CRIZ BON APPETITE

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.

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.

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.

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.

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)

Petaling Street or Chinatown as most tourists would call is not only a haven for good bargains of items such as clothes, DVDs, watches, bags and shoes. It is also a haven to please your appetite up to the wee hours of the morning. If you know how to explore further into the many lanes and corners of this street, you will discover many delicious hawker stalls hidden from the main shopping area.

One such stall which I have discovered some years back served the most amazing Hakka Mee and Pan Mee in that area. Not only are the noodle portions quite a lot, they are also cheap. RM3.50 per plate compared to RM4.50 in any of the cafés on the main road. Now you know why I have never stopped visiting this place. The stall also served many other noodles variety such as the Curry Chicken Wan Than Mee which is just as good. Here are the two noodles which we had ordered.

Finding this noodle stall would be quite hard as it is hidden in one of the lanes. If you are walk into Petaling Street, Chinatown’s main entrance from Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock (opposite Kota Raya) and you will reach a crossed junction. Hong Leong Bank is at the corner on your left. Turn left into the road (Jalan Hang Lekir). Walk straight up until you see a lane on your right. There will be a shop selling DVD there. Walk inside and you will see the stall. Next to the stall is a Roasted Chicken/Pork (Char Siew) Rice which is just as good.

Name: PETALING STREET (CHINATOWN) HAKKA/PAN MEE
Address: Jalan Hang Lekir, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 9.00am – 8.00pm
GPS: 3.144298, 101.698025

RATING:
Ambience: 4/10 (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: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 7/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

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.

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.

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)

While I was down in Kuala Lumpur, I stumbled upon a stall in Low Yat Plaza selling soy milk and douhua (soy pudding). What caught my attention was the Tang Yuan served with soy milk. For your information, I love Tang Yuan and have been seen frequently patronizing the stall along Jalan Magazine in Penang.

The Soya Shop served great Tang Yuan with soy milk. It is a great dessert for the young as well as the old. Not only was the soy milk fresh and hot, you could freely choose either plain syrup or brown syrup of your choice, easily available on the table. This is a great idea for those, especially diabetics, who like it plain or not too sweet. The Tang Yuan comes in four flavors, namely Coconut, Chocolate, Red Beans and Pandan Lotus Paste. All of them were juicy soft and tasted great. Each bowl only cost RM2.80. The products served are completely halal.

I was too full from my lunch before this to try another bowl of douhua. I heard from Masak Masak that they do serve douhua with red kidney beans too but I did not see any publicity from this stall. Maybe they have it in another branch.

Photo Courtesy of Masak Masak

The Soya Shop has many branches in Hartamas Shoppig Complex (2nd Floor), Summit USJ (Ground Floor), Endah Parade (1st Floor), Low Yat Plaza (4th Floor), City Square Food Court (Lower Ground), 1 Utama Shopping Centre (Lower Ground) and Pasarakyat (Ground Floor), Giant Hypermarket, Bandar Kinara (Lower Ground) and many more to be set up soon. I managed to try out the one in Low Yat Plaza, so here is the map for the Bukit Bintang area branch.

Name: THE SOYA SHOP @ LOW YAT PLAZA

Address:
Level 4, Low Yat Plaza, Off Jalan Bukit Bintang,
55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: 603-6275 8803 (Pasarakyat)
Website: http://www.thesoyashop.com/
Opening Hours: 10.00am – 10.00pm
GPS: 3.143933, 101.709784

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: 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)

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.

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.

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)

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.

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.

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)

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.

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. 😛

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.

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

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)

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.

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.

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)

I have tried so many different versions of Pan Mee from all over Malaysia but this is the first time I had come across this unique version. Normally, Pan Mee will come with minced pork, green sweet leaves, mushroom, black fungus, anchovies, etc but this stall along the rural area of Seri Kembangan served the Pan Mee differently and simple.

Other than the normal kneaded dough for the noodles, it comes with three other options such as spinach, purple sweet potato and pumpkin. Each bowl will come with lots of sweet leaves (Sauropus androgynus, sweet leaf bush, sayur cekur manis, sayur Sabah), deep fried stuffed fu chok (soy bean skin) with fish paste and some garlic oil, accompanied by crunchy anchovies and chili paste. This is one of the best chili pastes I have ever tasted as it was cooked along with blended dried shrimps. Each bowl only cost RM4 which is considered cheap. Here are the three special noodles (we did not order the original version at all). My recommendation – The Spinach Noodle

It might be hard for those people from outstation to find this small coffee shop within the inner part of Seri Kembangan. The stall is situated in a village area and only locals will know how to find this place. Fortunately, I managed to get the address and search for a map that will lead you there. Happy hunting!

Name: PO CHOI PAN MEE @ LIN CHIN COFFEE SHOP
Address: No.6 Jalan SK 5/2, 43300 Seri Kembangan, Selangor, Malaysia.
Contact: 012-233 2498
Opening Hours: 7.00am – 3.00pm
GPS: 3.029634, 101.704302

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

Ma Zhi or steamed blended glutinous rice mixed with pounded peanuts, sesame and sugar is one of the tasty desserts available in Malaysia. Hot steaming glutinous rice is cut into small cubes and coated with a mixture of the three pounded ingredients mentioned above. Certain stalls, especially those in Penang will garnish the Ma Zhi with fried onions.

I have came across a stall down in Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown (Petaling Street) selling a different version. Madam Tang has been selling these yummy desserts for years there. The Ma Zhi comes in different colors and flavors. You can have it original (RM3.50/box) or you can have the mix flavors (RM5/box). The flavors available are apple, banana, grape, kiwi, lemon, lychee, mango, orange, pineapple, ribena, strawberry, black glutinous rice, or pandan. With so many flavors available, it is up to your luck to taste what are the mixed flavors.

If you are in for a new experience, this is a must try if you are around that area. As for my personal preference, I somehow missed the Penang’s original version with fried onions as it is softer and warmer than the one in Chinatown.

Finding the stall would not be hard. Walk into Petaling Street, Chinatown’s main entrance from Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock (opposite Kota Raya) and you will reach a crossed junction. Hong Leong Bank is at the corner on your left. Turn left into the road (Jalan Hang Lekir) and you will see Madam Tang selling this delicacy on the left.

Name: PETALING STREET (CHINATOWN) MA ZHI
Address: Jalan Hang Lekir, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 11.00am – 8.00pm
GPS: 3.144533, 101.697972

RATING:
Ambience: 4/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 5/10 (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: 7/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)