Posts tagged 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.
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.
Roast Pork Roll with Apple Sauce @ Yut Kee Restaurant
Nov 15th
If there’s any coffee shop in KL that I think is a must visit, it has to be Yut Kee Restaurant, said to be the oldest surviving Hainanese Coffee Shop (since 1928!) For over 80 years it has served at least four generations of KL-ians. Many working people still make a quick stop at this coffee shop every morning for their traditional cakes, bread and coffee for breakfast. It is most crowded during weekends when families come here for breakfasts or brunch.
The famous Hainanese Chicken Chop, Roti Babi, half boiled egg and toasts aside, what makes Yut Kee even better is their Roast Pork Roll that sells only for two days in a week – Fridays and Sundays from 11am to 1pm only.
The Roast Pork Roll in its full glory. Notice that there is stuffing unlike the traditional Chinese Roast Pork.
I am pretty sure you can buy them in 1 full roll for special occasions and parties. I was told that previously they only had this for Chinese New Year. Realizing there is a strong demand for their Roast Pork Roll, they decided to make it available on normal days too.
The meat used is well marbled, leaner and contains very little fat. Gotta love the roasted pork skin’s crunchiness that makes crackling sound in your mouth. And I almost didn’t believe the crispness it exhibited when the skin detached from the meat so easily with little effort.
Read the rest of this entry »
Munakata Unlimited Ala Carte Japanese Buffet – RM60+ @ Jalan Sultan Ismail
Oct 11th
A few weeks ago a friend, Exkay (who happens to be a reader of my blog, as well as a junior in my high school) sent me an email suggesting that I review Munakata’s Japanese buffet. This is an excerpt of the email:
The restaurant is called Munakata, not sure whether you’ve heard about it but it had been around for quite awhile and it’s popular among Japanese.
They used to be in Menara Promet ( opposite Menara Genting ) then moved to a bungalow in Jalan Yap Kwan Seng, and currently moved to Life Center in Jalan Sultan Ismail.
They serve fabulous buffet @ RM 49.90 when they were in Menara Promet. The atmosphere was great as well since the captain himself is a Jap and all the waitress dressed in Kimono. Buffet varieties are huge too back then.
Munakata’s Buffet was never about the varieties. It was always about the Quality rather than the Quantity. They serve arguably the best Unagi Kabayaki and Sake Sashimi.
Their cooked items taste so much better than the norm. Oh yes. they have a sushibar manned by a Jap chef. and yes all your sushi in the buffet are hand made.
So I hope you could give the restaurant a shot, cause after the first time being there about 5 years back. I was hooked with it till now.
I knew Munakata because I have been travelling along Jalan Sultan Ismail quite often. It is just located above TGI Fridays in Life Centre building, which is situated just opposite Wisma KFC.
I did harbor some curiosity about Munakata and have been planning to give it a try. But Exkay’s email just expedited things, and I made a booking for three the following weekend. FYI it’s RM60+ for an adult, and RM35+ for child from 4-10 years old.
Here, all the food has to be ordered ala carte via a order chit. There is an ala carte menu (with description and photo of the food) provided at each table that can be referred to place your orders. Just write down the food’s code and quantity desired. The downside of this system is the waiting time. But you are guaranteed of freshly prepared food, which will have a considerable impact on the taste. Plus, you don’t have to queue or fight for any food.
There are many things we tried that night, and most of them are good. So I won’t be giving detailed description about each and every food. Just note that the way the food is cooked is very traditional in Japanese style, which could be a little saltier or sweeter than what we usually take. If you are concerned about this, do let the waitress know and let the chef make the necessary adjustments while seasoning.
Green tea, unilimited supply and it had a fresh, light flavor as you can see from the color itself.
Chawan Mushi – Savoury Egg Custard
Fresh sliced Salmon Sashimi
Nigiri Sushi (Salmon) – Vinegared rice ball topped with fresh sliced salmon
Unagi Kabayaki – Grilled eel coated with sweet soya sauce Read the rest of this entry »
Cao Cao BBQ Lamb and Wantan Mee @ Jalan Kuchai Lama
Oct 8th
In Kuchai Lama there’s a hawker stall called Cao Cao specialized in selling BBQ Lamb. Yes, you’re seeing this right, the hawker stall actually shares the name with a Three Kingdom’s warlord lol.
It’s a rare sight if you ask me because usually when lamb chop is mentioned, it’s associated with either Western Food stall or restaurant. When I first heard about it from a friend, it was surprisingly cheap @ RM6 per portion, and most importantly it was said to be quite tasty too.
I think I was too late to try the BBQ Lamb when it was at only RM6. The night SL and I went, the smallest portion was selling at RM8 already. It was served with some chili and mint sauce for dipping. Read the rest of this entry »
