Sunday brunch... wanted something healthy, so went for the passion fruit, garden greens with vinaigrette dressing. It was interesting that the chef mingled some spring onion with the usual salad greens. I didn't think that it enhanced the flavor in anyway but I really like the passion fruit addition. It is a bit overpowering but at the same time refreshing. Bringing along the bitterness that you normally derive from the red endive or lollo rosso. If you don't know what I am talking about, look this up: http://www.foodsubs.com/Greensld.html I ordered the pasta as my main.... It was sort of like a stir fry spaghetti with lean chicken slices and tomatoes. It was disappointing... too bland, too dry. I think it could use a bit of gravy or at least a bit more oil. Maybe if they substitute the olive oil with peanut oil, then perhaps it will be more fragrant. Maybe it is me, I like my char kuey teow too much. The baked fish was recommended in the menu and it was such a deligh...

Great place to stop for breakfast when you travel up north to Ipoh, Penang or Cameron Highlands.... exit Bidor and after the toll, turn right at the junction. Heads towards town which is about 2KM away. Town is two row of shops and you will find Pun Chun on your right. Parking is available behind the Caltex station. Must try.... the herbal duck drumstick noodle, the dim sum especially the "wu kok" (yam puff) and the selection of dim sum... You can also buy chicken biscuit, "pong peah" and local produce there. You will also find stalls selling petai, guava and other seasonal fruits outside the shop. ; P

Very nice fresh water prawn noodle from Yik Kee (Jalan Besar, Karak). RM30!!! The prawns are so fresh... Local from Triang, a small town near Temerloh.

Just want to share some food shots from my Krabi trip. Nothing extraordinary for those who have been to any Thailand cities or towns. I mean, You can find about the same in any part of Thailand but nevertheless, it is such a delight for me to savour this goodies in Krabi... from the sidewalk food stall to the tourist class restaurant to the al fresco thai dining eateries. Well, enjoy... these are what I discovered in my short holiday in Krabi and Phi Phi Island... Krabi Day 1 Street food... as greasy as they come. This is the Thai version of roti canai (for my fellow Malaysians) or prata (for my Singaporean friends). Sorry, more like roti telur (bread with egg) with dollops of butter inside. Served with a drizzle of condensed milk and sprinkle of sugar... rolled into a cigar with a piece of yesterday's newspaper. Yes, isn't that interesting... peel the paper and munch like you are having a crepe or popiah.... Hmmm go figure. Next stop, was to try the oyster omelet...

Located behind the famous Maxwell Food Centre. Somewhere amongst the beautifully conserved colonial shop lots. The Scarlet is situated at the corner, all the way up Erskine Road. The entrance to the hotel lobby is situated on the second shop lot. The corner lot is where the hotel restaurant is. The decor at the lobby was mysteriously gothic? I don't know why I feel that way... maybe because it was very dimly lit. Heavily carpeted. Dark furnishing but nevertheless, the front desk personnel greeted with so much warmth. I bet they could melt and iceberg. I was most impressed with the service. Another impressive discovery was how big Scarlet actually is. I thought it was a small boutique hotel and occupies probably 3 shop lots and possibly housing 20 rooms. But I was so wrong. As I was led to my room, I went through a good 50m walk through a maze of rooms and apparently Scarlet occupies the shops all the way down to 7-Eleven. That must be a good 10 lots at least. If I remembe...

Welcome to my new series on boutique hotels around the region. These are some pictures taken at the Red Ginger Chic Resort in Krabi. I stayed in the "Clubhouse" room, which is really a loft. Spacious. I really like the day bed in place of the conventional sofa settee. Really nice for afternoon naps or even card games with friends. Nice view of the pool. Service is great. Not a big resort, so you can be assured of peace and tranquility. 5-10 minutes walk to the night market and also to the seafood restaurants. For more details on pricing and booking, please look up the website. http://www.redgingerkrabi.com/