Showing posts with label food court. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food court. Show all posts

Thursday, June 22, 2017

Tea Garden, Sunway Velocity Mall, Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia

Address:
Lot 4-01H & 4-01I,
Lingkaran Sunway Velocity, Sunway Velocity,
55100 Kuala Lumpur (KL),
Malaysia

Opening Hours:
10am - 10pm

Time Visited:
12:20pm, Sunday

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Mutton Rendang (Mee Hoon Mee), Milk Tea + Cincau
Tea Garden - unbeknownst to me this is actually something that already has quite a number of outlet and mostly slated at Johor area. And though there are several outlets in the Klang Valley and even in Indonesia, it still went unnoticed by me till I purposely made a trip to Sunway Velocity mall.

This was my first time going into Sunway Velocity mall. Though I've passed by countless of times until I'm so familiar that it has the Jalan Peel entrance where the Starbucks resides and the Jalan Cheras Entrance where....well, there's nothing there except the waiting area where few cars go that way to pick up passengers, I also know that there's a church behind and that's why there's loads of cars park alongside at the back of the road at Jalan Peel (which also serves as a free parking if it's the weekend since summonses won't be flying out with the Rela forces guarding the place) yet it took me a long time till I finally stepped into this mall. Anyway, there wasn't any reason for me to until this day I decided to try the Tea Garden here.

I decided to park inside the mall and as I went in, I saw a lot of cars circling around so I decided to head towards the basement level 2 to look for a vacant parking. It turns out, the office side of the place was full of vacant parking and so that's where I parked. I then headed off into the mall. Though I took note of where I parked, I forgotten how I got to the mall area from the office area since I didn't take note of the shops and that got me searching quite a while as I was leaving until I finally realized that the walkway that leads to the office area was located at the 1st floor of the mall.

Anyway, when I first stepped it, I tried to go all the way up but I didn't find any Tea Garden in the directory. I soon poked around the Internet and saw that it's supposed to be on the fourth floor. But oddly enough, the area that I went up from had only until the 3rd floor. It got me quite puzzled for awhile so I headed back down to the 1st floor and walked all the way till the end to see if there was a fourth floor at that area and sure enough, there was. Even though I managed to locate the fourth floor, Tea Garden was not easy to find at all. I circled the whole floor until I discovered that it's actually inside the food court area but hidden around the corner. But that place was quite rewarding because due to them occupying at the corner of such a high floor, they had a lot of sunlight that comes in and also you can see quite a distance from the place. Though Sunway Velocity was in an area where it wasn't really a pleasant site to behold, still there's something about being at such a high floor and able to see well into the distance draws my attention that I can't peel my eyes away from. I picked a good spot to overlook the place and sat myself down. I soon saw that this place is like those places like Papparich where you write down your orders in an order chit and when you're done, you press the bell to summon the staff to you. A very effective and efficient way of running such a wide area. I soon wrote down all my orders and press the bell and passed the order chit to the staff.

It didn't took long till my food appeared. Very fast indeed. And they were full of customers as well. Tea Garden serves what I call comfort food. Those kampung style meehoon mee but only this is with mutton rendang while back in Ipoh, my family use to buy from the lady who cycles in a trishaw peddling her tong shui as well as these kind of fried meehoon mee with the sweet chili which I call it Chinese style chili. That used to be my common breakfast and sometimes lunch as well. But here I am eating this here, inside an air conditioned mall overlooking grandiosely over the slums. The feelings different. But the food's good though even though it's charged double the portion size I'm used to back when I was a kid and triple the price. I have to say the food was most excellent. Even better than how I remember back then of how it tasted. The mutton has no bone at all and the meat was very tender. There were sweet chili given to me as well. It's put in a sauce dish. Tasted way better than the time I ate when I was young. The Milk Tea with cincau is something very new to me. I've never seen such a thing before but it tasted fine. They do serve quite aromatic milk tea. All in all, it was a splendid meal.

After that, I just walked around a while since I've never been here before before I headed back home to sleep the day away.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM19. RM5.50 for the milk tea with cincau and 13.50 for the mee hoon mee with mutton rendang. 6% GST is charged.

Final Verdict:
7/10. This certainly trumps the one I ate during my childhood years but nostalgia always gets the better of me.

Thursday, June 8, 2017

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.

Saturday, April 29, 2017

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.

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

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.