Krispy Kreme KL - RM3.50?

I've got bets going with my mom on how much a doughnut will cost at Krispy Kreme (those thinking about getting in line to be the first person, erm, sorry, my spies tell me there's already someone camped out there today with a sleeping bag).

Price point sensitivity is definitely an issue here in Malaysia, where disposable incomes are not high and discretionary spending amongst the middle class is definitely going to decline in light of the tightening economic situation. If the doughnuts are priced too high, they're not going to get the J Co and Big Apple crowds and their expansion plans may be slowed down (the franchisor is required by the franchise agreement to open a certain number of stores within 5 years).

In Hong Kong, Krispy Kreme doughnuts sold for HKD10 per doughnut and HKD100 per box of 12 (if memory serves me). That makes it RM5 per doughnut and RM50 per box. Big Apple charges RM22 per box of 12. It's been so long since I last went to Dunkin Doughnuts I have no idea what their product costs.

Now, realistically, the price point sensitivity requires the product to be priced competitively but the brand could command a premium. My original price estimate was RM2.50 until my mother pointed out that half the buns in Breadtalk are anywhere between RM2-2.50. She thinks RM3.50.

Well, in about 12 hours, we'll find out.

Chicken Ham and the Cajun Club Sandwich at Chilli's

So, I'm celebrating the end of 14 days of living with the Diet Demon in the name of compensating for my indulgences over Chinese New Year...English New Year...erm, well every weekend spent at Alexis eating brunch since the start of 2009...

And for my off day, I decide I really want to scarf my face on fried carbs like Chilli's Fries (still the best fries around, aside from the hand-cut ones at places like Magnificent Fish and Chips), guzzle their Margaritas...

...and after dawdling over Triple Play vs Chicken Crispers, I decided I wanted something truly evil: like grilled chicken breast with two types of cheese, sandwiched between three slices of WHITE bread that had been slathered in garlic butter (maybe garlic margarine - clog my arteries baby) and mayo, then toasted. With some token lettuce to make us all feel better. The Cajun Chicken Club Sandwich for the uninitiated. (tsk).

Now, I've had this sandwich before at one of my infamous 'last supper' rituals (embarked upon usually before 14 interminable days of being waistline disciplined) and it was fab. I loved it. So imagine my hideous surprise when I chomp down on the sandwich and...

UGH. It was cold in the center. I looked at the sandwich. In the middle portion (it's a club sandwich = three layers), there was something pale and pink that looked suspiciously like...chicken ham.

Now, before I *confront* management, I like to make sure I'm right. The customer may be always right, but it's best to definitely be right. So I got my booth buddy to snag the menu as I mumbled about something not being right with my sandwich. And then I scrutnised the picture (looks like chicken) but more importantly, THE DESCRIPTION of the Cajun Club Sandwich.

Indeed, the words "grilled chicken breast" were in the description.

Waiter was summoned and proved no help. Manager was called over. Swiftly to his credit he appeared.

Now, his reasoning for the chicken ham was in my view quite incredulous although not entirely unbelievable. And for the record I'm not saying I don't believe him. I'm saying the reason it incredulous.

He told me chicken ham was substituted because customers complained that when the sandwich contained real chicken meat (as opposed to god knows what parts of the chicken that go into chicken ham), not every bite had chicken. Grilled chicken apparently has a habit of not aligning perfectly within the sandwich to ensure that every bite of the sandwich produces a mouthful of bread, shredded lettuce, chicken, cheese x 2 and mayo. By substituting chicken ham, this ensured that the customers who bitched about not having chicken in every mouthful, GOT their chicken in every mouthful.

Albeit said customers were obviously unaware that what they were getting was ANYTHING but chicken. (come on, chicken ham?).

Completely to the credit of the manager at Chilli's that night at BSC, he immediately made me another sandwich, with real grilled chicken breast, which he said was do-able on request of the customer. He did however to my shock say that the customers preferred the chicken ham version. (why do I get the feeling the next time I go, it will say chicken ham?). I hope it won't be chicken ham because that would just be mind-bogglingly daft to substitute processed meat just so that a few dimwits can convince themselves they are getting their money's worth. Btw, chicken ham costs LESS than real chicken breast so in case any of my readers happen to be in the 'incredulous' grouping who believe chicken ham and chicken breast is the same...

Note: Service at Chilli's BSC is always impeccable with MidValley running a close second. I officially condemn the outlet at Bandar Utama, having had one too many watery margaritas and horrible Crispy Chicken Salads more times than I can count.

Breakfast of Queens: A Haiku

A Triple O breakfast burger.
Fries. Chocolate milkshake.
Oh Heaven.

DROOLWORTHY

A great story on America's Best Doughnuts at Forbes Traveller

If the article seems too long, just skip straight to the slide show.

Moments like this make...dieting bearable.

Espressamente comes to Bangsar Village

Today I ventured to try out Illy Espressamente in Bangsar Village I. It's just opened and we had an opportunity to chat to the owners on opening night. They were friendly, attentive (no service with a snarl here) and did a great job selling us on trying out the food and most importantly, the cakes!

If the name sounds familiar, it's because they have an outlet in Pavillion (right next to Kedai Roti Tun M, The Loaf). The coffee is excellent at the Pavillion outlet (can't fault the Illy pedigree) and it would have long been on my favourite list if it weren't for the fact that Pavillion is simply too far away, and the parking too expensive, to be a regular shopping visit choice. There's nothing like a nice piece of bread from The Loaf, accompanied by the perfect cappuchino.

Because I rarely visit Pavillion, I've only ever had coffee at the Espressamente outlet in Pavillion. Today, I road tested their breakfast sandwich, the Ciabatta Benedict (fried eggs, beef bacon - aiya - and cheese). It came with a little side salad tossed in balsemico and olive oil. The total damage for my bill, which included a Firefly Detox, and a Machiatto was RM38. Not too bad for a decent lunch. The sandwich was also excellent - not too ginormous so that you feel like you can't finish it, not too small either that you feel you're eating overpriced food. My grouse is of course the beef bacon (bah) and they seemed a little overwhelmed today so when I got there, I had to ask for the table to be cleaned, and the menu to be brought to me. And my Machiatto was lukewarm when it got to me (and I sat at a table pretty close to the coffee machine), leading to my belief that the coffee was hot but the milk was lukewarm, resulting in a lukewarm Machiatto.

I will however be back - their lunchtime panini sandwiches look worthwhile trying and the antipesto are tempting (the cocktails!). I'm also looking forward to sinking my teeth into their cakes - I was given a little background to their tiramisu which warrants a visit just to verify if it's as amazing and authentic as they say it is. (clue: it apparently was handed down to one of the owners by his Kadazan grannie!)

There's also something decidedly clever about their menu that shows how with some smarts, you can create the illusion of an expansive menu, with lots of choice, but in reality without resulting in overtaxed kitchen and general all around so-so food. (read: the food at Delicious).

2009 Hit List

Traipsing through 1 Utama today to check out the new Cold Storage outlet there, I stumbled upon this:



New York, New York Deli (LG, 1 Utama, New Wing) is unfortunately halal but the menu displayed looks interesting enough for me to put it on the 2009 Hit List of new places to try out. Take a gander at the sugary treats they will be offering:

Service with a Snarl at My Elephant

The restaurant business in this country has always had a major failing and that's service. Many restaurateurs understand that service is important but there are also a number of them who pay lip service to the idea of service, but have absolutely no idea what it means.

A recent story of Service with a Snarl. And I want to emphasise that this account was related to me by my family members and so arguably is heresay. But as it has been corroborated by all the parties present (7 pairs of eyes), I consider it reasonably accurate and reflective of the incident that took place.

Recently, my family went to have dinner at My Elephant located at Happy Mansion in PJ. Now, I've eaten there twice and found the food to be reasonably good, although perhaps a trifle bit on the pricey side for smallish portions. But generally had a good impression. However, as you will see, it is now on the Condemn List and it has been so condemned because of what happened when my family members tried to eat there recently.

A family member had made a reservation for 7.30pm on a Saturday. This reservation had been made 2-3 days in advance. Upon arrival, the party (yours truly excluded but this is not hearsay since I have corroborated the account with all the family members present) was told that their table was not ready and still being occupied.

The party of 7 that occupied the table had arrived at 6.30pm and were still eating by the accounts of my family members. My father was displeased by this and kicked up a ruckus. My sister-in-law demanded to see the manager.

Now here is where it gets interesting. The manager came out and declared to my family that "a reservation entitles you to come here and wait, and does not entitle you to a table". A shouting match soon ensued to which the owner then told my family members to 'get out of my restaurant'.

Btw, this whole incident was witnessed by my 83 year old grandma. So said owner/manager clearly not only has no idea of service, but lousy manners too.

Now, let's examine the situation here. Yes, the customer has lost their temper and berated staff for not having their table ready. Well you know what? They're entitled to be pissed off. It behooves the customer to turn up on time for their reservation. And so it behooves the restaurant to behave suitably contrite when they've buggered it up. The correct response would have been to seat the customers somewhere, ply them with drinks and snacks on the house, and try to get the table that is being occupied vacant.

The wrong and non-service friendly response is to scream at them to get out of your restaurant. The food and beverage industry is a 'service' industry and as they say, the customer is always right. Screaming at your customers to get out is the purview of at best, a 5 star michellin chef, not a neighbourhood Thai restaurant. And which planet is the owner of My Elephant living on (and what water is he drinking) when he says that reservations do not entitle a person to a table but the right to wait? Then why bother to make a reservation? Why not just come and wait? Or is the reservation in My Elephant simply shorthand for 'right to sit on a bench if we let you and possibly eat the food if we think you're worthy'?

If you are Gordon Ramsay or Joel Robuchon, I can understand. If you are Alan Ducasse, or Thomas Keller, I might even be willing to tolerate this kind of diva behaviour. Mind you, none of these guys take that view about how someone should be treated in their restaurant.

You're a little Thai restaurant, making bog standard average Thai food. You don't get the right to behave this way. Who the hell are you and what the hell is so amazing about your food that you have such a monumental sense of entitlement?

Furthermore, it is plain stupid to have 2 seatings so close together, especially when Malaysians are not known for turning up on time for their reservation. Where this occurs, it is imperative that the restaurant inform the customer that they have to vacate the table. The customer with a reservation, who now has to wait for their table, will only get more irate when they see the people at the table are mid-meal and not likely to finish for ages.

When the owner/manager screamed, lost his cool and lost control, he not only lost our party as customers, but the party behind us who had also made a reservation and who also soon realised they had no place to sit.

Now, as stated earlier, I was not there at this restaurant when the incident occured. But with 7 pairs of ears hearing a restaurant owner screaming GET OUT OF MY RESTAURANT, I'd really like to see Mr Doo Dee explain his reason for losing his wig in this way. The owner/manager's berating of the customers (irrespective of what transpired before) as far as I am concerned is absolutely unacceptable and wrong. This is not how a restauranteur should behave.

And to provide some comparison of how restaurants SHOULD behave when they have boo-booed, I present several instances where I have received rotten service, and how the restaurants in question understood the meaning of going the distance, in so far as keeping the customer's experience sweet and retaining their patronage.

KNK Yakiniku, Sri Hartamas

Now, that is a VERY SMALL restaurant (not unlike My Elephant) and where space is at a premium and a reservation is a MUST. We had a party of 7 as well and when we arrived, our table was still being occupied. The staff on duty were suitably apologetic and hurried to find us a table. The party occupying our table did not seem likely to leave for a good 30 minutes to us so we started to order first. But the minute the table was free, the staff moved us there. And, they put a 15% discount on the tab. And they were scuttling around making sure our food came out quickly. And they were constantly apologetic.

And they didn't scream at us.

Kura Japanese Restaurant in One World Hotel.

My father ordered beef teriyaki set at Kura on our first visit but requested the beef be in cubes and not strips because that's the way he liked it. The order came out in cubes, but with no teriyaki sauce on it. We chalked it up to a miscommunication and left it at that.

Visit #2. Order repeated to the staff and we made sure they understood we wanted beef teriyaki, but cubed beef and not strip beef. Again, it came out in cubes, but with no teriyaki sauce. And both times, the staff that took the order stated it was a) possible to have the variation and b) understood the order.

The second time it came out in cubes but sans teriyaki sauce, we sent it back and my father demanded the 10% service tax be knocked off the bill. Some noisy discussion ensued but the management not only knocked the 10% off, but a member of the kitchen team came out, handed his card to my dad, and told my dad that he would personally serve my dad's order if my dad came back. So we went back.

TWICE.

And both times, the member of kitchen staff in question not only made the order perfectly (beef CUBES with teriyaki sauce, medium rare) but the restaurant also gave us complimentary salads both times, almost as if to make up for the boo-boo on the first two occasions.

Now that's service.

Umaiya Japanese Restaurant, Damansara Utama

We were a party of 3 and our food not only came out in bits and bobs (with the sashimi and sushi coming out last!) but the service was appallingly slow. The manager on duty was contrite, insisting that the sushi and sashimi counter was backed up. Unfortunately, I didn't buy into her explaination since I actually observed the sushi and sashimi chef for 15 minutes trying to figure out what the hell was going on. (yeah, I'm one of those customers who likes to 'watch')

Despite being 'backed up', the sushi and sashimi chefs continued to make sushi and sashimi at a leisurely pace, as if there weren't several furious and irate patrons waiting for their food. Now if you've watched enough Asian Food Channel, you'll know that when the kitchen is in service mode, it's a madhouse and the chef's are all moving fast fast fast! So imagine how it looks when a patron who is WAITING for their food, observes the chefs at the counter behaving as if it is a quiet lunch hour rather than a busy dinner service. And no, I don't buy the theory that sashimi and sushi is tantamount to making art and the chef should be allowed to take his time. There is pulling up your socks and pick up the pace whilst maintaining a standard and quality of output, and taking your own sweet time, impervious to the chaos breaking out on the floor.

It's chefs like that which land the front of house people into trouble. A restaurant's front of house and back end have to function in tandem with each other, like an orchestra. Front of house needs to do their part in making sure the orders go in correctly (see Kura's situation) and managing the customer's expectations. (ie: we are a little backed up with the sushi counter - would you mind waiting?). Back end needs to deliver the RIGHT orders, in the right sequence (in this case, sushi and sashimi SHOULD come out first, before the main courses unless otherwise stipulated) and pick up the pace when it gets busy so that the front of house is not left with screaming irate customers watching the person who came in after them get their food first because some nimrod in the kitchen decides it's faster to make agedashi tofu instead of beef teriyaki.

The table across from us had sat down earlier than us, and received their sushi roll order after us. That was how disorganised things were.

On our way out, the floor manager, aware of the snafu, pushed 2 15% discount vouchers into our bill and apologised profusely again. We returned. And got superb service the next time around.

But for every instance where the restaurant staff (or owner) has shown themselves to be above and beyond the call of duty, there are matching instances of service with a snarl (or worse, a blank stare). More stories to come....including the tarty tale of why I refuse to patronise Delicious.

But in the meantime, readers with their own Service with a Snarl stories, please feel free to send them to me via comments or email (I WILL PRINT THEM). As for My Elephant, we may just be one family, but you can betcha we'll be doing everything we can to make sure everyone knows about our rude encounter.

Krispy Kreme HK: RIP

Once Upon a time in HK...there was a doughnut

Just go back from HK. Whilst there, walked past the site of Krispy Kreme in Soho.

The reason for the closure of KK in HK has been linked to the economic crisis and some of my friends in HK said it was because banks baulked at offering financing and loans. However, I have also heard the franchise owners of Krispy Kreme in HK were experienced F&B businessmen (and one of their other restaurants in Soho, Mid-Levels is still open) so perhaps it is not a case of the tap being turned off as some smart businessmen looking at it from the standpoint of capital preservation?

But in any case, sigh. I missed it. RIP KK HK.

Wanted: Peanut Butter

About a month ago, someone mentioned to me that there seemed to be a shortage of peanut butter amongst the aisles of Bangsar supermarkets. I thought she was joking (or merely indicating selectiveness with her choice of acceptable peanut butter which she did say, she only bought US made peanut butter). So I trawled the supermarket that week - I am a supermarket junkie so 3 times is a minimum requirement for my week to go by without me going insane.

I found peanut butter Made in the USA. (shall not go into the whole crunchy vs smooth debate)

So I thought nothing of the 'shortage' story.

But I have noticed that there are fewer and fewer jars of it in the supermarket aisles. Today, I'm trawling the aisles of Bangsar Shopping Center and...wait a minute. Where's all the peanut butter? You've got your PB and every kind of J possible (strawberry jelly, blueberry jelly, nutella) but no straight peanut butter.

Now of course, when I say NO peanut butter, I mean no quality peanut butter. There were a couple of jars of some brand I don't recognise. But the bold 'Made in China' label was enough to make me throw it back to the shelf like it was a pin-less grenade. I've recently just realised a jar of Skippy in the office says 'Made under license for Unilever in Shandong'. Gulp. And so that's made me a lot more vigilant about inspecting the peanut butter labels.



I might add, the jars of Lady's Choice had the 'Shandong Islamic Council' stamp proudly adhered to them. Which basically means, MADE IN CHINA.

Since the whole melamine in dog-food scandal broke out, I've consciously attempted to avoid buying anything that I feel is dodgy and the dodgyness score rises the minute it says 'Made in China'. You cannot trust those people to make anything that is edible. They are great for everything else that is inedible. But anything that goes on human skin, or goes into a human stomach, forget it.

The 'Made in China' confession is one of the reasons why for the longest time, I stopped eating Snicker Bars, eventhough I love them. I was inspecting the labels (something which I've done since 2005 after reading a book about how chicken in Sainsbury's supermarkets originates from Thailand) and realised that Snickers were made in Beijing under license there. Which put me on alert. Even if all the ingredients are imported in (and honestly, why would an MNC do that? The whole point of outsourcing manufacturing is to reduce cost and if you can localise the incredients, that cuts cost even more) I still don't trust the Chinese manufacturers not to try and cut corners. And I've done so eventhough Mars (the maker of Snickers) took out an ad in the local papers recently to say their product is melamine free. It's all the other stuff that I'm not happy about and lord knows, there could be other stuff other than melamine that's in the food chain.

Back to the peanut butter story.

A cousin has for awhile been abstaining from peanut butter as she couldn't find anything not made in China. Bangsar Village brought in stock of fantastic natural peanut butter made by Skippy (and made in the USA - okay, maybe peanuts from China possible). It spread like commercial peanut butter, but was less fake tasting, and had a distinct natural peanut butter flavour (I have eaten natural PB - it's...okay). It ran out so fast and has never been brought in again. Perhaps it cost too much.

So I have been on the search for Made in USA peanut butter for a while now.Which was why I thought I'd check the BSC aisles. And I even checked every one of the extra display aisles where they sometimes stock special stuff. Nada. Not a smidgen.

The ever so helpful staff says whatever is in the aisle, is all they have got (see pix below)


Deliveries apparently have stopped for over a month from Skippy. What's going on? Is it because Skippy is trying to clean out their made in China/Shandong inventory or even better, has chucked the entire lot and decided to bring some in from the USA? What will become of my diet Waterloo, Toastbox, where the tasty Peanut Thick Toast is made from a mix of Skippy and Lady's Choice peanut butter? (yeah, sneaky but that's how they 'economise' on ingredients! Mix the good with the average).

Clueless Cuppa

I'm usually really unforgiving with most of the food writing that appears in The Star because well, they're just bad. I've lost track of the number of times I've read a food review only to discover at the end of the article, the address of the place has been left off. Today, I'm in an extra unforgiving mood after reading Faridah Begum's article in the Sunday Star entitled 'One Hot Cuppa'

If we wonder why the quality of knowledge about the gastronomic and culinary arts is so appallingly terrible in this country, I really think we can point a finger at the most popular English language daily in this country. Faridah Begum's story is is an excellent example of lousy food writing.

The writer discusses the how the arrival of a coffee machine in her office/household makes all the difference as far as a great cup of coffee goes. Fine. As someone who recently just got a coffee machine in the office, I can appreciate the point the writer wants to make.

If only she would actually make it convincingly.

And as I'm feeling particularly annoyed with the article (and in a less than charitable mood) I'm going to take the article apart.

Text in Italics and " represents the writer's original text, as copied from the article. Let me state, I do not know Faridah Begum and have nothing personal against her. I have a problem with BAD WRITING, and especially bad food writing that appears in a national publication.

The article opens with a relevant point (albeit after one useless paragraph that really serves no purpose except to suggest Asians are stupendously unsophisticated when it comes to discussing food): What makes a good cup of coffee?

If only she would bloody answer her own question.

"Let us take a good look at coffee and while we push our knowledge of this magic bean a notch up or two, let’s also learn to be connoisseurs that won’t be hoodwinked by some who claim to be coffee baristas."

A quick visit to Wikipedia reveals as follows on the term "Barista"

Within certain circles, its meaning is expanding to include what might be called a "coffee sommelier;" a professional who is highly skilled in coffee preparation, with a comprehensive understanding of coffee, coffee blends, espresso, quality, coffee varieties, roast degree, espresso equipment, maintenance, latte art, etc.

But for the average person, a barista is a person who makes the coffee. A barista is not necessarily be a connoisseur of coffee per the definition in Wikipedia although it is ideal if they are such experts. Honestly, I don't think the person who makes my Americano at Starbucks is a connoiseur of coffee. He is a barista in the sense of someone who knows how to make coffee and handle an espresso machine, but could not be said to be an expert.

An editor would probably have edited the sentence to read: "...let’s also learn to be connoisseurs that won’t be hoodwinked by some who claim to be coffee experts."

(generally as writers we try to avoid using the same word twice in a sentence - it's a style thing. This also avoids confusion to the readers on the term 'barista')

I might add, I find the whole tone of the article to be highly condescending, especially the use of "let's". This is so, 80s RTM cooking show. And hardly authoritative in it's tone.

So then blah blah blah she goes on and on about what it takes to be a barista - to which point, as a reader, I'm thinking: do I care?

The content meanders into a paragraph long discussion about coffee beans (which again, lacks substance - if I know nothing, have I learned ANYTHING by this point?) before meandering again into a discussion about coffee's positive effects on asthma.

At this point, the article has already strayed monumentally from the writer's seeming original purpose, which is to answer her own question: What makes a good cup of coffee?

Blah blah blah before we get to the point of the COFFEE MACHINE. To wit, the writer tells us:"My recent habit of having coffee on a daily basis is thanks to a new Gaggenau coffee machine that was installed in my new kitchen."

Hmm, is the mention of the brand and the photos meant as a sort of soft product placement? And since we're talking about what makes a good cup of coffee, SURELY some educated discussion about the different TYPES of coffee machines out there would have been relevant? There are many kinds, or perhaps the writer only knows whatever sits in her kitchen and nothing else? If that is not the case, she has failed to avert this thought.

" Like most Malaysians, having a coffee machine is, ahem, a great social leap and this machine, placed strategically in my dining area and it is the perfect excuse for most friends to invite themselves over to my home. For those who have attended etiquette and protocol classes, they would know that having coffee at the end of a meal is chic or recommended while tea hovers at a distance but given the English partiality for tea, it is given a 70% etiquette recommendation."

Okay, by this point, I'm thinking how much snootier can this article get. I know 3 people who own coffee machines, and by no means would they consider it a 'great social leap', by implication a suggestion that the sun now shines out of one's butt a lot brighter simply because of the presence of a coffee machine in one's office/home. And then, the absurd theory that offering coffee at the end of a meal is "chic or recommended while tea hovers at a distance but given the English partiality for tea, it is given a 70% etiquette recommendation.Oh, for coffee, you get 100 points as it is the right beverage to ask for to round off a dining experience."

I would love to say that this is the most vapid remark in the entire article, not to mention incredibly shallow, but I would prefer to deduct marks on the basis that it's UTTERLY IRRELEVANT to the entire discussion in the first place.

If someone comes to my house for a meal, and they would like a cup of tea to close off their meal, am I going to shove it into their face that they obviously lost out on the essentials of a Swiss finishing school education by so requesting teh instead of kopi? And for that matter, the who gives a rat's ass if coffee is chic? If a person is a guest in your home, you offer them whatever they want, within what is in your cupboard. And surely it depends also on WHAT WAS SERVED AT THE MEAL? If my friends just came over for a lunch of delicate sushi rolls, surely I would offer them some nice green tea? Or perhaps they popped by some mooncake to which shouldn't I be breaking out the top end oolong or Pu-Er? And what if someone doesn't drink coffee and asks for, HORRORS, a cup of hot chocolate as their preferred nightcap? (to marshmallow or not to marshmallow, that is the question? Which one gets the gold star score?)

And I'm just wondering why the topic of whether coffee should be accompanied by a petit four (home-made? store bought?) or biscotti, or a square of 80% dark chocolate or perhaps without any of the aforementioned does not appear in the article? This important issue seems to have escaped the writer, but the 70% etiquette recommendation about tea (or is it coffee? And aiya, are we talking English or American or European or Scandanavian or South American etiquette here again?) appeared in the sentence.

After this long pointless 8 paragraph meander into the realm of the irrelevant, we get to some measure of meat, which is the point that a good cup of coffee starts with good beans.

To wit then the writer provides us with these two 'invaluable' nuggets of information:

"Good coffee beans can be purchased at coffee boutiques but alas! we don’t have them here in Malaysia. My recommendation for those in the Klang Valley is to head over to the Mercato Supermarket in The Pavilion or Hartamas Shopping Centre or the Village Grocer in Bangsar Village for a selection of good coffee beans.For beginners, get a medium roast to start off. It is best to keep opened coffee bean packages in the freezer, sealed and bound."

Firstly, I would consider Bangsar Shopping Center to have a much wider selection of coffee choices compared to BSV. And it is also much more central in terms of location. So why it was left off is a puzzlement. Similarly, are the selection of beans in Starbucks lousy? If so, shouldn't the writer be offering up an informed opinion as to why this is the case? And why is a medium roast best for beginners? Surely some sort of justification would be appropriate and necessary? And what about a little background about the different types of beans? After casually dropping in Kona and Robusta into the previous paragraph, the writer just conveniently forgets this and summarily points the reader towards 'medium roast'. Medium roast from what kind of beans yields what kind of flavour? And who are these 'beginners' she is talking about? People who are drinking coffee for the first time? People who have drunk kopi-o all their life and thus are but the coffee hoi polloi?

Cue her next nonsensical sentence:

"The secret to good coffee is freshly boiled water that has been allowed to cool for just about five minutes. If you pour hot boiling water onto freshly ground beans or ground coffee, you might end up with a bitter and choking flavoured beverage and this would put you off coffee, believe me!"

This would make sense if in her original opening paragraph or section, she had discussed the alternative method to having a fresh cup of coffee aside from a machine, and that is the French press. Then this sentence about pouring hot boiling water onto freshly ground beans makes sense. But if her only reference has been to her coffee machine (picture prominently displayed, even in the WEB VERSION of the article), then erm, where does the question of pouring water come into the picture?

Just when the writer seems to finally be getting to the POINT of her article, oops guess what? We're at the end. Hurry hurry wrap it up with the following three paragraphs:

"The real experience of coffee drinking is to take it without sugar. It is not bitter but you must allow it to grow on you to enjoy it. For those who need the sugar, use brown or raw sugar. Coffee is recommended without sugar as it brings out the flavour of the dessert served at the end of a meal.

Perhaps many don’t realise that taking a dessert with sweet coffee will leave a bitter taste on your tongue!

I leave you this week with a quick fix caffe latte, which is constantly made for friends who I believe, are friends with me only for my coffee! Enjoy your coffee, folks!"

As a writer, I have always found the use of the term 'take' to be of highly objectionable use in proper English writing. Only in Malaysia do people say 'Have you taken your lunch?" The correct way to express the questions above (and yes, I'm going to be snobbish here) is to say "Have you had lunch". You would only use the word 'take' with 'lunch' if your reference is taking lunch to work. Ie: will you be taking lunch to work or eating out?

"Take" is a colloquial Manglish way of speaking and again, is nonsensically inappropriate in a newspaper that actually has a section on how to speak English properly. The sentence construction of the first sentence is also questionable. What is the "real experience" that she is talking about here? It makes no sense. Editorially speaking, it would have been better to have expressed it as follows: "The best way to appreciate the true flavour of a cup of coffee is to drink it black".

Simple, to the point.

It is ludicrous to follow it up with "It is not bitter but you must allow it to grow on you to enjoy it". To say it is not bitter but to add a 'but' implies the first part of the sentence is clearly wrong because otherwise, the writer would not put a "but". (In fact, I considered figuring out how to correct the sentence but couldn't because I could not be sure of the intention of the writer.)

And then to UTTERLY contract herself, she recommends brown sugar or raw sugar. But then reiterates, NO SUGAR.

"Perhaps many don’t realise that taking a dessert with sweet coffee will leave a bitter taste on your tongue!"

If this sentence does anything, it illustrates with absolute clarity how awful the standards of English in the Star have sunk. This sentence is just wrong, wrong wrong. It reads awkwardly, and is just grammatically odd. And worse, it is absolutely condescending in it's tone, and puts the reader off. It could have been sub-edited to read: "Drinking heavily sweetened coffee as an accompaniment to a sweet dessert will actually leave a bitter taste on the palate, ruining both the coffee and dessert experience"

The assumption here of course is that the coffee is accompanying a sweet dessert. What if the coffee is accompanying the cheese board?

And then there is the absolutely APPALLING mistake made in the caption:

"Creamy head: A good cup of coffee will always have a nice golden head that marks a good brew."

The correct term here is crema. That is the appropriate and correct reference for the foam generated by the brewing of the coffee, and it is indeed the hallmark of a good cup of coffee. Head is the term used to refer to the foam in a glass of beer. And for god's sakes, creamy head? It's pornographic sounding. Someone in the sub-editors department should get a good tongue lashing.

This article is at best, a filler. At worst, 800 words of product placement promotion. And in the entire 800 words, the writer doesn't once bother to attempt to break up her text into sub-paragraphs. She sees no need to guide her reader on the path towards the goal of the article. It's like she just sat down on her throne, booted up her laptop and sprayed words on the page without any consideration whatsoever for her audience in 30 minutes. It has come to exemplify the kind of mindless writing that comes out from the Star's feature section. Why would any RESPECTABLE publication with a food section resort to printing reviews from blogs to fill up the pages?

Now, obviously I am going to be accused of going all 'eunuch' on the writer (you know, critique without any idea of how to actually fix the problem).So here's how you would write a PROPER article on the subject matter of coffee. There are several ways in which this can be executed but here's how I would have done it:

A) Begin with an overview of the different factors that come into play when making a cup of coffee: these would include the skill of the person making it, the method used to make the coffee (press vs steam-powered machine), the subject matter of water (filtered? Unfiltered?), the beans and finally, accompaniments such as milk, cream, biccies, and other incidental issues like accessories and nice coffee cups. This is also a good section to provide some education on the difference between different types of coffees (espresso, machiato etc)

B) Methods - explore the advantages of the press vs the steam-powered machine, and of course, the different types of machines available in terms of cost. A list of outlets where coffee machines can be purchased would also be helpful. A small note on accessories might also be relevant - if you own a coffee press, then a coffee grinder is a necessity most of the time. And this itself is a subject of a mini-thesis that needs to be condensed for the article.

C) Water - a brief overview of the issue of water and it's impact on the taste of coffee. It is also useful to explain at this point the impact of extremely hot boiling water on say, beans in a coffee press (since a coffee machine automatically heats the water to presumably the right temperature).

D) Beans - A discussion of the different types of beans, and how one distinguishes between different roasts would also have been informative. Also, it is important to explain to the audience the difference between using beans, and pre-ground coffee blocks. And where to buy and if any, personal recommendations of the writer.

E) Sugar, Milk and Accompaniments - an important subject matter since few people can actually handle coffee black and without sugar. Sugar of course should be cane or raw sugar (this is a good time to helpfully point the reader in the direction of WHERE to buy decent sugar for coffee). Milk is of course also something worth considering - cream gives a more luxurious cup of coffee to wit, which kind is best for coffee so that it doesn't end up floating in clumps? And when it comes to foaming milk, some coffee machine manufacturers actually recommend using UHT milk to get more foam. This is also a good point to discuss how different types of coffee are best enjoyed. For example, espresso is usually drunk very sweet, hot and neat. A cafe americano on the other hand should probably be enjoyed black. Again, this would also have been a good point in which to discuss different techniques for foaming milk (handheld device vs steam machine foam). This is also the right point in the article in which to then discuss or expose the reader serving ideas such as accompanying the coffee with biscotti, a petit four or perhaps a nice square of solid dark chocolate.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Past Tense, Present Tense...

Malaysian Food-Speak at it's best...

435 - the Magic Service Tax Number

Last week, after a rotten experience eating at Xenri Japanese Restaurant in Old Klang Road (food good, but menu waaaayyyyy too large, and kitchen obviously way too small to accomodate the expanded area - we need Gordon Ramsay in there people), my father decided to investigate whether or not Xenri is on the list of 435 restaurants sanctioned to collect Service Tax.

Well, we didn't find them on the list although it is possible they are listed under another company name (ie: Flams restaurants, such as the Bermuda and Onion and Flams are all listed under the Flams Group). Some restaurants like Esquire Kitchen, have taken to DISPLAYING their Service Tax license and their number on their premises, which is an excellent move.

For some background, please go to this entry at the Life's Happenings blog, or if you want to try your luck with the horribly slow Royal Malaysian Custom's website (www.customs.gov.my).

As the list itself is abysmally hard to actually find and the Royal Malaysian Custom's website has a horrible content management system (and an appallingly slow server) I have reproduced it here:

SENARAI NAMA RESTORAN YANG MASIH DILESENKAN DI BAWAH AKTA CUKAI PERKHIDMATAN 1975
(List of Restaurants still licensed under the 1975 Service Tax Act)

1 10th Avenue Food Mall Sdn Bhd 04000712/2004
2 A & W (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd 06585/1983
3 AEON Co. (M) Bhd 97000131/1997
4 Ah Koong Eating House (KL) Sdn Bhd 02001016/2002
5 Ah Yat Abalone Forum Rest (PJ) SB 06000831/2006
6 AJ Ashley Sdn Bhd (Secret Recipe) 29555
7 Akarumi F&B Management Sdn. Bhd 01000580/2001
8 Alexis Group Sdn Bhd 96000195/1996
9 All Stars Sports Café Sdn Bhd 04000610/2004
10 Amtek International Sdn Bhd 05000966/2005
11 Anjappar Restaurants Sdn Bhd 05000156/2005
12 APF Restaurant Sdn Bhd 00000410/2000
13 Artisan Naturan (M) Sdn Bhd 05000583/2005
14 Asia Star Crossing Sdn Bhd 02001642/2002
15 Aspac F&B Sdn Bhd 07001331/2007
16 Astaka Daya (Belisa Row) 2290
17 Astaka Daya Sdn Bhd 2289
18 Astaka Daya Sdn Bhd 2948
19 Astaka Daya Sdn Bhd 3128
20 Astaka Daya Sdn Bhd 3515
21 Astaka Daya Sdn Bhd (Secret Recipe) 3260
22 Athens-Link (M) Sdn Bhd 01000743/2001
23 Atlantis Seaworld Restaurant Sdn Bhd 29867
24 Attractive Choice Sdn Bhd 20539/1992
25 B.S.C Bistro Sdn Bhd 06000317/2006
26 Bangsar Café Sdn Bhd 01000824/2001
27 Bayee Sdn Bhd 00000335/2000
28 B-Canyon (M) Sdn. Bhd 04000587/2004
29 Beach Boy Restaurant Sdn Bhd 05000211/2005
30 Berjaya Roasters (M) Sdn Bhd 21829/1994
31 Berjaya Starbucks Coffee Company SB 99000128/1999
32 Billion Berg Sdn Bhd 05000627/2005
33 Blue Ocean Avenue Sdn Bhd (Mc’Donald’s) 40651
34 Blue Titanium Sdn Bhd (Teluk Intan) 34131
35 Bluefire (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd 01000439/2001
36 BNX Delight Sdn Bhd (Kinsahi Japanese Restoran) 45620/02
37 Booming Gain Sdn Bhd 05001015/2005
38 Budaya Caterers Sdn Bhd 20901/1992
39 Budaya Klasik Sdn Bhd 21868/1994
40 Bukit Mata Seafood Centre 04844
41 Castell Sdn Bhd 08672/1985
42 Catalyst Venture Sdn Bhd 4447
43 Century Viva Sdn Bhd 60815/05
44 Cergas Noble Sdn Bhd (Secret Recipe) 18137
45 Charming Whispler Sdn Bhd 03001078/2003
46 Chatterbox Sdn Bhd 04000168/2004
47 Chef Lee Sdn Bhd 04000522/2004
48 Chef Rasa Sayang Sharksfin Rest S/B 21105/1993
49 Chef’s Delicious 18045
50 Chef’s Special 51069
51 Chicking Eating House 51222
52 Chilli Peppers 51031
53 Chrisna Jenio Sdn Bhd 98000764/1998
54 Chuai Heng Rest (Kuchai Lama) SB 05000463/2005
55 Chuai Heng Restaurant (1 Utama) S/B 03000975/2003
56 Chuai Heng Restaurant Sdn Bhd 02001896/2002
57 C-Jade Express (M) Sdn Bhd 06000017/2006
58 Coconut Flower Seafood Restaurant 02000218-02
59 Conneezone Sdn Bhd 54908
60 Cosmic Deal Sdn Bhd 04000221/2004
61 Cosmo Restaurants Sdn Bhd 98000134/1998
62 Country Court 51058
63 Country DeCastle Sdn Bhd 51210
64 Crystal Jade Lmxlb Sdn Bhd 05000734/2005
65 Crystal Palm Seafood Restaurant SB 06000751/2006
66 Crystal Sun Sdn Bhd 21439/1993
67 D’Celia Food & Cafe Sdn Bhd (CFS Worldwide Movers Sdn Bhd) 45806/02
68 Daily Delight Café 02001530/2002
69 Dairy Natural Sdn Bhd 04000513/2004
70 Da-Light Food Court Sdn Bhd 14949
71 Damansara Palace Resturant Sdn Bhd 05000774/2005
72 Dauble Quest Sdn Bhd 01000584/2001
73 Dazzling Element Sdn Bhd 02001374/2002
74 De Crs (Sarawak)Sdn Bhd Y10-080000008/
2008
75 De Foodland Seafood Restaurant SB 02001883/2002
76 Delitaly Sdn Bhd ( Little Italy Pasta & Pizza Corner) 28948
77 Diamond Recipe Sdn Bhd 05000841/2005
78 Diskusi Jaya Sdn Bhd 05000641/2005
79 Dommal Restaurant Sdn Bhd 01000422-01
80 Don Sushi Sdn Bhd 45906/02
81 Dragon Venture Resources Genting Sdn Bhd 28217
82 Dragon View Restaurant 05000417/2005
83 Dunia Setulin Sdn Bhd 27311
84 Dynasun Sdn. Bhd 97000391/1997
85 Eagle Empire Sdn Bhd 04000735/2004
86 Eclat Inspiration Sdn Bhd (Old Town White Coffee) 3790
87 Elite Restaurant Sdn Bhd 05001048/2005
88 Embunan Mulia Sdn Bhd 02000041-02
89 Eminent Pedestal Sdn Bhd 01000347/2001
90 Empire Kitchen Sdn Bhd 06000253/2006
91 Eric Deli Paradise (KL) Sdn Bhd 06000310/2006
92 Essence Choice Sdn Bhd 05000422/2005
93 Estellium Sdn Bhd 04000029-04
94 Ever Rich Enterprise 06000133/2006
95 Evergreen Ahead Sdn Bhd 05000880/2005
96 Expert Corner Sdn Bhd 05000932/2005
97 Family Delight Café Sdn Bhd 00000584/2000
98 Family Food & Drink 28906
99 Famous Secret Sdn Bhd 05000444/2005
100 Famous Temptation Sdn Bhd 05000072/2005
101 Flam’s Sdn Bhd 04000089-04
102 Food Circle Enterprise Sdn Bhd 05000132/2005
103 Foong Wei Heong Restaurant Sdn Bhd 3106
104 Foremost Fine Cuisine Sdn Bhd 07000554/2007
105 Four Seasons Restaurant 04241
106 Gaya Erat Sdn Bhd 98000699/1998
107 Gayang Seafood Restaurant 29112
108 Gem Restaurant (Brickfields) S/B 02000276/2002
109 Gin Ryu Tei Japanese Restaurant SB 00000339/2000
110 Global Appeal Sdn Bhd 04000314/2004
111 Gold Dragon City Seafood Rest SB 01000152/2001
112 Golden Arches Restaurants Sdn Bhd (Mc’Donalds) 06549/1983
113 Golden Bengal (M) Sdn Bhd 01000354/2001
114 Golden Donuts Sdn Bhd 21150/1992
115 Golden Dragonboat Res (IMBI) SB 01000683/2001
116 Golden Palace Seafood Restaurant SB 06000721/2006
117 Golden Recipe Sdn Bhd 2380
118 Golden Scoop Sdn Bhd 22242/1995
119 Gorgeous Preview Sdn Bhd 04000072/2004
120 Grand Portview Seafood Restaurant 28881
121 Grand Straits Garden Seafood 60826/05
122 Grandpolitan Sdn Bhd 06000175-06
123 Guardian Catering & Restaurant Sdn Bhd 02000247-02
124 Hai Pa Wang Seafood Restaurant Sdn Bhd 41045
125 Hakka Restaurant (KL) Sdn Bhd 03790/1987
126 Happy Pie 51020
127 Harta Fermas Sdn Bhd 01000491/2001
128 Hartz Chicken (M) Sdn Bhd 01491
129 Hartz Chicken Buffet Sdn Bhd 06000574/2006
130 Haslam Trading Sdn. Bhd 02001511/2002
131 HD Marketing & Distribution Sdn Bhd 21826/1994
132 Health Food Centre 51226
133 Hee Lai Pon Restaurant Ipoh 54832
134 Hee Lai Ton Restaurant Sdn Bhd 01000365-01
135 Hee Lai Ton Restaurant (Puchong) Sdn Bhd 01000411-01
136 Hee Lai Ton Restaurant (Pudu) SB 06000887/2006
137 Hillview Village Seafood Rest SB 01000979/2001
138 Hj Samuri & Anak-anak Entp. Sdn Bhd 05000635/2005
139 Hudup Manis Sdn Bhd 05000130/2005
140 Ichiban Food & Beverages (M) SB 05001022/2005
141 Ikano Pte Ltd 97000240/1997
142 Indocape Consolidated Sdn Bhd 00000095/2000
143 Inner Peace Sanctuary Sdn Bhd 05000297/2005
144 IP Old Town Sdn Bhd 18163
145 Ipoh East Ocean Seafood Restaurant Sdn Bhd 54906
146 Izzi Lifestyle Holdings (M) Sdn Bhd 06000551/2006
147 Jack’s Place Restaurant Sdn Bhd 05000768/2005
148 Jaff Cuisine Sdn Bhd 06000197/2006
149 Jaya Noodle House Sdn Bhd 01000416/2001
150 Jintai Manis Café Sdn Bhd 02001596/2002
151 Jogoya Development Sdn Bhd 06000193/2006
152 JT Restaurant Sdn Bhd 05001059/2005
153 Jubilant Concept Sdn Bhd (Secret Recipe) 28450
154 Juice Works Sdn Bhd 06000547/2006
155 Jumbo Seafood Restaurant Sdn Bhd 16296
156 Kedai Makanan Kar Hee 98000597/1998
157 Kelana Seafood Centre Sdn Bhd 12934/1991
158 Kelantan Delights Sdn Bhd 01000772/2001
159 Kemboja Embun Sdn Bhd 06000438/2006
160 Kentmay Enterprise Sdn Bhd 04000509/2004
161 Kentucky Fried Chicken (M) Sdn Bhd 20947/1992
162 KFC (Peninsular Malaysia) Sdn Bhd 20955/1992
163 KFC (S’wak) Sdn Bhd 04937
164 KFC (Sabah)Sdn Bhd 4466
165 Kim Gary Café Sdn Bhd 02001028/2002
166 Kinabalu Ocean Seafood 28673
167 King’s Café Sdn Bhd 01000201/2001
168 KL Food Paradise Sdn Bhd 05000649/2005
169 Klang Palace Restaurant Sdn Bhd 07000056-07
170 Kluang Station F & B Sdn Bhd 05001021/2005
171 Kluang Station F&B (EM) Sdn Bhd 18166
172 KMS Sentul Curry House Sdn Bhd 05000535/2005
173 Kong Inn Seafood Restaurant 46227/04
174 Konsep Sukma Sdn Bhd 02000947/2002
175 Kopitiam Junction Sdn Bhd 3750
176 Kopitiam Soon Lee 02001572/2002
177 Kung Jung Delight (M) Sdn Bhd 01000816/2001
178 Kyros Kebab Sdn. Bhd 00000098/2000
179 Lala Chong Seafood Restaurant 04000020-04
180 Laser Empire Sdn Bhd 06000596/2006
181 Lavender Bistro Sdn Bhd 31891/01
182 Lecka-lecka (M) Sdn Bhd 06000177/2006
183 Legacy Leader Sdn Bhd 05000494/2005
184 Lim Hock Ann Seafood Company 41038
185 Lion Klang Parade Sdn Bhd 96000018-96
186 Little Penang Café Sdn Bhd 00000338/2000
187 Little Penang Café Too Sdn Bhd 06000002/2006
188 Living Bread Sdn Bhd (Burger King) 14352
189 Lunar Palms (M) Sdn Bhd 07000416/2007
190 Luxurious Noodle House Sdn Bhd 04000384/2004
191 Magnificent Empire Sdn Bhd 02000472-02
192 Mandarin Fortune Sdn Bhd 1197
193 Marcoma Kitchen Sdn Bhd 04000300/2004
194 Markmaju Corporation Sdn Bhd (Mc’Donalds) 51367
195 Matrix Consolidated Sdn Bhd 12988/1991
196 May Flower Restaurant ( May Queen Sdn Bhd) 29417
197 Mediaraya Sdn Bhd 06000006-06
198 Mei Keng Fatt Seafood Rest SB 01000661/2001
199 Meng Heong Seafood Restaurant 04000362/2004
200 Menglembu East Ocean Restaurant 54932
201 MFM East Sdn Bhd 18087
202 MFM Restaurant Sdn Bhd 01000210-01
203 MGM Entertainment Sdn Bhd 06000134/2006
204 Milanos Pizza Sdn Bhd 05001034/2005
205 Millenmight Sdn Bhd 51058
206 Miracle Paradise Sdn Bhd J31-06000030/06
207 Miu-Concept Sdn Bhd 04000375/2004
208 ML Breadworks J31-06000154/06
209 ML Breadworks Sdn Bhd 05001073/2005
210 MLH Supertanker 24435
211 Moly’s Place 51206
212 Momoyana Sdn Bhd 74029
213 Movenpeak Steamboat 41373
214 Mr Chicken Rice Shop 05000085/2005
215 Nam Heong Restaurant Holdings S/B 02001797/2002
216 Nando’s Chikenland Malaysia S/B 98000680/1998
217 New Gaya Seafood Restaurant 29169
218 New Hong Kong Restaurant 5474/83
219 New Lucky Seafood & Restaurant 7763/89
220 New Paris Restaurant Sdn Bhd 02000590/2002
221 Next Ring (M) Sdn Bhd 06000070/2006
222 Nijyumaru Japanese Restaurant Sdn Bhd 46146/04
223 Noble Banquet Sdn Bhd 06000880/2006
224 Nuocean Sdn Bhd 06000683/2006
225 Nuri Bersatu Holdings Sdn Bhd 99000463/1999
226 NZ Curry House 01000597/2001
227 OBS Restaurnats Malaysia Sdn Bhd 01000783/2001
228 Ocean Green Restaurant & Seafood Sdn Bhd 1882
229 Octo Jet Sdn Bhd (Breek Café Restaurant) 3330
230 Octo Jet Sdn Bhd (Seoul Garden Restaurant) 3331
231 Old Town Kopitiam Bw Sdn Bhd 3453
232 Old Town Kopitiam Cheras Sdn Bhd 06000871/2006
233 Old Town Kopitiam Kuala Lumpur SB 05000821/2005
234 Old Town Kopitiam Sdn Bhd 06000654/2006
235 Oriental Cravings Sdn Bhd 05000602/2005
236 Original Penang Kayu Nasi Kandar SB 05000053/2005
237 Pacific Hypermarket & Dept Store Sdn Bhd (Food Court) 40555
238 Paddington Pancakes Sdn Bhd 05000562/2005
239 Pak Li Kopitiam Sdn Bhd 06000084-06
240 Palm Resort Bhd 8444/93
241 Pan Heong Restoran 22374/1995
242 Pancar Pilar (M) Sdn Bhd 00000159/2000
243 Pangkor Fish Head Curry Sdn Bhd 01000951/2001
244 Passage Thru India (M) Sdn Bhd 98000091/1998
245 Passion Of Life (Secret Recipe Syuen Hotel) 54799
246 Pekin Restaurant 7839/90
247 Pelita Samudra Pertama Sdn Bhd 2931
248 Perkasavest (M) Sdn Bhd 05000062/2005
249 Pioneer Sensation Sdn Bhd 46108/03
250 Pizza Hut Restaurants Sdn Bhd 12566/1988
251 Plantinum Horses Sdn Bhd 05000392/2005
252 Platinum Attraction Sdn Bhd 03000062-03
253 Platinum Buffalo Sdn Bhd 05000958/2005
254 Platinum Paradise Sdn Bhd 02000473-02
255 Point One 51203
256 Ponderosa Golf & Country Club 13197/93
257 Popular Essence Sdn Bhd 05000102/2005
258 Port View Seafood Restaurant Sdn Bhd (The Water Point) 29185
259 Port View Seafood Village 71063
260 Prestige Incentive 71049
261 Pulim Holdings Sdn Bhd 12632/1989
262 Pure Symphony Sdn Bhd 05001016/2005
263 Purel Corporation Sdn Bhd 04000255/2004
264 Pusing Public Seafood Restaurant 10826
265 Rainbow Seafood Restaurant 54977
266 Rare Gain Sdn Bhd 25394/95
267 Rasa Ayamas Sdn Bhd 02000551-02
268 Rasa Ceriamas Sdn Bhd 06000138/2006
269 Rasa Thai Sdn Bhd 13720/1991
270 Reliable Rotary Sdn Bhd 02001304/2002
271 Rendezvous Steak Garden Sdn Bhd 04000535/2004
272 Resort Poresia 10691/94
273 Rest. Estra Super Tanker (PJ) SB 05000956/2005
274 Restaurant Foh Sun 10814
275 Restaurant Mun Cheong 10862
276 Restaurant Nasi Kandar Kg. Pandan SB 05000664/2005
277 Restaurant Oversea (Subang Jaya) Sdn Bhd 01000522-01
278 Restaurant Port Village 96000041-96
279 Restaurant Taman Rashna (Klang) Sdn Bhd 01000383-01
280 Restaurant Tien Sun Tien Sdn Bhd 02001037/2002
281 Restoran Ali Maju Sdn Bhd 05000605/2005
282 Restoran Cerana 05000128/2005
283 Restoran Choi Wah 01000903/2001
284 Restoran Daiman Pekin Sdn Bhd 30647/00
285 Restoran De Maw 04000386/2004
286 Restoran Fatty Crab Sdn Bhd 20540/1992
287 Restoran Golden Lake Sdn Bhd 01000284-01
288 Restoran Green View Sdn Bhd 00000455/2000
289 Restoran Gu Yue Tien Sdn Bhd 05000344/2005
290 Restoran Hawa Dingin Sam You 01000175/2001
291 Restoran Hokkaido 01000623/2001
292 Restoran Hong La Qiao (M) Sdn Bhd 00000612/2000
293 Restoran Janbo Cheras Sdn Bhd 04000525/2004
294 Restoran Janbo Seri Petaling S/B 22149/1995
295 Restoran Kari Kepala Ikan E & O S/B 98000281/1998
296 Restoran Lung Kee 98000768/1998
297 Restoran Makanan Laut Chong Fatt SB 01001045/2001
298 Restoran Ocean King Seafood 24308
299 Restoran Pekin Sutera Sdn Bhd J31-07000038/07
300 Restoran Pik Wah (Maba House) S/B 96000180/1996
301 Restoran Rashid Sdn Bhd 04000767/2004
302 Restoran Sai Kong 02000394/2002
303 Restoran Season Court Sdn Bhd 97000040/1997
304 Restoran Sempelang Sdn Bhd 29287
305 Restoran Shelaiton 2250
306 Restoran Singgah Selalu 30420/98
307 Restoran Sri Malaka 13804/1991
308 Restoran Sri Melaka 4452
309 Restoran Sri Pantai Jaya Sdn Bhd 28480
310 Restoran Tarbush Delicacies Sdn Bhd 07000419/2007
311 Restoran Teachew 08873/1986
312 Restoran Teppanyaki Concept Sdn Bhd 28231
313 Restoran Todak J31-07000031/07
314 Restoran Yau Kee Sdn Bhd 97000186/1997
315 Revenue Valley Sdn Bhd 03000011-03
316 Right Waves Sdn Bhd 02000926/2002
317 Rock Road Seafood Restaurant Sdn Bhd 16251
318 Rose Garden Coffee House (Teluk Intan) 34130
319 Rotol Food-Chain (M) Sdn Bhd 02000294-02
320 Royal Johor Country Club 8382/93
321 S & M Food Court Sdn. Bhd 96000449/1996
322 S.S.A.S. Golf Resort (M) Sdn Bhd 24750-91
323 Sabah Chicken Rice (Firmake Sdn Bhd) 29365
324 Saddad Enterprise 51239
325 Salihah Sundu (Kantin Hospital) 51219
326 San Francisco Coffee Sdn Bhd 00000005/2000
327 San Francisco Coffee Sdn Bhd 00000006/2000
328 San Francisco Coffee Sdn Bhd 00000301/2000
329 San Francisco Coffee Sdn Bhd 99000384/1999
330 Saravana Bhavan (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd 05000055/2005
331 Sari Ratu Prima Sdn Bhd 01000862/2001
332 Satin Padu Sdn Bhd (Secret Recipe) 40556
333 SDS Cafeteria Sdn Bhd 25552/96
334 Sea Good Food Centre 14915
335 Season’s Cafe Sdn Bhd 8376/92
336 Secret Recipe 11781
337 Secret Recipe (East Yik Sdn Bhd) 3537
338 Secret Recipe Cakes & Cafe (JB) Sdn Bhd 46017/03
339 Secret Recipe Cakes & Café Sdn Bhd 99000169/1999
340 Secret Recipe Cakes & Café Sdn Bhd 07000048-07
341 Sedap Corner 7827/90
342 Senang Sensasi Sdn Bhd (McDonalds Paya Bunga) 11789
343 Senibong Village Seafood Sdn Bhd 30525/99
344 Seven Ate Nine (M) Sdn Bhd 06000060/2006
345 Shakey’s Sdn Bhd 06000121-06
346 Shapura Catering 51218
347 Siang-Siang Food & Drinks Centre 51236
348 Sierra Circle Sdn Bhd 01000986/2001
349 Silver Pavilion Sdn Bhd 05000431/2005
350 Silverado Corporation Sdn Bhd (Kampung Nelayan Restoran) 24286
351 Smart Legacy Sdn Bhd 04000371/2004
352 SMTC Bukhara Sdn Bhd 05000446/2005
353 SMTC Highway Mart Sdn Bhd 05000448/2005
354 Solid Dragon Sdn Bhd 06000019/2006
355 Sosialite Sdn Bhd 51234
356 South Sea Chinese Restaurant SB 02000976/2002
357 Southern Pavilion Sdn Bhd 07000803/2007
358 Special Recipe Sdn Bhd 05000630/2005
359 Specialty Beans Sdn Bhd 00000072/2000
360 Stableford Development Sdn Bhd 06000304/2006
361 Station One Products Sdn Bhd 04000667/2004
362 Station One Products Sdn Bhd 05000639/2005
363 Steppes Karaoke Pub 51010
364 Straits Catering Co. Sdn Bhd 99000350/1999
365 Sugar Bun Fast Food Centre Sdn Bhd 51449
366 Suief Inc (M) Sdn Bhd 05000035-05
367 Sundanese Food (M) Sdn Bhd 99000375/1999
368 Sunway Lagoon Sdn Bhd 01000357-01
369 Super Dining Sdn Bhd 03000099-03
370 Super Sandwiches (M) Sdn Bhd 21912/1994
371 Sushi Kin Sdn Bhd 02000535-02
372 Swensens Café & Restaurant (Nationgate F&B Sdn Bhd) 3548
373 Synagold Sdn Bhd 07000163/2007
374 T & W Food Junction Sdn Bhd 30622/00
375 Tai Son Seafood Restaurant Sdn Bhd 46054/03
376 Tanjung Aru Seafood Sdn Bhd 29322
377 Tanjung Puteri Golf Resorts Sdn Bhd 08430/93
378 Taste Life (Secret Recipe Jaya Jusco) 16616
379 TCRS Restaurnt Sdn Bhd 01000120/2001
380 Teck Wah Restaurant 99000284/1999
381 Teppanyaki Sdn. Bhd 08599/1984
382 Teratai Putih Restaurant & Resort Sdn Bhd 16394
383 Tesco Stores (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd 04000241/2004
384 Thaiexpress Restaurant (M) Sdn Bhd 05000071/2005
385 The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (M) S/B 98000406/1998
386 The Cottage 14994
387 The Lotus Family Rest Holding S/B 99000307/1999
388 The Perfect Brew Sdn Bhd (The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf) 28808
389 Trinity Point Sdn Bhd 05000251/2005
390 Triple Empire Sdn Bhd 05000513/2005
391 Tropical Joy Sdn Bhd 02000537/2002
392 Tsui Village Restaurant Sdn Bhd 04000013/2004
393 Tuck Kee Restaurant 10765
394 Twinsky Seafood Restaurant 29108
395 Ultimate Donut & Coffee (M) Sdn Bhd 07001367/2007
396 Uncle Lim’s Café Sdn Bhd 05000133/2005
397 Uni Nirwana Sdn Bhd 03001158/2003
398 Unique Chapter Sdn Bhd 04000047/2004
399 Unique Grand Resources Sdn Bhd 06000242/2006
400 Unique Seafood (PJ) Sdn Bhd 07000016/2007
401 Unique Seafood Ipoh Sdn Bhd A10-0800065
402 U-Village Restaurant Sdn Bhd 04000220/2004
403 V Food Café Sdn Bhd 05000213/2005
404 V Garden Restaurant Sdn Bhd 04000027-04
405 Venice Franchise Holding Sdn Bhd 06000037/2006
406 Village Park Restaurant 05000706/2005
407 Village View Restaurant Sdn Bhd 06000398/2006
408 Wah Tua Guan Sdn Bhd 06346
409 Wong Poh Restaurant 04000236/2004
410 World Of Specialty Coffee Sdn Bhd 98000707/1998
411 Yakin Sehati Sdn Bhd 01000444/2001
412 Yesterday Melody Sdn Bhd 01000502/2001
413 Ying-Plus Ventures Sdn Bhd 04000250/2004
414 Yoshinoya Food Systems (M) Sdn Bhd 03001093/2003
415 Zen Corner Sdn Bhd 07001445/2007

In order to qualify for a service tax license and therefore collect service as a restaurant, the turnover of the restaurant must be more than RM3 million per annum. Failing which, the restaurant is not permitted to collect service tax.

So check your receipts against this list (or print it out and carry it when you go out). And if the restaurant is collecting what it's not supposed to be collecting, REPORT THE BUGGERS.

Note that if they are found to be collecting service tax without a license, they will be hit by a bill from Customs for the amount due, on the assumption of revenue of RM3 million and above.

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Abracadabra - Theobroma!

Walked past Oriel's spot in BSV today and saw the fit-up has been postered over. It looks like the new tenant in BSV occupying the prime Feng Shui spot that Bakerzin previously occupied is Theobroma, the chocolate lounge.


I haven't tried their place in 1 Utama (once you've eaten Michael Cuizel's chocolate, really, nothing below that makes the cut). But I suppose now that it's in BSV, I might just have no excuse not to try it.

Although I have to say, the 2-3 times I've walked past the outlet in 1 Utama and have not been moved or inclined to venture in or buy the chocolate. Something about the cellophane wrap just makes me think - ugh. No respectable Maison Du Chocolat would allow their product to be wrapped in cellophane surely?

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Mad about Lepat Pisang

I am a sucker for Ramadan bazaars. Something about the kuih stalls that ensures I will have a browse and I will buy some kuih, eventhough I am not supposed to be eating kuih after far too many cakescapes this month.

In particular, I am a sucker for lepat pisang. The thing about lepat pisang is it's hard to find a good standard one. Isn't that the perennial challenge with all kuih? Sometimes the mixture is overly sticky and chewy (more kuih koci than lepat), making it impossible to wrestle from the banana leaf wrapper without feeling like you're in a gladitorial battle with some kind of kuih chewing gum. Other times, it just tastes floury without much banana taste, which from scrutiny of a few recipes on line, I have ascertained as wrong proportion of flour to liquid/banana. And of course, there's always the question of whether or not you're eating lepat pisang made with real PISANG, or just lepat with a generous splash of banana essence.

I like to think that I can detect banana essence but the truth is that it's only really obvious when you're eating a banana cake with a crumbly but unmoist texture (sign of an absence or lack of banana puree) and when the baker has over-egged the essence so to speak.

And as I love kuih, but lack the experience that comes from making it, I have no real means in which to be sure that I'm eating the real kahuna. I am convinced that a friend got it wrong when she said lepat pisang is made from pulut rice and mashed banana. Lepat pisang in my view is flour (rice flour maybe?), mixed in with pureed bananas, and a little coconut milk, placed into the wrapper and kukus-ed to set it. Hence the kuih koci like texture, but firmer. But I shall be diligently researching this soonest. Experts out there, please enlighten.

The thing about lepat pisang is that it seems to only make an appearance in vast numbers in non-Malay areas during Ramadan month. I am sure that if I ventured to the right places, it is probably as common as yau char kueh. But seeing as I am a Bangsar-lurking kuih buyer (must try some of the other bazaars at some point), I tend to associate it with ONLY Ramadan month.

Someone who works in the government service says it's a staple of government tea time jamuan, along with the must have kuih lapis, and onde-onde (not quite Malay, more nyonya, but that's another debate). But since I don't particularly have a good impression of the kuih shop in Bangsar Village or KLCC (too far anyway), the Bangsar Ramadan Bazaar is my only time to indulge my lepat pisang cravings.

Perhaps I will contemplate venturing further than Bangsar this year. I always long to have a go at the ones in KL but the traffic is enough to put such thoughts to bed, along with the recognition that I might end up going totally mad and buying more kuih than I should.

As these bazaars usually lelong the kuih at three for a dollar, I end up with three, good or bad. Since it has been ages since my last lepat pisang, I ignored the fact that I was carrying two other plastic bags and managed to stuff the lepat pisang in my mouth.

From the first bite, I knew I was onto a winner.

It was firm, no overwhelming banana essence, and a slightly textured taste that hinted at real banana within. And the gem: it had roughly grated kelapa (coconut) embedded in the center.

I beat a hasty path back to the stall and staked a claim to three more, leaving one more to whichever lucky bugger would land it. The curry puff, which for some reason is a necessary compliment to the sweet lepat, was so-so. The sugared ubi doughnuts were, in the words of my bro, 'crack'.

For those who are wondering, I can only describe it was the kuih stall nearest to the 2nd entrance to the Jolly Green Giant carpark, that is along the 1 way street. It is however not possible to be accurate since it is early times and more stalls may spring up. Will try to get a picture for ID purposes (although the thing is, the quality of the kuih tends to start to wilt as the month goes by).

Whilst browsing the bazaar, what immediately struck me was the number of people busy buying ayam percik, ordering roti john and murtabak and sapu-ing up the kuih who were not Muslims. Obviously, the non-Muslims also look forward to this time of the year because they get to savour the dishes that typically don't make an appearance during the rest of the year - the ayam percik and wide availability of murtabak and endless variety of kuih being the items with the most pulling power it seems.

Indeed, it occurred to me that it's The Great Malaysian Gastronomic Marathon season again. Crimped in together in one month is Ramadan and Hari Raya, with the Mooncake Festival sandwiched in between the two on September 15th. So along with rendang, nasi kunyit, kuih, bubur - I am a sucker for pengat pisang - murtabak, is mooncake, mooncake, mooncake! And let's face it, mooncake is amazingly versatile - great with coffee, perfect as a little after lunch sweet, and extra yummy after dinner with some tea. I'm keen on most of the traditional mooncakes ( except mixed nuts) and I am a glutton for trying all the exotic ones (kaffir lime milk chocolate mooncakes from Mandarin Oriental anyone?), although have gone off the Ping Pei.

And there is the chue chai peng (little piglet biscuits) - how do I love thee? Let me count the oinks (and calories since it is unadulterated lard mixed with flour and sugar and then baked.)

And to top it all off, there's Deepavali too look forward to. YUM.
By the time you're done, oh look, Christmas is here.

Is it any wonder we're more rotund than we should be? But then is it any wonder that after 51 years of independence, Malaysians don't know what their national identity is, but they sure as hell know that there's nothing in the world greater than Malaysian food.

PS: i welcome all suggestions for a good lepat pisang available 24x7x365. As long as it's not too far away. PJ ada ah?

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Oriels is GONE! Changes afoot at Bangsar Village?

Sitting in Starbucks, I notice that Oriels is now no longer there.

A white fit-out works plywood cover stands in it's place.

Renovations perhaps? I received lots of comments, some good some bad, about the new place.
I never got a chance to try the cakes and frankly, I absolutely did not really feel a compelling need to.

They looked like knock-offs of Bakerzin cakes, and lacked the finesse and finish of the Bakerzin cakes.

But I suppose if Oriels re-opens in BSV, I will make it a point at some time to try one of the cakes. Then weigh in my opinion.

UPDATE: Oriels is still open at 1 Utama so that seems to lean heavily towards Oriels BSV being under reno.

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Latest Condemn List Candidate: Marmalade Cafe, BSV II

One of my favourite places for Sunday Brunch is Marmalade Cafe. I like going to the one in Bangsar Village II.

I've had my fair share of people who wonder why I have brunch there, declaring the food to be variously 'weird' and 'tasteless' and cardboard. They have some winners on the menu (the salmon carbonara is not bad, and I do like their ricebowl options). Mostly, it's a good place to eat because the food is a reasonable effort at reducing the 'bad quotient' of most foods. It feels healthy, without feeling, like it's inedible. The staff are accomodating to requests such as serving the poached salmon with only brocolli, or cutting the amount of rice. And when it comes to weekend brunch, they have some interesting options beyond the usual boring eggs and toast.

They are the only place I know that does wholegrain pancakes. And since I'm on a bit of a health move, I try to chose wholegrain where I can and so Marmalade Pancakes are a good way to indulge without too much guilt. A friend likes their Green Eggs, and their French Toast is quite good too.

All this is a thing of the past.

Two weekends ago, we were at Marmalade and we noticed new menus.

New menus usually means, new prices. And sure enough, Green Eggs were up by RM2.

Now, obviously, prices going up is nothing to bat an eyelid at. It's surprising these days if you go to a restaurant and prices HAVEN'T gone up and portion sizes have said the same. But I'll get to what's objectionable in a bit.

At Marmalade, not only were the prices UP, but items had disappeared from the dishes. The Green Eggs usually come with 2 slices of mozzarella cheese, and avocados. The avocadoes were still there, but the mozzarella cheese had disappeared.

The wholegrain pancakes are usually served with cream cheese. Usually I get the waiters to get the chef to stick it into a separate saucer. Admittedly the last few times I have been there, I've not actually seen any cream cheese on the pancakes - this time I was there, there was a barely visible swipe on the pancakes. Now, it could be the waiters just decided that I was a health nut and since I always asked for the rice to be removed from my dishes, that I'd perhaps like not having any cream cheese on the pancakes.But here's the thing, that Sunday, I didn't ask them to take it out.

The French toast usually comes with a tumbler/shot glass of vanilla yoghurt. But given that the Green Eggs had come sans Mozzarella cheese, it was no surprise that the French Toast arrived with a container the same size as the miniature containers for chilli and soy sauce in the hawker center.

Now, I know dairy products have gone up in price but is it necessary to engage in these reductions AND embark on a price increase?

In all fairness, Marmalade has been frank by producing a new menu and indicating clearly what they are removing, and publishing new prices. Points must be given for not being deceptive (although of course, if I had my nitpicking ways, the waiters/staff should have been trained to tell customers that the Mozzarella Cheese was being removed).

But as far as I could tell, cream cheese was still part of the pancakes although I noticed in my copy of the menu, it was glued on. And there was barely any (not to say absolutely none, just BARELY ANY) cream cheese in my pancakes.

Am I harping? Yes I am. But as far as I am concerned, what aggrieves me is that there is no reason to cut back AND raise prices. I would be okay with a raised price for the same product - that after all is what inflation is all about. I would also be okay with a raised price, and say a slight cutback - one slice of mozzarella cheese vs two. But a bare scraping that's nearly not visible to the naked eye of cream cheese? And cutting back yoghurt by 2/3rds? Inflation means prices go up and if you've raised your prices, then you've address the inflation issue. But to charge more, and give less feels a lot like daylight robbery.

So what if Marmalade's argument is - we can't raise the price enough to cover our costs?

If an establishment is confident of the quality of the food that they are offering up, then they should be confident enough to increase the price to the level needed to maintain standards. And confident that the patrons will believe enough in the food to pay that higher price surely?

To increase the price AND reduce the amount of product, is a recipe for disaster for any restaurant. Patrons, specifically the REGULAR PATRONS, will notice. Admittedly, not all regular patrons will notice, whine/bitch and then blog about it. But they will notice.

Whether or not patrons will then translate that noticing of up price, decline in quantity and ingredients, into less visits, or simply not frequenting a place like me, depends. Significantly, it will probably depend on how easily you find a substitute for wholegrain pancakes, or green eggs or French toast. Unfortunately, there are hardly ANY places that do the wholegrain pancakes (although I am working my damndest on the chef at YogiTree). Green Eggs are a sort of niche dish of Marmalade as well so finding that substitute will probably be a challenge as well bar making it at home yourself. As for French Toast, one could make it oneself or visit Kim Gary and eat their heart-stopping version.

My friends and I, after contemplation, decided we will probably be going down the path of not frequenting Marmalade. And we will have to find another brunch place. I will miss the magazines, and the place. And the coffee was something else.

But I have put it on my condemn list. Which means, on principle, I shall not be frequenting it any more.

What's on your Condemn List?

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Reason #25342 to diet: mooncakes

It's that time of the year again - yes, mooncakes galore.

Cruised past the display at Midvalley today and noticed someone offering a ginseng chicken floss mooncake.

I cannot be sure if it is gross, a potential winner or beyond comprehension, food flavours wise. (still rolling it around my head).

Although, I did try the same company's Tiramisu and Black Forest mooncakes last year and was pleasantly surprised. Admittedly, it was hardly a quality product (I'm sure there were a lot of Es and Cs at work to produce those flavours. If you don't know what I'm talking about, try the last chapter of Fast Food Nation).

The KL Hilton's Chynna Restaurant has an exotic interesting offering this year - the Blue Mooncake. It has a blue skin and blueberry cheese filling. Sounds Vulcan (but interesting nonetheless.)

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Can you call something Pancetta if it's made from Beef?

Had dinner at Villa Danielli, Imperial Hotel (formerly the Sheraton Imperial).

We had a pizza that was described as Pancetta e Funghi. Which my rudimentary italian identifies as bacon and mushroom. Now, the description below informs the customer that it is beef bacon they are getting, not pork bacon.

My question - can it be called pancetta, if it is not made from pork, specifically pork belly?
Wikipedia does not seem to think so. And I don't think so either.

Why my blog does not have pictures of the food I eat

Somone asked me why my blog, which is about food most of the time, was so scant when it came to food pictures.

Because there are already enough food blogs out there with endless pictures of food, and not enough food blogs out there with WORDS in 'em. That's why. Especially Malaysian food blogs.

It makes you wonder why they are even called blogs if they are just full of pictures. A blog, lest we forget, was supposed to have originated as an online diary/journal which whilst it is appropriate that it includes photographs, should be more about WORDS.

From wikipedia

A blog (an abridgment of the term web log) is a website, usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.

Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (artlog), photographs (photoblog), sketches (sketchblog), videos (vlog), music (MP3 blog), audio (podcasting) are part of a wider network of social media.

So that is one of the reasons why I do not have an endless pile of food pictures on my blog. This is a blog where I talk about food - it is not a catalogue of every meal I have eaten, or for that matter, only about what food I have eaten.

Another reason: I'm not a professional photographer and my food pictures would just look like amateur food pictures anyway. Why would I want to insult the chef or restaurant owner by publishing amateur photographs of their food?

A professional photographer, assisted by a food stylist and further assisted by an army of assistants is how pictures in food magazines look so good. Since I am neither professional, not assisted nor willing to invest in the equipment or time to learn how to do it well, I refuse to accordingly do injustice to the food and to the Chef by photographing his or her food in bad light (or just lousy light), using a snappy camera and failing to complement what's on the plate with an appropriate styling.

Admittedly, most Malaysian food blogs are not pro-blogs wherein the bloggers are full-time pros who earn their living from their blog or who use their blog for purposes of showcasing their work as writers/photographers/food writers. So really, they can write whatever they want, and use as many pictures as they want. But I maintain that the biggest problem we have towards educating people on gastronomy and culinary arts and sciences in Malaysia is simply that there is insufficient exposure to quality writing about the subject of food. And a slew of food blogs that are picture driven don't help.

Which brings me to the conclusion: Malaysians are lazy readers and lazy reviewers.

Why bother to work at describing what you ate when you could just show a picture right? Save time writing mah. And no need to describe so much. After all, why crack one's brain trying to figure out a comparative descriptive of what you are eating when you can just slap a picture there and tell people - nah, so obvious right what it is no? And why bother to arrive at your own conclusion about whether what you ate was of a high standard compare against an objective standard, or revolutionary, or exciting, or unique - slap a picture there and let people see for themselves lah!

And heaven forbid if Malaysians are actually asked to IMAGINE what something tastes like using their brains, and taste memory, or composite two flavours through their imagination (think Ratatouille) and based on a description written in text form. Yes, photographs cut across the language barrier, but they also function as an intellectual barrier. They ultimately reflect the absence of a need for critical thought when it comes to how we approach the subject of food.

Which naturally results in Malaysians becoming IMHO faux gourmands and lazy foodies.

Admittedly, food should not be a complex exercise. It is after all about enjoyment. But it is another thing to entirely remove any measure of intellectualising from food - that is to simply downgrade all food into two categories: YUK or YUM. No, I do not ponder and contemplate every mouthful of food that I consume, but I am particular about what I will eat and will not eat, am very clear about when I am eating nonsense food and when I'm having a serious gastronomic experience (and also all those experiences in between).

Does anyone bother to wonder why it is that top notch restaurants do not provide you with PHOTOGRAPHIC menus? You can't be a serious foodie/gourmand if you're too lazy to read the menu or the description of the food. Photographs are only fit for fast service restaurants or in places where the menu is in a foreign language or the food is extremely foreign and you need a photograph to know that 'pesce' is 'fish'.

Check out a food review in The Times or the Guardian - guess what? There are NO food photographs. The focus is on the food, but you don't get pictures of the food. You might get a photograph of the restaurant's exterior to help you identify it's location if you happen to go looking for it, or to give you an idea of the ambiance. But NO FOOD PICTURES.

Look at the Dining and Wining section of the New York Times. Mark Bittman's 'The Minimalist' column this week on Blueberry Cheesecakes (blueberries are in glut, hence their sudden availability for RM10.99 at BSV) features ONE PHOTO. The rest are words. Descriptives. Explanations. Science. Commentary. Insight. Knowledge.

The restaurant review section of the New York Times restaurant review archive has a similar pattern of wordiness. Each review contains a singular photograph taken of the interior of the restaurant and guess what? More words.

Gastroporn can be about pictures and words, but one without the other or one without being respectfully and sufficiently complimented by another?

Words are what provide us with a more complex vicarious food experience and most importantly, and indication of TASTE. A photograph capture a limited number of textures (wet, dry, textured, smooth) but it cannot communicate sweet, sour, bitter, spicy, hot, cold, warm, comforting. Photographs show you what something looks like and a multiplicity of colours (which can also help influence your viewpoint of the taste of something) but it is wordscapture complexity in flavour, the combination of tastes, the different textures, and most importantly, the sensation of the food.

So no, I do not put pictures unless I have a very good reason to do so, or I am just feeling frivolous. And I personally find it annoying to sit in a restaurant and see people photographing their food. I can understand if say, you were on a quest to eat at a Michelin-starred restaurant for 365 days of the year, and your blog contained an image of every Michelin-starred meal. Or if you were documenting a special meal (for example, a blow out on a really expensive degustation menu at a top tier restaurant) and just wanted to have a memory of the blow-out moment.

Photographing your afternoon snacks, and lunchtime meals and late night cakescapades? I'd be insulted as the baker/chef at a restaurant if someone took amateur snappy camera photographs of my food and slapped it up on the Internet. What if the pictures don't do justice to my food? What if it makes people just say - oh that looks yummy but in fact, my food is BEYOND MERE YUMMY?

Learn to read. You'll be a better gourmand for it.

Chocolate Ricotta Cheesecake @ Alexis - Jury Still Out

Had it for lunch today. (no pictures people, learn to use your imagination)

Biscuit base, and then a light fluffy chocolate 'cake' on top. Biscuit base tasted like digestive biscuits but wasn't crunchy or hard, but quite soft.

Ricotta always produces a 'lighter' cheesecake compared to cream cheese, which can be claggy and dense, especially if used in the wrong proportion, used in too much quantity, cheap cream-cheese is used, or you just have a refrigerator that is too cold. All these basically create a cheese but claggy cheesecake which leaves you feeling like you still have cheese stuck to your teeth despite the coffee you glugged down.

It does taste like a compromise choice - neither sinful enough to satisfy a desert craving (for that, please refer to the gorgeous Bittersweet Chocolate at Alexis) nor low in calories to make the dieting feel guiltless.

Jury is still out although for a change, it provides a different texture and a certain fluffyiness.