Nepali Underground Supperclub @ Bandar Sunway

A Sumptuous Nepali Feast by the Sherchans

Ever since I have had my first taste of Nepalese cuisine at Restaurant Nepal a few years ago, I have indeed have a penchant to savor the cuisine again. Unfortunately, since Restaurant Nepal closed down, I have been missing the cuisine dearly.

Mentioned Nepalese cuisine and the first thing that comes to mind is momos. Yes, I am talking about little dumplings with juicy filling, served with Nepali chili sauce. Whether it’s steamed, boiled or fried, I’ll take it whatever I can get my hands on because they are so yummy. There are more to Nepalese cuisine than just momos and one thing’s for sure, the cuisine is never short on flavours.

When the famous Fatboybakes aka Cheng Yi extended an invite to a Nepalese Underground Supperclub, I was over the moon. Finally, a place to savor Nepalese cuisine and a home cook one too! Hosted in the supperclub owners’ home, we were also pleased at the comfort of their home. It was spacious and bright. Dining there that day was indeed pleasurable as well as memorable.

We were just lucky to be able to savor The Sherchans' homecooking. Both were warm and wonderful too with their humble hospitality. While Mrs. Sherchan does most of the cooking, Mr. Sherchan has some mean dishes under his repertoire too. We were lucky to be able to sample a variety of their signature dishes that will be available in their supperclub menu.

Starting out, appetizers and salad first. Sadeko Badam, a spicy peanut salad that combines yummy ingredients such as cucumber, tomatoes, red onions, chili, peanuts and herbs. Lots of textural components, giving the dish a vibrant bite of fresh and nutty flavours with hints of heat.

Pyazi, crispy onion fritters, are quite addictive. Sweet slivers of onions fluffed in crispy spiced batter and fried to deliciousness. It’s so good, I wish there was more…

Momos, who can forget these dumplings, not me for sure. The Sherchans makes Pork Momos. I can’t ask for anything better. Their momos were near perfection for me. Thin skin beautifully pleated, encasing juicy and tasty pork filling. Steamed till just right and served with a spicy sauce, these Pork Momos are bombs of flavours. If they would sell these, I would gladly drive to their house to buy these yummy momos.

That spicy sauce was made from Dalle Khursani, round cherry chili bombs of Nepal. Since I love a good kick of heat, I even boldly savor this chili with my rice. I love my chilies from all over the world…

Pickled Potatoes or Alu Ko Achar was lovely for me. Well I am be a bit biased since I love potatoes and sourish flavour. The potatoes are soft and creamy, beautifully spiced with a perky tang. Because its quite tangy, it does makes the dish easy to enjoy although potatoes can be heavy.

At first I thought it was an anchovy dish and then after mixing it up, there were lots of bittergourd in the Karela Ko Achar. The bittergourd was cooked till soft and has robust bitter spice flavours that worked well with the crunchy salty anchovies and bitey red onions.

Mr. Sherchan was in charge of the Gurkha BBQ and both pork and chicken wings turned out to be a crowd pleaser. Both meats were well-seasoned and chargrilled with nice caramelized edges. Served with that awesome spicy sauce again, this is one BBQ that I wouldn’t mind eating again. The pork was tender and flavourful with bits of fat that gave the meat some moist and extra flavours. The chicken wings was decent as I prefer the pork more.

And then Mr. Sherchan whipped out the bowl of Gurkha Pork Curry. I swear that everyone was salivating at the sight of this bowl of pork curry. It’s his recipe and he cooked it a lot while working abroad. The curry is dry and boasted of aromatic spices cleverly harmonious together. The color is also enticing. The pork is not overly soft and has a good bite. The control of heat and spice is just right here. Kudos to Mr. Sherchan…

Thakali Thali set is very popular in Nepalese cuisine. Served on brass plates and bowls, it’s basically a full meal on its own with rice, meat or fish curries, daal, vegetables and pickles. Since they haven’t gotten their brass Thali serving ware yet, we had ours on regular plates. Since then, I heard that they have gotten their brass Thali sets now so you lucky diners are going to enjoy the Thakali set on the beautiful brass ware.

The Sherchans really go all out. Look at the lovely platter of colors! I am hungry just looking at this Thali again.

Kukhura Ko Masu is Mrs. Sherchan’s chicken curry. Unlike our creamy version, this one doesn’t have any coconut or cream in it but uses a myriad of spices to make up the flavours of the curry. Despite the lack of cream or coconut, I do find the curry very enjoyable. It has delicate spice flavours of cumin, fennel, chilies and other aromatics in the sauce and the chicken is tender and tasty.

What I really enjoyed was the Machha Ko Jhol or Nepalese fish curry. The gorgeous tang and moreish flavours of mustard shined with the fish. There is such robust notes of umami flavours with the tender siakap as I kept lashing the gravy onto my rice happily.

Daal, something Nepalese eat a lot, is also unique. It doesn’t taste like our Indian daal but has nuttier notes and spices with the creamy lentils. I also enjoyed this daal a lot with the curries and rice.

Other yummies on the Thali are Alu Ghobi, Sabji, Mula Ko Achar and a special Plum Pickle that Mrs. Sherchan’s mother-in-law makes. That Plum Pickle is superb. I hope she won’t run out of that anytime soon because that pickle is so good with rice.

Alu Ghobi, potato and cauliflowers are also nice cooked with spices. Tender cauliflowers with creamy soft potatoes with green peas goes well with the rest of the dishes and rice. The Sabji of sautéed greens balance up all the other proteins while the Mula Ko Achar, a spiced radish pickle is quite tasty and unique.

Mrs. Sherchan also makes a superb chunky Tomato Achar so you’ll never know what you might get for your supperclub.

Dessert was something simple, homemade yoghurt with almonds. This is so refreshing, creamy and milky. Every spoonful was luscious with bits of nutty notes that made the yoghurt even better. More of this yummy dessert Dahi please…

I must say, this is definitely a lovely Nepalese supperclub not to be missed. It’s cooking from the heart and the Sherchans did a delicious job with their dishes. For now, its RM70 per pax for 3 starters, a Thakali Thali Set and a dessert. Should you have any allergies or preference, do let them know. The menu for the supperclub can be customized as well to include additional dishes.

Reservations are required few days in advance with a minimum of 6 diners and a maximum of 12 diners.

For more information and reservations, contact Cheng Yi at 012-3240988 or John Sonam at 012-4152512.

Eat withlocals.com: Dining Nyonya with Eric!

Experience a Malaysian Home Cook Meal through Withlocals.com!

I love to travel and can never get enough of visiting the world and what it has to offer. It is such a blessing to be able to travel and see other countries’ geography, culture, people, food and more. Though most of the time we can see the sights and places, I think it’s through people and food that speaks out louder to me that gives out the best travel experiences. I feel lucky to be born during this era as traveling is now so much easier and accessible compared to before. With the WWW on our fingertips, travelling is definitely made easier with all the information we can obtain and research.

With this said I came across Withlocals.com, a website that offers so much to travelers who wishes to travel on their own and yet experience local experiences on their own without a local tour guide. Withlocal.com not only offers travelers an insight to a country but also provide sustainable income for locals who wish to share their knowledge, skills and talent to everyone on the country they called home.

It is basically a networking platform that brings both sides who share common interest together from all over the world. Currently, Withlocals.com is now offering many activities in Asia under the categories of Eat Withlocals, Tours Withlocals and Activities Withlocals. Each category features dining, sightseeing and other local activities respectively. Right now, there are tours of pasar malam, city tours, mountain trekking, jungle trekking, cooking classes, photography sessions, festival photo tours, local home dining and many more activities.

I don’t know about you but if I happen to travel, I would love to visit the home of a local to experience a home cook dining meal. It would certainly be an eye opener as this is as real as it gets. With that said, I had the opportunity to join the Eat Withlocals for a local Nyonya dining experience with Eric available here.

I happen to love Nyonya cuisine and while scrolling through the website, I spotted Eric K. and his offer for authentic home cooked Nyonya dining experience. The site shows photos and sample food photos of what Eric’s signatures are with location and pricing, so once you made up your mind, simply contact Eric for the arrangement. If you have something you cannot take or do not prefer, no worries, Eric can personalize the meal for you.

Click on the Contact Eric button to start your Eat Withlocals experience! Booking is also very easy and payment can be made through Paypal.

Each experience is truly unique and Eric takes up to four guests each time. I grabbed some foodies with me and we confirmed our bookings for one evening. Once the booking is confirmed and payment is finalized, Eric and Withlocals.com will send you the full address of the dining location. I happen to like surprises so I left the menu to Eric.

We arrived at Eric’s house without any difficulties. Immediately, Eric and his wife with his little one welcomes us to their home. The experience is casual and I like it because it makes me feel right at home. Eric and his wife chatted with us briefly and showed us their home. He has a beautiful kitchen where he and his wife also held cooking classes. A man of many talents, Eric loves to cook and he does a lot of food recipes testing too. He offers cooking classes upon request.

Eric and his wife have whipped up a lovely spread of Nyonya dishes that evening for us. Our drinks are Chilled Lemongrass Drink homemade by the couple. It’s very light and thoroughly refreshing with subtle hints of lemongrass. It’s perfect with the heavy flavors of Nyonya cuisine.  

A soup is essential in every Chinese household and so it is the same with a Nyonya one as well. Eric made us a very unique soup from a plant named Du Jiao Si Mao. I am not familiar with the English name of the plant and so I refrain from butchering the information of this plant. It shares a similarity with the more common spring onion but this one has a bigger bulb beneath the plant and is naturally colored purplish pink while the flavor is heavier. Eric was kind enough to show us the actual plant.

The soup is lightly tinged with a hue of pale pinkness. The Du Jian Si Mao Soup tasted oniony and sweet. Apparently it has good medicinal benefits and many elders used to boil this plant bulb in soups. With the modern generation, this is almost lost unless the information is handed down from an elder.

This is what makes dining local truly beautiful. I love to learn something new as such information can only sometimes be obtained when you learn from a local!

The appetizer of the evening is one of my favorite dishes in the Nyonya community. Pie Tie takes effort and skills to be made and even then, every household has its own recipe. Eric made his Pie Tie shell from scratch and is beautifully thin and golden.

We spooned in the sautéed jicama and vegetables into the crispy cups and add on a dollop of homemade chili sauce. Such juicy and sweet with crispy crunch… the Pie Tie is delicious! I lost count of how many I had that evening…

Main dishes that evening were Nyonya Curry Chicken, Nyonya Style Steamed Fish and Nyonya Chap Chai to be served with rice.

The Nyonya Curry Chicken is lovely and well balanced with all the spices. Nicely creamy and medium spicy, the chicken is braised till tender and absorbed the curry flavors well. Chunks of soft potatoes meld well with the curry chicken. I can taste hints of kaffir leaves in the curry as well as the aroma.

What I love the most that evening was the Nyonya Style Steamed Fish! Eric used Jade Perch with his own sauce. The sour and spicy Nyonya thick gravy is gorgeous and makes a lethal combination with rice. The fish is sweet and soft while the gravy is robust and flavorful. Lady fingers and tomatoes added texture and richness to the dish. I practically spooned the gravy straight into my mouth as it was so addictive and tantalizing. I can taste the lemongrass among the spices and I also enjoyed how sour and spicy the gravy is.

For greens, we had Nyonya Chap Chai. My mom makes a similar dish but with heavier flavor notes. Eric’s version is decent and has the usual combination of cabbage, cauliflower, wood ear, carrot, mushrooms, vermicelli noodles and chives.

Dessert for the night is Pumpkin Onde Onde, little balls of pumpkin with glutinous rice encasing bits of Gula Melaka, steamed and rolled with fresh coconut. The little balls are nicely soft and lightly chewy. I would have loved a little more filling to get the richness of the Gula Melaka. Still, it’s a decent well-made kuih that completes the evening with much sweetness.

We lost track of time while dining there. Soon it was time to head home and we bid our farewell to Eric and his family for hosting us that evening. Dining at Eric’s left us a lovely experience as we felt very comfortable and at ease from the moment we step in till we left.

It’s thanks to Withlocals.com for this truly unique dining experience that brought us and Eric together. There is just so much on Withlocals.com and they are expanding through Asia so we can now really explorer Asia like a local!

 I can’t wait to try Withlocals.com in other Asia countries like Thailand, Vietnam, Nepal and more…

For more information on Withlocals.com, do check out their website: www.withlocals.com or Facebook: www.facebook.com/WithLocals

Chyuan’s Tiffin Underground Supper Club, Sri Petaling: A Priceless Thai and Nyonya Supper Club!

Chyuan’s Tiffin Underground Supper Club Rocks!

Call it what you Iike, underground supper club, closed door restaurant, guestaurant, it is basically a dining establishment run from one’s home. It’s fairly new here in our country but supper clubs have been storming the food scenes in other countries like Europe, America and even Hong Kong. I have pure admiration for the people who run underground supper clubs. To run supper club, one has to basically cook and serve to a small group of diners in the privacy of his or her home. Diners pay a fee and sometimes may even dine with unknown guests at the same dining experience. While there are quite a few here that is gaining popularity, we heard of a new one blooming in Sri Petaling.

One evening, we head over to Chyuan’s Tiffin Underground Supper Club to meet up with brothers-in-crime, Eddy and Raymond and his wife, Muk. The three owners are the passionate cooks behind Chyuan’s Tiffin Underground Supper Club run in the vicinity of their home.

We were thoroughly excited about this dining experience. The moment we walked into Chyuan’s, we immediately felt comfortable as Eddy and his team were so welcoming and friendly. Conversations launched like we were all old friends. While Eddy is the outgoing one, Raymond and Muk were shy and more reserved. The three of them were seen scurrying around to prepare out dinner that evening.

Their home is really very beautifully decorated. Eddy and Raymond have a Baba Nyonya heritage while Muk is from Thai. The three of them designed their home filled with influences from both culture.

The kitchen stole the limelight. Designed with an island in the middle of the kitchen, the kitchen has that back-to-basic look. Although it is small, the kitchen is neat and well-spaced with minimal kitchen items. There is a wet kitchen where all the cooking is done beside this dry one.

The dining room shares a space in the living room area. I love the old wooden cabinet filled with knick knacks from the past. Tables, chairs, mirror and other décor stuff are also a blast from the past. The living room is simple but bold. I really love the red entertainment cabinet that sits at the tv wall. Soft Shanghai 30s and 40s music softly pipes in the backdrop, providing more nostalgia moments.

It’s like being transported back in time to those days when I was so much younger living in my parent’s home.

While we waited for other guests, we do what we do best. Our lens zeroed in on the food.

Chyuan’s Tiffin Underground Supper Club has a self-serve concept for bigger groups while small groups of four or less will enjoy a sit-down dinner menu. Eddy and his team offer different dishes each time to showcase all their repertoire of Nyonya and Thai cuisine. If you have some specific dishes you like, you may also want to check with Eddy while making your reservations. We let Eddy have his creativity when it came to our menu that evening.

For appetizers, we had a Thai Fruit Salad and Fried Chicken with Lime Leaves & Lemongrass. Served in miniature cups and plates, the appetizers make great small snacks.

The Thai Fruit Salad was fresh and bursting with juiciness from the lightly spicy and tangy dressing, something a little similar to our rojak but with Thai influences.

The Fried Chicken with Lime Leaves & Lemongrass is very fragrant from all the herbs used. It’s very tasty and the herbs are all fried to a crisp where we could also enjoy them.

Moving on to main highlights of the night, our menu consisted of a Salted Fish Tofu, Raw Prawn with Thai Pesto Sauce, Stir Fry Petai with Prawns, Herb Steamed Fish and Thai Sardine Laksa.

Our mouths were literally drooling already when we first saw the spread. Though many of us were a bit hesitant when it came to the Raw Prawn with Thai Pesto Sauce, after a first taste, this dish became the star of the night! Fresh chilled raw prawns are nicely presented on a bowl and serve with a kick-ass Thai green pesto sauce. That sauce rocks!! Made from herbs and Thai bird eye chilies, a little of it goes a long way.

The raw prawns had a light firm bouncy texture and the spicy sourish pesto sauce compliments the light sweetness of the prawns very well. I loved the Thai pesto sauce so much, I spooned it on almost everything I ate that night. It has the perfect balance of sour, sweet and savory coupled with a high level of spiciness that makes your senses go wow… I think we polished off Eddy’s large stash of sauce that night.

Long fingers of Salted Fish Paste Tofu is fried to golden brown and served with a bowl of pinkish Cincalok Sauce. An interesting combination with salted fish and fermented dried shrimps.  The tofu has a firm texture. It’s very flavorful from the salted fish and tends to be a bit more salty with the sauce. I did the unthinkable thing and soak this in the sardine laksa gravy… yum…

Everyone obviously enjoy petai and so the Stir Fried Petai with Prawns was a much welcome dish. Instead of the usual heavy spicy chili sauce that goes with petai and prawns, we savored the petai in its original flavor. Though it is often called the stink bean, when you eat it, it has a unique flavor so you’ll either love it or hate it.

When the Herb Steam Fish came out, the room was scented with a fragrant herb aroma. A large red tilapia sat snuggly on banana leaves in a bamboo steamer stuffed with bits of herb paste. Eddy showed us how to savor the dish. Best enjoyed piping hot, simply take a lettuce leaf and top it with a chunk of the fish. Add on the fresh herbs like mint, coriander, daum kesom and a generous dollop of the Thai pesto sauce and its ready to be enjoyed.

We loved it. It’s fresh and sweet with a nice spiciness. The lettuce provided a lovely crunch texture to the soft sweet flesh while the herbs added body and aroma. I lost count of how lettuce cups I ate… all I know is that it was super scrumptious.

The main course with carb that night was the Thai Sardine Laksa. A basket of thin white noodles boiled and laid nicely coiled for easy pick up. A claypot filled with luscious spicy thick laksa gravy made with sardines. Combine these and add on herbs of coriander, mint and daun kesom for more oomph.

My bowl of Thai Sardine Laksa had awesome flavors of sourness with savory and spicy notes. The gravy of Sardine Laksa is robust and very appetizing. It seems to attract my sense of taste, luring it with comfort and satisfaction. Of course, I added on the Thai pesto sauce again for extra heat.

It is indeed a very satisfying bowl of laksa! My second bowl, I had the Salted Fish Paste Tofu soaked in it and it taste pretty darn good too…

Eddy confessed to his passion in making desserts. He made all the 3 desserts we had that night.

A lovely white Coconut Cake is filled with green peas paste and coconut flesh. Though the cake sponge is a little dense, the flavors are sweet and delicious. I just couldn’t resist and had two slices because I love the coconut taste in the cake paired up with a creamy green pea paste filling.

The Santan Marshmallow Pudding won everyone’s vote with its utterly soft and cloud like texture. A clever use of coconut milk as it made the marshmallow creamy and dreamy without the heaviness. Covered in fresh shredded coconut, this dessert was polished off in a jiffy.

Little packets of Steam Banana Cake with Coconut Milk are decent too. It has a kueh texture. The banana flavor is further enhanced by the coconut milk with fresh grated coconut.

We literally polished the whole lot of dishes between the eight of us that night happily. New friends made, new dishes tried, new found loves… that is what makes Chyuan’s Tiffin Underground Supper Club a fabulous dining experience.

Towards the end of the evening, most of us were still lingering there as we all happily chatted like old friends, sharing food experience and taste, interrogating Eddy and team for their creations… especially for that awesome Thai pesto sauce. This is one of the best supper clubs I have had. It’s the personal touch from Eddy, Raymond and Muk that really sums up the whole dining supper club.

I heard Eddy telling us he makes a mean Roasted Pork with Pickled Leeks… can’t wait to come back for that alone!

To enjoy Chyuan’s Tiffin Underground Supper Club at Sri Petaling, make your reservations with Eddy:

Phone: 012 917 6268

Email: chyuan.tiffin@gmail.com

Facebook: fb.com/pages/Chyuans-Tiffin-Underground-Supper-Club

 *Full address to be revealed upon confirmation

**More photos available at my Facebook: Chasing Food Dreams