This is my second working trip to Yangon, Myanmar. The pictures from last trip was taken with my now retired Nokia 7610. I have, however, decided to jumped onto the DSLR bandwagon and got myself a brand spanking new Canon 400D as an excuse that I need a better camera to document the stay at the former capitol of Myanmar. Furthermore, I will be traveling to a couple other interesting locations within Myanmar as well.
Dyna bus, only 100 kyats to board
Nothing much has changed since I last visited this place about 2 years ago, with the exception of the new Yangon airport that was opened just 3 days prior to our arrival. The city still looks the same, I haven’t spotted any new big buildings, Dyna buses are still roaming the busy streets, carrying at least 5x more passangers than those trucks are designed to.
the day market, bustling with people
The main street outside Traders Hotel are still bustling with people and merchants, some of them more energetic than others. Here you can find anything from
a high energy merchant selling cloths
a tired shop keeper
Myanmar’s very own satey celup?
The scene at downtown Yangon at night is similar to day time, but with more food stalls selling variety of local delights that I haven’t find the chance (or courage) to try yet. Among the usual offerings such as food, cloths, and watches, I changed upon this street artist who employed a pretty unique style of painting by using a brush and a knife to draw up beautiful landscape pictures, very impressive.
an artist at work
one of the many pagodas in Yangon
These are among the first pictures taken using the new gear, many more shall come, stay tuned!
my new gear, Canon EOS 400D
Every once in a blue moon, I get to be invited to sample a restaurant, this is one such occasions. Brian (Thanks!) from All dat Jazz contacted me via email and told me about Groove Junction, I immediately agreed to the free food. I had initially thought that there would just be myself and a couple of other friends I bring a long, but it turned out to be a bigger occasion with Riz, masak-masak, and Lemongrass there as well. This is also the first time I met the friendly bunch.
note: the restaurant is no longer here 17/3/2011.
nice place, good food, bloggers at work
Groove Junction is actually a rather new place that has been in operation for only a couple of months. The Bistro and Cafe sat right on top of Karma in Sri Hartamas, just a stone’s throw away from the ProJet petrol station. The ambiance of the place is very nice, slightly darker compared to normal restaurants, but fits perfectly with the stage up front where live bands play Jazz nightly. A very relaxing and rather classy setting, perfect for bringing your special ones there.
Ellena’s Lamb Steak, Sonny Rollins (chicken), Billie Holiday (fish), Dexter Cordon (chicken corddn blue)
But when it comes down to it, the most important thing for a restaurant is still the food, so how does Groove Junction fair?
Since this was a food tasting session, we actually got to try quite a number of dishes from their extensive menu. Starting off with Yam Nam glass noodle and a piece of mushroom bruschetta as appetizer. These two items actually made me even hungrier than I had started out, they were actually very good, the glass noodle was spicy and has a tangy taste, while the creamy mushroom bruschetta offers contrasting texture and taste that fits perfectly.
lamb curry with toasted bread, and some desserts
For the main dishes, we sampled a total of six dishes. A (Ellena’s) lamb steak that is one of their best sellers, the really excellent chicken with orange seasoning wrapping some asparagus that they call Sonny Rollins, Dexter Cordon (Chicken Cordon Blue), pan fried sole fish named Billie Holiday, and Beef Panne – the grilled beef prepared with herb sauce. Of these 5 dishes, I like Sonny Rollins and the beef the most, but the other three were very good too, it’s just a tragedy not having a big enough stomach to eat more than a few bites from each dish.
Being a Bistro, Groove Junction offers some finger food as well. We had the Chickalina’s, marinated chicken in black sauce, and the lamb curry with toasted bread. These stuff will go down very well with some beer.
And as if there was any space in my stomach, we had desserts. The Roll Morton (hot banana “pohpiah” with ice cream) was actually very addictive with its contrasting temperature and texture, Riz ended up having like 3 or 4 of those. The cheese cake and tiramisu were reported to be very good by the ladies, but I just couldn’t fit another bite by then.
The price of food at Groove Junction is pretty much in line with any restaurant of its class. Finger foods at around RM 15 and main dishes from RM 20+ to RM 30+. Considering the great atmosphere and the accompanying fabulous live Jazz, this place offers pretty good value for some really good food. I’ll return as a paying customer for sure.
address:
Groove Junction
1-1, Jalan 22A/70A
Desa Sri Hartamas
Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.162777, 101.652557
tel: 03-6201 8990
When it comes to food in the historical town that is Melaka, there are a few items that you must never miss. Kinda like the Char Kueh Teow and Laksa in Penang, the must-eat items in Melaka are Satey Celup (video!), Chendol, Poh Piah, and of course, perhaps the most famous of all, the Chicken Rice Ball.
very old school set up, with marble table
Chung Wah restaurant (中华茶室) is one of the very first, and regarded by many, the best chicken rice ball restaurant in Melaka. It is also perhaps the most accessible one, with a paid car park just right beside the building, across from the St. Paul’s church (another must visit place in Melaka).
The place is always packed during weekends, and almost impossible to get in during festive seasons. After fighting through a small crowd to get our table, we ordered a middle portion chicken meat with 2 plates of chicken rice balls (5 balls per plate)
chicken, rice balls, and chili, we’re all set
The chicken came with only one style, white chicken, since this is a pure Hainanese restaurant, no roasted or BBQ variety. The meat was smooth and tasted rather good, with sufficient flavor in all departments. The chili that is so important to any chicken rice dish was actually very good, has a kick in it while retaining a savory pepper aroma, addictive. The main attraction, the rice balls themselves, were somehow rather cold, but otherwise tasted pretty good. It is like having Bak Chang made of chicken rice, an interesting experience if you haven’t tried it.
Chung Wah restaurant is right at the end/beginning of Jonker Walk
The meal for two was about RM 13-14, RM 8 for the chicken, and RM 1.50 for a plate of 5 rice balls.
Address:
Kedai Kopi Chung Wah
18, Jalan Hang Jebat,
75200 Melaka
GPS: 2.194969,102.248576
This is the second installation of KY TV show after the satey celup post last week, this stuff just keeps getting better now isn’t it?
I have to thank Bee Nee who suggested that I visit Hokano at Damansara Uptown after reading my take on the economical Japanese restaurant, Omitsu Koshi. It turns out that Hokano too is the hidden secret of the improbable cheap and good Japanese restaurant category.
My hot camera lady and chief editor had chirashi sushi and chicken katsudon set for a grand total of less than RM 40. Take a look the video!
of course, we shall not forget the map
This place is really worth a visit. Forget about those Sushi chains, you can get cheaper and way better Japanese food here. Operating hours are from noon to 10pm, closes on Sundays.
Address:
74, Jalan SS21/35
Damansara Utama
47400 Petaling Jaya
GPS: 3.132557, 101.622237
Tel: 03-7729 5325
Of all the different types of meat available for consumption, my favorite has got to be pork. The versatility is second to none, from dried pork and bak kut teh, to siu yok or even using the fats to accentuate and compliment the taste of steamed fish, I can’t think of any other meat that tasted so good in so many ways.
After trying Jarrod & Rawlin’s pork sausage as dessert the same day I went to Bonjuk , I just had to go there for more. In my book, they serve the best western style pork sausages thus far.
burger, pork sausages, and choices of cheese
The second trip to Jarrod & Rawlins was for supper as well, just a couple hours or so after having dinner in KL. I ordered 2 sausages while Kelvin, who has a bottomless stomach, ordered a gourmet beef burger with bacon, blue cheese and mushroom. Obviously, with these kinda “yum char” session, teh-o-ais doesn’t suffice, I actually ordered a beer (beat it, suanie & FA!).
if you’re not drooling over these stuff, find a doctor
Though this place has less than a dozen tables, they really take their time to prepare the food. Everything is cooked meticulously without any rush. This is not to say that the wait was boring, but it’s probably not an ideal place to go if you’re starving to death.
When the sausages came, they were simple and no frill. Just 2 sausages on an empty plate, I ordered a pepper and a dynamite chili variety. They were seriously good stuff, the fillings were from good quality pork, with some chili padi in the dynamite chili version and some white pepper in the other. The taste was just glorious, with the chili version particularly addictive, especially if you are a person who loves hot food.
comfortable ambiance, and wide selection of wine and other drinks
As for the burger, it was ridiculously thick, with the beef patty at least 5 times thicker than Ramli’s version, a portobello mushroom as big as the bread under the beef, and a generous slice of blue cheese on top, with bacon and pickle in it as well, you can’t really ask for more. Of course, it’s nearly impossible to just pick the burger up and start biting unless you have a mouth as big as Steven Tyler’s. The beef was very juicy, and the mushroom, bacon, and cheese combined to be a really great gastronomical satisfaction.
Jarrod & Rawlins is located at the heart of Desa Sri Hartamas
The sausages came to only around RM 7, and the burger was RM 18, drinks are priced competitively with other restaurants of this sort. For the quality of food (all the sausages and meat patties are made there) and the taste, I’d say this place provides good value. Will definitely go there many more times.
address:
No. 36 (ground floor)
Jalan 27/70A
Desa Sri Hartamas,
50480 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.162777, 101.649638
tel: 03-2300 0708
