Tastebud-talk

Holiday Foodsteps: Luen Fong Restaurant, Tanjung Tualang

All it took was the mention of the word "prawns" and we didn't need anymore convincing. We hopped onto the bus we'd charted for our little food trip to the Malaysian food hotspots of Penang and Ipoh and went in search of Luen Fong Restaurant in Tanjung Tualang.

Luen Fong Restaurant

No 19, Market Street,
31800 Tanjong Tualang,
Perak, Malaysia.

We caught a glimpse of the live prawns at the entrance of the restaurant - larger than your usual prawn and with what looked like scaled down versions of lobster legs. Settling down at the table, one gets a sense of how popular the restaurant is from the newspaper clippings on display. We ordered, and waited in anticipation.

Simply steamed with egg white, the prawns looked almost too good to eat as they arrived at our table in all their sunset coloured glory. I appreciated how succulent and juicy the prawns were but found that they lacked the sweetness that I usually associate with prawns.

Deep fried soft shell crab - these crunch little bits of crab are always a crowd pleaser and this time, it was no different.

Steamed soon hock - well liked for the delicate flesh that belies its less attractive physical features, this freshwater fish is quite hit-or-miss as a lot rides on the freshness of the fish. This one was on the hit end of the scale with the flesh still firm but delicate.

Kam Heong Clams. I love a good clam dish and this not only had the oomph of a good kam heong dish, it also had the freshness of the clams going for it.

Buttermilk Mantis Prawns - this marked the start of a whole array of buttermilk mantis prawn dishes that we were going to have over the course of of trip. These ones were crunchy and had just the right amount of flavour, making it no surprise that it instilled the desire to have the same dish at every subsequent meal.

Kung Po Frog. A little meat to provide some balance to all the seafood we were having. Sure, the choice of meat was rather unusual but it was one of the better frog dishes that I've had.

I must say that the prawns left me disappointed as I had been looking forward to that gorgeous prawn flavour - ahh, to think of what could have been. Seafood at the restaurant is fresh (as evidenced by the live prawns at the entrance) and one could tell that the dishes had much experience behind them. Unfortunately, the cleanliness of the restaurant left much to be desired and as such may not be everyone's cup of tea.

Merry Christmas!

It probably comes as no surprise that my favourite Christmas song begins with the words "chestnuts roasting on an open fire" - some things one just cannot deny. So whatever it is that Christmas makes you think of - friends, family, food, presents - I hope you have a very merry one with lots of love, joy and yes, goodies.

Pictured above: Gingerbread shapes, adapted from the BBC Goodfood's Simple Gingerbread House recipe

A little note about the recipe - if you're after something with a little more of a ginger kick, add a little fresh ginger to the mixture.

Holiday Foodsteps: Cafe Sperl, Vienna

If I had to draw parallels, Cafe Sperl would be the more opulent, Viennese equivalent of a traditional Hainanese kopitiam. A kind looking man seated at the counter with the cash register looks up from his ledger to greet you as you walk in, cakes and pastries are laid out by the counter, not in glistening display cases but atop simple trays - you get a sense that nothing much has changed for decades.

Cafe Sperl

Gumpendorfer Straße 11

1060 Vienna, Austria

Like it says on the menu, the cafe has been around since 1880 - it's one of those places with a colourful past and some reminders of the grandeur of days gone by can still be seen in the chandeliers and marble-topped tables. We skipped over to the cafe after lunch at a nearby restaurant, just to put a picture to the cafe that we'd heard so much about since we got to Vienna.

The sachertorte was one of the first things that caught my eye as we settled down in our plush booth (which was conveniently located right by all the cakes and pastries). We had quickly come to recognise the sachertorte as one of the most iconic cakes in Vienna and were eager to sample Cafe Sperl's version of the chocolate sponge and apricot jam concoction. I hadn't been impressed with the slice that we had in Aida and was a little perplexed as to why the cake was such a favourite. Thank goodness for Cafe Sperl - the contrast between the slight tartness of the apricot jam with the bitter-sweetness of the chocolate sponge was much clearly highlighted in Sperl's softer, moister version of the sachertorte.

While I missed out on giving the sachertorte and both Cafe Demel and the posh Hotel Sacher a go, I'd say that at least I came away from Cafe Sperl with a better understanding of what it was all about.

A slice of peach tart, in all its shiny glory. I love a good tart - one where the base isn't undercooked and where there's a good topping to pastry ratio. While it may not look as gorgeous as those one can find at a French patisserie, this had all the indicators of a satisfying tart.

Let me tell you this - it's really not easy having to sit right by a tray that looks like this and not want to reach over for second and third helpings.

This was a recommendation by the proprietor - the special of the day, a brownie-like dessert made out of chocolate and nuts. Tasting very much like a homemade treat, this turned out to be the favourite at the table.

There's a novelty that comes with digging into cake at a place which has been part of the city for as long as it has, a place that has survived World Wars and still stands as a part of the city's rich history. If you're expecting excellent service, the place will disappoint but I suppose very much like our traditional Hainanese kopitiams, we go not for the service but for a taste of our childhoods. A tip, though, if you're heading to the cafe for the first time - do not get off at Gumpendorfer Station. We found out the hard way that Gumpendorfer Street is immensely long and the station is situated about 100 doors away from the cafe. A better option would be to get off at Museumquarter.

Coffee is good, the cakes and pastries are lovely and really, one doesn't get to dine in a 131-year old cafe very often.

Holiday Foodsteps: The Treat Trail

I think that no matter where you go in Europe, you'll find something to satisfy a sweet tooth - this is just a little collection, a photo trail, if you may, of where I took my sweet tooth when my family came to visit.

Macarons in Paris

Absolutely gorgeous, aren't they?

Little tubs of joy in Switzerland

Those guys over at Movenpick really know how to make espresso flavoured ice cream. Amazing.

Ice cream for breakfast in Vienna

Zanoni & Zanoni

Burgring 1

Wien, 1010

Because being on holiday means you can do whatever you want.

Iced coffee at a 72 year old cafe

Cafe Hawelka

Dorotheergasse 6

1010 Wien

Pricey, yes, but there will always be a special place in my heart for my very first Viennese iced coffee.

Holiday Foodsteps: Ribs of Vienna

After getting a taste of ribs on our very first day in Vienna, the brother wanted just one more round of ribs before saying goodbye to Vienna. That meant consulting the all-knowing guidebook again. It was one of those "Bingo!" moments - there's no better outcome than actually finding a place called "Ribs of Vienna" when looking for a place for a place for ribs in Vienna

Ribs of Vienna

Weihburggasse 22

1010 Vienna, Austria

We started off with a platter of three different kinds of spareribs - ribs of Vienna (naturally), hot and spicy Diablo ribs and Dijon ribs. The ribs of Vienna became a favourite very early into the meal and we ordered a serving of just those ribs even before we were done with our mixed platter. The other two types were good but at the end of the day, the simplicity of the Viennese-style ribs kept us coming back for more.

Barbecue platter for two persons - spareribs, pork, turkey, mushrooms and two dips. It's a barbecue platter for two that can feed four or five. The pork and turkey were very much like schnitzels but without the crunchy breadcrumb coating with the breadcrumbs choosing instead to appear on the mushrooms.

It wasn't all meat for us, we had a large mixed salad and a variety of soups to make us feel just a tiny bit better about all the meat that we were ingesting. Out of the trio of soups that we ordered (Hungarian goulash, French onion and a simple Bouillon), the French onion was my favourite.

I think ribs are the perfect thing for a family meal - the whole concept of sharing and being comfortable enough to get your hands dirty. Ribs of Vienna definitely has satisfying ribs, spareribs with a bit of bite and a lot of flavour. I must say though, that after a meal made up almost entirely of spareribs, I'm still partial to baby back ribs, something that Ribs of Vienna unfortunately doesn't have on their menu.

The little brother, with a satisfied grin.

Holiday Foodsteps: Gulaschmuseum, Vienna

"It's a Goulash Museum!"

I couldn't help but exclaim as I came across the name in our trusty guidebook. Having had both the Hungarian and Czech versions of this dish earlier in the summer and finding them to be quite different from each other, I was eager to experience the Viennese interpretation of the popular dish. I thought - where better to sample goulash than at an eatery called the Goulash Museum.

Gulaschmuseum
Schulerstraße 20
1010 Vienna, Austria

The restaurant is located a short walk away from Stephansplatz - the great thing about is that it's situated on one of the smaller, quieter streets so it's got great accesibility and a pleasant, less touristy atmosphere. Armed with our map, we found the restaurant with no trouble at all and soon, we were comfortably seated outdoors, skimming through the menu and enjoying the lovely weather.

A nice variety of rolls arrived at our table soon after we placed our orders and it took quite a bit of willpower not to completely devour our little basket of rolls before the main dishes arrived.
My personal favourite was the sesame seed-topped brown roll, but then again, I'm always partial to sesame seed-topped anything.

Goulash of pork mixed with sauerkraut, "Szeged style. The first of our two goulash dishes arrived and let me tell you, holding off on the rolls is worth it - they are the perfect vessel to get all that flavourful gravy from the plate to your tastebuds.

Goulash of turkey with boiled salted potatoes. This was my favourite of the two, another one of those dishes that hints of curry power. We all know that's the key to any Malaysian's heart.

Dad regaled us with stories of how he used to dunk hot, crispy fries into goulash and how they made the perfect pair. The little brother was so taken by the yummylicious descriptions that he decided the meal wouldn't be complete without a serving of, yup, you guessed it - fries. Fries and goulash are definitely a guilty pleasure, terribly addictive whether quickly dunked and taken out to retain crispiness or left in the gravy to soak everything up.

I love the concept of a goulash - just simple, hearty, comfort food. The ones that we had at Gulaschmuseum were exactly that, great for a family meal. I have to say that out of all the goulash dishes (and soups!) that I tried over the summer, these ones were my favourite. Perhaps it was the hint of curry spices, or the fact that they fit my idea of how a goulash should be - whatever it is, Vienna did the trick for me.