Afternoon tea in a Mall @ Pastis Cafe & Dining, The Gardens Mall, Kuala Lumpur

A lovely cafe sitting at a quiet corner at The Gardens Mall. This cafe offers quite an extensive menu ranging from local cuisines, Western, desserts, coffee, and best of all, afternoon tea! Panda and I were looking for a place to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee here when I realised they also have afternoon tea set in their menu. We went for that considering it was more worth it plus we had the chance to try a few of their items at the same time. 

The afternoon tea set came as a 3-tiered tea set; with savoury sandwiches, bruschetta and quiche at the bottom tier, followed by scones with cream and jam and finally the sweeter stuff; tiramisu, crème brûlée and a couple of their gourmet chocolates. It also came with 2 cups of coffee/tea. Perfect afternoon tea for a price of RM 54:) It was definitely more worth getting this rather than ala-carte coffee and desserts for each of us.

Coffee with a piece of cookie

I've always enjoyed afternoon teas although I'm not particularly a sweet tooth!

So, there is a way to eat the items on the tiers. You have to start from the bottom which is the savoury tier which usually consists of sandwiches, quiches etc. The second tier commonly is the cafe's scones with jam and cream. I love scones but usually would have been quite full by the time I reach this tier. The top most tier are the sweeter items; and although I'm not much of a sweet tooth, I personally like Pastis' tiramisu. The set is prepared for two however, three people sharing would be just perfect in my opinion (it was a little bit too much for us two as afternoon tea..lols)

Gourmet chocolates

Just come, relax and have a cup of coffee or tea or even to indulge your sweet tooth!

Address: G235-Ground Floor, The Gardens Mall, Kg-02, Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200 Kuala Lumpur

American-style BBQ Pork ribs @ Morganfield's, Empire Shopping Gallery, Subang

For the love of pork…..well not exactly my no. 1 meat but my buddies recommended this place to meet up since they've heard raving reviews on it. They must be pretty good considering there are already a couple of branches in KL. Also, we were there just in time for the specials which was Buy 1 full ribs and get 1/2 slab ribs free; super good deal I would say. We ordered 2 full ribs (with 2 half slabs ) to be shared between 4 people (which we thought would be quite enough) but turned out to be a huge mistake, because we overestimated our ability to finish it! They are famous for their ribs (hence, the term sticky bones) and mainly 4 flavors to choose from; Hickory BBQ, Smoked Peppercorn (my fave!), Spicy Asian and Garlicky BBQ. You get an option of full ribs (RM 76.90) or half slab (RM46.90). *Just get the full ribs and bring home the rest of the unfinished!

Smoked Peppercorn full spare ribs RM 76.90

Yeap..this was the FREE half slab-We chose the Hickory and Garlicky BBQ. Not just the free ribs, it came with sides as well!

Night out with my ex-colleagues; Soon-to-be-mum Penny and 'old buddy' manager Kwan ;p

It was the last night in KL before I left for Canada again the very next day. We had a great time catching up with them while chowing down on those delicious ribs. If you're looking for the authentic, good old-fashioned BBQ pork ribs, this is definitely the place to be. The ribs were tender, meaty, tasty and delicate enough to have the meat-almost-falling-off-the-bone-when-picked-up effect…(mouth-watering right now). Prices were quite reasonable (even without the free half slab). Ours was definitely worth eating because we had the free halves; although we ended up packing a majority of the ribs back home. Another good option on the menu was their sharing platter that will be perfect for 3-4 people. Great place to hang out as well :))

Address: GK-09 Ground Floor, Empire Shopping Gallery, Subang

Website: Morganfield's

Facebook: Morganfield's

Modernized, trendy burger @ myBurgerLab, Sunway, Selangor

Finally had the chance to try out this place. When I first left for Canada in 2012, these burger joints trend was still in the early stages and right now, they are all mushrooming particularly in KL / Selangor. This I would say, as a higher-class-fast-food joint where their main items are still burger and fries. We met up with a couple of friends at their HQ in Sunway, conveniently located opposite Sunway University College. The place was pretty packed; majority youngsters and young working adults. We had a good spot upstairs and came down to place our order (yup, no menu on the table nor servers to take your order..hence, why I categorize it as fast food). Just to note that the burger bun served are charcoal buns.

Say Cheese-sq beef burger (RM 19.00): A seared patty with double sharp cheddar and sauteed onions

You have to be a huge eater to finish this because Panda was super full after having this (he thought he could manage a double patty burger). Perhaps because we had a side of fries, if not, I think it's still manageable;p.

Chicken Swisstake (RM 15.50): Grilled chicken with swiss cheese, shitake and enoki mushrooms and their special sauce

This was mine! A Japanese-Western fusion burger. The grilled chicken was really juicy, tender and fresh and super super huge. It must be the thickest chicken patty I've ever eaten! I liked it because it didn't give you the greasy feeling like the ol' American burgers although I had some helping of fries as well!

(L)The Geisha (RM 16.00): Fried chicken sesame sauce topped with wakame seaweed, jap cucumber and sharp cheddar; M: The awesome spicy mayonnaise; R: Spicy Hawaiian Chicken with spicy red sauce, pineapple rings, and swiss cheese

The Geisha honestly, looked good (I mean the burger). With that huge fried chicken patty, this will definitely be the next burger on my list. Another Japanese-Western fusion burger which was just brilliant! The fries went awfully good with the spicy mayo (refillable upon request), a version quite close to the spicy mayo in Nando's. 

We had a good time catching up and is definitely a place I will visit again. Prices were quite reasonable for KL standard:) Just lets hope, they maintain their standard. 

Address:

SeaPark Outlet: 14, Jalan 21/22, SeaPark, 46300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
OUG Outlet: 8, Jalan Awan Hijau, Taman OUG, 58200 Kuala Lumpur.
Sunway Outlet: 3, Jalan PJS 11/9, Bandar Sunway, 46150 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Opening hours: Tues-Sunday (5pm to 10.15pm)

Website: myBurgerLab

Take-outs @ Saskatoon (VS what 'tapau' means in Malaysia)

I don't very often order for take-outs (apart from Pizzas and fast food) but here are two I've tried so far:

Chef Express 

I was working on my statistics till late one day and decided to try the Groupon voucher that I bought a couple of weeks earlier. Fairly new place on 3rd Ave downtown. Currently, they are most probably trying out the market by offering deliveries / take-outs. They have tables and chairs but looked pretty empty so I don't think they are ready for it just yet. Called to make my order and went to collect 30 minutes later. Still had to wait for 5-10 minutes for food to be ready (to be fair, I think I was there slightly earlier). One thing good is that this place opens till late; not many Asian restaurants open past 10pm. 

Egg roll and spring roll was a little bit oily. The wax paper pocket used is not really a good idea. It makes the whole delivery packet oily as well. 

Set (A) Egg roll, chicken chow mein and fried rice and sweet sour pork ($10.50). I personally thought this was quite acceptable. I have bad experience with these dinner sets ( usually greasy, soak in oil with very little ingredients); this however was one of the better ones. It has the 'wok hei' (flavor/taste by the hot wok frying) and chunks of real chicken meat in both the noodles and rice. It was not too oily as well. Portion is huge. 

Set (C) Vietnamese spring roll, Pad Thai with chicken and shrimp, Thai Yellow Curry with chicken and steamed rice ($12.50). While I thought the curry and rice was good, the Pad Thai was a major disappointment. The noodles didn't taste right and neither did it taste like Pad Thai to me. Although I must say they are quite generous with the chicken and shrimp; the noodles itself was bland and came out from the container as a big lump. 

Overall, food was just ok. Not the best Asian food around and totally meant for take-outs and deliveries for now but at least they open till late night. I heard their Thai curry pizza is good, so maybe I'll try that next. 

Address : 329, 3rd Avenue N, Saskatoon, SK

Website : Chef Express Restaurant

Oceania Inn Restaurant

A more typical look of take-outs (especially Asian eateries) would be like these that I had from Oceania Inn. Not one of the more famous ones in Saskatoon but because it is around my neighbourhood (and the fact that my roommate works part-time there), I must at least try it out once and in fact, I've ordered for take-out quite a couple of times. Once, I had the Special Chow Mein. A little bit messy  for take-outs and I didn't quite like the idea of using polystyrene for hot gravy. Portion is quite big and considering you pay slightly more than the usual kind of chow mein, they are quite generous with the ingredients. However, I thought that the gravy was quite bland. I'm not so sure whether because they modified it to fit the taste buds of the locals but even the chow mein I had in Chinatown, Vancouver was quite similar in taste and 'blandness'. Maybe its just me :P

Special Chow Mein $10.50

I quite like the Szechuan Ginger Chicken (ordered this more than once ;P). It tasted different from those I usually have in Malaysia. Basically they are deep fried pieces of chicken with sweet, sour, spicy and ginger-y sauce. Its is quite spicy though, but tasted good with rice. Portion is quite big as well. 

Szechuan Ginger Chicken $11.50

Overall, food is ok. Price-wise, its slightly on the high side. I've never dine in before so I'm not sure of the ambience nor service. Probably, certain dishes are worth trying out. Parking is easy as well.

Address : 3929 8th St E Saskatoon, SK S7H5M7

Website : Oceania Inn

What is 'tapau' ? 

If you are in Malaysia, probably every Malaysian (Malay, Chinese, Indians) will know what 'tapau' means despite the fact that this term is of a Chinese dialect (@_@). Its similar to take-outs/take away and frequently used in most eateries. Take-outs/take away is generally used more often in the higher-scale westernized restaurants, some non-Chinese restaurants and fast food joints.  

The usual 'tapau'-look in Malaysia. You must be wondering how many people is that amount for ?? lols

A newer, more 'environmental-friendly' version of 'tapau' which I have not seen myself since last 2 years.

Dim Sum @ Hoong Foong Dim Sum Restaurant, USJ 21/10

I don't mean to exaggerate but on my 2 weeks break back in Malaysia, I had dim sum thrice (yes, three times!) at Hoong Foong. I've always had a thing for dim sum so I will not get tired of them. Anyways, I had this so many times because it was near and convenient to where we were staying. I also met up with my ex-colleagues whom had highly recommended this place as well.

Salted Egg Siu Mai

They have quite a variety of dim sums. Panda and I loved the steam fish ball (yes, fish ball) and the har kau (prawn dumpling). I do admit that they have one of the best har kau around. The transparent har kau skin was really thin and you will not feel like eating some starchy wraps. The bacon-wrapped siu mai was really tasty as well but beware of the bacon calories for those weight-watchers ;P.

Har Kau (Prawn Dumpling)

Steam har kuin (fried prawn rolls)

The Fish Ball that Panda and I loved so much !!

We also had the prawn chee cheong fun (prawn rice noodle roll). They only have either char siew (roasted pork) or prawn chee cheong fun separately. Overall, it tasted ok; nothing to shout about; for me, it tasted like any other chee cheong fun though the serving was smaller than the other places I've eaten so far.

Prawn Chee Cheong Fun 

One thing that always attract me to dim sum restaurants is the custard bun (kam sa pau); not all dim sum restaurants have this. The best I've eaten so far is from a dim sum shop at Seri Kembangan. Hoong Foong's was quite ok too. It comes in threes and the size was just perfect; not too big or small. The consistency of the custard filling was just nice; not too diluted/watery to the point that it will splurt out when you take your first bite! Totally worth trying! They also have yam buns which I have yet to try.

Kam Sa Pau filling

Menu 1

Menu 2

Price ranges between RM 3 - RM 6 per plate; which I felt was quite reasonable for KL city (compared to what you can get in Canada here..@__@). Two people can easily pay a total of RM 40 for brunch. 

* Service seems slower on weekdays even though there are less people. Dim sums are steamed upon order. So, if you are in a hurry, save your dim sum meal for a weekend instead. It will be usually packed but we found a table almost immediately without any waiting. ( And food is served fast as well). 

Address: No: 77&79 , Jalan USJ 21/10, UEP Subang Jaya, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia 47600
Website: https://www.facebook.com/hoongfoongdimsum
Opening hours: Mon - Sun 7 am to 3 pm

Nasi Lemak Ayam Goreng @ Village Park Restaurant, Damansara Utama

I have been craving for good nasi lemak for quite some time. Among the many that I have tasted so far, I felt that this was one of the best, well at least in Kl city. The place is usually packed inside out especially during lunch hours. We had to wait for table the first time we went, so the next round, we went slightly later (~3pm). The crowd has lessen and we immediately got a table :) 
     Their main dish would be the Nasi Lemak Ayam Goreng. For RM7++, it was totally worth it, considering its right in town! The portion was good, chicken was freshly fried and huge. The fragrant rice consistency was just nice and the santan was not too 'lemak' (rich). They are pretty generous with the sambal as well. You can add extra sambal for RM0.80 but it was way more than enough I felt. It was yummy-licious and not too spicy. Apart from this, they have dishes than can be added-on (sambal kangkung, rendang, brinjal, sotong etc). Definitely worth a try and for revisits !

Address: Village Park Restaurant, 5, Jalan SS21/37, Damansara Utama, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Business Hour: 7am to 8pm daily; 7am to 6pm on Sunday/Public Holiday