Urban Crate

A Walk in the Pork at Betty’s Midwest Kitchen

Pardon the rather unimaginative title, I realise myself that its cheesiness borders on the lousy puns commonly found in local English newspapers (not mentioning which newspaper, though). However, the only other title I could think of was “Pork It”, which I felt fares worse in terms of punch and impact than the current title.

I wonder if my current penchant for lame titles was a sign of pork withdrawal, considering today is day 3 after my excessive pork intake at Betty’s Midwest Kitchen, Aman Suria. Another possible exacerbating factor might be the excessive durian intake on that same day (before AND after the pork fest). That gastronomically challenging day began with attending a durian party at my friend’s gated community. The idea of indulging in the king of fruits before going for a pork feast seemed like a bad one, so ‘everything in moderation‘, I told myself. Moderation ended up as five above average-sized pieces of durian.

Appetizers done, off to dinner we went. Betty’s Midwest Kitchen is located in a rather quiet row of shops in Aman Suria. Yet, this diner reaffirms the notion that no matter where you are located, if your food is good the customers will naturally come. And in Betty’s case, they came in droves. The diner was full-house inside, and we had to wait (albeit briefly) for a free table.

The diner inside was charmingly decorated with American paraphernalia, and a ‘wall of fame’ of cartoon-y pigs indicated that this was the ‘go-to’ place for some pork-lovin’. The tables and chairs were simple but neat, which I took as a good indication that we were going to be served good food without having to pay through our noses for a trendy ambiance.

The menu is decidedly and unashamedly a pork-majority affair. From bacon rashers to salads to pork chops to ribs, burgers and hotdogs, our delicious snout-nosed friend was undeniably the star attraction of this diner. We started off with bacon rashers in both its available incarnations, deep-fried bacon and crispy bacon (pictured here). When I tried the crispy bacon, I now understand why obesity and heart disease run high among Americans. It’s because of sinful foods like this! Initially I had expected it to taste like the regular bacon I had been eating since I was a child – salty and grimey. But once that rewarding taste arrives on your palate soon after you are done chewing and swallowing your first piece, you can’t help but to go for the next piece, then another…then another… A guilty pleasure that I expect would go very well if downed with a bottle of Bud (also served in the diner).

The deep-fried bacon was basically crispy bacon fried in batter. I didn’t get to try this, but I heard from my fellow diners that it was equally sinful.

Our first mains were the Baby Back Ribs. Served as 4 ribs at a price of RM28, this is considerably a very reasonable price for ribs as compared to the halal ones served in the bigger American family restaurants here in KL. The ribs were perfectly grilled, just adequately charred on the outside yet very tender on the inside. The meat could easily be teared off the bone, which for me is already a thumbs up. Love the juiciness of the ribs, although I would personally would have liked a bit more of a sweet edge coming from some honey or caramelized sugar.

Next came the Sloppy Joe’s. We were all having this for the first time, and were curious to find out. When this was served however, it got us all scratching our heads. While I imagined sloppy joe’s to have minced meat ATOP a regular burger patty, it turns out that the sloppy joe’s were JUST the minced meat inside the burger buns. At Betty’s, the minced pork was served on a separate bowl, presumably to prevent the burger buns from being soaked in gravy. Eating this, each of us on the table had a questionable reaction to it. Ultimately, we decided that this was akin to having burger buns with bolognaise sauce, except for the fact that there was sweetness from the ketchup and no Italian herbs were present (I think). Some quick Wiki-ing reveal that in the US sloppy joe’s are made with ground beef and not pork. I predict the beef version to be tastier considering its strong flavours and its compatibility with tomato-based sauces.  As for now though, I think I give the sloppy joes a pass.

Our meatloaf came after. I was also having this for the first time but I enjoyed it, especially with the tangy ketchup that topped the meatloaf. This came served with beer sauce, onion relish, some lovely peas that makes me wanna say “Look Ma, I have finished my peas for the first time”, and an excellent creamy mashed potato.

We also had the Country Fried Chicken, something I personally requested. The closest thing I had to Southern food was from the newly arrived fast food chain Popeyes Chicken and Biscuits, which albeit being very good had made me yearn for the real thing. In my mind I had been hoping for an authentic family-based recipe that would beat the generic ones I had tried. Unfortunately, the Country Fried Chicken came out rather dry and lacked the robust mishmash of flavours I had been expecting it to have. I guess I’ll stick to Popeyes for my fried chicken fix for now.

My friend and I, being the gluttons that we were, still wanted to try more pork items before we called for the bill. As he didn’t take beef we could not order the beef+pork burgers, so we opted for the American hotdog with pork bratwurst. The bratwurst certainly did not fail to deliver, and gave me and my fellow diner the pork satisfaction needed to close this a successful pork-filled meal. (Sorry there were no pictures of the hotdog, as the hotdog was served plain with the relish, mustard and ketchup set aside).

All in all, we had quite an awesome pork fest despite a few minor dislikes here and there. There were still so many items on the menu left to try, so many recommendations from others ( Pork Chop, Dog Food, Boston Butt, Juicy Lucy, lurid names no?). And the good thing is, the price allows for repeat visits without having to wait for the next paycheck to arrive

Oh, to cap the night off, my fellow diners and I returned to the durian buffet to finish of what was left of the durians. Talk about overdose.

Betty’s Midwest Kitchen

Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, 47410

map

facebook

MFW SS 2011: Yohji Yamamoto

The fashion show portrays the collection as one that visibly harks back a bygone era with wigs, cravats, waistcoats, top hats, tailcoats. However, further inspection reveals as much looking forward as it looks back. Innovative lapels, oversized fits, kooky top-to-bottom prints on suits, floral slip-ons, block colours, movable fabrics – the incorporation of these modern detailing made seeing this collection that much more enjoyable. And what an inspiration it was to see how a master combines the new elements into traditional tailoring.

Photo credits/ full collection @ gq.com

Menswear Field Report: Sale Snoops at the Gap

It’s that time of the year again, sale time! (And as luck would have it, also coincides with broke-ass time )

Would like to share my experience with the few shops that I visited around this very wallet-emptying period of the year.

Went in about a month ago when the shop was 30% off (almost) storewide. Headed for the shirts I had been eyeing and fortunately got a fitting one that was on sale. Unfortunately a grey chambray shirt that I had been eyeing on was not a sale item.

Oh well, money not spent is money saved ( I keep telling myself). They had some plain pocket T-shirts, but I passed since the ones in nicer colours were not discounted.

Anyway, now is the time to GET YOUR ASS IN GAP! Because they have gone from 30 % off to 50% off most items. Of course some of the nicer items have either disappeared from the racks or considered new arrival and thus not discounted. Still, there are some noteworthy items I would have gotten, like :

• their beach shorts (half off from RM199) if I only I was headed for another beach holiday
• 
• their denim shirt (half off from RM199) if only I could find a time to wear it
• 
• and their mandarin(?) collar long-sleeve white linen shirt, if only it wasn’t so damned see-through.

I have to admit that the 50% sales are worrying me, especially coupled with the fact the shop wasn’t exactly bursting with people and also that the Pavilion branch closed down several months ago. I hope there is no bad news to be heard.

Anything YOU got from the Gap?

PS: I am curious as to why the GAP website is willing to ship to so many Asian countries including Thailand and Singapore, even Cambodia, Nepal and Pakistan but not Malaysia. We must have a reaaaalllllly bad reputation for e-commerce security.

MFW SS 2011 Favourites: Burberry Prorsum

Ever fancied living in a world where trenchcoats and military jackets were the order of the day, and sandals were not ugly? I do, and by the looks of it Christopher Bailey most certainly does. Here we see a fantastic collection of outerwear that reportedly have been referenced to early designs by the iconic fashion house’s founder, Thomas Burberry, himself. Sharply tailored jackets that retain a militaristic cutting and detailing, as well as heavily studded leather outerwear reminiscent of ancient Chinese armory are paired with sheer tops, leather pants and jersey trousers.

Take a sneak peek into Bailey’s menswear utopia by watching this 9-minute of runway video.

Click here for video.

Full collection/ photo credits: GQ.com

MFW SS 2011 Favourites: Dries van Noten

This collection tops the list in my favourites for the season so far. Even though I admittedly do not follow Men’s Fashion Week religiously, I usually make it a point to see what the Belgian designers have to offer. People like Dries, Raf Simons, and the Antwerp Six never fail to bring a much needed fresh take on menswear that contrasts with the classic romanticism of the Milanese and Parisian fashion houses.

The season’s collection sees ample-sized overcoats, double-breasted jackets, both with ample lapels. Experimentation with bleaching, blotches of paint in denim jeans, cotton shirts bags and jackets. Earth tones like terracotta and ochre.

Once again below I share my favourite shots from the runway collection:

Watercolour effect seems like a Japanese painting.

I covet these.

Sharp suit. Love the ‘wabi sabi’ effect on the material.

Lovely tailoring. And the only pair of chunky slippers that actually look good.

All that I can say is.

Doesn’t look like much until you see the close-ups:

The belt and bag appear to be in soft leather, texture on the trousers look interesting.

Bag held nonchalantly on model’s hand makes me want to know it better.

Love the fact that this lightweight coat is round collar.

I love shiny shiny herringbone shorts in ochre. Not sure why.

photo credits/ full collection on gq.com

KL Marathon 2010: My first 10k experience.

It’s Thursday and the buzz from Sunday’s run has finally worn off. Along with it also leaves all forms of fatigue, aches and joint pains.

Early this year I have decided to challenge myself and resolved to participate in my first run this year, so that I am able to join a marathon a couple of years from now. While the thought of joining the 10k run may seem like peanuts to the initiated, the idea of ME running was quite a novel one. People who have known me personally would probably associate me with activities like eating, sleeping, shopping, drinking, even just sitting around acting all sedentary, but running? Friends, family and even my own self would not expect couch-potato me to run 10 kilometres, and to change this perception was a challenge just as the run itself.

Continue reading…

MFW Favourites: Moncler Gamme Bleu Spring 2011

Bicycle motif on woven tie.

Usually when Men’s Fashion Week arrives, all I am waiting for are the action happening off the runway, i.e  snapshots of the attendees on blogs like the Sartorialist, Face Hunter, Jak & Jil and the like. This year however, I have been paying unusually more attention to the runway itself. The outcome was as expected, I still ended up liking the collections by designers that I already like, and conversely didn’t pay too much attention to designers whose clothes I have less affinity for. There are a few surprises along the way, though, as I discover new designers, add unexpected designers to my favourites and drop out some former favourites who don’t seem to leave an impression anymore.

One instance of a new discovery is Moncler Gamme Bleu. Although the name of this French sports label appears faintly in my memory, I didn’t know of Thom Browne’s involvement in a collaboration line until recently. This year’s collection (it’s their 3rd year) is bicycle-themed and was held in Milan’s Vigorelli Velodrome.

A sporty shade of grey featured heavily in this collection, accented with pink tops with a base of the all-American shades of red, white and blue. Clothes were Thom Browne tailoring translated into an outdoor setting, with double breasted jackets paired together with nylon jackets, arm bands and cycling gloves. Bicycle prints were liberally used on the capes that inflate in the wind (for those who love a little drama), cycling tights and woven ties (for the more subtle guys).

Here are my favourite shots:

Continue reading…

New Detroit: Kyle Hall

It is hard for me to say whether Malaysians, clubbers to be specific, still listen to house music. I seldom go clubbing nowadays, and honestly have not stepped into a club that played house music in years. Some friends might say techno, trance and house have gone out of fashion but I am no judge to the statement. I am not one who dances to house music, and some of it may be repetitive and vacuous, but I enjoy having house music in the background.

Recently, Gilles Peterson (where else?) did a podcast with budding Detroit producer and DJ, 18- year old Kyle Hall. Yes, you heard right, EIGHTEEN. He first got into electronic music at the age of eleven. Hailing from a city that was, and probably still plays a major part in defining house music, he was exposed to house music since a tender age. It was Detroit’s musical legends themselves like Mike Huckaby who mentored, trained and taught him the tricks of the music trade. His productions have been garnering worldwide attention since last year, particularly remix of Darkstar’s “Aidy’s Girl is a Computer”, already has a couple of EPs and releases under his belt AND has his own record label, Wild Oats.

Continue reading…

Menswear Field Report KL: Debenhams vs M&S

I haven’t been doing much shopping lately (with my time and money spent elsewhere), but the summer months have started in the northern hemisphere and with that springs many new collections around the shops. For my first observational report, I thought of making a head to head comparison of these two British high street brands who have also made a home in KL. Debenhams have come, gone and then come back some more, but this time in a new location in Lot 10. There are Marks & Spencers (M&S) in KL, but the one I visited recently was the one in the Gardens, Mid Valley.

Continue reading…

Hokkien Mee at Mun Wah (Dewan Bahasa)

So how was it?

Generous with their strips of pork. Seldom do I come across hokkien mee that is served with so much meat. Lean meat, for that matter, that is neither hard nor dry, but tender. Weight watchers may rejoice

Continue reading…