Food THEsaurus

2006-06-12T06:19:00.000-07:00

2006-06-12T05:44:00.000-07:00

Al Diafah: A Truly 5-Star Dining Experience

2006-05-21T06:15:00.000-07:00

(Food review to be completed by 21st June)

Al Diafah Restaurant the answer to my lifelong quest for a 5-star dining experience.

The meaning of 5-star dining has to be redefined.

To me, 5-star does not mean
a) tiny portions of nicely decorated food
combined with
b) HUGE price tags

A 5-star restaurant has to have all of these criteria
a) excellent food

b) great ambience

c) free dessert, free fruit punch, free appetizers, free Davidoff Cool Water (Real stuff! Not the ones from Petaling Street) and ladies purse on Mothers Day, free all-sorts-of-goodies...

Important note** 5-star doesn't mean providing free goodies at the expense of the patrons.

Hafiz greeting patrons with the refreshing scent of kemenyan-like incense

Impressive deco!

Gahwa and Mariami Dates

I was very surprised to know that gahwa is indeed, a variation of coffee drinks. It tastes very much like hot ginger tea, and has none of the bitter taste and bewitching aroma of coffee. Gahwa is brewed using raw, unroasted coffee beans.

Tabouleh

This tangy and aromatic salad is indeed a health freak's best friend.

Tabouleh is a combination of finely chopped herbs and vegetables (parsley, tomatoes, onions and garlic), drizzled with fresh lemon juice and a bit of olive oil.

Tabouleh's definitely much more healthier than the usual mayonnaise-soaked salads.

Mendy Lamb with Al Diafah Rice

This is another one of my favourites; lean yet juicy, well-marinated, and so tender that I could even prick a fork right through that piece of delicious meat.

'Dim Sum' MINUS the PORK FAT Cubes

2006-05-13T07:47:00.000-07:00

Having been brought up alongside the Cantonese yum cha culture, wherein 'Sunday morning breakfasts' are synonymous to 'dim sums and chinese tea', I have grown somewhat immuned to the intrigues of dim sums.

For the past 5 years, I have hardly uttered "wahlauyeh" (an exclamation of delight) more than twice, over a meal of dim sum specialties.

Reasons: Being a healthy-eater, I hate MSG-laden stuffs. I also have a very strong psychological reaction to pork-fat cubes, and will spend minutes separating those crystalline substance from a char siew pau or siew mai before attempting a bite. What irks me most is the sight of prawn intestines in har mais (prawn dumplings). Eewww!

So, imagine my delight at having had a very "wahlauyeh" dining experience at the Luk Yu Tea House (located at the Starhill Gallery).
Reasons:
a) Very little MSG content.
b) No prawn intestines brought to our dining table
c) No unsightly fat cubes in my siew mai and wu kok (fried yam puff)
d) Pure, fragrant, unadulterated chinese tea (This is a must for my Dad!)

Fried Squid with Dried Chillies and Cashew Nuts in Toro Basket
Comments:

Piping hot yam dough served with a generous topping of crunchy cashew nuts.
Yum. Yum. Yummmm Seng!

Deep-fried Yam Puff with Chicken and Mushrooms

Soft and creamy yam paste oozes out of the crispy outer layer, as you sink your teeth into this delicious goodie.

Fragrant, light brownish filling (unlike the usual kicap-infused variety) minus the gooey pork-fat cubes.

Thank heavens, Luk Yu chefs do not have the habit of substituting pork-fat with chicken skins.

Steamed Shanghainese Crabmeat Dumpling "xiao long pau"

So good... that I even ate the dainty piece of cabbage placed undearneath the xiao long paus.

Steamed Chicken and Prawns Dumplings "siew mai"

No pork fat cubes and excessive salt and MSG. Fresh and 'unadulterated' prawns!

The prawns in almost all dim sum dishes I have tried in Malaysia have got a very unnatural cruchiness - somewhat like the texture of jellyfish.

Could that have been the work of some food preservatives? Boric acid? Well, I do not know. I don't really wish to know, either.

Anyhow, I hope my guess is wrong.

Pan-fried Shanghainese Dumpling with Chicken (Gyouza)

This is a must-try!

Generous amount of chicken meat and herb wrapped in freshly-made gyouza skin.

Finally, I have found gyouzas that do not make me cringe!

Luk Yu's gyouzas do not
a) drip with oil
b) squirt oily brine when you take a first bite
c) have the bitter alkali taste of the usual gyouzas

It is a public misconception that halal dim sums are inferior to non-halal dim sums, as how chick-kut-teh is inferior to bak-kut-teh.

Well, I beg to differ.

Luk Yu Tea House has tried, very successfully, to make yum cha an enjoyable experience for the Muslim community and us health freaks in Malaysia.