Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur - Tanzini

The past year I've been waxing lyrical about Malaysian food in Malaysia (of course) on this blog. I mean, it's kind of hard to go wrong with a char kuay teow with loads of chilli or a freshly made roti, but it's always interesting, when the opportunity comes up, to see how they would do fine dining. 

One of my dear friends, who'll I'll call E, was the restaurant manager of Tanzini in Kuala Lumpur, in G Tower, and kept asking our friends and I to visit and check out the food. 

Earlier this year in March, my friends and I all had planned to be in KL together, so of course, we all dressed up a little bit (heels for the girls, jackets for the guys) and finally went to check out E's pride and joy. 

Tanzini itself is quite beautiful, on the 28th floor of G-Tower. Softly lit with white tablecloth, lots of glass in the interior and warm wooden floors, it has some rather prime views of KL city and the Twin Towers. 

We were treated to an even more intimate setting though, as we walked up the stairs to the Upperdeck, where we were surrounded by windows and a mirrored ceiling. It was a rather serene and beautiful setting to relax in. 

At the Upperdeck at Tanzini, there is no ala carte, simply the Chef's degustation menu, which on this particular night was crafted by Chef Eugene, who came out to greet us. Young and full of smiles, it was clear that we were going to be in for a rather adventurous menu, as E told us about his passion for unconventional cooking, mixed with the fundamentals. 

Our evening started with a wee amuse bouche of smoked salmon (I think), with a bit of pickled veg, presented on a rock. A cool and refreshing tidbit to get our appetites stimulated!

Next up we had pan fried ricotta gnudi 'scallop' with a Hokkaido scallop with a light garlic butter alfredo. Oh I was tickled by this. I loved how playful this dish was, with the ricotta gnudi shaped to look like the scallop, which also filled the air with a delicious and comforting aroma. They were light and fluffy, and the scallop was beautifully cooked. 

Oh. Macaron you say? 

Not just any macaron darling. It's a salted egg macaron.

Say what?!

Before tucking into it though, the waiters came around to pour the cream of cannellini bean around it. The cannellini veloute was lovely and although I was tickled by the idea of a salted egg macaron and certainly appreciated the chef's creativity, I do feel it could have had a bit more saltiness and flavour to it, but did impart a bit of flavour all the same. 

A blushing smoked muscovy duck with stewed parsnip, parsnip chips and parsnip-truffle puree was not so experimental, but comforting with familiar flavours and a pleasant earthiness. The duck was just cooked perfectly. 

Between entrees and mains we had a spoonful of house made berry sorbet to freshen up the tastebuds after a whirl of curious flavours. 

There were two options for the mains and the guys opted for the 52 hour braised wagyu beef brisket. Although a somewhat small serving, it was a seductive looking little minx, falling apart at a knife's touch.

The girl's on the other hand, opted for the wild caught Nunavut Artic char in light soy court bouillon with simmered kyoto eggplant and toasted baby sardine 'tuile'. I loved the idea of the 'tuile', although I felt it could have been just a little bit crunchier. Maybe two more seconds in a the deep fryer? 

The arctic char was an incredibly generous serve and I struggled to get through it! It was tender and so tasty, I did enjoy the Asian accent on flavour here, wrapped in leaves with eggplant and soy. 

Last but not least, we tucked into a Grand Cru Guanaja 70% chocolate creme chiboust (apparently a pastry cream lightened with stiffly beaten egg whites), with a pecan croquante, banana Confiture de Lait and Fleur de Sel liquorice gelato. 

Painstakingly constructed, you could tell how carefully plated this dish was. However, before we could tuck into it though, a few bowls of dry ice with rosemary in them were placed in the middle of the table. We were slightly befuddled until the waiter came back with a small pitcher of water, which they poured over the dry ice. 

Oh my goodness, I didn't realise how much the smell of the rosemary would surface, so that we had rosemary scented clouds washing over our plates. It created a lovely atmosphere, and was really just a bit of fun. Kind of wish I had dry ice all the time just so I can do this at home. Rosemary. Mmmm.

The dessert itself was just lovely as well. Rich, but not too much and I absolutely loved the hint of banana. Lots of textures in this dish too, which you guys probably know I always like. 

Overall, it was a fabulous evening. We did feel as a group that maybe for a degustation, the flavour story didn't always flow and that the higher concept or vision for the meal was a little bit scattered. However as individual dishes, it was all quite beautifully executed. 

So although I can't imagine you would get tired of the local Malaysian fare, but if you did want something a little special, with a great view to boot, Tanzini certainly makes for a great option.

Tanzini Upperdeck

GTower

199 Jalan Tun Razak

50400 Kuala Lumpur

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Malaysia - Cameron Highlands

Goodness! I was going through my edited photos and had realised I had completely overlooked sharing my trip to the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia, last year in October, with all of you! Bad Ashley, bad!

If you had been following my previous Malaysia posts, in October, my parents and I drove from Penang, to Ipoh and now up the hills into the Cameron Highlands. In west Malaysia, the Cameron Highlands are about the size of Singapore and around 1500 m above sea level, the highest point of Malaysia that is accessible by car. 

Being the highest point in Malaysia, the climate tends to more agreeable (at least with me) than down in the cities. The Cameron Highlands makes for a popular getaway during the holidays (be warned traffic will be horrendous) since the air is drier and the temperatures in the range of the low to mid 20's. Typical Kuala Lumpur weather in comparison is usually sitting at around 30 to 30 degrees Celsius and ridiculously humid. 

It was a lovely break after being in Penang and Ipoh for a couple of days, I could actually jog around outside! 

Due to it's climate, most of the country's flowers, vegetables and fruits are grown up here, with some of the farms even exporting to Singapore. The strawberries from the Cameron's are very popular, with plenty of strawberry farms to be found in the area. Many will allow you to pick your own strawberries, and then charge you by weight. 

Mum and I came across a hydroponic strawberry farm that also grew beautiful heads of lettuce. So much green! We got a couple of huge lettuce heads to bring back to KL with us for a mere 2 or 3 ringett each! One Australian dollar!

One thing the Cameron Highlands is also very well known for, is their tea plantations. 

My parents and I visited one of the tea centres, the BOH Sungei Palas Tea Estate, which ended up being an absolutely lovely afternoon because we planned ourselves out pretty well. With laptops and iPads packed, we drove over, which was a bit scary at a couple of points, as the roads were pretty narrow and wrapped around hillsides…eek!

We fortunately though, arrived at the parking lot in one spot and marvelled at the rolling hills of green tea leaves. It was absolutely incredible! 

With a cool breeze on our backs, we followed a path up to the tea centre, which had a deck that suspended over the top of the hill, meaning simply breathtaking views. 

Could you really ask for anything more serene…while working? Just quietly, whilst we were actually working while up there, Dad and I posed for this picture…to make ourselves look busy and important or something. We very comfortably spent a good 3 or 4 hours just relaxing, working and drinking tea up here.

BOH tea is Malaysia's largest producer of premium black tea and has been around forever, my parents were singing me the jingles they used to hear for it on TV when they were kids!  It's pretty cool that it has indeed stuck around for so long, and become a premium tea name in Malaysia. 

Whilst honestly probably not the top grade tea in the world, it's still perfectly enjoyable, I particularly liked their BOH Garden tea (with a warm coconut tart, mmhmm!) and picked up a beautifully packaged 'Diamond Jubilee' tea (which I gave Brad's mum for Christmas), made of course, to honour her majesty in England. Remember, Malaysia is still part of the commonwealth (and the owners of BOH are British)!

One thing we did find kind of interesting in Cameron Highlands, driving between towns, is that there's quite a lot of Indians around, with a couple of them running 24/7 joints. (Fun fact, hour in Bahasa is 'Jam', so all the signs would say '24 Jam'. This randomly makes me happy). Whilst not everything at these little nasi kandar type places was always a hit, one thing we did enjoy consistently, was good roti and dosai. 

Like. Really good. Like best dosai I've ever had in my life. Loved how it was hardly oily, which made it perfect for mopping curry sauce up with. Which was also excellently tasty. My mouth is actually watering as I type this. Too good. We came back to this same store in Tanah Rata 2 or 3 more times just for the dosai. 

This guy had a little stand just down a little bit from the Indian store, who I think it might've been the coolest guy I saw on the trip. A real Malaysian cowboy! With joyful wrinkles around his eyes and a wise and quiet smile, there was a lot of character (and history I'm sure) in someone who didn't talk much, despite us asking him lots of questions. It was wonderful to watch him cut and mould leather, which would eventually become some beautiful accessory. Whilst mum and I were sorely tempted by some of the handmade bags with intricate designs, we opted instead to pick up a few leather cuffs instead, which I have been wearing non-stop. At only 20 ringett a pop (not even 10 Australian dollars!) I certainly couldn't complain!

Mum fell in love with market fresh tofu fa at the local market in the town of Brinchang (where we stayed), having it two mornings in a row. So good when it's warm and with gula melaka!

Mum also suggested we have high tea whilst in the Cameron Highlands, as she had heard good things about 'Ye Olde Smokehouse' and their high tea. 

However, after a bit of googling around, I decided we should instead have high tea the Cameron Highlands Resort, in the Jim Thompson Room, which is served daily from 3pm to 6pm.

Wow. What an immense bit of luxury amongst the tea plantations and strawberry farms. It definitely has a colonial charm to it, but with all the luxe trimmings. 

35 ringett each (11 Australian dollars) netted us a pot of tea, each, from a selection of BOH teas and a gorgeous, three tier stand of goodies. I was absolutely enamoured by the teapot and teacups. So delicate and elegant, I definitely felt very posh as we sat on spacious and luxurious Malaysian style chairs, underneath a dark wooden ceiling fan with golden finishes and sipped on our tea. 

Our nibbles were generally all quite good too. Of the sandwiches, we did like the cucumber and cream chess, and smoked salmon more than the other options. Our bread was all fluffy and soft, so nice and fresh. 

The scones were a little bit on the heavy side, I would have liked them to be a little bit more fluffy, but at least the strawberries came with chocolate sauce. Surely that never, ever fails.

Whilst I enjoyed all the sweet treats on the top tier (although maybe not so much the fruit cake, since that's just not so much my thing), I went nuts for the pyramid of chocolate mousse goodness. Rich, dense, chocolatey. I sort of demolished it on my own while my parents picked on everything else. 

We did also have a poke around Ye Olde Smokehouse afterwards, and although it definitely does have that very old English charm, I felt the space could use a facelift, and since it is a hotel, the areas for day visitors to visit was a bit limited. 

Three nights was plenty, but at the same time, not long enough in the Camerons for me. We ate pretty well, but didn't even get around to eating any steamboat, which is usually crammed full of vegetables up this way (since they are so bountiful and fresh) and of course very comforting in the cooler nights. Next time I suppose?

On the way back down the hills to KL, we made frequent stops at roadside stalls, selling fresh vegetables and fruits, to stock up before we got back into the city. It's so much more expensive once you're in the city! Check out all of my car friends…tomatoes, leeks, cabbage, lettuce…you name it, we probably bought it. Or well, almost all of it. 

And finally, before we got back to KL, we made a stop in Bidor, where we were reminded what humidity felt like again. Urgh. The stop was made, pretty much just to go to Restoran Pun Chun for their famous duck noodles. Again, this is what happens when you have a crazy food dad. The duck noodles here are served in a very dark and herbaceous soup. Not so much my thing, but the soup is pretty comforting and duck is hard to dislike. 

My relatives also love to pick up biscuits from here, with a wall dedicated to their inventory. 

And with that, I finally conclude my posts in Malaysia (for now) and leave you with a couple of photos of life in Restoran Pun Chun. There's just something about the easy going nature of these restaurants, hawker stalls, kopitiams and nasi kandar places (when not in peak lunch period) that I love in Malaysia. 

BOH Sungai Palas

Brinchang, Cameron Highlands

(near town of Brinchang, you should be able to see signs for it. Sort of a map here. Not open Mondays)

Cameron Highlands Resort

By the Golf Course

Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

(I'm not kidding that's what google says)

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Malaysia - Ipoh

During my trip to Malaysia in October, after spending a few nights at a conference in Penang, and then joining my parents for one night there, we drove back to KL. 

But of course it wasn't just a straight drive back…

We might've stopped on a few places on the way back too. Maybe just for food. Or more like, definitely for food. Did you not read my Penang post with food crazy Malaysian dads? 

Ipoh is the capital city of the Perak state in Malaysia, and about 200km's out of Kuala Lumpur. It developed into one of Malaysia's main cities due to tin mining in the early 19th century. Although not as well known now as some of Malaysia's other cities, it has created a name for itself with Malaysians for good hawker food and some local specialities. 

One night was spent here in Ipoh, which is a relatively quiet town until you find where the food shops have decided to congregate all in one area. A beacon of neon lights, a sea of noisy and happy eaters on big family size plastic tables and chairs, and a whole lot of delicious smells. 

We ended up at Lou Wong Resturant from the suggestion of my Uncle who has a factory near the town for a few basic absolute necessities while in Ipoh.

One of the necessities, being chicken and beansprouts. Let's talk about the beansprouts first. Sure, totally unexciting, but in Ipoh, they are short, thick, crunchy and totally delicious. You don't get them like this anywhere else, and it's supposedly something to do with the water in the area. As always. Dressed simply, they're a treat on their own with a bit of rice.

Now chicken, it's boiled with the beansprouts and soy sauce, and is just full of flavour. And so tender. It's just one of those simple delights! It kind of reminds me of Hainanese chicken with it's texture, but the flavour is quite different.

Another well loved local speciality, and necessity, is the soup hor fun, flat rice noodles in a clear chicken and pawn soup. Let me tell you, Lou Wong was an assembly line of a restaurant, an efficient machine. Food was hitting our table so fast that when dad asked for a second serve of hor fun, I'm not even exaggerating, he turned back to the table from ordering and the noodles hit the table about 10 seconds after that. 

Phwoar. More restaurants in Melbourne could totally use that sort of speed!

The noodles are smooth, slippery and delightfully springy. There is a delicateness to them, due to the water from the spring in the area. Imbued with flavour from the soup, they are just so light and so easy to chow down on, that you really always end up ordering an extra bowl or two!

Not one of the necessities, but something nice we came across, was Apong. These are similar to another dessert in Penang, but here they were really just thin crepe like things,  with the wet dough dropped into these hot metal bowls, rolled around to form the shape and then folded or rolled into these little cylinders. I don't recall actually having had these fresh before and they were just lovely to eat warm.

While you're in Ipoh, maybe after dinner, make sure to remember to pick up some pomelos. I forgot to take pictures, but they're all over the place! And pretty cheap too!

Breakfast the next morning was spent hopping from kopitiam to kopitiam, where we had more hor fun, more beansprouts, some hot teh tarik to soothe my Malaysian soul and….creme caramel. 

Y'know. Totally Malaysian food. It's weird, but it's surprisingly popular in the area apparently. It was also quite nice, surprisingly not too sugary, as Malaysians tend to have a bit of a sweet tooth when it comes to desserts, and very smooth. The caramel may not have been as rich as it might be in Melbourne, but considering it was just about hitting lunch time, it was definitely sweet enough!

Ipoh is pretty well known as well for a certain type of biscuit called 'Heong Peng', oval shaped biscuits, with a fairly thick flaky pastry outside and a sweet sticky filling, which we made sure to stop and stock up on to give as presents to the aunts and uncles back in Kuala Lumpur. 

In the process of buying these, we discovered another delicious pastry biscuit treat. 

Walking in through some doors, I distinctly recall being hit with a wave of sugar, bam! We walked into a bakery. 

And not just any bakery, but a bakery selling kaya puffs. 

Oh my lord. Kaya is a very popular spread in Malaysia, which is essentially a coconut jam. Often had on a warm piece of toast, sometimes even with butter. But goodness, baked into pastries? 

These were warm, fresh from the oven, smelling of sweet coconut goodness and were just an absolute dream. Flaky, buttery, sweet, I just wanted to sit in there all day, sip on teh tarik and drink in the glorious world of baked kaya goodness we had discovered. 

But alas, eventually I had to get back in the car and sit in the back seat next to a mountain of biscuity goodness, as we took the windy (and occasionally heart stopping) drive up to the Cameron Highlands. Woe was me, stuck with all those sweets….