The funniest was the food parade segment when the waiters had to walk in through the other couple’s wedding to present the food to us. Anyway, throughout the night, all the waiters had to walk through the other function to get to our side because the kitchen was located on the other side of the room.  I’d be so upset if it was my wedding or my clients’ wedding. I don’t think the restaurant has the resources to host two weddings simultaneously because the serving of the dishes were rather slow and the waiters kept dissappearing. There wasn’t a continuous flow of food from one dish to the next, but it was a wonderful time for us to catch up with old high schoold friends after so many years.

Another disadvantage is that after the dinner, guests will have to walk through the empty mall to get to their car parks, and some of us got a bit lost because some of the doors were already locked. We ended up walking through Coffee Bean to get to our cars which were parked outdoor and some other friends were escorted by a security guard who led the way to get to basement carpark.

Food was average and I think it still losses out to The Oriental Group of Restaurants.

Once you bite into the popiah, the explosion of juicy ‘pang kuang’ and dried shrimps coupled with tasty egg omellete, vinegar grind chilli and fried pork lard will totally leave your tastebuds salivating for more!  It only costs RM2.30 each and the portion is huge. But trust me, one piece won’t be enough!

We are spoilt for choices when it comes to dining in Malaysia, but good dim sum selection in the morning is still quite scarce. My favourite is Restaurant Phang Yeh at Happy Garden OUG Old Klang Road. Which is your favourite?

An up-market village, if I may say so. In simple, sleek black wood interior with touches of gold-coloured finishing that are accentuated by clever lighting, this restaurant carries the best concept among all the other food outlets at 1Borneo Hypermall. It was enough to tempt us to walk in even though the restaurant was deprived of bustling customers one would expect from every Penang-themed F&B outlets.

Alas! Penangites would probably cry foul, stomp their feet and bang the tables demanding for refund and removal of the word ‘Penang’ if they ever do take a bite at this food joint, which serves food that is no where close to the distinct flavours of Penang.

We were hungry, tired and desperate for good food. So imagine our frustration when we had to wait more than 20 minutes for our food and drinks even though the restaurant only had three tables of customers of which customers at the other two tables were already eating when we sat down. The halal Lobak was pretty alright except for the sweet sauce that they drizzled over the meat which totally killed the appetiser. The deep-fried bean sprouts with carrots and spring onion was rather oily and tasteless. You must take it with the dry satay sauce.

Every other dish was averagely bad including the relatively easy dish, Sweet & Sour Fish. It reminded me of the instant sweet & sour sauce so generously used for all the sweet & sour meals at a Chinese takeaway shop in UK where I used to work when I was a student. Price wise, they have set menus starting from RM29.90 onwards. I’ve read of rave reviews on other franchise outlets in Klang Valley. I must try them out one of these days. It can’t be all that bad, can it?

Where to Eat: Penang Village, Lot C308 – C309, Concourse Floor, 1Borneo Hypermall, Jalan Sulaman, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

]]> http://www.decorateur.me/eating-out/penang-village-1borneo-hypermall-kota-kinabalu/feed/ 0 http://www.decorateur.me/eating-out/coconut-dessert-gerai-seri-cahaya-kota-kinabalu/ http://www.decorateur.me/eating-out/coconut-dessert-gerai-seri-cahaya-kota-kinabalu/#comments Wed, 03 Jun 2009 16:48:19 +0000 Natasha Khoo http://www.decorateur.me/?p=1740 Apparently kelapa bakar (roasted coconut) and coconut jelly are some of Sabah’s specialties. We stopped by this stall on our way back from Nexus Karambunai for some fresh coconut juice and home-made coconut jelly. The kelapa bakar looked curiously tempting but I wasn’t in the mood for adventure especially after a heavy meal so we skipped the black, wood-burnt coconuts.

The jelly taste pretty much like our home-made version of agar-agar gula melaka with coconut except this one is without the gula melaka and slightly richer with coconut milk. I actually find it to be a little bland without gula melaka eventhough it’s sweetened.

The stall also sells lokan panggang (grilled clams), lokan mentah (raw clams), rice, soto ayam and home-made crackers. We bought the crackers to munch while on our journey to the airport. Good stuff.

This picture was taken at Tanjung Aru beachside. Peter’s friend drove us here for drinks just before I checked in at the airport. A pretty convenient way to serve coconut juice!

Who would have guessed that out of all places in Malaysia, the best and the most authentic Hong Kong-style cafe can be found right smack at Kota Kinabalu’s new landmark, the 1Borneo Hypermall.

We didn’t have the chance to try out the tea time snacks even though we’ve been going back to this restaurant almost on a daily basis during our 6-day visit to Kota Kinabalu. The sad news is, we were prepped up in 1Borneo Hypermall from 10 to 10 daily due to work obligations, with no opportunity to venture out onto the streets of Kota Kinabalu city except for the last day.

One glance at the restaurant and one might have expected the menu to resemble Kim Gary’s mundane overpriced choice of food but as soon as you flip open the menu, you’d be greeted by so many delicious pictures, you won’t even be able to decide what to eat.

I didn’t try any of their rice options because the noodles were so good I didn’t mind eating the same dish for both lunch and dinner.

The mixed meat wonton noodle is really tasty. Their top selling point is really in their noodles. The wonton noodles resemble closely to Hong Kong’s version – cooked al dente which makes it crunchy and chewy. The serving portion is very generous too. The only setback was they didn’t serve any wonton with the noodles, you’ll have to order them separately.

The Special Shredded Pork Meat Sauce Spinach Noodle was a disappointment at first glance. However, once I mixed them up, I found the dish to be relatively good. The shredded pork was more like diced pork with sweet sauce that  had a similar taste to the fillings of char siew pao, but the mushroom carried a different aftertaste, perhaps a pinch of Chinese 5-spice seasoning mix in pork broth.  I really couldn’t tell. I guess that’s why it’s called ’special sauce’. All these mixed with the saltiness from the black sauce and spicy chilli oil made it oh-so-yummy down the the last strand of noodle.

Ashley had the fish version but I forgot to ask her about it. Looks delicious nonetheless.

At RM6.80 a bowl, the Fook Chow Fishball Seaweed Soup is a good deal. Filled with tasty minced pork and preserved vegetable, and garnished with lots of sesame seeds and chopped spring onions, the fish balls are surprisingly, very filling. Well, they are definitely not as good as the ones I’ve tried in Taiwan but still, fresh and tasty.

What I really like about this place is that it’s authentically Chinese. No slacks in ingredients. You get tasty roast pork instead of cheap sausages, Chinese fast food with a serving size that is worth the value you’re paying for and delectably familiar dishes that are not reinvented into stylish fusion names.

Go there during lunch hour between 12pm -3pm to enjoy the set lunch promotion at only RM9.90.

Where to eat: Hong Kong Recipe, G – 823, 1 Borneo Hypermall, Jalan Sulaman, 88000 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

Even though my latest trip to Ipoh did not provide much time for such leisurely activity, I was happy to have checked out these two outlets which are located close to the chicken rice hot spot. Right after dinner, we walked across the street to Comeson Restaurant which houses the Lam Fong pastry stall from 4pm onwards till late. I do not know what all these various pastries are called in the English language, but I believe the exploration of tastebuds is an adventure in itself when you check out all these cute delights. Just buy one each to try them out, and maybe come back the next day to buy more of the ones you really like.

Next stop – the Yee Thye Cake House for Perak’s famous produce [among its many other], the 香饼 (heong peng), directly translated as fragrant pastry or Biskut Madu. Ever since my friend took me to a home bakery in Taiping to buy freshly made, out-of-the-oven piping hot heong peng, every trip to this northern state is never without a few bags of this deliciously addictive treat.

These biscuits were still hot when we picked them up. They are not made in the shop itself. The pastries are transported to the outlets to be packed upon delivery. The layers of crust is crisp and flaky yet not too thick. I like the fillings very much, with just the right blend of sweetness, saltiness and fragrant shallots. So yummy I wished we had bought more

I have yet to visit the famous one in Gunung Rapat so I can’t quite compare between the various brands but I give this a thumbs up and a verdict of 8/10.

Yee Thye Cake House & Confectionery

No 1-3, Jalan Theatre, Ipoh (Tel: 05 – 241 3482)

The branch is located at No 32-36, Jalan Theatre, Ipoh (05 – 253 2270)

There are many outlets in Malaysia and we chose to go to the one nearest to where we live, at Sunway Damansara. The menu indeed left us confused as to what to order, since there was quite an array of selection. We went with the recommended dishes such as the much talked about Dendeng Daging.

As soon as I sank my teeth into the meat, I was some what disappointed. Perhaps I had greater expectations.

The fried Talapia fish (Ikan Nila Goreng) was crunchy  but not crispy, as it was served at room temperature. I always feel that fried dishes should be served fresh right out of the wok. The chilli dips for the chicken and fish were the only saving grace for our lunch.

Ayam Pop was dry and tasteless. We were annoyed during payment because they charged us RM12++ for the chicken when the menu clearly stated RM6++. Apparently, they served us two pieces of chicken because there were three of us, and because we had already consumed the chicken, we can’t argue. We honestly thought that each serving came with two pieces of chicken.

The Ais Teler was the only firm favourite among us. Creamy coconut milk with chunks of avocado and palm seeds, thin slices of fresh coconut and jackfruit, and topped with ruby red sagos that were infused with a light note of rose syrup. Rich and exotic in its taste, it was surprisingly, not as sweet as I had expected it to be. The dessert would probably be the only reason I’ll make a second visit to Restoran Sari Ratu.

Our total bill came up to a whooping RM67.75 including drinks. In my book, it’s definitely not worth the price but maybe I just don’t have deep pockets. As they say, one man’s taste is another man’s poison. So you may differing opinions.

Where to Eat

Sunway Damansara outlet: Restoran Sari Ratu, 47-1, Jalan PJU 5/12, Dataran Sunway, Kota Damansara

Kelana Jaya outlet: Restoran Sari Ratu, Dataran Glomac, Kelana Jaya

Desa Pandan outlet: Restoran Sari Ratu, No G26-G28, Jalan 4/76C, Desa Pandan, KL

Ampang outlet: No 26, Ampang Waterfront, Taman Kosas, Ampang

Bukit Bintang outlet: Sari Ratu Grand Restaurant, Ground Floor, 42-2, Jalan Sultan Ismail, Bukit Bintang, KL

Other blogs on this:

World Windows

Masak-Masak

In my reason trip to Ipoh, I was totally clueless as to where to go and what to eat. We stumbled upon this corner shop located two shop blocks away, on the next road after McDonald’s (depending on which direction you’re coming from). Brightly painted in strips of white and chilli red facade, Aun Kheng Lim is relatively difficult to miss.

Dubbed as the pioneer and king of salted chicken, Aun Kheng Lim has been serving baked salted chicken for the past 22 years. Unlike the ones we have back south, the salted chicken at Aun Kheng Lim is baked with generous serving of Chinese herbs. Juicy and tender with just the right amount of salt, the salted chicken is extremely tasty and definitely worth a stopover if ever I happen to travel up north again.

Where to Eat (takeaway only): Aun Kheng Lim Salted Chicken, 24, Jalan Theatre, 30300 Ipoh

Price: RM16 for a whole chicken

Business Hours: 10am to 6pm

I think all the Perakians are gonna shoot me for saying this but in my personal opinion, the chicken rice at Lou Wong is over-rated.

Amanda warned me that most locals go to Onn Kei on the opposite side of the road, but alas, we were pulled in by the overwhelming crowd at Lou Wong. People were waiting around for tables! Despite the chaos, the service was really good, prompt and efficient, with smiling faces. I guess this is organised chaos in motion.

Overall, the star dish of the evening was a tad bit too oily for us eventhough the texture of the chicken meat was a little dry. The bean sprouts were really good, probably the best I’ve ever tasted since I’m not really a  big fan of bean sprouts. These were fresh and crunchy with just the right amount of simple seasoning. Meat balls were superb. I could have more if it wasn’t for mom who stopped me from ordering.  I was a little disappointed with the chilli tho’. Chopped cili padi with soy sauce just didn’t sit right with chicken rice dishes.

Price is pretty reasonable. For two persons, the bill came up to RM17.90. Any other recommendations beside Lou Wong or Onn Kei in Ipoh?