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Archive for January, 2012
RM12 ‘Keh Liao’ Char Koay Teow @ Bee Hooi Coffee Garden, Penang
Jan 28th
Just when I thought Char Koay Teow in Penang wouldn’t get more expensive, I stumbled upon one that sells a ‘keh liao‘ (added ingredients) version that has a price tag of RM12 while the normal version is RM5.50. FYI, the most expensive Char Koay Teow I ever had prior to this was at Ah Leng that cost RM10. And coincidentally, this stall at Bee Hooi Coffee Garden along Kimberley Street is where Ah Leng used to operate before he moved to his current location.
Even though I knew the noodles would have a tough time competing with the caliber of Siam Road‘s, the curiosity got the better of me. I simply had to see for myself how this could top Ah Leng’s. So after I placed my order and sat down, I paid close attention to the cooking.
And just as I had predicted, the extra cost goes into having much bigger prawns and having an extra ingredient – mantis shrimps. There weren’t any cockles, which is weird so my only guess is that it was hard to get any supply during CNY.
Tong Pak Fu HK Dessert Restaurant @ Bukit Mertajam
Jan 21st
Firstly, do not confuse this Tong Pak Fu with the HK one that recently launched at KLCC and Sunway Giza. In fact this is a Penang based dessert chain that has branches at Pulau Tikus, Raja Uda and Bukit Mertajam. Although their names share the same pronunciation in Cantonese, one word used is different. The HK one from HK uses 百 (hundred) while this one uses 伯 (uncle) for the ‘Pak’. I think anyone who does not pay enough attention to details might think they are the same.
The menu selection is quite limited and consists of the usual stuff you would find at any dessert shop, so no surprises here.
Some mango dessert which I can’t recall its name. Couldn’t be bothered anyway because it is artificial as hell.
Verona Trattoria @ Section 17, Petaling Jaya
Jan 16th
Good Italian restaurants in Klang Valley are not necessarily expensive and are out to hurt your wallet. One example would be Verona Trattoria at Section 17 that just opened its doors about 3 weeks ago.
But just so you know, most of the food here have had the recipes modified to suit our heavy Malaysian taste bud. So you could say they are not that authentically Italian, which is meant to be simple and generally light in flavor. Well, I can’t really blame them for this else there would be an endless complaints of their food being tasteless and bland.
Since they are new, weekly specials are being introduced to test the market. If the specials are popular enough among the customers, then they might consider putting them up as permanents on the menu. Even though the ravioli was highly recommended by the lady boss as the customers’ absolute favorite, we wanted to play safe and had the other special instead, Grilled Salmon with Lemon Butter Sauce @ RM32.
Yakotaya Japanese Dining @ Metro Prima, Kepong
Jan 14th
For an area that is surrounded by BBQ steamboat restaurants and sleazy massage parlours, you’d be surprised to find a nice Japanese restaurant such as Yokotaya in Metro Prima Kepong. Looking at their menu, there are two things for sure: the selection is very wide but price is on the higher side.
Unfortunately for us they were out of Unagi during our visit so we had to stick to other things especially salmon. And boy did we order a lot of that. First, it was a portion (~10 slices) of Norwegian Salmon Belly Sashimi @ RM28.80. It was fresh with a silky smooth texture, absolutely loved it despite its expensive price tag.
A unique looking platter that caught my eye is Salmon Zukushi (Salmon Favorites) @ RM34.80, which is basically made up of sushi, rolls and sashimi all entirely based on salmon only. For salmon lovers it is worth trying if your intention is to try a variety of stuff instead of ordering them separately.
