Train2eat with Danny Chen

Episode 1 - A Pocket in the City #MH48hours brought to you by Malaysia Airlines and train2e@t. Published on  Aug 17, 2013 A 48 hours layover in Kuala Lumpur is plenty of time for a mini adventure. Spend the whole afternoon shopping around Jalan Bukit Bintang and stop by for a coffee at The Loaf, Pavilion. At nightfall, scavenging the buzzing food street of Jalan Alor, hunt down the charcoaled fire-grilled chicken wings at Wong Ah Wah, before adjourning to the watering holes of Changkat Bukit Bintang. Escape into the harem for a musical treat at No Black Tie. Sober up from the jazz intoxication with a piping hot bowl of Ngau Kee beef noodle for supper. In the morning, a short stroll away through the back lanes of the Marriot and Ritz, discover the Malaysian chinese coffee shop culture and enjoy the local petit déjeuner at Restoran Win Heng Seng. For an even more authentic ambience, brave the Bukit Bintang wet market and have a cup of kopi-o and toasted bread with kaya...

The trailer for the train2e@t series brought to you by Malaysia Airlines. Published on  May 29, 2013 A food hunt series with one of Malaysia's food enthusiast on Malaysia Airlines YouTube Brand Channel - http://youtube.com/malaysiaairlines

My first collaboration with Malaysia Airlines and the assignment was to host top bloggers from the United Kingdom on a street food escapade downtown city centre. I had so much fun! Published on Jun 22, 2013 If there's one thing that's well known about Malaysia throughout the world, it's culinary delights that we often take for granted. 5 UK's top bloggers took the streets of Kuala Lumpur & Malacca in search of the best foods Malaysia has to offer, while taking in the sights & sounds of the two cities which are clear cut opposites. Paul Dow -- TravMonkey,  https://twitter.com/travmonkey Chrissie Walker -- Mostly Asian Food & Travel, https://twitter.com/mostlyfood1 Julie Falconer -- A Lady in London, https://twitter.com/aladyinlondon Victoria Brewood -- Pommie Travels, https://twitter.com/pommietravels Charlotte Giver -- Your Coffee Break, https://twitter.com/UrCoffeeBreak

I am ashamed to announce that this is the second posting on the blog for the year. Neglect is definitely the crime and I am caught red-handed. Well, I hate to come up with excuses but I really do have a few good reasons but anyway, I won't dwell on them. Just say, that I like to move-on and focus on the present, rather than to ponder over the past or over any milk spilled over. Anyway, I recall some 4 months ago and I had to verify that by checking my whatsapp message from a friend calling for accomplices, she called "porkers" for an assault at this certain dining place call Kompassion. I was busy and I couldn't participate. A few hours into dinner, these Porkers, starting whatsapping photos of their conquests to me, hoping to entice me to drop whatever I am doing and skydive over to join their compassionate indulgence. Evil porkers!!! Though my discipline was tested, I stood my grounds and did not relent to those seductive and horribly delicious looking photos. Tho...

I was planning to have lunch as it was close to noon but when I asked for a recommendation, our friendly waiter without any hesitation recommended the Big Breakfast. A quick peer across to the neighboring tables and realized that they too subscribed to their friendly waiter's recommendation. Well, I succumbed but longing for something sweet, I ordered the banana pancake as well which was on the menu board for today's special -  of course alongside, the Big Breakfast (what else?). Another item on the gigantic wall-to-wall menu (chalk) board that actually caught my attention was the beef noodle (fried)… Fried beef noodle like our cantonese style stir fry beef kway teow (ngau hor)? Not sure and didn't ask. When in doubt, better not try. Strangely enough or maybe not because it could be a pretty clever pricing strategy, almost all the items on the menu was under RM20. I think it is really quite reasonable. It was a Sunday and as expected everyone was brunching or hav...

The last time I caught up with Kimmy was probably a year ago. Though I thought it was much longer that is when I was in Singapore but negative, we did catch up for a bowl of pork ball noodle at Win Heng Seng, Jalan Imbi last year when she had to attend a conference in town. Kim works in bandar Utama. Well, better late and ever than never. It was good to see Kimmy and she is going places and making good progress up the corporate ladder. Now, she is driven around by a driver. When we last met, I thought her mini cooper was cool but now I am convinced that being driven around is much, much cooler... Thanks to Sandy, who suggested the reunion and also this venue. I met up with Sandy a week ago. She is working on her new project and she consulted me for my views because I love food. She is contemplating on starting a cafe and is looking around for a suitable location. She suggested Nathalie Gourmet Studio for dinner but it was closed last week and we ended up in The Plan B. No puns ...

 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...