Kyspeaks.com

My futsal buddy (don’t judge a person by his look, he’s a much better player than me) Shiang has been asking me for a dinner at his family restaurant Tram Car for quite a while. I finally managed to find time and two pretty ladies and headed there some two weeks ago for dinner.

Tram Car is actually run by the same people who ran the old Cable Car at Jaya just down the road (now Jaya 33)

Tram Car, the “new” Cable Car

Grace, Eiling, and I met Shiang at the restaurant on a Thursday night and business was pretty brisk. The restaurant is located just opposite the big Toyota showroom and service center at Seksyen 19 so you actually have a choice of pretending to be a pontential Toyota buyer and park your car there for free, or by the road, or pay for it at Jaya 32 for a safer choice.

Escargot, prawn cocktail, soups

We started off with garlic breads, salad, and a dozen escargot. The garlic breads were actually pretty nice, but I only had a bite in order to save my stomach for more. Escargot is always one of my favorites and I think I must have had close to half a dozen snails to myself while the girls finished the rest. I like the cream sauce that goes with it.

garlic bread, pandan sago dessert, salad

Next came three bowls of soup, sharks fin with crab meat, oxtail soup, and French baked onion. I find the soups pretty thick, and if I try to finish the whole bowl I probably could fill my stomach pretty good with the accompanying garlic bread and salad without going for the main course. They are, however, pretty flavorful though.

The nicest appetizer we tried was actually the shrimp cocktail. Generous portion of prawn on fresh vegetables with home made thousand island dressing and topped with ebiko. The dressing tasted very sinful and I think the ebiko is a really nice touch.

baked fish, steak combo, seafood platter

I think I was already half full when the main dishes came. Eiling got the baked fish (which is covered with white sauce and mushroom, plus a baked potato), Grace had the seafood platter, and I went for the the steak combo.

I took a bite of the baked fish (kurau filet), though aesthetically not very pleasing, I must say it actually tasted pretty nice. The steak combo I had was very rich, with two huge tiger prawn that are absolutely delicious, and a piece of steak that proved to be a bit too much for me. The seafood platter was not bad at all either, according to Grace.

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grace, shiang, eiling

Tram Car priced themselves rather reasonably. The soups are from Rm 6.90 to 11.90, baked fish, seafood platter, and mixed grill are RM 17.90, 27.90, and 45.90, a dozen escargot for RM 26.90. Well, you get the idea.

Other than western foods, there are plenty of local delights like fried rice and various noodle dishes too. There are also lunch specials at RM 14.90 (and lunch can be quite packed)

Map to Jaya 32 at Seksyen 19, PJ

If you’ve been to Cable Car before, Tram Car would be very similar.

More photos at here.

Address:
B-11-01, 32 Square,
No. 2, Jalan 19/11
46300 PJ, Selangor
GPS: 3.111131,101.631936
Tel: 03-7958 8588

Sometimes last month, one of the readers of this blog, Lilian, sent me a “be a member for one day” coupon to Shangri-La hotel for the second time in as many years (Thank you Lilian!) Since I have dined in their Japanese restaurant Zipangu before, I decided to head to their acclaimed French restaurant, Lafite

Lafite at Shangri-La, KL

The membership benefit works a little differently at Lafite, 50% discount is provided for lunch, while only 20% for dinner (for 2 person). I figured dinner would be too much of a drag for the wallet and decided to try their showcase lunch instead.

The very sweet Grazie decided to join me for lunch since both of us work not far from the hotel, and Lafite is closed for lunch on weekends.

mini loafs, salmon sandwich, seared tuna, beef

The whole lunch process is a little different here. To start with, there’s the familiar mini loafs with butter, then some 10 different appetizers and teasers from the showcase (ala buffet style), a main course we get to pick from 6-7 choices, and finally a predetermined dessert as the conclusion.

Grazie and I must have tried at least half a dozen appetizers, I find the beef and seared tuna to be particularly good, and the salmon sandwich pretty special in a slightly odd way. The mini loafs were really good as well, but due to limited stomach space I only had one of those.

main course: duck confit & citrus scallop

I ordered Duck Confit (duck thigh) and the lady went for the Citrus Scallop. The duck is served with pomme puree with mushroom ragout and some green beans. While I normally think duck breast tastes better, the duck confit was surprisingly good. Very savory and tasty.

The Citrus Scallop was very good as well. Seared scallops with orzo, lemon, and tomato olive reduction. The sweet seafood taste of scallop mixes well with tangy citrus reduction, unique, light, and delicious.

Grazie and Damon’s dessert sampler

To conclude our lunch, Damon’s Dessert Sampler is served. The server politely told us that chef recommended dessert to be consumed from right to left.

The first item was a sort of sorbet that is very, very sour. The sort of sourness that makes a 3 year old goes all wrinkly. As it turned out, it was a perfect way to wash our taste buds anew for the next item, a creamy hot chocolate. Then came a little piece of sweetish pastry, strawberry with cream, and finally a soft candy. It was all presented very nicely with the taste that matches.

Shangri-La Hotel is just a short walk from KLCC

Full price for the showcase lunch is RM 68++ per person. With the 50% discount, lunch for two came to less than RM 100, a pretty good deal for the food, the ambiance, and of course, the company (your mileage might vary).

Address:
Shangri-la Hotel
Jalan Sultan Ismail
Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.152139, 101.709419
Tel: 03-2032 2388