Hoe Kee Chicken Rice Ball

There is no where else in the world that serves chicken rice like Hoe Kee's. I can never get enough of the chicken rice dish here. A must go place for Gan and I during our trip home.

Gan: This is my single favorite dish ever. It can't be any simpler than this. Chicken, a most common poultry in any cuisine. Rice, another common starch in almost any cuisine in the world. And of course, to accompany that, chili sauce to add some spice and acid to the meal. They don't typically do a lot with a dish like chicken rice. You boil it or steam it, and use the juice or broth from the chicken and infuse that to the starch or make soup and sauce with it. I'm sure there's one chicken rice dish in every cuisine out there. To me, nothing beats how Hoe Kee made this dish, years after years. I hope I'm still able to have this when I grow old as I've had it since childhood and through my current adulthood.

A uniquely Malaccan dish and Hoe Kee's chicken rice balls is the best in town

Gan: It's uniquely Malaccan because of the way they made it into ball shape. The rice is cooked in chicken broth and was kept very moist and warm so it's easy to shape it into a ball. The texture is interesting as you dip it into the chili sauce so it gets soaked up by the chicken rice ball and as you bite into it, the rice starts crumbling and the explosion of aroma and juice in your mouth... mmmm...

chicken + chicken gizzards

Gan: The meat (and innards) are almost a side dish to the main course, which is the chicken rice ball. I remembered when I was in primary school, with most of the school children having limited budget, we'd have just chicken rice ball without the meat. It's a treat to eat it like that with your fingers or using a stick to poke it and dip it into the chili sauce.

This is the chili sauce that ties the chicken rice dish together. The sauce - Red chili, garlic, ginger, lime and chicken broth.

Gan: Malaysians/Asians are very particular about their chili sauce. If it's made well, it can catapult your restaurant business very easily. I've seen people going to a certain restaurant just because of "the chili sauce there is the best!"

Hing Loong Restaurant

Address: No. 11-J, Jalan Bachang, Malacca
Phone: 06-284-2529

Address: No 87, Jalan SS21/37, Damansara Utama, PJ
Phone: 03-7710-8334

We posted on Hing Loong restaurant last year under of "Malaccan Food", but we thought the pork chop noodles here is so good that it deserves its own individual review. Even though we have had pork chop noodles at other Taiwanese restaurants in Malaysia and in New York, we feel that this is still the best. If you live outside of Malacca and would like to try their pork chop noodles, you can check out the restaurant's branch in Damansara Utama. But be ready to pay, the restaurant is charging RM6 for a regular bowl at Damansara Utama vs RM3.60 for a bowl in Malacca. Gan: I felt this time around, the owner had become that much more enterprising - with the expansion to other cities in Malaysia. My dad had known the owner for quite some time now since they were both members of the Taiwanese Association in Melaka (read: excuse for marathon mahjong sessions). Just like the typical Hokkien we are, both my dad and myself agreed that whenever I come home and eat here, there's always 3 constants. The price is higher, the food portion is smaller (at least the pork), but the food still taste good.

Deep fried pork chops fresh out of the hot oil! Gan: What?!?! Who's the lucky chap who's getting that super generous portion?

I ordered the largest bowl since I won't be eating this for at least another year

Gan: Sarah's becoming an eating monster with each passing day

The chili paste here is fantastic

Gan: It's also great when you mix it in with your noodle and pork chop.

The restaurant's exterior

Gan: Same location since I'd had it the first time in my childhood, very conveniently located in Bachang area, nearby my parents' home

Simplylife Bakery Cafe

Address: L2-42, Festival Walk, 80 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Tong

Phone: 2265-7418


I've been having cravings for chocolate dipped croissant ever since I had one at this bakery cafe in Festival Walk mall in Kowloon Tong! The chocolate was bitter sweet and the croissant was buttery and soft. I am picky when it comes to bread and pastries; I love my bread to be warm and soft, and the pastries need to have subtle flavor and must not be too sweet. This one was perfect!

Gan: I'm not really a big fan of bakeries or pastries.. Doughs just isn't my favorite form of carb. That all changed during our last trip to Paris. Having croissant with some home made orange jelly at Laduree was one of best pleasures I've had with food. The problem with that is it made me into a much more fussy bread eater. The chocolate crossaint that Sarah had was by no means badly made but it's definitely not as buttery or flaky/crispy (not enough layers enough in the dough rolling process) as I'd like. The chocolate dip is unique and quite nicely done though.
Simplylife is a bit confused; unlike its namesake, the concept can be a bit complicated. Outdoor (well, still indoor of a mall in Kowloon Tong) al fresco bakery mixed with indoor cafe that sells Italian food. We ended up here during tea time so we only tried out some pastries while we rest our feet. One aspect of the simplylife though is it does have a very nice outdoor setting in the mall - peaceful, right underneath a skylight which makes it feel like we're in a glass house.

Simplylife Bakery Cafe

White chocolate cheesecake

Gan: I had this but couldn't finish it

Peach danish

Gan: The crust was good and interesting. The inner part of the danish/tart should have been more moist. Peach wasn't that flavorful.

Ban Lee Hiang Satay Celup

Address: 45F, Jalan Ong Kim Wee, Malacca


Satay celup is one of the many unique things originated from my home town Malacca. Satay celup, which literally means dipping satay, can only be found in Malacca and is crazily popular among Malaccans and tourists from everywhere. Imagine a huge fondue pot installed onto a table and instead of cheese, the pot is filled with boiling hot spicy satay (peanut) sauce. To go with it are skewers of raw or semi-cooked seafood, meat, vegetables, fish balls and meat balls etc. All you need to do is to pick up the skewers you would like to eat and dump them into the boiling pot to cook. How much the meal cost depends on how many skewers of "satay" you consumed (plus other things such as drinks, of course), and normally each skewer costs around RM0.50.

There are a few satay celup restaurants in Malacca, but we usually go to Ban Lee Hiang at Jalan Ong Kim Wee since it is near Gan's parents' place. My favorites there are the kangkung, sausage, lean pork, tau kee (fried bean curd skin), fish balls and meat balls. It was so fun to eat there the last time because our young nephew, Bruce, challenged us to a satay celup eating contest, and that little boy beat us flat with 24 skewers!

If you are stopping by in Malacca and have not yet tried satay celup, I definitely recommend that you check it out - unless the thought of possible double dippings gross you out. But look, you don't always get bad stomach after that, at least I did not get one this time.

Skewers of meat, seafood, vegetables, sausages etc

Bruce patiently awaits his skewers of sausages to be cooked in the pot

counting skewers

Todai

Address: 6 E.32nd St, New York

http://www.todainyc.com

Phone: 212-725-1333


Do you love varieties and fresh seafood? If you do, you've got to check out Todai, this is the best (and maybe the only) All-you-can-eat Japanese buffet place in New York City. Gan and I tried Todai at San Diego a couple of years ago, and was very excited to find out that they've finally opened one in New York City. The restaurant is located in Korean Town, and it seats up to 500 customers. Go in empty stomach because there so much food to choose from. There are over 40 different kinds sushi, great selections of seafood such as oysters, crab legs, clams, and other hot food and desserts etc.

Hot food station

My plate of food (4th round)

desserts