Beef Noodles @ Pasar Besar Seremban

En route to Melaka, we decided to stop by Seremban for brunch. I always wanted to try the sotong mihun but that stall is somehow always closed. Perhaps it does not open on weekends? Anyhow, the obvious choice was the famous beef boodles at Pasar Besar Seremban. Apparently there are a few beef noodle stalls at the market so you should look for the one bearing the number 748 =)

      

Stall 748

       

Beef Noodles (Dry) (RM 6)

       
The springy and thick noodles are coated in a thick beefy sauce with strong hints of grounded peanuts and pickled vegetables. JS liked it but I have to confess that the taste of the sauce did not quite agree with my tastebuds =.= I guess it takes some getting used to.

                 

Extra beefballs

         
I liked the beefballs though but the soup was rather average.
         
Not too bad but we probably will not detour to the market for a meal in the future.
       
     
PawPoints: 2 Paws
Pawket: Dough
                    
Beef Noodle

Stall 748, Pasar Besar Seremban

Lucky Chicken Rice @ Pasar Besar Seremban, Seremban

Not being in the mood for the famous beef noodles, I opted for my perennial favourite - chicken rice - instead. After all, how wrong can one go with chicken rice, right?

Stall

Good thing there were still chicken and pork left after the morning market crowd.

Chicken and Siu Yuk Rice (RM 5)

I had my go-to order which is chicken and siu yuk - in this case, steamed chicken as they do not serve roasted chicken.

Chicken and Siu Yuk Combo

• Oiled rice was average. Soup was forgettable.
• Chilli sauce was quite good with enough kick to it.
• Steamed chicken was slightly dry but the ginger and soy sauce made it much tastier.
• Siu yuk was average with a mix of soggy and crispy skin.

Overall not too bad but I guess there are plenty of other choices at the market.


PawPoints: 2 Paws
Pawket: Dough


Lucky Chicken Rice

Stall 751, Pasar Besar Seremban

Zakuro 2 Japanese Cuisine @ Scott Garden, KL

Zakuro 2 is located at Scott Garden and it is quite easy to spot this if you came from the main entrance. If you, like us, entered through Tesco, be prepared to get lost in a maze as the escalator is not easy to find at all. I thought Zakuro 2 could be linked to the Japanese restaurant along Jalan Ampang but after trying its food, I doubt that's the case...

      

         

Interior

     
Nice interior but we could see the kitchen through the opening and I couldn't spot any Japanese chef...
         

Pickles

   
The pickles tasted slightly different from the usual yellow ones and were very sour but I guess they're homemade.
      

Chawanmushi

   
Nice piping hot and smooth chawanmushi with a sprinkling of ebikko which totally enhanced its taste.

       

Mixed Furai Set (RM 40)

   
The Mixed Furai set came with miso soup, appetiser and dessert. The appetiser tasted like fried fish crumbs but I can't be sure - quite addictive though.

      

Mixed Furai

     
The Mixed Furai plate consisted of deep fried chicken, salmon, crabstick and prawn coated with panko crumbs. The insides of these agemono were not dry, thankfully, but the exterior layer was over-fried due to the slightly sparse coating of crumbs. The side salad provided a cooling respite in contrast to the heatiness of the deep fried items but there was too much mayonnaise squeezed over it - good for dipping the furai though.

       

Saba Shioyaki Set (RM 30)

   
The Grilled Saba set came with the same appetiser, miso soup and dessert.
      

Grilled Saba

   
The grilled saba was very moist and well grilled but a tad too salty.
   
An average restaurant, not one that I'd be returning to in the long run. Plus it is located somewhere inconvenient for me.

 
   
PawPoints: 2 Paws
Pawket: Olive
         

Zakuro 2 Japanese Cuisine

The Scott Garden
Lot 1-36, 1st Floor
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03 7987 8148
Mon - Fri: 12pm - 3pm, 6pm - 10.30pm
Sat - Sun: 12pm -3pm

Tokyo Kitchen @ Sunway Giza Mall, Kota Damansara

Tokyo Kitchen is a quaint little place, with lots of zakka stuff on display. It is located outside Sunway Giza Mall near Full House.

       

                

Exterior

              

Cute plate

                 

Sashimi

                 
The sashimi was, we felt, their redeeming grace. They were very generous with the sashimi as evidenced by the thick slabs of salmon and butterfish. The sashimi was cold and juicy too. Definitely fine dining standard.
                         

Ebidon

             
The Ebidon came with 4 big pieces of ebi tempura. It was sufficiently good but nothing particularly outstanding. Also there was way too much rice that even a rice lover like me couldn't finish it. Perhaps they should cut down on rice and prevent a bit of wastage there.

               

Katsudon

             
The Katsudon was a disappointment. The chicken katsu were hard and the smell of reused frying oil was evident. Didn't enjoy this at all.
             
Both the Ebidon and Katsudon came with a bowl of miso soup which was salty to me. Other people would probably find it very salty since I have relatively higher salt tolerance.
               

Please come visit us!

           
Hmmm I guess it's quite a unique place to come for a meal but I will probably head to Sushi Zanmai instead...
           
           
PawPoints: 2 Paws (5 Paws for Sashimi)
Pawket: Cheese
                      
                      
Tokyo Kitchen

Lot C-01, Sunway Giza Mall
Tel: 03 6151 1268
Sun - Thur: 12pm - 11pm
Fri - Sat: 12pm - 12am

Grumps Cafe @ SS2 Mall, PJ

A cafe specialising in pork dishes Western style? Naturally, we couldn't resist the temptation and off we went, our stubby noses sniffing the air. Grumps Cafe is located at the newly-opened SStwo Mall which I find quite hard to locate due to the design of the mall itself.

Grumpy not allowed

Garlic bread

The garlic bread was excellent according to JS. It was soft and warm with a crispy exterior. The smell of garlic butter was also heavenly and you can see bits of garlic and parsley dotting the bread. Perfect for garlic lovers.

Mushroom Soup

The mushroom soup here is garnished with toasted almonds - a nice touch. The soup was thick and creamy - no fault there.

Pork Cordon Bleu (RM 24)

The Pork Cordon Bleu is easily my favourite dish out of the lot. The hidden ham is revealed once you cut the crumbed cutlet in half. I love deep-fried breaded cutlets but this was quite dry. The salad was refreshing and the thick-cut fries were pretty good too.

Cheesy Crumbed Pork Loin (RM 24)

The deep-fried pork loin was quite good on its own albeit a bit dry; however I didn't quite like the mushroom sauce as the more pungent-tasting shiitake mushrooms were used instead of the usual button mushrooms. I felt like the Oriental taste of the gravy did not go well with the Western pork cutlet at all.

Roast Pork Roll and Jumbo Sausage (RM 36)

The jumbo sausage was really juicy and the roast pork roll quite succulent. The roast pork roll was also quite fatty and it took me much longer to finish my portion towards the end. I have never been a fan of sauerkraut and this is no different but if you like it, do go ahead and try it as I have no idea what constitutes good sauerkraut. The mashed potatoes were quite good in my opinion.

Grilled Butterfly Steak (RM 24)

The Grilled Butterfly Steak was the driest of the lot. The creamy sauce did little to help ease the meat down my throat > . < The portion of steamed vegetables was definitely not sufficient to counter the fries and meat.

Ice-Cream Delight (RM 10)

Chocolate, vanilla and strawberry ice-cream sundae - what's not to like? Pretty average stuff though.

Chocolate Brownie (RM 10)

Surprisingly, the Chocolate Brownie with vanilla ice-cream was good. Hot, chocolatey and gooey, I wouldn't mind coming back just for this.

Grumps Cafe is a great place to meet up and catch up over porky dishes but it definitely needs to improve on its dishes taste-wise. Unless I'm really, really, really craving deep-fried breaded pork that absolutely can't be found anywhere else, I doubt I'll return to Grumps Cafe.

PawPoints: 2 Paws
Pawket: Tomato

Grumps Cafe

LG-57, Lower Ground Floor
SStwo Mall
Tel: 03 7931 8898

Daily: 10am - 10pm

Four Seasons Chinese Restaurant @ Wardour Street, London

Four Seasons Restaurant at Bayswater is arguably the best restaurant in London for roast duck, or so they say. Even my friends swear by it. I went there once when I was a student but I didn't like it. This time, I returned there again with my brother to see if it is indeed the best roast duck in town and also, to get a second opinion.

      

Wardour Street branch

     

Menu for Rice Dishes

   

Menu for Soup Noodles

   

Menu for Noodle Dishes

   

Complimentary chilli sauce, pickled green chillies and chilli oil

   

Two Combination Barbecued Duck and Soya Chicken on Rice (GBP 6.50)

   
The Barbecued Duck looked good with a thick glistening skin but in reality, the meat was quite tough and the skin too fatty and oily. Both my brother and I didn't think it was worth all the hype. We also unanimously agreed that the mobile roast duck stall at USJ 2 is way better than this (Incidentally, JS's family also regularly buys roast duck from USJ 2 and I can tell you it beats whatever famous roast duck from Loong Foong at PJ too).

     

The Soya Chicken was a surprise winner with super juicy, soft and smooth meat and a nice slippery skin which has absorbed the soya sauce flavour. The combination of finely sliced spring onions and ginger truly complemented the chicken and enhanced its flavour. Too bad they gave only a small amount of this.

   

Two Combination Barbecued Pork and Crispy Pork Belly on Rice (GBP 6.50)

   
The Barbecued Pork was disappointing. First of all, I prefer the glazed, charred kind to these artificially-coloured pork. Second, the meat was quite dry without much flavour and it's just like eating plain pork. I gave away most of it to my brother who was hungry and took the opportunity to barter for more Soya Chicken =P
   
I eagerly awaited the Crispy Pork Belly as who makes them better than Hong Kong people? Unfortunately it also fell short of my expectations as the skin was not crispy enough and the meat was too lean and hence, quite dry.
   
Overall, not a very memorable dining experience >. > I'd much rather have some gourmet burgers or go for more Moolis! I'd say skip this or head for Empress of Sichuan. If you're on a budget, Eat sandwich shops or any of the many Chinese restaurants in Soho would be good for a quick bite. But if you really, really, really want a taste of it, there's no need to travel halfway round the world - there is a branch at Empire Shopping Gallery in Subang Jaya.
   
 
PawPoints: 2 Paws

http://fs-restaurants.co.uk/
      
Four Seasons Chinese Restaurant
T: Picadilly Circus
23 Wardour St
London
Tel: +44 020 7287 9995
Mon - Thu: 12pm - 11.30pm
Fri - Sat: 12pm - 12am
Sun: 12pm - 11pm

The Han Room @ The Gardens, KL

The Han Room is part of the Oriental group of restaurants and with such a good reputation, posh decor and nice ambience, my family headed there to try out their dim sum. 

    

My first impression of the restaurant is its unfriendly reception staff, one of whom was quite cold and stand-offish. Perhaps they were busy, perhaps I was prejudiced. 

     

Anyway, next grouse was the method of ordering dim sum. Instead of giving us a piece of paper to mark the types of dimsum we wanted like other restaurants, theirs was quite confusing. Steamed and deep-fried items came in a cart which allowed us to pick what we wanted from the array of dishes. For congee and braised chicken feet, we had to go to a corner where the congee is prepared upon order. For  steamed rice rolls, we had to order from the wait staff. No one informed us of this beforehand - we only knew of it after enquiring about the dishes because they were not among the items in the cart.

    

The final thing which gave us a bad impression of the restaurant was the super long wait for the bill. We requested for the bill twice and it still did not come. I reckon if we walked out without paying, they wouldn't even know as they immediately cleared our table when we went to the reception to ask for the bill.

     

Additional Dipping Sauces

      

Siu Mai

   
 The Siu Mai was good but as you can see from the picture, the amount of roe on top was very little.
   

Har Gau

     
The prawn dumplings were good with bouncy prawns and acceptable dumpling skin.
   

Char Siu Bao

   
The Char Siu Baos were inconsistent in size but quite good. One grouse is that the char siu filling is a little too crumbly due to it being chopped into too small pieces.

      

Loh Mai Kai

 
The glutinous rice came with a huge piece of mushroom and was quite good.
   

Stir Fried Radish Cake

   
This dish lacked wok hei and it was served warm. The cubed radish cake was also slightly hard and tough like it was the previous day's leftovers whereas the beansprouts were not crunchy.

   

Yam Puff

   
The yam puff was also disappointing and the yam shell was quite hard instead of being soft and fluffy and crunchy. The filling, on the other hand, was good but typical.

   

Char Siu

   
Char siu was really good with sweet caramelised layer on the outside.
   

Braised Chicken Feet

   
The braised chicken feet was really flavourful and absorbed the marinade very well but it was not very tender.

   

Medallion Carp Congee

   
The congee was really smooth and pleasant. My mum detected hints of oatmeal mixed into the congee for added aroma and texture.
   

Prawn Cheong Fun

   

The prawn wrapped in rice rolls and soya sauce were good but they were stingy with the prawns >.> For each portion of rice roll, there was only one tiny prawn so if you bit the rice roll in two, the other side is just plain rice roll =.=

   

Overall, the Han Room is really disappointing. The dim sum was really just average for that sort of restaurant and price - I've had much better at Grand Palace Restaurant at Pavillion and the now-closed Crystal Jade Fine Dining Restaurant at The Gardens. Go there only for the ambience and decor but the service and food leaves much to be desired.

 
 
PawPoints: 2 Paws
Pawket: Tomato
   
The Han Room
Lot G243, G246 & G247, Ground Floor
The Gardens
Tel: 03 2284 8833
Mon - Fri: 11am - 11pm
Sat - Sun: 10.30am - 11pm

Maya Brasserie @ Maya Hotel, KL

I think many companies always hold corporate events at Maya Hotel so here's a quick overview of the dishes available for dinner buffet at the hotel's all-day cafe Maya Brasserie.

Love the look!

I love the dark colours employed in the decor of Maya Brasserie and the orchid arrangement in a gigantic cement-coloured vase looked absolutely elegant. Very zen-like and peaceful with several ponds in the restaurant. However the pools do not have any barriers around it so watch your step or you might just hear a splash =P

Oysters and Crabs

Raw oysters and crabs which I did not try as I didn't want to risk a diarrhea and I was too lazy to wrestle with the crabs =(

Salad Bar

The salad bar here is quite interesting with a variety of combinations and flavours. By the time I got to the salads, they were half gone and I only took two varieties which interested me =(

Satay and Otak-Otak

It's quite rare to find otak-otak in hotel buffets, no?

BBQ Station

There were tons of ingredients ready to be barbecued such as sausages, marinated chicken and lamb, and assorted vegetables. A variety of sauces and condiments were also available to go with the barbecued items. Not pictured here was a station for deep-fried items too.

Minuscule Japanese Section

Imagine tons of people queuing up for this plate of sashimi =.= Do they not realise Japanese food is popular with the masses? Anyway when you finally get your turn, you can forget all about the others and just zoom in on the rectangular, shiny orange blobs on the plate. I'll tell you why after you scroll down...

Sarawak Kolok Mee Station

I've always wanted to try Kolok Mee but I definitely wasn't about to waste my tummy space with this so I still don't know how it tastes like =(

Haagen Dazs Ice-Cream

There were 3 flavours of Haagen Dazs ice-cream, namely chocolate, strawberry and chocolate chip cookie dough. There were also ais potongs which I doubt anyone would take when there is Haagen Dazs?

Cakes and Local Dessert

Plenty of local kuihs and cakes to choose from =)

Chocolate Fountain

Chocolate Fountain is always a favourite with the patrons and they have the obligatory marshmallows and strawberries as well as preserved fruits.

Main Course

As always, I need some main course items to fill my tummy so clockwise from the rice are chicken and beef satay and the usual accompanying onions and cucumbers, kam heong bamboo clam, stir-fried squid, crab with spices, assam stingray and lamb provencal. I racked my brains for descriptive adjectives for each dish but they were all average and tasted exactly as you assume they would taste (hope that helps =.=). I quite like the satay as both the beef and chicken were well marinated and were adequately charred yet juicy.

Sides

My favourites =D Clockwise from the soy sauce saucer are sashimi, futomaki, california maki, potato souffle, kerabu and strawberry chicken salad. The kerabu packed quite a punch in the sour department while the strawberry chicken salad tasted a little odd as the strawberry was sweet and my brain keeps telling me that chicken doesn't go well with sugary sweet stuff =.=

The potato souffle was very comforting and fluffy - I'd have taken more if I wanted to risk looking like a glutton but I was quite full from all the waiting for VIPs so we could start the meal. Both the futomaki and california maki were bite-sized and good...too bad there wasn't enough space in my tummy.

The sashimi were not too bad but the clear winner is that little blob of criss-crossed orange next to the saucer =D It was salmon belly sashimi and it was soooo juicy and fatty and slippery and melt-in-your mouth-y!! It was such a small piece but it certainly beat every single dish on the menu. Be warned though that it is quite tough to get more than one piece as they only display a few pieces of sashimi at any one time and I thought it'd be rude if I scooped up every piece of salmon belly from the display plate (scroll up for picture) =P

Dessert

Last but not least, I had chocolate-covered strawberries, marshmallow and rock melon, a small square of chocolate cake and strawberry and chocolate chip cookie dough ice-cream.

I hope you found the pictures (at least) informative. The buffet items were not too bad but I definitely wouldn't pay to eat these at a hotel.

PawPoints: 2 Paws
Pawket: Salami

Maya Brasserie

Level 1, Maya Hotel
138 Jalan Ampang
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03 2711 8866

Daily: 6.30am - 12am