Rakuzen Japanese Restaurant @ G Tower, KL

First day of work after a long one week CNY holiday. It was rather hard coming back for work but it was ok as there will be lot's more food and celebrations. First day back (Chor 6) is an auspicious day to start work and one can see the reason why traffic condition in KL was back to normal that is 'bad traffic'.

Interesting it was for all of us in the office. There was lot's of conversation about what has happened during the holidays coming from everyone who was so eager in sharing. Blah ... blah .... blah ..... But in the end the universal languague kicked in ~ 'let's go for lunch' !

All of us decided to go Japanese to celebrate our 'back to work' after the CNY holidays. We wanted to have something extraordinary and the chosen restaurant was just around the corner where we work ie 'Rakuzen' at G Tower.

Place was pretty cool with it's open concept covering the whole dining floor. There was some 'private' rooms made available for those who wanted to have some privacy. And it was pretty packed with lunch crowd too.

Yee Sang @ RM38.00++

Kick start the event was to 'lou sang' which is a traditional thing to do during CNY. This Yee Sang was very different compared to those sold at Chinese restaurants. It's presentation was superb carrying the Japanese theme with it. Again we decided to go with Jelly fish instead of salmon fish.

It was a joy eating up this plate of extraordinary Japanese style Yee Sang. Tasted very different and tasted very good. Such a pure delight as we were so tempted to have another go. Truly amazing.

Nameko Soba @ RM18.00++

This bowl of Japanese noodle was so mouth watering and simply irresistable. It was 'wallopped' by all of us and finished in world record time and everyone loved it. Noodles was well cooked and the soup was so yummy. And we even wanted to order another bowl which we decided not to as we still have our set lunches to 'makan'.

Sukiyaki Zen @ RM30.00++

My all time favourite ~ Sukiyaki Zen with it's tender thinly sliced beef was truly amazing. I couldn't resist the portion of this set as it was huge. Gambate ! The aroma filled the room and all eyes was staring at it. It was just incredible when I had my first slice of beef .... oooh lala..... In the pot incl some green vegetable and some mushrooms. Soup was simply delicious which went very well with the bowl of rice.

There was a bowl of raw egg which is used to dip the hot beef slice so it will cool the temperature down which in order for it to be 'mouth friendly'. Beef was not overcook simply because it was thinly sliced and tasted really really good.

Came with it was a cup of 'Chawamushi' which was steamed egg. Simple and nice indeed. A favourite of mine too and again wanted more! But judging the portion of this set ..... prevented me from having another cup.

Chicken Teriyaki Zen @ RM22.00++

Another one of my favourite this chicken set also comes with a cup of 'Chawamushi'. The teriyaki chicken tasted simply amazing and goes well with the bowl of rice. It was slightly sweet but it was ok though. Chicken was not overcooked and was succulent which makes it incredible.

Sakura C Zen @ RM30.00++

This set is a consists of raw fish and squid and some tofu. Portion again was huge indeed. Since raw stuff is not to my liking it was hard for me to really give a positive comment but judging from what my colleague had to say, this set was fabulous. Raw fish and squids was fresh which is important for raw dish. Came with it was some teriyaki sauce and some wasabi. Goes really well with it though.

Chicken Katsujyu Zen @ RM22.00++

This set consists of some fried chicken cutlets topped with egg sauce served with white rice and a cup of miso soup. Ichiban indeed. It's aroma was so rich that I had no choice but to tax some of it from my colleague. Nom .... nom ..... fantastic! Chicken was tender yet succulent but I found the egg sauce rather dominating this whole dish. It was OK though depending on individuals taste buds.

Sushi Unagi Zen @ RM42.00++

For those who love to chew on some hand rolled sushi and stuffed your mouth with some teriyaki smoked freshwater eel, this set would be a dream come true. GOod for big eaters though as this set is set to make one's belly bloated! LOL.

Dipped the sushi into the special sauce mixed with some wasabi ~ kawabanga !!! ichiban !!! but not itchy bawah. LOL. As for the eel ..... I found the teriyaki sauce to be over dominating. Maybe it's the way it should be or maybe I was not used to eating this dish but somehow ...... all I could taste was just the sauce. Anyhow eel was pretty good but this is not something I would like to eat too often as eel contains a very high percentage of mercury which is harzadous to human body.

Conclusion : I like the environment, the feel of this restaurant, and service was pretty good indeed. We were a little disappointed as it took them awhile to serve us our set lunches. Set lunches was supposed to be served like the speed of 'fast food' but it was otherwise. Food quality was at it's best and all of us walked away with a happy face and a full load belly. A little costly and not too pocket friendly. A 3.5/5. Gambate!!!

Rakuzen @ G Tower
LG 05 & 06
G Tower
199, Jalan Tun Razak
50400 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel : 03 2161 4800

Restaurant Siu Siu @ KL.

Never had I realised how tired I was. Days passed by like the speed of light. Before the holidays started there was full of hope that there'll be enough time for me to relax my tired body. But it was totally the reversed.

This years' Chinese New Year was full of gatherings, full of visiting, full of 'HUAT', full of food and full of surprises too. A couple of friend from Vietnam was in Malaysia for a holiday and it was a pure pleasure to have met up with them. As usual food will be the universal languague for us to proudly promote what this country is famous for and is the fastest way of communication. LOL.

When the sunshine turns into darkness it was time for us to make our way to 'Restaurant Siu Siu' which is located in Kuala Lumpur which was a stone throw away from the famous 'Tin Hou Temple'. We had to call this restaurant to pre-booked our table and thier famouse 'Claypot Crab Rice' as demand was overwhelming.

Yee Sang

To kick start we had 'Yee Sang' which came with jellyfish instead of salmon fish. As usual we did the routine of mixing the Yee Sang and lot's of wishes was made prior to it. Our dearest Vietnamese friend was amused and amazed with it.

Again it was time to globble all the Yee Sang up. Yummy ! What's the secret of this year's Yee Sang ~ all tasted good indeed. I personally gave 2 thumbs up for it but our dearest visitor was finding it hard to 'accept' the taste. LOL.

Famous BBQ Pork or 'Char Siew'

Next in line was their famous 'Char Siew'. We were told that this restaurant serves one of the best 'Char Siew' in town. But somehow I just find it to be OK-lah. Boleh tahan only lah. Meat was pretty succulent but just lack the 'kaboom' effect. Not the best I've tasted ~ still have room for improvement.



Claypot Crab Rice

The much anticipated pot of rice was finally brought to us. The aroma was just fabulous but ... I was disgusted with the portion as there simply was not enough to feed 8 adults. We had to 'control' our rice intake otherwise there simply won't be enough. And the crab that came with it was rather disappointing too. I didn't know that crab existed from Euthopia. So crappy indeed.

Luckily the rice tasted really good. Add a little soy sauce with some bird chilli and garlic to it ~ viola ..... darn delicious and darn yummy. As for the crab ..... below average.  How did this pot of crap rice oops .... crab rice became a winner at this restaurant???!!! Probably only crappies dine there. LOL

Fried Noodle

This plate of fried noodle must be from the same 'clan' as the claypot crab rice. Looks good but taste just average. There seems to be lot's of average Joe in this restaurant, eh . LOL

Beancurd with minced meat

This beancurd dish is also their house specialty. Fried beancurd was a pleasure to be eaten as the it is soft inside even though it was fried. With the special sauce which was mixed with minced meat and chopped long beans this bean curd was truly a winner. It was finished before I could take a second look. That's how good it was. Not too salty which was to be applauded this tofu gets a 2 thumbs up from us all.

Green Green Grass of Home .....

It was time to go green with this plate of garlic fried vegetable. Simple yet delicious. I have always loved such dish as it was much healthier.

Fried Squid

Lastly was the red coloured plate that bring to us the 'Fried Squid' ... tadaa....... Tadaa..... from how it looks but not from how it tasted. Hey there's another average Joe here. Squid was over-fried which makes it hard to chew. You'll probably need a hammer to get through them. LOL. Not only that it tasted bland too. A no-no indeed.

Conclusion : It was nice to have our dearest friend from Vietnam but it was rather a disappointing decision for dining at this restaurant. What we had today was horrible .... as I've heard so much about this place dishing out yummy foodie. But not today though. Could it be because the crowd was too much to handle? It doesn't matter as food was crappie. A 1.5/5.

Cheers.

Restaurant Siu Siu
15-11, Lorong Syed Putra Kiri
50450 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel : 016 370 8555 / 016 309 8039

Dragon Star Seafood Restaurant @ SS1 PJ

Gong Xi Gong Xi...

Ang Pow lai, Ang Pow lai ......

Oh well, those were the good old days when I still get those lovely red packets during Chinese New Year. But this year is totally different taking a 360 degrees turn. Instead of 'taking' it's all about 'giving' now. :s

This was the 3rd day of CNY where my wifey's good friend and a family friend will be joining us for lunch. It's always difficult finding a restaurant that is in operation during this period. We had to make a few calls before we decide where to go.

It was way past 12pm and zoom .... off we went to this Chinese restaurant situated in SS1 PJ by the name of 'Dragon Star Seafood Restaurant'. Upon arrival we were unable to find a table on the ground floor but luckily they have an upper level to cater bigger crowds.

All of us decided to go for some simple foodie as we have been eating 'Chinese food' day in day out for the past few days since the eve of CNY. This is a plain case of 'too much of a good thing is not good at all'.

Yee Sang @ RM40.00

This 'Yee Sang' portion was pretty huge indeed which was a delight to start off this food feast for the eight of us. As usual the tradition is to mix all the stuff on the plate and while mixing one should make a wish as we Chinese believed this wishes will come true.

This particular Yee Sang comes with 'Jelly Fish' instead of the normal 'Salmon Fish'. After all the mixing and all the wishing it's time to munch them all up. My oh my ... it does taste good. All of us was delighted with it's taste and this whole plate was finished to it's last strand.

Vegetable @ RM12.00

Vegetable @ RM12.00

Since we decided to have rice for lunch ordering a handful of different dishes will be the best thing to do. We had two different types of vegetables (sorry cannot remember it's name as they have given special funky names). Both of the vege dish tasted really really good. No complaints at all as all of us was delighted with it.

Bean Curd @ RM12.00

The house special bean curd was superb. From it's aroma to it's presentation and to it's taste everything was just perfect. Not too salty, not too hard nor soft just perfect with some minced meat and spring onions sprinkled above the bean curd only enhances the taste and quality of this dish.

Marmite Pork @ RM20.00

It will be incomplete if we didn't order a pork dish especially during this CNY period. Marmite pork was the prefered dish and again we made the correct choice. When this dish was brought to us we could already smell it's aroma from miles away. We were already drooling when this lovely plate was placed on the table.

True enough it tasted really good but I found the meat to be slightly overcooked as some of the bite pieces was really hard. But nevertheless it's delicious yummy sauce managed to make all of us forget about the negative espect of the meat and we were 'wallopping' this dish like Mike Tyson punching on it's opponent. Time to 'tambah nasi'! Oh blimey there goes my waist line..... :s

Ginger & Spring Onion Fish Fillet @ RM15.00

Something specially for the kiddos. This lovely delicious plate of fish fillet was the perfect gift for the kiddos. Somehow kids just loved this dish and hey they just wallop it as there is no night nor day. It was another yummy dish indeed even coming from the adults who was left with only a few strands of spring onions and fillet. Gambate!!!

Assam Fish @ RM41.00

Now for the biggies...... assam fish was brought to us with the red carpet rolled down. Ta.daa...... Viola !! Droooool..........  Assam tasted perfect, fish was perfectly cooked, portion was HUGE, and it's nice to see some ladies fingers as part of it's package. Lovely indeed. Marvelous !! Adik tambah nasi lagi !!!

Conclusion : This is one hell of a good CNY luncheon and one that I will never want to forget. Food was superb with a little hick-ups here and there but it's just minor ones which can be corrected and improved. Service was pretty OK-lah considering this place to be pretty crowded. One thing that we didn't like was the overwhelming smell of CLOROx which was used far too much to clean the floor. We nearly suffocated when we stepped in but had no choice lah. We paid RM186.80 for this lovely meal and I reckon the pricing to be pretty fair-lah. FYI, this restaurant is a popular eating place in SS1. Burp!!! eewww...... sorry! A 4/5.

Cheers.

Dragon Star Seafood Restaurant
No 54A & B
Jalan SS1/22
Kampung Tunku
Petaling Jaya.
Tel : 03 7877 6673

Chinese New Year 2011 Dinner

Happy Belated Gong Xi Fa Cai to everybody!

Hi ! Everyone.... Sorry to have gone MIA for the past weeks. Was just too busy with the recent CNY and was always busy entertaining guests and being entertained as well. It was a fantastic celebration which made me put on some unwanted weight. I had no choice as there was dinner almost everynight during CNY.

This time around just wanted to share some beautifully cooked 'home cooked foodie' which was prepared by my aunt in USJ Subang Jaya. Food was fantastically delicious but the main thing here is not just the foodie but able to spend precious time with family members and loved ones.

Meat Spring Rolls

Roast Duck

Typical Chinese Dish consisting of french beans, squid
mushroom, etc...

GO Green.....

This was just the beginning and there will be more to come.

Cheers!

Tosca @ Doubletree Hotel, The Intermark, KL.

'I want to have some Italian food' shouted by me. It has been some time since I had Italian. I have always loved the food and the craving for Italian was so intense. It was only 10:30am and we just don't know where we can have Italian at such hours.

We were at The Intermark and decided to peep into Doubletree Hotel,  Tosca Italian Restaurant. The desire to sink into a plate of pasta was blinding me. We were trying to stay calm and optimistic on our way up to level 10 where the restaurant was situated. What if the restaurant is still not open for business at this hour?

We made our way past a spa centre, the gym and the pool ~ and found the restaurant to be opened and was greeted by it's staff. We were told that the kitchen only starts operating at 11am but we could still order some food from it's 'pool menu'. FYI the pool menu foodie comes from the hotel's kitchen.

Tosca does look good. I was taken aback by it's beautiful interior ~ from it's beautiful table to it's lovely looking rattan chairs to it's beautiful timber layed ceiling which makes this place really cosy and comfortable. And with the Hotel's pool by it's side sharing the same floor, this restaurant is just the perfect spot for 'couples' to have a romantic time with their loved ones. And they do have some promotion this Valentine's day. Check them out for more info.

From it's 'pool menu' we decided to go for some non-Italian foodie (there was no option as the kicthen was still closed). Oh well ..... it wasn't that bad though ..... a beef burger and a chicken sandwich.

It took them quite awhile to bring the food to us as it is coming from the hotel's kitchen. But it was ok as we found ourselves to be in a relaxing mood enjoying both the view and the conversation.

Chicken Sandwich

Our order was finally brought to us. First to come was the 'Chicken Sandwich' served with some fries and coleslaw. The first thing that caught my attention was it's portion. At least they did not stinge in this area. Coleslaw tasted pretty good as well as the fries. The sandwich itself was delicious. With some chicken breast meat accompanied with some luttuce and fried egg this sandwich is a winner.

Beef Burger

The beef burger was superb and I was impressed with it's presentation. Portion again was huge and I was totally delighted with it. The beef patty was house made accompanied with some luttuce, cheese, an egg and a sesame bun. Came with it was some fries and coleslaw.

I was rather disappointed that the burger doesn't taste as good as it's look. Or maybe I was expecting something spectacular. It still taste good though but the patty was rather dry. But somehow I just fancy it's combination especially the egg with it's yolk still intack. What a beauty. 

Pasta in Tomato Sauce

It will be a sin not to order a plate of pasta when dining at an Italian restaurant. It was already way past 11am and we were told by the waiter that we can have something from their own kitchen. Somehow we were pretty full but ........

Another disappointment though. The fettuccine was over-cooked and the tomato sauce was just too watery (not enough zing). Prawns was not fresh. The only thing that managed to impress me was the scallops. This plate could be better if the chef put in more personal effort into it if you know what I mean.

Conclusion : Aye for it's beautiful interior, decor, atmosphere, service but otherwise for it's food. Remember only the pasta came from their kitchen. As for those that came from the hotel's kicthen, both the sandwich and burger was pretty good. Even though the only plate of pasta we ordered was a huge let down but I do not mind coming in for another round as I really would like to experience more on their food. As for today a 2/5 for the pasta & 3/5 for the sandwich and burger.

Cheers.

Tosca @ Doubletree Hotel by Hilton KL

Level 10, Doubletree Hotel Block

182, Jalan Tun Razak

50400 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel : 03 2172 7272 

Kopi Street Cafe @ Kepong

Never did I know that thre's a street named 'Kopi Street' existed in Malaysia. Nor was there a street full with restaurant serving 'kopi'. This is one of the many newbies in the restaurant business with such a fancy name to it. Everyone knows that food business is mushrooming across Malaysia especially in Kuala Lumpur.

So many different types of names has been used and each and every one of them are trying to name their restaurant closest to of the original chain that has spurred across the nation ie 'Old Town White Coffee'. Just be a little more observant when you take a drive across town and you'll know what I mean.

Kopi Street Cafe is situated in Kepong. A very close friend of mine brought us there to have lunch together with buddies of ours. My buddies 'R' and 'K' suggested that I should try them out as they served good food and good coffee ~ better than the 'original'.

As usual such 'cafe' dishes out pretty identical food amongst one another. You'll find that most hawker food are made available eg curry laksa, assam laksa, nasi lemak, fried noodles, etc..... As well as some Western food eg chicken chop and fish & chips. Now we all know why such 'cafes' are famous amongst Malaysian.

Hazelnut White Coffee @ RM3.50+

This cool glass of  'Hazelnut White Coffee' is truly unbelievable. It was exactly what 'R' has described and it was really a wonderful feeling gulping it. Cool!

Curry Noodle @ RM5.90+

The highlight of the day belongs to this lovely bowl of 'Curry Noodle' which came with a huge portion of my preferred 'bihun', some beansprouts, some sliced chicken meat, 'foo chook', long beans and a couple of prawns.

I couldn't believe how delicious this bowl of noodle was. It tasted exactly the same as those I used to have when I was a kid ~ 'original taste' ~ and I was extremely happy to have found a cafe who serves this. And the 'chilli' that came with it only made things better.

Dry Curry Noodle @ RM5.90+

'K' opted for another type of curry noodle which was as good as the ones we had. When this plate of noodle was brought to us I could smell the aromatic aroma filling up the room and it really did took my attention towards it. Came with a few chicken in bite size and some potatoes.

Grilled Chicken Chop with Fried Rice @ RM10.80+

This is one plate where East meets West. Grilled chicken chop tasted really good, indeed. It's meat was succulent even though it was slightly over-grilled. Certain parts of the chicken was 'tough' but because it was so well marinated it tasted really good even with slight imperfections to it. Fried rice was simple yet tasted ok-la. Rice could be better and they should improve in it since the chic tasted a class better.

Conclusion : We were all speechless and unable to move an inch after consuming all the lovely food we had. We were very satisfied with the food choice and already thinking of making another trip here. Food is good, price is friendly, menu is colourful as the rainbow, service is commendable and coffee is fabulous. They really do make the 'original' cafe look like 'mickey mouse'. A 3.5/5.

Cheers.

Kopi Street Cafe                                                      
No 30, Jalan Metro Perdana Barat 3
Taman Usahawan Kepong
52100 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel : 012 396 4800

Fu-Rin Japanese Restaurant @ Holiday Inn Glenmarie

Certain days life can be such a bored without any agenda in the 'to-do' list. Certain days life can be wonderful with lot's of surprises. Certain days can be such a pain when everything, anything just didn't work. I was having one of the above 'certain' days and thank God that I was having a wonderful one.

Dinner was not in the agenda at all for the day. We couldn't think of what to have and decided to skip it. BUT out of the blue my lovely mother-in-law called and decided to give the family a treat. A treat that will bring all of us to Holiday Inn at Glenmarie Shah Alam. A treat that will bring to us some really good Japanese cuisine. A treat and a date with 'Fu-Rin Japanese Restaurant'.

I am not a fanatic for Japanese foodie but with FOC food on the table why not. LOL. We were shocked to find the restaurant to be packed with dinner crowd considering it was a weekday. From my observation half the crowd are hotel guests while the remaining half were there specifically for it's food.

California Rolls

All of us were going for their 'set dinner' as my mother-in-law have some special coupons for them. First to come was the famous 'California Rolls'.  It is a-must to order this lovely maki-sushi roll as it was really fresh and delicious. It was much more delicious when the rolls were dipped into some Teriyaki sauce.

Teriyaki Chicken Set

The 'Teriyaki Chicken Dinner Set' was brought to us and we were surprised with the lovely aroma that greeted us. This same aroma made us all stood still and drool at the same time. Without wasting time I decided to give it a go. OOhhh! Blimey... it tasted so good as good as it's aroma. Chicken was perfectly cooked and the teriyaki sauce that came with the chicken was superb. Perfect !!! Goes very well with the rice.

Came with the set is a bowl of 'Chawamushi' or in plain English it's called 'Japanese Steamed Egg Custard'. It was not 'hot' but 'warm' when it was brought to us. Would prefer it to be 'hot' as it will surely taste better. But somehow all of us enjoyed this lovely bowl and it was pretty delicious too.

Yam Ice-Cream

Last but not least came my favourite ie 'Yam ice-cream'. It was truly refreshing after a heavy delicious meal and I wouldn't have asked for more than this. Just fantastic and was craving for more as the one single scoop was just not enough.

Did I mentioned that besides Set Lunches and Set Dinners this restaurant does know how to strut their stuff by having 'buffet' style for both lunch and dinner and this is only available on weekends. A true winner.

Conclusion : Not too bad !!! Food quality at it's best. Probably it's because it is located in a hotel where quality control is a must. Pretty good and delicious. Worth venturing further but rather costly. But service was good and the environment is simple and comfortable and classy in it's own ways. A 3/5.

Cheers.

Fu-Rin Japanese Restaurant @ Holiday Inn

No 1, Jalan Usahawan U1/8

Section U1

Glenmarie

40250 Shah Alam

Selangor.

Tel : 03 7803 1000