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 & 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 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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Tasty Porridge, SS2, Petaling Jaya (PJ), Selangor, Malaysia

Address:
No. 51, Jalan SS2/64, 47300, Petaling Jaya (PJ), Selangor, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Close on Mondays. 
Other Days 11:30am - 10:30pm.

Time Visited:
4pm, Sunday

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Cincao Ice and Chicken and Salted Egg Porridge

Due to intermittent rain on that day, it got me feeling very lazy and so I stopped work at 1pm. After resting awhile at home, I decided to had something to eat and probably skip dinner. So I headed over to the usual row in SS2 that I'm used to going and decided to try for the first time this place called Tasty Porridge.

Despite years and years of coming to this street and seeing countless of shops open and close in this very row, I've never once visited this place to eat though I'm tempted to do so sometimes but opted for something heavy instead of just porridge. But since today it's still early, I've decided to go for it.

As the sign indicates, this place mainly sells porridge, but I did see some other types of food as well. I think I saw rice or noodles as well? Can't be sure since I'm famous for losing my god damn mind and memory and also sometimes hallucinate and can't differentiate between reality and dreams. LOL. Anyway, I decided to go for their chicken porridge with salted egg. Their recommendation is actually the pork porridge and they also have the frog porridge as well which is a rare find nowadays.

As you can see from the picture, it's served in a claypot like fashion. Be sure to add all the condiments in. This greatly increases it's delicious factor. There's the oil, the soy sauce, pepper and fried garlic. Yummy. I especially love it with loads of fried garlic. The very funny thing is that there's this old lady who came by and asked me for money. D:
She kept saying she's unemployed and very hungry and wanted some money for food and said she don't smoke and what not...blah blah blah. Later on, the manager who saw this told me that she actually gambles. I guess she gambled all her money away. Tsk tsk tsk. The funny thing was she even offered to cut my hair and kept saying it's free. Why don't I want it. LOL. I know I have very unkempt hair and I've stopped going to salons and barbers to get it trim anymore because I don't feel the need to anymore. I don't care if I look like a hobo which I guess I do till she suggested to cut my hair for free. Haha.

Anyway, it took a moderate waiting amount of time for the food to come. As for the cincao, it contains no sweetness at all. It's just like that jelly with water. That's all. But it's okay. I just needed something to wash down my meal afterwards. The porridge was also okay but I much prefer porridge time more than this. I find the porridge at Porridge Time taste better. This ones okay just slightly less desirable as compared to Porridge Time. It took me not long to finish the whole shebang and off I go to laze off some more at Rekindle for a cup of coffee.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM11.35. RM7.90 for the porridge the rest is drinks and 6% GST and a 1 sen rounding adjustment.

Final Verdict:
6/10. So-so. Well, it's not bad in taste.

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Wha Ga (火家), Empire Damansara, Damansara Perdana, Petaling Jaya (PJ), Selangor, Malaysia

Address:
Lot F05, Heritage Lane, Empire Damansara, Jalan PJU 8/8, Damansara Perdana, 47820 Petaling Jaya (PJ), Selangor, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Unsure. I think should be the same as San Nae Deul which is Daily 11am - 10pm. It seems that Wha Ga is a spin off of San Nae Deul which is located at all places where there's San Nae Deul? I think.

Time Visited:
About 11:15am. Saturday, Christmas Eve.

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Sutbul Ganjang-dakgalbi set (숯불 간장 닭 갈비 세트)

Wanting to try Bungkus at Empire Damansara, I headed off there thinking it was still open. But when I got there, it has been totally replaced with a Korean restaurant alled Wha Ga. Wha Ga if I'm not mistaken is from the same family of San Nae Deul restaurant. This place serves more of individual dishes perfect for the party of one like me. I wonder why they decided to open up here since this place has very little foot traffic especially in the first floor.

I was curious what they serve there and so I browse the menu. The waiters there saw me and quickly attend to me and explain to me the menu. I soon was enticed and decided to go for their lunch set. Mind you this place is actually pork free. Over at the kitchen, a Korean head chef leads the kitchen team. The rest are all Bangladeshis, I think. But since there's no customers at all, it's really nothing to do at all but sit around and wait. It's a no brainer. Didn't take them long till my food comes.

The Apple Juice that I ordered which comes with the set is actually poured out from a large container. Generally, it's just store bought packed juice and not freshly made. As for the Charcoal Soy Sauce stir fried chicken, it didn't taste bad. In fact, it was quite okay. The lunch set comes with 4 side dishes that are refillable and a seaweed soup. The four side dishes that day was kimchi (which was quite nice and spicy), the second one I can't really remember but I think it's squash with some french beans, 3rd one is pickled cucumber and radish and the peanuts and anchovies along with egg with a little bit of sausage in it and a croquet of sort. Overall, not bad. Not much comment because I rarely eat Korean food. Hahaha. But this meal was acceptable to me and to me it tasted quite well.

Wha Ga has 5 outlets currently including this one and this one only receives cash. There's one in Oasis Square, one in Sunway Mentari, one in Sri Petaling and one in Solaris Mont Kiara.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM15.75. 6% GST inclusive and there's this weird 5% service charge. Haha

Final Verdict:
6/10. Not bad. This Korean food, I can accept and eat happily. The only thing I'm thinking is why do they decided to open in Empire Damansara 1st floor? It's a place that's hard to sustain.

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Kotakotak Cafe, Accentra Glenmarie, Seksyen U1, Glenmarie, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

Address:
8 Jalan Presiden F U1/F Accentra Glenmarie, Seksyen U1, Glenmarie 40150 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Tuesday - Sunday, 8am-7pm.

Time Visited:
12:30pm, Tuesday afternoon

Attire worn:
Business.

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Grilled Chicken Burger and a Flat White

DISCLAIMER: This was not a lone dining experience.

It was a colleague of mine from my department that was leaving and so some of us assembled and gathered here to have a farewell lunch for her.

This place was at an area where I passby everyday after work to get home but I've never gone inside this area in my life. There was once that I wanted to try Urban Delight having seen it from outside while passing by but they've since closed down and the place has turned into Jios Pizza now which I have no interest in trying. But as for Kotakotak Cafe, it's more towards the inner portion and so it's shaded away with the shrubs and bushes and therefore unseen by me as I passby from the main road.

The place had it's very squarish demeanor and quite a minimal appearance from the seating area but cluttered when it comes to the shelf and such. The walkway with tables from both sides make it look like narrow pathways which makes me a little claustrophobic. Other than that, the minimal appearance with white walls that bedeck the place presents itself at a more vibrant nature to me. With us being a big group of us, it's normal to assume that things that we ordered will be sent out to us at a much slower pace. But I did however received my Flat White above most people's order. Unfortunately, the server himself does not know what he's serving so I have to safely assume that it's a Flat White and it's mine. The coffee artwork is not one that's impressive and a little vague in how it looks. Blurrish features but do not let the looks fool you. It does taste quite good. It's satisfactory enough to be akin to my taste and to quell my caffeine fix demons.

After a long while of awaiting for my food, it appears to be one of the last items to be put out since it's a burger which took them longer to prepare and cook it out to us. The burger buns were of charcoal and instead of lettuce and the usual vegetable suspects in your normal burger, this contains coleslaw as the vegetable supplement which put me off a bit since I'm not a keen taster of coleslaw. The grilled chicken patty is wrapped in egg and it's both cooked nicely without much imperfection to find. The fries were just your normal regular ones and nothing fantastic about it. Just your usual ordinary fries. The burger was satisfactory also to me and nothing too out of the ordinary and a safe bet in taste.

All in all, it's quite okay for a lunch session but it wouldn't be a spot that I would like to just chill and hangout when I have the free time. Maybe I'm a little bias as the place reminds me of work when I'm around here. LOL.

Total Wallet Damage:
I'm not entirely sure of the total bill since I wasn't the one paying in the beginning but according to the menu, the Grilled Chicken Burger costs RM16.90 while the Flat White costs RM10.90. Unsure if they charge GST or service charge.

Final Verdict:
I'd give it a 6/10. Not a bad place for a drink and a quick lunch.

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Kie Kee Chicken Rice, Medan Selera, PJ Old Town, Petaling Jaya (PJ), Selangor, Malaysia

Address:
Medan Selera Old Town
46000 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Possibly 11am - 8pm (or till finish). I heard they close on Tuesdays nowadays.

Time Visited:
11:30am, Saturday morning

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Curry Pork, Roasted Pork and Roasted Chicken

DISCLAIMER: This was not a lone dining experience.

My new colleague (who found out that I used to be a blogger and started sticking to me a lot) is always very eager to eat at this place. He always quipped on it's cheap pricing and the deliciousness of the sauce that's poured over the roasted chicken. He has been asking me to go along with him for a very very long while but the first attempt was a failure because I overslept and he couldn't resist and was way too hungry so he went ahead without me. LOL. After a few weekends with activities, I finally managed to join him in savoring this place he so hyped about.

It was introduced to him by another colleague of mine and ever since then, he's been frequenting this place on a weekly basis. After picking me up at my place of residence, we jetted off into the yonder to the place called PJ Old Town, where it could get really jam during peak hours. After settling for a parking that's a little further in distance, we walked towards Medan Selera of PJ Old Town and immediately sat down at the location that's of the Chicken Rice stall. Here in this place, you can just sit down and the respective person that mans the stall nearby will come to you to take your order. So in a way, this place is very territorial when it comes to your seating area. LOL. If you're eating solely at one stall, you best sit at a table that's in their territory else the stall that 'owns' the table will not like it and you'll have to move.

My colleague got to ordering and I made sure that he ordered the Curry Pork as well as I've heard many great things about the Curry Pork. More so than the Chicken. In a jiffy, like clockwork everything was set on our table with quick succession and it made it very easy for me to take pictures since in an instance, everything is already out. I started off with the soup which that time was a vegetable soup. That turned out alright and unlike most free soup with their very big pot, it didn't feel watered down nor lack of ingredients and taste and so it was sufficient in it's taste and not just some clear sort of soup that tasted more like water. I next nibbled upon the Roasted Pork. Though it seemed smaller in pieces than any other places, yet it seems like they gave a bit more than others. But then again, it's maybe because we're two persons eating. Haha. The taste was nothing spectacular and tasted like normal like any other places. There's a little inconsistent in it's seasoning because there are areas that tasted a little too salty but a lot of places do too especially at the bottom part. One thing good is that it's lean meat and none that I see that's fat.

I next moved on to the Roasted Chicken which is what my colleague likes the most. Though the chicken may taste nothing out of the ordinary, the sauce does taste a little more unique. It consists of a sweet and salty taste and similar to duck sauce and was pleasant to the palate. As I went on to further my taste test on the Curry Pork, what I heard from people were true. The Curry Pork is the best dish among all. It's like a harmony of Chinese Curry, Malay Rendang and Mamak Curry style all married into one. The pork may prove to be a little tough but I don't mind since it was a really delicious delicacy. The pork too was all lean and none that I tasted that was fat though you can't discount the Curry as fattening. LOL. I finished off the Curry Pork while my colleague finished most of the Roasted Chicken due to him liking the sauce lots. Their chili that they serve in a sauce dish was not bad too. I heard that they made the chili themselves.

It has been generations since the stall operated and still they're around to operate. That does attest to it being something great.

Total Wallet Damage:
Erm, I'm not sure at all since I wasn't allowed to pay the bill. D:

Final Verdict:
7/10. The Curry Pork like what I heard from others would be my recommendation to go for here since to me, that's the best dish whereas the rest tasted like other Chicken Rice Stall.

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Li Restaurant, SS22, Damansara Jaya (DJ), Petaling Jaya (PJ), Selangor

Address:
47, Jalan SS 22/23, Ss 22, Damansara Jaya (DJ) 47400 Petaling Jaya (PJ), Selangor, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Sundays: 10:30AM–5PM
Mondays: Closed
Tuesdays - Saturdays: 11:30AM–9:30PM

Time Visited:
7pm, Saturday night

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Pork Toast, Go All Out, Blistered French Beans and Earl Grey Tea and Soy Milk Panna Cotta for dessert. My friend drank the Lemongrass Water

DISCLAIMER: This was not a lone dining experience.

It was the last day before my friend flies off to UK to further her studies. I very much wanted to spend one last time before she do so and with the great stroke of luck, she had this Saturday night free to meet up with me for a meal. :D

The decision that she made was to go to Li Restaurant to try and that's what we did. Being eager to see her, I arrived right on time at the stipulated time of meeting. Initially, I wanted to pick her up and go together but she was already out with friends that day and so we decided to just meet up with each other and I'll fetch her home. Around 15 minutes later she walked in and I was glad to see her. Though I had failed to rope in others to meet up with her that day, at least I found the satisfaction of me being able to see her.

The staff at this place was chirpy and very friendly. I can see that they're very dedicated with their job and their creation. Though it carries a Chinese connotation to it's restaurant, it's far from it and is actually a cafe. The design of the cafe is a modern meets antique items and reality meets fantasy with quirks like a sign indicating Narnia on it's store room door. Once the menu was passed to us, the overly enthusiastic waitress decided to explain the entire menu to us which we allowed her to do so. I can see her passion in it and she kept on explaining away on the items one after another with suggestions on what we should have. I see that it's a common practice for her and that's what she did throughout. Pretty soon, I decided to go with what she had recommended and that was Go All Out, a dish that's rice with Chicken and Pork Belly. My friend had earlier ate something and decided to go lighter and so she ordered the Pork Toast and some French Beans and we were to share everything.

With the many unique dishes that they've named up in their menu, I can see that they put some care into making the things because it took longer that I anticipated for their things to arrive. The Pork Toast came first and that's basically their homemade sourdough bread with Chili Mayo Sauce zig-zagged on top and some herbs (read: coriander leaves). Does it contain any pork? Mmm, I don't think so. Or maybe there is. But either way, I can't tell nor taste if there's any. The biggest taste among all would be the Chili Mayo which gives off some spice heat as you dig into the bread. The Coriander wasn't helpful in the taste department but overall, the pork toast mostly taste good with it's Chili Mayo. But does it have to be that expensive? RM9.50? Anyway, a good experience on eating that.

The French Beans tasted exactly how it should be and was seasoned fine. But other than that, nothing out of the ordinary. Moving on to the Go All Out, it is how it is described and that is Rice with Chicken and Pork Belly. The Pork Belly feels a little too fat for me to consume but the grilled chicken in it was nice. I like how they added a soft boiled egg into the mix which to me, anything with eggs make things greater because I love eggs. And putting in the soft boiled egg in there just makes it more wonderful. Me and my friend chatted the whole evening away with her very tired self showing on the occasional yawn. LOL. Sorry. But I just wanna make the most of this.

Later on, the waitress again appeared before us and asked if we would like to go for their dessert to which I obliged. I went with they Soy Milk Panna Cotta. It was okay. Sometimes I find it a bit too sweet due to the Gula Melaka but it does have it's tasty moment and I like the soft texture of the Panna Cotta. We later on adjourned to somewhere else for a drink and after that, we were surprised when we saw the same waitress as we were walking back to my car, she smiled and spoke something to us. I didn't think much of that at that moment and thought that it was my friend's friend but when she said to me that she's friendly, isn't she that's when it hit me that it was the waitress at Li Restaurant. A very friendly person indeed. I just wish I can always have an ounce of that happiness in me like her.

Total Wallet Damage:
All amounted to RM75.15. RM10 for the French Beans and so was the Panna Cotta, RM9.50 for the Pork Toast, Earl Grey Tea costs RM8 while my friend's Lemongrass drink costs RM5.90. Go All Out is the dearest in the list amounting to RM24.90 and there's a 10% service charge involved.

Final Verdict:
6/10. Nice friendly staff and good environment. Bright and cheery even though it's night time. Food is kind of so-so only to me though but above average.

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Thirty Seconds, Bandar Sri Damansara, Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia

Address:
7-G, Jalan Margosa SD 10/4A, Bandar Sri Damansara, 52200 Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Mon-Tue:
8:00 am - 9:00 pm
Thu:
8:00 am - 9:00 pm
Fri-Sat:
8:00 am - 10:00 pm
Sun:
8:00 am - 9:00 pm

Time Visited:
Monday (Public Holiday), 12:50pm.

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Whatever the nice old man at the counter recommended me, the Fatty Rice and the Shakerato.

Public holiday on this day and I've decided to lay off work today because it just isn't worth the money for today. But what I did decide to do is to go to this place called Thirty Seconds to have a try. The area over here was crowded with people and on the street where Thirty Seconds is, there's no parking left and I was left with needing to go on the next road where the houses were to park there. From the outside, it didn't seem much, a little hidden if I may say because the place didn't stand out much. But when I enter, I was surprised to find a lot of people right inside.

To my amusement, a little girl walked up to me and said "Welcome!" LOL. That was so sweet of her and that little girl was actually in no way related to the cafe staff. Just with her family in there for dining and yet she jovially came up to me and said welcome. LOL. I gave em a smile as her mother walks over and tries to beckon her back. I then walked up to the counter and took one of their clipboard menu to have a look at it on what to have. The uncle who works there (probably is one of the owners) sees me and goes over to the cash register ready to take my order and says a hearty welcome to me. I smiled and told him to gimme a moment with the menu. He then starts asking on am I here to dine as well? Without waiting for an answer he starts suggesting things like I can go for their pasta or their breakfast or their rice. Then when I flip over to the other page, he starts suggesting that Fatty Rice which is their version of Nasi Lemak. Go figures. Fatty Rice is direct translation of Nasi Lemak. LOL. So that's what I went for. As for the drinks, the Shakerato caught my eye and so I asked him what it is. He told me that it's coffee with ice that's shaken up like a cocktail. Interesting. So I went with that. He friendly gave me my table number and said where would I like to sit? Then he also started suggesting on where I could sit. LOL. He pointed to a table that's for 2 person in the middle of the aisle in front of the counter and I said that would be perfect. He also gave a mentioned of a table at the side which uses bar stools and tables so it's higher than normal and I said the seating at the middle of the aisle is good.

I sat over there and awaited for my orders. The place was buzzing with many people mostly families all there with their children to have their lunch. So the newer family generation goes to cafe to have their meal, huh? LOL. For beverages at this place, it will not be served to you. Rather, you'd have to pick it up at their pick-up counter. Good thing it was just behind me. Haha. As I was asking for their WiFi password, my Shakerato was done and was placed in front of me to take it. Perfect timing!

The Shakerato was as what was described to me, black coffee that's been shaken like a cocktail with ice. It's very foamy and I would much described it like a cold Cappuccino without the milk. Really, it really is just black coffee with plenty of foam on top. But I quite like their coffee. A little bitterness to it though. Before I was able to take a sip of my drink, I felt a tap on my hips and it turned out to be the little welcomer earlier. Haha. The mother told her to stop bothering me and I was so intrigued that she's so interested in me to get my attention. I gave her a smile.

As for the Fatty Rice, it didn't take long for it to arrived. It is what it is, Nasi Lemak which is their version of it. Well, to me it's a Chinese style kind of Nasi Lemak. The sambal tasted like the ones that are served with Pan Mee and it's quite spicy. The egg was instead a sunny side up egg while your usual Nasi Lemak don't usually serve with a sunny side egg. The closest you'll get would be a fried egg. The fried chicken also looks like a Chinese version of a fried chicken. This ones a little too salty for me but the taste was nice. The egg complements the fragrant rice well and the sambal is the best part to partake. Overall, it was nice and delicious, a cafe Chinese version of nasi lemak.

Soon, the cafe got filled up till there's no place left for newcomers to sit and so I left off in a hurry and went outside to have a look at their residential mascot - the orange cat in front. Yes, just like VCR and Milligram, this too has a residential cat that stays around and sleeps outside of the cafe ignoring the customers around em. LOL. It started drizzling when i left which perfectly help perked my mood up further.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM17 with 6% GST. RM10.38 without GST for Fatty Rice and RM5.66 for the Shakerato. Simply superb. I didn't know their prices can be that affordable. No wonder families flock to this place.

Final Verdict:
9/10. I love this place very much. Maybe it was the added mood booster of the gloomy rainy weather that helps alleviate my aching body of it's tiredness or the fact that it was a public holiday or maybe because there's that adorable little girl that kept being so friendly to me. But I can't deny the fact that despite the busy state of the cafe, they're still efficiently churning out orders, the staff (especially that uncle) were very nice and courteous to me and saw me through from the moment I looked at the menu till I sat at my place and that they even made sure that my food was alright by asking me how was it at the end. All this added up to the nice ambiance of the cafe in addition to above average food and nice coffee. Definitely a want to visit again for me. :)

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Restoran Hakim, Seksyen 7, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

Address:
Jalan Kristal J7/J (Seksyen 7)
40000 Shah Alam, Selangor
Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Daily, 24 hours.

Time Visited:
12:45pm, Sunday. Hot hot afternoon

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Nasi Kandar with Hakim Fried Chicken

For Nasi Kandar, I have never ventured beyond Pelita and Nasi Kandar Penang but this time around, I made a special visit to Restoran Hakim to try out the Nasi Kandar there. Kinda sick of hipsterish cafe food. Besides, I'm not a popular fellow and visiting cafes on my own will probably just bring down the value of the cafes with my presence alone. LOL.

What is Nasi Kandar? Nasi Kandar is steamed rice usually with mixed curries and ingredients of your choice that's displayed around the stall. Is a dish that seems to be started from Penang and now everywhere around, it exists. It's a mamak dish or Indian Muslim.

Restoran Hakim used to be from the same part of Shah Alam, Seksyen 7 but has since moved to a very big location where it prominently can be seen from afar now. I'm not sure whether the old place still exist because I saw something called Restoran Hakim lama. Anyway, for this current location, it's huge! Possessing a corner lot, it seems to be as if they've taken over the whole building at the corner. When I arrived, there were plenty of people flocking into the place to get their lunch. Already for the Nasi Kandar, there's people lying up awaiting their turn to sink their teeth into their afternoon meal. I got to my turned quite fast and having a quick lookaround, I saw how their system seems to work. There's 2 person behind the counter that's serving the Nasi Kandar. First, you get to the person where he will have your plate of rice ready and will scoop whatever ingredient you prefer to have with your rice. I chose their fried chicken which they famously named it as Hakim Fried Chicken. Before I got to the fried chicken, I was asked whether I wanted vegetables with my rice and I said yes. Naturally, this will be the cabbage that's fried till yellowish contains a little bit of carrot for some places, some mustard seeds and in this restaurant, there's green chili in it. Once you've picked sufficiently for yourself, the guy will set the plate and hand it over to the next guy. This 2nd guy will then mix all the curries for you and will write down the price on a chit of paper to indicate the price for you to pay later at the cashier once you've finished eating.

Their fried chicken is juicy red and compared to Pelita, it's definitely bigger and of normal size. Pelita's fried chicken is way small but it's more tastier than Hakim's Fried Chicken. Although it may not contain some spice flavor in it and it's rather plain compared to Pelita, Hakim's fried chicken is still nice enough to eat on it's own. It's not dry and juicy enough but minus the oiliness and fat. Their chicken is nice and full of meat and it's a lot more cheaper than Pelita too. No wonder people tend to flock here to eat their fried chicken. Their mixed curry that goes with the rice is well addictive and just as good as Pelita's though Pelita has a slight edge due to one of their sweet curry that always gives me the addictive factor. This too is good and well addictive and will surely get me craving for it again one time or another but it's just not as nice as Pelita's.

If Pelita were to go head to head with this Restoran Hakim's Nasi Kandar with fried chicken, I would say Restoran Hakim would win due to their cheap price and their big piece of chicken even though Pelita tasted slightly better. But for that price, I would say it's just not worth as how they priced it.

I heard that their Cheese Naan is good too and one day I might wanna try it but I guess it will have to be nighttime. Since Naan are usually served in the night at Mamak stalls.

Total Wallet Damage:
Though no one can definitely beat Anuar's Fish Head Curry Rice with fried chicken price, Restoran Hakim can be considered quite cheap as well and well worth the price. My plate of Nasi Kandar that consists of one juicy, succulent fried chicken costs only RM6.90. Cheap.

Final Verdict:
7/10. It is definitely one of the place to go for lunch if you want a cheap and good meal if ambiance is not a factor.

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Merchant's Lane, Petaling Street, Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia

Address:
No, 150 Jalan Petaling, 59000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Mon-Tue:
11:30 am - 10:00 pm
Thu-Fri:
11:30 am - 10:00 pm
Sat-Sun:
9:30 am - 10:00 pm

Time Visited:
4:30pm, Saturday evening

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
On my portion, I ordered Pipits Nest and a hot Long Black

DISCLAIMER: This was not a lone dining experience.

Hungry as fuck that day due to me missing the buffet lunch provided at an event which resulted in me having a grueling time enduring a demo and tour around a budget hotel, I couldn't wait to sink my teeth in at this heritage driven theme cafe located at the heart of Kuala Lumpur, right smack dab in the middle of a touristy spot of Petaling Street where by dark, I always feel unsafe being in the vicinity of this area.

It was also the day that I first bear witness and the experience of bearing the brunt of the tremendous increase in parking fees for the district of Kuala Lumpur. The parking machines located within around Petaling Street area only allows 2 hours maximum in buying your parking to which you will need to repurchase after that since the authorities haven't enforced the 2 hours maximum in parking whereby you'll have to leave the place after that. I tried buying with my Touch N Go card but it was no go since the machine for some odd reason said my card was not valid. Pretty disappointing. Next time I'm gonna try their app JomParking to pay. But then again, I don't see the Petaling Street area listed on it. Grr.

Anyway, we first made the mistake of entering the wrong place and ended up in a very scary looking location which was dark and all and somebody at the back said that the restaurant is not opened yet. Puzzled, we exited the place and finally spotted that we were at the wrong place. The door to Merchant's Lane is two doors down. The place though located at an upstairs location garnered a lot of people visiting it mainly a lot were there to take pictures. I guess the rustic and vintage charm of the place was the attracting point which reminded me a lot of those old shoplot houses in Malacca.

After deciding on where to sit, we ordered our much overdue lunch where I went for a long black and pipits nest. Pipits Nest is a serving of Brinjal Fries, Onion Rings & Chicken Tenders all in one dish with cheese sauce all over it. It took a moderate amount of waiting time till it came to our place but then again, there were at almost full capacity in their cafe so it can be considered as fast since there's so many customers around. The Pipits Nest just looks like a bowl of fried stuff all in one where if I don't look closely and simply pick one with my fork, I wouldn't know what I took till I bite on it. Brinjal fries and onion rings were a bit oily for my taste but it's good in terms of it's appetizing factor. The chicken tenders were better since you don't really feel the oil as much as the Brinjal Fries and Onion Rings. Putting cheese sauce all over the whole thing actually is a very good idea because it certainly needed that. Else the food will taste nauseous once you reach at a certain stage without the cheese sauce to help it go down better. As for the Long Black, the coffee wasn't bad. I'd say it's slightly above average. The WiFi isn't as fast as I wanted it to be but usable.

We left for dinner after sitting down for a while around 2 hours plus.

Total Wallet Damage:
Well, my portion amount to RM24 which is quite reasonable. RM16 for the Pipits Nest and RM8 for the Long Black. 6% GST included.

Final Verdict:
7/10. Food is quite good (at least for the Pipits Nest) and the coffee's not bad. A pulling factor for photograph enthusiasts.

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Sarawak Corner, Restoran Meisek (美食茶餐室), USJ14, Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

Address:
No. 10 & 12, Jalan USJ 14/1k, 47630 Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Unsure. Rough estimation is:
Daily, 7am - 3pm, 6pm - 9pm

Time Visited:
11:45am, Thursday morning, Raya 2nd day.

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Laksa.

Though I'm no expert in Laksa (a spicy soup noodle dish), I've heard that the hawker shop Sarawak Corner has quite authentic Sarawak Laksa taste.

It was still a holiday for me that day and I had a thought of trying some Sarawak Laksa that day. So I head on over to Subang Jaya, USJ 14 where there's quite a few nice Chinese hawker stall restaurants around and Restoran Mei Sek is one of them around. That shop has occupied even 2 shoplots and had made them connected. There's plenty of variety on hawker eats at this place and even though they occupy 2 shoplots, they're still at full capacity on the day I visited and people were scrambling for a place to sit with some even sharing a table with me. Over at this hawker restaurant, there exist a hawker stall called Sarawak Corner which is quite authentic in their Sarawak noodle dishes and that's my intention of trying out.

In particular, I'm here for the Sarawak Laksa. As I mentioned before, I'm no avid fan of Laksa so I had a little research to see all the laksas I've tried before and what is the difference in Sarawak Laksa. For the Sarawak version of Laksa, the soup-based is more towards Sambal Belacan which contributes towards the crimson color of the broth and it also contains coconut milk in it and sour tamarind. What Sarawak Corner at Restoran Mei Sek put in their dish are shrimps, omelette strips (I must admit, I've never tried laksa with omelette strips before so this probably would be my first Sarawak Laksa dish) and chicken strips. The condiment that was accompanied with my Laksa dish is some sambal belacan and a lime to squeeze over it and the Laksa.

Though the condiment given had a spicy taste to it, the broth simply did not taste that spicy to me. I guess it's cause they do put quite a lot of coconut milk in their broth which is what I'm able to taste. Though a preference towards a more spicier broth for me, it is rather tasty and has a thick texture. The noodles were nice and soft enough but interestingly, there's yellow mee in the mix instead of just rice vermicelli so it's more towards curry laksa in this instance. The omelette strips added some sweetness to the overall dish which is a nice touch. The chicken strips were adequate in portion and went well blending in with the dish. Shrimps were the first thing I consumed finish because I don't really like shrimps. LOL. Due to my need of it being spicier, I need to dab the Sambal Belacan with the noodles and this certainly heightens the taste.

Though there's many customers and they were also frantically preparing dishes, but with their numbering system, they're able to provide me with my meal in quite a quick fashion which I'm well pleased. Next time around, I'm visiting this place again and try the kolo mee and other various foods around here since this place looks so interesting.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM7 for the laksa. I'm excluding the drinks since it's done by the main shop owner but if you must know the price of my Coffee Ice, it's RM2.10.

Final Verdict:
6/10. Not bad in their Sarawak Laksa. Since I've never had one before (yes, it's hard to believe since I'm Malaysian) I can't really say how good it is in comparison with other Sarawak Laksa or those that's at Sarawak itself but based on this alone, I'd say it's pretty nice. I certainly wouldn't mind coming back again to eat though the price of RM7 does put me off a bit.

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Hamasho, Desa Sri Hartamas, Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia

Address:
No. 42, Jalan 27/70A, Desa Sri Hartamas, Wilayah Persekutuan, 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Daily, 6pm - 1am. Close on Sundays

Time Visited:
6:30pm, Thursday evening on a public holiday

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
1 Person Set Meal. (Banshaku Set).

It was a really fruitful day in finding some extra moolah and I was thinking of off to this place in Sri Hartamas for my dinner before tiredly heading to bed.

This place is right off the back where in going further down heads to Naughty Nuri's and from it's appearance, it gives off a typical Japanese restaurant vibe, cluttered with the many signage advertising their many intricate dishes inside. It stands out over here though even though the outlook is plain in appearance and doesn't really capture your attention. This is because the other shops in the area don't really look like it while in Japan, most restaurants will look almost like this.

As an entrance, it has a really heavy sliding door and as I slide to enter inside this establishment, I see a generally quiet atmosphere unlike a typical Japanese restaurant. There are some patrons inside but not many. I guess it's because they open at 6pm and it's just half hour into their business time. Later on during the night, they did get filled up with many other patrons with mostly their regular customers and many of them Japanese. As I enter and sat at the bar area, I noticed that this place is actually owned by Japanese. The 2 cooks are Japanese while only one isn't and the 2 Japanese women clad in Kimono are the ones that communicate with the customers and take their orders since they're the 2 who know more English than your average Japanese while they have one wait staff that's Japanese and another is a foreign worker. They explain their many things in their menu whereby most are written in a white board that they carry and show it to you when you wanna order while the book file menu contains some main items. There's also another laminated piece of paper that promotes the 1 person meal set and I ordered that straight away because I'm too lazy to order so many separate individual dishes. It's gonna take me forever to decide should I do so. LOL.

So the 1 person meal set it is. Though it wasn't the cheery Japanese greeting each other every step of the way in this establishment, they still maintain that tradition around. Just a much more "Yes, I heard you kind of way." Interesting. Never encounter such kind before. After my trip to their toilet (which by the way, inside is also plastered with a lot of what they're offering as well. LOL) I came back to my seat with some dishes already laid out for me. First up was the 3 items appetizer. It consisted of a Potato Salad, a Bowl of Tako (squid) wasabi and a sashimi.

Next to it served was the big bottle of Tiger Beer and some crispy cabbage to go with their homemade sauce. The cabbage was nice and fresh to eat on it's own but the homemade sauce that you put in it would make it much much better. A predominant taste of saltiness but some hints of sweetness and citrusy. I wasn't aware that it's gonna be a big bottle of beer since on the menu, it's only written as 1 bottle of tiger beer. I see. So this explains the price tag of RM98. Else when I add up the other things with just 1 small bottle of tiger beer, it of course would be overprice.

Anyway, the next I savored was the fried seafood and fried chicken in one platter. There's more potato salad in that platter and I quite like the taste of the fried chicken. I also was given a bowl of clam soup. In the soup, they had loads of ingredients in it. An awful loads of clam and mushrooms with some seaweed. It's so loaded with ingredients that there's barely enough soup for it. LOL. Of course it's delicious and I think this soup was well worth it for the many ingredients in it.

Next came the main dish which is a soup rice. When you're ready to receive your main dish, you're suppose to tell them to bring it to you. But the waiter noticed I've finished most things and ask me I still have the rice and do I want them to bring it to me now which I said yes. The rice as mentioned earlier, is a soup rice. To be exact, it's called the Ochazuke Syake. Green tea rice soup with salmon. A somewhat similar dish as the Chinese mun faan which is a soupy rice dish as well. Only this is a green tea infused soup and contains salmon. The salmon has a very strong taste that didn't get watered down by the soup at all. Hence, it makes a very good combination to go along with the food.

The bottle of beer proved quite a lot to me and so I staggered on home quickly since it's been a long time that I was able to finish a big bottle of beer on my own. At least I managed quite well that night. LOL.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM98 nett for the 1 person set meal. Inclusive of GST and 10% service charge.

Final Verdict:
6/10. A nice Japanese touch to it just that it's kinda a hassle to order dishes since there's so many things to choose from and you can't just order one thing because that would be insufficient to eat.

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Chung Kee @ Restoran Yat Pat Hoe (一八好), Seksyen U1, Glenmarie, Shah Alam, Selangor

Address:
No. 11, Jalan Juruaudit U1/37, Seksyen U1, Glenmarie, 40150 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Not sure what's their opening hours are like but I think it's from 7am - 8pm. Half day on Saturday, maybe.

Time Visited:
12:30pm, Thursday lunch time

Attire worn:
Business

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Ipoh Shredded Chicken Noodles (Kai See Hor Fun) and Chinese Tea Ice

This restaurant use to be one of my favorite haunts mainly because I can have my Petai cravings fixed here. I love the Thai Food that ply their business at the back but due to promising a jovial uncle that mans this new stall located up front of the restaurant a month back, I decided to keep my promise and try out this fine day.

The place of course is not new to me but is mainly my favorite place to go for food but due to the recent boom of new restaurants that came up within the vicinity, I started to frequent here less and less. So the stall that I'm trying out is called Chung Kee and ironically, the dish that I'm trying out is the Ipoh Shredded Chicken Noodles, something that I use to eat at my hometown in Ipoh every Friday night after a religious meeting. It's tough to claim something from a certain place where the dish is famous for and be comparable to the real deal and I'm here to test it out.

The jovial uncle was still there that day with another person who prepares the dishes while the uncle mainly do PR work and serve the food to customers. He was also busy interacting with some customers seated nearby his stall and so he was less conversant towards me that day though there were few exchanges in our chatter. Pretty soon, the noodles came to my table. It looks lavishly brandished in soup where the tip of the bowl of noodles were the only ingredients you get to see which was the shrimps. The few shredded pieces of chicken can be seen but other than that the noodles were mostly submerged in the heavily soup laden dish.

Before I continue further commenting about the bowl of noodles, let me just specify for the record that this restaurant still charges their Chinese Tea Ice for 50 sen only! This is the only restaurant left that I know of that charge their Chinese Tea Ice for 50 sen only. Section 17 Restoran How Yekee is another that I know that don't raise the price that quickly even though other spots had done so months ahead but I haven't been there for so long so I'm not sure whether they charge 50 sen there still.

So then the moment of truth in tasting the noodle dish came since the uncle kept asking me to try his noodles and the verdict is.........unfortunately a major letdown. I find the soup along with the noodles lacks taste and almost tasteless. The chicken was gamy and dry and didn't give out the rich nice, smooth and oily taste that I get from the Ipoh style hor fun. The noodles are a repetition of tasteless and I find no consolation of a good point to follow up in praise. All I got was sheer disappointment from it and there's no good point that I can raise up aside from saying it's edible. Even the miserable 2 pieces of shrimp was a letdown. Despite it's small size, they're just too lazy to even peel off the shell which most shops would and I'm a person who hates eating a shrimp with it's shell still on because I'm a very lazy individual. I'm a person who thinks the taste of shrimp is not well worth the effort to get my hands dirty to peel off the shell.

So yes. It's a letdown. So if I'm ever at this shop, I'll still to the regular good ones like the Petai Chicken way at the back or the claypot yee mee (a little too salty but still delicious because I like yee mee) at the middle or the nice old lady's pork noodles just behind this Chung Kee stall. But as for this Ipoh Shredded Chicken Noodles, I don't think I'm ever eating it ever again. So sorry but that's how I felt.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM7 for the noodles (big). For the small portion, it'll cost RM6. But what's intriguing is the restaurant's Chinese Tea Ice is only 50 sen! Hope it'll last a very very long time. :D

Final Verdict:
3/10. Too tasteless and ingredients not fine enough. Needs improvement. Very very much greatly needed. But don't let that deter you from eating at this restaurant. There's other fine stalls to eat from.

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The Red Beanbag, Publika, Solaris Dutamas, Kuala Lumpur (KL)

Address:
Block A4 1st Floor A4-1-08, Publika, Jalan Dutamas 1, Solaris Dutamas, 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Tue-Fri:
10:00 am - 10:00 pm
Sat-Sun:
9:30 am - 10:00 pm

Time Visited:
Around 2:15pm on a Sunday.

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Bella and the Jets and a Flat White

A bit lazy on this Sunday due to the cool weather returning sooner than expected and helping me sleep a little longer than I normally would in the mornings. Love those rain that comes hard and quick and leaves as soon as I'm supposed to go outdoors. So this was the Sunday I was having conflicting thoughts on whether should I even step out of my house. I have already failed to do so the day before even though I was planning to try some new places for food but in the end, gave up and went back to bed.

This time around, I said I have to get out of the house just to get some sunlight on me and to train myself to be positive and smile since it's easier if I'm in public to put on a display then being cooped up in my room which I can easily cry. The Red Beanbag is a very familiar name to me. Popular among many cafe-goers and has been heard by me for the longest time but yet I didn't carry any intention to visit. I've always had this nagging thought that this place is far from me and I have to drive all the way to KL. Well, technically, it is in KL but didn't know it was a place I kind of frequent till I google it up today.

Being in the maze-like Publika, I felt game to go out to this place to try. Besides, I've ran out of food at home anyway and so the need to go out anyhow. When I got to Publika, there were many people crowding the place especially at the area of where there's a display on Tapirs. And so, off with my plan to search for The Red Beanbag. Pretty soon, I found where it was and was dying to head on upstairs to it to try.

When I got there, it was teeming with people. Such a popular location. There's even 3 groups of people taking numbers to be on a waiting list for a table but as for me, I walked right in and got one. The perks of a single diner. You don't need a table to accommodate a group of people. Just a simple one table and chair would suffice. The menus already been laid out at the table and everything was already perfectly prepared for a guest of 2. Cups were placed in the utensils tray and napkins were also adequate. There's even a filled bottle of water awaiting, ready for you to pour instead of them serving you when you sit down. Perfect. So I gazed through the menu and had my sight set on Bella and the Jets. Bella and the Jets is a breakfast dish which main ingredients consists of the Portobello Mushrooms and the Roasted Chicken Chorizo atop Sourdough breads. There's also poached eggs on top with Parmesan cheese grated all around with a side of Rocket leaves.

Due to the massive amount of crowd there, the waiting period for my food took quite a long time but they were quick to serve out the drink even though I ordered a Flat White. I love how the coffee tasted. Strong robust nutty taste with aromatic coffee that befits my tasting palate. It took quite a long while for my brunch to be served to me but eventually it came to me. By the way, don't fret if you're seeing someone who came in later than you had their food dished out to them first. They're quicker in serving burgers.

The presentation wasn't a bad one and the Parmesan cheese just covers all the areas up. The rocket leaves though looks pathetic and is bitter to my dismay. I don't like eating vegetables anyway so it wasn't much of a loss to me. The poached egg's texture was nice but the yolk don't seem to be that much. Maybe this is quite a small egg? But then again, poached eggs aren't supposed to be all runny. I simply love the Roasted Chicken Chorizo the best. One of the best I've tasted. The heat on it is just perfect and though it's a roasted chicken, it surely surprised me because I didn't know that was the meat. It's solid taste makes it the dominant ingredient of them all though the Portobello Mushrooms should be the star. But then again, there's a lot of mushrooms in this dish and it didn't get pushed out on it's taste. The bread was toasted right and that's about it for the ingredients. The Parmesan cheese may not give out much taste to it but it does provide a better texture for the dish as a whole.

Due to the amount of people visiting the outlet, the atmosphere is kinda ruined for me because I prefer a much quieter setting than a vibrant and spunky one. Still, I'd return when there's a chance. It's coffee and food is good and I can't deny that.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM39.65. There's a 10% service charge involve along with 6% GST.

Final Verdict:
8/10. Not a bad place for western breakfast food and the coffee, I just love it. It would've scored higher if they don't charge the service charge but they do, so a score of 8 it is.

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