Hanazen Japanese Restaurant.

This is a guest post by Mindy.

We celebrated father's day a day earlier not because of "kiasu-ness" but yours truly is working on 20th June. yeah! it sucks to work on Sunday. any given Sunday for that matter.

We will normally celebrate it with the whole family, meaning uncles & aunties and grandparents. but since my grandpa passed away last year, we've decided to have a private dinner this year. it's just my dad, mom, brother, sister & hubby.
and knowing Chinese family we normally go to a Chinese restaurant and have a bloody 9 course dinner. thank god to my "open to change" dad, he suggested Japanese food and he chose Hanazen at Jaya one. i know where the hell the place is but have never set foot there before for many reasons.

• i'm not a craze Jap foodie
• i don't eat raw fish
• no money to eat coz it's normally expensive
• no patience to wait for the table coz it's always full irregardless of which Jap outlet
• no Jap chef. all Chinese "mata sepet" chef only

However, this time i make the exception coz it's father's day. anyhow, when we got there voila! no available table (duh!) coz we didn't make any reservation.

the chefs are all "cina beng" (didn't see any good lookings one). and the bill came up to Rm300 plus. so far i've been complaining but it was actually a fun night.


from the moment we go to the restaurant, we started cam whoring. it's out of boredom coz it took forever to get a table.
if i'm lucky, i get to have dinner with my family once a week. sometimes once in 2 weeks. once again i blame the rostering department (gotta point my finger at something right?)


dad looked extremely happy and encouraged me to order the Kobe beef but i decline graciously. coz it's expensive and i'm stingy. and whatever that goes into my stomach will eventually out down south so why waste it? my digestive is super efficient. so no-no don't waste good shit (pardon the pun)

i opt for sukiyaki instead coz it's soup based with lots of veg (good for health) and a few slices of beef (cheap ass stuff but taste good). dad ordered sushi platter but the plate is too plain and not decorative enough coz it's rm60 (a platter).

can't remember the rest of the dishes coz i'm not fluent with Jap menu.it's great to see how happy my family is. i am grateful for the love and joy we have as a family. anyway, enough nonsense already.

Happy Father's Day to my dad and to all fathers around the world.

Sake all in a row.

Towel at your disposal.

Me and the colorful menu.

Salmon Sashimi set-Rm20/

Nigiri Jyo Sashimi-Rm60/

Zaru Soba SS set-38/

Salmon Sashimi Yakiniku set-Rm48/

Chicken Terriyaki set-Rm28/

Yakiniku set-Rm38/

Sukiyaki set-Rm30/

Total bill:Rm300/
Location:43-G, Block C, Jaya One,
72A, Jalan Universiti,
Petaling Jaya.
Tel:03-7954-8000.

Restaurant O.K. Tuck @ Cameron Highlands.

After visiting the market and a strawberry farm, we intended to go to Sg Palas Boh Tea Plantation and Factory to savor tea and scones.

Half way from the main road, the narrow plantation road was jam packed with cars and buses some want to exit while others want to proceed. It was havoc !

After half hours of waiting for the jam to clear with the help of "people power traffic police" we exited from it as fast as we could (do not go during the holidays).

With everybody hungry we went to Restaurant O.K. Tuck in Brinchang town for a deserving quick and delicious lunch before checking into our apartment at Tanah Rata.

Sweet and sour Pork-well marinated and of equal size-deep fried and then tossed in a Tomato/Vinegar sauce with sliced cucumber, cherry tomato and onion.

Mun Chee Sow-braised Pork knuckle with soy sauce until tender and soft to the bite-very fragrant and not too fatty-garnished with a combination of spring onion/cilantro/carrot and seated on a bed of fresh green lettuce.

Stir fried wild fern with Sambal chillies paste-crunchy and stemmy.

Clay pot Homemade Tofu with chopped Chinese long cabbage, mushroom, sweet pea bean and shrimp.

Lemon Chicken-well batter -deep fried chicken-chopped into bite pieces then topped with a zesty Lemon sauce.

Stir fried Oyster mushroom with Broccoli florets and strips of pork.

Total bill:Rm148/
Location: 26, Jalan Besar,
Brinchang, Cameron Highlands.
Tel:05-491-2380/012-461-5126.

Assorted Greens Stuffed with Fish paste.

This weekend post is just to share some stuffed fish paste with red/green capsicum and green chillies which we bought from Cameron Highlands.

Suitable for anytime of the day.

The fish paste are homemade and these fish balls are fresh and springy with a tinge of saltiness to it.

P/s : If you do not know how to make the fish paste, buy it from a reputable fishmonger at the market.

Herbal Chicken Rice Vermicelli Soup /Tau Chim Noodle Soup.

This noodle stall run by a husband and wife team is located at Restoran Happy O in The Pandan Perdana commercial center, Cheras.

There are quite a wide range of noodles and Yong Lui to choose from the menu.
I was told by the wife that her husband was a former restaurant chef.
No wonder the herbal chicken/ rice vermicelli soup noodle that I ate was a notch higher than others !

The quaint small stall with photos of their signature noodles by the side of the shop.

The clear and wholesome herbal soup was full of Kei Chee, Yok Chut flavor- a chopped up whole tender and meaty chicken thigh and garnished with chopped spring onion-Rm6/.

Tau Chim (Green Pea flour noodle)-very smooth long strand noodle in a tasty and clear soup served on a side plate of deep fried marinated whole chicken thigh with onion rings and topped with a tomato based sauce-fulfilling-Rm7/

Side order: Deep fried Crabstick roll-crispy crust and soft on the inside-Rm2/

Map click to enlarge it.

Location:Restoran Happy O.
Pandan Perdana Commercial Center,
Cheras, Kuala Lumpur.

East Ocean Restaurant @ Kampar.

Every year my Mil's children will treat her to a sumptuous dinner at different restaurants around Ipoh or Kampar.

For this year's dinner it was held at East Ocean Restaurant @ Kampar which has branches in Chemor and Menglembu in Perak.

It is located near the Tesco Hypermarket and the restaurant is air-conditioned and occupied three shoplot.

Parking is a breeze as most of the shops are closed in the night.

The dinner started with the Longevity noodle-wheat flour noodle cooked in superior grade soy sauce with generous strips of pork and slivers of soft and smooth mushroom seated on a bed of blanched Kow Choy.

Four Combination Platter-served on a big plate with an eye catching "sea design" 1) crabmeat/seaweed/salted egg rolls with a dash of Mayonnaise 2) Stir fried fresh scallop with onion/red & green sliced capsicum. 3) a slice of Lotus root topped with Fish paste (too much flour)/shrimp/gingko and bathed with a smooth tasty gravy. 4) balls of white Dragon fruit.

Steamed Herbal Chicken in soup-filled with mushroom and mini abalone-tasty and herbal flavored -a bit like chicken essence.

Roast Suckling piglet-normally it is all skin only but this one got lean meat attached to the skin-served with Mantou.

Steamed White Promfret (1 kg)-smooth and tender with no fishy after taste-good grade soy sauce/peanut oil and garnished with cilantro and spring onion.

Deep fried Sea prawns-big, fresh and succulent-would have tasted better if tossed in more Soy sauce with gravy to go with the bed of spring onion.

Mixed Vegetables-sweet pea bean, celery, lotus root, Lily bulb, carrot and cashew nuts-a great dish.

Sweet Dessert of cool Soybean and white fungus.

Pastry-deep fried Wheat flour dough with a Sesame crust and Pandan flavored filling-not overly sweet.

Ice cream cake-corn flavored for her 83th Birthday.

Total bill:Rm488/
Location: 33A, 35, 36, Jalan Perdana,
Taman Kampar Perdana, Kampar,
Perak.
Tel: 05-465-8890/8879.