Restaurant Hopping

As a food lover, I am easily influenced by TV programmes.
I was recently into watching Taiwan travel and food show.
As such, I was automatically attracted to this shop called Little Taiwan in 1 Utama.
And of course I would have to credit the scrolling lightbox ads as well .

Dumplings are an essential dish in the Chinese community hence I normally rate a Chinese restaurant that have dumplings listed in their menu by their ability to make and serve good dumplings.
And so, we ordered their Pan Fried Dumpling (RM8.90) and it was disappointing.
It taste just like the ones you can get from the supermarket frozen food section and it was bland and doesn’t have much meat taste to it.

Deon ordered the Salted Chicken Set Lunch (RM13.90) inclusive of Bubble Red Tea and we paid additional RM1.00 for the extra pearl.
The dish looked nice and makes us drool but  taste wise, it’s really lacking.
The salted chicken is not crispy and not salted.
I seriously didn’t enjoy this dish at all as I have tasted much better salted chicken in other restaurant.

I’ve ordered the Taiwanese Beef Meat Ball Set Lunch (RM15.90) inclusive of Bubble Red Tea as well.
This dish comes with 2 huge beef meat ball.
I don’t know how to describe this dish. It is nice and tender and cook to perfection.
However, it has a strong beefy taste that I don’t think a lot of people can accept.

We add-on the Chicken Meat Ball Soup which cost us only RM2.00 since we ordered the set lunch.
Personally, I think it’s overly priced as the chicken meat ball they used seems to be those frozen chicken meat ball served in an oily soup.

To be honest, I think the whole lunch experience was a let down as I expected a lot more from it’s name.

Little Taiwan
Address:
Lot LG 325 & 326, LG Floor,
1 Utama Shopping Centre,
No. 1, Lebuh Bandar Utama,
Bandar Utama,
47800 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor DE.
Telephone: +603-7729 5582

Deon’s birthday was like a month ago, and I have actually planned a birthday dinner bash on his actual birthday together with his family since his parents are leaving for holiday soon.

We went dinner at Tokyo G to celebrate.
And from what I gathered, this place was previously owned by Shushi Groove.
I always find their renovations and decorations looking very “cool” from the outside and I can’t help to notice how neon green it is.

Wee… I finally get try out Tokyo G and I actually have high expectation from their renovations and of course their modern twist to the conventional Japanese food.

Our dinner starts of with Chawamushi, which I personally think has strong egg taste but a little overcooked.
As such, the steamed egg texture is rough and hard.

Dillon ordered the Chicken Katsu Curry (RM14.90) which in my opinion tasted pretty standard.
The curry sauce looks thick and flavourful but not exactly the yummiest, while the breaded chicken appears rather dry.

Deon on the other hand ordered the Ebi Don Buri (RM15.90).
He is an ebi tempura lover, hence it is not a surprise that he ordered the same this time.
So far, this is the dish that interest me the most. but I would love it more if the sauce and egg are on the savoury side instead.
What I also love about the dish is when they added the crunchy tempura flakes in the rice.
It seriously added the crunchy texture to the rice dish.

I ordered the Mayonnaise Dream Roll (RM10.90) to share.
I love how they cleverly assemble this. It is made with raw salmon in the center wrapped with seaweed and rice at the bottom, topped with special sauce. I think the sauce are made of thousand island, mayonnaise and cheese in it.

The Deep Fried Gyoza was quite a disappointment to me.
As usual, this is mainly caused by the thick dough and overly cooked meat texture.
Somewhere, somehow the taste and texture of the entire gyoza just didn’t mix along well.

If anyone is looking for THICK slices of sashimi, Tokyo.G is the place to go.
But be careful at what you are wish for as thick slices of sashimi can sometimes be really gross to swallow.
Yup, this is the case when we order the Sashimi Combo (RM29.90).
Each slice is really thick, so thick that I felt gross chewing the tuna slices.
The thickness of the tuna slices was like around 1.3cm each. Grrrr.. scary!

The Ziggy Roll (RM12.90) is one of the dish that I didn’t try as I was busy chewing the sashimi and no one else except Deon’s mum eats sashimi. So the entire dish is left for both of us to handle.

The Godzilla Roll (RM15.90) is a long roll filled with ebi tempura in the center wrapped with rice, salmon slices and sweet mango ! I love how the mango and thousand island compliments the dish.

Deon’s dad loves teriyaki chicken, however they don’t serve big chunky teriyaki chicken.
The only thing teriyaki chicken they serve is the Teriyaki Chicken Roll (RM8.90).
The chili flakes on the top is too overpowering to the extend I can hardly taste any chicken taste.

I would say the overall ambience of the place is great except the fact that we can’t lean back but the food needs improvements.
Also, facing green neon lighted walls caused headaches and discomfort while eating.
Another thing that they may want to improve on is the pacing of their services as it is seriously slow. The only saving grace is their staff’s friendliness.

Tokyo.G Spot
Address:
Lot G342 & 343,
1 Utama Shopping Centre,
No. 1, Lebuh Bandar Utama,
Bandar Utama,
47800 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor DE.
Telephone: +603-7725 3733

Recently went to Carl’s Jr, but this post is much inspired by the “She’ll tell you size doesn’t matter. She’s lying” card that my colleague conveniently used as a barrier between our tables.

Everyone I know who went to Carl’s Jr. told me their burgers are like gigantically huge.
Quite a lot of them mentioned it was quite pricy but some say it was reasonably priced.

If you ask my honest opinion, it is big but not gigantically huge.
Well, if you ask someone who only eats a little then probably it is.
It is really not as huge as I imagined it to be (as I was typing, the burgers probably shrank in size).

Pricy? Hmmm..  I would have to agree with them.
I think it is quite expensive for a fast food chain.

Now, my orders:  Double Western Combo which consist of Double Western Burger + Medium French Fries + Medium Coke (RM23.00) while Deon ordered the Chili Burger (RM14.00).
Am glad the drinks are refillable, coke and burgers are a good match.

The Double Western Burger comes with 2 beef patties in it, loads of cheese and bacon.
The patties were juicy, but what I like most are the crispy bacon. I’m sure by now, you all know my love for bacons.
Too bad it’s a non-halal shop, cause I think it will taste better with pork bacon.

As for the Chili Burger, it comes with a beef patty with loads of special Carl’s Jr. chili sauce and cheese.
Not too bad, but it’s really too saucy and messy.
In comparison to both the burgers, I personally still prefer the Double Western burger.

My final thoughts?
I seriously think the size doesn’t really matter but the price do, especially to poor souls like me.
I think it is priced on the expensive side.
I would equate it’s taste to quite similar to Burger King but at almost double the price.

Doubt I will be back anytime soon cause “If I tell you the price doesn’t matter. I’m lying.”

Address:
Carl’s Jr.
Lot 210C, Ground Floor,
1 Utama Shopping Centre,
No.1, Bandar Utama,
47800 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor DE.
Telephone: 03. 7729 6718

While I personally loves Japanese food in general, I don’t quite fancy their noodles dishes for instances ramen, udon, soba or others.
I don’t dislike them, it’s just not the first choice that comes to mind.
Perhaps it is due to the fact that I am a rice lover.

So, Ajisen Ramen is not something I would naturally pick given the name of the restaurant had the word “ramen” in them.
I would have thought it is a ramen specialty shop.
Since my sister wanted to give it a try, we brought our mum along and am surprised that Ajisen Ramen serve so much more variety of Japanese food aside ramen.

Since I am not a ramen person, I literally ordered most of the non-ramen stuff.
Firstly, I ordered Pan Fried Gyoza (RM7.80)  which turn out to be so good and juicy.
In my humble opinion, the pan fried gyoza had this crunchy skin from the pan frying but the meat filling inside is tender and juicy.

I also ordered the Pork Cheese Cutlet (RM11.80) which sadly disappoints me.
Not only does it look way different from the picture in the menu, it tasted different from expectations.
The meat was overcooked which result to dry and rough meat. The batter was too thick so it made the cheese hardly detectable. I can hardly taste the cheese while the batter is too thick.

I also decided to try their sushi selection and ordered the Tuna Sakura (RM5.80).
I must say they served one of the thinnest tuna fish slice I have seen.
Based on its price then it seems reasonable, but from quantity of the dish perspective, it looks a little too pathetic.
The fish also didn’t have much taste and feels dry, which I highly suspect the fish slices are not that fresh.

My sister ordered Renkon (RM4.80) which is thin slices of lotus root fried till golden brown.
This is literally a simple yet delicious dish to start the meal. So lovely and crispy.

She also ordered one of the best dish here in Ajisen Ramen, Sakae Sakura (RM8.80).
I have got to agree with her that this is the best dish.
While not many people enjoy the strong sesame oil taste, I love it.
The diced salmon with special sauce on rice just makes me keep wanting to take the next bite.

As for my mum, she ordered the Hot Plate Seafood Ramen (RM13.80).
In my opinion, the ramen noodles doesn’t taste like the normal ramen I had before.
It somehow tasted so much more like the yellow noodles and are placed on a hot plate.
Some boiled seafood and bean paste sauce are poured on the noodles.
And nope, I still doesn’t enjoy this dish as the noodles taste were too strong and the seafood seems a little overcooked as well.

My sister and mum also decided to order some dessert.
My mum ordered something similar to her favourite ice kacang which was Kakigori Anmitsu (RM8.80) and Macha Sundae Anmitsu (RM11.80) to share.
In general, nothing much could go wrong since it looked and tasted like ice kacang.
We also ordered some Macha Sundae with peach and red bean which seems like a funny combination but tasted good.

Ajisen Ramen
Address:
Lot S01, Second Floor,
1 Utama Shopping Centre,
No.1, Bandar Utama,
47800 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor DE.
Telephone: +603-7726 6860
Website: http://www.ajisen.com.my

Yoshinoya was franchised in to Malaysia about 7 – 8 years ago.
I remember the queue used to be very long, as long as those popular donuts brands such as Big Apple and J&Co last year. Sadly, the popularity and trend didn’t last long and all of them quiet down.

In fact, every time I am dining in Yoshinoya, it felt like it was just me and my friends in the restaurant.
I guess Malaysians are too spoilt for choices and constantly move on to new food adventures.
But I don’t care, I personally still thinks Yoshinoya serves one of the cheapest and decent beef bowls.
I’ll always order their Beef Bowl Value Meal (RM8.90) , which comes with a soft drink/miso soup.
And I will always leave as a happy and satisfied customer.

The beef slices were thin and tender, and the fattiness of the beef is just right.
This gives it a good texture and taste without feeling too oily.

Some may not eat beef, so chicken option is also available.
My friends who don’t eat beef normally ordered their Spicy Chicken and Salmon Combo Value Meal (RM13.90).
I think their salmon isn’t great and can feel that it was frozen fish taste, but their spicy chicken is nice.
It reminded me the taste of KFC’s Hot and Spicy, but lack of tenderness.
If only it was a little more tender and juicy, the whole dish taste a whole lot better.

You know what,  when I was indecisive I would ended up ordering Spicy Chicken and Beef Combo Value (RM13.90). Which in my opinion, is the best of both world option where I get to eat both the dishes I like.

In case you wonder why I don’t order their dishes that comes with vegetables, it is because I think they sucks at cooking vegetable dishes.
Seriously, I’ve never seen or tasted ANY vegetable dishes as bas as theirs.
So, let’s just stick to enjoying their meaty dishes.

Restoran Yoshinoya
Address: Lot S346, Second Floor, Rainforest Zone, 1 Utama Shopping Centre, Bandar Utama, 47800 Petaling Jaya, Selangor DE.
Telephone: +603-7726 4133

Restaurant 3JC, is a little restaurant hiding at a corner between the old wing and new wing of One Utama. It caught my attention because their name in many ways connects me with CJ7 (the most recent Stephen Chow movie), minus the cute little boy playing with it’s alien toy.

We ordered a few different types of noodles but concluded that all their noodles are actually similar. We ordered 3JC in Dark Soya Sauce Handmade Noodles (RM7.90), 3JC in Dark Soya Sauce Kuey Teow Noodles (RM7.20) which comes with minced pork, spring onions, sausages and a row of 6 pork balls in soup.

I personally think the noodles were just okay, but I do credit the amount of meat in each bowl of noodles. It’s definately worth every single cent.

We also ordered the 3JC in Curry Soup Handmade Noodles (RM9.50). The curry soup was thick and flavourful and comes with a lot of ingredients, tau fu pok, sausages and pork balls.

As for drinks, we had Cold Herbal Tea (RM2.20), Hot Coffee (RM2.30), Cold Coffee (RM2.80) and Cold Green Tea (RM2.00).

The verdict, nothing too fancy with standard pricing for most food outlet in shopping malls.

Address:
Restoran 3JC
F238, First Floor,
1 Lebuh Bandar Utama,
Bandar Utama City Centre, Bandar Utama,
47800 Petaling Jaya.
Tel: 03. 7727 4911
Website: http://www.3jc.com.my/

It has been a while since I crave for a nice pot of Claypot Loh Shue Fun.
And so the adventure to look for a place that serves good Claypot Loh Shue Fun begins.
Our hunt ended at  Restoran Mama’s Kitchen where according to reviews, are famous for their Claypot Loh Shue Fun.

I must agree with the reviews. Their Claypot Loh Shue Fun (RM10.00) is really good .
The sauce is just nice, rich and eggy but super smooth and soft.
Completely love the taste. The only comment I had – I wish they were less generous with the pork livers in the noodles.
Yup, I don’t really enjoy pork liver and should have asked for no liver.

I’ve also ordered other side dishes – Stir Fry Chicken with Cashew Nuts (RM12.00) and Fried Sui Kow (RM5.00) .
While the chicken is really tender and juicy, it is rather salty and oily.
And this comment is coming from someone who usually doesn’t mind oil and salt.
As for the Fried Sui Kow, nothing to shout about.
It is decent, nothing over the top.

The highlight dish is definitely the yummy Claypot Loh Shue Fun.

Address:
Restoran Mama’s Kitchen
No. 48, Jalan Datuk Sulaiman,
Taman Tun Dr. Ismail,
60000 Kuala Lumpur
Telephone: 03. 7729 3030

Yeah, another food finding adventure in SS2. We ended our quest of food finding at Island Cafe. Mmm.. the Island Cafe is pretty similar to other cafes like Station 1. With loads of variety of drinks and Hong Kong style food.

I ordered the Golden Sauce Chicken Chop Rice (RM8.90). Wooo… is rather filling as this dish consists of a big piece of chicken chop and 2 sticks of cocktail sausage. The golden sauce is rather spicy and similar to our local “Kam Heong” sauce. It tasted okay, except the fact that the sauce quite overpowered the whole dish.

De ordered the Bamboo Rice with Chicken Wings (RM12.90). Hehe… I like how they serve this dish. They placed the fried rice in the bamboo and served with a pair of chicken wings. The fried rice is quite yummy and the chicken wings is tasty.

As for drinks, we just wanted something not too sweet. So, I ordered a Cold Jasmine Tea (RM4.50) while De ordered Mineral Water (RM2.00).

Address:
Restoran Island Cafe
No. 2, Jalan SS2/61,
47300 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor DE.
Telephone: 03. 7877 8652

Chatterbox, is one of my favourite hangout.
Why? Cause I work around Damansara area and they serve one of the best Hong Kong style food .

Their food menu looks good and I want to try everything on the menu.
This time I ordered the Hot and Sour Thick Vermicelli with Spicy Diced Pork (RM9.50) .
Yeah, felt like having something soupy and sourish for the day.
While I like the texture of the noodle, the whole combination didn’t really work for me.

To be honest, it is not as sour or hot as it seems. Don’t expect the Tom Yum kind of hot and sour, it’s nothing close.
The hot and sour part is mainly coming from the Sichuan style pickled vegetables.
I seriously won’t classify this dish as “hot” or “spicy”, but maybe for some who can’t handle spicy food. This may have some mild effect.

I start to remember, I never liked the Spicy Diced Pork taste.
It is quite rough in texture and have that sweet taste to the sauce which is not to my liking.
Probably that is why I never bought or stocked this at home.
So yes, the pickled vegetables also didn’t manage to take away that sweet effect.

We also ordered the Chatterbox Toast (RM4.90).
Be warned that it is really fully loaded with mayonnaise.
Oh, and also filled with frozen mixed vegetables.
While I am OK with the strong mayonnaise taste since I mayonnaise, I don’t enjoy the mixed vegetables especially peas.
Haha.. to date, I still can never understand how this combination of vegetables came about.

I told myself to be more adventurous with my drink options, but their Cold Hong Kong Style Tea (RM3.80) is too addictive. Next time then, since I will be back again soon. While the things ordered this round may not be of my liking, but it’s alright.
It is part of the adventure in discovering new things.

Address:
Restoran Chatterbox
Lot 338, Lower Ground Floor,
1 Utama Shopping Centre,
Bandar Utama, 47800 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor DE.
Telephone: 03. 7710 8833