Thong Kee Cafe PJ 溏记海南茶室

When there are raving reviews from reliable sources and sufficient triggering "touch points" on social media, you go for it... whatever that means!

Here's one for the record - Thong Kee Kopitiam. This was at the Sea Park branch as we were heading into central PJ over the weekend.

As for me, it's embracing my Hainanese roots and putting this place to the test, you know, a fellow Hainanese checking up on our fellow Hainanese. Don't play play ah! :)

Sequence of events -

1. Get a table. Weekend crowds are mad. Ask around if you're able to share a table.
2. Walk over to "Order Counter" - only applicable on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays.
3. Menu is largely available on the right side as you face the counter. All along, please bear in mind your table no.
4. Place your order, make payment, head back to your seat and wait to be served.

Here comes the plus points!

Food was promptly served, practically less than 2 mins after being seated. Impressed! Ordered the ultimate Ham, Egg and Cheese Croissant as I felt the Hainanese steam and toast bread can wait for our next trip. Haha!

RM7.90 for this piece of Heavenly Homemade Croissant. Take my monehhhhh~

An unassuming piece

All ye food enthusiasts, you'd know that in order for the cheese to appear as such, is to have the croissant at the right temperature. 

Do you feel my heart that's stopped beating just at the sight of these?

If you have not been here and thoughts of "Oh, what's there to shout about? It's just croissant with ham, egg and cheese! I can easily recreate this at home!"

Here's why you've got to hold onto THAT thought... primarily because, unless you are able to cook up an egg with perfect thickness, tenderness and taste that's equivalent to that of a tamago yet slightly firmer than scrambled eggs; you ain't got nothing on this piece of goodness.

Mr Wooi ordered this from another stall - RM6.50
Portion was just okay, chicken was too small although the meat falls off easily from the bone as we peel it apart with cutleries.

For many, it can be quite an unassuming corner lot of hawker fare. That's what I love about it! :)

The best way to wash down our meal was definitely with this Large cuppa 1+1. The drink is called "1+1", for us, done right with less ice, less sweet. Seriously, one of the best cuppas I've had in awhile. Foamy and just well done. Hainanese coffee tends to be lighter than usual on our tastebuds and stalls may sometimes over/under-brew it that has it a tinge of sourness. This was lighter than usual, yes, but also dances very well with my caffeinated tastebuds.

Mr Wooi upon his first sip, said it was GOOD. Coming from a non-coffee lover and someone who is generally "okay" with everything, it says a lot.

All in all, despite parking being sh*t, we are definitely coming back again!! Maybe to their other branches which are nearer to home :D

Please try if you haven't! Because I can guarantee, there's nowhere quite like the same. Let me know if you've tried :)

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For more information:

Opening hours: 7:00am - 4:30pm; closed on Mondays
Address: 33, Jalan 21/1, Sea Park, 46300 Petaling Jaya
Branches: Sea Park, Glenmarie, Pandan Indah
Payment mode: Cash only
Service charge: N/A

Madam Kwan's Nasi Bojari - Malaysian Food at it's Best

I know we're currently in the Ramadhan season where our Muslim counterparts fast during the day.  Let's see if today's post will help you decide on where to ajak your Muslim friends to beriftar! ;)

Aaaand, yes, this is finally a "HALAL" food post!

Madam Kwan's to me is a high class eatery that serves high end Malaysian food.  First thought that comes to my mind? Why pay a premium when authentic Malaysian food is everywhere in town, roadside stalls, mamaks, and whereverelse there is.

But here at Madam Kwan's, there is a MUST ORDER - Nasi Bojari! This is definitely NOT a dish you can find elsewhere ;)

A brief description -

This is a dish of tri-coloured red-yellow-white rice with assam prawns, beef rendang and deep fried chicken drumstick; served on banana leaf. This dish also comes with the usual sides of half a hard-boiled egg, cucumbers and additionally, tomatoes!

Priced at MYR24.90, the portion is overwhelming for the premium that you'll pay. Don't let the above photo deceive you! The chicken drumstick itself is enough to mind blow you.

Verdict: 9/10

The tri-coloured has hints of herbs and spices albeit not overpowering the dish as a whole. Overall, it is a fantastic pair with any of the three side dishes, i.e. fried chicken, beef rendang and assam prawns.

Not forgetting to mention, the fried chicken (they only serve chicken thigh) was juicily well done. The skin has the right amount of crisps and the size of the chicken is guaranteed to stuff you to the brim!

The beef rendang is rightly fragrant and not too dry. BTW, if you are abstaining from beef due to religious beliefs, you can always opt for curry chicken. Just inform the waiter when you make your order.

And the 2 assam prawns...

MMMMM~ they are not too sweet nor overly sour. Paired with a perfect balance of onions, the 2 assam prawns are guaranteed fresh! Thankfully I had a colleague who doesn't eat prawns so she donated her's to me. In total, I had 4 fresh juicy prawns! ;)

Look at us! The 18 of us headed to Madam Kwan's One Utama for an unofficial buka puasa dinner (boss' treat, YAY!) and at least 90% of us ordered the Nasi Bojari!

Oh BTW, whilst waiting for the exact buka puasa time, I dissected my chicken to the very core so that I can focus on eating later on instead of slicing the chicken off the bones heh! #maximisingidletime

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The downside of this dish for me however, was the lack of gravy. I wish they provided sambal or perhaps more gravy from the assam prawns. ;)

All in all, it was a fantastic dinner. Thanks, Boss! :D

Thai Food: Bua Thai Cuisine Bistro (Damansara Uptown)

Those of you who follow me on Instagram/ Facebook/ (better yet) reads my blog would know that I have just gotten back from Thailand.  To be honest, food in Thailand was the least I expect to enjoy during my trip after a few research and feedback that I got from friends who recently visited Thailand. I expected right.

To my surprise, however, I was able to find much better tasting Thai food in my homeland, Malaysia.

So, here is my write-up on a recent visit to one of the many Thai eateries in Petaling Jaya - Bua Thai Cuisine Bistro; all thanks to a friend who got us a Groupon voucher. ;)

It was a weekday dinner threesome for us ladies. 

A shot of their entrance
(The bicycle is for delivery of food within the vicinity of Uptown, I'd suppose)

 An outdoor dining experience for those who smoke

The indoor dining area

Thankfully, we were the first diners there for the evening @ 7PM. Doubts filled our thoughts on whether the food would be good. Hmm

The lady owner approached us whilst we were still browsing through the menu at the entrance. Then we proceeded in and she helped with some recommended dishes in a friendly manner.

Ordering process was quick and she left us to decide on what to order for drinks whilst she keyed in our order and went off in to the kitchen to prep the food.

Decided on a Pandan Lemongrass drink - RM3.50

Verdict: Was soothing and refreshing but wished the lemongrass taste/aroma was stronger. Also, we couldn't spot any hint of pandan. Portion of the drink was just right. Lasted us until the end of the meal. Hah! 7/10

We were served with our food sooner than expected, which was a good thing 'cus we were all starved from work!

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First dish: Mango Salad - RM12

Verdict: The mango was sour and had a tinge of sweetness to it. This mango dish has a good mixture of crunchy raw onions, peanuts and had a nice deco of mint leaves. Definitely a good way to kickstart our appetite! The portion looked small initially, but as we dug into it, we realised that there was more than it looked. 8/10 :)

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Next up: Jasmine Rice - RM2.50

I'm a sucker for carbs. Chinese saying of "饭桶" is the perfect description for me. Can't imagine myself living in western countries where rice is considered a luxury. Thank goodness they've potatoes which I love.

Verdict: Ordinary plate of rice with a slight hint of fragrance. The eatery may have mixed normal rice with the aromatic Jasmine rice. Just my wild guess. 6/10

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Then came our star dishes for the evening.

Kangkung Belacan - RM12

Verdict: Compared to the Thai-style Kangkung dish that I had in Thailand which tasted sweet for some reasons; I am glad we picked this. The paste used to stir fry the Kangkung tasted just right for my tastebuds. But, I wished it came in a bigger serving or maybe because it was tasty to my liking I wished I had more to savour heh. Then again, if you are looking for a spicy kinda Kangkung belacan, I guarantee you, this is NOT. 7/10

Next, it was the Tom Yum Goong (Seafood) - RM18

Verdict: This was DA BOMB. I loved it! Loved the way it was served, the taste and fragrant, the tomyum-ness was top! BUT, yes but, I think their definition of seafood is somewhat distorted because what we found in the soup was mostly Oyster Mushrooms, handful of fishballs, some sliced sotong, tomatoes and 2 fairly sized prawns. Hmm, I'm assuming the chef expected the 3 of us to share the 2 prawns? Or perhaps one has to sacrifice for the enjoyment of the other 2. We ended up with the latter. Lol!

I was one of the lucky 2 that got a taste of the prawn. For the benefit of my friend who didn't get a taste of it, yes, it was fresh :P

Do note however, there was a slight fishy taste in the fishballs.

Photo below is our own serving of the Tom Yum Goong.

Each of us had at least 3 helpings from the huge pot which was *thumbs up*! This pot of goodness is not meant for the weak-hearted. For someone who enjoys and needs her daily spicy dose, the spicyness level for this pot of goodness is 8/10! Spot the dried chilli in my bowl of Tom Yum Goong. I was sweating whilst enjoying this dish! And yes, this is way better than the Tom Yum Goong that I had in Krabi, Thailand.

Overall verdict on the Tom Yum Goong (Seafood) - 9/10

Finally, the long awaited dish, Pandan Chicken - RM15

The last dish took quite a while to come out from the kitchen. But, the owners took the initiative to come to our table several times to inform us that it may take longer time for this dish to be served; understandably due to the fact that the chicken is wrapped in pandan leaves hence it needs longer time to cook?? Haha

Verdict: My dinner dates commented that it tasted like any ordinary chicken. For me, the chicken thigh was quite juicy although we couldn't taste the pandan-ness in the chicken, which very well means it defeated the name of the dish. Still, the chicken was well marinated and tender. 7/10

Also, when we ordered this dish, I requested for chicken breast but was advised against it by the lady owner as she had tried the recipe using chicken breast and it turned out less juicy and hard. I liked that she explained it rather than agreeing to my request and gave me chicken thighs instead when the dish was served. :)

When we were done with the above dishes, we were stuffed to the brim!

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Even so, it was dessert time! God made us ladies for a reason - to always have tummy space for dessert! :P

In our case, it was dessertS. 

First up, Red Ruby - RM6

Verdict: Loved the generous amount of Jackfruit slices. But we thought that the amount of ice shave in this dessert was too much causing the sweetness to be diluted. 4/10

BTW, can anyone tell me what is the red coloured little round balls in this Red Ruby dessert?

I didn't know that it was a famous Thai dessert prior to this. How did I found out? Through the handful of likes I got on FB (which I seldom get for food photos on FB) and also a comment from a friend telling me it is her favourite thai dessert!

Next, we also ordered the Pumpkin Glutinous Ball - RM6

Verdict: We enjoyed this dessert more as compared to the Red Ruby. This is a hot dessert filled with LOADS of Sago. The amount of coconut milk in the dessert was just nice. But the pumpkin glutinous balls seemed to lack texture. It was too soft and perhaps a lil more pumpkin taste would have made this a perfect dessert to end our night. 7/10

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Overall, it was a pleasant dining experience here at Bua Thai Cuisine Bistro. The prices are reasonable and the portion of its dishes are satisfactory. The total bill came up to RM95+ for the 3 of us. We definitely over-ordered but it was worth the bloated tummies because we got to try a variety of their dishes. All thanks to the Groupon voucher! :D

Bua Thai Cuisine Bistro
70G, Jalan SS21/62, Damansara Utama

It is located at the same row as Jojo Pan Mee at Damansara Uptown, i.e. facing the road from NKVE headed towards Sprint highway's direction. It is located at the row behind OCBC bank. Also, this shop is next to QQ Noodle House (if this serves as any help lol). 

Dinner crowd comes in around 7:30PM to 8:00PM. But fret not, as the crowd isn't big at all. It is a cozy place for a nice catch up session with friends/ family, or even a simple Thai dinner date.

Got my tummy growling after drafting this post. Time to head out for dinner! ;)

Famous Seremban Favourites Restaurant, Aman Suria

Disclaimer: This is a non-halal post and is pork filled.

I realise I've been writing a lot about chinese food and nothing else; to the extent that even I, label myself as a "Cina Foodie". So cina! Beh tahan! hehe

And, today I'm indulging in even more chinese food - Famous Seremban Favourites Restaurant located at Aman Suria.

As many would know, Aman Suria offers PJ-ians a wide variety of good food, yet, I seldom come to this part of PJ. So, today, lets feast our eyes with food porn! lol

Here's a shot of their simplistic menu...

Another one of their simplistic menu...

Here comes the food porn!
Siu Yok aka Roast Pork.

Verdict: The siu yok is nicely done with minimal fats between both the crispy skin and meat. The meat is tender and tasty with the bonus of its well-crisp skin which gives a beautiful texture when chewed together. However, it lacks the fragrance produced (assumingly) from pork oil. ;)

Next up, their signature famous Char Siew aka BBQ-glazed pork.

Verdict: This is the fattiest (its unbelievable this word even exist lol) char siew I've ever eaten in my life! BUT, it is the TASTIEST ever... I loved how well the fatty char siew is glazed with honey bbq. Also, the fact that although this char siew may be the fattiest (from the outer appearance), but when it is placed in your mouth, the fats melt instantly (ok, am exaggerating haha)! Such heavenly pork! :D

However, I'd have preferred it to have more meat instead as I wouldn't want to be caught in a dilemma as to how many pieces of melt-in-the-mouth fats I've consumed hahaha. Overall, thumbs up!

Also, we had a taste of their roast chicken.

Verdict: This is just like any other roasted chicken you can find at any random chicken rice stall. Nothing stands out. Mehh.. Plus, I'm sure you'll be able to taste better ones elsewhere. ;)

Our pork & chicken platters LOL

We also ordered their Fried Dumplings. There is also nothing spectacularly good about this. So yea...

The eatery has various noodle types that you can pair with your pork platters.
We chose the Hakka Mee. Quite simple to taste and the minced meat topping is generous!

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I would prefer not to state any directions on how to get there so as not to mislead anyone in any case, just to be safe haha. I'm pretty sure with the many various apps that will get you anywhere in no time, this place wouldn't be that hard to locate.

Just a shot of the exterior of the shop.

TIP: The eatery is packed to the brim during lunch hours, even on weekdays. So be sure to be there early (prolly about 12pm) to get seats! Too famous. What to do...

Ohh! How my tummy grumbles as I was preparing the post! Dinner time~