3 BAGS FULL...OF GOOD FOOD & DRINKS

Inspired by a similar cafe in Melbourne, Australia, this cosy cafe cum restaurant in Kota Damansara is just the sort of place young couples would find comfort in for a quick bite or a cuppa.

Modern stripped wood and brick tile coupled with retro-inspired chairs lend the interior an uncluttered, relaxed ambience. Three sacks stuffed with mock wool sitting above some wall cabinets appear as an apt reminder of the outlet's whimsical name.

Originally conceived as a chocolate bar, 3 Bags Full has segued into part cafe, part resto in this trendy neighbourhood. Apart from java, it serves surprisingly good food that's above par; a definite plus over other coffee places of the same ilk.

You can't ignore the extensive drinks list which includes hot & cold coffee, chocolate, tea, smoothies, soda and gelato milkshakes. We spotted some unusual ones and curiosity led me to try the Iced Lavender Latte (RM12). The heady lavender fragrance is discernible when the drink arrived but no worries, the herb tasted subtle enough at first sip.

 

Chocoholics would love the decadent Double Chocolate Gelato Milkshake (RM15); its full-bodied richness is unmistakably sublime with a superbly smooth finish. Light and refreshing, the fizzy Lychee Peach Home Soda (RM9.50) is ideal for those into fruity flavoured drinks.

From the brunch menu comes a 3 Bags Full speciality of Waffle Teaser (above pix). After last year's cronut craze, this year apparently will see waffles take the food scene by storm. It's a surefire crowd-pleaser as the crisp-edged, airy waffle comes laden with smoked salmon, turkey ham, wilted spinach, scrambled egg, mayo and tomato confit.

If you want a one-dish meal that leave you replete, the hearty Baked Onion Soup (RM12) may do the trick.

 

Don't let its bewitchingly nut-brown darkness detract you. Topped with a slice of charcoal toast adorned with baked gruyere to give it extra textural interest, the broth's voluptuous richness and lush earthiness will spur you to lick the bowl clean.

 

 Those feeling guilt-ridden from all the temptations would be happy to find a viable option in the brunch menu, in the form of Granola Parfait. It's a filling serving that throws together plain Greek yoghurt with assorted fresh and dried fruits, nuts and seeds. Eat this and you'd feel like a saint for resisting those wickedly sinful offerings in the menu.

 

Another interesting find is Sizzling Prawn Platter (RM26) - a dish that's usually associated with most Chinese restos but here, Chef Beljian Neo has cleverly updated it his way. There's a little dramatic flair in the way it's presented too; the prawns come sizzling to the table in a cast iron skillet, doused with garlic infused buttermilk. The saucy hiss and wafts of garlicky fumes automatically sent our salivary glands into overdrive. Lightly battered, the prawns were delightfully succulent with sweetish tufts of chicken floss topping them.

 

Dating couples who want something exotic may like Escargot (RM17). Instead of herb garlic butter, the young chef tricked up the complementing sauce with the assertive inflection of blue cheese, rounded off with some cream to take a little of the sharp edge off. We love dipping the toasty triangles into the savoury sauce.

His six-year experience and passion for local/Asian fare is noticeable in the Thai-inspired red pepper pesto that stamped his touch onto the Griddled Salmon Fillet (RM39). The blend of peanuts, red pepper and Thai basil bestows the inherently oily fish with an exotically robust, nutty accents without being overly cloying.

Another notable main is New Zealand tenderloin (RM57), lightly seasoned with the house rub. The 250g steak is adorned with garlic flakes and crosstrax potatoes with garlic-pepper sauce served on the side.

 

Pasta of course is popular among customers at such eateries and here it's no different. Newer variations are chalked up on the board so keep your eyes peeled when you drop in. We sampled the chef's special of Squid Ink Pasta (RM33) and found it decent enough to rival some of the more renowned quick-service restos.

 

According to Chef Neo, the cafe has customers who come from miles away to savour the house dessert of Sizzling Brownie (RM17) after reading it online. We soon realised its appeal - it boils down to the clever gimmick which again stirs the senses - when the sauce is poured into the skillet, the liquid addition hissed and bubbled around the thick slab of homemade brownies with roasted walnut and double chocolate gelato. Now, that's sweet music to any dessert lovers' ears.

While most cafes tend to fall short in the food department, 3 Bags Full seems to have a capable grasp of this aspect. The menu is constantly being refined and improved so brace yourselves for more pleasant culinary surprises in the coming months. 

For reservations, call 3 Bags Full, tel: 03-6150 2831. Address: 38A-1, Jalan PJU5/10, Dataran Sunway, Kota Damansara, Selangor.

JUICY CAKE IDEA

Kum, kum and more kum...with Chinese New Year due to run its course by Thursday (5th March), there's piles of kum (mandarin oranges) sitting in my fridge. The hot weather isn't helping as the fruits spoil faster. Having thrown out several, I'm at my wits end trying to salvage as many as possible.

Turning them into marmalade or mandarin preserve seems a viable way but the thought of sweating it out in the kitchen was unbearable. Well, baking is just as bad although it's the lesser of two evils since I can have the fan full blast while I whip up the ingredients. So that was what I did. A quick search on the internet led me to a clementine cake recipe from 

http://willowbirdbaking.com/2010/02/22/clementine-cake/

  

I tweaked the recipe a little for my Mandarin Orange Cake - the eventual result turned out fab. I didn't bother with the frosting though but the glaze helped to moisten the cake.

MANDARIN ORANGE CAKE 

Cake Ingredients:
225g unsalted butter, room temperature
170g granulated sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoon grated clementine zest
250g all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons fresh squeezed mandarin orange juice
Glaze Ingredients:
1 1/2 – 2 cups icing sugar
4 tablespoons fresh squeezed mandarin orange juice
grated clementine zest
Fresh Whipped Cream Frosting (optional)
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons icing sugar
 
Directions:

Heat oven to 180°C. Butter the sides of a 9-inch cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Butter the paper and set aside.

Cream butter and sugar well for several minutes, until it is very pale and thick.

Add the eggs one by one, beating well after each addition. Then add the zest followed by flour, baking powder and salt together. Beat well, then slowly add mandarin orange juice until it is incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin, and bake for 35-40 minutes. Use your judgement here as baking time may vary from oven to oven. Or test with a skewer after 35 minutes – if inserted skewer comes out clean then the cake is done. (If it starts to brown too much on the top, cover loosely with a sheet of foil.)

Allow cake to cool in pan for 15-20 minutes on a wire rack. Then invert onto a plate, remove the parchment paper and allow to cool completely before glazing.

To make the icing, stir the mandarin orange juice into the icing sugar until you have the right spreading consistency. Using a skewer, dowel, or toothpick, poke holes through entire cake to allow glaze to seep down into it. Pour the icing onto the cake and spread with a spatula or butter knife, allowing the icing to drip down the sides of the cake.

To make fresh whipped cream, whip cream and icing sugar together until the mixture forms soft peaks. You can frost the cake with this cream or serve it separately with the cake.


Tip: I also added some chopped pieces of fresh mandarin oranges (about half a fruit) into the cake. They lend unexpected bursts of juiciness and sweetness.

THAI-TALISING TREATS FROM SURISIT PJ

Hot on the heels of Surisit Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI) comes Surisit in PJ, after its maiden success as the first Thai kopitiam of its kind to open in 2011. Owner Rivon Gill remains fired up in his enthusiastic quest to bring simple, home-style Thai food to Malaysians and Klang Valley residents love that. The new PJ outlet looks like your average 'tai chow' resto in most neighbourhoods; simply furnished with bright, flourescent lighting but air-conditioned that ensure dining in comfort.

Fried prawn cakes to get your meal rolling

You can either savour a one-dish meal on your own or round up a gang of pals for a typical communal sharing experience. I'd go for the latter for a good sampling of different stuff from the menu.

We like crowd-pleasing starters: Fried Prawn Cakes (RM14.90-6pcs, Thod Man Kung) and Catfish Mango Salad (RM18.90, Yam Pla Duk Foo Ma Mung) to whet the appetite. The little patties bring bursts of zingy hotness to the palate while the mildly tart salad has a well-balanced mixture of tantalising flavours and textures; cashewnuts, sliced onion and shredded mango thrown together with tiny dried shrimps in a wickedly appetising sour-spicy-salty dressing.

The outlet's Thai-style Otak-otak comes in a coconut shell. Eye-catching and robustly spiced, it's like eating spoonfuls of delicate savoury mousse.

Pork dishes are big with Surisit fans and this PJ outlet has several lined up including the famed Crispy Fried Pork with Shrimp Paste, Fried Kaffir Leaves and Chillies (RM19.90, Moo Thod Kapi). Aromatic and amply studded with bird's eye chilli, the Minced Pork with Thai Basil (RM16.90, Phat Krapao Moo Sap) should be enjoyed with plain white rice. 

It's unthinkable to eat Thai food without tom yum so a pot of Spicy Galangal-flavoured Seafood Soup with Coconut Cream (RM32.90, Tom Kah Thalay) was duly included. As expected, the broth packed a real punch - despite the innocent looking clear broth, the chilli heat ensured our tongues were scorched but heck, that's how a real tom yum should be.

One of our fave Thai dishes has to be Claypot Glass Noodle Prawns (RM39.90, Kung Op Woon Sen) with coriander & garlic. Perhaps we had left the dish too long for photography - the glass noodles was a tad soggy for our liking but the sizeable prawns made up for that little grouse.

Also the Thai-style deep fried squids with salted egg (RM19.90, Plamuk Phad Khikhem) passed muster. It was no worse than what one usually find at 'tai chow' stalls so no quibbles from us on this.

Hmm...somehow the flavour dimension seems much more muted during our dinner. Even the Steamed Fish with Lime (RM42.90, Pla Nueng Prik Manau) overall garnered so-so feedback...either we were expecting stronger, more robust accents or the cook has gone far too easy on the requisite spices and flavourings.

Still, all is not lost. We found some comfort in the Stir-fried Beef with Chilies and Thai Basil Leaves (RM18.90, Neua Phat Bai Grapao) - a scrumptiously punchy serving that made no bones about rolling with the hot & meaty nuances. 

The Prawns Fried with Long Beans and Thai Shrimp Paste (RM17.90, Thaw Fahgam Phat Khapi Kung) played its supporting role adequately. It wasn't a showstopper but just aptly dependable of fulfilling our green needs.

Rounding our meal off are ubiquitous dessert treats that most Malaysians have come to cherished: Red Rubies with Coconut Milk (RM7.90, Tap Tim Grop) and a portion of Mango Pulut served with Coconut Milk (RM10.90, Khaw Niau Ma Muang)

 

Visit SURISIT THE THAI KOPITIAM, No.3 Jalan 20/14, Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Tel:  03-7865 7507. Biz Hours: Mon to Fri: 11am – 3pm, 6pm – 10.30pm
and Saturday and Sunday: 11am – 10.30pm

NEW MEATOLOGY IN THE BOOK

 

Watching Chef Yenni Law showing off her art of flambé for Crêpe Suzette at the launch of her new Meatology book made me realised that table-side showmanship is so lacking in most modern restos today.

The owner of Boathouse Restaurant (soon to be renamed Meatology after her tome) at Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI) is one of the few chefs I know that cherishes this skillful technique. It's something not to be scoffed at or taken lightly as one wrong move can jolly well leave the chef or waiter who's handling the flambé job with singed eyebrows or nasty burns at worst.

 

Essentially, Meatology is another milestone in Chef Yenni Law's culinary passage, detailing her initiation into the food world as a child helping out Mom in the kitchen and her eye-opening stint in Europe to taking up hotel management and becoming the chef and co-owner of Boathouse.

It took her 1.5 years to complete the book; a project that brings her collection of do-able recipes (she had over 500 actually but everything was in bits and pieces) into print. Law confessed that she finds running a resto is tougher than doing the book as the former involved human relationships with staff, customers, suppliers, etc. 

She divulged that the simplest recipe in Meatology has to be the Braised Black Mussels with Spicy Tomato Concasse. It was also one of the dishes we sampled during her book launch and everyone had nothing but praises for it. The mussels were tender and perked up with a bracingly zingy chunky tomato concasse that enticed some of us to lick our plates clean.

Law also admitted that she's rather old-school, resisting the idea of pictorial menus as she was formally trained in the rudiments of fine-dining. However, she's seriously considering it for her resto revamp into Meatology, a surefire attempt to please her customers.

Glasses of chilled Mixed Fruit Punch helped to stave off the afternoon heat the minute we arrived at the launch. We found charming bottles of flavoured olive oil on the table - meant as takeaways from the event, with little goodie bags provided for us to cart them home.

Our rumbling tummies were soon silenced with the arrival of a fresh, green salad - a simple but delicious combination of Beef Porsciutto with Rocket & Apple. A little vinaigrette was all that's needed to pull the whole ensemble together.

Just as we were wondering how anyone could possibly deal with three mains at one go, warm plates decked with sampling portions of Grilled Lamb Cutlets with Aubergine Gremolata, Smoked Duck with Risotto & Ceps and Baked Roulade of Chicken Breast with Brown Mustard Cream appeared.

Murmurs of appreciation were heard as we tucked into the delicate but ample servings. The lamb cutlets were nicely pink in the centre, with a notable crust of panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), cheese, parsley and butter giving it a lightly crisp outer layer.

Its deliciousness was closely rivalled by the delectably creamy risotto, suffused with subtle earthiness of ceps and the smoked duck's faintly smoky brininess. 

Despite us not being partial to chicken breast, the roulade left us happily satisfied and replete thanks to its moist juiciness enlivened by some mellow zesty mustard cream.

Interest piqued again with the arrival of dessert - Poached Pear with Cream Cheese & Smoked Turkey Breast Stuffing. Never mind if the fruit was a little undercooked, our attention was drawn to the unusual filling of savoury cream cheese and bits of smoked turkey that punctuated the attendant cinnamon-scented syrup.

Having looked through the book, most of the recipes seem okay for home cooks to replicate. There are detailed explanations with photos to guide us through the different preparations so if you want to try your hand at cooking Western-style dishes for your family, Chef Yenni Law's Meatology is the 'go-to' cookbook.

Priced at RM39.90 per copy, you can buy Meatology at MPH and major bookstores. For information on the book, call Ms Lilian Ng, 03-7960 7334 x 119. 

Boathouse Restaurant is located at 16, Lorong Rahim Kajai 14, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, KL. Tel: 03-7727 4426.