My first visit to Ah Cheng Laksa for a review was way back in January 2009. It was a casual visit without the restaurant owner attending to me. And you can read about what I wrote here.

I was invited to visit this restaurant again recently to do a “food sampling” together with a few other fellow foodies. If you’ve been frequenting food blogs, you may have heard of Feedmelah.com … by a team of foodies consisting of Stephen, Sue Ann and William. Here’s their article on Ah Cheng Laksa.

And if you’ve not been to Ah Cheng Laksa, it’s located on the lower ground floor of e@Curve (formerly Cineleisure Mutiara Damansara). If you’ve read my last article, I mentioned a little about what they serve i.e. Assam Fish (my favorite), Nasi Lemak Petai and etc. During this visit, I had the opportunity to sample a few other items from the menu. Of course, boss belanja (paid by the boss) … definitely choices are wider.

If you’re a Malaysian, chances are …. you’d be familiar with dishes such as Assam Laksa, Curry Laksa and Nasi Lemak. If you haven’t ….. let’s question your nationality! They are of course …. national dishes of Malaysia. The Assam laksa is a sour fish-based soup. Asam (or asam jawa) is the Malay word for tamarind, which is commonly used to give the stock its sour flavor. It is also common to use “asam keping” also known as “asam gelugor”, dried slices of tamarind fruit, for added sourness. Modern Malay spelling is asam, though the spelling assam is still frequently used.

And the Curry laksa (in many places referred to simply as “laksa”) is a coconut-based curry soup. The main ingredients for most versions of curry laksa include tofu puffs, fish sticks, shrimp and cockles (see ham). Ah Cheng Laksa prepares their laksa using chicken instead of shrimp. Cockles is a must in my bowl of Curry Laksa. Add in a little sambal and garnish it with Vietnamese coriander, or laksa leaf, which is known in Malay as daun kesum, and I am fixed.

Nasi Lemak is available on almost every street corner and in almost every local-themed restaurant in Malaysia, served with everything from chicken to beef to cuttlefish. That makes preparing a GOOD Nasi Lemak more challenging, since there’s many choices to compare with. Ah Cheng whips up a pretty decent plate of Nasi Lemak …. good enough to cure your hunger pang, but they’ll have to do better to make it to the Top 10. Yup, the Top 10 Best Nasi Lemak in the Klang Valley.

Venue
Ah Cheng Laksa, e@Curve (formerly Cineleisure Mutiara Damansara)
Lot LG 9(i), Lower Ground
Cuisine: Local food
Opening hours: 10am – 10pm
Halal : YES
Tel/ Fax: 03–5632 6101

People always say …. the best food are available on back alley stalls and little corner lanes. I’ll have to agree to that fact, except …. I’ll have to question the cleanliness of some of the outlets. Then again, it’s the price to pay to enjoy good food.

Ong Lai Restaurant has been around for ages! For the ‘uninformed’, Ong Lai is located along Jalan Raja Laut, right behind a little hotel called Bee Seng Hotel. And no, don’t ask me how many stars this hotel has. Don’t be ridiculous, alright. Anyway, as you can see, Ong Lai’s kitchen is located right in the open .. but if you frequent mamak stalls, this shouldn’t be any issue to you. Its owner uses the nickname, Ong Lai Goh. In Hokkien, ong lai means “good fortune comes”. In the early 1970s, the restaurant served ordinary fried Hokkien mee, fish head noodles and lor mee. His business took off after he added steamed fish head to the menu. Since then, the restaurant has been crowded with people from the KL-PJ area.

Their signature dish is Fish Head noodle but I can assure you … the rest are as good. In fact, I think the rest is better than their signature dish …. for example, I simply LOVE their Pineapple Chicken dish. Presented in a half pineapple, the chicken is coated with tomato sauce hence the sweet taste. You just simply can’t get enough of it.

Besides meat and vegetable dishes, there’s also the normal fried noodles such as the Hokkien Mee and Tang Hoon … among others. Anyway, let’s check out the visual to give you an idea of what to expect at Ong Lai.

Ong Lai is open every day except Monday from around 6pm till 2am.

60A, Jalan Raja Laut
50500 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel : 019-210 4182, 012 222 2980
Ong Lai is situated at the underground of Bee Seng Hotel, from Jalan Raja Laut, you have to walk downhill via a small road by the hotel and turn left into the alley.

More write ups by other foodies.
Tummythoz
Epicurious
Rasarasa
Kyspeaks
Shaolintiger

Marco’s Pizza.

The restaurant is vibrantly surrounded by bright red walls, tables and of course … how can you miss the metallic red bar stools. With mirrors covering the walls of the restaurant … one might take a look from outside and thinks this is a huge place. But once you’re in there, you can’t shake off the feeling of a cozy family restaurant. Very much like the feeling you had when you visited Burger King for the first time. A little “fireplace” adds to the uniqueness of the place.

I am no fan of western food especially Pizzas and Spaghetti but Marco’s Pizza does churn out some pretty good choices.

The latest addition is the new Marco’s Pizza branch located in Bangsar New Village. Setups in this new outlet is pretty much the same as the one in Taman Bukit Emas, except for the level of service. On a personal note, I have visited both the outlets and I am happy to say that the level of service at the Bangsar New Village branch is commendable.

With 2 huge flat screen TV’s and a reasonably big children play area, this outlet is very ‘child friendly’. That means, you can enjoy your meal in peace. For those parents with young children, you will appreciate this.

Their specialty is of course pizza, hence the name. And I am sure you are interested to know which pizza is good. Well, depending on your preference … the menu is packed with a whole long list of pizza options. Here’s 3 that I had …..

The good stuffs are not limited to pizzas only … also check out their spaghetti … my favorite is the angel hair. Specifically … Angel Hair Gamberoni. Huge prawns …. basil … and napolitana sauce. Drooling yet?

Details
Address: G18, Ground Floor, Bangsar Village 1, 1 Jalan Telawi 1, Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur
Contact: 03-2287 2933 | Opening Hours: 10am – 10pm (daily)
Budget: RM15 to RM40 | Cuisine: Mediterranean | Pork-Free: Yes
Credit Card: Yes | Smoking: No

This is the 3rd installment of my Penang Hawker Food series. And in this article, we move on to a small little hidden coffee shop (although the sign says ‘cafe) along Penang Road … right next to the tallest building on the island of Penang, the Komtar. There’s quite a few popular food eateries around this area but the locals will know Joo Hooi Cafe.

Walking into Joo Hooi Cafe makes you feel like being transported back in time, to the era of the early 19th century. Cute, wooden cubicle seats … you never get those nowadays. Old adverts decorated the walls of the cafe and the ambiance is magnified by background oldies music of the 70’s ….

Like many other good ol’ coffee shops in Penang, you can find practically most of common local favourites in Joo Hooi Cafe. Char Kuay Teow, Assam Laksa, Rojak and Cendol are some of the choices you don’t want to miss. And if you ask me … I’d say most of them are equally as good, if not the best. After all, this place comes highly recommended by Ho Chak (a popular local “Food Hunt” TV pogram) and is listed in the “Penang Food Guide”.

There are mixed opinions about the popularity of the food choices here … for instance, the char kuay teow, Arguably, some say the best char kuay teow in Penang is by the Two Sisters over at Lorong Selamat, or even Ah Leng at Jalan Datuk Keramat. Well, I find the Char Kuay Teow is not too bad either. (Hmm … I never did find out what is the chef’s name). Good kuay teow texture and of course, you can’t miss the giant prawns … which is practically “in your face” when they serve it to you.

Another dish that comes highly recommended is the Assam Laksa. Although I am not a Assam Laksa fan, I find the ones they have here very appetizing. It’s thick rice noodles with sour tamarind sauce; a sprinkle of onion and not forgetting pineapples. That will definitely make you salivate … can you imagine having a hot bowl of Assam Laksa in front of you now?

Finally, the one item you musn’t leave without trying is the cendol. Especially after traveling around the Penang town on a hot, sunny day … nothing beats slurping those crushed ice down your throat. And munch on cendol jelly and the kidney beans. I usually like cendol that oozes with thick, gooey gula melaka (but musn’t be too sweet) on finely shaved ice with strands of green jelly-like cendol.

There you go …. a good run down on what’s available in Joo Hooi Cafe. Besides these, there are others that I’ve not written about such as Prawn Mee, Loh Bak and also Rojak. Check out the location map and address below ….

Joo Hooi Café
475 Jalan Penang
Penang, Malaysia

This is something a little different from my usual rant on food.

I figure … after completing a hundred posts, some changes would be refreshing. I would love to include more articles on food, rather than just sharing opinions on restaurants and food eateries.

And …

Have you ever noticed, my photos feature only food and occasionally … the personnel working in the food outlets. I’ve never posted a photo of my other friends enjoying food together with me. Which is something I would like to incorporate into my blog. Like someone wise who told me … adding a ‘personal touch’ to my blog. Perhaps in my next article ….

For now, let’s talk about one of Asian’s favorite fruit ….the Durian. Yes, I am sure some of you tend to disagree with me for saying that this is Asians favorite fruit. But, look at it this way …. if you live in Malaysia, Singapore or even in the neighboring countries, you are bound to have heard of the Durian. There are only 2 opinions … you either REALLY LOVE it or you REALLY HATE it. There is no such thing is … “Nah … I don’t like it … but I’ll just take some” …. right?

Anyway, what is it about the durian that made it so special?

The durian is a seasonal fruit, unlike some other non-seasonal tropical fruits such as the papaya which are available throughout the year. In Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, the season for durians is typically from June to August, which coincides with that of the mangosteen.

The edible flesh of a Durian emits a distinctive odour, strong and penetrating even when the husk is intact. Some people regard the durian as fragrant; others find the aroma overpowering and offensive. The smell evokes reactions from deep appreciation to intense disgust. The odour has led to the fruit’s banishment from certain hotels and public transportation in southeast Asia.

But odour or not, durian is always welcomed in my home. And if you need some help on how to enjoy this marvelous nature’s creation, here’s a little suggestion that might help. Suggestively ….

Now, a word of caution. Always remember to get the durian seller to ‘crack’ open the durian if you plan to take it home for consumption. Else, it’s going to be a challenging task for your to crack the durian yourself. A certain skill is required for that. Anyway, once you passed that part …. time to enjoy the good stuff !

Here are more steps for your to follow … including drinking water from the durian husk which has ‘cooling’ effect, something which the westerners may not understand.

Customs & Beliefs

Southeast Asian folk beliefs, as well as traditional Chinese medicine, consider the durian fruit to have warming properties liable to cause excessive sweating. The traditional method to counteract this is to pour water into the empty shell of the fruit after the husk has been consumed and drink it. An alternative method is to eat the durian in accompaniment with mangosteen, which is considered to have cooling properties. Pregnant women or people with high blood pressure are traditionally advised not to consume durian.

The Javanese believe durian to have aphrodisiac qualities, and impose a set of rules on what may or may not be consumed with it or shortly thereafter. A saying in Indonesian, durian jatuh sarung naik, meaning “the durians fall and the sarongs come up”, refers to this belief. The warnings against the supposed lecherous quality of this fruit soon spread to the West — the Swedenborgian philosopher Herman Vetterling commented on so-called “erotic properties” of the durian in the early 20th century.

Strange but true. And I always thought I’ve been writing a lot but sadly no. Anyway, here’s my continuation on the Penang series and let’s hope my next 100 post would be much …. faster.

Penangites find good food in many places usually unknown (and even odd) to tourists. It’s best to check with your local tour guide, if you have one. If you can’t find any, there’s always your friendly neighborhood food bloggers. Just google and you’ll have a whole gastronomic itinerary listed out for you.

Don’t be surprised to find some stalls that are set up beside a busy road are considered to serve very good food by the locals. Don’t worry about cleanliness as most of these outlets are clean, unless proven otherwise. The most important thing is to be adventurous with your tongue and to look at the condition of the stall and its surroundings. If there is a water tap nearby and if the food is served hot, you should not be worried.

Lorong Selamat is one of such. It’s located between Jalan Burma and Jalan Macallister, 2 of Penang’s busiest’s street. Along this street, you will find some of Penang’s favorite top bites such as the Penang Char Kuay Teow (fried flat noodle). Scout along the street and you will also find good Prawn Mee (locally known as Hokkien Mee or Noodle), Assam Laksa (this noodle soup comes with sour broth flavored with tamarind and has ingredients such as pureed fish, fruits, veggies and a generous helping of chili. The combination are powerful and will have the uninitiated breathing fire) and also O-Chian (Fried Oyster or Oyster Omelets).

Do be careful when you order your food : Penang laksa or hokkien mee are quite different from what you’d get in, say, Kuala Lumpur. There are two types of Hokkien mee: Hokkien hae mee and Hokkien char mee. Hokkien hae mee (Hokkien prawn noodles) is commonly served in Penang and Singapore while Hokkien char mee (Hokkien fried noodles) is commonly served in Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley. The dish commonly referred to as “Hokkien mee”, depending on the locality, can mean either Hokkien hae mee or Hokkien char mee. For example, Hokkien mee in Kuala Lumpur refers to Hokkien char mee and vice versa. So if your order arrives different from what you expected, better check again before complaining.

Here’s the location map to Lorong Selamat.

Colloquially known as “The Pearl of the Orient” the name “Penang” comes from the modern Malay name Pulau Pinang, which means island of the betel nut tree. Although Penang is a popular spot for tourism, it’s the gastronomic journey that you should be participating in. And since dining experience is what I love doing, I might as well do my part and share about Penang food, as would the rest of the foodies.

This is just the beginning of a long series of my postings, of Penang and Ipoh food.. To start it off, here’s something on the hawker fares along the New Lane street … just opposite Sunway Hotel Georgetown, Penang.

As usual, most popular food streets in Penang offers plenty of delicious and cheap Malaysian food. New Lane sports countless food stalls, almost a veritable “food paradise” but not all of them are as good. Well, according to popular sources and tips from various fellow foodies, there are few stalls which is famed for some specialties.

Loh Bak – Munchy and crispy to the last bit.
Popiah – Ask the vegetarian version !
Satay – When you’re in Penang, go for pork satay …
Cockels – You can never get enough of the slimy, bloody …. delicious “see-ham”!
Porridge – Ever tried one with pig “spare-parts”?

Instead of writing, I’ll let the pictures below paint the words for you.

And here’s the map if you ever get lost in Georgetown, Penang (very unlikely).

Here are what the others wrote about New Lane.

VKeong
Penangfaces
RasaMalaysia
Motormouth From Ipoh

You can also check out a video feature about this place by Alexlcc here.

Genting. The City of Entertainment.

I believe everyone’s heard of this tagline. At least from the holiday perspective. I recently found out these facts. This hilltop resort features 6 hotels with more than 10,000 hotel rooms (I can only imagine the amount of bedsheets to change .. I have one at home and I am having problem with it…), over 90 dining outlets (yes foodies … big nine oh!), 80 plus shopping outlets (must people go all the way up there to shop?) and of course the theme parks which features more than 50 fun rides (did I also mention scary?).

With all that, it’s no wonder the resort has won many, many local and international tourism related awards.

I’ve always thought that food served in Genting Highland is never fresh. Well, times have changed i.e. almost all their fresh produce is sourced locally nearby thus the idea that “food has to be brought up the mountain” is no longer applicable.

One of the many restaurants that I’ve tried in Genting Highland is Genting Palace at the Maxims Genting Hotel. Genting Palace is located on the same floor of the casino.

The main dining hall of Genting Palace projects the grandeur of a palatial setting complemented by modern Chinese interior design. With a seating capacity for 700 people and 10 private dining rooms, this restaurant seems endlessly HUGE.

The Genting Palace Restaurant serves Cantonese Cuisine. Here’s a little preview of dishes served at the Genting Palace Restaurant… which is also what I … erm, had.

OPERATION HOURS

Breakfast (inc Sunday & Public Holidays)
9.00am – 12.00 noon

Price: Chinese fine dine standard

Dim Sum available every Sunday

Lunch (Daily)
12.00 noon – 2.30pm
Dim Sum available daily

Dinner (Daily)
Time: 6.00pm – 9.30pm
?
The food served is pork free. Vegetarian food is available upon request.

LOCATION

Genting Hotel, Genting Highlands Resort, Genting Highlands
69000 Pahang
Contact : 0361011118
Fax : 0361001888

1. SERVICE
2. FOOD
3. AMBIANCE
4. OVERALL EXPERIENCE

Do note that of the lot, “SERVICE” is my topmost priority. Corporations worldwide spend billions of dollars annually to implement and upgrade customer service quality and yet, it saddens me to see companies, especially from the food industry being ignorant about this.

Here’s a typical example of the level of service quality experienced by a young lady recently in an established food outlet, somewhere in Sunway.

My siblings and I visited Shogun in Sunway Pyramid for the first time today. We called on Monday (18 May 2009) to make a reservation for 3 at 1pm for Friday (22 May 2009). However, upon reaching Shogun’s doorstep at 1pm today, we were told TODAY that our reservation was CHANGED to THURSDAY (21 May 2009)!

The doorman in charge at that time, Gibson, insisted that they called us to confirm that the reservation was changed to Thursday. The only phone call we received was at 12.45pm today, but it was missed. We promptly called back several times for the next 15 minutes but there was either no answer, or was engaged.

We explained that we did not change our reservation for Friday at 1pm. Gibson insisted that we called to change and shortly after that raised his voice saying, “IT’S NOT MY FAULT!!”. He then told us to wait and walked away. When he returned, he pretended not to see us waiting and continued with what he was previously doing.

Personally, I think that was very rude.

We approached him again and asked to speak to the manager. He let out a grunt before going inside to call the supervisor, who then looked at the reservation list again, and told us that our reservation was only for 2, meaning if he were to admit us into the restaurant, he can only admit 2. We told him that it was impossible because we clearly made reservations for 3, and told him to check our reservation number which was W14. The supervisor checked the list again and pointed to a column on the list which stated 2pax. Dissatisfied, we cross-referenced that column with the name and phone number recorded and found that it was a reservation under the same name, but different contact number. Even though they had clearly made a mistake, both the supervisor and Gibson did not apologize and asked for our reservation number again. After checking the list again, the right record for our reservation but then said that we did not show up at 12.30 pm, so they gave our table away. But we clearly made a reservation for 3 at 1 pm. Why was it written as 12.30 pm? We insisted that the supervisor check with the person who was in charge of taking reservations on Monday, but they refused and said that it was a miscommunication. Gibson then proceeded to tell us that we would have to wait for our table.

That defeats the whole purpose of making reservation, doesn’t it?

We were only seated after half an hour and we did not even get a word of apology from them at all! It was obviously an internal management error, so shouldn’t they at least apologize?

Before we left, we approached Gibson (we didn’t know his name then) to ask for his name and politely told him that he was very rude to us. He refused to give us his name, and instead he raised his voice again saying, “You all started it first!”. Pardon me, but the last time I checked, restaurant staff are supposed to be well mannered and polite, not this rude! He insisted on not giving us his name, and then turned around to ignore us. We proceeded to ask the other cashier behind the counter, but she too refused to give us his name.

Evidently, the management of Shogun Pyramid does not highly prioritize customers’ satisfaction based on this particular episode. Initially, a simple apology would suffice. However, given that the fact that my siblings and myself were at the receiving end of a ruder treatment, I made a point to personally lodge a direct complain against the staff in Shogun Pyramid.

My friends and I are frequent customers to various Japanese buffets. This is the first time we decided to give Shogun a try, and after such treatment, it just left us with a bitter aftertaste, and full of disappointment. We would definitely not give Shogun a visit anymore, and we would also spread the word around about the horrible customers service that we were given.

*edit*
I forgot to mention above, that Gibson wears a different uniform from the other waiters/waitresses. He wears white shirt and vest as oppose to the other table waiters/waitresses who wears only yellow shirts. So I’m guessing he’s of higher position?

If you’re wondering if I am posting this article because of a friend, the answer is no. Personally I don’t know this young lady but I am merely supporting her because I feel her sentiments. I can imagine if I were in her position, it’s gonna be ALL HELL BREAK LOSE for me. Let’s hope something get’s done by someone …. somehow.

Anyway, if you think this is bad, here’s more by other fellow foodies.

boredworkers.com
Jasonmumbles
Yummy Corner
Angry Young Child
Wantan Productions
My Sweet Diary

Dataran Sunway in Kota Damansara has never been short on eateries. From Western to Japanese and from Indian to Chinese, Dataran Sunway has it all. There’s even a ‘Kong Chow’ restaurant if you fancy some local dialect food! And if you don’t know where Dataran Sunway is … simple. Just head towards The Curve and drive past it. Soon you will see Dataran Sunway on your right.

And right next to Dataran Sunway is the latest commercial development, The Strand. Yup, spells exactly like the one in London! With The Strand almost as big if not bigger than Dataran Sunway, you can bet on more eateries opening up in this area.

I do have a few articles on Dataran Sunway but allow me to begin with Claypot Station Restaurant. If you’re into claypot dishes, make sure you don’t miss this very humbly set-up place. The setup in this place is pretty simple and plain but don’t let that deceive you. That’s probably the only plain thing about this place. When you check out the menu, you will be surprised by the wide variety to claypot dishes they offer.

This isn’t my first visit to this outlet but the 3rd. And after the 3rd visit, I can safely recommend what’s good and what’s not with them. Which is exactly what I am about to tell you.

If you do decide to visit this place, here are some of my suggestions in no particular order .. but please, I will not be held accountable for your dining experiences.

1. Kung Po Frog
2. Ginger Prawn
3. Tofu
4. Fa Tiu Chicken
5. Vinegar Pork Trottle

I tried their Fa Tiu Pork the last round … and it wasn’t so ‘happening’. Same goes with the Drunken Prawn. guess the only thing that was drunken is probably my appetite.

Anyway, that’s my 2 cents worth on Claypot Station Restaurant and like I said, my opinion will always remain mine until proven otherwise. SO less reading and more action. Go check it out!

Other’s opinion : LS-Lushia