Thursday, June 30, 2011

Restoran Ho Boh @ USJ, Subang Jaya.


'Lu Hoh Boh?'...... How are you?..... ahaha..... Hope I got it right. It's in Hokkien and I know nuts about that dialect. But this is dialect is widely spoken in Malaysia nowadays especially in places like Klang, Penang, Johor and almost every state in Malaysia.

But this time when I mentioned about 'Ho Boh' , I am referring to a restaurant in USJ Subang Jaya... simply called 'Restoran Ho Boh'. Of course Hoh lor ..... ahahahaha........... OK, that's all the Hokkien for today as I being a Cantonese find it pretty impossible to communicate in a different dialect.


The whole interior is designed based on the olden days kopitiam where wood dominates the whole place. Wooden walls made of wooden planks with the traditional finishing with modern looking wooden tables and chairs surrounding the entire outlet. There were also some marble top round tables scattered around the premise. Pretty ..... quite pretty.


But what I was interested is their food since they brag their food contains NO added MSG. Frankly, I have never come across any restaurant in this country that is MSG free. So this is going to be a big challenge for me and also for the restaurant.

Ho Boh Rui Cha @ RM6.00
Frankly, I am not a big fan of 'rui cha'. My mates ordered one which was supposed to be famous here. I had to give it a go and I find the taste to be really interesting. Something I didn't expect it to be good. Nevertheless, it will take a miracle for me to finish the entire bowl. I would prefer nasi lemak. LOL. My mates did enjoy it as they found it to be really delicious.

Pan Mee @ RM5.50
This is more like it. I wonder why is it nowadays that so many eateries are selling 'pan mee'. It is not really a special delicacy and it was supposed to be one of Malaysia hawker food. And yet there are restaurants that specializes only in serving 'pan mee'.

I kind of enjoyed this bowl of noodle. A little salty but it was really mouth watering. The chilli that came with it was a good dipping sauce for those who love a little spice in their noodle. Not too bad-lah.

Fried Rice @ RM5.50
And finally something which is a favourite with most Malaysians. A simple plate of homemade fried rice. It was done really well as I loved fried rice to be really dry. It does taste good but not the best in town. With some chilli padi mixed with soya sauce, this additional dip will be pleasing and enticing and really made for each other with this lovely plate of fried rice.

Conclusion : A cool place for a simple yet delicious meal. The best part was it is really pocket friendly. And I choose to reserve my opinion on the No added MSG thingy. A 2/5.

Cheers!

Restoran Ho Boh
No 25, Ground Floor
Jalan USJ 9/5N
47620 Subang Jaya
Selangor.
Tel : 03 8023 2627 / 012 369 0331

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Soo Kee Mee @ Imbi, KL.


I have heard of this famous 'tai chau' place for many years. And yet I have never stepped into it before. 'Pai Seh leh'. It is so famous that it is a must eat place if one were to look for 'sang har sang mee'.

We took this opportunity to pay this place a visit after visiting our grandmother who was admitted to Prince Court. No worries everything is fine and nothing much to worry about.

It was difficult to look for a parking space even the clock has passed 8pm. That's why Kuala Lumpur is branded as a city that never sleep. The later it gets the busier it is. And finally with much pleasure we found a parking space and we couldn't be more excited in tasting our first 'sang har sang mee' at this famous 'tai chau'.


This place was packed with late diners but we were lucky to find a lovely spot. Not wasting more time we quickly place our order.

Chee Pau Kai or Paper Wrapped Chicken
I was rather disappointed when this was served to us. It was not 'hot' enough which means this paper wrapped chicken was cooked earlier and was reheated before serving. Anyway, what choice do we have but to unwrapped the chicken and find out how it taste like. To my surprised it tasted pretty good but was a tad overcooked and a little too dry. I would have loved this chicken to come with some sauce.

Kangkong Vegetable
The plainly garlic fried kangkong was ... really plain. A little too much oil and almost tasteless. It was ok if it was almost tasteless as I prefer my food to be cooked with less salt. It was well fried as it was crunchy, which was good.

Cantonese Fried Beef Kuey Teow
I certainly did 'drool' when this lovely plate of noodle was brought to us. It was very aromatic and a generous portion of beef was used. Portion was enough for the three of us. Somehow, I felt that the arrangement was picture perfect whereby in actual fact it tasted pretty bland. Consolation was the beef was well marinated and was really delicious and not overcooked which makes the meat tender and succulent.

Fish Meat Sang Mee
I am sure you guys must be wondering why we did not order the famous 'sang har sang mee' but instead of 'fish meat sang mee'. Before we came to this place we did some research by asking around and through the internet in finding more information about the food, about the place, about the price, etc... This place is famous for charging high price for it's food and this was the main reason why we decided to go for the 'yue pin sang mee'.

I was rather disappointed with the presentation and I was really hoping that it will taste good. But again it was a disappointment. Again this plate of noodle tasted really bland and it didn't manage to interest me. Maybe we made a wrong choice as it is always a wise thing to order what they are good in. Anyway, we did not regretted with our decision and choices. Why? Because we had to fork out RM73.50 for the above meal. Ridiculous !!!

Conclusion : Seriously, this will be my first and my last visit here. We only ordered simple food but the price we had to pay was exorbitant. We could have had a better meal elsewhere with the exorbitant price we paid for. Food was below our expectation and doesn't deserved to be branded 'famous'. Purely my point of view ~ this place is totally over-rated. A1.5/5 will do.

Cheers.

Soo Kee Mee                               Monday Off
No 14, Medan Imbi
55100 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel : 03 2148 1324

Monday, June 27, 2011

Restaurant Little Canton @ Uptown Damansara Utama, PJ


I think the best business to be involved in is food business. This was what I reckon as more and more restaurant or cafe is mushrooming in every corner of KL and PJ. We stumble upon this Little Canton Restaurant one sunny afternoon searching for some 'chicken rice'. I love chicken rice and this particular restaurant does serve this lovely delicacy.


First impression of this restaurant was good. This place was crowded and more was coming in. We managed to find ourself a table situated at the five foot walkway. It was a pretty cool day with some sun ray beaming down on us with some cool breeze blowing past us.

The set up of this restaurant was rather simple with wooden tables and chairs well positioned and dominating the main area. On the left is the kitchen or place where food was displayed and prepared. You will see some chicken hanging on one side while some 'char siew' and 'siew yook' on the other. I can feel myself drooling just by looking at them. LOL.

Wan Ton Mee with BBQ Pork and Wantan @ RM5.50
We ordered a plate of wanton noodle which came with some BBQ pork and a small bowl of wanton with soup. Apparently we were staring at the plate of noodle .... looking puzzled .... as the portion was so so so little. OMG ! I wonder what the 'tauke' was thinking of. Wanna make fast money by serving the least they can. This is really a no no and seriously I was really disappointed.

Taste wise, this plate of wanton noodle does taste good. Not too sweet nor too salty. Noodle was cooked almost to perfection with that springy feel to it. Overcooked noodle does drive me off but credits to them. The BBQ pork was delicious and  sumptuous,

Honey BBQ Pork (siew yook) with Roast Chicken Rice @ RM7.00
I was all excited with this set. I have always been a big fan for chicken rice and siew yook rice. The aroma was breathtaking and I just gotta sink my teeth into them. Siew Yook was so delicious yet succulent. Skin was so crispy which gets two thumbs up from me. Chicken meat was just normal la. I was expecting something different and was feeling a little disappointed. Anyway, the oil rice was very aromatic and goes very well with both the meat. And not to forget the chilli ... it was really spicy and really good. I think I finished off the whole bowl of chilli. LOL.

Famous Ipoh White Coffee @ RM2.80
And not to forget, being a coffee lover, I would like to say that they make a really good cup or glass of coffee. It was really tasty and 'Old Town' eat your heart out. Highly recommended.

Conclusion : Food was good but portion was too little. Hence, I would say that it's not worth the money as you do not get what you pay for. Coffee was great, indeed. Let's keep our hopes high hoping they will increase the serving portion. Otherwise, this would be my first and my last visit as there are plenty of places that serves good chicken rice at a bargain. Rating ...... 2.5/5.

Cheers !

Restaurant Little Canton                     Business Hours :
97, Ground Floor                                Mon - Fri : 10am - 10pm
Jalan SS21/37                                   Sat, Sun & Public Holidays : 9am - 9pm
Damansara Utama
47400 Petaling Jaya.
Tel : 012 719 5030

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Man Siang Yuen @ Pudu, KL


My colleague has been bragging about this place along Pudu which serves one of the best fish head noodles in town. It is located in a coffee shop or rather 2 different coffee shops whereby the walls was torn down to make this entire place bigger. The other shop sells Teochew porridge with lot's of variety to chose from. But I am only touching on the famous fish head noodle.

This fish head noodle stall is spearheaded by a middle age women with a couple of foreign helpers. If one were to be there during lunch time make sure you have the time and patience to wait for your bowl of noodle.  You can either have your fish meat steam or fried, have a choice of thick noodle or the normal thin rice vermicelli. And you can also have your bowl of noodle with or without milk.


I decided to call for the fried fish meat with the thick rice vermicelli and with milk. My very first slurp of the soup was like ... ooohh..... it's really good! Then comes another and another ....... I just couldn't believe what I was in for. It was terrific. The total taste of the fish head noodle was unbelievable even though the fried fish meat was overfried. The importance of this bowl of noodle lies beneath the soup and with such fantastic delicious soup one will forgive the overfried fish meat.


The soup was very creamy and noodles was as smooth as silk. Dip the fish meat into the accompanied 'chilli paste' and you will be seeing stars. Truly unbelievable.

Conclusion : I would recommend this place to anyone who is a fan of fish head noodle. Parking may be a problem but you will not be disappointed with this bowl of noodle. Please bring lot's of tissue cause you will need it. LOL. I would rate this place a 3.5/5.

Cheers!

Man Siang Yuen Kopitiam
No 274, Jalan Changkat Thambi Dollah
Off Jalan Pudu
Pudu
55100 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel : 03 2145 8242

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Shiraz Wine & Cafe @ SunwayMas, PJ


All on board ! It's time for a fiesta ! Double birthday celebrations plus a celebration to all daddy in the world. It's time to wine and dine and to let your hair loose.

Reservation was made for this special function and there will be 12 of us heading for a fiery time with lot's of food and probably some wine for those who are not driving. The sky was getting dark as the minute ticks and everyone who was invited started to show up bits by bits and inch by inch. Nobody in this right frame of mind would want to miss this big partay !


We took a big gamble by going to a complete new restaurant where only my bro and sis in law been to. The rest of us ..... are all guinea pigs. LOL. From the moment we reached this place I was kind of impress with the restaurant's decor.


One would never miss the restaurant's name 'Shiraz Wine & Cafe' as the bright blue lights just kept on beaming at me. And on the left corner was another bright blue neon sign that says the promotion they were having for Father's Day. The whole picture was pretty nice and cosy.


The interior is pretty cool with the right ambience to kick start the mood. Tables were well placed and they even have a bar area for those who would love to have a drink or two. Yeah, this place does serve liquor from imported beers to wines. Pretty cool I must say for those who would like to unwind in a place not too noisy and crowded and a place that serves some really cool pasta according to my sis in law.

Everyone was seated accordingly and let the music play.

Spring Chicken
Various Fish Meat with Pasta
Mixed Grill
Chicken Chop
More Pasta
As you can see food was abundance and we really had a wonderful time. I always believe in spending valuable time with family members and even close friends something money cannot buy.

We had a couple of spring chicken but we were rather disappointed as the bird was rather small (XS). Tasted ok-la but nothing great about it. I reckon I could do a better job grilling the bird to perfection. Pastas was superb. Very creamy but was rather overcooked. Now I know why my sis in law comes here regularly for it's pasta. Be it cabonara or whatever fashion or style it does taste good.

Chicken chop is another dish that got the thumbs up. Whereby the mixed grill was just so-so. Frankly in my own opinion their pasta dishes is value for money but not the spring chicken. Whereby the mixed grill was kind of 'odd' the way they presented it.

Conclusion : Even though I am a sucker for western food but this restaurant just didn't do enough in getting my vote. The only thing I fell in love with was their pasta dish. Price wise compared to it's portion ~ purely my opinion overall is not worth it. But it doesn't mean this place suck, right! One man's meat is another man's poison. LOL. I would rate this place a 2.5/5.

Cheers  !

Shiraz Wine & Cafe
Jalan PJU 1-3F
Sunway Mas Commercial Centre
47300 Petaling Jaya.
Tel : 03 7804 5317

Friday, June 24, 2011

Sakura Sakura Japanese Restaurant @ Subang Jaya


Weather was rather hot and it has been like this for the past weeks. Oh! how I wished for some rain showers. And the only rain showers I get is from my 'Grohe' rainshower set which I have in my masterbath ... something that I truly enjoy. This was the best way to reduce some body heat. :) Today is a special day as it is Sunday and because it is 'Father's Day'.

Since it was Sunday and Father's day too, we decided to have a lazy afternoon pampering our tired body by giving it some extra rest. And after all the resting, time for a food feast for the evening with our beloved father and mother in law.

Main Entrance
We took a drive to Subang Jaya in search for some really good Japanese food. Those that is not commercialized that we were seeking for. Everywhere was packed with people but we managed to find one which serves really good authentic Japanese food. This place is called 'Sakura Sakura'.


The minute you stepped into this outlet you will be greeted by their staff in Japanese. I truly enjoyed it as we felt really important. The environment of this restaurant is truly simple yet elegant. They really put in a lot of effort in making this place feel cosy and a lot of effort with the interior design too. Truly remarkable.

Moroheiya Ninniku @ RM15.00++
We were introduced to this lovely 'green' and was also highly recommended by their waitress. This vegetable is called 'Moroheiya' and is was supposed to be rich in A, B1, B2, minerals and calcium. And this is an organic plant too which do not contains any MSG. It was fried simply with garlic and sprinkle with some anchovies. This dish is really good ! Taste superb ! Two Thumbs Up !.... but the portion was really too little.

Teppan Gyoza @ RM10.00++
Not to be missed is the famous 'Teppan Gyoza'. It comes in a set of 5 lovely Gyoza which was not enough for all of us. It was truly remarkable, truly delicious, meat was well marinated, simply amazing. Highly recommended too !

Natsu Don @ RM18.00++
This is a box set rice set which comprises of some chicken cut into bite size mixed with a beaten egg. This set is my personal favorite and I will truly say that 'Sakura Sakura' took this dish one step further ~ delicious !

Chicken Teriyaki @ RM16.00++
The aroma of this dish was really breathtaking. It totally filled up our senses and all of us just wanted to grab a bite and continue to enjoy our dinner since so many marvelous dishes was brought to us. It was slightly salty but it was OK since it goes well with plain white rice.

Sukiyaki @ RM42.00++
And finally, a dish which I loved very much from the very first day I tasted it. This fantastic dish is called 'Sukiyaki'. I noticed nowadays most Japanese restaurant do not serve this dish anymore. I really wonder why? But this is found here at  'Sakura Sakura' because majority of their regular clients are Japanese and they always look for original authentic pure Japanese food.

Sukiyaki is normally done in a Japanese hot pot consisting of thinly sliced beef meat which is slowly cooked or simmered along with some vegetables, tofu, negi, mushroom and some jelly-noodles.

A tad too salty but this is the original taste of it. It was an amazing feat and amazing experience to have this fantastic dish served today. Goes really well with plain white rice and the soup is truly delicious.

Conclusion : Without any doubt I will rate this place a 5/5. This is for it's food quality which was amazingly delicious, plenty of variety to choose from, for it's environment, for it's decorations, for their hospitable service, for it's delicious food. I became an instant fan ! Keep it up !

Cheers!

Sakura Sakura Japanese Restaurant
4A, Jalan SS12/1B
47500 Subang Jaya
Petaling Jaya.
Tel : 03 5637 9185 / 6

Monday, June 20, 2011

Fatt Kee Yong Tau Foo @ Emporium Makan, Klang


A close friend of ours have been asking us to dine in Klang for a long time. He was telling us about his friend's outlet which serves good 'lou shue fun' in Klang. According to J, this outlet is in it's second generation and is very popular amongst the locals. For sure I wouldn't have known anything about this outlet until today.

It is located in the city's oldest medan selera in Klang town. To my surprised this outlet is called 'Fatt Kee Yong Tau Foo'. I thought we were there for a good bowl of 'lou shue fun'. O.o

Asked J about it and he says 'yeah' they are famous for their 'yong tau foo' too and their 'lou shue fun' actually comes with some 'yong tau foo' which is really something special. Without wasting more time we ordered what we came for and I really hope what J mentioned about the food is true.


When the bowl of 'lou shue fun' was brought to us I was rather taken aback as I did not expect it to be so 'plain'. It was pretty oily which is not to my liking and topped with some minced meat. Came with it is a bowl of yong tau foo in a bowl of soup.

Frankly, I didn't fancy the noodle at all. The bowl of noodle was just too salty, too oily, which take a lot of effort to finish it. But the yong tau foo tasted pretty good. Maybe because I am not accustomed to it's taste but Klang folks certainly does know how to enjoy this bowl of noodle.

The crowd was pretty healthy with mostly families coming in bus load flocking this outlet for it's 'lou shee fun'. Certainly this outlet is doing something right to have triggered Klang folks tastebuds. But sadly not mine, though.


There's this outlet beside it named 'Teo Seng Ngoh Heong' that serves 'lobak'. We ordered some mixtures of different types of lobak to go along with the noodles we ordered earlier.

Majority of the lobak were 'fried' stuff which we tried not to have too much of it. Nothing to shout about though just tasted normal-lah.

Conclusion : Famous with Klang folks but not with me and my mates. I will not come back even for half a bowl. I would prefer to drive myself all the way down town Kuala Lumpur for a good bowl of noodles instead of Klang. Lobak is ok-lah. A 1/5.

Cheers.

Fatt Kee (Yong Tau Foo)
Emporium Makan Gama
41400 Klang.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Happy Wok @ Tropicana Mall, PJ.


As usual it was kind of hard making a decision on what to have for dinner. There is just so many food outlets here in this mall that is making it hard for us to decide. Everything seemed to be so good and our taste buds just want it all.

Time was not on our side this time as we have a movie to catch. This time it was Kung Fu Panda. Looking at the time displayed on my HTC phone shows that we only have 30 minutes for our dinner. A quick decision has to be made and viola.... we ended up at 'Happy Wok'.

This outlet was the preferred choice because it was not really crowded and this works best for us since we were rushing for time. The first thought that came to my mind was ..... could the food be that bad since there was just a handful of crowd at the restaurant. But that did not deterred us from moving elsewhere.  Crowd was limited due to the fact that this is a NON Halal outlet. o.O


A browse through their menu shows they have quite a healthy variety of dishes and food to be explored. From chinese foodie to some local delicacies to some really simple ala carte foodie eg fried noodle or fried rice, etc.... And there was a handful of pork dishes to chose from which should be really interesting if you are a porkie lover. But this time we will just go for some 'express' ala carte meals.

Dried Beef Rendang Rice Set @ RM12.90+
The beef rendang set which I ordered was full of praise as the aroma was simply amazing. I have been a fan for such foodie since a very young age and I truly know what I was expecting the minute this plate was brought to me.

The meat was succulent and not overcooked which was a delight. Overcooked beef rendang can spoil the whole plate as the meat can be very tough. But Happy Wok managed to pull through this test and I truly hope they can maintain this quality which I experienced today.

Not too spicy and it goes really well with plain white rice. A little disappointed with the portion as it was just too little.

Beef Kuay Teow @ RM10.90+
My wife couldn't resists the temptation of this lovely plate of noodles which was fried with some ginger and spring onions. Frankly, both of us was pretty surprised with this plate of noodle. Portion was huge, aroma was breathtaking and just by looking at it made us XXXHungry.

True enough. The very first bite was made in heaven. This noodle tasted marvelous and the beef that came with it was electrifying. It was so near perfection, really. And it was such a delight fulfilling our belly with such delicious food.

Not forgetting the drinks we ordered ~ a good sized glass of soya milk (RM3.50+) and a very yummy good sized glass of sea coconut with longan (RM4.00+). Just worth every penny of it all.

Conclusion : I would definitely dine at this outlet again. For the simple food that we had today I believed if they managed to control and maintain their standards they can go a long way winning more fans. Good food at good price comes with pretty good service too. A 3.5/5.

Cheers!

Happy Wok
Lot L1.12, Level 1
Tropicana City Mall
Petaling Jaya
Selangor.
Tel : 03 7710 6112
free hit counter
free hit counter