Malaysia Food, Travel & Tourism Blog
vkeong loves good food, travel and photography!
RM32.80++ Shabu Shabu Buffet @ Nagomi, Menara Hap Seng
Feb 1st
I am sure you know the problem with steamboat buffets. The ingredients are often not fresh and the soup is usually laden with ajinomoto. Luckily Nagomi decided to serve Shabu Shabu buffet and despite being 50% more expensive than the average steamboat buffet restaurants, the price is justified because the expected quality is there.
For RM32.80++ per adult (exclusive of drinks, green tea is RM3) you get to choose from over 80 types of ingredients to swish in the dashi hot pot. Well, that’s what they claim. I did not count but the spread certainly did not look like it consisted of anything near to 80 choices lol. Among all, we enjoyed the tiger prawns the most. Although they were frozen, they were still fresh, tasted sweet and the shells could be peeled off easily after being cooked.
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.
