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113 FRIED PORRIDGE SHOP

Posted by Criz Lai On June - 22 - 2008

Note: The restaurant has shifted to the main road of Jalan Fettes Park opposite Prima Tanjung. Items sold are still the same.

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Most of you will exclaim “What? Porridge is porridge. How could it be fried?” Well, there is such a thing as that, although it is not the in-thing in Penang. Cooked porridge is stir fried in a wok with some herbs and spices, together with pork, prawns, cuttlefish strips, dried shrimps and Chinese leek (koochai). In fact, it looked just like dark soy sauce porridge but the taste is unique. Here is how the dish looks like.

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Four of us visited this shop which has relocated there from Jalan Burma (next to Ribs Restaurant). We spent barely RM31 on all the food we had ordered and RM5 for the drinks. Firstly, we tired out on of their set meals, which was the Sweet and Sour Pork set (RM4.50). You can order any one dish from their list of food in the menu and rice for only RM4.50. My recommendation would be the Curry Wild Boar set which will always be fresh as the owner hunt the boar himself.

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The next dish which I would always order when I am there would be the Moonlight Hor Fun. A fresh raw egg would be added onto the hot steaming Hor Fun. Upon served, you have to mix the egg thoroughly. This dish may look raw to some but once you have a taste of the dish, you would not regret ordering it during your next visit.

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Next on the list was the Oyster Omelette (RM6). Most shops would add starch to their Fried Oyster and scramble it. This shop will just use big juicy oysters and fried them together with fresh eggs. This dish is yummy!!

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Another dish which you should try is the Black Four Seasons Beans (RM7). Young long beans are deep fried and then stir fried with dried shrimps in dark soy sauce. Real yummy when taken with hot steaming rice.

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Lastly, another dish which you should not miss out will be their house speciality – the Yunnan Tofu (RM6). Fresh soft tofu is mashed and mixed with eggs, dried shrimps and chopped wood fungus and then steamed again. The cooked steamed tofu will then be dip into tapioca flour and deep fried to perfection.

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Do watch out for their latest lunch offer – One bowl of rice + one dish of your choice + one bowl of soup = RM4.50

The road to Batu Maung is not as confusing as before after the Government had built an expressway (Jelutong Expressway) straight into the town. To get to the shop, just drive towards Batu Maung from the Jelutong Expressway. As you reach the last traffic lights in Batu Maung, turn right. You will see World Fish Centre on your right. When you reach the traffic light, turn left and you will see a stretch of shophouses. The shop is just a few shops away within Seong Iping Café premises.

113CAFEMAP

Name: 113 FRIED PORRIDGE SHOP @ SEONG IPING CAFE
Address: 47, Laya Batu Maung, 19300 Bayan Lepas, Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 016-428 9113
Opening Hours:
11.30am – 3.00pm, 6.00pm – 10.30pm (Closed Alternate Thursday)
GPS: 5.285879, 100.282495

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 8/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

HOME RECIPE FOOD CORNER

Posted by Criz Lai On June - 14 - 2008

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I was at Prangin Mall few days back and had lunch with one of my friends during his lunch break. We decided to drop by Home Recipe Food Corner since the set meals there looked reasonable with a net price of not more RM14. Set meals meant to be fast right? But that wasn’t the treatment we had received. With the limited one hour of lunch time, we had to forgo the desserts and yet paid for the same amount. I will tell you the reasons at the end of the post.

The set meals came with free drinks, one Iced Lemon Tea and one Lime Juice. Both tasted extremely sweet. It’s bad for those healthy conscious people.

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Next came the soup of the day – Mushroom Soup. The soups were diluted but yet edible. I doubt that it is made from some secret home recipes.

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Here were the main courses we had – Cheese Satay Chicken Chop (RM13.90 set) and Sour Plum Chicken Chop (RM12.90 set). The Cheese Satay Chicken Chop presentation was real impressive with baked cheese on top but the taste was just normal. Nothing special and the chicken chop size was rather small. The Sour Plum Chicken Chop on the other hand was also the same, nothing special. I guessed the chef did not marinate the meat before hand.

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As for the desserts, we had some problems with that. It was to be fresh cut fruits and a scoop of ice cream. We waited almost 25 minutes after the main course but we were not served at all. I was rather irritated by their service. 3 staff and a chef but no one served us. Not that the place is extremely big not to notice us. One staff was busy checking out the latest fashion trend opposite the shop. One was busy chatting with the other and the chef did not even push them to check on the completion the customer’s set meals.

My advice to the boss, do not get school boys and girls to handle your business if they are not serious at all. You may lose your business. After all, they only realized about their faults after we had decided to pay and leave for work. So what would you choose? Take the delayed serving of desserts or get a black record in your company for coming back late? As for my recommendation on this place, I won’t advice at all unless you are extremely hungry to consume the whole set courses and with ample time in hand.

HOMERECIPEMAP

Name: HOME RECIPE FOOD CORNER
Address: Level 3, Atrium A, Prangin Mall, Penang, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 12.00noon – 9.30pm
GPS: 5.414534, 100.331290

RATING:
Ambience: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 7/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 5/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 2/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

YAW’S ROAST AND GRILL

Posted by Criz Lai On June - 9 - 2008

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Have you heard of Yaw’s Roast & Grill before? Maybe this name is rather new to you but this western food corner used to be from one of the famous western food restaurants along Jalan Burmah in Penang many years ago. It was formerly called Top Top Snack Bar & Restaurant. The western food corner has been operating there for many years in a residential house. The taste for the food served has not change but the menu surely increased a lot.

If you love to have some quiet moments in a nice and cozy place, spending some romantic moments as well in a dim lighted corner, do check out this place. The best is that you do not need to pay extra for whatever taxes that you normally pay in any other restaurants.

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Since I was around that area, I decided to patronize this place with a friend. We ordered the Soup of the Day @ Onion Soup (RM6.50) as appetizer, Black Pepper Chicken Chop (RM7.50) and a Chicken Minced (RM8.80). All together plus drinks, we paid only RM25.80 which is reasonable for such quality food.

Garlic toasts were given complimentary from the kitchen, slightly toasted to perfection with yummy garlic butter and herbs.

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The Onion Soup was also perfect, creamy yet did not have the over-powering taste of onions at all. It came garnished with some crouton (small pieces of deep fried cubed bread) and celery.

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The Black Pepper Chicken Chop was also great. It has crunchy deep fried chicken topped with thick not-so-hot black pepper gravy, suitable for kids too. In fact, I did ask for an extra bowl of the gravy without additional cost incurred.

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If you are a potato lover, you would love this dish – the Chicken Minced. It is actually a ring of buttered mashed potatoes, slightly baked and garnish with the chef’s special creamy chicken cube gravy. This is a must to try out. Do not underestimate the look of the portion served. It is really very filling.

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To get to the place might be quite confusing as it is hidden from the main access road with no signage at all. If you are coming from town towards 1-Stop Midlands Centre, you will see Convent Pulau Tikus on your right. Turn into the road (Lebuhraya Maktab) immediately after that. Drive forward and turn into the second road (Jalan Midlands) on your left. As you reach the first junction (Gerbang Midlands) on your left, find a parking space nearby. The place is just at the corner house.

YAWSMAP

Name: YAW’S ROAST & GRILL
Address: 1, Gerbang Midlands, 10350 Penang, Malaysia.
Tel: 604-227 6273 / 012- 484 8178
Opening Hours: 5.30pm – 11.00pm (Closed Monday)
GPS: 5.435490, 100.307708

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 9/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

FUN TEA GARDEN / DYNAMIC CAFE

Posted by Criz Lai On June - 7 - 2008

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Do you want to have freshly cooked dim sum with freshly peeled prawns? You should consider checking out this new dim sum shop called Fun Tea Garden in town, just opposite Pizza Hut, Prangin Mall. There are many varieties of food to choose from ranging from century eggs broth, dumplings, steamed buns of different fillings (Bao), deep fried prawn roll, egg custards, sesame glutinous rice balls, paper wrapped chicken, sweet vinegar pork legs, and many more. On top of these yummy choices, you can also order noodles such as fried hor fun, fried ee mee, fried fish bee hoon and so on.

Presently, with the new opening in late May, the dim sum tea house will waive any teas ordered in June with a minimum order of RM5.00. Not bad right? You could at least save up some charges on drinks. We tried out a few plates of their recommendation and paid barely RM15.


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Here are some other types of the dim sums served in the tea garden.

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The dim sums would be served up to 12 noon but you can opt for their economy rice. The tea garden also provides many tasty dishes with rice up to 1am. The menu changes daily too. Here are some of the dishes served there.

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It is not hard to find the tea garden as it is strategically located opposite the Prangin Mall’s Pizza Hut. Drive from Penang Road into Jalan Dr. Lim Chwee Leong (previously Prangin Road), and you will reach a traffic light. The tea garden is on your left. You can find some parking by the road side or in a car park on your left before the next traffic light.

FUNTEAMAP

Name: FUN TEA GARDEN / DYNAMIC CAFE
Address:
150 & 152, Jalan Dr. Lim Chwee Leong, 10100 Penang, Malaysia.

Tel: 013-421 1274 (Danny Ooi)
Opening Hours:
Dim Sum: 7.30am – 6.00am (Closed Thursday)
Economy Rice: 5.30pm – 3.00am (Closed Thursday)
GPS: 5.414822, 100.332148

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 8/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 7/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)


CRYSTAL JADE MEAL3

Posted by Criz Lai On June - 6 - 2008

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After shopping in the Pavilion KL, three of us decided to retire in Crystal Jade Meal3 Restaurant in the mall for dinner. The ambience of the restaurant was great with some soft music being played throughout our meals. Since I was still quite full with all the eating sprees, I ordered some appetizers such as Deep Fried Salty Cuttlefish and a Puffy Mushroom Soup. The cuttlefish was just average. It tasted like soggy tempura, mixed with some chili sauce and sprinkle with salt water. Nothing very special at all. The mushroom soup tasted like diluted instant mushroom soup topped with not-so-puffy pastry. They could have done better with this dish.

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One of my friends ordered the Baked Rice with Seafood and Cheese. This dish tasted real great with generous amount of clams, mussels, squids and prawns. The creamy cheesy topping was matching enough with rice.

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The other friend of mine ordered Aglio D’Olio Chix. It looked like spaghetti bolognaise but the taste was totally different. The chef did a bad combination of mixing spaghetti with some blended chili and herbs. On top of that, the chicken topping tasted like not marinated chicken coated with flour. Impressive presentation but taste wise was poor.

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Maybe I was born and bred in Penang and got used to the rich taste of the food prepared here. Overall, with 3 drinks and 3 glasses of water plus 10% service charge and 5% government tax, the bill came up to RM81.55 which is quite pricey for the quality of food served.

The restaurant has many branches all over the world and 6 branches in Kuala Lumpur. There are two in the Pavilion, three in Midvalley Megamall and one in Lot 10. To get there, just walk into Pavilion Kuala Lumpur along the famous Bintang Walk (Jalan Bukit Bintang) and get a Pavilion map from the customer service counter. Find your way to the level 3 outside corridor of the mall. The restaurant is just right at the corner. This place also has bar corner for you to laze about and relax until quite late into the night.

CRYSTALMAP

Name: CRYSTAL JADE MEAL3 @ PAVILION KL
Address:
Lot C3.02, Level 3, The Pavilion
168 Jalan Bukit Bintang,
55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: 603-2148 2116
Opening Hours: 10.00am – 10.00pm
GPS: 3.148518, 101.713936

RATING:
Ambience: 8/10
(1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 7/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 6/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 7/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

FEI KAY KLANG BAK KUT TEH

Posted by Criz Lai On June - 4 - 2008

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Whenever Penangites think about Bak Kut Teh, it will always be the soup based type where they will choose whatever parts of the pork which interest them most. Recently, I was invited by a friend in Klang to try out one of the best Bak Kut Teh there. To my surprise, the Bak Kut Teh came in two types – the dry and the soup based. The soup based Bak Kut Teh was like those served in Penang except that the pork inside were meaty choice pieces. But the dry one made me want to go back there again to eat more.

The meats, mostly belly parts were cooked in herbal soup and then cut into smaller pieces. The meat were then fried in some yummy dark sauce, cuttlefish strips, sliced lady’s fingers, dried chillies and some mushrooms and brought to boil in a claypot to maintain its hotness. You should try out this yummy dry version.

The two claypots of Bak Kut Teh cost 3 of us only RM23 with 5 bowls of rice. Here are the photos on how the Bak Kut Teh looked like.

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The restaurant is within the Taman Bayu Perdana area along the main road of Persiaran Pegaga. You would not miss the place as it has an airplane logo on the sign board. If you are not sure, just ask around as most of the Klang people would know the location of this shop.

FEIKAYMAP

Name: RESTORAN FEI KAY
Address:
95 (Tingkat Bawah), Persiaran Pegaga,
Taman Bayu Perdana, 41200 Klang, Selangor, Malaysia.
Tel: 019-340 8883 (Fei Kay)
Opening Hours: 8.00am – 10.00pm
GPS: 3.019970, 101.431875

RATING:
Ambience: 5/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 7/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

KOPITIAM SOON LEE

Posted by Criz Lai On June - 2 - 2008

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As you know, I was down in Selangor for a few days and I was brought by the boss/cook of Restoran Goh Teo Kee (Pg) to one of the best seafood restaurants that I have ever been to. I must admit that the food there tasted even better than most seafood restaurants in Penang. Kopitiam Soon Lee is just located a few minutes’ drive away from Mines Shopping Fair / Mines Wonderland / MIECC. The success for this restaurant lies in their secret sambal (chili paste) recipe.

Seven of us went and we ordered 6 dishes which comprised of Grilled Lamb Chop, Spicy Stir Fried Squids and Clams, Steamed Chicken with Ginger and Dong Quai, Grilled Sting Ray and Stir Fry Brussel Sprouts. In fact, the squids tasted so fresh and tender that we ordered another plate. I would highly recommend this Spicy Stir Fried Squids dish.

With the amount of food, the price paid can be considered real cheap. Here are the breakdowns of the total cost for the meal (RM144.30 including rice and drinks) for 7 persons. Grill Sting Ray (RM19), Steam Chicken with Ginger and Dong Quai (Chinese Angelica or Female Ginseng) (RM26), Spicy Stir Fry Squid (RM15 x 2), Spicy Stir Fry Clams (RM15), Grilled Lamb Chop (RM15), Stir Fry Brussel Sprouts (RM10) and 5% Government Tax.

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The super nice shop is located about 5 minutes drive away from Mines Shopping Fair. Just follow the map towards Seri Kembangan and you will not get lost. Your effort in finding the place will surely be rewarded with the best seafood in Seri Kembangan.

SOONLEEMAP

Name: KOPITIAM SOON LEE
Address:
No.21-1, Jalan SP 2/1, Serdang Perdana,
43300 Seri Kembangan, Selangor, Malaysia.
Tel: 603-8941 5144
Opening Hours: 10.00am – 1.00am (Closed Tuesday)
GPS: 3.032387, 101.707853

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10
(1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 8/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 9/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

J.CO DONUTS & COFFEE

Posted by Criz Lai On June - 1 - 2008

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If you are thinking of grabbing the hottest craze in town, you can visit Pavilion Kuala Lumpur to savor the J.Co Donuts. The donuts are made fresh daily and have many flavors such as Hazzle Dazzle, Cheese Me Up, Alcapone, Glazzy, Coco Loco, Miss Green Tea, Why Nuts, JCrown Oreo, Mango Blitz, Oreology, O’ Kaya, Golden Ring and many more. A box of 6 combinations as shown in the photo below will cost RM11.50, inclusive a 5% Government tax.

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If you are in for sweeter stuff, J.Co would be the right choice to pay a visit. You can even try out their special beverages such as Ice Chocolate, Green T Freeze, Caramelita Freeze, Hot Cappuccino, JCool Yogurt and many more or you can create your own.

Walk into Pavilion Kuala Lumpur along the famous Bintang Walk (Jalan Bukit Bintang). Get a Pavilion map from the customer service counter and find your way to the lower level of the mall. J.Co Donuts & Coffee is just around the corner. Please take note that you might have to queue up for up to an hour just to order your donuts and coffee and the crowd is really great there. Another J.Co branch with not so long queue would be in Sunway Pyramid.

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Name: J.CO DONUTS & COFFEE @ THE PAVILION
Address:
LL1.05 Pavilion KL, 168 Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: 603-2141 7761
Opening Hours: 10.00am – 10.00pm
GPS: 3.148518, 101.713936

RATING:
Ambience: 8/10
(1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 7/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 6/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 7/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

RESTORAN ESQUIRE KITCHEN

Posted by Criz Lai On May - 31 - 2008

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I had a convention down at MIECC within Mines Wonderland vicinity recently and managed to get the opportunity to visit Restoran Esquire Kitchen. Due to time constraint for the lunch break and overcrowding of the place, I only managed to grab a quick meal. But from the look of the packed restaurant and plates after plates of food filling up to the max on most tables, I guessed this must be a great restaurant.

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Until now, I am still wondering how I could have withstood the temptation of all the nice aromatic food passing me all the time. Haha. Anyway, I ordered a bowl of Fried Sauce Noodle which does not look like it has been fried at all and a glass of soy milk drink by paying not more than RM12. The noodles tasted great with lots shredded carrots and cucumber topped with some stir fried fermented beans minced meat. What a healthy meal for once. 😛

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Luckily, I managed to borrow the menu from the waitress and took some shots of what are the rest of the yummy food to share with you.

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Once you are in the Mines Shopping Fair, you would not miss this place as it is at the ground floor of the complex where you might spot pieces like those luxury vinyl tiles. They also have around 15 branches all over KL, Bangsar, Subang Jaya, Klang, Petaling Jaya, Cheras and Ipoh.

ESQUIREMAP

Name: RESTORAN ESQUIRE KITCHEN
Address:
Ground Floor, The Mines Shopping Fair,
43300 Seri Kembangan, Selangor, Malaysia.
Tel: 603-8944 1377
Opening Hours: 11.00am – 10.00pm
GPS: 3.028305, 101.718550

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10
(1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 7/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 7/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 6/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

HONG KONG FOOD CULTURE

Posted by Criz Lai On May - 30 - 2008

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Low Yat Plaza might be the best place to shop for computers as well as other electronic gadgets but where would you go for food then? I have found a great place hidden down at the basement of Low Yat Plaza. The place is called Hong Kong’s Food Culture. It is normally packed during lunch hours as the crispy roasted duck there tastes real great.

I was there to have lunch with my two friends and we ordered Curry Pork Rice (RM9.80), Fried Beef Nissin Noodles (RM9.80), Nissin Noodles with Egg set lunch (RM7.90), Roasted Duck Leg (RM9.50) and Steam Egg Custard with Honey Syrup @ Yellow Tan Tan (RM4). Overall with 5% Government Tax and 10% Service Charge, it came out to RM47.15 which was reasonable for KL standard.

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It might be confusing if you are not familiar with the interior floor map of the plaza. I would recommend that you go out of the building and move around until you see the restaurant name boldly being displayed. You can’t miss it as they do have a small stall outside selling some finger food and beverages.

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Name: HONG KONG’S FOOD CULTURE
Address:
LG-18, Lower Ground Floor, Low Yat Plaza,
Off Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: 603-2141 6998
Opening Hours: 10.00am – 10.00pm
GPS: 3.143976, 101.710353

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10
(1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 8/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

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