Cung Dih, Jalan Doraisamy

Armed with a Groupon voucher costing RM128 for a 10-course meal for 8 pax, we arrive at Cung Dih. Drinks were not included in this set, so we settled for plain lotus tea which costs less than RM5 per head.

 

Lantern spring roll – stuffed with prawns, crabs and chicken, the spring rolls are placed on toothpicks and stuck onto the skilfully crafted pineapple. If you look carefully, you will notice that there is a tealight candle inside the pineapple. This helps to keep the spring rolls warm.

 

 This is herb marinated minced beef served in a porcelain bowl. What enthralled us was the way this dish was presented to us. It was only semi cooked when it arrive at our table. Our friendly waiter who hailed from Myanmar ‘fired’ up the bowl. We asked him what it was and he told us he was merely lighting up the cooking gel and that the beef would be ready in a couple of minutes. So we waited patiently and that patience was rewarded – we got to eat well-cooked  luscious beef!

 

This soup looked like our Malaysian version of tofu with salted fish…but don’t be fooled, it just didn’t taste anywhere near it. In fact this is vegetable soup with pineapple, ladies fingers, tomatoes, bean sprouts and some tofu. I’ll describe it as being a combination of hot, sour and sweet.

 

Chicken salad:-

 

BBQ chicken – lovely!

 

Grilled prawns flavoured with chilli salt – I love this dish and wished there were more prawns!

 

Stewed fish in claypot :-

 

Try guessing what this is? Given up? Well, it’s grilled eggplant.

 

Garlic fried kangkung:-

 

Northern Hanoi sytle fried fish fillet served in a hot plate – the fish was a little too dry for my liking.

I would definitely rate this deal as being worth every sen because the food here is unrivalled.

 

Address : 36-38-40 Asian Heritage Row,

Jalan Doraisamy,

50300 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: +603-26922288  

Mastercard & Visa accepted

 

Sassorosso Italian Restaurant , Jalan Yap Kwan Seng

I had a truly memorable chance to dine at Sassorosso  as I was invited for a birthday celebration there. Why I call that a truly memorable chance was due to the fact that the ambience and food, too swept me off my feet. Yes, it was that good.

When I was first told that the party would be held at Sassorosso, I had a hard time trying to remember the name. So I  went to look up its meaning – Red Rock.  Then came the challenging part of trying to locate the outlet on the party day itself. I finally found it (located inside a house) but I must warn you that parking is rather limited, so be prepared to walk……just a little distance.

 

I noticed how cleverly the owners have done up the place. The table we were at was actually in a room with clear windows. However, we did not feel any heat from the scorching afternoon sun as plants were used as a layer of ‘protection’. It was indeed very pleasing to the eyes too as those plants also serve as a natural curtain!

This is what I had – barramundi. Notice how carefully the fish had been placed at an angle on top of a bed of vegetables. I love the detailed manner in which the chef has arranged the food and how he (I guess it must have been a he) has decorated my dish.

 

And for the record, they have an excellent wine list.

 

Address: 9 Lorong Yap Kwan Seng

 50450 Kuala Lumpur

Telephone:+6 03 2166 6428

Opening hours : Mon-Sat    12-3pm, 6-11.30pm

 Sun  6-11.30pm

Amex, Master & Visa accepted

Yoshino Ramen, Mid Valley

Located just beside Starbucks in MidValley,  Yoshino Ramen is a non halal Japanese outlet. I ended up there this afternoon after a long shopping session. I looked at the menu….and wow!  With more than enough choices of ramen to suit, this place is what I call a ramen haven!

I decided to have the Spicy Ramen (RM13) and hot ocha. By the way, the bottomless ocha here costs RM2.  When my impatient tummy could wait no longer for food, a bowl of aromatic ramen was served. After such a long wait, I prayed hard that the ramen was going to be good.

And well, it did not disappoint. In fact, it was good. The broth was just right – not greasy or oily. It was also savoury and flavourful. The noodles were great too!

 

 

Address : Unit G(E)010,

Ground Floor, Mid Valley Megamall,

Mid Valley City, Lingkaran Syed Putra,

59200 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: +6 03-22841311

TJ Haus Restaurant SS18 Subang Jaya

Located across the road from Tai Thong’s building in SS17 is this simple yellow signage that says TJ Haus. Its simplicity may be a turn off for some, but once you overcome that and walk up the flight of stairs, you will notice that not a speck of dust or dirt can be found on the cream coloured stairs. The walls along the staircase are nicely decorated and you will even get to read a write up of this place, with a picture of Jeffrey. Yes, TJ, I was told stands for Thomas and Jeffrey.

 

I arrive on a Sunday afternoon and I can spotted Thomas reading the newspaper. He gives me a smile but does not say a thing – well, so how did I know he was Thomas…because I took the time to read whilst ascending the stairs!

The pleasant English decorations caught me by surprise as I absolutely adore the ambience there. What more the Victoria Station clock – it really brought back wonderful memories to me.

 

Anyway, on to food! We ordered 3 drinks:-

Zesty orange juice (RM6.50) – refreshing & it really awaken my senses, banana smoothie  (RM7.50) and ice blended chocolate (RM7.50).

 

 

The kids meals here bear creative names – Disney Delight (RM18) & Pink Panther (RM13) were the kids choice. Disney Delight is beef steak with some salad and fries. I was surprised that the portion was actually quite huge, for a kid, that is. I tried it and I must say the texture was simply perfect – not too tough, not soggy either. It was just superb.

 

 

Pink Panther consisted of fried chicken fingers and some fries. In terms of taste and presentation it paled to Disney Delight.

 

Mushroom soup (RM8) – I always rate such mushroom soups far superior than the version you get out of a can …I love this freshly made soup. It had the right amount of mushrooms in it …and the little cream on top made this soup heavenly.

 

 

Garlic bread (RM4) – Fresh from the oven I like the fact that the bread was deliciously crisp and somewhat buttery. Love it!

 

 

Lamb shank (RM28) – I must say this is by far the best lamb shank I’ve ever had. Kudos to the chef!  The meat can be described as meltingly tender…hmmmm…it was what I would call a perfectly cooked lamb shank in a very tasty gravy.

 

 

Grilled smoked beef sausages (RM21) – served in onion gravy with apple, cinnamon, red cabbages and mashed potatoes, this dish was in a word –AWESOME!

 Conclusion : Superb food with a simply stunning deco /ambience - I'll be back for sure, no doubt about it! 

Address : 27, 1st Floor, SS18/1B,
47500 Subang Jaya

Tel : +6 03-5636 4508

Opening Hours :
11am-2pm, 6-11pm
(Closed on 1st and 3rd Monday of the month)

Mamak Andersen, Publika

Had a meeting at Publika until almost lunch time – decided to had a quick lunch there and I found this place called Mamak Andersen which offers set lunch. I ordered the pasta set priced at RM13.90 , which works out to be RM15.30 after a 10% service charge.

 

To get the attention of the waiter all you need to do is to press one of 3 buttons –just like the ones you see at Tai Thong. Anyway, they come very quickly and I must say I was impressed.

My pasta set comes with ice lemon tea – truly the most sour ice lemon tea I’ve ever had. I ask the friendly waiter to add lots of water for me, and when it came back, I still could not take the level of sourness in it.

 

 

Then came the mushroom soup – alright, but a little too creamy for me.

 

For my main course I had spaghetti with fish – Served with napoleon sauce …hmmm…if you are wondering what that is , well, I would say you get tomato sauce, some onions, some herbs, olive oil  and  garlic in it, the sauce was actually very delicious. The pasta portion was huge and the same can be said of the deep fried fish fillet. Love it!

 

 

Note :  See the photos below to see how much the 3 items would have cost had they been ordered separately. The spaghetti alone costs more than RM15.30!!!

 

 

 

Address : A2-G2-05 Solaris Dutamas / Publika

No 1 Jalan Dutamas

50480 Kuala Lumpur

Tel : +603 6211 5192

Opens until 4am daily

Mastercard & Visa accepted

 

Organic FreshMart & Restaurant, SS18 Subang

I’ve written a review about this place back in January 2012 (http://www.alwizeating.blogspot.com/2012/01/organic-vegetarian-fresh-mart-and.html)  and today decided it’s time to get another boost of healthy food…therefore I revisited Organic FreshMart & Restaurant.

This time our makan outing comprised of 3 team members.

 These are the drinks we had – peach vinegar (RM2.50) was a drink with a tinge of sweet-sour sensation. I loved it as it made me feel absolutely refreshed. The can drink on the right is sugar cane (RM4.90) –price is rather steep , if you ask me, and I didn’t quite like the taste either.

Udon noodles in Miso soup (RM8.90) – this is a bowl of goodness! Why do I say so – because it was delicious, of course , and filled with lots of vegetables – broccoli, cauliflower, cloud  fungus, taufu pok and some leafy green vegetables.

This is fried asam yee mee noodles (RM8.90) – with tomatoes and slices of cucumber at the side along with some acar, this dish was a pleasing sight. Now, how about the taste? Well, the same can be said for its taste. The noodles were fried with asam and were of course slightly spicy and sour –Perfect!

One look and you think – hey, how come this looks like the previous photo…well, look carefully – this is pineapple fried rice (RM8.90). With lots of shredded cabbage and lettuce on top, I could hardly see any rice, initially that is. I sampled the fried rice and immediately fell in love with it . The sourish  pineapple simply made my stomach growl…and I just couldn’t get enough of this dish!

Vegetarian sharks fin soup (RM8) – frankly it’s a good alternative to the ‘original’ – it’s made with lots of inoki mushroom and cloud ears- basically a bowl of mushroomy goodness!

Address : No 17 & 19 Jalan SS18/1B

47500 Subang Jaya

Tel : +603 56362468

Opens from 10am to 9pm daily

Cards accepted :Mastercard & Visa

Chuan Chiew Restoran, SS14

Chuan Chiew is one of the oldest Bak Kut Teh shops in SS14, Subang Jaya. The shop looks old and tired, but don’t, just don’t judge a restaurant by its looks! It serves the best bak kut teh in this area.

We ordered just 3 dishes this time around to be shared amongst the two of us.

Pork trotters in vinegar – I love this dish as it wasn’t too sour. And the bonus was that the pork trotters were moist and tender. The gravy went so well with rice that I had to order an extra bowl of rice!

 

Bak kut teh – we chose the soupy version as I don’t really enjoy dry versions of bak kut teh. After all, the fun and joy of BKT has always lied in the soup! The soup was still bubbling when it was served. Yes, it was THAT hot! This aromatic soup was just perfect. It had sufficient amount of herbs yet the tong kwai wasn’t overpowering.

 

 

The yau mak was slightly oily by my standards but it was very tasty.

 

Well, for the record this meal came in about RM35 - that's with drinks and rice as well.

 

Address : 18 Jalan SS14/2

47500 Subang Jaya

Tel : +603- 5633 0629

Opening hours :  8am-10pm (Closed on Tuesdays)

Cash terms only

Hai Tian, Kuantan

Hi, I’m in Kuantan once again and decided to check out Hai Tian , yes again, to find out whether the quality of food here is maintained.

 

As usual, a reservation is advisable and that was exactly what I did – made one well in advance.

I’ll zoom right into the food!

Stir fried lettuce (RM20) – I was a little taken aback by the pricing, which I honestly felt was rather on the high end. Anyway, the dish was slightly oily for my liking.

 

This is a tofu dish – with some greens plopped on top (RM24). The tofu was delicious, but somehow the presentation left a lot to be desired.

 

 

 

 

Fried squid, or as we would often call it sotong (RM20) – the crispy sotong was such a delight. We all agreed that this dish was superb.

 

Coconut prawns (RM50) – a must-have dish here at Hai Tian as this is their signature dish. This time around, this dish was perfect!

 

 

 

Steamed fish (RM48) – this fish seemed like a popular fish in Kuantan as it is commonly found in many restaurants in Kuantan. Simply called ikan jebong, ikan ayam (chicken fish –as the taste resembles that of chicken) or ‘peel skin’ fish,  this fish is easy to eat as it does not have many bones.

 

 

 

Address:  Lot 4748 Jalan Beserah

25300 Kuantan

 Tel :  013 7714382 ,  016 9349187  , 09 5144382

Opening hours: 4pm to 1 am

Mastercard & Visa accepted

川宮館 Restoran Chuan Gong Guan

Chuan  Gong Guan occupies a corner shop lot and is  easily visible when you drive along Jalan Beserah in Kuantan. I was drawn to this place as I was told that it serves the best Sze Chuan food in Kuantan.

We arrive at  7 pm and all tables except for one was occupied. The tables were made of marbles and everyone sat on round marble stools.

We ordered  7 dishes and asked for them to be of the tiniest portion as we wanted to try as many dishes as we could, yet not put anything to waste.

五香牛肉 (RM15) – five spice beef. This is a dry dish. Each piece of beef was tender and flavourful. I love the fact that every piece was well seasoned.

松仁玉米 (RM 15) Pine nut kernel with corn. I’ve always labelled this dish as a kiddie meal, but since pine nut kernel contains lots of mono unsaturated fatty acids (helps to reduce cholesterol), I just had to order this dish when I browsed through the menu.

口水鸡  (RM18) mouth watering chicken – chicken with spicy sauce. The red hot sauce really invigorated my senses and I just couldn’t bear to see the gravy go to waste. So I ordered an extra bowl of rice to polish up the gravy.

烧白 (RM22) – literally translated as braised white is a dish of braised pork with some mui choy at the bottom. If you are thinking of the local version of this dish then you will be pleasantly surprised as this dish is filled with lots of dried chillies at the bottom. That’s what I call adding some spice into our food, literally!

菊花鱼 (RM33) chrysanthemum fish – with such an exotic name, it’s no wonder that this dish was a feast for the eyes. The fish is deboned and cut into strips and then folded in such a way that each piece resembles a flower. This is a sweet sauce dish and was very appetising.

蒜茸菜心 (RM8) – stirred fried choy sam with garlic.

干煸 四季豆 (RM8) – fried French beans. The French beans were initially deep fried and then cooked with some dried chillies.

 Address : A 281 Star City

Jalan Beserah

25000 Kuantan

Tel : +609 567 4035 ,  +6017 695 5771

Mastercard & Visa accepted