Poppo's Kanteen @ Sri Petaling

I am very picky when it comes to our national dish "Nasi Lemak". Of course, there are different versions of nasi lemak out there. For me, the most important aspect of a good place of nasi lemak is the nasi (rice)! Unlike some fast food chain that introduces a nasi lemak burger which didn't work for me because there is no NASI in it fails its name. 

OK, so for me a good nasi lemak have a good balance of all the flavours, the rice must be rich (fragrant from the coconut milk and pandan leaves) and grainy, sambal is a must (not too sweet but must be spicy), groundnut and ikan bilis (anchovies) must be crunchy and fresh, fresh cucumber/vege and a nice fried egg. Any side dishes is a bonus. 

That brings me to this place, Poppo's Kanteen @ Sri Petaling. Their tagline "Nasi so Lemak" is very true! 

I remember the first time I came to this location. My friend told me the nasi lemak here is very good. Comparable to many other famous nasi lemak places. I was sceptical at first. I ordered the Nasi Lemak Ayam Goreng. Man, I was not disappointed. When the rice was served, the whiff of the coconut milk induced rice is rich and fragrant, tears almost rolled from my eyes. The rice was rich as they promised, the sambal was balanced, and it was served with crispy ikan bilis, fried hard-boiled egg, and a keropok. The ayam goreng have a tinge of rempah (spices) to it to give it a nice kick. I was in heaven! This is my fav nasi lemak joint now!

Nasi Lemak Ayam Goreng

They do serve many other types of side dishes as well to go along with your nasi lemak. Ayam rendang, ayam kari, rendang kambing, sambal kerang (so good!) and ikan masak cili to name a few. 

We managed to try other dishes as well, we decided to go for gold in ordering the roti bom with peanut butter. It is so guilty. Only in Malaysia, we can indulge in this sinful goodness. 

Roti Bom Peanut Butter with Jumbo Drink

Nice crispy roti with a generous amount of peanut butter. It is so sinfully good! yumm... Of course, we have to share this as after having that plate of nasi lemak ayam. 

Have yet to try their other dishes, as there are many more dishes on their menu such as noodles, fried rice, western meals, sandwiches and desserts. BUT I am a sucker for a good nasi lemak so I never ended up with anything but nasi lemak. I will try to convince my family or friends to try their other dishes and share their view here next time! haha.

For drinks, wash it down with a variety of options. I usually go for the kedondong with sea-coconut Jumbo.  Yes, they have normal size and jumbo. Jumbo you get that iron mug that we use to have back in the days as seen in the roti bom picture 😄. 

It is not too pricey, for my nasi lemak it costs only RM8.90 and my jumbo drink RM6.90, roti bom RM4.50.

Ambience wise, they have airconditioned seating and outside seating. It is quite comfy. Parking may be a problem during peak hours. 

Service is quite good. 

They open daily from 8am - 12 midnight 😄😄😄 (anytime nasi lemak yay!)

End of the day, if you are looking for a good place for a nasi lemak, do try here!

Overall Verdict:

Food : 9/10

Service : 8/10 (its ok only)

Price : 8/10 (quite reasonable)

Ambiance : 7/10 (comfortable with aircond coffee shop)

Cong Yin Noodles, Ipoh Gardens

When I first about this noodles, I was kinda quizzed why is it called Chong Yin Fun. It literally translate as Scholar Noodles in Cantonese. But once I had it, I was amazed at how tasty it was. The minced pork with fish is particularly nice. The rest is of course the noodles, sliced pork, liver and some intestines. The soup is really tasty and its not too salty or stale. Its really flavoured well and has a nice sweetness to it. When it comes to pork noodles, the most important is the taste of the soup and this shop aces it!

The next is the freshly fried "sui kow". Usually the most important for a sui kow is the meat paste in it and with some prawns, pork and some black fungus and carrots. It is really good. The crispy skin compliments it awesomely.

The only draw back is that they cook one bowl at a time, so waiting can be quite a while. Usually I have to wait around 15-20 minutes. But we can order the sui kow first and enjoy that as it is usually ready to serve.

Make sure you get your order right before you go place your order as the lady will scold you.

But all in all its really good. A must try!

Overall Verdict:

Food : 9/10

Service : 5/10 (its ok only)

Price : 6/10 (slightly pricey for Ipoh standard)

Ambiance : 7/10 (comfortable with aircond coffee shop)

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SEONG KEE Hakka Yong Tau Foo

Hunting for nice fresh yong tau foo around PJ Old Town area? then this is the place to come. This place is usually packed during dinner time as it is located in a Food Court. I will usually go 'makan' with my significant other and usually we will order pretty much the same thing.


For the fried ones we will order the brinjal, foo chok and sui kow. Once ordered you will have to wait a while for them to prepare. This is because they do it on the spot once ordered so it is always fresh! I have to say my favourite have to be the fried sui kow. The fillings are well balanced and its not too much skin nor too much meat. The other fried stuffs are good also as the fish paste is smooth and bouncy and not chewy.

For the soupy ones I usually order the stuffed chilli, tau fu, tau pok, ladies finger and bitter gourd. Like i mentioned earlier the fish paste is done nicely and it is smooth and bouncy. But be very very careful as it is fresh and its boiling hot. This is especially for the chilli and ladies finger as the outside might be cooled down but inside its still scorching hot! Sometimes I like to dip the fried stuffs into the soup.

One more usual dish we order is the fried chicken wings. The wings is nicely marinated and fried and it is just so juicy and crispy! yumm!!

There are two more dishes that people usually order which is the Pork Knuckle with Vinegar and the curry. Unfortunately I didnt snap any photo of those. But it is also a must try.

It is located at the Medan Selera at Jalan Othman PJ OLD TOWN, next to the Market.

Service: 6/10 (Slightly slow to react especially if there is too many people)
Food Quality: 8/10 (not bad)
Environment/ambience: 7/10 (abit warm and not all fans are on)
Price: 8/10 (reasonable for KL standard)

My verdict: one of the few fresh yong tau foo in PJ South area. Can try coz its not too bad!


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PRAWN MEE @ KAM HEONG RESTAURANT, PJ STATE

I've been eating at this place for god know how long ago. And this place is famous for their prawn mee! This is non other that Kam Heong Coffee show prawn mee. Just ask anyone from PJ south area and ask them about PJ state prawn mee and they will say yea they know.

I got a friend, Joe, he said when he was young, their family will go to this place almost every weekend! why? coz the Prawn Mee is just too gooooood. Till that day I went there and there he was! eating with his wife! Its that good!

So how to order? just order la! HAR MIEN - BIHUN MEE OR BIHUN is ok! Everyone knows that the most important ingredient in Prawn mee or as in the northern states call it Hokkien Mee is their soup. This soup is really really good. I always finish the soup and lick the bowl clean!

In this bowl you get sliced pork, one whole hard boiled eggs sliced, "kangkung" and bean sprouts. Along with the soup and noodle... its one bowl you will never forget! This is where you go "OH LALA MAMA MIA, PERFECTO!!"

The portion is quite generous too! For RM 4.50 per bowl its worth every penny. Unlike some other place where its only like half the portion of this!

Besides the prawn mee, one more fantastic dish is the Ngau Lam Mee (Beef soup noodle) at the Wan Tan Mee stall. This one is also another dish that is not to be missed. The beef is tender and the aroma is fantastic. Can taste that the beef is boiled for a long time along with ginger and clove and other spices. To take it alone is fantastic but to take it with wan tan noodle is also great! Price is RM 5.50 with noodles and RM 5 without noodles.

Too much cholesterol for the taking? then wash it down with this Ambarella, or Ambula or buah Kedondong juice or in cantonese "Sar Lei Shin Mui". Refreshingly nice sweet sour and salty juice. yum!

Besides all this there are lots more other food such as pork noodle, porridge, pan mee, chicken rice and at night the famous famous kam hiong duck rice which is also a must try. (sorry no pics here ... yet)

The ambiance is not bad, very packed during weekend mornings and afternoon and during the weekdays dinner is quite pack but the noodles is only during the day and it closes around 230pm.
Its done in a way that its not warm or stuffy. So its quite comfortable.

Service: 9/10 (fast attentive service, but slightly slow if too pack)

Food Quality: 9/10 (almost all the stalls there serves good food)
Environment/ambience: 8/10 (comfortable and cooling as its quite airy with fans and shades)
Price: 8/10 (reasonable for KL standard)

My verdict: Its a definite must try! one of the best in Klang Valley

Its next to UOB bank. opposite the pencil shaped MPPJ Building.
KAM HEONG COFFEE SHOP

Jalan Tengah Pj New Town Petaling Jaya, Selangor

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PETER'S PORK NOODLE @ MAY FLOWER FOOD COURT, BRICKFIELDS

So far I have not tasted any other Pork Noodle as tasty as this one. Its located at Brickfields at this food court called May Flower Food Court.

Its kinda tricky to get there tho. Its actually opposite Pos Malaysia along Jalan Tun Sambanthan. This shop was formerly at the New Lay Sin Restaurant Opposite Sri Kota Supermarket but now they have shifted to May Flower. I have to say its more comfortable now compared to the hot and packed New Lay Sin.

The highlight of any pork noodle is their soup and of course the juicy tender pork and I have to say this one tops it all. The soup is fantastic, the pork are nice and juicy. What I usually order is the large Bihun Mee without the spareparts (liver, intestine and stomach). You can have the option to add an egg into it as I always do. What they do is to crack an egg right after they cook! so you can slowly slurp your un broken half boiled egg with abit of the soup as a whole. Yum yum yum!

Usually when it is served I would ask them to give some "chu yau cha" which is deep fried lard. Crispy and a very very guilty add on!

They also serve the dry version (kon low). They still serve a good portion of minced pork and juicy pork in a separate bowl of soup and yes... you can still add the eggs! yum yum!

sorry pic is unclear, using my mobile phone's camera hehe.

The price of the noodle? RM 5 for the large and RM 4.50 for the normal (both is with eggs). Not bad! If you are in KL Bangsar or Brickfields area, then its a definite must try!

If you are interested, in the same food court they serve nice and cheap Banana Leaf rice too. Yumm yumm! Price for a normal set of vegetarian meal (rice, vege, parpadom, rassam and curry) cost only RM4. It used to be RM3.50 when they were at New Lay Sin but its still cheap. If you add chicken or fish it would only cost around RM7. So its an alternative if you dont want to indulge on the tasty pork noodles!

As I said earlier finding the place will be abit tricky. There is an open carpark (AsiaPark) next to the Food Court but the entrance is slightly in an awkward area. If you are coming from Bangsar area, be sure to keep right once you turn to Jln Tun Sambanthan. The entrance of the parking is directly opposite Pos Malaysia and its hidden right at the end of the first row of shoplots. So do be careful!

They open from morning till 2.30pm. So better be there before it runs out!!

Service: 7/10 (its fast, food comes within 5-10 minutes after ordering, but its a food court so cut it some slack la)
Food Quality: 9/10
Environment/ambience: 7/10 (clean and tidy... but typical food court style)
Price: 9/10

My verdict: craving for some good Pork Noodles? this is the place!


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Food Tasting at Grand Imperial, Bangsar

I joined that evening for a food tasting session at Grand Imperial, BSC Bangsar. The place located at the 3rd Floor. It's not that hard to find the place and it's not crowded either. The decoration of the restaurant is simple. The waitress are very friendly as well and attentive too. The prices on the menu are on the high end and the quality of the food is quite impressive as well.

The standard placements of cutlery are neat and elegant. The air-condition well adjusted to the temperature as it's not too cold or too hot. I love few of the arts placed on the wall of the restaurant. I feel peaceful and calm as the ambiance inside the restaurant gave a zen feeling. Of course, there are private rooms available complete with karaoke equipments if you wish to go crazy after meal.

These are the list of food on the menu selected for the food tasting package:

#1 Appetizers

The taste of the appetizers very rich with the marinated ingredients that gives the satisfaction even after the 1st bite. Not too salty for starters and the taste obviously is properly prepared with great preparation as the seasonings are well adjusted. There are choices of appetizers on the basket served with both hot and cold types.

Verdict: 8/10


#2 Soup

It was served hot to the table as I'm quite particular when comes to soup. Certain restaurants serve their customers with cold soup. The soup is served well with the ingredients that also not too salty either. Not too sticky as it looked like when I see the texture before I tried it.

Verdict: 8/10

#3 Chicken

The meat is very tender and the seasoning didn't make the food very salty. The most important thing is the meat are well cooked. There is no trace of blood inside the chicken as I do have experience that the chicken meat was not well cooked and the meat is very chewy.

Verdict: 7.5/10

#4 Steamed Fish

Texture is smooth and the taste is great. Not too salty or not to tasteless. The fish is not overcooked either and I keep eating it after a bite. The fish is served fresh as well. The sauce is perfect to mix with rice for better taste. It's appetizing to me as the sauce is not too overwhelming with its seasonings too.

Verdict: 8.5/10

#5 Prawn

This is one of favorite dish of the night. Prawn is fresh and the soup is SUPERB! What can I say more? This is the perfect dish to flood my rice bowl with the soup. Rice and the soup equal perfect combination for non-stop munching for more.

Verdict: 9/10

#6 Vegetables with Mushroom

As shiny as it seems on the surface, it's also a perfect choice for vegetarian. Broccoli not overcooked. Mushroom is smooth and soft to chew and the gravy not too salty.

Verdict: 8/10


#7 Fried Rice

I love the presentation of the food. Neat and attractive. It was served hot as well. Rice well fried and not overcooked. Rice is maintained soft and tasty. I didn't eat much here as the food before this filled up most of the spaces in my belly. Ho-Ho!

Verdict: 8/10

Food Tasting Half Time.......

#8 Dessert

The red bean is too sweet. However, I'm not really a big fan of red bean. Managed to take few sips and I think that the dessert is alright for me. It was served hot and the taste is very nice to drink too. Light and not too overwhelming as well.

This one? Simple and nice. Perfect finale after heavy meals in between.

Verdict: 7.5/10

Overall:

Service : 8.5/10
Food : 8/10
Ambiance : 8/10
Price : Expensive. However, for occasional celebration with loved ones, it's worth it.

Disclaimer: This is based on my personal opinion and do not represent any food establishments. Taste it with your OWN risk.

Overwhelmed Dinner at Kwan's then Supper with Murni

Location: Madam Kwan's, KLCC

Dinner.....

It was an evening outings with sister after work. Again, we would like to avoid the typical KL mad traffic before we head home that evening and decided to have a meal at Madam Kwan's. The place was quite crowded as usual even the price bit pricey for the food. But again, sis would like have a taste on the food. Sp, why not?

The taste is really addictive for the 1st few bites. After a while, I felt that the taste from the gravy was overwhelming. I guess, it's too much of flavoring, a.k.a Ajinomoto! Not good for the health, though. So, I can't managed to finish it. Next time, it's advisable to order a plate of it but shared by two person.

The 2nd dish we ordered was the kangkung with garlic. This is superb for those who wish to eat a lighter meal for dinner. After overwhelmed by the War Tan Hor's gravy, I curi this dish from my sis and eat with rice from hers too. Tasty as it reminds me of home cooked meal.

But again, the overwhelming feeling from the gravy also saved by the Lime Juice that I've ordered. Lime helps me to digest even faster and I ended hungry again later in the night and went for a supper! Sigh.. How to achieve slimmer figure with my appetite like that?!

Location: Murni, SS2

Supper...

Begging and dragged @junsern to bring me to the SS2 for 2nd Dinner = Supper! I have the sudden craving for the Roti Hawaii and the Nasi Lemak Ayam. Not to forget their Teh Ais with the creamy taste that I was addicted since the first time I came to Murni for a meal.

From the photos, the Roti Hawaii served with dal/curry gravy for me to dip it for a little taste. The sausages are quite good to start off and eventually I felt full very fast too. Thanks to the chicken meat that also included into the Roti Hawaii. Again, greedy and can't finish it. Advice, share with your friends! In this case, @junsern helped me to finish it in the end. Sigh! As much I wanna eat all of it, but I can't! Damn you! You small tummy of mine.

But despite of being greedy and can't finish my food, I still pandai-pandai wanna curi @Junsern's Nasi Lemak Ayam! This one, Syiok to the max! The sambal is full with taste and the rice was served hot. The chicken was marinated with ingredients and served hot made me curi more chicken from his plate! Evil me... Nyiek!!

The egg is so perfect as the egg yolk still intact. It's perfect for those who wish to mix it with sambal with the rice. With such combination, this will make you eat faster and finished it fast. Then order another one!

Paramount Garden Restaurant, PJ

Been at this place for more than 4 years already and I still love their one famous dish... heard of Loh Mee? the one with the dark brown starchy soup. I bet u did. Heard of Pan Mee? the one with flat flour noodle with anchovies (ikan bilis for you locals), black fungus, minced meat and vege? I bet u did too. But imagine u mix them both! GENIUS!!!...

loh mee

Ever since I came to this place and ate their signature dish.. which is the Loh Pan Mee fell in love with it. The portion is quite big too. What I love to do, which my friends always complains is I will pour the whole saucer of belacan and one soup spoon of vinegar into my noodle and mesh is all up! the mix of their nice peppery starchy soup with the aroma and spicyness of the belacan along with the sourness of the vinegar really gets your appetite going.

I never fail to finish up the whole bowl of noodle and of course the soup as well and the soup of my gf or mom or sis or aunt as well! wuahahaha.

took the plunge to tried loh yee mee (nice...)

Well this place they are dont only serve this dish, of course they have other dishes too. Their hot plate noodle or rice is nice too. My friend tried the chicken mushroom rice. Taste quite good also. I tried their Portuguese grill fish, sotong and sting ray too. That one the portion abit small and not so nice. But the sauce is appetising enough to warrant the OK sign.

If you want to go for the more calmer or as the chinese people say more "cheng" or clearer type you can try their pan mee or their fish paste noodle. The fish paste noodle is interesting as the soup is somehow deliciously done. Not as appetising as the loh mee soup but its very nice going with the fish cake, foo chok and fish balls. The pan mee, taste like pan mee... ahahahah. really.

pan mee

Well if you want to have a simple meal when you are bored of O&S or Chow Yang of Sea Park or Paramount Garden PJ. Try this then! the environment is comfortable but parking is a little hard to get! and bring lots of tissue or handkerchief if you are the sweaty type coz once you hentam the noodle and their soup! guarantee sweat even though there is a huge fan blowing you!

Price wise its about the standard KL price which is BIG = RM 5, Med = RM4.50 and Small = RM4.

It non halal so my fellow muslim friends... sorry.


Where is this place? its same parallel with KFC just further down towards Sec 14. The row opposite Mediviron Clinic. You will have to be careful as its cuts in a road on the left along the main road right before the traffic lights and right after 7eleven. For parking if you are lucky you can get one in front of the shop or you can park at the back at the housing area.

55 Jalan 21/12, 46300 Petaling Jaya

map here

Service: 8/10 - very friendly fellas and quick too. Food comes quite fast so its a good thing

Food Quality: 8/10 - good food but presentation wise okla. Coffee shop ma. What you expect!

Environment: 6/10 - although its windy comfortable but when during a hot day + hot soup! very hot!

Price: 7/10 - Quite pricey for PJ standard. But its still within the affordable range!