The Prata Place - The Ultimate Murtabak & Murtaburger

You all remember the time we reported on The Prata Place participating in Ultimate Hawker Fest 2014 right? Remember that awesome Prata with Poached Egg and Indian Hollandaise Sauce?
Yeah! That's the one!

Well, while we were doing research on that dish, we found out that The Prata Place had also created 2 special dishes for the previous editions of Ultimate Hawker Fest in the past years. And the best news is that those dishes are still available when you visit their joint!!

Let's start with something that is as awesome as it sounds.
Let's start with... The Ultimate!!

The Ultimate Murtabak ($12.00)

That thing is so huge that it can barely fit onto the tray!! Whoa!
Well, when you call something Ultimate, it's gotta be something amazing am I right?

So what's in The Ultimate Murtabak anyways?

We've got specialty premium ingredients like Tandoori Chicken and Portobello Mushrooms in there! Top it all off with Mozzarella cheese!!

Quite surprising because these are not usually things you'd get in a murtabak. The murtabak was crispy on the outside but nice and steaming on the inside with all those yummy fillings.

And I know some of you might be saying that $12 seems like a lot to pay for a murtabak. But think about it, this price is not much different from what you'd be paying for an average mutton or chicken murtabak elsewhere but here you are getting super premium fillings!

Plus, it REALLY is a big as it looks in the picture!

Murtaburger ($7.00)

If you're looking for something a little smaller in size but still big on flavour then you might want to try taking on the Murtaburger! (Who comes up with these great names anyways LOL)

So is this what you get when you combine a burger and a murtabak? It would seem so!

ZOMG just look at that and tell me you're not drooling like us now!

Oh yeah our favourite friend Mozzarella Cheese makes a very important appearance here (guess it's a Cheeseburger after all) along with a special chilli/mayonnaise sauce concoction specially mixed up for this special dish.

The meat filling is actually a lamb patty that is made on-site which means it's not those ready-made meat fillings stuff. This is the real deal so you know that they are gonna make it extra tasty!

Adam's Verdict: The Ultimate Murtabak 2.5/5 -- Murtaburger 3.5/5

Call me biased but the more meat there is, that's probably gonna be what I'll lean towards. LOL
But hey, where there's cheese, I'm still okay!

Anyways check out the skills of the prata guy!



Anyways don't worry they still have your expected spread like all kinds of prata (OVER 40 TYPES in all kinds of combinations!!), Thosai, all the Mee Gorengs and the gang so you're gonna be spoiled for choice for sure.

But don't forget to wash it all down with a Teh Tarik okay!

GREAT NEWS! The 2nd outlet at Jalan Tua Kong (Siglap) is now open!! 7am til 11pm!

The Prata Place

1 Thong Soon Avenue

Tel: 6459 5670
www.theprataplace.com.sg

Operating Hours: 7.00am til Midnight Daily

Amani Weddings - Tulang Merah (Bone Steak)

That's an example of how I look when I eat Tulang Merah aka Bone Steak.
Yeah I like to get down and messy and really have a go at the dish even though it's actually just bones... And I know that you're just like that too!

And it's because that's the true way to enjoy Bone Steak, I always have an issue with having it outside in public! Because you've gotta get messy to enjoy it!! Bone Steak at Beach Road? I always end up buying bungkus instead so I can go home and eat it without the fear of looking like a lion who's just feasted on a gazelle on the great planes of Africa.

Well the good news it that now, can have sedap Tulang Merah in the comfort of my own home! No need to worry about the mess! No need to worry about going all the way to buy. Now can be delivered to home some more! Just need to THAW! > HEAT!! > SERVE!!!

That's right! The same people who brought us the sedap giler and super convenient Sambal Goreng Pengantin are back with a new easy-to-prepare dish which is already cooked and frozen for storage so you just need to thaw it when ready and re-heat it before serving!

I don't know how it can get any simpler than that okay. I know for a fact that this is quite a difficult dish to cook and even harder to cook it WELL. So we're super happy that Amani Weddings has decided to bring us such a great product!

So after already thawed and after already reheated then do what eh?
MAKAN LAH APA LAGI!!!

That's right. Tulang Merah FTW!!

And that was prepared all in the comfort of our own home and super simple too! It took us less than half an hour to get it done from freezer to table! I think it took us longer to go to the shop and buy the french loaf to enjoy the Bone Steak with!

These are no low quality ingredients either okay. Check out the meat on those bones!
Some places we have bought from in the past have little or no meat at all on the bones so it's really nice to have something to bite into besides the roti perancis!

The gravy is really tasty too! Not too spicy in case you were worried but it definitely has a very strong and distinct flavour. Perfect for mopping up with the bread.

I classify Tulang Merah into 2 categories. The type you get at the shops (like Beach Road) and the type you cook at home. Normally the ones you buy in the shop tend to be more watery, pretty standard, quite a bit of food colouring and even though it's tasty, you know there's a little something that's lacking. But the ones that you cook at home have that little extra something... The meat is a little more tender, the gravy is a little more tasty. You know what I mean right?

And even though the Tulang Merah from Amani Weddings is technically a dish we bought (as opposed to cooking from scratch at home), it is still closer to the version you would cook at home. You can see the gravy is not so watery and you can tell they went through a lot of trouble to make sure quality ingredients go into making this dish power to the max.

I guess the best way to put it is that this is the closest you'll get to a home-cooked Tulang Merah without going through all trouble of making it from scratch.

And we almost forgot the best part... The SOM-SOM (aka marrow)!! :P

In each packet, there are 4x ketul (pieces) of tulang for your enjoyment and they sell them in sets of 2 packets. That means you get 8x ketul of tulang for $15! Believe it or not but that's still cheaper than some of the stalls you might buy from outside!! Ready to makan some more!!

There's no minimum order but don't forget that a $10 delivery charge (islandwide).
So make sure you order plenty-plenty one time! Ask your family and friends tumpang at once!!

SPECIAL OFFER FOR

THE HALAL FOOD BLOG READERS!!

You can order a combo set at a very special price!!!
Remember the Sambal Goreng Pengantin we featured awhile back?
(If cannot remember, you can refresh your memory and tastebuds HERE)

Well, you can have 1kg of Sambal Goreng Pengantin + 1 set of Tulang Merah at $38!!
Normal price is $30 for the Sambal Goreng Pengantin and $15 for the Tulang Merah so you're automatically already saving $7!! MEMANG BERBALOI!!!

Place your orders via the Amani Weddings FB page, email them at sales@amaniweddings.com or just SMS/WhatsApp to +65 9836 4164! Remember to tell them that you read about it on The Halal Food Blog so you can enjoy the special promo bundle price!!

Can't wait to see what other genius dishes they will come up with at Amani Weddings!
Watch this space!!!

Amani Weddings

https://www.facebook.com/amaniweddings
Email: sales@amaniweddings.com

Tel: 98364164

Mushroom Cafe

So the team was at Sengkang Riverside Park yesterday morning for a secret project (which we are too shy to reveal here) and after it was all done, we decided to stop at a nearby cafe situated in the park itself.

Mushroom Cafe is the one place at Sengkang Riverside Park you can stop by to have a coffee on a relaxing morning or even for some makan after a workout in the park. The only other nearest makan place we saw as a McDonalds so you might as well try something else for a change right?

They have a quite an array of dishes to choose from but just our luck (as usual) that quite a few of them were not available. So we decided on some classics instead.

Mee Rebus ($4.50)

Nothing like a big hearty serving of Mee Rebus to get you going in the morning sometimes am I right or am I right? And it is a pretty big serving here at Mushroom Cafe.

Turned out to be quite a standard bowl of Mee Rebus. Mein Brudder thinks it has a little bit of a weird taste (which I tend to agree with him on that) but it's not a big reason not to enjoy the dish. Well, the girls obviously enjoyed it.

For me, I can respect a bowl of Mee Rebus which has the traditional (and not so often used) garnish of Udang Geragau!! Old school and traditional!!

Laksa ($4.50)

Unfortunately the same can't be said of the Laksa though...

This dish definitely had a very distinct taste and it was not the taste we'd associate with Laksa.
Yeah sure you can get hints of it but maybe it was too much of the rempah or something that gave it an extra salty kind of flavour

Everyone kept saying it was as if they used a few packets of Maggi Kari seasoning inside!!
Anyways it's got some prawns and tau pok and egg but no cockles FYI. Plus no coconut milk was used in this dish so it's on the 'healthy' side if you wanna put it that way.

Chicken Stew ($5.50)

If you're looking for another hearty dish it's gotta be the Chicken Stew.

You've got chicken stewed in a tasty broth with veggies like potatoes and carrots. Give you a nice rich flavour which you can choose to enjoy with either bread, rice or noodles (not sure what type of noodles though)

CHILD FRIENDLY FACTOR

You're probably gonna go to the park with your kids so you'd expect them to be a little bit more kid-friendly here. They have baby chairs available but they have only TWO chairs!! So if you have kids yeah they can play around the cafe area since it's in the park but if it's infants then you might have to hold on to them while you eat.

Child Friendly Rating - 1.5/5

Adam's Verdict:
Mee Rebus 2.5/5 -- Laksa 1.5/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Mee Rebus 3.5/5 -- Laksa 1.5/5

Azlan's Verdict:
Mee Rebus 3./5 -- Laksa 1.5/5 -- Chicken Stew 3.5/5

Yana's Verdict:
Mee Rebus 3./5 -- Laksa 1.5/5 -- Chicken Stew 3.5/5

Well, it's not like there's much choice there but in the end it wasn't too bad. I guess there could be worse places to relax after a day out in the park.

PS here's a fun fact - Mushroom Cafe is actually a brand owned by the famous Old Chang Kee! :)

Mushroom Cafe

Sengkang Riverside Park
50 Anchorvale Street

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mushroom-Cafe/162021857332582?fref=ts

Operating Hours:
11.30am til 9.00pm Weekdays
7.00am til 9.00pm on Weekends
Closed on Mondays

KL Sedap 2014 Part 6: Dip N Dip

So this place was recommended by a good friend of my Darling Wife who says we simply had to visit here if we were in KL.

The place is situated in Bangsar so it was a little out of the way from where we were staying (Berjaya Times Square) but we happened to go nearby for a little shopping one rainy afternoon and the opportunity was ripe for us to finally drop by!

Dip N Dip is primarily a dessert place so you can expect plenty of sweet treats here.
Prepare yourself... for the... Chocolate Overdose!

Brownies Crepe (RM28.50)

Yeah it is pretty nice to look at right? Wait til you eat it!

The Brownies Crepe is not to be trifled with I can tell you that! This crepe is completely bathed in chocolate so all you choco-holics must be jumping for joy right about now. And it's not just covered in just one type but THREE types of chocolate! Milk chocolate, Dark Chocolate and White Chocolate make up this fantastic treat.

Errrr.... but why do they call it Brownies Crepe? Where's the brownie???

Ask and ye shall receive! The brownie lies within!!
Oh yeah. That means the entire size of the crepe actually has a carpet of brownies inside. Yes. Literally a carpet of brownies as you can see from that picture.

Tell me that's not enough chocolate for you!!
To be honest with you, this thing is enough to share between 2-3 people. Seriously.
But hey everyone really enjoyed this!

Plus, depending on who's the artist, your design might be different!
We had a 2nd masterpiece!

By the way, they've also got other crepes like the Dip N Dip Crepe (fruits), Cinnamon Crepe (Apples, Banana and Cheese), Tripple Chocolate Crepe, Cookies Crepe and Mallow Crepe to name a few.
Well, more than a few anyways.

Chocolate Waffle (RM17.00)

Well, if crepes are not your thing then maybe you might consider the waffles!

They have the type with fruits and stuff but chocolate lovers will surely go for the Chocolate Crepe.
It's pretty straightforward. It's a waffle and it's drowning in chocolate. LOL
And comparing to the crepe, I guess this was a much simpler presentation to prepare.

Pain Perdu (RM17.00)

So here are are having all the typical desserts so we thought we would try something a bit different and we had never heard of Pain Perdu before so we ordered it.

So the Pain Perdu is basically a slice of thick toast which has been soaked in milk and then they pile on goodies on top. And by goodies, I mean a scoop of ice-cream and then they drizzle chocolate all over the thing!! You could also choose caramel and cinnamon by the way (but I think you all will still chocolate right!!!)

If you leave it long enough, the ice-cream will melt so feel free to use a straw if you must LOL

To be honest the whole idea sounds so tempting. I mean, milk-soaked toast already sounds so spectacular but in the end, everything is pretty much going to be overpowered by the chocolate.

Dip N Dip Eclair Pyramid (RM34.00)

Okay this is what I ordered as well because the idea sounds really promising.
We've got 11 mini-eclairs and then you top it up with (LIKE DUH) CHOCOLATE!!

So here's something where you can get involved in the creation of the dish. You can choose to dip the 'eclairs' into the chocolate or, like us, shower some chocolate love all over. Sounds kinda wrong but tastes kinda right LOL

BUT.....
Firstly, I consider these more as cream puff than eclairs. I mean, yeah, Choux pastry but this is just what I get when I see these little nippers.

Secondly, I do have an issue with the filling...

Yeah some of the 'mini-eclairs' came up empty. Literally.
I'm not sure if this was done on purpose or not but I expected every single one to have some filling.
To be honest, the pastry on its own was actually very dry and kinda hard too as opposed to the nice and fluffy texture you'd expect.

Full marks to the staff though. When he was clearing the dishes, he actually asked me why I didn't finish my dish and if anything was wrong. I explained to him and I saw him bring the dish to the managed behind the counter and he was explaining what I had just told him. I didn't stick around after that but I was quite happy that the staff was so proactive.

Anyways, it's quite obvious that the star of this dish (and pretty much all the dishes here) was the...

Strawberry Milkshake (RM14.00)

Guess what? The Strawberry Milkshake tasted like Chocolate too!!
Just kidding...

It was good! Thick and creamy and a nice change from all the chocolate we'd had that meal.
They've also got Banana, Oreo, Vanilla, Coffee, After Eight and also.. Chocolate. LOL

Adam's Verdict:
Dip N Dip Eclair Pyramid 1.5/5 -- Pain Perdu 2.5/5 -- Strawberry Milkshake 4/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Pain Perdu 2.5/5 --  Brownies Crepe 3/5

Razali's Verdict:
Brownies Crepe 5/5

Fateha's Verdict:
Chocolate Waffle 4/5

Azim's Verdict:
Brownies Crepe 3/5

Pak Busu's Verdict:
Brownies Crepe 4/5

This was a nice place to visit although it's more of a cafe than anything. A great dessert place especially if you're looking for chocolate and more chocolate. In the end, it proved to be too much chocolate for us so be sure to order sparingly.... Try and share if you can... Unless you're really the chocolate monster.

Dip N Dip

Bangsar 5900 Jalan Telawi 3,
Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

Tel: +60 3-2201 5052
www.dipndip.ca

Operating Hours:
11:00am - 1:00am Daily

KL Sedap 2014 Part 5: Chili's

Chili's is definitely one of the more popular names when it comes to Western food fare especially when we go over to Malaysia since we can't have it here in Singapore. And yeah there are more choices nowadays but Chili's has been around for quite awhile and still seems like a very popular place to visit!

Burgers, Ribs, Steaks, Mexican - you name it and you can get it here!

Classic Nachos (RM25.95)

Okay we have to start by saying that this was not what we were expecting... LOL
When someone says Nachos, I think of a nice big messy pile of Nacho chips, beef, jalapenos, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, lettuce and cheese all looking gooey and stuff like that.

Well, this was a very... err... well presented plate of Nachos!

The Nacho chips were coated with some melted cheese and you're supposed to scoop on some salsa, guacamole and sour cream and have the chips like that one by one. Well, I guess that's one way to do it but maybe having it the good old fashioned (and more messy) way might have been more enjoyable. The taste was okay but definitely something different from the norm 'Nachos' we have.

Wings Over Buffalo (RM22.95)

Another appetizer we decided to have was Chili's take on Buffalo Wings.
Comes with some celery sticks to dip into the ranch sauce provided as well so you get your veggie intake while enjoying the junk food LOL

Let us give you a WARNING...
These wings are coated with a buffalo seasoning which probably includes a nice big dash of Tobasco Sauce... How did we find out? When you bring the wings to your mouth to quickly, you're probably gonna get a nice big whiff of the Tobasco in your nostrils. And THAT'S when you find out.

But besides the surprise, the wings were okay for a started. A little crispy on the outside and the BBQ flavour is really gonna awaken your tastebuds.

And another thing... they're kinda... small.

Guacamole Burger (RM25.95)

Time to starts on the mains and a nice bid ol' burger will do the trick.
You've got a nice juicy beef patty that's piled on with sauteed bell peppers, fire-roasted Jalapenos, caramelized onions, cumin-lime sour cream, Monterey Jack cheese and, of course, a nice big dollop of guacamole!

For the benefit of those who might be going "What's Guacamole??" right about now...
Well, it's a Mexican-food must-have and made up mainly of mashed-up Avocados. Some seasoning like salt and pepper is probable and some versions even go extreme.

Well, just the simple stuff here and the beef patty was cooked to perfection. This would be a great dish for someone who really loves burgers or is just really really hungry.

Chicken Crispers (RM26.95)

I actually wish I had taken this dish because it looks so darn good!
Hand-battered chicken strips are deep fried to a nice crispy perfection before being bathed in sweet-spicy sauce. Served with fries and come corn... MACAM POWER LIKE THAT!!

Anyways, because it's chicken breast and because it's deep fried, it turned out a bit dry...

BBQ Beef Ribs (RM57.95)

Here's what I had... And you know I'm gonna go for the meat right?
And even though we'd just had ribs at Tony Roma's awhile back, I couldn't resist to see if the ribs here were any different (or any better for that matter)

I will say that the ribs were considerably smaller but still had a very distinct BBQ flavour to them.
As you can see, they really baste it on there and you can even add more if you'd like.

Meat was tender but a little on the dry side though. But I guess I really can't complain much because I still quite enjoyed the ribs. And the serving was actually just nice for 1 person especially if you're going to have some side dishes to go along.

Southwestern Grilled Lamb (RM36.95)

This was probably the best-cooked meat on the table this time around.
The lamb was simply perfectly cooked and a nice medium well. Tender to cut and a great juicy flavour to it too!

You've got some Black Pepper sauce to go along if that's your thing. Enjoy with some mashed potatoes and veggies too.

Flame Grilled Ribeye Steak (RM55.95)

Here's the biggest disappointment of the meal....

We'd asked for the meat to be Medium Well but it arrived Blue.
What exactly is Blue? Well, it's the stage in between Rare and Medium Rare. That means only the outside is lightly seared and the meat inside is still pretty much raw. You can actually see this towards the bottom of the steak in that picture above... See those raw bits?

Yeah some people might go for that but not us and it was disappointing to order a good cut of meat and have it served not to expectations...

Anyways we send it back and they cooked it a little bit more and that was that.

Adam's Verdict:
BBQ Beef Ribs 2.5/5 -- Classic Nachos 1.5/5 -- Wings Over Buffalo 1.5/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Southwestern Grilled Lamb 4/5 -- Classic Nachos 2/5 -- Wings Over Buffalo 2.5/5

Razali's Verdict:
Flame Grilled Ribeye Steak 3/5 -- Classic Nachos 3.5/5 -- Wings Over Buffalo 4/5

Fateha's Verdict:
Chicken Crispers 3/5 -- Classic Nachos 2.5/5 -- Wings Over Buffalo 3/5

Azim's Verdict:
Guacamole Burger 4/5 -- Classic Nachos 3/5 -- Wings Over Buffalo 4.5/5

So I guess Chili's is actually not too bad. They do have quite a big menu so you can really try a few things if you're looking for something you like.

CHILD FRIENDLY FACTOR

Ask the staff about the 'Kids Eat Free' specials they have! And yes they do have baby chairs upon request. But try and ask for a table near the window if possible because the booths are pretty crampy. Plus at least you'll have a nice view while you eat.

Overall Child Friend Rating - 4/5

Chili's

Lot 346B Level 3, Suria KLCC
Kuala Lumpur City Centre

Tel : +60 3 2164 1400
www.chilis.com.my

Operating Hours:
Sunday - Thursday :11.00am - 11.00pm
Friday & Saturday :11.00am - 12.00am

Inari-ku: My Inari - Kitsune Udon

So we were at a friend's beautiful wedding yesterday evening and we spotted something on the buffet line. I'd already piled my makan onto my plate and then at then end I see these small plastic bowls all piled up and displayed for selection.

At first I though it was some sort of dessert but then I noticed something that looked like noodles so I thought maybe it's Laksa or something.... And then I saw the label.

"Well, it appears to be something Japanese in nature"... Like DUH.

Before I'd even sat down I was thinking to myself "What a great idea! And Halal some more! How come we'd never heard of this before??" And I couldn't wait to open up the little plastic bowl to what was inside.

Kitsune Udon ($4.00)

Udon! And quite a generous serving of it too!
So you get a nice serving of Udon noodles which were firm and springy to the bite. The noodles were swimming in a delicious broth and the combination of the 2 were just light and just nice for a tasty slurpy noodle experience.

The Udon was topped off with a few slices of Aburaage which is the sweet tofu slices which you normally get when you have Inari sushi. There were 3 (rather big) slices which was very generous because I feel that even just 2 slices would have been just nice. So you can see you're really getting your money's worth here.

Adam's Verdict:
Kitsune Udon 3.5/5

A quick check on their FB page shows plenty of Japanese delights ready for your enjoyment.
They've got an array of Sushi (including the awesome looking Lobster Inari), Ramen, Donburi and who knows what else they have but it looks awesome.

It's little wonder because the owner has apparently graduated from the Tokyo Sushi Academy! No wonder lah like power only!!

So glad that we stumbled upon this and looking forward to trying more from Inari-ku!!

PS a quick snippet of trivia for yous all. Did you know that 'Kitsune' actually refers to the Japanese legend of the 'fox spirits'? The dish Kitsune Udon is named after this legend because the 'fox spirits' were said to be fond of the Aburaage (sweet tofu)! Interesting right?

But we think the real question is... If the Kitsune were foxes... Then...

Inari-ku: My Inari

Pasir Ris Street 13
https://www.facebook.com/inariku.myinari