Sanuki Udon, Taman Bukit Desa

Located on the hills of Taman Desa is a pretty much undiscovered Japanese eatery. I would not call it a restaurant as it's really an eatery. Owned by Fuji-san (the dude that also owns the yakiniku place in Taman Desa. http://darthko-foodcritic.blogspot.com/2011/08/yakiniku-taman-desa-kuala-lumpur.html), this was his first adventure into the world of F & B. 
Anyway, it turns out to be very Japanese and on week nights, this place is filled to the brim with Japanese expatriates. The udon here is made fresh everyday and you can buy them back and cook them yourself. I love the way this guy maintains freshness and quality of his food. Everything is done with discipline and order thus serving food with consistent quality all the time.
The menu isn't huge which is good I reckon. (Huge menus most of the time mean only one thing. Jack of all trades and master of none.) Other than udon, they also serve some side dishes such as karaage (fried chicken cutlets), edamame, salad etc. In the evenings, they will have yakitori. (chicken skewers) Chicken arse lovers will love this place as they serve yakitori bishop's nose. LOL!
I normally order the house special. You can either have it hot or cold but I always have the hot one. I should remind myself to try the cold one next time. The house special comes with just udon and poached egg. (no oil, which is good) Add a little chilli in it, mix it up and it's actually a very refreshing bowl of udon. Well if you want it spicier add more chilli. I was told that the idea for this house special came from the boss trying our local Chilli Pan Mee. It does make sense as it basically is the same except you don't have too much other stuff in it such as anchovies and minced pork.

This time I also tried the Udon in soup (cold). The weather's here too hot so cold noodles for lunch is always a good idea. The soup is very much like the ones that you eat with soba. Noodles are fresh and has a very good texture. 

Slurp the udon out and add a little wasabi to it to give it a more interesting taste.

Udon is pretty much a healthier choice compared to our local food. Once in a while, it's a good change to our oily diet. Price wise, I would say it's pretty decent here. Freshly made udon for RM5 a bowl, not bad but not cheap either considering you don't get anything else in it.


Points - 3 (0.5 is given due to the cleanliness and service)

Ramly Burger - Malaysians' All time favourite burger.

Ask any Malaysian and he or she would have definitely had Ramly Burger. I reckon Ramly burgers are like McDonald's to us minus all the advertising, french fries and value meals. Most Malaysians will have their own favourite stall, which happens to be anywhere from road sides to outside your local 7-11.


Ramly burgers are like the local McDonald's franchise. They buy their stuff from Ramly hence the name which includes most of the ingredients such as the patty and bread. I was told that you can get a loan for this and you're also provided with training on how to set up, manage your books, cook etc. Pretty organized right?
I have not really tried a really bad Ramly burger except once in TTDI. The stall outside 7-11 in TTDI! It was bad. Tasted horrible that I cannot describe it. Will never go near that stall ever again.
My culinary journey this time takes me just round my neighbourhood in Taman Desa. This Ramly stall has been at the local 7-11 for years. I reckon that it's been at least 20 years as I watched the little baby girl grow up to be a little big fat girl now.


One thing about this stall is that it's not like the rest which are normally run by some young punks. This is family run and it's pretty clean in a way. Cooking wise is pretty much the same as the rest of the stalls. I love the way they cook the burgers. Slowly cooking it on the grill and once it's almost done, they cut it through the middle carefully not breaking it into half and sprinkle seasoning into the middle of the patty. Interesting way of adding more MSG flavour into the burger. On top of that, you can have the special which is wrapped in egg and maybe add a slice of cheese too. Talk about innovation.

They only open after dark. I stole this photo from the car.

Standardized wrapping.

I always order the normal or "biasa" chicken burger as I do not like too much stuff in my burger. For RM2.50 it's a decent deal. (used to be only 1.80-2.00 ringgit) Most guys will have to down at least 2 of  these burgers. One is just never enough.


Heil Ramly Burgers! You can never go wrong with these fellas!

Akasaka Ramen, Tokyo Japan

I am reporting this live from Tokyo, Japan. It has been more than 10 years since I was here. First thing I did once I dumped my luggage at the hotel was to look for ramen. Japanese ramen is my favorite. Coming to Japan and not having ramen is a sin and those that do not will burn in hell while getting choked with ramen.
Happened to walk past this place called Akasaka Ramen which looked really inviting. Small eatery with the usual vending machine where you buy a ticket for the ramen that you want. Simply pass the ticket to the waitress waiting and in a couple of minutes, food is served. Systematic and beats the hassle of trying to communicate to her.

This Shoyu Ramen is superb. Soya based soup, thick and full of flavor. I love the fact that the soup is all based from pork stock. Fresh, noodles just right, good serving. Only thing was the egg which was just a very normal hard boiled egg. Yummy!

Now this is the cream of the place. Pork Ramen. Whitish, thick pork soup with tender pork slices. The soup itself is a meal. It is so fulfilling, I was screaming with joy when I had my first mouthful of it. Sweetness of a soup perfectly done. Not salty but just so full of flavor that you can literally feel the pig running around in your mouth. LOL. The pork slices were sensational. It melts in your mouth. I mean it. It is done with perfection, soft, tender, juicy, you name it. Absolutely heaven.


This is one place I will come back before I return to KL. Price is reasonable. Shoyu ramen for 750 yen and the pork ramen for only 680 yen. Free iced water plus eat all you can bean sprouts (appetizer) which are marinated with sesame oil and sprinkled with chilli powder. Great little place with the usually polite Japanese service.


Points - 4 Thumbs Up!

Say NO! To Pets in restaurants

I do love dogs. I used to own dogs till they all got kidnapped which explains why I do not have a dog anymore due to the heartache that the whole family had to endure when they got stolen. (Curse those damn dog thieves, one day the dogs will just maul these fuckers back. I am sure. Laws of Karma.)
The one thing that I cannot stand is people bringing their dogs to restaurants. Come on!! It's a place where humans go to and eat. Keep your dog at home. Do not bring it sitting on a chair and pretending to be human.
Malaysians have no consideration at all. Bringing a hairy Shih Tsu into a restaurant is one of them. I do not want doggie hair in my soup! Worst thing is that these arses treat their dogs like humans. Dogs must know their place. (How to train your dog - Rule No.1) - Never have your dog at the dinner table and feed it too! No wonder they have dumb dogs that will never respond to them unless there is food.
I was just at this Bak Kut Teh restaurant down Old Klang Road where this really Chinese Ah Beng family strutted in with their father (middle aged loan shark in a singlet) and their damn ribbon tied hairy Shih Tsu. Best part is the girl (maybe boy as I could not tell) put the pork in her mouth, then started feeding the dog with the pieces of meat in her mouth. Hand in the mouth, pull out a piece then stick it to the dog and it goes over and over again. Damn!! Talk about hygiene! 


All I am saying is that restaurants of all kinds should just ban pets from their places. You can have your dog outside but not inside where people eat. Dogs should know their place and it's definitely not on the dinner table.


Am I wrong?

Bumbu Bali, Bandar Puteri Puchong, Selangor

Out in the jungles of dodgy Puchong is Bumbu Bali, a Balinese themed restaurant that serves Balinese food plus a mixture of some western dishes too. i.e. Fish and Chips. Anyway, it first opened here years ago and business has been good, looks like the "bengs" here do enjoy something else other than economy rice and pan mee. (Bumbu Bali has since also opened up in Solaris Dutamas)
I've always liked this place. Decor is typically Balinese with teak furniture and nice seats. Comfy! Ambience is cosy and warm which makes it stand out in this "Chinese" suburb.  FYI, they sell merchandise too. Bali stuff - wood carvings, statues and eery looking stuff.
Let's get back to food here. Today, I just had to try their Siap Bumbu. Fried Balinese style chicken, rice and salad. RM30. The price seems steep but the serving makes up for it. It is pretty huge.

Nice presentation, food served on a banana leaf and in this wooden tray. (I wonder if the Balinese actually eat like this.) 

Check out the big piece of fried chicken. Perfectly done, juicy and pretty crispy on the outside. Served with the chilli belacan, YUMMY!

Crackers served together but this one..sigh! not much taste. No prawn taste or any other taste except for flour!

Now this little serving of "salad" is good. Very refreshing, crunchy and the taste. It is the simple dishes like this that makes a difference in everyday food. Appetizing and yes the vegetables are fresh.

Bumbu Bali is a pretty nice place to have dinner or lunch if you have the budget to spend RM30 for lunch. Although the servings pretty big but I reckon the price is still pretty steep for normal Balinese fare that does not include very expensive ingredients. 

Will I come come back? Yeah, maybe once every 6 months, LOL! Oh before I forget, the barley lime here is a must try. Extremely good especially on a hot day. Not too sweet and no overkill by too much of the slimy barley. Thumbs up!

Points - 2.5 - Nice place, pretty good food but the price...expensive.

Decanter, Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur

Decanter in Damansara Heights used to be a cool hangout for me as it was hidden between houses in this so called "rich" area of Kuala Lumpur. It was always a good place to have a good lunch, coffee maybe a couple of beers and not likely to be disturbed or bump into anyone you know. I like that.
Decanter is not a wine place, mind you. It is styled more like an old English pub. Don't know where the name decanter came from. It is a cosy old fashioned kinda pub/restaurant which serves pretty ok food, which mainly has a mixture of local and western fare.
On this particular day, I was in the mood for some ox tail. Ordered the Oxtail soup and also the Oxtail stew. (Yeah yeah I know. Over dose of ox??) Also got the Chicken Chop.

One thing about Ox tail soup is that you can't really get good ones anymore. Not many places have this anymore. (Don't know why?) Or just that the chef's do not know how to do this? Well, the oxtail soup here is not too bad. Not as thick as I want it to be but taste wise, it's passable. Not enough ox tail in it though making it a little too watery for my liking but nevertheless the taste was there.

Next came the Oxtail stew. Damn! This thing was hot....took a long time to cool down in order to consume it without burning my tongue. This stew just had too much pepper in it. The pepper totally overkilled the stew, over powering any other taste available. (I am sure this will be good in a cold winter night) It was not disappointing though, before the pepper numbed my tongue. It was not very salty, just nice and the stew being a stew was thick. Dip the bread into it and it was awesome, before the pepper started working. After a few scoops, it all went downhill as I was struggling with the pepper.

The chicken chop came and it looked good. Very "Ketchuppy" and good serving with vegetables. Taste wise, normal chicken chop with ketchup and HP sauce. I reckon I can do better with my own recipe on this. The thing with chicken chop, the recipe works with both chicken and pork. Good thing was the serving was pretty big and you won't go home hungry.


Decanter is still the old place hidden in the hills of Damansara Heights. (I refuse to call it Bukit Damansara. Why change those damn names when it already sounded pretty cool, beats me!!) The decor in this place is old, maybe it's time to do some minor renovations and change those ugly table cloth.
Service is still pretty acceptable. One thing is that it is good place to have lunch or happy hour away from the noise and traffic of Mont Kiara and Hartamas.


Points - 2 

Jin Man Fishball Noodles, Taman Taynton View, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur

I never knew there was a place in Cheras called Taman Taynton View, sounds very "white" for a very "beng" suburb. Anyway, this place is right opposite the highway from Leisure Mall and there's only like one row of shops there. Hidden here is the famous fish ball noodles of Jin Man.
Got here at 2pm and it was still pretty full. Business is good for the fish people. First thing I noticed is that this place is pretty clean. The floors are not the usual oily and slippery ones, neither were they sticky from years of grease. Good point! Thumbs up for cleanliness.
Old dude came over and we ordered. One bowl of kueh teow mee dry noodles and another one just mee with soup plus a bowl of fish maw and their famous fish cake. (one thing about Chinese shops like these is that service is always pretty fast.)

Good serving of kueh teow and mee combination. They're not too wet nor too dry. Pretty nicely done. Good.

Fish Balls! Yummy! Soups a bit too light but damn the fish balls were pretty damn good. Bouncy, fresh and not artificial like the ones you get at those bloody food courts. Good!

Fish Mall. Very normal stuff as I reckon that the soup's just a tad too light.

Check out the freshly cut chilli! Fresh chilli and soy sauce goes well with those balls.

I was surprised. This coffee shop's kopi-o ice is pretty damn good. Tastes just like the ones you get at the old Hainanese coffee shops. Good!

Well, the fish cake never came. They forgot about it and we had to tell them that it did not come, only did she deduct it out of our bill. (If we had not noticed it then we would have paid for it. Careless, overlooked or honesty? hmm..I'll just give them a benefit of a doubt on this.


Overall, the food is pretty good. Not very expensive, typical coffee shop prices ranging from RM4 - RM 6.50. Sad that I did not get to try their famous fish cake. I will be back.


Points - 2.5 (0.5 deducted for not getting my fish cake LOL)

Lorong Seratus Tahun, Scott's Gardens, Old Klang Road, Kuala Lumpur

Scott's Gardens on Old Klang Road looks like the odd place out in this crappy and dodgy part of town. Brand new shopping mall smacked in the middle of Old Klang Road that has nothing interesting other than Ah Beng watching. So I guess OKR is also changing finally after years of being in the slums. Scott's Gardens is home to Tesco and quite a few F&B outlets namely the crappy Overtime, Tom Dick & Harry's, another crappy one called Mongkok, a bakery called Bloom but will gloom soon and finally this one grandly named kopitiam called Lorong Seratus Tahun (One Hundred Years Lane).


I've been told by some aunties that the food at this place is not bad and that you should try the 22.90 Char Kueh Teow. Huh! Are you &^%#$# MAD? Anyway headed down with the folks, boss and maid in tow, we decided to try our luck.


The place seems packed. Good sign. (maybe not) Our orders were the curry noodles, nasi lemak, chee cheong fun in prawn paste, rojak, mango "crepes" (cannot remember what it's called) and another curry chicken nyonya rice.


Firstly, I apologize for the low quality photos as I was ill prepared for this. Photos taken using my crappy old dying iphone.

The only thing that tasted OK is the chee cheong fun in prawn paste. A little too light on the prawn paste for my liking but it was actually not too bad. 

Now this is the ARMAGEDDON of the "historical" Lorong Seratus Tahun. Just when it landed on my table, it just did not seem right. Picked up a spoon and scooped the soup. Bloody hell! It was so diluted, it looked like colored plain water. No need to try to know that THIS IS SHIT! STRIKE OUT! YOU'RE OUT!

The Penang Rojak was not too bad though after the horror we had with the curry noodles.  But I can get this from any pasar malam for half the price and be happier.

Nasi Lemak? Just like any other nasi lemak you get from the Kopi Tiams sprouting all over town. Nothing special and nothing interesting.

Nyonya rice? Check out the rice. Looks like a ball of over cooked rice. Sambal was not good, chicken was nothing special (Don't even want to remember what it tasted like!) and the lobak...it should be called Lo Chicken. Lobak without the bak (pork) is not LoBak! Don't try to bullshit us!

Mango crepes! Bad combination, Never order this nonsense again!

We came to the conclusion that water was added into the curry soup. It was just too diluted, too damn watery to be called curry and no sane minded cook can churn out crap like that. We reckoned that maybe the business was too good that day, they ran low on their curry so they decided just to top it up with water and maybe they'll get away with it. NONSENSE! You're a fucking restaurant, you serve food, you serve Penang food...have a little pride please! At least taste your food. If it cannot pass your own bloody tongue, don't serve it to us! (Mum said maybe it was the foreign workers but I said no. The blame is on the bosses of the place that do not train and monitor their own businesses.)


Anyway, this is one place I will not go back. They said maybe you should try our famous RM22.90 Char Kueh Teow! RM22.90 and get a couple of big prawns? No bloody way! If I wanted big prawns, I'll just go to a seafood restaurant and get fresher seafood right?


Another one bites the dust!

Super Kitchen Chilli Pan Mee 辣椒板面, SS2 Chow Yang, Petaling Jaya

The famous Chilli Pan Mee 辣椒板面 from Batu Road has been in the SS2 area of Chow Yang for a number of years now and if you're looking to satisfy your craving of this Malaysian specialty, you do not have to brave the traffic jams of town anymore. 


Pan Mee (noodles) must be one of the only few local Malaysian dishes that Singaporeans cannot steal and call it theirs. LOL!! (had to take a shot at our neighbors..) Anyway for the past few years, the craze is not the traditional Pan Mee in soup but this particular one. Special on its own and add a little of their dry chilli, it makes it very interesting...which to means SPICY! 

Check out the perfectly poached egg. Lovely!

Add a little dry chilli, mixed them all up together and it becomes a sensational new dish called Chilli Pan Mee. Awesome albeit spicy as hell.

The new outlets are clean and well organized with proper chairs and tables. The servings a bit too small so most guys have to consume at least 2 bowls. I guess, this is a pretty good joint to add a little spice (so to speak) to your life once in a while and torture the arse later.


Points - 2.5

Chinese "Fondue", Lok Lok, Chinatown, Jalan Sultan, Kuala Lumpur

One thing Malaysians love is their "Lok Lok" or what I call the Chinese Fondue. Selections of everything imaginable is served. Pick up a skewer and dip it into the bowling pot of water, cook it just the way you like it and eat it with the sauce given. Your choice, your style, your preference. Satay sauce, chilli sauce or sweet sauce. Nowadays, they even have a grill section or Yakitori style. Looks like competition is stiff.

If you happen to be in Chinatown, head over to Jalan Sultan and try this stall. (right in front of KK Mart)

Huge tiger prawns to be grilled to your liking.

Lok Lok is not cheap anymore, and just a few skewers could set you back by RM20 these days but hell..where else in the world are you going to get this stuff?

Grilled Fish, Petaling Street, Chinatown Kuala Lumpur

One thing about KL's Chinatown aka Petaling Street is the variety of food you find here. Forget about the cheap imitation stuff and don't bother about the Banglas that irritate the crap out of you. It's the food here.


This time I will show you a hidden gem here which is the Grilled fish. Hidden in the walk way beside Hong Leong bank is this old dirty looking stall that only sells grilled fish. They grill all kinds of fish but the favorite one will always be sting ray. Go up and order your food. Pay up, sometimes you're given a number and come back in about 20 minutes. 


The usual order is the stingray and cuttle fish (sotong). Small serving for one with rice cost RM9. Cheap isn't it. These old folks make an honest living. (LOL!)

I had to post this pic as the message is very polite. (the one in Chinese)

This old place has maintained its standard and quality over the years. It is spicy but the combination of the spices in this case makes it the more interesting to your taste buds. Their seafood is fresh and does not have the occasional bits of sand in it. Although this is called grilled fish but they don't technically grill it. They wrap the seafood in foil and chuck in on the charcoal grill. More like baking it right? Does it matter? As long as it tastes good right? (none of the bull shit banana leaf stuff you find in other places)


It is a recommended place and do come here when you're in Chinatown. This is one of those old stalls that will not be around in the next 10 years. Better try it, remember it before it's gone forever.


Points - 2.5 (dirty place with the occasional rat running pass you. LOL)

Ficelle, Taman Danau Desa, Kuala Lumpur - French Bakery

This is a very interesting place. A French themed bakery in the middle of crappy Taman Danau Desa. Nicely decorated corner lot place with tables outside under the cool shade of some old trees that have not been cut down yet. A bit of class in a somehow middle class Ah Beng suburb.
Was here for a quick lunch and I was surprised that they actually served Japanese Curry Rice here. ( I reckon they are like those French themed restaurants in Japan, where they try really hard to emulate the French in everything they do.) Ordered the Japanese Curry Karaage Rice (Chicken) and mushroom soup. Not cheap. The rice is like RM 12.90. It better be good.

The mushroom soup here is actually pretty good. Although the serving's a bit too small, the soup has a variety of mushrooms in it. Tastes a lot like a creamy wild mushroom soup. Sprinkled with some minced parsley on top and a little pepper, this soup is tummy warming and delicious. There must be at least four types of mushrooms in it. Button mushrooms, a Porcini looking one, white mushrooms and brown ones.
Good. 
Points - 2

The Japanese curry rice came and Boy! was I disappointed. It is really small. There were only 4 pieces of chicken "nuggets". Come on, it's 12 bucks. Fill me up ok! Points taken away.
They used pretty good quality rice for this and it was cooked right. Not too hard and not too soft. The curry on the other hand was very very normal. It tasted like the ones you get at any Japanese convenient store. Those packed curry - cooked in 5 minutes mini boxes. The limited fried chicken nuggets were not too bad but then the curry was nothing to shout about. Typical Japanese curry which is never spicy, more on the sweet side with a little curry spices in the mix. 


Points - 0.5 for the rice


Will I come back again? I might. Just to try the rest of the stuff they have and maybe to look cool sitting here, having a mocha and playing my ipad.

Crystal Jade Kitchen @ Gardens, Mid Valley, Kuala Lumpur

Crystal Jade is actually a huge chain of Shanghainese themed restaurants that have outlets all over South East Asia and China. They started off with the first restaurant in Kuala Lumpur years back out of Lot 10 and has since grown to a few around the Klang Valley. I happened to be in the Gardens on Sunday and was looking around for food. Walked past the so-called fast food outlet of Crystal Jade called Crystal Jade Kitchen and the set lunch menu kinda looked good.


I reckon for the set lunch menu, I will do a photo by photo analysis. (Easier to read right?)

3 Combination BBQ Meat rice. Chicken, Char Siew and BBQ Sausages. Check out the amounts given. Just 2 pieces of chicken, another couple of pieces of the other meat. Damn! Plus a salted duck's egg. If you're really hungry, I really don't know where this things will be in my stomach. Not good value! 

Is this Char Siew? More like red colored meat. Look at the coloring! Char Siew needs to be a little fatty and not entirely lean in order for it to have that Char Siew taste. This does not even look BBQ-ed! BAD! OUT!! 

BBQ Sausages - The way they cut this..amateurs! Who the hell cuts their sausages in angles like that. Not only does it not taste good, it looks terrible. OUT!

Shanghainese Siao Loong Pao. Two tiny pao's in one big bamboo steamer case. Presentation!! Fail! The dumplings are not too bad. Only thing is that the skin is too thick.

Now this is the only thing that is worth mentioning. Their soup that came together with the set. Great soup, a bit like the one mum does (minus the MSG lol). Peanuts, pork ribs and I think I saw some chicken feet. Good Soup.

Waterchestnut dessert. (Ma Tai Lou) It is meant to be a cold dessert but not cold enough. Almost room temperature and in this heat, we all prefer it to be colder. Not too sweet but have tasted better.

Szechuan Hot and Sour Soup. Bloody hell!! For 10 freaking bucks a bowl, can't these buggers not spill some on the side. Are the cooks blind? Please at least wipe the damn bowl before serving it. Presentation again!!! Tasted like those pre-pack ones you get at the super markets. OUT!

This place actually looks like a fast food corner. Only has about 8-9 tables. I wonder how are they going to cope and survive. They are not a fast food restaurant and I do not see anyone taking out. 


Food - Mediocre. You would expect an international food chain to have better quality but nope..Not here.


Service - Average. At least the bill and food came pretty fast.


Price - Not cheap. The set is not too bad for price considering you get four small dishes. 


Would I go again? Don't think so.