when HOMST is like HOME

My blog has been abandoned for quite sometime. Sorry, I have to focus on some other important writing stuffs that I had promised myself and existing VIPS. I know, I might have no readers reading my blog but as I said in my initial page here, this blog was created not to attract attention. But merely to share my thoughts, my review on things I enjoy doing. So, yes, I hope to get some readers if not thousands, but hey, who am I to complain so much??? ;)

this time, I would like to review here a restaurant, HOMST in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur. It was a normal day for us, until my mother rang and says that my sister wanted to buy us dinner. I thought it's a 'tapau thing' but mother says, that mother who is actually wanted to 'belanja' us for dinner. Open table teeeetttt. It was on the spot plan I guess for mother since my sister was rushing to book for tables. It was HOMST, a restaurant they say that my late father like so much, the restaurant they say serves halal chinese cuisine and the taste, according to them was superb. So hey, why not, people want to spend on us for a dinner at a lavish restaurant (well, at least the name of the restaurant says so..hahaha)

we drove from home and finally reached the venue. Parking was something hideous in the area but fortunate enough, we secured one just as we reached the place. As we enter the premise, it was fully loaded with hungry customers. everybody seems to have this really hungry face and most of them were enjoying their own sweet time feasting on the food galores on their table without worrying so much about standing customers waiting to be seated. my first impression was "this is like typical chinese restaurant".
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The front of the restaurant

It took about 10 minutes for us to get the attention of the waitresses to assist us in getting a table. The outlet was full with patrons and we had to settle outside the premise, a table was set at the sidewalk of the next premise which were already closed. My mother made such a big fuss because the ceiling were obviously the prime area for lizards. We decided to wait and put our orders on hold until we get a place inside. Finally, about nearly an hour of patience, we managed to get a table inside. They made no delay in serving us our orders, drinks were served right from the moment we waited outside and they help us moved the drinks on our table. 

Our  food were served hot , that particular part really satisfies me. Drinks was just as fresh as I expected them to be. I ordered barley, and there was chinese tea, fruits juices, special blend of Ribena lychee and iced tea. And now, comes the food...

Steamed seabass in lemon sauce with assam

My mom ordered steamed seabass. It was called something like 'Siakap masak asam', nyonya style steam fish.   The seabass was a medium size  and fresh. The meat was sweet and juicy. The way they steam the fish makes it special because unlike any other type of steam style cooking, this one was a mixture of soup and assam with a hint of lemon tangy. We requested the fish not to be spicy and they came as it is.  What I like the most was, the dish was bears no fishy smell and does not deliver any 'grassy taste' like what we can routinely found nowadays with this fish menus. We finished it to the bone.....;)

We move on to the next order, which is Chicken Lemon. 

Butter Chicken

I was excited to 'meet' their Butter Chicken. I even sighed when my little brother ordered the item. I thought it's just something like those chicken lemon, fried chicken with lemon sauce on top instead with butter sauce but hey no, it looks like chicken curry. I read this one blog by OneWan (http://oneawesomefood.blogspot.com/2011/12/homst-prima-saujana.html), OneWan blogged about HOMST Saujana Putra Butter Chicken, but not sure whether it's refering to the same menu but I would like to highlight that the writer quote that TTDI's HOMST prepared a better version. Well, I haven't tried Saujana's but yes, this buttered chicken version was something I loved. It's juicy, tender meat, sweet sultry with slight butter taste. And this dish complement another dish that we ordered...

Deep Fried Squid

I even bought this calamari now from Tesco and fry it the same way just because I had this addiction . No comment for this menu since this is a simple one. It could be better of they use the fresh squid, sliced it and formulated their own 'tepung goreng'. I have no problem to imitate this dish at home but it complement to Butter Chicken. So, I guess, this time, thumbs up for the one who ordered this dish and I can't remember who, sorry siblings!...;)

Soft Shell Crab

I know, it's hideous..but hey, don't judge a food by the way it looks and the serving plate presentation. This is Soft Shell Crab. I never like to order any crab at restaurant merely because I hate to pay for something that is so expensive and yet complicated to eat. You need to take the shell off and pound the crab to peel the flesh. And it's so frustrating that by the time you get the flesh, you realized that, you have wasted so much energy pounding the shell. At least for me if it's never happen to you, anyway, this dish was superb. a mix of soft shell crab with salted eggs define a luxury cuisine to me. I mean luxury by how you can savour the crab together with cheap salted eggs and propelled this dish to a higher level. It was fried with obviously curry leaves that added a nice smell, flavor and spice to the dish. We finished it in no time. It's worth a try..

pak choy in soy sauce

Broccoli

Lest forget the greens. We had broccoli and pak choy with soy sauce. Only mother and I enjoyed these two. Others were not keen on vegetable. Their vegetable were fresh, I would not say fresh from the garden but I can say that the chef did chose the best of the bunch. Leaves were fine looking, you can taste the freshness, pak choy was not overdone and still crispy. Soaked in the soy sauce, the bitter taste of green leaves vegetable were finely grated away. The same goes with broccoli. It was cooked with carrot slices, and lots of mashed garlic and hint of ginger. Still oyster sauce is the main actor with this dish as with the pak choy, the chef didn't overcooked the vegetable. Sweet and juicy, I would definitely have this if I should visit HOMST again.

HOMST Crab Meat Soup

And finally, an expensive dish for me that I was hesitate on the necessary to order but succumbed to my little brother's request -----> Shark's Fin soup. I am in a campaign against shark's fin dish. I refrained myself from eating it. I deal with fish daily, not daily, it's exaggerating but I've commit myself to marine conservation and so I have to be firm with my stand. So we ordered something else - Crab Meat soup, instead. When the dish came, still there was a few pieces of shark's fins inside. It's a jelly like thing that resembles soohoon but with fishy smell and when you bite it, it should be tangy and chewable. 

Let's have a little lecture on this. Shark's fin. Looks like this if it's cook solely without any addition of other ingredients. It's meaty but when cooked the texture will be like jelly and have this glassy  physical. Please avoid ordering this item although I know it's tempting. By refraining yourself from consuming shark's fin, you can help to save the lives of many endangered species. 

shark's fin (taken from blog.asiahotels.com)

Sharks are predator. By nature they are the most feared predator besides whales by other sea animals. But, they have another important role in the conservation of marine and also as an indicator of marine biodiversity. Sharks resides at areas that homed a rich diversity of fish. When sharks cannot be seen at their usual habitat, that might indicates a decline in fish numbers in the area. Also, shark plays doctor to sick fish, not by treating them of course but by eating them and help to mitigate spreading of an epidemic in the marine environment. When sharks extinct, this important indicator were lost and scientist, local authorities, and any other parties involved in marine ecosystem conservation lost track of development of the sea life. So, be wise whenever you think you deserve a bowl of shark's fin...

Right, back to my comment of Crab Meat Soup. It was something distinctive. They made it their own. HOMST's Crab Meat Soup. Mixture of black mushroom, tofu slice, crab meat, crushed chicken slice, soohoon, ours have minute amount of shark's fin judging from the taste..all brewed in cocktails of soy sauce, oyster sauce and what ever sauce they put in. Freshness is the most important thing and yes, this soup tastes fresh. The sweet juice of the ingredients blends well and the chef successfully delivered the black mushroom aroma. This was contributed by very thin slice of the mushroom. Rather than the thicker ones, thinner slice shoved away the bland taste of the black mushroom. I like it.

So, if you want to have a try at HOMST, TTDI outlet is something I dare to suggest. They serve fresh food and I hope you will have the same fresh experience as mine..

 TTDI HQ No: 48, Persiaran Zaaba, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, 60000 Kuala Lumpur. Tel : 03-7728 0760. Business Hours :11am - 10:30pm.

Make sure you made an early reservation to avoid waiting like us..it's disappointing and   irritating and can spoil your mood for EATING.....;)