Africano Restaurant & Bar @ Kota Damansara

As I am on leave these days, decided to drive around Sunway Damansara area and check out the local food scene to see if there are any new places for me to try. That was when, around The Strand area, I discovered this Nigerian restaurant.

Walked in and I felt a little strange as the owner was kind of staring at me. Not a pretty sight to do to a customer. She must have thought I must be lost or looking for someone. Hehehe....perhaps because  I'm an Indian and surely she did not expect me there.

Well, since I am already here, decided to check the menu out. The shop itself was very posh. Being two stories, the ground floor was dedicated to the restaurant and the first floor is a bar selling Nigerian liquor.

The waitress came over and she had asked me what I wanted to order. Obviously I had no idea and she brought me a simple card which is supposed to be the menu. Okay...there seemed that only a few dishes are available here but surely they seemed authentic to the West African continent.

Items available were like Cows Tongue, Lamb, Beef and Yam and the variation of the dishes...regardless of the meat you choose, were few, Since I love lamb, decided to go for it. The price, RM 20 per piece of lamb which I think is very expensive.

However, it is not served separately. It would be put into a vegetable dish or a soup dish. Now, this is a separate price.  A dish of this vegetable and a piece of Semolina.....which is wheat flour cooked...which apparently is the staple dish here costs RM 5. I wanted to choose the vegetable but was told it is not available. However, only the soup was available today.

Well fine. The soup is called Egusi soup. Within a short time the food arrived.

This is the Egusi Soup. The lamb is already inserted at the base of it. The total cost of this...soup plus the lamb is RM 25.00 .

Then comes the Semolina as per the picture below.

The ideal way of eating is to dip the Semolina into the soup and have the dish. The Semolina...as there is no salt or spices added into it, tastes pretty flat. On the other hand, it was very filling too. I could only finish half of it but definitely finished the whole soup. The soup for one...was delicious.

The address of this place is:
Africano Restaurant & Bar,
No. 8-G, Jalan PJU 5/20D,
The Strand, Kota Damansara,
Selangor.

Opening Hours: 1000 - 2200 Daily

Dear friends, kindly do take note that as of September 2013, I have come to realise that this place is closed and is no longer in business. Kindly do take note. Best regards, Venoth.

Lucky Sichuan Restaurant @ Kota Damansara

Today is my mothers birthday and as such, we have planned to go out for dinner and celebrate. As I was wondering where to take them, I decided to go for Sichuan food instead as that is a variety which they may hove not tried before. I was made to understand that the food from Sichuan province is usually very spicy.

With that genre in mind and after getting some recommendations from friends, we head out to this restaurant in Sunway Damansara called Lucky Sichuan Restaurant. Finding the place was not difficult as it is just along the same row as Nasi Kandar Kayu and it faces the main inside street. 

Once there, we were taken up stairs to the first floor as there was five of us and all the big tables on the ground floor were occupied. The first floor seemed very posh, perhaps more often used for wedding dinners and private functions. 

After glancing the menu for some time, we made our orders. Please find the photos below.

This is Steamed Shredded Potato in Sour Sauce. Also available in Spicy Sauce @ RM 8.00 . Must try for potato lovers like me :p

This is a signature dish here. Stir Fried Chicken Sichuan Style @ RM 28.00 . Lovely taste.

Mapo Beancurd....one of the best that I have tried @ RM 12.00 

Kung Pao Chicken @ RM 15.00 

 Stewed Pork Ball in Brown Sauce @ RM 28.00 . This was heavenly.

One thing that I would like to commend about this place is that the service is extremely efficient and they are always ready to serve you better. Usually one waitress is kept to attend specially to your table. 

Another specialty that must be tried here is the Sichuan Tea. A beautifully infused drink without the usual strong taste. Overall it was a great experience for us here and I would surely return here again soon.

Just as we were about to leave, this was a group picture which we took at the first floor for keep sake purposes. I would surely recommend anyone looking for Sichuan cuisine to this lovely place.

The address is:

No. 19, Jalan PJU 5/12, 

Dataran Sunway, Kota Damansara,

47810 Petaling Jaya.

Opening Hours: 1100 - 1500 & 1800 - 2300 Daily

Taste Vegetarian Restaurant @ Kota Damansara

Today we had some limitations in food tasting, we were vegetarians. As such, was thinking of a good place to go for dinner and this restaurant came to my mind. Its called Taste Vegetarian Restaurant and is located in Sunway Damansara area in Kota Damansara.

It is located right opposite Khalifa Restaurant and behind Sunway Giza...directly opposite the car park entry and exit points.  I made a mistake of not taking the building photo as that would have made it easier fellow food lovers to find the place easily. Anyway, the address is as perfect to find it through any GPS.

The restaurant interior was quite simple but it had a Chinese Tea House resemblance. It brought back my memories in Beijing. It was quite crowded when we arrived.

The menu was quite comprehensive and I observed that they do not use eggs, garlic and onions in any of their dishes. Therefore, some sects from Hinduism and Buddhism who do not consume these items can freely come and have their meals here.

The lady boss came and we were assisted with the orders. Since it was just the two of us, there was a limit as to the number of dishes which we could try, though I had hoped of tasting more dishes here. This time we kept to to three only. 

Buttermilk Mushroom @ RM 15.00

This above dish was one of their highly recommended dishes here. It was truly fantastic. The Buttermilk had seeped into the food wonderfully and the mushroom was crispy. Highly recommended!

Tofu in Minced Mushrooms @ RM 12.00

This was another excellent dish. I believe they were somehow trying to imitate the Mapo Tofu except this was the vegetarian version. The taste was good for a vegetarian dish and the portion size generous for the price. 

Kangkung Belacan @ RM 9.00

This was another great dish here. I truly wonder how they recreated the taste of belacan which is typically dried shrimps into a vegetarian wonder. Truly a great match of taste to the original. I have tried vegetarian variation of this many places before and this is definitely the best.

On the whole, this is a great place to have vegetarian meals. The price was decent compared to many of the vegetarian restaurants out there. The service was very fast, in fact the food came in less than 10 minutes. I believe all their workers are Cambodians and they were very hard working. Another point to note is that they also offer both white and brown rice.

Address:

Taste Vegetarian Restaurant
C-6-1, Jalan PJU 5/17,
Dataran Sunway Kota Damansara,
47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

03-61406646

Opening Hours: 1000 - 1400 ; 1800 - 2200

House - Restaurant.Bar.Winepost @ The Curve

We arrived to this restaurant completely unplanned and just by accident. Well, today we visited the IT shop at the Curve as we planned to get some stuffs and I too wanted to visit the second hand book store which is located on the Ground Floor of e@Curve.

After we finished with the IT store, while heading to the escalator we discovered this place. Seemed more like a Wine Post but it had loads of dining area too. My first concern was if it had any vegetarian food as we were vegetarians for the past few days. I checked out the menu and yes it had vegan food which was excellent for us. Paradoxical as it may sound, we were having vegetarian food in an Italian Restaurant.

Mountain Dew @ RM 6.90 each

It was divided into two sections, the dining area which was split level two floors and the outdoor bar area. We sat on the ground level dining area, very close to the entrance. 

Waiting for our meal

I liked the atmosphere here. It was nice and very comfortable. The service was also very efficient. Within a short while the drinks arrived and then our main course.

Margarita Pizza (Vegetarian) @ RM 29.90

Within moments, the Margarita Pizza which we ordered had arrived. It is a thin crust pizza...true Italian Style served on a wooden platter. The pizza was good, contained very little oil and was good to serve two.

Potato Samosas @ RM 8.90

Well, I know what you guys must be wondering...samosas in an Italian Restaurant. Well, yeah as we did not have much choices. Any way, I know where these samosas came from. It's the same one that we could buy from supermarkets in the frozen section. I know it as I buy these frequently. :) 

Mint (Pudina) Chutney

This chutney comes along with the above samosas.

Deco inside the restaurant

On the whole, we were satisfied with the meal but surely looking at trying the other non vegetarian dishes soon.

Address: House Restaurant Wine & Bar

Lot G25 - 26, Ground Floor, e@Curve, 
Mutiara Damansara,

Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Contact: 603-77222414 

Ipoh Road Hakka Yong Tau Fu @ Desa Amanpuri

This is one of our favorite Yong Tau Fu joints which is quite close to my place. As usual, whenever we needed a Yong Tau Fu fix, this is the place that we would be heading to. Today was just another day like that. 

This place has quite a number of branches and I believe this is one of them. It is located along Persiaran Cemara in Desa Amanpuri. Once you hit the second traffic lights from the Kuala Selangor - Kepong Road, turn left at that junction. Within the short distance, you would be able to see this restaurant on the left side of the road. It is more like a village restaurant set up and is a stand alone structure. This is just before   the next traffic lights which is near the Shell station. 

Here, the Hakka Style is preserved quite well and the dishes are quite authentic. The set up is also quite simple, more like a shed structure. Also for some who are very cleanliness concerned, this place may not be too suitable for you to dine as there are stray dogs everywhere, even in the restaurant. To me, this is okay though.

Once you are here, the would just give a piece of menu card and a sheet for you to fill the orders and within a short time, it gets picked up. During lunch hours and in the evenings from between 6pm to 8pm, it can be quite packed though.

Fried Brinjals

This is one of the Favorited here. I find it different to many other places as it is crispy, sweet and fresh. The brinjals itself does not get stained with the oily taste. Fried to perfection.

Fried Sui Gau & Fried Fu Chok

This is also quite good here. As you can see from the above picture, theres two items in this dish. One the Fried Sui Gau which is flat and the other is the Fried Fu Chok.

Steamed Sui Gau & Steamed Stuffed Tofu's

The above dish contains Steamed Sui Gau and the Steamed Stuffed Tofu. These steamed versions are always served in this soup. The soup itself is well balanced and does not contain MSG.

Paper Chicken

The above dish is called Paper Chicken. It is actually Roasted Chicken with the paper wrapping. Why the paper wrapping, I seriously do not know. However, this is quite a famous dish here. Despite that, I do not quite like it as I find it too oily. On another note, do be careful too when eating this as there are staplers which are used to seal the paper.

Steamed Stuffed Chili & Steamed Stuffed Tofu in Hakka Sauce

The above dish has quite a number of items. They are Steamed Stuffed Tofu, Steamed Stuffed Chili and Sttuffed Lady's Fingers too. And it comes in the Hakka Sauce. 

Stuffed Bitter Gourd & Fried Stuffed Tofu in Hakka Sauce

The last remaining bit as to what this restaurant has to offer is the above .

Us Having Our Dinner

As you can see the above is quite a lot and it is not for just the three of us, in fact there was a total of 13 of us and the rest had to sit at another table. On the whole, I like this restaurant very much for the food they serve. It is reasonably priced, fresh and taste surely good.

Address:

Persiaran Cemara,

Desa Amanpuri,

52100 Kuala Lumpur.

Opening Hours: 1030 - 2300

Homei Nyonya Restaurant @ Damansara Uptown

Today we were in a quest to taste Curry Chee Cheong Fun. Earlier for lunch, we tried a place in Kelana Jaya and now for dinner, we are trying another place in Damansara Uptown.

This place is called Homei Nyonya Restaurant and it is right opposite UOB Bank in Damansara Uptown. Finding this place was easy as I am quite familiar with this area. This restaurant looks more like a franchise to me, specializing in Nyonya Food and cakes. 

Well, the time we were here, it was almost 9 pm and it seemed quite empty. Still unsure if the kitchen is still open, I approached a guy at the counter and he informed that the last order is at 9.30 pm. Well, since we were planning on having some light single dishes, the available time was sufficient for us.

Curry Chee Cheong Fun @ RM 3.50

Somehow it feels very weird at this restaurant. All the workers here are foreigners. The captain being a Bangladeshi, and most of the other workers are Thais and the kitchen workers are all Burmese. They always avoid you, at times even when they see you waving at them, they try to ignore. Thats really bad.

Chee Cheong Fun @ RM 3.50

Finally, then I understood. No orders are taken here. We need to walk up to the counter, order and pay like a food court and the food is sent to your table. For such a restaurant, I believe they should at least provide such service. Anyway, we ordered the Curry Chee Cheong Fun and the ordinary Chee Cheong Fun along with an ABC.

ABC @ RM 4.50

Within a short while the food arrived. During this time, there seemed to be quite a traffic in this restaurant, mostly take aways. I still remember they had some Nyonya cakes at display at the entrance of the shop and a few patrons came and waited for someone to attend to them. As expected, no one did and these customers just walked away. 

As for the food, the Curry Chee Cheong Fun was okay, I would rate it 6 out of 10. There are much better ones out there. The normal Chee Cheong Fun was 7 out of 10 and the ABC 9/10 . The latter was the best. Indeed rich with ingredients and worth the money.

Address:

28, Jalan SS 21/58,

Damansara Utama,

47400 Petaling Jaya.

Opening Hours: 1000 - 2200

Resoran New Yee Sang Seafood @ SS6 Kelana Jaya

This place came highly recommended by a good friend of mine...especially for the Curry Chee Cheong Fan and Char Kuey Tiow. The setback was though I have known of this outlet for quite some time now, I was unable to go as they mostly open the restaurant in the mornings and close by mid day. Of course then the same premise is used by other vendors for the night shift but then you do not get the above two items.

Then came our National Day celebrations. I took that opportunity to visit this restaurant. I was not too familiar with the area but I knew approximately that it was opposite Paradigm Mall in Kelana Jaya. However, with the GPS, what worry do we have.

Having set the address on my GPS, it took me in circles and routes which I may have not ever used but finally reaching the address without a mistake. Thanks to Garmin. A mistake I made here was not to take the outlet photographs for easy identification as I was only concentrating on the food. However, I believe with the address given below, you should be able to find it with ease.

When we reached here, it was full. I had to wait for 10 minutes before I got a seat. Finally I discovered the Curry Chee Cheong Fan stall which was a little hidden compared to the Thai food and the Char Kuey Tiow stall. I have heard that the Kuey Tiow and the Thai Food here is quite good, but today we were both yearning to try the Chee Cheong Fan.

Curry Chee Cheong Fan @ RM 4.50

It is prepared by an Indonesian lady but I am sure her boss is a Chinese. Finally came the dish. Truly...this is the best I have tried and I would rate this 10/10 for sure. 

Hailam Coffee @ RM 1.50

Despite the fact that I had wanted to try the Char Kuey Tiow, I was already too full by then. However, I would surely be back here again soon and hopefully this time, would take more photographs. One more thing here is that please do try the Hailam Coffee too...its good and surely would take you down memory lane....especially if your around my age.

Address: 

18, Jalan SS 6/8,

Kelana Jaya,

47301 Petaling Jaya, 

Selangor

Opening Hours: 0600 - 1500