F4 Fish Head Restaurant, USJ Subang

Once upon a time the road leading to this place was bumpy and it really made the journey there seem much longer. I was there once again yesterday and was surprised that the road has been nicely tarred….Hooray!

Locating F4 (not the boy band) is easy. If you know the road leading to Mydin, just turn right at the first set of traffic lights (before reaching the ‘old’ Giant on your right). Go straight all the way until you see a signage that says ‘Badminton Hall’. F4 is located next to the USJ Badminton Hall.  It is actually located within the USJ Industrial area and it occupies what looks to me like a factory lot.

Don’t worry about parking as there is ample parking there – foc too! This is a very popular eatery amongst the USJ folks for 2 reasons – the food is good and reasonably priced. As I sat there, I noticed that many families dine there – so it’s, well, where the average salaried worker like me can afford to eat.

I ordered the lo han kuo. It was thirst quenching and I loved it –plus the fact that it wasn’t too sweet, I’ll give it 4/5.

This is spinach soup – with lots of goji berry (which is said to be good for eyesight, promotes blood circulation and boost immunity, amongst others)  and dried prawns – this soup was very flavourful and definitely deserves a thumbs up.

Fish slices stir fried with ginger and spring onion – the fish was very fresh and this dish was well cooked – you can immediately tell that the stove had really hot  flame , therefore the fish wasn’t too soggy.

Tofu ring – this is a rather unique dish. The entire outer ring was made with tofu , fish paste and some prawns. The ring is then filled with baby corn, black Chinese mushroom, carrots and diced tofu – indeed a very delightful dish.

We also had salted chicken thigh –garnished with spring onion on top and some ginger at the side, this dish lived up to its name –SALTY!  Haha, but I ain’t complaining – cos I loved every bite of this well-cooked tender chicken.

Dinner for 3 pax -with 3 big plates of rice (Please note that the rice here is really HUGE!!) came close to RM60 - very worth it!

Address : Lot 776, Sub Lot 3,
Jalan Subang 4,
Subang Jaya Industries Park,
47500 Subang Jaya
GPS Coordinates: N3 02.795 E101 35.845
Tel:+6 012325 9111 /+6 012 315 3891

Opens from lunch time to dinner

Cash terms

Simple Life Cafe, SS2 Mall

Put 5 hungry people, longing for healthy food, together for a Sunday brunch and this was where we ended up – Simple Life Café SS2 Mall. This is an organic café promoting a healthy way of eating. Well, they serve no meat and hence is suitable for vegetarians. (Please note that some dishes contain eggs)

The exterior of the restaurant is pleasing –with an all white concept and the deco certainly reminds me of Garden Lifestyle Café. As I walked in I couldn’t helo but feel a sense of calmness. Service is friendly and prompt.

As we sit down, we are given toe menu and we take our time to browse through the menu. We had the following food:-

This is called the mini steamboat. Priced at RM18.90 it can feed at least 2 very hungry adults. For the soup, we had a choice of burdock, miso or black bean. We chose burdock which is said to be able to treat gout, rheumatism, ulcers, acne, eczema, and psoriasis. I read somewhere that burdock cleanses the blood and was traditionally used to treat snake bites….anyway, a huge bowl was brought to us and in it I could see Chinese cabbage, 3 slices of pumpkin, yam, tofu, sweet corn, carrots and a variety of mushrooms ranging from shitake to enoki…. And if that isn’t enough to fill your tummy, this mini steamboat also comes with a bowl of multi grain rice. I really don’t know what is so ‘mini’ about this steamboat as the portion is huge…well, come to think of it…..the mini thing about it is perhaps the pot used to cook the wholesome bowl of goodness!

BBQ sauce & chillies

The 'mini' pot

This is miso ramen soup – the ramen was well cooked and I loved it. This bowl of ramen comes with wolfberries, sweet beancurd sheets , a braised egg, some sweet corn kennels and some wakame. Wakame – the seaweed – was slightly tough and that was the only thing that I disliked about this miso ramen soup.

Kids meal – we tried 2 – and I must say the kids meal had a generous portion so much so that it is sufficient for an adult. Both sets come with a slice of watermelon, some French fries, vegetarian nuggets, a bowl of soup and a cup of peach drink. The seaweed fried rice was fragrant whilst the tomato macaroni was topped with sufficient amounts of parmesan.

Brown rice nasi lemak – the fragrant brown rice had a light tint of coconut oil that made the rice so appealing. With lots of side dishes such as acar, crispy fried mushrooms, roasted peanuts rending tempeh and fried egg to go with the rice, I could easily devour this plate of nasi lemak without any sense of guilt!

Dessert

Address : LG - 55, Lower Ground Floor, SStwo Mall,

 40 Jalan SS2/72, 47300 Petaling Jaya

Tel : +603 7960 4353

Credit cards accepted

Hiba, High Holborn

After  trying and falling in love with Persian food, we couldn’t resist entering this outlet called Hiba located in High Holborn. Hiba serves Lebanese food. A quick glance at the menu tells us that it looks similar to Persian food. Lebanese cuisine, I was told, is a cuisine that respects the riches of nature.

This time around, we left the choice of food to the waiter. He recommended that we take the platter for two (£35), as in doing so, we would be able to savour a variety of Lebanese food. We agreed and waited anxiously for food to be served.

While waiting we sip our drinks. These are  fruit cocktail (£2.45) and mint tea (£1.95). Mint tea is served in a normal-sized teapot but is drunk in what I call a rather tiny glass. Mint tea is said to be a good cure for indigestion.

Mint tea

These are what we ate:-

All in all, it was a perfect meal.

Dessert

Address:  113 High Holborn

London WC1V 6JQ

Tel : +44 20 7831 5171

Pizza Express, Whiteley’s

It was raining outside and we had no choice but to find something quick to eat inside a shopping centre. That was how we ended up at Pizza Express. I notice that there were many mums /dads having lunch with their children there.

 

 

 

 

 

I was very thirsty and ordered 2 drinks – both of which are bottled – elderflower presse (£2.80) and raspberry lemonade (£2.80). Both were refreshingly good and I loved them.

 

 

 

As I was feeling a little adventurous that day, I decided to try the four seasons pizza –which is a complete pizza made of 4 different toppings.  Magherita, mushroom, anchovies and pepperoni was what I got. Well, the pizza was just average.

 

 

To have a more balanced meal, I ordered a side salad for £3.50. Although it was without any dressing, this salad was delicious as the vegetables used were very fresh.

 

 

The kids had it better. For £6.45 each, kids get to choose from a Piccolo Menu. If you are wondering what piccolo is, it means small in Italian. But I would say the entire set meal isn’t that small…if you know what I mean. Piccolo menu consists of starters , main (a choice of pasta or pizza) and dessert.

 

 

This is the starters which looked quite interesting to me – some baked buns which tasted really awesome and a  piccolo salad made of capsicum, 2 slices of cucumber and a single baby tomato cut into 2.

 

 

This is the main course – macaroni. I was shocked that the pasta was not well cooked. Some portions remained  as hard as stones!

 

We had strawberry & chocolate sundae for dessert.

 

Address: Whiteley’s Shopping Centre

Queensway  W2 4SB

Alounak, Westbourne Grove

It is not difficult to locate Alounak, a restaurant in Westbourne Grove that specialises in Persian cuisine. As I walked in I noticed that the place is filled with lots of people, and based on my observation, hail from the middle east.

We ask for some mineral water and are given 2 bottles of Evian which cost £1.30 each. The tiny bottles are of course insufficient to quench our thirst. Hence we ask for more water, but this time we opt for simple tap water. It arrived in a jiffy – in a jug that looked a little unpleasing to me.





Hot pepper sauce

Since there were only two of us, we decided to order 2 main course to share:-

I ordered the Alounak special (£13.80). I figured out that since it was their signature platter, I should be safe. I was given the choice of bread, salad or rice. I chose rice as I haven’t eaten rice for well……let me count…a few days! Even before the platter reached my table, the fragrant aroma did. Wow! I just couldn’t wait. A skewer of mixed lamb and chicken fillet and some minced lamb served with grilled tomato. As I sunk my teeth into the mixed lamb, I knew instantly that it was no problem wiping clean the entire platter!

This is chicken on the bone (£9.10). Once again we had a choice of bread, rice or salad. For this, we chose salad. Consuming the well-marinated pieces of chicken was such a delight. We enjoyed every bite of it! The salad made the meal more balanced. With olives, tomatoes and a squeeze of lemon, it was indeed one of the better and healthier salads that I’ve had.

I’ll definitely remember this place. And if I have the chance, will come back for sure.

Address : 44 Westbourne Grove

London W2

Tel :  + 44 20 7729 0416 / 4158

Mr Kipling minced pies

Known as Britain’s favourite minced pies, I found Mr Kipling’s minced pies, prominently displayed on the shelves of Tesco near Tralfagar Square. Priced at £1.80 per box, with each box containing 6 pies , I decided to buy a box to try.

 

I put them in the microwave for approximately 2 minutes – and the fragrance overwhelmed the entire apartment. When I sunk my teeth into the minced pie, what I tasted was something really sweet. I must admit that I do not have a sweet tooth. Hence this wasn’t something I like – well, perhaps this wasn’t my ‘box of pie’ afterall.