Great Oyster Fritters to start your meal
Thursday, October 13, 2005
FLAVOURS FROM THE SILK ROAD
Sweet surrender - Bukhara's Grand Dessert Platter
Did you know the Bukhara restaurant at Suria KLCC was actually opened to showcase the inter-cultural culinary heritage of the Silk Road pursuant to our former Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir Mohamad’s visit to the fabled city of Bukhara in Uzbekistan?
That's right. Bukhara is not a Middle-Eastern restaurant but was named after one of the oldest Uzbek cities of the same name. Famed for its historical and architectural splendours, Bukhara is set on the great caravan crossroads, near the Taklamakan Desert where the Silk Road spans across from China to the Western World.
Consequently, the Bukhara restaurant simply encapsulates a varied selection of Central Asian specialties in its menu. Meaning diners will have an insight into this criss-crossing of Chinese, Indian, Mediterranean and Middle-Eastern cultures and cuisines due to the bustling spice and silk trade along the dense network of large cities and smaller towns, starting from Xian to Istanbul from the second to fifteenth century.
What the Bukhara chefs have done is refined and modernised the visual presentation of these rustic and unsophisticated dishes while retaining the original flavours.
Our evening started off well with Taklamakan Chill (RM9.80++), an invigorating concoction of honey, ginger ale, lemon slices and mint and Shalala Sunrise (RM9.80++), a zesty blend of pineapple, orange and lemon juices.
The Lamb Shurva (RM14++), hearty lamb stew thickened with spiced lentils is a flavourful broth that must be eaten with Bukhara’s assorted homemade breads.
We had a fair idea of just how much the Middle-Eastern, Indian and Mediterranean influences have left their mark on Central Asian cuisine with the Paneer Falafel (RM16++) and Oyster Fritters (RM28++). Deliciously crisp on the outside and oozing with melted cottage cheese inside, the fried chickpea and sesame seed croquettes are representative of the first two facets whilst the fried oysters in crisp batter are clearly a Mediterranean inspiration.
Other noteworthy appetizers include Honey Date Fritters (RM16++), Dukka Prawns (RM20++), deep-fried prawns coated with Middle-Eastern spices and Bukhara Meze (RM22++), a platter of ‘hummus’ (chickpea purée), pickled dills, dates, fried cornmeal, mashed tuna, ‘falafel’ (fried chickpea balls) and ‘dolmas’(rolled up grape leaves with spiced rice and minced meat filling).
A firm favourite with our former premier, the Barbecued Chicken with Sumak (RM32++) is reputedly one of Bukhara’s best-selling dishes. No prizes for guessing why as a whole succulent chicken leg has been marinated with a mixture of aromatic Middle Eastern spices prior to it being grilled to perfection. We thoroughly relished it with the accopanying piquant sauce that was mildly sweet and fruity.
Lamb is popular in Central Asia so it is only natural specialities such as Moussaka (baked minced lamb with layers of eggplant and yoghurt RM30++), Flame-Grilled Marinated Lamb Rack (RM45++) and Lamb Kebab (RM36++) can be found in the menu. We daresay the skewered lamb with Mediterranean-style vegetables and a citrusy barbecue sauce was truly sublime as the tender meat was richly imbued with a spiced marinade.
The Bukhara Pollo (RM25++) and Hyderabadi Biryani (RM25++) are two rice dishes evocative of the Silk Route's famous spice trade. Cooked in a pot sealed with a layer of pastry dough on top, the former was scrumptious as all the wonderful flavours of the various ingredients – marinated chicken pieces, raisins, cashew nuts, cloves and hard-boiled egg -- were fully absorbed by the highland rice. If you choose to have the latter, you’d find the lamb, cardamoms and a whole green chilli render it stronger and spicier in flavour.
To conclude, sweet-toothed diners can opt for the Grand Selection (RM28++) featuring an assortment of Bukhara’s desserts in miniature portions. It constitutes warm semolina cake, lemon tart, cardamom cream, ‘baklava’ (caramelized almonds, pistachios and walnut in a fillo purse), chocolate brownie and ‘basboosah’ (coconut pastry with hints of rose water, cinnamon, walnuts, and sugar syrup).
We suspect the only stumbling block to the outlet’s even greater success is its slightly upmarket and elegant ambience which can be intimidating. Once they overcome the initial fear of stepping in, many will find the outlet is pretty inviting with its desert sand dunes patterned walls, coupled with natural wood and glass accents. Décor is kept to a minimum with some Islamic calligraphy artworks and pottery on display.
Diners won’t have any problems getting the wait staff’s attention as each table is equipped with a small, wireless gadget that summons designated service personnel to the customers’ tables for placement of orders, bill settlement or any form of assistance during their meals.
So if you have yet to discover what Bukhara has to offer, now is a good time as any to go for a Silk Road experience.
BUKHARA (halal)
Lot 137 1st Floor
Suria KLCC
Kuala Lumpur City Centre
50088 Kuala Lumpur
Reservations: 2168 8221
Opening hours – 11 am to 11 pm daily
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
TO REVIVE JADED PALATES
It is the most classic example of selling ice to Eskimos! That is the impression I have of Singaporean-owned Crystal Jade group when I discovered they succeeded in enticing Shanghainese to partake their own delicacies in its modern, quick-service outlets found in several Chinese cities.
Hoping to repeat similar success with its newly opened Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Loong Pao outlet at the annex block of Lot 10, Crystal Jade's biggest lures are its ‘la mian’ (hand-pulled noodles) and ‘xiao loong pao’ (little dragon dumplings).
With an open kitchen concept that accords diners their bustling dim sum and noodle-making theatrics, the new Crystal Jade outlet's meandering layout offers various seating options – an outdoor patio for smokers, simple and fuss-free table seating upfront for customers who want a quick bite, and a semi-enclosed dining section further back for bigger groups and private entertaining.
The menu with colour photographs serves as a helpful guide on what are the dishes available here. An order form is provided so that diners can personally indicate which are the dishes they wish to order.
Happily, we found the dainty ‘xiao loong pao’ (RM7 per order) passed muster as the dainty pork-filled dumplings were just superb with its sweet, soupy stock. Although not as good as the ones we had at Din Tai Fung in Singapore, they certainly can rival those we ate in Shanghai. Just remember to pick them up carefully with your chopsticks and try not to pierce the skin or else you’d lose the best part of these delicious morsels – the flavourful superior stock in it. The only setback is the dumpling skin was a little thick but apparently the outlet chefs had to make it so after numerous customer complaints about the skin breaking apart too easily.
It is always amazing to see a skillful ‘la mian’ chef hand-pull a chunk of floury dough into delicious threads of chewy noodles. His effortless demonstration belies the years of practice at getting this art of noodle-making just right. The fine noodles taste scrumptious too, complemented by deep-fried golden-brown meaty pork ribs (RM12).
Less successful was the ‘la mian’ topped with minced meat and chopped mushroom in spicy sauce (RM10). While the sweet-spicy sauce was tantalizing enough, I wish it was less starchy with more minced meat in it. The ‘la mian’ with minced pork and vegetable wontons (RM12) was equally disappointing as the dish was rather bland and we had to perk things up with the ubiquitous chilli oil and vinegar.
One of the more unusual and noteworthy dishes in the menu is sautéed egg white with fish meat (RM26). I recall a Shanghainese chef told me this legendary dish was created to satiate the Chinese emperor’s craving for crabs. What's an imperial cook to do but to put ingenuity to the test by whipping up a mixture of fluffy egg whites and white fish flakes. Needless to say this delicious mock crabmeat dish succeeded in appeasing the emperor. You’d wax lyrical over Crystal Jade’s version too - with a whole egg yolk mixed into the sautéed egg white and fish meat, the creation was velvety smooth.
For a ‘do it yourself’ treat, the ham and crispy dried beancurd skin (RM24) is a memorable delight where you sandwich slices of briny and smoky Yunnan ham in red chilli oil and deep-fried ‘foo chook’ (beancurd skin) in between cotton-soft thin slices of ‘man tou’ bread.
We also love the crispy eel (RM13). Cut into finger-thick slices and deep-fried until crispy, the eel was coated with a sweetish sauce and topped with some shredded ginger.
A slightly more unusual Shanghainese specialty is deep-fried rice crackers with sautéed minced pork (RM16), a dish that pairs crunchy cakes of puffed rice with a robust, chunky sauce of pork mince, mushroom and beancurd dices.
Nothing beats a refreshing ‘tong shui’ (sweet broth) such as sweetened dried longan with snow fungus and wolfberries (RM5) to wash down the hearty fare you had just eaten. Other types of sweet broth served include glutinous dumpling in sweet ginger soup (RM5.50), glutinous balls with sweet wine syrup (RM5.50), almond beancurd with longans (RM6) and mango pudding (RM6).
Overall, Crystal Jade is a good and affordable place to discover the many culinary delights of cosmopolitan Shanghai. Service is quick and efficient, with the wait staff more than willing to guide you on what to order.
CRYSTAL JADE LA MIAN XIAO LONG BAO (non halal)
R2 Annexe Block
Lot 10 Shopping Centre
50 Jalan Sultan Ismail
50250 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 2148 2338
Business hours – 11 am to 10 pm daily
Hoping to repeat similar success with its newly opened Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Loong Pao outlet at the annex block of Lot 10, Crystal Jade's biggest lures are its ‘la mian’ (hand-pulled noodles) and ‘xiao loong pao’ (little dragon dumplings).
With an open kitchen concept that accords diners their bustling dim sum and noodle-making theatrics, the new Crystal Jade outlet's meandering layout offers various seating options – an outdoor patio for smokers, simple and fuss-free table seating upfront for customers who want a quick bite, and a semi-enclosed dining section further back for bigger groups and private entertaining.
The menu with colour photographs serves as a helpful guide on what are the dishes available here. An order form is provided so that diners can personally indicate which are the dishes they wish to order.
Happily, we found the dainty ‘xiao loong pao’ (RM7 per order) passed muster as the dainty pork-filled dumplings were just superb with its sweet, soupy stock. Although not as good as the ones we had at Din Tai Fung in Singapore, they certainly can rival those we ate in Shanghai. Just remember to pick them up carefully with your chopsticks and try not to pierce the skin or else you’d lose the best part of these delicious morsels – the flavourful superior stock in it. The only setback is the dumpling skin was a little thick but apparently the outlet chefs had to make it so after numerous customer complaints about the skin breaking apart too easily.
It is always amazing to see a skillful ‘la mian’ chef hand-pull a chunk of floury dough into delicious threads of chewy noodles. His effortless demonstration belies the years of practice at getting this art of noodle-making just right. The fine noodles taste scrumptious too, complemented by deep-fried golden-brown meaty pork ribs (RM12).
Less successful was the ‘la mian’ topped with minced meat and chopped mushroom in spicy sauce (RM10). While the sweet-spicy sauce was tantalizing enough, I wish it was less starchy with more minced meat in it. The ‘la mian’ with minced pork and vegetable wontons (RM12) was equally disappointing as the dish was rather bland and we had to perk things up with the ubiquitous chilli oil and vinegar.
One of the more unusual and noteworthy dishes in the menu is sautéed egg white with fish meat (RM26). I recall a Shanghainese chef told me this legendary dish was created to satiate the Chinese emperor’s craving for crabs. What's an imperial cook to do but to put ingenuity to the test by whipping up a mixture of fluffy egg whites and white fish flakes. Needless to say this delicious mock crabmeat dish succeeded in appeasing the emperor. You’d wax lyrical over Crystal Jade’s version too - with a whole egg yolk mixed into the sautéed egg white and fish meat, the creation was velvety smooth.
For a ‘do it yourself’ treat, the ham and crispy dried beancurd skin (RM24) is a memorable delight where you sandwich slices of briny and smoky Yunnan ham in red chilli oil and deep-fried ‘foo chook’ (beancurd skin) in between cotton-soft thin slices of ‘man tou’ bread.
We also love the crispy eel (RM13). Cut into finger-thick slices and deep-fried until crispy, the eel was coated with a sweetish sauce and topped with some shredded ginger.
A slightly more unusual Shanghainese specialty is deep-fried rice crackers with sautéed minced pork (RM16), a dish that pairs crunchy cakes of puffed rice with a robust, chunky sauce of pork mince, mushroom and beancurd dices.
Nothing beats a refreshing ‘tong shui’ (sweet broth) such as sweetened dried longan with snow fungus and wolfberries (RM5) to wash down the hearty fare you had just eaten. Other types of sweet broth served include glutinous dumpling in sweet ginger soup (RM5.50), glutinous balls with sweet wine syrup (RM5.50), almond beancurd with longans (RM6) and mango pudding (RM6).
Overall, Crystal Jade is a good and affordable place to discover the many culinary delights of cosmopolitan Shanghai. Service is quick and efficient, with the wait staff more than willing to guide you on what to order.
CRYSTAL JADE LA MIAN XIAO LONG BAO (non halal)
R2 Annexe Block
Lot 10 Shopping Centre
50 Jalan Sultan Ismail
50250 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 2148 2338
Business hours – 11 am to 10 pm daily
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