Relish at IOI City Mall, Putrajaya

Selamat Sejahtera folks. 

A lot of my friend been asking me this question, "u suka makan kat tempat class & western ek?". Well, they're not half wrong. I like to try food. And some food only available at those kind of restaurant. But i still appreciate malay street food like ikan bakar in Bellamy, or Nasi Sup Daging at Telaga Simpul which are very delicious which i have yet to post here. Someday i will. 

Putrajaya new mall, IOI City mall full of new & familiar restaurants. One of the restaurant that caught my attention during my earlier visit was Relish. This restaurant served malay cuisine with one or two dish are modernized malay dish. Even though I like western cuisine but hey, i grow up with malay food so malay dish always have a place in my heart....or tummy. lol. The menu consisted of collection of famous malay dish like Nasi kerabu & laksa but also a fusion dish like pasta with malay touch. 

The menu

As some of you who might have known me, I would definitely go for the weirdest choice. So me & my mate ordered Chicken Satay Burger, Spicy Smoked Beef Pasta & Durian Pancake. The first up was Spicy Smoked Beef Pasta which is spaghetti cooked in tumeric coconut milk stew with beef. The gravy was nicely creamy & flavorsome. The beef was succulent. The gravy tasted a bit like rendang though. A bit tad spicy though.

Spicy Smoked Beef Pasta

My order was Chicken Satay Burger. The burger was made of Charcoal sesame seed bun, grilled deboned chicken thigh with satay sauce, shredded cucumber & a dash of peanut butter. It was quite amazing. The chicken retained the woody aroma. The satay sauce was sufficiently nice. The cucumber added the extra fresh taste in it while the peanut butter added the edge of creaminess. Served with 2 onion rings, keropok lekor & veggie condiments. 

Chicken Satay Burger

Lastly, we end our dinner with Durian Pancake. I've eaten one before and this one was quite similar. Pancake made of thin crepe with fresh cream & durian. It was quite nice with the durian was sweet. 

Durian Pancake

For anyone who crave that twist in malay dish, can head to Relish for something different. A bit similar to Serai but much cheaper. The other dish remain untested which is a ticket for next visit. 

Relish

IOI City Mall (near ice rink)

The Daily Grind at Bangsar Village 1

Good day peeps.

Anyone ever crave for a burger before but hard to determine where to eat a burger that can satisfy your wildest burger imagination? During the old days, our parents had to rely on Mcdonalds, Marrybrown & A&W for burgers but now, burgers, they're everywhere. From your normal classic Ramly burger stall to gourmet like Chili's & to the latest burger bakar, there are plenty of places to find burgers. But lets be honest, it's hard to find a place that sells that one burger you couldn't find at any other place. Fear not my burgermanias, there's a place that offers burgers with different look in Bangsar. 

The Daily Grind (TDG) have been around for quite awhile in Bangsar even underwent a change of location & renovation in Bangsar Village but still survive till now. But what is so special about this place that it can survive till now? I have to admit, not all my friends find it totally delicious eating here but to me, it's their vast choice of burgers that attracts people to come here. Sure, they have your normal cheeseburger but they also have other unique burgers like tempe burger. It's been awhile since my last visit here, probably like a year or 2 ago. It's tad long. 

Last weekend, i had a dinner with my bud, Yus at bangsar. I wasn't having a proper meal throughout the day so i decided to had one at TDG. They've upgraded their menu & added more burgers in their menu. For non-burger lovers, fear not as they have other meals besides burgers. 

The burger menu. 

After getting lost in the menu, I've decided to order their Japanese Yodel Burger. The burger are made of multigrain bread, mushroom tempura, sauteed mushroom with cheese sauce & a homemade patty that you can choose the donners. For me, i prefer medium well. The tempura was excellent with crispy breaded. Goes well with the cheese sauce. The beef patty was nicely done with flavors & seasoning except that a bit dry. Comes with plenty of fries. The homemade chili sauce is a must try. 

Japanese Yodel Burger (RM 36)

So for people who craved for something out of the ordinary, TDG can be added into your list. Plenty of unique choices for you to try. Pricewise, maybe a bit high than gourmet burgers in Chili's & TGIF. 

The Daily Grind

Bangsar Village 1

Franco at IOI City Mall, Putrajaya

Hello folks,

Recently, i found a new eating place liked by my friends on Facebook called Franco. A small research showed me that Franco is a Japanese-French dining. I've experienced Japanese-French bakery before which i think was fantastic. They're my kryptonite. lol. Anyway, Franco slowly gaining popularity among food lovers & they already have branches in The Curve & IOI city mall. 

Being a Japanese-french theme cafe, some food are purely fusion of both. I have to admit, i was lost in the dessert area. lol. After browsing the menu, we decided to go for Squid ink Pasta, Riz Au Curry & Cream Cheese Souffle Pancake. 

The menu. Well, the part of it.

I've eaten Squid ink pasta before during my recent trip in Japan. According to the menu, they used wasabi infused cooking oil to cook this pasta but i don't seem to taste the exploding taste of wasabi. It was a decent dish but not that wow. Squid ring was nice cook, not rubbery. 

Squid ink pasta

My mate ordered their Riz au Curry, baked japanese rice topped with japanese curry, eggs, & cheese with sausages. I personally fancy of this dish. For those who is on weight watch, this meal enough to fulfill your day. lol. Even though the rice wasn't sticky as japanese rice but it was still good. The curry was nice & mild. The cheese added extra creaminess. 

Riz au Curry

Lastly, we ended our meal with Cream Cheese Souffle Pancake. I always loved pancake. Savory & sweet, both are a joy to eat. I only ate souffle twice in my life. So this was a good chance for me to eat it. Souffle pancake took like 20 minutes to prepare & it was worth the wait for me. Soft souffle like texture with cream cheese inside. You can opt to drizzle the caramel sauce on top of it. It was very nice. The cream cheese provided the pleasant sourness & the outside was sweet & soft. 

Cream cheese souffle pancake

The inside. 

Overall it was a nice first experience. Definitely will return to try more of the dessert. 

Franco

IOI City Mall, Putrajaya.

Babarittos, Pasta la Pasta, On the Wheel Food Truck & Conforto Coffee at Caravan Carnival

Hiya folks.

Here's a continuation from the previous post of my recent trip to Caravan Carnival. As I've mentioned before, there are few food trucks operating during the carnival. The trucks are Babarittos, Pasta la Pasta & On the wheel. I've visited Pasta la Pasta last month & made a review on it here. 

Both babarittos & Pasta la Pasta operating around setapak area during normal days. Babarittos normally park at curbside near Columbia Hospital at PV16. Their specialty are mexican food. They're using a maroon colored food truck so it is easy to spot. Here during the carnival, they bring a bus! Food Bus perhaps? New trend? lol

Babarittos

The menu

This was the menu during the event. We quickly made our mind & ordered burritos. You have the option for beef or chicken. The burritos made of seasoned minced beef, salad, cheese wrapped with soft warm tortilla. It was pleasant but not close to the original as some key ingredients are missing but still nice & fulfilling. You can check their update via their instagram.

Babarittos Burritos

Next is Pasta la Pasta. It's not that often i've seen them during event or perhaps i didn't go much to any event with them in. After eating food with milk based, i decided to go for something lighter. So i ordered their aglio olio with seafood. The pasta was nicely done, full of garlic but a bit tad salty & spicy. But spicy is nice just probably less salty would be nicer. Anyway, you can follow them on their instagram. 

Pasta la Pasta seafood aglio olio

Pasta la pasta

Last food truck we've tried was a truck just made their first event appearance called On the wheel. The operator told me it was his first try. Good luck to him & all the best. According to him, they will be operating at Taman Permaisuri. Go & check them out. 

On the Wheel

Not many on the menu so it was easy to make a choice. I always like buttermilk. So their Buttermilk chicken chop was my picked. The chicken chop was cooked nicely; succulent & tender but i have a mixed feeling about the breaded. The herbs, seasoning & spices they used makes it tasted like.....a maruku. lol. The brown gravy a bit watery but you can have it without the gravy. 

On the wheel Buttermilk chicken chop

Lastly, introducing my friend, Padil very own Conforto Coffee. Last time he used to open a stall near Setiawangsa Lrt station & PV20 but now he busy joining events. As usual, track him on conforto coffee instagram for more updates. His menu mostly on coffee but now, coconut shake was added as well! The shake was nice. No, i never had kelebang's but this was good as well. 

Conforto Coffee Coconut Shake & free soda on the house

Conforto Coffee. Yup, that's him. 

He said he's in the process of finding a truck so hopefully we'll see Conforto Coffee truck soon. Kudos to him! yay!

SchneeBallen at Caravan Carnival

What's up people?

Last weekend, there was a carnival held at Bukit Jalil Stadium, Parking B area called Caravan Carnival. The organizer of this carnival was joined last minute by Makan Feastival under Foodhunter festival organiser which was supposed to be held on the same day at Setia City Park but moved for unknown reason. Anyway, there was quite a few trendy stalls opened selling shirts, giving haircuts, latest tudungs & food. Not a lot of vendors compared to the previous event with some of the vendors are familiar faces from before. 

There are food trucks as well. We arrived during lunch time but not many crowd yet. I guess the hot weather nowadays played some part which drove people more towards shopping mall rather than outdoor. The first thing that caught my eyes was SchneeBallen. Snow ball when translated into english from germany. According to the seller, this pastry famous in Korea & hailed from Germany. 

The snow balls

The balls were made of homemade biscuit, rolled into a ball before baked till golden crisp. Then dip into any flavor. Quite a number of flavors to choose from which most of them chocolate oriented. 

The menu

To eat it, do not remove the ball from the original packaging. You must smash the ball inside the packaging using a wooden hammer, or lesung batu if you don't have any hammer. Do not smash it too much otherwise it will turn to crumbs. 

The packaging

After smashed.

Here's a video of me smashing the ball. lol

Yup, that's me. 

The best thing about this pastry that it was locally made & produced by Felda. According to the seller, they have a shop dedicated for this pastry at i-city, Shah Alam. So peeps, go & get your schneeballen!

M.A.D at PV 128, Setapak

G'day folks. 

When I first work around setapak area back in late 2012, PV 128 doesn't have many restaurants available aside from Pelita Nasi Kandar. But now, it's one of the busiest place in setapak. Students & working class people gather there to hang out; be it at mamak restaurant (2 of them now) or other place like coffee house. Parking opposite the main road might be a hassle plus people will often double parked without leaving their number. Parking at the back would be your option during peak hours. 

M.A.D or Modern Asian Dining have been around for quite awhile but i never had the chance to try it. Here the food served mostly asian with some western food as well. There fusion like the sandwich as well. 

The menu

There some dessert selection as well but I'm on a weight watch so i passed on the dessert, for now.

Dessert counter

Me & my mate took quite a while to decide our order. All the dishes look tempting. Lastly, my mate ordered their Grilled Chicken Chop since it's M.A.D chef recommendation. I'm up for something different so I ordered Beef rendang sandwich. First up, grilled chicken chop. The portion was definitely satisfying. 2 cuts of chicken chop, grilled nicely with woody grilled aroma & taste. Chicken was soft & juicy. You have the option of 3 gravies. My mate went for their mushroom gravy & it was a bit bland & watery. Thicker would be better. 

Grilled Chicken Chop (RM 16.50)

Mine was quite nice. Chunky beef cooked in a rendang gravy then sandwiched between 2 ciabatta bread. Well, the rendang was nice but definitely still far off from your raya kampung rendang that your grandma or mom made. It wasn't spicy as well. The coleslaw sauce somehow sweetened the rendang a bit. The beef was tender & perfectly cooked. Nice plate. 

Beef Rendang Sandwich (RM 16.50)

It was definitely a promising place. Some dishes might be plainly similar with other places but some definitely worth a try. But not to the point to make you MAD! The parking will. lol

M.A.D

PV128, Setapak

Big Hug Burger & Curbside Cantina Food Trucks

Hiya folks,

After quite awhile of hunting, I finally managed to catch up with both Curbside Cantina & Big Hug burger food truck. Both of these truck made an appearance at the last food hunters festival which I didn't managed to taste their food. But that changed when both of these trucks appeared during the recent Russell Peters tour at Shah alam. 

I'm not sure about Big Hug Burgers operating locations but you can check their updates by following their instagram. As for Curbside Cantina, they usually at Bangsar but now also at TTDI KL. Do follow their instagram @curbsidecantinakl for updates. Big Hug Burgers as per their name specialized in gourmet burger while Curbside Cantina more on Mexican food. During the tour, not all dishes on the menu are present, only a selected few survived. We came early like 6 pm so there wasn't much people around yet. 

Big Hug Burger menu

Curbside Cantina menu

After browsing both menu, I ordered Cheesy Chicken Burger from Big Hug Burger & Beef & Mushroom Quesadillas & Chicken Quesa-Tacos from Curbside Cantina. I enjoyed the burger. Deep fried breaded chicken sandwiched between charcoal buns with cheese sauce. It was nice with the chicken cooked perfectly & the breaded nicely seasoned. 

Cheesy Chicken Burger (RM 12)

I've been eyeing Curbside Cantina's tacos since the first time i laid my eyes on them on their instagram. There are some of the dishes missing out on the menu but I guess that will be enough for another visit. The Beef & Mushroom Quesadillas was quite different from other quesadillas i've eaten before. The design was more like a tacos but tasted very nice. Loads of cheese & chunky beef inside the warm tortilla bread. Beef cooked nicely till tender. This dish came with malaysian very own papadom with a dipping sambal. 

Beef & Mushroom Quesadillas (RM 15)

The tacos somehow a bit different as well. The chicken was cooked like a chicken picatta with some egg with onions & smothered with homemade sauce. It was pleasant as well. Very different from your normal tacos. 

Chicken Quesa-Tacos (RM 12)

Definitely worth the trip for me plus brazing the heavy rain. Will definitely hunt them down again soon. 

Nathan's Famous at IOI City Mall, Putrajaya

Hiya foodies,

Anyone ever watched a movie about baseball or american football before? Not exactly a movie about that but any movie scene involving baseball & american football will definitely showed one thing in common, people selling hot dog at the stands. Some of us might have wanted to try them since we don't have those in malaysia. But that change ever since Nathan's started operating in IOI City Mall just besides the ice rink. 

Nathan's Famous is a place that selling that same hot dog sold at the stands during baseball or american football game. Well, at least that's what their advertisement told me. During Russell Peters recent tour in Malaysia, Nathan's opened a stand for people going for the show. Since it was very near to my place, I decided to go for some dogs. I'm not particularly sure if they only sell hot dogs here but during the tour, that was all they're selling. 

The menu

The price wasn't that cheap for a baseball game hot dog as it nearly the same as gourmet hot dog. But hey, I decided to give it a try anyway. I ordered their Chili Cheese Frankfurter. The feeling i had when i had the first bite that it was really a fast food hot dog. Simple hot dog with chili beef then drizzled with cheese sauce. Patty was ok to me. I think 1901 served much better and affordable hot dog. Not that it was bad but it wasn't that impressive. 

Chili Cheese Hot Dog (RM 15)

Nathan's hot dog fulfilled what we might call a fast food for a ball game. Quick & simple but still have a long way to go. 

Nathan's Famous

IOI City Mall, Putrajaya

Kopimeo revisit at Seksyen 9, Shah Alam

Hello Folks,

In my previous post, I've mentioned a plan to revisit Kopimeo after my first visit & i did just that. I told my mom about this cafe & she was excited to try it. Fyi, Kopimeo started open at 12 pm so a perfect place for brunch especially for Shah alam people. 

Plenty of parking on weekend plus free parking as well. So no hassle to look for parking here during weekend. I didn't managed to snap picture of their dessert counter last time so here it is. 

Kopimeo's dessert counter

After browsing the menu, my mom decided to order their Lempeng Opah while i ordered their Sweet Stacks that i've been eyeing since day one. lol. First up, Lempeng Opah. 2 Lempeng with a small bowl of homemade sambal ikan bilis. The lempeng was soft & fluffy & not dry. Combined well with sambal ikan bilis which was nicely done. A bit spicy but not too overpowering till kill off all the flavors. 

Lempeng Opah (RM 10)

Kopimeo's Sweet Stack are made of 3 fluffy pancakes, a dose of maple syrup, a dash of berry compote & slices of caramelised banana with slices of almonds. The pancakes was nicely done; soft, fluffy & padat. I have a confusion about their berry compote as it was quite different from what i imagine it would turn out. Their berry compote kinda like a berry jam. But still a decent dish. Some may crave for more though. 

Sweet Stacks (RM 12)

This cafe have the potential to provide more. Hopefully more will be added in their menu in the future. Next, their french toast!

Kopimeo

29, Jalan Tengku Ampuan Zabedah B 9/B, Seksyen 9, Shah Alam.

Kopimeo at Sekyen 9, Shah Alam

Hello folks,

Last time as far as i can remember, Shah Alam food culture was limited to local food scene like satay & mamak's. Unlike Shah Alam next door neighbor, Subang Jaya which food scene had blooming rapidly, food scene in Shah Alam took its own sweet time to bloom. Cafe culture started like a year or two ago when cafe like Foodsbury & Cotton craft started to appear. Little that i know, a new cafe emerged at Seksyen 9, operating at shop lot behind foodsbury called Kopimeo. 

I was having a small reunion cum COD with krupkrap owner & her husband for the delicious kerepek pisang so we decided to give Kopimeo a try. If you didn't try then you'll never know, an old saying goes. Kopimeo gives me the same impression like any other cafes nowadays which had some melbourne cafe feel in it. 

The Interior

As for the menu, not much going on. They offered all day brunch, pasta selection, kids meal, snack & desserts. 

The menu

After done browsing the menu, I decided to go for their Moroccan Baked Eggs & Garlic Parmesan Fries. My best bud & his wife ordered Salted Fish Pasta & The Big Brunch. The first to arrive was Garlic Parmesan Fries. Thick cut fries then sprinkled with garlic infused parmesan cheese bits. Quite nice as a starter. 

Garlic Parmesan Fries (RM 12)

Mine was Moroccan Baked Eggs. 2 whole eggs baked in a tomato based stew with chickpeas & veggies with 2 slices of toasts. It was quite decent with the stew not too sour. Toast was soft & crunchy. 

Moroccan Baked Eggs (RM 16)

My friend's wife had their Salted Egg Pasta. A fusion pasta i might say. Spaghetti stir fried with mackerel salted fish bits, slices of squids, capers then sprinkled with slices of chilies & parmesan cheese. I did get a bit of taste & it was decent but my friend told me the salted fish was too overpowering & too hot. 

Salted Fish Pasta (RM 15)

The Big Brunch (RM 16)

Overall it was quite decent for us. Some of the menu did catches my eyes like their french toast & pancakes. Will bring my usual partner in crime to try them next. 

Kopimeo

29, Jalan Tengku Ampuan Zabedah B 9/B, Seksyen 9, Shah Alam.