Rawang Famous Tilapia Fish Wantan Mee as seen on Ho Chiak!

“Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.” ― Allen Saunders

This fine morning brought us to Restoran R Cheng Fei Chou Yu Wantan Mee (it is a mouth full), with no regrets of skipping breakfast at Publika, KL in favour of cheaper and more authentic local nomnoms en route to Fraser's Hill. I found this place thanks to j2fkm via google ("Rawang Food" or "Rawang Eat").

My plan was to arrive at this wantan mee place for lunch, but we arrived early at 10:00am even after making a few wrong turns. I was fretting that they wouldn't be opened yet but as luck would have it, their business hours are from 8:15am - 8:00pm, and 8:15am - 6:15pm on Mondays! The aunty welcomed us in and we had the entire place to ourselves for a short while.

Crabs, fish or politics? No brainer lah!

Tucked deep in a housing estate in Rawang (Jalan LKS 5), with many signages leading to this place.

Fish wantan noodles shop opening hours ... it's not just software engineers that work long & arduous hours.

"So what should we do with the garden and extra parking space around our house?"

The menu with pictures, but kinda tiny pictures

Clockwise from top to bottom :

Jing Zhen - Golden Special Garlic Sauce or somehting
Jiang Zheng - Steamed with Ginger
"You Hua" - Oily and smooth
"Jia Li" - Curry
"Gan Jian" - deep fried.

"Want to eat good fish then come to 'Ya Ching'. Each person 1 fish, RM 13.80, eat until air float water rise, whole life prosper-prosper."

Big Prosperity!

Since they specialize in tilapia fish with wantan noodles, that's what we had, and we did not stop at one.

Curry Fish Wantan Noodles

Fish is fresh, cripsy and crunchy. Curry is pungent and not spicy. Sambal accompanying the wantan noodles giving it extra flavour. My sister loved this curry fish wantan and hogged it. A+ for gravity defying deep fried fish tail curling upwards into the sky!

Steamed Garlic Fish Wantan Noodles

Delicious, fresh tilapia fish with mildly spicy and garlicky sauce. Very nice and pleasant aroma from this combination. The Wantan noodles also tasted really good in this sauce.

Breakfast!

A very massive and satisfying meal in two extra large metal bowl plates.

Happy face. :)

Herbal drinks

The bill

Must ask about the Tom Yum next time

Restoran R Cheng Fei Zhou Yu Wantan Mee
No: E-13, Jalan LKS 5, Kampung Lee Kim Sai, 48000 Rawang, Selangor

Visited on April 27, 2013.

Il Lido, Kuala Lumpur

"To achieve happiness, it is not to have what we want, but rather to want and appreciate what we already have" - The Dalai Lama

In this rat race of a life plagued with materialistic distractions, it's easy to forget what we already have, be it given, blessed with, or chanced upon. So we chase after our desires, one after the other, thinking it would bring about happiness when we get there. Often times so engrossed in the process that we inevitably forget to take a step back to fully appreciate what we already have.

What do I already have? Plenty! But why do I always want more?

Take for instance, a lovely exquisite meal at Il Lido : six finely crafted dishes from the Degustation Menu, but fell slightly short of the first fine dining experience my sister and I had before at Millesime, Solaris Dutamas (first times are more special and makes the biggest impression). It left me wanting more, like :

1. Some butter to go with the bread would have been great
2. Almost having to pay RM 18 for an additional bottle of water which we did not order ... Folks, always check the bill!
3. Water was RM 18. Waiter, can we just have tap water please?
4. Service level was a notch down compared to Milleseme (ie: I had breadcrumbs all over the table, and the maitre'd at Milleseme cleaned it with a silver table comb!)

But it's not a fair comparison because Millesime is so much pricier. Despite these gripes, my sister and I still walked away happy, contented, and we actually felt quite full. Bonus points must also be given to Il Lido for having decaf coffee. Anyway, I hope my sister enjoyed her Il Lido birthday present (partially sponsored by Groupon's vouchers).

Happy Birthday to my beautiful sister :)

As for cake, I am really impressed with this petite Chocolate Elegance cake from King's Confectionary. Nomming the chocolate mousse cake and having the dense, frothy chocolate texture implode then melt in my mouth was like heaven, sweet dreams and orgasms all rolled into one. I loved it and attacked it like a cake monster I never knew existed within me.

Chocolate Elegance cake from King's Confectionary

Now, presenting Il Lido's "Degustation Set Menu" with these nomworthy photos, mostly shot by my sister because she is the one with artistic talent among the two of us.

Bread that was a bit hard.

The massive carbo serving helped fill us up.

Amuse Bouche

To be honest, we have no idea what this was, because the Waiter just introduced it as the Amuse Bouche. There is so much room for improvement in that area for Il Lido. It's not that they were busy either - we were the first to Il Lido and when this was served, there were just two to three tables occupied. So this was probably tuna with a mysteriously light and healthy tasting cream coloured sauce, might be chinese turnip or white carrot, I will never know.

Hokkaido Scallops with Celeriac & Truffle Cream

The menu said Hokkaido Scallops, but there was only one scallop. Sweet and nutty taste with generous portions of funky, earthy truffle cream drizzled over it.

Roasted Goose Liver with Duck Bacon and Lentils

Buttery, rich, creamy ... Goose Liver is so delicious but so wrong. If I were buddhist I'd probably be re-incarnated as a Goose in my next life as punishment. The Duck bacon was amazing too - crunchy in texture but giving and fragile. Unlike beef or pork bacon - it crumbled immediately at the tip of my tongue and the subtle gamey flavour of bacon bits tasted so fine I wanted more.

Chitarrugi with Lobster and Smoked Paprika

The Chitarrugi - which we were told was home made Spaghetti common in Northern Italy - whereas in the Southern, they make Chitarra, was interesting - firm, little bit coarse in texture, and springy. It was like having chinese Pan Mee and tasted very different from the Spaghetti we were used to having.

The spiciness from the smoked paprika tingled our tastebuds, laying the groundwork for the lobster to calm and please us with it's sweet, succulent meat.

Wagyu Beef Cheek with Caramelized Root Vegetables

It tasted like beef stew and my sister kept insisting this dish was lamb. I've yet to nom Wagyu Beef that wowed me so I shouldn't be disappointed that I wasn't wowed by this - I just wasn't expecting braised beef because I do not like my beef cooked any other way than seared, pan fried, or barbequed. Nevertheless, the meat was tender and juicy.

Caramelized Root Vegables

The root vegetables were done perfectly: soft, juicy and sweet.

Molten Lava Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Ice-cream

To top everything off, this dessert was quite a treat - raspberrries, deep brown rich melty chocolate, creamy vanilla ice-cream and some crunchy waffles.

Molten Lava

If I had a bottomless bank account, I would definitely go back to Il Lido (and Milleseme for that matter) to try the other items on their menu. Couldn't help but notice the multitude of luxury cars parked at Il Lido's when we were leaving. I wonder what the Dalai Lama would say about that, or to this joke about money and happiness.

"Money can't buy me happiness, but I'd rather cry in my Ferrari."

"Il Lido was shortlisted in the Best New Restaurant category of the Time Out KL Food Awards 2010. The restaurant was also shortlisted for Best Italian Restaurant in 2011 and 2012. Our food awards are 100% voted for by the people of KL." - TimeoutKL

Visited on 13th April, 2013

Bulgogi Brothers @ Mid valley Megamall

Located in the newly renovated corner of Mid Valley and looking rather posh, Bulgogi Brothers finally opened up in Mid Valley! Pets Wonderland has been moved to this corner as well, and one will find I Need House tucked away on the 4th floor, with no signage leading to that shop for obvious reasons.

I've been wanting to try Bulgogi Brothers ever since reading about them in the local newspaper - Beautiful Bulgogi. Touted as the top 2 South Korean dining chains in South Korea, their simple menu intensifies one's craving for BBQ Beef.

 

Bulgogi Brothers in Mid Valley

So the first thing noticeable about Bulgogi Brothers is the casual Korean interior. All furnitures have been imported from South Korea to give patrons an authentic Bulgogi Brothers Korean BBQ feel.

 

Korean Wallpaper.

Free tea of the day

I love how at Korean BBQ Restaurants, you only need to pick one or two BBQ dishes off the menu and you will be served a variety of refillable side dishes (Ban Chan). Picking out 6 different sidedishes is not easy for indecisive people and the good news is, korean restaurants happily do it for you!

 

Corn on the cob was fantastic! Easily the juiciest corn on the cob I've nommed

I am not a fan of corn on the cob because I hate digging corn out from between my teeth, but at Bulgogi Brothers, they were superbly juicy, sweet and worth digging out from between teeth. There were also green peas, yellow potato, and the usual mash potatoes, vegetables, Kim Chi (very crunchy and above average size), and other assortment of pickles.

 

The usual suspects

Raw carrots, Kim Chi and other greens.

Complimentary Korean Pumpkin Porridge soup

Bulgogi Brothers uses induction cooker which reduces the amount of heat when your meat is being cooked. There is still a fair amount of smoke which is when one will notice the lack of a cooker hood above the table.

 

Our final spread

Our waiter Kimi was camera shy, but I finally managed to get him to ignore me and continue cooking :-) It was also a relief to find out that there is no minimum order required at Bulgogi Brothers for them to fire up the induction cooker, unlike many other Malaysian Korean Restaurants, which can be overkill for a table of two nommers.

 

Leave it to the pros :)

The Seaoulsik Bulgogi did not look like an exact replica of what is shown on the menu (surprise surprise) but it was good none the less. Costing RM 52.90, the special bulgogi sauce of apple and pear was excellent. These fruity tenderizers made the beef sweet, saucy, and nomworthy! My only complaint is that I could have nom'ed it all of it by myself which is what I might do the next time! The quality of the beef was excellent, as was the service. Newly opened restaurants are usually that way though.

 

Seoulsik Bulgogi - picked because it looked like the healthiest option!

Since Bulgogi Brothers were offering free noodles, we decided to redeem the offer. Janchi Guksu - wheat flour noodles in vegetable broth, eaten traditionally on special occasions like wedding feasts and birthday parties.

 

The free Janchi Guksu noodles deal floating around facebook (RM 17.90) - Noodles enough for two, but overpriced.

We scooped the noodles up from the vegetable soup base and ate it with the delicious bulgogi juices leftover from the Seoulsik Bulgogi instead.

 

Delicious beef juices leftover in the pot

Finally, we were given plum juice to wash all that food down :-)

 

Complimentary Plum Juice

Be prepared to overnom at Bulgogi Brothers as I did, and walk away with a big contented smile. I was also delighted to receive a free Pinch of Salt loyalty card. I will definitely be coming back here when I'm in Mid Valley the next time.

Website : Bulgogi Brothers
Visited on the 23rd of February, 2013.

Sensory Overload @ Millesime, Solaris Dutamas

Fine dining is easily one of the most expensive type of restaurant one can go to. As the name suggests, everything has to be fine. You're paying for the finest food, atmosphere, and service for that rare special occasion being celebrated. Places like these are great for anniversaries, engagement proposals, and successful romancing!

For our case, my sister and I were there to celebrate life. It's good to do something out of the ordinary and be spoiled rotten once in a while. We really wanted to go to Sage @ The Gardens but that place is always fully booked. Who knew fancy eating places were so popular in KL?

Wine and Dine!

Very romantic and relaxing lighting

A cozy and lovely place for dinner.

Located at the Sapura Kenchana Petroleum building next to Solaris Dutamas, Millesime is an eatery where you eat what the chef chooses. This is great when you don't know half of the ingredients mentioned on the menu, which is something very common at these kind of places! The only decision that needs to be made is whether to have a 3, 4 or 5 course dinner, priced as below :

Petite Menu (3 Course) – RM200++
Menu Gourmet (4 Course) – RM220++
Menu Degustation (5 Course) – RM250++
Since we were already there, we opted for the 5 course menu because it made more sense to go all out and pay a bit more for everything. It was well worth the money because the food at Millesime was glorious and made for an unforgettable evening.

The visual cues prepared our tastebuds for a richness that could only spoil us. Every dish from Millesime's kitchen was a work of art, portions of food delicately arranged to be visually stimulating, with each swirl of dressing drawing focus onto the food being presented, beckoning to be savoured.

The visual sensory was the perfect precursor to the degustation of each course. The flavours were sensational. Slowly we nom'ed to our hearts content, and licked away every visible remnant of sauce, grain and granule off Millesime's very unique, massive & heavy plates, which I think contributed to each dish looking like fine art.

The Foie Gras was the best I've ever tasted and melted away in my mouth. The raspberry flavour and sweet sweet sauce that went with it was terrific and simply delicious. The whole affair left me wanting for more foie gras, no matter how cruel and wrong it is.

At the end of the day my sister said she was still hungry so the kitchen brought out leftover pastries for her. How lovely and thoughtful of them!

Overall, it was a nomgasmic evening. I will marry a chef one day, and have regular nomgasms without burning a hole in my pocket.

Complimentary bread & butter

Amuse Bouche or "Mouth Amuser" - which emphasizes bite sized, intensely flavoured offerings to showcase a chef's artistry, showmanship, and ideas in small bites (according to wikipedia).

Yellowfin tuna appetizer

I love prawns!

Complimentary mango popsicles, refreshing and fun

My choice of main course - wagyu beef

My sister's choice of main, which she really enjoyed

Chocolate Souffle, berrylicious fruits, and ice-cream. Yum!

It's not enough to make good dessert these days, they have to be be perfectly aligned too!

Compliments from the kitchen

Millesime's Foie Gras

Picture credits go to my sister. Visited in June 2012.