Coliseum Café - Longest Operating Western Colonial-Themed Restaurant

The Coliseum Café Kuala Lumpur has clinched the Malaysia Book of Records award for the ‘Longest Operating Western Colonial-Themed Restaurant’, having been in business since 1921.

Coliseum Café has been operating in the same premises at 98-100, Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman for the past 92 years. During the British Colonial rule of then Malaya, the restaurant and its 10-room hotel were popular amongst the British Government servants, army personnel, tin-miners, planters and their families, besides travellers passing through Kuala Lumpur.

Post-Malaya era and in today’s 21st century setting, the restaurant continues to be a popular destination amongst locals and travelers.  Nothing much has changed within its old-fashion, colonial setting;  tables are set with side plates, napkins and cutlery on white tablecloths with attentive waiters on standby, ready to serve diners various mouth-watering signature dishes representative of its Western Colonial Hainanese Cuisine

Assistant Manager Chris Wang Meng Yang, who has been with the Coliseum for 38 years, informed “the ambiance of both the restaurant and bar has hardly changed although improvements have been carried out in the kitchen and backroom areas so as to continue to deliver guests’ dining comfort and satisfaction.

“People enjoy the unique dishes, particularly the sizzling steaks and the chicken chops, concocted by the old Hainanese chefs who learnt the traditional English dishes from the Colonial masters and ‘memsahibs’.

“Over the years, the chefs added their personal touches, herbs and spices.  Today, the menu has a good selection of 90 different food choices which is synonymous of our 1 Malaysia heritage,” added Mr Wang.

Sometime last year, the Malaysia Book of Records recognized Captain Ho Seng Fong, formerly a captain with the restaurant, as being the longest serving employee in Malaysia.   Captain Ho had worked some 50 years  with the historic icon before retiring at the age of 91-years-old due  to age and health reasons.

“The Coliseum brand is destined to grow beyond this humble restaurant and all of us are most excited with all these recent improvements and opportunities.  Soon to open would be the Petaling Jaya restaurant located at Plaza@Jaya 33, early next month.

“We look forward to great times ahead and for sure, this historic icon can withstand the competition of various international brands and some local ones too, and possibly become a strong Malaysian brand in international circles,” concluded Mr Wang.

Aaron Craze: Rude Boy Cooks’ Tour - Malaysia

Recently the Asian Food Channel kicked off its third edition of Culinary Masterpieces In Malaysia With the ‘Aaron Craze: Rude Boy Cooks’ Tour, and frigglive’s Veronica Ng got up close and personal with Aaron, through a series of engaging culinary and dining experiences at the BERJAYA University College of Hospitality. Aaron dazzled attendees with an array of robust dishes specially created for this tour, while entertaining with stories of his hard-knock life and rise to stardom.

Famed Protégé of Jamie Oliver, Aaron Craze showcased his culinary talents and whipped up an array of delicious street eats for the first time in Malaysia, as part of the Aaron Craze: Rude Boy Cooks Tour

The witty and charming ‘bad boy’ stars in  his  own  hit  programme  ‘Rude  Boy  Food’  which  airs  exclusively  on  the  Asian  Food Channel (Astro, Channel 703) every Thursday  at 11.00pm. 

Born into a family of West London criminals, Aaron seemed destined to walk down the path of personal destruction, dropping out of school at the young age of 15, only to take on a succession of low-paid jobs, including working in a factory and as a gardener in Mortlake cemetery.

Aaron received his first big break when his wife, Nicci, signed him up to participate in reality programme “Jamie’s Chef”, filmed at a east London restaurant opened by world renowned  Celebrity  Chef  Jamie  Oliver.  The restaurant  was set up under  his foundation named  “Fifteen”,  and  used  as  grounds  for  his  social  experiment. 

Jamie Oliver and his brigade of mentor chefs help to train disadvantaged kids and young adults to develop their culinary skills.  Aaron graduated from “Fifteen” with flying colors, and as a reward, was named as Oliver’s natural successor. He was awarded £120,000 to establish a business and the license to a pub worth £500,000.

Beneath his tattooed and tough demeanor, Aaron Craze is passionate about street food and is a strong believer in using fresh herbs to enhance the flavor of dishes.   In his first cooking show, Rude Boy Food, he explores street food around the world and replicates the dishes with his own unique twists, reflecting the multi-culturalism of his upbringing in West London. Not satisfied with just a cooking show, he wrote and launched his debut cookery book, Aaron Cooks Italian, in June 2008.

Fun and sociable by nature, Aaron whips up delicious savory and sweet dishes that he fondly names “easy handheld grub”! Whether he is cooking a themed menu for his friend’s hen night, or preparing food for an out of this world house party, you can  be  sure  that  his  dishes  will  be  urban,  ingenious  and  of course tantalizing! Gear up for a wild time while Aaron breaks all conventional cooking rules and get fired up over his delicious food.

Burger & Ribs - Review

Burger & Ribs,

17 Jalan 14/22, Section 14,

The Right Angle, Petaling Jaya.

Tel: 012-211 3322

Business hours: open for dinner 6.00pm to 10.00pm.

Closed on Tuesdays. Non-halal.

Burger & Ribs is all about straight talking and straight shooting. Its stark setting of white walls, cement flooring and self-

service merely serve to highlight their specialty – pork done well.

Its founder and resident chef Leslie Chan once worked at Tony Roma's in Hawaii, while his wife Joyce Chuah was an air stewardess. Their young children, a boy and a girl, are extremely well behaved given the confines of being in the outlet while their parents work.

Upon returning to Malaysia, they discovered a lack of good pork rib outlets and decided to venture into business for themselves, serving food that they personally enjoy and ensure that everything they make is made with high-quality ingredients.

This hard working couple has a passion for grilled ribs, and it shows in their food and unique concept where their burgers are served on a piece of waxed paper in a custom-made cardboard tray that customers can take home and re-use for their next visit. This of course encouraged us to dig in with our fingers.

They believe in going green so they offer a RM1 rebate when you bring back the tray. They have a recycle bin for discarded cardboard trays and plastic bottles, and allow retirees to collect the items to sell to recycling centers.

On to the food. Burgers and Ribs serves imported Spanish Iberico pork, although a non-Iberico pork burger is available. Other tasty options include a BBQ chicken burger (RM12.90) a vegetarian falafel (RM11.90), the Hawaiian Pork Burger, Beef and Pork Burger (RM19.90) and Memphis BBQ Pulled Pork Burger (RM20.90).

The hand-made burger patty is a marriage of pork and Australian beef topped with an egg. Instead of a patty, the chicken burger is served with a whole piece of boneless drumstick while the vegetarian burger has a crispy falafel patty. Their buns are specially commissioned to their own specs.

The star of the menu is undoubtedly the BBQ Iberico Loin Ribs (RM89.90 for a full slab and RM59.90 for a half-slab). The meat is marinated overnight and there is a 20 minute waiting time for the ribs to be grilled to perfection, resulting in moist, juicy meaty heaven.

Diners who prefer more bite to their meal can go for the Original BBQ Pork Ribs (RM52.90 for a full slab or RM32.90 for half-slab), and there is also the very tender Spanish BBQ Baby Back Ribs option.

While the prices may seem a little steep at first look, you soon realize that you’re getting value for money when you’re chomping on the juicy and tender Spanish pork. We’re all for Malaysia Boleh, but truth be told our local pork variety pales in comparison to the world famous Iberico with its dark and light meat categories. The owners allow BYO for wines, so don’t be afraid to lug a bottle of your fav vino to complete your dining experience.  

AFC Premieres A One-Hour Special Original Production Featuring Japanese Celebrity Chef Sho Naganuma today

images courtesy of AFC

  

Today at 10.00pm, The Asian Food Channel (AFC) will premiere  its  newest  addition  to  the  One  Night  Series.  Foodies in Malaysia can catch Japanese chef Sho Naganuma  as he takes on the challenge of cooking seven prestigious dinners over the course of seven days in  this  exciting  AFC  Original  Production.  The programme, ‘One Night in Langkawi - Sho Naganuma’, will air nationwide in Malaysia on Astro, Channel 703.

The one-hour episode, filmed in collaboration with BMW Malaysia, is set against  the  backdrop  of  the  beautiful  Four  Seasons  Resort  Langkawi.  In  such  a  luxurious setting,  Chef  Sho Naganuma,  is tasked  to cook  seven  grand  beachfront  dinners  over seven days for the launch of BMW’s latest 7 series car.

After years of working in world-class kitchens, and holding the role of Executive Chef at Hide Yamamato restaurant, an exclusive multi-concept restaurant situated at the luxurious Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, Chef Sho is used to working under  pressure.  However,  with  VIP  and  honorable  guests  flying  to  Langkawi  to  taste  his signature creations, he knows that there is no room for error. Before embarking on the journey, he even takes a trip back home to Japan to seek advice and inspiration from his mentor and world-renowned chef, Hide Yamamoto.

Chef Sho Naganuma’s love for food blossomed at a young age. He took his first step into the kitchen  at  the  tender  age  of six with  his  father ,  who  taught  him  how  to  prepare  traditional Japanese dishes. It was this experience that made a lasting impression on him and helped to spark an interest which eventually became a life-long passion.

‘One Night in Langkawi  - Sho Naganuma’  is the second  AFC Original  Production  to star this talented chef.   Chef Sho first saw his television  career come to life when he starred in Great Dinners  of  the  World,  which  featured  him  and  three  other  highly  talented  Asian  chefs  from Malaysia on their travels in France and Scotland where they cooked for influential  guests and even the royalty.

The One Night Series, filmed by AFC, documents  celebrity  chefs who are at the top of their game, challenging themselves to cook world-class dinners for Asia’s elite. Don’t forget to catch the  premiere  of  ‘One  Night  in  Langkawi  -  Sho  Naganuma’,  exclusively  on  the  Asian  Food Channel, today at 10.00pm on Astro, Channel 703.