vkeong loves good food, travel and photography!
Posts tagged Kuala Lumpur
Sate Zainah Ismail Best Satay In Town @ Jalan Keramat, KL
Aug 14th
As you might already know I am desperately looking for a satay in Klang Valley that could rival, and perhaps even better than those that I had in Singapore which I hate to admit is still the best I ever had to date. So when two of my fellow readers recommended Sate Zainah Ismail at Kampung Datuk Keramat, I immediately went looking for it.
For a first time visitor, Dato Keramat could be confusing to navigate but thanks to my GPS device we found the restaurant with relative ease. Zainah Ismail could be easily identified by the smoke and satay fragrance constantly oozing out of one of the wooden restaurant.
Five satay grills are used here and the satays are actually grilled by stages. The satays do not stay on one grill from raw to cooked. Instead, they are transferred to the next grill once a particular ‘doneness’ is achieved.
The innermost grill you see manned by an elderly uncle is where the raw, marinated skewers are barbecued first then made sure fully cooked at the foremost grill. There are only two types of satay here: beef and chicken priced at RM0.70 each.
Munakata Japanese Buffet @ Life Centre, Jalan Sultan Ismail
Aug 11th
**Nov 2001 update: Life Centre is undergoing major renovations but Munakata is still open for business as usual.
About a year ago I went to Munakata‘s Japanese Buffet and I was happy with their authentic Japanese dishes served in the ala-carte buffet. Since then I have been to a couple of Japanese buffets with some even in Singapore.
Speaking from personal experiences I found that although the number of dishes served in Munakata is less compared to the rest, their food quality is hard to beat because they are fresh and only prepared upon order. This is especially true for the cooked food, Teppanyaki and Sashimi (albeit only Salmon Sashimi is available in Munakata)
I am also glad that there were no complaints on Munakata since it was posted, while the others were still bombarded with bad experiences and comments every now and then (eg. Tenji). Recently, Munakata updated their ala-carte buffet menu by removing some unpopular items according to customer feedbacks and introduced some new dishes. So I thought it is a high time for me to revisit to try the new dishes while keeping in check the food quality.
Starting with the new items, Yakinasu No Nikumiso Kaka (Japanese style grilled brinjal topped with minced chicken meat & soya bean paste) Despite being grilled to a soft and tender bite, the eggplants were still able to be picked up and held as a whole using chopsticks, while the toppings actually resembled sambal minus the spiciness.
Ikan Bakar Gerai No.3 @ Medan Ikan Bakar Jalan Bellamy
Aug 6th
Hidden behind Istana Negara along Jalan Bellamy is an array of ikan bakar stalls next to each other forming a medan ikan bakar. Despite its secluded location it gets extremely crowded especially during lunch hour. Not knowing which stall to go for, we chose Gerai No.3 that was the busiest among all.
Three huge frying pans were used to pan fry (instead of grill/bakar like the name actually implies) a wide array of seafood like fish, prawns, squids and kerangs. The sight of the ikan bakar here is simply delightful. With so many choices, you are sure to have a difficult time to decide which items to take. Just for fish alone there are a few types like ikan keli (catfish), ikan pari (stringray), siakap and ikan terubok.
What attracted me immediately when I stepped into Gerai No.3 are the larger than life sotongs, which some even as big as six inches. Coated in an orangish-red colored marinating, they looked absolutely delicious and I just got to try them. So I got one sotong for each of us along with some prawns and the smallest slice of ikan pari I could find in the pile.
TAO Eat All You Can Ala Carte Buffet @ Sunway Giza, Kota Damansara
Aug 1st
Finally TAO has opened a branch in Klang Valley at Sunway Giza mall, Kota Damansara. When it first opened in Penang it created a buzz among buffet lovers, as the variety of food was considered to be fresh and unique for us – not to mention tasted great too. I have anticipated this day long enough, for a Penang based restaurant to make its mark in Klang Valley.
But first of all let me just clarify that TAO is not a Japanese restaurant serving Japanese buffet, despite always being referred to as ‘TAO Japanese Buffet‘. Actually the dishes served at TAO are Asian specialties including mostly of Japan, Thailand and Chinese.
My personal experience with TAO at E-Gate a few years ago was a good affair and I still could remember some of the dishes I had that day like the Lamb Teriyaki and Spicy Mayo Scallops. The main difference with Penang’s TAO and KD’s is that the latter have a self-service sushi and sashimi counters, which is definitely a good news for sashimi lovers. We had the lunch buffet @ RM42++ per pax, which comes to RM48.30 after including the 5% gov tax and 10% service charge.
The entrance to the restaurant, quite grand. I like how TAO designs their restaurant giving a nice, calming ambiance. But I think they seriously need to change the songs they are playing.. 90s boy bands songs ain’t cool yo.
