Marmalade Cafe @ Bangsar Village 2

Whenever it was past 12pm on weekends, I would normally tell Jenn that I don't wanna drive to the shopping malls anymore. The reason was simple - I don't want to spend 30-45 minutes looking for a parking spot. Those who had faced similar predicament should know how it feel to drive around just to find a empty parking lot. And if you see one, some other cars would probably be waiting for it too. The next thing you know, the excitement is gone and you are left frustrated thinking to yourself "why is it so hard to find a decent parking in this freaking place?"

The alternatives are of course the neighbourhood malls such as Bangsar Village and now also Bangsar Village 2. What not to love about this place? Within 15min drive from my house, parking relatively easy to find, and variety of restaurants to choose from. One Saturday while we were at Bangsar Village 2, we decided to check out Marmalade Cafe which I'd read from Bangsar Babe (http://bangsar-babe.blogspot.com). Since it was almost time for Sher Ryn's afternoon nap, the lunch would be a quick one.

I had the Avocado accents @ RM17 - roasted chicken cubes, peppers, avocado, apples, raisins, cashew nuts & sundried tomatoes over a bed of lettuce with zesty mustard dressing. I just love the colourful salad with so many ingredients that I love to eat. And yes, healthier too!

Smoked salmon quiche @ RM17 - Jenn's choice of this particular quiche proved to be a hit. A baked dish with a delicious combination of eggs, cream, cheese, smoked salmon, onion and leek :)

My choice of drink - Ginger Beer (ahhhhhh) while Jenn had the Cappucino. I don't have to say the bottle of milk is for whom right??? Ever noticed the small leg?

Leo's verdict - I'll be back for more :) period!

King Crab @ SS25/2 Kelana Jaya

Seafood! One cannot help but to associate this magic word with the Chinese. After all, it's our insatiable appetite that drives the price of seafood to a new height! Most of the time, wherever we go to dine there will be at least one seafood dish on the table. Rather than "what kind of seafood that you eat?", I think that the correct question to ask is "what kind of seafood that you don't eat?" LOL!

For those who live in PJ area, we are truly blessed with so many seafood restaurants. From those small restaurants scattered all around, we also have those humongous ones that occupy a plot of land or simply a few shoplots at a stretch. King Crab Seafood Restaurant is definitely one of them as it occupy 5 shoplots including one corner lot. For those who claim that they have never seen this place before, they must have been blind :P I mean, how could possibly one miss such a huge signboard? Highly visible along the LDP, it is located directly opposite Kelana Jaya Putra LRT Station.

But I have to say that I am not a regular diner here, it's just that I make annual pilgrimage here for the seasonal Shanghai Hairy Crab. I'm not going to dwell much into the details on these delectable crabs, as most of you have probably read on other celebrity bloggers' posts. Jenn & I have made a pact between us that we will come here at least once a year to feast on the crustaceans. I mean, we would invite our relatives or friends to dine together as the more people the merrier. Plus we can afford to order more dishes to eat rather than restricted by a few dishes only. But if no one cares to join, we would still honour the pact we've made.

We noticed this promotion board which was placed at the front entrance. As we were not planning to eat poultry, I could utilise the 10% discount on the food.

We arrived around 6.30pm and therefore, the dinner crowd had not started to pour in.. YET!

All the hairy crabs on display, shouting "Come and save us from miseries! Eat us! We're fed up for being chilled for such a long time!" As I've read that the roe (or is it sperm?) of the male is creamier compared to the female counterpart, we opted for the males of course. Priced at RM38, RM78 and RM108 for the small, medium and large respectively.. and being a stingy diner, I went for the small ones.

Chinese tea is a must in order to wash all the cholesterol and oil in body system :P

Dipping sauce for the crabs! If you order the crabs, they normally will serve you this greenish spicy sauce. I was hooked on my first visit and it is a must have on the table everytime I come back here.

For our starter, we had the fresh raw oyster priced at RM8 each! This is how I eat my oyster. A squeeze of lemon juice on the oyster and a few drips of the hot Tabasco sauce and it's good to go!

The highlight of the evening arrived shortly after! Both lined up, ready to be dissected.

First, they would separate the shell from its body.

Using a small pair of scissors, they would expertly separate most of the body parts.

Look at that ROE!!! I was drooling just at the sight of the orange coloured roe.

Close up... tempted already?

Complimentary ginger tea which I love sooooo much to counter the cold effect of crab meat. In the end, Jenn & I had another round of the hairy crabs :) true to what they said, the roe/sperm of the male crab was creamier and sweeter compared to the female crab.

Apart from the crabs, I also ordered Guinness Pork Ribs which was a letdown. The ribs were not fried long enough and as a result, the inner meat was still raw and very tough to chew. I asked the supervisor to come over, complained and asked them to refund on this dish.

Stir fried vegetables with garlic was great! Plump, fresh and very juicy.

Baked sotong with creamy butter was another winner! The lightly battered squid were perfectly deep fried, resulting in crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.

Leo's verdict - I know! The blog came out very late but like I said before, I was both busy and lazy to post frequently. Too many things happened lately and I tried my very best to update at the rate of twice a week (at least once a week). It's already May and the Shanghai Hairy Crab won't reach our shore again at least until October. So who wanna join Jenn & I for MOU HAI (no pun intended... lol!) session this year???

Little Penang Kafe @ KLCC

I must have not gone to KLCC for a VERY long time! The evidence shows when I stepped in front of Little Penang Kafe.. located on the same floor as Kinokuniya. "Isn't this is where Rain Nudle House supposed to be?" I thought to myself. When I asked Pat, he replied "Wah!! It has been replaced by Little Penang Cafe for quite some time already".

As it was lunch time, the place was almost packed to the brim. But we still manage to find a table for four of us. The interior, tables and chairs were identical to their Mid Valley and The Curve outlets.

Choice wasn't that hard to make since I normally ordered the very same dish everytime I dined here - their signature Char Kuey Teow @ RM9.80. For the price, you got a rather big plate of CKT, with cockles, plump bean sprouts, egg all thrown in and lastly topped with crab meat (not those pretentious crab flavoured stick out there) which was like a bonus. Let me see.. wok hei (check!), moderately spicy (check!) Enough to whet my appetite :)

Jenn went for their Chicken Nasi Lemak @ RM9.80 - a simple dish with a piece of chicken rendang. However, she loved it when the rice was served fluffy hot and the aroma of pandan burst out. With compulsory chrunchy anchovies and peanuts that accompanied each and every mouth, this favourite meal of Malaysian is a true delight to eat!

Normally I would only order a glass of water for my meal, but this time my sweet tooth got the better of me. So I ordered a delicious bowl of Cendol @ RM4.50. Sweet note to end the satisfying lunch here.

Lime Juice @ RM4.50... Jenn wanted to quench her thirst and so she got herself a glass of lime juice @ RM4.50 but soon regretted her decision. We were told of an interesting fact while in Krabi. Lime is as we know, very sour if the juice is to be consumed alone. Therefore, a lot of sugar has to be used in order to counter the sourness. This is not good for our health right?

Leo's verdict - One of the next best place to savour Penang delights for those people who don't have time to drive all the way up North. With so many restaurants in Klang Valley that claim to serve authentic Penang food, not many have succeeded in standing against the test of time like Little Penang Cafe. For me, a simple 5 minute drive from my house to The Curve is all I need to enjoy my favourite plate of CKT (plus it's air-conditioned which is a plus). This lunch in KLCC actually reminded me on how long I have not been to their outlet in The Curve.

Just Thai @ 1Utama Shopping Centre

My crave for Thai food is as strong as ever! For those who are sick of hearing how much I love Thai food, it's time to close this window :P

Living in Bandar Utama has its own perks! For one, it only take less than 5min for me to get into my car, drive to 1Utama Shopping Centre, park and start shopping (most of the time it'll be window shopping or just for the sake of bringing Sher Ryn around). I was feeling lazy to drive far these days and therefore, nearby malls are the obvious choice.

We noticed that this place was doing promotion with CIMB, HSBC, One Card with 10% discount given on food & beverages. Feeling lazy to walk further, both of us decided to have our lunch here.

The interior was spacious & cosy, just perfect for us who brought Sher Ryn along.

Both of us opted for dishes that we love... starting with Tom Yam seafood. The thing that I love most is the tomyam but somehow they managed to wreck my appetite!...Salty!

Phad Mee Siam with chicken @ RM12 - Salty!!

Signature Pineapple Fried Rice with Prawn @ RM15 - Salty!!!!

My order of Thai iced tea @ RM9 didn't help either. This drink was similar to 3 layered ice tea with gula melaka & evaporated milk but it was very sweet.

Leo's verdict - Just a few mouth of what we had ordered, I just asked for the bill, paid the money and walked out without even looking back. One word to summarize my dining experience... SALTY!!! The cook must have had a very bad day or in a very bad mood... nonetheless, I don't think that I'll be going back again.