The Hungry Hog, SS15 Subang Jaya

Located on a rather quiet road, coupled with its dull colours which certainly is not attention grabbing, The Hungry Hog is one gem of a porky place that should not be missed by all pork lovers out there. I’ve heard a lot about this place and what drew me to it was, frankly, the name!!

 

On a Sunday evening getting a parking spot was a breeze, but getting a table at the Hungry Hog was a different story altogether. I noticed that this place was very popular amongst the college students in the vicinity.

The three of us finally got a table and ordered our drinks…after the ‘long’ wait, we were just absolutely thirsty hogs!! So here we go – our drinks – passion fruit soda (RM4.90) , elderflower (RM4.90) and Ribena (RM3.90). I was surprised that the Ribena was actually a fizzy drink. The passion fruit soda came with real passion fruit, along with the seeds and drinking it was rather troublesome as the seeds ‘clogged’ up my straw from time to time.

 

 

3 Little Pigs (RM15.90)– what a fancy name! So what’s this made of?  Pork patty, bacon, ham …and did I say cheese. One bite into the burger and I just had to have another bite..and another…and another. I am sure you get it. It was absolutely lip-smacking good!

Porky chops (RM20.90) – 2 reasonably sized pieces of pork with honey mustard sauce and some watercress, tomatoes and lots of mashed potatoes.  The sinfully fat piece of pork was delicious  and when eaten with whatever little gravy we were given was simply marvellous.

 

 

Bangers and mash (RM15.90) – 2 sausages paired with onion gravy and some mash potatoes plus salad. I found the onion gravy to be rather  over-powering. So we brushed the gravy aside in order to savour the wonderful taste and aroma of the sausages.

 

 

Address:71 Jalan SS15/4C, 47500 Subang Jaya
Tel : +6012 225 0877
 Opens 12-2.30pm, 6-10pm (closed on Mondays)
 CASH ONLY
 

 

 

Herbs & Spices, Sri Petaling

It was by luck that I found Herbs & Spices. I would say that the majority of the shop lots along this road was either a café or a restaurant. There were too many choices to satisfy my cravings. So in the end, I picked Herbs & Spices.

 

The place looks clean and certainly very packed. We waited for a family to finish their meal before we could have their table.

 

 

These were the drinks we had – lime juice, reasonably priced at RM2.50, rootbeer float (RM5.90) and fresh watermelon juice (RM5). I would say the prices of drinks here surprised me!

 

 

American breakfast (RM12.90) -  a bowl of baked beans surrounded by 2 sunny side up eggs, 2 hash browns, 2 pieces of ham, 2 sausages and a bun. It was nutritious and yummy!

 

 

Chef salad (RM6.90) – with cheese and shredded chicken, along with some greens, I found this salad rather wholesome. Excellent!

 

Nasi goreng (RM12.50) – well,slightly expensive for a plate of fried rice, the only saving grace was the 2 sticks of sate on the side. Otherwise I would rate this as a rip-off.

 

Keropok lekor  (RM3) – an all time East Coast favourite, I thought the keropok lekor here looked visually uninspiring, but I have to admit that they tasted alright.

 

What I like best was dessert – nyonya kuih (RM2 per pack). They were definitely fit for a king!

 

A tip I was given by the boss – next time, if you are coming in on a weekend for dinner, be sure to make a reservation.

 

Address: 51 Jalan Radin Bagus

57000 Kuala Lumpur

Tel : +603 9057 5592

Mastercard & Visa accepted

The carpenter's daughter , Taipan

Look carefully at the name of the shop - yes, you've read it correctly - The Carpenter's Daughter. This is what is known as an artisan bakery cafe with an emphasis on serving healthy food. If you want to know how this place got its name, well, the owner's dad who is in his 70s is a carpenter, hence she is a carpenter's daughter.

This bakery doubles up as a cafe, meaning that besides the normal fare you would expect to find in a bakery, you can actually sit down here to enjoy a meal too. I went there recently with 2 friends to see what this place has to offer. And I must say I did like the ambience very much. I was told that much of the carpentry work in the shop has been done by the Carpenter himself!

The above shows the 3 drinks we ordered - iced peach tea (RM5.90), honey lemon with ice (RM6.90) and strawberry yoghurt smoothie (RM10.90). I highly recommend the smoothie as it was incredibly delicious - and it does wonders for our health too!



Mushroom soup (RM11.90) - well, nothing spectacular about this bowl of soup...I would say the noly thing that lingered in my mind (until today!) is the hefty price.



Aglio Olio (RM15.90) - this is a staple food in Rome, and what I would describe as simplicity at its best. I love this delicate yet simple and tasty plate of spaghetti.



 French fries (RM5.90) - in one word - edible.

Garden mixed salad (RM11.90) - with a dash of red, purple and lots of greens, the salad, which had thousand island dressing was superb. I truly love the crisp and fresh vegetables.

 Garlic bread (RM3.90) - sometimes it does pay to judge the book by its cover. The minute I looked at this I knew what the taste would have been. To me, it looks rathe dull. Perhaps more butter and herbs would make this bread more palatable.

Margherita pizza (RM20.90) -The minute the pizza was served, the aroma was just too much for me to turn down a slice when offered. I love the milky flavour of the cheese used and the puffiness of the pizza. in short, Iwould say this pizza was alright.



Address : 46 Jalan USJ10/1E

Subang Jaya

Tel : +603 8081 1218

Opening hours : Weekdays 8.30am-9.30pm, Weekends : 8.30am-10pm

Mastercard & Visa accepted

Pad Thai USJ10

Pad Thai is a halal restaurant located in what is commonly known as Taipan in USJ10. We arrive at 11.50 on a Sunday morning and the place was not opened yet. When one of the workers saw us peering into the shop, he smiled at us and asked if we would like to go in. We nodded and he opened up the shop for us.

These were the drinks we ordered. Well, since this was a Thai restaurant, we definitely had to have their Thai coconut drink.

 

Fishball noodles – something I was rather amazed to find in a Thai restaurant – reason being I had this pre-conceived idea that Thai food ought to be spicy or sour…so plain old noodles wasn’t something I expected to find on their menu. Anyway, I must say I would rate  quality of this bowl of noodles as acceptable.

 

Pineapple fried rice – to me, the presentation was a let down as I always expect my pineapple fried rice to be served in one half of a hollowed out  pineapple . Anyway, after I had gotten over my….should I say disappointment , for lack of a word, I tried the rice. My oh my…it was a solid combination of sweet, sour, spicy  and savoury.

 

This is pandan chicken – the combination of ginger, galangal, lemon grass, garlic, soya sauce and sesame oil never fails to whet my appetite!

 

Kerabu chicken feet – this is often touted as an appetiser of Thai cuisine and I can see why – it has lots of fire power, from the cili padi used and the sour lime. My only complaint of the version I had here was that the chicken feet was a little too ‘fat’.

 

Tub tim krob – water chestnut in  coconut milk. Who can resist such  a delish bowl of red rubies! This refreshing drink is not too sweet as the melting ice helps to ’balance up’ the drink. The sliced jackfruit and the water chestnut add flavour to this wonderful dessert.

 

 

Address : 21, Jalan USJ 10/1C,

47620 Subang Jaya

Tel No : +016-239 2072, +019-477 9545

GPS Coordinates : 3.048661,101.584566

Mastercard & Visa accepted

Little Taiwan , The Sphere Bangsar

Little Taiwan has been around for more than a decade. Its first outlet located within Midvalley Megamall opened its doors in the year 2000. There has been no turning back for Little Taiwan ever since as it began to grow both within and outside the Klang Valley.

Today, I tried the set lunch at the outlet at Bangsar South, more specifically in The Sphere. The place was full of customers as I walked in at half past twelve. I waited patiently for two girls who were obviously deeply engrossed in conversation (I say this because they did not seem to take any notice of me whilst I was standing right beside their table) to vacate their table. Eventually, they left and the hungry me took a quick glance at the menu and decided to have this:-

Supreme chicken set (RM15.90) – this set does not come with any drink – it consisted of a bowl of rice, a bowl of soup, some chicken served in a claypot as well as a long plate with 3 saucers containing some salad with thousand island dressing, a slice of tofu and 2 deep fried wanton.

I would say this set was in itself a complete meal. I love the freshly made salad and the crispy and tasty wanton. I’m  not a huge fan of tofu, so I shan’t comment on it.

What I love most had to be the chicken – it was well marinated and of course very aromatic. The abundance of basil made this dish heavenly. I love it for its strong, pungent  and slightly sweet smell.

Address : G-3A Ground Floor

The Sphere

No 1 Avenue 1,

No 8 Jalan Kerinchi

59200 Kuala Lumpur

Tel : +603 2241 2922

Visa & Mastercard accepted

Mojo Restaurant, Jalan Doraisamy

Located along the Asian Heritage Row, Mojo is one of the few restaurants opened for lunch. We went in without any expectation, not knowing what sort of cuisine to expect.

The decoration was pleasant, with pictures of, amongst others, Marilyn Monroe and Elvis adorning the walls.  But I did not like the pungent smell of tobacco that was in the air.

The friendly waiter gave us the menu. A glance at it and we could tell that they do 2 things for lunch –the daily specials (photo below) as well as some other set lunches, all of which come with a complimentary drink.

BBQ lamb –RM15.90 – with 2 slices of mutton, some rice , coleslaw , and egg and some papadam I would say this was  very reasonably priced . For the sauce we had a choice of black pepper or mushroom, but I chose the latter. The mutton was thick and juicy yet tender enough for me!

Chicken chop (RM15.90) – the piece of chicken was big and flavourful. Love it!

 

Poach salmon –RM17.90 – the most expensive of our selection, yet the most unfulfilling one as the portion was just too tiny. The taste was alright and I just love the potatoes.

 

Fish & chips –RM14.90 – crispy chips, yummy fish…how awesome!

 

For dessert we had panna cotta (RM13) – the flavour and texture were just spot on. We also tried the apple crumble (RM9) which I absolutely adore for its crisp and crumbly texture. I also love the fact that it wasn’t too sweet.

 

 

Address:	No. 42, Jalan Doraisamy, Asian Heritage Row, Kuala Lumpur
Tel:	+603 2697 7999 ,  / +6012 6699 205

 

Opening Hours:

Mon - Thu: 12.00pm - 1.00am Fri: 12.00pm - 3.00am Sat: 5.00pm - 3.00am Sun: 5.00pm - 1.00am

Mastercard, Visa & Amex accepted

Simply Nyonya Café, USJ 10

On both sides of the walls are pictures of various places of interest in Malacca such as the A Famosa and  the Stadthuys. As I walked in it gave me the impression that I had travelled all the way to Malacca. Music was playing in the background….and as I listen closely, I couldn’t resist myself from joining in the singing…they were playing lots of songs from yester-years.

We ordered our food and whilst waiting for food to arrive we tried out some nyonya kuih which were on sale. I was told that all kuih are made by the owner and as such are fresh. I tried the kuih talam and sago (RM2) as well as the yam cake (RM3.80). All were so yummy that we ordered some to be brought home for supper.

This is longan drink (RM5) which tasted alright.

The one drink on the menu that caught my attention was this drink called ayer longkang literally translated by yours truly as drain water! It costs RM4.50. It was tangy and had some black jelly in it as well as an asam boi. I don’t know what the main ingredient is but my guess is umbra.

Chicken pongteh (RM15) – this is the nyonya version of chicken and potato stew, a dish which I never fail to order in a Nyonya joint. Chicken is cooked with fermented soy bean sauce and gula Melaka. I love this dish as it always gives me a homey feeling.

Otak-otak (RM13) – this version is not spicy….well, suffice to say that I prefer the extra spicy version!

Sambal petai udang (RM20) – great dish. It was definitely spicy enough for me. The prawns were fresh and this was indeed a dish I enjoyed.

Chicken ball soup (RM13) – nothing spectacular,it was alright.

Kacang botol (RM13) – with sufficient chillies this was another dish that we savoured with great enthusiasm.

This is called Little Japs (RM15) which was a non spicy Japanese tofu dish. The gravy was delicious and the kids loved it.

Taugeh with salted fish (RM15) – I’ve never been a fan of salted fish, so I gave this dish a miss. But the people who tasted this loved it so much that they still talked about it on the drive home.

And if you are wondering whether we'll be back, the answer is a resounding YES. I simply adore the ambience and the food there. What I miss now, as I write is of course the kuih.

Address : 38 Jalan USJ 10/1B

47620 Subang Jaya

GPS Coordinates : N 03° 2.965'  E 101° 35.082

Opening hours : 11am to 10pm

Tel : +603 8011 3509

Mastercard & Visa accepted for a minimum transaction  of RM50