Thursday, July 08, 2010

IR 1968

Ir in my book, stands for Ingenieur, or Latin for Engineer, from the rootword genius. (from Fatboybakespedia, not to be quoted in school exams). To those of you who do not know, ahem, I of course am an Ir.

But IR here stands for INDONESIAN RESTAURANT. Why 1968? Cos that was the year it was established, by this dashing young man's family, in Hong Kong, Indonesian Chinese who set up IR in Hong Kong.

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Hudson Chang, the proprietor of IR1968.

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Before the ladies get TOO excited at Hudson's mug, this gorgeous lady here is his partner.

Thanks to Poesy, who had rounded a group of us together for a leisurely Saturday brunch, comprising Alilfatmonkey & McCutie, Pure Glutton & Derek, Nip & Nic, (Nipple Joe and Nicole), Memoirs of a Chocoholic, Unkaleong on behalf of The Nomad Gourmand, and me.


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When we arrived at 11am, the staff were still a bit bleary eyed, perhaps stricken by the World Cup fever, which I am completely unaffected by. The place is located behind Hock Choon supermarket, off Jalan Ampang, in a cluster of restaurants called Terrace. They also house Il Divo, Fukuhura and a coffee outlet.

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Everyone seems to take pics of this plate, so I had to as well. There is a little Singaporean in all of us, reluctant as we are to admit it.

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The inimitable elegant Poesy Liang, who so kindly organised the brunch.

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The first dish (everyone was starving by now), SEMUA LIDAH, I heard. All tongue? Did I hear right? All tongue? I LOVE TONGUE!!!! If you think about it, tongue is almost as precious as... err...any other appendage that appears on an animal that consists only one, and is smaller than the entire size of the animal, like say, a nose....making it quite rare. I dunno why people get squirmish about tongue, afterall, it is still beef. At least tongues dont go to places that are unsavoury....at least mine doesn't.

I digress, but this tongue is to die for. Tender, succulent, soaking in spices, and superb! I could just come here for tongue. Actually the correct name is SEMUR LIDAH.

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Next was the Peanut Chicken, which though sounded simple, tasted amazing. A light, crunchy yet not oily batter, encasing tender morsels of chicken thigh accompanied by crispy nuts. Ayam Asam kacang.

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Tofu Telur Goreng. Basically a tofu omelette. Tasty, and goes well with rice.

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Assam Fish curry, in an amazing assam broth, that made you just want to drink the whole cauldron. The vegetables were delicious, in that tangy gravy, but the fish slices were generic, to borrow a term from that most famous of all bloggers, Awhiffoflemongrass.

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Fried Cod Fish with Sweet and Sour Sauce. I'm not a codfish fan, but really, I can imagine this dish, which incidentally is new on the menu, being a favourite, as the gravy tastes suspiciously familiar, (like Chilli crabs, as Nipple Joe put it in his post), and the fish is nice and fresh. So what's not to like.

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Now, can someone please remind me? I am under the impression that the phrase, not sure which language, to wear a green hat is to be cuckolded? Is that true? I suddenly thought of it. Well, this aint no french cap, its an Indonesian one. Lovely coconut rice (nasi lemak la) served in an inverted cone, (like nasi tumpang), covered with a protective banana leaf wrapping. How ingenious and how pretty. I dont have a picture, but they serve a most AMAZING sambal to go with the rice.

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Kailan done two ways. Quite a common sight these days in chinese restaurants. I guess Hudson is Chinese, afterall.

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For desserts, a lovely indonesian chendol, and es krem (ice cream) with banana fritters and pineapple fritters. Refreshing. Except by this time we were stuffed on that lovely aromatic coconut rice, laced with the gravy no one wanted to waste.

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That blue and white porcelain motif is consistent throughout.

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Poser....

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Happiness is being filled on a Saturday afternoon, with food and with good company.

I certainly will be heading back here for that incredible tongue again, and some of the other stuff.


IR 1968
Terrace at Hock Choon
241-B Lorong Nibong, Off Jln Ampang
Call : 017-2098477

27 comments:

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

What's with the apron?

Oh, I like the food at IR1968. And the ambience. It's quite romantic at night too.

J said...

mmmmm... What a tongue! :D

PureGlutton said...

Yes, it's the Chinese (Cantonese, to be exact) saying "tai look moe" which you were asking - so most chinese guys will NOT wear green hats, no matter what! Trust you to think of that, in relation to that Coconut Rice we had, hahaha!

Paranoid Android said...

What a whimsical and light hearted post! Your posts always make me chuckle alone at the office. How on earth did you get Unka to pose like that? LMAO.

Jean said...

I tried their food.. like it!
especially the ox tounge!!

vialentino said...

nice food rite...i love the ox tongue by ir1968...jeng ler.

thule a.k.a leo said...

if only I can eat beef, I'd know how the SEMUA LIDAH tasted like :(

Babe_KL said...

if i was there, it wud be my 2nd time tasting tongue :p

btw wat's with unka and that pose? very salah ler!

minchow said...

Your tongue doesn't do unsavoury places?? But it's capable of producing some pretty unsavoury (yet flavour-packed) riddles!

Ciki said...

LOL at unka! Ahpa , did u cook? i swear u look like the cook in that apron:P

Kenny Mah said...

I reckon it's a compliment when someone says one is "all tongue". Semua (Semur) Lidah, indeed. ;)

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

ah pa, the photos have a very magazine feel to it! like taken from magazine shoot like that..nais!

were we laughin at some joke during our group photo ar?..

fatboybakes said...

nipples, i love that group photo hor, everyone looks so happy. like friends laidat. i cant remember what we were laughing at la. haha, you are too kind, what magazine shoot? must be some cheh kai production! your pics are much nicer.

LFB, one cant have too much tongue now can we.

fatboybakes said...

ciki & thamby, lilmonkey and mccutie gave me the apron, with the words, BETTER THAN NIGELLA.

minchow, gasp, when i got produce unsavoury remarks with my tongue? got ah? you must tell me! my grandmother always told me not to do that.

fatboybakes said...

babekl, unka you know la, if he could, he would have bared his 6 pack for all to see. the exhibitionist.

thule, hahah, sorry, cant help you there. was gonna suggest maybe you treat it like milk, something the cow produces.... but...err...i guess not.

fatboybakes said...

vialentino, good hor the tongue.

jean, yup, i can see why you liked the food, coz its GOOD!!!

fatboybakes said...

pure glutton, yala, i was asking around abt tai loke mou as i was writing, but thamby doesnt speak cantonese, so she's no help, and fratmustard's cantonese is as keng as his cooking skills...

J, the tongue is mightier than the sword.

fatboybakes said...

paranoid, i am glad i can make you chuckle, knowing how cerebral you are, its an honor!

UnkaLeong said...

Chis! so quick to snap. Must remember to keep my kawaii harajuku poses to mahself next time :P Thanks for the invite. Loved the food and the ambience :P

qwazymonkey said...

wah unka's pic is priceless!!

hilarious post as always Ah Pa!

HairyBerry said...

It's true that the tongue fancies savoury things, literally or not. Ok lah, lets no go there....haha.

Hillarious yet poignant, you da semur...semua, i mean. Such a happy friends liddat pic! Wish i was there. Sigh.

vialentino said...

yeah...doesnt taste like a ox tongue....hahaha....

Rebecca Saw said...

Yikes! Wht's with that pose??
*speechless*

fatboybakes said...

TNG, your bf, you ask him la.

vialentino, i know. like super good beef right.

fatboybakes said...

hairy, howww is the post poignant la??? i thought its so frivolous!

monkey boy, thanks you.

unka, yup, boyscout motto ma, serve to lead...oops, that's RMC... be prepared. why do you think thamby has developed that reflex of tanggaling her glasses and flicking her hair to one eye in less than a nano second?

gfad said...

Is there any other appendage that goes to unsavory places that you WOULD eat meh? ^_^

jason said...

Larf at the "poser"! ^^