K. R. Mani Curry House @ Jalan Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur

K.R. Mani Curry House isn't new to the people who are living and working along Jalan Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur. This restaurant has been around for some time now and they are located right opposite the Thandayuthapani Temple and also not too far from the old Sentul Cinema. 

The Restaurant Along Jalan Ipoh

Air Conditioned Restaurant

Despite being just a few doors away from the famous Madras Cafe, this restaurant has it's own crowd and is usually very busy during lunch hours. The restaurant is a two floor set up and both floors are air-conditioned for customers dining comfort. The place is also very systematically designed  and despite all the money spent on renovation, their Banana Leaf Meals are a mere RM 5.50 . Another thing that attracted me is their waiters. They were all dressed in Dhothi (Veshti), the cultural attire of the Tamils. I do not remember seeing this practiced anywhere else. For that, my salute to the waiters and the management. 

Banana Leaf Meals (Vegetarian) @ RM 5.50

Their basic Banana Leaf Meal comes with three vegetables, unlimited rice with a variety of curries, Appalam (Pappadam), pickled chilies (Moor Milagai), pickles, Rasam and Payasam. All this for just RM 5.50 . I also adored the way the staffs served. Each automatically takes charge of a table as the customer walks in and the rest seems like a seamless dance. Right from laying the leaves till the last dish served, it was just happening in a blink as if they have been doing this all their lives. Perfect syncronisation of efforts. 

Ladies Finger with Mocha Kottai

Keerai Kadayal

Cabbage

All their vegetables were tasty and none were over cooked. I particularly enjoyed the Vendikkai (Ladies Finger) & Mocha Kottai Perattal. That was really something. The other two were also good. I would rate their Vendikkai at 8/10 and the other two at 7/10.  

Sambar

Mocha Kottai Kulambu

As for the curries, I went for Sambar and Mochai Kottai Kulambu. Of course, you could go for their non vegetarian curries as well at no extra charges. Their Sambar was delicious and their Mocha Kottai Kulambu was excellent. The latter gravy is one that is quite rare these days and I was impressed when I saw these guy's serving this. As for their Sambar, I would give it a 7/10 and their Mocha Kottai Kulambu at 8/10. 

Appalam & Moor  Milagai

Rasam

Payasam

Even their Appalam and Moor Milagai is served in a separate basket and they were quite generous with the portions. Their Rasam was superb, way better than what you mostly get these days in restaurants and their Payasam was tasty too. Perhaps a tad too sweet for me but otherwise it was good. I would rate their Rasam at 9/10 and their Payasam at 7/10. 

Card To Be Handed Over To The Cashier 

Wondering what that door access card is doing here? Well, their entire billing system is automated. Once the waiter is done serving your table, he then keys in the orders into the system and then that information is duplicated on to this card. When one is done with their meal, instead of mentioning the table number or listing down the food items, you just have to hand over this card to the cashier and in a instant, your bill is ready. The only Indian restaurant that I have come across with total automation Way to go guys!. 

In summary, the food was good, very reasonably priced, speedy service, impressive attire and super impressive billing system. If you happen to be in this area, please do give these guy's a try. The only problem here would be parking. If you drive behind the shop, there should be some public car parks very close to the cinema. From there, it's just a 5 minute walk. 

Address: No. 355, 2 1/2 Mile, Jalan Ipoh, 51200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Telephone: +603 4042 5842

Opening Hours: 0700 - 2230 Daily

Sisters Kon Loh Mee Stall @ Tanjung Malim, Perak

Ask anyone from Tanjung Malim who has traveled vastly where the best Wantan Noodles is and they would always say that nothing beats the one from Tanjung Malim and it is indeed true and not an overstatement. This Chinese Aunties have been selling these noodles for the past 50 years. Those days their stall used to be by the side of Bunga Raya Barber Shop, after which they shifted to a number of locations around town. Today, this stall is located by the side of Maybank, Tanjung Malim, attached to Kedai Kopi Sun Sin Lee. 

The Stall Located Beside Maybank

In the mornings, this stall is occupied by another vendor selling similar food items. This Auntie then sells above the present wet market on the first floor and come noon, she operates from here. It is not difficult to locate this stall. Come to Maybank, look at the far left end and you would notice this stall.

Seating Area

There is an indoor seating space as well as a covered outdoor seating area, both of which are quite comfortable. The Auntie prepares all the dishes herself and this includes the noodles used. Besides Kon Low Mee, she also sells Curry Mee and Soup Noodles. There are a number of add on's that one could choose from and therefore it is best to walk over to the stall, choose the items yourself and once done, inform her and she would then prepare the dishes accordingly. This stall only sells food items and the drinks are sold by the landlord which is Kedai Kopi Sun Sin Lee. Prices are slightly expensive for the drinks but they are still within an acceptable range.

Wantan Mee @ RM 3.70

It does not take her that long a time to prepare the dishes and usually, within 10 minutes, the dishes are ready and served at your table.  

The Noodles Are Really Tasty

As for me, I always go for the larger one. The noodles are soft and springy and even the noodles are made by them. This comes with some Wan Ton's and sliced Char Siew. A perfect dish of Wan Ton Noodles and I would rate this at 9/10 .

Delicious Char Siew

The Char Siew however may not be the best of quality. Nevertheless, it is still tasty. For those who love Curry Mee, you should also try her Curry Mee. It is pretty good as well. 

Dumplings In Clear Soup

These are also provided as part of the set. If you want more, you could always ask for extra. These too are homemade and not the ready made ones. She usually charges RM 0.15 each for these. A very good price I feel and they are so tasty. I would rate these at 9/10 as well. 

What more can I say. I have so many memories attached to this stall since my childhood days. Wherever I go, I would always use this Kon Low Mee as a benchmark to rate others. Definitely great food, speedy service and very reasonable prices! Simply love this place and would highly recommend it!

Address: Next to Maybank, Jalan Chong Ah Peng, 

                35900 Tanjung Malim, Perak, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 1330 - 1730 (Or Until Sold Out)

                          (In the morning's, she is in the wet market next door on the first floor)

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