Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Lotus Curry House, Aman Suria

Lotus Curry House is way underrated as compared to Penang Kayu Nasi Kandar Restaurant. I was there at Lotus, Aman Suria with some mates for a gathering and I was glad they picked Lotus rather than Penang although I was pretty sceptical at first. I was so used to my usual at Kayu that I was reluctant to try a new place. It was definitely less crowded and less noisy as compared to Kayu that was located further up. 

Iced Milo

Teh Tarik

Teh Tarik Halia
Their drinks were decent and not dilute. Well, mamak usually serves pretty good drinks at a super cheap price. So no qualms about that.


Their roti canai is TWO THUMBS UP. Rather than serving in a typical square-ish shape, the roti canai has literally been shredded to pieces and "crumpled" together. Honestly, I was shocked and in my mind, the first thing that I thought was the food must taste really bad. Haha. But, I was so wrong. It was so crispy and crunchy, thin enough to savor the roti canai. You can never get this in popular Indian mamaks because they're so busy fulfilling orders that they don't bother keeping it crispy! The downside? I didn't like their curry in particular. It was a tad dilute and also it tasted slightly sourish instead of spicy.


Maggi goreng mamak aka fried maggi ala mamak style. This was good despite its relatively less than generous portion. It was slightly smaller if you compared it to many other mamaks. However, the taste was good and the maggi was spring-y. So no qualms there.

I would be back soon! I'm already missing their roti canai. I heard their Nasi Kandar is pretty good too, I should try it one good day!

-thevanillapudding-

Saturday, March 23, 2013

IKEA Restaurant, Mutiara Damansara

IKEA Restaurant is one of the most well known restaurant around. I used to love their food, till their standard has been detiorating so badly. When it first operated, the food was of fantastic quality and freshness, but now - it tasted pretty much like stale food. 

However, the restaurant is unusually pack everyday for lunch or dinner - I guess it could be the reasonable price they charged and the free flow of soft drinks. They used to serve Diam Cake which tasted godly but it was pulled from their shelves after some issue pertaining to the cake containing pork or something like that. I'm disappointed about that.


Their poached salmon was horribly overcooked. The thick sauce doesn't compliment the fish at any point of time. The potato was a tad too tough and the brocolli, well taste like brocolli. But for RM 15 or so, I guess you can never get salmon at that price.


What is a trip to IKEA without their ever popular meatballs? Their meatballs are the main attraction in the restaurant, honestly, most people paid their visit to IKEA restaurant just for it. I don't take beef, but I do give it a try and it's not that bad though I prefer steaks. This is the only dish that had maintained their standards since it first operated. However, there were issues of its meatball containing horse meat despite they have confirmed that their meatballs are cleared and contain no horse meat.


Spaghetti in basic tomato sauce. I didn't try it but from the look of it, I'm pretty sure that it taste average and I would have prepared a better plate of it.


Herb chicken with potatoes and carrots was just decent. The sauce was way too dilute, it was pretty much like a diluted soup that taste a tad like oil? It's not horrible, but its the kind of dish I wonder why would I ever order it.


Diluted. Bland. That sums up my review for this dish.


Honestly, none of the dish was up to my standards. It was just plain horrible, well to me at least (apart from the meatballs). Everything was either too dilute, too bland, tasteless or just lack the effort. Rarely that I actually have lunch at IKEA Restaurant anymore because the dishes are all so horrible.

If you want a reasonable pricing food, well IKEA Restaurant isn't that bad. But if you want good tasting food, well please make a U-Turn and out.

Ratings : 1.5/5
Price : RM 15 per pax

IKEA Restaurant
No.2 Jalan PJU 7/2, Mutiara Damansara, 47800 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Tel : 03 7726 7777
Operations : 
Mon – Thurs: 9am ~ 9.30pm 
Fri – Sun, Eve & Public Holidays: 9am ~ 10.30pm

-thevanillapudding-

Monday, March 18, 2013

Ka Soh Seafood Restaurant, KL

This is dad's favorite restaurant for a good fish head noodles. Located in Jalan Delima, off Jalan Imbi - the traffic is horrendous if you were to come one weekdays. Weekends are fine but I just never like travelling to KL, its just like a whole pack of sardines swimming in a very small confined area. Driving to this area just gives me the headaches because of all the turning and traffic light. 

Comparing to their competitors located on the same street, it was relatively quieter with a few customers visiting the restaurant. Its setting is pretty much of typical Chinese restaurant, so nothing much that I can describe. Their food here is pretty expensive and ripped off because some bloggers also said it was quite touristy. 


Instead of serving you crackers or peanuts, they served a platter of mixed preserved vegetables, better known as Acar. Its sourish with a tinge of spiciness - I know my dad's family back in Perak makes good Acar. I love its flavor combination and the crunchiness the cucumber and peanuts add to the whole platter. Well, I love Acar and this is really two thumbs up.


Brother had the "Kat Chai" which I think its sour plum? Haha. I'm actually not too familiar with it. However, this was rather bland compared to others that I had before. I think its the lack of sugar or perhaps too much water added to it.


The seacoconut that I ordered was a complete ripped off. I felt so cheated. The syrup was bland and diluted. The seacoconut was just depressing in amount, a few miserable seacoconut and they charged a bomb. I think  we would stick to Chinese Tea the next rouond. 


Their signature frog dish was superb! It was one of the best, most mouthwatering frog delicacy I ever had. The frog was coated in a batter that was so sweet and crispy at the same time. However, it is not the the thick crisp that cuts into the top of your mouth, but rather the tender firm crisp that makes you yearn for more. The sweetness of the frog and coating was just bliss. 


I'm not sure what was the cantonese name for this dish. But it was black sauce rice cooked in claypot and topped with preserved chinese sausages. It was alright, nothing great in my opinion. The rice was slightly bland and I had to have it with some chili to enhanced the taste. The chinese sausages were also disappointing because it tasted funny than the usual ones I had.


Introducing their all popular fish head noodles. First of all, this is not the typical fish head noodles you get in shops around SS2 or Puchong. Rather than serving it with thick based tomato and milk soup, this was purely milk mixed with a couple other condiments. It wouldn't be as tasty as the one you have in shops because the soup is slightly bland without much MSG in it, the good thing about it. The other difference was the noodles - instead of typical meehoon or mee, the noodles used was the fat noodles typically used in "lou shu fun". It is not bad and slightly different. 

I would most probably go back for the frog dish. It was total yumz. But with these little dishes, it cost us closed to RM 200 for the meal. A tad too expensive in my opinion.

Ratings : 3.5/5.0
Price : RM 20 ++ perpax

18 Jalan Delima, Off Jalan Imbi, KL.18 Jalan Delima 
55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel :03-2148-3207

-thevanillapudding-

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Spring Garden, Tropicana Golf and Country Club

Spring Garden is part of the Tai Thong Group - so don't expect anything less than good service and good food complimented with a very expensive pricing. Their interior was of typical oriental design with a super freezing aircond. The waiters and waitresses were well trained to serve you at any time and cost. The captain server was well in their game as they make small chats with guests to ensure that they are happy with the food and services.

The crowds made up mainly of family, rich kids and rich datos with their body guards. Yes, you are able to witness first hand big shot Datos dining around.


Peanuts - typical chinese starters.


Watermelon juice that was decently made which wasn't too sweet, exactly to my liking.




This deep fried fish paste was as good as it looks - it was fish paste mixed with minced spring onions and other condiments. Dipped in a sweet sour chili based for an extra oomph!


I am not a fan of seacucumber, so dad just ordered one portion for himself. I didn't bother trying since I'm not a fan of it.


Chinese stir fried assorted vegetables which was a mix of celery, sweet pea, lotus, onions, carrots, fungus, mushroom and gingko. They were pretty generous in terms of the lotus because I guess that's one of the cheapest ingredients in that whole plate! As good as it taste, I didn't really fancy the sweet and thick layer of oil that you can see. Alot of oil and starch must have went into this dish!


This cod fish was pan fried to perfection and the sauce was totally a big hit. It's Thai sauce - a sweet sour and a tinge of spiciness when you have a taste of it. I love how the onions and cucumbers mix so well with the sauces, topped with the smooth texture of the cod fish.


This is the scallop wrapped in minced meat dish - a small amount of scallops wrapped with chicken meat and deep fried to juicy perfection. However, I couldn't really taste the scallops at all, they must be really stiingy with it. The chicken meat was juicy and well seasoned. The dish itself was rich in taste which I presumed quite a fair bit of sugar was added, plus to get the glossy thick gravy requires quite a bit of starch! 


I don't usually take venison, but venison meat is one of the best. Venison is actually deer meat for those who doesn't know. This was their signature venison dish - venison in ginger and spring onion. It was well marinated and seasoned. Venison meat is generally slightly tougher and chewy compared to your average chicken, but it taste oh so good! 


Typical chinese stir fried KaiLan that is so delicious with a hell lot of starch and some sugar, the vegetable was actually sweet!


Bro ordered the chinese fried rice with salted fish. Chinese fried rice ALWAYS tasted good, if not wonderfully delicious. But the amount of oil they add will be crazy. The fried rice was decent but not my favorite because of their oiliness. 


This dessert is so pretty and I love how they used Martini glasses for it. It's Chinese black herbal jelly with a dose of sugar and longan. In terms of portion, it is pretty stingy for the price we paid.




I had the double boiled soya milk with fungus and gingko. I love soya milk and the good thing about this? It was thick and rich, unlike cheap soya bean that is dilute and overloaded with sugar. This wasn't too sweet, it was actually a little less sweeter than usual which is fine with me. The fungus and gingko, just an added bonus for some health benefit!

Overall, this place has good Chinese food, but the price is seriously expensive!

Ratings : 4.0/5.0
Price : RM 20/dish

Spring Garden Restaurant
Tropicana Golf & Country Resort
Jalan Kelab Tropicana, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Tel : 603-7880 7226
Operations :
Mon - Sat
11.30am - 2.30pm

Sun & Public Holidays
10.30am - 2.30pm
6.30pm - 10.30pm


-thevanillapudding-

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Restaurant Yap Hup Kee, Kuala Lumpur

This has to got to be my dad's favorite yongtaufoo restaurant, well mine too. They have one of the best yongtaufoo and cheecheongfun. Their varieties are limited but it is so good that you call for more than 1 bowl. Well, at least we did.

Located in a very small quiet alley of KL, it is terribly hard to find if you're a newbie and GPS can be unhelpful at times. Till this very day, we still have problem searching for the restaurant! But the food is so damn good till we go back everytime, getting lost just doesn't matter!


Usually, we order the second till last dish, except for the fried prawn dumpling. I have pictures of some only since we were so hungry that I had to forego taking some pictures!






Among the varieties they have for the yongtaufoo. 


The curry cheecheongfun is good and so delicious that we ordered two bowls. Their cheecheongfun was chewy and thinly shredded that allows easy consumption. The soup was especially delicious and mouthwatering. Their plain cheecheongfun (which I don't have a picture of it) is equally good. Soft, smooth and chewy cheecheongfun topped with fried onions and shrimp is heavenly! Definitely a must try!


Their wantanmee is very different from the one you have at the usual hawker stalls. This was good and delicious. The egg noodles was chewy and springy, while their sauce was two thumbs up. The minced meat was an added bonus since it was so well marinated.


Dry curry chicken noodles - one of my favorite. The noodles was so chewy and springy, but what set it apart was the curry sauce itself. Thick, spicy, rich and wonderfully tasting - yeap. that's how I describe the sauce. The chicken was well cooked too, soft and tender. Again, I would recommend this!


The fried version of yongtaufu. Their condiments are generous in portion, you don't have to worry of thick flour coated delicacies with little fillings. These were super generous and each bite filled with satisfaction!


This soup prawn dumpling was GOOD! Generous, thick and rich with fillings. Well marinated and nothing lacking. This is what I call food worth our money. Juicy succulent prawns.


Well, I'm an avid fan of greens - there couldn't be no greens in my meal. Fret not, there's a whole range of greens for you to pick so that you can have a balanced diet.

This place is two thumbs up for me. I always loved the food, no qualms about it. The price too since its super cheap for whatever we ordered. All I can say that I really recommend this place. The only downside would be the MSG in the food, but whatever, apart from that, its GOOOOOOOD.

Ratings : 4.5/5
Price : Depends

45 Jalan Brunei Barat (off Pudu), Kuala Lumpur
Tel : 03 2148 9220
Operations : 
9.00am-5.00pm and 5.30pm-11.00pm 
Off on every alternate Tuesday.

-thevanillapudding-

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Tappers Cafe, Uptown

I had another girls night out yesterday. Yes, I've been going out so often that my purse has been feeling real light lately. Haha. I've been to most of the coffeehouse or restaurant in Uptown, Damansara and adding to my list would be Tappers Cafe. A new cafe established quite recently in Uptown and has a few outlets in other areas, I think there is one in Puchong. 

The cafe was designed in an all white glamorous interior setting that reminds me of Full House, except this was perhaps the cheaper version of it. Despite its simple white design and decent lighting, the interior was stuffy especially when we sat in the sofa area. We were feeling hot and slightly uncomfortable in that area. There were even some mosquito flying in our area, how disturbing!

Tappers offered a variety of dishes, mainly western and Hainanese specials which you can find in your local kopitiam. Ranging from pasta, chicken roast, schnitzels, Hainanese chicken chops, toast and omelette were among the few that grace the simple menu. Their beverage menu was of various variety too, so fret not of not knowing what to drink.


Hot Mocha @ RM 6
I had the hot mocha since I was craving for warm drinks. Boy, I was disappointed - actually all the coffee that we ordered were plain disappointing. The mocha tasted pretty much like Neslo - milo and coffee mixed together. Other than that, it was slightly diluted and presentation wise, I was also annoyed with the lack of effort.

Hot Latte @ RM 6
The latte was horrible. This is definitely not your coffee place. Priced at RM 6, perhaps it was a hint at the quality of the drink. It had a pretty presentation, however, taste wise, it failed miserably. The coffee was crazy bitter which I believe was caused by the inapprioprate ratio of coffee to milk. Another thing I would like to highlight - I do think they used very bad quality beans or maybe just any typical coffee powder from the shelves of supermarket. My friend even added heaps spoon of sugar to make it sweeter, but it just didn't worked. 

Cappucino @ RM 6 (i think)
 Pretty as it looks, its taste? It tasted like the latte my friend ordered. Pretty much exactly alike in terms of taste, only it was more bitter than the latte. 

Mashed Potato @ RM 6 (i think so)
The mashed potato was not palatable at all, well at least for my standard. Firstly, take a look at the picture itself, the mash potato looks so solid and not a hint of mashed or what I would like to call the rich velvety texture. It was as bad as it looks. It was firm and compact that pretty much tasted like something that has been left for a long time or came out from a totally bad mashed potato machine. The sauce doesn't even do any justice to the dish. It was dilute, bland and totally not worth ordering.

Toast 
I didn't try this but hey, if you really want toast, go to another place. This doesn't seem like a good place to be ordering toast!


Omelette with Ham
I didn't try this either. In terms of presentation, it doesn't seem like they put much effort either.

Chicken Schnitzel with Potato and Coleslaw
The schnitzel was alright and generous in portion. The sauce was just average and diluted, it honestly tasted like the maggi sauce that people would use. 

Chicken Parmigiana
Its just like a chicken schnitzel with extra cheesy topping. The cheese was decent and rich. It tasted like Hawaiian Pizza to be honest except it on a piece of chicken. Nothing that I can rave about either.

Spaghetti Agio Olio with Mushroom
I didn't order this since I had pasta a day back. This was decent and palatable, well at least to my standard. The spaghetti was prepared al dente. Tossed with a rich coating of olive oil, mushroom, herbs and cheese, it is a welcoming change to all the previous dishes. However, if you don't like overly peppered spaghetti, please tell them in advance. This seemed like a dish the chef accidentally overdosed with pepper.

Mixed  Mushroom Sandwich


This was my dish. Among all, I would say mine was the best. It's a vegetarian dish by the way. Sandwiched between a piece of loaf that pretty much looked like pita brea, it was an overdosed of mushroom well seasoned and sauteed. The bread was coated with butter and a rich amount of mayonese. Topped with some cucumber and tomato, the mushrooms were added to complete the dish. It was good in my opinion, apart from the excessive mayonese that I decide to push away. 

The verdict? Their food is just alright, but if you are looking for good food to tantalize your taste bud, this is NOT the place for you. Please do not order the coffee if you are an avid coffee lover like me, because you will be very disappointed and feel like asking for a refund! I wouldn't come back for a second round, thats what I can tell you about my whole experience here.

Perhaps I'm too fussy but I need food that does justice to the price I pay or at least do justice to my standards. Haha. There is another downside to it. The owner should really train their waiters to converse in English. I asked one of them about their dessert and they seemed lost when I conversed in English. 

It was even more annoying when we're done with our meals, they wanted to clear the table which we allowed them to while we chatted away. However, it was gross when they pile up the plates and place the dirty fork and knifes on the table in front of us, and no, they didn't bother wiping the table after they place the dirty knifes there. So yes, our table were literally dirty with the excess "gravy, juice and what no" that dropped from the fork/knifes. I was literally cursing in my head. 

It was bad in term of taste, service wise was really horrible too. So, if you don't want to be frustrated like me, don't try this place please. 

Ratings : 1.0/5.0
Price : Cheap


-thevanillapudding-