The Fish Bowl Poké Shop @ Bandar Sunway

I'm back on my blogging mojo! This time round, with a Hawaiian-inspired bowl of goodness that has recently hit our neighbourhood - The Fish Bowl!

Occupying the same row of shoplots just outside the side gate of Sunway University; down the street alongside White, Orange (mann, now you know how long since I've left college), I'm happy to tell you... this is my kinda health food.

They call it a Poké Bowl, pronounced as "Poh-Kayh".

Not gonna bore you with what wikipedia or Eat Drink KL are gonna tell you.. To me, this is a bowl of wholesome goodness packed with bits of life choices.

Zoom in for more details

True to it's Hawaiian origins

Wide array of toppings, proteins, sides to go with your bowl

Our personal favourite is the Shoyu Salmon and...

...for me, Kaffir Lime Salmon :)

Some of personal favourite of sides to go with it includes mangoes, walnuts, avocado.

Mash em all up!!

This was during the recent Christmas promo where they had complimentary upsize and an additional premium side (: Salmon skin it is! This was also when I had the chance to try the Wasabi Mayo Salmon. Slightly pungent to my nostrils but done just right for wasabi lovers. Not so much for those who doesn't fancy wasabi...

Sauce wise, our all time favourite would be Lime Aioli and Garlic Sauce.

That's how they roll!

Overall verdict: 7/10

It is value for money when it comes to quality, but not so much for the quantity (i.e. portion). That is a compromise I'm willing to make when I'm craving for something healthy. It is light to my tummy yet flavourful to my tastebuds.

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For more information:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefishbowl.my/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/thefishbowlmalaysia/

Opening hours: 10:30am to 10:00pm; Daily

Address: 77, Jalan PJS11/9, Bandar Sunway, Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Contact: 03-5612-9992

Payment mode: Cash only

Service charge: N/A

Sangkaya @ SS15

A quarter of the year 2015, 120 days down. A quarter of a century, 25 years passed...

Hello!

Foodie me is back. This time, a self reward on a scorching hot day - Sangkaya @ SS15, Subang Jaya. In case you don't already know, Sangkaya is the new food sensation, on Instagram/ social media. It has various branches namely, SS15, Uptown Damansara, Ampang Point, Jalan Alor Bukit Bintang and even at Jonker Street, Malacca!

Sangkaya; #NutsAboutCoconuts

Toppings Station!

Basically, the system works as such:

1. Place your order at the counter

2. Make payment

3. Wait in line to be handed your coconut bowl of ice cream

4. Choose your toppings and decorate your ice cream to be Insta-worthy
5. Voila! You can now post it on social media :D

Whilst I was in line waiting for my bowl of coconut ice cream, I went nuts staring at the toppings station. Not because it was as if it has been ransacked by monkeys... But rather there were quite a number to choose from.

If I didn't want my bowl of coconut ice cream to be Insta-worthy, I may very well have topped it with EVERYTHING!

Plain Naked Coconut Ice Cream

Choice of toppings include,

1. Peanuts (sounds like food for the monkeys who ransacked the station!)
2. Nestum
3. Cornflakes
4. Roasted coconut flakes (my favourite)
5. Corn
6. Kidney beans
7. Hershey's Chocolate Sauce

Creating suspense before showing how my serving looks like...

I've read a couple of online reviews where it states that toppings are limited to 3 choices/person. Hmm, funny thing, when I was there, I had the liberty to pick whichever I wanted! I even had refills of different toppings LOL really monkey la me. :D

Instagram worthy one

Tada! Here goes my serving of Coconut Ice cream. I definitely went nuts over the toppings. Spot the mess on my hand. We then proceeded in for some air conditioned environment. Just pushed the door where the artificial "brick wall" is. Inside is a cool place to chill with a club-like atmosphere.

Verdict:

Coconut ice cream taste was fairly mild, mainly because Sangkaya uses young coconut (less matured so the coconut taste has not fully ripen). There's also some coconut flesh underneath the 4 scoops of coconut ice cream. Likewise, coconut taste is very mild. Nonetheless, it is very refreshing a snack/ dessert on a scorching hot afternoon.

Note: They advocate no eggs, non-dairy ice cream. Plus point for those who do not consume dairy products. :)

Price: RM10.50 (inclusive of GST)

Price

I like how they got the GST element right, i.e. prices on display shall be inclusive of GST. Many eateries I know do not practice this new price display requirement.

P/S: Their price before GST was RM9.90 (FYI only, not that it is a cause for concern).

RM10.50 is for the Signature Sangkaya Coconut Ice Cream, where is comes with 4 scoops of coconut ice cream (so duh la) and toppings as mentioned above.

Sangkaya's outlook

Location

No. 25, Jalan SS15/4B, 47500 Subang Jaya


Opening Hours

Basically, they are opened EVERY DAY! But do note the opening hours below :D

Mon - Thurs & Sat - Sun: 12pm to 12am
Fri: 2:30pm to 12am


Overall Verdict

5/10, I'd say worth a try considering the hype. But a revisit? Maybe not.

Black Market @ Main Place, USJ 21

A long hiatus it has been and here I am back again, writing about food! #whatsnew Been here and about for the past few months and I've seriously been meaning to write but time was something I ran short of.

Yesterday evening called for a reason to celebrate. I got ourselves a Groupon voucher to dine at Black Market @ Main Place located at USJ 21.

Main Place is a fairly new mall, revived from a previously long abandoned development project, which now houses many crowd-driving stores, e.g. Sushi Zanmai, Starbucks, Mcdonald's, Jaya Grocer, and in-trend fashion stores like Uniqlo and Nichii.

Note that Black Market has 3 outlets in town, namely Jalan Kampung Pandan, St. Mary's Place and Main Place mall.

An outlook of the eatery. It is located at a quiet corner of the mall.

The Groupon voucher requires a 2 days prior reservation. Unfortunately, I was told that the eatery has been fully booked on both Saturday and Sunday. But, the staff told me to just walk-in.

So, walk-in we did and after much miscommunication, we finally "SCORED" ourselves a table for 2 in the "fully-booked" restaurant which appeared fairly empty on a weekend night.

Nevermind it all....


Let's feast our eyes with food now!

For starters, we ordered something exquisite - Garlic Butter Scallops @ RM16.

Verdict:
Served with bread, the taste of garlic was so pungent it ended up tasting bitter instead of the supposedly flavourful fragrant. 2/10

We have a fond liking for garlic. But truth to be told, this garlicky dish was way too much for our tastebuds, or shall I rephrase it, overly exquisite for our common tastebuds. Haha. Should've stuck to the usuals, maybe Wedges with Guacamole? ;)


We also ordered an Anchovy Caesar Salad with Pork Bacon & Jamon @ RM26.

Verdict:
The dish was served with generous amount of croutons which was a big YAY. Overall, the pork bacon saved the salad which came with little amount of anchovy dressing. It was dry and not at all fantastic, in my honest opinion. 4/10


We ordered one main to share - Cheesy Potato Cod @ RM38.

Verdict:
The cod slices were fresh but the baked mashed potatoes seemed to lack flavour. Then again, nobody told me they hid bacon slices underneath and hence, I shall give it a 7/10! :D Not too bad and this is probably the best dish we ordered that night. Haha


Rested our tummies and called for our dessert to be served - Apple Cinnamon Chill Cheesecake @ RM13.

Verdict:
Loved the presentation already! 8/10

A side view of the cake.

Verdict (taste-wise):
It was an interesting twist to the cheesecake; I loved that they used caramelised apple as the base. It complemented the cheesecake really well! The cheesecake itself was well done, not too soft, not too flour-y. Rightly done and may I proclaim that this is my personal best cheesecake that I've ever had. Overall verdict, 9/10.

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The evening crowd just as we were leaving

Location

No. GF-21 & GF-22, Ground Floor,
Jalan USJ 21/10, 47630 Subang Jaya

For reservations or enquiries: 603-5879 7668

Would I make a return visit? No, mainly due to the initial impression from the service by their staff. Also, food was nothing exceptionally good in my tastebuds' opinion.

Mexican Food: The Shepherdoo Restaurant and Lounge @ One City Mall

Hola!

In case you're wondering, I am working towards making my passion an even better and more useful passion - pairing my love for food with my passion for writing. :)

Today, I'mma be writing on a Mexican eatery where we had dinner at 2 Sundays ago - The Shepherdoo Restaurant and Lounge.

The outlet that we dined at was located in One City Mall. FYI, they also have an outlet at Centro Mall, Klang.

Some shots of their interior deco.
Basically, it was quite dark in the restaurant. I did edit the brightness of the photos below so that you won't be looking at nothing. lol

View from outside in

View of inside out. You get the picture. -.-

We got to the eatery about 6:00PM as we had a dinner slot booked at 6:15PM. Dinner crowd was fairly mild with only a handful of tables occupied. Also, from the pictures above, you'll see that they've got capacity for a huge group of diners as they have a section upstairs. Plus point! But it wasn't open when we got there due to the many available seats downstairs.

The menu looks rather torn heh.

As we were rather unfamiliar with mexican dishes, we took long enough before deciding on what to order individually.  Thankfully, food was served approximately 15 minutes later.

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Mum's order: Mexicana Gourmet Fajitas (Combo, i.e. all-in-one) - RM34.80

Dish description

Served traditionally on a sizzling hot skillet with mixed peppers and onions, tossed with The Shepherdoo's blend of spices. Served with sour cream, guacamole plus homemade salsa along with warm flour tortillas.

Verdict: The combo includes mixed wild mushrooms, chicken strips and flame-grilled beef. We were forewarned that it was gonna be a spicy order. Indeed, our tongues were flamed. LOL Portion of the fajitas was aplenty, and the 4 tortilla wraps (served in a covered flat pot which was a great idea to keep it warm!) was definitely not enough. We ended up picking from mum's fajitas to be savoured with our own orders.

The sour cream had a cheesy mashed-potato like texture. It was lacking in taste, but I'm definitely not complaining! This is because, when it is used as a topping for the fajitas and wrap, it worked well to complement the dish rather than it's taste overcoming the main. Guacamole was so-so, as it was lacking in texture. I'd prefer a guacamole slightly less smoothly blended and liquid. Also, the salsa was thumbs up!

Overall verdict: 7/10


Next up, it was the BF's order.
The Shepherdoo's Gringo Burger - RM23.80

Dish description

Juicy beef patty made from premium South American topside, turkey bacon, egg, lemon mayo and cheddar cheese. 

Served up in a toasted sesame seed bun with a side of cajun aioli, along with seasoned curly fries and crisp salad. 

(Note: For non-beef eaters, this is exchangeable for Chicken patties, upon request)

Verdict: I had a mouthful of this and thought it was quite a forgettable one. Portion wise was fine. But apparently their "seasoned curly fries" comes in the size of wedges. Heh! For me, a burger patty (be it, beef or chicken) should be juicy, thick and not dry. The Shepherdoo's beef patty was okay, nothing exceptionally juicy nor is it dry. Definitely incomparable to the excellent ones you can get at FatBoy's. ;)

Overall verdict: 5/10


Then came Daddy's order: Taco-Taco - RM23.50

Dish description

Fish wrapped in tortillas, guacamole, pico de gallo, chipotle aioli, sour cream and cheese. Served with a side of miniature nachos!

From the photos both above and below, you can judge for yourself on the portion for this dish.

I wouldn't be able to comment on the tortilla-wrapped-fish as it came only with 2 pathetic wraps and was definitely insufficient to feed Daddy alone, what more to share it with us. Heh But as you can see, the fish fillet was fairly small as compared to the reasonable size of tortilla wrap. The wrap and the fish fillet looked crispy-ly delicious though! Hmm, wish it was served in a bigger portion so we could all try!

As for the nachos, it was INDEED miniature as what was described on the menu. We couldn't resist from snapping up a piece or two each and Daddy was left with even miniature portion of nachos. :P

Overall verdict: For the price that you're gonna pay for this dish, I'd say, it's not worth the price at all! So, don't even bother trying. 2/10


Lastly, and the BEST ORDER OF THE DAY! Pasta ala Pollo - RM20.80

Dish description

Mexican rubbed chicken breast, char-grilled with caramelised pineapple and tomato relish on a bed of sauteed spinach pasta.

By the looks of the pasta, I'm sure your appetite is immediately turned on.

Verdict
Firstly, the chicken breast was well marinated and tender. It tasted like the good ol' Ayamas chicken (if not better) that I was very fond of during my primary school days where Sundays was always an Ayamas dine-in day. Whether or not it was Mexican-ly marinated, I can't tell. But one thing's for sure, it was tasty, VERY VERY tasty!

As for the pasta, it was pesto-kind. My parents were fairly unfamiliar with this pasta-style. But when they took the first forkfull of it, they couldn't stop nodding their head (indicating the extent of yummyness) lol. It was good, although when compared to the ones I've had at Italiannies (unfortunately they do not serve pesto anymore) this would be considered average. All in all, it was well al-dente. Good job!

With the salsa sides, it gave a tangy feel to this dish but it didn't boost any flavour to the dish; meaning, this dish would be great with or without it. Heh.

It was an instant crowd favorite. Daddy Mummy said that it was the most worth it dish that we ordered that night. Portion was great; even after generously sharing my pasta and slices of chicken breast with my parents and the BF, I had aplenty to feast on myself! A perfect way to say, "sharing is caring!" :P

Overall verdict: 10/10

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Food aside, I was pretty unimpressed with the service there. Well, not a surprising downside considering the country that we're living in doesn't really emphasize on a good-service culture.

There were no waiters to usher us into the restaurant nor anyone to help with getting us a table, or rather, checking with us on our reservation made until we walked way into the restaurant for someone to notice us.

Also, if you are an avid self-proclaimed food-photographer like me (ahem..), then this place is probably an eatery you may wanna consider bringing a spotlight. Otherwise, your food photos will not be Instagram-worthy and will turn out grainy. As you can see, the food photo for Mummy's order was extremely bright because we couldn't quite get hold of the angle of the flash (from the BF's Samsung S4) to shine towards the food. After a few shots, we finally got the angle right, and TADA! Pretty food photos for yall! ;)

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Location

A-GF-08, Ground Floor
Sky Park One City,
Jalan USJ 25/1
Subang Jaya, Selangor

Do not be misled by the "Sky Park One City". It is located at Ground Floor, NOT at the famous Sky Park area @ Level 10.

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Hungry bangry. Till the next time!

Cafe Hunting: Flat White in SS15

I am no coffee addict. Coffee keeps my heart rate at an increased rate that I can not cope. LOL In other words, coffee makes me feel sick.

Cafe hunting to me, is all about the breakfasts that they offer. Just last Sunday, we had a celebrative reason to feast, so we decided on Flat White as it was one that I've never been to.

"20 steps to awesome coffee. It's worth the climb!"

Flat White's cafe concept: Get the menu from the counter or lift your heavy heads from your phones to look at the menu on the wall.

Make your order at the counter and upon paying, you'll get a little tin box with your order number where food will be served later on.

Food was served within 15minutes. 

The BF ordered the Big Breakfast - RM23.

Verdict: Portion wise was fairly reasonable and filling. However, do note that they serve their bacons in beef and sausages ala chicken, which means, this is a NO PORK eatery.

It looked good, tasted great! Plus, their chicken sausages had some interesting tinge of spicyness to it that I like. Scrambled eggs and sauteed mushrooms were also thumbs up. Beef Bacon was fine. Their hash brown was a personal favourite by him <3 Overall verdict - 8/10

I ordered a Club Sandwich for RM18.

 

Verdict: Portion wise was good, with fries and salad as sides. The sandwich looked good, with ham, lettuce, tomato cubes, just enough mayonnaise and chicken thighs in between as fillings. 

BUT, as I sank my teeth into the first bite, I tasted fats in the chicken in the sandwich. A point to note, I, for one, cannot stand having fats in my chicken, or pork or whatever else. These fats send shivers down my spine and it gives me the feeling that the meat has not been cleaned properly.

Of course, I am not saying this about Flat White la. Just what I feel about "fats" on ma meat y'know??

Photo below is a shot of the amout of "fats" that I picked out from the chicken fillings in my Club Sandwich. And yes, I picked them all out, little as they may be, they are equally as disgusting for me. :3

Overall verdict: I spent too much time picking out the fats, I ended up with cold hard toast. 4/10

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Overall impression

The cafe was fairly quiet for a Sunday brunch hour. I liked that the crowd was mild and quiet kind with students coming in for coffee and study. But they have such heavy chairs, I ended up creating noise pollution whenever I was getting up to get serviettes, etc. LOL

Also, the barista and staff were not really friendly nor welcoming. It felt like my presence as a customer was not noticed at all. I am pointing this out because if you compare their service here with other Cafes, be it around Bangsar, or PJ area, or even Subang la... most cafes have really friendly staff who'd shout a loud "Welcome" as soon as you step into the cafe. :)

All in all, I would not be making a return visit anytime soon nor recommend it to anyone wanting to try out some good brunch place in my neighbourhood. But if I do make a return visit, Big Breakfast will be my to-order item. Also, I've read reviews that their Nutella Cappucino is real good stuff. Try it if you're dining here!

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Location

73, Jalan SS15/8A,
47500 Subang Jaya,
Selangor

It is located directly opposite Asia Cafe at SS15, same row as Starbucks Coffee. The sign is fairly easy to spot, a black and white "Flat White".  Also, it is located at Level 1.\


Till the next yum-yum, xx.

Restoran Sing LeongHuat, USJ 8

"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well; if one has not dined well." - Virginia Woolf

Food makes me Malaysian-ly happy. Even a simple meal as such.
Today I'm gonna be doing my first food review on this tiny lil space of mine on cyberspace. Hah!

On a random Friday evening, we decided to dine out. A random decision made to dine at a new restaurant which we spotted a crowd few nights ago - Restoran Sing LeongHuat located at the industrial area in USJ 8.

We ordered 4 dishes for the 4 of us.
First up, homemade signature tofu.

Verdict: The beancurds are very smooth in texture and the sauce was tasty enough to our liking. Overall, thumbs up on this dish! (:

(Unfortunately, our delicious meal ended here. Read on to find out.)

Next up, 四大天王 (aka Heavenly Kings of Four) mainly consisting a combination of long beans, lady's finger, smelly beans (aka petai!), and eggplant.

However, this dish had the combination of the above with the exclusion of petai. Mehh, being a petai-lover, this dish was a big turn off as they substituted the petai with bitter gourd.

Well, I do not have anything against bitter gourd, but this combination was totally off. When we checked with the lady who took our order on the weird combination, she just shrugged and said, that's how the combination is.

Verdict: The supposedly fragrant sambal belacan to stirfry the dish was missing. Not to mention, it was oily and tasted bland. Thumbs down. Nuff said.

Finally, a must-order! Fish, for us.

We have a strong liking for steamed fish coated with ginger paste, and yes, we do have our favourite eatery for that. But being at a new place, we found it hard to kick the habit of wanting to try their version of this dish.

Verdict: The ginger paste topping was not-at-all gingerly spicy; mainly because I think they're trying to cater to most people's taste of (perhaps) not wanting it to be overly gingerly spicy. Or... maybe this dish just isn't their forte. Heh. Yes, we prefer it to be gingerly enough to sweat the fats out of us. LOL Otherwise, what kick would it give??

Also, the fish itself was a major disappointment. The fish was tender YET has no sweetness to it. We think it could be due to the fact that it was overcooked. Couldn't taste or decide on the freshness of the fish. Meh.

The evening crowd.

We also did order a dish of Fu Yong Omelette. It was pretty standard. Overlooked that photo but doesn't matter because it was edible and nothing worth noting.

Directions to get to the place:

Its not that difficult to find the place if you know where is Margaret Yong Tau Foo at USJ 8. As you see MYTF on your right, keep driving straight after the traffic light. You will see Sensata Technologies on your left immediately after that traffic light. Keep driving on, then you'll see a row of shophouses on your left. The eatery is located at the far end of the row. This is the only place litted up in the evening/ at night so its pretty noticeable.


Would I make a second visit? No.
Eateries in this industrial area are mainly catered for factory workers. The bill came up to RM59.20 for the 4 of us (note: we brought our own tea and they do charge RM2 for water). Reasonable for Subang's standard, I'd say.

That's all for tonight. Stay tuned for more upcoming yummy posts! ;)
Definitely in the mood to do food reviews. YUMMS!