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Motormouth From Ipoh

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

DURIAN-ized @ Sri Karak Restaurant, Section 52, PJ

Man, Ipoh is HOT !!!! In every sense of the word. The weather is scorching, the STILL-chaotic and volatile political fiesta still threatening to throw the citizens into lunacy, etc etc .....


Notice the 8TV's Ho Chak's endorsement? Gotta be good, no?

I'm a sucker for anything with durian in it. Be it Durian Cendol from Melaka, Durian pancake from Seri Petaling, Durian Ice-cream with Ais Kacang (or, the other way round, most probably) from Kek Seng, Penang Road, Tempoyak with or even the REAL DEAL, fleshy & thorny raw form. The title given, the undisputed "King of Fruits" well-deserving for a fruit that's not only versatile for desserts and savoury snacks, but the infinite potential of harm the thorny exterior can impose to others ... Muahahaha .... Makes Tear Gas sounds wimpy now, eh? =P

Durian Egg Tart @ RM1.60
I somewhat stumbled upon this outlet in Petaling Jaya's Section 52, an area I've never even been to previously. Yeah, makes one wonder is PJ really that HUGE of an area, exceeding 52 sections?!!! Geez. I'll just clasp my hands and pray for a GPS. C'mon now ..... -_-

Durian Bomb @ RM1.80
Sri Karak Restaurant originates from Yik Kei Restaurant in Karak town in Pahang. The HALAL restaurant serves mostly Chinese dishes, from their famous steamed fish (including patin with tempoyak!), as well as Freshwater Prawns Noodles (Sang Har Meen).
But of course, that's not their main pulling factor, nor the reason for our patronage. We were there for their tempting durian desserts, previously covered by 8TV's Ho Chak programme, and then some.

Durian Pancake @ RM6.50
The egg tart was rather cheap, at RM1.60 per piece, with pastry that doesn't crumble, but more to cookie-like, ala John King's style. But lacking in pungent durian aroma and flavour, I found it rather mild. My vote goes to John King's version, no doubt.
The Durian Bomb is actually durian flesh enveloped by crispy pastry skin, much akin to a Yam Puff (Wu Kok), but on the smaller scale. All the pastries are prepared freshly everyday, and no leftovers are being sold on the next day.

Durian Cendol @ RM6.00
The Durian Pancake's not on the menu, so you gotta ask if they're preparing them. One layer of durian ice-cream, one layer of sponge cake, and another with durian flesh, the pancake skin was thin, and highly advised to let the pancake warmed to room temperature first before consuming, so that the ice-cream layer will thaw slightly before one gets brain freeze.
The Durian Cendol has way more ingredients than Jonker 88's, with Gula Melaka syrup served at the side. A wise choice, as not many would prefer their cendol to be extra sweet. The bowl of colourful concoction resembled Ais Kacang more than Cendol though. The Durian Ice-cream served atop was creamy, but lacking the punch somehow. Maybe I'm used to stronger Durian flavour in my desserts.
Location : SRI KARAK RESTAURANT @ No 17, Jalan 52/8, Section 52, Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Tel No : 603-7958 3240.

25 comments:

Rebecca Saw said...

ohh my god! what a gem of a place! the durian pancakes sounds heavenly!!! *scribbling the address down* I must I want and I will hv a piece!

Shell (貝殼) said...

i tried this restaurant before, the durian bomb is too oily for me~

Anonymous said...

wonder where they get those durianzz throughout the yr... or mayb they wil only open for business during durian season?? haha.. juz curious to know... :)

yeah.. MisSioN completed... ^_^ relief~~ :)

~Christine~Leng said...

i wanna check Ipoh out! Have to ask Citygal, Jason and you to bring us around dy... haha

Anonymous said...

Where on earth is Section 52? I have lived in PJ before but never been to this area before leh...

Fortunately we have trusty floggers like you to discover new places and share your adventures, hoo hoo. :)

Food Paradise said...

wow.... durian....should note down on my list. Next time when I go to KL should try it out.

J2Kfm said...

thenomadGourmand : haha ... go go ... but in the end, I think the Sumptuous Desserts at The Gardens serve better Durian Pancakes. though pricier.

Shell : that day was not oily, but rather soft. should've requested for reheating.

KCA : maybe they get the stock during the season, then freeze the flesh and re-use throughout? never bothered to ask though.

Christine : hahaha, you're more than welcomed! means if I go Glasgow, you can be tour guide ah? =P

Life for Beginners : it's somewhere near Bangunan persekutuan, Jln Barat there.

Food Paradise : think more and more outlets, be it Malay or Chinese food, are cashing in on the durian as ingredient for cooking.

Precious Pea said...

So hot weather still feasting on durian ar??? Looks yummy though especially the fried version. Yumzz..now you making me crave for durian.

Anonymous said...

If i'm not mistaken, usually during the durian season, they will harvest as many as they can...open up the durians and freeze them nicely in the freezer. That way, they can use it through out the year without compromising it's taste...It is also a good way to transport durian by packing freezed durian into small tupperwares, wrapping them with newspapers and you don't need to worry abt durian making your car smelly...

Selba said...

Jakarta has been cloudy and rainy for quite some times... maybe almost 2 months... just this morning the sun is shining a bit but looks like it still shy to come out...

The durian cendol looks so yummy!

J2Kfm said...

Precious Pea : yeahloh. KL not as hot as Ipoh I felt. but quickly drank lots water and the cendol 'should' be cooling, no?

mboy : oh ... thanks for the explanation. all this based on your exp in your working town eh? :)

Selba : cloudy's good! not rainy lah ...

Alex Yap said...

Motormouth

I've been to this restaurant. I tried their otak-otak fishball noodle while my wife ordered the chicken porridge with salted fish. We also ordered some fried squids. The food was so-so only. Then we tried the durian bomb and durian tart, which were seriously lacking of the WOW factor. Maybe the dessert was not sweet enough to my taste. I didn't really feel like eating dessert at all. I mean desserts are supposed to make you feel sinful right? *blinks*

Overall, not recommended for this restaurant.

I used to be Ho-Chiak stalker in the sense that I will scout for the restaurant after Ho-Chiak recommend it. After few times cheated by Ho-Chiak. I no longer trust them.

Mummy In Vain said...

wow, so special! i like it! If there are someone to send me the dessert, how nice would it be!!! hehe.....kidding lar :)

iamthewitch said...

Wow.. durians galore indeed! I bet durian lovers would LOVE this place! Sadly I'm not one of them. Great pictures though!

Ciki said...

how come i never saw all these exciting places huh.. also... can you not blog so fast or not.. i cannot keep up with you la.. lol :P (kidding.. luv reading ur posts)

-j- said...

omg this place would be heaven for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

choi yen said...

I want to go this place!!! The cendol & the pancake make me drooling!!!!

J2Kfm said...

Alex Yap : yup, i'll have to agree that the desserts lack that oomph, as i like mine sinful with strong durian taste, during and after the meal. probably it all lies in the ingredients?

Mummy In Vain : erm, doubtful anyone would dare to think of sending durian desserts by post. hahaha ...

iamthewitch : oh youre not a durian lover ah? hehehe... wasted lah!

CUmi & Ciki : LOL. ok ok, today's a break from blogging. happy? :)

Duckie : oh, so you're one like me, drooling at prospect of eating everything durian eh?

mimid3vils : drool away ... but seriously, the durian desserts lacking that pungent, strong durian aroma ...

backStreetGluttons said...

Somehow this place never took off , in spite of its impeccable pedigree.
This sometimes happen to an ancient name trapped in 'new' town ! proving yet again people go to appreciate a "place"(Karak) not the food

worldwindows said...

I am for all things durian. But not for the milder version mentioned. Maybe they are using Thai Chanee or Monthong. Easy to control quality an supply?

J2Kfm said...

backstreetgluttons : so I assume the REAL DEAL in Karak is really good?

worldwindows : seriously, I dunno my durians much. :) other than separating those watery kind, creamy kind, bitter type, and ultra sweet flesh type. hahaha ...

Anonymous said...

Yummy... ^_^

Lingzie said...

wah!!! that durian bomb looks like da bomb!! lol durian pancake looks sinfully good too.
die... really craving for durian now!

Anonymous said...

Uhh... that's... a lot of durian. But where's Jalan Barat? I never heard of Section 52 too.

Anonymous said...

I've tried their durian pancake, durian bomb and durian tart, honestly it is at moderate level only.