Having to make a decision for dinner last weekend before a movie, I was trying to be smart and told Lorna (my petrol heroine) that I am bringing her to a pretty interesting place without first giving her the restaurant’s name. We then walked past Sushi Zanmai, and she told me “my sister and I went to another Zanmai place last week, the one downstairs”

“Pasta Zanmai?” I asked. She said yah. That was exactly the place I thought I’d surprise her with, so you can imagine what an ass it made me feel. Well the important thing is that we still ended up there and I was able to finally give Pasta Zanmai a try.

pretty nice interior with an integrated shop

Pasta Zanmai is actually from the same group that runs RakuZen at Subang Jaya, Chulan Square, as well as the Sushi Zanmai branches. I have always had positive impressions at their establishments, so my expectation was rather high stepping into this place.

It was a rather busy Saturday dinner time, we decided to sit at the bar right in front of the glass shielded kitchen rather than wait for a table. The interior decoration was pretty nice, with ample lighting, comfortable chairs, and a busy pace.

crab meat avocado spaghetti, Japanese curry rice

The menu came accompanied with pictures of most dishes, which makes ordering that much easier. I couldn’t resist the combination of kani (crab) and avocado with pasta, and Lorna ordered the Japanese curry chicken rice. We also asked for ikura (salmon roe) and teriyaki hotate (scallop) as appetizers. A big pitcher of ice fruit tea was shared.

Despite the crowd, food didn’t take long to arrive, and they were good! Ikura was a bit smallish in serving size, but I guess there isn’t much to complain as the quality was good and the price reasonable. My spaghetti was really delicious, good portion of avocado and kani (real crab and not crab sticks) with the slightly salty pasta sauce that wasn’t over powering. The ebiko (flying fish roe) sprinkled on the pasta gave it an added sophistication as well. I really liked it.

ikura, hotate, and the giant ice fruit tea

The curry chicken rice was true to the taste as well, slightly sweet and not exactly spicy. I like the fact that they use real Japanese rice in this dish. As for the teriyaki hotate (scallop), they were so sweet and succulent I was so glad we ordered them.

Total bill came to Rm 100.05 including tax and service charge. Highest priced item was my RM 25 pasta while the other dishes and drinks ranges from RM 12 to RM 22. Give it a try!

Address:
Pasta Zanmai
G210B, Ground Floor Promenade
1 Utama Shopping Centre
Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya
GPS: 3.150050, 101.615939
Tel: 03-7728 1210

Others:
Masak-masak
Brought up 2 share
blueepinkk

Tags:  1-utama,  dining,  Japanese-Food,  kani,  mall,  pasta,  spaghetti

Posted by KY | 28 Comments »

When I first got the invitation from foodstreet for a food review session from Peony Garden at Kota Damansara, I did some searches on the internet and but was not able to find any blog entries. So I went to the restaurant with Eiling (who is going to give me some golden tickets) having little to expect.

seven dishes to sample, with original ingredients

As it turns out, Peony Garden serves Northern Nyonya food, which means they are actually from Penang, my hometown. The relatively new restaurant is run by a pair of siblings, Karen and Eugene Chew, whom despite knowing little about blogs and the way of cyber world, were very friendly (especially when we arrived at our common mother tongue, Penang Hokkien).

We were served the unique “green leaves drink” that is made of seven different types of grass and leaves. It tasted pretty refreshing though slightly on the sweeter side. The owners explained to us that many of the ingredients used are sourced from Penang and other states, and Karen cooks everything from scratch, the traditional way, even the sambal is made by pounding fresh chili and shrimp paste by hand.

Penang otak-otak, asam prawn, curry black pomphret, salted vegetable duck soup

We were then served seven dishes, and I recognized what they were instantly without having to be explained! Tau eu bak (soya sauce pork), asam prawn, curry bawal hitam (black pomphret), salted vegetable duck soup, Penang otak-otak, jui hu char (fried sengkuang with dried cuttle fish), and fried spring roll. These are the dishes I grew up with, the memory of mom working in her kitchen flashes back like a tsunami wave, the familiar smell, the sound of sengkuang sizzling in the wok, and how she always peel the asam shrimps for us. I wish mom was here to have this session with me.

In the taste department, the food actually measured up very well. The asam prawn, cooked with asam and dark soya sauce carries a strong and fragrant asam taste that is slightly salty and sourish, complementing the sweetness of the shrimp perfectly. The fish curry is done the traditional way as well, with black pomphret and a generous portion of laksa flower that adds to the taste. There is no substitute with another type of fish as “lemak” (fatty) taste of the black pomphret suits the asam curry best.

soya sauce pork, jui hu char, spring roll

I personally always prefer the Penang style otak-otak, and the version at Peony, though not the best I’ve had, was not bad either. As for salted vegetable duck soup, it might take a little used to if you are not accustomed to it, sourish and slightly spicy, I liked it.

Jui hu char is a dish that is cooked by many Penang family whenever they worship ancestors (don’t ask me why). It is best eaten with some sambal and wrapped with fresh lettuce, much like the way you’d have Korean BBQ meat. The deep fried spring rolls actually shares the main ingredient (sengkuang) with jiu hu char, but served with a unique blend of dark soya source and chili that gives it a pretty interesting taste, in a good way.

If you’ve followed this blog for some time, you know that I am a pork lover. The tau eu bak here was absolutely fantastic, cooked for hours to the very soft and tender texture, the soya sauce is imported from Nothern state to get the taste just right. Coupled with the original sambal, I had to fight with Eiling till the last piece, it was as good as it is sinful.

green leaf drinks, and eiling with the Peony plate

Dishes are priced from RM 8 to RM 20+, pretty decent even though the portions aren’t big. Authentic foods are hard to come by these days, and I don’t think you can get them any more authentic than here. A family run restaurant that prepares everything painstakingly the traditional way. I am sure I will return.

Poeny Garden is just 5 minutes away from IKEA/Ikano/Curve

The restaurant also host private events and birthday parties. If you like it the old school way with nasi kunyit, curry chicken, and hard boiled egg for your baby’s full moon, they do it too.

Lunch: Tue to Fri 11am - 2pm
Dinner: Tue to Sun 6 - 10pm

Address:
16-1, Jalan PJU 5/10,
Dataran Sunway, Kota Damansara,
47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
GPS: 3.150886, 101.593237
Tel: 03-6141 8323

Tags:  asam,  authentic,  baba,  cuisine,  cuttle fish,  food,  nyonya,  otak-otak,  poeny garden,  pomphret

Posted by KY | 44 Comments »

A couple weeks ago three of us went to the much blogged Indonesian food outlet Waroeng Penyet at the Curve. For those who can’t read the Indonesian (or Malay) language, waroeng (or warong) is a traditional hut, while penyet translates to flattened. So I guess you can call it a flattened hut though the place doesn’t look exactly like a hut nor is it flattened.

no frill fast food outlet setting

As their logo suggests, the signature dish at this outlet would be the ayam penyet (flattened chicken). We ordered 2 servings of that, a bawal bakar (black pomphret), udang penyet (flattened prawn), pete udang belado (prawn with petai), and a sayur asem (vegetable soup). Of course, we were not able to deny the temptation of the curious soda gembira (happy soda).

Just like Carl’s Jr., you get a number after you order, and the food is served to the table fresh and steaming.

how do you like the soda gembira?

The chicken were absolutely stunning. Crispy on the outside and still juicy on the inside. The sambal was very flavorful, with the taste of fresh chili and a slight tangy sensation, it compliments all sorts of meat nicely. The prawn and pomphret were equally good as well. The soup though, it something I wouldn’t order again, it was a bit weird to me with the slightly sourly taste that is everything wrong between tomyam and chicken soup. I guess it might be an acquired taste… but perhaps not for me.

These dishes were served with rice, so you do get a proper traditional meal in a modern setting.

flavorful, spicy, and absolutely delicious

If I remember correctly, each dishes were priced just under RM 10. The excellent sambal (3 types actually) can be refilled at will, and I will definitely go there again. Give it a try if you are one of those who love spicy flavorful food!

Waroeng Penyet is situated on the first floor near the bridge connecting Ikano Power Center to the Curve.

Address:
First Floor, Lot 1.32
The Curve
Mutiara Damansara
Petaling Jaya
GPS: 3.157699, 101.611540
Tel: 017-200 3988

Tags:  ayam penyet,  chicken,  cinneleisure,  fried,  ikano,  ikea,  sambal,  spicy,  the-curve

Posted by KY | 28 Comments »

Last Friday, the traveling Australian dude Dabido decided to spend a bunch of us to a vegetarian dinner on his last night in Kuala Lumpur. Suan decided that Jade Garden at Bandar Utama Centrepoint would be a good place for such occasion because she knows the food is great, or maybe just because it is a place close enough for her to walk there with her under utilized legs.

acha as appetizer, and the 4 season dish

Dinner was scheduled at 8, but inadvertently we only got to eat at around 9pm. I guess it is a good thing cos we were able to show Dabido the full extend of our culture, including the Malaysian Timing when it comes to having a group dinner. There was 14 of us split into 2 tables, and Suan ordered the food for everyone. Nice and dandy.

imitation luncheon meat, tofu, imitation fish with mango salad, fried vegetable

We had about 7 dishes in total. There’s the 4 season dish with some imitation meat and fake fish balls that actually tasted quite good despite it being a cold dish. The tofu soup was more like a thick broth that goes well with rice, I like the fungus that came with it. Then there’s my favorite, the imitation luncheon meat that tasted almost as good as the real thing minus the oily bit.

kang kung with nuts, tomyam soup, and the bunch of jokers

The imitation fish tasted pretty decent as well, and with no real fish in there, you don’t have to worry about getting your neck pierced by fish bones, which isn’t a particularly nice thing to do, speaking from experience. There’s also a fried kailan that tasted just like any fried kailan you’d expect. Other than that, we also have a fried kang kung dish with nuts and some imitation seafood that I didn’t think tasted very good, slightly too sourish with the imitation seafood a poor substitute for the real thing.

However, the tomyam soup with imitation squid and some very real tomato was an excellent dish. It was actually one of the best tomyam soup I’ve tasted and surely a must-order item if you find yourself at Jade Garden.

Jaime, Suan, Dabido, Jack, Erna, Reta, Paul, Kim, ST, Tim, Samantha

In all, it was a very good meal, and the total bill came to about RM 370 for 14 of us. That translate to about RM 26 per person for a pretty good vegetarian meal. The price is just slightly more than the Restaurant Kuan Yin at Seksyen 17 that I went, but with a nicer ambiance and free and easy to find parking spots at Centrepoint.

Thanks Dabido, see you at Perth!

map to BU Centrepoint

Address:
Centrepoint, Bandar Utama,
Petalig Jaya, 47800 Selangor
GPS: 3.137988, 101.610124
Tel: 03-7710 2939

Tags:  bandar-utama,  centrepoint,  chinese,  eats,  imitation fish,  ky,  luncheon meat,  vegetarian

Posted by KY | 15 Comments »

I have wanted to try Carl’s Jr. ever since it was reopened in Malaysia last year, but for one reason or another, I didn’t manage to try it until just a couple of days ago when my colleagues suggested that we should have lunch at the joint at Sunway Pyramid. When I saw the tag line on one of it’s posters saying “Screw the Diet“, I started to like the place already.

Think of Carl’s Jr. sitting in between Chilis/TGI and Burger King/McD. While it is set up as a fast food joint, the quality is far above BK & McD, and priced accordingly too.

unlimited refill of drinks (including ice lemon tea, coffee) and pickles/onion

Being my first time there, I didn’t really know what to order. I had wanted to get the Portebello Mushroom Burger but they ran out of stock, so I naively followed my colleague and ordered myself a medium size SuperStar double combination, or something like that.

I got my cup and filled it up with some coke while waiting for the burger to be served. The one thing I like about Carl’s Jr. is the fact that other than soft drinks, they have unlimited free refill for coffee, ice lemon tea, pickles, onions, and even slices of lemon.

it was a big meal

When the burger came, the size of it makes the Whopper look like a White Castle sandwich. The taste was actually rather good as well, the two charbroiled beef patties were juicy and tasty. While I prefer the real bacon, this halal version did not disappoint either. I actually had to waste more than half of the fries as my stomach was totally stuffed up after finishing the awesome burger.

While the price is a little high at RM 10+ to RM 20+, I think the size and taste factor do make up for it. I’m going to get the Portebello Mushroom Burger next time!

You can find Carl’s Jr. in Sunway Pyramid (new wing), Mid Valley, 1-Utama (old wing), and Pavilion KL. I’ve heard that they’re going to open 40 outlets between Singapore and Malaysia, can’t wait!

GPS: 3.150050, 101.615939 (1 Utama)
GPS: 3.073297, 101.607576 (Sunway Pyramid)

Tags:  1-utama,  6 dollar burger,  bacon,  beef,  burger,  carl's jr,  carl's junior,  chabroiled,  sunway pyramid

Posted by KY | 40 Comments »