Kedai Makanan & Mee Aik Kee (益记饭档面餐)

Gerai MDB (along an unknown road)

28700 Bentong

Coordinates: 3.521933, 101.906984

Brendan and Cat slept on through the afternoon and awoke late in the evening. Consulting Vincent (my brother in law) through social media (since he lives in the UAE but is a local Bentong boy) at his recommendation we decided to try a restaurant nearby that served excellent ¹Hokkien Mee.

¹egg noodles and rice noodles stir-fried with egg, slices of pork, prawns and squid, and served and garnished with vegetables, small pieces of lard, sambal sauce and lime

This restaurant occupies the first lot on the left in a row of eateries called the Gerai Majlis Daerah Bentong or Gerai MDB for short. Getting here can be a little tricky since the road next to this row of eateries is unknown or unnamed. So with the coordinates we provided please use a GPS device or Waze (the mobile app) to get here.

prominent signboard 

first lot on the left

a quiet evening

mom and pop store

warming up the wok

Once seated we scanned the menu and settled on a dish of ²Yam Ring with Kung Pao Squid, Crispy Shredded Chicken in Thai Chilli Sauce and Fried Kailan (Chinese broccoli).

²a spicy stir-fry Chinese styled dish made with chicken, peanuts, vegetables, and chili peppers

the kung pao squid

fried kailan

chicken in thai sauce

time to dig in!

We enjoyed our meal immensely, so much so that Brendan and Cat forgot the aches and pains they endured at the hands of Shīfu earlier this morning. However, since each dish costs RM20+ each Aik Kee sadly does not serve the everyday food for the everyday person. Having said that, Aik Kee is now our default go-to place for dinner whenever we’re in Bentong.

And the irony is that we came on Vincent’s recommendation to have the Hokkien Mee, and we ended up having everything but that!

Kopitiam Bentong Jaya

Jalan Tan Sri Chan Siang Sun

28700 Bentong

Coordinates: 3.522343, 101.907867

Brendan and Cat were exhausted after undergoing Shīfu’s treatment so we headed back to our budget hotel to rest and recuperate. I believe that we’ve not mentioned this before, but whenever we are in Bentong to visit with my parents we usually put up the night at Hotel Kristal.

Situated in the heart of Bentong town, this budget hotel is strategically placed and within walking distance to most eateries, a supermarket, a wet market and even the famous Bentong Walk which is described as a lively, Saturday-only night market featuring street food, local handicrafts & live performances.

After napping for an hour they were famished, since they were still exhausted and did not wish to expend any more energy than necessary we decided on a coffee shop just across from our budget hotel.

A simple ‘food court’ where different vendors peddle their dishes, Kopitiam Bentong Jaya seemed to be very popular among the locals.

in the heart of Bentong town

we are welcomed?

the quintessential 'food court'

To our delight, they provided the two staple food that our family enjoys: Chicken Rice and ¹Char Kueh Teow. Cat and I had the Chicken Rice with an added plate of ²Char Siu while Brendan ordered his perennial favourite, the Char Kueh Teow.

¹flat rice noodles stir-fried over very high heat with light and dark soy sauce, chili, a small quantity of belachan, whole prawns, de-shelled cockles, bean sprouts, chopped Chinese chives and egg

²a popular way to flavour and prepare barbecued pork in Cantonese cuisine; classified as a type of siu mei (燒味), Cantonese roasted meat

the chicken rice stall

the char kueh teow stall

We had no complaints about the Chicken Rice with Char Siu; Brendan enjoyed his Char Kueh Teow so much that he ordered a second helping.

Brendan's char kueh teow

roasted chicken

char siu

Barely sixty kilometres away from Kuala Lumpur we observed a noticeable drop in the prices of food. So it was a pleasant surprise that lunch for the three of us cost around RM25 only. That too after the fact that Brendan had to servings of Char Kueh Teow.

Now that’s the everyday food for the everyday person!

Shīfu

Lorong Bentong Makmur 25

Taman Bentong Makmur

28700 Bentong

Coordinates: 3.518023, 101.922779

Over the weekend a friend of Brendan took him to a trampoline park. As a result of being both overly excited and an absolute novice he badly sprained his ankle, to the point where he could only walk with the aid of a walking stick.

Thankfully my parents knew a master masseuse (who’s known as Shīfu) that operated from a house in the vicinity of their quiet neighbourhood in Bentong.

The weekend after that we made plans to visit Shīfu so that he could have a look at Brendan’s ankle.

the examination

and diagnosis

The treatment is not for the feint of heart, apart from the usual massage to clear the ‘blocked’ blood vessels (the best we could translate from Shīfu’s explanation) Shīfu will also prick holes in the affected areas to drain the ‘bad blood’ in order to allow for the swelling to recede.

getting ready

the first few pricks

the darker shade of red are what's know as 'bad blood'

more pricks

all done

Even Cat was not spared. Shīfu noticed that she walked with a gait that caused him to suspect that the length of her legs were not even. True enough, after an examination Shīfu demonstrated to us that her left leg was indeed shorter than her right, and proceeded to 'realign' her legs!

drawing out 'bad blood' from Cat's knee

After the treatment Brendan could walk without the aid of a walking stick. Cat also felt a certain 'lightness' in her lower back which Shīfu attributed to the burden counterbalancing her weight on uneven lengths of her leg.

Both are supposed to report back to him in a month for follow up treatment.

Restoran Makanan Laut Zhen Liew Siang (正留香海鲜楼)

30 Jalan 14/48a

Sentul Selatan

51000 Kuala Lumpur

Coordinates: 3.184609, 101.692111

It was the Labour Day weekend and we decided to treat ourselves to lunch at a so-called seafood restaurant. Since the name of the restaurant contains the word “Makanan Laut” which literally means seafood, we found it pretty amusing that none of its signature dishes were actually seafood based.

in the heart of the 'new' Sentul 

seafood joint?

a lazy afternoon, they do rip-roaring business at night

If you were to check online people normally come here for Belacan Fried Chicken, Roasted Pork Knuckle and the such. We do admit however that the Curry Fish Head is what draws the crowd too, but since the emphasis is on the curry and not the fish head you could argue that the attention is not on the seafood?

Our apologies for digressing. We placed an order for a Hot Plate filled with Banana Leaf Squid, a bowl of Salted Vegetables & Tofu Soup and a steaming ceramic bowl of ¹Kung Pao Chicken.

¹a spicy stir-fry Chinese dish made with chicken, peanuts, vegetables, and chili peppers

banana leaf squid

omelet for the seafood aversed Brendan

salty vege  & tofu soup

kung pao chicken

let's give this a go then?

Truth be told we were none too impressed with the dishes served. The squid was passable, the soup too MSG-laden and the chicken fell short of expectations. Take nothing away from Zhen Liew Siang though, since we did not order their signature dishes. Lesson learnt, the next time we’re here we’ll be sure to order their signature Belacan Fried Chicken, Roasted Pork Knuckle and Curry Fish Head. For now we’ll reserve judgement.

Since our meal (and all future meals that we intend to order the next time) runs in excess of RM50 Zhen Liew Siang unfortunately does not fall within the category of the everyday food for the everyday person.

Kang San Ea

C5 Jalan Ampang Utama 1/1

Taman Ampang Utama

68000 Ampang

+60342512598

Coordinates: 3.155275, 101.751506

In keeping with my desire to lose weight but not deprive myself of the simpler pleasures in life I caved in and took the family for a night out at our all-time favourite Korean restaurant.

B.B.Q. heaven

in the heart of Korea town, Ampang

As always we ordered the customary ¹Samgyeopsal and ²Dwaeji Galbi; and not night out here would be complete if did not Brendan order his favourite ³Kimchi Jjigae.

¹a popular Korean dish commonly served as an evening meal, it consists of thick, fatty slices of pork belly meat similar to uncured bacon

²pork ribs seasoned with a typical ganjang-based sauce or gochujang-based sauce (chilli pepper condiment)

³a variety of jjigae, or stew-like Korean dish, made with kimchi and other ingredients, such as scallions, onions, diced tofu, pork, and seafood

While waiting for our order to be served we sat glued to the television set while a musical show was airing. The proprietress had installed an android box that streamed Korean channels direct from South Korea, and despite the absence of English subtitles we enjoyed the show, catching a few words that we were familiar with here and there.

refreshments

we put our phones away

The generous cuts of meat and pork arrived, and the stove was fired up. After that there was nothing much else to do but wait till the grilling was done.

the customary side dishes

grilled pork bellies 

ever helpful

then it was the turn for the pork ribs

feasting on the side dishes

Brendan's kimchi stew

devilishly

fermented

delightful

kimchi

salad to wrap it all up in

Suffice to say tonight’s dinner is beyond the realms of the everyday food for the everyday person but we find ourselves coming here time and again on every special occasion and every chance/excuse we get. That’s how much we love Kang San Ea, sa-rang-he-yo-kang-san-ae!

D'Border Delights

26 Jalan 3/69

Seksyen 3 Bandar Baru Bangi

43650 Bangi

Coordinates: 2.937587, 101.773942

Brendan is in his final year of secondary (high) school and faces a daunting final exam at the end of the year. Called the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM for short) it is the equivalent of the GCE O-Level exams.

His school had arranged for an overnight study camp at an institution of higher learning in Bangi for the next two days and being the ‘helicopter’ parents that we are we found ourselves having dinner nearby.

Driving around Bangi town for a bit we finally settled on a restaurant with a very East Coast vibe.

big bright red signboard

hard to miss

Quickly scanning the menu we settled on the signature dish, a plate of sizzling Roasted Beef, a large bowl of ¹Sup Ekor and a plate of large omelet. Since this restaurant hails from her home state of Kelantan she fancied a chance with their ²Nasi Kerabu.

¹Oxtail soup in English, rich, savoury and flavourful soup made with oxtail and various other herbs and spices; stock that contributes to the soup filled with gamey goodness, with minty herbs and spices overtones, meticulously boiled to fused all flavours together

²blue-coloured rice (a result of cooking with butterfly-pea flowers) usually eaten with fish crackers, pickles and other salads

roasted beef

sup ekor

large omelet

nasi kerabu

freshly squeezed green apples

bon appetit!

What can we say? This restaurant serves Thai delights with fresh flavours and we had no complaints whatsoever. The roasted beef was juicy and tender, the Sup Ekor divinely infused with flavours both sweet, sour and spicy all at the same time, the omelet light and fluffy and Cat especially enamoured with her Nasi Kerabu.

With dinner costing us under RM30 D'Border Delights definitely sets the bar for the everyday food for the everyday person.

New Year’s Resolution

I am 170 centimetres in height and 97 kilograms in weight. My Body Mass Index reads 33.56 which plain and simple means I am OBESE. Losing 11 kilograms will mean I will have progressed from OBESE to OVERWEIGHT; losing another 14 means I will have a NORMAL Body Mass Index reading.

That’s a whopping 24 kilograms to lose, and if I embark on a modest plan to lose one kilogram per month I will only be able to achieve my ideal weight of 72 kilograms in about two years’ time.

I have a waistline of 38 inches, and simple tasks like bending over to tie my shoelaces now leaves me breathless.

I however take comfort in the fact that muscle is a denser tissue than fat, and an abundance of lean mass raises weight on the scale -- which means I’m bound to have a high BMI. However, because my excess weight comes from muscle, not excess fat, theoretically I won't have the related health risks associated with carrying too much body fat.

I have a mini gym at home and carry weights when time permits; I have accumulated both fat and muscle (for the moment its more fat, less muscle). BMI Mistakes Muscle for Fat. BMI uses your weight in the formula but doesn't distinguish if that weight comes from an abundance of fat or from lean tissue. Gym enthusiasts who carry a great deal of muscle may seem heavy for their height or overall size, but that's because muscle is denser than fat

That being said, I have set a more realistic goal of weighing in less than 90 kilograms and a waistline of between 35-36 inches. To achieve this, besides engaging in usual and strenuous cardiovascular activities I will need to be very mindful of what, how much and when I eat. A direct impact of this would be the drastic reduction of posting on our blog.

Wish me luck!