Hand Pulled Pan Mee @ Restoran Foo Tian, Taman Bahagia PJ

Currently, this is where I get a quick pan mee craving fixed. It's unlike the usual pan mee whereby machine is used to flatten and shred the dough into strips. Here, the dough is shaped into small marbles (just like "tong yuen") and stored in a container. Upon order, the cook will pull each marble shaped dough into a longer strip before dunking into hot boiling water. End result, very smooth and slippery pieces of pan mee.

Soup is clear, not too oily and tastes almost similar as the broth I make at home using anchovies. Other common ingredients such as mushrooms, pork, vege are added too and I always ask for more vege!

Be prepared to wait for your bowl of pan mee especially during peak hours since the cook pulls the marble dough into strips one by one. Luckily she doesn't do it all, including cooking by herself as a new helper was seen the last time I dropped by.

This coffeeshop is located behind a Perodua showroom near the Taman Bahagia LRT station.

Restoran New Sun Ho @ OUG, Old Klang Road PJ

Loh Mee. My family's all-time favourite at this coffeeshop. The thick yellow noodles are homemade, prawns are fresh and big, pieces of pork are well marinated (and smooth too!) and the gravy is simply delicious. I think their chili paste/sambal is also homemade and there's a bite into it (suspect dried shrimps). I really like their sambal and enjoy dipping chunks of meat into it before savouring.

Drinks, particularly milk tea is famous too at New Sun Ho. It may not be the best but still up to par with the right amount of condensed or evaporated milk in a cup.

Restoran New Sun Ho
Jalan Hujan Emas 5,
Overseas Union Garden (OUG)
Old Klang Road, PJ.

FINAL VERDICT
Location: 2/5 (It's near the wet market and Steven's Corner)
Taste: 3/5
Hygiene: 1.5/5
Price: 3/5

Restoran Kien Kee @ Seri Kembangan, Serdang

Kien Kee serves one of the best rice wine chicken and spicy soup in town. I've heard that there's another eatery in Semenyih which serves equally good spicy soup but so far, it's Kien Kee for me.

Check out the ingredients in this pot of spicy soup.

I could prepare a rice wine chicken dish on my own but the one here tastes wayyy much better. Cooked to perfection with a slight burnt taste, the gravy pairs extremely well with white rice. Texture of the meat is a little hard and chewy as they only use "kampung" chicken but trust me, it's GOOD.

Blanched "choy sum" and baby lettuce with oyster sauce. I like my veggies with lots of garlic but here, only fried shallots are added.

As if Kien Kee is not famous enough, the "Ho Chak" (note the logo) duo gave even more publicity hence the major crowd especially on weekends. So give them a buzz for table booking if you're coming in a large group.

Other than rice wine chicken and spicy soup, I was told that their version of drunken prawn is delicious too. Didn't manage to try though. We walloped everything within minutes...80% clean that our moms will be so proud of us for not wasting food.

Restoran Kien Kee
D-1, Jalan Sk 10/2,
Seri Kembangan, Serdang.

FINAL VERDICT
Location: 2/5 (Ask the locals for direction if you're lost)
Taste: 4/5
Hygiene: 2/5
Price: 3/5

Kinnaree Thai Restaurant @ Palm Square, Jaya One PJ

Blamed myself for not taking more photos in the restaurant as the place is so beautifully decorated . The Chinese couple who own the place spent a million ringgit for the setup (a hanging deco could cost up to RM8,000!). Besides the nice ambience, we decided to give it a try since Kinnaree was voted as the Best Restaurant in Thailand Tatler magazine a year ago.

I had the Dragon Delight. A mix of dragon fruit, pineapple and MILK (RM9.90) to quench my thirst but it turned out to be a bad choice. Don't get me wrong...it tasted good albeit a little too sweet but my tummy was already 50% full just by drinking 50% of the mocktail (thanks to its milk content :( sigh) while waiting for our food to arrive.

The VIPs for the night had Kinnaree Infusion (lemongrass tea) and Peppermint Infusion (peppermint tea) @ RM5.50 each while others had freshly squeezed Orange (RM8.00) and Watermelon (RM7.00) juices.

Then came the starter (not sure if it was a complimentary by Kinnaree) which is a spoonful of salad for each one of us. I'm unsure what it is called but tasted almost similar as Som Tum.

Our orders came really fast right after the starter. First dish was Yam Hua Plee (RM14.00). It's also a type of salad but the main ingredient used is shredded young banana flower. Mixed with chicken, shrimp, toasted coconut flakes and chilli paste, I quite like this salad as it's really appetizing and fragrant.

Tom Yum Talay (RM44.00 a pot) which is the traditional spicy and sour soup with seafood. This soup was extremely spicy I tell ya. Lots of chilli padi were added and my tongue became numb after taking a bowl. At RM44.00, I would say it's pricey as not much seafood were given.

Kai Ho Bai Toey (RM20.00). Came in 6 pieces, one for each of us. Nothing unusual about this dish as I had better ones at other places. I forgot to try the ginger and sesame sauce which was served together.

Pla Thod Sam Rod (RM40.00). The waiter asked if we would prefer a Tilapia or Garoupa fish and of course we chose Garoupa. The fish was deboned, cut into bite-size pieces and deep fried. The pieces were then served on top of the remaining fish with sweet, sour and spicy tamarind sauce. The presentation was nice and tasted pretty good too as the fish and tamarind sauce paired really well together.

Vegetarian Green Curry (RM10.00). This dish was a total let down and none of us liked it.

The bill came to about RM233+. Not exactly cheap but the environment's great and we spent almost two hours chit chatting away in the restaurant.

Ohh, the service at Kinnaree is fast and attentive like the kind you get at fine dinings.

The girls decided not to call it a night yet as we left Kinnaree. Brussels Beer and Cafe was next. We talked out loud, shared thoughts and inhaled plenty of smoke at the al fresco area while trying out Hoegaarden beer (every table had at least one of this). The beer tasted Carlsberg + water. Very diluted. We told the young waiter and he said it's probably due to the barrel or tap. What the...? Oh well, it was an experience.

Kinnaree Thai Restaurant
Blk M, Unit 12-1,
Palm Square, Jaya One,
46200 Petaling Jaya.
Tel: 03-79573910

FINAL VERDICT

Location: 3.5/5
Taste: 2.5/5
Hygiene: 4/5
Price: 2.5/5

KTZ Restaurant @ 1 Utama Shopping Centre (1st Flr, Rainforest)

My parents are fans of both KTZ and One Noodle for their sweet desserts and "la mien". Under the management of Fruitti Stall S/B, there are four branches of KTZ or "Kei Tak Zhek" and two One Noodle outlets.

My preference would be KTZ restaurant at 1 Utama due to the extensive choices of food and drinks compared to its branches at Kepong and SS2. The warm and cosy ambience is suitable for gatherings of friends and family members too.

I've signed up as a "Let's Card" member two years ago for RM10 and get to enjoy these privileges:

1. RM10 meal voucher in exchange of RM10 membership fee.
2. 10% discount at selected outlets for ala carte orders.
3. Prizes for monthly lucky pick members.
4. Prizes for monthly highest spending members.
5. Mystery gift for member's birthday.

In fact, privileges # 1,2 and 5 are the reasons why I signed up as a member. I didn't receive anything last year on my birthday and this year I actually called up to check if they have my mailing address right :P

Radish Cake @ RM2.80 (I think). It's delicious and goes really well with the sambal.

Hot Waterchestnut @ RM3.00. At KTZ 1 Utama, hot desserts or "tong shui" comes with 2 glutinuous rice balls for free.

Ying Yang Longan Ice @ RM3.80. A mixture of dried longan and canned longan drink. It may sound weird but this drink is really refreshing and I quite like it.

Longan Rose Honey @ RM3.80 (choice of hot/cold). It's actually fusion of rose tea and honey with whole longan fruits in a cup. Taste wise, a little too sweet for my liking.

One of my favourite mains would be this. Pineapple Shrimp Rice @ RM10.80. Deep fried shrimps stir fried with pineapple sauce are served together with fried rice and an egg. The shrimps are huge and they serve 4-5 pieces of it! Slightly sweet and tangy, this dish is very appetising.

Shrimp Wanton La Mien @ RM8.00. The wantons are bigger in size with succulent prawns and tasted fresh too. I also enjoyed drinking the soup as it isn't oily and I believe they used preserved vege "char choy" and chicken stock for the broth.

Yong Chow Fried Rice @ RM8.80. Yummy as well with sufficient "wok hei" taste.

Thai Seafood Hot Soup La Mien @ RM14.80. Plenty of seafood and portion was rather big BUT the clams and squids were overcooked. What a waste...Soup was salty after taking three spoonfuls and extremely spicy! I should have given my feedback to the staff.

Black Pepper Shrimp Rice @ RM10.80. A totally forgettable dish. The black pepper sauce was too strong and has overpowered the taste of prawns.

Minced Pork Dumpling Soup La Mien @ RM7.00. This noodle dish tasted similar as Shrimp Wanton La Mien as both uses the same broth. Portion looked big probably due to the size of the dumplings (4 pieces).

Mango Loh is also my all-time favourite at KTZ. Only @ RM5.50 for a bowl which could be shared among 2 people, this dessert is basically shaved ice topped with chunks of mango, puree and sago.

Other locations of KTZ restaurant:

1. No.22, Jalan SS2/63, Petaling Jaya.

2. 66, Jalan 7, Kepong Baru, 52100 Kuala Lumpur.

3. 145, Jalan Imbi, 55100 Kuala Lumpur.

FINAL VERDICT

Location: 3/5

Taste: 3.5/5

Hygiene: 4/5

Price: 3.5/5

Restoran Fatty Sang @ Kepong Baru KL

Plenty of good food can be found in Kepong Baru if you're adventurous enough to venture around the area. Downside is the traffic which is a nightmare most of the time and it's not uncommon to bump into reckless drivers on the road. After reading a review from Pink Parisian, I braved through the traffic to lunch here.


Ordered a bowl of seafood noodle with clear soup (RM5.50) and I didn't have to wait long for it to be served.

Look at the amount of ingredients added into this RM5.50 bowl of seafood noodle! Damn worth the price. I wouldn't say that it tastes/fares better than the one from Yu Ai but hey, it's DEFINITELY CHEAPER than Yu Ai's. The clear soup has the natural sweetness taste from the variety of seafood used.

Other than clear soup, you may opt for tom yum. I was also told that fish head noodle is available too.

Restoran Fatty Sang
30 Ground Floor,
Jalan Ambong Dua,
Kepong Baru,
52100 Kuala Lumpur.

FINAL VERDICT

Location: 2/5 (Traffic is hazardous on weekdays :P)
Taste: 3.5/5
Hygiene: 2/5
Price: 4/5

Khuntai Restaurant @ Petaling Garden, PJ

A good friend of mine kept raving about this Thai restaurant and suggested to have a get-together session with two other good friends. Well why not, I thought.

This restaurant is not hard to locate if you follow the map closely. There's a chinese restaurant a few doors away and their business is brisk too (Reminder to self: Include in 'where to eat' list).

On my first visit to Khuntai, I had a good impression of the place. The staff were attentive and service was prompt. Although the tables were all occupied, they managed to arrange a table for the four of us instead of asking us to wait or turn us away. We couldn't sit outside too as it was raining.

Anyway, we ordered...

Seafood Tomyum. A must order item when dining in a Thai restaurant. This fiery dish really got all of us perspiring! Syiok!

Next dish, could you guess what it is?

Wrapped in foil, carefully tear open to reveal what is hidden inside...

It's their version of Seafood Otak-otak. Though a tad dry, it's actually very appetizing and smelled so so good. Found at least three large prawns inside.

The variety of vegetable dishes that's available is rather limited and since we didn't want to add on another spicy food, the waiter recommended Fried Kailan with Salted Fish.

The waiter also recommended Kerabu Mango and claimed the level of spiciness is just mild.

Well he lied!! It was way to spicy and I only took one bite. My friend finished it in the end. o_o She had to carefully separate the chili seeds before eating.

Out of the four dishes, seafood tomyum and otak-otak were our favourites :)

My next visit to Khuntai was to have dinner on a weekend. Whoa, the restaurant was packed to the brim and quite a number of tables were placed outside.

This time, we dined in the open air and only ordered three dishes since there were only a few of us. Again, Seafood Tomyum and Fried Kailan with Salted Fish were among the choices. Tomyum wasn't as tasty and it lacks the aroma (a little bland). Something was missing but I couldn't identify what it was. Fried Kailan was mediocre too.

We also tried the Steamed Lemon Fish and if I'm not mistaken, they used sea bass. I was surprised that the sweet and sourish gravy actually complemented really well with sea bass. One complain though. The fish wasn't cleaned properly with clear presence of scales that's still left intact and also swimming in the gravy -_- It is served on top of charcoal fire, so it has to be finished in a jiffy or else the meat will be overcooked.

Well, the second visit wasn't a really good one and I think I know why. THE KITCHEN COULD NOT COPE AND MAINTAIN THE STANDARDS WHEN THERE IS A LARGE CROWD! So, please drop by for lunch (when there are less customers) if you're interested in dining here.

FINAL VERDICT

Location: 4/5 (Ample parking space available)
Taste: 2.5/5
Hygiene: 3/5
Price: 3/5

Restoran Thong Kee @ Sea Park, PJ

Few weeks ago, I brought my friends to this place for dinner. Reasonably priced set lunch/dinner is offered on weekdays and there are 128 dishes to choose from! The 128 dishes comprise of fish, chicken, pork and vege. Soup is complimentary. We chose the first set which is priced at RM33 (3 dishes + soup)

Chicken herbal soup was the soup of the day and it was perfect for the rainy weather that night.

For greens, we had stir fried french beans, okra and four-angled beans. This dish had a nice crunch taste and not too oily.

Steamed tilapia fish (Teochew style) came next. Topped with lots of ingredients including mushroom, tomato, preserved vege, tofu, ginger and chili, it was simply aromatic. The meat tasted fresh until my friend scooped the lower part of the fish and found it to be raw. Ewww. I waved to one of the waiters and showed him but he just took the plate away without any word. After a while, the same fish returned to our table piping hot and we continued digging in.

The final dish was sweet and sour pork, recommended by me. The taste brought back fond memories of my brother when he was still a young boy (now working in SG) who could easily finish off the whole plate til the last bit on his own. Kudos to the chef who prepared this dish.

Other than the slight unpleasant encounter of half cooked fish served to us, overall the dinner was nice.

"Pun choy" is also served here but booking is required one day in advance. According to the lady boss, it is a large serving for 10 pax at RM398. I'm actually quite interested but couldn't get 10 people to join me as they think it's too expensive. T_T

FINAL VERDICT

Location: 3/5 (Usually congested during lunch hours)
Taste: 3/5 (High content in MSG perhaps?)
Hygiene: 2/5 (Toilet is dirty and weird thing is the wash basin is located quite far)
Price: 3/5 (Reasonable considering types of dishes offered)