Invited: Patin Place @ Bandar Puchong Utama

Patin Place has 3 secret weapons:

• Fresh Patin river fish from Temerloh
• Tempoyak (Fermented Durian) Sauce (Temerloh Specialty)
• Special Charcoal + Special Oven which have Dry Steam (Sauna) effect on the fish, allowing the fish to maintain its original form and slowly releasing the moisture (“sweating”) after the fish is served

Patin Place is located at Bandar Puchong Utama, about 300 meters from the Famous Batu 14 Puchong Yong Foo, near the rows of shops. The shop is at a quiet corner lot with plenty of parking, and it does have an attractive exterior especially during the night.

Bandar Temerloh tanah kelahiranku,
Sungai Pahang tempat bersiram semua,
Patin Tempoyak santapan rajaku,
Resipi temurun khas dari kota.

From the above pantun, the royal dish of Patin Tempoyak is something everyone must try if you are at Patin Place. The friendly and chatty owner, Jerry, is very proud of his masterpiece of “3 Secret Weapons” for Patin Place with good reasons, which shall be unfolded through the food offered.

The recommended drink is Guava Assam Buoy, which is very nice, refreshing and appetizing.

Guava Assam Buoy

The first dish is Nasi Lemak Rendang Ayam (RM 8.90), which is superb in both aesthetic and taste. To complement this dish, you need Gulai Assam Tempoyak, which are too strong to be consumed alone, but goes perfectly with the rice. Fermented Durian in my rice? I have to admit that tempoyak is an acquired taste, but the smell of durian is mild, and it’s very tasty when mixed with rice, or fish. We had some Sambal Sotong (Dry Cuttlefish) and Rendang Beef to go with the rice, and Chinese Kailan which is fresh and crispy. For a better taste of the tempoyak during lunch, Nasi Lemak “Dry Steam” Ayam Tempoyak is a better choice.

Nasi Lemak Rendang Ayam

Nasi Lemak “Dry Steam” Ayam Tempoyak

Chinese Kailan

The highlight of the day is the Royal dish of “Dry Steam” Patin Tempoyak with Petai (RM 68). What is this “Dry Steam”? The Japanese call it “Sauna”, and it’s the pride and joy of the owner, where he invented a new cooking process using a special charcoal and a special oven. The charcoal is smokeless and odorless (like those used in Korean BBQ), which last longer and cooked the meat without spoiling the texture. What about the Special oven? It’s a trade secret, but one of the usages is “Dry Steam”, allowing the fish to maintain its original form and slowly releasing the moisture (“sweating” ala Sauna) after the fish is served. The moisture slowly bubbling up after you tear opens the fish, which maintain the nice texture and taste of the Patin. The Tempoyak cooked with Lemon and Petai provided a very refreshing taste for the fresh river Patin, it’s like a match made in heaven, Perfecto! It’s very tasty and appetizing, and you probably won’t notice it’s fermented durian if you are not told about it. Fermented durian or not, it’s definitely an eye-opener dish and a must try!

“Dry Steam” Patin Tempoyak with Petai (RM 68)

Moisture is slowly released due to the Sauna / Dry Steam effect

The second main dish is Smoked Patin Salai (feels like Ikan Bakar, but not really grilled) with a split skin effect (the flesh detached from the skin easily), and spicy sauce on top of it. The flesh manages to retain its moisture, and I personally enjoy the smoked-style with spicy sauce. You are advised not eat or break the skin, as after you finish the flesh, they will “fried” the skin and you will have another round of crispy fish skin (like the fried salmon skin served in restaurant). Double enjoyment for the price of one dish, yeah! The salai is served with a special peanut sauce, which is really nice.

Smoked Patin Salai

Peanut Sauce

Crispy Fish Skin

The third dish is Talapia wrapped in Lotus Leaf served with special in-house sauce, with no trace of tempoyak, a great choice for those who can’t accept the idea of durian in their meal. Though this is a good dish, but my taste bud is overtaken by the Royal “Dry Steam” Patin Tempoyak with Petai and Smoked Petai Salai.

Talapia wrapped in Lotus Leaf

There have 3 special sauces for sauce lover, the orange one is quite spicy, but all three of them are really refreshing. I found the sauce redundant as this stage as the fish are already very tasty in their own special way, and the sauce would probably spoilt them, best to keep them for other dishes.

Special Sauces

The Patin Place is a very unique place, with their fresh patin, royal tempoyak sauce, and special cooking method. I would probably bring my parents to give it a try, to double check if the tempoyak is really as authentic as it’s claimed (it’s the first time I heard of and tasted tempoyak, so I’m no expert, though I’m from Kuantan, paiseh!). Definitely should give this place a try, and the tempoyak is best served with the Patin (with Chicken is okay, but Patin is much better). Have you tasted a tempoyak yet?

Special Charcoal

Special Oven

Durian Cendol

PATIN PLACE RAMADAN BUKA PUASA TEMPTATIONS
DATE : 15 JULY – 4 AUGUST 2013
Adult: RM 49.90 nett per adult.
Kid: RM 29.90 nett per kid, from 4 to 12 years old.

Patin Place
31, Jalan BPU 5, Bandar Puchong Utama,
14 Mile Jalan Puchong, 47100 Puchong
Tel: 016-208 9012
FB: https://www.facebook.com/PatinPlace

Invited: D'Bakul Indonesian Cuisine @ USJ Taipan

D’Bakul serve authentic Indonesian cuisine from various regions under one spacious roof where the interior decorations resemble a real Indonesian restaurant which I had visited in Indonesian. The owners are Indonesians with branches in Jakarta such as Makan Makan.

“Majestic” bamboo cage entrance

The exterior of restaurant might seem quite intimidating at a large corner lot shop in USJ with a “majestic” bamboo cage entrance. Will it burn a hole through my wallet? They serve rice set from RM 9.90 to RM 12.90, and some “luxurious” dishes for 2-4 people to share; I would say there is something for everyone and every budget. The interior is spacious and brightly lit, suitable for gathering and family dinner, plus some solid wood table which weight 200kg and some corners of the place are well decorated, and there is a second floor and balcony for exterior seating.

Fandi the manager (looks like Chinese, and he is Indonesian) introduces Crispy Fried Spring Duck, Ox Tail Soup, Crispy Fried Talapia, Coconut Fish Soup, Crispy Fried Soft Chicken and Gado Gado as their signature dishes; Soursoup Juice, Avocado Juice, Teh Kotjok Cincau and Teh Rempah Serai as their signature drinks.

I was tempted by the Nasi Goreng D’Bakul (RM 13) rice set, but decide to go with individual dishes instead since there are two of us. Our main dish is Ayam Komplit (RM 37), which is 4 pieces of chicken, each cooked in different styles: Ayam Presto, Ayam Penyet, Ayam Bakar and Ayam Goreng. I can’t really identify each chicken properly (all seems yellow to me), but they are definitely tasty (the rempah works well), the meat is tender and there are slight variations (some crispy, some dry, some with sauce, and some spicy).

Ayam Komplit (RM 37)

Our second dish is Talapia Saos Kaki Lima (Crispy Fried Talapia in Plum Sauce) for RM 28. The plum sauce is a good complement to the fried fish, and it’s really crispy and the meat is fine (not funny taste or texture). The Chinese believed fried-method are reserved for fish which are not so fresh, but I believe the Indonesian probably like their fish crispy.

Talapia Saos Kaki Lima (Crispy Fried Talapia in Plum Sauce) for RM 28

We decided to skip plain rice and try the Nasi Bakar (Grilled Mixed Rice with Chicken Chunks and Anchovies) for RM 7.50 (enough for 2 person unless you are a big rice eater). It looks like a pulut, but not glutinous rice; it’s grilled rice wrapped like a pulut, there is a nice fragrance from it, but I could hardly see the chicken chunks and anchovies, and it’s slightly dry due to the grilled nature.

Nasi Bakar (Grilled Mixed Rice with Chicken Chunks and Anchovies) for RM 7.50

We try the Avocado Juice (RM 8.50), with green avocado and some chocolate stripes (I remember the drink is quite popular when I visited Surabaya). It’s refreshing, slightly bitter (Avocado duh) with some sweetness from the chocolate (I assume the brown color stripes are chocolate). Soursoup Juice (RM 6) is refreshing as well.

Soursoup Juice (RM 6), Avocado Juice (RM 8.50)

Overall I would say it’s a tasty and satisfying meal, and with 4 people we would be able to try more variety of the dishes available. The restaurant is more suited for family and gathering rather than for couple or the younger crowd. How is this place compared to the famous Balinese restaurant in town? The Balinese restaurant serves more western dishes to cater for local taste, and you can’t mix Authentic with Fusion together. Indonesian food is not in mass appeal like Italian or Japanese food, so it might take a while for the local to get a hang of it. It’s refreshing to try Indonesian cuisine once in a while, and the food is indeed tasty, but I am still not addicted to it or go crazy about it.

Photo Opportunity

If you want to have some kind of celebration or gathering, this might be a good choice due to the space and high ceiling. They even have Nasi Tempeng (traditional Javanese food) for RM 300 which is suited for a party with 20-30 people: consist of Nasi Kuning, Ayam Goreng, Perkedel Kentang, Sayur Urap, Orek Tempe, Sambal Kentang and Semur Telur Puyuh. One day before reservation is required.

D’Bakul is running a Ramadan Dinner Buffet from 14 July to 7 August, from 7pm to 9.30pm. RM 65 for adult and RM 35 for children. I was told they serve special dishes like Roast Lamb and Beef on weekend :)

This place is Halal with their Halal certificate at their door front.

Indonesian Authentic Cuisine
55 A Ground Floor
Jalan USJ 10/1F
Taipan Business Center
Subang Jaya
Tel: 03 80206813
FB: https://www.facebook.com/pages/DBakul-Indonesian-Cuisine/485492534841920?id=485492534841920