Restoran Damansara Village @ Imbi.

Saturday lunch with my buddies, today we went to Restoran Damansara Village @ Imbi located behind the Pasar Rakyat in the Imbi area.

The glass panel air conditioned restaurant was cool, clean and bright with of lots mangrove wood, green plants, an aviary, aquariums for live fishes and crustacean, a mini fish pond/rabbits for children and recycled solid railway sleeper's wood as fencing.

We ordered the Rm78.70 lunch set which have wild Sang yue and Cho kai.

Parking is ample at a parking lot.

A video of the restaurant.

Front of the restaurant.

Spacious interior.

Claypot hot pepper soup-came piping hot and generously filled with organic chicken pieces, pig's stomach and lots of parsley-it was a wee bit too peppery!

Steamed Sang yue (wild Haruan fish)-meat was fresh with a springiness to it and seated on good grade soy sauce/peanut oil and garnished with spring onion and cilantro.

Cho Kai (organic chicken)-meat was firm and muscled with a layer of fragrant yellow skin-absolutely different from other chicken' meat with every bite BUT portion was too small.

Blanched Choy Sam with soy sauce and garnished with deep fried shallots-thick stemmed, juicy and crunchy.

Total bill:Rm95.90.
Location:32-34, Jalan Utara off Jalan Imbi,
Kuala Lumpur.
Tel:03-2141-1678.

Zen Thai Cafe & Spa.

When PJ meets JB.

We reached hot and breezy Johor Baru in the late afternoon and after a relaxing rest and shower it was time for dinner.

My bil Kam took us to Zen Thai Cafe & Spa for dinner which was located at the recently opened Taman Sutera Utama commercial center.

The restaurant as it's name implies serve only Thai food - spacious, calming atmosphere with soft lighting.

We did not see the Spa section as it was located upstairs.

Parking is OK.

Front of the restaurant.

Decorative motif and figurine outside the restaurant.

Deep fried Local Tofu served with stir fried straw mushroom/sliced carrot/onion and cilantro-tofu was crisp on the outside and smooth on the inside with the extra flavor of assorted vegetables.

Pandan Chicken-well marinated-fragrant-deep fried and have a soy/fish sauce for dip.

Green curry chicken-coconut milk flavored-not too spicy-filled with lots of green baby eggplant, okra, long bean, tomato...etc-appetizing!

Deep fried Siakap fish-very crispy skin with fresh and fleshy and garnished with deep fried garlic and oil.

Tom Yum Koong-we opt for the clear soup with a sweet/sourish taste-served with oyster mushroom/onion and fresh, succulent prawns-heavenly..

Fragrant whole grain white rice was perfect with those delicious and lip-smacking dishes.

Total bill:Rm99/
Location:49/a/b, JalanSutera Tanjung 8/3,
Taman Sutera Utama,
Skudai, Johor.
Tel:07-559-9526.

Restoran Famosa Chicken Rice Ball.

On our way down south, we stopped over at Melaka for our lunch.

We took a walk and window shop antique shops along Jonker Street with the hot sun "biting" into our skin.

We choose Restoran Famosa Chicken Rice Ball as the famous one opposite was bursting with people queuing up along the walkway.

Anyway, Hong Kong's celebrity Choy Lam endorsed this restaurant with his figured placard prominently placed at it's entrance.

Brightly colored entrance.

Open kitchen on one side of the restaurant.

Poached Hainanese free range Chicken -served with sliced cucumber, a sprinkling of sweet light Soy sauce/sesame oil and garnished with cilantro-looks good but the tender meat tasted bland-RM18/.

Rice balls-nicely flavored and machine moulded-hygienic but was a bit sticky and salty-Rm3/.

Blanched Mung beansprout-garnished with lots of ground pepper/sweet soy sauce/chopped spring onion/deep fried shallots-overcooked, rendering it to be not so crunchy-Rm9/.

Fish balls soup-this was the saving grace dish-tasty soup and generously sized springy fish balls-Rm6/.

Cendol-finely shaved ice, kidney bean, green Pandan flavored noodle, coconut milk and thick brown palm sugar far better than Tan Kim Hock' version..Rm4.50/

Location:28-30, Jalan Hang Kasturi,
off Jonker Street,
Melaka.
Tel:06-286-0121.

Restoran Tonny.

The search for more wild frogs for dinner continues at Restoran Tonny and we were in luck !

The abundance of wild frogs this CNY was because of the hot and humid weather and partly because the Orang Asli has no durians to pick.

Restoran Tonny is located in a double storey shophouse along the Bidor-Tapah road just about one km before the Tapah Police station.

Parking is ample.

Chef Tonny with a net full of fresh wild frogs for us-only to cook upon order.

Steamed wild frogs with finely chopped ginger/spring onion/soy sauce and Chinese wine-fresh, sweet and tender.

Steamed Trapia fish (Farmed Tilapia fish)-with soy sauce/sesame oil and garnished with ginger and cilantro-fresh, meaty with high Omega-3 ?

Braised water Terrapin with sliced ginger/spring onion-meat was firm and i love those gelatinous parts-have curative properties.

Homemade Tofu, Chillies and Brinjal stuffed with springy fishpaste-tossed in a fabulous Tau cheong (preserved Soybean paste) gravy.

Stir fried Padi field Eel (koong poh style) with lots of sliced big onion/ dried red chillies/spring onion-the sliced eel meat was springy and tender.

Paku choy (wild fern) with Sambal Chillies-i like these vegetables because it's pesticides free.

Some glasses of good old Chinese tea to wash down all the oil.

Total bill:Rm125/
Location:from Bidor-Tapah -double storey shophouse
right hand side-1 km before Tapah Police Station.
Tapah, Perak.

Restoran Hao Yi Lou

The CNY festival continued with a three tables dinner at Restoran Hao Yi Lou, Tapah, Perak.

My brother in law, Kam was the paying host for this dinner gathering among our relatives.

Restoran Hao Yi Lao is located just 2 km left from the Tapah toll plaza exit and is one of the best and newest restaurant in Tapah.

It is owned and run by a young, friendly and formidable couple- Chef Leong and his wife Sim.

As it was the first day of the CNY, the restaurant was packed to the rim and business was brisk.

Parking is a breeze.

Me, talking to Chef Leong (hands on hip ) about tonight's dinner dishes.

Waiting at our table.

The hand written menu in Chinese.

Started with the usual Loh Sang-a Salmon Yee Sang-wish for a better business year.

Sang Cheong-stir fried with ginger/spring onion/soy sauce combination-very crunchy and good exercise for the jaws.

Steamed wild frogs with chopped ginger/spring onion/Chinese wine/ sesame oil was everyone's favorite-the flesh was smooth and sweet tasting-plenty of it because of the dry weather.

Clams with Curry powder-spicy, fresh and meaty.

Koong Poh Padi field's Eel-stir fried with onion/dried red chillies/spring onion and a dash of Chinese wine-the coarsely sliced eel meat was springy and meaty.

Tung Poh pork belly- well marinated and braised until the meat absorbed all the spices flavors-garnished with cilantro-the gravy was perfect with rice.

Steamed river prawns with egg whites and Chinese wine-garnished with finely sliced ginger and cilantro-fresh, juicy and succulent-the star of the night!

Buttered Tilapia-the meat was filleted and cut into bite sizes before it was wok buttered fried with egg and curry leaves-very crispy-a good snack with beer.

Ended the meal with a quick stir fried Kangkong (Water Convolvulus)) with Sambal chillies -a local favorite.

Total bill: Rm700/
Location: 1 & 2, Persiaran Tapah Indah 1/3,
Taman Tapah Indah 3,
Tapah, Perak.
Tel:05-401-8148/012-463-5590/016-532-8678.