Eating Out Archives - Page 3 of 6

Bari-Uma Ramen, Jaya Shopping Centre

September 24, 2014 By Suanie 8 Comments

There’s a new ramen place in town, and it aims to give some of the established names in town a good run for their money.

Bari-Uman Ramen hails from Hiroshima, flew to Singapore and landed into our laps with its first Malaysian outlet in Jaya Shopping Centre, Seksyen 14.

Initially I thought because of the non-halal status, the mall management stuck it all the way to Level 3. That’s A LOT of escalator riding. But then I was told there would be a cinema in the mall soon, and having the higher floors occupied with restaurants is the current trend.

All the way up to Level 3, baby!

Bari Uma’s signature Noritama-Uma (RM29) is a complete bowl of noodles, pork-flavoured shoyu soup, a slice of thick-cut flamed pork, egg, spring onion, bamboo shoots and seaweed. They bring in the 20-hour boiled tonkotsu (pork bone broth) directly from their Japan HQ; no messing about with their soups here.

Itadakimasu!

A bit of everything.

At Baren Uma, noodles are own-made in their kitchen every day. You get to choose the hardness of your noodles: Firm, Original or Soft.

I enjoyed the Original – bouncy with a bit of bite. Carol who loves firmer noodles, opted for the Firm. Think of it as Japanese al dente. I thought the difference between Original and Firm was minimal.

The Ajitama (flavoured egg) was slightly overcooked for my liking. The yolk lacked the smooth runniness that I’ve come to expect from Japanese soft-boiled eggs. Not a deal breaker though.

The highlight was Bari Uma’s delightful thick-cut charsiu, of which the labour of making speaks for itself. The pork; sourced from Germany is boiled for 3 hours to soften. It is then cooked in a special soy marinade for half an hour, then removed from the stove and left on its own for another hour to truly absorb all the marinade goodness.

When you’re at the restaurant and you make your order, only then they would carve out a slice and grill it to your order.

A piece of well-marinated meat, it could melt in your mouth. The smokiness from the grilling adds depth to the flavour. By far, the BEST charsiu I’ve had!

If you’re around for lunch, Bari Uma’s current lunch special deal (11am-3pm) is quite worth it. A bowl of ramen, green tea and yakitori OR gyoza OR ice-cream for only RM29.90.

See if you can finish everything and spot the words of gratitude at the bottom of your bowl.

Bari Uma is proud of their pan-fried chicken Gyoza (RM11 for 5). “Why chicken and not pork, since you’re already selling pork?” I asked. “We experimented with pork,” said the manager, “but the chicken version came out better.”

True enough, the gyoza was juicy and flavourful. Taste it on its own first before dipping into vinegar (which I LOVE).

Like yakitori? Get a load of pork belly, pork thigh and leek, chicken thigh etc… OR try the Yakitori Combo for RM13.90. Decent for add-ons to your meal.

Another main meal highlight is the Chashu Chaofan RM14.90) in hot stone bowl. Literally fried rice with their signature marinated pork, the giddying aroma of the charshu could leave one hankering for more.

If you’d like to try both ramen and chaofan, bring someone along and get ‘Dinner for Two’ (RM49.90) to feast on one ramen, one chaofan, one yakitori combo, a salad, gyoza and green tea.

Finish off with ice-cream. I recommend the black sesame, where bits of sesame are still in the ice-cream, providing much fragrance and deliciousness.

Bari-Uma Ramen
Jaya Shopping Centre
L3-11, Level 3, Jalan Semangat,
46100 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Tel: +603-7932 2958
Website: www.bariuma.my || Facebook: Bariuma.my

Opens daily: 11am to 9.30pm.

Chop Chung Wah Hainanese Chicken Rice Ball, Melaka

August 5, 2014 By Suanie 6 Comments

Who are these people lining up under the very hot sun just for a chicken rice meal?

Joyce with my colleague from Hanoi

Tourists, that’s who! We were in the historical city for a day trip, and NO WAY would we miss out on the renowned Melaka Hainanese chicken rice balls!

At Chop Chung Wah; the famed corner eatery at Jonker Street, the queue begins well before its 8.30am opening. Demand exceeds supply so be prepared to wait for a table, which you may have to share with other diners.

But that’s to be expected of popular spots. So suck it up and get in line like a hungry tourist.

Front part of the shop

What is Hainanese chicken rice? Boiled or steamed chicken and white rice cooked in chicken broth, deliciously served with a spicy sauce made of chilli, ginger and lime. Mmmmm!

It is curious that despite its name, Hainanese chicken rice is no where to be found in Hainan. What they have is Wenchang Chicken, cooked using free range chicken so they are bonier, tougher and has less meat. Hainan people who migrated to South East Asia took this concept and created their version of Hainanese chicken rice as we know it today.

True to the original Hainan Wenchang Chicken, Chop Chung Wah uses ‘kampung’ (village) chicken. Do not expect plump meat as you may normally get with commercialised chicken.

5 makes one serving of chicken rice ball. Order a couple more if you will, just like me because I cannot stop at 5. Every chicken rice ball costs RM0.30.

Get your fill on their chilli sauce. It packs a punch so go easy especially if the first touch burns your lips.

I really enjoy their chicken rice ball. Tightly packed rice balls opened up to reveal warm, fragrant, fluffy rice… simply delectable! Smelled fresh and chicken-ny too!

Today (in 2014), a whole chicken costs RM42 and half costs RM21. I did a little googling and found that in 2009, they charged RM24 for a whole chicken and RM18 for half. Got to love inflation, huh?

Ah, the prices we do pay. I think it’s still worth the money… for now.

Chop Chung Wah
No. 18, Jalan Hang Jebat,
(Jonker Street)
75200 Melaka.

Opens daily from 8.30am to 3pm.

6 Comments Filed Under: Eating Out, Travel + Trips Tagged With: famous chicken rice jonker street, famous jonker street food, jonker street chicken rice ball

Gyukingu Japanese BBQ @ Kota Damansara

August 1, 2014 By Suanie 4 Comments

Rhetoric question: Why is good Japanese food so darn expensive?? Especially the yakiniku BBQ stuff. A few small delicious bites and before you know it, they’re taking the shirt off your back.

The restaurant is on the 1st floor

Then Yuki got us to try out Gyukingu Japanese BBQ, a non-halal yakiniku restaurant in Kota Damansara. They sell good quality, melt-in-your-mouth meats. At first glance, the prices were insane for us middle-class salaried mortals.

KY was like, “I can afford this!”

Upon closer inspection, okay maybe some mix-and-match items are affordable. And look, they serve inexpensive lunch sets! Hooray!

Boneless beef short ribs set lunch

How about the boneless beef short ribs lunch set for RM19.90+? Tender, delicious pieces of meat with rice, kimchi, soup, chawanmushi, salad and fruits. Green tea seems to be on the house.

Get a load of pork on rice

Or a beautifully cooked BBQ Pork Rice Bowl set lunch for RM14.80? Thin marinated pork slices with rice and the works. At Gyukingu, set lunches are available during weekends too.

BBQ mixed beef set

Go for the most expensive set lunch, the BBQ mixed beef set at RM35.80. This you’ll have to cook for yourself on mesh wire over burning charcoal. Sufficient serving of marinated beef sirloin, boneless short ribs and short ribs in bone.

Short ribs on the BBQ

The ala carte menu offers plenty of inviting options. The first page is all about premium beef, mainly Saga beef which is one of the best brands in Japan, up there with Kobe beef. Saga sirloin and Saga rib roast are RM160/100g, Saga short ribs and Saga Calbi are RM145/100g, and Australian wagyu is RM88/100g.

Turn the page over and you’ll see more affordable options for people like me.

Beef sashimi

Yukke Sashimi (RM27). Fresh tender beef mixed in spices, served with a raw egg yolk. Horng claimed it to be tasty and delicious.

Boneless beef short ribs

Jyo Karubi, boneless beef short ribs (RM34.80) just needs a minute on the grill and they are done. Overcook them and regret eternally.

More grilling goodness

Not one for beef? Go for pork! The Buta Moriawase, mixed pork platter is RM29.80 and feeds 2 happy people.

Mixed pork platter

Noodles and rice are available for those who need their carbs.

Mel with her Karubi Udon; spicy beef udon (RM18.80)

Finish off with a delightfully refreshing Yuzu sherbet (RM10), imported from the land of the rising sun. Generous with strips of the citrus, it’s one of those desserts that you’ll find difficult to share.

Yuzu sherbet

I find the food quality to be worth its price. Will return for the first page menu items when, if ever I feel like splurging (and subsequently lock myself for 2 months eating nothing but RM4 chap fan).

Or if you want to buy me dinner there, can also…. Call me.

Gyukingu Japanese BBQ
28-2, Jalan PJU 5/17,
Dataran Sunway, Kota Damansara,
47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Tel: +603 6143 7750
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Gyukingu

Opens daily for lunch (11am-3pm) and dinner (5.30-11pm). Note that a 10% service charge will be reflected in your total bill.

4 Comments Filed Under: Eating Out

The Famous Pork Noodles of Dataran Mentari and Peter’s Brickfields

July 17, 2014 By Suanie 6 Comments

After my post on the Famous Pork Noodles of SS15, SS3 and Jalan Batai, I had a host of suggestions for other delicious pork noodles. Thanks!

I got to check out Ah Or Chu Yuk Fun, aka Sister’s pork noodles. She is the sister to the dudes who own the famous pork noodles of SS15 and SS3. A lot friendlier, accomodating and waiting for your bowl pork noodles doesn’t take up to an hour.

The best of the siblings

I find that the broth is almost similar to that of SS15 and SS3; sweet but happily not as oily as her brothers’ version. The egg is poached like SS3’s which I prefer.

For a single bowl of pork noodles (choose your noodles, choose if you’d prefer soup or dry version), you get minced pork, sliced pork, liver and intestines.

It’s slightly expensive. I always order extra ingredients (ask for the ‘special’) and it costs RM13, egg sold separately.

But if I want to satisfy my craving for this family’s pork noodles, I would only eat at the sisters’ for better service, less waiting time and less oil in the soup.

Ah Or Chu Yuk Fun
No. 3, Jalan PJS 8/17, Dataran Mentari,
46510 Bandar Sunway, Selangor.

Opens: 8.30am – 5pm.

— —- — —- — —- — —-

Spot Peter’s!

Then there’s Peter’s Pork Noodles, an institution in Brickfields where the man himself, Peter Tay sells his well-known pork noodles. He went into the business in 1979 so you can imagine he’s slightly older now. Thankfully he has passed on the recipe and skills to his son, who manages another pork noodles stall in Brickfields.

Unlike those of SS15, SS3 and Dataran Mentari, Peter’s pork noodles soup is not overly sweet, bearing a more natural pork broth taste, but no less flavourful. Minced pork, sliced pork and liver are served. No intestines to be found, which slightly mars my pork noodles experience, but livable. The egg? Poached beautifully.

It is a bowl of very good pork noodles.

I love you, Peter’s Pork Noodles

The best part about Peter’s pork noodles is that it doesn’t cost you an arm and a leg! A big serving goes for RM6.50, a small goes for RM5.50. Add an egg for 50 sen. My order of a big serving with additional ingredients cost me RM9.

But the taste of MSG is strong in this one 🙁

Peter’s Pork Noodles
Mayflower Food Court
144A Jalan Vivekanda
Off Jalan Tun Sambanthan
50470 Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: +6013-3363 953

Opens 7am to 10pm.
Closed on alternate Mondays.

6 Comments Filed Under: Eating Out Tagged With: ah or chu yuk fun, best pork noodles kuala lumpur, dataran mentari pork noodles, famous pork noodles, peter pork noodles brickfields, sisters pork noodles, sunway mentari chu yuk fun

Steak Hut at Suzi’s Corner, Ampang for famed, inexpensive steaks

May 9, 2014 By Suanie 14 Comments

For years, I’ve heard about Suzi’s Corner, an unassuming eatery tucked away in Ampang where they reportedly serve the best steaks in town. Expats love it, claiming it to be a hidden gem where you don’t have to pay a fortune for a decent piece of juicy meat.

And after more than a decade in KL, I finally made it to Suzi’s Corner! Nope, don’t quite know why I never went, but better late than never!

I was advised to be there early as it may be difficult to get a table during peak dinner hours. Sure enough, it was not even 6pm when kiasu folks like myself started pouring in!

Oxtail soup, chicken wings and assorted satay

Suzi’s Corner is a food court concept where you can get a variety of food from different stalls. Plastic tables, plastic chairs, plastic table cloth, all good.

We ordered grilled chicken wings and satay (get the lamb, get the lamb!) to share, all delicious! I heard that the naan is delicious, I saw a lot of orders and people scoffing it down. A must-order on my next visit.

Happy diners, mixed grill and lamb chops

The stall for the famous steaks is Steak Hut, where you could get soups from RM5 and salads from RM6. I’m hesitant about the quality of the soups – the oxtail soup (RM8) was way too flour-y for our taste.

Besides the famous steaks, Steak Hut serves delicious lamb chops (RM22), grilled salmon (RM21) and chicken chop (RM14) among others. Very attractive prices for eating out, I’d say!

But we were there for the celebrated steaks. Tenderloin for just RM34, rib-eye for RM32, how good could it be? Is their legendary meat a true hit? Time to find out!

Sizzling tenderloin

The de facto order is sizzling (you can ask for non-sizzling), so order your steak one doneness below your preference. e.g. if you want it medium, ask for medium rare so you’d not end up chewing rubber.

The beef is Australian (likely low budget) grass-fed. It’s decent though I found no flavour in the meat itself.

Your options of sauces are: brown (don’t), black pepper (acceptable) and garlic (didn’t try). If you’d rather your meat not drown in sauce, ask for it on the side.

My order was medium rare, turns out more medium

Was it worth the hype? I found it decent for the price. You get what you pay for, though you probably could get the same at Jaya Grocer’s Al Fresco.

But Suzy’s Corner is a KL institution and deservingly so. It was fun watching the people who eat there; the nicely-dressed expats who walk through the pebbles in high heels to sit on the plastic chairs at the plastic tables, all in good humour.

Great vibes, love it! Who wants to go with me again?

Suzi’s Corner
213/26 Jalan Ampang Batu 4 1/2,
Jalan Ulu Kelang,
68000 Ampang.
(next to Flamingo Hotel, opposite Ampang Point)

Tel: +603-4256 6720
GPS: N3 09.524 E101 44.918

Suzi’s Corner opens daily, 5.30pm to 5am.
Steak Hut operates 6pm to 11pm, is closed on Tuesdays.

14 Comments Filed Under: Eating Out Tagged With: suzi's corner ampang

Ayam Penyet Padang Jawa, Shah Alam

April 29, 2014 By Suanie 4 Comments

An ayam penyet meal for RM4.50? Is this still possible in the year 2014??

Yes!!!… said my colleague, so off we went to Padang Jawa. This eatery was his favourite haunt during his university days, mostly due to the low prices and the fact that it is open 24 hours daily.

What’s the name of the shop? Not sure. The sign says Kedai Makan Pecal Lele but the receipt states Ayam Penyet Padang Jawa. You choose.

The owner (who lives next door) constructed an open-air parking lot to accommodate his customers. I was impressed; they must be doing really well! Who would have thought that in this little corner of Padang Jawa would be this super popular eatery with its own large private parking!

Getting food is a no-brainer. You get a table, note its number, then order and pay at the cashier (with your table number). Within 5 minutes or so, they’d send your food over.

This means that the chicken or fish would not be piping hot nor freshly cooked. But turnover is high and the food is by no means stale.

The best part about this place is that you can have however much rice you want! Go get your own rice, tomato salsa (good!), gravy and soup; self-service and refillable.

UNLIMITED RICE!

But if rice is not your thing, you can get chicken noodles, soto, bakso or mee bandung, all for RM3.50 each.

Your ayam penyet (smashed chicken) comes not very smashed, yet fragrantly deep-fried and delicious. You get a slice of cucumber, some raw cabbage and mouth-wateringly spicy chili paste. And it costs only RM4.50!

The pecal lele (catfish) costs RM5.50. You get 2 fish as they aren’t very big. I’m not sure if they are any good, as another colleague who tried it says it’s rubbery from too little flesh and over-frying.

You can order an assortment of sides: RM0.50 each for begedil (fried potato and chicken), nangka (jackfruit in gravy), pucuk ubi (cassava leaves), egg, sambal merah (chili sauce made with red chili) and sambal hijau (chili sauce made with green chili).

RM1.00 gets you tempe (fried fermented soybean cake) and RM1.50 gets you meatballs.

I’m super stoked with this place. I foresee lots of return visits!

Ayam Penyet Padang Jawa
(Kedai Makan Pecal Lele)
Lot 617, Jalan Berangan
Kampung Padang Jawa
40200 Shah Alam

GPS: 3°2’59″N 101°29’22″E
Location on Wikimapia: *click*
Directions: On the Federal Highway, exit at Padang Jawa/ i-City. Turn left at sign towards Padang Jawa. Go past 1 traffic lights, up the bridge (which is next to a mosque and a school). Coming down from bridge, take the first right turn and you’ll see signs leading to the eatery.

Opens daily, 24 hours. Closed every Friday from 1pm to 2pm.

4 Comments Filed Under: Eating Out Tagged With: ayam penyet shah alam, cheap food shah alam, indonesian food shah alam

Ayam Goreng NY Suharti, Yogyakarta

April 22, 2014 By Suanie 6 Comments

In Yogyakarta, fried chicken (ayam goreng) is massive business.

Not in terms of chicken size; Jogja chicken seem to be on the smaller side. Speaks about the type of commercial chicken that we have here (slightly disturbing).

I was told (thanks Sharon and Regina!) that the best fried chicken in Yogyakarta is Ayam Goreng Nyonya Suharti. We dutifully relayed this to our airport taxi driver who kindly made a pit stop so we could have our first meal in Jogja.

You might be confused as there’s Ayam Goreng Suharti (logo of a woman, presumably Suharti herself), and there’s Ayam Goreng NY. Suharti (logo of two chicken). Turns out that the latter belongs to Suharti’s ex-husband, possible separation after he’d obtained the fried chicken recipe?

The Ayam Goreng NY. Suharti restaurant that we went to seemed built for tourists, definitely with prices on the higher side. For example, a plate of white rice costs Rp8,000 (approx RM2.30 or US$0.70). A plate of fried noodles costs Rp25,000 (approx RM7.10 or US$2.20). Not the type of prices you’d normally associate with Jogja.

For the two of us, we ordered half a chicken (Rp43,000 / RM12.20 / US$3.80), two white rice and a bowl of sayur lodeh, which is vegetables cooked in coconut milk and meat stock (Rp11,000 / RM3.20 / US$1.00).

When we realised that their 1/2 chicken equals to our 1/4 chicken, we ordered another 1/2 chicken.

The fried chicken is basically ayam goreng kresmes, which means crispy fried chicken. It is a double-cooking process of boiling the chicken in herbs and spices then deep-frying it. To get the crispy, crunchy (kresmes) bits, the leftover boiled stock is mixed with normal flour, rice flour and baking powder then deep-fried.

Good? Very!…. the first order that is. Crispy skin with juicy meat. The additional cripsy bits were flavourful and delicious, especially when paired with sambal (chilli paste). Essentially a white rice heaven! Our second order was disappointingly way too oily and not as fragrant. That went downhill fast.

Perhaps blogging this at midnight isn’t such a good idea. I’d be happy to have ayam goreng kresmes in front of me now, oily or not.

Ayam Goreng NY Suharti
No. 187, Jalan Gedong Kuning, Yogyakarta

6 Comments Filed Under: Eating Out, Travel + Trips Tagged With: ayam goreng kresmes, ayam goreng suharti, indonesia fried chicken, kresmes fried chicken, suharti fried chicken, yogyakarta 2014, yogyakarta fried chicken

Bari-Uma Ramen, Jaya Shopping Centre

Chop Chung Wah Hainanese Chicken Rice Ball, Melaka

Gyukingu Japanese BBQ @ Kota Damansara

The Famous Pork Noodles of Dataran Mentari and Peter’s Brickfields

Steak Hut at Suzi’s Corner, Ampang for famed, inexpensive steaks

Ayam Penyet Padang Jawa, Shah Alam

Ayam Goreng NY Suharti, Yogyakarta

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