Pinchos Tapas Bar: Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

Looking for great tapas in Kuala Lumpur look for El Toro! (above) Seriously head over to Pinchos Tapas Bar in Changkat Bukit Bintang.

I have read mixed reviews about the service and the food. We came on a busy night and were well looked after. Drinks were served quick and the food came fairly fast.

The place was buzzing and the tapas were probably as good as it gets for KL Spanish food.

Boquerones en Vinaigre/

Fresh Anchovies Marinated in Vinegar

Pan con Tomate/Tomato Bread

Manchego Cheese, Olives+ All the good stuff (salsichon, chorizo, serrano)

Albondigas/Meatballs

Fried Chorizo Pinchos

Gambas al ajillo/Shrimp in Garlic

Address: No. 8 Changkat Bukit Bintang, Bukit Bintang, 50200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Telephone Number: +60 3-2145 8482

Down & Dirty: Win Seng Heng, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

There are not many great hawker food places left in KL, the rising costs of rent coupled with a labour shortage make it a tough business.

Win Seng Heng is where I was introduced to Malaysian street food after the customary Jalan Alor.  

My favourite kopitiam in KL is hand's down Win Seng Heng and the one one must have dish is the Pork Noodle Soup. 

Actually I would just come even just for the blood sausage which comes with the Pork Noodle soup. You can have it wet (ie all in one bowl) or dry (soup on the side). I prefer to have the dry version and add the ingredients together as I go.

The dish is simple homemade noodles topped with minced pork, fish balls and blood sausage. But that is really selling the dish short, the complex combination of fat, hint of pepper and umami from the meat (and/or the sausages) with a dash of dark soya makes this dish complex. I also like to add the green pickled chilli with each bite for a bit of acidity that completes the dish. 

Pork Noodles, Fish balls and blood sausages for brekky! 

Siew Yoke (Roast Pork)

If you haven't had enough, you can try their Roast Pork, while this is not the best in KL you are already here so might as well try some. #YOLO

Savory Pork Buns getting a shellacking!

The savoury pork buns are baked fresh but save some space for the mini egg tarts which are awesome. Probably the best in KL!

Mini Egg Tarts are the bomb!

Beware: the Eggs Tarts are addictive!!! (you've been warned)

Win Seng Heng is located on Jalan Imbi which is just behind the famous Jalan Bukit Bintang.

Address: 183, Jalan Imbi, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Down & Dirty :Hiap Joo Bakery, Johor Bahru- Malaysia

Across from the famous Kin Hua Coffee shop is Hiap Joo another must visit place in Johor Bahru. There is always a queue so chill have your breakfast or a cup of coffee at Kin Hua first.  The good news is the queue moves fairly quick, it really only slows down because of tourists like me who like to take photos of silly stuff- like a stack of wood.  But its well worth the wait, the banana bread and coconut bread are a winners. They still use wood to fire the ovens like a good old school bakery should. Good to see they are burning recycled wood. 




The queue that never seems to go away..

Stacked wood looks recycled? No one would cut it like this for burning?

The oven complete with soot and smoke!

Coconut bread.

Banana bread- this is well worth the wait banana bread is light yet the cake remains moist and you can smell the bananas(not kidding!)

Hiap Joo Bakery & Biscuit Factory
Address: 13, Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, 80000 Johor Bahru
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hiapjoobakery

Down & Dirty:Salahuddin Bakery, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Down & Dirty Bakery on Jalan Dhoby 

If I were not currently on a quest to find down & dirty eateries in JB, I would have skipped this place.

Just down from the more popular Hiap Joo bakery. No queue here and no tourists either and that suits me just fine. 

This is where the locals buy their coconut bread and their famous Bengali Curry Puffs!

You heard it here…. ! 

It is now very difficult to get good quality old style curry puffs but locals here are spoilt for choice. 

Coconut Bread better value than across the road-just as fresh!

“If I had but two loaves of bread, I would sell one and buy hyacinths, for they would feed my soul.”

Now this is old school-down and dirty!! 
All the breads are done in this wood fired oven. 

Ready to roll! Floor looks clean trust me its dirty as S@#T!

The bread here is "all that it is stacked up to be".

The glorious Bengali Chicken curry puffs! 

Mutton Curry Puffs for the more adventurous!

Sardine Curry Puffs

A good variety of breads and pastries no time to try them all.

Salahuddin Bakery

Address: 26, Jalan Dhoby, Bandar Johor Bahru, 80000 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

Facebook: are you kidding?

Instagram: wot?

Twitter: In your dreams...

Kin Hua Kopitiam:Dirty Dining in Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Kin Hua Kopitiam

Part of getting to know the culture of a new place is to experience breakfast "like a local"! In Johor Bahru, there is no better place to do this than Kin Hua. 

It really ticks all the boxes for Dirty Dining-it has a good mix of locals and visiting Singaporeans from accross the border, it is packed from early morning till way past lunch. Everything is prepared & served "old school". The toast is done over coals, the coffee is filtered through a "sock" (figuratively speaking), eggs are boiled and timed to perfection manually. (no immersion circulator here)

I will have to take more photos and update when I have more time.

Look at them buns!

Fresh buns toasted with butter and kaya (coconut jam) were absolutely delish. 

Eggs-cellent!

The eggs were free range and you could tell from the colour of the yolk. The yolk was a dark orange vs the typical yellowish colour we have become used to with industrial eggs.

A dash of pepper and soya sauce and I was all set. Just like the locals did I dunked the bread in the eggs and slurped the remainder of the eggs straight from the bowl.

In Malaysia soft boiled eggs are referred to as half-boiled-eggs. 

Kopi!

Mastering the art of ordering coffee in a Malaysian Kopitiam (coffee house)

Coffee=kopi (koh-pee)
Coffee black with sugar=kopi-O
Coffee with cream =kopi-C (C= carnation evap milk, they dont have regular milk) and they will automatically add sugar unless you specifically mention otherwise.
Coffee with cream no sugar= kopi-C- kosong
Coffee black no sugar= kopi-O -kosong
Stronger coffee =kau

Therefore my coffee is kopi-C-kosong-kau which translates to coffee with cream, no sugar, served strong.

If you want a cold coffee same as above but add "peng"

X = Paid!

They have a unique billing system here. Grandma will come over ask you what you ordered (although she already knows what you ordered). She will then add the bill up using a calculator (although she already has the total amount in her mind). She will show you the total to verify the amount. Pay that amount and dont question grandma!

Once she collects the cash she will mark the table with an "X" to let the others know that you are good to go. 

Remember Grandma is watching so you dont want to get caught out-you dirty,dirty boy.

Brilliant!

Kin Wah Address: 8 Jalan Trus, 80000 Johor Bahru 

Open: 7am to 12pm

Dirty Dining in KL: Heritage Food Village-Brickfields Kuala LumpurSentral

 

Dirty Dining in KL!

 

Getting down & dirty in KL and I mean that in the most positive way. 

This place serves simple home style cooked meals. 

Which translates to great cheap eats!!!!

Spoon, fork or chopstick..choose your weapon?

Go figure... does not seem like chinese food if I dont use chopsticks, but I see all the locals grab a spoon and fork.

Quattro Stagioni?

Four Seasons= Wok fried mixed vegetables with belachan (shrimp paste) Okra, Eggplant, Lima Beans and string beans

Pork Belly with salted fish

Pork Belly with Salted Fish -I have been here a few times to try this. The preparation is inconsistent a visits ago it had tad too much salted fish. Today it was spot on!

Deep Fried Squid with chilli sauce

Deep fried squid with chilli sauce.. ho hum.. will give this a miss next time.

Fish Head Curry

This is my go to dish at Heritage Food Village-the fish head curry!  

Address:
80-82 Jalan Tun Sambanthan
Brickfields 50470
Wilayah Persekutuan, Kuala Lumpur

Alive & Brewing in JB: a review of Art 52 Coffee Johor Bahru, Malasyia-CLOSED! :(

We Brew Seriously! 

Art 52 Coffee JB

Just like the sign says these guys are serious about their coffee! 

Barista Owner Ang Yee Siang and Stella Teo are brewing up top shelf stuff in Johor Bahru.  Outshining many a shop across the border in Singapore and in capital KL.

Since I rarely read or follow instructions I kept pushing, pulling or sliding the entrance door only to notice that I needed to "RING" to get in. Thats what you get when you keep looking at your phone.

my shadow

Definitely a place for coffee lovers!!!  

The shop serves as an art gallery on the first and second floors. On the second floor hidden behind a door is a real "hole in the wall" cafe.

Did I say HOLE IN THE WALL? 

Today they had single origin Ehtiopian, Sidamo.  He took about three tries to get the perfect pull for my first shot. He tasted each one and did not seem satisfied until the third one. I really appreciate the attention to detail. The result was a very good strong citrus notes with a floral finish. As every espresso drinker knows there is nothing better than your first cup. 

Upon ordering my second one the barista offered to tweak the coffee slightly for me. My second cup was even more enjoyable than the first. This very rarely happens for me. The second cup had longer finish and initial floral notes before a strong lemon finish. 

My second cup!

The Art Gallery!

Have not tried other places in JB but all I can say is the coffee scene in JB is alive & brewing!

Location: Art 52 Coffee,  #52 Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, Johor Bahru 

facebook: https://www.facebook.com/art52coffee

instagram: @art52coffee

OMG! Wagyu Japanese Beef Restaurant

Another hole in the wall restaurant that specializes in Wagyu beef. 

We were here to try the famed Omi beef which is a rarity outside of Japan. 

Beef Tataki

While this was a nice dish it paled in comparison to the next two courses. The dish was light & fresh, a good way to start a meal.

Steamed Wagyu 

Thin slices of Omi beef were steamed on top of  vegetables in a dim sum basket. The result was  a very  buttery beef which was surprisingly light, the vegetables were delicately cooked and deliciously coated with the juice from the meat.  The dish came with a sesame sauce with the right amount of acidity to balance off the fattiness of the beef. This was their signature dish and was well worth it. 

Ishiyaki-Stone Grill

Omi Chateaubriand

The Omi Chateaubriand had the perfect balance between fat and meat. We did not get the "foie gras" feeling.  I suspect that this is what makes Omi unique, you get the best of Wagyu fattiness but still get to taste a great piece of beef. The dish was served with three types of salts to dip the cooked pieces of meat in.(plum, lime and salt & pepper) I chose to stick to salt & pepper because it best kept the integrity of the dish so you could still taste the beef.

The Skinny: budget a total of about 100 grams of beef per person. You can always order more. Save up because it's not cheap. 

Wagyu Japanese Beef

Sunvar Plaza, Amorsolo Street legaspi Village, Makati City Philippines

Phone: +632 808 9508

Open 10AM to 10PM

Here is a more detailed explanation of Omi:

Omi is produced in Lake Biwa in Shiga, & is being hailed for health in being lean despite its tender texture. Farmers of Omi strictly adhere to natural methods of raising their livestock & do not interfere with the development of the cows. The calves are fed by their mothers & the cows are only given home-grown rice & wheat to eat. No antibiotics or supplements are given to the cows, either. The downside of their delicate meat is that Omi actually melts in warmer temperatures & thus presents a preparation method foreign to most chefs. The beef has to be cut quickly into slender slices for serving of sashimi, shabu-shabu or sukiyaki, which is an art form in Japan & can take years to master. .

source: http://foodists.ca/2009/08/29/omi-beef.html