Aji-Ya Japanese Restaurant @ OBD Garden Tower Condo, Taman Desa

OBD Garden Tower Condominium, Taman Desa is popular among Japanese expatriates and there is a big Japanese community lived there. Within the condo, there lies a hidden gem. Aji-Ya Japanese Restaurant, which previously named as Matsuba Shokudo. 

When my dad brought us to this restaurant, I hardly can see their signboard outside the condominium. If you search for this restaurant with Waze or GPS, search for the OBD Garden Tower Condominium.

Dream Youth Doraemon Cafe @ Kuchai Lama

The blue robot cat. The one can bring his friends to the future and also past. The one we wished to have when we are young. Cuz he can help us in everything (i.e. passing exam in flying colour!). Who doesn't know Doraemon? 

Dream Youth Cafe or D'Dream 又多一梦 or preferably Doraemon Cafe is now located at Kuchai Lama. Rumors said that this cafe previously located at SS2 and move to Kuchai Lama. The cafe is at first floor, which a few stores beside the Restoran Meng Kee (wantan noodle stall).

The dolls that greeted us when we reached the entrance. They are so cute! Doraemon was a yellow robot cat before the rat chewed his ears. He traumatised by that, and so, his body turned into blue. The cafe is locked with security and you need to ring the bell. 

You need to make reservations if you intends to visit the cafe at night or on weekends. This is because the place will be "flooded" with people and people take their time slowly as they want to take lots of photos there. Luckily my friend went in earlier (before 6pm) and we have seats! 

Before starts taking photos of surrounding, order first. The waiter/waitress explained that the food will be prepared/served in a long time (i.e. 30mins). Those who are in hurry, this is not a on-the-go cafe. Dream Youth Cafe is serving Taiwan cuisine, not Japanese.

After placed orders, it's time to explore and take photos!!! A rack filled with Doraemon dolls/Doraemon-themed items.

 Some of the collections by the owner. Mini mahjong? haha 

Different kinds of poster/puzzles.

I watched 90% of the collection of movies. Except the recent one, "Stand by Me" which about Doraemon left Nobita.

Fruit Tea. My friend recommended to me after the waiter recommended to her. Haha. It basically orange juice with some apples and other cocktail fruits inside. It's not a TEA. But hey, it's refreshing!

Another food that my friend ordered after she made researches on this cafe by reading some blogs. This sandwich is off-menu-food (means not stated inside the menu). Special order. You must be wondering what's the filling.

Ta-da. Maggi goreng. Hahahaha. Epic right? You must be thinking whether is tuna or ham inside. I also have that same thinking. WARNING AHEAD: Their food portion is small. Very small. Like, I can finish the meal in 5-8 mins.

Clockwise: Braised Pork Rice, Braised Chicken Rice, Popcorn Chicken Rice, Golden QQ balls (sweet potatoes), Popcorn chicken and Braised Beef Ramen.

One good tip for you all who do not want to feel hungry after eating all this. Eat slowly. Chew slowly. So you won't have to go second round after this. LOL

Some people will continue visiting this place, some maybe won't be returning back after experience such themed cafe.

♤ Menu: Small and simple.

♤ Food: Very very small portion. A disadvantage.

♤ Beverage: We all had that Fruit Tea. So, quite ok?

♤ Environment: Quite limited seats. Staff are friendly. Photo sessions every corner. 

♤ Price: Pricey for such small portion. 

Eventually, that is all about this cafe. See you next time! Adios!

42-1, Jalan Kuchai Lama 6,
Off Jalan Kuchai Lama,
Kuala Lumpur.
016-2190083

Mon - Fri: 1100 - 2200, Sat : 1100 - 1800 and closed on Sun.

Further details: https://www.facebook.com/DreamYouthCafe2014

luv,
your lil BFF

Antipodean Bangsar @ Jalan Telawi 2

Oh my gawd. One month passed since my last post. Ughh... Workload keep increasing and never lesser. Then, Chinese New Year. More busy in preparing for Chinese New Year. Anyway, let's talk about food rather than my busy schedule.

Everyone loves to wake up late on weekends, who doesn't? Enjoying your weekends after having a tough week in your job or studies. Finding yourself waking up in the late of morning, you sure are hungry. No worries. Brunch is now the trend to the people.

Antipodean is famous for its Western-styled breakfast and brunch sets. My family and I visited their first cafe (if I'm not mistaken), which is located Jalan Telawi 2, Bangsar. Antipodean now have 3 branches which one is located at the Jalan Tun Razak and one found in Midvalley.

The Original Boat Noodle @ Jaya One, PJ

Recently, I have noticed many shops had opened in my area which sells (or named as) boat noodles. However, the famous and original Boat Noodle is located in TTDI. Boat Noodle also has opened several branches in Empire Damansara, Ikon Connaught, Jaya One and Publika.  So, I don't have to travel far to taste this original boat noodles. 

Let me explain briefly about the originate of boat noodles. The boat noodles is a Thai style noodle dish which has a strong flavor. It was originally served from boat (which is also known as floating market). The noodle is served in small portion, so the noodle is handle in care and not easily spill during the handover to customers.  

Since the original serving size is one or two (for those mouth are smaller) mouthful, the Boat Noodle also served the noodles in that way. So, everyone were crazy about how many bowls you can eat? For a normal guy, the minimum he can eat is 10 bowls and for a normal girl, at least 5 bowls.

Their menu. One page menu. They are limiting their menu range and focus on selling the boat noodles only. You only either choose beef or chicken. I can't eat beef due to my religion, My boyfriend being considerate, he just ordered 10 chicken boat noodles which are 5 bowls for each flavour. They have 2 flavours which are Pathumthani and Ayutthaya.

Explanation on the two flavours. Ayutthaya - "This recipe originated from the Ayutthaya province near Bangkok and has intense flavour based on a creamy dark broth with no less than 10 herbs. The broth has a consistency that is thicker than its Pathumthani cousin and has a brownish appearance." Pathumthani -  The Pathumthani recipe is a dark soy sauce derived broth and has an appetizing sourish with a delicate spicy. Made with approximately 19 herbs, it also contains generous usage of 5 spice powder, star anise and cinnamon stick."

Cha-Keow-Yen (Thai Iced Green Tea). They even have designed and used their own cups! The cup is shoo Kawaii!! (Cute!!) Hahaha. I wish they were selling this cup to public. We never tried the other recommended drinks, so far this iced green tea is nice! It does not taste very milky or very sweet like the Starbucks one.

Ayutthaya Chicken Thai Rice Noodle. See? The bowls are very small and you can swallow or stuff the noodle in one mouth.

In the bowl: rice noodle, chicken ball (like Ayamas one), scallion, some chicken meats and broth. This Ayutthaya is the non-spicy one as mentioned above are explained in the menu. The mild taste of the broth is very appetizing. I preferred this Ayutthaya broth rather than the other one.

Doesn't seems any difference, right? This is the Pathumthani Chicken Rice Noodle. I thought this one was a bit spicy one, but who knows... It is too spicy for me! (My taste bud differs from yours), Maybe I ate too much spicy food that morning breakfast and also previous night dinner. Haha. So, I let my boyfriend finished this flavour off.

The photo that everyone loves to post into Instagram and Facebook to brag off. Haha. We only ate 10 bowls.

♤ Menu: One page, simple and less choices.

♤ Food: Portion small based on its history. Chicken or beef. That's all. Prefer Ayutthaya.

♤ Beverage: Ohhh... I really love that Thai Iced Green Tea! 

♤ Environment: Less people coming to this branch. No need queue (in the afternoon). May quite hard to find its location since it was located in a corner.

♤ Price: RM1.90 per bowl. 5 bowls = RM9.50, so we only paid around RM25.90. Almost same price we paid outside there. But it will quite expensive if you can eat up to 20-30 bowls.

Boat Noodle,
The School Jaya One,
Lot P2-33, 035 & 037,
No 72A, Galen University,
46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Operating hour: 10am - 10pm.

https://www.facebook.com/meesampan

xoxo,
your lil BFF :)

Khunthai Restaurant @ Jalan Gasing, PJ

My boyfriend always told me stories what delicious food he ate before when he traveled around in his old job. One of his favourite restaurants he mentioned is Khunthai, an authentic Thai restaurant. But he went and ate in the Penang one. He told me how fresh the steamed fish is and how delicious the food area, compared to other Thai restaurant he went before. 

That Sunday, my dad told me there is a Thai restaurant in PJ he went with his friends, the food are the BEST Thai food he ever had (that is what he told me) and he loved it. He wants to go there again with us. So, my sisters and I just followed him. When we reached there, I looked at the restaurant's signboard: KHUNTHAI. 

I keep thinking, why this name seems familiar?? At first I thought, maybe the name is like one of the Super Junior members' name. Then, I told my boyfriend that I went to this restaurant, he told me that is the restaurant he went in Penang. We checked and learnt that both Penang and PJ restaurant are under the same company. LOL

The boss there is Chinese, but still, this restaurant serves Halal food. I noticed there were many Malays came to have their dinner there. Whether they have Halal certified or not, I'm not sure. They do not serve pork, that is my only sureness of.

Khunthai's service is excellent! Worth for charging us the service charge. Haha. The food served within 10 minutes after my dad placed orders. I also shocked with its efficiency and blurted out, "Why so fast one?" to the boss. And the boss answered, "Of cuz! If not, you will be very hungry!". So embarrassing. (>///<)

Stir-Fried Lala with Lemon Spicy. I always have extra precautions when eating lala or clams outside. I had a very bad memory in eating those when I was a kid. I ate sands instead the "meats" inside the lala at clams. So, the cleanliness of the seafood is my priority and second, the freshness. This dish has satisfied me in both of my priorities. The sauce is not very spicy, just tasted like sweet and sour sauce.

You must be wondering what the **** is this. In menu and the receipt, this is Stir Fried Choy Tam (a kind of vegetables). However, this is not stirred fried, The vegetable is only boiled in water and the sauce with fried onions/garlic is poured over it. Like the cooked vegetables, as long as there is no warmth or uncooked part, I'm satisfied. Hehe.

Steamed Fish in Thai style. We ordered the red snapper fish. The  fish weight is based on the market price. That time, the fish weighted 0.6 kg and RM75 per kg (so, this dish totalling RM45). They used the old iron (those ancient ones, which used charcoal to heat the iron) as the base. So, the fish will not be cool down throughout the dinner.

Pandan Chicken. Whenever you eat in a Thai restaurant, you must order this one. Apart from the tom yam. This is another famous dish from Thailand (from what I heard la). Most of the restaurants cooked and served this dish in very burnt pandan leaves, resulting the meat inside also tasted "burnt". But this one, the pandan leaves are not burnt down, leaving the meat tasted good.

White Tom Yam with Chicken. My sis insisted to have white one instead red one, cuz she said the red tom yam is too oily. Lol. She is a healthy freak. Even it is a white tom yam, this still spicy like the red one. TOO SPICY. You can't taste the sourness in the soup. My stomach is "screaming" out of the spiciness. And I give up on finishing the soup.

The last one, Claypot Glass Noodles with Prawns. We actually have ordered too much. This because my dad thought we are not eating enough, cuz all the dishes ordered are small portions. But we are very full. The glass noodles are cooked badly. The noodles are overly cooked, and it tasted burnt. My dad still looking for a good fried glass noodle. So far, none are good enough.

In conclusion, there:

♤ Menu: Understandable and you can see its menu on their website.

♤ Food: Yummy and fresh. Only the glass noodles are a no-no and the tom yam is too spicy for me to handle. 

♤ Beverage: We all had carbonated drinks like Coke or 100 Plus. They also have fresh coconuts. 

♤ Environment: Quite ok. Only the parking opposite is quite sandy and may well affect the cleanliness.

♤ Price: Reasonable and service charged at us.

Khunthai Restaurant,
6, Jalan 5/44, Petaling Garden,
Off Jalan Gasing,
46000 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor.
Tel no.: 03-7781 7523

http://www.khunthai.com/

Btw, Happy New Year 2015!!! Wishing you all have a prosperous year ahead and stay healthy and happy always!! Cheers!

xoxo,
your lil BFF (>w<)

Parrot Espresso @ Alor Setar

When I was working in Kedah, I kept looking for coffee shops. Working sometimes is stressful. Thus, try to give yourself a break and pamper yourself, such as going spa or enjoying a cup of coffee.

 

A friend of mine introduced me many places to eat good food. She also introduced this coffee shop, Parrot Espresso. She said that this shop is newly opened in the "Chinese town" (where mostly Chinese shops located there). She has never been there before, but she heard good reviews about it.

Old Tricycle Charcoal BBQ @ Taman Desa

Yong tau foo is commonly found in Malaysia, especially it is famous in Ipoh. It is a Hakka (a Chinese native) food.

The 'yong' are like stuffing meat and 'tau foo' is means tofu. Hence, the tofu (bean curds) was stuffed with ground meats (pork or fish or a mixture of both meats).

Instead, using tofu, people also stuffed the meat paste with other veggies. Such as eggplant, chillies, bitter gourd, and many more. In Hakka, we preferably say 'yong vegetables' since we stuffed the meat paste with various vegetables.

Nevertheless, people always 'misused' the 'Yong tau foo' term and most of the hawkers selling various types of sausages and fish balls. The yong tau foo is referred as a dish instead of the stuffed tofu.

Yong tau food can be eaten either in dry with some sauce or in soup. But have you ever eaten Yong tau foo in BBQ style? You believe I typed wrongly? Hmph. There IS BBQ yong tau foo in KL.

Old Tricycle in Taman Desa sets off with its  original charcoal BBQ yong tau foo. It is an outside venue where customers can enjoy their barbecuing without smelling smoky and oily on their clothes. Gerai Makan Japanese BBQ is also famous in the very same spot there.

This place is ideal for those who loves the genuine yong tau foo and who also seeking for cheap eat. From the menu, the food, mostly range around RM1.50 to RM5.00 (drinks mostly are around RM3 to RM5). You can order the BBQ selection individually or if you can't  decide what to eat, just have a set of BBQ yong tau foo. Unless you are having beers or order a platter of BBQ yong tau foo, then it will cost you more than RM5.

I didn't  manage to get the menu, so we ordered the food by using the order form. We ordered a 15 pieces set with fried foo pei (beancurd sheet), 2 types of chee cheong fan, and drinks. For 2 people, it sounds like a lot to eat. Hehe.

Both of us had Freezy Chin Chow (grass jelly). I loved the steel mug they served the drinks with. They are so lovely and traditional! It is so hard to find this kind of steel mugs!! I still remember when I was a kid, I used them to rinse my mouth after brushing teeth.

The grass jelly is homemade (I think so, cuz it does not taste from cans) and it is not too sweet. Good for me to chill off after eating those BBQ foods. They also put in a kind of seed, which I believed is Chia seed (cuz I'm currently drinking plain water with these seeds).

Tadaaa! Half the table was full with food! Time to chow down! Yumz

The 15 pieces set. The set consists of stuffed eggplants, stuffed okra, stuffed chilies, stuffed bitter gourd and some fish pastes wrapped with bacon.

Starts to barbecue!!! If you think the barbecue net is dirty after the previous customers had barbecued on it, you are wrong. The staff will replace a clean net for you before you start barbecuing and also add more charcoals into the barbecue pit.

Sizzling.. sizzling... Actually, most of ground meat was precooked already. So, you do not need to barbecue them for long. But if you don't believe they were cooked enough, then just barbecue them longer.

While waiting the food barbecued, we tried the chee cheong fan (rice noodle roll). One of the chee cheong fan we ordered was Sweet Sauce with Dry Shrimps Chee Cheong Fan. The noodle roll is smooth with the sweet sauce. I always prefer sweet sauce with chee cheong fan.

Another chee cheong fan is Curry Pig Skin with Dry Shrimps Chee Cheong Fan. Most of the people do not like pig skins, but not for me. The pig skins are chewy and of course, edible. Haha. I can't find or have eaten the dried shrimps for both of the chee cheong fan! Where are the dried shrimps? Lol maybe they too small...

Fried foo pei was included in the 15 pieces set, but they were served separate from the big plate. They were so crunchy and these considered as an appetizer.

I love the fish pastes wrapped with bacons! They are delicious! Anything that wrapped with bacons, are always delicious! But I'm so sorry that I didn't take any photos of that cuz too indulge in BBQ. Haha

Overall, their:

♤ Menu: Simple. You don't  have to think much when ordering.

♤ Food: Good and delicious.

♤ Beverage: Quite big mug with the price you paid for.

♤ Environment: Perfect place for BBQ. But sometimes it will a bit windy outside.

♤ Price: Cheap or reasonable. Both of us only paid RM20+ cuz the 15 pieces set costs RM30.

Old Tricycle - The Original Charcoal BBQ Yong Tau Foo,

Jalan Desa Jaya (near Faber Plaza),

Taman Desa,

58100 KL.

Contact no.: 012-2181352

Operating Hours:

Monday - Sunday: 6:00pm - 11:00pm (closed on Tuesday)

http://www.oldtricycle.com.my