Kenchara Tibetan Vegetarian Food

Two Sundays ago, mother-in-law wanted to try a new Tibetan restaurant at Viva (formerly known as UE3) and asked us to take her there. She had never tried Tibetan food before and wanted to try it. 


However, upon arriving there and having studied the menu, we were disappointed to find that Kenchara was not a genuine Tibetan restaurant. It was a vegetarian restaurant with a wide selection of Malaysian, Thai, Vietnamese and Taiwanese food. There were only three Tibetan dishes on the menu. We ordered all three plus one Taiwanese dish.


The first dish to arrive was the Asa Bhima. It was baked Tibetan bun with carrot, cheese and potato fillings served with Masala sauce. 

It didn't look like a bun to me, but it had an interesting flavour. There were eight wedges, and four of us, but I only got to eat one piece. Hey, who took my other piece?? I have a feeling it was hubby that took my share....

Next to arrive was the Dong Po Yak Beef. According to their menu, it's steamed black bean with soy bean and mushroom. Hmm....I must be really naive, but where's the black bean, soy bean and mushroom?? 

Although it's supposed to be mock beef, it didn't resemble beef. It looked more like pork belly. It's quite good, though I prefer the tai wong mooi vegetable. But then, I've always preferred the green vegetables and tofu over mock meat.

The Amdo Yak Beef with Tingmo looked more like mock beef. The mock meat was stir fried with soy protein, chickpeas, dried chilli and plenty of black pepper served with steamed plain buns. Again, where were the chickpeas??

I must say the steamed plain buns went very well with the dish. I'd say the taste is quite close to our local kong poh style.

Those three were the only Tibetan dishes the so-called Tibetan restaurant has. Our fourth item was a Taiwanese dish, Xiang Chun Steamed Tofu.  

I'm not sure how to describe the flavour...it has been two weeks, and I don't really remember what it tasted like other than unusual.

Nobel Family Steak House @ Viva Home

Nobel Family Steak House, which originates from Taiwan, is a steak house with over 150 outlets, and more than 40 franchises. Their tag line is 'indulgence fit for the noble class at an affordable price', which is prominently displayed on the wall next to the entrance at the back.

They have two outlets in Malaysia, at USJ Taipan and Viva Home (formerly known as Plaza UE3) at Jalan Loke Yew. Those aren't neighbourhoods we frequent, and we would not have known about them had Groupon Malaysia not sold a discount voucher for them. RM20 for a meal valued at RM77 -- Choose 1 main course from 11 varieties + buffet of side dishes + free flow drinks. 


How could I resist such a deal? For RM20 each, hubby and I could pig out like there's no tomorrow. Well, there is, but we'll worry about that and our weight another day....


Although Nobel is a steak house, hubby and I are more of a seafood person than beef. We both ordered the lemon salmon.

And with that salmon, we helped ourselves to the buffet side dishes........

There was sweet corn soup and mushroom soup...we opted for mushroom soup, though hubby helped himself to some sweet corn soup later.

I don't like my plate to be filled to the brim....I like to see empty space on the plate.

Hubby's plate of salad......compare it with my plate of salad....as I said, I like to see empty space on my plate.

I took enough transfat for both of us.....otherwise, I'd have loaded even less fries to have more empty space.

The beef mushroom sauce for our transfat

My dessert. I love the gula melaka and the sago, it was truly yummy. The dragon fruit wasn't bad either, but the agar-agar were a little on the dry side. I didn't like them.

Ice-kacang.....hubby asked why someone would make an ice-kacang like that instead of mixing it all up like it should be. Well, I like my food to be compartmentalized, so it's easier to eat in alphabetical order. That's how I put my economy rice dishes, too!  :P

Hubby's dessert - a herbal tea egg.....very healthy.... :P  

Some pictures of the side dishes buffet.....

They have chicken, rendang, and rice as a side dish, too!  :-o


Address:
Noble Family Steak House
G09, Ground Floor
Viva Home, Plaza Uncang Emas (UE3)
Jalan Loke Yew, KL
Tel: (03) 9281 6784

The Most Expensive Bak Chang in Malaysia

Cheras is a place hubby and I hardly ever step foot in. For some reason, we usually jalan-jalan cari makan at Petaling Jaya and Subang/USJ. Last Sunday, we figured it couldn't hurt to just take a drive to Cheras and see where we end up. Let the car takes us where it wants. In other words, another aimless driving with no destination in mind. Have wheels will travel, is our motto. The king might want to confer us the Panglima Jasa Ekonomi Motor award for contributing so diligently to the petrol, tyres and brake pads economy. 


Ok, enough of the ramblings. Our wheels took us to......Pandan Jaya. I think some people might say Pandan Jaya is not Cheras, but I'll leave that to the experts to debate. 


Circling around the area, we saw this shop that caught our eye. 

We took a closer look at the menu on display outside, and was intrigued at the price of a bak chang. It was a whopping RM238! 

I think they should just name it Eat and Become An Emperor Bak Chang.

Another unique bak chang - made with brown rice, it claims to be good for uric acid and diabetes. 

The interior of the shop looks like a quaint little Chinese tea shop. On our table, there was a set of tea pot and cups. I wonder if the silver metal thing is a spittoon? If anyone knows what it is, please let me know! I admit my ignorance where the custom of drinking Chinese tea is concerned.

Hubby was interested with the Golden Chang, which the waiter claimed is sufficient for two. It turned out to be insufficient. The waiter must eat like a bird, if he thinks it's enough for two. We had to order other things when the bak chang was served.

The insufficient for two Golden Bak Chang, at RM9, is somewhat overpriced in my opinion. The filling was just a small quarter slice of mushroom, a small half piece of salted egg, and some chicken and pork pieces. And the taste was rather bland. Not recommended, and I certainly won't order this if I were to return to the shop. If there is a TV program called Bo Ho Chiak, this should be in it.

The Fuchow Fish Ball Soup is a little better. No, that is an understatement. I love the soup, with the seaweed and kei chi. Really flavourful, and I was 'fighting' with hubby to have the last drop. The fish balls weren't that great, however. The filling inside the fish ball was rather dry and not juicy. I could get better ones from the wet market in Kepong. But I can't replicate the soup, unfortunately. Price - RM6.50

The Mango Salad is just right. Not too sour, and the brown strips you see on the top, they were simply yummy. I'm not sure what they are, but they tasted like some kind of skin, perhaps bean curd skin? Price - RM6

Chilli Handmade Noodle, or Pan Mee. The noodles came in a combination of two flavours - regular and spinach. The noodles were springy and not soggy. But I still prefer Kin Kin's Pan Mee. Price - RM7.80

Instead of ordering tea, I tried a rather peculiar concoction --- Coke with sour plum. It was a disappointment. The sour plum was hard and dry, and its flavour did not seep into the Coke. A rather high price to pay for one can of coke at RM5.50.

My overall verdict is, it's not worth the trouble to intentionally seek out this eatery. But if you're at Pandan Jaya, and do not know what to eat, you could try it. But I do feel that this establishment is not value for money.

Address:
8G, Jalan Pandan Jaya 3/9,
Pandan Jaya, 55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03 - 9284-5325
Business hours: Mon - Sat: 10am - 11pm 
                            Sun & Public Holiday: 10am - 7pm

Salted Egg Prawns at Fu Lai

Last night, my hubby and I went out for dinner with a friend who wanted to take us to Fu Lai, a restaurant in Puchong Jaya (the old phase) for what he described as the best salted egg prawns he has ever had in KL.

So off we trudged to Puchong, a place I am not too familiar with. The shop is located off Jalan Puchong (on the right hand side if you're coming from KL), and is next to the Petronas station.

There, we ordered the much acclaimed salted egg prawns, a spinach soup, one kau yok (pork with yam) and one of their specially home made tofu dish. They were all yummy, especially the salted egg prawns. It wasn't too expensive either, as the total bill came up to RM68. Definitely worth the trip there.