Restoran Zhing Kong, City Centre, Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia

Address:
90-92, Jalan Hang Kasturi, City Centre, 50050 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Not sure but according to Google,
Daily, 6:30am - 5pm

Time Visited:
10am, Friday morning

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
2 sets of Steamed bread and Kopi O' Ais (Coffee without milk with Ice)

This place used to be my regular haunt for my morning breakfast back then when I was working along Jalan Tun H.S.Lee. It's just directly opposite (or you can say as beside) the Pasar Seni LRT station. As you exit it walking towards Central Market, it will be on the right, corner shop. I used to after alighting from the LRT and tagging in at office, I would go back down to this restaurant to have my toast bread and Iced Tea. It was a daily habit that I undertook until I don't even need to order. All I do is just sit right down and they will bring me my food and drinks. LOL. :)

But today, I walked down memory lane again and decided to visit this place once more since I was in that area. The difference this time around is I need to find a parking place. As I walked back in this shop and started to sit down, I saw all those familiar faces still manning their respective stalls after so many years. It's only those foreigner drink workers that are different now. There's also that spastic kid who's still there who is the daughter to one of the stall owners. Nothing but old hats here when I visited which most are familiar to some of the shopkeepers while the some odd ones are just those that are awaiting for their college class, a construction worker taking a break and also taxi drivers.

This time around, I ordered steamed bread instead along with coffee without milk. The old lady still mans the liquor area where she sits behind the counter where loads of alcohol are displayed but I rarely seen purchased. Out at the distance, there's a big sign indicating toilet key with a key tied with string and attached to a sort of bowl for people who want to use the women's toilet. I remembered once there was an incident where someone's been in the toilet for far too long and so they used the key to open up the door. But that was the men's toilet though. Or was there a women's toilet back then? I don't recall there having any since I've never used their toilet before when I was working around here since it's so near to my office.

I also remember an old lady who sometimes frequent here to eat (or rather drink). She's this old lady so sell tissues to people around this area and she would use that money to drink Guinness here. She also has this old wives' tales custom and uses Guinness to dab a little around her face. Those old Chinese tales say that when you apply Guinness to your skin and when you bathe an infant in Guinness, the skin will become supple and youthful. And that old lady does that which sends her reeking with alcohol as she walks past. LOL.

My order came quite fast and although it's not much to look at, the taste was not bad. Though the steamed bread may seem droopy, yet the loads of butter that they apply on it is what I fancy. I do love a very buttery tasting bread. As for the coffee without milk, it too was not too shabby. It perks me up with it's sugary caffeine and was the right taste to my requirement. I finish the lot and went on my merry way to continue my work.

Total Wallet Damage:
I can't really recall. I think it's RM5.60 for the whole lot. Something like that.

Final Verdict:
6/10. Brings back memories of me having my breakfast here daily and this shop has stood the test of time with many old timers patronizing this place as well as some college kids from the college nearby and also the office workers around. At least this one's still here while the other place where I used to always frequent for breakfast in Section 17 PJ has closed down. At least How Yekee is still surviving there and thriving.

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Restoran Super Kitchen Chilly Pan Mee, SS2, SS2, Petaling Jaya (PJ), Selangor, Malaysia

Address:
42, Jalan SS2/10, SS2,
47000, Petaling Jaya (PJ),
Selangor, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Daily, 8:30am - 10pm

Time Visited:
6pm, Sunday evening

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Traditional Pan Mee Soup and Coffee Iced

I don't know when this got into my list but I figured it's probably the influence of my colleague who loves pan mee. But then again, she likes the one that's the Klang version where it's thick and it's torn by hand instead of the rolled out dough version. Anyway, I decided to give this a try and the nearest branch that's closest to me is the SS2 one.

Their main place is somewhere in KL at off Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman but somehow I've never heard of it before. I came here a bit earlier than intended due to it starting to rain. It wasn't difficult to find the place since I've frequented Chow Yhang plenty a times in the past but only just when I came for the pan mee that I discovered Chow Yhang to have relocated to the back shop in the middle. But this is about the Super Kitchen Chilly Pan Mee.

There was plenty of parking available when I arrived but there's close to none when I was leaving. Guess it's a bit early for folks to partake their dinner at around 6pm in SS2. The entrance door to this place looks dilapidated and somehow when I entered, I wasn't really greeted as oppose to later on where most customers were really greeted and handed their menu. I had to signal to the waiter to bring the menu after I've sat down. Hmmph. It was merely a one page menu with the back listing all the drinks. Though this place is about pan mee, there's also other types of dishes like rice but mostly pork dishes. Almost everyone will definitely go for the dry pan mee but I went for the soup one instead to have a taste. Of course, if you wanna add those chilly into the pan mee, dry on is the way to go since adding the chilly into the soup version will merely make the soup spicy instead of being able to taste and eat the chilly directly with the noodles.

Though it's just 6pm with not many cars outside, this place actually draws quite a fair share of customers and some of the curious residents who occasionally comes in to have a look at the menu to see what else they have to offer. It took quite a waiting for my pan mee to arrive and when it did, I saw that they give quite a big portion. Quite value for money for such a big bowl. It fills me up nicely. There's a nice egg given as well and the rest of the normal pan mee ingredients like anchovies and loads of minced meat in there. The pan mee may be averagely tasty but the portion more than makes up for it. The loads of ingredients in there also makes it worth anybody's while. Add in lots of chilly to enhance the taste and you're sure to finish up the whole bowl.

After that hearty meal, I decided to take a stroll around the block to see what else is there before heading back home.

Total Wallet Damage:
I think I didn't take the receipt and I don't remember the total price. But I think the Pan Mee costs RM7.80 per bowl. Not sure about the drink. Looks like I'm slacking since I don't blog much nowadays. Haha.

Final Verdict:
6/10. A nice decent big bowl of Pan Mee if you're craving to have some and you're at SS2 area since it's available till late nights unlike those hawker stalls.

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Chao Zhou Bak Kut Teh, SS18, Subang Jaya, Petaling Jaya (PJ), Selangor, Malaysia

Address:
7, Jalan SS 18/1b, Ss 18, 47500 Subang Jaya, Petaling Jaya (PJ), Selangor, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
9am - 2:30pm & 5pm - 9pm
Closed on Mondays

Time Visited:
Friday evening, 7:30pm

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Mix pork meat including Pork Stomach & Intestines & Chinese Tea Ice

I remember eating here once or twice a very, very long time ago with the best boss I've ever had brought me and some of my department's colleague here to eat Bak Kut Teh. I wonder what happened to him? Probably had left to live in Singapore for good.

Anyway, today's the day that I decided to try again this Bak Kut Teh shop since I can't remember the taste of this place at all. It was a very unlucky day for me. Things just don't seem to go my way and I lose money instead of making money from working. On top of that, I was mistaken as someone else and had a good scolding from that person when I had never met him before at all. Finally, I took my car to service and today's the last straw that I'm taking there to service ever again. Today really hit the nail on the coffin because I found out that I was lied to by the person who attended to me. I specifically told him a few times to check what was loose under my car and fix it back up for me. But when I get my car back, there's no mention of them checking it and so I specifically ask about it. The person then said that the foreman had found nothing missing and no problem and he himself had checked it and found no problem too. That was so surprising to hear that because I saw something was loose under my car and I tied it myself with a string to prevent that thing from hitting the ground. I showed him and he took it to take a look at it again. Then he came back and started saying about how my side skirt had a problem and the clips were all gone which I already know a long time ago but that wasn't the thing I told him to check. Then finally, in a nonchalant manner, he told me it was the undercarriage and that they had tied it up with cable ties. I hate being lied to especially when it's people whom I trusted. I'm never going back again. Reminded me of that all too familiar person who lied to me through and through and hurt me till I'm beyond repair but yet people believe that person more than I do even though I've never lied to them at all just because that person is way more fun to hang out with. That's why I've stopped hanging out with those people anymore and hence A-Lone Diner is born. LOL.

Anyway, enough with my back story and my unlucky day. This post is about Bak Kut Teh. More specifically, Chao Zhou Bak Kut Teh. The guys at the service center since to have used up a lot of my petrol and so I needed to go to a petrol station to refill. I was thinking of the place near my home but I saw way too many people queuing up there and so I decided to pump near this Bak Kut Teh place. But to get to there during peak hours was difficult as I needed to make a lot of detours to avoid the jam so that I don't run out of petrol in unpredictable traffic jams. Finally, I manage to make it here. *Phew* This area seems to have more people coming here for food than during lunch hours. LOL. Must be those Subang residents who decided to stop here for dinner to wait out the jam.

As I enter, an old woman greeted me and asked me what I like to eat. She then had asked me on different ingredients and I said yes to everything. LOL. So it's a mixed pot of meat for 1 person with pork stomach and intestines and also a bowl of Chinese Crullers. There was quite enough portion of pork meat inside compared to Ah Sang Bak Kut Teh but mostly is the pork intestines. There's about 2 Taufu Pok and the broth was quite watered down and feels as if a lot of MSG instead of herbs in it because it makes me feel very thirsty. But the meat was satisfying enough though the taste of the overall dish could be improve a lot more. It does satiate your cravings should you be around Subang Jaya area but there are definitely way a lot more better shops to eat Bak Kut Teh than this place, As for the Yau Char Kuey (Chinese Crullers), it's so hard to eat on it's own. I have to soak it long so that its' soft enough to eat. It has been left out for way too long. Probably had bought it somewhere else in the morning. :(

Well, the upside of this place is that there's plenty of place to sit and eat. LOL. In fact, most customers here are just lone diners like me. Haha.

Total Wallet Damage:
Altogether is RM18. 

Final Verdict:
5/10. There's tons more better Bak Kut Teh places to eat from rather than here.

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Sage Restaurant & Wine Bar, The Gardens Residences, The Gardens, Mid Valley City, Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia

Address:
The Gardens Residences Level 6,
The Gardens, Mid Valley City,
Lingkaran Syed Putra,
59200 Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Lunch (Mon-Fri): 12pm-2pm 
Dinner (Mon-Sat): 6pm-10.30pm 
Closed on Sunday

Time Visited:
A day after New Year's Day, Monday (Public Holiday)

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
The Discovery Seasonal Lunch Set which consists of my chosen 
1) Cold Somen Noodle with Boston Lobster, Avruga Caviar and Baby Cress 
2) Aged 120 Days Black Angus Beef Striploin with Truffle Mash
3) Belgian White Chocolate Glace with Raspberry Coulis and Ciku
and end it all with coffee

I usually have my reservations in visiting fancy upscale restaurants as this one because being a lone diner of one, it kinda feels odd dining in places such as these and sometimes you just have to wonder whether do you need a reservation to dine at these places or can you just walk-in. But on that day after New Year's day, I decided to take my chances in being a walk-in diner of one.

I took quite a while before I braved myself to walk in there. Over at the front, there were no maitre d to greet me and so I walked on further in. At the bar area, there's a mixologist making drinks and as I was approaching the dining area, a waitress started to attend to me. I said I wanted a table for one and they ask me under what name? I said I didn't have a reservation. They then ask me to sit at the front there and wait a moment while they prepare a place for me. After a little while of waiting, they showed me in and it was all prepared for with 2 small pieces of Set menus to choose from as well. I then decided to go for the seasonal menu as my choice with the preferred items as listed above before the pictures.

Aside from a little awkwardness felt at the beginning, the rest of my dining experience here was excellent. I never felt out of place after I sat down. They attended to me every step of the way and were very hospitable and attentive. Your glass of water will never be empty and you won't have a finished plate in front of you for more than 5 minutes. When I sat down, a welcome drink was already served and present in front of me. Can't really recall what the drink was since it was a while since I ate there and I have a really bad and faulty memory but it's definitely a very refreshing drink.

Before any of the items on the menu was served, like any upscale restaurant, I was given bread to eat while I wait. I was even asked if I wanted a refill of the bread and of course I declined. If I were to eat more bread I'm sure I wouldn't be able to enjoy any of my meal any longer since I'll be stuffed. LOL.

The appetizer that I went for was the Cold Somen Noodle with Boston Lobster, Avruga Caviar and Baby Cress. Though small in size as it may look, yet it's enough. The presentation as expected was impeccable and certainly is eye catching. Every ingredient in it seems to be vital for the dish. If you just take away one of the ingredient, I'm sure it would taste differently and not as nice. Caviar provided a bit of a sweetness to it and the lobster some chew to it with the smooth somen complementing the ingredients well.

Next came my main dish which is the Aged 120 Days Black Angus Beef Striploin with Truffle Mash. It tasted heavenly and produces a succulent feel on the meet. Not very chewy but just a little bit of bite to it and it's juicy. I think they've put some wine in it. It has some sweet taste to it. Certainly a great experience in eating it. I can't remember how the Truffle Mash was since again, my memory had failed me on that. LOL.

I ended the meal with the Belgian White Chocolate Glace with Raspberry Coulis and Ciku as dessert. Though it may look simple with just a cup mountain with some red sauce at the bottom (which is the Raspberry Coulis) yet it's flavors were complex when I dug into it. There were chunkful of White Chocolate Glace hidden, blending well with the ice cream factor. Eating on it's own already proves to be heaven sent yet if you scoop it up with some raspberry coulis, it will give off a different taste with the sweetness of the raspberry being the stronger taste. And when you eat it with some Ciku as well, you'll get another type of taste where it provides a more excellent unique mixture. All of it really worked well together and it's like a well oiled machine that you can taste each individual ingredients even though together yet taste differently if there's one of it less. Also, altogether, it's a really well balanced taste. Not something overly sweet nor too bland/not enough sweetness.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM176. Though the price may seem dear, if you take a look at what they gave, it's actually quite a bargain. And the taste and dining experience of this place was well worth the RM176. There's 6% GST incurred. Wait a minute. I just realized I was charged the 1 liter bottle of water called Sole Still which costs RM24.53. Should've finished the RM26 bottle of water and take it home. LOL

Final Verdict:
9.5/10. Okay. Aside from that sneaky RM26 bottle of water, this place is well worth visiting especially for an occasion. The food was more than great, the service was tip top, and the ambiance was nice. Price-wise may be expensive for an everyday meal, but for a once in a while treat, it's perfect. In fact, if you scrutinize on the items, you'll fine that it's worth the money. I would highly recommend eating here for a once in a while treat. Currently, it's Chef Daniel that churns out these delectable dishes for the Set Lunches.

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Hutton Mansion Wine Haus, Georgetown, Penang Island (Pulau Pinang), Malaysia

Address:
149, Jalan Hutton, 10050 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
6 pm to 12 am. Closed on Sundays.

Time Visited:
Saturday, 7pm

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Their Set Dinner, I chose the Amber Chin's Signature Aglio-olio with Pork Belly and to drink, White Wine. Tomato Soup.

"So what are you doing in Penang?" That seems to be the theme of my visit there. Many seemed to ask me this question and each time I'm at the receiving end of this question during that day, I pause for a moment and my mind will just be slated blank. To tell you the truth, I don't even know why I drove all the way to Penang at such a late time of the day just to have a bite and depart back to PJ on the same day. I guess all I wanted to do is distract my mind by keeping myself busy.

Let me start earlier. The day started off with me working from morning till after lunch time where I can't really recall whether I did eat my lunch or breakfast or not but one thing's for sure, I started heading for Penang when the clock surpass 3pm. I stopped by at Sungkai to refuel my car and after that, it was all the way straight to Penang non-stop. When I reached Penang, it had already turned 7 o'clock. Just the perfect time for dinner. And so I headed to Hutton Mansion Wine Haus. It started to rain heavy when I arrive but that didn't deter me.

Hutton Mansion Wine Haus is actually the restaurant that's associated with the Hutton Mansion boarding hostel. I guess that's the main business as oppose to this F&B side. When I was there, I was the only person to enter for food. I was hospitably welcomed and been shown the menu. The sofa area of the place looks congenial, cozy and tones you down a notch. The lighting gives me a sleepy feel and puts me at ease. They allowed me time to look at the menu and I went for their Dinner Set which consists of many main course choices....just different pricing. LOL. As I await for my pasta, I gazed out of the window and get lost in the rain. Over on the opposite side, there's a wine shop and there wasn't much of anyone walking by the road except for a few tourists.

Pretty soon, I was served my wine. The wine was easy on the throat and wasn't heavy on the alcohol level. It provides a certain sweetness syncing with some soft touch of sourness. It certainly was a very pleasant to the mouth feel. I was soon served the appetizer which they name it "Duck Salad with Orange Sauce". Okay, so it's more of a descriptive name rather than an intriguing one but at least you know what you're getting. LOL. Though there's merely 2 peels of mandarin orange on top, the citrus taste permeates throughout the whole of the salad due to it being splashed with the orange sauce and the strong taste only is rivaled by the duck's salty taste. The duck is thick in it's slices and was tender. A nice combination in all even though the greens merely provided a crunch rather than it's refreshing leafy taste.

The next dish is the Tomato Soup. It's served together with a garlic bread which proved to be an odd combination. Without the garlic bread, the Tomato Soup taste way better so I much prefer separating the 2 to eat. The tomato soup was rich though not too thick. Enough for a satisfying slurp that I lapped up the whole dish.

Next came the main course. Garnishing includes some olives that provided some taste of sweetness and I can see sprinkles of cheese but my tongue fail to detect any of it when I put it in my mouth. The pork belly was delightful and some has a crispy texture outside and provides a somewhat chewy taste. It can also sit there for awhile and the pork belly is still warm when I ate it even to the last bit. It was a little too spicy for me since they spruce it up with cili padi but nothing a little water can't combat.

The staff of the place was very hospitable but also gave me ample space I need and only approach when necessary and occasionally just to get my feedback. Not bad even though I was the only one there, they still made sure that everything's alright with me. With a little wine, low lighting and the rain outside, it made me feel rather sleepy and so after that, I decided to go grab some coffee at The Safe Room down the road instead before heading off home. Thanks for the hospitality, Hutton Mansion Wine House.

Total Wallet Damage:
Just RM48 all in. Pretty sweet! No mention of GST nor service charge anywhere so I guess they don't charge.

Final Verdict:
7/10. The food was good and the selection of wine was nice. The only thing is the Tomato Soup does not go with Garlic Bread though you can just eat it separately. Although all the food is good, I just felt as if somethings missing. It's like it could've been perfect if something is added to it. Or maybe there could be dessert? LOL. Or maybe it's just because I had one of the most awesome set lunch ever at Sage Restaurant & Bar, The Gardens not too long before this and I just can't stop comparing that to this. That's not a fair comparison. Haha.

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