Restaurant Shang Kee @ Ulu Yam

It was a wonderful weekend of relaxing and fun with family members and friends. We spent a great deal of our precious time at Fraser's Hill. The bungalow we stayed in was superb and the whole atmosphere was just amazing. How I wished I could own such a lovely there. Weather was superb too not too hot and was quite breezy. Fantastic. This was what I was looking for.

Ah! well.... good things have to end somehow. It was time for all of us to make our journey back to KL. It is always a sad thing to do ~ reality bites don't they. But before really heading back towards KL we decided to make our way to Ulu Yam for a good meal as Ulu Yam is famous for it's 'Loh Mee'.

Lucky for us my father in law knows the way to the best restaurant in Ulu Yam for this delicacy. He was our walking GPS for the day and we were all so delighted with it's performance. Chuckle. There were so many so called famous restaurant dishing out this delicacy but we choose to head towards this restaurant by the name of 'Restoran Shang Kee'.

Surprised! Surprised! This place was packed when we arrived and blimey it was close to 4pm. Simply just cannot believed it. Most of the patrons are from KL just like us after a lovely weekend away from the busy KL life.

There is nothing to shout about this restaurant. It's just like any other ordinary restaurant but the only extraordinary thing about this place is it's 'Loh Mee'.

Loh Mee @ RM16.00

Before this lovely bowl was brought to us I could smell it's aroma from mile away. It looks marvelous and all of us wanted a go at it! Some liked it with some vinegar and some, like myself, do better without it. Yummy yummy.... good good ..... continue eating, continue eating ..... burp! burp! It was different from those I had back in PJ or KL. Seriously, it does taste Ulu Yam in it and that's why it's such a hit there. It's a little difficult for me to explain the different but do make a date with them if you really wanted to know how it tastes like.

Porkie Bites

This porkie bites sure does smells good and tastes good but it was over fried resulting to most of us a visit to a denture doctor. It was delicious not doubt but it was hard to bite too. And not to forget oily which is a big no-no.

Fried Noodle with Siew Yook

Since there was so many of us we decided to order another plate of noodle just to fill up the half filled bellies still longing for more food. I don't really remember the special name given for this plate of noodle but it does taste good. Again it was rather oily but I reckon this is a norm for Malaysian Chinese cooking. Fabulous and is equally as good as their famous 'Loh Mee'.

Delicious Saito Fish Cake @ RM16.00

Delicious Saito Fu Zok  @ RM16.00

Both this fish cake and fu zok which is made from saito fish is truly out of this world. It tastes really delicious and from the first bite I could still feel the saito fish meat to be very springy which scores full marks. And both of them are supposedly the 'chiew pai' dish.

Conclusion : Loh mee is superb including the other fried noodle. Fu zok and fish cake is out of this world which is a must. A tad too oily for my liking and portion is just so-so. Rather expensive from my point of view. Service sucks but you still get food served on the table. LOL. A 3/5.

Cheers.

Restoran Shang Kee
Jalan Besar Bandar Utama
Batang Kali
Ulu Yam
Selangor.

Kin No Mizu @ The Intermark, KL.

The Intermark formerly known as Yow Chuan Plaza is full of new ventures since the whole building underwent a massive renovation. The building has been fully revamped and has a new look which is 'upmarket'. Pretty impressive and it even have Hilton's Double Tree Hotel occupying a whole wing.

Having an office at The Intermark surely speaks quality rather than quantity. But it could also be a nightmare hunting for food especially during lunch time. It has been a ritual to take a short walk over to Ampang Park for reasonable priced food but having lunch there day in and day out ruined all the excitement. This was when we decided to venture into the new outlets at The Intermark.

A couple of levels up brought us to this lovely looking Japanese restaurant by the name of 'Kin No Mizu - Japanese Dining'. The first impression of this outlet was pretty amazing. The way this restaurant was designed was breathtaking and breathtaking it was as one will have to be very careful when walking around this outlet. Certain parts or areas have so-called man made water alleyways which could be dangerous if one mistakenly steps into it.

The whole place was full of blue lights which makes the environment cozy. Table settings was impressive too with a couple of long tables to suit big crowds and they even have a private room to cater for private function. As for food, they have a handful of set lunches which was very impressive. All set lunches comes with an appertizer, Chawan Mushi, Miso Soup, Pickles, Rice and Dessert. 

Sashimi Set @ RM38.00++

This 'Sashimi Set' was full of praised as the portion was enough for an adult. Freshness was guaranteed as the thinly sliced salmon and other seafood was superb. Presentation was beautiful as always since this dish has been served in the most beautiful ways as one can think of.

Unagi Set @ RM35.00++

Beef Teriyaki Set @ RM32.00++

Grilled Saba Set @ RM23.00++

All the other sets that came was very impressive too. Beef teriyaki was delicious and succulent. It was done the way we wanted and we were not disappointed. Grilled Saba tasted really good too and also grilled to near perfection. Unagi was slightly salty but goes well with rice. Same goes for the grilled Gindara which amazing too. Pure delight.

Grilled Gindara Set @ RM35.00++

Chawan Mushi

Salmon Temaki @ RM12.00++
Soft Shell Crab Temaki @ RM15.00++

I really enjoyed the Chawan Mushi and wanted to have another bowl but I was just too over fed. The texture was just so-so as I've tasted even better ones but the taste of it really bring joy to the table.

As for the 2 different Temaki, I truly prefer the soft shell crab over the salmon. Very simple .... it's because it tasted better. LOL.

Conclusion : Nice environment, good service, good food, good portion, expensive. A 3.5/5. And yeah they have an outlet over at Bangsar Village and one over at TTDI Plaza. Check them out.

Cheers.

kin no mizu ~ Japanese Fine Dining

The Intermark Branch

Lot 211, Level 2

The Intermark

182, Jalan Tun Razak

50400 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel : 03 2166 2888

twenty.one @ Bangsar

Twenty.one ..... a number where it is highly loved by many. Well it could be '21' from a game of 'blackjack'. 21 years of age ~ a prime age, 21 for some means 'longevity' as 2 + 1 = 3 (sang). Etc...

This particular 21 is located in Bangsar Shopping Center at Bangsar. Twenty.one is a place where the young and the restless would like to let their hair loose in the evening with a couple of chilled beers or liquor, a place for many to unwind and entwined (LOL) and all this happens after sun set.

And during the day this place dishes out some really cool and funky and affordable set lunches. Cool in a sense where 'East meets West' and plenty to be offered. There are approx 10 different types of set lunches to choose from ~ sandwich, curry noodle, pasta, thai green curry just to name a few. And each set lunches comes with a glass of fruit juice or carbonated drink.

Different angle shots of twenty.one

The atmosphere of this place is pretty cool and relaxing indeed. The only downfall is that it smelt of cigarettes which is a pain. This unpleasant scent was being left overnight by late night party goers which is ok for the evening event but not for daytime event.

Complementary snacks before a meal

Service is commendable too as the waiter and waitress there are pretty alert and attentive. But it all depends on how busy they are, actually, from my point of view. They are also pretty well mannered and really performed in what they do best. Very hospitable indeed.

Thai Green Chicken Curry @ RM18.00++

Very presentable indeed when this dish was brought to us. Somehow there was just no 'aroma' to fill us in and this I smelt danger. And true enough from the very first spoonful of this lovely looking green curry into my watery mouth ~ ngom, ngom, ngom ..... it's tasteless. Failed miserably. If I was blindfolded I would not know that this particular bowl is 'green curry'. Yeah it's really this bad. Comes with some potatoes, beans and peas and served with a handful of bread. Yeah, no rice though. Pretty odd eh.

Bread for dipping (green curry)

Penne Tubes @ RM18.00++

Oh what a marvelous plate of pasta. It comes with 'tempura eggplant' and 'pesto chicken'. I found myself gobbling up this plate of pasta non-stop which means only one thing ~ delicious.

Spaghetti Oglio Olio @ RM10.00++

...and when we thought we had one of the best pasta, came another that is mind-blowing. I was firing in all cylinders. This Oglio Olio was even better. It comes with beef bacon, chilli, coriander and olive oil. Yummy !

Toasted Pesto Chicken Sandwich @ RM9.00++

Ahh .... finally one of the two sandwich was served. First to come was the chicken sandwich which came with tomatoes with bearnaise sauce and some fries with some dipping sauce. Pure delight sinking my teeth into this lovely sandwich. It was so delicious where everyone wanted more.

The 'Scummy Salmon Sandwich' tasted even better. It was truly amazing and out of this world. Words just cannot describe how wonderful it can be. And at RM16.00++  truly a bargain.

Conclusion : Not too bad foodie, lot's of variety ~ only touched on set lunches and lot's more from the ala carte menu, commendable service, pretty relaxing atmosphere, can't stand the ciggie smell, reasonable pricing.  But portion was slightly too small. A 3/5.

Cheers.

twenty.one tables + terrace
t1 level 3 bsc 
285 jalan maarof, bukit bandaraya
59000 kuala lumpur.
tel : 03 2287 0021
www.twentyone.com.my