Restoran 328, SS25, Taman Mayang, Petaling Jaya (PJ), Selangor

Address:
4, Jalan SS 25/23, Taman Mayang, Petaling Jaya (PJ), Selangor, Malaysia 47301

Opening Hours:
Early mornings till evenings? I think. LOL. Maybe 7am - 8pm? Daily?

Time Visited:
11:45am Monday (Public Holiday)

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Roasted Duck with Steamed Chicken Rice and Kopi Peng.

Well, I wasn't intending to blog about this kopitiam but a very familiar sign and the roasted duck rice had prompted me to do so. You see, awhile back, I purposely went to this place: http://www.alonediner.blogspot.com/2016/09/poh-kei-roasted-duck-taman-mayang.html to try out the roasted duck there. It was regarded as a very good one and it was the closest to my place so I went there to try it out but turns out to be a total disappointment. But it seems to me that I have mistaken. That said good roasted duck has actually moved to Restoran 328 which is nearby. The sign on their stall even said that they're Poh Kei.

It all started with me just wanting to go for my lunch before I call it a day and head back home. I have always wanted to try this kopitiam called Restoran 328 but most of the time I see as if that place does not seemed opened. So on this fine day, I decided to go there and eat which is just next to the St. Ignatius Church at Kelana Jaya. I was kinda disappointed when I went because I only saw about 3 stalls opened so I thought to myself, just go for something simple and just order the roasted duck with steamed chicken on the chicken rice stall in the front. I saw the sign saying that they're Poh Kei but I couldn't remember why the name sounded so familiar to me. So I waited for my food and I ordered my drink. Since there weren't many people there, it came quite soon and when they told me that it's RM9, I had a shock. I was wondering why is this rice stall so expensive. It only dawned on me when I started tasting the duck. It was very delicious. Just like how the reviews indicated that prompted me to visit the other one which I was unaware that they've shifted here. LOL. It all started to click when I tasted the excellent duck with it's raunchy gravy and looking back at the name and also it's higher than normal price. So THIS is Poh Kei. The other one I had was just a filler of the space. LOL. This was where they shifted. Not only were their Roasted Duck grave and meat delicious, their chili too seems to have a distinct unique taste which I enjoyed very much. I can even eat just the chili with the rice on it's on. This definitely is a very good recommended place for eating roasted duck since it's so near my place but of course, I still feel Sunrise is better. But then again, I haven't eaten Sunrise roasted duck for over a decade. Anyway, this is good enough and very satisfying. A definite recommendation from me for the roasted duck. I believe it's best paired with the roasted pork because well, the steamed chicken was nothing to shout about. In fact, it's pathetic. LOL. But be prepared to fork out the premium price for this. However, I still feel it's worth it. I shall return to eat here again.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM9 for the Roasted Duck and Steamed Chicken rice with the coffee costs RM2.20. Normal price which is good. :)

Final Verdict:
8/10. Definitely on the A category for me. A definite to return for me especially being so near my place. LOL.

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Restoran SS8, Taman Sungai Besi Indah, Seri Kembangan, Selangor, Malaysia

Address:
Jalan Sb Indah 1/16, Taman Sungai Besi Indah, 43300 Seri Kembangan, Selangor, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Early mornings till late night? LOL. It's a kopitiam. There's no affix time mentioned.

Time Visited:
10:10am, Sunday morning.

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Pork Noodles and Kopi Peng

Found this gem of a place when I was around that area. Near the Mines area, there are quite a few places around that are home to kopitiams. And why I call this a gem is because it's cheap and effectively fast too. Not to mention delicious to the taste. I'm wondering if the other kopitiam nearby is just as good.

When I was there, it was already packed with people and still there were people flocking in to have their breakfast while very few finished their meal and was leaving. I decided to go for this pork noodles at this stall where I ordered kuey teow and meehoon noodles. For drinks I ordered kopi peng from the main tenant. Since it was crowded and there were no table that's empty, I decided to share a table with another lone person who's sitting outside. Though the outside seating has no shade, the day was quite cloudy and the breeze was cool like in spring so sitting outside wasn't much of a problem that day.

Not long after I sat down, the food and drinks came and I was very pleased with the cheap pricing. The pork noodles was unusually clearer than other pork noodles and though the soup was clear in it's taste too, the many ingredients in it made up for it very much. They use cabbage as the vegetables and interestingly, the pork that they give feels also quite clear and clean. It provided me with a very nice meal and I must say the coffee wasn't that bad as well. It wasn't all sugar water like how most kopitiam serve their coffee but this one was thick and rich in it's coffee taste as well, the way I like it. With that kind of price, if it weren't so far away from my home, I'd be a regular in eating here. LOL.

Total Wallet Damage:
The pork noodle is only RM6 while the kopi peng is just RM2.10. Quite a steal I would say.

Final Verdict:
8/10. I'd definitely would like to come here to eat again. It's the neighborhood after the Mines Shopping Mall on the left.

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Petit Mary Pattisserie, Taman Teh Teng Seng, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia

Address:
 83, Jalan Langsat, Taman Teh Teng Seng, 31400 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Daily, 9am - 8pm.

Time Visited:
11:13am, Wednesday (Public Holiday)

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Mary Breakfast (set)

Public holiday. Wesak day to be exact. Not working much on this day, I decided to take a spontaneous trip down to Ipoh on this day. 2 of my colleagues asked why didn't I say earlier? Else they would've joined me. LOL. Yeah, right. Like that 2 family men has time to accompany this lone soul down to Ipoh. I shall ask you guys the next time around but then again, if it's just a local trip, it's most likely short notice so you guys won't be able to go too. LOL.

After dilly dallying a bit in the morning, I finally departed from Klang Valley towards my hometown in Ipoh. Once arrived at the cafe, it was just almost lunchtime which was perfect for me. From the outside of this cafe, it says nothing that it's a cafe. The giveaway was more of it's looks and an open sign hanging by the gate. This place looks like some part of a palace, Englishmen style. As I walked in, I'm pretty sure I was in the right place with a person greeting me by the door. The guy explained to me that ordering of food takes place downstairs while the seating is upstairs. This place is a Mandarin-centric place where people talk and order mostly in Mandarin. A little queer for me because I'm so used to Ipoh being a place where they just mainly speak Cantonese. Since I didn't make any stops on my way here, I decided to head upstairs to the toilet first before descending back down the stairs to take a look at the menu. This place seems a little cramp downstairs which I guess it's why they don't have seatings downstairs. However, I'm just wondering what happens if you're coming with older folks who has bad knees? Guess they would have to slowly make their way up the stairs. There's a Breakfast set menu which reads available from 9am - 12pm and that comes with coffee or tea and since I've been on a long journey all the way here, I thought of giving the Mary Breakfast a try instead of just the croissant which was what I was thinking of ordering at the beginning.

I made my way up the stairs and chose a table to sit down at. Being a cafe that doesn't have any signboard but is a house of it's own, it looks pretty popular. By the time I was halfway through my breakfast, it had already turned into a full house of customers. This place just didn't do much alteration from it's original house design. You still see the layout like a house where there's just the front of the house and the back of the house as places to sit and eat. One thing I always see the staff struggling with is that they have to find where the patron who has ordered is sitting. You see, once you've ordered, you're given a number and you're to display that on your table so they know the food belongs to you. But without a camera to monitor the upstairs on where you had sat down, the waiter will always go to the front of the house all the way to see if there's a number around before heading back to the back of the house to continue finding the number. But I guess it's merely a minor inconvenience. In this cafe, there's also a fake fireplace to spruce up the ambiance which I hardly see these things around. I remember seeing one at one of the hotels in Europe.

Anyway, the Mary Breakfast came and I was surprised by the number of items they gave to me. The guy put the plate of breakfast on my table and then the coffee, and as he was about to turn and leave, he said this belongs to you too, right? And put a basket of bread with butter down. I was surprised. This is definitely way worth eating if you want bang for your buck because with that amount of food given, you're definitely gonna be full finishing the whole thing. I can imagine some girls saying unable to finish the whole thing. LOL. So what I think all in for just RM18, that's considered cheap in my books. Taste-wise, well, it's just your regular tasting breakfast. Nothing superb nor out of the ordinary for it. As you can see in the picture, besides the 2 croissants and coffee, the breakfast platter consists of baked beans, a sausage, hash brown, ham (I think it's turkey ham), some salad on the side and scrambled eggs. I just wish the salad and it's dressing were separated because it did interfere with the taste of the eggs. It gets soaked in it's sauce and didn't really go well with it. But eating the whole thing got me quite full and as I mentioned before, it's very well worth your money. I wonder if cafes around Ipoh is all this cheap in price. The coffee leans towards more of Italian coffee where it's bitter through and through and so I needed to sweeten up it's taste by adding the provided sugar sachets. Though I don't normally drink coffee with sugar, I just couldn't with this and needed the sugar.

After awhile of resting I departed from here to my next destination nearby.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM18. Just RM18 all in. This includes the 6% GST. A very much worth breakfast set for that price. Highly recommend if you're looking for something cheap that's a cafe.

Final Verdict:
6/10. Well, price-wise I would say is excellent but taste-wise will need to be better if you want it to be memorable for it's taste as well. Ambiance, not bad. Homely.

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Restoran & Kafe New Weng Fatt, Taman Ipoh Selatan, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia

Address:
1, Lebuh Raya Taman Ipoh, Taman Ipoh Selatan, 31400 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Probably Daily, 7am - 11pm

Time Visited:
1:45pm, Wednesday, Public Holiday

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Roasted Pork & Chicken Rice

It was a public holiday and I just randomly went to Ipoh for a changed of scenery. My 2 colleagues told me why didn't I inform them earlier or they would've joined me. Pfft. As if that 2 family men has time. Best they spend it with their family than a person who's awaiting death.

After trying a couple of places, I wanted to go for one final round before I head on back to the Klang Valley area. So I randomly picked and Restoran & Kafe New Weng Fatt came out as the choice. So I head on down there and see what do they have there. Since it's a public holiday, they seemed to be very quiet unlike another kopitiam I saw earlier nearer to Aeon which has a lot of stalls opened there too. But this just seems quite dead with only 3 stalls I saw that was opened for business. The 2 noodle stalls staff were just sitting at a table and chatting away with each other while the chicken rice stall manned by fairly young chaps were just sitting there doing nothing.

By the way, when I lamented one day to my 2 colleagues on how difficult it was to find Chinese kopitiam at certain places in Klang Valley, they brought to attention certain criterias which I find what they say to be very, very true. In order for a place to have a Chinese kopitiam, the place has to be predominantly Chinese AND not an upscale township. I find that very true. That's why Subang 2 area was difficult for me to find a Chinese kopitiam because there's just none there and it's considered a more upscale township. Sungai Besi seems to suffer the same fate though. As for Shah Alam, that's predominantly Malay area so if they were to open up a non-halal establishment that sells pork, they would need special license and since the Chinese community is far lesser than the Malays and also factoring in the cheapness of kopitiams, it would be very hard to profit if they were to open up one there.  I know places like Cheras and Kepong has plenty.

Anyway, Ipoh is not short of it but I see a boom in cafes. Back when I was still an Ipohite, if any cafe were to open up there, they would surely die off very soon due to Ipoh people mainly go for cheap food back then. Now that all the younger generations had come up, Ipoh can now have this boom in cafe and it's food. So anyway, this place is a kopitiam. I decided to try out the chicken rice with it's roasted pork. To my surprise when I asked how much it was, they told me it was RM4.80! I haven't had one that's so cheap since.....I don't even remember having one that cheap. Unless you include non-Chinese food, then there's the Anuar's Fish Head Curry rice and that is an even cheaper price of RM4 for a plate of rice, unlimited vegetables, a free drink and a piece of fried chicken. But although this plate of Roasted Pork and Chicken Rice may be really cheap, the taste just isn't that good. The roasted pork feels a little too gamy for me and it's way too salty while the chicken is hard. But if you just wanna save money and fill your stomach, it's quite worth it. It can fill you up for sure. But for me, I'm stuffed beyond means because I already ate something before this and went for dessert. LOL.

I guess there's more stalls that operates in there but since it's a public holiday, I guess most of it took a break. After that meal, my initial thoughts of going to one more place for dessert to try was cancelled because I was too full. Phew. That's when I started to head back home. Over at Kerling, I stopped by at the only Shell petrol station for miles and that place already sold out of RON95 but this queer staff at the counter asked me what petrol I wanted. If you've already ran out of one type, why are you asking me and giving me a choice where there's none to begin with? LOL. Funny people.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM4.80. Roasted pork and Chicken Rice. Cheapest I've ever had as long as I can remember. Is Ipoh town food really that cheap?

Final Verdict:
5/10. Well, for that really cheap price, the food isn't that nice to eat but it's something to fill your stomach which helping your wallet lots.

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Tang City Food Court, City Centre, Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia

Address:
21-27, Jalan Hang Lekir, City Centre, 50000 Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Daily, 6am - 10pm (Most likely)

Time Visited:
10am, Sunday Morning

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Roasted Pork and Chicken Rice and Kopi Peng (Iced Coffee)

I didn't realized that I've been here before until I stepped inside. After going inside the food court, only then did all the memories started flooding back.

I remembered this used to be my alternative lunch location. The place that I most frequent which only did I remember after stepping in here was the wan tan mee (noodles) located beside this food court which is just an alleyway. Whenever the wan tan mee stall is closed, I would go in here as an alternative. The guy who mans the wan tan mee stall in the alleyway runs the stall with his wife. The guy is really hot tempered and sometimes has his temper flaring while his wife who bears the brunt just tolerates it. But the guy merely scolds when he's under pressure. Never once did he lay his hands on her. But somehow, the guy always treats me really nicely and with respect, even when he's under pressure and am angry. Whenever he's that way, he may scold his wife and some customers who irritates him, but to me, he'll just keep quiet and will just acknowledge what I say, most of the time with a nod. And he's Wan Tan Mee is cheap since he's just operating in an alleyway. LOL. He's the last stall in the alleyway. There's also one more stall before him which is most closest to the main road walkway of the Petaling Street tourists. I guess that's why I became a regular customer of his when I was working nearby there. Since he's stall is further in the alleyway, most people will not manage to see it. Well, he don't open on Sundays so this day, he wasn't open. I wonder if he's still operating there?

Anyway, I walked in Tang City Food Court full of nostalgia with a tear trickling down my cheek when I remembered about the Wan Tan Mee fella in the side alleyway. Over here at Tang City Food Court, nothings changed. Everythings just the same as I can remember even the stalls. The price has increased and it's still dearer than market price. Well, that's what you get from eateries around the city centre.

So I went for the chicken rice stall that day. This time I called for the roasted pork and chicken. It's still as oily and greasy as before and the roasted pork tasted floury. The rice tasted dry and it's expensive. I should've just went nearby and try the famous porridge stall instead. Can you believe all my years of even working nearby I have never once eaten that famous porridge stall at all? LOL. Because it's usually crowded with people. Anyway, I should've went for it that day since there's place to sit that day though it will be really hot in there. Anyway, the chicken rice wasn't satisfactory but that's the way it has been all these years. The kopi peng may potentially save this place as it's thick and kao enough and much more than other kopitiams. If you want variety, this place offers you many different food of choice but expect a less than average food for an above average pricing. You're better off just going opposite to Lai Foong for the beef noodles. At least that's guaranteed to taste good and satisfactory if you eat beef.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM8 for the Roasted Pork and Chicken Rice and RM2.40 for the Kopi Peng.

Final Verdict:
5/10. The only thing good about this place is the variety they offer. Other than that, if you're willing to spend, go opposite the main road to Lai Foong instead and taste the beef noodles.

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Restoran Satu Tiga Satu Tiga 1313 茶餐室, Metro Prima, Taman Usahawan (Entrepreneur's Park), Kepong, Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia

Address:
Jalan Metro Perdana 3, Metro Prima, Taman Usahawan (Entrepreneur's Park), Kepong,
56000 Kuala Lumpur (KL)
Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Unsure. 8am - 8pm maybe. Dependent on individual hawker stalls.

Time Visited:
10am on a Sunday

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Teh Peng, Hakka Mee

One fine Sunday, I was roaming around the area of Kepong when I stumbled upon what seems to me is like a Kopitiam heaven. In this square around this place, there are 3 very large kopitiam shops and Restoran Satu Tiga Satu Tiga 1313 茶餐室 is one of them. The seating inside was quite moderate but due to their many customers flocking to them, they even put up chairs and tables opposite of their shop under big trees. It's buzzing with people and even though there's a lot of chairs and tables, it looks like it's almost full house.

I'm not sure where the name 1313 comes from but I think it may be related to it's address because I saw a similar name on the other kopitiam. LOL. So out of the three major kopitiam, I chose this one to eat at. There were quite a number of hawker stalls peddling their food to the consumers but it's not as much as SS2's Chow Yang and Restoran Tropikiri where their packed with very limited space for them. LOL. Yet, counting the seats that they setup under the big tree, I would say this rivals the number of seating place to Chow Yang's and looking at that humongous crowd that was eating here during peak time 10am, the crowd too rival's Chow Yang's.

I decided to go for the Hakka Mee at one of the stalls which I picked at random. By the way, the Teh Peng was quite fragrant and has a fragrant taste to it. I noticed they use the blue marigold condense milk to make their drinks and the pricing is average like any other kopitiam with the teh peng at RM2.20. But as for the Hakka Mee, it only costs RM6. Sure it's small in size but RM6 is considered quite cheap nowadays. However, taste-wise was just okay. It was a bit too oily for me and even though it's a small plate, I find the oily feeling overwhelming.

But it serves the purpose as my breakfast and I went on my merry way soon after. A word of warning in this area though. It's very hard to find parking and people even park on the side of the road which narrows the roads considerably. Ah, what people do for their breakfast. LOL.

Total Wallet Damage:
Altogether RM8.20 with the beverage at RM2.20 and the noodles at RM6.

Final Verdict:
6/10. I call this place Kopitiam heaven because you have the 3 major big kopitiam to choose from and there's loads of people flocking to this place like bees flocking to honey.

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Restoran Tropikiri, Taman Bukit Mayang Emas, Petaling Jaya (PJ), Selangor, Malaysia

Address:
2, Jalan BM 1/2, Taman Bukit Mayang Emas, 47301 Petaling Jaya (PJ), Selangor, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Roughly, Daily, 7:30am - 3pm

Time Visited:
11am, Saturday Morning

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Lam Mee and Teh Peng

I weirdly find myself coming back here again after once a person who knows the owner of the shop mistaken me and mentioned that I look familiar and have seen me here before and asked do I live around here. Well, actually, that night was my first time in a very very long time going there for dinner. LOL.

Anyway, today was the first time I went over there for breakfast where all the stalls were opened. Previous visits here were all past 3pm and the only shop that's opened till night time is the Chicken Rice Stall, the noodles stall beside it and the Nasi Lemak stall. But today was the first time I witness all of the shops opened and man, they have so many stalls here. No wonder everybody crowd to this place. It's almost a full house with a handful of tables left to occupy! So then, I decided to go for the Lam Mee today.

The uncle that mans the stall is a very jovial guy. He's so cheerful and cheeky when he response to you. I was there to order when suddenly a woman stepped beside me out of nowhere and started to order when the uncle was asking me what do I want to eat. I was a little shocked at first because this woman totally didn't see me at all and was almost standing on my spot! O_o The uncle acknowledged her order and then continue to ask me and said what do I wanna eat. That's when I ordered the Lam Mee.

The quirky uncle prepared it quite fast and it came to my place in quite a jiffy with the uncle in a spiffing manner said "Six dollar" with a Hong Kong accent. Well, the Lam Mee was mediocre but with just RM6, it's ok. The problem here is the drinks. My Teh Peng though has an aromatic taste to it costs RM2.40 which is a little dearer than quite a number of places. Anyway, I was a little strapped for time since it was already past 11am and I'm supposed to start working again already. So I hurriedly gobbled up my food and drink and started to go to work. Not that it's a must, but I've got nothing better to do anyway. LOL. And me with an idle mind, well, it's just torturous and agony because my mind will start wandering and remind me of a certain someone which will make me feel very sad. Oh well.

Total Wallet Damage:
As I mentioned above, RM6 for the Lam Mee, RM2.40 for the Iced Milk Tea.

Final Verdict:
6/10. Variety is great. Loads of choices and food is okay, Drinks a little expensive.

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Lai Foong Restaurant, City Centre, Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia

Address:
No. 138, Jalan Tun H S Lee, City Centre, 50050 Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Daily, 6:30am - 9:30pm I guess. According to google? LOL.

Time Visited:
11am, Friday morning

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Pan Mee (tear), Teh Peng

This place I frequent back in 2008 till 2011 when I was working around here. I sometimes walk over here to have my lunch and the beef noodle is one of the famous stalls in KL where people flock to eat. They boast of their reputation and also charges a higher than normal rate. But on this day that I revisited the place again, I decided to try a pan mee stall which I have not seen before. Hence my curiosity to try it. I went for the tear version instead of the normal run through those pasta machine kneader. But I guess due to this, it took quite a while till my order came.

Although it's only 11am, it already has almost a full house and once it hit the lunch hour, the office crowd really thronged to this place and filled it up.

There's nothing much to say about this place except that the pan mee is kind of tasteless I would have to say and the chili watery. I guess there's much improvement needed for the pan mee stall whose mee was thicker than the average stall and miles behind one of the best pan mee in Klang Valley, the Fatty Mee Hoon Kuih House in Klang.

As I was hanging around my break time here, I also noticed that the beef noodles has now raised it's price to double digits. Times really has changed. I know it's bad for me to long for the good old days and me heading to obsolete kingdom very very soon but that's how the way the world works. If you can't keep up with it's pace, pretty soon you'll be extinct.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM7 - Pan Mee which is pretty expensive. God knows why they charge such high pricing. Must be due to them being in a tourist district.
RM2.30 for the Teh Peng. Ok I guess. Considering that they're in the heart of KL.

Final Verdict:
6/10. Well, it's unfair to rate this shop with such crummy Pan Mee when the beef noodles is what attracts a lot of people to this place. Still, I didn't taste the beef noodles again so I'm not sure if they're still maintaining their excellent taste but one things for sure that's change for them and that is the pricing.

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Restoran Megah Good Luck, Taman Megah, Petaling Jaya (PJ), Selangor

Address:
1 Jalan SS24/11, Taman Megah, 47301 Petaling Jaya (PJ), Selangor, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Daily, 7am - 9pm (?)

Time Visited:
10:20am, Sunday

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Sabah Special Pork Noodles and Kopi Peng (Iced Coffee)

I've only eaten here once before and that was with my family and this seems to open during the 2nd day of Chinese New Year.

Another affiliation I had with this place is when the owner once called me to deliver to her shop raffia strings and so I just delivered it and receive a small amount of money in exchange for that. LOL. Yeah, that was totally random out of the blue but I somehow got roped into being a delivery boy for this restaurant on that particular day. Haha.

That Sunday, I wanted to start off early in my work, but then it started to rain and the weather became really cooling and so I couldn't help myself and went back to bed. It's been so long since I went back to bed and slept till 10am. That's when I woke up and decided to go for breakfast and decided to head over here to have a meal. It was really a bad idea to be here at 10am on a Sunday because this place was packed to the brim. Even with me just being a single person, It was so hard for me to even get a place. All the seats looked occupied and there's not a single table that seems to have space for me to share with a family. But eventually, I managed to squeeze into one where the family reluctantly gave the place to me.

I ordered the Sabah Special Pork Noodles to try while for my drink I went for the Kopi Peng. It didn't take long for the noodles to arrive. In fact, after I sat down they were already bringing it over to me. Maybe because I took a while before I managed to get my seat as well. Anyway, I felt that the drink was a little way too expensive here. RM2.50 for Kopi Peng? Even for KL standard it's a little bit pricey.

But thankfully the noodles were cheap and affordable with it being just RM6. Frankly speaking I have no idea why they called it Sabah Special Pork Noodles. Seems to me like it's just your ordinary pork noodles. The major difference that I probably saw in this noodle is that the pork were thin and delicate hence making it smooth in eating it. I like the garnishing of chu yau cha or crispy pork lard being sprinkled on top along with some spring onions which is always a welcoming enhancement material for me. There's also some pork intestines in there but they were small in size. Anyway, it's a decent enough bowl of noodles and for RM6, it's probably good enough for me to return to eat it again.

When it was close to 11am, the crowd seems to have dissipated down and although there's still a fair bit of crowd there, it's not as crowded as when I arrived. That one maybe came from after doing their morning marketing and also finished service from the church nearby? LOL. I don't know. Strange there's so many people crowding there to eat at that particular time.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM6 for the Pork Noodles and a whopping RM2.50 for just the Kopi Peng.

Final Verdict:
6/10. It's a decent enough place for some kopitiam hawker food but by golly the drink seems to be dearer than your usual kopitiam price. I'd understand if it's really famous kopitiams like Chow Yang in SS2 but this place? Pfft.

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SS2 Chow Yang Kopitiam, SS2, Petaling Jaya (PJ), Selangor, Malaysia

Address:
50, Jalan SS 2/10, SS 2, 47300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Daily, probably around 7am - 9pm. Depends on individual stalls and whether have they sold out for the day

Time Visited:
11am, Saturday

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Curry Noodles and Chinese Tea Ice

This is really a success story for this kopitiam. When I first got to know it about 15 years ago, it was located at the prominent turning at a corner lot. It then occupy the corner lot at the back of it and started to expand to it's next door shop as well. After not visiting it for a long time and seeing that it's not there anymore just about 3 years back, I thought that it has closed down. Then one fine day, I stumbled upon it's lesser restaurant where it's a "take your order on what dishes you want to serve with your style" restaurant and I thought, oh, that's Chow Yang because it's also the same business owner, just that that one is for people who wanna order their dishes with rice. And later on, I stumbled upon the back of it and I was surprised to see this very, very big Chow Yang Kopitiam that's stretched across I think 4 shop lots. This truly shows that they were so successful, they had to move in order to accommodate to their demand. On top of being in 4 shoplots, inside it is packed with hawker stalls with a lot of it lining up with just little space in between for them to operate with stalls all around selling different types of food. This is purely heavenly with it having so many choices.

I decided that this round I wanted to try the curry noodles. Most of the stalls around here are manned by the old folks that's been plying their trade for years in Chow Yang and another kopitiam that used to be around here with the exception of less than a handful being manned by young hats. It didn't take me long till I received my curry noodles which was manned by a sole lady. She was so kind and dedicated to manning her station. When I approached her stall, she was away to deliver an order to a table but when she saw me at her stall, she quickly ran back to it. LOL. I ordered my food and sat down nearby. She was also very kind and asked me had I ordered my drink yet and took my order and relayed it to the drinks people. The drinks people on the other hand, which was manned mostly by foreigners except for the owner himself who's usually fixing drinks, they mostly couldn't be bothered and is not attentive to customers. They do their work at almost a third of their heart and seemed very very lazy to clean up dirty dishes and also to bring customers their drink. They even got my order wrong which turned into warm Chinese tea but I couldn't be bothered correcting him and having him change my order. No wonder the Aunty asked if I've already ordered my drink.

The drinks here are of normal price, well, at least the Chinese tea is at RM0.60. As for Curry Noodles, is slightly more expensive than other places I know which is priced at RM7.50. But then again, of late, the price at some places are increasing and they're blaming it on the increasing petrol price. :(
The noodles was okay. A normal, decent, bowl of curry noodles. I'm glad that I found this place back and reunited with it. LOL.

If you like plenty of choices to choose from in your family, this is the place to be. But for a lone diner like me, well, there's yet a stall there that attracts me to keep coming back but if I don't know what to eat and I want lots of choices to choose from at a lower price than normal restaurant, this is the place to be.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM7.50 for the curry noodles. 60 sen for the Chinese tea.

Final Verdict:
7.5/10. The main draw here is the many, many hawker stalls to choose from. And this place is really huge but there's a lot of people who goes here to eat as well. Still, I'm sure seating shouldn't be much of a problem for a lone diner. Worse come to worse, just share a table with someone. LOL.

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Medan Selera Shamelin Food Court, Taman Shamelin Perkasa, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia

Address:
2, Jalan 5/91a, Taman Shamelin Perkasa, Cheras 56100 Kuala Lumpur (KL), Federal Territory, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Unknown. Also dependent on which stall you're it is but generally, they open early till late night probably Daily 8am - midnight

Time Visited:
4:30pm, Saturday

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Roast Duck Rice and Chinese Tea Ice

It started to drizzle when I was around that vicinity. Not certain of my way around, I took shelter at this food court and decided to try out some of it's dishes.

By the time of 4pm plus, the hawker stalls' staffs were all on taking-it-easy mode since during this time, the lunch crowd has long gone and the dinner crowd has yet to come it while those who's in search of teatime won't visit such a place due to it's heavy meals and environment that aren't as pleasant to be staying around. But even at a time of 4pm, there's still some people around and even after I've came in and had my meal, there were some people who started to come in for their meals already.

There's a lot of hawker stalls around and unlike normal kopitiam places, this one has most still opened to serve customers. They probably operate at night too hence the still open state. I guess they're just getting ready for the dinner crowd and just wind down a little instead of closing till dinnertime. The signs on all the stalls were big and easy to see what each stall sells. This truly indicate that each stall owner is definitely there for the long haul since it's not easy nor cheap to change the signs. I decided to try out the roast duck rice over there.

The butcher was having his meal while the rest of the family members (it's a family business) were sitting at one of the round table nearby chit chatting. When they saw me walking towards their stall and stopping there, an old man approached me quickly and asked me what do I want. I'm amazed at the pace he moved and also surprised that he's also the person who takes orders, serves and receives the payment. Interesting to see such an old fella working there. It didn't take long till I receive my meal and the drinks were quite quick to get to me too even though it's quite a big place. Now that's efficiency.

Unfortunately, this place is a bit dearer with the Roast Duck Rice at RM7.50 while the Chinese Tea Ice costs RM0.70. So it's a cheap but not that cheap place. The roast duck was quite okay with some hits and misses. The rice was well okay but the chili was too watery. The duck's okay and the sauce although tasty seems to be weak in it's taste. The soup didn't do any good as it was almost tasteless. But nonetheless, it's a hearty enough meal to fill your tummy. As for the Chinese Tea Ice, well, it's just that. A bit too pricey for Chinese Tea Ice.

So there you have it, another Cheap but not that Cheap kopitiam. *Sigh*. Cheap kopitiam to eat is becoming extinct. At least there's still Section 17, Petaling Jaya to fall back on. So far, that's the most reliable of them all.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM7.50 for the Duck Rice and RM0.70 for the Chinese Tea Ice.

Final Verdict:
6/10. Huge place so there's bound to be seats even though peak hour but way too limited in parking space. Food and drinks a bit more expensive then my expectation but there's a lot of variety here for food. That's lovely.

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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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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.

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