Ahoy in SS 15 should be well known by now. It has been going steady for quite a while I guess. My first time going there with me having a red velvet went ok. Not great, but ok. But hey, I heard they have mains too!!
So for the second time around, I decided to try their Hot and Sour Chicken Wrap set where you add on RM 5 for a cuppa, latte or americano getting the total bill at RM 19.00. The wrap set comes with a small bowl of mushroom soup, a side of a salad along with the wrap itself.
Their tortillia wraps were a little thicker compared to Subway's and the wrap itself, while juicy, was not overflowing with juices and sauces. You get a little pinch of heat but not enough to make you grab a bucket of ice. In fact, to some it would probably go unnoticed. The mint sauce at the side gives you a nice tangy and minty touch or you could just leave it there to be decoration. Personally, I actually find the wrap not bad. Loving the red, yellow and green peppers.
The mushroom soup was very creamy. But I'm spoilt that I like my mushroom soup thickened with potatoes (try it guise, it makes all the difference). People who don't prefer cream might not fancy this since it is quite creamy with a strong dairy taste. I personally get sick of greasy or heavy foods easily so I couldn't finish the bowl. Most of the components were blended finely with a few sliced mixed mushrooms here and there and the earthiness of the mushrooms and the creamyness of the cream gives a large contrast. Which may be a good or bad thing. Personally I would have preferred if they sweated out the mushroom's prior to adding in the soup. And I also got myself a mouthful of pepper (as in an undissolved clump) tho I guess perhaps I was unlucky today.
Salad was simple with lettuce, carrots, cherry tomatoes and Goma (japanese for sesame) sauce. The goma sauce doesn't drench the salad but also is enough to give you some sesame-ness with every bite.
Well this Hot and Sour Chicken wrap certainly doesn't make me burst in flames.
Ok so being called "The Home Cooking Dishes", I'm guessing this restaurant aims to serve food that tastes like home. Ya know when momma too lazy to cook, but you still want to have momma's cooking. My house doesn't do Char Siew tho, but I guess if we did perhaps it would taste like this?
The char siew (RM 14.00 small ; RM 20.00 large) has a good fat to meat distribution. In the sense that instead of typical char siew where the fat is focused at one end, this char siew has fat distributed throughout. Tho some might find the meat a little too fatty. The charsiew is quite flavourful and not tough to the bite, hence those who find typical char siews a little too tough may like this.
If the Glenmarie char siew is the benchmark, this is the more tender, newborn, mellow younger brother. So cute, such soft sweetness and you just feel like pinching it's cheeks. No crunchy outer exterior, so if that is your preference you might want to give this a miss.
So it's ok momma if you don't wanna make no char siew, I got a new momma (or rather, pappa) to do the job for a price. Let's just call it a mutually beneficial food relationship.
That is if you agree this tastes like what your mom would make.
The Home Cooking Dishes Restaurant is in real actual fact.... a house.... so I guess it really does adhere to its "Home Cooking" Slogan. Open from Wednesdays to Sundays for Lunch (12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.) and Dinner (5:30 p.mm - 9:00 p.m.) and only for Lunch on Mondays, this place is not open on Tuesdays. Prior booking is actually required to get a place and this place is apparently famous for a few things. One being their salted chicken (RM 23.80 small; RM 46.00 large)
The salted chicken tastes like something your confinement lady would cook you. The sauce (which is undoubtly the most important part of the dish besides the texturr of the chicken) hits you with saltiness, a kick of rice wine and also a mild hint of gei ji. Texture of the chicken is smooth on parts that can't go wrong such as the thigh or rib area however meat from the breast area seems to be tough. One of the highlighting factors of this dish is the fact that it's made using free range chickens (choi yuen gai) and the chicken itself is quite lean.
In all this probably does taste a little like home. Tho my family would probably add in some ginger, and more rice wine.
Oh and this place is also interesting to noye for having only ONE chef. So unleas you're willing to wait for quite some time, this place might put you off.
And Gordon Ramsay will get a heart attack seeing only one chef in the kitchen.
So... how fat can a spoon get? Quite, apparently. Calling themselves a "Café", Fat Spoon seems like anything but, serving things like rice and noodles that actually fill you up in stead of just cakes and what not a normal café does.
Located in Damansara Uptown, Fat Spoon Café constantly faces the problem of insufficient parking. Twice have I gone during weird hours of the day where the place is empty and I still have to either park far away or double park (sorry!).
The interior of Fat Spoon itself is just georgeous. The wooden tables, some using sewing machines, the chais, the huge mirror. Everything just seems to make you feel excited but calm at the same time and not to mention, if you're a person who loves taking picture of food, the lighting there is superb.
Fat Spoon's Chicken and Fresh Basil Wrap ( RM 11.00 for 4 pcs) is a snack made up if very slightly seasoned chicken with chopped fresh basil wrapped in tortillia sheets. On it's own the wraps taste very light. With very little flavour and the basil almost undetectable. However, dip the wraps in the sauce for a burst of flavour from the soy sauce and shallot mix that compliments the wrap.
The size of the wraps, however does make someone cringe at the price of the dish. Each wrap can be finished in one bite. It's that small. Hence justify the price yourself. But I do wonder if perhaps this was the whole idea of it being a "snack".
Tiramisu in my book comes in the form of creamy cheese layers with spongy coffee-alcohol (KahlĂșa anyone?) filled cake layers in between. However, Food Foundry's Almond Tiramisu (RM 13.00 pre-tax) has brought to my attention a new form of Tiramisu.
The tiramisu had a very creamy, but light fluffy cheese layer which may perhaps mean a high egg white content. But really, it was like cheese clouds in my mouth. The taste of the cheese layer wasn't over powering and did well to balance out the coffee sponge layer. Sweetness meets creaminess in a union of fluffyness and the crunchy caramelized almonds is the icing to the cake.
Perhaps instead for meatballs, cloudy might have wanted to give Tiramisu a go.
For how many years have I prayed (yes, prayed) for snow in Malaysia? Every single year I pray for a white christmas that doesn't garner making a trip to Genting Highlands for fake, dirty, artificial snow that smells funky. Fast forward, I'm 23 and I've given up on Malaysia seeing its first snow ever. Ever.
But hey, if you still love snow and like beer. Or if you love ice cold beer done different, why not try Snow Beer?
Located in the "shady" area of Cheras, 2008 Snow Beer is a restaurant that has its seats all out in the open and is famous for 2 things: their salt baked fish (another post) and their "snow beer".
What is this "snow beer" you asked? Well, what the restaurant does is that it shakes the beer and then freezes it (quite sure you've read or seen this online). They then serve it in chilled (well they freeze them) glass cups and the moment the beer hits the glass, it turns into a slushy like texture. Hence the name "snow beer".
It's just something different and I must admit it does give a very interesting take on beer.
So now you can be asked: would you like your beer room temperature, cold, or snowy?
Kinpachi is a Japanese restaurant on the second floor in SS 17, the same row as Shell and Petron. Declaring itself as an"authentic Japanese Restaurant" the head chef is indeed Japanese and is quite well known among the Japanese who stay in the area probably because 1- they sell various forms of Japanese alcohol and 2- the staff some of them do speak Japanese. Prices are generally quite high as compared to other places especially those which are commercial (for example RM 57 before service charge and tax for an Unajyuu - Unagi with rice) but it still doesn't seem to deter Japanese salary man (that's what they call people who go to the office in Japan) and loyal customers from coming here.
The Yaki Gyozas (pan fried dumplings, RM 14 for 6 pcs) are properly done. Each bite gives you filling as well as flavourful juices like that of a xiao long bao. The gyoza is not big, but is enough to provide you with texture with each bite. Dip in vinegar + chilli oil mixture to cancel out the oiliness and a slight tartness that makes the dish perhaps all the more appetizing.
Presentation isn't its strong point. No fanvy garnishing and no special japanese cutlery. Just a white plate that it almost looks sad.
Overall, this is a properly done yaki gyoza. Not the best Yaki Gyoza, but not bad either. Perhaps instead of "De Gozaru" it makes you wonder if the RM 14 was worth it. Surely there are better gyozas out there "de arimasu...ka?"
Alright so I'm late to the Rekindle scene. This place has been around for as long as I can remember and it now even has a branch in Uptown. And here I am, here after all the hype has died down.
Rekindle is a cafe located in SS 2, a landmark would be the huge Mc Donalds diagonally opposite it. The interior is a mix of brick walls, wooden tables, yellow lights, and oldies playing in the background. Tables accomodate 2-4 and there probably isn't much space for gatherings above 15 people.
A Choclate Baileys cake (RM 16.00 - pre service charge) and Ice Blended Chocolate (RM 12.00 - pre service charge) made its way to my table today. The top sponge cake is infused with Irish Baileys while the bottom half is soft spongey chocolate cake. Topped with crunchy caramelized nuts and not too sweet but rich and smooth chocolate cream.
The taste of the Baileys isn't strong when you eat everything together but it's a light subtle taste in the background that gives it that alcohol kiss of a flavour. The chocolate cream is light, smooth and isn't too sweet while the topped caramelized nuts give it a good texture.
The Ice Blended Chocolate was probably not the best thing to acompany the cake. I would recommnd perhaps a hot chocolate, mocha, or some sort of coffee drink or tea as it balances out the sweetness of the cake and washes it down nicely. A cold drink just fades away in the background and makes the drink unmemorable.
Price-wise it's a little steep. RM 16.00 for the cake and comes with service charge. Not sure if you're willing to pay that price for a slice of cake. Probably a good once-a-week treat. But not something I'll willingly indulge in frequently. Sure the it's good. But for that price, it's better for me to treat it like a vacation to the Bahamas.
So if you can't hold your booze, why not try a Chocolaye Baileys? It lets you live on the edge without making you pass out and bend over a toilet bowl.
Provided of course, you're not THAT sensitive to alcohol.
My my, I seem to be on fire this week. Because yes, it is the mid semester break! While I love cooking, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.
Top Catch Fisheries is no stranger to those who love sashimi. If you like sashimi, chances are you've heard of Top Catch. They claim to bring in fresh goods everyday except Fridays and are open from Tuesdays to Sundays.
The place itself is not much. They aren't a restaurant, they have no fancy tables with air-conditioning. You sit by the roadside on plastic stools and use plastic tables and can also order breakfast from other stalls like pork noodles or chicken rice if you want.
The sashimi itself is cut into thick slices and has a firm texture. Not wet, doesn't taste frozen and doesn't smell. Price goes by the weight, not terribly cheap but not expensive either, and comes with small packets of soy sauce and wasabi but you can also purchase fresh grated wasabi for RM 1.00 per small container. A note is that fresh wasabi ain't got that kick so if you like the self-torturing, runny nose inducing type of wasabi. Go for the free packets.
Ahh Franco. Japanese- French Fine Casual Dining. Or rather as they say "Fine Dining, Cost Friendly). This retails for RM 16.80 pre-10% service charge. No GST.
Vanilla soufflé. Granted I suck at baking. I really do. I can mess up even the easiest no-bake recipes. That's how bad I am at dessert making. And a vanilla soufflé to me is something of master status (yes laugh at me all you want). The vanilla soufflé itself was crispy on top, and soft, smooth, on the inside tho I might argue it's a little. Just a little. Very little. Watery. But I'm no soufflé expert so don't hold that against me. It's... like egg tart custard but add more water, mash it up and more sugar. That's what it tastes like.
Foodgrammers act fast cause this sinks faster than you can say "Bon Appétit".
Franco was something I was telling myself to try for WEEKS. And all started the moment I saw this picture of their Molleaux Au Chocolate which is basically.... chocolate lava cake. Hah.
For RM 12.80, the Molleaux Au Chocolate comes with a side serving of soft serve ice cream "gelato" and a chocolate lava cake that is the size of a DSLR 35 mm lens. Pricey? Perhaps. But hey you're in IOI City Mall. That and they dub their food "fine dining" so you gotta shell out a bit ya know.
So how was the chocolate lava cake? Well of you're talking lava from a dead volcano, this is perfect. From my picture you can see the "lava" is as good as the amount of water you get from the pipes during a water cut. Which can only mean it has been overcooked.
Nonetheless tastewise the chocolate cake, custard filling and ice cream go well together. If you come during 3-6 p.m. you get a complimentary drink of choice from a list and it makes it a little more worth it. But will I come back? Nope. If I wanted to see a dead or sleeping volcano I would have went to Japan or some other nicr fancy country.
Some things are nice in its truest form and syrup is one of them.
Diagonally opposite Hong Leong Bank in Petaling Street is Kim Soya Bean. Small and unsuspecting, you probably wouldn't even notice it unless you looked for it. And missed it many a times have I. This small stall sells tau fu fa (RM 1.60 per bowl; RM 2.00 per box), Soya Bean a.k.a soy milk (RM 1.50 per cup; RM 1.60 per pack; small bottle RM 2.50; Big Bottle RM 7.00) and Soy Milk with Herbal Jelly (cincau) at RM 1.90 per cup or per pack. I had the tau fu fa in black sugar syrup but you can opt to have it in soy milk instead of syrup.
What can I say? The syrup wasn't overly sweet and it tasted so rich. It was a balance between smooth tau fu fa and the rich, thick, undiluted black sugar syrup.
I never knew about this place till a friend told me it was quite a famous stall. I do see why now. Sometimes all you need on a hot day, is a warm bowl of tau fu fa. And remember, there is a plastic bag to throw the bowls away at the stall. Use it.
