WEEKLY DIGEST 127 | 29 NOV 2024
The biggest issue yet - 19 visits!
It's been a while. We're back from our wedding and our honeymoon in Bali and Kuala Lumpur! An old friend of ours, and photographer, Kenneth, did an amazing job with snaps.
The wedding was an absolute blast and as cliche as it is to say - was one of the best days of my life.
Having said that, unfortunately we caught COVID straight after our wedding 🥲. So we spent around half of our honeymoon stuck at our resort. The bright side - there are worse places in the world to be stuck at a resort. The downside - not being able to explore Bali's food scene .☹️
If anything, it gives us reason to have another "redemption" honeymoon right? 🙊.
Speaking of resort - we first stayed at Kayumas Seminyak Resort for the first leg of our trip before moving to Beyond Bayou for the final couple of days as our "nicer" accommodation. Highly recommend both.
Beyond Bayou
In this newsletter I'll cover what we've eaten up until the 10th of November (yes we're a little behind 😅).
Since last newsletter we've checked out:
Chinatown Seng Kee
Amici
Bossman
Bricklfields
Tenjin Gyukatsu
Ma Maison Tonkatsu
Lotus
llaollao
Oriental Kopi
Restoran Sate Kajang Hj Samurai
Hokkaido Ramen Santouka
Sam Kan Chong
Ginza Nana Alley*
Juicy Bao Bao
Banh Mizzle
Pattysmiths
Shot on Ricoh GR IIIx except for Ginza Nana Alley.
*Our Ginza Nana Alley visit consisted of Yakitori Washokudo, Tonkatsu Kubota, Mitsuya Ramen & Monkey & Bird (4).
Visit count
Singapore and Japan travel related eats haven't been added in yet (I've started counting!).
As of 22 November 2024:
First time visits: 17
Revisits: 2 (Ma Maison Tonkatsu & Juicy Bao Bao)
Total first time visits: 53+17=70
Total revisits: 100+2=102
Total visits this year: 70+102=172
ICYMI 📱
If you have any new fantastic food finds, we'd love for you to let us know via DM or email. If you have different opinions to us on food, that's fine - let us know too! We love to chat all things food.
Eddy & Paige
The Best Thing We Ate ⭐️
Chinatown Seng Kee
📍 52, Jalan Sultan, City Centre, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The best thing we had during the Malaysia leg of our trip was the claypot pearl noodles at Chinatown Seng Kee.
Paige's been craving loh shu fun (translates to mouse-tail noodles) and after some Googling - we landed on Chinatown Seng Kee, aptly located in KL's Chinatown. The place doesn't review that well on Google Maps (3.3 at time of writing), but food tasted absolutely fine (another reason to trust your own tongue and not what people say).
Flavour wise, it ran savoury and was well complemented by the various textures from the wok hei and slightly crispy noodles, to the silky, fatty egg yolk and the crunchy spring onions.
Amici
📍 Jl. Petitenget No.19x, Kerobokan Kelod, Kec. Kuta Utara, Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80361, Indonesia
The best thing we had in Bali, just before we succumbed to COVID, was the tuna tartare pizza from Amici. We knew the restaurant had some level of prominence as Amici's menu is designed by Enrico Bartolini - who currently holds 12 Michelin stars. And boy, it didn't disappoint.
The pizza dough reminded us of our fave pizza place in Perth - Rossonero Pizzeria (Maylands). Our litmus test for "if pizza dough is good or not" is if Paige deems the crust worthy of her stomach space. Let's just say no crust was left behind on her plate.
This'll be a place we go back to when in Bali. Amici also provides an exclusive secret entrance to The Iron Fairies, a bar next door. We've been told it has a stunning fit-out. Another one for our next visit.
What We Ate 🍴
Prices listed where available.
Sisterfields
📍 Jl. Kayu Cendana No.7, Seminyak, Kec. Kuta Utara, Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80361, Indonesia
We couldn't do Bali without enjoying some of the brunch scene, heavily influenced by Aussies. When it comes to brunch, Sisterfields is one of the OG places we've been told. The restaurant itself was packed on arrival at 1 pm. Food was good and met the same brunch standards we have in Australia.
Bossman
📍 Seminyak, Jl. Kayu Cendana No.8B, Kerobokan Kelod, Kec. Kuta Utara, Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80361, Indonesia
The same Kiwi - Aussie run hospitality group behind Sisterfields (and a number of venues) is also behind Bossman, their burger concept. The fit-out of Bossman was cool and sleek.
Burgers for my taste were just alright and didn't dethrone any of our fave smash burger places back in Perth. For me, it was the patty and the bun which I didn't vibe with (smashed patties and potato buns being my preference).
If I were to retry Bossman again, I'd definitely give their smashed burger Smashin' a go.
Bossman is open til 3 am which is very handy for those partying late into the night.
Tenjin Gyukatsu
📍 Jl. Lb. Sari No.31, Kerobokan Kelod, Kec. Kuta Utara, Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80361, Indonesia
Tenjin Gyukatsu was our final meal in Bali. It emulates the gyukatsu popularised by chain Gyukatsu Motomura in Japan. You get the choice of Australian marbled beef and a higher marbling MB8 - MB9 beef (wagyu shiga katsu) as well. At time of writing, the shiga katsu is priced at IDR 198k / 100g.
My stomach was recovering from COVID, so I opted for the "normal" marbled beef and I was more than satisfied with the marbling.
Taste wise - it was more or less on point and definitely scratched our gyukatsu itch until our next visit to Japan.
Tonkatsu by Ma Maison
📍1 Utama Shopping Centre, Unit 226, Lower Ground Floor, 1, Lebuh Bandar Utama, 47800 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Coincidentally, one of the first meals we had in Kuala Lumpur was.. tonkatsu. We previously visited Tonkatsu by Ma Maison last year, so we looked forward to returning.
Being a Japanese franchise, the quality of the food was comparable to what we had in Japan. Each bite was crispy, light and juicy. Like in Japan, the rice, cabbage and tonjiru (pork based miso soup) are refillable.
Lotus Family Restaurant
📍 15, Jalan Gasing, Seksyen 6, 46000 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Oh I wish my stomach (and respiratory system) was in a recovered enough state to have been able to enjoy this to it's fullest. One bite of the mild chicken curry sent me into a coughing overdrive 🥲.
Paige's family took us to Lotus Family Restaurant - a spot they frequent when it comes to banana leaf curry rice. The restaurant itself is slightly atas with strong AC. Another place we'll have to go back to enjoy.
Fun fact - apparently Lotus Family Restaurant was the first business within the now massive conglomerate Lotus Group, who dabble in everything from food and hospo to construction, real estate, security and even movies and cinemas. Interesting!
Oriental Kopi (Pavilion)
After stepping off the plane last year in KL and making our way through KLIA2, we saw the massive lines at Oriental Kopi. We never got around to trying out Oriental Kopi and regretted it.
So this time around, we made an effort to finally try this place out. They're best known for their signature egg tarts which were flakey and buttery and, wait for it - not too sweet. Not pictured, was their polo bun (pineapple bun) - equally as buttery and not too sweet (even with condensed milk).
Their menu offerings were also great.
llaollao
📍 Jln Bukit Bintang, Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaOriental Kopi
Another place that's been on my list for a long time - llaollao. It hit the spot in terms of froyo. I'd probably still prefer this over YoChi. The medium size was more than enough for myself and is enough two be shared between two as well.
Eating this reminded me an old favourite - Verde Brio which once was in Hulme Court 🥲 (now I Love Crepes).
Restoran Sate Kajang Hj Samurai
📍 Jalan Kelab, Bandar Kajang, 43000 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia
Paige's family took us to Restoran Sate Kajang - a popular chain of satay restaurants in Malaysia. Satay was great and the size was a lot larger than we expected.
Hokkaido Ramen Santouka
📍 Lot 6 . 24 . 03, 168, Jln Bukit Bintang, Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Hokkaido Ramen Santouka is a Michelin starred ramen franchise that originated from Asahikawa, Hokkaido Japan's second most populated city. The broth I ordered was a tonkotsu shio, which ran a little lighter than a pure tonkotsu broth. A standout ingredient that came with the ramen was a pickled plum - which acted like a palate cleanser at the end of the meal.
According to their website the red pickled plum "hints the woman with red lipstick on" and "adds a feminine touch to the ramen". The menu here ran large and Paige ordered a sashimi set with a number of sides.
Sam Kan Chong
📍 17, Jalan Jinjang Aman 16, Jinjang Utara, 52000 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Our last meal was with Paige's family at San Kan Chong. Sam Kan Chong specialises in pork ball noodles.
The pork balls itself had a nice bouncy yet firm texture - kind of reminding us of weisswurst. Each bowl of noodles came seasoned with soy sauce giving it a savoury flavour. The sausage provided a nice textural contrast too.
Ginza Nana Alley
📍 Shop 3, Ground Level, 100/104 Murray St, Perth WA 6000
If you haven't been already, Ginza Nana Alley is Australia's first dining yokocho which emulates the dining alleyways throughout Japan. It's located right next to Hifumiya, one of our favourite restaurants to dine at in Perth.
Inside you'll find five different concepts - yakitori, Japanese western (Hamburg steak, tonkatsu and mixed fry), Onomichi style ramen, a Japanese style cafe and Ginza Midai - a fine dining concept specialising in oden.
We're off to Ginza Midai next Friday and we're looking forward to it!
Juicy Bao Bao
📍 Southlands Boulevarde, 45 Burrendah Blvd, Willetton WA 6155
Juicy Bao Bao (Authentic Bites' sister store) opened up at our local shopping centre - Southlands. Reviews on the Willetton branch are very mixed. We were a little lazy to venture out, so decided to give a go.
Our usual order are their wontons in home made peanut sauce and their braised beef noodle soup. Compared to Authentic Bites' version, Juicy Bao Bao's sauce lacked a bit of chilli and ran on the sweeter side. The beef noodle soup was comparable to Authentic Bites though.
Having said that, for convenience - we're happy to dine at Juicy Bao Bao, located just minutes away from us. Next time we'll give their xiao long bao a shot.
Banh Mizzle
📍 9 Koorliny Way, Bentley WA 6102
Man, uni food has gotten a lot better since my days. Curtin's food precinct especially.
Banh Mizzle is Curtin's on-campus option for Vietnamese food. On the menu you'll find noodle salads, rice bowls, banh mi and even gelato.
The banh mi was alright - the roll itself is a little longer than most, while the ratio of fillings inside is reasonable (though not as jam packed as Bibra Lake Lunch Bar or Phoever's offerings).
It won't dethrone my all time faves such as Bibra Lake Lunch Bar (Bibra Lake) or DJ's Willagee Lunch Bar but it was a decent enough.
Pattysmiths
📍 University Student Hub, Shop 4 Building 430/90 South St, Murdoch WA 6150
On the topic of uni food - Pattysmiths is Murdoch uni's on campus option for burgs. This Aussie smashed burger franchise has just over two dozen franchises scattered throughout Australia.
Of the burgers I've had, this ranks as "alright". It gets additional brownie points for having a mac & cheese patty - the first time I've had such thing in Perth. For my tastes, I would've preferred for a slightly more "smashed" patty with crispier edges (more Maillard reaction!).
Apparently it's also open til 11:35 pm every night, making it a good late night option too.
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