From outside.


Closer view of the front.


The tasty thick soup
and juicy meat


My favorite 'oily rice',
without it, I will not eat.


Must have... chopped
fried dough-sticks


Chopped chilli of sorts
with soya sauce...
condimentary....yes!



Tai Thong restaurant, 1st Floor Jalan SS2/67:
favorite dim sum, selection is normal and quality is average (like the street kind). No expensive stuff like in hotels, just the normal expected quality in aircon chinese restaurant environment with quick service. Find this better than the Summer Palace near to Damansara Kim/Sprint highway.


Hong Seng restaurant, section 17 marketplace area, Corner restaurant, next to Magnum/Sports toto):

Best roast pork (siew yuk), the original skinny, buttery and thin crispy skin kind ie. not the kind sold in markets or the chunky ones from roast pigs of chinese celebrations. The supply is limited, a little later than 1pm and it's almost gone. This is the kind which was available everywhere in the hey days but have gone south without a clue... probably lost the chain of supply. The chicken rice stall also sells very good Sour Vege (SHEUN CHOI), the kind made at home from leftovers and overnight ingredients.... a hit with women.

The sour vege stew... a mix of assam, dried chilli, meat and vege


Seng Kee, Taman Tun Dr Ismail (behind Shakeys Pizza or Secret Recipe, Tun Mohd Fuad 1):
Claypot 'loh shu fun' is their specialty and originated from their KL branch. As well as 'fried crispy pork noodles'. They serve dishes as well for those looking for a normal 'tai chow' chinese meal.


Now for a variety of restaurants relating to my favorite food categories.....

Roast duck


Chee Cheong Fun and Yong Tau Foo


YHK Seafood Yong Tow Foo, 45, Jalan Brunei Barat, 55100 KL (near Wisma Shaw) Tel : 21489220 www.yhk-yongtowfoo.com - nice chee cheong fun ie. with fried shrimps and shallots sprinklings, I can eat at least 2 plates to go with the crunchy yong tau foo and fried sui kow/wantan. Thank god, they had a branch opened in Damansara Uptown ( No.31, Jln SS21/56B, Damansara Utama, PJ tel:77108131) and in an aircon environment. It's next to 'The Ship'.

Nasi lemak


'Tai chow' restaurants

Some of the common and popular noodles easily available at the above 'tai chow' places are :-

Hokkien fried meehoon mee

Cantonese fried yee mee

Singapore fried meehoon


Hawker stalls/coffeshop/restaurant


Pan mee


Satay

Restoran 'Satay Kajang' in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, same row as Honda (used to be Naza Motor)

Wantan mee

Ho Weng Kee , SS2/66, PJ - specializes in wantan mee, with different meat choices eg. chicken feet, char siew, pork ribs, chicken shreds, etc.

Char Siew


Hokkien fried noodles


Malaysian delicacies/street food
The following are the rare delicacies being found around PJ except for morning markets and pasar malams (SS2). Gone are the days where these were delicious and easy to find, but now, very selective.

The 'Ham Cheen Peng' or chinese fried donut/pastry is best eaten fresh. That's why some popular stalls have queues waiting for the freshly fried ones eg. stall in front of Chow Yang (SS2) and front of Restoran Keen (SS20/11, Damansara Kim).

Seremban siew pau - a franchise business, the stalls are everywhere eg. SS2, Taman Megah selling the sweet and savoury delight. Over the years though, the pau's size is shrinking while costing RM1 each.



A rare sight these days, a multipurpose goodies van carrying all sorts of buns, tidbits, sweets and stuff.

posted by Bernzie @ 1:02 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, August 31, 2004
New findings worth mentioning or complaining about in PJ
New Web Links/Resources in Klang Valley
Foodies n friends - organizes gourmet tours, outings, classes, dinners, etc.

Places/food yet to try out
Muller, Jln Tun Mohd Fuad 1, TTDI - similar to Eurodeli it seems

Cheese - Blue cheese, Manchego cheese, aged Gouda cheese, Havarti cheese, Port Salut, more spanish cheese.... so many flavors to fancy, a whole palette for me to experiment in time to come with fruits and wine.

Chef Loong Cuisine, SS2/60 - Dim sum
Unique Seafood 23 Restaurant Dim sum, Lot 9B-3, Jln Kemajuan, Section 13, behind Bkt Bintang Primary school, PJ
Cakes - rockafella pattiserie - ttdi; la manilla - ttdi; celicakes - desa sri hartamas; alexis bistro - bangsar; cocomo - bangsar; cheesecake shop - sunway

Japanese
Umai-Ya, G3A, The Place, Jln PJU 8/5D, Bandar Damansara Perdana - based on The Star's review, I decided to chance upon this place since the feedback was interesting. And sure enough the overall experience was wonderful ...... but expensive as expected from Japanese cuisine. The environment within was done up nicely, cozy and modern with many booths lining the walls providing privacy to the diners. At the end of the hall, were few private rooms with sunken floors for diners spending a minimum of RM150. As for me, the booths were sufficient and comfortable enough, letting the tastefully lighted deco consume me. Ordered the following spread of mouth-watering experience...

Everything had attention to detail, even the wasabi was cute.

The Dragon Maki (RM20) which consisted of lots of fillings ie. flying fish roll with mayonnaise, fresh salmon, avocado and eel. Each bite was a delight to the senses, crunchy and filled with flavors. And to think this was the first choice amongst the 'Chef recommendations' section of the menu.

The Unagi tempura (RM15) was excellent for eel lovers. The eel was tasty and tender in cruncy batter, retaining its original flavor.

Torikatsu bento set (RM18) was as expected, nice. Comes in the best of presentation and quality. Even the fruits were sweet.

Umaiya Zen bento set (RM35) was complete. Even the little pigeon egg in the middle was present for condimenting. Sashimi was fresh and sweet. There were separate serves of tempura sauce and soba sauce.

Couldn't resist an additional order of the 'Chef Recommendations' so I ordered War Maki (RM12), which was wonderful. The salmon sauce and the BBQ tastes of the squid within was a tease to the senses, leaving each bite a guessing game to the last drop.




Cheese (with reference to Ilovecheese.com and cheese.com)

Emborg Havarti cheese - From Denmark, this was creamy and buttery, a delight to nibble at. This has got to be the easiest and tastiest to date.

Rosenborg Blue cheese - From Denmark, this will be a challenge to me as I did remember way back, that my first taste of stinky or fungi-laden cheese was horrible and a sour/salty experience. So this will be my last confirmation. Review will be coming up soon.

Manchego cured in Fresh Rosemary herb - from Cold Storage Bangsar. Hard cheese. Tasty and great with wines by itself (check out my wine experiences in 'Happy hour' post) or in a sandwich.

Kameruka matured cheddar cheese - slight bitterness at first but fruity flavor, nice with wine.

Happy cow salmon flavor cheese - nice on its own or with crackers



Asian Food (non-malaysian)
Restaurant Wong Kok Char Chan Teng, No 2 Jalan SS2/67 Petaling Jaya Tel: 0378748611 Business Hrs: Daily, 8am-2am - another Hong Kong cuisine restaurant rising up. Read the reviews from The Star, decided to give it a try for lunch. On Sunday, it was busy and packed. They don't have baby chairs which was unfortunate and irresponsible considering it's a family outlet. Overall, I give this place a thumbs up and my personal preference compared to existing HK outlets in PJ.

The environment is modern with touches of chinese influence.

Baked rice with pork chop in twin sauce (RM12.80) was quite interesting. The white sauce was either cream or cheese sauce, couldn't tell 'cos it was kinda light in comparison with the tomato sauce which was tasty. Never could go wrong with baked rice.

Fried spagetthi HK style (RM7.30) was tasty ie. reminds me of the 'beef fried hor fun from HK' taste. Slightly oily though.

The drinks are the highlight of the restaurant and I must say very generous and delicious. Most came in tall vases/beakers like this Honey peach passionfruit juice ( RM5.50). For this, I'll be coming back for more tastings and trials. This beats the HK outlets at Midvalley and 1 utama.

The mango milk shake (RM5.50) was huge and deliciously superb. Again, the portion was huge. A dating couple would spend hours sharing desserts in this place... probably why the place was packed, the people were enjoying their drinks for hours like Coffee Bean/Starbucks culture, leaving no table empty.

Breadtalk Midvalley - again never to back away from trying another cheese cake, decided to sample this Light Cheese Cake at home. Costs RM14.90. The texture and moistness was spot on. Unfortunately, the cheese taste was like it's name.... light and almost non-existent.

Starbucks Coffee , Damansara Uptown, 03-77106849 - My quest for the perfect cheese cake seems to be drawing near now as I gave this franchise corner a try of their offerings. Chose the marble cheesecake and american cheesecake ( RM8.80 each). Both cakes are better than Secret Recipe's, as they are without fake tangy orangey gelatin tastes. I found the marble cheesecake more cheesier. The american one was not as cheesy but texture was better, more moist and not as dense.

Suchan, 21 Jln Dato Mahmud (11/4), Off Jln University, PJ (79579908 / 79549480) http://www.suchan.com.my/ - was told the cakes here were good and the lady owner was previously from Dome. So, bought the 2 most popular recommendations ie. Tiramisu (RM8.90) and Banoffee Pie (RM8). Well, based on offerings from other places, I must say these are mediocre (nothing special) in terms of taste and richness. If required to choose, I would take the latter again. The restaurant was quiet on a Sunday afternoon lunch time, the menu offers western stuff eg. pasta, meat, etc.. House specialities seem to be Top Hats (RM3), Wild Mushroom soup (RM8), Vietnamese Spring Rolls ( RM12.50), Prawn mango salad (RM13), Beef Lasagne (RM15), Alfredo (RM15), Pineapple fried rice (RM14), Laksa delight (RM19), Chicken Mushroom pie (RM18), Parmesan fish and chips (RM18) and White Fungus w/Dates dessert (RM3.50 ). Time will only tell.
Waffle World , Lot S343A, Level 2, 1 utama (new wing) - thought of having something different for a change... maybe something sweet, so popped into this place. They ran out of the supposedly nice fried seafood pasta, so ordered a mix of American hotdog (RM4), Fish and chips ( RM14.90), Fettucine carbonara (RM10.30) and of course, Banana walnut waffles (RM6.80)... all of which are supposedly nice/popular, according to waiter's recommendations. Well, hotdog is normal and no big deal. Fish and chips is reasonable portion and fish batter does taste of old oil, meaty. Pasta was mediocre and non-meat. Finally, the waffle was big but thought was not sinful enough. There wasn't enough sauce, thus too dry. Asked for extra chocolate sauce which I didn't hesitate to drench the waffle all over. Still, overall I 've tasted more sinful dessert.

Mikiojisan No Mise, 11A Ground Floor, Bangsar Village - a chain bakery, hailing from the land of rising sun. Thought I give this place a try.... after all I'm still searching for the ultimate cheese cake. Many cakes with cheese offered here.... so I thought I try the classic ( RM12.50) for a whole cake. Turned out to be unsatisfying ie. sponge-like and not rich with cheese.... still prefer the simple one from Le Boheme (2nd pic below). Perhaps I'd try the other fusion cheese flavors here one day.

Vietnam Kitchen, 3.12, 2nd flr, 1 utama, New wing - Was skeptical about this place considering I had not so good impression from SS2 branch. Ordered set A (fried sesame chicken, mango salad, mixed vege, pork brisket in dark sauce - RM39.90 for 4-5persons), platter (RM21.90) and some shakes (RM4.90 each). It was surprisingly good and fast service, perhaps the set dishes were faster ie. precooked. Altogether, a nice meal in a very trendy environment.
Update 13th August - ordered the pork chop rice (RM8.50), sugar cane minced shrimp (RM6 for 2) and beef noodles (RM9.90). The rice was not worth it and a small portion compared to Little Vietnam in Midvalley. Same goes for the measly portion of minced shrimp for its price. The beef noodles was as expected, normal compared to local offerings.... nothing like the ones in Melbourne (Springvale or Richmond).

Little Taiwan bubble house , T023A, 3rd floor, Mid Valley Shopping center (next to Secret Recipe) - as expected from Taiwanese fare, the food is different and unique ie. fun. What to expect from places that serve 'bubble tea', right? Anyway, had the recommended 'Crispy salted chicken set' and 'Spicy taiwanese noodle' and what else, bubble tea. Noodle was weird in taste, but may appeal to spice lovers. Chicken was tasty with the tasty chilli sauce and eggs in dark sauce. All in all ... nice and fun.


Chatterbox, 338 LGF, new wing, Rainforest, 1 utama shopping center - Hong Kong style. Always looking out for something new and nice, I decided to give this fresh & trendy partial outdoor/indoor place a try. Located at the rainforest area of the center, it's nice for lunch...not too hot, as it's near to the entrance to the center and cool air is streaming out.
Surprised to see the menu with interesting offerings, mostly reminiscent of my Hong Kong days eg. hot lemon coke with ginger, coffee-tea (yin yang), french toast, etc.. As usual, I ordered those marked as 'chef recommendations' eg. layer beancurd ( RM7.50), seafood udon (RM9.50) and chatterbox noodle (RM7.50), HK coffee mix (RM3.50) and coffee mix with redbeans (RM5.50).
The beancurd was excellent, a cold dish, tofu sandwich with meat floss, great. The udon was mediocre. The chatterbox noodles was basically Nissin-Ramen with ingredients (like the HK 'dirty noodles' translated directly from its HK name) which was nice, my wife kept digging into it from my portion. Nissin Ramen?!!! You must be wondering why I'm ordering this when I can make it at home, right? It's psychological...... the alternative mee/mee hoon/kway teow costs less if not equal to the instant noodles. Anyway, Nissin dishes are a hit in HK, especially Mongkok area.
The drinks were rich, different and great for a change from those boring juices/smoothies/soft drinks. Will come back to try others. Much better than the HK stall in basement of Plaza Singapura, for HK food cravings, during those good old Singapore days.
Next, during my second visit, the following were tried and tested. Respectively, the Macau pork chop burger, fried nissin ramen noodle and crispy noodle with cheese/pepper sauce. All were above average.


Malaysian/Chinese/Fusion
Chopstik Noodle House, Mid Valley - a lunch occasion, I've been here a couple of times before. The food is overall average for a upmarket price chinese restaurant, typical of Tai Thong's group of restaurants. Still prefer SS2 Tai Thong for taste.

One of my favorite dimsum orders ie. salted fritter dumpling. (RM3.50)

Porkball porridge (RM9.50). Porkballs are quite tasty but should have been more tender. Overall, nice.

Tofu dimsum (RM6)

A new dimsum, salad fritter with mayo.(RM3.50)

Wantan noodles (RM9.50). Still prefer the cheaper offerings from hawker stalls, simple and tasty.

Chinese sugar cane (RM4) to wash it all down and to balance the fiery food

Mmm Yum Yum Bak Kut Teh , Gnd Floor, 1-utama, old wing (near to jusco side exit) - was reviewed in the newspaper and thought I try BKT in an aircon environment for a change. It was half full on a sunday noon, i wonder why. Service was attentive. Prices were higher than the non-aircon regular places elsewhere ie. almost double. I had the small claypot BKT (RM18), 2 servings of You Cakoi (RM6) and dimsum (lomakai RM4 and crispy beancurd roll RM4). Overall, I must say the BKT was nice except for the price (I could have plentiful from my usual place with that kind of price and feed 4 people). The aircon wasn't as cold as I was sweating throughout. Still, a good choice to add to 1 utama's variety. Read Star's review.

The deco is nice and cozy ie. period drama kind of restaurant.

The BKT soup was tasty with slight herbal taste.

The so-called oily rice was basically white rice with fried shallots topping, like some being offered in Klang. The RM3 you cakoi was a dissapointment ie. tasted like bland dough.

The lomakai was not as tasty as I was accustomed to and was soggy, the fried beancurd wasn't crispy as per its name and tasted like stale prawns.



Unique Seafood 23 Restaurant Dim sum, Lot 9B-3, Jln Kemajuan, Section 13, behind Bkt Bintang Primary school, PJ (79602088/79602066) - Went for 10-course dinner in this big restaurant (stacked with aquariums on one side), on a weekday. It was half packed despite a cut in the electricity supply at that time (unlucky us have to endure no aircon for half hour). The dishes were quite unique and nice. The only qualm we had was that the dishes came too quick, it was meant to be eaten one by one and not rushed. Overall experience was alright considering the attentive service given. Corkage was free so wine drinkers will have a ball.

A sight to behold, rows and rows of aquariums filled with all kinds of seafood, to be picked fresh. Great for children's distraction.

Seafood seems to be fresh and replenished daily, as we got a chance to see new stock of lobsters unloaded from cartons to the aquariums. Interesting to see that lobsters are shipped that way.... the cartons are only filled with paper fillers, no water or ice !! All they had to do was dip the lobsters in and out a couple of times from the water, and they are soon moving inside the aquarium. It's a wonder the number of lobsters been replenished or ordered by patrons daily for such an exercise.


Kean Fatt Restaurant - at ss3 near the Taman Bahagia LRT station(near taman megah junction and coffeeshop and post office is on the left hand side after the LRT station) - pork noodles and crispy roast pork is not bad. The pork noodles is a little slow in service due to the cook preparing bowls in batches, I guess he's trying to preserve the freshness and textures of his meat. The tastes is comparable to places I know of eg. Taman Megah foodcourt, restaurant in Jln. Batai, Damansara Heights, etc.


Delicious, Ms Read, F315, 1 Utama, New wing, Bandar Utama - based on feedback from FriedChillies forumers, decided to try this place. The deco is very artsy and modern, the balcony at the back was a delightful escape from the hustle bustle and with a view of a park with comfortable loungers/seats/cushions. Ordered the Classic cheesecake and the Classic chocolate cake ( RM8.90 each).

I was hoping I find a good cheesecake but was disappointed. It was similar to those I find from Secret Recipe, LaManila, Coffee Bean, etc. ie. tasting artificial and sweet/tangy... I can't quite put a finger on the taste I dislike... is it Crisco or gelatin? Orange? I find the most natural tasting cheesecake easily available are the ones from LaBoheme (RM8 for a whole round portion).

The recommended chocolate cake was the opposite... it was very sinful, moist and rich (similar to Secret Recipe's Moist Chocolate). It came with vanilla ice cream topping. I wondered if the rest of the offerings were as good as recommended eg. Flourless Orange cake, Banana Pudding, Tartlets, etc.. The pies and quiches on display, were so irresistable and puffy... perhaps another time. There were others on the menu eg. Curry Laksa, Nasi Lemak, Nasi Kerabu, Sandwiches, etc.. Quite impressive, considering the small setup at the back of a women's boutique shop.

Update (1st August): Had the 'sticky date pudding', comes with coconut ice cream and butterscotch sauce.... oooh.... so delicious and flavor-ful. When I said I needed to diet in front of lady boss, she told me something that could help food-lovers out there with a conscience .... "Diet is die with a T"... hehehehe.

Update (7th August) : Had the real meals for once (with recommendations from staff) and with desserts (ahem) later. Overall, nice and generous... hope they don't reduce the portions or increase price in the future. In the future, will try their other recommendation ie. Nasi pilaf with marsala lamb shank ( RM19.90) - basmati rice seasoned with spices served with braised lamb shank, cucumber raita and papadam.

Nasi Kerabu with Ayam Percik (RM13.90)-an interesting mix of flavors (Kelantan ayam percik, raw ulam, salted egg, sambal budu and keropok ikan with steam rice).... much better than the one served at Laksa Shack.

Nasi Lemak with Ayam Minang (RM13.90)-nice with generous portion of coconut rice with Chef Sabri's Ayam Minang and fresh condiments (egg, sambal, ikan bilis, peanuts, keropok ikan).

Tarte Normandie (RM8.90) - crispy base, filled with almond cream, topped with sliced green apples and glazed with apricot jam. Served with vanilla ice cream. This reminds me of a more flavorful version of the bread pudding... yummy.


Restoran Law Ong , 26, Jln Datoh Sulaiman, TTDI - opened not too long ago (May 2004), this place is a breath of fresh air to my food option. This place serves good variety of chicken (oyster, chinese herbal salted, fah dew or emperor... RM9.50 for quarter portion upwards) with noodles in dark sauce (similar to wantan mee.. RM2 each for kosong), sui kow, wantan (RM3 for small), fish ball, kampar balls, curry soup, vege, etc. Very tasty, fast service and aircon. Reminds me of the good old days of Ipoh Chicken Rice restaurant in SS2 (or Jln Gasing) which IMO has dropped standard.

Cravings, GF, new wing, Rainforest, 1 utama shopping center - again in the same shopping center, I'm still at ends trying to choose from the many offerings in this part of the wing. During a Friday lunch time, this place was packed relative to others, so I decided to give it a try seeing the setting was the old nyonya/chinese look which was quite cozy. Tried the recommended 'Curry laksa with roast pork' ( RM12.90), 'Stuffed chicken wings' (RM5.40 each!!) and 'claypot loh shee fun' (RM10.90) respectively. Not much single lunch dish was available though. There were more dishes for proper meals which the crowd were lapping up around us.

The laksa was nice as expected, lots of ingredients and soup was full and rich. Chicken wings was nice, the drumlets were cooked similar to 'imperial spare ribs' and the wings filled with fish & chicken meat. The loh shee fun was mediocre though.... still preferred the popular offering from my usual haunt in TTDI.
To end it all, the 'Hainanese iced tea' (RM4.50) was nice.... a mix of tea and milo....but small though. Overall, a little pricey and may lose out to cheaper places with similar concept.

Laksa Shack, LG floor, old wing, 1-utama - all the varieties of Laksa in one place and are tasty. The 'nasi lemak' is nice too.

Uncle Lim's Cafe, Ikano Power Center, Mutiara Damansara - typical malaysian cafe that serves hawker food eg. laksa (RM7.90), nasi lemak (RM7.90), roti bakar ( RM1.80), tea/coffee (RM2 above).... similar to Killiney's in Damansara Uptown or Secret Recipe or Penang Village, but only less variety though.

Ikea Cafeteria, Exit/checkout area, Mutiara Damansara - the least likely place to grab a bite, but based on forum feedback, decided to try out the curry puff (RM1). It was nice, comes with an egg and was tasty. Reminds me of 'Old Chang Kee' in Singapore and SS2 (long time back). Right now, the only commercialised puff is from Noni stall (Restoran Hock Seng 2) in SS2/67. Packaged together with a unlimited-refill soft drink ( RM2.50), this is good for a good quick lunch/snack.


Lee Nasi Lemak, Bangsar Mamak, outside Hakka Seafood, Opposite, Pizza Piccolo Bangsar
There guys are going to be millionaires one day. Forget the dotCom con, they will probably be richer than most of the dotCom, IPO wannabes and probably sleep better too. With the kind off margins and turnover which they have, the owners of this nasi lemak stall are giving everyone else a lesson in "B2C" !
That's my assessment of this place which proudly sits just off the famous Jalan Telawi Tiga in Bangsar. Low overheads, excellent location, good margins, high turnover, reliable staff - that basically describes this nasi lemak stall just across the road from Pizza Piccolo, outside the main food court.
I was recommended to try this place by my friend after a wild night partying in Bangsar and we were looking for a light meal before calling it a night. He suggested this place and guaranteed satisfaction.
With a small, yellow light bulb for lighting and a few plastic chairs and tables around, these guys were doing roaring business ! Hot plates of nasi lemak were flying off the counter as fast as they could make them. By the side, a giant wok was deep frying chicken and pigeon to be then served along with the nasi lemak.
The process was simple. First, use a small bo... [Message clipped]


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