DP | @ekhoophotography

A strong opposition is NECESSARY to provide check and balance. This is essential in any government.

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More photos here.

As Election draws near, the posters go up, only to get beaten and ravaged by the forces of nature and the unstoppable might of capitalistic expansion and the almighty dollar. How relevant are today's governments handling the crisis of nature or the economy is reflected like the posters. They are simply impotent.

You know comfort stuff -- that old t-shirt you always wear or that little pillow you've had since you're ten. How about the food you've eaten since you were young? Comfort food probably quite unhealthy if you check with today's generation of weight-conscious fanatics. I mention fanatics cos I have had the unfortunate experience of knowing (or meeting) quite a few. Can you imagine clamoring and traveling over four hundred kilometers and taking just two scoops of a dessert. Pure waste. Anyways, Yut Kee features a mix of local and western specialties, all interpreted in that old-world Hainanese cooking-wizardry.

After making more than a dozen visits, I can highly recommend this place to anyone but if you just can't order for four people when you're the only one there then take a pick from this list and you won't be disappointed. In no order of taste or preference: Hainanese-style Pork chops, Roti Babi, French Toast with Kaya, Roti Bakar, Curry Noodles, Belacan Fried Rice and the Lam Meen. Lastly, wash all of that down with a nice hot (or iced) cup of home-brewed (a blend of Malayan and Sumatran coffee beans) coffee. Wonderful! Of course by now you're quite stuffed so I'd say that you have to definitely take-away a few goodies; namely the kaya swiss roll and the marble cake.

Yut Kee, superbly comforting. Opens from 8am to 5pm, closes on Mondays.

35 Jalan Dang Wangi
Kuala Lumpur
T: 03 - 2698 8108

Then of course, we had a proper sit-down dinner a short while later...

Why is this sundry and vegetable shop a feature on DP? Especially an Eat Review? For one thing, it does make a great cup of coffee. No, no, not the smooth, well roasted and aromatic brew you get at Starbucks but the rough and tumble countryside roast (dark and with a hint of caramel) so it's bitter, sweetened with condensed milk kinda of taste. Unbeatable on a hot day with ice. While that's keeping you cool, spice up your meal with curry wild-boar noodles. While it looks like and resembles the classic Wan-Tan noodles, this one's a lot different. For one thing, a generous helping of curry and not just any curry, this one's made with wild-boar meat. The crispy fried wantons are also pretty tasty. All in all, lip-smacking goodness!





Kedai Runchit dan Sayor Choy Hing
Old-Highway 8 (On the way to Raub and Tras from Bentong), Sang Lee Town
On your left, about four hundred meters after the Police station on your right.

What? Another Eat Review? Yup! No kidding, making up for lost time!
Anyways, back to that quaint little town called Bentong. On the main road, actually it is Jalan Loke Yew (which at one end meets Highway 8), there's a corner coffeeshop doing brisk business in noodles with beef brisket, balls and whatever beef parts. This place is called Lou Yu Kee. A rather ordinary coffeeshop, it does serve up a mean bowl of beef noodles oozing with flavor. The Yong Tau Foo is also not bad and it is a big piece of tau foo. Shan't say so much and let the photos do the talking.






Lou Yu Kee,
Corner of Jalan Loke Yew and Jalan Wayang.
(From KL, Highway 8 will meet Jalan Loke Yew at the split. Follow this split and take the second right.)

It's been a while since I've a Eat Review at Don't Panik! So, it's nice to be back! Bentong is a quaint little (or not so little) town along the Karak highway or East Coast Expressway (ECE). I was surprised to find that it does boast an impressive number of ice-cream dessert shops for its population size. One explanation could be that a diary farm is located nearby. Anyways, the ice-cream shops here do sell the popular "sundaes" but their specialty is something more original (or rojak which means mixed from all over) depending on how you look at it. They have the usual ice-kacang which usually has nuts, beans and shaved ice but with the addition of fresh fruits. Then you add in cendol and top it off with home-made ice-cream. The ice-cream is not as smooth or creamy as Haagen Daz or Baskin Robbins but is quite a bit less sweet. It also boasts a slightly thicker taste and is more fragrant. This place is Kedai Kopi Kow Pow and it is said that there's a good nasi lemak available in the morning but sells out quickly. That is also true of their ice-cream and note that tour buses and a lot of culinary adventurers to stop by so flavors do run out fast. They also are able to pack to go so that you can share the ice-cream with others back home. That said, this is a good place to relax and chill out. Of course, we had to do things the wrong way about and have dessert before our lunch!








Kedai Kopi Kow Pow
Off-Highway 8, Jalan Bentong Utama.
It is located in the row of shophouses just after the Shell and Esso station (same side which is your right) when you enter Bentong Town.

Right in Aman Suria, there's a corner restaurant serving up probably what can be termed, the hotest hot pot in Malaysia.


From Wikipedia:
Sichuan pepper (or Szechuan pepper) is the outer pod of the tiny fruit of a number of species in the genus Zanthoxylum (most commonly Z. piperitum, Z. simulans, Z. sancho and Z. schinifolium), widely grown and consumed in Asia as a spice. Despite the name, it is not related to black pepper or to chili peppers. It is widely used in the cuisine of Sichuan, China, from which it takes its name.

Sichuan pepper has a unique aroma and flavour that is not hot or pungent like black or white pepper, or chili peppers, but has slight lemony overtones and creates in the mouth a kind of tingly numbness (caused by its 3% of hydroxy-alpha-sanshool) that sets the stage for these hot spices. It has an alkaline pH and a numbing effect on the lips when eaten in larger doses. Ma la (Chinese: 麻辣; pinyin: m�l�; literally "numb and hot"), a flavor common in Sichuan cooking, is a combination of Sichuan pepper and chili pepper.

We begin our dinner in a chaotic manner after taking our seats. One thing to be said, there are a lot of workers running around this place and EVERYONE is very busy looking but service is horribly poor. I recommend going for the buffet. Plus is turns out to be slightly cheaper too. The beef and pork go well in the hotpot. Yee meen also works, as well as assorted mushrooms and meat balls (pork or fish). The frozen tofu is highly recommended and do begin your meal with the cold cucumber starter (with chili of course).







After the eating started, the heat was a bit too much so the camera went unused. A word of advice (or rather, a lot of words), bring lots of tissue, be prepared to sweat, plus drink lots of water. It is definitely hotter than you think!

Jin Shan Cheng
2 Jalan PJU 1/3A, Block K
SunwayMas Commercial Centre
Petaling Jaya