Friday 27 January 2012

Khuntai Village Restaurant @ Jalan Gasing, PJ

This Thai restaurant sits opposite a sprawling field and is the typical wooden shack under a tree sort of place. You are able to see the signage from the main road due to the lights and huge roof.
    
Shop Front
   
There is only one word to describe this place: SOUR!!! You will see why if you scroll down...
     
Umbra Juice with Sour Plum
      
I looked up "umbra" as I have not heard of it before and found out it's the kedondong / shar li fruit...not like it makes any sense to me but wow, combined with sour plum, this green concoction is extremely sour! I guess you can say it's refresthing in a way but I'll stick with sour.
    
Seafood Tom Yum
     
As I arrived quite late, I didn't hear the order placing so I'm not too sure how many person is this Tom Yum specified for but the portion is huge. The fiery red soup holds tons of goodies like prawns and squid. The soup is quite murky though, not sure if it was because of the impurities from the seafood or the way it is cooked. It is also the most sour Tom Yum I've ever tasted. Extremely sour and slightly spicy is how I'd describe this Tom Yum.
    
Yam Basket
     
The Yam Basket is a bit odd. The "basket" itself is not the typical yam basket we usually order in Chinese restaurants. Rather it's quite a stiff structure and much harder to bite than the typical basket. One interesting ingredient in the basket is the inclusion of quail eggs. Didn't try this so can't comment much.
   
Stir Fried Asparagus with Prawns
     
The asparagus was quite yummy and the prawns were fresh but the spicy sauce which coated this dish was quite sour.
   
Stir Fried Kangkung Belacan
   
This dish was yummy with lots of wok hei. Typical kangkung belacan.
   
Steamed Fish
    
The steamed fish came in lots of spicy gravy. The firm flesh of the fish absorbed the flavours of the gravy which was very yummy. However if you were to pair rice with gravy alone, there's only one word to describe it...sour.
   
Mixed Seafood
   
Another sour dish with lots of gravy, the clams and squid also absorbed the flavours fully, making them very yummy.
  
Thai Fried Beancurd
    
The fried beancurd was rather bland with some hidden beans. It's more palatable with the Thai chilli sauce served on the side.
   
This place is very cheap. With so many dishes, it came up to around RM 12 each for 10 people. However I find the dishes here not as spicy as I like my Thai food to be. Rather, if you'd like cheap yummy Thai food with a super strong dose of sourness, do make a visit to Khuntai.
   
PawPoints: 3 Paws
Pawket: Onion
    
http://khunthai.com/?cpage=NTk%3D

   
Khuntai Village Restaurant
6, Jalan 5/44
Pertaling Garden
Off Jalan Gasing
Petaling Jaya
Tel: 03 7781 7523

Saturday 21 January 2012

Rakuzen @ Desa ParkCity, Kepong

This restaurant has been reviewed so many times that I don't feel like reviewing it but I just have to highlight my favourite set from Rakuzen :D
    
Sakura Chirashi Don Set (RM 38)

Assorted sashimi scattered over a bed of vinegared rice - my absolute favourite! ^_^ Love the pickles!
 
Close-up of the Sakura Chirashi Don
  Look at the thick juicy cuts of sashimi! The bento box is truly overloaded with delicious goodies ^_^

Silky smooth Chawan Mushi
    
Nabe Udon + Salmon Don Set (RM 38)

JS's value-for-money set - Nabe Udon and Salmon Don. The Nabe Udon was a big portion with lots of ingredients. The salmon slices in the Salmon Don were quite thin unlike the thick juicy cuts provided in the Sakura Chirashi Don.
    
Nabe Udon
    
Salmon Don

I guess I don't have to go through the taste of each dish as most of us are already familiar with Rakuzen. I still vote for it as being the best Japanese restaurant together with Sushi Zanmai and Pasta Zanmai under the Super Dining and Super Sushi Group as all three provide good quality and delicious Japanese meals at affordable prices.
   
PawPoints: 5 Paws
Pawket: Olive

http://www.superdining.com.my/

Rakuzen
Desa ParkCity
Subang Jaya
Empire Shopping Gallery
Sunway Pyramid
Plaza Damas
GTower

Monday 16 January 2012

Rojak @ SS15, Subang Jaya

I have been patronizing this stall for many many years and I still love the taste of the rojak at this stall even after so long =)
   
Many years back, the owners used to operate out of their truck under some trees between the Shell station and the First Subang mall. The owners now operate at a permanent stall further up the road (along Jalan SS15/3B) just a block away from KFC. During peak hours, a long queue is a common sight as people (I believe many are regular patrons) line up for the awesome rojak.
    
The Famous SS15 Rojak
   
These 2 men run the show!
   
The stall is operated by these 2 men and they work like robots in a busy assembly plant during peak hours. I wasn't caught in a long queue this time as I arrived slightly before lunch hour on a Saturday morning.
   
Rojak Telur (RM 4)
  
This is Indian fast food at its best as my rojak was prepared in less than 3 minutes! The portion in my opinion is adequate for a meal though meat eaters might treat this "vegetarian" meal as a snack. The combination of freshly grated cucumber and turnip, crispy flour bits, an egg and the rojak sauce goes very well together.
  
Although I have personally tried many variations of rojak, this place still gets my thumbs up for having the best rojak!
  
PawPoints: 4 Paws 
Pawket: Dough
  
Rojak SS15 Subang Jaya
Along Jalan SS 15/3B
(Near KFC and opposite a tyre workshop)
If you still can't find it, look out for the long queue!
Daily: 11.30am - 7.30pm

Tuesday 10 January 2012

Ben's @ KLCC

Yet another excellent restaurant in the BIG Group, it is similar to Delicious, Plan B and Ben's General Food Store with its excellent choice of light Western dishes.
   
Menu
  
Table topic
   
This is a good table decor as they provide table topics (for people on a blind date perhaps? =P) for conversation starters. You're also encouraged to take home recipe cards.
    
Chunky Mushroom Soup (RM 11.90)
    
The Chunky Mushroom Soup is served with a slice of buttered baguette. Not a big fan of the baguette as I prefer it to be well toasted. JS like it soft though. The mushroom soup has a drizzle of truffle oil and sprinkling of parsley bits. The soup was warm (I prefer it to be hot =P) and had a strong earthy wild mushroom taste.
  
Chargrilled Seafood Spaghettini (RM 22.90)
     
This is one yummy dish <super happy mode> The flavours are very light and refreshing, especially with a squeeze of lemon. The spaghettini was al dente with a nice bite to it and absorbed the seafood juices. The squid and prawns were very fresh and bouncy. There were tons of roasted mashy garlic in this dish which lent its fragrance to the ingredients - garlic lovers will be exceptionally pleased as I picked out a whole heap of them. I highly recommend it =)
   
Buttery Scones (RM 6.90)
    
Wow the scones which came with jam and clotted cream were wonderful!! The scones were warm, thickly padded and as buttery as its name and did not crumble easily. Paired with the cold, cold blueberry jam with lumpy fruits and cold, buttery and creamy clotted cream, the scones were heavenly! Two is definitely not enough =P
  
PawPoints: 4 Paws
Pawket: Tomato
  
http://www.thebiggroup.co/bens/
  
Ben's
Lot 140, 1st Floor
KLCC
Tel: 03 2163 1655
Daily: 10am - 11pm

Tuesday 3 January 2012

Plan B @ Bangsar Village 1, KL

Another crowd favourite that took us a little longer than usual to blog about, Plan B is part of the BIG group which has a fantastic chain of restaurants serving quality light-tasting food, a much welcomed change from the heavy Western meals that we are accustomed to over the last decade.
  
Moroccan Lamb Meatballs (RM 22)
   
The Moroccan Lamb Meatballs is paired with spaghettini coated in a thick smoky tomato sauce with eggplant. The huge lamb meatballs were very aromatic and well-spiced. I had this on two visits and my grouse is on the 2nd visit, there was so much oil in the sauce that when I was done with the dish, the oil covered at least half the plate =.= Since the dish was prepared well on my 1st visit, I'll close an eye to this and recommend you try it. People averse to the gamey smell of lamb may want to opt for another dish.
   
Chicken Burger (RM 23)
    
The Chicken Burger is a healthy option with a slab of lightly grilled chicken breast smothered in herb mayo and avocado and feta mash. The black and white sesame seed dotted bun is layered with lettuce, tomatoes and extremely crispy turkey bacon. There is a side salad and sweet potato crisps.
 
JS enjoyed the burger as the chicken was not dry and the light flavour was well complemented by the herb mayo and avocade and feta mash. My favourite bit of the burger was, of course, the turkey bacon which was as crispy as it looked and tasted exactly like pork bacon =D
 
B's Chocolate Cake (RM 11)
    
To rid my tongue of the oily pasta, we ordered B's Chocolate Cake. What a big portion huh? I never expected THREE slices (constitutes as one serving) of moist chocolate cake to be served. The chocolatey goodness was coated with even more liquid chocolate goodness in the form of a thick chocolate sauce and went extremely well with the vanilla ice-cream. So sinful but so yummy!
  
I tried the Prime Beef Pie (RM 22) on an earlier visit which had wagyu chunks and button mushrooms encased in a puff pastry and served with a side salad. The beef was tender and the pastry was good to mop up the leftover beefy onion-y gravy. It was a tad too salty though.
 
As everyone already know, Plan B is a good place to hang out and chill with your friends and catch up whether over drinks and dessert or yummy meals.
 
PawPoints: 4 Paws
Pawket: Tomato
Plan B
G5, Ground Floor
Bangsar Village 1
Tel: 03 2287 2630
Daily: 8am - 1am