Xiao Long Bao and Noodles @ Din Tai Fung

Well, I'm sure everyone is already well-acquainted with Din Tai Fung and its famous xiao long baos. Anyway here are my 2 paws on Din Tai Fung's scrumptious food =)

        

Their signature dish

     

Wantan Soup La Mian

     
Don't really know why JS ordered this since it looks soooo PLAIN but he should be comforted by the two bulbs of xiao bai chai ^_^
     

Shrimp Pork Wantan Soup 

     
Their wantans are really bouncy and chockful of shrimp and pork meat filling. Not a fan of Hong Kong style wantan soup though as it tastes too shrimpy to me.
       

Xiao Long Bao

       
This is their signature dish which is as good as they claim to be =)
       

Delicate stuff

               

Hot and Sour Soup La Mian

         
I love Sichuan food so this hot and sour soup suits me just fine. Very peppery and the thin somen like noodles absorb the flavours nicely. Also love the soft silky tofu bits and crunchy woodear fungus.

             

Grouper Fish Dumplings

           
Grouper fish dumplings are a welcome change to the usual wantans and xiao long baos. Quite delicious actually and not fishy at all.
         

Shrimp Fried Rice

         
I love having fried rice at Chinese restaurants as the chefs do it so well with lots of fluffy egg, crunchy shrimps and the nice aroma of wok hei.
           

Spicy Shrimp Pork Wantan La Mian

         
An interesting variation of the usual wantan noodles, the spicy la mian includes a dash of chilli oil and tasted really good.
       
         
PawPoints: 4 Paws
Pawket: Onion
                    
Din Tai Fung

Various malls

Estilo Spanish Tapas Bar and Charcoal Grill @ Publika, KL

Happy Chinese New Year!!! What better way to start off the lunar new year than with a post of one of my favourite restaurants! =D I'm a big fan of Spanish food and when I saw Estilo at Publika, I told myself I had to try it! It's located outside Publika, near Fat Boy's Burger Bar and I love its quirky decor especially its numerous hand painted ceramic plates.

Love their artwork

Assortment of cute plates

My favourite of the lot =)

Complimentary bread

They serve thick toasted bread slices for dipping into their signature creamy, garlicky, buttery aioli. Can't get enough of their bread =P

Spanish Tortilla (RM 9)

The thick omelette layered with potatoes and onions was all right but slightly too starchy even for a potato lover like me.

Patatas Bravas (RM 12)

Deep fried potatoes are absolutely the best! These have fluffy insides and went well with the Turkey Bacon Aioli which came with a dab of spicy sauce.

Chorizo (RM 18)

The paprika chorizos were really flavourful and confit potatoes were absolutely addictive as it's bite sized and slightly crispy on the outside yet mushy on the inside.

Calamares Fritos (RM 16)

These deep fried calamari were extremely crispy and done just right. Seems like they love aioli here, don't they?

Champinones (RM 14)

The sauteed mushrooms were awesome! The creamy sauce with a splash of wine was extremely good and went really well with bread.

Pinchos Morunos (RM 20)

These chargrilled chicken skewers were extremely juicy and tender. The orangey sauce - probably another variation of aioli - was really good too.

Paella Estilo - Large (RM 102)

Estillo's signature paella looks awesome and you can literally taste the rich stock coating the rice grains. They were very generous with the amount of chicken, chorizos and green beans which tasted nothing less than wonderful. The garlic and chilli infused olive oil also added another layer of taste on the paella, somewhat like what bird's eye chillies in soy sauce is to noodles.

Paella Mariscos (RM 58)

The Paella Mariscos has plenty of fresh mussels, fish, squid, clams and prawns. Similar to Paella Estilos, the rice is extremely flavourful. The single slice of lemon however did not seem sufficient for the entire pan.

Chorizo and Pineapple Paella Pan Pizza (RM 18)

I ordered this out of curiosity as I thought it was a Paella PanPizza. Turns out it's a PaellaPan (Normal) Pizza. Its base was the hard yet crispy type and really good. Although pineapples were not evident, its juices definitely seeped into the tomato base and lent it a nice sweet flavour.

I absolutely love the food at Estilo and can't wait to return for more as I only had nibbles of everything =( Surprisingly, it does not serve pork but everything tasted awesome! =D



PawPoints: 5 Paws
Pawket: Tomato


Estilo Spanish Tapas Bar and Charcoal Grill

No. 34, Level G2
Block C5, Publika Solaris Dutamas
Tel: 03 6203 9883
Daily: 11.30am - 11.30pm

Ben's General Food Store @ Bangsar Village 1, KL

Yet another brainchild of Ben's Independent Grocer (BIG) Group, this restaurant/ deli/ grocer specialises in pizzas.
       

Minimalist sign

       

Menu

        

Top: Caesar Salad (RM 11.90), Bottom: Marinated Button Mushrooms (RM 11.90)

     
As usual, fantastic innovative salads but somehow I just can't quite get my head round barley as a salad ingredient. Feels like it belongs in liquidy form more =P
         

Orecchiette Pasta (RM 11.90)

     
This salad took some getting used to for me. The rocket was pungent and the pasta combo had the earthy, olive-y taste as the only binder was olive oil. And I never liked peas > . > I wouldn't recommend this unless you like eating healthy greens...
         

Breakfast Pizza (RM 19.90)

     
This crispy pizza was yummy with breakfast ingredients heaped on it. The runny yolk and tomato sauce slathering went extremely well with the beef bacon and chicken sausage bits. One of my favourites along with the salmon pizza below.
         

Funghi Pizza (RM 22.90)

     
The Funghi Pizza had a slightly earthy taste due to the use of truffle oil and wild mushrooms as toppings which melted in the mouth with the mascarpone. I think it's good even though I'm not a big fan of the strong earthy taste.
       

Salmone E Spinaci Pizza (RM 24.90)

     
Another of my favourites, this is a melt in your mouth pizza due to the gooey mascarpone and I particularly like how the flavours of the cured salmon, spinach, and dill as well as a squeeze of lemon just come together effortlessly.

         

Il Carnivore Pizza (RM 24.90)

       
Pizzas with meat just can't go wrong so it's no surprise that this one laden with beef pepperoni, beef bacon, chicken cheese sausage and lamb chorizo on a base of tomatoes and mozarella does not fall short of expectations.

      

Pescatora Pizza (RM 29.90)

       
The mixed seafood pizza which contains mussels, shrimp and squid was good but nothing outstanding.

       

Peach Cobbler Ala Mode (RM 9.90)

       
The peach cobbler has a subtle peach flavour (so obvious but what else am I supposed to say?) and the accompanying vanilla ice-cream makes it taste even better.

       

Classic Chocolate Cake Ala Mode (RM 10.90)

       
Fantastic moist chocolate cake covered in dark chocolate sauce from BIG (it's available at Plan B too). Was awesome with the vanilla ice-cream.
     
I don't like the metal tins in which the pizzas come though...they have an uneven base which makes it difficult to slice through the pizza. The pizzas themselves are quite good and I like the wide variety offered here that is not too common in other shops.
     

      

PawPoints: 4 Paws
Pawket: Tomato

     
   
Ben's General Food Store
G17, Ground Floor
Bangsar Village 1
Tel: 03 2284 8790
Daily: 10am - 10pm

Moon Palace Revisit @ Bandar Puteri Puchong

Moon Palace Restaurant in Puchong is consistently the top weekly post on our blog...are there really so many unique visitors searching for Moon Palace or is their management so free to continuously click on the link? =P Either case, we both found the food at Moon Palace really good at a cheaper price than other restaurants so we returned for another meal. A few of our friends did tell us though that they did not enjoy the food there so perhaps it depends on your luck.
   
One of our visits was during Chinese New Year where we had the set meal for RM 368++.

      

Yee Sang

   
The Yee Sang is really fresh and they were very generous with the amount of raw salmon. There was no greasiness to the ingredients or slightly stale smell that is sometimes present in the Yee Sang served at other places. All in all, a yummy and refreshing dish with just the right amount of oil and honey.

     

Seafood and Crabmeat Soup

   
The thick soup had tons of seafood which made the price of the set menu more than worth it. The portion was quite big too for us to have seconds.

      

Butter Prawns

   
Even though it was a Chinese New Year set menu, the dishes were not prepared in advance. This Butter Prawns dish was deep fried moments before it was served and the prawns were extremely hot. The prawns were really fresh and tasted sweet and the deep-fried shreds of batter were extremely crunchy and flavourful due to the addition of curry leaves. Too bad the quantity of prawns was quite little =(

       

Tong Po Meat

   
I was never a big fan of these sort of braised meat but this was quite good - super tender fatty meat well flavoured by the dark caramelised gravy. Steamed buns were also included for us to mop up the sauce.

     

Blanched Bok Choy in Herbal Soup

   
The vegetable dish was very light on the tastebuds and I like the addition of wolfberries in the gravy / soup as it lent its sweetness to the dish.

     

Steamed Fish in Soy Sauce with Ginger and Wood Ear Fungus

   
Very fresh, firm fish. The inclusion of wood ear fungus was unique but I much prefer parsley instead =P The soy sauce based sauce was a little oily though.

     

Glutinous Rice with Chinese Preserved Sausage

   
Perfectly steamed glutinous rice with lots of preserved Chinese sausages and liver. Yummy but I wonder why they served it in such a big dish.

     

Mini Longevity Buns

   
Soft mini buns with warm lotus paste filling - what more can I say about buns?

    

Iced Sea Coconut and Longan 

   
Sweet syrupy dessert with lots of bouncy longans and sea coconut. I like that there are bits of ice in the dessert which makes it so satisfyingly chilled.
 
No matter what others say, I still think Moon Palace is really good and will definitely return for special occasions.
 
 
PawPoints: 4 Paws
Pawket: Cheese
         
       
Moon Palace Restaurant
1st Floor, Tower 2 @PFCC
Bandar Puteri Puchong
Tel: 03 8063 8122
Daily: 11am - 11pm

Coffee Chemistry @ First Subang Mall, Subang Jaya

Coffee Chemistry is located in First Subang Mall, a relatively dead shopping mall from what I remember...not sure if much has changed since then. The cafe, on the other hand, is quite a cosy little place with a pleasant owner and modern looking decor. 

       

          

Cappuccino

        

Warm and Iced Water

   
Nothing special about this but why the difference in size? 

      

Classic Roasted Lamb Shoulder (RM 26.90)

   
The roasted lamb shoulder with mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables drenched in black pepper sauce sure looks good but JS thought the lamb a bit chewy and would have preferred more vegetables instead.

       

Grilled Salmon Steak (RM 26.90)

   
Did not try the grilled salmon so no comment. It does look appetizing though with lots of freshly steamed vegetables and aromatic butter lemon sauce.

       

Seafood Pasta (RM 21.90)

   
I'm so predictable huh? Of course the Seafood Pasta is mine =P I didn't expect the dish to come with so much seafood considering the price but it did with double of everything - mussel, squid and prawns. Seafood was quite fresh and the cream sauce was not cloying at all. I liked it so much that I polished off everything even though I was actually really full even before I started eating.

      

Brownies & Ice-Cream (RM 9.50)

     
The brownie was really good and chocolatey and yet surprisingly cheap. A generous scoop of vanilla ice-cream was provided as well including a drizzle of chocolate sauce. Really the perfect dessert to end a meal d^_^b
   
I came to Coffee Chemistry not expecting much but it certainly surpassed my expectations with its good food and cheap price. I'd definitely return if only it weren't located at First Subang Mall cause there's nothing else to do there...
   
   
PawPoints: 3 Paws
Pawket: Tomato
          
Coffee Chemistry
G22 - G23, Ground Floor
First Subang Mall
Tel: 03 5612 2299
Daily: 10am - 10.30pm

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