Showing posts with label Indian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Indian. Show all posts

Sunday, June 4, 2017

Jaipur Mahal, Glomac Cyberjaya, Cyber 4, Cyberjaya, Selangor, Malaysia

Address:
No 7, Block H, Jalan GC9,
Glomac Cyberjaya, 63000
Cyber 4, Cyberjaya,
Selangor D.E, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Lunch:
1 PM to 3 PM
Dinner:
5:30 PM to 10:30 PM
Ok, here's the odd thing. They have breakfast in their menu but they stated that their opening hours starts from 1pm? Not sure what is their exact opening hours.

Time Visited:
8:20pm. Sunday night

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Kadai Mushrooms, Balti Gosht, Steamed white rice and Masala Tea.
I meant to visit this place a few times back but I just keep putting it off and it was supposed to be the one at Jalan Ipoh but only today was I finally able to spare the time to visit an outlet of Jaipur Mahal. I decided to go for the one at Cyberjaya since nighttime, there will be no traffic there and parking would be a breeze. I also thought that the place would be quite quiet and empty being at Cyberjaya at night. When I arrived there, I was quite correct. There were only 1 other table occupied when I stepped in but later on, there were a few other families who came to eat there. Being a very pure North Indian restaurant, the people who ate there were, well, Indians. I was the only Chinese who was there to dine and also the only person who went there on my own. LOL.

The snooty display of the North Indian permeates the restaurant and the staff put on much class and air of superiority like a butler and jeeve. Despite sitting far from the counter, the staff were attentive enough to my needs. I guess that's mainly due to the emptiness of the place during that time before others walked in. I made my order and off they were to prepare my meal. As an appetizer, they serve me some Indian chips and I believe the other one is a dessert? Because it's sweet. Well, I could be wrong. It could be an appetizer. I have no idea what those are called. LOL. I'm not really well verse with Indian dishes. Those 2 items were compliments of the house.

They took little to no time to bring me my meal, surprisingly. Before I knew it, everything was already served to me. The mushrooms were lacking, I wish it was of a stronger taste but in the end, if you ate a lot in succession, you can taste a stronger taste of it. I quite like the Balti Gosht. That to me was something most strongest in it's taste. It's actually tender lamb that's cooked with tomatoes, onions, garlic and ginger with some herbs and spices. This was my favorite among all. The steam rice that they gave were basmati rice. Long thin looking but they cooked it really nicely and it goes well with all of the other dish. I came to conclude my meal with my masala tea. Unfortunately too the masala tea was lacking in strong taste. Everything just seemed so pale in their taste except for the chips and the lamb. But I did enjoy the meal. It's not that it didn't taste nice. It just wasn't as strong a taste as I expected. I also liked the quiet atmosphere which is always a plus for Cyberjaya area. LOL. At such a late hour over there, Not only there's plenty of free parking with very wide roads so no jam at all, but also the very quiet place. Like a small town but with very huge area and very developed roads and buildings.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM50.45. Well, I don't really consider it expensive despite it's name. LOL. Maybe I've been too influenced by Korea seeing that I was just back and food over there is expensive compared to over here. There's 6% GST but no service charge though they had good service.

Final Verdict:
I shall rate this 7/10. For their ambiance, their service, and what they really are for. The food overall is not bad but I certainly would like some dishes to have a more stronger taste.

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Legend's Claypot Briyani House, Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia

Address:
Brickfields No.50, Ground Floor, Jalan Vivekananda, Kuala Lumpur (KL), 50470, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Monday -Thursday - 11am - 11pm.
Friday - Sunday - 8am -11pm

Time Visited:
4pm, Saturday afternoon

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Thosai Rawa Masala, Fried Fish & Iced Honey Lemon
The night before this day, I was working quite late till 8pm due to a server in need of a hard disk replacement and the rebuilding part was excruciatingly slow but necessary to wait for it's completion. So on this day in the morning, I was supposed to go out with my colleague in order to eat a chicken rice place where it's deemed as cheap and good. But unfortunately, I was so exhausted, that I went back to bed at 8am as I awoke and only woke up at around 11am, an hour after the stipulated time of my colleague picking me up. LOL. So since that happened, I decided to go my own way to eat.

Due to my very tired nature, I only manage to crawl out of the house late in the afternoon and only wind up at Legend's Claypot Briyani House by 4pm. Despite it being at a late hour of 4pm, the place was teeming with people indoors. Mostly Indian people of course and mostly there to consume their signature Claypot rice but I ordered a different type of dish and that is their Thosai Rawa Masala. Well, it wasn't my first time eating at Legend's Claypot Briyani House. The last time I did so was with colleagues where we went to the branch at Kelana Jaya (which is now closed for good) and during that time, I had their Claypot Briyani rice. But on this day, I decided something different. To have some meat, I ordered a fried fish as well.

Though the crowd was there and the staff looks weary, the drink and the food came at quite a quick pace which I didn't expect. The fried fish was the last to arrive. The Iced Honey Lemon was sweet but bearable though it's too sweet for my taste caliber. As for the Thosai Rawa Masala, it was above average in taste and if you notice in the picture above, you can see that they only provided me with the dhal to accompany with the thosai. Nevertheless, it's not really an issue as it being a Thosai Rawa Masala, it's filled with ingredients inside such as the potato.

The fried fish looks a little oily but it's delicious, enough to my satisfaction. It does contain bones but it's not a lot of bones in there so it's okay.

I can see that this place is quite the hangout area for the nearby community since there's loads of people there even at that odd hour. But it's probably because there's a college nearby as well and probably it was just the end of a class session hence the crowd. Oh well. That's my guess anyway.

Total Wallet Damage:
In total RM14.60. I'm not sure of the exact price of the dishes but according to the menu, Thosai Rawa Masala is RM4.50 and Iced Honey Lemon is RM4.10.

Final Verdict:
7/10. The Claypot Briyani rice may be their signature but their thosai is not bad too.

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Fierce Curry House, Bangsar Utama, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia

Address:
16 Jalan Kemuja, Bangsar Utama, Bangsar 59000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Mon-Sun:
10:30 am - 10:30 pm

Time Visited:
12:50pm. Merdeka Day!

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
North Indian Thali Set, Mutton Masala and Mango Lassi
Holiday and no work to do, not even part time work and so I decided to head on down to Fierce Curry House to try it out. It started raining when I parked and was forced to carry an umbrella in order not to appear soaking wet when I arrive at the restaurant. I soon sat myself down on the outer area and I didn't go in to the air conditioned area which is indoors. Outside, there was a college student counselor being interviewed by one of the college students I guess with regards to suicide. She related on how society condemns the tortured suicidal ones and that society as a general just shuns them. She lost some family members to suicide and something about one of them was her brother who's very, very bright or something like that and that suicide is something that can be cured. I phase in and out of their very long conversation as I await for somebody to approach me with the menu.

It seems that one of them is the owner of the restaurant and is busy with something with another guy at the cash register. The other guy notices me that I've been sitting down for awhile and not being attended to and motion to me to wait awhile as he continued further to attend to his boss. After at long last, he and the owner finally finished up their business at the cash register and the guy hurried to me with the menu. I studied it quick and started ordering the North Indian Thali Set. He said that it was vegetarian and I said it's okay because I wanted to try the mutton masala as well. And for drinks I went for the Mango Lassi. This is a place that serves both North Indian and the South Indian rice set. When asked what's the difference he said the North Indian set is non-spicy while the other is. Fair representation. That's quite true in any case.

It didn't take long for it to be served. The Mango Lassi was quite delightful. Thick and creamy with good mango taste and not too sweet. It may not be as thick as Tetra House of Briyani which is a place that serves excellent Briyani rice that leaves you craving for it at times but it's just as good.

Pretty soon, the Thali Rice set arrived and the waiter who served me noticed that I still had not gotten my Mutton Masala and signaled to some staff to serve it to me. They put everything sitting pretty in the Thali with 5 different vegetables, Vegetable Curry and Dhal, Rasam for appetizer some Pappadoms, my fave Salted Fried Chili, a Chapati along with rice and oddly enough, Kesari is given together with this set straight away though Kesari to me is known to be a dessert. I guess it's like those set where it comes with dessert like fruits and they serve the whole thing all at once. Everything's handy dandy and nice except that the Pappadom disappointed me a bit. It wasn't crispy and already gone soft. The rest were what I expected it to taste like and was good especially the Mutton Masala which I could eat more off than just that small plate.

The service here is quite good too with the owner going around making sure that things are okay with his patrons by asking them and he even stop and have a chatter with some of them too. I find that to be quite nice of him to make sure everything's alright.  The rain stopped before I even started eating and the scorching sun came out again after that. I headed off as soon as I've finished my meal in satisfaction. Mmm, but my short recall of the time had Tetra has got me craving for there again. Maybe it's high time I go back to Tetra to try.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM29. RM10 for the North Indian Thali Set and RM12 for the Mutton Masala. Mango Lassi is RM6. GST 6% is required.

Final Verdict:
7/10. Not a bad place to eat instead of the overcrowded area opposite, this is a more quieter side of town.

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Raj's Banana Leaf, Bangsar Baru, Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia

Address:
38, Jalan Telawi, Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur (KL), Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
24 Hours, daily

Time Visited:
Close to 12:30pm

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Banana Leaf Rice set and Teh Ais (Ice Milk Tea)
It was the first day of Raya and I had nothing planned up. But one thing's for certainty and that is lunch. Didn't had a specific aim but just thought of eating banana leaf rice and so I decided to try Raj's Banana Leaf at Bangsar since I've never tried before.

Bangsar was crowded with people as usual even with the holidays. Nirwana was packed to the brim with the lunch crowd and if I were to dine there, I would have to wait for a place. But this day was for me to try Raj's Banana Leaf and see whether it taste good.

It's crowded with people but still, I managed to get a place for me. The staff came to me in a jiffy and I relayed my order to the person. Pretty soon, I had staffs coming over to my table and laying things in front of me. Of course it started off with the banana leaf, then came the vegetables and then the rice on top with my choice of curries rained all over it. They topped it off with papadoms and they're done with it. And so I started eating before my teh ais.

I would say that they were generous in their portion of and I somewhat liked their curry. The vegetables were well in order and decent enough for consumption and it's enough to cover my rice as I feast upon my hefty lunch. However, I would say that this meal serves merely the purpose of eating full and is not the pleasure of taste so much. Because to me, the food taste is just average. With the many good banana leaf rice in Bangsar around such as Nirwana and Devi's Corner and Anuar's Curry Fish Head just nearby, there's plentiful good choices to choose from before I would avail myself to this restaurant for banana leaf with their mediocre taste. With that in mind, I do find that their service was quite good and very quick and energetic to attend to you. This is something that you can hardly see when you're at Mamak restaurants. But of course, I think this is an Indian restaurant and not really Mamak.

Finally, their Teh Ais was not a bad order. It weren't too sweet like most Malaysian restaurant serve and is just right in it's taste. No wonder after a quick scanning around the restaurant, I saw most people ordering this here.

I don't really see a need or want to come over to this place to eat banana leaf rice. If anything, I'd most rather head on over to Nirwana's and if it's too full, over to Devi's corner before I succumb to coming over here. But of course, you can give it a try. Who knows. Maybe it's your kind of taste.

Total Wallet Damage:
The price has alluded me. But I think I paid around RM10 for the Banana Leaf Rice set.

Final Verdict:
5.5/10. Sorry for the lower than usual score but I really can't find a reason to come back here again.

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Kumar's, Oasis Square, Ara Damansara, Petaling Jaya (PJ)

Address:
R-03 Central Piazza 
2 Jalan PJU 1A/7A, Oasis Square, Ara Damansara, 47301 Petaling Jaya (PJ), Selangor, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Mon-Sun:
11:30 am - 3:00 pm
6:30 pm - 11:00 pm

Time Visited:
After noon, a Tuesday afternoon.

Attire worn:
Business

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Sotong Thali Set and a cup of Bru Coffee
DISCLAIMER: This was not a lone dining experience.

Before the last day of working with my company for my colleague, my department gathered for a farewell lunch with her. Kumar's was the decided place of destination for that occasion and quite unfortunately, it was a day that she and I weren't feeling all that well but decided to go anyway.

Kumar's at Oasis Square has always been seen by me many times since I used to frequent Oasis Square for lunch but am always afraid to go in and try due to it looking pricey. But since this was a decided day to try that restaurant, it's a good opportunity for me to see what they have on the menu for me to try. The surrounding ambiance of the place has always scared me to bits as it looks like some upper class posh restaurant and so I expected it to be pricey. And sure enough some of the items in the menu do reflect that but there are also items that are fairly reasonable in price for consumption. Since it was an afternoon lunchtime, the ideal of it would be the Thali Lunch Set which costs only RM19.90 for your choice of meat (with chicken being lower priced) with rice. If you prefer vegetarian, of course it would be cheaper at RM17.90 but I find it not as value for money as with meat due to the inherent nature of less items on the set in addition to having no meat in it.

The Thali Set comes equipped with 2 vegetables, Raita, Rasam, Sambar, Pappadom, a Banana as dessert and a soft drink of choice. But here's something that they also serve with that I find it unusual and that is that they serve Chapati with it! I find it unusual because it comes with rice and with a Chapati serve with it, it just seems the odd one out. The Thali Set also has one that is with Naan and no rice and that's where I find it pointless in having the Chapati there as well since that would mean it contains 2 floury items in it that resembles bread. Oh well. Anyway, I'm not complaining having something extra to eat. I used to love eating Chapati when I was small and I have this weird request to eat it with lots of butter/margarine spread all over it. It's just super delicious with it to me instead of just a plain one to serve with Dhal and curry. Nowadays, I never eat Chapati anymore because nobody understands where I'm coming from and what I'm talking about when I request for a Chapati to be spread with butter/margarine and so I just gave up eating it altogether. LOL.

So anyway, that's what the Thali set comes with. They also have that salted chili stick right on top of the rice. Love eating that. Just can't recall where was that place I used to eat at that I love having that. The Raita, Rasam and Sambar were not bad and so was the vegetables, but I find my sotong (squid) tasting a little weird. I guess sotong isn't what I should've ordered. LOL. I just find the whole Thali Set kinda a weird combination with bananas, Chapati all in the mix. Well, it's certainly unique. I'll give it credit for that. LOL.

I also ordered the Bru Coffee because the previous lunch indulgence in alcohol and pork ribs has left me feeling queasy and foggy head till this meal. They seemed to use maybe powdered milk? Or probably condensed milk? Because I find there's a layer developed on top of the coffee which is milk due to the temperature. Anyway, the coffee weren't that bad after all and quite a decent cuppa though it tasted almost tea-like due to the odd milk base.

We finished off the lunch session and went home after my colleague explored the other 2 levels in this restaurant.

Total Wallet Damage:
Well, all I can say is that my Sotong Thali Set amounted to RM19.90 and my Bru Coffee is RM4.90. There's a 10% service charge and a 6% GST imposed.

Final Verdict:
6/10. Despite it's outlook appearance of a posh upper class restaurant, there are reasonably priced dishes in it as well. It just looks swanky but it's just the same as a normal mamak. Only thing is this comes with waiters that are more refined than mamak standards. LOL.

Saturday, March 5, 2016

Anuar's Fish Head Curry aka Bangsar Fish Head Corner, Lucky Garden, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur (KL)

Address:
No 2 Lorong Ara Kiri 3, Lucky Garden, 59100 Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Mornings probably around 10am or 11am till night.

Time Visited:
About 11:30am. Saturday morning.

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Rice with fish head curry minus the fish head, fried chicken
During the Chinese New Year week, me and my colleagues went over to this location in Bangsar to have the nice Apam at Om Shakti Chelo. During the time there, I was impressed at how the corner stall seems to have attracted a long line of people patiently awaiting for their turn at the stall. My colleague who's a vegan expressed to me that this is always the case. This corner shop always garner a very impressive line of people and she has no idea why since she's vegan and don't eat meat. Upon further investigation, I found out that it's called Anuar's Fish Head Curry also known as Bangsar Fish Head Corner. Although the name indicates that it's main selling point should be the Curry Fish Head, yet I didn't see many of people ordering it but instead having the norm of the curry being splurged on the rice.

So one fine Saturday morning, I eagerly made my way over there to see what's the fuss about. Being a weekend and not exactly lunch time yet, the long queue had not started. Although it's pretty early, you can already see many people filling up the seats over there and people packing away the rice lunches. It's just that they're up to speed and that the crowd were manageable to them. I took my turn and took my rice and curry that they filled up when I approached. I just took a piece of the fried chicken that's displayed alongside fried fishes and put it on the dish. In addition to that, I also scooped up some bean sprouts which was the only vegetable available there.

I then proceeded to sit down at a vacant table to the inviting arms of one of the staff and without me even saying a word, they laid out a Teh O' Ais (iced tea without milk) on my table. I soon find out that this is the default and if you don't want it, you would need to tell them. There's also no sign of any other type of drinks there besides Teh O' Ais except for plain water which is free. Seconds later, my table were filled with other individuals wanting to have their lunch and I quietly consume my food alongside them.

Their service is mighty impressive. You can even order food from your seat and they will bring it to you immediately without even needing you to tell them twice. This is something I hardly see especially for mamaks. They're also very quick to clear your table once you've indicated you're done and take your leave.

The food although simple, was fantastic. I've always argued the fact when people throng to a place and say their fried chicken is good that it's just fried chicken. How good can it get and how much can it deviate to tasting like a fried chicken. This place opened up my eyes. Their fried chicken IS very good. Very delectable although oily and small, yet it tasted good and coupled with the rice and curry it's a match made in heaven. The curry too is something to be reckoned with as well. It's sour tinge and thick flavor whets the appetite further and leaves you wanting more on it. You can easily eat the curry just with the rice. On top of that, they're generous by giving you some ladies fingers (okra) in the mix as well. Among all the customers that were there, I noticed that most will ask for more curry and some ask for more chicken. It was that good. People WILL generally ask for more curry maybe because partially they pour barely enough to go with the rice in the beginning in addition to the very good taste of the curry. In addition to that, it's at no extra charge at all! The bean sprouts tasted normal and more crunchy than what I usually get and crisp.

When I paid for my meal, I couldn't believe my ears! The price was so cheap it's no wonder people flock to this place. It's practically a steal eating here not to mentioned the very good taste of their fried chicken and their curry. This place is the epitome of cheap and good food.

Total Wallet Damage:
It's not much of a damage at all. More like a poke or a scratch. Imagine, rice with curry and vegetables with fried chicken and Teh O' Ais costs only RM4!!! Curry and vegetables are free which leaves them only charging the rice, fried chicken and the drink. In fact, the rice can be a big mountain pile and it still costs the same. What an awesome place this is.

Final Verdict:
7/10. Great food, very, very cheap and tasty. The only downside to this place is the ambiance. It's very hot especially in the afternoon since it's under the attap zinc roof of the makeshift stall place but one thing good is that it's still more hygienic than some mamak I know where you can see rats and cockroaches lurking around. None of that sort here though. At least, not that I can see.

Monday, February 29, 2016

Nasi Lemak Bumbung, SEA Park, Petaling Jaya (PJ), Selangor

Address:
Jalan 21/11b, Sea Park, 46300 Petaling Jaya (PJ), Selangor, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Daily, 5:30pm - 4am.

Time Visited:
About 8:30pm? I guess so, since it was just after my dinner. Sunday night

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Nasi Lemak Ayam with Telur Mata (bullseye egg/ sunny side up egg) and Teh O Ais Limau (Iced Lemon Tea)
DISCLAIMER: This was not a lone dining experience.

During the weekends, I had a fast food bender starting from Saturday evening where I feast on McDonald's. Still having some fast food cravings the next day, I went to KFC to eat in the morning to try the "Ayam Kicap Meletup" for the first time. And finally, in the evening, I went for an A&W feast, eating a 2 persons meal just to satiate that craving appetite in me. Since my friend wasn't really full then, he decided to take me to this Nasi Lemak Bumbung to try since I've never eaten here before.

When we arrived around 8 something pm, the place was brimming with customers. Mind you Nasi Lemak Bumbung is not a fancy restaurant place nor is it a restaurant shop on it's own at all. It prepares it's meal from a shop that sells Bah Kut Teh which is closed but they occupy the back portion of it. As for the seating area, it's all just makeshift tables and chairs setup outside of the bank beside and all along the back alley. So yeah, that's where you'll actually be eating. Either beside the bank that's closed by night or at the back alleyway. Since there's throngs of people at the place during that time, we had to walk quite a distance before we reached an empty table. Hell, Nasi Lemak Bumbung is at a corner and we were almost at the end! Ya, so that's how famous this place turned out to be. Most people are just there to eat their nasi lemak but there are some who order their mee goreng (fried noodles) to eat. As for me, I decided to try their nasi lemak.

It didn't take long for the food to arrive possibly less than 5 minutes. It's even faster than the drinks sometimes. Armed with minimal light at the back alleyway, it's laughable to see lights in star decorations at the area near to where their corner is. I can't imagine that spicing up the ambiance at all since it is after all.....a back alleyway. LOL. The Nasi Lemak gives evidence to them plating in a hurry with sloppy sambal hastily plonked at one side with splashes all around and a pathetic looking small drumstick chicken that barely contained any meat on it. As for my sunny side up egg, it's ruined in transition with the yolk already gone, very much drained from it's juices.

I soon evaluate the taste to see if it's good. The rice was fragrant but has a harder texture than what I'm used to. The egg didn't give off anything out of the ordinary and the sambal was just there to add a bit of a taste to it. The sambal didn't emit anything special and it wasn't the spicy kind. To me, it tasted more of the sweet kind and it wasn't enough to go with the rice portion so it's a good idea to order extra sambal. As for the chicken, now this has a unique taste that separates from the rest. It tasted of heavy Indian spices which I guess is what some people like but to me, it's still just a fried chicken with a little bit of a different flavoring.

Aside from the unique fried chicken taste, I guess the other thing that probably is the draw for people to come is it's cheap price. With the Nasi Lemak and the drink, it's only RM6.50.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM6.50 in total and as you can guess, there's definitely no GST nor service charge. LOL.

Final Verdict:
2/10. I still don't understand what's the draw to this place aside from the cheap price. This makes Village Park Nasi Lemak taste like heaven which I still feel it's overrated though many love it. 'Awesome' (read: awful) ambiance, 'lovely' (read: rude) service, 'great' (read: mediocre) food, I have to wonder why people like it so much aside from their quick dispense of the Nasi Lemak and the cheap price. Oh, and not that I'm racist or anything, I observed that 80% of their customers consists of Chinese.

Monday, February 22, 2016

The Ganga Cafe, Taman Bukit Pantai, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur (KL)

Address:
19, Lorong Kurau, Taman Bukit Pantai, 59100 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Tuesday to Saturday 8:30 AM – 9:30 PM
Sunday 10:00 to 3:00 PM
Closed on Mondays

Time Visited:
Lunch time, around 12:30pm (?) on a Friday afternoon, Chinese New Year week

Attire worn:
Business

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Masala Tea and their Biryani Rice Thali Set
DISCLAIMER: This was not a lone dining experience.

It was the last working day of the Chinese New Year week for me and my colleagues and after our food expedition where they brought me to their favorite places to dine on Indian cuisine which are Tetra and Om Shakti Chelo's Appam, they couldn't think of where to go on the last day. And that's when they started asking me and say they wanna follow me instead. Seeing that one of my colleague is a very strict vegan, I started thinking of pure Indian restaurants because she just won't eat if a restaurant isn't pure Indian that serves meat. Sure I could bring her along to a pure vegetarian restaurant but from what I know, her taste buds always leans to Indian food and so I was thinking of either The Ganga Cafe or Fierce Curry House, 2 of the Indian establishments that I have an eagerness to try but has not had the time to visit it yet. In the end, I let her decide and she chose The Ganga Cafe seeing that the restaurant is pure vegetarian only anyway and Fierce Curry House is not.

And so off we went on the food adventure in Bangsar. Fearing the mosque nearby at the place, it turned out to be not so bad though it did cause some congestion with people haphazardly parking alongside the road but it did little in stopping us in pressing on with our mission. We arrived at the scene a little close to 12:45pm I guess and to my surprise the place was full house and still there's more people awaiting to grab a seat. The owner was very friendly and suggested that she's gonna put some more chairs and tables in front of the next door shop which she chide that it belongs to them or something along the lines but my colleague were afraid of the heat and wanted to sit inside. After detecting her wishes, I led them in to a table that's seated with a couple and decided to sit at the empty table that's joined beside their table and we soon grabbed a menu to decide on our delicacy.

I soon found out that I must've caught them at a bad day because the service was really slow that day. It took them almost 10 minutes before I manage to flag someone down to take our order. I went with the Nasi Biryani Thali set where the Thali Set consists of 3 vegetables, a dhall and a curry and rasam. And to drink, I decided upon the Masala Tea. We soon learned of the horrors of that day. It's probably one of their worst day of business to date. They keep mixing their orders up, had a massive backlog of customer requests and were duly disorganized. Over at the open kitchen, you can see many cooks in there busy with something but nothing seems to be coming out of the kitchen. In fact, the lady boss has to step inside to try and organize whatever she can the entire time that we were there. I soon realized as I looked around the restaurant that most has not had their food served yet aside from a couple of tables and we thought to ourselves, this is bad.

We were asked of what we ordered again for about 3 times and they tried to bring us food that we didn't order twice. My colleague got so hungry that she took some finger food that they were selling to eat first. About over an hour later, our food finally arrived. Through my observation, we seemed to have gotten it way earlier than a lot of them who arrived before us. I pity them but I guess that was the start of when they regain their composure in organizing again. Hence our turn in getting our order first. I was very hungry and so I quickly took a picture and started eating right away. The food was lukewarm to me but my colleague complaint that it was cold and so she ordered a Nasi Tomato that is has to be hot to be brought to her. The food tasted good despite being lukewarm. One of my colleague like the curry which gives off a little sourness and not too spicy although it's a curry. The rasam was just nice for me in terms of taste, not too sour and I'm able to gulp down the whole thing as an appetizer. It'll be better if it's a bit warmer. The rice were grainy and little tougher than what I'm used to but didn't deter in taste and is still good despite a rougher texture. All the rest of the vegetables were good as well in taste but one things for sure, it's not as filling as we expected. The piping hot Nasi Tomato later arrived and that is a much fluffier and softer rice than the biryani.

As for the Masala Tea, it wasn't to my liking. The taste was okay but they didn't stir properly in their haste to serve it to us thus indicating to me that their water weren't hot enough when they poured it in for the mixture. There's a large chunk of gunk right at the bottom but of course I didn't gulp that down. As I got up and paid, they forgot to include some things and I reminded them of the Nasi Tomato that we ordered as extra but I forgot to tell them about the finger food that we had while we were waiting for our meals to arrive and so it looks like we weren't charged for it. Sorry. I didn't mean to cheat you guys. I weren't given a receipt too but that's a small matter. I kinda pity the owners being scolded with many angry customers left and right with many saying they have to leave so please pack their food which haven't arrive at their table yet. But despite that, the owners were still courteous and maintain a respectful front in the presence of the angry customers. What a day for them and what a day for us as well. LOL.

Total Wallet Damage:
In the midst of the confusion, I forgot to take note of the prices and I wasn't handed a receipt as well. Doesn't matter, they didn't get the full list of what we ordered correctly anyway.

Final Verdict:
5/10. Bear in mind that this was based on most likely their worst day ever and I'm not sure what caused such chaos. I'll probably give them another chance and will visit them again at such a time once more to see if the same thing happens.

Saturday, February 13, 2016

Om Shakti Chelo Appam Stall, Lucky Garden, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur (KL)

Address:
6A, Lorong Ara Kiri 3, Lucky Garden, Bangsar 59100 Kuala Lumpur (KL), Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Presumably 10am - 11pm. Mon - Sat

Time Visited:
12:30pm, Thursday lunchtime.

Attire worn:
Business

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Okay. Not gonna publish full list but just the things I ate. One Sweet Appam, one Vade, one Curry Puff and one Masala Thosai. 
DISCLAIMER: This was not a lone dining experience.

Since it's still the Chinese New Year week, my colleagues decided to continue with their excursion towards the food they love and they brought me along.

This time around, they brought me to the place where there's aplenty of good Indian foods within the area - Bangsar. Although most of the time I venture towards the area where Bangsar Village II is and where the LRT is, they brought me to the Lucky Garden area which I haven't been to for quite a long while. They slipped into the congested area into a street where stalls of food were setup under attap zinc roof over the entire one side of the street. Parking here as I can see would be a major nightmare with very limited parking space and the narrow streets make it difficult to even double park for awhile. But fortune was upon us that day as a car came out right in front of the place that we wanted to go to when we turned into the street. So with gleeful hearts we went our merry way for food.

Om Shakti Chelo is a pure vegetarian stall that sells a lot of their light food stuff and they're particularly famous for their Appam. But I went beyond that to keep myself full and had a Vade, Curry Puff and a Masala Thosai as well in addition to the Sweet Appam. The Sweet Appam is served opened up on a platter that's about the size of the Appam where at the center, you will see that it's concentrated with the sweet coconut milk while the outer ring layer is crispy straight from the pan that made it. Some people may prefer the Brown Sugar version of it but my colleagues prefer the plain one that's with coconut milk. The Vade and Curry Puff were to me average in it's taste but bear in mind, it's vegetarian.

When the Masala Thosai arrived, me and one of my colleague were shocked at how big it was, well, at least mine looked really big. We thought there were two there and my colleague mentioned to him to separate it which totally caught the man by surprised. He then realized that we thought that there were two there and clarified that that's only one and the other one's coming. The Masala Thosai really hit the spot. Though a sweet Appam will not fill you up, a Masala Thosai as a top up might just do the trick. It was filled with lots of potato and some vegetable in it which in turn filled me up. However, it wasn't the filling that I most adore about the Masala Thosai. It was actually the Thosai itself. Crispy and has a nice taste which I can eat it on it's own. The Dhal that was served was just an added bonus. Even though there's 3 accompanying things (Dhal, coconut chutney and a curry) to go with the Masala Thosai, I still like it best without the additives.

The biggest downside about this place is that it's a makeshift food stall and it gets really hot sitting under an attap zinc roof. And if it rains, I'm sure the zinc roof will amplify the noise many times over. So I guess coming here during the nights would be a much better choice if you want a much cooler climate. But that's when the Malay stalls on one side opens up as well. Aside from this Appam Stall, there's also a very famous locally known to residents food stall at the other end of this very same place and that is famous for their Fish Head Curry and fried chicken called Anuar's Fish Head Curry also known as Bangsar Fish Head Corner. I've never tried it though. But I saw a very long queue at the stall and I'm told that's how it usually is. Perhaps one day I'll go check it out.

Total Wallet Damage:
Um, again I don't know the price. But I'm told that the appam costs just over one Ringgit.

Final Verdict:
6/10. Very good Appam, best I've ever tasted and cheap too (so I'm told). The only downside is the environment. But hey, good food don't always need to be associated with good ambiance.

Friday, February 12, 2016

Tetra House of Briyani, Bandar Bukit Tinggi, Klang, Selangor

Address:
10, Lorong Batu Nilam 4a, Bandar Bukit Tinggi, 41200 Klang, Selangor, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Mon-Sun:
7:00 am - 11:00 pm

Time Visited:
12:30pm(?) on a Wednesday afternoon

Attire worn:
Business

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Tetra Mutton Briyani and Mango Lassi
DISCLAIMER: This was not a lone dining experience.

Regarded by some as the Best Nasi Briyani (in Klang), my colleagues purposely took the opportunity on the lack of traffic during this Chinese New Year season to head on over to Klang for their favorite Tetra's Nasi Briyani. Though I'm not an avid eater of Nasi Briyani, I do enjoy some eats out of the norm and this Nasi Briyani will splendidly do for me. So they took me down all the way on a journey that would normally take 1 hour plus should it be normal traffic.

Tetra House of Briyani looks like your normal Indian restaurant and is situated in a humble looking shoplot that just looks nothing out of the ordinary. The only decor that probably would most catch your eye would be the fountain next to the cashier counter. The tables are placed closed together with not much ample walkway for you to move around. Though they may seemed like a small unknown restaurant, they're actually well known among the local Klang residents and when we arrived there, there's already 2 big tables reserved for big groups. That leaves the other 40 - 50 odd places left for the public to sit on. We got ourselves a place next to the fountain and the guy started to come around to take our orders. I went for their Mutton Briyani and their Mango Lassi which both items are what they're most famous for.

It didn't take long till our orders came to us and that helps when you're hungry like the wolf. The mango lassi has a nice striking orangey yellow color and was served to me in a usual teh tarik ice glass. The mango lassi was thick and you can tell that it's made with real mango, a great fun type of drink to further bloat you up with it's creaminess. The sweetness was once complained by another colleague of mine but I find nothing of that sort with me. It tasted perfect; the right kind of sweetness where most of it derives from the mango taste itself and further enhanced by probably some sugar added together.

The presentation on the mutton briyani was nice and lovely. Served in a silver pot, the mutton all sits at a bottom with a whole hard boiled egg hidden underneath the briyani rice as well. Please note that the mutton that you see on my picture is merely for aesthetic purpose. They don't really serve it that way. It's all inside the pot. There's also 2 small servings, one with dhal and another with their cucumber salad of which both are also delicious.

The Nasi Briyani although may not be of striking yellow as the mango lassi, don't let the dullness in color fool you. It's soft and well cooked and works very well with whatever that's served together with. Smooth and easy on it's rice texture unlike the usual kind where it's usually more coarse. The mutton too was delectable. Soft and easy to consume. Nice and not too spicy in taste. Though the pungent spice taste in Briyani is not that strong, there's still a little bit of it. That kind of taste is the thing that puts me off the most in eating Briyani so I took care so as to not chew on those strong spices and sift it off.

The place filled up in a jiffy with lots of Indian and even some Chinese walking in to have their meal there. After tasting the Nasi Briyani, I can understand why my colleagues love it so much and regard it as the best in Klang or for them, the best Nasi Briyani, period.

Total Wallet Damage:
Um, I don't know really. But I'm sure it's not really expensive. That reminds me, I forgot to pay back my colleague cause I'm so used to paying first. D:

Final Verdict:
7.5/10. A really nice Nasi Briyani place and I can understand why some say it's the best. And yet, it's not really recognized in magazines and food awards. Well, I say keep this hidden gem hidden. We don't want it crowded with it's already small outlet nor wanting it to open another branch and then having their food quality standard start deteriorating. Try the Mango Lassi too. It's good. I heard that their masala tea is not bad either but I didn't try it. Perhaps I'll do so at another time.