Goodbye...

Year 2009... this year has been like a roller-coaster ride for me. Starting with the economic downturn at the end of 2008, the worse followed to 2009 particularly when Lehmann Brothers collapsed. The journey has not been really smooth for everyone of us I guess... but somehow I still make ends meet.

The highlight of 2009 (for me) was someone came into my life on 12th March 2009... someone who manage to brighten up my life, lighten up my burden and bring a broad smile to my face everytime I look at her. No matter how grumpy or pressured I got everytime I came back home from work, it took only a smile to bring back my mood :)

Yup! You guessed it... Sher Ryn! Actually I still can't imagine that I have entered another phase in my life which is fatherhood! Those days going out with friends for karaoke and clubbing sessions are effectively over. Being a father comes with a lot of responsibilities in which I will not dwell much into... you have to go through it in order to truly understand the joy. Not that I miss my bachelorhood, being a father has its perks too! It made me wanted to become a better husband and father by working harder to provide shelter and food on the table. Look at her when she was born...
You made your mom proud!

She has become such an angel... she might look cute but don't be deceived by her innocent smile. She shrieked whenever she wanted attention (to some extent very annoying), she had to get things that she wants by hook or by crook, she could hardly sit still that carrying her is a gigantic task (my wife and I get tired after holding her for less than 5 minutes), and the list goes on and on. Yet... she's our daughter and we know that it takes time to teach her all about the world. And we will make sure that we do a great job on that no matter how hard it may be. This picture was taken at our BU home on Christmas day itself... she's 9 months ++ now!


Anyway, I wish you all Happy New Year and hope that this coming 2010 will bring whatever that you are wishing for ok??? Each of us has different resolution so all the best to you! From Leo, Jenn and Sher Ryn (^_^)

So GOODBYE 2009 and HELLO 2010!!!

Restoran Ong Lai (Goh Kee) @ 60A, Jalan Raja Laut KL (Bee Seng Hotel Underground)

Chow Kit... talk about this place and many people will give different opinions. To the elderly, this place was once very famous for its vice activities namely prostitution (red light district & gangsterism. Some people even come here for cheap bargains. As for me, I come here to find good food.

The place which I am going to mention is quite hidden from the main road of Jalan Raja Laut. Restoran Ong Lai had made quite a name for itself since the early days. Located behind Bee Seng Hotel which fronts Jalan Raja Laut, you have to turn into the alley once you see the hotel itself. Your next difficult task is too find a parking and if you are lucky, you will see a family leaving after a satisfying dinner there. My uncle who's in his 70's often told me about this famous place in Tiong Nam area (near Chow Kit) that whipped out delicious tai chow, o chien & steamed fish head (teo chew style). This place is also where my dad used to bring his girl (my mom-to-be) to eat everytime they went to KL. Back then as a kid, I never really paid any attention until I started appreciating good food. Guess what?? It was Jenn who brought me here for the first time.. again! LOL.. it seems that she is more adventurous than I do.

The restaurant is normally packed during peak hours... inside!

And outside

Open kitchen concept near the dining area!


O Chien or fried oyster - quite generous with the oysters and not too starchy. A delicious dish.. however I prefer my o chien to be crispy.

Signature steamed fish head - using song fish and steamed Teo Chew style, the fish meat was flaky and firm (indication that the fish head was fresh). Chinese cabbage laid atop of the fish head giving a sweet taste to the dish. The clear soup was so delicious that it's good till the last drop. Just be careful with the fish bones OK?

Pineapple pork ribs - one of the signature dishes of Ong Lai. The sauce is similar to those sweet & sour pork. However, from what it was supposed to be a hit, it was a total letdown this time. The meat was still a little raw and we guessed that due to the everending dinner crowd... they (the cooks) rushed orders and paid little attention to the preparation of the dishes.

A meal like this is definitely not complete without beer :)


Leo's verdict - One word to describe this restaurant - inconsistent! It is a better bet if you come early before the dinner crowd starts coming in. Like many other Chinese restaurants out there, be expect to douse a lot of water after the meal, as healthy dose of MSG is used in the dishes. An extremely popular with KL-ites and tourists on weekends. Even the Singaporeans know how to find their way here. So if you come during peak hours, expect to wait for tables and after that, additional 20-30 minutes before your food is served... as told by the boss himself. Parking is notorious here.. at times you will find yourself park quite far from the restaurant and walk all the way here (I did!)

Honeymoon @ LG322 LG Floor Oval, 1Utama Shopping Centre (New Wing)

Did I ever mention that Jenn loves dessert??? Sometimes when we finished having dinner, she would crave for something sweet. As some of you might know that Kuala Lipis is a VERY small town and unless my parents make desserts, there's no way that we can find it outside. That's why Jenn would drag me out to nearby area to search for sweet stuff... most of the time at night! Hmmmm... come to think of it, the way she asked really sounded like giving direct order. And when I felt lazy to go out and the hard stance didn't work on me, she would whip out the last weapon which melt my heart most of the time... the BAMBI eyes! I mean, there's no way I could resist those eyes that captured my heart so many years ago.

Back to the topic... we spotted Honeymoon as we finished grocery shopping at COld Storage one weekend. Ever since the old Giant closed and replaced by a smaller Cold Storage, the extra spaces were converted to more outlets... eateries like New York New York Deli, Otak-Otak Place, Mr. Baoz and many more have since opened for business.

From the outside, the place looked impressive and modern too!

Initially I thought that those were real books but upon closer look, I realised that it was wallpaper.. LOL! Also there were paintings...


Jenn asked for their Sesame cream + soy bean curd @ RM6 - tasted ordinary without any wow factor.

Mango pancake RM9 - using 100% Philippines mango, it was sweet but I don't like the idea of having whipped cream in it. Personally, I think the skin was quite thick too!

Leo's verdict - Nice place to hang out but not really that memorable. I'd rather stick back to my usual place for my dessert fix such as KTZ and Chef Loong. But it's still to early to make conclusions since I have only tried two items in the menu. If you happen to be in 1Utama and suddenly crave for dessert, you can consider this place

Teh Tarik Place @ Rainforest 1Utama Shopping Centre

Who likes to shop at 1Utama Shopping Centre??? Hmmm... maybe I should re-phrase my question. Who doesn't like to shop in 1Utama Shopping Centre?

When I came to study in KL in year 1997, 1Utama was one of THE shopping mall to go in PJ area beside Sunway Pyramid which was obviously closer to where I stayed in Subang. Most of you might still remember IKEA which was then located near Jusco, which has been turned into ENEOS Home Centre now. What about those hip clubbing place such as Spoon??? I especially love this club as it churned out my favourite songs at that time. Then IKEA moved to their very own IKANO Power Centre while the club closed. I assumed the worst as most people only went to 1Utama for IKEA. I turned out to be wrong, as they expanded to opposite road.. building up a new phase with a bridge linking between the two. Business is as good as ever.. more shops and restaurants have opened for business. Now everytime I go there, I have to think "to Old Wing or New Wing leh"?

Anyway Jenn and I went to the New Wing most of the time compared to Old Wing, unless we want to buy groceries at Jusco Supermarket or during Jusco Day. Normally we would arrive at 1Utama at 10am when most shops are yet to open for business. In which we would look for a place for brekkie to fill up our tummy first. Most of the times it would be Kluang Station coz nothing beats a good glass of tea/coffee to kick start the day! But one morning we spotted this Teh Tarik Place located outside at The Rainforest near Kluang Station. Judging from the settings, both of us agreed that it was a mamak restaurant. After browsing through the menu, we decided to try out the place to see if the food was as good as it looked in the pictures.

Wooden tables and chairs matched very well with the colour of the wall but there was something wrong with the interior... did you notice it?

THIS!!! Somehow I didn't think that the lamps blended in well with the whole place.

We ordered teh tarik since I love drinking it at mamak stall. Costing RM2.20... I immediately regret my decision after the first sip. It was disastrous but I didn't know how to put in words. Everything went south from there!

Nasi lemak ayam rendang @ RM7.90 - Jenn's order proved to be wrong. The rice was soft and mushy which was very obvious even in the picture itself. Rendang ayam was nothing to shout of.. gravy was decent but quite watery. We suspect that it was yesterday's leftover! After 2 or 3 bites, she had no more appetite to continue eating.

Mee Goreng Mamak @ RM5.90 - my choice fared better but lack of wok hei. A bit warm in which I think that they re-heat the dish using microwave. The only thing worth mentioning was one huge prawn which was fresh and bouncy!

Leo's verdict - basically this place is a high-end mamak concept. Service was rather slow despite not so many diner (I think only my family and another family). I seldom condemn a place but I'd rather hop back to Kluang Station and stick to our regular order in which we really did this time!! Jenn was still hungry :)

Delicious @ Bangsar Village 2

The first time I got to know about Delicious was when I visited the spanking new BV2 at the time when most shops had not opened for business yet. My first impression was good about the place... as everyone inside seemed having great time eating the food and chatting happily. I didn't go in at that time as I was in a hurry. And the first time I went to Delicious outlet was at their Mid Valley (opposite Starbucks) branch.. their breakfast had left such a good impression that both Jenn & I went back for lunch whenever possible, not only at their MV but also 1Utama and Dua Annexe outlets.

My chance to dine at their BV2 outlet came when Pat wanted to meet up somewhere in Bangsar, just to catch up on each other's lives. I jumped on the opportunity and suggested Delicious, as I had not gone to Delicious for a long time... hmmm, if not mistaken ever since the arrival of Sher Ryn. It was already packed by the time we reached there around lunch time.

The waiting lounge for those who have to wait for tables...

We started off with French onion soup with melting cheese crostini

Chicken avocado sandwich with pesto on toasted country white - we would prefer it if the size of the chicken meat was smaller instead of the big chunks. Thank God that the Avocado was fresh!

Mushroom mascarpone spaghettini with lemon zest, walnuts and coriander - this dish was basically tasteless even though with its creamy texture. It looked delicious enough when it was served though... I guess don't judge a book by its cover.

Duck confit spaghettini with sun-dried tomato & coriander - Jenn hit the jackpot with this dish. The duck meat was very flavourful and succulent without being too salty.

Carbonara spaghettini with wild mushroom, beef bacon, oregano and cream - I didn't taste this due to the presence of beef but according to Pat, this dish was done just right without being overly creamy.

Leo's verdict - I can't wait to go there again... the last time I read FBB's blog, he wrote that Delicious was going to whip out a few new items in their menu soon! And they looked absolutely DELICIOUS :)

Pizza Uno @ Centrepoint Bandar Utama

When one speaks about Italian food, I gotta admit that I am not as adventurous as most of you! The most expensive Italian meal that I'd ever had was at Villa Danieli of Imperial Sheraton Hotel but that was during my birthday last year. Even if you ask my opinion on Il Padrino or anything that starts with Nero, I'd just scratch my head and gave you all those blank stares :) don't get me wrong, I love Italian food but the truth is I won't purposely go looking for Italian restaurants unless they are really that DAMN good!

However, there is one particular place that holds a special place in my heart - Pizza Uno! But the first time I came to this place was not with Jenn but with my MBA classmates. It was year 2002 and I was still living in Puchong at that time and not very familiar with PJ or BU area. Then I realised that Jenn liked it here too when we went out for movie some time later (we were still normal friends at that time). When we started dating, we would come here whenever there was a craving for Italian food. Both of us simply love the ambience and the dining atmosphere at Pizza Uno. Things got a whole lot easier when I bought a house in Bandar Utama, as it's about 5 min away from our love nest. It's a good thing that we share a lot in common, especially in food...

Red and white wine bottles are placed on a barrel at the entrance.. to let you know that they serve wines in case you are in the mood for one :)

Tables are placed outside to accommodate diners and it is usually packed during dinner time.

There are weekend specials which are not available during normal weekdays. Initially I was planning to have my usual dish but the specials really piqued my curiousity. Therefore I went for their crab meat spaghettini, which is the smaller version of spaghetti. They were very generous on the crab meat but the whole dish was lack of flavour and frankly, quite bland eventhough spiced with lime and chilly.

Jenn opted for Herb-scented chicken with mushroom risotto - chunks of juicy roasted chicken with creamy arborio rice and mushroom. This was very good flavour-wise and the chicken meat was juicy and tender.

A bottle of mineral water for both of us... with a slice of lemon in each glass. Over-priced but they don't serve water so no choice.

Leo's verdict - whenever Jenn & I craved for pasta or pizza, we would normally come here to eat... convenient location and comfortable settings. Not necessary the best place for Italian food, but the quality is OK enough to warrant a visit (by the way, I am not a fussy eater so don't take my word for it... it's solely based on my taste bud). Apart from the dishes I mentioned above, their garlic prawn pasta is to die for and there's one particular dish that I want to mention here - Napoli Pizza, which is the anchovies pizza. Some might think that it's very salty but somehow I love it! The crust is thin, crispy and prepared using wood fire.

A good find in Kepong

When Ho Chak first introduced this place in their program quite a long time ago, I have already put this place in my must visit list. To be honest, I am not really a fan of anything that has got to do with fish head - curry fish head, fish head noodle or even steamed fish head. But that was the past!!! I had been well-trained by Jenn to eat almost everything (Well, almost...) ever since we started dating. Now there are still a few things that I can't bring myself to eat - bean sprout, spring onion, coriander, petai, and durian! Jenn abosolutely love eating all these stuff and that's why I may have deprived her. Especially petai and durian...

Back to the topic - the reason why I didn't eat fish head is because I think it's disgusting to eat the head part. I just didn't get the point why people want to eat the flesh from fish head. Further more I hate tedious job when it comes to eating.. but that perception changed soon after Jenn started to introduce me to new food, especially the fish head! Starting with just one bite, it gradually become more and more until a stage where Jenn actually complained that I ate more than she did :P

So one fine Saturday afternoon, we were in the vicinity as Jenn wanted to buy some furnitures for her legal firm in Segambut area. We didn't bring Sher Ryn along as we had a lot to do that day so Jenn's mom offered to take care of her for the weekend... YAY!!! Armed with Chui Ling's One Day Five Meals book, I put my Garmin into full use. Punching in the address, it led us all the way to Kepong area from Segambut :)

Parking was very difficult to find here... I circled the area a few times before finding one :( it was quite far from the restaurant too! What surprised me was the fact that I only saw one table being occupied. The whole place was almost empty which made me had second thought of going in. But then I look at my watch and it was after 2pm. "I don't come all the way here to go home empty-handed" I said to Jenn.

My main objective was to feast on their fish head... so I went for their signature style called "Guai Mei" which means weird taste in English! Rather peculiar choice of name for this dish I'd say. Anyway, like many other restaurants, "song" fish head was used to prepare this dish... it was fresh but the main highlight was definitely the sauce. It tasted spicy (might be very spicy to some people) and sour, surprisingly not over-powering the fish head and went very well with the rice. For RM20, we got a quite big fish head.

Deep fried pork belly with special sauce - the reddish colour of this dish piqued my curiousity. The meat was crispy and similar to those in Bukit Tinggi Pahang taste-wise but the only thing different was the colour. Delicious too!

The usual green :) felt less guilty with it!

All-you-can-eat-white rice

Leo's verdict - It turned out to be a wise decision for us to eat at this place even though the restaurant looked empty when we arrived. To those who are not familar with Kepong area, please do not attempt coming here unless you have friends who know the way, or you have GPS. This area is quite deep inside in between Kepong and Segambut area. The newspaper cutting on the wall stated that the cook is hearing impaired but it is a family business managed by the brothers. Parking can be a headache but the food was good enough to ignore this potential problem.

The place: Jinjang Fish Head @ Jalan 3/36, Taman Sri Bukit Bintang, Kepong

Restoran Sun Huat Kee @ Lucky Garden, Bangsar

I used to come to Lucky Garden in Bangsar often in the past few years. Jenn used to stay nearby when she was still a student so she always have breakfast here. As for me, it was when we bought ourselves a lovely home in BU that she introduced me to this area. Why??? Because we have to pass by Bangsar on the way to her workplace in Mid Valley. Lucky Garden is the best bet to eat breakfast as not many options can be found in Telawi area.

One beautiful morning, both of us had something to do in Bangsar area. Initially we wanted to go to Rice Cafe but it was still closed (it was about 8.30am at that time), so we came to this place instead. During my many visits to these restaurants along this stretch in Lucky Garden, there was not many eateries worth mentioning. Not that the food was bad or anything, it is just decent.

The interior of the restaurant is very simple with many stalls plying their trade here.

Jenn had the pork ball noodle or sam kan zhong in Cantonese... dry version. Taste-wise was OK but it only came with one thin slice of roasted sausage and the pork ball that came separately in another bowl of clear soup was not "Q" or bouncy enough. Even the minced meat was pale (not fragrant enough) in comparison with my favourite in Win Heng Seng. When it comes to this particular dish, I can be very picky as I always compare to my all-time favourite in Jalan Imbi.

My order of yee mee with fish balls was mediocre. The fish balls lacked the bouncy texture that I love while the yee mee was over-cooked, resulting in soft and mushy texture.

Apparently, the famous Soo Kee (Jalan Imbi) has opened a branch here in Sun Huat Kee. Available only for lunch till late night, I read that it cost approx. RM30 onwards per pax. Quite steep if you ask me :) The one I had in Jalan Imbi last time cost almost RM20 only! I guess it's the price to pay for dining in Bangsar??? Better stick to Pan Heong I reckon!

Leo's verdict - parking is relatively easy to find in the morning if you plan to eat breakfast here. If you are not picky with the food and wish to have quick and decent breakfast, then you can check out a few restaurants here. Just don't expect too much OK?