Back in 2008, Shiang and I had a little year long bet. The exact details aren’t important, but due to some luck and a lot of cheating, I emerged the victor. We then decided that the appropriate winning prize would be a nice dinner, and Diadomon Japanese BBQ restaurant was chosen.

Horng and Jeff were the two lucky dudes who happened to leech this meal off Shiang for absolutely zero effort, risk, and monetary contribution.

Diadomon Japanese BBQ restaurant, buffet style

Diadomon is located at Great Eastern Mall, which is in turn situated on Jalan Ampang, roughly half way between Ampang Point and KLCC. Getting there during rush hour can be a bit daunting, but with the liberal usage of the newly opened DUKE highway or our super advanced SMART tunnel (depending on where you’re from), it shouldn’t be too tough.

Parking isn’t a problem either if you are willing to part with RM2 to go into the basement. If you’re willing to spend a good chunk of money on food anyway, why not a couple bucks to park your car?

sashimi, grilled fish, prawns, and chicken.

Daidomon is one of those buffet places where you get to order the dishes, or in this case, raw and marinated ingredients so they are served fresh. However, an extensive line up of ready-to-eat dishes are available too, and of course, you don’t have to wait for those. There’s sushi roles, fried chicken, snail meat (very delicious!), edamame, kimchi, sashimi, and more.

From the ocean, we had sashimi (salmon, tuna, butterfish, mackeral), oyster and scallop (limited to one serving only), prawns, and marinated seafood. The sashimi were pretty decent, but honestly speaking not something to shout about. The grilled seafood though, were quite good, but it takes a bit of practise to get it just right.

Prawns were quite large and fresh, and I particularly love the big scallops, but too bad it was only 2 pieces per person.

ox tongue, beef sashimi, marinated beef

From the farm, we had plenty of beef with some chicken and lamb too (Jeff doesn’t eat beef). The marinated beef belly was really awesome and are ready to eat after minimal grilling time. I suggest asking for a serving of raw garlic and fry them on the grill first before starting to grill actual food, that’ll add an extra hint of aroma to the grilled food.

Ox tongue is one of my favorite part of cow to eat, and it’s great that Diadomon allows unlimited order, somewhere in an Australian farm, a deft cow hates me.

yukke sashi, KY, Shiang, Jeff, Horng

For the braver souls, Daidomon also serves several types of raw beef. The gyu sashimi (thinly sliced raw beef) is probably the easiest to swallow, while the yukke sashi (marinated beef with egg) can be a bit too much especially for a first timer. I love the gyu sashimi but to be frank, I think the yukke sashi was a bit too raw and maybe slightly too rich for my liking. It’s no wagyu tartar at Cilantro that’s for sure, but Shiang loves it.

Over all it was a very satisfying dinner that left all of us barely able to walk back to the carpark. With their ever long lasting promotion, the price came to over RM60  per person after service charge and tax. Pretty good deal if you ask me, I have no doubt this won’t be my last visit.

Check out their promotion on the website.

Address:
Diadomon
Lot 4, Level 3, Great Eastern Mall
No. 303, Jalan Ampang
50450 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.16027,101.736746
Tel: 03-4252 8155

Tags:  BBQ,  beef,  Buffet,  grill,  horng,  Japanese,  jeff,  sashimi,  seafood,  shiang

Posted by KY | 32 Comments »

I have actually been to Ho Chi Minh City on business trip for more than half a dozen times since some three years ago, it is alway such a delightful place to visit. The Vietnamese people really does offer the very best of hospitality anywhere, and of course, the city offers some interesting food too.

clam with pork, bbq frog with skin, and bbq prawns

I managed to contact an old pal of mine, Trinh, for some drinks on Sunday night. The last I met this guy was back in August 2005 for some Banh Xeo, more than one and a half year ago. We rode to one of the nearby seafood and beer restaurant to catch up on old times.

The host ordered a plate of BBQ prawn, some interesting “grilled clam rolled with Pig’s omental fat”, and BBQ frog with skin. Of course, a few bottles of chilled Heineken to go along with these local delights.

The words mean “welcome” and “see you”.. or something like that

The food were certainly very good. The BBQ prawn was marinated with some pretty spicy seasoning, and packs a kick even if you don’t dip it into the traditional lime + salt + chili paste. The locals usually chew down everything, including the head and shell.

The grilled clam was an interesting dish that tasted kinda like bacon and clam meat, except in a bigger and juicier bite. It went very well with beer, and definitely one of the heart surgeon’s worst nightmares.

Thought I’ve had frogs before, this is the first time I’ve had it with skin intact. The texture is similar to fish skin, but tougher and slightly sticky. The aroma of the frog meat was very good as well. Fresh vegetable is featured in every dish, not very different from the Malay ulam. It is actually a very nice concept, you have some meat or seafood, then some vegetables to freshen up the tongue, repeat.

this place is just right next to Legend Hotel in District 1, HCMC

It was a very good supper, and nothing beats meeting old friends from far away places. I’m not exactly sure how much the food costs, but the pork with clam was about 55,000 VND, with another 10% tax. One ringgit equals to around 4,500 VND.

This particular restaurant is situated on
3C, Ton Duc Thang
District 1, HCMC
Vietnam

Tags:  BBQ,  beer,  clam-with-pork,  Eats,  frog,  hcmc,  ho-chi-minh-city,  supper,  Vietnam

Posted by KY | 6 Comments »

As someone who is born and raised in Penang, we often put Penang hawker food on top of the chart. However, when it comes to Roasted Pork or “Siew Yoke” (烧肉), this part of the country definitely gain the upper hand. See, even babe_kl knows how to make it herself.

Note: not to be confused with BBQ Pork or “Char Siew” (叉烧)

there is no branch, this is the only place you can get it

My buddy Terence happened to be in town yesterday and suggested we go to this roasted pork place near the defunct Pudu Jail. Having gotten bored of the food nearby KLCC, I naturally agreed.

The restaurant is situated at the junction of Jalan Nyonya and Lorong Baba, certainly an address that is easy to remember. It is a normal kopitiam set up, but with only the single stall serving roasted pork, bbq pork, and roasted chicken. They only cater for lunch crowd, starting at 12:30pm sharp and usually only lasts for a couple hours.

the siew yoke.. *droolsSsss*

We ordered two portions of roasted pork and a small plate of roasted chicken to go with the rice. Soup is available and self-served.

The meat is chopped in quite big chunks. I carefully took the first piece and put it in my mouth, and in a couple seconds, the crispy skin completely melted. This is sort of like the feeling you get chewing down the most tender piece of filet mignon. It was the best roasted pork I’ve ever had, even though I don’t always like to use the word best describing food. You just simply have to try it to believe.

the kopitiam is just a short walk from Berjaya Times Square

This place is definitely not cheap, one portion (一条) roasted pork is RM 12, and one of this mouth-watering meat will set you back RM 60. Our meal for two totaled slightly over RM 30. However, this stuff is just that good and I will for sure go there again and again.

Address:
30,Jalan Nyonya,
Off Jalan Pudu,
55100 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.139231, 101.711308
Phone: 03-2145 2512

Tags:  BBQ,  pork,  roasted,  siew-yoke

Posted by KY | 24 Comments »