Spicy Korean Noodle Challenge

The Korean "Chilli Noodle Challenge"

So... a friend of mine told me about this korean "fire noodle challenge". Apparently people have been eating this extremely spicy noodle and posting their fiery experience on Youtube. Some say it is the spiciest noodle in Korea but the Ramenrater blog rates it the the 3rd spiciest instant noodle of 2015. You can check out the Top Ten Spiciest Instant Noodle 2015 list here.

Okay, I went to look for these noodles on the same day.

The packaging is black with big read korean words which I can't read.

The english name is Samyang Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen.

530 kcal per package

I decided to follow the cooking instructions this time. Stirfry the noodles with the sauce for 30 seconds after boiling the noodles for 5 mins. While stirfrying the noodles, I could feel the heat from the chilli in the air. 

Usually I like egg in my instant noodles, but I had run out.

So I added some cabbage for variety.

Chuck on the sesame and seaweed flakes. Sorry the presentation is not flash.

And... begin. I poured myself a drink too. I ran out of milk but I had almond flavoured soy milk in the fridge which did fine. 3 mouthfuls in, I start to feel the heat. The burning around the mouth started. The flavour was pretty nice. The chilli burn is similar to other korean spicy dishes. It's a "korean chilli" type of burn. Reminds me of the Shin Ramen which I used to eat a lot of. The noodle is fattish and stringy, no different from my fav instant Chajanmyung. Of course, you shouldn't over-cook them or they will be mushy. I have to say I enjoyed the noodles. 90% through the noodles I started to sweat a bit.  The noodles were very hot for sure, but I did not feel at any point it was beyond bearable. I wasn't going for a speed challenge cause I wanted to enjoy it ( 6 mins), I might do a speed one if there was a prize.

Done

To be fair this is the hottest instant noodles I have had. But not the hottest food I've had.

I would rate it 7.5/10 for taste

and 8.5/10 for heat

Try and let me know what you think.

THE LINE BUFFET - SHANGRI-LA -REVIEW

Yeah... so last week I went to The Line at Shangri-La Hotel for their buffet lunch. I was looking for a place to take my mum for mother's day in Singapore, so I looked online and found a few favourable reviews of this buffet. As you may or may now know, I am a big fan of food, so it is of no surprise that I like buffets. However, due to my lack of self control, I try not to visit too many buffets due to fear of metabolic syndrome and also the inevitable consequence of abdominal pain due to mechanical  distension of my upper gastrointestinal tract.

Anyway, The Line restaurant is situated at Shangri-La Hotel, needless to say this place is kinda posh. It was a nice atmosphere to hangout while waiting for the buffet to start at 12 noon. I took the photo above as they were setting up.

First blood !

The above was my first serving. Yes, yes.. it looks paltry, but I was somewhat overwhelmed by the choice and didn't want to fill up until I had done the proper reconnaissance. The Line boasts "16 theater kitchens" ( I got this from their website). This includes Japanese, Seafood, Local, Western Roasts, Salads, Chinese, Dim Sum, Indian, Italian, Mediterranean, Dessert.. and a few I missed or can't identify.

Gout

The first station I noticed was the awesome looking seafood section. Unfortunately for me, I am allergic to both prawn and crabs, so my enjoyment of seafood is somewhat stunted. I'm not really a big fan of oysters but in the spirit of "kiasu", I ate 6. They were actually quite good. My sister downed a ton of the prawns and reported that they were yum.

The station that I attacked the most was probably the Japanese section. Mainly for my favourite, salmon sashimi!. I was not disappointed. The salmon was fresh and delectable. They had salmon, tuna and octopus sashimi. The sushi selection was not great but their  "special" sushi, grilled salmon topping on raw tuna sushi was awesome. The seaweed sushi was a let down though. 

One of my favourite was the kebab's section. The chicken and lamb kebabs were delicious especially with the sauce ( dunno what it was but it tasted creamy with a hint of cheese).The roast beef was also very nicely done, tender and awesome with the gravy, definitely the best roast beef I have had in a long while (well, that is not surprising given that I have mostly eaten roast beef at hospital cafeterias).

The butternut squash soup was superb!!! Creamy and sweet. It fatness and sweetness really hit the pleasure senses ( or my leptin or dopamine receptors?) at the right spot. 

The Indian section was good, with a selection of fish, mutton, chicken and vegetarian curry. The beef and chicken satay was standard.

Dim sum was nice but nothing to shout about. 

I was not really impressed by the BBQ and roast pork at the chinese section. They were pretty average. The laksa, however was very good.

 Diabetes.. glorious diabetes..

The dessert section was awesome... maybe this was my favourite...I don't actually know one was my favourite anymore. The durian tart was the star here, it was nice, creamy and real "duriany". There was a nice selection of local kueh and as you can see above, tonnes of macarons.

Syndrome X

 I hit the ice cream station 3 times. The green tea was my favourite. 

Fatty liver 

To be honest, I only wrote this blog post so I can post this fatty liver pic.

Oh yeah, the weekday lunch costs $58++, you get a 15% discount if booked online.

Feel free to recommend your favourite buffet to me, cheers.

The Line

Shangri-La

http://www.shangri-la.com/singapore/shangrila/dining/restaurants/the-line/

GONE BURGER - Review

 Everyday I drive home from work down River Road, I drive by Gone Burger by Waikato River. Last week I decided to drop  by.

Gone burger... why the name? I didn't ask the boss.

My wife and I ordered 1 burger each and I ordered fries too. 

Here we are- total damage to wallet $38. Damage to coronaries- unknown

 "Mary loved it"- Lamb Burger

I'm sure Mary did . For me, it's always a good sign when you struggle to take a full bite of the burger because of it's size. Lamb, kumara roasti, mushrooms fried in blue cheese .. yum.. 

"The Belly of the Beast"

My wife ordered the "Belly of the Beast" which is a pork burger. We deliberated a bit when deciding to get the large or regular size but decided to get the large. I'm glad she did cos I think I liked this burger even more than Mary's lamb. It had an oriental touch to it with five spice and hoisin sauce, and again the kumara rosti just gives it the extra "fill". It's a bit more savoury than the lamb burger which suited my tongue more as I have quite a high sodium intake.

All in all the burgers are really satisfying I highly recommend them if you need a good feed.
The fries were a bit average and almost a bit soggy, the aoili was good though. The burger and fries actually went quite will with sriracha chilli sauce as you can see from my photo.

Did I hear someone ask which was better ? This or Ferg?
Hmm... hard to answer that I might have to go back for more testing.  :)

I found out they are selling the whole Gone Burger business..listed below

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=745812554&ed=true

TKK Fried Chicken頂呱呱- Review

As my readers know, I am quite a big fan of KFC. Well.... fried chicken in general.

During my recent trip to Taiwan, the last leg of my trip was in Taipei... just as my friends and I were going to retire to our hotel... we saw this...

TKK Fried Chicken, or as the locals called it..頂呱呱..is Taiwan's own fried chicken franchise. You could say that it's their version of KFC.
Of course, that can only mean one thing...
SUPPER TIME!

I ordered a standard meal.
For the drink, I had iced lemon tea. It was not bad. A bit on the sweet side.

As always, I start attacking the chips first. I was a bit surprised that they were kumara/sweet potato chips!
Nice touch! Unfortunately the chips were not crispy and were a bit soggy. Maybe it was close to closing time.. tastes ok, but sogginess and grease don't go well.

The chicken not coated in thick batter like KFC hot and spicy.The skin was not very crispy but the flavour was pretty good. It tastes distinct, a bit sweet not bad at all. Smells good too.
The meat was not very tender or succulent and I did not feel was marinated well. This was a major let down.

When I bit into the bun I was surprised. There were 2 layers. I'm not sure what the difference was but the bun was sweet. Tasted pretty good. It was more firm than KFC's bun which is softer and fluffier.

Summary:

I gave TKK a shot but unfortunately it let me down. Nice try but not up to KFC Hot and Spicy calibre. 

Not bad compared with KFC original recipe though. If they had done better with the consistency ( ie more crispy rather than soggy) they might have stood a chance.

Too bad..

Watch the video below for a Smackdown between Colonel Sanders, Ronald McDonald and Mr TKK.

Tale of 2 Greedy Pigs

There were 2 of us, both motivated by greed.
Me, the diner, with my plastic takeaway box, intent to fill it with as much food as possible.
Her,the restaurant owner ( I presume), who's main motivation is money.

We were separated by 2 rows of food.
The restaurant was hers.
I had exchanged a sum of money for the right to fill the small plastic container with food.
Apparently it gave her no pleasure..

She stood there staring at me filling my box with the most stinky unhappy face I have ever seen.
Like I  had wronged her in the worst possible way.
Maybe I did, with each scoop, I reduced her profit margin.
But I only wanted to fulfill my desire for food, was I wrong?
I am a pig after all.

I left the restaurant feeling a bit uncomfortable
Judging from the boss face, she was not exactly happy either.

Lesson: Don't be consumed by greed! It will make you unhappy

Orang yang tamak selalu rugi!

Triple Roast Rice - Sunny Chinese Takeaways - Hamilton

As you might know from my previous blog I am a big fan of chinese roasts. Roast duck, roast pork, bbq pork, crispy skin chicken..
I like em all, hence my favourite order item the "Triple Roast Rice".
I have since moved away from Christchurch so it is not so easy to "Rock the Dragon" anymore.
Last week I went to Sunny Chinese Takeaways on the recommendation of a friend for authentic roast duck.
Of course I couldn't resist ordering the triple roast and not just the duck..

Funny that the restaurant is called Sunny but is located on Grey Street ( in Hamilton). The owners are mainland chinese and speak cantonese. Didn't get a smiling service but hey, I'm not here for that,  lets get to the eating. There were 3 small tables ( I don't know if anyone dines in or if it's just takeaways) and my order came through soon.
I took it home, but not before stopping at the chinese store across the street to get my favourite Lau Gan Ma chilly sauce.



First of all the the serving size is decent. Feels a bit less than the one from Dragon's but that might be an optic illusion. The triple roast came with cabbage and brocolli as a vege side ( this  is a sign of westernization). However, the roast it self is not westernised. It's rather authentic.
The BBQ pork is succulent and tasty. It has a stronger smoky and honey taste compared with the one from Dragon. Very authentic. Reminds me of what I used to have when younger. Nowadays, there are a lot of so-called BBQ pork that just look "red" but don't taste like BBQ pork at all. But not this one.... this is the real deal.

The roast pork is more tender and the crackling is very well done and crispy. It is not not hard is light and crunchy. Thumbs up.  The duck let me down a bit as it was mostly skin and bones. I suppose this is the luck of the draw, like when you get a tiny wing from KFC in ur 3 piece quarter pack. The taste is good however, and more honey flavoured compared with dragon's.

Overall, I rate this triple roast place highly and I will sure return for more.
It costs $12 which is very reasonable in NZ.

How does it compare with Dragon's triple roast? Dragon's roast has a more "brutal " feel, the pieces are larger and chunky and it comes with Bok Choy ( more chinesey). The marinade has a more heavy five spice and star anise taste. Sunny's roast  is more sweet and tender. I like em both and basically I just take what I can get.

I'll be back..

Oh, they have a website..

http://www.sunnytakeaways.co.nz/

Char Kueh Teow at Satay Kajang Wellington

Okay. If you had to rate between fried rice, fried noodles, fried kueh teow and fried mee hoon, how would you rate them , in order of preference. Mine has been, since childhood..
1. Kueh Teow
2. Fried noodles/ Chow Mien
3. Fried rice
4. Fried mee hoon/ bee hoon

How hard is it to find good Kueh Teow in NZ ? Plenty hard. In Christchurch, I have  given up ordering kueh teow because at most places the kueh teow is dry, oily and really uninspiring. I'm talking about some popular places with names beginning with "Joy..." and "Foo...." . The only place that's close is "Wok on In" in Kendall ave. Its possibly the best in Chch. But their kueh teow has dropped in quality somewhat throughout the years.

The best kueh teow I have had so far in NZ is at Satay Kajang, Wellington. And I am reminded of this again when I visited Satay Kajang recently. Having had the Kueh Teow at Oriental Kingdom ( Wellington) the day before just reinforces the superiority of SK's kueh teow. First you will note that the kueh teow itself is differs from most other restaurants. Its fatter and wider. Either they made it themselves or have a different supplier than others. Either way it didn't have the " imported dry and reconstituted with water" feel. The texture is soft and moist like what freshly fried kueh teow should be. The most striking feature is the "char". As my friend Oli, put it, it has "the char". What do I mean by "char". I envision the kueh teow stir fried  in a wok over mad flames, thus leaving it with a slight smoky, flame cooked taste. In fact, as a child I used to watch the chefs brutalise the kueh teow over flames that sometimes leap a foot high , tossing the contents of the wok like there's no tomorrow. That is the essence of "char". To top it of,  it's got generous amounts of egg and taugeh/bean sprouts. And of course char siew and some fish ball slices.
And you know what, there NO broccoli, cabbage or carrots ! Not that broccoli is bad for you but have you ever seen broccoli in kueh teow in Malaysia? It's like putting bok choy in Big Mac . What's the big idea eh?
The taste is authentically Malaysian. Better than some places in Malaysia even. FYI, the best kueh teow I've had in Malaysia still has to be in Penang.

Anyway , if you are craving good kueh teow. This is definitely my recommendation. No  broccoli, no carrots, no compromise!

Let me know where's your favourite place for kueh teow. And  also how u  rate kueh teow vs the others ( rice, noodle and bee hoon)

Guiness Book of Records Kampua! - Delta Cafe

The last trip I had back to Sibu, I went to Delta Cafe for kampua. If you don't know what kampua is.. ask me, maybe I will write an article on it. Anyway.. back to Delta Cafe...
Some say this is the best kampua in Sibu. This subject is always controversial, there are a few nominated candidates. Malaysians can be quite serious when discussing about which food is the best. ( Siburians are deadly serious about their kampua, no joke!). There is something special about this cafe though, the chef is a Guiness Book of Records holder!
But not for his food!
For being a Best Man!!

Wowsies, Mr Ting sure is a popular guy. Not just for his cooking skills but also for his best man skills.

I'm been a best man a few times but this man really takes the cake. 1445 wedding in 33 years, that about 44 weddings/year! Almost one a week! Nuts!

If you are wondering why he is the "best" man for so many weddings, I will explain a little. 

Being a best man in a chinese wedding is slightly different from a western wedding. The best man, is not always the grooms best mate, although nowadays it commonly is. The best man is responsible for a lot of the wedding proceedings. A bit like a marriage celebrant . He holds a very important role in conducting the "Tea Ceremony" and doing official speeches. Not speeches about the most embarrassing moments of the groom's childhood but the boring formal type, like " Mr HotShot the 3rd son of Mr and Mrs Bigshot, graduate from University of the Rich, professional Doctor/Lawyer is marrying beautiful and elegant Princess Fiona from the magical land of Far far away... that kind  "

Ok, back to the kampua

So I went with my family and we made our orders. I took a few pics of the man himself. ( the Best Man)

You will notice he wears a proper chef's hat and so does his assistant. This is real rarity in Sibu (and Malaysia) 

This shows his professionalism.

Our food gets served. I decided to go for a standard Kampua.  And a bowl of "bien nuk" soup. In other dialects I suppose this is "wonton soup".

How do u grade a kampua? This is really hard.. as you can see , not much goes into the noodles apart from bbq, pork and onions. The true flavours itself I suppose is the chef's secret, but typical ones contain lard.

Firstly, the wonton soup. The bien nuk is good and standard size. With a decent amount of meat. But what struck me the most was I could taste some chinese cooking wine in it. This is quite impressive given that wine in soup is usually reserved for special occasions like birthdays, CNY and such. But definitely I could taste it , confirmed by my family.

Now for the kampua itself. It did not disappoint. Definitely I would rate it among the best in Sibu, if not the best. How do I describe a kampus? It's tasty, very tasty,,.. the japanese might say Umami. The BBQ pork is quite standard compared with other kampua dishes in  Sibu. 

The kampua tasted even better with the chili sauce, yum yum..

Anyway, conclusion, Mr Ting is awesome, for 2 reasons. He has been the most popular best man in the world, and his kampua cooking skills are superb. He even wears a chef hat! Win!

KFC- that's where I want to be?

As my friends might know, I like KFC... kinda. Actually lately I've found the quality of KFC chicken hasn't been that good, and I've been opting for my other favourite, the triple roast rice.

Anyway, lately there has been a lot of hoo haa about an incident at a Malaysian KFC store where a KFC worker assaults a customer. The story as far as I gather is that the customer waited for 45 minutes in a queue only to be told they had run out of chicken. The customer got pissed and exchanged some angry words with the KFC worker. Then the whole kitchen staff came out in force to give the customer some kung fu service.

A few names have been going around for this video such as Kung Fu Chicken. Or Kentucky Fight Customer.

Anyway below is the video of the incident.

The stupid thing is, has stirred up 2 parties, one supporting the customer and one supporting the KFC worker. You would think that attacking a customer is never acceptable, but this is Malaysia, so go figure. What I've been thinking is, really in Malaysia, consumer rights is a concept that is a bit alien and often neglected. In all likelihood, a complaint ( about the absence of chicken) would probably not lead to any action. What the customer was asking for (angrily) was an apology or he would complain. The sad fact is, the KFC manager was in the store and  did not offer any apology for his KFC store running out of chicken. Everyone else in the store seems to "just take it" after waiting for 45 mins for nothing.

Oh well...
Here is another exciting video of KFC Malaysia

On a good note someone went to KFC and didn't get beaten up..

Local boy who's been overseas for too long get gastroenteritis from eating at local stall

 Jan 17 2012   last updated 1021GMT


SIBU: Local boy who's been overseas for a long time but still thinks he is local contracts diarrhoea from local food stall.
Mr Noob, who refused to give his name and age, has been overseas in some "ah mo" country for a while and is back for CNY.
He has been seen frequenting all the local coffeshops and stalls around town.
He still views himself as "local" despite the different sentiment of true locals.
It is reported at 1600 pm yesterday, he started getting chills and shakes and subsequently developed diarrhoea.
He is now bedridden with misery.
He refused to give a comment so we have interviewed the people around him

Friend: I told him lah, foreigner come and eat here always get "lau sai" lah. But he don't believe.
He say his stomach like iron. Can tahan. Now see?

Stall owner : Haiya that budak, cannot even speak local properly. I already know lah. Speak with accent but try to be local.  I knowlah, he olledi like banana, where got can tahan local spicy food? I make sambal belly belly nice one, u wan or not?

Stall owner 2 : I see him already know, this boy sure trouble one. Cannot even order food properly. See already sien. He even say "thank you" somemore. Ptuiii! Who says "thank you" around here!
He dunno, I already chop him! ( makes chopping movement with his hand )
Somemore, he try to pay with with 50 ringgit note. Jialat! I hate people who give me big note. Sia ba jin eng ( foochow: eat full nothing to do) Wah he think this is hotel hah?

Passer-by : I saw that nerdy pale boy, eating so happily there. I think.. where is this boy from ah. Speak "ing ung" (Foochow: english) somemore. Want to show off issit. Very "gen"" issit? Take picture of his food somemore. Good good.... now he get kena.

Mother: I told him, dun eat outside so much, not good for you. Eat at home already can. But he never listen.

Brother: Hahaha, he kena "owned"

Our latest report is that he is recuperating in an airconditioned room, cos he is too weak to take the heat.



Reuters 17 Jan 2012


This is the author's impression of the possible scenario

* the above story is not true news but inspired by real life events

Satay Celup Melaka

Hmm.. One of the things I was looking forward to in Melaka (Malacca) was the Satay Celup. Celup means "dip" in Malay. Satay is a traditional Malay dish that consists of marinated meat on sticks cooked over a charcoal fire. Its closest western cousin is a barbequed kebab I suppose . Satay is always served with a thick peanut sauce with optional rice/ketupat cucumber and onion. Satay celup is different in that you get to choose from a variety of food items on a stick/kebab. This is then cooked in a boiling stew and served with sauce. Hence, satay celup is actually quite different from the quintessential satay. The difference between Melaka satay celup and elsewhere is that the "stew" they use to cook the satay is the rich peanut sauce itself! The crazy Malaccans/ orang Melaka. I love it !




First, NY and I arrive at the restaurant. There are many places to have satay celup in Melaka, I'm not a local, I just follow my "tourguide". I took a pic with the restaurant name in case anyone wants to know. In the middle of each pot is a boiling pot of hot sauce. Its kinda like a steam boat/hot pot. Its all self service like many steamboat restaurants nowadays.





Step one, select want you want to east from a variety of choices . Some choices available include fish ball, meat, tofu, vege, squid, clams, prawn and a variety of fishcake/ball related food.

Step two, chuck them in . While the kebabs are boiled alive* in hot oily rich sauce , I lick my lips with glee. The occasional drop of saliva hit the table but no one cares.
The waiters/waitresses come frequently to top up the sauce and stir it so it, doesn't get burnt .

After a few minutes, the food is ready to be served. Chow down!!!

Aftermath..

The brutality of this dinner is evident with the sauce splattered everywhere..
Final casualty count 33.
33 brave kebabs made the ultimate sacrifice to satisfy Winston's appetite.

Total cost for 2 people including drinks = RM25.00!

So if you ever get the chance to try Satay Celup , go for it!



* no live food was actually cooked during this meal . "Boiled alive" is an expression used for dramatic effect.

Rock the Dragon with Triple Roast Rice !

Hey, wanna go rock the dragon?
I said to my bro one day
What does that mean, you ask?

That was "Rock the Dragon", the song.

Anyway, by "Rock the Dragon" I was referring to one of my favourite restaurants

Dragon Garden Restaurant!!!

Dragon Garden is a chinese restaurant located at Church Corner, opposite Countdown.

The boss of Dragon Garden also owns Chinatown market located right behind it. He is a biggish chap who is rather loud and crude, but surprised me a few times with some "service" at Dragon Garden. My friends and I used to visit this place for late night supper after playing Dota at a nearby cybercafe. They also have Dim Sum in the mornings and late at night. The last I checked, they close at 3 am.

Dragon Garden offers you the true authentic chinese dining experience including -minimal decor, poor ventilation (so you have all that roast smell infused in your clothes after you eat), highly variable quality of service depending on the staff mood and not least, questionable food preparation hygiene.

Why go anywhere else for true asian cuisine? The only thing missing from the true asian dining experience is the stray cat or dog looking for scraps.

The food tastes pretty good and come in decent portions. And that's enough for me,

If you do happen to visit my favourite restaurant, I would like to recommend to you my favourite dish here..

THE TRIPLE ROAST RICE!!!三拼饭



( a picture I took of my "da bao" before I FINISHed it like a Mortal Combat ending move )



During my preFRACP exam time, I ate out for 1 month and half the time I was rocking out at the dragon.
At that time I mostly ordered roast pork rice or beef brisket ( what the heck is brisket anyway?) rice.
But since then I have discovered the " holy grail " of non-fine-dining. ( i hate fine dining) .

The TRIPLE ROAST  RICE!! 三拼饭


All good things come in threes, such as a triple coronary artery bypass graft or a 3 piece quarter pack.
Typically the triple roast consists of roast pork (crispy skin), roast duck, roast chicken or bbq pork - This is random depending on what they give u. My favourite combo is prob roast duck, roast pork and bbq pork. Cos I get my chicken fix from Colonel Sanders. This dish is best chowed down with generous serving of lau gan ma sauce, as depicted in the photo. It's serving is really huge, enough to feed half a dozen America's Next Top Model contestants. The part I like the most is the gravy from the roast meat, they usually pour some over the rice for you. Yum , yum,  nothing refined about this dish at all. Just the way I like it.
BTW it costs NZ$10.
So if you're looking for a big and cheap feed, here's my recommendation. Strictly not for those trying to lose weight!

Oh yeah, if you're wondering what Lau Gan Ma sauce is, leave a comment below and I might write a blog on it. Happy Fattening!!

Yogur de Savila

I saw this "Savila" drink at the shops the other day. Couldn't resist buying it. What better time to try it than tonight. Man, the weather's hot.
Whats it taste like? A bit sour and a bit honey dew like. It's actually quite bland. A bit like an unripe honey dew melon. Would I recommend it ? Not particularly... But if you wanna try it you should be able to get it from your friendly korean store, I got mine from Kosco.