Restoran Robson Heights

We used to frequent this eatery when we were living in the vicinity. We remember it for its reasonable price and good quality food. That said, do bear in mind that it would be to your benefit if you were to ask the prices when you see 'seasonal price' listed next to the item you want. Do not fall into the trap like a friend of a friend's, where they were charged RM270 for a fish.


Now that I've given you fair warning, let's move on. After we moved from the vicinity, we hardly returned to Robson Heights. The restaurants in our new neighbourhood were a dime a dozen, and we didn't feel the need to drive halfway across KL to have some decent Chinese food.


But three Saturdays ago, an ex-classmate of hubby's returned from Singapore to perform Qing Ming rites. Robson Heights, located halfway between us, was the ideal place to have some good food.

Their prawns in salted egg yolk was done differently from other Chinese restaurants. Instead of the regular dry version, it was wet with a distinct salted egg yolk flavour. It was probably the best salted egg version I've ever had. Yumm....

The buttermilk sotong had a twist....it was served with crispy dried pork floss. 

Kangkong belacan was our friend's choice of vegetables. Apparently, he could not get decent kangkong belacan in Singapore. As for me, I like this kangkong belacan better than any other that I've had.

Now, I don't know how true this is, but apparently, in Singapore, you can't order a Hokkien Mai Fun Mee (beehoon mee). You can order either a Hokkien Mee or Hokkien Mai Fun. This is the one dish that our friend asked for each and every time he returns to KL to visit his family.


Personally, we prefer the Hokkien Mee without the beehoon, but as he returns to KL only twice a year, we like to accommodate him. 


This dish, unfortunately was not a winner for Robson Heights. It was too dry, and the mee did not fully absorb the flavour of the gravy. The best Hokkien Mee award still goes to the now-defunct stall at Taman Wahyu, Jalan Ipoh.


The total damage was RM77, which I think, was pretty reasonable. We did not order any rice. We ate those dishes on their own.


Address:
Lorong Syed Putra
KL

Restoran Vegetarian @ Kepong

There are many vegetarian restaurants in Kepong. Some are great, some are mediocre, and then you have those that should never have opened their doors for business. But one thing they have in common, their restaurant name is simply "Restoran Vegetarian".....


So, which vegetarian restaurant is this that I think is worthy of mention, especially when I should be resting my painful arm and shoulder? It's a small, nondescript shop opposite a prawn mee shop with this huge, eye-catching prawn sign at Kepong Baru, near the Wai-Sik-Kai.


We've been there twice now. I'll post the photos of the two visits in a single article. 


On our first visit, we ordered the white raddish soup, nyonya tofu and fried brinjal in gravy. 

The white raddish soup is a light, clear soup without any msg.

I love the sour, piquant taste of the nyonya tofu. Very appetizing. But hubby, who has a low tolerance of anything sour, did not like it at all.

The fried brinjal in gravy was more to hubby's liking. I found the gravy a little 'boring'.


On our second visit, we ordered the bitter gourd & tofu soup, fried mushroom in sweet & sour sauce and sambal fried brinjals, ladies' fingers and long beans. 

We love the bitter gourd & tofu soup. Initially, I was a little hesitant, for fear that the soup might have a bitter taste, but surprisingly, it didn't have the slightest hint of bitterness at all.

The fried mushroom in sweet & sour sauce was a runaway favourite. They used the shitake mushroom and it had a fragrant, crunchy taste. And the sauce was not too sweet, it was well-balanced.

The sambal fried brinjals, ladies' fingers & long beans was another hit with us. However, hubby wished that they had included dried shrimps or belacan in the sambal, as he was more used to a non-vegetarian sambal. Still, he loved it despite the lack of dried shrimp or belacan, so that is saying something about the flavour of the dish.


In conclusion, this vegetarian restaurant serves great meals at reasonable prices. How reasonable? Except for the sambal fried mixed vegetables, all the other vegetables and soup were RM6 each. The sambal dish was RM8.

Restoran Bich Tien @ Kepong

To my knowledge, there are only two nations' food that are healthy. Food that do not have much fat or salt in it. If you are thinking Japanese and Vietnamese food, you're spot on.


There are many Vietnamese restaurants in KL, most of which are in a shopping mall. Those are the more 'commercialized' ones, where you have tall, slim Vietnamese waitresses decked out in traditional 'ao dai' waiting on you.


Bich Tien is not one of those. Bich Tien is an unpretentious papa-mama shop. Its proprietor is a Malaysian Chinese who is married to a Vietnamese lady. Their staff are their family members and relatives. And they are dressed like you and I, in ordinary clothes.


Being a papa-mama shop, their menu is not extensive. It is just a one page two-sided A3 laminated paper. However, they have my favourite items, which are the beehoon salad and beef koay teow soup.

Beehoon salad with spring rolls - RM7.90

They have a few choices of 'toppings' with the beehoon salad. I've tried some of them and my favourite remains the one with the spring rolls. The spring rolls were crunchy on the outside, and soft with yam and other vegetable fillings on the inside. Very aromatic and yummy. 

Beef koay teow soup - RM8.90

Their other item that I like is their beef koay teow soup. Like most Vietnamese beef noodles, the beef was soft and tender. As for the noodles, it went very well with the sage leaves that were included in the plate of raw beansprouts, giving it a fruity flavour.


Address:
No. 15, Jalan Metro Perdana Barat 2
Taman Usahawan Kepong

May King Lum Mee @ Pudu

Hubby's favourite lum mee used to be at a stall in a corner coffee shop at Brickfields. But then, said shop called it a day and a boutique hotel took over its space, to hubby's chagrin. He pined for the lum mee like a werewolf pining for a full moon.


Chance had it that a friend of mine, Fern, who adopted Mc Eow, a.k.a. Sayang posted in her Facebook page some photos of a lum mee that she recently had at May King, Jalan Yew. 


Armed with the address, the Laus (that's me, hubby, mother-in-law & sis-in-law) dropped by May King for lunch yesterday before performing the Qing Ming rites for my late father-in-law.


A line of people were already there waiting to be seated when we arrived. Like any good citizen, we joined the queue. Fortunately, the wait was not long and before our legs started to protest, we were seated.


We ordered a plate of lum mee each, and a bowl of Ipoh hor fun (Ipoh soup noodle) to share, plus some meat balls that had cuttlefish in it.

Those two plates were my sambal. I love my lam mee hot and spicy. :)


Hubby loved the lum mee and thought it tasted the same as the one at Brickfields. Mother-in-law wasn't so excited about it. She and my late father-in-law had apparently patronized this shop regularly a long time ago and she felt that the flavour was not as good as it used to be.

Personally, I prefer the hor fun at Jalan Imbi (the one that used to be at Jalan Tong Shin). While the koay teow was smooth and soft, the soup wasn't half as sweet or flavourful as the one at Jalan Imbi's.

The meatballs were good, with lots of flavour. Value for money at RM1.10 per piece.


That said, I thought the total damage of RM50 was a little steep for only 5 bowls of noodles and 8 pieces of meatballs. 


Address:
May King
38, Jalan Yew (off Jalan Pudu)
(round the corner from the Pudu market, and beneath the flyover)
Business hours: 9:30am - 6pm
Closed on Mondays

Mille Crepe Cakes @ Food Foundry, Sec. 17, PJ

After a heavy lunch at De Hunan Restaurant @ Kuchai Lama, V and I proceeded to Food Foundy for dessert. I tell you, we two ladies could really eat, don't let our size deceive you.


Although I've had crepes, I've never had mille crepe cakes before. I guess I've just been too busy hunting down cheesecakes and brownies. So when V asked if I still have room for crepe cakes, I was like, "YES!". I'm one for trying new things.


V ordered the chocolate crepe while I selected the mango flavour. 

The chocolate mille crepe cake was made with thin layers of crepes with layers of chocolate cream in between. It's totally delicious.

The mango mille crepe cake, in my opinion, was even better than the chocolate flavour. The fresh mango pulp and cream went very well with the mille crepe and each mouthful was like a trip to heaven. :)


According to V, besides cakes, Food Foundry serves decent Western fare, too. I'd have to try it some day.


Address:
Happy Mansion apartments
Jalan 17/13, Sec 17, Petaling Jaya

De Hunan Restaurant @ Kuchai Lama

It's been a long time since I updated my blog. Too long, in fact, that I'm sitting here with a mental block, not sure how to go about writing about food. Yes, I haven't used my brain for some time now, and it's so rusty I can't get the wheels to spin.


But they say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I'll just let the photos speak for themselves.


I've never tried Hunan food before, so when a friend suggested the hot spicy cuisine for lunch, I was  all for it. I love hot spicy food.


I was told their specialty is the Hot Spicy Steamed Fish Head in Hunan Specialty, but since there were only two of us (the fish is huge), we had to give it a pass. 


Instead, we opted for their other specialties, Chef Deep-fried Tantalising Pork Ribs, Fried Spicy Brinjal with Minced Meat in Hunan Style, and Stir-fried Beijing Cabbage. All three turned out to be excellent choices.

The chef deep-fried tantalising pork ribs was well-marinaded and very tender.

Although the fried spicy brinjal with minced meat in Hunan style looked like a Szechuan dish, the taste is completely different and unique.

I was surprised to see that the Beijing fried cabbage is not just a simple fried cabbage with dried shrimps. Instead, it was fried with pork and dried chilli and the taste is totally different from any fried cabbage I've ever had.

Our steamed rice

I truly enjoyed all the three dishes, and would definitely return with more people to try the fish dish. Thanks for taking me there, V! :) 


Address:
2, Jalan Kuchai Maju 6
Kuchai Lama
(near the Kuchai Entrepreneur's Park)
Tel: (03) 7987 9318
Business hours: 11am - 11pm (open daily)

Just Cakes

Our sprouted bread had run out and I had to go to Village Grocer, Bangsar, to replenish them. (Sprouted bread is good for diabetes and hubby takes them for breakfast daily.) Village Grocer is one of the few stores that carry the sprouted bread from Adventist Hospital's bakery (click here for more info). 


My sis-in-law was in Bangsar right then, and since I wanted to pass some stuff to her, we met up for lunch together with a friend of hers.


After lunch, we proceeded next door for cakes. I don't remember the name of the shop, but it shared half a shoplot with Klinik Chong at Lucky Garden. The space used to be occupied by a launderette. 


Carina, sis-in-law's friend, suggested that we ordered a cake each and shared them. My choice was the blueberry cheesecake.

It was one of the better cheesecakes I've had. It had whole blueberries in it, and the cake just melted in my mouth. Each bite was sheer bliss.


Sis-in-law let us picked a cake for her, and we selected the chocolate brownie with vanilla ice-cream.

Personally, I found the brownie not chocolaty enough. It didn't have chocolate fudge. There was one with fudge but without the walnuts. Since brownies without walnuts aren't brownies in my opinion, that wasn't an option. Sis-in-law loved it, fortunately.

Carina chose the carrot & pumpkin cake. Another good choice. It wasn't dry nor crumbly, and had a nice carrot-cinnamon flavour to it.

I like my carrot cakes to be moist with a distinct carrot & cinnamon flavour, and this one reminded me of the carrot cake I used to bake. The last time I baked any cake was when my mum was still alive and hadn't fallen sick yet. Perhaps one day I might start to bake again.

Hoofed @ Taman Tun Dr Ismail

Located above Tom, Dick & Harry, Hoofed specializes in pork. Yes, you got that right. There is a wine bar cum restaurant called Tom, Dick & Harry. And it owns Hoofed, too. At least, that's what the staff told us.


We had bought a Groupon voucher for RM18 each, for a pork chop meal that includes a roasted tomato soup, a choice of brownies or bananarama dessert. 


However, without a word of apology or acknowlegement, we were served with a dark green colour soup that tasted nothing like tomatoes, roasted or not. Upon checking with a staff, we found that they were out of tomatoes and had elected to replace it with spinach. 


Well, I understand that, but shouldn't they have said something prior to serving it to us? Doesn't good manners dictate that they apologize for having to replace a soup which we had pre-bought and paid for, but which they replaced at their own discretion??


And let's not go into diet and medical disorders. What if one of us had high uric acid (like my mum had) and spinach was an item we could not eat without further damaging our health??


Anyway, in the midst of the fuss, I forgot to take any pictures of the spinach soup. Bummer....

Pork chop

Despite being crowded on the second evening of Chinese New year, service was prompt. The pork chop arrived shortly after the soup bowls were cleared. Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, the pork reminded me of what we had at Jarrod & Rawlins, at a fraction of the price, of course. 

Chocolate brownies with vanilla ice cream

Predictably, chocolate brownies was my choice of dessert. I could never seem to get enough of chocolate brownies (I even baked them at home some time in the past!). Very rich and chocolatey, the brownies were a sinful indulgence. Warmed and eaten with the vanilla ice cream, each mouthful was a totally wonderful ying yang experience.

Bananarama

Hubby opted for the bananarama on the basis that he wanted something different for a change (I always ordered either chocolate brownies or chocolate fudge for dessert, if not cheesecake). I had warned him that the caramel sauce and peanut butter crumble are going to be very sweet and not diabetic-friendly. My predictions turned out to be true. Hubby couldn't finish his bananarama. It was overly sweet for him.


My conclusions? Hoofed is a nice enough neighbourhood restaurant, a place to relax and nurse a glass of wine or two before dinner. Would I go back? Well, I'm not a big fan of pork, so it's possible I might not return. 


Address:
No. 18A Lorong Rahim Kajai 14
Taman Tun Dr Ismail
6000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: (03) 7728-8567

Fish & Co @ 1-Utama

Two weeks ago, on the first day of Chinese New Year, with nowhere to go, we decided to hit 1-Utama in search of lunch and movie. My mother-in-law had told us not to visit anybody, including relatives, during Chinese New Year as my mum had passed away only a month earlier.


It was a strange new year for me. It was the first time I celebrated Chinese New Year without my mum. Needless to say, while most people of Chinese descent were in a festive mood, I was feeling down and sad.


Anyway....let's move on with the topic. Despite the long weekend, many KLites remained behind in the city, and at 2-ish in the afternoon, many tables at Fish & Co were still occupied. However, the service was prompt and we didn't have long to wait.

Caesar salad with smoked salmon - RM10.90

Caesar salad was the first to arrive. They were generous with the smoked salmon, which went very well with the lettuce and blue cheese dressing. 

Soup of the day (mushroom) - RM4.90

The soup of the day followed at the heels of the caesar salad. Rich and full of mushroom slices, it had a nice, creamy texture. 

New York Fish & Chips with stuffed cheese - RM13.90

Not dory, the fish fillet was firm and sweet, while the batter was crispy. I loved the cheese in it. Each bite was simply divine. It's the best fish & chips I've had in KL.

Seafood Baked Rice - RM15.90

The seafood baked rice is actually a paella with cheese. Again, it was another savory and delectable delight. Truly scrumptious. My mouth was watering as I typed this. We must revisit the place soon.


Address:
Fish & Co
LG 350, Lower Ground Floor,
1 Utama Shopping Centre
Bandar Utama, PJ.
Tel: (03) 7722-4928

The Wok - Revisited

This is our second visit to The Wok @ The Strand, Kota Damansara after a lapse of 8 months. For the first visit's review (which gives a background and directions to the place plus the different orders we had), please click here.


I had a craving for some nyonya food and wanted to try The Long Table at Kelana Jaya, but we were running a bit late (read: hungry) coupled with the fact that hubby wasn't sure where the restaurant is located. (Google map failed to show the street number, or any of the landmarks nearby.) Since Kota Damansara is like a stone's throw or two away, it made more sense to revisit The Wok. Besides, we had wanted to try the other items on their menu the last time we were there.

Gulai Tumis Stingray - RM18 (S)

The first item I ordered was the gulai tumis. I am a die-hard fan of gulai tumis, so when I say it's superb, my opinion is skewed and biased. In Penang, it is pronounced as goo-lye two-mee, which means fried curry, literally. It is a sourish curry, and the freshly blended paste is fried till fragrant before water is added to it and boiled. 


I love gulai tumis so much that I took the trouble to learn how to make it from my grandma. This reminds me that I have never blogged about it....*note to self: must remember to blog about my gulai tumis*.

Perut Ikan - RM10 (S)

Ever since I introduced hubby to perut ikan, it has been his favourite nyonya dish. At each and every nyonya restaurant we go to, he must have the perut ikan. Even if we had ordered this at our earlier visit. The dish hasn't changed from when we last visited, so I shall refrain from repeating myself. To find out what it tasted like, please visit my earlier blog post by clicking here.

Lor-bak and tau-knua - RM12 (S)

The lor-bak (deep-fried meat wrapped in spring rolls) was excellent. It's not what you get from coffee-shops. The skin was crispy and fragrant while the pork inside was tender and moist. The tau-knua, which is a hard tofu, was great, too. I'd say this item is a must-have.

Jui Hu Char - RM12 (S)

Jiu Hu Char is another favourite of hubby's when it comes to nyonya food. It is fried turnip slices with cuttlefish. It is eaten wrapped in lettuce leaves. 

Dessert, clockwise, from top left: 

Mango chendol x2 (RM5 each), jelly (complimentary) 

and sago gula melaka x2(RM4 each).

Hubby and I had the sago gula melaka while my MiL and SiL had the mango chendol. Hubby tried to get some feedback from them by asking them to compare it with the durian chendol we had in Melaka. Unfortunately, MiL and SiL did not remember what the durian chendol in Melaka tasted like. Since we had the sago gula melaka at our previous visit, I shall not blog about this item again. 


The complimentary jelly was unexpected and a very nice surprise. Nice as in the gesture and the taste.


It was a lovely meal and it looked like I might never get to try The Long Table as at the end of the meal, hubby said "The Wok is great, there's no need to travel so far to Kelana Jaya."


Address:
The Wok Cafe
26-G, Jalan PJU 5/21
The Strand Damansara
Kota Damansara
Tel: (03) 6142-7388
(Turn left at the junction behind CIMB bank)

Dragon-i @ Pavilion Bukit Bintang

Ever since Dragon-i opened its doors for business a few years ago, hubby has wanted to try their food. The restaurant specializes in food from Shanghai, Szechuan, Beijing and Lanzhou. But each time, a walk past their many outlets in a number of shopping malls would see a long queue of customers waiting to be seated. We have never felt a desire to get in line.


But last week the Dragon-i outlet at Pavilion, Bukit Bintang was relatively empty. That was the week of the Chinese New Year. Many KL-ites have taken the opportunity of the long holiday to get out of town. We seized the chance to try the food.

Three stringed instruments, without their strings, were exhibited on the wall.

A couple of rather strange concoction, some peculiar tea with what looked like corals. Tasted a little unusual, too. I wished we had simply stuck to the more traditional Chinese tea like Jasmine or 'Heong Ping'.

I ordered the La Mein (handmade noodles) in Szechuan Hot & Sour soup. I adore the spicy and vinegarish flavour of the soup. The taste was right up my alley.

Hubby wasn't so fortunate in his choice, however. He ordered the Szechuan La Mein in Hot & Sour Soup. Note the difference in the name of this dish and the one I had ordered. It sounds more or less the same, right? Wrong. It couldn't have been more different than night and day.


The Szechuan La Mein in Hot & Sour Soup was neither hot nor sour. It was nothing like the Szechuan Hot & Sour Soup. Instead, it was sweet with peanut-butter flavour, something we had had before at Low Yat Plaza. 


At that time, we had thought the restaurant in Low Yat Plaza made a mistake in naming the sweet peanut butter soup as 'hot & sour soup', but they must have gotten it right, for Dragon-i produced an exact replica of the soup with the same name. To say it tasted yucky would not begin to describe it. 


I am sure the other items on the menu must be good, though, and that hubby had just made a wrong choice (even though this item had the restaurant's specialty and chef's recommendation on it.) How else do we explain the crowd?? Unless....the majority has no discernment when it comes to food?? Surely not. 

One Sweet One Night @ Solaris Dutamas

The name does not sound promising. One Sweet One Night sounds more like a shop specializing in dessert and any main course on the menu is suspect. But at only RM11.80 for a set of 1 spaghetti dish, 1 set baked scallops, 1 French style cream pumpkin soup and 1 chrysanthemum tea with jelly, it's too good a bargain to pass.


At that price, our expectations weren't high. Even though the deal clearly spelt out that the set was worth RM56, and RM11.80 was a 79% discount promotion. 


While waiting for our orders to be served, we looked around the little setup. It's a cozy little cafe with live music at night, and the menu is in an iPad. You surf the menu on the iPad and place the order yourselves. The order gets transmitted to the kitchen. We looked around to see if elderly customers would have difficulty placing their orders, and saw that a couple, in their late 50s had to depend on their son to order for them.

They had an interesting version of Mona Lisa on their wall. I must admit I prefer this tubby Mona Lisa to the original skinny one.  :)

The French style cream pumpkin soup had a hint of curry powder in it. Hmmm....if I hadn't known better, I'd have thought it's Malaysian style cream pumpkin soup. I didn't know the French add curry powder to their cream soup?? It made me wonder if this is the current fad, as it's not the first time I had pumpkin soup with curry flavour in it. Perhaps it's part and parcel of fusion food.....

I wasn't too taken with the baked scallops. It would have tasted better without the onions, in my opinion.

The soft shell crab spaghetti was superb. The crab was crunchy on the outside and soft and sweet on the inside. Simply wonderful. The pasta came in a carbonara sauce, hmm....a rather ordinary sauce for me. But I just loved the soft shell crab. 

We were glad that we ordered the seafood spaghetti rather than the salmon spaghetti cream sauce. After looking at the pictures on the iPad menu, we felt certain that a tomato-based spaghetti would better complement a cream-based soft shell crab spaghetti (we like to share the dishes instead of having one to ourselves). And we were right. The piquant tomato sauce gave a 'variety' to our tastebuds that would not have been there had we gone with the salmon spaghetti cream sauce. 

The chrysanthemum tea with jelly was just a long fun (glass jelly) drink. No chrysanthemum taste was detectable.


Will we return for a regular-priced meal? Hmm....I don't think so. But if there's another promotion deal like this, we will. 


Address:
One Sweet One Night
A2-G2-3A, Solaris Dutamas
No. 1 Jalan Dutamas 1
Kuala Lumpur