Restoran Lucky Seafood @ Lukut, Port Dickson

Restoran Lucky Seafood at PD is quite a popular place and is often featured in media for its signature curry chicken bun. The shop is located along the main road and is easily spottable as it sits right at the corner of the row of shophouses. If it's of any help, the restaurant is near Giant hypermarket.

     

Shop Front

      

Huge buns waiting in the oven

 
As you can see, the curry chicken buns are huge and we were lucky that there were still some buns waiting in the oven for us despite going there in the early evening.

      

Curry Chicken / Tong Po Yuk Bun (RM 38)

 
Unfortunately when the bun was presented to us, it had been sliced open to resemble a blooming flower and we were unable to take a picture of the crust. The curry chicken and tong po yuk are contained in separate wax paper wraps and are reheated simultaneously as the bun is baked in the oven.
   

• Bread was fluffy and compact with a nice hard crust. There were tiny spices embedded in the bread (probably star anise) which were rock hard so be careful not to bite on them. Really yummy when doused with curry or tong po gravy.
• Curry chicken contained a number of big chunks of potatoes and chicken and was surprisingly quite spicy. Addictive <thumbs-up>
• Tong po yuk was really smooth with a flavourful gravy but pales in comparison to the curry.

       

Kangkung Belacan (RM 10)

     

The kangkung belacan smelled fantastic but it was kind of undercooked so the stems were tougher than usual. Taste-wise, it was great just like how anything with belacan tastes great.

    

Mantis Prawns in Butter (RM 18)

     

The mantis prawns in butter were deep-fried till the batter was quite hard. Nothing spectacular as it was kind of bland and the fragrance of curry leaves did not really come through.
      

Squid in Salted Egg Yolk (RM 18)

      

The squid in salted egg yolk wasn't what we (or rather, I) expected as we were used to the deep-fried kind available in most restaurants in the Klang Valley; instead it was the wet type with runny salted egg yolk still coating the squid rings. Again, the taste was rather bland as the flavour of the salted egg yolk was reduced to such an extent one might as well call it squid in salted egg yolk. I'm not sure what that leaf of iceberg lettuce is for - not very pretty as decoration and insufficient to counter the high cholesterol of the dish - it looked quite pathetic =.=
   
All in all, a very average meal with the exception of the curry chicken bun. I've had better seafood at other restaurants along the main road (you can try Weng Yin Seafood Village near Thistle Port Dickson Resort). Prices are very affordable though. There is also another outlet at Seremban if you're in town.
 
 
PawPoints: 3 Paws (4 Paws for the Curry Chicken Bun)
Pawket: Onion
     
Restoran Lucky Seafood
4366 Jalan Bandar Lukut
Taman Aman
Port Dickson
Tel: 06 6512 392
Daily: 11.30am - 11pm

Chez Rose Continental Restaurant @ Damansara Heights, KL

Looking for something new to try? Head on over to Chez Rose Continental Restaurant, a cosy little place hidden in Damansara Heights for some Austrian flavour!

       

Shop Front

   
Although we followed the instructions on Google Maps, we were still unable to locate the restaurant. If you are familiar with Hock Lee's Minimarket or Restoran Seng Lee, then Chez Rose is on the same block. It is actually just adjacent to Jalan Beringin although you have to turn into Jalan Batai to get to that block of shoplots.

     

Complimentary bread and butter

   
I love the freshly baked bread roll served with the wonderful, creamy house-made garlic and herb butter. I could have just eaten this as a course on its own! I was really tempted to ask for an extra roll of bread =P

     

Hungarian Beef Goulash Soup (RM 18)

   
I've always wanted to try a goulash and Chez Rose's Hungarian Beef Goulash Soup certainly does not disappoint. It is a thick, hearty tomato and paprika stew with lots of minced beef and vegetables. A tiny dollop of cream is added to enhance its creaminess. Perfect for a rainy thunderstormy night which seems to happen very frequently lately.

     

Baked Salmon Strudel (RM 45)

     
The Baked Salmon Strudel is Chez Rose's signature dish. It is essentially a whole chunk of salmon fillet coated in mushroom duxelle aka butter sauce made of minced mushrooms, onions and herbs, and baked in a lovely filo pastry. The baked salmon is served with pesto cream sauce and lightly sauteed french beans and red pepper.

      

Cross-section view of the Baked Salmon Strudel

   
See the thick slab of salmon fillet? The chef has lovingly prepared it such that there are no tiny salmon bones to hamper the enjoyment of the dish. The fish is firm and fresh and both the butter and cream sauces go extremely well together. The filo pastry retains some of its crispiness which gives an added texture to the usual main course. I would say the Baked Salmon Strudel is utterly wonderful with the perfect blend of sauce, fish and pastry. The greens provided also complemented the mains very well.

      

Chez Rose used to be helmed by a husband-and-wife team (after all, it was named after the wifey) but has now been bought over by Jake's Charbroil Steaks. I'm not sure if they've managed to retain the quality of authentic Austrian fare but as we enjoyed our food thoroughly, I'd say it's worth a visit =) Incidentally when I checked their website, they've got a 4-course Christmas menu priced at RM 98++ which sounds pretty good =D
 
 
PawPoints: 4 Paws
Pawket: Olive

     

Chez Rose Continental Restaurant

6-5, Jalan Batai
Damansara Heights
Tel: 03 2092 1978

Fresca Mexican Kitchen & Bar @ The Gardens, KL

Being a great fan of Mexican food, I literally dragged JS to The Gardens when I learned of the existence of a new Mexican restaurant. It definitely looks more upscale than Frontera so expect the price to be on the higher side too.

     

Rustic decor

   

Exterior

 
Fresca is located at the central part of the lobby, across Han Room, and I would think it is quite a secluded location because people hardly venture to that part of the mall.

     

Love the blue tiles!

      

Simple setting

   
I find the hexagonal glasses quite unique, don't you agree?

    

Menu

  

     

Chicken and Onion Quesadillas (RM 28)

 
To be honest, the Chicken and Onion Quesadillas was nothing to shout about. The filling was not as much as we expected and they were really just average-tasting. It came with tomato salsa, refried beans and guacamole. The refried beans was alright but I much prefer the texture of those by Frontera. I love the salsa but it's such a shame Fresca does not provide refills. The guacamole was tasteless but I'm not sure if it's supposed to taste like that?

    

Tacos Alambre (RM 18)

 
The Tacos Alambre with roast beef shreds and crispy bacon drizzled with sour cream was really good. The spicy poblano chiles added a good kick to the overall flavour.

     

Tacos Ensenada (RM 19)

 
The Tacos Ensenada is highly recommended. Warm but soft tortilla enveloping a fried beer-battered fish and topped with creamy coleslaw, the combination is just perfect. The warm crunchy fish and cold coleslaw complement each other really well. The black sticky piquant sauce next to it enhanced the overall flavour - unfortunately I could not make out what it is made from.
 
Both the Tacos Alambre and Tacos Ensenada come in sets of three but if you think that it can be a meal on its own, think again. The tacos are quite small in size - the teaspoon itself is smaller than usual. Guys with larger mouths can probably pop the entire taco in and most people can probably finish it in 3 bites.
 
Fresca is a nice place to chill after a long hard day's work but the portions are comparatively smaller for the price listed. I for one, doubt I will return unless some friend begs to try the fare here.

    

 
PawPoints: 3 Paws
Pawket: Tomato
    
Fresca Mexican Kitchen & Bar
Lot G-242A, Ground Floor
The Gardens
Tel: 03 2201 2893
Sun - Thu: 11am - 11pm
Fri - Sat: 11am - 12.30am

Ippudo @ Mandarin Gallery, Singapore

The main highlight of our trip to Singapore (other than the Wicked musical of course =P) was going to eat yummy tonkotsu ramen. It was a tug of war between Ippudo and Tampopo. After lots of researching, we decided to go with Ippudo.

      

Cute logo

     

Expect long queues

     
Ippudo is so popular that there is always a queue for it even at 3pm!

    

Menu

     
Basically you choose the type of ramen you want on the left page and proceed to the add-ons on the right page.

      

Love their black wooden chopsticks =)

       

Hot & Iced Ocha

      

Complimentary Condiments

    
Cloves of raw garlic and a garlic press were available should you wish to add some kick to the ramen and your breath.
   
It seems like restaurants in Singapore favour this sort of sesame seed dispenser. Both JS and I prefer grinding the sesame seeds to release the fragrant aroma.

    

Loading the pungent missiles

      

Squeeze!

        

Karaka Tamago (SGD 19)

   
The Karaka Tamago is basically tonkotsu broth mixed with special spicy miso laden with minced pork and the ever popular Japanese boiled egg. No comment on this as I did not try it but it must have been good otherwise our foodie friend would not have ordered it =P

     

Akamaru Chashu (SGD 19)

   
A warning: health junkies stay awayyyyyyyyy!!!! This dish of tonkotsu broth and special miso paste with fragrant garlic oil is highly recommended. It comes with chashu, strips of woodear fungus and finely diced spring onions. After you mix everything together, you can see a layer of over the soup as well as bits of white fat floating on the surface. Once you get past the idea of drinking oil and fats, you'll experience the wonderful robust and complex flavour of the dish which is really like no other. I can't describe the complexity of the soup very well - it's just something you have to try for yourself =)

     

Shiromaru Tamago (SGD 17)

 
The Shiromaru Tamago consists of pure tonkotsu broth served with pork loin chashu, cabbage, spring onions, woodear fungus, pickled ginger and Japanese-style boiled egg. It is a wonderful dish on its own but it definitely pales in comparison to the Akamaru broth. For those who can't stand bits of fats and oil floating in your soup, this is the one for you.
 
Ippudo's ramen certainly lives up to its name, springy ramen with flavourful soup. Luckily for you (and us), there is no need to travel all the way to Singapore just to sample yummy ramen anymore as Ippudo will soon be opening an outlet in KL so do check it out once it's opened!

PawPoints: 5 Paws

   
Ippudo

Somerset MRT
#04-02/03/04, Mandarin Gallery
333 Orchard Road
Singapore
Tel: +65 6235 2797
Mon - Sat: 11am - 11pm
Sun: 11am - 10pm