Brasaria @ Jaya One

Peruvian Charcoal Chicken

There are certainly plenty of roast chicken around here but few leaves a lasting impression. A recent invite landed at Brasaria, a Peruvian inspired Pollo A La Brasa joint flagging spit roasted chicken marinated with Peruvian flavours. Located at Jaya One, Brasaria aims to bring delicious taste of Peruvian dishes to our shore.

We like the restaurant the moment we walked in. Greeted by a llama piñata at the entrance, Brasaria’s bright interior exudes a ray of fun and casual dining. Long tables with stools, a glimpse of the bar and kitchen, there’s also a few small tables set alfresco.

Open since February this year, Brasaria claims to serve fresh, never-frozen chooks. Their secret to a yummy bird is their special Peruvian marinade which they marinated overnight and slow roast it to golden juicy chickens. They get their supplies from halal-certified suppliers.

We also managed to peek into their kitchen where rows of glorious whole birds were slowly roasted over charcoal and wood chips. The aroma is divine in the kitchen!

The menu is relatively tight and sufficient, featuring signature spit-fire roast chicken with a list of side dishes as well as a small list of additional dishes like pasta, sandwich and pie.

We opted for the El Jefe “The Boss” (RM45.90 ala carte | RM60.90 set). A whole bird served on wood plank. One can opt for a la carte just for the bird or go for the set that comes with large green salad and two large Sides of your choice. There’s also other sets for quarter or half chicken too for small parties.

The chook was delicious! Lots of flavours through the spices with myriad flavours of robustness of savory, sweet, sour and spicy. The meat was tender and moist. Finished with sprinkling of fresh coriander and fresh lime wedges, the bird is also served with their special house made sauces. Not that it needed any sauces but the sauces was also super yummy.

There are 3 sauces now at Brasaria ranging from mild to hot and a BBQ one of Aji Mild, Aji Hot and BBQ Peruano. The fourth sauce is an extra hot one that is work in progress but we got to try it. The sauces are very good and my favorite was the Aji Hot for its punchy heat and flavours. Drool worthy sauces that would go well with other sides too!

There’s a nice list of assorted sides to go with the chicken. Brasaria Rice (RM5), fluffy yellow rice studded with raisins, makes a solid filler with the chicken.

Latin Trio (RM5), a trio of grilled sweet potato, plantain and pineapple, was our favorite side of the lot. It was so good, we had another order of this smoky and yummy side. The pineapple was particularly yummy with the char grilled and sweet note.

We also enjoyed the Grilled Vegetables (RM5). Soft and chargrilled eggplant, zucchini, peppers and more, beautifully spiced up with moreish flavours that sings well with the chook and other sides.

An unusual one, Elote (RM5) looked so good at sight and tasted yummy too. Sweet corn, chargrilled and smothered with Aji sauce, chili powder and cheese makes good snacking. Love the smoky, sweet crunchy corn with punchy heat and cheese…

Fries must be the most universal snack since it also makes an appearance here in Salchipapas (RM5). Nothing fancy but French Fries and frankfurters are nevertheless all-time crown pullers. These goes so well with the sauces.

Besides roast chicken, Brasaria offers a few dishes such as the El Sanguche “The Sandwich” (RM14.90). Loaded with soft hand pulled chicken, crisp greens, salsa and house Aji sauce, El Sanguche is hearty and easy to enjoy. It’s the sauce and salsa that makes this sandwich very tasty.

Pasta lovers can opt for the El Tallarines “Spaghetti Pesto” (RM14.90). Strands of spaghetti coated with a robust pesto sauce, served with generous chicken chunks and finished with fresh coriander and cheese. Power pack with flavours, we definitely enjoyed this pasta as it’s full of cheesy and nutty notes.

There’s nothing like Brasaria’s Agua Fresca (RM5) of the day, which was Watermelon, to freshen up the palate after all that yummy food.

Brasaria is one of the better rotisserie places I have been. Diners can expect robust and hearty flavours of Peruvian cuisine set in a no frill ambiance. Price is reasonable and food is definitely something one can enjoy often. I am looking forward to going back to try their El Pollo Pie “The Chicken Pie” which was not available that day!

BRASARIA

D-59-G, Block D, Jaya One,

46200 Petaling Jaya

Tel: +60 3-7627 4626

Website: www.brasaria.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/brasaria.my

Hours: 12noon to 9.30pm Daily

Recipe: Ayam Percik with Phillips All-In-One Pressure Cooker

Preserving Tradition with Modern Innovation

Not a stranger to Philips products, my kitchen has always been filled with reliable Philips kitchen appliances. I have had the honors of using Philips Pressure Cooker a few years ago and has always been pleased how it helps in shaving off hours of cooking time, yet yielding lots of delicious comfort dishes.

The latest Philips All-in-One Pressure Cooker incorporates the functions of slow cook, pressure cook and multi cook all in one machine. The intelligent cooking system offers various cooking functions all neatly pack into this sleek design electrical pot. Thanks to innovation and technology, the new Philips All-in-One Pressure Cooker is one kitchen appliance that churns out one pot wonders with much ease.

Thanks to Philips Malaysia, I am super thrilled to test out the Philips All-in-One Pressure Cooker with a recipe from Chef Marina Mustafa. Having attended her cooking workshop here previously, I know how easy it is to use the pressure cooker. With more added functions now, one can now whip up dishes with pressure cooking function as well as non-pressure cooking function. This means, you can saute, slow cook, steam, bake, reheat, warm up and more with just this pot.

Assured and built with safety as priority, the Philips All-in-One Pressure Cooker has an auto pressure release device plus 9x safety protection systems for extra safety measures. It is not only easy to use with simple click instructions, the digital panel also lets you know exactly the timing and status of the cooking. It is also easy to maintain and clean up with minimal hassle.

The Philips All-in-One Pressure Cooker comes with 6 liter aluminum alloy inner pot, rice spoon, soup ladle, measuring cup, steaming plate and recipe booklet.

The recipe booklet is filled with lots of easy to follow recipes. One can whip up curries, stews, risotto, pasta, soups, cakes and even make your own homemade yoghurt!

Let’s cook! I tried a recipe from Chef Marina Mustafa and true enough, making Ayam Percik was so easy that even novice cooks can do it. Most of the ingredients literally goes into the pressure cooker all at once and leave the rest of the cooking to Philips All-in-One Pressure Cooker.

The Ayam Percik turned out so delicious and tasty. I even had time to settle other chores while whipping up this dish. The chicken was tender while the percik sauce was piquant and full of yummy spice notes with a creamy touch. The slow cook function on high temperature allows the percik sauce to really cook down to a thick and rich sauce before I added in the chicken. After that, it was only 15 minutes of pressure cooking to make the chicken tender and married it with the tangy and spicy percik sauce.

My family enjoyed the Ayam Percik a lot with lemang that evening. With the festive Raya, it’s a dish that one can easily whipped up for the festive parties…

I cannot wait to experience more dishes with my new Philips All-in-One Pressure Cooker, especially the yoghurt and lasagna recipe!

The Philips All-in-One Pressure Cooker HD2137 VIVA Collection retailed price at RM799. For more information on the Philips All-in-One Pressure Cooker, visit their website: www.philips.com.my or Facebook: www.facebook.com/PhilipsHomeLiving.my

AYAM PERCIK

From One-Pot Wonders by Chef Marina Mustafa & Sara Khong using Philips

Ingredients

3           Chicken Thighs

½ cup    Chili Paste

1 cup    Coconut Milk

½ cup    Palm Sugar (grated or crushed)

1 cup    Tamarind (2 tbsp tamarind paste, mixed with 1 cup water and sieved)

2 tsp     Salt

½ cup    Cilantro (chopped)

Blended Ingredients

2 large  Onion

1 inch    Ginger

5 cloves Garlic

3 stalks Lemongrass

2 inch    Galangal

1 inch    Tumeric Root

Method

Put all the blended paste, chili paste, coconut milk, cooking oil, palm sugar, tamarind and salt into the inner pot of the Philips All-In-One Pressure Cooker.

Mix all the ingredients together until well combined.

Close the lid and turn the valve on the top of the lid towards the SEAL position.

Press SLOW COOK HIGH TEMP and then press COOKING TIME ‘-‘ four times to reduce the cooking time to 2 hours.

Press START.

After 2 hours, when the Percik sauce is ready, open the lid and add in chicken thighs into the pot and smother the chicken with the sauce.

Close the lid and turn the valve on the top of the lid towards the SEAL position.

Press PRESSURE COOK till setting reads MEAT/POULTRY to cook the chicken for 15 minutes.

Press START.

When 15 minutes is done, release the pressure by turning the valve towards the right most towards VENT for steam release.

Once the steam is all release, open the lid and sprinkle cilantro over the Ayam Percik and serve with your choice of rice, bread or lemang.

Chir Chir Fusion Chicken Factory @ Pavilion Kuala Lumpur

Chimaek Perfection!

More “Chimaek” eateries are flooding our shores and one of the better ones is Chir Chir Fusion Chicken Factory located in Pavilion Elite. Ever since it’s opening, foodies have been flocking over to the largest Chimaek restaurant in South Korea with over 100 outlets across the country, China, Taiwan, Indonesia and Singapore.

Pronounced “Chi-ruh Chi-ruh”, Chir Chir derives its name from the tantalizing sounds of bubbling oil when the chicken is placed in the deep-fryer. It’s also a sound that denotes a good indication of a lip-smacking crispy fried chicken.

The term Chimaek, combination of “chi” for chicken and “maek” for beer, only really took off on our shores after the Korean drama My Love From The Star became a worldwide hit series. True enough, I did learn of Chimaek through that movie though fried chicken and beer has long been a big hit on their own everywhere else.

What makes Chir Chir one of the leading Chimaek in South Korea is that this fusion restaurant prides themselves for their signature freshly cooked chicken dishes that are fried only upon order; it’s not pre-fried and neither is it frozen! Each dish is paired with proprietary sauces and marinade from Seoul to ensure consistent quality and flavours in all of Chir Chir outlets.

The first outlet in Malaysia, Chir Chir in Pavilion has a modern and eclectic ambiance that denotes casual dining. Aiming for industrial design meets Korean chic, there’s plenty of chicken and beer knick-knacks everywhere to remind you of its signatures.

The menu is made for easy ordering with plenty of pictures of the dishes as well as the beverages. Solid with plenty of choices besides just fried chicken, Chir Chir even offers roasted versions as well as other Korean dishes to please diners of all ages.

First up, drinks made headline with Passion Yellow Tok! Tok! (RM24.90 non alcoholic | RM32.90 alcoholic). Served at table side, the infusion is fizzed right before your eyes with a soda charger. We certainly enjoyed the fruity tang of the passion fruit, even without the soju.

The Aqua Double Smoothie (RM32.90 with Soju) was even better. We couldn’t resist ordering the Soju version added to the slushy ice blended mango puree topped with tropical fruit slush and finished with plenty of whipped cream. There also the virgin version as well as other flavours like Raspberry and Mojito. We also enjoyed the Lady Killer (RM32.90), a whole beer gets tipped into a slush of citrus ice blend. Refreshing and very enjoyable way to a lady’s heart!

Chir Cream Beer (RM24.90 – 350ml | RM34.90 – 650ml) is simply a must! Beer topped with a crowning glory of whipped cream served chilled certainly goes so well with fried chicken and all the other Korean dishes. The trickiest part of this is trying to drink the beer without getting whipped cream all over your mouth or nose… but then again, that could be a cute one for a photo opt!

Our first dish up of Topokki & Cheese (RM15.90) had me falling cheesy in love with the dish. Korean rice cake, soft and lightly chewy is gloriously smothered in a pool of lightly bubbling pale cheese sauce. The thick and luscious cheese sauce is stringy and very delicious. It’s not overpowering with cheese but rather a right balance of cheesy goodness that one can enjoy a lot with the rice cakes. Let’s call this the Korean mac and cheese that all cheese lovers will love.

It was a big debate when it came to ordering the salad but Honey Grape Salad (RM29.90) won our votes. My photo didn’t do justice to the size of this salad cos it feeds at least 3 people. Served in a large wooden bowl, it was full of chilled crunchy green grapes, walnuts, almonds, raisins, pine nuts and finished with a scoop of housemade ricotta cheese and whipped cream with lemon and tortilla toast. Mixing it all up, the salad was superb. One of the best fruit salad I have ever had. A must order when you’re at Chir Chir!!

When the plate of Crispy Fried Chicken & Spicy Fried Chicken (RM49.90 + RM7) arrived, I was practically salivating at sight. We opted to top up RM7 to change half portion of Fried Chicken to Spicy Fried Chicken so we get best of both flavours.

Chir Chir thinks of everything, downright to this little contraption of a mini tong that one can use to pick up their chicken without getting your fingers dirty… to cute for words but I can understand if the Koreans prefer to enjoy their chicken the dainty way. Me, I just go straight for the fried chicken with my fingers to enjoy my finger-licking moment…

Biting into the Crispy Fried Chicken, the crunch factor was literally music to my ears. It was super crispy and yet the flesh was tender and so juicy. Well-seasoned, the fried chicken was perfect. Being used to the fried chicken from fast food places, I honestly never knew how fresh and not frozen fried chicken can make such a difference. It’s definitely harder now to go back to those fast food chains after savoring Chir Chir’s Crispy Fried Chicken.

The Spicy Fried Chicken is also yummy with a solid kick of heat from the lightly sweet and very spicy sauce coating the fried chicken. What I also like was the fact that they sprinkled almond flakes on this one which added a lovely nutty and more crunch factor. The fried chicken comes with a side of honey mustard sauce and a fruit salsa.

For my next round, I am already planning to order their Garlicky Chicken that has their signature fried chicken with special soy sauce and crunchy garlic flakes… drools at the thought of this…

Just when I didn’t think any other chicken could top their Crispy Fried Chicken, the Spicy BBQ Roasted Chicken (RM62.90) had me at Hello!! If that fried chicken was superb, this was sublime. The texture of the roasted chicken is amazingly firm yet tender. I opted for a breast piece and it was soft and smooth, unlike most where the meat tends to be fairly tough as it is very lean. It was also very juicy, making the chicken utterly delicious.

What makes this chicken so darn yummy is also the heat factor and flavour from the sauce. The sticky and lightly sweet sauce is robust and full of luscious heat. There is also a bold smoky note that smelled so tempting from the moment the hotplate of chicken was placed on our table. I also like the fact that they added pieces of Korean rice cake that was baked together with the chicken. The baked rice cake had such a wonderful chewy factor. The whole plate comes with baked egg, baked potato with sour cream and fruit salsa. Can’t take heat? There’s also a baked version of Rosemary Chicken. I am so going back to Chir Chir for the spicy one…

We couldn’t resist ordering the Honey Butter Chicken (RM56.90). One of the hottest flavours in Korea, they now practically flavour everything with honey butter nowadays. This one features boneless chicken chunks that is lightly battered and fried to golden crispy chicken, tossed in Chir Chir’s honey butter sauce and seasoning, served with a side of creamy honey mayo garlic sauce. There is also battered rice cakes, potato wedges, dried cranberries and almond flakes. It’s lightly sweet and buttery with a sandy texture but I really enjoyed it together with the rest of the accompaniments. Another dish worth trying if you never had honey butter flavour before.

This one goes exceptionally well with the Chir Cream Beer…

Pasta fans will enjoy Chir Chir Mi Chir (RM62.90). Oven roasted Cajun fried chicken tenders is buried under a pile of pasta dressed in creamy cheesy sauce and covered with more mozzarella cheese. This one is a tad too heavy for my palate but it would make a very filling meal for two at least.

There’s more than just chicken at Chir Chir. Spicy Seafood Soup (RM54.90) offers a piquant seafood broth loaded with squid, prawn, mussels, crayfish, vegetables and Korean sweet potato noodles. The broth is a little spicy with lots of seafood oomph while the seafood is fresh and cooked well. Makes a nice change if you’re looking for more than just chicken.

The Spicy Topokki (RM29.90) is decent but nothing to shout about compared to all the other dishes. The thick sweet and spicy classic topokki sauce with chewy rice cakes, soft fishcakes, crispy Cajun fried squid and deep fried hard-boiled egg is one of Korean’s popular street food. The version here is faultless but didn’t impress us as much as their chicken dishes.

There’s one dish that I haven’t seen in our Korean restaurants here and it’s a dish with chicken feet. Cheese Fire Chicken Feet (RM34.90) has chicken feet coated with a fiery spicy sauce paired with a pool of melted cheese sauce, boiled egg and seaweed rice balls. The chicken feet is not as soft so there is a good bite to this. The cheese sauce does tone down the heat on the chicken feet and the seaweed rice ball is very tasty.

Chir Chir Fusion Chicken Factory has really nailed their chicken dishes to near perfectness. Prices are on the higher end but that’s justifiable for the quality and portion they served. All of their dishes we tried is larger in portion than a lot of places and feeds at least 2 to 3 people. Go for their chicken dishes because they do those really well and their drinks are very good too. Now I am wishing for more Chir Chir outlets to open nearer to me so I can get my fix of fried chicken more often.

CHIR CHIR FUSION CHICKEN FACTORY

Pavilion Elite Kuala Lumpur,

168, Jalan Raja Chulan,

Bukit Bintang,

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: +60 3-2110 4867

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pg/ChirChirMY

Instagram: www.instagram.com/chirchirmy