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

The Petrol Kiosk Guy

This is about him, a stranger.
A thought hit me and I wanted to pen it down.
Took a mental pause and spoke to my Fiance about it instead.
Talk about delayed gratification...

It was scorching hot as the 12pm sun approached its peak.
Well fed to the brim after a good same ol' breakfast, we seized the hour, dropping by the petrol station on the way home.

His usual drill...
Rush to serve customers as soon as they pull over in the designated bays,
"Bos, nak brapa?" / "Lima puluh!"...
On some days however, his role is gently shrugged off mostly by the younger generation...
"Takpe" indicating there's no need for his assistance.

Le Fiance did the latter and it struck me.
The reason why he now has a job was because the local market viewed his assistance necessary.
Maybe he keeps tab of each day, how many people who turns down his assistance.
Maybe it's time for him to look for another job...
Maybe this is not a sustainable wage earning role.

In the present moment,
He was quick to pick up a windscreen cleaner to sponge and dry the windscreen of le Fiance's car.

This is about a petrol kiosk attendant in the humble town of Ipoh.

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.

How To Cook: Japanese Garlic Fried Rice

To cook is love. :)

In this age and time, cooking is a luxury we spend our time on. We'd rather drive out to the new hipster cafe in town, and have nice looking food served on our table. 

How about whippin' up something simple like say, Japanese Garlic Fried Rice?

"It's so beautifully arranged on the plate - you know someone's fingers have been all over it." - Julia Child

I'm not at all a pro in the kitchen. But I truly believe that a good tasting dish from the kitchen comes from a happy heart. A must -have disclaimer is that, I cook by way of "agar-ism" aka estimation. ;)

You'll need:

- 2 cups of short grain rice (cooked the night before)

- 3 eggs

- 3 stalks of spring onions

- 1 carrot

- 1 clove of garlic

- Cooking oil

- Salt & pepper to taste

All that you'll need

Instructions:

1. Finely dice carrot into even cubes.

2. Finely chop the spring onions.

3. Finely slice HALF of your garlic (as garnishing for your fried rice later).

4. Finely chop the remaining half of your garlic.

5. Whisk eggs.

Pre-cooking tips:

1. Cook rice with lesser water (as compared to if you were to cook normal rice).

2. The egg functions to give color to the fried rice, to make it beautifully yellow-ish.

3. I bought a rather big carrot, so I only used half of it.

4. How much garlic you want depends on how much liking you have for garlic. I used more than a clove. Also, how much garlic you want as garnishing as compared to the portion used to be stir-fried with the rice depends on how much garlic garnishing you'd like to have.

Ok, let the photos begin!

Heat up the pan/wok with "more than usual" cooking oil and fry the thinly sliced garlic (meant for garnishing) until golden brown. Set aside and drain the oil with kitchen towel.

Next, with the same oil, stir fry the finely chopped garlic until almost golden brown.

Then, pour in the overnight rice.

Mix well the garlic and rice.

Then pour in the whisked eggs (photo below refers).

All these while, remain at medium to high heat.

See how yellow the eggs make the rice look? Mix well and make sure the eggs coat the rice nicely.

You can add a pinch of salt & pepper to taste here.

Once the eggs coating the rice has somewhat dried up (cooked), pour in the diced carrot.  

Stir fry for about 2-4 minutes, or until doneness of carrot is as per your liking.

Beautiful colors of the dish can be seen now. You can choose to add in more salt and pepper to taste at this step...

Once the fried rice is almost done, pour in spring onions.

Remember to leave some spring onions for garnishing!

Stir fry for another 1-2 minutes and the dish is ready!

Lunch is served! ;)

Note: There are no hard and fast rules to cooking. Always remember - cook from your heart!

P/S: The original recipe was adapted from Taste of Malaysia's Japanese Garlic Fried Rice. Google it up! ;)

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.

***

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.

Woo Pin Fish Head Noodles 湖滨鱼头米 @ Taman Danau Desa

A typical Sunday morning calls for a good brunch.

I woke up feeling very chinese today and decided to satisfy my cravings for Fish Head Noodles - a dish I have not had in a long long while... In fact, I miss the BEST fish head noodles (which is not open on Sundays) :3

So, Woo Pin Fish Head Noodles at Taman Danau Desa will have to do. I've been here a couple of times over the past years, and I'd say that this is second best, as compared to Goon Wah's. 

The shop's out front

It was a 20-minute drive from Subang. By the time we got there, it was close to noon. The place was crowded, but the staff were prompt with helping us get seats at a table shared with other diners. BTW, it is a stated rule that "all tables are to be shared". LOL

Placed our order and food was served within the next 15 minutes.

If you fancy a quick and hasty meal without having to watch out for fish bones whilst enjoying your meal, then the order of Fish Paste Noodles will be a favourite.

The noodles were rightly cooked, not overly done; whereas the soup was a perfect match to the fish paste and bouncy vermicelli noodles. They were also generous with their toppings!

Priced at RM9 for a small bowl, it was served with a generous amount of tomatoes, fried shallots and spring onions as toppings. The soup is available, with or without milk (I'd suppose it's Carnation Milk). We preferred the creamy kinda soup base, and mann, it tasted of natural sweetness! Y'know the kind when you've boiled then double-boil it further to optimise the fragrant from the pork/fish. 

Also, a point to note is that they only have one type of noodle, i.e. thin vermicelli. I personally prefer the thick kind, which is available at Goon Wah! ;)

Overall, portion wise was fantastic! The BF even thought this was the big bowl that he was savouring. lol!

Verdict: 8/10

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On to my order... I had the Woo Pin Fried Fish Head Noodles.

Typically, I do not mind spending time picking out fish bones during my meal. But I requested for fried fish parts that have more meat instead of the fish head. More worth it...

Verdict: The soup base chose was the same as the fish paste's. Overall verdict: 6/10.

I personally prefer to have my fish head noodles with fresh fish. When asked whether fried or fresh fish was recommended, the waiter recommended the "fried" one immediately. This gave me an impression that their fish are not fresh, hence, prioritised recommendation would be fried ones to cover up the unfreshness. To further prove my point, I've ordered their fresh fish head noodles before and the fish had hints of fishy-ness.

Even after I was done with my meal of fried fish noodles, I could feel the fish stench on my lips. Major turn off. Heh!

This is why I'd dub this as second best. 

Also, I requested for them to separate my pieces of fried fish from my soupy noodles in order to preserve the crisp. Unfortunately, the fried fish pieces were served IN my noodles causing it to be soggy. I immediately asked for a bowl to separate the fishes.

It took me 20 minutes to finish up my meal whilst the BF took only 5-10minutes to finish his bowl of fish paste noodles haha :D

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What's a noodles dish without some kick-a$$ chilli??

At Woo Pin, they have their infamous spicy sambal that's grinded with bird's eye chilli (aka chilli padi). The spicyness was acceptable for me, but overall taste, Goon Wah's remain the best!

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Woo Pin is evidently catered for fish lovers as they serve only fish dishes, some of which are fried fish cake or fried "fu zhuk". I'm not a big fan of such, hence I stuck to my usual orders. What a bore... :P

Woo Pin's opening hours amd food prices according to sizes of order

This shop is located one row behind the famous Korean BBQ restaurant, Seoul Korea.

Along Old Klang Road, just follow the sign board towards Taman Desa. Once you're in the area, turn left when you see an abandoned school. The school will then be located on your right. Then, turn right at the first traffic light and immediately after that, turn upwards to your left. Woo Pin will be on your right at the end of the row of shophouses.

If my instructions aren't helpful enough, you can always google map/Waze your way there! :D

Woo Pin Fish Head Noodles:

Jalan 1/109F, Taman Danau Desa, 58100 Kuala Lumpur

Till then, let's fish our way through the coming week... Looking forward to the next weekend already. Meh!

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!