Delicious, Setia City Mall

Setia City Mall opened its doors on 17 May 2012. I went there with one motive- to dine in a particular restaurant (name shall not be mentioned) but was in for a let down as it was still not opened. The air conditioning was not functioning well and the place was filled with dust.

I must have walked in circles for close to 45 minutes before finally settling for Delicious. It was like a sauna as we walked in...but there wasn't much choice. The place was filled with people, many of whom were having lunch after walking (and shopping) around the mall.

We ordered ice lemon tea which came with free refills (not bad!) and some honey lemon (RM5.90) for my sore throat. I was happy to note that the honey was served separately and I only needed to pour in as much honey as I needed. How I wish all restaurants in Malaysia will do the same as I frankly feel that our drinks are often served with way tooooo much sugar.

This is mushroom soup with bread (RM14.90) - excellent, with a generous amount of mushrooms.

This is grilled chicken salad (RM25.90). I love the tiny pieces of avocado and the cranberry in this salad. Howecer the chicken was a tad tough.

Two kiddie meals were ordered -ham cheese sandwich which was rather tasteless and spaghetti bolognese - can't comment much on these 2 sets  -suffice to say that even the kids said there were 'not nice'.

Pan seared cod (RM50.90) . The cod was delicious but I can't say the same for all other items on the plate!

Seafood pasta (RM30.50) - this had to be the best dish we had that day. The pasta was well cooked and the sauce was tasty...wouldn't mind having a second helping!

Nasi lemak (RM29.90) -with a few pieces of keropok (fish crackers), some rendang chicken and 2 prawns, this must be one of the more expensive nasi lemaks in town! Sadly, the price tag does not in anyway reflect the taste of this nasi lemak.

We also had half a dozen of macaroons and that cost RM12.90 - needed something to sweet to end my 'not so sweet meal' there!


Address : LG 29 Setia City Mall
Setia Alam

Mastercard & Visa accepted

Saisaki, Wisma UOA II, Kuala Lumpur

Saisaki needs no further introduction for the avid Japanese buffet fans out there. I went there with some friends today as they are having the Shogun Fest promotion (lasts til 25 May 2012 only) .  In case you are wondering what Shogun Fest is all about, it's the time of the year when sakuras (cherry blossoms) are in full bloom and the Japanese normally celebrate this beautiful spring by being outdoors - in the park, to be exact.

Buffet lunch for RM46.10 nett (inclusive of drinks) - wow! worth every sen paid as the spread was sumptously rich and elaborate as well.

Lots of sushis and sea weed to choose from

Fried rice with abalone

Fresh oysters

Sashimi

Braised sea cucumber

All sorts of cakes like this & the one below



Pots and pots of soup - they even have buddha jump over the wall

Great assortment of fruits - papaya, watermelon, honey dew, orange

Nicely cut pineapples

Address: Wisma UOA II

Unit 1-9 , 1st Floor

21 Jalan Pinang

50450 Kuala Lumpur

Tel : 2166 3728

Lunch 12 noon to 3pm

Dinner 6pm -10.30pm

Credit cards accepted

Something from Down Under - Billy Tea with Lamingtons

I would like to share with you 2  photos which I took on my recent  trip to Australia.

This is billy – not the goat! It’s just a metal can with wire handle – nothing high tech about it, you may say….and I would not argue about it. But what makes Billy interesting is how it is used.

I was told that the early Australian settlers brewed their tea in a billy – out of necessity. A billy is filled with water and then placed over a fire.  When the water comes to a boil, the billy is removed and tea leaves are added. I don’t know how true this is but I was told that you will need to throw in a  fistful of tea leaves for each person and add one more. For example if there are 3 people you will need to put in 3+1 i.e 4 fistful of tea leaves.

You then leave it to brew…….then comes the interesting (and may I say challenging) part…..reminds me of what I see on Malaysian tv – DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME!!

The billy is swung at arm’s length. You have to ensure that you do not bend your arms…or else they will be an ugly sight , not to mention scalding! Swing the billy in a full circle. The reason for this is to allow the tea leaves to settle at the bottom of the billy so as to avoid any tea leaves in the tea cups later on.

I personally found the tea made to be  top notch--- more aromatic and when drunk in the cold weather kept me warm for hours.

This is Lamington – a very popular cake in Australia. You can find it in the shelves of Woolsworth. I wanted to grab some and bring them back with me, but upon looking at the expiry date (at the time I was at Woolsworth) which was a mere 3 days away, decided otherwise.

Anyway, I did have some Lamingtons, compliments of my friendly guide (and yes…the ‘missing ones’ in the picture above were eaten by  me).  Lamingtons are cakes (could be anything from butter, pound or simply sponge cake) typically cut into squares, dipped into chocolate frosting and then rolled in dessicated coconut….hence their limited shelf life!

There are many versions of stories regarding the origin of Lamingtons, but my favourite one has to be this:-

Lord Lamington was the Governor of Queensland from 1896 to 1901. He often attended meetings and when tea was served he often lamented about the lack of creativity of the people preparing the food. So one day he complains again…and the chef did not know what to do. He looked at what he had in the kitchen. So he cut the sponge cakes into 2, dipped them in frosting & rolled them in dessicated coconut…Thus begins the Lamingtons era!

Another story has it that the Lamingtons resembled the homburg hats favoured by Lord Lamington

Another claim is that the Lamingtons' chef at Queensland's Government House, French Armand Gallad, was called upon at short notice to provide something to feed unexpected guests, Gallad cut up some left over French vanilla sponge cake baked the day before, dipped the slices in chocolate and set them in coconut. Coconut was not widely used in European cooking at that time, but was known to Gallad whose wife was from Tahiti where coconut was used in cooking.

Whatever the origin is I would say that these ‘woolly’ looking cakes are a must try when you go Down Under.

Til then, G'day mate!

Imperial Peking Harbourside, Sydney

The Imperial Peking Harbourside is at least quarter of a century old and it that span of time has won many prestigious awards.  Although the name says “Peking” , having enjoyed a tantalising meal there, I would say that the Pekinese cuisine here caters to a more contemporary palate.

It is often described as Sydney’s best kept secret and I now know why. A  culinary experience here is not only pleasing to the palate, it is also a feast for the eyes. It offers a sweeping view of its vicinity i.e the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge.  

Here are some of the food we have – lobster, crocodile, vegetables with chinese mushroom, kangaroo & fried ice cream (not in the correct sequence of these photos - go figure it out if you can!)

I shall not divulge the prices of the individual dishes…Let me just say that the price of food here is rather steep, but then how can one complain because the ambience and food make this a great place to dine in.

Address: 15 Circular Quay West

The Rocks

Sydney

Tel: (02) 9247 7073, (02) 9223 1128

Fax: (02) 9247 9850

 

Opens daily from 12 noon-2.45pm, 6pm-10.15pm

Credit cards are accepted

Sam You Restaurant, Petaling Jaya

Sam You Restaurant is a well-known restaurant that has been around for a long time. I practically spent my younger days there! In case you are wondering where it is located, it is in PJ New Town , next door to Watson’s and 2 doors away from Maybank.

This is one restaurant that has stood the test of time and I would sum it up as follows:-

Efficient & courteous staff coupled with good food at a very reasonable price.

The first thing you need to do to ensure you have a table is to make a reservation. I called Mabel at 1.30pm to secure a table for 6pm and she told me ‘Ok, but we need the table back by 8pm’. You see, this is an extremely popular place and if you do not book, you will not get a table, or if luck is on your side, you will get a table along the five-foot way.

As I walked into Sam You at 6pm many other tables were already occupied. The table next to mine was having a birthday celebration for their grandpa (think I only saw a SINGLE candle on the cake!). Another group was celebrating a baby girl’s full moon. By the way this restaurant has seen many birthdays, full moons and weddings as well.

Red wine anyone?

We ordered 6 dishes to be shared among the 8 of us. The first one was the sweet and sour pork (RM37), which has never failed to impress me. Not too sour, not too sweet, just the perfect blend of sweetness and sourness. Excellent as always!

Next was the ginger onion fish slices. Again very well cooked. The fish was fresh and certainly did not smell! Another thumbs up

The homemade to fu dish (RM27)  was a little too starchy and the gingko was a little bitter. Sometimes this dish is served with some vegetables on top, but today the colour just didn’t  appeal to me.

The two vegetable dishes we ordered were simple –stir fried choy tam (RM18) and stir fried baby French beans(RM18) . Both  deserved a rating of 9/10. You can tell from the way the vegetable tasted that the wok was hot enough when the vegetables were fried – something that many restaurants lack!

We also ordered the treasure pot (RM40) which had a generous serving of abalone mushrooms, black Chinese mushrooms, sea cucumber and fish maw. I would say this dish is indeed delicious and  very reasonably priced…where can you find another restaurant serving such a dish (at such a portion)  at this price!

Before we knew it, it was 7.58pm and we were politely asked to vacate our table, which we did, with  full tummies and a great sense of satisfaction!

Tips from the writer:-

Parking is ample and you if you arrive early you could practically park in front of the restaurant and walk right in. If all the spots are taken there is always the MBPJ multi-tier parking nearby. However, I would not advise going to this place for Sunday lunch as parking could pose a problem. Remember the MBPJ has the second-hand car sales nearby every Sunday.

Sam You Restaurant

Address: Lot 56/58, Jalan 52/4

Section 52, PetalingJaya

 Tel:             03-7955 1197     

GPS: N3 05.957 E101 38.794

Opening Hours:11.30am - 2.30pm & 5.30pm - 10.30pm daily

Mastercard & Visa are accepted

Paradise Inn Sunway Pyramid

One of the latest outlets to open in Sunway Pyramid (opened in Dec 2011)  is this beautifully renovated place called Paradise Inn…well, nothing like what I imagine paradise to be, but the ambience is certainly a factor which draws in the crowd.Anyway, cosmetics aside…The four of us went to explore and see (and taste, of course!) for ourselves what Paradise Inn had to offer.

We waited for some time to be seated.  Even before noon, we could see that many tables were already occupied. We were given the menu and as we looked through it did not know what to order….or  rather let me say we did not know what this restaurant was famous for.

So we signalled to the waiter and he was very eager to take our order…but hey, wait a second..we really didn’t know what to choose. We asked for his recommendation and was told that they do soup best. So after some deliberation, we settled for pig stomach & spare ribs with pepper.

We then asked him for other recommended food and could see that his patience was running low. He told us to have a look at the menu and went off….sigh! So the flipping of the pages began again. Finally we settled for some food & made our order.

This is jasmine tea  - served in a ‘golden’ tea pot it definitely looked impressive.

Lychee mojito tea with ice (RM8.80 )- a tad sweet for me

Lemon grass passionfruit tea (RM8.80) – refreshing!

This is the soup (RM33.90) we ordered. Not many pieces of pig stomach in it, but the soup was certainly tasty. I must however say that the black pepper was slightly over-powering.

This is pork belly which is eaten with lotus bun. A set costs RM4.80. Lots of fat and I personally prefer lean meat.

Coffee pork ribs (RM19.90) – deboned ribs cooked with coffee. It was bitter sweet and I quite liked it.

Salted eggs with prawns (RM29.90) – this dish had a unique flavour….juicy prawns were coated in salted eggs, making each bite pleasant. Would have been better if it had not been so soggy.

Sauteed Bean sprouts with salted fish (RM16) – taste was ok, but the portion was absolutely tiny!

Tips from the writer : Bring along your CIMB credit card or Jusco card to enjoy a 10% discount.

Address:

Paradise Inn

 OB3, Lower Ground 1.7 and 1.8, Sunway Pyramid

 No. 3, Jalan PJS 11/15,

 46150 Petaling Jaya,

 Selangor

Contact No: +603 5637 8822

Operation Hours: Mon – Sun (10:00 am – 10:00 pm)

Amex, Visa & Mastercard  accepted