NY Steak Shack @ Putrajaya

NY Steak Shack is an outlet that has been in Malaysia for at least 2 years now. When they first opened in Mid Valley, I was one of their earliest customers then and I was in love with the food. Parking being a huge problem in Mid Valley has deterred me from visiting them more often. Luckily they now have an outlet in IOI City Mall too. 

The Outlet on the Lower Ground Floor of IOI City Mall

Seems To Be Almost Full House All Day Long

This outlet in IOI City Mall is located on the Lower Ground Floor, quite close to the centre wing of the mall. The moment you come down the escalators, you would be able to see this outlet. The place was definitely buzzing with customers. I wonder if business is so good all day round, seven days a week. Despite being almost full house, their customer turnover was fast and that ensured that the wait time wasn't too long. 

The above are just a few pages from their menu. Burgers, Steaks, Grilled Chicken, Grilled Lamb, Pastas etc. Pretty much most the famous Western dishes in Malaysia were covered by them and the prices seemed very reasonable. In fact, it wouldn't be wrong for me to say that it was cheap. 

Pepsi @ RM 5.90 and Iced Water @ RM 0.50

Mushroom Soup @ RM 5.90

Although the food is cheap, their drinks are on the high side. A tall glass of Pepsi was priced at RM 5.90 which is steep. Coke lovers, do note that this restaurant does not serve Coke. Their Mushroom Soup priced at RM 5.90 is the best Mushroom Soup that I have tasted in a fast food joint. It was so good, concentrated, comes with lots of diced mushrooms and is not one of those off the can stuffs. In fact, I would say that it was even better than many of the high end western restaurants too. My rating for this shall be 10/10. A must try here!

Grilled Lamb Shoulder @ RM 31.90

A Thick Cut

Their Grilled Lamb Shoulder was impressive as usual. A huge, thick cut of lamb served on a hot plate with baby tomatoes and onions, and with corn on cob and mashed potatoes on the sides. Actually, you could have your choice of sides based on those available. Portion wise, both the sides were huge and they were tasty. I would rate their Mashed Potatoes at 9/10. Coming back to the lamb itself, for this size, you would not be able to find one under the price of RM 50 anywhere else in Malaysia and most of the branded restaurants have upped their price to around RM 70+ for the same. I would say that this is a brilliant dish to have here. Loved the portions, perfect marination and cooked just right. The meat was tender, juicy and not chewy at all. This definitely deserves a 9/10. 

Southwest Chicken @ RM 19.90

Dip Sauce

Two huge pieces of chicken were grilled to perfection and served with fries and mashed potatoes. Once again, the choice of sides is yours. The chicken itself was so tasty, I loved the marination and it sealed the taste with a zing. For the price of RM 19.90 , the portion was huge as well. My rating for this is definitely 9/10. Another delicious one to try here. 

Bill For The Day

If you're looking for some good Western cuisine for the fraction of the price that you would pay at those branded restaurants, then NY Steak Shack is the place. The food is good, huge portions, very reasonable prices and excellent customer service. Oh yes, do not miss their Mushroom Soup. It's really something!

Address: LG-045, Lower Ground Floor, IOI City Mall, Lebuh IRC, IOI Resort City,

                 62052 Putrajaya, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 1000 - 2200 Daily

Restoran Indian Kitchen / Simple Box Food @ Cyberjaya, Selangor

Indian Kitchen is one of the pioneer Indian Restaurants in Cyberjaya. Those days, they were based in Street Mall and recently, they have moved to the Glomac Cyberjaya area. I remember visiting them at their old place some years back and the food was good. After a long time, visiting them again this afternoon. 

Indian Kitchen And Simple Box Food

Some Ongoing Deals

Lovely Interior

It looks like they have undergone a merger exercise with Simple Box Food which was previously a few doors away. Not too sure what the arrangement is as I do see both brands, Indian Kitchen and Simple Box Food, displayed outside. I did visit Simple Box Food a few months back and was very impressed with the food and I am looking forward to the same level of consistency here at their new venture. This restaurant is located along Jalan GC 4. Parking will be a challenge during weekdays but if you go around, should be able to find a bay. At a glance, the restaurant seemed small outside but it was quite spacious and impressive on the inside. 

Having had two wonderful restaurants merge, the menu too had expanded tremendously giving one a whole range of dishes to choose from, right from Briyani's to Bread. Vegetarian and Non Vegetarian dishes are available as well and please note that this restaurant is Halal certified. Prices seemed decent to me bearing in mind the kind of set up that they have here. We were here late afternoon, somewhere between lunch and tea and there were not too many customers then. Over time, slowly customers started pouring in, especially those who were between job shifts. 

Lime & Mint @ RM 4.00

This Lime & Mint combination was a very refreshing drink and I loved the concentrated quality that was served. Perfect to have on a sunny day. I would rate this at 8/10. 

Onion Pakkora @ RM 8.00

This was one of the top sellers at Simple Box Food and you get that very same consistency here. The Pakkoras was crunchy, non greasy and absolutely addictive. For the price, the portion was huge too. A must try item at this restaurant. I would definitely give this 9/10. 

Punjabi Samosa @ RM 5.00

Honestly, this was a let down. Not because it tasted bad but solely because whoever fried this did not pay attention to his work. To elaborate further, this was the frozen Samosa's that was fried right out of the freezer. One look at it and I knew that it had not been properly fried as chilled water was oozing from the sides. One bite and it was ice cold inside. Called the waiter and got him to feel the inside as well. The good thing is, without saying a word, he took them back to the kitchen to be replaced. It's great to see this where restaurants admit their mistakes but sadly, the one that came back as the replacement was charred. Seriously, I am not going to rate this as I just don't know how to do so. It was good stuff but badly prepared!

Mutton Briyani @ RM 18.00

Delicious Mutton Chunks

Served With A Variety of Sides

Their Mutton Briyani was good. For RM 18.00 , I was impressed with the portion and the number of sides that came along in that platter. The Briyani Rice had an amazing flavour and I loved the tender mutton chunks which were so delicious. Even the sides were tasty. Another good one to have here. My rating for this shall be 8/10. 

Aloo Paratha @ RM 6.00

Their Aloo Paratha was soft and it came with sufficient amount of fillings. Thickness wise, it was about right too. I would rate this at 7/10. 

Mutton Chettinad @ RM 18.00

A mutton dish that comes with a mix of bones and meat served in a mildly spicy gravy. One that is perfect to go with bread. The flavours were about right and the portion was decent. I would rate this at 7/10. 

Prawn Masala Fry @ RM 18.00

This Prawn Masala Fry comes with a decent amount of prawns and they were fresh. They were quite generous with the gravy too and so this dish would even suit those who are eating rice. I found the flavours to be pleasant and overall a satisfying dish. 8/10 is what I would give this dish.

Masala Tea @ RM 4.00

After a good meal, it is always best to round it up with a good Masala Tea. Priced just at RM 4.00 , I found the tea to be good. The masala wasn't too strong and it had that perfect blend. One that I would recommend for sure. My rating for this shall be 9/10. There was an incident that I would like to share here. There's only one boy that was serving the entire restaurant that day and he was running up and down taking orders, serving customers etc. My drink had been fixed and put on the counter for 20 minutes and I was right beside the counter and the guy who fixed the drink was just not willing to go outside his scope of work to send the tea over. It didn't matter to him that the drink was becoming cold. For him, his part was done and that's it. Finally, I walked over to the counter and fetched it myself. I won't find fault with the boy that was serving as he was extremely busy. This guy that fixed the drink should have just walked out and send it to me. After all, I was just beside his counter and this drink had been left on the counter for 20 minutes. 

The Bill For The Day

Based on the dishes that we tried, their Mutton Briyani and Onion Pakkora were excellent. The other gravies were also good and I enjoyed the Aloo Paratha as well. Prices are reasonable and the ambience was lovely. A good place to have North Indian meals in Cyberjaya.

Address: No. 7, Block E-G-7, Jalan GC4, 63000 Cyberjaya, Selangor, Malaysia.

Broga Coconut Shake @ Broga, Selangor

Broga is a small town that is located off Semenyih, Selangor and it also happens to be the border town into Negeri Sembilan. That being said, half if this town sits on Selangor and another half sits on Lenggeng, Negeri Sembilan. Though this is one of those small towns, this place becomes buzzing with outsiders over the weekends and long holidays, even to the extent of having lots of visitors from Singapore for it's Chinese seafood. In a town with just a few thousand population, you would be surprised to learn that there are more than 30 Chinese Seafood restaurants here. There's one dish that makes this town very famous and that's their Grilled Fish but the great thing is that each restaurant has their own signature style of preparation and the food is very cheap. We shall get to this more when I post my next entry on Broga and for now let me speak of another stall that is very famous here and a must try when you're in Broga. 

Broga Coconut Shake Stall

A Simple But Comfortable Set Up

The moment you enter into Broga town, you would be able to see this humble stall on your left, not too far from the main entrance. Despite being just a humble stall, it has become almost mandatory for most visitors who come to Broga to do a pit stop here. Their main top sellers are their Coconut Shake and Pineapple Shake. This place is run by a young Chinese couple who are very friendly with customers. They are open Tusdays to Sundays, from 11 am till 6 pm.

Coconut Shake @ RM 5.00

Pineapple Shake @ RM 5.00

Coconut Shake and Pineapple Shake are the signature drinks here and a must try when you're in Broga. Priced at just RM 5.00 , they are made from real fruits and is free from preservatives. The major difference between this one and the famous Klebang Coconut Shake is that they do not blend the drink with ice cream. Instead, it's topped with ice cream and that gives it a totally different taste. Very authentic flavours and it's so refreshing. I would rate this at 9/10. A must try drink when you visit Broga. 

Address: Jalan Besar, 43500 Broga, Selangor, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 1100 - 1800 Daily (Closed On Mondays)

Regina's Homemade Bak Chang @ Puchong, Selangor

It's the Dragon Boat Festival now and a must have during these times are Bak Chang, a Chinese delicacy that's made with glutinous rice and various stuffing. When this season arrives, you have a huge number of stalls that mushroom all over Malaysia selling this item. Of course, we do have a handful of restaurants that specialise in this as well and only make it during this festive season. For a change, I wanted to try one of those homemade Bak Chang's that's sold online via Facebook and that's when we stumbled across Ms. Regina See.

Bak Chang with Salted Egg @ RM 6.50

With Regina, ordering is quite simple. You'd only need to inbox her your contact details and the type of Bak Chang that you want and where you would be picking it up. The minimum order quantity is three and she has a few designated pick up points in the Klang Valley. The variety that she offers are Chicken Chang (with @ RM 6.00 each and without dried shrimps @ RM 5.50 each), Bak Chang (with @ RM 6.50 each and without salted eggs @ RM 6.00 each) and Kee Chang at RM 2.00 each. I don't really fancy the rest and so ordered the Bak Chang only.  

Bak Chang with Salted Eggs

Salted Eggs with a variety of other ingredients

Generally, her  Bak Chang was quite okay. I won't say that it was great but it came with a good variety of ingredients. There could have been more salted egg and that would have enhanced the taste. However, what I liked about this was the low level of greasiness. The texture was soft and nice too. If I were to rate this, I would give it 7/10. Worth giving it a try if you're looking for homemade ones.

Contact Details: Ms. Regina See

                           

Telephone: +6017 6784 900

Bazaar Ramadhan Tanjung Malim @ Tanjung Malim, Perak

It's that time of the year again where our fellow Muslim friends fast during the holy month of Ramadhan. One of the perks during this season for all Malaysians is the Ramadhan Bazaars that are found nationwide bringing us a variety of delicacies from across the nation. 

Ramadhan Bazaar In Tanjung Malim

Even last year, our Ramadhan Bazaar in Tanjung Malim was so much more happening with a huge number of stalls participating. This year however, I was surprised to see that there were only close to 20 stalls and that too were repetitive from the same operators who had stalls on both sides of the street. Having checked with a few of them as to why this shrinkage had happened, that was when I came to know that the main bazaar for Tanjung Malim had been moved to Bandar Behrang 2020. 

The Iconic Karipap Sambal Stall

Selling A Wide Variety of Malay Cakes

Karipap Sambal & Popiah @ RM 0.50 each

This Karipap Sambal is one of those Malay cake stalls that opens daily in Tanjung Malim, just beside the Balai Bomba and it was good to see them have a stall here too. Unlike the usual days, they had also expanded their variety across a number of Malay cakes. If you happen to visit this bazaar, do give their Karipap Sambal a try. The Popiah Basah however was quite ordinary for me and I would probably skip that the next time. If I were to rate these, 9/10 for their Karipap Sambal and 7/10 for their Popiah Basah. 

Grilled Chicken  & Fish

Grilled Chicken & Fish

Grilled Fish @ RM 10.00

Grilled Chicken @ RM 5.00 each

Another excellent stall to try which is one of my annual routine is this Ikan Bakar and Ayam Bakar stall. They have a variety of fish to choose from but I won't say that they are cheap. Nevertheless, I do love their marination and dip sauce that is provided along with the fish. Taste wise, I would rate their fish at 8/10 and chicken at 9/10. 

Murtabak Stall

Murtabak Ayam @ RM 3.00 each

Since there wasn't much variety, I had no choice but to try this Murtabak. Their Murtabak Ayam was priced at RM 3.00 but honestly, it was a waste. I could not get any taste of chicken and it was predominantly Roti Telur. If you were to ask me, I would recommend skipping this as well. Rating wise, I would give it 5/10. 

Overall, it is sad to see this Ramadhan Bazaar shrinking by the year and it just doesn't make any sense why Tanjung Malim's Ramadhan Bazaar has got to be relocated to a remote town 9 kilometres away which has only a fraction of the population that Tanjung Malim has. Moreover, having had only a handful of stalls, choices were very limited as well. I just hope that things turn out to be better next year.

Address: Along Jalan Douglas, 35900 Tanjung Malim, Perak, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 1500 - 1900