Archive for the ‘Coffee Shop’ Category
The Wok Cafe is a newly opened restaurant at Kota Damansara serving home-cooked authenthic Penang Style Nyonya Cuisine. If you’re from Penang, The Wok might sound familiar because their first branch – Hot Wok is indeed located in Penang along Burmah Road (previously at Tanjong Tokong).
Opened only about a month ago, Mervyn the head cook and owner extended an invitation to me to their restaurant to try their Nyonya cuisine and Penang hawker food. Being an avid fan of Penang hawker food, I was eager to find out if The Wok could live up to the standards.
It was a surprise visit because I happened to be at Kota Damansara for dinner and suddenly remembered about Mervyn’s invitation. After meeting the owner himself and got ourself seated, he presented us with The Wok’s menu, which was extensive and had almost all the Nyonya food I’ve ever known. But I was actually more interested in the Penang hawker food listed in the last page, lol.
Anyway take a look at the drinks, can you guess what are they? No they are not teh ais and sirap bandung but soya milk mixed with gula Melaka and rose syrup respectively! I think I have openly expressed my dislike towards gula Melaka before but when combined with soya milk, it was a great and refreshing drink for me. This is so simple you can try making one yourself!
A serving of Otak-otak (for two persons) cost RM5. Under the soft and squishy fish paste was a layer of fish meat. I enjoyed it but I might have loved it more if only it was spicier.
Since Mervyn stressed that they have retained the original Penang cooking style when it comes to their hawker food, the easiest way to verify this claim was to order a bowl of Hokkien Mee (Prawn Mee) @ RM6.
And truthfully enough, the Prawn Mee was of Penang style with light and sweet tasting soup packed with prawn flavor. Interesting enough, some nice and crunchy lard was present in the noodle. Ah.. it has been a long time since I last tasted a good bowl of Prawn Mee like this in KL.
Char Koay Teow, the iconic Penang hawker food @ RM7. There’s simply no other food that can represent Penang better. I particularly ordered this because I had been deprived of a good Char Koay Teow for months, lol.
If you feel RM7 is expensive for Char Koay Teow, well don’t be because that’s the standard price for any restaurants here. Besides, the price is justifiable by the big portion and the four huge, fresh sea prawns. My god those prawns were so meaty and juicy.
The Wok included sliced fish cakes into their Char Koay Teow, which is not a norm in Penang. And one of my favorite ingredients, cockles was missing too. When asked about the cockles, Mervyn explained that the cockles were not fresh that day so they were omitted from the dish. An acceptable explanation. I wouldn’t want any unfresh ingredients in my Char Koay Teow that would spoil the whole dish or, worse still, cause me food poisoning later.
To be honest, it tasted nice for a plate of Char Koay Teow especially those yummy prawns.. simply heavenly. But if compared to the real Penang style Char Koay Teow, I found the authenticity to be lacking due to the lack of the special fragrance and ‘wok hei’. I feel I am very picky, lol.
Just to be fair, it’s not easy to be a master in all Penang hawker food. Even Penang hawkers themselves are specialized in their very own food only. You won’t be able to find a stall selling both great Prawn Mee and Char Koay Teow, would you?
Mervyn then suggested that we give their Penang Hokkien Char a try. Hokkien Char is a fried noodle (usually yellow mee mixed with vercimilli mee) with dark soya sauce and meat, prawns and vegetables @ RM7. Sometimes liver is included as well.
Like the Char Koay Teow we had earlier, The Wok wasn’t stingy with the ingredients. Huge juicy prawns and generous strips of meat were given.
If eaten on its own Hokkien Char seems like a very normal noodle, which is why sambal is so important for this dish. Sambal is like the soul of Hokkien Char, to provide the desirable spicy and slightly sourish flavor to this noodle. Even just a hint of sambal would make all the difference in the taste and open up your appetite.
But not all sambal would make the cut yeah, because only authentic Penang sambal is qualified for the task. Well, I am glad to say Mervyn has managed to cook the Hokkien Char and sambal very faithfully according to Penang style.
Then it was time for desserts. First up was Cendol @ RM3.30.
And followed by Sago Nangka @ RM3.30 too. Both SL and I preferred this to cendol because the jackfruit bits and sago were just much enjoyable compared to starch noodles and kidney beans. This is highly recommended for desserts.
The father and son team of The Wok Cafe has put in a lot of effort decorating the restaurant to give it a 50-60s feel. With many Nyonya decor, antiques, photos around, dining at The Wok Cafe felt like being sent back to the past.
Round marble tables and old coffee shop chairs will bring out the nostalgic feeling in you. Provided if you’re born before or around the 80s lah, else I doubt you would feel a thing lol.
I know Penang Hokkien Char is not easy to find in KL after being here for some time. So, if you’re curious about how Hokkien Char tastes like and not visiting Penang anytime soon, do head to The Wok Cafe to try it. The Nyonya cuisine looked pretty interesting as well and I won’t hesitate to return to sample it. And if you’re staying near Kota Damansara, do know that I am pretty jealous of you because you have easy access to great Penang food cooked by a true Penangite lol.
The Wok Cafe
Authentic Penang Nyonya & Local Cuisine
26, Jalan PJU 5/21
The Strand, Kota Damansara
PS* – The Wok Cafe is located at the newer shoplots across the road from Kayu’s Nasi Kandar. After turning into The Strand from the traffic light, keep left and you will notice a big electrical shop and Alliance bank. The Wok Cafe is just behind.
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While we were having our breakfast at waiting our foods to arrive, a light breeze carried some nice, fragrant smell that the food database in our brain quickly searched for association of this fragrant smell. The flashed images of apong quickly came into our attention.
Our heads immediately turn to the direction of the aroma to look for a familiar sight, apong stall.
In a small stall setup, we see this man preparing to cook some apongs out from the two charcoal stove. Hmmm.. with just only two stoves available, there is not much output that can be produced at one time. Tam Ciak commented this man could be a retiree trying to past time and make some pocket money at the same time. Quite enterprising, eh?
The man is quite friendly and chatty as we stand nearby to wait for our orders. As Huat Koay begins to snap pictures, one of his friends teased him of being famous which the man blushes and look downwards most of the time… heheheh
This indian snacks is sold as a side dish at the stall besides apong. Hmm.. what is the name of this snack?
Using the charcoal to bake/ steam the apong will result in slow yet much consistent finished product because of the slow heat used. Of course, with the charcoal fire burning, it will last longer than using the gas stove.
The pan can fit each apong nicely like mini size wok. The heat from the charcoal will slow bake/steam the apong till it is ready for consumption. Normally, the mixture will be poured onto the middle portion and the seller will turn the pan around until the mixture covers the bigger surface area.
Of course, the remaining will usually falls back to the middle which is why the middle portion is always thicker compared to the edge. The more mixture put each time, the thicker middle portion it will be.
The apong that is ready is put in front of the stove on top of the banana leaves but then there is no cover on top to prevent flies or insects to contaminate the food. Surprisingly though, we did not see any fly or insects nearby the stall, pure coincidence?
The apong is much crispier and tastier with thinner middle part which Huat Koay prefers compared to the one at . Maybe we were just plain hungry that time…
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Another weekend foodhunt…hehehe. Saturdays used to be a day that we would sleep much longer to recharge our body after whole week’s work but these days, it has become our food hunt day of the week especially given the amount of time that we can drive around Penang to search for food.
Our food hunt started with first stop at Delima Mas Kopitiam at Greenlane Market, the one opposite Hamid Khan secondary school. This kopitiam is also on the other end of Genting Kopitiam where we covered and before.
Being a hokkien mee lover, Huat Koay is naturally inclined to order one whenever he sees such option available.
The hokkien mee arrives shortly emitting the familiar aroma the moment it is put on the table. The hokkien mee looks like as if it does not have enough soup as you can see most of the top part. Or is it because of the generous amount of ingredients? We think the former is more accurate to describe.
This is another stall that has kangkung as part of the ingredients which Huat Koay looks forward to see. The other stall that also has kangkung is the one at . The soup has just enough prawn taste but a slightly stronger taste would be preferable.
The hokkien mee looks pretty decent and basic without the option to add internals like the one in . Yet, we prefer this type of hokkien mee as it looks more complete with all the “proper” ingredients required for hokkien mee. Each bowls sells RM2.30 for regular and RM2.80 for large.
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Fancy having a bowl of piping hot seafood beehoon or pork porridge? I had my share over at Lam Kei located in Nam Thean coffee shop along the busy Jalan Jelutong. This stall has been around for thirty-five years with the second generation taking over now. They have another stall selling this similar food inside [...]
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We found ourselves relaxing and indulging in the Afternoon Tea at the elegant Rasa Wing Lounge in Rasa Sayang Resort and Spa, situated in the tourist belt of Batu Feringhi. Our previous visit to this beautiful resort was for the buffer dinner at the Spice Market Cafe, but this time we opted for a relaxing [...]
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The old town coffeeshop in SS2 is real takai desu compare too many old town coffee shop which is a bit small. There have ample of seats as well as is feel like u are in a nyonya style place
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That’s some of the picture I am able to snap this time
Kelly ordered the curry mee.. overall the curry mee taste is not bad.. but is not as spicy as I thought it should. Overall the curry mee is some sorts like nyonya style as it is very lemak.
For me I ordered Lam mee which is also called Birthday Mee. The Lam Mee is nice.. and the sauce is real sticky as well. and is real big plate.. neverless we ordered the coffee as well.. but I din snap dem.. hahhaa…
overall the taste is really ichiban compared to the one in Penang
Taste: 4/5
Service: 2/5
Price: 19 for 2 person
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Dinner for the family during the weekend was deliciousness right from the sea in a seafood restaurant in Teluk Kumbar. The restaurant, Teluk Kumbar Seafood is located behind the closed down Yellow Bus Terminal on the left side of the road from Penang airport. I have always wanted to try the food at this place [...]
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I tried googling for the best Hainanese Chicken Rice shop in Malaysia and I had 2,440 results. I don’t know about you but the result probably says chicken rice is one of the most common meal around. Don’t quote me but try looking for a decent coffee shop or “kopitiam” that doesn’t sell chicken rice?
I am not saying Kar Heong sells the best chicken rice in town ….. nope, because I am sure there are better ones. But let’s just say they are decently good, and if you happen to be within the vicinity of Dataran Sunway, Kota Damansara AND you’re craving for chicken rice … do check them out.
So what’s good in Kar Heong. Hmmm … I would have to say ….. chicken rice. Served with bean sprouts or more popularly known locally as “tau-geh”. Then you might want to order the Roasted Pork, or locally known as “Siu Yuk”. Well, I like my Siu Yuk to be crispy and they happen to serve it the way I like it. Yummy !
On the other hand, the BBQ Pork or Char Siu … isn’t that ‘happening’. How ‘unhappening’ you say? Well, all I can say is …. there’s A LOT more room for improvement … if you get my drift 
So that’s pretty much all there is in a wholesome 4 course chicken rice meal.
Generally, I would give Kar Heong a 5 out of 10 which is pretty alright. That’s just me. So you might want to check it out and rate them yourself. And don’t worry about the price, it’s affordable ….
So why not? Take a culinary challenge. From me.
Address:
23-1, Jalan PJU 5/10,
Dataran Sunway,
Kota Damansara
Here’s 2 other reviews …
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Another Penang food that most people enjoyed eating is the Penang Lorbak. It is an appetizer, a side dish of fried mixed stuff of fish fritters, fried beancurd, spring rolls, fried octopus, preserved century eggs and the lorbak roll.
The lorbak roll itself consists of chunky bites of marinated five spiced pork wrapped with bean curd [...]
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PD Ostrich Show Farm is one of the main attractions in Port Dickson, which I only discovered when I was planning my trip through the Internet. Usually when Port Dickson is mentioned, the beaches will come into mind first since it is mainly famous for that. So, I wouldn’t have guessed that an ostrich farm would be here as well. To be honest I wasn’t too keen on visiting the farm at first but since it was recommended by many people who visited it before, I went anyway.
Ostrich Show Farm is located on the 9th mile of the Port Dickson coastal road, quite easy to find if you are driving along the coastal road. The entrance was RM8 for adults and RM6 for kids, quite pricey for a mini zoo if you ask me.. it’s more expensive than visiting Malacca Zoo!
Funnily enough, the first animal we went to see was the horse at the petting zoo instead of ostriches lol. There were a couple of rabbits as well but they were closed in small cages so we couldn’t touch them 
Saw some turkeys wondering around, and that’s a fat one for sure. Didn’t dare to move too close to them as male turkeys are quite aggressive and territorial. I know this because we used to rear a pair of turkeys back in my house.
What bird is this? Seen it quite a number of times at numerous bird parks throughout the country.
The nicest looking male ostrich among all, handsome looking with a perfect coat of feathers. The rest mostly had a bare bottom which is emm.. not a very nice sight lol.
Since it’s more like a mini zoo, there are many other animals to see like crocodiles, goats, civets and small reptiles. But the star would be Abu, a female Macaque which was very clever in plucking coconuts.
Although Abu had a fierce look and bared her teeth occasionally, it was safe to take a photo with her. She was very intelligent too, as soon as someone sits next to her, she would climb over and sit on their laps for photo taking.
The trainer pinching her mouth lol. I took a photo with Abu and you may have seen it before at my . It was a nice to be able to get so close to a Macaque, the feeling was warm, fluffy and emm.. wet underneath lol.
By the way, Abu’s favorite food is durian ice cream, you should’ve seen her eating it after the show.. simply adorable.
After meeting with Abu it was time for ostrich race. Here, you can ride an ostrich provided you are not more than 75kg and it costs RM4 each time. None of the people who went that day dared to ride the ostriches so we were all spectators.
Now you know the bare bottom I mentioned earlier? I really have no idea what happened to the ostriches that would cause such a big bald spot, lol.
We bought some animal feed at RM2 each box which contained yellow corn and proceeded to the feeding area. While feeding the ostriches, one important thing to do was to open your palms outward as wide as possible. This is because ostrich has a rather long and sharp beak that would hurt your fingers when they peck the food from your hand.
Not to mention they peck really hard too.
Located between the ostrich race track and petting zone was a small hut with three ostrich eggs under it. Let me tell you why they were there.. to be stepped on! Ostrich eggs are the largest of all eggs and have a shell so tough that it could support an adult’s weight. I tried stepping on it and yeah nothing happened, felt like stepping on a rock only hehe.
Ostrich satay was available at the cafeteria and I ordered some to try.
It wasn’t nice though.. the meat was tough, dry and had a rough texture. *addon: There were many comments about the ostrich satay’s untastiness so I just wanna clarify.. ostrich meat is one of the best meat you can eat in the world for being low in fat. It tastes awesome if you cook it with black pepper or ginger and onion, with a very similar taste to lean beef but a lot tender. It was just that the ostrich satay I had was terrible. Maybe because very old meat was used, or the cook overcooked them*
After the meal and a brief rest, we decided to leave because it started to rain. But before that we fed all the remaining corn to the goats just next to the exit. They were super active and would run and jump around just to get to our food lol.
OK the visit seemed short but we actually spent a good 3 hours there. There was a crocodile feeding session which I didn’t show because it was shown twice in my previous trips to and . If you’re not a beach lover or not looking for a swim, PD Ostrich Show Farm is a nice place to visit especially for families.
Lot 1419, Jalan Kemang 13,
Batu 9, Jalan Pantai,
71050 Port Dickson,
Negeri Sembilan,
Malaysia.
Tel: 012-3317770 / 019 – 3604466
Fax: 06 – 6625421
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