Monday 9 May 2016

Jibby Chow at The Courtyard Mall

Hi folks. 

In my previous entry, i've mentioned about Jibby Chow & since i haven't done any review about it even though after twice dining there, i think it's time to do some review on it. Oh, for your information, Jibby Chow are related to Jibby & Co. but different type of food. While Jibby & Co. bring to you a more western touch, Jibby Chow offers Chinese cuisine. The place received quite a rave reviews. So that should mean something. But it's nothing of a surprise since Serai actually started as Thai restaurant. The new Serai now also offers mix of western & asian cuisine. 

So anyway, on to the review. The menu only offers chinese cuisine with some of them might be a bit of fusion. No pasta or pizza here. The interior reflects a modern look. 


This entry will cover both dishes i had during my first & second visit so bear with me. Here, there are variety of food from poultry to seafood. So it's something for everyone. Starting with the crabs, minimum order is 1 kg. So please make sure to bring enough parties to gobble down the crabs. There are choices of cooking style for crabs such as butter & chili. Since both of my parents not really into spicy food, so butter it is. The butter was nicely sweet with a bit of head powered by curry leaves. The gravy was thick & goes well with mantao for dipping. The crab was well cooked. I'm not a crustacean eater so according to my bro, the meat was sweet. 

Butter Crab

We ordered a chinese specialty, a more traditional Kung Pao chicken. This dish should be a starter as it came in a bowl made from fried yam. It was really nice. Kung Pao sauce was sweet with a bit of heat from the dried chili. The yam was crispy with soft yam inside. Kindly like eating a banana fritter. There are few choices of crabs to choose from as well. We had mud crab. There are none live crabs on display so i'm not sure how fresh is the crab. 

Kung Pao Chicken with Yam

We ordered vegetarian dish as well. I'm not really a fan of bitter gourd. But cooked in Salted egg? heck, it's a must try. It was still bitter but combined with the salted egg tasted nice. 

Salted Egg stir fried bitter gourd

Of course, we just can't refuse the salted egg squid. One of the nicest salted egg dish i ever had. The salted egg covered the battered nicely with squid wasn't too chewy. 

Salted Egg Squid

Oh, i forgot to mention. The carbohydrate source here will be plain rice but there are also mantao. You can choose either steamed or fried mantao. Both are nice & goes well with any gravy. The fried ones are crispy & not soaking the oil. 

Mantao

For fish lover, there are 3 types of fish to choose; red snapper, grouper and sea bass. You have it steamed or deep fried. We tried their almost so called asam fish. It was really good. The gravy was sweet & sour thanks to the cubes of pineapple. Loaded with cuts of lady finger.

Asam pedas fish

Lastly, the clams. Yes, they have clams. From Kam heong to curry, they have choices of cooking style you can choose from. We had curry paste clams. One thing i like about eating clams here is all clams are thoroughly cleaned. No traces of sand & mud inside each clams. The gravy was thick & with heat. A hint of curry but more to sambal like. 

Curry Paste Clams

The first impression i had was definitely satisfying. Pricewise, might be on the normal price these days but the taste certainly nailed by them. It might be a good idea to book a table if you're planning for a dinner. 

Jibby Chow
The Courtyard Mall, SS15, Subang Jaya












Thursday 5 May 2016

Naj & Belle at The Courtyard

Hello folks.

Recently there are few malls popping out of Subang Jaya, adding to the existing Subang Parade, Sunway Pyramid & Summit. Even though i stay nearby but i hardly go to these new malls aside from the aforementioned. Few days ago, i went to a new mall in SS15 called the courtyard. Not quite a lavish, grand shopping mall but enough to cater the office or condominium built on top of it. Few restaurants open up as well in the mall. This entry will be about Naj & Belle. The theme is quite similar to the likes of other modern cafes. The food served wasn't too far off as well. The owner came from the family who responsible for the infamous Serai chain, Jibby & Co, and Jibby & chow. Promising indeed given the rave reviews earned by their restaurants. Like other modern cafes, cakes & desserts are a must. Quite a number of selection as well. My favorite will be their Rose Lychee Almond crumble. 



Plenty of modern favorites served here like pasta, breakfast & even salads. Not too much yet not too little of choice on the menu. Of course, they serve coffee as well. 

The menu

We ordered Thai Style Shredded Duck Spaghetti, One Sweet Mess, Moroccan Eggs, & the belle breakfast. Their thai style pasta was quite good. Pasta cooked well. Oh, you can choose either spaghetti or fettuccine as your choice of pasta. Cooked with shredded duck, herbs & topped with healthy amount of rocket salad. The duck meat was soft & sweet adding to the spicy pasta. 

Thai Style Shredded Duck Spaghetti

Baked eggs have been a hit since it was first introduced here in Malaysia. Quite a number of popular cafes served this dish with a twist of their own. Moroccan Eggs here are really nice. The tomato stew with herbs & spices filled with soft chick peas & sausages. Served with 2 homemade bread that i felt wasn't enough to go with the whole dish. 

Moroccan Eggs

One of the best thing here is their breakfast menu is served all day. So don't worry about missing out if you come during lunch or dinner. My mom loves salmon so we decided to give The Belle Breakfast a try. Made of poached eggs with sumac spice pan fried salmon fillet with chickpeas cake & chili labneh dipping and a pita bread. I personally loved the chili labneh. Spicy & sour that goes well with the salmon. The pita bread must be eaten quickly or else it will be hard once it is cold. 

The Belle Breakfast

Of course, as always, we will end our meal with something sweet. We had their One Sweet Mess. While Red Bean Bag have their signature Banana bread, Naj & Belle have One sweet mess; made of a hot banana cake, topped with vanilla ice cream, strawberries & lychee slices. The caramel sauce was mildly sweet yet thick. Served hot on a hot pan. the cake was soft & rich in bananas. One of the best dish for me here. 

One Sweet Mess

Naj & Belle located on the ground floor just next to the main entrance. Open at 10 am till 10 pm. 

Naj & Belle
The Courtyard, SS15, Subang Jaya