Kuala Lumpur
Mr.Chiam Pisang Goreng & Fritters @ Restoran Yit Sieang, Brickfields
Mar 16th
Next time, if you around KL Sentral and feeling hungry, why not hop over to Mr.Chiam’s Fritters stall and help yourself with some delicious pisang goreng, curry puff, kuih bakul and sesame balls. They are all made fresh and most importantly cheap and affordable, something that’s fast becoming rare in KL nowadays.
When I first heard of it I didn’t think of it as a big deal because I thought “how tasty can a simple fried banana be?” Wow, how wrong could I be.
Mr.Chiam’s fritters stall is located in front of Restoran Yit Sieang, which is also directly opposite YMCA at Brickfields. It would be hard to miss this stall, as there is always a bee-line of customers.
The stall is always manned by two people – Mr.Chiam himself and his son. His son has a funny way of calling his father ‘lou sai’ or ’si tau’ in Cantonese, which means boss. Fair enough considering they’re in a business lol. Anyway, this young chap is very friendly and is always spotted with a smile on his face. The tasty and cheap fritters aside, that’s another reason I like to patronize them.
Most, if not all of their raw fritters are prepared in a unit at the building behind them. The way the raw fritters are delivered is both unique and efficient too. They communicate with the people inside the unit using an intercom, usually when a particular fritter is out. Upon order the raw fritters would be prepped and delivered in a basket that hangs over the unit’s window.
Prince Cafe Hong Kong Cuisine @ Kepong
Feb 3rd
Prince Cafe is a chained Hong Kong style cafe that have a few branches in Klang Valley. As far as I know they had branches in Kepong, SS2 and Mid Valley (closed down) From the recent closure of their Mid Valley branch I am thinking they aren’t doing too well.
It’s kinda obvious (at least to me) that they are aiming to tap into the Yum Cha market, and might want to emulate the success of Kim Gary and Wong Kok Char Chan Teng alike. But as far as I am concerned, the food served at Kim Gary and Wong Kok in Malaysia are not up to the standards. Well I could give their Yin Yong or HK Milk Tea a pass but their food is just a let down.
What I said is based on the fact that I have tried the Kim Gary in Singapore and I feel there is a heaven-and-earth difference. So when your competition is not strong, standards are low hence less room for improvements. That being said, it’s obvious my experience with Prince Cafe to follow was a disappointing one.
Macau style Pork Chop Burger @ RM6.50. While I could tolerate the idea of purposely arranging the pork chops in such a messy way in creating an arty impression – there’s nothing to like about the overly dry pork chops and excessive use of mayonnaise.
Pork Chop Cheese Baked Rice @ RM16.90 had a huge portion but it arrived cold and tasted dry – really dry. They were generous with the mayonnaise on my pork chop burger but decided to stinge on the curry sauce for the cheese baked rice lol. Well luckily the waiter happily obliged to bring us extra curry sauce so it was bearable.
For this kind of pricing and food quality, you are better off sticking to Kim Gary or Wong Kok. Or better still, support local Yum Cha scene and have white coffee at Old Town instead.
Prince Cafe (info provided for the lulz)
No 22, 24 & 26, Jalan Metro Perdana 8
Taman Usahawan Kepong, 52100 KL
Bel Pasto Pizza Italian Restaurant @ Kepong
Jan 24th
Bel Pasto is an Italian restaurant in Kepong that is run by real Italian chefs. The restaurant in Kepong is actually Bel Pasto’s second branch, with the first established at Aman Puri not too far away. Initially, I thought Bel Pasto had something to do with pasta because of the word similarity but it actually means ‘nice meal’.
Being in an Italian restaurant, it’s only natural that we tried their pasta. After all, it is their staple food. Fettucini Salmone @ RM19.50 was faithfully prepared according to typical Italian recipe. The al dente pasta, generous chunks of salmon and Parmesan cheese made made it an enjoyable dish even though I am not a pasta fan. We felt the price was a little expensive though.
We also had a bowl of Mushroom Soup @ RM6.80 but personally, I didn’t like it because of the bitterness of the wild mushroom used.
The Hawaiian Pizza @ RM15.50 was great, baked thin crust just the way I like it with loads of cheese melted on top. There’s really nothing to complain about.
Cafe Cafe KL – Romantic Restaurant @ Jalan Maharajalela
Dec 18th
If you read my dining experience at Banquet, then you should probably know what I got to say for Cafe Cafe. Although not as disastrous, it was still quite a disappointing experience. For those who have never heard of Cafe Cafe before, well it’s a well hidden restaurant along Jalan Maharajalela, which happens to be the favorite restaurant for Amber Chia as well because of its deco.
Honestly, I didn’t like the main courses we had that day. What I feel about Cafe Cafe’s food is probably the exact opposite of what the rest of the food bloggers have written.
You might say that I don’t know how to appreciate fine dining and the sophisticated flavors. True. For me, it’s really simple – if the food tastes good then it’s enjoyable and worth paying for, regardless of the ingredients used whether its foie gras or truffle. Taste is just a subjective thing.
And because of that, I am not going to lie to you saying how good the Chef’s special of the day – Scrambled Egg was. It was very runny and you must really love garlic a lot to appreciate the super strong garlic smell.
I knew Cafe Cafe was going to be expensive so I was not very shocked when I saw the orange juice being priced at RM18 a glass, or RM14 for an imported French Pink Lemonade.
Sang Har Meen @ Soo Kee Mee Stall, Medan Imbi
Nov 29th
Taking opportunity of the Hari Raya Haji holiday, went back to KL the last weekend to visit some friends as well as visiting some restaurants I didn’t get to cover previously. Since I was staying at a guest house around Bukit Bintang area, Soo Kee’s Sang Har Meen @ Imbi was the first one to come into mind for dinner.
I think I have some kind of bad luck whenever it comes to popular restaurants. Why do I always get scolding from the owners lol. First it was Kin Kin, now it’s Soo Kee.
If you have been to Soo Kee you must know that the restaurant is jam packed during dinner session. So there I was alone unable to find a table. Then when I finally got a table for four and sat there, the lady boss got all worked up, started to make a scene and said I was not supposed to sit there. I was asked to sit somewhere else instead, which was ALSO a table for four. Makes no difference right? So was the cursing and all really necessary?
I guess when your business is so big and good and be featured on TV so frequently, you can be all lan si and even screw the customers. Less 1 returning customer is nothing to them anyway.
