Mie Razali Crab Noodles @ Banda Aceh, Indonesia

This is an entry from my visit in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. I was informed by the driver that this is a must try restaurant and it is very famous here especially for the Crab Noodles. This restaurant was established in 1967 and has been going very strong all these years. In fact, it is also a recommended restaurant on Lonely Planet guide books. Well, when we arrived here this restaurant was extremely crowded and there were no seats available on the ground floor. The driver proposed that we head upstairs and to my surprise, the first floor which had the VIP room was empty. Only then I realized that the VIP room was air conditioned and smoking is prohibited here. No wonder there weren't any locals willing to sit here as smoking is a national culture in Indonesia. 

Mie Razali @ Banda Aceh

VIP Room on the first floor

Well Lit Signs

This restaurant is famous for its crab noodles. There are two versions of it being sold here, the wet type and the dry type. Crab in Indonesian is called Kepiting and hence its name Mee Kepiting and Mee Goreng Kepiting.
It did not take long for the dishes to arrive due to the high demand and mass production happening downstairs in the kitchen. When the dishes arrived, I was surprised to see a full crab in each dish and it was sold for lest than USD 2 per plate, which is extremely cheap looking at the price that crabs are being sold here. 

The Dishes Arrived

Fried Crab Noodles

Crab Noodles Wet Style

The taste....simply superb. A little spicy, not much and just about the right taste. What we did was in order to try both dishes, we ended up sharing both dishes, eating half portion in each plate. I enjoyed both versions of this noodles and truly wish that this dish is available soon in Malaysia.
Address: No 83-85, Jalan T.P. Polem, 
            Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

Tel: 0651 7400174

Opening Hours: 1100 - 2330

First World Cafe @ Genting Highlands, Malaysia

As I am in Genting Highlands today, I am writing about my food experience in First World Cafe that is located in First World Hotel. This cafe is at the Ground Floor, just along the way heading to the towers where the lifts are.

At First World Cafe

Here it is very much self service. You would need to go to the beginning of the counters and then follow the que. As you pass the counters, you would then need to place your orders for food, pick up your drinks and then come to the cashier to pay for the meal. Once the meal is ready, you would need to walk up again to the counter and pick up your own meal. If you had ordered ten dishes, then you would need to do it ten times. Well, what can I say. Food in Genting Highlands is very expensive though one would be spoilt for choices. This cafe is also expensive but it is still the place where you can get simple meals and the cheapest price in Genting Highlands.

Roti Canai @ RM 7.00

Well this is one of the dishes that we ordered here. Food taste was pretty good I would say as Genting has one of the best chefs around, both in their specialty restaurants as well as simple cafes like this. But the price, is a little high. However, when still compared to other outlets, both private stalls and restaurants, this is still a much better option for a quick snack.

Me and my Chikuteh @ RM 21.00

I on the contrary wanted to have something heavy. What attracted me initially was the Muckuteh which is a Mutton version in Bah Kut Teh broth. As this is a Halal restaurant, they do not have pork and so only Mutton and Chicken was available. However, it was sold out for the day and hence I had to settle for the Chickuteh. Price, was surely expensive at RM 21.00 and taste wise, was average. It was more like the Kuala Lumpur style of broth which was clear soup but it had good ingredients inside which include the mushrooms, tofu and very lean chicken meat. Volume was also great.

My Brother with a Bowl of Hor Fun @ RM 18.00

Not satisfied with the earlier Roti Canai, my brother ordered a bowl of Hor Fun. As you can see the portion size is huge but it is mostly the soup. Taste wise was just average and was not worth the price paid. I did taste it too. The Chikuteh was surely a better buy.

One thing good about this cafe is that it is open 24 hours a day and food is available all day long. They do have a reasonable variety for customers and it is not too bad on the whole. Another advantage here is that you could use your Genting Points to redeem food items too. I did that for the earlier Roti Canai.

Address: Lobby Level, First World Hotel,
              Genting Highlands Resort, 
              69000 Genting Highlands, Pahang, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 24 Hours Daily