Meow Meow Seafood Grill Fish Restaurant @ Sunway Mentari

With so many new food stalls blooming in Sunway Mentari Business Park, it is really hard to keep track of them. One of the latest addition of food stall here name themselves as Meow Meow.

Don't get them wrong though, it is not a food stall serving cat related food but it's a stall that serves halal Chinese seafood. Their full name of the stall is rather long though, Meow Meow Seafood Grill Fish Restaurant and you can expect standard dishes that you get from a typical restaurant, with a few signature dish to boast.

Meow Meow Seafood Grill Fish Restaurant

There are two area that you can opt to dine in, the air-conditioned area in the inside or the al-fresco way along the walkway outside.

Air-conditioned in the inside

I've been here twice and here are some of the food that I've tried.

Claypot Bean Curd (RM 12)
Consisted of Japanese bean curd that comes together with mixed vegetables, mushrooms, prawns and chicken fillets. It tasted pretty decent and comes in a generous portion. One of the dish that went really well with the rice.

Stir Fried "Four Heavenly Vegetables" (RM 12)
Lady fingers, eggplant, long beans and petai are being fried with sambal belacan. It was full with flavour where the sambal coated the vegetables really well. Not only that, they stir fried them to really dry and it brings out the best of sambal belacan. Twice I've eaten, and twice it taste as great!

Fried Kung- Pow Styled Mantis Prawn (RM 12)
Another dish that are bursting with flavour. Full of wok-hei but the mantis prawn are rather small though as you tasted more flour than the meat.

Herbal Steamed Chicken (RM 20)
One of their signature dish here. The chicken pieces are wrapped in an aluminum foil taste before it was steamed. It has a mild taste of herbal with some hint of Chinese wine. I don't find the taste as impressive as how my Mum finds it.

Wouldn't a visit to a seafood grill restaurant is incomplete if it did not consist of any seafood?

Tom Yam Steamed Prawn (RM 32)
Served in an aluminium foil, the fresh succulent and juicy tiger prawn comes with an ass-kicking tom yam flavoured gravy. The sweetness and the sourness are perfectly balanced, like the one you've always wish for in a good tom yam. A very appetizing dish indeed.

They do serve crab as well but it is dependent on the crab availability from their supplier. Don't expect large size crab here as the size of the crab here are fairly small to slightly medium size.

Marmite Fried Crab (RM 42 per kg, varied as per seasonal rate)
Tasted decent but could have been better if the gravy are less salty. A plus point is that the crab are fresh, resulting to a succulent meat.

Homemade Cocunut Jelly
A complimentary dessert after the meal. It was ok, after all, you don't complain on complimentary food, don't ya?

Twice I've been here and I must admit that I'm quite impressed with their food. The taste were consistent throughout my visits. The price of the food are reasonable and come in a fairly decent portion. Definitely a recommended place to have a simple yet delicious food that comes with a reasonable price.

Atmosphere: 5.5/10
Food: 7.5/10
Price: 6.5/10
Verdict: Do not missed out on the Stir Fried "Four Heavenly Vegetables" and the Tom Yam Steamed Prawn.

Meow Meow Seafood Grill Fish Restaurant
No 21, Jalan PJS 8/17
Dataran Mentari, Bandar Sunway
46150, Petaling Jaya
Selangor
Tel: 603 - 5622 2673
Mobile: 6012 - 619 8881 / 6012 - 218 8049 (Ah Meow)
Email: michellescorpio@gmail.com
Business hours: Daily dinner: 5pm - 10.30pm

Ocean Batu Maung Seafood Restaurant @ Batu Maung, Penang

When I first came to Penang as a kid in the mid 90's, my Uncle brought me to a fishing village known as Batu Maung for seafood. From that time on, we will never miss visiting Batu Maung for seafood whenever we are in Penang. The memory is still fond till today, especially on the taste of the deliciously prepared baked meat crab.

Time flies and it is already year 2010. My parents and I decided to revisit Batu Maung for some seafood but we were informed by our favourite old restaurant operator that the restaurant has no longer in business. Disappointed I was, I was not about to give up. On my last night on my previous trip to Penang, I drove all the way to Batu Maung with Pei Yee and we found a relatively new seafood restaurant in the name of Ocean Batu Maung Seafood Restaurant.

Ocean Batu Maung Restaurant

The place look relatively new from the outside and later I was informed that this restaurant has been relocated here from the deeper side of Batu Maung.

A newly renovated restaurant

Unlike the former Batu Maung seafood restaurant, this newly renovated restaurant offered a cooling air-conditioned atmosphere.

Clean and cozy atmosphere

Since we are at Batu Maung, we ordered nothing but just seafood and seafood.

Kam Heong La La (RM 8 per plate)
The generous accompaniments of dried shrimps and curry leaves brings out the true Kam Heong flavour. Not only that, it was neither fried too dry nor too soggy. Defnitely fit to be one of the better kam heong la-la that I have tasted.

Fried Squids (RM 8 per plate)
I thought the flour coating of the squids were lacking in flavour. Even the crispiness and the chili sauce failed to make it taste any better.

Grilled Fish (RM 16 per plate)
I was not impressed with their grilled fish. The chili gravy (sambal) coating tasted awful with a very strong and weird taste of belacan.

Next, time for the infamous old favourite seafood dish of mine, the baked crab.

Ocean Batu Maung Baked Crab (RM 45 per kilo)

The size of the crab served on that night were pretty decent with a crab weighing 400g to 500g each.

Smile crabby!

The taste of it?
I still believe that meat crab are best eaten by baking them just like how Batu Maung seafood restaurant prepares them. It maintained the succulence and tenderness of the slightly spongy crab meat. Besides that, you get to taste the natural sweetness of the crab as well. And yes, I have to admit that Ocean Batu Maung Seafood Restaurant brings back the good old memories of a delicious baked crab. Not only that, the crab meat here tasted insanely sweet that I thought I'm eating sugar. Two thumbs up from me!

Complimentary Mixed Fruit Platter

Just before we went off, we went to observe their live seafood tank section.

The live seafood tanks

Fresh and still alive

Some other seafood for your choice

The total bill came to RM 86.50 inclusive of drinks and wet towels. I thought the price was very reasonable judging the portion of their serving and the amount of seafood that we had. Adding on, they do not have extra surcharge of service or government charges.

Overall, the seafood dinner was enjoyable with a very cozy ambiance. Definitely I'll be back for more crab and crabs on my next Penang trip.

Kam Heong La La: 7/10
Fried Squids: 4.5/10
Grilled Fish: 4/10
Baked Crab: 9/10

Atmosphere: 6/10
Price: 7.5/10
Verdict: Their baked crab is a bomb while the grilled fish is forgettable.

Ocean Batu Maung Seafood Restaurant
(right beside Pelabuhan Perikanan MITP Batu Maung)
Unit B1 to Bangsal Industrial MITP Batu Maung Fisher Port
Batu Maung
11960, Bayan Lepas
Penang
Tel: 04 - 6266 928
Fax: 04 - 6266 928

Canton-i Wonton Noodles @ Sunway Pyramid

Canton-i is a new Chinese restaurant under the chain restaurants of Dragon-i. While Dragon-i main offerings is Shanghai cuisine, Canton-i claimed to offer authentic Cantonese cuisine.

Honestly, apart from their soup, noodles and roasted meat rice, I'm really clueless on what authentic Cantonese cuisine are all about. On my first visit to Canton-i at Sunway Pyramid, I'm really curious on what they have on their menu.

Canton-i, Sunway Pyramid

The setting is pretty simple yet created a very cozy and welcoming ambiance for you to enjoy your meal.

Welcoming ambiance

Jasmine Pearl Tea (RM 5 per pax)
The pot is being heated with candle fire beneath to keep the tea hot. No worries about your tea turned cold even though the air-condition is at full blast.

Tea in a coffee cup size

I'd wanted to order a plate of roasted pork belly but it ran out of order. In the end, I had to settle for a plate of assorted roast meat with plain rice.

Assorted Roast Meat and Seafood with Plain Rice (RM 15.80)
It tasted decent and I don't find anything special about it. Perhaps, the roasted pork deserved some mentioning for it's taste and juiciness, but other assortment really were very average. Making things worse, the assortment came in a very stingy portion.

How can the visit be completed without tasting their signature cuisine of Wonton Noodles with any 2 combination of Wonton, Sui Kow Dumpling, Honey-glazed BBQ pork, Roasted Pork Belly, Japanese Pork Rib, Soy Sauce Chicken and Beef Brisket. I chose the typical combination of Wan Ton with Honey-glazed BBQ pork (char siew).

Wonton Noodles with Char Siew (RM 14.80)
The most important aspect of this cuisine lied with the texture of the noodles. And, I must say it did not disappoint me. The noodles were unbelievably springy yet smooth, and were well flavoured with their in-house gravy. Char Siew deserved some mentioning too for it's tenderness and juiciness. Awesome stuff!

The Wonton

Huge and consisted a load of fresh shrimps with meat. Each bite on it unfolded the sweetness and the juiciness of the filling that is sure to be memorable.

Whilst I have nothing against their quality of food, however I find their serving were rather stingy. A place where you go for quality instead of quantity and definitely not a place for those who eat to live.

Assorted Roast Meat and Seafood with Plain Rice: 5.5/10 (non-halal)
Wonton Noodles: 7.5/10 (non-halal)

Atmosphere: 7/10

Price: 4/10
Verdict: Price is on the steep side, but do not missed out the Wonton Noodles should you visit this place!

Canton-i Restaurant Sunway Pyramid

G1.11 2 & G1.113
Ground Floor, Oasis Boulevard
Sunway Pyramid
3, Jalan PJS 11/15
Bandar Sunway,46150
Petaling Jaya, Selagor
Malaysia
Tel: 03 - 5636 2888
Fax: 03 - 5636 4888

Sushi Zanmai @ The Gardens, Mid Valley City

There is no doubt that there are a lot of household franchise name offering some decent sushi in the Klang Valley region. But how often you came across crowd queuing up just to get a table and not even the food yet? What's even astonishing were that the impatience people of Klang Valley could actually queue up for some sushi.

The stall I was referring to is Sushi Zanmai. It may be a pretty new name in Malaysia sushi franchise industry, but the name has gain recognition amongst the sushi lovers in Malaysia. Each time I have the urge to try them out, but was pulled back by the long queue especially during the peak hours and weekends. Finally, my chance arises on a normal weekday during the non-peak hours at the Sushi Zanmai located in The Gardens, Mid Valley City.

Sushi Zanmai at The Gardens

It was only a quarter after 5 at my time of visit, and the place were already almost full with very little vacant table left.

At 5pm and the place were already almost full

The settings of place very much resembles the outlay of a Japanese restaurant with wood and sakura trees are the main theme of the layout.

Great ambiance and layout at Sushi Zanmai

So while waiting four our fresh sushi to be served on the table, I prepared some wasabi and Japanese soy sauce as the dip for my sushi. Just a thought on what is the different between wasabi and chillies? Chillies burn your tongue while wasabis excite your taste bud nerves particularly when you take too many at one go.

Wasabi with Japanese Soy Sauce

Jo Unagi (RM 6.80)
Their proclaimed premium roasted eel. Fair enough, it lived up to the expectation by offering a very meaty flavourful unagi. It was lip smacking good, a must order dish for those unagi lovers!

Salmon Zanmai (RM 19.80)
A platter of sushi that consisted of salmon, salmon belly, broiled salmon, smoked salmon and salmon roll.

Salmon and Broiled Salmon
The normal salmon tasted very fresh and smooth. The broiled salmon meanwhile offered a very unique taste of a little burnt on the top layer while being soft and smooth on the bottom layer.

Smoked Salmon and Salmon Belly
Smoked salmon was salted and resembles the taste of a bacon, a pretty new taste to me. I'd always like the Salmon Belly part and this is no exception. It was fresh and way smoother than the salmon meat.

Salmon Roll
Very ordinary sushi roll with some salmon meat within.

Tuna Salad and Salmon Salad (RM 2.80 each in a pair of 2)
Both the salad sushi consisted a lot of filling that came with a decent portion of diced vegetables for some extra chewiness. The taste were pretty ordinary but I find the tuna salad was slightly on the tangy side.

Chawanmushi (RM 4.80)
Japanese steamed egg in a cup that consisted of some meat and seafood.

Rokko, 6 kinds (RM 30 for 2 pieces each platter)
A platter of raw sashimi that consisted of tuna, yellow-tail, salmon, sweet shrimp, octopus and cuttlefish. I'd particularly enjoyed the tuna and salmon sashimi as they were both very fresh. However, I find the yellow-tail fish tasted too fishy and the texture was way too soft to the extent it break apart easily. Octopus and cuttlefish provided a different dimension for it's juiciness and chewiness while the sweet shrimp is a big no-no from me because it tasted too sweet and the meat seems to be in a rotten state.

Spider Roll (RM 12.80)
A soft shell crab roll that is topped with avocado and mayonnaise. A real bomb! Mayonnaise that melts in your mouth initially before the crispiness and sweetness of soft shell crab that rolled in upon each bite. With extra fragrant from the avocado, this got to be my favourite sushi for that day. Simply awesome!

All in all which inclusive of refillable grean tea and service charges, the total bill came to RM 96.15. The price might be a little on the steep side, but I've got no complain for the quality and taste of food that were being served. And now I know why those sushi lovers are willing to queue up even the queue look extraordinary long.

Atmosphere: 7/10
Food: 7.5/10
Price: 4.5/10
Verdict: Avoid visiting during peak hours to avoid queuing up!

Sushi Zanmai - The Gardens
Lot T217, Third Floor
The Gardens, Mid Valley City
Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200
Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Tel: 03 - 2282 1160 / 012 - 702 1160
Business hours: 10am - 10pm

Dragon-i Restaurant La Mian @ Sunway Pyramid

One of the premium Chinese restaurant that I liked to patronize is Dragon-i Restaurant. The name of the restaurant itself already sounded premium, even more premium when it is called in Chinese, Long Tik Chuen Yan, which literally means authentic Chinese.

Dragon-I Restaurant which serves authentic Shanghainese cuisines can be located in almost every major complexes in Klang Valley. They even have branches in Penang as well, at Queensbay Mall and The Gurney Plaza respectively. Since my house is in Sunway, I'd always tend to patronize this branch more often than other branches. Recently, I was there for a revisit of their food.

Dragon-i Restaurant

With the premium name, it is no surprise to see that they really set the place perfectly to a resemblance of authentic Chinese settings.

Welcoming oriental Chinese ambiance

Steamed Peanuts (RM 2)
Soft, mushy and flavourful, it can be pretty addictive.

Steamed Meat Dumpling (RM 9 per set of 4)
Known as "Siu Long Pao" in Chinese, each of the dumpling consisted of pork meat infused with their flavourful soup within. First bite will result in the soup bursting out in your mouth and instantly accompanied by the sweetness of it. A signature dish of theirs, I'd always enjoy eating them because they were freshly prepared and were served steaming hot. However, on my previous visit, the dumpling served was rather cold, thanks to the peak hours during the weekends.

Dragon-i are also well-known for their homemade noodles. Called the la mian, it literally means "pulled noodles", because the noodles are prepared by constant pulling and stretching from the fresh dough until they were shaped into noodles form.

As the la mian were only prepared upon each order, it resulted to a very smooth and springy texture. And, the length of each of the noodle were almost endless, so it is good to request for a cut on the la mian.

La Mian with Braised Pork Rib (RM 15)
The soup tasted very porky with a rich flavour coming from the braised pork rib. As for the pork rib, it was very tender and their meat were well infused with their aromatic braised seasoning.

Fried La Mian with Black Pepper Chicken (RM 15)
Tasted decent with slight hint of wok hei but I'd prefer it to be heavier flavoured with black pepper.

And as for the desserts,

Glutinous Rice Ball in Mango Juice with Extra Mango (RM 10)
The mango juice came in the form of shaved ice, offering a very smooth and cooling experience of enjoying the dessert. However, I was really disappointed with their glutinous rice ball that was as hard as a fried squid.

So I complained about the glutinous rice ball to an attendant and he promised me to replace me with a new one. Shortly, he came back with the same old bowl telling me that the glutinous rice ball were pre-prepared that were supposed to in such state because it was included together when the dessert was chilled in the fridge. I told him on my previous experience at other branch, it was not supposed to be like this. Then he told me that he has changed those glutinous rice ball for me.

As I thought everything was fine, the glutinous rice ball appeared to still be in a sorry state. I really wondered do they really has changed them or merely just taking the bowl in and out. So I called the attendant again, and proved to him the glutinous ball were still as hard by poking them with the spoon but yet it is impenetrable. So he went away again with my bowl of dessert and to the kitchen reception counter, conveying my problem to them.

Then suddenly, I heard the lady cashier shouting at the attendant. Since I was seated quite near to the counter, she shouted " What's the fuss? Just ask him (referring to me) to eat the glutinous ball. Tell him the glutinous ball is like that, eat it or leave it." I seriously felt pissed after hearing that. What? You are telling me that the glutinous ball should be as hard as the squid? Are you kidding me? What's with that kinda attitude when all I demand was just a decent glutinous ball. If you tell me the glutinous ball should be as hard as the squid, then please include them in your description of the menu. Else, I just don't buy that!

So I complained her attitude to a female captain and she apologized on her behalf. Then came another lady attendant which apologized on her behalf also. I was told that rude lady was having her bad day, but my reply to them was "You guys are in the customer service industry. No matter how, when, or what, you guys should always serve with a smile and pride". At the end, I was given a complimentary of another dessert.

Mango Sorbet with Pamelo Pulps (RM 12)
Still another mango dessert, but this one is slightly more expensive. The mango sorbet were smooth and well infused with the mango juice. Pamelo pulps provided some extra tanginess to the dessert, making it a better kick!

I am still satisfied with their food minus the slightly colder dumpling. However, I told myself not to visit this Sunway branch anymore for the unprofessionalism shown in resolving customers issue. It's a shame to the rude cashier lady for humiliating herself and tarnishing the good images of Dragon-i Restaurant, particularly for the Sunway Pyramid branch.

I BANNED SUNWAY PYRAMID BRANCH Dragon-i Restaurant!!

Steamed Meat Dumpling: 6.5/10 (non-halal)

La Mian with Braised Pork Rib: 7/10 (non-halal)
Fried La Mian with Black Pepper Chicken: 6/10
Glutinious Rice Ball in Mango Juice: 4/10
Mango Sorbet with Pamelo Pulps: 6.5/10

Atmosphere: 7/10

Price: 4/10
Verdict: Their authentic Chinese food is pretty good but it came with a more expensive price tag. Do visit other branches, but not the Sunway Pyramid branch!

Dragon - i Restaurant (SP) Sdn Bhd
G1.43, Ground Floor
Sunway Pyramid
3, Jalan PJS 11/15
Bandar Sunway,46150
Petaling Jaya, Selagor
Malaysia
Tel: 03 - 7492 3688
Fax: 03 - 7492 3988
http://www.dragon-i.com.my/