A Li Yaa Restaurant & Bar

Pick of Jaffna flavours

February 10, 2020

IT’S been 2 years since the first Jaffna Food Festival to commemorate its 10^th anniversary and A Li Yaa is planning the second Jaffna Food Festival – Culinary Journey to Yalpanam (the original name for Jaffna).

To be held over three days from February 17 to 19, the festival menu promises to be as tantalising as the first.The first was such a success that customers kept asking if there’s another one, says its marketing manager Janaka Ranjana, adding that “again, there will a spread of over 50 dishes, with new items we want to introduce to our customers”.

Executive chef Siva Suppaiya is feeling upbeat and excited. He and guest chef Dr. Parvathy Kanthasamy have been putting their heads together to create the new dishes. 

Dr Parvathy using the batu giling to make Mint Sambal and introducing the new dishes for the festival

Originally from Yalpanam, Parvathy is a linguistc professor who now resides in Canada but visits her restaurateur son regularly in Kuala Lumpur. In fact, she is the brains behind the kitchen at A Li Yaa, so you can expect family favourites liberally punctuating the menu.

Mint Sambal, prepared using the batu giling

I watch as she demonstrates making Mint Sambal the old fashioned way, with a batu giling. Though she's been cooking since she was a young girl, Parvathy's not a stickler for going by the book. “I love experimenting and I do incorporate new ingredients into old recipes such as rosemary, thyme, mint and coriander which are not traditional Sri Lankan ingredients,” she says, throwing a bunch of chopped mint and peeled garlic on the batu giling.

Beetroot Varai

She then makes Beetroot Varai, sauteeing julienned beets and sliced onions with spices and curry leaves. The end result? A refreshing side salad dish with all the health benefits of beetroot.

Aracha Kulambo, mild curry using swordfish

These and Aracha Kulambo, a mildly tangy swordfish curry, are new items for the event. The fish curry is excellent with string hoppers.

Gottu Kolla is a healthy, refreshing side salad using pennyworth as the main ingredient

I try Gottu Kolla, a salad made with shredded vallarai (pennyworth) and grated coconut. It is both nutritional and refreshing with a minty flavour. Finely chopped shallot, green chilli and a dash of lime juice add another level to the taste.

Jaffna Eggplant Sambal

Oh, I just love the Jaffna-style Eggplant Sambal! The thin slivers of eggplant are deepfried and tossed with caramelised onion, chilli, tomato and curry leaves. Perfect on its own with a swig of beer or a sip of wine.

Fish Cutlets are bursting with aroma and flavour

Fish cutlets are served piping hot, with the exterior deepfried to a crisp and a golden hue. Be careful of escaping steam when you take the first bite. Forget the chilli dip provided. The flaked fish filling, with onion and chilli, is flavoursome and spicy enough to stand on its own.  

A Li Yaa offers rice, roti, appam, puttu and string hoppers to go with the curries.String hoppers are great with mutton paal poriyal, which is slow cooked in a well-balanced combination of spices. Tender and scrumptious.

Have roti with Fish Sothi, cooked in coconut milk with lemongrass, garlic, shallots and curry leaves.

That’s not all you will find on the table for the Jaffna Festival.  Vegetarian options are on the list too and I’m looking forward to Jaffna Crab Curry, cooked in a sauce as exciting as it is dark and guaranteed to be finger licking good. Janaka says there will be both Sri Lankan Mud Crab and Blue Swimmer Crab on the buffet spread. 

A Li Yaa's Sweet Appam is a customer favourite

I’ll be saving tummy space for Sweet Appam as dessert. A Li Yaa’s sweet appam has a fluffy, moist heart from the generous lashing of coconut cream in the centre. The edges are perfectly crisp and the centre is dotted with sprinkles of brown sugar. 

As I fold the soft centre over the crisp edge and pop it into the mouth with a sigh of satisfaction, Parvarthy watches me with a hint of amusement. “We usually peel off a bit of the crisp edge and use it to scoop up the soft centre,” she says.   

phoenixbee@gmail.com

ALIYAA RESTAURANT (pork-free)

48 Jalan Medan Setia 2

Bukit Damansara,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Telephone

+6012-444 1310

Opening Hours

Daily. Noon to 11pm

Promotion

Jaffna Food Festival - Culinary Journey to Yalpanam

February 17-19

Lunch: Noon-2.30pm

Dinner: 6pm-8pm and 8.30pm to 10.30pm

Price

RM148++ per person 

COCO STEAMBOAT

Hot and steamy

December 9, 2019

The sound of cymbals and drums signalled the start for a pair of lions to shower their blessings on the brand new Coco Steamboat Restaurant in The Scott Garden, Old Klang Road. The two lions, gold and black, drew much attention as they pranced around the restaurant and at its entrance.

Coco Steamboat is not new to folks in the Klang Valley as it first opened 15 years ago. Apart from a previous outlet in Old Klang Road, there are two other branches in Cheras – Taman Bukit Hijau and Sungai Long.

Restaurateur Mr Wong said he hopes the new outlet will offer customers a bigger and better dining experience. Indeed, at 2,100 sq metres, the new restaurant is spacious and can cater to up to 600 people in groups of 4, 6 or 10.

Amanda Wong

More used to round steamboat pots, I am amused to find the pots here are square in shape. Wong’s daughter and business development manager, Amanda, says they feel this shape more suitable, especially if customers who want two soup choices. It is also to accommodate the powerful suction system that draws smells downwards. This way, customers won’t go home with the smell of cooking clinging to their clothes.

Square steamboat pot with the signature Yeye's Pork Bone Broth

While little if any culinary skill is required to cook your own food in a steamboat, the key to a delicious meal lies simmering in the stock and Coco offers a choice of 5 soup stocks. The signature is Yeye’s Pork Bone Broth (RM34.90). I love how there is evaporated milk added to give it a boost of creaminess. It seems that this broth is made from an old recipe handed down the generations in the Wong family.  

The others are Cordycep Flower Chicken Soup With Fish Maw (RM46.90), Tomato Soup (RM27.90), a hot Mala Soup (29.90) and the latest premium Black Truffle Broth (RM49.90), made with shaved black truffles.

Pork Set also has beancurd, sweet corn, mushrooms and vegetables

As for the ingredients, there are a la carte choices listed under meat, seafood, dumplings, balls, tofu and vegetables as well as set platters of pork, beef or seafood. At the sneak preview, we are served Pork Bone Broth with the Pork Set, a platter of Chinese cabbage, bok choy, sweet corn on the cob, thinly sliced pork, pork kidney, deepfried beancurd, brown shimeji mushroom as well as preboiled pork stomach and belly pork. The soup is delicious, well flavoured and smooth with collagen goodness. This is the kind of stock that will jellify beautifully if kept in the fridge.  

Cold Tofu and Popo's Prawn Ball

Pork dumplings

Ling Long Tofu

We also had a la carte items such as sliced fish, Popo’s squid ball, Popo’s prawn ball, shimeji mushroom, Ling Ling tofu, cold tofu and deepfried tofu.

What really brings the ingredients together is the stock and the Pork Bone Broth lives up to its reputation.

On a side table, there are freshly cut fruit and ingredients such as peanut paste, sesame paste, chilli and scallions. For RM5 per person, customers can combine the various items to make their own dip. 

Fragrant deepfried chicken wings

Fried Prawn Beancurd Rolls

Popo's Deepfried Dumplings

But it’s not all about steamboat at Coco. While waiting for the soup to boil, we nibble on appetisers (from RM8.90): Crispy vinegar black fungus, fried dumplings, fried shrimp paste sliced pork, fried prawn curd rolls and fried chicken wings.

As for drinks, we sip on Coco’s Signature Sugar Cane (RM11.90). This is not the regular fresh sugar cane but rather, it is a boiled combination of ingredients to help the body “cool” down. 

As steamboat is a popular cuisine style for Chinese New Year, head over to Coco Steamboat for yummy hot pot goodness. Do note that the chain is closed for three days (January 24-26) and reopens for business on January 27.

phoenixbee@gmail.com

COCO STEAMBOAT (non-halal)

Lot 1-1-A The Scott Garden

289 Old Klang Road

Kuala Lumpur

Telephone

+6019-277 6596

Opening Hours

Daily: 11.20am to 2.3pm, 5.30pm to 11.30pm

Closed alternate Mondays

Closed for CNY from January 24-26