vkeong loves good food, travel and photography!
Petaling Jaya
Snowflake Taiwanese Desserts Secrets @ Kota Damansara
May 18th
I think I am getting out of touch with the latest makan places. But as much as I want to try new food, I am more concerned about going ‘up car’ in the process. ‘Up car‘ is a funny term (direct translation of 上车 in Cantonese) that me and my circle of friends use to indicate bad experiences, more oftenly used when it involves bad or expensive food at an untested eatery. I am sure most of you could relate to this so you know why I tend to post more established eateries.
Anyway, Snowflake is one of the hottest dessert shop to open recently and I have heard both positive and negative things about them. From what I gather from the forummers’ opinion, Snowflake is good for their refreshing concept (for locals, at least) but bad for being bland tasting, overrated and expensive. I find the bad comments hard to believe because how would you explain the long queues at Snowflake then? I went to find out and just so you know, this is a personal observation so no offense intended to Snowflake lovers.
Kashmir Cafes – Nice Banana Leaf Rice @ SS3, PJ
May 16th
Kashmir Cafes is a neighborhood restaurant in SS3 that is making a comeback after they closed down many years ago. The current location of Kashmir Cafes is only a few shops away from their previous one, hence the apt slogan of “old taste, new place”. But first, I just want to cut to the chase by saying Kashmir Cafes serves really good banana leaf rice, even better than the big boys in PJ like Raju, Sri Paandi and Kanna Curry House.
The main reason I feel the banana leaf rice (RM5.50 for vegetarian set) at Kashmir Cafes is better because the side dishes are not mass produced like others, which aims to cater to the large customer base. So what you get here is more quality tasting food.
To be honest, I never really fancied the assortment of vegetables so I usually have to order extras like curries or fried stuff to complete the meal. But so far, Kashmir Cafes is the only exception for me. Their vegetarian sides not only look decent, but are also tasty enough (this coming from a meat lover) that I could actually finish a banana leaf rice without any meat.
Banana Leaf Rice @ Restoran Sri Paandi (PJ), Section 11
Apr 24th
There are quite many Banana Leaf restaurants in PJ and the famous are Sri Paandi, Raju and Kanna Curry House. Recently, Sri Paandi has become my favorite one for being reasonably priced unlike the other two, which could get quite cut throat just for a simple meal. Even though Raju is the most expensive of all I like still like their airy environment and efficient table service. Sri Paandi on the other hand, is lacking on these two.
Here, it cost RM4.50 for a traditional banana leaf rice set (vegetarian) with free refills of rice, vegetable curries, papadum and chutney. This should be the chepest banana leaf rice in the vicinty. Others would cost at least RM5 to RM5.50 for the same and free sweets are also given if you ask for it.
Toast & Roast Hakka Mee & Char Siew @ SS2
Apr 17th
I know Toast & Roast has been blogged to death. But surprisingly there are still quite a number of people (even PJ-ians) who are not aware of this small eatery located in the quiet neighborhood behind Tropicana City Mall. It is easy to drive past this row of shops and pass them as normal houses because they are quite hidden from view. And those whom I have brought here have been hooked on the Hakka Mee and Char Siew since.
The good thing about Toast & Roast is the affordable price. They are basically charging the same price as any hawkers out there and the environment is better too being cleaner and not stuffy. A small bowl of Hakka Mee here is RM4.50 may it be topped with minced meat or char siew. Although they are generous with the toppings (minced meat/char siew/lard) the noodles’ portion is still quite small. So I usually order the large one at RM5.50 as shown here. For the extra portion of noodles given, the RM1 is worth spending.
