Otto Ristorante
Regular readers will know I have a weakness for pasta and sushi. So when I read about the delicious lobster pasta from Otto Ristorante, an Italian restaurant that had been established for about a year or so now, I made a mental note to visit because the recommendation came from the , a lady whom I have never met before but am quite positive our taste buds more or less synchronise.
It made the perfect lunch spot when a girlfriend surprised me with her shout-out to meet for lunch. There, I found good service from Shar, a familiar face previously from Garibaldi Group, who was very accommodating with our various requests when placing the orders. In the end, I opted for the set lunch just so I don’t have to think too much given I knew I had to have the pasta as my main course. The regular set lunch costs a reasonable $35++ but I topped up some to make a switch.
Now, I shall not waste too much time talking about the appetizer and dessert, both of which were average at best. Onto the main course that I had been wanting to try, while I cannot proclaim the pasta to be the best that I had, Otto’s was quite well executed. I would have preferred it spicy as stated in the description, but what I was served, definitely had no heat at all.
Having said that, the al dente linguine pasta, a generous serving at that, was coated with a most moreish sauce and there were fresh lobster chunks dotted all over though I did find myself wishing there was more! I was stuffed after all that carb but I am already eyeing the other pastas on the menu!
28 Maxwell Road
#01-02 Red Dot Traffic Building
Singapore 069120
Tel: 6227 6819
Read the original here:
Saint Pierre can be affordable
On this occasion, we had:
main course: roasted cod, fennel salad
(loved the crispy skin and fresh firm taste of bream)
(my favourite is comte!)
.
Originally posted here:
Yaki-Yaki Japanese Barbeque Buffet Restaurant @ Jalan Bukit Bintang
After witnessing the huge success of has managed to achieve by offering 50% discount on all dining period, many other Japanese buffet restaurants are doing the same too. Xenri, Daidomon and now the newly opened Yaki-Yaki Japanese Barbeque Buffet Restaurant too.
These promotions or competition you might say, are definitely good news for Japanese buffet lovers. Anyway, yesterday was the day Earth Hour was celebrated and we happened to be at Bukit Bintang area wondering where to have dinner. We looked at Starhill’s Jogoya and it cost RM88++ per pax, pricey.. Then we suddenly remembered Yaki-Yaki next to Low Yat Plaza.
We decided to give it a try because it was quite cheap for a buffet @ RM46.25 nett per pax (including service charge and tax) We didn’t make any reservations and dined as walk-in guests.
After we got our table and paid the full amount, we were guided to a round table just next to the beverage area. Each table has its own captain in charge, and any orders for barbecue are to be made through him. To ensure the food is maintained at its freshest, Yaki-Yaki only serves the food (for barbecue only) when an order is received.
After making an initial order for some scallops, unagi, beef and Chicken with Wine Soup. We took a quick tour around the restaurant to see the available choices. Yaki-Yaki has Japanese (sushi, sashimi, tempura), Chinese (cooked seafood), Western, seafood, skewers (mushroom, satay, sausage) and dessert sections.
The first thing I had was of course some sashimi, raw oysters and an Unagi sushi – just to test the freshness. The sashimi was definitely fresh and very enjoyable, that alone was enough to make me a happy person lol.
Mussel with mayonnaise, sushi and steamed prawns with herbs. The prawns (freshwater type) at Yaki-Yaki are very fresh, another good news for me. Among all prawns in the buffet, I found this cooking style the nicest because the herbal taste wasn’t too strong and you can still taste the prawns’ sweet flesh.
Perfect half boiled egg the Japanese style, called Spring Water Egg.
I think Jogoya started it, and thanks to them the newer Japanese buffets serve these mini fresh coconuts. Very sweet and refreshing! Oh you don’t have to worry that they will run out, Yaki-Yaki replenished them very quickly and generously. No need to compete with the other diners for it lol (you know what I mean hehe)
The first food to arrive from our barbecue order – Scallop with Butter Cream sauce. It was nice to see the butter melt and cooking the scallops when they are placed on the barbecue. But too bad the same couldn’t be said for the taste. By the way, the time needed to cook the food is written in the menu itself. For example the scallops need to be barbecued for 3.5 minutes, while fish typically needs 4 minutes. Better bring a long a friend who can read Chinese because the timings are all written in Chinese.
Miso Beef, lots of fat in this one.
Because they are sliced to thinly, they cook pretty fast in 1-2 minutes. And they tend to stick to the grill too.
The melting of the fat will make the fire burn even stronger. I managed to remain calm and took some photos while my gang was freaked out trying to put off the fire, lol.
Left to right: Beef, Lamb and Chicken Satay, they were very spicy! Funny that only Chicken Satay was not in skewered form.
The list of food can be ordered for barbecue includes: Chicken Slice with Honey sauce, Miso Chicken, Lamb Belly Tender, Beef Striploin, Hokkaido Sanma Fish, Shishamo, Argentina Squid, Crab with Butter Cream Sauce, Japanese Rich Ball and Mochi and etc.
A plate of delicately prepared Japanese tofu, some more mussels and cooked scallops.
Tempura Soft Shell Crabs, no doubt one of the most popular items in the buffet. But luckily Yaki-Yaki replenished them very frequently too. I didn’t have to wait long for it.
Tempura Prawns,very crunchy since I got them just after they were deep fried.
More sashimi, all were nice and fresh. Special mention to the sliced abalone with spicy chili sauce, which was great as well.
The Ebi (prawn) is a must try, very flavorful.
The Unagi with Japanese Tofu (upper left) was another yummy dish.
The cooked scallops at the sashimi section tasted much better than those for barbecue.
We didn’t enjoy the Cod Fish because it got hard, dry and salty after being barbecued.
Luckily the Unagi was very nice. But you gotta pay extra attention when cooking them because they get burnt very easily. Shown here is a portion for three.
Whole pomfret, Garoupa (head and tail only), huge clams and tiger prawns were available at seafood section. They were very fresh as well but weren’t really suitable to go on the grill except the clams. Reason being they tend to get really dry and tasteless after being barbecued.
Some food tasted much better if Yaki-Yaki’s recommended cooking method was followed. Firstly, place the clams in the small aluminum foil plates. Then, fill up the plate with some Chinese wine before placing them on the barbecue grill. Although this will make them take longer to cook, you will be rewarded with tasty clams infused with the fragrance of Chinese wine. You really gotta try it.
OK, enough of what I had and lets take a tour of the restaurant. First stop, Chinese food section.
Butter prawns
Cooked crabs
Snails
Cawanmushi and different types of soup
Chicken Herbal Soup
Fresh coconuts that come in large containers in front of the kitchen counter. I have to admit they weren’t displayed as fancy as those in Tenji or Jogoya but who cares as long as they are replenished fast, that’s what I think really matters. Other fruits like orange, apple, dragon fruit and kiwi can be found here too.
Raw Satays
Skewered sausages, which I didn’t try any. There’s skewered mushroom, sweet potato and corns nearby too.
The soft shell crabs prepared at the tempura station were not only for the diners but also for the sushi section. Half of the soft shell crabs being fried here would be sent to the sushi section used to prepare California Rolls. So, no pre-fried soft shell crabs were used at all.
Sashimi and oyster section. This section is the best for me because most of the food tasted great.
Salmon Sashimi, orangery goodness!
The chef is very friendly and likes to talk to the customers. He will also give recommendations if you are unsure of what to eat. Cool guy.
He’s so friendly that he even volunteered to pose for me while holding a huge slice of salmon.
Mussels
Scallops
A huge selection of drinks were available, from soft drinks to coffee, tea and fruit juice.
The iced Nescafe was pretty good!
Brew your very own coffee here.
A fridge containing Fruit Jellies is located next to the drink vending machines.
And lastly, the Sauce Station with some unique looking containers. OK, I didn’t write a lot because I feel the 50+ photos are pretty much self-explanatory of what is served in Yaki-Yaki. Overall, very good Japanese buffet and I actually enjoyed the warm, cooked food more than the barbecue.
For RM46.25 (promotion period only, and 5% government tax and 10% service charge on NORMAL PRICE) this buffet is very worth visiting and I highly recommend it if they can maintain the quality and freshness of the food. And I think many of you want a comparison of Yaki-Yaki and Tenji, so here goes:
- i. Better, fresher food overall.
- ii. Premium food like tempura, coconuts, sashimi, oyster and scallops are replenished very fast.
- iii. More attentive and efficient LOCAL staff (waiters, cook)
- iv. Tatami rooms for private gathering
- v. Longer dining period (3 to 4 hours)
- vi. Made me feel like returning!
- i. Almost non-existent dessert section, only jellies and some normal ice cream served (No Haagen-Dazs here).
- ii. Very dark environment.
- iii. Hot environment because of the barbecue, will sweat.
- iv. Less photography freedom (not allowed to take photos of the restaurant)
50% discount only from 16/03/2009 to 30/04/2009
Buffet Lunch NP RM65++ 11:00am to 2:30pm (3.5 hours)
Buffet Hi-tea NP RM55++ 2:30pm to 5:30pm (3 hours)
Buffet Dinner NP RM75++ 6:00pm to 10:00pm (4 hours)
Buffet Supper NP RM65++ 10:00pm to 2:00am (4 hours)
Yaki-Yaki Japanese Barbeque Buffet Restaurant,
Ground Floor, Federal Bowl,
Jalan Bukit Bintang,
Off Jalan Bukit Bintang,
Bukit Bintang Central,
55100 Kuala Lumpur (next to Plaza Low Yat)
Reservation: +603-2142 8111
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By Invitation: Karaikudi Restaurant at Market Street, Little India
My family and I eat regularly at , but we’ve never gone to the original outlet at Market Street. I’ve always enjoyed the food there which serves Chettinad cuisine and immediately said yes when the invitation came in from PenangTuaPui. I was excited to see what the original outlet had to offer! The menu for the night mainly focused on South Indian cuisine and we were told that the food is cooked fresh everyday!
First up to whet our appetite was a Chettinad style Vegetable Soup (RM3). It was a light clear soup with cauliflower, carrots and french bean. The soup was a great start to the meal! We were told that the soup had a yellow tinge due to the use of dhall.
Next up was Bitter Gourd Chips (RM6). This was a surprise as it was sliced really thin and crispy to the taste! I’m not a big fan of bitter gourd though cos I don’t like the bitterness and this was plenty bitter!
The Squid Fry (RM8) was dish I really enjoyed. Squids are very easy to overcook. But there was no sign of hard rubbery squids here. Even after it cooled down substantially from all the photography, the squids were still nice and tender.
Meanwhile, the chicken cutlet (RM6 for 2 pieces larger than the photo above) is easily my favourite appetizer of the lot. The cutlets were very flavorful thanks to the generous use of spices with a slight tinge of heat to it. And there were also very soft with a slight crisp edge. I would definitely order this again!
The luciously thick Mango Lassi (RM4 – comes in a bigger glass than the photo)
The Ladies Finger Pepper Fry (RM7) was an instant hit! The ladies fingers were finely chopped and had a surprising chewy texture. The generous but not overboard use of black pepper gives the dish its zing. I’ve never had ladies fingers cooked in such a delicious manner!
The Kadai Vegetable (RM9) was an assorted vegetable dish cooked in a rich slightly spicy gravy. I tasted beancurds, tomatoes and lots of button mushrooms in the dish. We were told that Kadai is the big vessel that is being used to cook the dish, hence the name.
The Mutton Chukka Varuval (RM18) is another one of Karaikudi’s specialities. This turned out to be the spiciest dish of the night. But I loved it! The mutton pieces were scrumptiously tender and very well marinated with spices. I wouldn’t hesitate to order this again as I found it paired very well with naan bread.
Next was the Chettinad Potato Masala (RM6) which was a mild dish. It would go well with the spicy mutton dish too! I liked the fact that the potatoes here were not too mushy so there was still a bite to it.
Continued here:
RM1.20 Nasi Lemak @ Sri Weld Food Court, Beach Street
PJ has a famous , in Penang we have it too. Same price, same quantity, similar packaging but a whole lot more spicier. Definitely for those nasi lemak lovers looking for sambal pedas in their rice.
The funny thing is, the photos you are about to see are already one year old. That time, I knew I was going to move to Selangor so it was my last attempt to try as many Penang food as I could. One fine Friday afternoon, SL and I drove all the way from Bayan Lepas to Sri Weld Food Court at Beach Street just to try two food that were said to be famous there, beef noodles and nasi lemak.
Although the journey seem short for me now since I start working in Selangor (you know lah how freaking long those LDP highways are), those working in Bayan Lepas would know it is unusual to drive all the way to town just for lunch. Usually we just settle in Batu Maung, Bayan Baru or Bukit Jambul.
I hesitated for a while (for one year lol) on whether I should post this, main reason being the crappy photos. But then, why not? I think the photo is fairly self-explanatory on the level of spiciness in the sambal. Red hot!
For RM1.20 you would get a packet of traditional nasi lemak with a slice of hard boiled egg, some ikan bilis (fried anchovies) drenched in sambal.
Nasi Lemak drilling in progress. For me, finishing the nasi lemak was a challenge because the spiciness would numb your tongue and make you sweat like hell. And I ordered a cold drink so it only made things worse. You know how cold drinks make hot food taste even hotter right lol.
By the way, if you come early in the morning you would see rows and rows of freshly packed nasi lemak arranged in front of the stall. It’s a very neat sight and really great for photo. If I ever return that’s the shot I won’t miss.
Oh, this is one of my favorite drinks in Penang where we call it 932, basically a lime and sour plum drink. The limes are stuffed with sour plums and placed in a huge jar to be infused with sugar water (I think). Preparation is straightforward and simple, just mix with water and ice.
It is a very cool and refreshing drink, sweet tasting and not sourish like ???? ‘Kiet La Sem Boay’. 932 drink is extremely hard to find in KL, and they don’t call it 932 here. It’s called ?? ‘Pou Kat’ instead. So far I only seen one coffee shop selling it and the taste is just not as nice as those in Penang.
Yeah I mentioned that I was here to try the beef noodles too. But too bad the photo of the noodle is just too bad I dare not show it here. So, have a look at the stall instead lol. Taste wise I still find the opposite the Balai Bomba much nicer, with more meat too.
OK since it’s been a year I last went, I don’t know if the stalls are still there. Can anyone verify? For a super-delicious-omg-I-must-eat-one-now photo of the nasi lemak, head to . And apparently, has already reviewed the nasi lemak and beef noodles even before I went there! Haha.
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Cake Decorating & Tiramisu Baking Class in Penang!
As a baking enthusiast, it thrills me to bring you this piece of news that Big Boys Oven will be back in Penang for another round of classes!!
This time, there will be an exciting full day cake decorating class (using fondant) and also a tiramisu class!! ~swoon~
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–> Cake Decorating Class (Hands On Class)
Pastry Chef Sunny Yaw will share with you:
- How to make your own fondant (sugar paste) and gum paste
- How to cover a 2 tier cake with fondant
- How to decorate the 2 tier cake with flower theme (similar to photo above)
Time : 9.30am – 5.00pm
Date : 18th April 2009 (Saturday)
Fee : RM550 per student (All materials included, plus tea break)
(Limited to only 6 students)
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–> Glorious Tiramisu (Hands on class)
Tiramisu, a rich decadent and desired dessert! Come learn the art of making this glorious dessert with Sunny Yaw!
Time : 9.30am – 12.30pm
Date : 19th April 2009 (Sunday)
Fee : RM150
(Limited to only 6 students)
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Limited seats available! To register for the class please email bbonorth@gmail.com or sms/call 012-4209433
I can hardly wait!! 
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MAS Inflight Kitchen Tour & Food Tasting Session @ LSG Sky Chefs, KLIA
Have you ever wondered how in-flight meals are actually prepared? I do. Last weekend, I had an one in a lifetime chance of joining an exclusive tour of MAS’ in-flight kitchen somewhere around KLIA along with several other bloggers courtesy of Fleishman PR Agency.
LSG Sky Chefs Brahim Sdn Bhd, an international provider of airline catering services is responsible for preparing the meals.
I mentioned it was one in a lifetime thing because you have to be either an employee or an invited guest to be allowed in the kitchen area. Security is very tight and controlled so photography was not allowed, this is to prevent competitors from spying their operations.
After touring the kitchen, we were also treated to a feast of MAS’ in-flight cuisines from the top chefs so there are plenty of food photos!
After having some light refreshments LSG presented a presentation to the attendees a brief introduction of their company, a flow chart of their meal preparation and some facts and figures. I was amazed by the number of meals they prepared in a day, 30,000! Then the kitchen tour ensued and we were brought to the bakery section where large machineries are used to mass produce buns.
We also visited the chiller section where dairy products and prepared foods are stored before being loaded into flights. The freezer section was the nicest one. It was really freezing inside and there were hundreds of packets of frozen salmon, pomfret and even lobster!
The kitchen tour lasted about an hour so it was time to sample the food from MAS’ kitchen. Lamb shank, beef ribs, salmon, nasi lemak and MAS’ famous traditional Malaysian satay were only some of the items lined up for our food tasting session.
The food was displayed at a designated area for introductory and photography purpose, while the really edible ones were served in buffet style. When asked about the best food in MAS‘ menu, the chef immediately replied “Lamb Shank” without thinking twice.
He was right, it was one of the nicest dish we had that day with tender, juicy meat. By the way, this Lamb Shank was the displayed one. It could stand so nicely because mashed potato was used as the supporting base.
Country Style Beef Ribs, a pity we didn’t try this. But I heard it was quite good from the other bloggers.
Ahh.. MAS’ satays, the signature dish that have won the many hearts of MAS passengers around the world. Here, they were shown to be served along with Nasi Goreng Kampung – box meal style.
At the buffet area chicken, beef and lamb satay were served. That’s a huge tray of beef satay!
I really didn’t expect this but they tasted really great especially the lamb satay, very tender meat! If you didn’t know, this month (March) is a Satay Month in which satay will be on the menu for MAS passengers travelling on Economy Class to domestic and selected Asean countries.
This is actually a good news for Economy Class travellers because satay is usually served only in Business and First Class cabins.
I can’t imagine eating Lobster in the air.. that’s pure enjoyment if you ask me.
Grilled Salmon is usually served on Japan flights along with imported rice from Japan to make the guests feel like home while they eat.
Nasi Lemak with sambal prawns and chicken rendang. This is the display unit only.. but I have tasted the real thing which was quite nice. Although the prawns had a weird rubbery texture, the sambal was tasty and had the right level of spiciness.
Some other in-flight food on display like scallops, steamed pomfret, abalone, salad and other meals.
A bowl of mixed salad with cheese cubes.
This gotta be a favorite of many, scallops and salmon served with some greens. We didn’t get to try this though lol.
MAS serves abalone too, look at the thickness! In First Class cabins lah. Like the scallops and lobsters, we didn’t try this too. Expensive stuffs were solely for presentation and photography purposes only lol.
I have no idea what is this, but I am guessing it was some sort of lunch meal consisting of stir fried chicken and rice.
The displayed pomfret had some chili sauce on it but the one we had was Steamed Pomfret with XO sauce. It was very fresh and sweet tasting but I felt it was slightly overcooked due to the rubbery flesh. I didn’t take any photo because it looked very messy on my plate lol. Same goes for the nasi lemak and lamb shank.
This is a typical lunch meal enjoyed by MAS passengers flying from KL to London, the way water is served is very interesting don’t you think? I have never seen anything like this before haha, I always travel economy class only. By the way LHR is the airport code for London, I see these codes every single day since I start working in Subang Airport lol.
A light meal consisting of salad, fresh fruits, bun and butter. The butter you may look normal but in fact it was a PREMIUM butter called Isigny Ste Mere Beurre D’isigny – a cow’s milk unsalted natural butter. I have to emphasize the word premium because it is actually voted one of the best butters in the world!
A platter of fresh local fruits – dragon fruit, honeydew, papaya, pineapple and watermelon. The arrangement was very well done, so vibrant what a wonderful contrast of colors.
Besides fruits, two types of desserts were available too. Creme Brulee is a dessert of custard base with a layer of hard caramel created by caramelizing sugar with a blowtorch. It had a jelly like texture and tasted sweet (no surprise here), very nice.
Panna Cotta (an Italian dessert made with cream, milk, sugar then mixed with gelatin) was the other dessert. And just when we thought we were done with the wonderful treat by MAS, we were given a food souvenir – a box containing some Ferrero Rocher, Beryl’s Bitter Sweet Chocolate and a freshly baked Apple Crumble Cake.
Man, the Apple Crumble Cake was DELICIOUS! Even though I had it for dinner which was hours after the tour, the cake’s outer layer was still nice and crispy. I think I have found a new favorite cake after this lol.
Being able to take part in MAS’ Inflight Kitchen Tour is probably one of the best experience for me as far as being a food blogger is concerned. I am really thankful for Fleishman and Malaysia Airlines for extending the invitation to me.
Truthfully I don’t think I would be flying First Class anytime unless I become freaking rich one day. So, being able to sample some of the food being offered in a First Class Cabin without having to pay for the ticket, lol I think you know what a great feeling that must be right?
But one day if I have the ability to fly First Class with MAS (fingers crossed) then Lamb Shank, the delicious Satay and Creme Brulee would definitely be my choices!
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The Wok Cafe – Authentic Penang Nyonya & Local Cuisine @ Kota Damansara
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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OXO Cafelab @ Queensbay, Penang
is one of the latest additions to the eating scene in Bayan Lepas area. I found out about it when a friend had sent me their Opening Promotion Brochure. RM9.90 for set lunch! RM13.90 for set dinner! the brochure had said. I liked the Red, Black and White color scheme. I liked their quirky cute logo. And the brochure certainly looked interesting! So kudos to their advertising agency!
Incidentally, as I planned to visit the place for dinner, I had read of it. I was impressed that they offered a Healthy Steam Cusinese Set complete with herbal soup! So off we went!
I had high hopes for the place as we entered the venue. It was very well decorated. Very chic! And complete with pool table too!
Glancing through the menu, OXO Cafelab serves a variety of cuisines – Asian, Western, Local. And they serve breakfast too from 8am-11am.
For their opening promotion, OXO Cafelab is offering 15% discount for their set meals. A set meal comes with a drink (cordial), soup OR salad, main dish and dessert. No discount for ala carte orders. I opted for the set meal and chose the Soup. Soup of the day was Mushroom Soup. I didn’t really care for the soup as I found it too starchy and bland.
We had another set meal and opted for the salad, which thankfully fared better than the dismal soup.
My main meal choice was the Juicy with Boxthorne Fruit and Plum Sauce. (This set is normally RM18.70, after discount – RM15.90) The chicken piccata here was basically chicken chop coated with egg and then pan fried. I found the boxthorne fruit and plum sauce interesting as it gave the dish an Asian twist to it. Overall, a very normal dish save for the interesting sauce.
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Kin Kin Chili Pan Mee – worst attitude ever
I actually wanted to blog about this Kin Kin Chili Pan Mee later but I am still so damn pissed off with the shop. I had the worst experience dining experience ever here – got our orders forgotten TWICE, waited for one hour and even got scolded by the boss for the slightest thing! No matter how tasty or famous their Chili Pan Mee is, I have vowed to boycott this shop forever. If you feel the and have bad attitudes, man you haven’t seen anything yet.
In KL I believe if Chili Pan Mee is mentioned, Kin Kin is the first shop to come into mind. Besides being famous for their Pan Mee (which I think is overrated anyway) they are also notorious for showing bad attitudes to customers. I have heard some incidents from my close friends where they were scolded by the owners but I have kept an open mind so far. At least until the last weekend.
The Pan Mee we waited for more an hour. Those customers who came in much later than us were served earlier, seriously WTF. They didn’t seem to notice the four of us had been sitting there for so long too. And any reminder to them about our orders would be brushed off nonchalantly. It’s like “do you think I care?” was written on their foreheads.
OK to be fair I am not expecting 5 star hotel service from a noodle stall, heck I didn’t even expect them to be nice and all. But hey, at least show us some respect like a normal human being does!
Chili Flakes. What’s this? Flakes made of chili to be mixed into your pan mee loh. Taste? Spicy and damn salty. I can’t imagine how some people manage to put 5-6 spoonfuls of this into their pan mee..
Although I am still very angry over the incident, I am going to give an honest opinion about their pan mee.. which in my honest, non-biased, frank, genuine, sincere, truthful opinion.. NORMAL only.
Ingredients wise there were self made pan mee, some fried anchovies, minced meat, lard and a sunny side-up egg. First timers were advised by some hand writings on the shop’s wall to only put half a spoon to one spoonful of chili flakes, then slowly increase the amount as desired. For me, I taruh-ed two spoonfuls.
Here’s how it looked like after the noodle was mixed with the chili flakes. Looks fiery and spicy enough for you? The pan mee didn’t have much taste so the only thing one can do is to put a lot of chili flakes to enhance the flavor. That would probably explain the spoonful after spoonful of chili flakes people mix into their pan mee. Heh.
So, you ready to hear my story? Here goes. We entered the shop around 1pm and found a table at the center not too far behind the restaurant. Refer diagram below. I am the orange dude, red dots represent the other customers and the arrows represent the traffic in the restaurant.
Needless to say, when you are sitting at such a position, people are bound to touch you either with their hands or their butts. So we were already very patient with all the waiting and forgotten orders, and I was already a little upset at that time. You’d feel the same too if you were in my shoes.
Then suddenly the lady boss came over to our table and demanded me to sit on the other side of the table, because she said I was blocking the people moving around. WTF? I was not the only person who was seated like that, there were other customers blocking the way too. Even if I moved to the other side of the table, it was going to be the same lah.. still blocking people what.
She: Eh, you come sit over here lah.
Me (frustrated with all the waiting): No need lah, I am fine here.
She: Can you sit over here?! You are blocking people lah. It’s not I don’t want to let you sit there, later they knock you when they deliver the noodles you know.
Me: Nevermind, I will just sit in a bit.
She (shouts): Haiyo, then at least push the table a bit lah! *Carries and shifts the table, many people looking*
After that she walked back to the cooking area, where she threw us an angry look at us. So angry like we were her ???? (enemy who killed her father) Behind her angry stares I imagined what were in her mind, maybe chopping us up into a million pieces, or spitting in our noodles. No kidding, I really had those thoughts. LOL we quickly finished the noodles and left.
If you still feel like visiting Kin Kin after reading my post, you can search for other bloggers’ review. Because I am not even bothered post the shop’s address and location.
And the RM5.30 I paid for the pan mee is definitely the last they’re ever going to get from me. After all, there are many pan mee alternatives in KL with friendlier staff that I can go to. So, if Kin Kin thinks their pan mee is so godlike tasty that they can treat customers the way they treated me, they are obviously wrong.
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