vkeong loves good food, travel and photography!
Pavilion KL
Hokkaido Ramen Santouka @ Tokyo Street, Pavilion KL
Jul 4th
I have never been a big fan of Ramen but there are times when you are eager to see what is the fuss about all about. Among the many ramen restaurants that have opened up in the past one year, I picked Hokkaido Ramen Santouka at Pavilion first because I feel it is the one that really kick-started the trend for ramen in KL. Besides, Santouka is also one of the larger ramen chains in the world.
I went straight for the best in the menu – a bowl of Tokusen Toroniku Shoyu Ramen @ RM36 (regular portion). It is Santouka’s signature ramen in which the toppings are served separately. The Chashu is a cut from some of the rarest part of a pig – the cheek. From what I read in the menu, only 200-300g of cheek meat could be taken from each pig so that makes it quite valuable.
Although Japanese Chashu sounds similar to the Chinese Char Siew, the preparation is totally different. Instead of being roasted, cha-shu is rolled into a small log shape then slowly braised to a soft, tender texture that is said to resemble tuna. The taste is a simple mix of sweet and salty flavors, nothing really mindblowing but the melt-in-your-mouth texture even with so little fat, it is quite something.
Express Teppanyaki @ Food Republic, Pavilion
Aug 10th
Express Teppanyaki is located around Food Republic at Pavilion and they serve some pretty good teppanyaki. Set menus consisting of a pan fried meat, bean sprouts, vegetable, rice and soup start from RM15. After hearing some good things about them, we decided to have our lunch there one weekend.
Customers sit around the iron plate and get to enjoy watching the chefs prepare the food skillfully. Food aside, this has got to be the biggest attraction of teppanyaki.
After placing your orders, a piece of aluminum foil will be placed in front to put the meat and vegetables. Vegetable is fried first, followed by the meat and bean sprouts last.
Chicken Teppanyaki stir fried with chili flavored sauce.
And Sirloin Steak Teppanyaki – tender and bite sized meaty chunks with amazing flavor. I don’t know what type of sauce was used to fry the meat but it certainly wasn’t something normal. It was aromatic with black pepper and goes very well with rice.
Express Teppanyaki is one of the better teppanyaki I have come across that didn’t need to be in a classy Japanese restaurant. Very recommended. Price wise it’s affordable as long as no seafood is ordered.
Express Teppanyaki
Food Republic (right side)
Pavilion, Bukit Bintang
Traditional Toast Set @ Toast Box, Pavilion
Jun 25th
I have been eyeing to try Toast Box for a long time because it has managed to attract a beeline of customers constantly. Unlike J.Co, where the queue dies off after the donut craze went down. Besides, their toasts looked really tempting because they prepare them openly. Good tactic to create buzz and attract customers.
Anyway, this thought of trying remained as a thought for a long time, and I never even thought of queing for it. Why? Simply because I was put off by the crowd. I never liked crowded places, especially if it’s a restaurant. Remember my Foh San experience?
But one morning I was at Pavilion for some business and noticed there were very little customers at Toast Box. So, what better opportunity to have their toasts as my breakfast. There were a couple of sets available but I was particularly attracted to the Traditional Toast Set @ RM6.80. Click here to continue reading >
Serai Satay Bar, Satay on the go @ Pavilion
May 27th
Located next to Food Republic, Serai Satay Bar is one of the latest eateries to open in Pavilion. They are introducing a new way of enjoying satay, which they call it Satay-on-the-go or Satay-To-Go.
Contrary to the conventional way of enjoying satay at the road side or taking away back to the home, Serai Satay Bar lets the customers enjoy satay in a specially made container, which can be easily carried along while you shop.
Because of the bar concept, customers can choose to either sit around the satay kiosk or at the table. Sitting around the kiosk would grant you a full view of the food preparation, while magazines are provided at the table for your reading pleasure.
So I was there last Sunday to meet Qistina, the owner of Serai Satay Bar to give the revolutionary concept a try.
After a brief introduction on the menu and their specialties, we got down to business straight away as we were hungry. While waiting for the food to arrive we had the Serai Blended @ RM5.50 (a drink that came highly recommended by Qistina) and Milky Bandung @ RM5.
According to Qistina, the Serai Blended originated from their family restaurant Serai Thai at Shah Alam. It is a highly popular drink over there so they figured that it would be good to make it available at Serai Satay Bar too. Click here to continue reading >
