The Diner on Maarof

After reading numerous posting on Shivz, particularly from Joe's... I knew that someday, someday I would be coming here for dinner. But it was like 6 months ago when I read those postings... lol!! Better late than nothing :) Anyway, with the baby along I knew that we couldn't go out too long... so we packed our stuff and drove to Bangsar immediately after Sher Ryn's feeding. Lucky for us that we found a parking spot right in front of the restaurant itself, saving me the hassle to walk all the way (you know how difficult it is to find parking in Bangsar Baru).

Actually I was expecting a lot of diners as it was already dinner time. According to Joe, the restaurant's concept is to provide value for money food and ambience.. but the whole place was almost empty. On the outside... Have I gone to the wrong place??? I walked outside again just to make sure... next to Maybank (check!), Shivz Diner at Maarof (check!), on Jalan Maarof (check!!)

And inside... actually there was only another table of family having dinner. Oh well! At least the setting looked comfortable. We chose a table at the corner end so that we could place the stroller (can you spot my wife and the stroller??)

The interior was quite dim, providing a relaxed environment but then I spotted the club-like bar which was very bright. For once I thought that the whole place would turn into a clubbing scene after certain hour.. lol!!! Oh yes, Bollywood songs were also playing non-stop too... to my dismay and it was quite loud too.

We started our dinner with soup and appetisers. The bruchetta platter (RM8) came first... where the toasted baguettes were topped with mushroom, capsicum, tomato basil and eggplant. While I thought that the ingredients were fresh, the breads were quite hard to chew & rather cold. By the way, I think that they were out of eggplant, as there were two baguettes with mushroom :)

Wild mushroom soup (RM8) - the soup was hot, rich, not overly creamy and prepared with fresh mushroom... just the way I like my soup to be! The complimentary garlic bread was fresh and crispy too. Still I prefer the version with heaps of mushroom chunks in it.

Lemongrass dory (RM15) - it wasn't a hard decision to make as I am a huge fan of lemongrass. I pointed to the dish straight away to the waiter upon sighting the word "lemongrass"... LOL!!! This dish is a pan fried dory marinated in lemongrass mousse and served with cilantro sauce. I hardly tasted the lemongrass flavour due to the strong taste of cilantro sauce. However the meat was firm and flaky. And I love how they actually placed ginger shreds on top of the sauteed potatoes, which were then placed under the dory fish. Accompanied with fresh vegetables, I enjoyed each and every bite. Thumbs up!

Rack of lamb (RM32) - grilled rack of lamb with fresh rosemary sauce and comes with baked potatoes and sauteed vegetables. The rosemary sauce was a killer!! But then the lamb was slightly under-cooked. She promptly informed the waiter at the end of the dinner in which he apologised and promised to improve the quality in the future.

A glass of Shiraz Cabernet for her and a glass of Tiger beer for me. They only have one selection of wine so we had no choice. The wine was quite sour-ish too! My beer??? Ahhhhhh.....

Leo's verdict - the total bill came in at RM91!!! There were no service and government tax charged. Reasonable price for the dishes and service was not bad too... but at that time we were served by a waiter with heavy Indian accent so we had to listen carefully on what he was trying to say. Apart from that... this place is definitely worth a visit! I've set my sight on some other dishes in the menu (now if I could only find the time)

The place : Shivz Restaurant

Pink Sage @ Wisma RA, Jalan Dang Wangi KL

I've been waiting for so long for this day... 30th August 2009. No! Not because of Merdeka eve but because of the meeting with unkaleong and thenomadGourmand. The time was set at 11-ish but due to traffic jam on Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman (it is said that the road in front of Dataran Merdeka was closed to traffic for Merdeka rehearsal which caused the bad crawl), I was a bit late. By the time I reached Pink Sage, I noticed that there were more than 2 of them. Parked my car, and walked to introduce myself to everyone... Becky (finally got to meet this girl), YinYin (brought along her mom who happened to be very nice too), and Lionel! Nice to meet you all!!!

I didn't eat anything for breakfast in the morning and therefore I was very hungry. Most of them had already placed their orders and thenomadGourmand aka Rebecca had even finished a slice of cake >:( grrrr!!!

We quickly browsed through the menu and ordered our brunch... Jenn went for the Egg Benedict with Salmon! She just loves how the perfectly poached egg with runny yolks on top of the french bread and topped with smoked salmon and Hollandaise sauce. It's a perfect way to start the morning for her! YinYin also had the same dish :)

I settled for the super duper large Brunch Plate... my oh my! It was really HUGE! What I got for paying RM32.50 were mushroom omelette, 2 rather long chicken sausages, 2 pcs of smoked salmon with mayonnaise on bread, 3-stack buttermilk pancakes (complete with strawberry and cream), hash brown (supposed to be beef brisket but I can't take beef so they replaced it)... Everything was great! Chicken sausage was just like other sausages out there, hash brown was crispy and not oily (I love that!), pancakes were fluffy and great to go with the strawberry jam, mushroom omelette was simply divine, but it would be perfect if they didn't put mayonnaise on top of the smoked salmon (not a big fan of mayonnaise)! By the way, I think that I have gained another kilo after the meal...

Lionel had the greasy breakfast which comprised of fried egg with corned beef, hash brown, streaky beef brisket and fried tomatoes. But I hardly saw anything greasy with the dish!

Yinyin's mom had the stacked breakfast... with eggs, lamb sausage (you can opt for beef or chicken too), beef brisket, potatoes, mushrooms, beans and toasts. Thumbs up from the lady and echoed by her daughter :) They shared everything!!!

Unkaleong and becky had the 3-stacked buttermilk pancakes. From the outlook itself, one could not resist ordering it... it looked so fluffy and mouthwatering.

Becky in the background pouring strawberry jam on the pancakes while everyone including me started to take pictures!

Unkaleong had been waiting till 12pm to order their lunch menu... fish fillet burger was on his mind this time! The fillet was great! Fresh ingredients and one big crispy fillet sandwiched between two burger buns.

Unka post for the floggers to take picture of him biting the burger. You should have seen how big his mouth was!! Lol...

Some of the drinks included strawberry lychee and peach, avocado & lychee... reminder - the drinks can be quite filling!

Last but not least - Unkaleong, thenomadGourmand and me!!! Let me say this again... it's nice to meet you (^_^)

Leo's verdict - truly happy to meet up with people who have the common passion - FOOD!!! If not for my baby who was crying (sleepy), we would have stayed longer to chat... sorry guys for taking off so early! Catch up again next time OK? Cheers!

Ah Keong Yong Tau Fu Chee Cheong Fun @ Taman Selera Uptown, Damansara Utama

There were times when we suddenly craved for something to eat... so desperate that we had to eat it by hook or by crook! That was what happened to me one particular Friday night when I wanted to eat chee cheong fun. Not any chee cheong fun place... but this... Ah Keong Yong Tau Fu Chee Cheong Fun! Yes the name is indeed very long, but I assume that the proprietor merely wants you to know what kind of stuff he is selling.

Friday night in Damansara Uptown... it was hard to find parking near this hawker centre. What I did was park my car near Public Bank and walked all the way there. Not a very long walk but for someone who sweat easily like me, the task seemed daunting. As I walked along the busy street, I realised that I'd made a wise decision as parking near the hawker centre was packed to the brim.

All the way until I saw this sign... for those who work in PJ area, you should know where this place is right??? huh... a lil fat monkey, bangsar babe.. who else do i miss here? Have you dined here before? This hawker centre has a lot of stalls, mostly enjoying brisk business but my aim is eat the famous chee cheong fun here.

The queue was very long when I arrived... as this stall is very famous among the locals.

How famous??? You will know it when you see the Malays and Indians lining up just to buy the delectable chee cheong fun.. apart from the Chinese.

Armed with penyepit, they just grabbed whatever they want from the trays... onto the orange plate.

Foo chuk, fish ball and others were some of the popular choices.

This is the proud owner, Ah Keong! Sometimes he can be very chatty but there were times when he looked drop dead serious... normal trait for those who work in F&B industry I guess. Normally he would ask if you want kangkung to go with your chee cheong fun or not... please say YES!! Not many stalls offer kangkung but believe me, it's good to go with the chee cheong fun.

The creamy sweet gravy and chilly sauce, ready to be poured onto your plate. Since I ta pao, I asked for extra chilly sauce. Remember - ask for more chilly sauce!

This was what I bought back home... 2 pcs of chee cheong fun, fish cakes, foo chuk, egg plant, char koay, deep fried taufu skin, lady's finger and kangkung in a very big plate... total cost?? RM7.20 :)

Here is how to eat it... kasi banjir! Just pour the sweet gravy and chilly sauce... caution! The chilly sauce can be a little spicy for those who can't take hot stuff. Apart from that... everything was great!!! The plate was literally licked clean after that :)

Leo's verdict - a very satisfying dinner for two and it didn't cost a bomb! Anyone tried this before??? This stall has been one of my favourite place to fix my crave for chee cheong fun since I came to study in KL in 1997!

Claypot Curry Fish Head @ Medan Selera Great Wall, Desa Aman Puri, Sri Damansara

This is a continuation from my Melaka trip last time...

I finally arrived in Sri Damansara at 7++pm after a long journey drive back from Melaka (it's actually a continuation from Cendol Bukit Cina). Dinner time and my stomach started to drum again... "Hmmm, I'm not very familar with Aman Puri" I thought to myself. Don't feel like having a decent dinner at restaurant, as I have another appointment in another hour time in PJ area... so a quick meal should be sufficient. Suddenly a light bulb flashed above my head... I remembered watching Ho Chak introduced a curry fish head stall in a hawker centre. In fact, Jenn and I had tried to come here once but it didn't open for business that day.

This hawker centre is located along the busy road and therefore it is not that difficult to locate. To those who are familiar with this area should be able to find this place easily. If you know where the famous Tak Fook Seafood Restaurant and Old Town Kopitiam are... you will see it. All the stalls are lined up along the road and tables + chairs were placed by road side. If the weather is good, please find a table which is not covered, as it can be quite stuffy if you are seated in covered seats.

I could spot the curry fish head stall somewhere in the middle of the hawker centre immediately. And I ordered for a medium size claypot curry fish head.

Look out!! The dish was served piping hot and you could see the curry gravy still boiling in it! It smelled so good that I couldn't contain my appetite anymore.

The gravy was fragrant and creamy with taufu pok, lady's finger, long bean, brinjal and of course fish head in it... oh yes! And it was a little bit sour & great to go with rice too :) However do not expect to find a lot of fish head inside ok??? It was barely enough the two of us.

Leo's verdict - I almost could not control myself to order another bowl of rice but considering my expanding waistline, I didn't ask for it in the end. Costing only RM15 including 2 bowls of rice, I could say that the dinner was cheap and worthwhile!

Love at First Bite

I could still remember our first time...

It was my first time introduced to you under the very old shack...

You looked so beautiful and tender...

I never thought that I could fall in love so easily...

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a Girl??? Lol... No! It was this legendary Hakka Paikut from Klang. I had forgotten about this place completely, as I'd only come here once about 7 years ago. But then I have not forgotten how great the paikut tasted... and then Jenn bought a food guide! Wah lah... I knew that I'd gotta lay my hands on this delectable dish once again! Coming here or planning to come here isn't easy, as Klang is rather far from PJ and most importantly the traffic in Klang can be chaotic (especially they are upgrading the roads in the city centre) which has been going on for a few years already.

My opportunity came when I had to meet a potential client in Klang. Together with Sean (not eatdrinkKL's Sean but my ex-college mate), I just key-in the street name and then followed the instruction shown by my trusty buddy, Garmin! Somehow I overshot (is this even the correct way to describe?) the lorong and ended up circling the area one more time. Luckily the traffic was good that day.

It was a story from rags to riches! The owner was doing so well that he bought up a corner shoplot and shifted his business here (his old shack was only nearby but demolished for future development). It was lunch time but the restaurant had not packed to the brim.

The menu showed the owner and his wife together with their famous creation... hakka paikut of course!

We settled with several dishes which were enough for two... starting with Hakka meatball at RM1 each! I had not tried this before but the meatball was great! The meat was stuffed with spices and deep fried to perfection. Crunchy on the outside, tender on the inside!

HIGHLIGHT of the day!! And the moment that I'd been waiting for! Pai Kut Wong @ RM8! The portion was enough for 2 person... if you are feeling greedy, there's always RM10 and RM20 version of this dish! The meat was marinated well... very tender and sweet! Definitely a masterpiece!

Water Spinach @ RM3 - tell me! Can you find a RM3 dish anywhere in Klang Valley anymore??? The amount given was generous too!

Asam fish @ RM6 - they also served smaller asam fish for RM5. But for extra RM1, they gave you a bigger fish... why not? Not the best asam fish in town but good enough. The gravy was sour and slightly spicy...

Barley in a bottle - something cool for the hot weather outside!

Leo's verdict - Both the owners were very friendly! Service was quite fast and price-wise, I'd say that it was worth every penny paid! The bill came at RM21.50 for the 4 dishes, 2 rice and a bottle of barley. For an area which is so famous for bah kut teh and seafood, one would not expect to find a restaurant serving Hakka dishes in Klang. Further more, this is a predominantly Hokkien area! Words can't describe on how good the paikut wong is... you just have to come here at least once to try it. Probably the best paikut wong in Klang Valley, as I have yet to find a better one to compare. Apart from that, I heard that their claypot mutton curry is good too! Also their vinegar pig feet and other Hakka dishes.

Drive, take bus, train or whatever mode of transport... get your a@@ here!

The place: Restoran Peng Heong Hakka Paikut @ Lorong Gudang Nanas, Off Jalan Pasar, Klang

Morning Stroll at Petaling Street KL

*Driving out of an apartment somewhere in Jalan Kuching... looking at my watch*
"S**t!! It's only 10.30pm" I thought to myself. Arriving in KL early in the morning, I had just finished my first chore of the day. Since my next appointment was 12pm in Taman Seputih and therefore I had to hang out somewhere nearby. Driving into Jalan Kinabalu, I called Jenn "Hey dear! I've finished my chore in Sri Putramas. It's still early and I have nowhere to go."

Jenn: Where are you now?
Leo: somewhere near Si Cheong Gai lo...
Jenn: Then why don't you make a stop in Si Cheong Gai??

Eh! How come I have not thought of that before? I remembered going to this area quite frequently in the past, more than 7 or 8 years ago when Jenn was still studying in ATC. We were only friends back then. I even worked in this area for a few weeks before shifting to Taman Kenanga. This place need to introduction, as it's commonly known as KL's Chinatown or fondly as Petaling Street to most people.

Luck was on my side, as I found a parking spot once I turned in from Jalan Kinabalu. After parking my car, I called Jenn again. Walking along Jalan Petaling, most stalls had not opened for business yet.

Leo: Harlo! Got anything nice to intro or not? Since you studied here last time...
Jenn: Hmmm... wanna try asam laksa?? There is one which I think quite nice... do you know where Plaza Petaling is?
Leo: Wah lao eh.. how am I supposed to know?? I hardly come here leh..

At this point, a guy who seemed to be working in this area pointed out the building to me... I realised that I was talking a bit loud.. lol!!! I smiled and then gestured to him saying thank you very much. I was actually standing in front of the building itself without realising it. And I saw this Chinatown Food Paradise. "Sounds like those touristy restaurant than those local ones" I thought. The entrance looked like tiger's mouth waiting for its prey to enter.. lol!!!

Anyway, I searched for asam laksa stall and managed to locate it after a short while. Since I had breakfast earlier.. a small bowl of asam laksa was considered enough. It tasted pretty decent... slightly spicy and sourish broth with generous amount of ingredients - cucumber, pineapple, onion, mint leaves and fish. The thick rice noodle was soft and springy... but be careful as I chewed on some fish bones while gulping down the laksa. Price-wise was OK at RM4.50.

I need something to cool down the asam laksa. Walking out of the building, I head towards the busy intersection of Jalan Petaling and Jalan Hang Lekir. My destination?? This particular Air Mata Kucing stall... about all people who come here often will know about this famous stall. The two brothers were so successful that they were able to buy new houses and cars after a few years of operation... sadly though, they were investigated by IRA and later charged with a lot of penalty allegedly for avoiding tax.

Ah!! Nothing beats a cool refreshing drink for only RM1.20!

Alas! It's almost time for my appointment. Walking back towards my car, I noticed this... Washington Cake House tucked inside an old-style kopitiam at the intersection of Jalan Sultan and Jalan Petaling. A lot of elders were seen sitting inside the kopitiam chatting while sipping a cup of tea/coffee. Quite a lot of people actually stopped by to buy some of the pastries. Upon closer look, a lot of newspaper cuttings were shown at the stall showing the boss with his famous creation, sponge rusks!

All the sponge rusks were lined up in front of the stall... costing RM13, I couldn't resist to buy one for myself. The sponge rusks are delicious to be dipped into coffee or tea, or else very crunchy to eat by itself.

That basically summed up my 1 hour excursion in Si Cheong Gai... there are a lot of famous stalls in this area such as Seng Kee claypot lou see fun, hokkien mee, Portugese grilled dish, porridge... that I wanted to come and try. It has been a very long time since I spent some time exploring the food here. what I am going to do now is to gather a few fellow bloggers and then embark on eating spree soon... lol! I have already a few in mind!!!