Dimsum Lunch at Tai Thong Imperial Garden, PJ

Just a side note that all the photos in this post were taken with our new iPhone 4. How's the quality of the 5-megapixel camera with LED flash? You decide!

Anyway our dimsum lunch destination is Imperial Garden in PJ, which is part of the Tai Thong group of restaurants. It's on the 7th floor of a building named Intan Square, next to the Armada Hotel. Decorations are 'ok' for a Chinese restaurant, but the layout is a bit odd - it's something like a 4 table by 15 table layout.


I can't remember which of you jokers told me that the siew yuk (Roast Pork Belly) here is the best in town, but it was nothing special. And at $25.00 for this portion, pretty expensive too. The skin was only just semi-crispy, and the meat was also on the chewy side (for siew yuk). Don't get me wrong, it's actually not bad, but nowhere near 'best in town.'


Nevertheless, on to the dimsum! The siew mai is nice and juicy - as it is only steamed upon ordering. The char siu pao was also pretty good. Bread was soft and fluffy, with generous meat stuffings. Taste-wise only above average, though.


Deep Fried Salad Prawn was also quite good, with some nice fresh and juicy prawns. Unfortunately the woo kok was a rather big miss - too much yam and too little fillings. Plus the overall taste was just a bit bland.


Overall, the dimsum was quite decent, but the pricing is a bit on the high side. Siew Yuk, Char Siu Pao, Siew Mai x2, Salad Prawn and Woo Kok isn't really quite enough for two, but even that already cost slightly above MYR70.00. Hard to recommend coming here for dimsum lunch when other places such as Jin Xuan are better, cheaper, and just 10 minutes drive away.

Imperial Garden Restaurant
7th Floor, Intan Square,
No. 3, Lorong Utara C,
46200 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor Darul Ehsan.

Imperial Garden PJ - Banquet Information

Congratulations to Mr Frankie Su whose beloved son Victor might be back in KL to do wedding luncheon/dinner! Anyways, was helping to check out the banquet information at Imperial Garden, Tai Thong, PJ (the one next to Armada Hotel).




The prices above are nett only if you have 30 tables or more. If you have less than 30 tables, need to add MYR30.00, and +15% (10% for service charge, 5% govt tax), i.e. set A instead of MYR638.00 nett, would be MYR802.70 nett. For that, you still get the following benefits except the 3 crossed-out items:


Here's a view of the big banquet hall. If the big hall is not booked, the restaurant will let you use it irrespective of number of tables; otherwise the smaller party will have to make do with the small hall.


Closer view of the VIP table and stage:


View of the "back" of the small hall:


View of the "front" of the small hall. Small hall only can seat 17 tables max.


Deposit is RM3000.00 (cash) and your booking will only be confirmed upon payment of this deposit. Number of tables must be confirmed 1 week before banquet date, and after that date, only allowed to add more tables (not allowed to subtract/reduce).

Other things ... uh ...
- Parking is MYR3.00 per car, at the basement of the building (Free 1 car for bride/groom).
- Small hall has sound system and projector but don't have karaoke.
- Haven't tried the dinner, but I had dimsum lunch and it was decent (full review to be posted later).

Fried Potatoes and Fried Chicken at Asian Avenue, Sunway Pyramid

So anyway, did you know that the Asian Avenue wing of Sunway Pyramid, all the way on the top floor, has a pretty big eatery area? Neither did I, until a few days ago, when we kind of wandered across it by chance. We try two of them - first one up is Pommes Frites which serves 'authentic Belgian fries and mussels.'


The difference is that unlike most other places, their fries are freshly sliced potatoes. There are a bunch of different dips available - we went for a large fries (300g) with Honey Mustard dip (MYR7.50). Unfortunately I have to say there's nothing really that special about the fries, and the dip - way too kiamsiap - you see the amount of fries vs the amount of dip also will know that it's not enough.


Onward to Shihlin Taiwan Street Snacks which has been in KL for quite a while now. Among other things their famous food seems to be the XXL Crispy Fried Chicken, Sweet Potato Fries, Seafood Tempura and Oyster Mee Sua.


We're hungry, so we go for the Happy Lunchbox (MYR10.00), which is Crispy Fried Chicken on rice, with taufoo, century egg, and a drink (choice of water or soybean). I love eating Crispy Chicken - whether it's here or at pasar malams, having it here as a lunchbox turns a snack into a full meal.


According to the Pyramid website there's currently about twelve outlets, so if you find yourself hungry while doing your shopping you might be able to find something here that tickles your fancy!

B4 - Beer, BBQ, Banda & Bandido at QBA, the Westin KL

A few months ago, out of the blue and for no obvious reason, I was somehow invited by Westin's F&B Team to attend B4 - Beer, BBQ, Banda & Bandido (last two are Band and Buffet) at QBA at the Westin KL. Nice perks eh? Except that being a n00b|3 blogger, I kind of ... didn't check my comments ... and sort of ... missed the invite. Haha. So no choice lor, have to pay.

Luckily, managed to get my hands on a free B4 voucher for one, so effectively have half price :)


QBA is a very nicely decorated place. It's a bar-cum-restaurant-cum-cigar bar. The entrance areas house a bar ...


... and the lounging/relaxing area for enjoying cigars and whiskey. Not that I'd know anything about either of those two things :P


Anyway the entire concept of B4 revolves around a few things: unlimited beer, cocktails and other drinks, food, BBQ - and music (a live band takes turns with a DJ spinning salsa music). We start off with a couple of Bandido's - frozen margaritas.


I don't know the proper names for any of these, so I'll just stick to English :) Anyway, we're served with some cold seafood starters on a bed of ice - prawns, crabs, mussels and oysters. They're very very fresh, and a perfect start to the evening. Love the presentation, too.


Having polished it off, our first 'main meal' stop is at the uh ... grilled uh ... tapas area:


Background: the Grilled prawns were nice, and very fresh.
Foreground: Grilled squid on tomatoes (nice), Grilled salmon on some sort of pancake (not so nice, the pancake was quite tasteless and salmon wasn't flavored strongly enough to compensate), and Olives on Grilled goat cheese (nice, if a tad bit too salty).


We then spot a huge plate of Spanish paella - it's a rice dish with lots of seafood - again, mussels, prawns and squid.


The paella was superb - kind of wish we had taken more. The side dishes were pretty good too - there was some sort of bean mash, beef mash (kind of like chili), and some lamb. Skip that biscuit/cracker looking thing in the back though, it's tasteless, dry, and hard.


We were quite amused by the size of this sub/sandwich. Didn't try, though.


Next up: the tortilla counter - made to order. I have chorizo sausage only - the darling has chorizo and chicken combination.


Delicious and juicy. Turns out to be a bit spicy though, so I end up more or less eating both (darling can't really take anything chili :P)


Corn-cakes corner. There are 4 different types of fillings for the corn cakes.


Sadly I can't quite remember what we had. One was bean and beef mash, I think the other was chicken and egg. The fillings were delicious, but I'm not so sure of the cakes - they were a bit hard, and had a pretty strong 'burnt' taste.


Centerpiece must of course, be the BBQ. Plenty of assortments of chicken, beef, lamb and fish - choose whatever tickles your fancy ...


... and hand it over to the chef manning the BBQ pit - he'll grill it perfectly and send it to your table.


The resulting grilled fish. The grilling was done pretty well, actually, but the fish was ... well, I'm not sure what fish that was, but it had a very strong 'fishy' smell/taste.


Grilled lamb sausage and egg combination. Sausage was delicious. Eggs were ... eggs ... haha.


By this point we're mucho stuffed but no choice, have to make room for dessert (no choice cos the waiters bring the desserts to your table once you're done). The 3 things were something like macarons - chocolate sauce sandwiched in light and fluffy pastry-like ... buns. In the foreground, these aren't popiah but instead something like rolled-up crepes - all delicious.


Snow fritter (tastes somewhat like a more fluffy & light donut), and chocolate mousse with cream. Also delicious.


And finally the last dish of the night - popsicles to refresh the palette. Couldn't decipher what flavour these were, probably some tropical fruit mix. I think there was some orange and some passion fruit, among others. Check out the presentation!


Wanted to stay to salsa a bit, but nobody else was dancing so a bit paiseh. That, and the darling didn't have the right shoes for salsa, so home we go!

Overall, I rate the experience decently high. The food is a mixed bag - some items were outstanding, some below average. But the experience (other than basically being seated next to a noisy road) is top-notch. I'd say the real complication comes from the price - it's about MYR170.00 per person after taxes and service charges. Is it worth it? If you drink, then yes, otherwise ... it can be a bit steep if you're paying full price

B4 is on every Saturday night at QBA, the Westin KL. Head on over to their website to make bookings or for more information!

Sanbanto Premium Pork - Butchery-cum-Eatery in SS2

Mum has been talking quite a few times about a butchery-cum-eatery in SS2 where she eats porky dishes, and then buys pork home for tomorrow's dinner. Being in the area, we drop by and pay a visit to see if it's as good as she says :)


There aren't actually that many tables, I think we counted about five. That's because more than half the shop is taken up by a butchery-area, and what seems to be a huge fridge/cold-room presumably for storing the pork. Decorations-wise it's cheery, and the menu doesn't take itself too seriously.


Speaking of the menu, there aren't actually that many items. We try the Sanbanto Pork Bolognese (MYR17.00), one of the chef's recommendations. Oddly enough it comes with what seems to be ... lasagna noodles. The minced pork is nice, and it's an interesting twist, but perhaps the pasta could do with a bit more sauce - it's too dry.


Next on the menu - another chef's recommendation - is the Sanbanto Bacon and Cheese Burger (MYR17.00). It's in a more traditional style than the pork burger we had at Kissaten a few days earlier in Lot 10 Hutong food court. Also quite nice, and the bacon, being pork, is awesome. Sadly beef or turkey bacon just isn't quite the same.


Coke, in a big glass, was $3.00, so overall the price is quite decent. Unfortunately neither of us was particularly impressed by the food - nothing special, to be honest. Mum says that the Ribs are to die for, though, which we didn't try.



Sanbanto
32, Jalan SS2/63,
Petaling Jaya,
Selangor

Lunch at Lot 10 Hutong Food Court

We've heard of Lot 10's Hutong Food Court for a while now, but as we're not working in KL, kind of ... hard to just drop by for lunch when it takes half an hour to go and half an hour back.


Anyways better late than never, so the darling and i finally take a trip to see what the hype is all about.


Initial impressions are that the decorations are somewhat ... multiple personality disorder-ish. Some parts of the food court have nice Chinese-style decorations:


... other corners have a pretty modern/minimalistic look:


... and I have no idea how to describe this corner:


Overall it can be quite maze-like and claustrophobic, and I'm fairly sure the place could do with a lot more seating. Anyway, our first stop is the Imbi Road Pork Noodles stall for which we try the Peppered Pork Stomach Soup (MYR10.00). It's nice and peppery, and the pig stomach was cleaned quite well with no 'smell.' Boss of the place was a cheerful chap, too.


We also try the Hokkien Mee (MYR8.90) at Kim Liang Kee. The noodles are just simply delicious, but ... given the sheer amount of lard used to fry, probably not the most healthy of food choices.


Finally, on a suggestion from a random foursquare user, we also try the Teriyaki Pork Burger (MYR8.90) from Kissaten. It's got a very Japanese taste - lots of Mayo, and the pork patty is big and juicy.


Overall, given the very reasonable prices, it's a great place for lunch in the Bukit Bintang area, and I'd definitely drop by again the next time I'm in the area.

Stadt German Cuisine and Bistro - Father's Day Celebration!

Wow, been a week since my last update, didn't know time passed so quickly. Anyway just a short and sweet post. We went to Stadt German Cuisine and Bistro in Bandar Puteri Puchong to celebrate father's day.

(Side note: I find it a bit ridiculous and disgusting the way pretty much all restaurants set up these 'XXX' day special menus, and serve you the same food but charge you extra. But what to do, extra or no extra I go and eat and pay anyway, haha)

Forgot to take pictures of the interior, but it's nice and cosy, if a bit noisy. Also, we're limited to only a couple of (grossly overpriced) choices on the Father's Day special menu. Mum has the mushroom soup, which is actually pretty nice and non-creamed (I don't like cream-based mushroom soups).


On to the mains: we share two roast pork knuckles. The skin is nice and crispy, and the accompanying gravy complements the dish well. Pity the stingy sides though, check out the mashed potato, one mouthful already can finish.


We also go for a selection of sausages. Don't know the names of the individual sausages, but they were all delicious. Sausages with gravy and mustard, yum yum! I especially liked the one with melted cheese inside - think it was the long pinkish one. Naturally, these are pork sausages (as are all good sausages, methinks).


Overall, while the quality of the food was pretty nice and the ambience quite inviting, the prices were just insane. I kind of misplaced the receipt (again, lol), but recall that the knuckles were about $70-$80, and the 5 sausages were about $60-$70. Will probably have to come back here again on a non-event day to get a better idea of the price/food quality ratio.

Stadt is located in Bandar Puteri Puchong, the Giant side, in the 'middle row' of those shophouses. Map from their website.


Stadt German Cuisine and Bistro
No. 50 & 50-1, Jalan Puteri 1/4,
Bandar Puteri, 47100 Puchong,
Selangor Darul Ehsan.
Tel: 03-8063 5380