The Ming Room, BSC

The fact that tonight there is another session at the Ming Room kinda reminded/prompted me to post this up.

I do have memories of really scrumptious food that night else I wouldn't have bothered. Partly also it would be a shame if these pictures remained tucked away in some cluster of my HDD, collecting bits & bytes of dust & subsequently forgotten (just like those other 101 pic folders on my drive).

We were here for a birthday celebration & this is MY favourite part of the meal.
I mean who really cares what we had for dinner when there is CAKE right?
Oh?
No?
You mean the dinner is important?? Sheesssh.

But I digress. Where was I?

And so yeah, the cake cutting part.
Which means this is when I get to EAT the cake. FINALLY.

Ahh...the expression on one's face when presented with a cake by the famed FatBoyBakes.

Rich, ALCOHOLIC Blackforest Cake that wraps up the dinner nicely.

But of course, before all that jazz, we did had dinner. And The Ming Room offers both ala-carte items as well as 8-10 different set dinners. Ours was this.

For RM88+ per pax, it is worth your moolah for this alone.

The Double Boiled Shark Fin Soup with Shark's Bone.
So robustly flavourful yet delicate in taste. Murky white broth, chunks of abalone & combs and combs of shark fin. Dear God, I have sinned.

Such a glorious soup, and there's no need for quick slurping since it was kept nicely warm by the contraptions you see here, whatever it may be called. Soup warmer?
I mean, don't you hate it when you drink a good bowl of soup, and was just beginning to savour the taste, with the soup tummy warming properties starting to take effect & you find each subsequent spoonful colder than the previous, hence you panic & start to gulp down the remainder? Urgh.

Baked Cod Fish with Orange Cubes.
A delightful starter. Tangy orange juice doused onto streaks of tart pomelo, coupled with milky moist cod. Now, IF only they serve us a BIGGER piece.

With such marvelous starters, I begun to look forward to the night's dinner.

And then the next course left me cold.

Pan Fried Iberico Pork Chop in Chef's Special Sauce.
Hummprhh.. And to think that Chinese are supposedly the best when it comes to their pork.

Tender yes, texture - wise but salty & there wasn't anything special with that sauce. If anything, it was too strong & probably overpowered the meat natural flavour. A pity really, for I have heard much raves of Iberico pork.

And the next dish elicited a yawn. Of which I did politely cover my mouth of course.
Sauteed Black Fungus with Kai Lan.

Baked Rice with Abalone & Seafood.
Ah..finally an interesting looking creation. Which brings one to wonder about the shell. Do they wash, dry & refill it for the next round? I mean, I'm all for Reduce, Reuse & Recycle...BUT BUT...

Well, I digress.

The rice was wonderfully flavourful with bountiful chunks of seafood, chicken cubes, long beans & mushrooms thrown in.

Then it is dessert time.

Chilled Sago Cream with Mango.
Forgettable. Hence no descriptions. Cos I forgot how it tasted.

Some hits and misses obviously. But The Ming Room carries decades of solid reputation & is renowned for its dim sum as well as its exquisite Chinese fare so I'm not one to dismiss it after ONE meal. Plus, I have yet to staple their famous dim sum.

So, should it be Grand Imperial or The Ming Room again tonight?

Burgers Galore III - Azim's Burger Shack, Rasta TTDI

Unka described this place akin to a "Malay Wai Sik Kai" (food street). Not surprisingly, since all the stalls were run by Malays & everything here is halal.

The stalls formed a circular enclosure, with the seating area right in the middle of food court. Food options ranged from the ubiquitous Nasi Lemak to the westernised steaks and chops and then, whoa, DIM SUM!!

And it was a popular order too, with most tables sporting the rattan containers half opened and little baubles of meat inside with steam still wafting out of them.

But I am here for the 'famed' Azim's burger steak. And nothing was going to wayward me from my intended order..well, almost nothing, for when I saw a plate of nasi lemak whizzing pass me, I almost detoured from my charted path towards the burger stall.

It was pretty quiet for a Sunday night & I was famished, having had lunch 6 hours ago in Pang Heong, Klang followed by Teluk Pulai BKT. (will blog about that in time ;p )

I chose the Mushroom Cheese Burger (with beef patty) @RM9 and added an egg for an extra RM1.00.

My, I couldn't wait to sink my fangs into this baby. But but..a food blogger's duty came 1st and I duly whipped out my camera.

1st, off with the top half of the bun..
Ohh...cheese!!
Cut mozzarella from the block, slightly bitter-ish and with more of a bite to it than the processed slices, I like!!!
These made the burger so so much tastier than the ordinary.

The patty was decent in size albeit a bit tough and dry.
Aww...perhaps too much lean meat was used. But it wasn't Ramly for sure.

The caramelised mushrooms & onions were not aromatic enough, a pity really, cos a dollop of butter & a few extra minutes over the fire would have bought the sweet flavours of the onions out.
And the combination would have done wonders for the burger.

Would I be back for this?

Hmmm...........I guess not.

It's not bad, mind you. But dry patties ain't my kind of thing. I like my patties bleeding with juices and smearing all over my hands and mouth when I sank my teeth into it.

Having said that, this would have been one helluva of burger IF the caramelised onions and mushrooms were done right & the patty more tender, cos the cheese and even the buns were nice.
Mayo, tomato and chili sauce are added upon request.

They do have fish burgers, chicken tenderloin and etc. which I wouldn't mind trying if I happen to be in the vicinity again.

Azim's Burger Shack,
Rasta Food Court, TTDI.