All-You-Can-Eat Weekend Yum Cha @ Tai Zi Heen, Pullman KLCC

Let’s Yum Cha!

Weekends are the best. Besides resting and running errands, it’s those weekend moments to sit back and enjoy breakfast or brunch with family and loved ones. One of the latest hotspot in the city to enjoy a weekend treat is at Pullman Kuala Lumpur City Center’s Cantonese restaurant Tai Zi Heen.

Foodies can now enjoy a sumptuous Weekend Yum Cha with All-You-Can-Eat Dim Sum at the elegant Tai Zi Heen. With more than 40 selections of dim sum to choose from, it’s a perfect weekend treat to enjoy. Available every Saturday, Sunday and public holidays from 11.30am onwards, there are plenty of dim sum to please even the discerning palate.

No stranger to the city dining scene, Tai Zi Heen is renowned for its fine Cantonese cuisine. Set in elegance and opulence, Tai Zi Heen offers a fine list of Cantonese dishes besides their dim sum. There are also private rooms available for private parties as well.

The Weekend Yum Cha Dim Sum is set under Appetizer, Steamed, Deep-Fried & Baked, From The Wok, Rice Rolls & Congee and Chinese Desserts. Diners can enjoy all-you-can-eat dim sum at your leisure pace while your dishes are freshly prepared and cooked-to-order.

It’s definitely a plus point when one can have a few appetizers to start the meal. There is a few to choose from and we opted for two choices of Marinated Black Fungus in Aged Vinegar & Garlic and Szechuan Style Marinated Chicken with Spicy Sauce.

Simplicity does excel and it showed in the Marinated Black Fungus in Aged Vinegar & Garlic. Light with a subtle tang, the crunchy petals of black fungus has a lovely textural bite that awakens the palate for more to come. On the other hand, the piquant heat from Szechuan Style Marinated Chicken with Spicy Sauce was stimulated the palate with an explosion of flavours. Tender chicken soaked with numbing heat was highly addictive and yummy.

Moving to Steamed Dim Sum, we tried quite a few on the list. Besides the classic must-haves, there were also quite a few dim sums with a local twist. Favorites on the list are the plump Har Kaw Crystal Dumplings with Dried Sole, the delectable Siew Mai Chicken & Shrimp Dumplings with Mushrooms, the bouncy Dried Mandarin Peel-Infused Beef Meatballs with Bean Curd Skin and the tasty Ox Tripe & Radish in Sha Cha Sauce.

The Handmade Fish Balls with Conpoy & Abalone Sauce and the Spicy Nyonya Style Dumplings with Shrimp & Chicken was decent too. The fish balls had good flavours as well as texture while the dumplings were moreish. The Glutinous Rice Parcel in Lotus Leaf is filled with sticky rice studded with lots of bits of tasty mushrooms, dried shrimp, salted egg and more.

The Steamed Bamboo Charcoal Buns with Salted Egg Yolk never fails to please, especially when it’s made right with oozing hot lava flow of luscious salted egg yolk custard. Savory goodness with salty and sweet notes, the fluffy charcoal bun and its lava is bound to be a crowd pleaser of diners of all ages.

From the Deep-Fried & Baked Dim Sum list, there’s also plenty to choose from. Whether it’s classic like Deep-Fried Crispy Yam Puffs with Barbecued Chicken & Mushrooms, Crispy Glutinous Dumpling with Chicken & Pickled Daikon to Oven Baked Mini Egg Custard Tarts and Deep-Fried Sesame Balls or modern dim sums such as Deep-Fried Bean Curd Rolls with Cheddar Cheese & Shrimp and Prawn Dumplings with Wasabi Dressing, it’s a satisfying treat of little bites.

Drool worthy on my list has to be the Oven-Baked Mini Egg Custard with its wobbly eggy center in short crust pastry and crispy Deep-Fried Bean Curd Rolls with succulent sweet prawn and hot melty cheese. I also cannot get enough of aromatic Deep-Fried Sesame Balls with a light chewy bite.

Fresh hot off the heat in the list From The Wok had us savoring Stir-Fried Rice Rolls with Sambal Chili Sauce, Stir-Fried Radish Cake with XO Chili Sauce, Yangzhou Fried Rice with Prawns & Barbecued Chicken and Dan Dan Noodle.

The minimalist pairing of chee cheong fun with a good pungent sambal chili and solid dose of breath or wok made the Stir-Fried Rice Rolls with Sambal Chili Sauce a crowd favorite. What matters in the dishes From the Wok was definitely the wok hei that really elevated classic dishes of Stir-Fried Radish Cake with XO Chili Sauce and Yangzhou Fried Rice with Prawns & Barbecued Chicken to such satisfaction in aroma and flavours.

For a warming note, diners can select from the Rice Rolls & Congee list of comfort favorites such as Rice Rolls Filled with Shrimp & Yellow Chives, Classic Rice Rolls with Sesame & Sweet Sauce, Congee with Century Eggs & Chicken and Plain Congee with Conpoy.

There’s definitely more than what we savored and perhaps the best way our Weekend Yum Cha ends was on a soothing sweet note. From familiar sweet endings of Chilled Honeydew Melon with Sago, Iced Sea Coconut with Longan to hot sweet broths of Hot Creamy Black Sesame Soup, Hot Red Bean Paste with Lotus Seed, there’s also others such as Chinese Herbal Jelly with Honey and Deep-Fried Lotus Pancake.

The Chinese Herbal Jelly with Honey not only makes a refreshing ending but a nutritious one as well!

         

All-You-Can-Eat Weekend Yum Cha

Available every weekend and public holidays from 11.30am to 3.00pm

RM75 per adult

Kids eat free (under 5 years old) and pay 50% off (6 to 12 years old)

For reservations, call +603 2170 8888 extn. 8200 or email restaurant@pullman-klcc.com

TAI ZI HEEN

Pullman Kuala Lumpur City Centre Hotel & Residences

Level 2, Jalan Conlay,

50450 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: +603 2170 8888

Fax: +603 2170 8999

Email: enquiry@pullman-klcc.com

Website: www.pullman-kualalumpur-citycentre.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/PullmanKualaLumpurCityCentre

Porco Macau Pork Chop Bun @ Lot 10 Hutong

The Ultimate Macau Pork Chop Bun

Head over to Lot 10 Hutong, the award winning food non halal food court, for more porkalicious bites! This round, Porco Macau Pork Chop Bun is stealing the limelight with its offerings of swine-ful delights from Executive Chef Fong, more well-known as Yoke Cheh or sister Yoke.

We paid a visit to the new stall that has garnered quite a storming rush of porky fans since its launch not too long ago. We like how Porco Macau Pork Chop Bun stayed minimal with its offering, choosing to focus on what they know best and that is their signature secret recipe of pork chops served several ways.

One can’t miss the stall with its huge signage of tempting porky buns!

Be prepared to queue for this as every order is made upon request but it’s ultimately worthy of the wait. Leading the pack is the classic Macau’s famous Macau Pork Chop Bun. Story goes of how a young women perfected her Portuguese pork chop and bread recipe from a Portuguese chef and the classic Macau Pork Chop Bun was born.

Despite coming from an IT education, Yoke Cheh traded her white collar job for her passion in the food industry and has never looked back since then. She nailed her pork chop recipes to tasty perfection and ensures quality control her own self daily for Porco Macau.

One gets a brawny and substantial piece of juicy lean pork chop, well-seasoned and utterly tender, sandwiched with a crusty bun upon order. Assured that no further condiments or sauces needed, this is the epic glory of what every Macau pork chop bun should be savored. Each piece of bone-in pork chop gets manual hand labor of tedious pounding to achieve its tenderness and it seasoned by Yoke Cheh herself with soy sauce and other special seasonings. The salty moreish flavours are addictive, sufficiently tasty enough to be enjoyed with the golden crusty bread with a tender flesh. Extra brownie points for the large pork chop peeking out from the bun for Yoke Cheh…

One bite of the Macau Pork Chop Bun (la carte RM13.90, set meal with a drink RM15.90) and you’ll be chasing more bites of this gloriously delectable pork chop!

So we know some Malaysians still argues that we need more to jazz up this pork chop bun. If you still insist, then opt for the Macau Pork Chop Bun Special Set (RM17.90) that has the classic version pumped up with fried Sunny Side up egg and sliced cheese. I daresay, this version is pretty darn amazing too because the one sided crisp egg with oozing melted cheese does elevate the deliciousness to new heights… ok, so you now know who that ‘some Malaysians’ are.

If bread is not your thing, then go for the Macau Pork Chop Noodles (RM13.90) where one gets the same glorious piece of porky chop paired with springy noodles laced with special soy sauce. These are no ordinary noodles as these are specially made with traditional bamboo-pressed techniques to achieve its springy texture. Again, you get just pork chop and noodles in an order and I concurred that Portuguese must really enjoy simplicity in their food.

This one was a tad over salty for me since the pork chop alone is already pretty savory and the noodles are just as savory as well. It is still yummy in every slurp of noodles and was pretty much a crowd favorite on our table that day.

I personally favored the Macau Pork Chop Rice with Egg (RM14.90) when I saw the glistening pork chop served with steamed rice, perfect Sunny side up egg and a bowl of curry sauce. The fluffy rice balanced up the salty notes of the pork chop very well, making it very easy on the palate. The egg with its soft molten egg yolk oozing out added lusciousness while the curry sauce heated up the taste bud with its light sweetness and robust spiced notes. It’s an overall combination of what every pork chop rice should be in my books.

I returned with my family again a few weeks later for this and my son gave his thumbs up for this dish too!

Porco Macau also offers Macau Curry Fish Balls (RM6.90), a side portion of bouncy fish balls cooked in non-creamy curry sauce. The dish is a classic one available on the streets of Macau as well as Hong Kong. This one was sufficiently decent and is much a pleaser with every one of all ages since there heat factor is rather mild.

We hope Porco Macau Pork Chop Bun opens up other outlets soon as we can’t seem to get enough of this porkalicious bites. Yoke Cheh mentioned that they might also add more to the menu later on once they settle down. Till then, it looks like we still have to queue for Porco Macau Pork Chop Bun if you’re a porky fan like me!

PORCO MACAU PORK CHOP BUN

Lot 10 Hutong, LG Floor,

Lot 10 Shopping Centre,

50 Jalan Sultan Ismail,

50250 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: +603-2782 3500

Website: www.lot10hutong.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pg/lot10hutong

Business Hours:

Daily 10am to 10pm

DCOVA @ Logan Heritage, Penang

Sumptuous Italian Fare

Penang is so renowned for its abundant of street food that cafes or bistro takes a rather understated backseat to all the food commotion in the island. There are plenty of cafes and bistros that do deserve more attention such as DCOVA.

DCOVA is located in Logan Heritage row at Bishop Street, a heavily business populated area. House in an old building DCOVA has been around for a few years, discreetly serving coffee, pasta and desserts to plenty of locals. Word of mouth gets out and many continues to flock there to hang out at the quaint ambiance of the bistro.

Owned by several partners, DCOVA is a result of several foodies’ vision of a bistro where one can relax and enjoy great food and drinks. We got to know about DCOVA from owner, former Foodsion editor Lean Hooi. He and his partners wanted to serve quality food to Penangites as well as other foodies and opted to focus on a menu filled with Italian favorite pastas and artisanal desserts.

DCOVA feels like home, comfort in another word. The moment you walk in, the ambiance at DCOVA makes one feel at ease. High ceiling echo space around the long café. The minimal interior exudes contemporary wall art and graphical pieces with a simple industrial furniture and banquette seating.

We met with other foodies while on a trip to Penang and was certainly very pleased with our meal at DCOVA. The bistro serves a nice range of premium tea infusions from Tealeaves besides coffee and other beverages. We tried the Organic Chamomile (RM17.90) and Shanghai Rose (RM17.90).

Served with a timer, one should infuse the tea leaves for just the right timing to avoid the tea releasing its bitterness. The Shanghai Rose was exceptionally soothing and has such a plush rose aroma that releases happy endorphins in me.

Our little one had this amazing icy slush of Summer Strawberry (RM14.30), a tall glass of creamy and fruity strawberries. Mommy stole a taste and kept going back for a few more of this yummy and refreshing drink.

The Affogato (RM10.05) is also very commendable. Looking rather pale, we were rather surprise by the strong coffee note in this thick velvety smooth coffee blended with ice cream. I would order this again...

Tuck into a generous lean and green dish of Teriyaki Chicken Salad (RM18.90) at DCOVA for a healthy option. Crisp greens topped with tender and juicy savory teriyaki chicken is very satisfying and easy to enjoy without the guilt.

Pastas are their signatures at DCOVA and truly yummy to the very last strand. I am quite a food snob and is particular with my pasta being cooked al dente. At DCOVA, they also share the same thoughts and serve all their pasta with a very good al dente bite, as how it should be. The Spicy Seafood Aglio Olio (RM23.90) blew our taste buds the moment we tried this dish. Sufficiently moist and a good kick of heat worked wonders with pasta, prawns and squid. I would love more garlic to be added for extra oomph!

The Carbonara DCOVA (RM20.90) was very luscious, each strand heavily coated with cream and egg yolk. Served with lean back bacon, make sure to eat this fast as cream can get cloyingly rich when it cools down. Worthy of every calorie it has…

Generously dolloped with lots of fish roes, the Ebiko Alfredo (RM23.90) with prawns is sublime. While others think it’s a tad salty from the generous crowning glory of ebiko, I certainly didn’t mind it at all. The popping sensation of the ebiko gave the dish a delicious textural component to the pasta and prawns. Lots of umami notes that tantalized the palate to keep going back for more.

Toss in a light lashing of garlicky cream sauce and served with back bacon slides and asparagus, the Bacon Al Dante (RM19.90) is pretty decent in flavours. The bacon is still yummy despite it being lean and the asparagus were cooked just right with a little crisp texture.

More ebiko again, I am beginning to think there’s quite an ebiko fan base here at the bistro. This round, it’s crowned on Pasta Alnero di Seppia (RM27.90). A jet black squid ink tainted pasta served with squid rings, cherry tomatoes and lots of ebiko. The paste is very moreish and delicious. No heart feelings but it’s not a dish to order on a first date since it will taint your teeth with its color and flecked by orange speckles of roes… nevertheless, I really love the pasta a lot.

After a first taste of Riz Alnero di Seppia (RM28.90), I wanted to hog this whole dish to myself. Rice cooked al dente and flavoured with the moreish squid ink and seafood broth, the dish is completed with two large fried prawns and squid rings. Not only does the dish looked divine, it tasted pretty fabulous in every spoonful. My favorite dish of the evening at DCOVA.

My little one opted for the Cheese Baked Rice with Sausage (RM22.90) and polished off this whole dish by himself happily. When asked how the dish was, he simply said very cheesy and yummy! There’s also versions with tuna and prawn.

DCOVA offers desserts from Passionis, an artisanal dessert house on the island. The Strawberry Shortcake looked too pretty to be eaten. Its light and creamy mousse with layers of sponge and fresh strawberries make a light and sweet ending to a meal.

On the other hand, chocolate lovers will swooned at the Double Chocolate Hazelnut Praline, a decadent slice of layers of dark and milky chocolate with a hazelnut feuilletine base, finished with a mirror chocolate glaze. Every bite is dark, rich and sinful…

DCOVA is good enough to warrant many returns as the dishes are quality and prepared well. Not only do we love the quaint ambiance, we also enjoy the drinks and the company that evening. A great bistro worthy of visits… now if only they would open an outlet in KL for me!

DCOVA

Logan Heritage

No. 4, Lebuh Bishop,

10200 George Town, Penang

Tel: +60 4-261 3121

Facebook: www.facebook.com/dcovalogan/

Business hours:

Sunday to Thursday 10.00am - 10.00pm

Friday & Saturday 10.00am - 12.00am