Restoran Pao Xiang Bak Kut Teh @ SS 15, Subang Jaya

It may be a common thing for a fast food chain to bloom up like a mushroom after the rain. However, for a Chinese food like Bak Kut Teh to bloom up so quickly under the same name is a very occasion, if not none.

Be it franchise or under the same owner with multiple branches, Pao Xiang Famous Tied String Meat Bak Kut Teh indeed is an emerging brand name of Bak Kut Teh that has itself established since 2006. Ranging from shop outlets to even shopping malls, Pao Xiang Bak Kut Teh has 19 outlets in Malaysia to boast with. Until only recently, I've decided to give Pao Xiang Bak Kut Teh a try with Zoe at the outlet located in SS 15, Subang Jaya.

Restoran Pao Xiang Bak Kut Teh in SS 15, Subang Jaya

The setting of the outlet is very much on the traditional side with wooden chairs, marble tables and Chinese calligraphy gracing the layout.

A resemblance of an ancient Chinese restaurant setting

Their menu

In contrast to the Bak Kut Teh that are always served in claypot, Pao Xiang Bak Kut Teh maintain the traditional form of serving - in a ceramic bowl.

The traditional way of Bak Kut Teh serving

Bak Kut Teh is best enjoyed when the soup are served piping hot. However, this is not achievable if they were serve traditionally. However, Pao Xiang Bak Kut Teh came out with a brilliant idea to counter this, by heating the ceramic bowl beneath with fuel wax. The constant heating were appreciated as the soup will not lose it's heat but can only get hotter.

Fuel wax to heat the ceramic bowl beneath

When dining in Pao Xiang, we cannot order a bowl of Bak Kut Teh that consist a mixture of different parts of the meat and intestines. At Pao Xiang, each bowl of Bak Kut Teh consisted of the only same part of meat or intestines. Having said so, if you want to enjoy 3 different parts of the meat, you will have to order 3 bowls that each consist a different type of the meat.

Sum Chan Bah aka Pork Belly (RM 9.50 per bowl)

The soup were very thick, flavourful and have a strong presence of herbal aroma. Upon after each mouthful of the soup, it gave you an experience that resembles a layer of oil lingering in your mouth due to the thickness of the soup. As for the meat, I really appreciate the huge chunks of pork belly that consist a good balance between meat and fat.

Teng Kia aka Pork Intestines (RM 9.50 per bowl)
The intestines were so chewy and well-infused with the strong herb taste of Bak Kut Teh. Another plus point is that there were not any unpleasant taste from the intestines.

Pork Stomach Intestines (RM 9.50 per bowl)

One of my favourite intestines and this didn't disappoint. The intestines were serve in a very large and thick pieces, offering a good chew. It came in a very generous portion as well.

It is always good to order a pot of tea to compliment your Bak Kut Teh. According to my dad, the tea will cleanse our digestive system after an oily meal especially Bak Kut Teh.

Cha Wang Tea (RM 5 per teabag)

The total amount for the bill came to RM 37.50 which inclusive of rice and 5 % service charge(guess it is the only Bak Kut Teh stall that imposed such charges). With the quality of ingredients and the generousness of the serving, I find the the food were reasonably priced. However, I find the Pao Xiang Bak Kut Teh soup and the taste were just too thick for my liking. Perhaps, it only suits those that really love the thick and a strong presence of herbal aroma in their Bak Kut Teh soup.

Atmosphere: 6/10

Food: 5/10 (non-halal)
Price: 5.5/10
Verdict: Only for those who love to enjoy thick Bak Kut Teh soup!

Pao Xiang Bak Kut Teh
SS 15 Outlet
No 56, Jalan SS15/4
Subang Jaya
46500, Petaling Jaya
Selangor
Tel: 03 - 5621 1779

Restoran Puchong Yong Tau Fo @ Bandar Puteri, Puchong

I'm a big fan of Yong Tau Foo. I would not have known that Puchong have places that serve good and tasty Yong Tau Foo until my parents brought me to the stall located in Batu 14 Puchong years back. Since then, I've learn that Puchong has their very own version of Yong Tau Foo as well.

It was one fine Sunday when I was hunting for food with my parents in Bandar Puteri Puchong. Then our attention was caught by a rather striking orange colour signboard. It reads, Restoran Puchong Yong Tau Fo. Since my family always have the craving for Yong Tau Foo, we decided to give it a try.

Restoran Puchong Yong Tau Fo, Bandar Puteri

I supposed it's business started not too long ago as almost everything from the table to the renovation looks new to me. Apart from that, I'm rather impressed with their cleanliness of the business premise as well.

Two thumbs up for the premise cleanliness

The first thing that you need to do before you get to enjoy your Puchong Yong Tau Foo is to head to the corner to pick your own un-stuffed Yong Tau Foo. They have plenty of varieties here, namely: brinjals, ladies finger, bitter groud, red chillies, fu chuk(beancurd skin) and tau pok. After picking them up with the tongs, just hand it over to the person in charge before returning to your table to wait for your Yong Tau Foo to be served.

Pick what you want

Besides Yong Tau Foo, they do offer other food as well.

Paper Wrap Chicken (RM 3.50)
This is one of the many side dishes that I won't miss ordering ever since my first visit. The chicken was well marinated and were overwhelmed with gravy, much to my liking. Be caution when you are unwrapping, because it is served pipping hot. Remember to ask for different part of the chicken as well, because I was being served chicken wing for twice already, how unfortunate!

Chee Cheong Fun (RM 0.70 per roll)
They serve the round Chee Cheong Fun here. Pretty ordinary, and a good substitute to rice.

Even though there was a large crowd, our Yong Tau Foo was served to us in less than 15 minutes.

Puchong Yong Tau Foo in Soup (RM 1.20 per piece)

Fish paste genuinity, where it should have the sweetness and a fresh fish aroma less the muddy taste and to compliment with a spongy texture, is what that distinguish a good Yong Tau Foo. At here, the fish paste scored well for me to reckon it as a good Yong Tau Foo. Not only that, the ingredients were very fresh as well.

The second thing that you should not miss out when having Puchong Yong Tau Foo is to have some sips in their soup.

Puchong Yong Tau Foo soup with star gooseberry
The soup here are no ordinary soup where you usually find it at a normal Yong Tau Foo stall. The soup were brimming with sweetness that will keep you sipping it. It makes me wonder at times, how much MSG have they poured in to the soup. However, I don't feel the extra thirst after the meal and that does the soup a justice. If you are fan of su chai choy (sweet leaves or gooseberry), you will love the abundance of it in the soup.

Deep fried stuffed egg plants (RM 1.20 per piece)
One of my favourite piece of ingredient during my Yong Tau Foo feast. I'd particularly like the generousness of the fish paste stuffed into the egg plants.

How can a good Yong Tau Foo be deprived of deep fried ingredients stuffed with paste. They have the usual variety like bean curd skin, sui kow (dumpling) and even oil fritters.

Mixed Variety of Deep Fried Puchong Yong Tau Foo (RM 1.20 per piece)
Among the varieties, you should not miss out the deep fried fu chuk(bean curd skin). Contrast to the usual preparation where the fu chuk piece is rolled, the fu chuck piece here with fish paste spread on top of it are being deep fried in a piece. It resulted to a tremendous crispiness of the fu chuk that went so well with the fish paste.

At RM 1.20 for a piece of Yong Tau Foo, some would reckon that it is a little pricey. However, I find the price are reasonable with the fact that the Yong Tau Foo pieces are huge and came with a very generous stuffing of genuine fish paste.

Forget about traveling to the deeper area of Puchong in Batu 14. I find this place serve equally good Puchong Yong Tau Foo, if not better. You will not be disappointed.

Atmosphere: 5/10

Food: 8/10
Price: 6.5/10
Verdict: A new place to satisfy my craving for good Yong Tau Foo!

Restoran Puchong Yong Tau Fo
No 21, Jalan Puteri 2/2
Bandar Puteri
47100, Puchong
Selangor

Business hours: 11.30 am - 9 pm daily

Yip's Kitchen Noodle Specialist @ Sunway Pyramid

Yip's Kitchen Noodle Specialist started off their business with a shop in Subang Indah shop lots in the early 90's. Back then, they were considered to be one of the shop that serves better wonton noodles around the Subang neighbourhood area.

When Sunway Pyramid opened it's door to the public in 1995, Yip's Kitchen Noodle Specialist expand it's business by opening a branch here. Even though it has shifted from it's original shop location in Sunway Pyramid, it still continues to present until today.

Yip's Kitchen Noodle Specialist

Various drinks are there to be chosen from the menu. But, I'm into Chinese tea as of late.

Chinese Tea (RM 1.60)

Throughout the years, beside the wonton noodles, there are many other type of cuisine that is added to the menu. However, my preference would still be their wanton noodles.

Hong Kong Wanton Noodles (RM 8.50)
Whenever I opted for wonton noodles, I am very particular with the textures of their noodles. The noodles here were on the springy side and there is no hint of unpleasant lye water taste, much to my pleasure. As for the gravy, I would rate it as very average as it lacked the fragrance that brings out a better a flavour to the noodles.

Hong Kong Crispy Roasted Duck Noodles (RM 10.50)
The duck meat were tender and juicy but the skin were not as crispy as it claims. The roasted duck were lacking in flavour as well. I would rate it as very average despite it's fancy name.

Shrimp and Meat Wanton in Soup (RM 7.20 for 6 pcs)
The wanton tasted alright but the shrimp within and the meat portion were very small. Judging from the price attached to it, I expected a bigger size of wanton.

This stall used to be one of the stall where I can get better taste of wanton noodles. However on my previous visit after a long absence, I find the taste and the quality has deteriorated. The only thing that I saw an increase is the price tag of the food (with 10 % service charge on top of the total bill).

Atmosphere: 5/10

Food: 5/10 (non-halal)
Price: 4/10
Verdict: Not a place anymore to satisfy my craving for wanton noodles. The taste and the portion of the food do not justice to the price attached to it!

Yip's Kitchen Noodle Specialist
Lot LG2.52-53, Lower Level Two
Sunway Pyramid Shopping Mall
3, Jalan PJS 11/15, Bandar Sunway
46150, Petaling Jaya
Selangor
Tel: 603 - 7492 6028

Restoran Hai Thian @ Bandar Putra Permai, Seri Kembangan

It was the birthday of my senior cousin brother. A little celebration was thrown amongst the close knitted relatives to mark this memorable day. We were invited for a dinner at Restaurant Hai Thian located in a fairly new township of Bandar Putra Permai.

This would be my first time visiting this restaurant which has a rather interesting name, Hai Thian, which literally means "sea sky". Nonetheless, I was hoping that the food served on the night would be as interesting as well, if not better.

Restaurant Hai Thian

The restaurant was nicely setup with some ancient touch of Chinese settings. While I was quite impressed with their settings, however it is not the case for their ambiance as I find the noise level here were higher than a usual Chinese restaurant.

A Saturday night and it was very crowded

As I was looking around, my attention was caught by some drawings on the restaurant's pillar.

Ancient Chinese wordings art

Our dinner started momentarily where we were each served with a personal serving of appetizer.

A little Buddha statue on the lid?

From the outlook of the bowl, I'd guess that it would be some kind of shark fin soup. And, I was wrong the moment I uncovered it. It was actually the authentic Chinese premium soup of all time, the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.

Buddha Jumps Over the Wall
The bowl consisted of a big juicy scallop, pieces of fish maws and a chunk of escargot. It was a bowl of soup that are full with goodies that are supposed to heal you. It tasted very rich but it is not something that I fancy a lot.

Two Combination of Prawn Platter
It came in two flavour, breaded prawn with Nestum and fried prawn coated with mayonnaise. The fried prawn coated with mayonnaise tasted very ordinary while the Nestum prawn fared a little bit better with the Nestum fragrant blending in well with the prawn. Nonetheless, the prawns served were very fresh, offering a spongy texture.

Special Steamed Tilapia Fish
It is called "Yau Wat" style in Cantonese, which literally means the fish is prepared by soaking the fish briefly in the oil. Having said so, the end result is a very oily cuisine. Though it surprisingly tasted good with the shallots and the fried garlic blending in well, it is a big no no for diet watcher.

Stir Fried Green Pea with Scallops
It was served with a generous servings of fresh and juicy scallops. Apart from it, I'd particularly like the light seasoning where it brings out best the sweetness and the freshness of the green peas.

Two Combination of Chicken Platter
One of it was the roasted chicken while the other one was the fried breaded chicken. A pretty ordinary cuisine.

Braised Pork Ribs
The meat were braised so well that you could felt the meat were melting in the mouth. Not only that, the gravy were brimming with flavour too and it went so well with the accompanying man tao(bun). It was one of my favourite dish for the night.

Braised Longevity Noodles
Every Chinese believed that longevity noodles is a must during a birthday occasion. I used to enjoy this dish a lot, but on that night, I just had a very small portion of it. Tasteless is the word to define it all.

Longevity Bun
Looked cute, but I can't consume them as I'm allergy to the lotus paste within.

Sweetened Longan Syrup Dessert
It can only be better if they were served with herbal jelly.

The Jelly Birthday Cake

My parents with Sister Lai Fong and the Birthday Man

Happy Birthday Cousin Brother with many happy returns!=)

I would reckon that some of the food that I ate that night were not something that I usually will have for a dinner. Overall, the food were rather enjoyable even though there were some misses. If you'd ask me whether will I revisit this restaurant, my answer will be a straight yes.

Thank you cousin brother for inviting us to the dinner. We hope you have enjoyed on that night as much as we do.

Atmosphere: 5/10 (slightly noisy)

Food: 6.5/10 (non-halal)
Price: Unknown
Verdict: Love the stir fried green peas with scallops and the pork ribs!

Restoran Hai Thian
No. 9, Jalan BPP 8/2
Bandar Putra Permai
43300, Seri Kembangan
Selangor
Malaysia
Tel: 603 - 8943 5002 / 603 - 8948 8781 / 603 - 8945 4160
Business hours: Lunch 11 am - 2.30 pm daily; Dinner 5 pm - 10.30 pm daily
(Closes on every Monday except if public holidays fall on the Monday)

OldTown White Coffee @ Central Market, Kuala Lumpur

They started off as only a mere coffee shop in Ipoh. As the business is passed on to the younger generation, the brand of Old Town White Coffee just keep on growing. Not only that their product of white coffee is getting so popular in the supermarkets, you will also notice that Old Town White Coffee is blooming out like a mushroom all over the place in Malaysia.

Operating in a franchise manner, every OldTown White Coffee shop offers the same signature drinks and food. Each of the shop are designed alike too, resembling the old-fashioned coffee shop layout but with a modern twist; air-conditioned and the availability of free Wi-Fi connectivity.

OldTown White Coffee in Central Market, Kuala Lumpur

Recently, I was at Central Market accompanying my cousins, Judy Jie Jie and Jin Sern to shop for souvenirs for their friends abroad. Not being home for more than 6 years, Judy Jie Jie just can't had enough of Malaysian food, she decided to had the tea time at Old Town White Coffee in Central Market.

Hot White Coffee (RM 3.50)
The signature drink of Old Town White Coffee. The coffee tasted decent to me, but I find it slightly on the sweet side with less coffee aroma.

Hot White Coffee Gao (RM 3.50)
I'd definitely prefer this. The sweetness is just great, blending well with the richer coffee aroma.

Here are some of the their signature food that we ordered.

OldTown Rendang Chicken Rice (RM 10.50)
One of a local delight, the rice is being served with sambal, cucumber, papadam (fried chips) and a piece of rendang chicken. Similar to nasi lemak, a greatness of this local delight is determined by the taste of the sambal and rendang gravy. The sambal here were thick and were cooked with a decent amount of anchovies and shallots. Coupled with the flavourful and aromatic Rendang chicken, it has to be one of a better Rendang chicken rice that you can find around.

Supreme Nasi Lemak (RM 10.90)
It comes with a decent piece of curry chicken and a small portion of sambal sotong. While the sambal sotong was decent, the curry chicken however was lacking in flavour. Fortunately, the sambal taste were of the same like the one in rendang chicken rice.

Curry Potato Paratha (RM 5.50 per set with a hot drink)

Also known as roti canai. Nothing great and given a choice, I would prefer the one served in mamak anytime. The dhal (gravy) were disappointing too-very diluted.

My both cousins enjoyed the food and drinks here a lot which is not surprising as they are abroad most of the time. Certainly, OldTown White Coffee did offer decent local delights with a better ambiance than of a conventional coffee shop. Minus the pricier price tag, OldTown White Coffee is an ideal place for a yumcha(drinking tea) session with your buddies.

Hot White Coffee: 5/10
Hot White Coffee Gao: 6/10
Oldtown Rendang Chicken Rice: 6.5/10
Supreme Nasi Lemak: 5/10
Curry Potato Paratha: 4/10

Atmosphere: 5.5/10
Price: 4.5/10
Verdict: Their hits are certainly the White Coffee, Nasi Rendang and Nasi Lemak.

Oldtown White Coffee Central Market
No. F & B 1,
Ground Floor, Central Market
Jalan Hang Kasturi, 50050
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 603 - 2260 6000
Business hours: 8 am - 9 pm daily
http://www.oldtown.com.my/

ECOBA Centurion Elimination Challenge @ PJ Trade Centre, Damansara Perdana [18th October 2010]

ECOBA is one of the many latest bar that emerge from the blooming bar industry in the Klang Valley. Located at the newly opened business park, PJ Trade Centre in Damansara Perdana, it is considered by many to be one of the most happening bar in Klang Valley.

Ecoba: Eat, Chill, Oogle

For those that is still in the dark about ECOBA, it is actually a place for you to chill with their in-house food and drinks. When I mentioned drinks here, it means boozes; from beers to liquors. Obviously, they do serve non-alcoholic drinks for those who are not so daring with alcohol.

Happening Monday atmosphere in ECOBA

Last year October I paid my first visit to ECOBA with my buddies, Michael, Iris, Hock Beng and Mei Kheng for a chill out session. More than an usual chilling session, our main purpose being here were to watch a live signature competition of ECOBA, Centurion Elimination Challenge.

ECOBA Centurion Elimination Stage

While waiting for the competition to start, Iris ordered a plate of pizza as our finger food.

Ecoba Pizza
Tasted pretty good.

So what is ECOBA Centurion Challenge? It is actually a competition where each session consists of 10 contestants who will be challenging themselves to down 100 shots each within 100 minutes. Each contestant is given a minute to finish up a shot of beer. After a shot of the beer is downed, the contestant will be given a fresh new minute to down the next shot. The process will continue until you down the 100th shots of beer and you will walk away with a whopping cash prize of RM 1,800. Sounds easy isn't it? However, you will be eliminated once your started to throw out. Oh ya, no toilet break is allowed too!

On my visit, ECOBA added a new twist to it's traditional Centurion Challenge. Named as the ECOBA Centurion Elimination Challange, each contestant will now takes turn to call for their desired shots (1 -10) for each minute. Same rules applied, but you will get extra RM 100 cash for each eliminated contestants up to an extra of RM 900 if you are the last man standing that able to finish up the 100th shots.

The challenge is about to start

There were only 9 contestants on my previous visit to Ecoba. God knows why the last contestant were missing. The 9 contestants for the 18th October 2010 consisted of 6 males (Mr Koh, Mr Goh, Adrian, Craig, Oliver and a teenager) and 3 Females (May, Kim and Jamie).

Contestants are all pumped up!

Pictures were not enough to express the madness and craziness of this fun-filled competition. Will the sole westerner for the night, Craig will defeat the rest of the Asians? Try taking a guess on who is the winner for the night before clicking the play button for the footage video of the ECOBA Centurion Challenge on the night of 18th October 2010 below:

Overall, it was a great experience chilling out in ECOBA. From the delicious pizza to looking at how much beer can do to a person during the challenge, it does give me reasons for a revisit to ECOBA real soon.

ECOBA Centurion Challenge is back by popular demand and is running on every Monday at 9.30pm. However, the challenge will be reschedule to every Saturday, pending time announcement. If you have the burning urge to join the challenge do remember to contact them first to avoid dissapointment. Do check out their facebook fans page at http://www.facebook.com/?ref=hp#!/ecoba.eat.chill.oOgle for the latest news and on-going promotion.

Pizza: 7.5/10

Atmosphere: 8/10
Price: 5.5/10
Verdict: Watching the Centurion Challenge was one-hella experience! Pizza was great too!

ECOBA Restaurant & Bar
PJ Trade Centre, Menara Bata Ground Floor
8, Jalan PJU 8/8a
47820, Selangor
Malaysia
Tel: 603 - 7710 1118 / 6012 - 930 3224
Business hours: Monday to Thursday: 11 am to 1 am; Friday: 11 am - 2 am;
Saturday: 4 pm - 2 am; Sunday: 4 pm-12 am
Website: http://www.ecoba.com.my/#/home