Saba' --again (stick to the lamb kabsah people)

Rice pudding. YES.

In between the last Saba' post and this one, bear in mind that I've dropped by this place several times already, usually for very large orders for the Family and especially when we have visitors at the house. Even the manager now knows me personally and throws me free stuff, and the friendly cashier has given up on my phone number. I must be one of Saba's biggest fan if not the number 1 fan. So embarrassing.

The review this time around is for high tea. Please note, my friend, that high tea is no regular tea. Regular tea is teh tarik and a limp piece of pisang goreng right? like what they throw at you in boarding school and say: be grateful for there are others worst off --in that condescending tone. Well, high tea is where you submerge your words in a thick British accent and discuss the weather accompanied by a substantial meal that includes tea. No kidding.

Mango juice. This is NOT a drink.
This is a MEAL.

We decided to try out something other than lamb kabsah. This was high tea after all, not lunch. Ning had yoga class in like an hour and she cannot possibly do those fantastic postures if she's full of lamb kabsah. We ended up closely scrutinizing the menu for everything other than lamb kabsah which took a lot of effort. Old habits are hard to break and new territory is always scary. But we managed it. And the waiter was ever so patient while Ning screamed hurry up and order woman!

Finally, I ordered the rice pudding, lamb soup, chicken schwerma and mango juice. Ning decisively ordered muttabal, lamb kebab and her adani tea.

The rice pudding was different. It had lemon peels in it which gave me squishes of delight in between random spoonfuls (I love lemon). The chicken schwerma was too dry and too tough. The lamb soup tasted like lamb boiled in salt water but I had a big portion of lamb so it was not that bad. And the mango juice was like mango sludge. It was so thick I nearly choked on it.  I had  to order water and mix my own drink at the table. So the small glass in the picture is the original mango sludge. And the big plastic cup contains my modified version.

Chicken Schwerma. NO. and lamb soup. YES. 

All in all, it was a relaxing high tea, although I'd rather pass by Tutti-Fruitti next time and work on  preventing colon cancer. Dropped Ning off at the taxi-stand to burn off her calories at yoga class and went back to my exciting office for work, work and more work. How exciting can life be? I need to find me another photography competition and work on my under-developed neglected creative side. Know any? share share!

Saba', Cyberjaya
Cleanliness: B/C (restroom and sink could do with a wash)
Food: A-/B+ (go for lamb kabsah)
Price: ~RM20 per pax (including appetizers excluding drinks)
Satisfaction Level:  A
Service: B+ (short wait)
Atmosphere: B (hustle and bustle)

posted from Bloggeroid

Kopitiam Bangi (for people-watching)

Armand with kaya toast. Again.

Lately my mind has been occupied with a great big gigantic black hole that is draining energy out of me and taking up a lot of space in the time domain as well, as a result. Has that ever happened to you? How do i break the cycle and get back to mormal? Luckily, on the outside, I am my regular cheerful self. At least my hormonal levels aren't affected--just low productivity at work. And I don't even smoke. Now on that topic: look out for some weird stuff coming on this blog soon. Possibly tomorrow. On smoking. Just one of my instantaneous crazy projects.

Affects of occupancy of black hole in mind: totally messed up order this morning during breakfast. The waiter suddenly appeared all smiles and presented me with a plate of half boiled eggs on toast. "Excuse me", I said calmly, "you must be mistaken. I ordered scrambled eggs". He looked confused and came back with my chit sheet. That little piece of paper you write your order on. There, quite clearly, was me looking back at my handwriting from a different era: 324 half-boiled eggs 1. Gulp. Am I losing it?

Eggs on toast. I prefer
scrambled. But this was OK too.

Well, there's a first time for everything. Even though my entire life raw eggs have always looked icky to me especially the yolk part, I closed my eyes, gripped the fork tight and dug in. Armand glanced up at me and submerged back into his book. Lately mama has been acting less bossy so that is just fine with him as far as he is concerned. And men always bond through silence anyway, he says.

The first bite. Not bad. The second. Ok. The third. Quite good. And then it was all good from there on. Which goes to show: raw egg yolks isn't all that bad. But scrambled definitely better. 

Armand ordered his regular kaya on toast and that was ok. I thought the bread tasted quite stale but Armand said it was awesome. Clearly, Armand is not ready yet for Australian Junior Masterchef.

This place is not great for eating but great for lepaking and mild conversation. The kind where you just nod your head and agree to everything your dinner friend says while you sip on coffee and watch smokers around you slowly breath in all the negativity of life and puff it out again to old 80's music. 

In fact, the last time I sang here (cause the guy from the live band knows me and called me up), I dedicated it to all the smokers in Bangi and may they quit one day and everyone cheered (very optimistic people these smokers, that's how they manage to ignore the gruesome pictures on the ciggarette packs) . Anyway, will write a better review of this place sometime in the future iAllah because I come here a lot for lepaking and mild conversation. And scrambled eggs on toast.

Kopitiam Bangi (corner lot, sederet dengan hosp Pakar An-Nur)

Cleanliness: B+ (standard)

Food: B 

Price: B

Satisfaction Level: B

Service: A-

Atmosphere: B (feels like I'm in Perak when I am here. Pekan-ish atmosphere. Oldies)

posted from Bloggeroid

Red Wok 2 (it's all about family)

Celebrating for my youngest sister's birthday who is now sweet and sour XX years old. The last year before she finally hits 20 and becomes an elegant, polite, sophisticated young woman, ever helpful and ever loving to her eldest sister.

Lemon chicken. YES

Seafood fried rice. Definite YES!

Sweet and Sour Prawns. YES.

Asparagus belacan. NO.

Kailan Ikan masin...yesss..

Jah and Izzat. YES to both :P

Iz. YES.

And Armand?

Let me just say, before I delve into the details of Red Wok (again), my 10 year-old son dislikes Red Wok immensely and will probably leave rude comments for this post. Everytime we go, he pulls a bored face and refuses to eat. There can be two possible explanations: (i) he hates chinese food. (check!) And (ii) Red Wok food has complicated ingredients in it making it unsuitable for kids below puberty. The second line of reasoning will need some research for verification, but I did notice some other kids also pulling long faces while their parents stuffed themselves heartily. In any case, Armand has agreed to forfeit the next Red Wok trip. He will stay home and lipat kain.

So right after work, we picked Ocu up from KUIS in Bandar Seri Putra, and drove straight back to Red Wok in Bangi where my mom and the rest of the family were hungirily waiting. My mom, being the guest of honor for giving birth to the birthday girl, cut the cake for us, and Jah presented Ocu with the present we all chipped in for: a new Swatch watch so that she will never be late for class again for at least the next 2 years.

Ocu. Big girl now. Kena score. Takleh
main k-pop jer.

All in all, everything was great. The kerabu, the lemon chicken and the soft-shelled crabs were the best dishes. The asparagus belacan and ginger chicken were not so popular with my family it seems. Izz  (the baby) couldn't get enough of the seafood fried rice and Izzat had 3 mugs of chinese tea to maintain his health. Am just saying.

The bill came out to be RM180++. As usual, less than we anticipated. No wonder Ocu's favourite ustaz came all the way from Bandar Seri Putra for dinner. We bumped into him at the counter when paying. He must have known Ocu was celebrating her birthday at Red Wok today and stalked her unconventionally. My mother would be thrilled. Finally, an Imam Muda in the family...

Happy birthday Ocu...! We love you lots..:))

Red Wok first review here.

Red Wok, 
Seksyen 7, Bandar Baru Bangi

Cleanliness: B
Food: A- (delicious and fresh)
Price: ~RM20 per pax (including drinks)
Satisfaction Level: A-
Service: A- (friendly waiters, very short wait)
Atmosphere: B (bit noisy, lots of customers, open-air restaurant, can be quite warm unless it rains)
Note: handicap friendly

posted from Bloggeroid

La Rizz BBB (Breakfast is a global foodfest..!)

Roti bakar. Armand always
goes simple. YES

La Rizz is one of the best places to eat in BBB. Even though located in quite a hidden area, if you're a Bangi old-timer you'd know about it. For future Bangi immigrants and stopper-bys, jot this down: it's near the traffic light junction to ILIM, going towards Alamanda through Sungai Merab. 

The owner of La Rizz, abang Boy, is my backdoor neighbour so if I drop by and he's there, I'd get free food. The last time I went there to pick up Che Nah's farewell cake he gave me a whopping slice of his latest inspiration: Markisa cheesecake. All I can say is..WOW. My youngest sister is so lucky. Her birthday's coming up next.

I would say La Rizz is the enhanced, better, much cheaper and Malaysianized version of Secret Recipe; they do brownies, cakes, cheesecakes and then all sorts of food from all over. That's the best thing about La Rizz: variety. They have everything from roti canai to pizza, to lasagna to nasi campur to bubur to lontong to laksam to ikan bakar to jemput2 to macaroni cheesebake to cornpuffs to baked potatoes. Everything. You want it, they have it. Which is why even early in the morning the place is packed with people.

Crunchy roti canai. YES

Lauk pauk available for breakfast.

The fridge full of goodies. Yes yes yes yes yes yes and yes.
(cheesecakes are RM65 and are as good as Secret Recipes, 
if not better.Choose from OREO, MARKISA, DURIAN, 
RED VELVET, ORIGINAL and more)

I have pretty much tried everything in La Rizz over the years and so this morning when me and Armand went there for breakfast, I just had my roti canai and Armand his toast kaya. And, as if I haven't praised them enough already, even that was very good. Its the variety thing. It gets to you. You get full just looking at what's on display. And since the price is local-standard low, its great value for money.

There's only one thing lacking with La Rizz. They close at night. But that's probably because they're out of food by 4pm. And probably thats why people like them so much. It's business on their terms.

The food I tapau-ed for my parents this morning.
Clockwise: rainbow cheesecake, hotdog and potato salad mix,  cream-puffs &
kuih bom, baked potatoes with cheese & beef lasagna and fried meehun.

To order cakes or make a catering booking call 03-89253800. My family never caters with anyone else for home functions. Tell Abang Boy Shima recommended you. That way he'll send more free food my way. And I can maintain my weight cause I am going skinny with all the admin work they throw at me in the office. ;))

La Rizz, Seksyen 12, Bandar Baru Bangi
Cleanliness: B
Food: A
Price: ~RM10 per pax
Satisfaction Level: A (variety is awesome)
Service: B+ (waiters fast and friendly)
Atmosphere: A (hustle and bustle but I loved it.)

posted from Bloggeroid

Secret Recipe BBB (skip the local food entrees~)

Seafood Mee Curry. NO.

Secret Recipe Cyber review here.

This was another mom-son rendezvous I had with Armand last week, but somehow only managed to put it in now, due to lack of inspiration and shortage of time. You know I have a food review blog, I had said to Armand, I was not feeling Secret Recipie-ish at all and was reluctant to go. Do we absolutely have to eat at Secret Recipe? I asked again. But I want a brownie mama... said Armand over the phone. OK, so that was that.

To go straight to the point, Secret Recipe knows I am on to them and has improved! I noticed a full change of staff as well, which I guess is good because last time we actually had dinner at Secret Recipe BBB (some time last year, it was that bad), service was so slow the customers who came before us suddenly started screaming because we (i.e., the later customers) got our food first. I may be Indian, one of them screamed, but I am a lecturer! And I demand to get my food now! Not that we blame her .We noticed she had been sitting there ages. We had been too. 

Original chicken cornish. YES.

Vienna brownie with vanilla ice-cream. YES

When we ordered this time around, the pretty young waitress apologized in advance. It may take a while, she said, we're backed up. Well, I replied, my son only ordered the chicken cornish, don't you just have to heat it up? The response I got was a smile and a quick serve. In fact, quicker than the customers already sitting there. I was holding my breath for another outburst. Luckily this time, no one lost their marbles.

Armand ordered the chicken cornish, and I must say, it was pretty good. And I ordered the seafood mee curry, which was again, mediocre for me (why do I keep doing this to myself?). It just didn't taste fresh enough and I didn't eat the prawns because they neglected to clean the insides. And I could see it. 

Walnut brownie with vanilla ice-cream. NO.

For desert, we ordered the brownies and ice-cream. I had asked the brownies to be heated, cause that's the politically correct way to get your brownies done, all warm with melting ice-cream on top (in the US, they would serve the brownies on a hotplate, topped with ice-cream and drizzled with warm caramel and it was marvelous), but I guess the microwave wasn't working. Nevertheless, the Vienna brownie was delicious, although I couldn't say the same for Armand's walnut brownie which looked great but tasted a few days old. Armand's strawberry milkshake however was just nice. 

So here's the deal with Secret Recipe. Go for their cakes, coffee, milkshakes, pastries, and the freshly arrived brownies (ask them which ones). Avoid local dishes (tom yum, mee curry etc). They're not fresh and are overpriced. You can get better at local restaurants at 1/3 of the price with no surprising service charges. Sorry Secret Recipe, you still need a bit of work.

Secret Recipe, Bandar Baru Bangi, (same row of shops as CIMB)

Cleanliness: B

Food: B/C+ (depending on what you order)

Price: ~RM25 per pax  

Satisfaction Level: C+ (they didn't heat up the brownies when they said they would)

Service: B (waitress was friendly)

Atmosphere: B (everyone looked like they've been waiting ages).

Bayou Coffee House (small and simple lunch buffet)

Geng GBS :: Ida, Kat, Nadia, Azura, CHE NAH, Sarina, Lin, Miza and me!

Che Nah before anticipated
big speech

Okay ladies, enough with ordering food from a menu. This time we are going buffet. The occasion: Che' Nah is leaving us. She has decided to go off on a new adventure. She is getting off the GBS bus and getting on another one. A newer bus. A Nilai Bus.

For me, moving to a new place is always a positive change. Being a nomad all my life (the longest I have been at any one place is MMU for some incomprehensible reason), I am a pro-mover and I support Che' Nah fully in her decision (GO GO CHE NAH~~!). Because whether you're moving house, moving workplace, or moving country, migration always leads to the opening of minds and ideas, and consequently, a better and richer life. In all instances in world history where immigration occurs, the outcome is always positive. I mean look at all the Jawa's in Malaysia now. Seriously. Even in the animal kingdom migration is essential and successful. Just tune in to Animal Planet or watch the Little Mermaid to be convinced.

Lake in front of coffee house

The buffet place we went to is in Cyberjaya Community Centre, and even though I've been there numerous times in the past for some serious sports, I just noticed today that there is a very calm and serene lake right in front of the coffee house. Next time I am in a melancholic mood because someone else is leaving, I know just the perfect spot to write some angry melancholic poetry. They always come out better when one is feeling a bit passionate.

For the RM22 per person, the menu was not bad. There were 3 carbohydrate dishes (i.e., nasi minyak, meehun and mee goreng), 5 types of protiens (grilled hotdogs, lamb, beef, chicken and fish with choice of gravy), a little salad bar, kopoks, 2 types of fruits, jellies and mousse, and bubur kacang hijau (green pea porridge). Not bad right? Well, that actually depends on what your expectations were. If you compared the buffet to any hotel in KL 2 stars and above, the choice of food was, in simple English, a bit limited. But if you compared that with the number of dishes you cook and eat at home at any one time, definitely more than enough.

Armand's plate

Nadia's plate

My plate

Of all the food they offered, the mee goreng mamak was perhaps the best main dish, the bubur kacang hijau was the best dessert and the chicken wings, the best appetizer, although we highly suspect the chicken wings are pre-packaged Ayamas from your favourite grocery store. Also, the orange juice was not too sweet and very pulpy (diluted Minute Maid? that's expensive). For those 4 items alone, I'd say RM22 is an acceptable deal for Cyberjaya residents, the city of generous, inspired and ambitious intellectuals (--yes, I am encouraging everyone to migrate here). The place was also warmly decorated and comfortable and the equally ispired and ambitious waiters were really efficient in removing the fast-growing pile of empty plates from the table.

But of course, the food was not as important as the person we are celebrating it for. Che Nah was too overwhelmed to give us a proper speech after she saw the goodbye cake (it said: congratulations, we'll miss you! *sob*). Which was just as well, as it might have sent a few of us crying to the lake in kuch-kuch hota hai style, not such a good idea since it was raining so heavily outside.

Oreo Cheesecake from La Rizz!

Regardless of the food, the important thing is we managed to spend some high-quality time together. And we earnestly pray and hope that Allah will always preserve and strengthen our evergrowing friendship, even though we are miles apart.

Bayou Coffee House, Cyberjaya Community Centre, (right in front of the back entrance to MMU)

Cleanliness: B+

Food: B (only few items were really good)

Price: ~RM22 per pax including drinks

Satisfaction Level: B (choice of food a bit limited for buffet style lunch)

Service: B+ (waiters could have smiled more, only few waiters)

Atmosphere: B+ (warm and friendly)

Domino's (*very* fast food)

Classified Chicken with cili flakes. YES.

Last night was pizza night, or in more blunt terms, don't-want-to-cook and don't-want-to-go-out night. It happens. Life's like that. Sometimes you feel like you've done enough for the day and the delivery guy owes you one.

Back in the US when I was a student, Pizza Hut and Papa Johns were the top pizza choices. Domino's was...ermm...not really on the list. Actually, I don't remember ordering Domino's ever. But here in Malaysia Domino's is practically no 1. Why? Because Pizza Hut delivery takes ages to arrive and are so unreliable (as if you don't know the difference between handtoss and pan). And Papa Johns, on the other hand, don't deliver to Bangi. So its not like we have a choice.

The 30 minute delivery time is the best thing about Dominoes. If they're late you get a coupon for a free pizza on your next order. And the next best thing is, surprise(!!), they're always late. Macam 5 minit gitu. So dapatla kupon.

Onion rings. NO --unless they come with the deals. 

We ordered a variety of pizzas, as usual. Classified chicken (with white garlic sauce on it), spicy sambal (hot belacan sauce), aloha chicken (regular italian sauce) and my mom's favourite, banana kaya pie (green sweet coconut sauce). If you're not from M'sia you'd probably be wondering about all the different sauces. Obviously Dominoes has gone through a dramatic evolutionary change to cater to the tastebuds of Malaysia's multicultural community. If it was only the one Italian sauce, Dominoes would soon be out of business because there are only so many Italians here. In fact Maya Karin married the last one standing. For my primary school readers, that's the mermaid from Duyung.

Banana Kaya Pie. YES.

When ordering Dominoes go for thin crust if you're weight concious. The spicy sambal pizza is a great substitute for nasi lemak, tastewise. The banana kaya pie you can get for free if you order regularly, just ask the operator. My personal favourite is veggie fiesta. But thats because I adore garlic. And pineapple. Pop quiz: whats a pizza without pineapple? Cheesy bread. 

Aloha Chicken on thin crust. Its like topped biscuit. YES.

Don't ever order Domino's without a coupon. The 2 for RM30 is probably the best deal and coupled with a free pizza coupon, thats 3 pizzas for RM10 each. Not bad eh. If there's only 2 people in your family, refrigerate the extra pizza in the freezer. It will last for a month, though by the time you eat it may smell like fish. If you don't have a coupon just tell the operator the coupon is downstairs and you can't remember the code. They'll let you get away with it. And last but not least, never reheat your pizza in the microwave. It will become elastic. Heat it in the oven, and it'll be just like it arrived 5 minutes ago.

Signing off,
the Domino's expert, PhD.

Domino's, Bandar Baru Bangi

Cleanliness: N/A 

Food: B 

Price: ~RM10 per pax 

Satisfaction level: B 

Service: B (usually on time, more or less)
Atmosphere: A (Eat at home with the family.)

posted from Bloggeroid

San Francisco 2 (it's a mom-son thing xD)

Creme Brulee. YES. Absolutely

(San Francisco Part 1 here).

Since Armand's off to his dad's tomorrow for the holidays celebrating Sultan Selangor's birthday trekking in the jungles of Terengganu I'm sure, the night before would be our traditional quality mom-son-before-you-go time. Usually we'd go out, watch a movie, catch up on school, his friends, my friends, shoot some zombies at the arcade and then find a place where we can watch football or national geographic and eat. That would be San Francisco this time around.

Last time we came here, Armand said he'd want to order lamb ribs for next time. But now that we're here, we both agreed lamb ribs for RM55 seemed too fantastic. That's like 10 quarter pounders from McD or 30 nasi lemak lauk telur from the Bangi market. Na'ah. We'll wait for the next person in the family to get married. That way, Atok will get an entire lamb on the spit, not just the ribs.

Chicken Lasagne. OK. NO.

So we ordered creme brulee (gorgeous), garlic bread and mushroom soup (superb), chicken lasagne for me (good, but could be better), salmon with honey mustard for Armand (perfection), banana milkshake (excellent, says Armand, I'll take his word on it) and coffee (bittersweet). We enjoyed the food tremendously even as we watched in horrified wonder the documentary that was playing on TV about some mat sallehs skinning, cooking and eating rattlesnakes in Bali. Let me just say, do rattlesnakes look like their begging to be eaten? I had always thought they'd kill you if you came near them. Unlike cows.

The bill came out to be RM80. I pretended not to act shocked (it gets easier with practice), calmly smiled, paid the bill, picked up my mobile in slo-mo, called HSBC and asked them to void the latest transaction on my credit card. We left loudly joking about not coming back. But we probably will. Next payday. 

Garlic bread and wild mushroom soup. Go for it. YES

Salmon with honey mustard and mixed veggies.
Definite YES.

Pizza San Francisco, Bandar Baru Bangi

Cleanliness: A 

Food: B+ (expensive but very good)

Price: ~RM40 per pax including drinks and desert

Satisfaction level: B+ 

Service: A- (friendly waiters, short wait)
Atmosphere: B+ (nice dining atmosphere. We have a favourite table there. In front of the telly)

posted from Bloggeroid

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (nothing special...~)

How pathetic can I be. I make a trip to KLCC like once every blue moon and the one time I do go, I go to Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. Sorry guys. It wasn't totally a meal trip. It was actually a trip to attend the musical broadway Stomp, and wasn't really feeling that hungry right after, probably because I was slowly munching on a chocolate mint muffin throughout the show.

Btw, Stomp was amazing. It was a musical show of sounds generated from regular everyday items like your broom, trashcan, cigarette lighter and paint cans. The coordination and synchronization among the performers just blew me away. And though they uttered less than 10 words altogether, the audience was tickled pink at the drama (the fat guy kept being left out) and I laughed more than when watching the stupid raja lawak show. Will definitely take armand along next year should I get promoted (cause the tickets ain't cheap). Although at this moment in time, that prospect seems highly unlikely (based on the rate at which I am spitting out journals).

Stomp star. The fat guy.  He doesn't look too bad after he took
off  the tummy padding. Autograph session.

My latte and biscotti. The biscotti was nice. 

Okay. Coffee bean. Was ok. The hunk of a Japanese guy sitting at the table next to mine presented me with a chocolate muffin in an exquisite green Tiffany's cardboard box complete with ribbons because he thought I was alone and probably felt extremely sympathetic (Ning's order took so long I was practically deserted). And then he told me he had diabetes which made me kind of glad when Ning finally did arrive with her coffee. Don't get me wrong. He got the muffin for free when he bought a pair of 24-carrot gold ear-rings for his girlfriend. Or was it his mom? Communication breakdown. So not happening.

Ning's coffee and cheesecake. 

Back to Coffee Bean. Again. It was ok. Next time I go to KLCC though, I will definitely try somewhere else to kick back for leisure talk. Lately, I feel like coffee is overpriced, over-rated, too expensive, too bitter and sometimes even too sweet. And while we're on that topic, avoid the Ying-Yong pearl milk tea at Little Taiwan in Alamanda. It is coffee and tea combined and tastes so ridiculous I almost cried over the 6.90RM I spent on it. 

This is what I feel like when I am in KLCC
for more than 3 hours.

Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, KLCC, KL

Cleanliness: C (I had to ask the waiter to clean the table)

Food: B-/C+ (overpriced, my hazelnut latter was too sweet!)

Price: ~RM16 per pax

Satisfaction Level: B-

Service: C (Ning's iced-coffee took ages)

Atmosphere: open-space, we practically shouted at each other to be heard over the noise. 

posted from Bloggeroid

Manhattan Fish Market (for that fishy feeling...)

Nings. Baked fish with chips.
SUPERB

I am at my hairdressers on a Friday night..can you believe it? I cannot find the time to go during office hours. So, as the pretty hairdresser blows my wild hair, I am busily typing this in on my smartphone; the latest lunch escapade we had today. Manhattan Fish Market at Alamanda Putrajaya.

I remember missing breakfast this morning because of a 9 am meeting. So by the time we went off for lunch, I was a hungarian on a roll with all problems/chores/responsibilities on hold and phone on vibrate.

I ordered the starter suggested by the waitress: fried mushroom that came with salad. And fish and chips...because i missed the UK so much. *sob*. Ning, my health guru, ordered baked fish with chips. She doesn't eat anything thats battered and fried. That's where we differ. Except for chips. That's where we're similar. And I am talking real chips here. Not anything like those skinny french fries they serve at Mc'Donalds that has twice the amount of oil drenched in them.

Fried mushrooms with salad. Y E S

Ning says I sometimes have a fit of verbal diarrhea (in her defense, she didn't grow up with 5 siblings and 2 toilets), so this time around I am going to beat around the bush and employ more elegance in my choice of words- and lets see if that'll increase my fan base (I think not). 

Lets just say: Manhattan did not disappoint. Everything was not bad, not spoiled and definitely not been in the freezer long before you ordered it. OMG, now I sound pessimistic. What I really wanted to say is, and I say this with much gusto and enthusiasm: Manhattan fish market is the best western seafood place to date. Their Dory (that fish you get everywhere in Malaysia), can even pass for Cod, its that fresh. And if seafood turns you cold because your doctor says go easy on the cholesterol, skip the battered-fried fish and go for baked or grilled. They are equally as good and healthy. Just the right blend of herbs and olive oil. I had a stab at Ning's fish and it was heavenly. (I would have stabbed all of it but there was a nerdy bloke sitting on the next table and I had to keep appearances). 

Manhattan rocks. And though its from America, the fish and chips are just as good as the ones from Britain,  albeit it's missing the vinegar. And if you're really in tune with your dining partner (same taste palate and all), go for the double platters. They (freaking) rock. True and tested.

Manhattan Fish Market, Alamanda, Putrajaya

Cleanliness: B

Food: A (left smiling)

Price: ~RM18 per pax (this was appetizer and main course for me. With warm water. Ning paid the same for her baked fish)

Satisfaction Level: A-

Service: B (a bit of a wait. But well worth it).

Atmosphere: Hustle and bustle. Quite a crowd during lunch.

P/S check-out www.groupon.my regularly for coupons to save more at Manhattan.

posted from Bloggeroid

Johnny's (the dude does steamboats~~)

Stuff that's going into the steamboat.

I am writing this entry from the crime scene itself i.e., from the restaurant I am reviewing--as Ning is slurping on the remainder of our steamboat soupie--which she can afford to since she spends at least few hours at the gym...and me? I spend like 20 mins. So, its better for me to stop eating before I actually lose my vivacious coca-cola bottle figure (in-my-dreams).

The place we're eating? Johnny's..that restaurant right at the very end of the foodcourt in Alamanda. Many a time have we trudged through the foodcourt with the sole intention of eating at Johnny's and every single time, we get detered by the delicious array of food on display along the way. Today though, we were determined: having found that the Twilight movie tickets were totally sold out and there was no way we'd be meeting with Edward the vampire tonight, Johnny's will have to do.

To put it mildly, I was mildly surprised. Johnny's is a Chinese steamboat restaurant with prices that were actually quite agreeable. The steamboat for 2 was a mere RM29..not bad eh, and since we're paying to cook the stuff ourselves, the wait for raw meat and veggies to arrive at the table was literally less than 3 mins~~

Seawood noodles with chicken. Like nothing I
have ever tasted before. And I mean that in a good way.

Because I was ravenous I also ordered the seaweed noodles with chicken. That was an additional RM8.90 but it came with Thai tea, ice-cream and a little bowl of tom-yam soup. The tom-yam made me arrive to a new conclusion though...contrary to what Ning had said about this being a Chinese restaurant, I don't think it is, I think its' actually Thai. And while we are on that topic, avoid the Thai restaurant at the bus terminal in cyber, because the last time me and Nadia ate there, there were cicak eggs in the tom-yam soupie.

So Johnny's? It was okay. It did not blow me away but the food was certainly a good variety and the price was not bad at all and in fact cheaper than the foodcourt itself (softdrinks and ice-cream only ~RM2. What?!). Plus there's this steaming couldron of hot soup right in front of you so if you experience one of those akward silences with your dinner companion, you can pretend to get busy and do the cooking instead of toying with your phone and holding a public conversation on facebook. Or if you're like Ning, you can unload your shopping at the table, share steamboat cooking tips and cook at the same time in the true meaning of the word multitasking.

Ning practising to be a good housewife...

This place is great for families. Cook in front of your kids and hubbies why dontcha, and show 'em how its really done without even breaking a sweat. And you don't even have to clean up after. Nice.

Johnny's, Alamanda, Putrajaya
Cleanliness: B
Food: B (good variety)
Price: RM20 per pax (if you get the ice-cream etc. Else it'd be much2 less.)
Satisfaction Level: B+ (we sat outside, and the wind was in my soup. I loved it).
Service: B+ (waiter was friendly and took time to explain to us everything, even though there were so many customers waiting to be served)
Atmosphere: B+ (good crowd, hustle and bustle)

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