Food4Thot

Room Eighteen, Tropicana City, PJ

2009-11-25T22:55:00.006+08:00

Been neglecting my blog- not intentionally :p has been under the weather and then was rather busy..

But I have to update my blog, no? My back logs are stacking up super fast..hehe

We were darn hungry after watching MJ's movie, CC was sick and requested for some warm, bland food. I could only think of Room 18, we promptly made our way the restaurant. Since it's under Tai Thong Group, I would think that the food should be of acceptable standards...

Room Eighteen reminds me of Canton-i, it serves mainly noodles/ porridge with Hong Kong style roast, dim sums and some ala carte dishes.

CC decision was fast- he had fish congee (RM11.80)

He said it was excellent as the congee warmed his belly and soothe his sniffles. I did try abit, the congee was rather bland. Texture was smooth though.

The rest of us had noodles..

Jem had 3 combination noodles (RM15.80) while I had the Crispy Roast Pork Belly noodles (RM11.80)The noodles were springy, the QQ texture was just right. We all agreed that the roast pork was delicious, the skin was crackling while the meat was solid and nicely layer with bits of fat. Jem said the roast duck and char siew was very average though.

Gary had the suckling pig noodles(RM17.80)

Quite pricey for 4 slices of suckling pig. No, the extra wanton and roasted pork were from his wifey- not in the original combo :p. Though the amount of suckling pig was measly, it was still good. The skin was thin but crunchy. The meat was tender and well marinated, went well with the noodles.

Candy's wantan noodles with prawn wanton (RM11.80)

She said the noodles were too soft- lacking in Q-ness. The prawn wantons were pretty good though- plump prawns with springy texture.

We also ordered some side dishes to share..

The siew mai (RM7.80) was rather popular.

The guys said it was delicious. It was ok for me.

The steamed glutinous rice (RM6.80)

Quite a lot of ingredients in the rice. Rather tasty, the rice was moist, but some parts were rather salty. Uneven distribution of marination?

I rather enjoyed the char leong (RM6.80)

This shot was taken before I poured in the sauce. The crullers were crunchy and warmish, but the chee cheong fun wrap was rather cold. Would have been perfect if it was served warmer.

The Green Onion Pie (RM3.80)

Bad. Dont like. Dont order.

Room Eighteen is located at G-35, Tropicana City Mall, PJ.

Chan Weng Kee, SS2

2009-11-17T21:40:00.005+08:00

Amy was craving for Ho Weng Kee some months back- and we decided to pop over to SS2. But to our surprise, Ho Weng Kee was no longer there, but taken over by another wantan mee shop called Chan Weng Kee.

With her cravings doused, we went somewhere else for lunch instead...

One fine day recently, Amy suggested to try Chan Weng Kee- she was craving for wantan mee. With or without Ho Weng Kee.

The shop was still packed with patrons, a rather good sign that the wantan mee should still be good..

Amy and WF had the wantan mee with char siew and pork wantan..

The wantan noodles were springy and had a firm bite to it. The char siew and wantan was quite nice- the char siew was not melt in mouth though, but chunky, solid ones. Still quite tasty nonetheless. I prefer Ho Weng Kee's sauce base though, something was lacking in Chan Weng Kee's, making it less aromatic.

I had the beef brisket noodles..

The wantan noodles had the same springy consistency, while the beef was tender to the bite. The brisket was ok though I felt that the beef tendon was overcooked- it was sticky and soft, rather that the slightly bouncy texture that I prefer. I find the star anise flavour over powering too, dominating the beef and sauce flavours.

We shared a plate of roast pork and char siew..

For me, the roast pork was better than the char siew, the skin was crackling, the meat was firm yet had the subtle flavours from the spiced marination.

Overall, CWK's noodles were definitely decent, but I still prefer HWK's.

Chan Weng Kee is located at No 32, Jalan SS2/66, Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Betty's Midwest Kitchen, Aman Suria Damansara

2009-11-08T13:58:00.006+08:00

Sometimes, we tend to ignore the eating places nearest to our homes. Since it's always there, no harm trying it 'one day'.

Betty's opened its doors some time back, but somehow, I just didnt make my way there..until recently.

I was there for dinner, and the place was rather packed already.

Luckily for us, there's still 1 table available :)

Some homemade lemonade (RM2.50) to quench the thirst.

Refreshing with a nice balance of sourness and sweetness.

There were quiet a selection of mains- we finally decided on ..

Country fried chicken (RM13)

The chicken was very crunchy, but slightly over fried. The fried chicken was served with a generous amount of mash and lots of mushroom sauce, the combo was creamy smooth. The sauce was rich and thick, the pork bacon bits added some bite to the mash. Dragon girl, who dislikes frozen peas gave her thumbs up for the peas- it was sweet and moist- the 'freezer' taste was not there :)

We decided to have some porky goodness, so we order the Grilled Baby Back Ribs (RM28.50)

There were 2 large slabs of ribs, served on a bed of chips and sides of coleslaw. The ribs was pretty good, marination had seeped into the meat. The meat on the other hand, was tender at some parts but somewhat dry on other parts. I liked the sauce though, it's thick, aromatic and slightly grainy- a blend of BBQ sauce with spices perhaps? There were also another sauce served on the side- had beer in it. I find it ok, I still prefer the BBQ sauce.

Overall the meal was satisfying, I'll be back to try other dishes soon.

Betty's Midwest Kitchen is located at AG40, Jalan PJU 1/43, Aman Suria Damansara, 47301 PJ, Selangor.

Kiat Seng Restaurant, Puchong

2009-11-02T22:09:00.003+08:00

We were supposed to have dinner in KL..but due to some delay, it was late and my dad dont like late dinners.

So a switch of plan and we were at a restaurant nearby.

Since bro and shirley has been here a few times, they did the ordering..

The homemade tau foo with seafood (RM16)

The thick slab of tau foo was at the base of the claypot. The top was filled with seafood and chopped vegetables. The homemade tau foo was quite solid but smooth, the seafood sauce was light- pretty satisfying in a simple way.

The herbal kampung chicken(RM25)

Very tender chicken with light herbal sauce. By now, I noticed that Kiat Seng serves food that's less salty, which I feel is good. The chicken was quite tasty, but the sauce was rather starchy.

The star at Kiat Seng, the house special steamed tilapia (RM26)

The steamed tilipia was topped with generus amount of preserved vegetables (choy poh) and fried shallots. The combo goes well with the steamed fish (slightly oversteamed though), an interesting yet delicious match.

But the winner to me, was the hong xiu pork (RM18)

When I saw the rather garish red, I thought this will not be a nice dish. The redness of the sauce aside, the braised pork was excellent- the fat melts immediately, the meat was fork tender and had absorbed all the marination. A terrific braised pork indeed.

And to balance the high protein diet, we had a plate of fu yu yau mak (RM12)

Fresh, sweet yau mak with fragrant fu yu and bits of chilli padi. Nice.

Kiat Seng Restaurant is located at 19, Jalan Puteri 4/1, Bandar Puteri, 47100, Puchong. Located next to a few seafood restaurants. Kiat Seng also serves quite a number of seafood (crabs) dishes, guess that would be another meal..

Kung Pou frog porridge, Taman OUG

2009-10-28T21:50:00.005+08:00

One of the perks of maintaining a food blog, I'd say, is friends introducing food haunts to me :). And I'm lucky to have many foodies friends, always bringing me to try some yummies frequently.

Few days ago, we planned to cook dinner at my place; supposedly buying some wagyu to grill. And within a few minutes of discussion, Gary & Candy suggested for us to have dinner at Taman OUG instead.

Since I'm ok with anything, I let them do the ordering :).

It's always exciting to anticipate what you'll get for dinner right? hehehe

The wait was short and soon, I was presented with this..

Century egg with pork porridge in claypot.

The porridge was velvety and gooey, the century egg was chunky, giving the porridge a range of texture. The sliced pork was Gary's favourite, he said it's tender and very smooth.

The next claypot came soon after- I cant believe I'm having so many pots of porridge that night...

Took a glimpse and hey...not porridge after all..

It's frogs cooked ala kung pou style. Piping hot and lots of gravy, we're suppose to have it with porridge.

The frog's flesh was springy and had absorbed the flavours from it's ingredients. There's plenty of kung pou sauce for you to mix into the porridge- giving the porridge a spicy kick; and with the very hot temperature from the claypot- we were sweating buckets by the time we finished our first bowl. Unlike the usual kung pou, which has it's sauce cooked till dry and clinging to the meat, the kung pou here is more gravy like- hence we could add as much sauce as we like to enhance the flavour of a plain porridge. Very satisfying I'd say, especially on a rainy day.

Gary- lover of fish, cant help but to order a side of steamed fish head..

He ordered the ginger garlic steamed fish. The fish was fresh, the flesh was firm and sweet. One extra recipe in this steamed fish was the addition of chilli padi in it's steamed sauce (not as garnishing, but steamed with). So, when you take a bite of the fish, you'll first enjoy the freshness of the fish meat...and then the heat from the chilli seeps into your taste buds. And you'll wonder why the fish get spicier with each bite, even though it looks so harmless! :p

The bill was RM51 for these 3 dishes- I'm not sure of the breakdown though.

This is the picture of the stall- I dont have the English name of this stall..

The kung pou frog porridge stall is located at 2, Jalan Hujan Rahmat 2, Taman OUG, KL. It's a corner shop, the same row as Steven's Corner.

Frontera, Jaya One

2009-10-24T11:49:00.007+08:00

A post that should be up long time ago- but the procrastinator in me just refused to budge- until now :D

Andrew suggested for us to meet at Frontera for makan session and also to celebrate Elaine's BD..Since I dont need to crack my head for suggesting a place to eat- I agreed on the suggestion immediately..hehe

Had a variety of stuff to try..

Top shelf guacamole (RM22.95)

Served with nachos, the guacamole dip's actually pretty addictive. Portion's quite small for that price though.

Frontera Nachos Chicken (RM26.95)

Based was crisp, topped with a nice thick layer of melted cheese and chopped chicken. Quite nice.

Taquitos de Pollo (RM19.95)

Served piping hot, this was a popular dish. The tortillas were extremely crunchy and very hot; goes wonderfully with the spicy eggplant base dip. But there were only 6-7 cigar sized taquitos- rather costly for the portion I'd say.

Chicken ranch salad (RM18.95)

Familiar tasting and looking- was glad that the greens were fresh, and the fried chicken- tender meat and crunchy batter.

We ordered the beef burrito (and also chicken)- RM22.95

The burrito was quite huge and topped with a nice dose of melted cheese. The filling was generous, I prefer the beef version though as the flavours were stronger :p. LH enjoyed the rice, he said the texture and taste were good.

The BBQ Pineapple Chicken (RM26.95)

This was definitely a miss. The chicken was dry and rather tasteless, the accompanying sides were just average.

The Fajita Platters combo (RM33.95)

Thick slices of beef, chicken, onions and capsicums served on hot skillet. Wrap it with warm tortillas, this was satisfying as the ingredients was fresh. Scrumptious.

Our final dish, Frontera BBQ Beef Ribs (RM49.95)

Extremely fork tender beef, very well marinated and smothered with their very spicy sauce. Well, one bite it's ok, but the more you eat, the spicier it gets. Very tasty nonetheless.

Overall, most hits than misses, well, at least you know there's more than just Chilli's,TGIF and Las Carretas for tex-mex food :)

Frontera Bar & Grill is located at 18-G-2, Block L, Jaya One, No 72A, Jalan Universiti, 46200 PJ.

Durian Layer Cake, Golden Bake

2009-10-14T21:01:00.004+08:00

During a recent department makan session, Diha brought durian layer cake.

When she mentioned it a few days before, all of us had doubts.

What if the cake tasted of artificial flavouring instead?

Well, when we saw the durian layer cake (RM52, 1kg), it does looked plain...

Sorry that I didnt have the picture of the cake before it was cut..my colleagues were way too excited and cut it immediately..before we managed to take a look at it's pristine stage. :p

The durian cake was surprisingly good, much to our delight.

Akin to pandan or yam layer cake, the eggy sponge cake was layered with thick durian paste- not durian flesh type- but the same texture as pandan layer cake. Nonetheless, the durian fragrance and the creamy smoothness was still distinct. Obviously, this cake was a hit among those who enjoys the king of fruits. Have it really chilled- it's like having durian ice cream. Lip smacking :)

Golden Bake is located at 31, Jalan SS2/67, 47300 Petaling Jaya. Tel 03-78766417. You'll need to call 1 day in advance to order this durian layer cake..

Sun Yin Loong, Kota Damansara

2009-10-11T22:32:00.003+08:00

How was your sunday?

Mine was relaxing, started off with late breakfast at Sun Yin Loong with Jane.

And why there?

Jane wanted something close to home (town), and Sun Yin Loong has the ipoh white coffee which was very similar to those she can get back in Ipoh.

I ordered a cuppa for myself..

It was thick and aromatic, every sip was delicious. No wonder Jane's dad approves the coffee here.

The half boiled egg on toast..

Loved how it glistened under the sun light. Too bad the yolk was hidden, would have looked perfect if the yolk peeked out a little :p.

Add dash of pepper, drizzle some soy sauce and break the yolk...

Served on buttered, thick toast (hainanese bread)- the broken yolk was absorbed into the toast almost immediately. Yummy.

I had the pork noodles..

Supposedly from a famous stall in Ipoh Road..guess it didnt live up to the fame? It was very average. The sauce was too sweet, think they overloaded on the MSG.

Jane's char kuay teow fared better..

As per most kopitiam, you need to wait rather long for the CKT.. coz it's usually a popular order. Though the order was quite long, Jane got her's in ok time. Quite a lot of ingredients and had some wok hei. Jane was happy with it, said that it's not too salty and the noodles were thinner and smoother. (she guessed it might be from ipoh too :p)

Sun Yin Loong is located at 2A-1 & 2-1 (GF), Jalan PJU 5/7, PJU 5, Dataran Sunway, Kota Damansara, 47810 Petaling Jaya.

Pasta Zanmai, 1 Utama

2009-10-07T21:36:00.005+08:00

Sunday mornings are quite predictable for me- I'd either sleep in :p/ take a morning swim/go for morning walks or morning movies.

Yes, sometimes it's morning movies with my gal friends :)

And after movies would be lunch- to just goss, or discuss on the movies we just watched.

Seeing Pasta Zanmai was nearby, we decided to pop over. Though the restaurant was rather packed, we got our seats quickly. Ordering took some time, but we finally settled for..

Salmon Sashimi salad (RM18)..

Fresh slices of salmon over a bed of fresh vegetables. Great way to start the meal, I liked the dressing which was sesame based- though rather rich, but aromatic with the salad.

Our pizza with a twist..the Unagi Onsen Pizza (RM28)

Plump unagi chunks arranged to 8 portions, drizzled with teriyaki/ mayo combo and a huge soft boiled yolk in the centre. As funky as it sounds, this matching of ingredients actually works- nothing weird about the flavours which complemented each other nicely. This got our fave votes.

The Ebi Ika Pasta (RM23)..

Some of us liked it, some didnt. Cooked ala aglio olio style, it was spicy with chilli padi. Jun and I thought this fusion was acceptable, in fact, rather tasty. The amount of seafood and mushrooms were rather generous. MC and HL thought it tasted weird though.

The last dish was Chicken Gratin (RM20)

One word.

Horrible.

Though the grilled chicken teriyaki was ok, the gratin was extremely salty, filled with dried breadcrumbs- making this dish very dry too. Ugghh. Dont order this.

Pasta Zanmai is located at G2108, Ground Floor Promenade, 1 Utama, Lebuh Bandar Utama, Bandar Utama Damansara, 47800 PJ.

JM Bariani House, Aman Suria

2009-10-05T21:41:00.005+08:00

JM Bariani House opened it's doors a couple of months back at Aman Suria. And me who's staying nearby took my time..and finally decided to pop over.

I've heard of it's branches elsewhere, but never did try. Famed for it's johor briyani, JM Bariani House has gained quite a number of fans thorughout the years in business. Since it now came so near to me, I should try at least once right? :p hehehe

Popped by for lunch with dragon girl, we ordered the nasi briyani ayam..

Sorry it looked like a mess, the rice was piled on the chicken. The rice was quite tasty- the long grains were quite fragrant and fluffy. Not the best I've had, but definitely acceptable. The chicken was excellent though- extremely tender, very well marinated with the sauces.

I went back the second time soon after, as I wanted to try the briyani gam (only available on wednesday and saturday)- however, I was told that briyani gam was not available during bulan ramadan. :(

We had some taufu bakar for appetizers..

Very mediocre. In fact, slightly dry and coarse.

This time round, we had plain briyani and ordered separate bowls of meat.

The rice tasted the same to me, though WF felt cheated as it does not looked like how it was presented in the menu. Where's the raisins and cashews?

She wanted Ayam Masak Merah

Very thickish gravy, the Ayam Masak Merah was just above average. I cant say it was good as some parts of the chicken was over fried- hence tough to chew on. The sauce was tasty nonetheless- not the typical masak merah sauce, but sorta mixed with rendang flavour.

The daging bariani..

Fork tender, melting yet with pinkish center. The gravy was well balanced with the right sweet, salty and spiciness. Mixed generously with the rice, it's very addictive indeed. Weirdly for me though, this daging bariani left a beef stew aftertaste. Well, not that I'm complaining :p

But my fave would be the Kambing bariani..

Absolutely gamey- I enjoyed the thick gravy full of mutton aroma and flavour. Lip smacking indeed to have it with briyani rice. I liked this better than the beef bariani. The mutton was also fork tender.

The dalca that was served with the rice went unoticed, until Andrew realised it's presence and flooded his briyani with it. :p

Overall, the meat dishes were cooked beautifully, the rice was just an accompaniment (sadly so- especially for a briyani). My only gripe? The gravy was so, so oily! We had to scoop out the layer of oil before we started tucking in.

JM Bariani House, B-G-12, Jalan PJU 1/43, Aman Suria Damansara, Petaling Jaya - 47300. Selangor

Ah Wang Bak Kut Teh, Old Klang Road

2009-10-01T23:40:00.004+08:00

On the way back from my kampung recently, we decided to stop for dinner before returning to our respective homes..

I'm craving for braised pork trotter in vinegar my brother exclaimed. Hmm, I thought females would crave for sour stuff, not males?

Anyways, he already had somewhere in mind, so I just let him drive to where ever we may be going..

We ended at a side off a main road, right next to a flyover.

But looking at the crowd, I'm quite assured that food should be at least, mediocre in taste.

There's no sign board indicating the name of this place, but I soon found out it's Ah Wang BKT. Which I assume we'll at least have a claypot of BKT.

Surprisingly, my brother only ordered the pork trotter vinegar and steamed fish head...

The BKT's just so-so.. the other dishes are better..

I took a look around, one thing's for sure- every table had a plate of steamed fish head.

It was still very early for dinner actually, and since we're still full, we decided to have only 2 dishes. Meat and meat. Freaking carnivores :p

My brother's pork trotter in vinegar(RM8)..

Ah Wang's version was pretty satisfying. It was sour, yet had a wonderful lingering aroma of vinegar. It lacked the fragrance of gula melaka (I dont think they added that), but for a pure black vinegar trotter with sugar- this was a tasty dish. The meat's rather solid, I would have preferred it softer. Leave this dish a tad longer (and cooler) and the vinegar seeps further into the meat which was better.

The steamed fish head (RM21)..

The steamed soong fish head was extremely fresh. Steaming time was perfect, hence the fish flesh was smooth, and the fish fats were meltingly good. The fish belly area was absolutely scrumptious- there was no muddy taste as it was fresh and the fats were so springy yet dissolved quickly when it's in my mouth. Delicious. I liked the fact that the fish was not drowned in ginger paste- I could easily savour the sweetness of the fish which paired nicely with the just sufficient sauce. There's also other sauces to choose from- with soy/ plain steamed / assam.

Ah Wang BKT is located at Batu 4 1/2, Jalan Kelang Lama, KL. If you drive past Pearl Point( on your right, opposite road), drive a further 200- 300 metres and you'll see Ah Wang on your left. Across the road from Ah Wang is a chinese school. I cant recall the school name though.

Simple Peach Crumble recipe

2009-09-28T21:00:00.003+08:00

A simple peach crumble recipe I'll like to share :)

Very easy to bake- preparation just takes 5 minutes and baking takes only 25 mins...

You'll need:

1 canned peach halves (in syrup)

75g plain flour

50g brown sugar

50g ground almond

60g butter (chopped)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder

1. Drain the syrup from the peaches and cut the peaches into medium thick slices. Place the sliced peaches at the base of the baking dish (mine is a 6 inch round dish).

2. Preheat the oven to 190 Celsius.

3. Mix the flour, sugar, almonds and cinnamon powder in a bowl. Rub the butter into the flour mixture with your fingers.

4. Sprinkle the topping over the sliced peaches.

5. Bake for 25 mins (slightly longer if you prefer a crisp top). I had mine hot off the oven with vanilla ice cream :). Serves 2.

Restoran Fu Kua, Taman Megah

2009-09-24T20:38:00.004+08:00

I hated fu kua (bitter gourd) when I was a kid.

My mum would cook bitter gourd soup; the bitter gourd cut in squares (the size of my kiddie palm, mind you!), boiled until its soft and I was forced to drink a whole huge bowl :(

It's very good for you! Mum would say while making sure I finished my portion.

But as I grew much older, I finally learnt to appreciate the finer points of this special gourd...and actually enjoy eating it :)

When my parents were up in PJ recently for a short visit, I suggested Restoran Fu Kua for lunch. You should have seen my mum's face- she was beaming with pride..haha.. or maybe it was my imagination? :p

As the name of the shop suggested, the menu was filled with every thing fu kua- from fu kua soup, stir fry noodles with fu kua, fu kua cooked with all sorts of meat/ seafood/egg/ tau foo and even stir fry fu kua with fu kua (yeah, you read right).

We didnt want to go fu kua overboard, so we had some stir fried fu kua with salted egg..

Thin slices of fu kua was slightly crunchy in texture and the salted egg added some light fragrance to the gourd. Quite tasty.

My must order everytime I'm here.. the fried tau foo with mince meat..

The tau foo was fried to perfection- the skin was crisp and aromatic, the mince meat and sauce complemented the tau foo beautifully. Absolutely scrumptious.

Braised ma yau (threadfin) with bitter gourd..

Other than the slightly over fried ma yau, I enjoyed this dish tremendously. Their bean paste sauce was excellent and goes so well with the bitter gourd and fish. In fact, I've tried their stir fried bitter gourd-bean paste combo with chicken, pork ribs and frogs..all tasted yummy too.

The marmite spareribs was mediocre though..

Could smell the marmite when the dish was served, but could hardly taste it when I took a bite. Luckily the meat was tender.

Wash the meal down with some bitter gourd juice and we are all contented..hehe

Restoran Fu Kua is located at 19, Jalan SS23/15, Taman Megah, 47400, Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Indulge, Tropicana City

2009-09-15T22:04:00.003+08:00

Unexpected events cropped up and I didnt felt like updating my blog..

Felt sort of tired, and needed a breather..

Slightly charged now, so I'd better write :p

We started off with the intention of catching a movie at Tropicana City. Well, it's always not too wise to try doing a impromptu movie session, there were no tickets available :(

Oh well, change of plans led us to Indulge for an early dinner.

Indulge has a cheery setting, filled with bright yellow furnishings to brighten up a mediocre day..

We had soft shell crab salad (RM20) ..

Not my first choice- I ordered foie gras with duck salad (at a very reasonable price)...but was promptly informed that it was an 'old' menu item and is no longer available :(

So BQ asked for this salad instead..

Was pretty good, I like the dressing- honey citrusy mix- goes very well with the greens. The soft shell crabs were crisp and juicy, a not so healthy accompaniment to the salad..

BQ wanted duck, so she got her Duck confit (RM30)

BQ enjoyed this dish, the duck was tender and well marinated, the sides salad of walnut, grapes and tomatoes gave a refreshing contrast to the else rich sauce and meat.

I took the boring choice of crispy skin salmon with mash (RM28)

Quite a generous cut of salmon; the skin was indeed crisp and slightly salted while the flesh was moist with beautiful pinish center. The smooth mash was excellent with the creamy sauce. My only gripe was slightly under cooked vege.

Dapheny who joined us later only wanted dessert, so she had a bread and butter pudding with raisins(RM8)

Compact, thick cut of B&B pudding served with warm custard. Though compact, it was still springy and slightly spongy, soaking in the sauce sufficiently for a delight in every mouthful.

The creame brulee (RM9)

The paper thin layer of caramelised sugar was in good proportion to this very sinful dessert. Velvety in texture, it's thick and extremely eggy- only for those who enjoys a rich version of creame brulee.

Overall a pleasant experience, will pop over to try other stuffs in the future.

Indulge is located at Lot L1.12, Level 1, Tropicana City, PJ.

Happy Beans Cafe, UEP Subang Jaya

2009-09-08T21:15:00.004+08:00

Andrew brought us to Happy Beans when we wanted something sweet for tea time.

There's some interesting stuff here.. can try la

Yes, interesting indeed...

Happy Beans speciality is handmade yu yuan (yam balls) that you can have it served with a few ways..

Andrew ordered the yu yuan special..

His bowl consists of yam balls, sweet potato balls, cubes of yam and pearl balls. Served in piping hot ginger brown sugar soup, it reminds me of eating tong yun and bubur cacar condiments at the same time. The yu yuan has an interesting texture- it's very QQ-bouncy, compact yet does not stick to the teeth. Andrew and WF really enjoyed it.

WF order something cold, it's cincau with her selected condiments..

With yu yuan and a few types of beans. It was served with a small cup of vanilla creamer, but WF who does not enjoy milky stuff did not add it in. I actually thought it tasted pretty good with the milky stuff :p

As for me, I'm not a fan of doughy flour stuff (with no filling :p) so I decided to have their dou hua with beans.

Their version of dou hua (bean curd) was silky smooth with distinct soy bean taste. It was pleasant to eat the non sweeten dou hua with the sweetened beans and slightly ginger spicy soup. The only bean type I didnt like in this was the kidney beans. A tad hard and rather tasteless.

Happy Beans have a range of shaved ice with fruits, which looks much better than those served in KTZ. Shall pop by to try that one day.hehe..

Happy Beans Cafe is located at 46, Jalan USJ 10/1E, 47600 UEP Subang Jaya, Selangor.

Kokopelli Travellers Bistro, PJ

2009-09-01T21:32:00.007+08:00

Somewhere cozy, somewhere central in PJ, somewhere ok for kids...

We decided to meet at Kokopelli, figured that it's not too crowded and good for catching up. Ben came with baby Rei and Aki, such cute and well behaved kids...lucky lucky Ben :).

First, we had to settle the babies tummies- a simple baby pasta(RM5.90) for them. Simple tomato based pasta- maybe a tad sour for Rei..

We started with some chicken rissoles(RM8.90) and fried calamaries (RM12.90)

The chicken rissoles was scrumptious- real crunchy, yet the filling was creamy and substantial. The tomato sambal goes so well with it that we had to ask for more :p

The fried calamaries was quite nice but paled compared to the chicken rissoles. Slightly oily, but good to snack on.

The roast chicken (RM22.90)

The chicken was rather dry and bland. The mash and accompanying sauce was just average.
The moussaka (RM20.90) came piping hot..

Good to share, I think it'll be too rich for one person. The moussaka was laden with loads of cheese, the top was baked till golden brown with a thin crisp layer. The eggplant was sliced too thinly though, we could hardly taste nor feel it.

The lambshank (RM32.90)

Quite a large portion, the lamb shank was tender and had absorbed the marination deep into its meat. The bread was redundant though, the sauce was only sufficient for smothering the mash.

The famed char kuay teow (RM10.90)

For a halal version of CKT, I must say that Kokkopelli's was tasty. Slightly spicy, which was nice actually. Still, it's plainer compared to those non halal CKT with sliced waxed sausages :p

We finished our meal with some of Kokopelli's desserts..

Sago Cream and Sundae.

Both were sadly forgettable.
Was glad to catch up with everyone..and SL, for such a long wait for that meal we owed ya! :p

Kokopelli is located at 6, Jalan Bukit, Section 11/2, PJ. Faces 32 Square.

Zense Restaurant, Bangkok

2009-08-27T21:04:00.007+08:00

I read about Zense from Bangkok Tatler just before I went to Bangkok. It's new, it's hip and sounding rather enticing, I thought we should pop by to check it out. Went over on our last night in Bangkok, we wanted to pamper ourselves with a nice, long relaxing dinner before we leave ;)

Zense is located on the 17th floor of Zen Shopping Centre, right in the heart of the city. When the lift doors opened, we were greeted immediately by it's trendy interior..

It was very spacious, techno music filled the air and we thought we stepped into a club instead.hehe. Quick look around, we saw the inside bar, lots of beds, large beanies seats... and we finally saw some elegant dining area but we were only drawn to have our dinner alfresco. It was a balmy, breezy night..we should be dining alfresco, dont you think?

The alfresco area was wide and spread along the building, with different corners for your choice of dining pleasure- you can choose the cushioned rattan with dining height tables, have dinner in bed, sink into a large beanie cushion with low jap style tables or at the high bar area. Take your pick :)

Zense serves 4 cuisines- Thai, Italian, Japanese and Indian. Hmmm, tough choice but we went for italian since we OD-ed on thai for that many days..haha

We ordered a few stuff to try, since we have been eating the whole day- we were not that hungry :p

Started with fresh bread with lemon butter and our order of Grissini Parmaham (RM27)

We enjoyed the bread and the grissini parmaham was warm and crisp. The parmaham saltiness goes well with the grissini..nice to nibble while we chatted.

Though Zense looks chic and expensive, it's actually affordable classy dining but the waiters didnt really followed the serving rules here.. mains were served before we finished our starters :(

The Ravioli Neri (RM39) looked dark and mysterious..

This was absolutely scrumptious! The filling of chopped lobster was aromatic, the squid ink ravioli were meltingly smooth and the accompanying sauce was velvetly rich, but not cloying. Loved it.

Risotto Scoglio (RM43)

This risotto needs time to really enjoy its full flavours. The rice was still grainy and feels compact- the sauce slowly seeps deeper into the rice with every mouthful I took. The seafood aroma was evident in the rice- I could just eat the rice without the seafood. Delicious.

Alas, I wondered if we spent too much time enjoying the first 2 mains that we totally forgotten about our Pizza Diavola (RM29)..

We were happily cam whoring (or was that just dragon girl? :p), taking in the panaromic view and drinking...and we finally decided to have the pizza. We ordered an italian sausage pizza.. but was suprised that it looked like meatballs instead. Closer inspection confirmed that it was baby meat balls. The pizza was rather chewy at the base and the meat balls were salty. The girls were not impress, this was just mediocre at best. Oh well.

The cheeky bartender offered a pose without us requesting...

Panaromic skyline of Bangkok- though not as high as Sirocco's and Vertigo's

What a lovely way to unwind and to end our last night in Bangkok- with the soft jazz at the back ground and the cooling breeze brushing my skin. I know I will be back yet again. Wait for me Bangkok :)

Zense is located at Zen Shopping Centre, Rajadamri Road, Bangkok. For more information and much better pictures, click here. Thanks EL for the pictures!

Senjyu Sushi, Cineleisure Damansara

2009-08-24T21:04:00.004+08:00

Just a short post today to start off this hectic week :)

Went to Senjyu some time back on a rainy evening- I wanted somewhere not too pack and can grab a bite quickly. Well, the interesting many-green-bottles-hanging-on-the-wall interior got my attention and sorta pulled me in too :p

Bollywood Queen who was with me at that time royally declared that she was not hungry as she had a lots of food during tea time, so the food choice was just mine. Though platters of sushis were readily available on the conveyer belt, I decided to order mine- I like 'em freshly made.

Had the cod and unagi sushi (RM6)

This fared pretty well. The cod and unagi bits were springy and fatty; drizzled with some teriyaki sauce- it goes well with the rice base. Looks so enticing that BQ took a piece of it.

The spider maki (RM8)

Fully expecting the spider crab being wrapped in the rice, it was served on top of the sushi instead. Freshly fried, the spider crab was still warm and crisp. Senjyu serves grated wasabi paste, which goes well with this maki. BQ tried a piece of this too. Hmmm, I thought she was not hungry??

Since BQ had an appetite after all, we ordered the day's special, Chicken Katsu Don (RM6)

Special not because it's the best seller, but special for the day as it was on promotion- ie, cheaper. By now, BQ was eating like she was the hungry one. Quite decent, the chicken pieces were moist and was enveloped with half cooked eggy bits. Lots of onions to give that sweet crunch to the combo. But a tiny bowl though, well, I guess that's why it's RM6 :p

Since it was raining, I wanted something to warm me up...Beef sukiyaki seems to be a nice choice (RM18.90)

I thought the serving was rather petite and we had to wait quite a fair bit for the food to cook. We waited just to get disappointed. I did not like Senjyu's version. The soup was waaayyyyy too sweet..like sickeningly sweet. Can't even drink it to warm my belly. :-(

Senjyu Sushi is located at LotG2&G3 Ground Floor, Cineleisure Damansara. There's also a branch at Sunway Pyramid.

Lek Seafood, Bangkok

2009-08-20T18:42:00.006+08:00

I read about Lek online, a couple of years back when I was about to visit Bangkok then. Always, it'll be slotted as part of my eating itinerary, but somehow, we never did managed to try it. This trip, I was determined indeed...well, partly we were just in Bangkok for shopping, and secondly, my friends left all the planning of the food crawl places to me :p

It not hard to get to Lek Seafood at all, just take the BTS to Chong Nonsi station. Lek is just next to the station(ground level)

It was rather packed when we reached, and we chose our noisy corner. Filled with only local customers, I really hope for a good meal..

Since we have been trying out different cuisines before that, we went for the ubiquitous Tom Yum Goong(RM15)..

Lek's version was scrumptious! The soup was rich, yet not too sour nor overly spicy. You can actually enjoy the fragrance of this soup. And a generous amount of prawns and mushrooms helps too! However, if you are looking for those tom yum that burns your tongue, losing sensation for a few minutes, then this soup is not for you.

And those yummy grilled fresh water prawns (RM20). How can I miss it right? :p

These were super huge, the length of the head was about the size of my palm. The prawns were cooked to perfection; the meat was just cooked, absorbing the smokiness of the charcoal while the roe in the prawns heads were still runny..we were drinking sweet, creamy roe soup..*slurps*

Some local vegetables..Water minosa (RM7)

Looks like kangkung, though center was not hollow. Texture wise, it's similar to paku-pakis, but slightly more fibrous and sweeter. Takes longer to chew, enjoyable nonetheless.

We saw many tables having hot plates.. and we ordered too..

Sliced pork on hot plate (RM12)

Not what other tables had :(. Their's were very dark looking meat. Most probably ostrich meat. Ok, this dish was not bad at all, tasted like a typical chinese stir fried pork slices with bean paste. Pork was tender with some fatty strips.

Our last dish was steamed fish in lime soup (RM30)

Quite a large portion for the 3 of us after the other dishes we had, the slow burning charcoal keeps the soup simmering and the fish, warm. As the fish was kept simmering throughout the meal, the soup gets thicker and sweeter (though the base was still very sour and spicy). Rather addictive, alas we were too full to have the soup refills.hahaha.

Lek Seafood is located at 156 Soi Phiphat, Narathiwatrachanakharin Road, Silom, Bangruk, Bangkok. Just next to Chong Nonsi BTS station.

Ole Ole Bali, Solaris KL

2009-08-16T20:23:00.006+08:00

We planned a lazy Sunday lunch. A girls lunch to catch up on gossips and just yak away :)

I never like venturing to Solaris though, it's always packed, but with the exception of sunday mornings. Parking is almost a breeze :p

Ole Ole serves predominantly balinese food and also a selection of western food. Our focus were solely on the balinese food though.

Amy was pleased that they served Avocado Shake (RM10) here; something that she took aplenty when she was in Bali. Me on the other hand? I decided to have the Ice blended Pulut Hitam (RM9)

Amy's Avocado shake was creamy and smooth. Taste very much like vanilla milk shake with slight hint of avocado. Very nice. My Pulut Hitam tasted like the bubur pulut hitam blended with gula melaka and coconut milk. Lovely too, just a tad sweet.

The new MC decided that she should be adventurous, so she ordered Cucumber with Passion fruit cooler (RM11)

It was way too sour for my liking. MC seems to find it ok. Jun said it tasted like cough syrup :p

The Sop Buntut (RM14) was very rich..

More like beef stew, this balinese version of oxtail soup was very heavy in flavour. The beef was tender, and served with nasi impit- this bowl of soup could easily be a main meal for a light eater.

Our salad was Tipak Cantuk (RM13)

Is that another name for Gado Gado? I'm not sure but the ingredients do seemed very similar. All of us find it mediocre as the peanut sauce was too sweet and reek strong tamarind taste.

We all preferred the second salad better- Grilled squid salad (RM14)

Huge portion, this salad had generous amount of grilled cumi cumi (squids) and greens. The dressing was tangy yet refreshing- hence complemented the sweet vegetables wonderfully. The grilled squids had a subtle smoky aroma that goes well with the salad. My only gripe was the very hard keropok.

We were all captivated by the Ole Ole Trio platter (RM38)

The platter was generous and the colours were so pretty. A combo of sate lilit, cumi cumi goreng and grilled chicken wings. The sate lilit was juicy and well marinated, and goes very well with the sambal and herb sauce. Jun liked with deep fried squids- crunchy batter with softer squids. The grilled chicken was good too; it was smoky and a wee bit dry- tasted like those I had in Bali.

The Nasi Kambing Bumbu (RM26)..

The mutton was served with yellow rice and kangkung. The mutton was cooked dry in their spices and sauce- I liked this too. The slices of capsicums and caramelised onions balanced the meat perfectly. The rice and vegetables were nothing to shout about though.

Overall a satisfying experience at Ole Ole Bali. The food here does remind me of the food I had in Bali- ie, it's more on the dry cooking style, not much gravy and the balinese sambal is readily available. Though the sambal served here was not that fiery. Oh, and they dont serve bebek and babi guling (for obvious reason :p)

Ole Ole Bali is located at J-0G-15 & J0G-16, Soho KL, Solaris Mont Kiara, 2-J, Solaris KL.

Restoran Yat Mun, Puchong

2009-08-12T22:00:00.004+08:00

I am guilty.

Guilty of not clearing my very old post on time and wasted Gary's effort on introducing Yat Mun to me. Sorry ya, dude!

But Yat Mun's business is brisk, and sure it's still bustling with business now :p

It was already rather packed by the time we reached there, lucky us, we managed to get a table fast. Ordering was a little harder though, the waiters were all busy running about, and to get one's attention takes quite a while!

Left the ordering to Gary instead, since he knows the what's famous here :)

First dish, kam heong fish head (RM20)

Looks like a main favourite, many tables had this. The fish head was deep fried until crunchy and stir fried with kam heong sauce until dry. I was afraid that the strong flavour may mask the sweetness of the fish head, but surprisingly it didnt. The fish meat was still juicy and quite smooth at some parts.

We also had steam fish with ginger sauce(RM15)..

The fish was fresh, but slightly over steam. Lots of ginger sauce, you can almost drink it.

An alternative to sharksfin soup? Have the beancurd soup instead (RM12)

Smooth beancurd slivers in thicken broth. Add a dash of vinegar and it warms up a hungry belly anytime.

My favourite? The stir fried eggplant with long beans.

Absolutely scrumptious, the vegetables were full of wok hei and so very fragrant. The eggplant had a slight crisp while the long beans was crunchy still (not those dead withered type). Delicious.

Order some meat from the BBQ section..

Char Siew (RM12)

Pretty ok. Solid, non fatty type. Not overly sweet too.

The roasted duck (RM15) was average too.

Would have tasted better if the skin was crisp and the meat warm. Taste wise, it's quite nice(for a cold duck :p).

Restoran Yat Mun is located at No47, 49-3 Jalan Puteri, Bandar Puteri, 47100 Puchong.

Kane Mochi, Siam Square, Bangkok

2009-08-09T21:56:00.005+08:00

We stumbled upon Kane Mochi when we were on our way for some claypot vermicelli fresh water prawns.

My original plan was to have lunch and later for some cakes and pastries for tea. Most unfortunately, shopping twarted my plans :p and we decided to stop by Kane Mochi instead.

A japanese franchise, Kane Mochi serves mochi ice cream. Yup, just that- have it plain or with toppings/ sauces.

The courteous staff were nice and gave us some samples..we decided order some in the end :)

Quite a number of flavours to choose from...

We finally settled for Strawberry, Blueberry, Green Tea and Coffee (RM8.90)

I was pleasantly surprise from this very lovely dessert. The mochi (skin) was soft and melts quickly with the ice cream. As for the ice cream- it was not too creamy, but the flavours were nice..I like the green tea flavour the best; it was slightly bitter and had azuki aftertaste.

Definitely a place to pop by to hide from the sweltering heat and a quick reprieve for those tired legs :)

Kane Mochi is loated at Soi 3, Siam Square, Bangkok, Thailand.

Fuji Japanese Restaurant, Bangkok

2009-08-05T21:21:00.004+08:00

It's always fantastic if you get to travel with a group of friends with the same intention and interests. And when it comes to Bangkok, it's always for shopping and food with girlfriends. Yes, I go shop crazy when I'm there with the gals, and I usually shed a couple of pounds with all that walking during shopping! hahaha

And hence, this trip, all my eating places revolves around the shopping areas- for convenience :p

But hey, convenience dont mean comprimising on good food...and in this case, I took J2kfm's recommendation.

We ate at Fuji, a popular japanese chain that you can find in most of the shopping places in Bangkok. In our case, we ate at Siam Paragon.

It was very late lunch, so no waiting was required, we were led to our seats immediately. J2kfm did mentioned that the food here is very affordable and comparative to the Jap food chains in Malaysia, Fuji's food is better.

A rather extensive menu to choose from, we decided to have..

Salmon Tataki (RM18)

Somewhat localised, this was like a salmon som tum. Sour, spicy but refreshing. Goes well with the raw salmon slices.

Some grilled mussels with garlic (RM11)

Rather puny pieces, the garlic was absolutely aromatic but I thought the mussels were a tad over grilled. Some parts were rather chewy. Served with 3 types of dipping sauce.

Avocado Pork Roll (RM12)

We lurve this to bits. Creamy, smooth avocado melts into the still warm,tender pork slices. Nice texture and flavours.

Ordered some set meals too..

The Roll sushi set (RM25)

3 types of maki in this set- california, spider crab and ebi maki. The first 2 types were delicious; the serving was plump and fresh. But the ebi fell short- it was very average.

Kuro Buta Steak set (RM20)

We were satisfied with this set too. The pork steak was juicy and meat was springy. The thick sauce was addictive too. Goes very well with rice.

If you are shopping around Bangkok city center, you can find Fuji Japanese restaurant at Siam Centre, Siam Paragon, Central World and Platinum.

SS20 Fish Head Noodles, Damansara Kim

2009-08-01T13:47:00.005+08:00

When Bollywood Queen returned recently for a short weekend break, we popped over to SS20 for some fish head noodles.

I wanted to try this stall for sometime already, just that I went to another fish head noodle place instead while searching for this stall :p

So nothing will deter me from getting here this time around..

Decent crowd, we got our seats quickly and ordered..

Some baby spinach soup with fish paste..

I really enjoyed this. The baby spinach was tender, not fibrous and sweet. The fish paste had a firm, yet springy texture- lovely to bite into.

There were a few types of fish noodles that we could choose from; I opted for the soong fish head with mixed of fried and fresh fish head, with lai fun.

I find the noodles smooth and springy, however, the soup lacked the aroma I was looking for. The soup was rather diluted, the wine fragrance was missing and lacked that bit of sour plum kick. The fish head was fresh nonetheless, the fried versions were tastier than the non fried ones. Soup wise, I feel the Fish & Noodles just a road away fared better.

SS20 Fish Head Noodle is located at Gerai 20, Medan Selera MBPJ, Damansara Kim, Petaling Jaya.

Back from pilgrimage..

2009-07-29T15:40:00.003+08:00

Well, not really pilgrimage, but my annual trip to food and shopping paradise :)

It was also Dragon girl's second trip to Bangkok- her first trip being mostly for massage, sightseeing and relaxation; hence, this time around, the trip would be on shopping and loads of food.

Food was planned along with shopping location, to make things easier for us ladies :p

There were some repeats on our eats such as the grilled fish and som tum place at Chatujak market.

Most unfortunately, the grilled fish was no longer that nice; it was only luke warm when served..

Luckily the som tum place was still nice, though the serving's a tad smaller..

Other repeats include the juicy, tender samurai pork burger at McD's..

And we tried their newly launched chocolate pie..

The filling was more like chocolate custard; it was not too sweet, pretty ok.

Was looking for Amaltery ice cream at Siam Paragon, but it was no longer in operation, so we went back to our usual mango dessert place- Mango Tango..

Had the usual...

Glad to say that the mango ice cream has improved (compared to last year), the new addition of glutinous rice was decent too. The mangoes were ultra sweet and dripping with loads of juices. Yummy!

The second dessert was yummy too.. The crunchy corn flakes gave a nice crunch to the texture; the bottom was filled with mango chunks, mango ice cream and mango puree..

What else did we ate during our time in Bangkok?

Well, guess that will be in the next few posts....