Remember the news on the possible removal of One Bangsar a few months back? Well, I wish that won’t ever come true. The restaurants on the stretch at Jalan Ara provides one of the nicest ambiance you can get anywhere, with lush green lawn and quaint interior decoration, and more often than not, excellent food.
Bangsar Seafood Garden
I had actually been to Bangsar Seafood Garden once (during Galvin’s wedding) prior to the invitation by Jade to the food review session. Then again, it was a wedding dinner, and for some reasons I could never remember in details how food at wedding dinners tastes like.
Which means that the food review session was most welcomed. Together with Haze, Suanie, Kerol, Horng, and Cheesie, we went over for dinner a couple weeks back.
butter crab and deep fried mantao
I felt that it is appropriate to write about the butter crab first, even though it wasn’t the first dish served.
The crab’s fabulous, they are fresh, big, sweet, and best of all, soaked in the awesome butter sauce with a hint of curry leave taste that’s so addictive. Do order the deep fried mantao to take advantage of the sauce.
Also, forget about the steamed mantao, you won’t get much health benefit at all anyway if they were to be dipped into butter sauce, the deep fried version tastes so much better.
steamed cod fish with essence of chicken, baked chicken with cheese
No seafood dinner is complete without fish, and for the dinner we had steamed cod fish that came with plenty of mushroom, cilantro, ginger, carrot, and even bean curd skin. Like the steamed haruan from restaurant Yap Yin, a bottle of Brand’s essence of chicken is poured to give the soup base an even richer taste.
Of course, cod fish tastes (well, naturally more expensive too) more refine than haruan.
The baked chicken with cheese reminds me of lasagna, but not a very good one at that. The chicken’s fried, but it was a bit spicy, too cheesy, and just overall a dish that’s slightly too weird for my taste.
Thai style stir fried prawns, assorted greens with macadamia
The Thai style stir fried prawns is another must-order item here. Massive de-shelled tiger prawns cooked with tomyam-ish sauce and served sizzling on a hot plate, very very yummy. Goes best with some rice, but in our case, fried mantao.
The vitamin C quota was satisfied with a plate of assorted greens with macadamia nuts, a luxury if rather tasty dish. Combination of green peas, lotus roots, fungus, carrots, and more were just nice for this purpose.
desserts galore at Bangsar Seafood
A good dinner’s always followed by desserts (or so all the girls say), we had fungus, peanut soup, longan and sea coconut, mango sago ice, and a couple other more traditional style sweet dishes to conclude the dinner.
To be truthful, desserts aren’t one of Bangsar Seafood’s strength. They are decent, but not something to really anticipate after all those awesome seafood.
Cheesie, KY & Haze, Horng, Suanie & Kerol, Jade
We had a good time over the review session, and I’d like to thank Jade for the invite.
Oh, if you want to have a garden wedding, there’s a huge and “golf course perfect” lawn at Bangsar Seafood Garden that’s perfect for the occasion too!
Address:
Bangsar Seafood Garden Restaurant
One Bangsar, No 63, Jalan Ara
Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.129461, 101.669294
Tel: 03-2282 2555
I’ve been wanting to blog about this place for the longest time. First I went there without a camera, pictures taken with BB wasn’t good enough in that low light condition. On second trial, we were robbed before I transfer the photos from Haze‘s camera. So I guess 3rd time is the charm.
Lot 10 Hutong Food Court
After the recent renovation, Lot 10 Hutong became some sort of a minority in the food court business. The people from YTL (who owns Lot 10, Starhill, and others) managed to convince some of the best hawker foods around KL to operate at the once iconic mall’s basemen and keep to their original and traditional way.
This means that while there’s a definite upgrade in hygiene and ambiance, the foods’ still prepared with original recipe, down to using charcoal fire, if it was originally cooked with charcoal.
And oh, a lot of the food stalls are non-halal.
Soong Kee beef noodle set for RM 8.90
I was recommended over twitter (follow me @kyspeaks) to try the Soong Kee beef noodle the first time I stepped into the newly renovated food court. I’ve never been to the original shop at Pudu, but after having this several times, I’m convinced it is on par with one of my other favorites – Ngau Kei at Tengkat Tong Shin.
A set of beef noodle + mixed beef soup + oily vegetable + chinese tea goes for only RM 8.90. For KL pricing that’s practically a steal, and this is in a fully air conditioned and comfortable dining location. Bravo to Lot 10 for pulling this off. Of course, you can also order ala carte for cheaper, but I almost always go for the set.
KY & Haze enjoying some beef noodle for early dinner
The bowl comes with beef balls, meat, and tripes all soaked in savory broth. However, the best part has got to be the generous amount of minced meat on top of the noodle and oily vegetable. They are actually minced pork! yums!
While Soong Kee serves decent chili sauce to go with the beef noodle, I still favor the version at Ngau Kei simply because it packs more kick and has actual chili texture. The Soong Kee’s version is just a bit like bottled chili sauce.
At the end, both places has their pros & cons. Soong Kee at Hutong Lot 10 wins in cleanliness, comfort, and offer great value with their set; Ngau Kei has better chili sauce and serves beef tendon, and opens pretty much around the clock. Take your pick.
Address:
Soong Kee at Hutong food court
Lower Ground Floor
Lot 10 Shopping Mall
Jalan Bukit Bintang
GPS: 3.146462, 101.711758
I first heard about this Geylang Lor 9 frog porridge from the biggest frog nemesis of all – Kim. Ever since then we’ve been talking about going there to give it a try but somehow failed in actually doing it.
The craving eventually got the best of me last night, so Haze and I went there for dinner without waiting for the frog queen. Sorry Kim.
Geylang Lor9 clay pot frog porridge
From the friends who had the luxury working in Singapore, I’ve always told that if there’s one food the republic got it better than here, it is the clay pot frogs, and when it comes to clay pot frogs, Geylang Lor 9 is the most famous of them all. So I guess we’re lucky that the first specialty frog centric restaurant in PJ is this original branch from Singapore.
clay pot kung pao frog
The restaurant is located at the other end of the same row that houses McDonald’s at SS2. Smallish in size, but air conditioned with a visible kitchen behind see through glasses, so you know what you’re being served isn’t prepared in some back alley (some restaurants at SS2 actually do that.)
The menu is pretty simple. There’s frog porridge, kung pao frog, and frog with ginger and onion, all served in clay pot and priced at RM 12 per fresh frog. They’re a few other chicken dishes and vegetables but who really cares right?
frog porridge and kung pao frog
We ordered a portion of frog porridge, a serving of kung pao frog, and a dish of oily vegetable to provide a bit of balance to the dinner.
The frog porridge came piping hot, the frog’s quite big and definitely fresh. Adding a bit of sesame oil, soya sauce, and pepper complete the dish. It was good!
Kung pao frog was hot, fragrant, and definitely had some kicks to it. While we also ordered steamed rice for it, I found myself mixing some kung pao frog and it’s sauce with the porridge very addictive.
Haze and KY
While I haven’t tried it at the original Geylang Lor 9 branch in Singapore and thus can’t provide any direct comparison, I certainly think that this place is worth a visit if you’re a frog lover. Lets go there Kim!
Address:
Shi Sheng PJ Claypot Frog Geylang
No. 10, Jalan SS2/61
47300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
GPS: 3.117076, 101.621904
Tel: 03-7874 1233
