The uptown food court is one of those places where you can find things to eat around the clock but not being a mamak stalls area like SS2 nor a centralized food court like ming tien. I was dragged there after a weekday badminton session that ended up past 11pm and was told that I should sample the old school yong tau foo.

double boiled and double deep fried goodness

Ah Keong Yong Tau Foo is said to have been in operation for quite a number of years. Though I cannot claim by 100% certainty that this place is halal, I did see quite a number of Muslim friends eating there. Furthermore, the yong tau foo doesn’t seems to contain any meat product other than the sausage, most items consist of vegetable, tofu and fish paste.

Most of us know that yong tau foo consists of a variety of usually but not limited to fish paste based products, that includes fish ball; red chili, brinjal, okra, bitter gourd stuffed with fish paste, tofu, crab stick, fu chok, and even sausage. The items are usually boiled or deep fried.

sinful late night delights

At this particular stall, these already boiled and fried pieces of goodness will be boiled and deep fried again right before being served to ensure the freshness and the steaming temperature. This certainly make the food tasted extra fresh and never stale, the sauce that came with the yong tau foo was also very rich and compliments the ingredients very well. It was not easy to not over order.

the food court is located at the heart of Damansara Uptown

The yong tau foo is reasonably priced, my plate costs RM5+. Just about the only downside is that you have to wait a bit longer for the food to be reboiled and refried, but that’s the whole point of going there instead of places like Ampang or Jalan Ipoh, right?

Address:
Ah Keong Yong Tau Foo Chee Cheong Fan
Gerai 1097, Damansara Uptown Food Court
GPS: 3.134683, 101.621872

Tags:  damansara,  hawker-center,  uptown,  yong-tau-foo,  ytf

Posted by KY | 11 Comments »

It’s been a while since I had some Lam Mee (淋面), so when I went there to yum char with my buddy Kenneth last weekend, I ordered a plate of this wholesome noodle dish despite having just had lunch a little over an hour.

ahh… mouth watering

Living Food Restaurant has been in operation for quite a number of years, and is actually operated by the sister of the famous May King Lam Mee at Pudu. The interior of the restaurant, while resembles a kopitiam, is clean and air conditioned.

Ordering food is very simple too, just write down the number of items you want on the little ordering template provided, and hand it to the waiter. Prices are written on a giant board on the wall, so you can work with your budget. It’s simple and minimizes a lot of waiting time.

ordering is easy as 1-2-3

I ordered the Lam Mee with thin noodle and mee hun, while Kenneth had the more traditional version with the thicker noodle. The dish basically resembles Loh Mee (卤面) in Penang, like the famous outlet in Chai Leng Park, Penang. The biggest difference being the chili paste provided, Loh Mee usually comes with the Prawn Mee style chili paste and finely chopped garlic, while Lam Mee here comes with a thinner, but spicier chili paste.

prices are written on the wall

The flavor of the dish was very good, with the sauce thick and best served warm. The ingredients include prawn, slices of pork, bean sprouts, fried shallots, some green onion as garnish, and of course, your choice of noodle. We also ordered some “fu chuk”, fish ball, and deep fried “sui kow” in an attempt to stuff ourselves.

Living Food Restaurant is located at Uptown

The main dish costs from RM 4.50 to RM 5.30, and the side orders were RM0.80 a piece. Pretty reasonably priced, and a satisfying tea time indeed. Do note that this restaurant is not opened for dinner though, they only serve from morning till around 6pm.

This Lam Mee place is just a few shops away from Sate Kajang Haji Samuri, and just behind the economical Hokano Japanese restaurant

Address:
67, Jalan SS21/37
Damansara Utama
47400 PJ, Selangor
GPS: 3.133060, 101.622194

Tags:  hawker-food,  lam-mee,  loh-mee,  prawn,  sui-kow,  uptown

Posted by KY | 13 Comments »

Everyone who knows anything about Satay (or sate) knows that Kajang serves them best, just like Klang has the best bak kut teh. However, Kajang is not exactly located at the heart of Klang Valley, and fuel prices being at this level, it make sense to find closer alternatives. Luckily, some of the famous Kajang satay houses have expanded their operations to friendlier locations, and one of the most prominent and successful satay restaurants, Haji Samuri, can be found at Damansara Uptown, among other places (see the wiki link for more locations).

satay in peanut sauce with sambal

Unlike the traditional satay places that are often associated with shacks and less than hygienic dining condition with plenty of flies and weather unfriendly location, Sate Haji Samuri is a mid standard restaurant with clean and comfortable interior. A place worthy of bringing your in-laws, perhaps.

For dinner, instead of the more common chicken, beef, and mutton satays, I also ordered a couple sticks of the rarer rabbit and deer meat variety. There are also tripe, liver, and fish satay, but my stomach is only so big. We also ordered a couple ketupats to go along with the meat.

9 different sateys to choose from

It did take a while before the food came, mostly because the meat is BBQed on demand, especially for the less popular rabbit and deer varieties. However, it was definitely worth the short wait, the satays came steaming hot and tasted very good. I like the fact that they give you unlimited very thick peanut sauce and have the sambal (chili paste) separate so you can cater for your own level of spiciness. The ketupat complimented the satay’s meaty and spicy peanut sauce with a more blunt taste very well, and there’s the standard fresh shallots and cucumber to complete the dish. It was very delicious.

After sampling 5 different types of meat, my favorite is still chicken and beef. The rabbit meat tends to be a little dry due to the lack of fats (see rabbit starvation for more info). Mutton and deer meat were just average, in my opinion.

ketupat is usually the side dish that goes well with satey

The price per stick ranges from RM 0.60 (chicken, beef) to RM 1.60 (rabbit), and RM 0.80 for one ketupat. Pretty reasonably priced, considering the generous portion of meat on each stick.

Another equally good satay place can be found at Ampang, but only offering chicken and beef satays. If you’re into some non-halal pork satay, try Kedai Satay Xiang Ji at Melaka.

Sate Haji Samuri is just a couple kilometers from 1-utama

Address:
No. 79, Jalan 21/37,
Damansara Uptown,
Petaling Jaya
GPS: 3.132996, 101.622720
Tel: 03-7710 5318

Tags:  damansara,  kajang,  malay-food,  peanut-sauce,  satay,  uptown

Posted by KY | 25 Comments »

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

Tags:  damansara,  Japanese,  Japanese-Food,  KY TV,  sashimi,  sushi,  uptown,  video

Posted by KY | 18 Comments »

Hunting for a simple and pleasant place for dinner, my buddy Kenneth suggested Restaurant Grandma Kitchen Cafe at Damansara Uptown. I just have to try it since the dude said this place serves the “xiao long bao” (小龙包) in a particularly interesting way.

the LMF is there too.

Though Uptown is notorious for having a horrendous parking situation, we didn’t find much trouble putting away the car legally since it was at night. Your luck might vary.

The restaurant is located just a few shops next to RHB bank. The decoration is simple but pleasant. There are plenty of choices to choose from, cook-to-order dimsum, fried rice, noodle, and various other local dishes to go with steamed rice as well.

suck the juice!

Once I spotted the Petai Seafood fried rice on the menu, the choice is simple. I ordered that and the famous “101″ premium juicy dumpling (the xiao long bao). The other noobs ordered Tomyam seafood fried rice and a plate of butter chicken with curry leaves.

The petai fried rice did not disappoint, and the xiao long bao was very tasty as well. A word of cautious though, since the xiao long bao came with a little straw for you to suck the juice, don’t do it straight! Wait for a couple minutes to let it cool down first, alternatively, you can steal a Starbucks super-hot-liquid friendly straw. hehe

get your own sambal

The fried rice costs RM 6.80 per portion, and the excellent xiao long bao RM 3.80. Drinks are priced pretty reasonably at RM 2.30 to RM 4+. Overall a pretty good value for the food and environment. Will definitely go there again.

map of uptown

Restoran Grandma Kitchen Cafe
Address:
6, Jalan SS21/39, D.U.,
PJ, 47400 Selangor
GPS: 3.137367, 101.622763
Tel: 03-7722 1886

Tags:  dumpling,  fried-rice,  petai,  PJ,  uptown,  xiao-long-bao

Posted by KY | 14 Comments »