Oriental Spoon At Sooka Sentral

Godma instructed me one morning over breakfast, "get your food blogger friends over to Sooka Sentral to try out Ming Lee's new restaurant". Note, "instructed".

Anyway, being the obedient, filial unofficial godson that I am, who's hoping to get into a wealthy woman's will, I meekly and mildly proceed to carry out that with which I am instructed. After checking with the Empress of the Food Blogging Realm, Lyrical Lemongrass, (who is only less influential than the OTHER Empress, Masak Masak, but she's perpetually busy, unlike Lyrical who doesn't have much of a social life to brag about), and getting a date where she could grace us with her regal presence, I send out an invite to a few others.

The place, Oriental Spoon At Sooka Sentral, but I already said that in the title. Sooka Sentral is a kinda annex to all the office buildings which houses several restaurants, including Zen, Centro, Chilli Expresso, etc etc... and is popular with the office crowds. Owned by the same owners as Bangsar Seafood Village, the cuisine is HALAL, and for lunch, they offer a wide array of dim sum.




Finally, a date is set, and we were even supposed to be graced with some imports, as some Aussie food blogger was to join us, thanks to Lemongrass, along with two other guests. In the process, the inimitable Jackson Kah, whom I invited, had to be disinvited, as I didn't want the table to be too full, as the old adage goes, less men more share. Alas, it was a no show by the imported blogger, due to some infection or something. Three extra seats..... hmm, a lot more food.

After apologising profusely to the very amiable Boss for the last minute absentees, we start munching on the steamed peanuts, while waiting for the rest of our party to arrive. Nipple Joe and Lemongrass were there, and Unkaleong and I walked in at the same time, me bearing two bottles of the nectar of the gods. Nothing like some plonk to break the ice. Not that there was any ice that needed breaking, we were among familiar company. Godma and daughter, (organiser of the event) showed up shortly after, and for the finale, the grand entrance by the master bakers, Allan and Nigel.

Feeling ravenous, after a recently introduced 10 minute workout, by Unkaleong, I wanted to dig into these gorgeous yam puffs immediately, but I forgot about the shooters with their heavy equipment. In contrast to Organiser's camera, which battery died after one shot. I should mention that the place doesn't usually serve dim sum for dinner, but the Boss made special arrangement for the Dim Sum chef to stay back and give us a generous sampling.

Of course, Mr Put Foot In Mouth, Nipple Joe, said, "Oh, restaurants probably dont serve dim sum at night because not fresh". Boss picked up on it, and smiled sweetly and assured him these were fresh. GUFFAW.



Gorgeous Yam Puffs


The interior of the yam puff. The yam was light and fluffy, and the filling was delicious as well.


The chicken charsiu paus
These were alright. I found it too have too much bread, not enough filling.


Succulent luscious prawn dumplings, fresh springy prawns.


Aren't these the cutest black sesame dumplings you have ever met?


Isn't Henry the Hedgeohog simply adorable!!! How can a person in clear conscience gobble this up?


The art of eating life forms.




Glutinous Rice Balls.
I thought these were quite nice, but I was also getting full on all the other stuff, and the rice seemed to take up unnecessary stomach space, especially when we knew there was more to come.


Fried Radish Cake
Very flavourful, containing something inside that I can't quite put my finger on, but gave it that extra body and texture.


Lamb Pai Kuat On A Steamed Radish Soup
This was a great hit. Lots of oohing and aahing. A worthy substitute for its porky cousin.


Prawn Cheong Fun
Silken smooth rice noodle, I thought this dish was excellent. The sauce was perfect, not too salty, and the chilli paste complemented the dish. Again, so smooth it could just slide down your throat.


Lotus Root Shaped Pastries
This HAS to be MY personal favourite of the night. Light, flaky buttery pastry, that crumbles and melt in your mouth, with a savoury meat filling. Absolutely divine. Just looking at it makes me want to catch the LRT to Sentral right now and take away some. Apparently it's a new creation by the chef, so it might not be on the menu as yet. Saliva dripping.





Braised Beef Brisket
I love beef brisket, and the flavour of this one was superb, but the brisket could have done with a bit more braising. It was unanimously agreed that this would taste even better the next day.

We thought the dim sum would cause us to explode, when along came the A la Carte food. Their signature starter, Bamboo Fungus Roll, Sotong Ball and Chicken Floss and Venison In Bird's Nest. The bird's nest was also lovely and flaky.

Fish: Arrrrgh, I can't breathe!!!!
Us: Tough luck!
Deep Fried Garoupa With Flavoured Meat Sauce


Two Combination Prawns, Lychee Prawns and Prawn Salad
The pairing of lychee and prawn is rather nice. The prawns were fresh and succulent.


Stir Fried Lotus Root With Celery and Almond Flakes
You can't really go wrong with this dish. I love the glorious array of colors, and the different textures of the vegetables. The rubbery wood ears, the crunch of the lotus root, and the crispiness of the almonds.


Food Bloggers With Their Large Equipment


Crab in Salted Egg Yolk
This dish should come with a health warning. The wonderfully rich sauce married with the sweet flesh of the mud crab.....its like romances made in heaven. Eat too much of this, and you might actually end up there. (in heaven....or hell, depending on who you are)


Durian Puffs, or whatever these are called, purchased by Lemongrass from that Gardens place everyone's been blogging about. In there somewhere, like a booby trap, were one or two that were laced with cempedak instead of durian. It was then I found out what a banana Unkaleong is, he doesn't eat EITHER of our local king and queen of fruits.


My Homemade Pear and Ginger Upside Down Pudding

This is now my 4th time making this. In my haste, I forgot to add in my glaced ginger, which is a tweaking of the recipe. It's always stressful bringing cake when the baker boys are around, but they were polite with their verdict. Actually made it for godma.

Anyway, it was an enjoyable relaxing night. Faces were a bit sanguine from the Savignon Blancs, and stomachs were full to the brim. Thanks so much to Boss of Oriental Spoon, for having us, and for making Dim Sum chef stay back, and thanks to Jade for organising and putting this together.

Note: Car Parking is also very easy. Although they currently close at 8pm, if you came for dinner at 7.30pm, or make prior reservations, they will stay open for you....apparently.