Lebanese Delicacies - Tarbush Restaurant, Sunway Pyramid

A little while ago (well actually ... more than a year ago), we visited Tarbush restaurant over at Empire Gallery and found the food pretty bland and the decor underwhelming. I'm not sure if that particular outlet is still open; what I do know is that the Sunway Pyramid branch (i.e. the one we actually like) is alive and kicking.


Arabic Mint Tea - to be honest I don't think this really tastes that much different than any other mint tea variety (peppermint, for example). It's pricey, too - something like rm6 per person.


I don't really eat brinjal / eggplant, so the Fetush Eggplant (salad with fried eggplant cubes) understandably didn't impress.


Hommus Tahinah - a must-order for any Arabian meal! This is a chickpea and sesame paste lathered with olive oil and is eaten as a dip with unleavened bread. Tarbush serves three different varieties for Hommus but this is the one we always keep coming back to.


You can choose from lamb, chicken, cheese or vegetables as stuffing for your Sambosas - crispy, savoury, yummy.


Moving on to mains - the Shish Kebab is always a hit with the family (including my two younger teenage sisters). The seasoned & spiced minced grilled lamb meat is tender, juicy, and doesn't have too much of a gamey taste.


If you prefer a little more variety, the Mix Grill might suit your fancy - it's a mixed meats platter of Shish Tawook (chicken), Shish Kebab, Lamb Cubes & Grill Arayes (meat-stuffed pita bread) served with a pretty generous serving of fries. It's actually enough to fill two regular-sized stomachs if you've been also filling up on appetizers.


Biryani Lamb - fragrant biryani rice with tender, juicy lamb chunks. Our order for the night had surprisingly little lamb in comparison to previous visits, checking in at a relatively measly three chunks to go with all that rice. And it's a pretty substantial heaping of rice, too.


Price-wise, we managed to feed a family of six for slightly under RM150 (after 15% discount from SCB Credit Card), so it actually does turn out to be pretty reasonably priced (and decent value for money). Food's overall good enough to keep its' spot as our default "go-to" restaurant whenever we have a hankering for Arabian cuisine.

Tarbush is located at LG2.123, Sunway Pyramid (Marakesh area near the blue lobby). The restaurant is open from 11am to midnight daily; call up +603 5633 9222 for reservations.

Toilet Humour at T-Bowl Concept Restaurant, Sunway Pyramid

So anyway we came across this little restaurant/cafe in Pyramid named T-Bowl. It's a "concept restaurant" that, obviously, is based around the experience of dining in a toilet. Pyramid is the third outlet - the other two are in Queensbay Mall (Penang) and in Sungai Wang. We're irresistibly drawn towards the cute white turd in the window and drop in for some drinks and desserts.


The toilet theme continues inside - the tables are a large sink with items you'd find in a toilet (toothbrushes, etc) layered with clear glass on the top, and the seats are ... well ... toilets. Probably custom-made lookalikes and not real toilet bowls though.


The Honey Lemon (MYR2.50) seems reasonably priced on the menu, but the urinal-shaped mug it comes in is very small. Thirsty drinkers would easily finish off the drink in 3-4 mouthfuls.


The Mocha Blended (MYR6.90) is of a more reasonable size. You can see a toothbrush in the sink below the glass :)


There aren't that many ice cream choices, we go for the Donut Delight (MYR5.90) that continues the 'things you'd find in a toilet' game with a serving shaped and coloured like a fresh turd.


The Dragon Fruit & Longan Snow Mountain (MYR8.50) was just OK.


So, the verdict? "Concept Restaurants" like this one straddle a fine line between presenting a genuine concept (providing a unique, different and interesting dining experience), and being nothing more than a gimmick to appeal to our natural curiosity to try something 'new.'

Based on the taste and quality of the drinks/desserts, T-Bowl sits firmly entrenched in the "gimmick" half. Nothing we tasted would qualify for even a 'mediocre' rating, so it's also a case of curiosity killed the cat. Perhaps one visit would be okay for the novelty factor, but definitely set your expectations as low as possible before stepping in.

Ole Ole Bali @ Sunway Pyramid, Selangor

A while back, I went to Ole Ole Bali with a few of my friends. Ole Ole Bali has the same management as Bumbu Bali which makes it a sister restaurant, their menu & taste is similar which is pretty impressive!

The environment is decorated beautifully inside out, makes you feel at home while eating in a restaurant, even when the signboards are hidden you also can actually know which restaurant is Ole Ole Bali. Inside the store there are actually Bali merchandizes that you can purchase.

While deciding on what to eat, we ordered 2 jugs of their House Favorite Cooling Drink, Barley Lime to share. (MYR18) It is actually thick where one can taste the barley taste with a slight twist of lime juice, that we shared among 4 persons.

One of their famous dish on the menu is Nasi Campur (RM33), it’s a combination of Balinese Grilled Lemongrass Prawns, Squid, Fish, choice of Beef or Chicken Rendang and Sate Lilit. Mei Kee & Rebecca both went for Chicken. The most special is Sate Lilit which is basically a barbecued mix seafood paste wrapped around a lemongrass, it was soft & with nice texture. rge Prawns and Fish was lightly seasoned to let the natural flavor stand out.

In my mind, since I’m a small eater, I decided & place opinion that ordering Siap Bumbu would be a smaller portion then the Nasi Campur above. To my disbelieve it comes with half a Balinese Roast Chicken with Lemongrass Marinate! Indeed, I did not finish my portion & bad to take away half of the chicken home for my lunch the next day. Sin Yee ate this too, which John & Calvin had to help her out! The chicken was nicely seasoned adding alone the lemongrass gravy! Leaving it just marvelous. (MYR27)

Lam had the Kambing Bumbu, stir- fried Lamb Cutlet with Chili and Spices. The lamb was tender and juicy without being over spicy! Love it. (RM28)

Campur Siap Bumbu, Kambing Bumbu & Siap Bumbu Nasi are served with Nasi Kuning, Sambel Matah, Sambel Terasi, Rompeyek (Anchovy Crackers), Lawar Kacang, Kangkong & other condiments with the exception of the Balinese Starters. Without any disappointment above are the Bumbu Bali specialties! It's a must try for everyone if you're there.

John on the other hand had Fried Chicken Sandwich, the Deep Fried marinated Boneless Chicken with Spices and Topped with Apple Sesame Coleslaw. (RM26) Unable to describe how this taste like actually i was told that it was also nice.

No worries if you are a vegetarian following your friends here there are a few dishes that have no meat served in it. Since my friend, Tey is a vegetarian he had Grilled Vegetable Pasta with Homemade Tomato Sauces. Unable to describe how this taste like actually i was actually stunted that he said is "Okay. Not bad."

Looking for Balinese style which is tasty and nice, do find your way to Bumbu Bali or Ole Ole Bali.

Small note, portions are kind of Huge so if you're not a BIG eater you may just order a bowl of rice for two to share.

This is at::

OB-1C, Ground Floor Main entrance,

Old Wing of Sunway Pyramid,

Petaling Jaya, Selangor

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!