After getting to know about this from the ever popular Ho Chak series on 8TV, Kelvin suggested that we give Gopala Indian vegetarian restaurant at Brickfield a try. I didn’t have to drive there, so why not? Although I’m not a huge fan of vegetarian food, I’m always willing to try just about anything.

the restaurant is fairly clean and comfortable, other than the tiny ceiling fans

Located at Brickfield, KL, the restaurant is actually just a stone’s throw away from the Sentral Monorail station and the YMCA building. Gopala is a lot cleaner than most banana leaf or mamak places, which is always a good thing.

excellent satay and the unique Indian style yong tau fu

After looking through the rather extensive menu, we ordered a set of satay, a clay pot yong tau fu, sambal petai, mee goreng, nasi goreng, and a plate of mixed vegetable pakora . The list of items would be very ordinary in any food court, but do keep in mind that we were in an Indian vegetarian restaurant instead.

Of the six dishes that we ordered, 4 of them were rather ordinary, and with the mixed vegetable pakora somewhat disappointing as they actually deep fried the mixed (chopped) vegetable and dahl instead of having many different types of pakora instead. A different interpretation I suppose.

The two other items, however, were surprisingly good. The yong tau foo is not any less tasty than the real thing, and the soup carries a very unique peppery taste (in a good way) that is very different from the non-halal version.

The vegetarian satay too is surprisingly delicious. The peanut sauce has a stronger curry taste to it, and the best part is that you don’t have to deal with the tendons or fats that comes with eating meat. The texture is much more consistent and the taste is similar to very tender meat. It was a revelation. This is definitely the place to go if you were to introduce any of your vegetarian friends to this famous local dish.

The dinner came to be about RM 30+, not exactly cheap, but vegetarian food are never cheaper than the non-vegetarian counterparts anyway. The 5 sticks of satay did costs RM 5, but I think this is still a decent place to go for vegetarians to get a different taste.

Address:
59 Jalan Thambipillay
50470 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 012-351 3713

Tags:  brickfield,  curry,  dining,  Eats,  gapola,  indian-food,  satay,  soya-bean,  vegetarian

Posted by KY | 1 Comment »

Scouring for lunch one weekend afternoon, we somehow arrived at PJ old town food court. Since my house mate recommended the chicken rice, we did not bother to really look for anything else over there.

the girls are enjoying their lunch

This Kie Kee chicken rice stall has been in operation for many years, and actually serves more than just chicken rice. They have roasted pork (siu yok), bbq pork (char siu), chicken with mushroom, and even curry chicken and curry pork. Of course, the standard steamed chicken and roasted chicken are available, there’s porridge too.

I ordered a plate of dark meat roasted chicken with siu yok, while the other noobs had chicken with char siu, and siu yok with curry sauce. The food were actually rather good, the chicken prepared boneless, and the pork tasted like how they should be. Most importantly, the chili sauce was really nice. I maintain that one of the most important ingredients for chicken rice is the chili sauce, this place didn’t disappoint.

roasted chicken, roasted pork, bbq pork, curry

While many other places sells chicken rice for no less than RM 3.50 for a plain chicken and rice dish, and RM 4.00 to RM 4.50 for combo; Kie Kee only charges RM 3.50 for combo and RM 3.00 for a normal plate. Pretty cheap for PJ standard.

the food court is situated opposite the bus terminal

Give it a try if you are going to old town. There are a couple stalls that sell Chinese satay, and the ais kacang is very delicious too.

Tags:  char-siu,  chicken-rice,  curry,  old-town,  PJ,  roasted-pork,  siu-yok

Posted by KY | 20 Comments »

The gwai lou was the one who suggested that we have this great curry fish head at Kampung Atap over the weekend, with Kelvin the walking encyclopedia of eating places in the Klang Valley leading the way.

The place, the fish head, and Kelvin the connoisseur

The Kampung Atap curry fish head place (as it doesn’t seem to have a name) is hidden in the midst of the sprawl that is KL. Situated just a stone’s throw away from Jalan Syed Putra but yet not exactly easy to find. However, fear not, there’s the map at the end of the post. This establisment is operated by Mamak under the set up typical of such operations, tables under the roof with no luxury of air conditioning. However, there are plenty of trees surrounding the area making it a rather cozy environment.

We arrived at around 11:30am and it was just half an hour too early as the curry wasn’t ready yet. We could see the chefs cleaning quite a lot of fish heads of various sizes (big, bigger, enormous). We ordered a curry fish head for the four of us, three pieces of honey chicken (ayam madu), two rather large squid, and some bean sprout. Papadum and a dish consisting onion and green pepper soaked in soya sauce comes standard.

papadum, bean sprout, honey chicken, curry squid

After having to smell the cooking for 30 minutes we were finally served with all the dishes. The fish head was the size of a tiger’s paw, and tasted very good. Curry flavour was strong yet not overly spicy. The fish was fresh too. Tau pok and okra accompanied the fish head as garnish.

The honey chicken (ayam madu) was the best I’ve had. The deep fried chicken is chopped and served seperatedly from the honey to ensure the texture remain crispy. The sweetness from honey and the slight saltiness from the chicken mixes very well. This is a must try item apart from the de facto curry fish head. The squid and bean sproud were pretty good, though not spectacular. We over ordered and wasn’t able to had to waste a big squid at the end..

it was that good

As for price, this place doesn’t offer the cheapest mamak meal, but certainly one of the bests in terms of gastronomical satisfaction. The lunch costs us about RM 20 per person but it was well worth the price, certainly better than having KFC twice.

Going to Kampung Atap from Federal Hwy (bottom), or Cheras (left)

This place opens for lunch, starting 12pm. I suggest you get there early as there might be a limited amount of fish head. When we left the place at 12:45 or so, the place was already packed.

Tags:  curry,  eats,  fish-head,  kampung-atap,  kuala-lumpur

Posted by KY | 16 Comments »

Some of you might have heard about the Segambut seafood noodle, but do you realise that they have an SS2 branch? and in fact, a Subang branch too. Now if you are a seafood lover like me, you should definately try Restaurant Yu Ai.

Got clean toilet too, what more can you ask for?

The shop at ss2 is located behind the slighty famous Chow Yang kopitiam, and a few shops next to KAYU nasi kandar at Jalan SS2/10. Pretty easy to find, there is sometimes a yellow Lotus Elise sports car parked right in front of the shop, rumours to be the shop owner’s.

The main branch is on 42, Jalan Segambut utara, and the Subang shop is at 28-1, USJ 9/5P. The business card claims that the place is air-conditioned.

See the prawn? All peeled except the head and tail, very the pro! I like!

The seafood noodle comes in 3 flavors, clear soup, curry, and tomyam. Personally I like the curry flavor the best, it carries a very rich and creamy taste. They provide chili paste in a container on every table, all you crazy people who loves to have their food overly spicey need not be worried.

The noodle, or kuih teow, or mee hun, comes with 3 big prawn, fish meat, sotong, and a generous serving of dried oyster and lala. Very very sumptous. At a price of RM 11 ringgit and RM 13 ringgit per bowl for the small & big size respectively, it is not exactly cheap (how else do they finance the Elise?), but it’s worth every penny.

My stomach is full, how about yours? hehehe

Address:
58 Jalan SS2/10,
47300 Petaling Jaya
Tel: 03-787 78117

Tags:  curry,  delicious,  dining,  hawker,  noodle,  prawn,  seafood,  SS2 SS3 SS4,  tomyam

Posted by KY_a | 2 Comments »