Showing posts with label broth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label broth. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 19, 2023

AN VIET’S SOUP-ER HOT STONE WAGYU PHO


Listen up beef lovers. If you're partial to Japanese wagyu, An Viet has a pho-nomenal deal on-going until 31 January 2024. 
Starting from just RM34.90 per serving, you can savour sliced premium A5 Japanese wagyu imported from Tokushima, Japan for An Viet’s signature pho.

Served in a hot stone bowl, components for the beef noodles are served separately, allowing you to customise it to your own liking. It comes on a compact tray; the hot stone bowl keeping the broth constantly hot throughout your meal. 

We added noodles into the piping hot broth first as per the instruction card. If you’re unaware, An Viet’s MSG-free pho soup base is deeply flavourful as it has been painstakingly simmered for 12 hours using two types of beef bones and various spices. The resultant broth forms the basis of the restaurant’s signature noodle dish

Next, we added in the beansprouts, fresh herbs, shredded lettuce and basil leaves. Since I opted for the honeycomb tripe and beef ball combo, these went into the broth too.

Instead of simply throwing in the slices of A5 Japanese wagyu, I prefer to swish the tender, marbled beef slices in the hot soup until they are cooked to desired doneness. A squeeze of fresh lime juice lent the final touch before I slurped up the noodles along with the delectable beef. 

For a tantalising dimension, I found adding in a dollop of An Viet’s housemade sriracha sauce didn’t go remiss either.

While we were waiting for our pho to be ready, we feasted on Mini Savoury Vietnamese Pancakes. Filled with prawns and minced pork, the little bowl-shaped turmeric and coconut pancakes tasted sublime when eaten wrapped in fresh lettuce and herbs. The accompanying Vietnamese dipping sauce enhanced their deliciousness further.
Most of the set meals at An Viet comes with a trio of appetisers comprising Sugarcane Prawns, a wedge of Fresh Spring Roll and Deep-fried Spring Roll. Made from a hundred percent minced tiger prawns, the sugar cane skewers are always a surefire palate-pleaser.
The two types of spring roll also proved moreish; the former featuring rice paper rolled with tiger prawn, vermicelli, homemade pickle, fresh veggie and herb whilst the latter, deep-fried rice paper roll with tiger prawn and pork mince filling, proffered crispier texture.

Suffice to say, a meal at An Viet never disappoints.

For the locations of An Viet Restaurant, visit: https://www.anviet.com.my/

 

 

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

A REGALICIOUS HOT POT EXPERIENCE TO REMEMBER


TBH, I’m not a fan of hot pot but Regalicious Pot proved to be a mind-changing experience. It was love at first sip once I tasted the resto’s flavoursome Regal Golden Chicken and Fish Tripe Broth (RM139.90, additional soup RM49.90).

Do notify Regalicious at least a day prior to your visit if you wish to sample this golden yellow, smooth and creamy-gelatinous soup. According to CEO Stanley Chew, the team needs time to prepare the salubrious broth using cordycep flower, goji berries, red dates, chicken feet, and dried scallops. Rest assured; the wait will be worth your while.
 
Chew recommended we savoured the purity of the soup before dipping chunks of the “ma cao” (horse grass) chicken into it. The sublime soup and succulently tender chicken left an indelible impression, whetting our appetite for more.

The second pot of Regal Seafood Porridge Broth (RM68) was lighter and its clear, delicate sweetness soon intensified once an array of ingredients: Handmade Squid Balls (RM9.90), Handmade Pickled Pork Balls (RM14.90), Handmade Abalone & Fish Paste (RM25.90), Fresh Squid (RM12.90), Handmade Assorted Balls Platter (RM49.90), and Ring Rolls (RM8.90) among others were added in.

We also sampled slices of Fresh Pork Shoulder (RM19.90), Premium Smoked Bacon (RM20.90) and Premium NZ Lamb Leg (RM28.90). Just cooking them briefly in the bubbling hot soup were enough for optimum texture and taste. The ingredient selection especially the various seafood and meat balls are made in-house hence the taste is better than those commercially produced ones.
In line with Regalicious’ food for health preservation approach, several premium soup base such as Regal Black Truffle Fungus Broth (RM98), Regal Coconut Chicken Broth (RM98), Regal Fish Broth (RM68) are available; to offer some differentiation from other hot pot restaurants. Other choices include Regal Nourishing Broth (RM25), Regal Hot and Spicy Soup (RM25), Regal Tomato Broth (RM25.90) and Regal Pickled Cabbage Broth (RM25.90).
Aside from the main dining area which are tastefully conceived with booth-type seating, Regalicious has 12 private dining rooms on premise. A standard VIP room for 4 requires a minimum expenditure of RM100 per head.
 

Catering for groups of 4 – 30 persons, the VIP and VVIP rooms are luxuriously furnished with chandeliers, plush furnishings and even in-room karaoke system. The toilets are no less impressive, outfitted with vanity mirrors and gilded sinks and loos.

Depending on the size of your dining party and budget, the resto has hot pot sets for 2 – 8 persons. The Hot Pot Set for 2 (RM98 upwards) proffers Dual Soup Hot Pot, Fresh Pork Shoulder, Boneless Chicken, Handmade Fish Balls, Prawn Balls and Dumplings, Bursting Pork Balls, Cuttlefish Pork Balls, Sea Urchin Balls, Handmade Ramen, Beancurd, Brown & White Shimeiji and Vegetables.

A set for 4 (RM168 upwards) features Dual Soup Hot Pot, Fresh Pork Shoulder, Premium Smoked Bacon, Handmade Squid Balls and Pickled Pork Balls, Handmade Abalone Paste, VPork Balls, Fish Balls, Lobster Balls, Premium Japanese Crabstick, Handmade Ramen & Carrot Noodles, Brown & White Shimeiji and Vegetables.

The September promotional Special Seafood Set (RM288): Japanese Oyster (sashimi grade), fresh Prawns and Abalones, Clams, Handmade Lucky Pockets, Handmade Pickle Pork Ball, and Handmade Black Truffle Seafood Paste delivers great value for money.

Share this dessert treat on social media when you dine at Regalicious

Register as a lifetime Regalicious member for a one-time fee of RM50 per person, to enjoy exclusive benefits such as welcome treat worth RM288, a free dish worth RM19.90 on each visit, and free upgrade to a private room.
 

For reservations at REGALICIOUS POT, call/WhatsApp: 011-51693441. Address: 52, Jalan Eco Santuari 8/2A, Eco Santuari, Telok Panglima Garang, 42500 Selangor.

 



Monday, September 09, 2019

MID-AUTUMN BLISS AT ELEGANT INN HK CUISINE



Apart from Chinese New Year, Mid-Autumn Festival has to be one of the most anticipated tai yat ji – a major festival in the Chinese lunar calendar. Such a significant occasion calls for a showstopping main course and Elegant Inn HK Cuisine, as usual, rises to the occasion with its South African Abalone Treasure Bowl Feast.
A most befitting headliner of the restaurant’s Mid-Autumn Bliss menu available now until 30 September 2019, I feel privileged to be able to savour the sumptuous treasures from that mini poon choi.

 

In keeping with the spirit of the traditional dish originally from New Territories in Hong Kong where villagers collectively pool their supply of food in big wooden or ceramic washbasins to celebrate key festivals and special occasions, Elegant Inn’s version comprises 9-head South African abalones, roast duck, plump shiitake mushrooms, sea prawns and broccoli.

Considered one of the best in the world, the frilly edge South African abalones taste divine; their smooth succulence gently seguing into chewier toothsomeness the more we bite into them. The resultant marine savoury-sweetness is sublime when mingled with the thick, almost gelatinous braising sauce of the base of pork trotter. Every morsel of the entire casserole is equally scrumptious: from the juicy roast duck and delectable prawns to the chunks of radish, broccoli and Chinese cabbage. We unhesitantly slurp up the deeply flavourful sauce too.

The opening salvo for the Mid-Autumn Bliss menu showcases an inventive appetiser of Silky Egg White with Bird's Nest paired with Seared Pork Tongue. A ‘bird’s nest’ fashioned from deep-fried rice vermicelli (meehoon) holds clumps of delicate bird’s nest complemented by a little cocktail spear of pan-seared pork tongue.
 
Marinated with a milieu of condiments including superior soya sauce and five spice powder, the deliciously tender tongue has a nice QQ crunch to it. According to restaurant proprietress Jeanette Han, only the centre – the tenderest part – of the pork tongue is used. For textural contrast, it’s accompanied by some snow fungus and Japanese cucumber.
Elegant Inn HK Cuisine's balcony is shaded and ideal for pre-dinner cocktails. There's a herb garden in the far-flung corner too where garden-fresh herbs are harvested for the resto's use.

Han, who firmly believes serving good food is a vocation for the conscientious, says “My team of 18 chefs have with Elegant Inn HK Cuisine for over 10 years. They are the stalwarts who understand my high expectations and have strived to meet my exacting standards.”
True to her credit, I cannot recall any occasion when the food at Elegant Inn has failed to impress. After 11 years in the business, Han still sources and buys most of the ingredients especially premium dried seafood and certain products like Chinese sausages herself from Hong Kong – it’s a form of quality control she steadfastly adheres to. “Great ingredients speak for themselves and their quality will shine through with the simplest preparation.”

A notable testament to that philosophy is the Double Boiled Soup of Deer Tendon, Dried Conch, Black Chicken and Murrill Mushroom (agaricus blazei Murrill or himematsutake in Japanese). In Han’s book, soup has to be ching teem i.e. clear and sweet; well-balanced without being too ‘heavy’ or cloying with any residual aftertaste.
Having undergone 4-6 hours of double boiling, the resultant bowl of restorative broth is lush and redolent with complex marine sweetness, slightly gelatinous and gamey from the various goodies in it. You can swap the deer tendon to fish maw (just add RM10+ per person) or luxe up the soup with superior shark’s fin (add RM38+ per person). It’s a heartwarming, nutritious offering to relish slowly.
The penultimate serving of Claypot Rice with Garoupa Fillet, Hong Kong Dried Prawns and Tung Choy proves a nice counterpoint to the succession of indulgent specialities thus far. Simple and appealing, it’s reminiscent of cooking from the hearth and home.
Teochew Style Tau Suan with Crunchy Sea Cucumber and Black Gold Custard Bun ensure a blissfully sweet ending to the celebratory menu. A traditional dessert of the Teochew community, the mildly sweet split mung bean broth is given an unexpected twist, with little pieces of crunchy jelly-like sea cucumber as accompaniment.

Again, the playful textures are paired off with a pillowy-soft charcoal bao filled with molten custard. This is one Mid-Autumn festival selection that will leave everyone abuzz long after the meal is over.
The Mid-Autumn Bliss Menu is priced at RM888 for 4 persons, RM1,288 for 6 persons and RM2,138 for 10 persons (subject to 6% SST).

For reservations, please call Elegant Inn HK Cuisine, tel: 03-2070 9399. Address: 2.01, 2nd Floor, Podium Block, Menara Hap Seng, Jalan P Ramlee, KL.

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