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Thursday, September 30, 2010

Madam Chiam Curry Noodle House @ Taman Connaught Cheras

To the loyal followers of Axian, you might have heard or come across this place which is located at the busy area of Taman Connaught in Cheras. Surprisingly I have not heard of it until my friend who saw Axian's program started asking me for direction to this place. Armed with a good sense of direction, I can easily pinpoint the exact location of certain places after the first visit. No wonder my friends still call me "Taxi Leo" until today... LOL! But if everything else fails, I still have Garmin module embedded in my E60 :P I hardly utilise my Garmin from the day I installed into my car... what a waste of RM2k++ spent!

Madam Chiam is very popular among those who live in Cheras. When one talks about chilly pan mee, this place would be among the first (if not the first) which comes to mind. Jenn & I stopped by for lunch one Saturday afternoon while on our way to her sister's house in Alam Damai. Parking can be a headache but you can take your chances by parking by the roadside.

Axian's bunting proudly displayed!

This place looked just like regular Chinese kopitiam with plastic tables and chairs. Good thing was that they have a unit of air-conditioner which made the whole place not-so-hot!

Dry chilly pan mee @ RM4.50 - practically the signature dish. Even though the signboard stated "Madam Chiam Curry Noodle House", you can spot a bowl of dry chilly pan mee on each and every table that you see. The thin pan mee resembled those of wantan mee but slightly thicker. It didn't disappoint! This dish really packed a punch after I put all the dry chilly flakes into the mee and stirred with chopsticks. The minced meat, anchovies, half-boiled egg & chilly flakes combined really well to make each and every slurp a delight! However, they served spinach soup instead of using sweet potato leaves that I like (which was quite a letdown)

Curry Pan Mee @ RM4.50 - Jenn's choice of curry pan mee was normal. The curry broth was good but not the best that she had! Cockle lovers take note - look closer :)

Both of us had the boiled chrysanthemum tea to counter the spicy-ness of the pan mee.

Madam Chiam Curry Noodle House
Jalan Cerdik, Taman Connaught Cheras

P.S: Non-halal

Leo's verdict - This particular restaurant serves only noodles such as traditional pan mee, chilli pan mee, curry noodles, wantan mee and the list goes on. I don't mind going back there again to satisfy my craving for chilly pan mee... after all, I have yet to find a place that can match its taste.

Disclaimer:
1) I'm not paid to promote/endorse any particular event, restaurant or person in this blog. ALL are based on my unbiased personal opinion.
2) My reviews are based on my personal taste and preference and therefore may vary for others.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Cempaka Village @ Jalan PJU 1/45, Aman Suria PJ

I first came to know about this place from masak-masak's (http://masak-masak.blogspot.com) blog. However, I kinda forgotted about this place completely after that. One morning while I was driving in Aman Suria area to look for places for breakfast, I spotted Cempaka Village sign.

A quick chat with the owner revealed that she was the proprietor of Molly's Place in Damansara Kim. She relocated here after the building was sold to the Dragon-i Group and converted into their management office - and then changed the concept to Penang fares, hawker style :) Jenn loved to go to Molly's Place for dessert while on her way back from work in the past. Looking at the interior, it was less formal compared to Molly's Place.

Char koay teow with duck egg @ RM5.80 - a few of those handful places that offer duck egg with CKT. Throw in plump & juicy bean sprout, lap cheong (waxed sausage) as well as some cockles ("si ham" to the Chinese) and it's good to go. I love the fact that it was slightly spicy and the duck egg provided good aroma to it, but somehow it lacked of what we love about fried dishes - WOK HEI!! Not bad tasting though

Otak-otak toast set @ RM3.50 - Contrary to Otak-otak Place that serves the toasted breads and otak-otak separately, this place did everything for you. The layer of otak-otak was quite thick and it was still hot, making it a good toast :)

Barley Fu Chuk @ RM2.00 - Jenn loved her bowl of barley fu chuk as it was thick and flavourful.

Leo's verdict - Opened for business from 8am to 7.30pm. I noticed that they also serve economy rice to cater to the working crowds but of course, from lunch onwards. The food here is priced slightly higher than the hawker stall counterpart but served in a much nicer and cleaner environment. Service is also fast and friendly.

Cempaka Village
D-G-31, Jalan PJU 1/45
Aman Suria
Petaling Jaya

Disclaimer:
1) I'm not paid to promote/endorse any particular event, restaurant or person in this blog. ALL are based on my unbiased personal opinion.
2) My reviews are based on my personal taste and preference and therefore may vary for others.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Kitchen Creature @ Centrepoint Bandar Utama PJ

Kitchen Creature is relatively new in Bandar utama's scene. Occupying the same spot as where Manhattan Fish Market used to be, I spotted them from the day they started renovation until the day they opened for business. From time to time Jenn & I would come here for quick lunch or dinner, especially when we felt lazy to venture far. Parking is definitely a breeze compared to the ever popular 1Utama Shopping Centre.

So when my friends came looking for me one day, I suggested this place for dinner. Definitely look impressive from outside!

All of us raved on the interiors too - neat, organised and brightly lit with a lot of pendant lights!

Menu was printed on a piece of paper similar to our buku latihan (exercise book) during our school days!

Creamy Wild Mushroom Soup @ RM5.80 - loved the crunchy croutons with each and every scoop of the soup. Quite filling as the plate was rather huge!

Grilled Lamb Chop @ RM16 - served with choice of brown, mint or signature chilly lime cilantro sauce. A chunky portion of red meat without the gamy taste normally associated with lamb

Chicken Cutlet @ RM11 - breaded, boneless chop with sweet peas and fries. For that price, once can't complain much :)

Grilled chicken, calamari & shrimp @ RM29 - with sauce, chips and buttered veggies.

Marinara @ RM13 - spicy with seafood. For the amount of seafood they put in, it’s a steal. I liked the sauce as well.

House special root beer @ RM4.50 - with ginger slice.. DILUTED!

Limey George @ RM7 - ribena, sprite & lemon. Refreshing although diluted.. I mean, VERY DILUTED!

Leo's verdict - "No Frills Dining" actually means great foods & great value with no extra costs of any kind. No Government tax and no service charge. This is the unique selling point of the restaurant. All the portions were very generous and taste-wise although not the best in town but the selling point IS the price! I wondered why there were no complains by other bloggers when they attended the food tasting organised. Or did George Creature practice different standard for regular customers? Hmmmm... can't give out any final verdict first! I have to go there the second time to see if the standard remains the same or not... since it's so near where I live

Disclaimer:
1) I'm not paid to promote/endorse any particular event, restaurant or person in this blog. ALL are based on my unbiased personal opinion.
2) My reviews are based on my personal taste and preference and therefore may vary for others.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Uncle Prawn @ Sunway Giza, Dataran Sunway Kota Damansara

Hmmmm... where should I start??? More precisely - how should I start??? I wanted to write a glowing review on this restaurant. Believe me - I WANTED! I have actually just got back from having dinner with my friends at Uncle Prawn. Here is how the story goes.

The first time that I heard about Uncle Prawn was, of course, from my fellow blogger friends who had gone there for food tasting not long ago. After reading on the ravings on all the food served here, I could not hardly wait for the opportunity to feast on their signature tai tau har or big head prawn myself. The image of the sweet & succulent prawns waiting to be devoured kept running through my mind as I enthusiastically promoting this place to one of my best friends who came visiting.

So imagine my excitement as I spotted this sign.

We were seated inside the air-conditioned area

The kitchen seemed small with all the cooks rushing the orders! You could easily spot them as you walked through the main door. Ever noticed all the papers pasted on the glass??? Those were the orders from customers - they simply pasted on the glass once the orders were taken, including mine. To me, this method was too disorganised and something might have gone wrong along the way. It DID! And unfortunately, it happened to me.

Let me start with the supervisor who took my order - did I accidentally step on her feet as I walked in? Did I owe her money? or was she having a bad day at work? nonetheless, never pissed off the customers (me & my friends) by showing the sulky face. She never once smiled and seemed unhappy when I refused to order fish when she persistently promoting their fish. Thanks but no thanks as I wanted to try the prawns... if I wanted to eat fish, I have plenty of supplies back in my hometown.

I tried not to be affected by that kind of service & just waited for the food to arrive while catching up with my friends whom I have not seen for quite some time. The jasmine tea that we ordered had bitter taste in it - a characteristic found in those inferior quality tea.

First thing that arrived at our table was the Signature taufu - I forgot its name but the taufu was mixed together with spinach, hence the greenish colour inside. Topped with minced meat and spring onion, this dish was a delight to eat... probably the only dish that I enjoyed that night

Pan fried prawn with special soya bean sauce - no complain on the fresh & succulent prawn but for RM25, I expected bigger prawn instead of medium sized ones. The soya bean sauce used was superior as it had sweetish note but I still prefer Lung Seng's version.

Kam heong lala came next - the sauce was great to be paired with the white rice. However, the clams had tasted weird for some reasons (I suspected that they were not fresh!)

Butter sauce squid sliced came next - initially I wanted to try the salted egg yolk version of the squid but it was not available. Came to think of it, I noticed a lot of "NOT AVAILABLE" sign pasted in its menu that day. My friends seemed to like this dish but I think the sauce was too rich for me. And it wasn't only me but all of us thought that the batter was too thick.

By that time, Uncle Prawn was already full-house and some patrons were seen waiting for tables outside the restaurant. The situation was very chaotic but we thought of nothing. We just chatted while waiting for the remaining two dishes to arrive. 20 minutes passed and the dishes had not arrived at our table. That was when I saw a plate of stir fried hong kong baby cabbage came out from the kitchen. Imagine how surprised I was when the waitress gave it to another table directly behind us!!! They have just arrived less than 15min! I quickly signalled the supervisor to come and complain - she then realised that my remaining orders might have been misplaced.

French style cheese baked prawn came after another 10min - the cheese was good but somehow it overpowered the taste of the prawn. I should have ordered different style instead of this (my fault!)

Imagine my frustration when the HK baby cabbage had still not arrived when we finished the prawn. I called the supervisor again and asked her to cancel the dish.

Leo's verdict - no offense but this place was over-rated IMHO. Their service was under average, all the staffs were disorganised, my order was misplaced and lastly but not least, there were flies flying around inside the restaurant causing much nuisance while we were eating. A restaurant of this caliber shouldn't have flies in its compound, especially when it is air-conditioned! I had set the expectation too high when I read so many blogs raving about this place and perhaps that was why I felt very disappointed. There is always difference in service when they (the restaurant) expected food bloggers to come compared to those who came unexpectedly (in this case it was me). If you asked me if I would ever come here again, I'd say DUNNO... maybe YES but not for the time being. I have yet to try their sang har meen and the pork dishes (my friend is although a Chinese but doesn't eat pork).

ONE THING FOR SURE - THE STANDARD OF SERVICE DEFINITELY HAS TO BE IMPROVED! GET RID OF THE FLIES PROBLEM AND INSTALL SMILES ON EACH AND EVERYONE WHO WORKED THERE (NO ONE LIKES TO SEE FROWN FACES WHEN THEY ARE DINING.

P.S: Non-halal

Uncle Prawn,
Unit A-15, Sunway Giza,
Jalan PJU 5/14,
Dataran Sunway Kota Damansara,
47810 Petaling Jaya.
Tel: +603 6148 1998

Disclaimer:
1) I'm not paid to promote/endorse any particular event, restaurant or person in this blog. ALL are based on my unbiased personal opinion.
2) My reviews are based on my personal taste and preference and therefore may vary for others.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Restoran Annie1 Kopitiam @ Damansara Utama PJ

PJ is nothing short of good food to eat - those who practically live in this area their entire lives would agree with me indefinitely :) and given PJ has attained its "bandaraya" status, the second city to achieve so after KL (duh!)... many business has shifted/expanded from other states to PJ in order to capitalise (or serve) on the highly populous city.

This restaurant cum kopitiam is one of the latest to set up business is this busy commercial area of Uptown. The "famous menglembu wanton mee" printed on the awning piqued my interest. For one, I have never been to Menglembu in Perak before and secondly, I wonder if the wanton mee served here can compete with my all-time favourite (747 Kopitiam in Aman Suria). FYI, I have passed this place several times and noticed that it is almost packed everytime. Both Jenn & I could not agree on what to have for breakfast on Sunday (12/9) and suddenly this place came across my mind. She was hesitant at first but after much persuasion, she gave in.

Arriving around 8.30am, there were already a few families enjoying the breakfast. I noticed a smile on Jenn's face, as the place was airy and cool (unlike 747) which was perfect for Sher Ryn to enjoy her meal together with us. If you notice, there are more small tables compared to the big ones. I reckon that the owner's main business came from the office workers in this area who usually come in a group of 2-5, hence the arrangement.

Menu was simple with A4 sized laminated paper with food list on the front and drink list at the back.

Our drinks comprised of Ipoh White Coffee Ice for me and Teh-C for Jenn. One sip of the white coffee and my eyes lit up. Definitely not one of those diluted coffee normally served in those cheapo kopitiam who only care to maximise profit. A good cuppa coffee is very important to me to enjoy breakfast :) but Jenn's Teh-C was so so only.

My plate of Wanton Mee with Char Siew and Wanton @ RM5.20 came shortly after. One bite was all it took to send me to heaven. I don't know if they ever toss the noodle high up in the air to drain the excess moisture or even put it through cold bath, but the noodle texture was springy. The char siew was tender and had the melt-in-the-mouth experience. Crunchy cabbage (with a hint of sesame oil) was thrown in together with a bowl of wanton soup. Not the best wanton that I've ever tasted but good enough!

I was so engrossed in my plate of wanton mee that I forgot to take a picture of Jenn's choice of English Breakfast which made up of 2 fried egg, toast, 2 pcs of bacon, baked beans and pork sausage (yes! it's pork and not chicken). Costing RM11, both of us thought that it was slightly expensive but on the other side, everything was not so oily plus the crispy bacon & pork sausage.

Leo's verdict - paging J2kfm, if you read this... do you know where this place is located in Menglembu?? Have you ever tried at their original outlet there? Good thing is that I don't have to go all to Perak just to try this. Starting at RM4 for a plate of wanton mee (minus the char siew), no wonder this kopitiam is a success in Uptown. Definitely give 747's char siew a run for its money.

Address:
No.20, Jalan SS 21/58,
Damansara Utama, PJ

Disclaimer:
1) I'm not paid to promote/endorse any particular event, restaurant or person in this blog. ALL are based on my unbiased personal opinion.
2) My reviews are based on my personal taste and preference and therefore may vary for others.
3) Non-Halal

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Mo Sang Kor Bah Kut Teh @ Leboh Bangau, Taman Berkeley Klang

From the first sip of Mo Sang Kor's BKT in Hutong Food Court, Jenn & I had fallen in love with the thick herbal flavour. Although they can really try to use a bigger bowl because the amount of soup given was rather puny! We'd been told that this is the way that they have been doing business spanning 3 generations. Since the price to eat BKT in Hutong Foodcourt was RM16++ for a bowl of rice + BKT (meat of your choice) and a glass of iced tea, which we thought were rather exorbitant, we decided to go to their Klang outlet instead.

Utilising the power of Google (well, who doesn't use Google nowadays?), I searched for the nearest Mo Sang Kor outlet in Klang. Their Pandamaran outlet popped out first.. "too far" we thought! Then Berkeley Park's name appeared and the whole world seemed brighter again :) both of us agreed that the best time to enjoy BKT was early morning... I mean, VERY EARLY.. when everyone was still in dreamland. Imagined our excitement when we spotted this sign as we drove by.

The excitement was shortlived when we were greeted by this sight! Unbelieveable!!! I looked at my watch and it showed 8am. I couldn't believe that I actually had to wait for table at this hour! The rather stuffy interior didn't help much either as Sher Ryn could get grumpy anytime. Lady Luck must be with me this time as I spotted someone leaving after 5 min!

We quickly placed out order before I spotted a familiar face! This guy was the one that we saw in Hutong Foodcourt. I smiled and had a quick chat with him. He told me that he helped out at this place from 7am onwards and would then rush to downtown KL (Hutong Lot 10) to start preparing for business at 11am (he had to get there at 10am). His wife would then continue his work.

He seemed to know what I was doing and promptly asked me to feel free to continue taking pictures, starting with this huge pot filled with various parts of the pork. Just at the sight of it made me hungrier than ever!

Mo Sang Kor's version of BKT in a pack ready to be made right at the comfort of your home. Anyone?? I did.. and it tasted nothing like I had here so just forget it OK?

I brought along my own vintage Puer - perfect to wash down all the oil from consuming BKT! They do have their own tea should you don't have any.

Old-school style of boiling water!

Our orders arrived in less than 10min which was rather fast considering the outlet was in its maximum capacity! My stomach drummed at the sight of the porky-licious BKT

Paikut (ribs) @ RM7.50,

Nuan kut (soft bones) @ RM7.50,

and pork tendon (from its knuckles) - only available on weekends and in limited numbers so if you want to savour this part please be early!

considering amount of works required to extract the tendon from the knuckles and therefore the price is higher compared to the former two.. I think it's about RM9 for this bowl alone. Take a closer look at the part which is full of collagen goodness :)

A new pot was brought out shortly after.. replacing the previous pot which was already empty (I think in less than 20min).

Nothing was spared and by the end of the meal, we had to drink a lot of tea to wash down the oil! BURP!!!

Leo's verdict - what I like about each and every bowl of the BKT was that it contained a piece of mushroom. Being a sucker for mushroom, I couldn't help but rave about this fact! LOL! I don't know about their Pandamaran outlet but be prepared to spend considerable time to find a table. After all, the outlet is located in an intermediate shoplot unit and therefore, tables are limited! Apparently they have opened another outlet in Bandar Puteri Puchong. Maybe that's where I'll go if I crave for Mo Sang Kor's BKT. But then Pao Xiang is conveniently located in 1Utama and offers similar version of BKT... and although I prefer Mo Sang Kor's BKt, I'd settle for Pao Xiang most of the time due to the proximity to my house in BU!!! And for those who sweat easily, be prepared as I was drenched by the time I finished the meal.

P.S: Non-halal (what? you expect BKT to be halal?)

Disclaimer:
1) I'm not paid to promote/endorse any particular event, restaurant or person in this blog. ALL are based on my unbiased personal opinion.
2) My reviews are based on my personal taste and preference and therefore may vary for others.