Popiah Stall in Restoran Mei Keng @ Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Restoran Mei Keng is a typical Chinese food court that is located in Section 14, Petaling Jaya. Just like any other food court concept restaurants, they have two batches of stalls that operate daily. The first batch does lunch and the second batch does dinner. As far as the breakfast and lunch scene is concerned, there is not much variety here but you get a whole lot of more stalls in the evenings. This blog entry is specifically about the Popiah stall that operates in the evenings. 

Restoran Mei Keng in Section 14, Petaling Jaya

The Popiah Stall

It was tea time actually when I arrived and most of the stalls were still being set up. Since the Popiah stall is one that belongs to the shop owners, this one was ready for business by 3.00 pm. They are open daily and most of the stalls are open till around 11 pm. Parking can be a problem here as the roads are quite narrow but it's not impossible to find a bay. If I am not mistaken, I was the very first customer for the day as she only started steaming the vegetables after my orders. Kindly do note that the Popiah that you get here is the vegetarian one. There is no animal based ingredients that is added to the sauce and they do not add eggs to the Popiah as well. 

Popiah @ RM 2.20 per piece

The Popiah weren't too big, just nice in terms of size and each was priced at RM 2.20 which I felt was very reasonable. Despite being smaller in size, if you're having this as a side dish, one is good for a person and for light eaters, perhaps half is more than sufficient. 

Loaded with Vegetables and Ground Peanuts

They were definitely very generous with the sauces and in all their Popiah's, they add both sweet sauce and chili sauce. The veggies were just right and the outer layer was coated with ground peanuts which gave it it's crunchiness. Definitely a good one taste wise and I would rate this at 7/10. 

If you happen to be in this area and looking for a mid afternoon snack, this would be an ideal place for that. The Popiah's were good and besides this, there were many more stalls that offer a variety of dishes. Perhaps I would come back some day and try some of the other dishes as well.

Address: No. 42, Jalan 14/48, Seksyen 14, 46100 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 1500 - 2300 Daily

Vege Good @ Kajang, Selangor

I was in Kajang this evening at my brother's place along with my father. We were vegetarians for the day and was looking for a good place to have dinner. I had been to all the Indian restaurants in Kajang, at least most of them and wanted to have something different. That is when I Google'd for a Chinese vegetarian restaurant and this restaurant was at the top of the list. Went through some of the reviews and they seemed to be very positive. With the help of Google Map, we reached here in less than fifteen minutes. 

The Restaurant in Taman Bukit Mewah, Kajang

Air Conditioned Dining Area

Simple Set Up

This restaurant is located in Taman Bukit Mewah, Kajang. It seems that this is one of those older residential areas in Kajang and as such, it would be very easy to locate this place using any one of those GPS systems. Even with Google Maps, it was a breeze for us. The restaurant is definitely one that has been around for a while. I think they went through a name change in recent years as the menu had a different name and the sign board outside had the newer name. The interior of the restaurant was very clean and they have Halal certification as well which was displayed on the glass panel at the entrance. Even all their staffs except for the chef were Moslems. 

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

Their menu had an exceptionally good variety of dishes. Right from an array of dishes to choose from to have with white rice to simple single dishes like Vegetarian Bak Kut Teh, Nasi Lemak etc. The prices too were very impressive. To be honest, these were even cheaper compared to what we would normally pay in a small town like Tanjung Malim and that was a surprise to me. I never expected them to be this cheap. It took us a while to go through and digest the menu as there were so many choices. Finally once the decision had been made, we called the lady boss and placed our orders. Everyone seems so busy here and were continuously on their feet. The drinks arrived in a blink and so did the food. 

Sambal Petai @ RM 14.00

All the dishes that we ordered were the small sized ones and I was surprised by the portion sizes. They were huge and definitely worth it. The first dish to arrive was the Sambal Petai and this was priced at RM 14.00 . Stinky Beans (Petai) were stir fried with vegetarian shrimps and dried chilies and they tasted excellent. The vegetarian dried shrimps were so close in taste and texture to the real dried shrimps as well. A very satisfying dish and I would give this a perfect 10/10. 

Sweet & Sour Fish @ RM 11.00

This Vegetarian Sweet and Sour Fish was another marvelous dish. The mock fish was again like real fish. It's evident that it is made from tofu and mushrooms but the flavours were so authentic. Even the texture was perfect. The sweet and sour sauce was delicious as well. Another dish that swept us off our feet. 10/10 is what this dish deserves!

Dried Chili Chicken @ RM 12.00

Their Dried Chili Chicken was another good dish. They had used chili flakes to make it spicy but the mock chicken wasn't as great as the earlier two dishes. We knew that we were chewing mushrooms as the flavours weren't that impressive. A good dish but compared to the ones that we had earlier, this just wasn't there. I would give this a 8/10. 

Black Pepper Mutton @ RM 11.00

Oh My Goodness, this dish was heavenly! The mock meat used tasted almost like lamb and the starchy broth was just fantastic. It was so good that I just do not know how to put it in words. Heavenly is all that I can say. 10/10 is what this dish deserves!

Sizzling Tofu @ RM 12.00

Their Sizzling Tofu was an above average dish. The portions were good, the tofu was fresh and the base sauce was good, but there was just something lacking in this dish. Perhaps the other dishes that we tried earlier were just too good compared to this and hence I feel this way. Whichever it is, this dish was just not on par with the earlier ones. I would perhaps give this a 7/10. 

In summary, three out of five dishes that we tried today were superb and the other two were good. If only vegetarian food tastes as good as this everywhere, I don't mind becoming a vegetarian myself. Seriously, this was the best Chinese vegetarian meal that I have had in my whole life. I am definitely going to be visiting these guys more often. Amazing food is all I can say. 

Address: No. 5, Jalan Bukit Mewah 11, Taman Bukit Mewah,

                43000 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 1000 - 1500 & 1730 - 2130 Daily

Telephone: +603 8733 2382 

Pezzo @ Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur

One of the new outlets to open up in NU Sentral Mall is Pezzo, a pizza chain that hails from Singapore and is slowly expanding it's foot print in Malaysia. I believe they have a strong presence in East Malaysia and having been successful there, they are slowly penetrating the market here in West Malaysia. 

The Kiosk in NU Sentral Mall

They do have a full fledged outlet in 1 Utama but I have never gotten a chance to try the pizza yet. This outlet in NU Sentral Mall is just a kiosk located not too far away from the escalator that connects this mall with KL Sentral. As it was the rush hour with commuters heading back home after work, the place was buzzing with customers. The queue was rather long but the guys manning the counter were extremely efficient. They must have been very well trained to handle large crowd. It took them about a minute or two to handle each customer and that's super efficient.

Prices & Promotions

Good Variety of Pizza

Prices were clearly displayed on the screen and again right beside each and every pizza. Another good thing is the clear indication of the ingredients. Weather it was chicken, lamb or beef, every pizza had the narration as well as symbols which made it easier to identify them. For example for a person who does not consume beef like me, all I had to do was look at those pictures and choose accordingly. I did not have to strain my eyes and try reading the smaller prints beside each one of those pizzas. This also did cut down a lot of enquiry time that customers would have had assuming these labels were not there. All pizza's are baked on site and that guarantees it's freshness. They have two series, Carnival and Gala and these are priced at RM 7.90 and RM 8.90 each and that's the price per slice. In case you're wondering, the slices are huge. They are definitely bigger than an adult male's palm. 

Individual Packaging

Being a kiosk, there is no dine in facilities here and it's all takeaways. That being said, they have these beautiful triangular cartons to individually pack those pizza slices. Very innovative concept and practical too. 

Very Veggie Pizza @ RM 7.90 per Slice

This Very Veggie Pizza is made using onions, mushrooms, green peppers and pineapples and topped using Cheddar Cheese & Mozzarella Cheese. This one comes under the Carnival series and it is priced at RM 7.90 . It was a lovely mix if ingredients and the pineapples gave it a sweet aftertaste to the cheesy base. Definitely a good one and I would rate this at 8/10 .

Ultralicious Salted Egg Pizza @ RM 8.90

This Ultralicious Salted Egg Pizza was heavenly. Made using salted eggs, Mozzarella Cheese. Turkey Ham, Turkey Bacon and Mayonnaise, this was one of those in the Gala series and was priced at RM 8.90 per slice. Totally worth the price paid. You actually get salted eggs and cheese oozing out with each bite. Being a fan of both of those items, I totally loved it. Fans of salted egg must not miss this. This deserves a perfect score of 10/10. 

Cheese Cheese Pizza @ RM 7.90

A simple pizza loaded with Mozzarella and Feta Cheese and would definitely be a delight to cheese lovers. Another one in their Carnival series and this too was priced at RM 7.90 per slice. Unlike the earlier one, this has a thick and solid layer of cheese and so you don't get the hot melted cheese oozing out. Taste wise, it was good and I would give this a 8/10. 

Among the three varieties that I tasted this evening, I definitely loved the Ultralicious Salted Egg Pizza as it was marvelous and had all my favourite ingredients. The other two were good too, no doubt about that. If you happen to be in NU Sentral or KL Sentral and was looking for a quick bite, this would definitely be a very suitable place. They are definitely some value for money pizzas. 

Address: NU Sentral Mall, No. 201, Jalan Tun Sambanthan, Brickfields, 

                 50470 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 1000 - 2200 Daily

Indian Food Stall in Chinatown Food Court @ Tanjung Malim, Perak

Chinatown Food Court is a place that I have blacklisted some time back solely for the quality of food that we get there. Initially when they had first started, business was good and that was mainly from those 'curious' customers who wanted to check the place out. Just like me, the majority of them were frustrated with the food that we got there and eventually it went on a decline forcing most of the stalls to close. A few months back, another set of stalls have opened up and among them, is a Indian food stall. This stall opens for business from 6.30 pm till 10.00 pm, Mondays to Saturdays. Variety is limited but I guess for the volume of customers that they have on a daily basis, this should be just fine. They do Nasi Lemak, White Rice, some curries which are rotated on a daily basis and Tosai. Pretty much that's it as far as variety is concerned. 

Rice, Chicken Curry, Chicken Perattal, Sardine Sambal and Petai Sambal @ RM 6.50

This entry is a compilation of two visits. On the first visit, I tasted their rice and curries and on the second visit, I went for their Nasi Lemak just to get a grasp of the taste. Cooking style is very much home style cooking.No MSG is used and it did look very good. Being the greedy me, I took a little of everything on the first day.As you could see from the above photograph, I went for their Chicken Curry, Chicken Perattal, Sardine Perattal and Petai & Anchovies Sambal and all this for just RM 6.50 which I felt was very reasonable. I am very confident that we cannot get the same variety for this price in any restaurant in Tanjung Malim. 

Chicken Curry

Comes with lots of potatoes

Their Chicken Curry was on the lighter side. Not to say that it was diluted, it wasn't just the thick type that you get in most South Indian restaurants. Oh yes, I forgot to mention that these people are Punjabi & Tamil mix and so it's not surprising to see a strong resemblance of North Indian style of cooking here as well. Coming back to the Chicken Curry, despite being on the lighter side, it did taste good. Another thing that I loved is the generous usage of potatoes in all their curries. Being one who loves potatoes, this was a pleasant surprise to me. Good it was and I would give this a 7/10.  

Chicken Perattal

Their Chicken Perattal was again not the yellowish looking Chicken Perattal that we commonly get. This was red in colour and looks pretty similar to Ayam Masak Merah. Slightly sweet and spicy. The meat too was a little stiff. Not sure if they fry it first and then add the chicken to the spices. But, despite the differences, it did taste uniquely good and I loved it. As far as rating is concerned, I would give this a 8/10. 

Petai & Anchovies Sambal

This was a super spicy preparation. The good thing here was that they were generous with the anchovies. The setback however was the fact that they had sliced the petai into two. If they had used whole beans instead of halves, then it would have been much better. Nevertheless, it was still good and I would give this a 8/10 as well. 

Sardine Sambal

Oh goodness, this was heavenly! It has been years since I had a sardine sambal that tasted this good. Everything was perfect. Right from the sourness till the level of spiciness, everything was just right. One that I would highly recommend to try here. This deserves nothing less that a perfect 10/10. 

Nasi Lemak @ RM 2.00 + Mutton @ RM 2.00

The next day, I tried their Nasi Lemak and since they had Mutton, I added that as well. Their Nasi Lemak set was priced at RM 2.00 and the extra mutton that I took was priced at another RM 2.00 . The rice was good, creamy as it should be and the sambal was excellent. As for this basic set, I would give it a 8/10.  

Mutton

Even for the mutton, it came with lot's of potatoes and the price of RM 2.00 seemed very reasonable to me. This would easily be more than a small plate of mutton and some restaurants even charge RM 5.00 onwards for this. Taste wise, it wasn't too spicy, the spices were perfect, the cuts were lean and overall, it was a very satisfying dish. I would give this 9/10. 

Having tried both their core dishes, I am definitely very happy with this place. The food never tasted like restaurant food. Very much home cooked style, very reasonable prices and I always get a very warm reception from them. Honestly, I won't mind having my meals here daily. That's how satisfied I am. Definitely a place that I would recommend. 

Address: Jalan Setia 1, Taman Wangsa Setia, 35900 Tanjung Malim, Perak, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 1830 - 2200 Monday - Saturday

Ah Dee's Sarawak Kolo Mee @ Kota Damansara, Selangor

At the moment, I am working on a project with a client based in Kota Damansara and as such, you'd be seeing quite a number of entries in the coming weeks from this locality. And this very same client is the one who had recommended me to try Ah Dee's Sarawak Kolo Mee. Apparently, it is quite good and tastes quite similar to the one's that you get in Sarawak. Based on his recommendation, here I am this afternoon for lunch. 

Ah Dee's Sarawak Kolo Mee Stall

Restoran Big Family in Kota Damansara

This outlet is located in Restoran Big Family which is in Taman Industri Sungai Buloh. A place that is very close to the old Sungai Buloh Road which is also known as Selangor Green Lane. Parking is a huge problem here. So if you're here for lunch, do be prepared to walk quite a distance.

Variety Of Sarawak Kolo Mee Offered

Variety Of Sarawak Kolo Mee Offered

Variety Of Sarawak Kolo Mee Offered

Contact Details

It seems like every single stall in this restaurant is doing very well and the place is buzzing with customers. Ah Dee's stall was no exception. Even to place the orders, I had to wait for a couple of minutes just for my turn to register my orders. He only has one noodle variety which is the Sarawak Kolo Mee. The variety is basically the type of add on ingredients that one would like to have and that decides the price of the dish. Nothing complicated as he has pictures with description pasted on the stall and that makes the ordering process much simpler. 

Sarawak Kolo Mee with Minced Pork & Char Siew @ RM 6.00

Having placed my orders, I did have to wait close to twelve minutes for my food to arrive. For a simple stall concept, that is quite a wait but I do not blame him. The crowd was such. When the dish arrived, I immediately realised that my client has definitely not tasted Kolo Mee in Sarawak as this seemed like it but not quite like it. 

Noodles Was Good

The portion was decent but not sufficient to satisfy someone with a big appetite like me. The noodles were tasty. It was moist and nice but at the same time I felt that it was too moist as an overall dish and that may have brought down the taste. His Char Siew again wasn't great. It was just another Char Siew. 

Minced Pork

Minced Pork is the main ingredient for this dish and I felt that it was too moist. It should be a little dry and mildly crunchy. As an overall dish, I would give this a 6/10. Nah, I would not be recommending this to anyone unless you're really in the mood for this dish and happened to be in the vicinity. I have tasted much better ones in Damansara Perdana which is a mere 15 minutes drive from here. 

Clear Soup

This dish was also served with a small bowl of clear soup. Again, nothing much to shout about. Just another clear soup it was and I'd probably give it a 6/10 as well. 

I will definitely come back to this restaurant as there is so much food to be explored but I doubt if I would come back for this Sarawak Kolo Mee. It surely wasn't one that I had enjoyed. 

Address: 65, Lorong TSB 10A, Taman Industri Sungai Buloh, 47000 Sungai Buloh, Selangor.

Opening Hours: 0900 - 1500 Daily

Claypot Junction @ Tanjung Malim, Perak

Claypot Junction isn't new to me. This is a restaurant that I have blogged about in the past and without fail, at least once a week I am here and this is a practice that has been going on for about a year now. The food is just awesome and I find the prices to be very reasonable. Beginning this year, they had revamped their menu and added a vegetarian section to it and that is the reason for this entry, mainly to introduce some of their vegetarian dishes.

The Vegetarian Section In Their Menu

The Vegetarian Section In Their Menu

There's about 27 dishes to choose from and that's a pretty good spread bearing in mind that it has been years since we last had Chinese vegetarian options in Tanjung Malim. The last one to open closed down some 12 years back and the other alternative is to head over to Bukit Beruntung. That being said, this is definitely a welcomed change. Just like the other dishes and despite the recent price hike, I still felt that it was very reasonable. 

Claypot Vegetarian Lamb Curry @ RM 15.00

Their Claypot Vegetarian Lamb Curry was good. It came with generous portions of mock lamb meat, lots of Tofu and assorted vegetables in thick curry. Even their curry had a well balanced flavour, though this is not to be compared with the Indian style of cooking curry which is much more spicier. A good dish I would say and I would give this a 7/10.  

Kung Po Vegetarian Fish Balls @ RM 15.00

This Kung Po Vegetarian Fish Ball dish was excellent. Yes, it was truly excellent. I loved the mock fish balls, they were appropriately sliced to the right thickness and served in a delicious broth along with onions, spring onions, dried chilies and capsicum. This definitely deserves a 9/10. 

Mixed Vegetable Soup @ RM 8.00

Most of the time, I come across very bland tasting vegetable soups but this was impressive. The choice of veggies were perfect and the soup was just amazing. Not a single thing that I would be able to pick on. Again, another dish that I would give a 9/10. 

Mixed Mushrooms with Tofu Skin @ RM 12.00

Another good dish. I loved the choice of mushrooms and the beancurd skin was perfect. The method of preparation was good too. I would give this a 8/10. 

Based on the dishes that we had this evening, I definitely have no complaints. The food is good, the portions were decent and the prices were reasonable. Definitely I would be coming back for more. 

Address: 1, Jalan Cahaya, Taman Anggerik Desa, 35900 Tanjung Malim, Perak, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 1700 - 2200 

Telephone: +6010 228 3683 

Puffs & Pastries from Redtick Supermarket @ Cyberjaya, Selangor

Redtick Supermarket is located in Shaftsbury Square, Cyberjaya. I believe that this must be a relatively new supermarket in Malaysia as I have not come across them elsewhere in the Klang Valley. Maybe there are, but I have not come across them. That being said, this definitely looked like another chain outlet, something quite similar to Village Grocer whereby everything was so systematically placed and most of the products sold seemed to be catering towards the European customer base which is good. Many of the canned food stuffs that you get here used to be sold in Cold Storage decades ago and it is just great that these are now available again in Malaysia. Actually the reason I visited this supermarket was in search of some cold sandwiches and unfortunately, they did not have those. Instead, they had a small bakery section that had a wide variety of puffs and pastries. I am not really a fan of those sweet pastries but Curry Puffs are definitely my favourite. 

Curried Potato Puffs (Left) @ RM 3.80 each and Curry Chicken Puffs (Right) @ RM 3.80 each

If I remember correctly, they had close to six different puffs and that's a good variety to have in a supermarket. I however decided to stick with my favourites and they were the above Curried Potato Puffs and Curry Chicken Puffs, both priced at RM 3.80 each. Size wise, I have to agree that they were small especially when I compare it to the price tag. The puffs were smaller than my palm but if they taste good, then it's justifiable. 

Curried Potato Puff @ RM 3.80 each

Before I get to the taste, kindly do note that you have got to do takeaways as there are no seats available for you to consume these food items. Coming back to these Curried Potato Puffs, honestly they were below average. I definitely expected more. The texture of the puffs were amazing and that applies to both the puffs. However as far as the filling is concerned, this was rather bland in taste and they were very limited. I would only give these a 5/10. 

Curry Chicken Puffs @ RM 3.80

Contrary to the earlier one that I had tried, these Curry Chicken Puffs were excellent! They were generous with the filling and the gravy was extremely tasty. These are definitely worth the price paid and it has been years since I had such delicious puffs. The last time I tasted something very similar was the ones sold at Makro Hypermarkets. Not sure if people people still remember them as it has been more than a decade since they were taken over by Tesco and now AEON. These puffs definitely deserve a 9/10.

Based on the two types that I tried this afternoon, I definitely enjoyed the latter more. Of course, they do have more variety to offer and those BBQ Puffs seemed to be a hot seller. Perhaps I should give that a try the next time around. 

Address: P5-01, Shaftsbury Square, Persiaran Multimedia, Cyber 6, 

                63000 Cyberjaya, Selangor, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 1000 - 2200 Daily