Vege Sense @ Rawang, Selangor

Vege Sense is an established Chinese vegetarian restaurant that has been around for many years now in Rawang, Selangor. They are located in Taman Setia Rawang, the housing estate that is on the opposite side of Tesco. It is hard to miss this place. Assuming that you are coming from Kuala Lumpur on the state road, Tesco would be on your left and this restaurant would be on your right. There's quite a number of good feedback that I have gotten from friends but it was only today that I was able to pay them a visit. Parking here is quite easy as the road fronting row of shops where this restaurant is located are mostly unoccupied, therefore many of the bays are vacant. Kindly take note that this place is closed every Wednesdays. 

The Restaurant Located Along Jalan Setia Rawang 1

They Occupy Two Shop Units

A Very Simple Layout

They occupy two shop units and both premises are air conditioned. The place is simple but there was a huge crowd when we arrived. That I took as a good sign. Well, if the food isn't good, surely they would not be having such kind of a crowd, that too on a weekday like this. The above photograph was taken as we were about to leave when most of the customers had left. Service was speedy and the premises was clean. Kindly take note that alcohol is not allowed on their premises. Another great thing to enforce as it is a pure vegetarian restaurant. 

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

That's their entire menu there. Prices are definitely very reasonable and they have a decent variety on offer, right from rice to noodles and other dishes. Since it was just the two of us, ordering was simple. Two single dishes each plus one dish that was to be shared. In fact I wanted to order more but was stopped by the waiter who advised us that what we had just ordered would be more than sufficient. That was a nice thing for him to say from a customer's perspective instead of getting me to order more and more when eventually, it would go to waste. That gesture of his was one that I loved and appreciated. From my experience, not many would be willing to do that. 

Plum With Lime Juice @ RM 4.80

An extremely strong and sour drink that tasted so good for the kind of hot weather that we have been experiencing. Very refreshing and so pure it was. This is one that I would recommend. I would rate this at 9.5/10 .

Tofu With Veggie Fish Rice @ RM 6.90

All their rice sets comes with brown rice. For those that are not used to brown rice, I would recommend you to skip the rice section as it does taste very different when compared to the usual white rice. This set came with some Tofu, Veggie Fish and some vegetables. For the price of RM 6.90 , it seemed very decent to me. Taste of the items like tofu and the veggie fish were good. Do note that they tend to cook their dishes using tea and that does give an authentic taste to the dishes. Yes, definitely a good one and I would rate this at 7/10 .

Braised Pan Mee with Vegetables @ RM 5.90

The Set Came With A Small Bowl Of Soup And Fuchok

Chili Flakes

This one was super awesome. In fact, I noticed many of them ordering this dish and it seems to be quite a famous one here. Though it was a vegetarian preparation, the dish was superb and tasted so close to the non vegetarian version. All the added ingredients played a vital role in making this dish taste great. The crunchy bits that was thrown in was excellent and tasted just like anchovies. The chili flakes were awesome too. A must add as it does boost the taste. I truly loved this and I would rate this at 9/10 .

Spicy Black Bean Veggie Fish @ RM 12.00

This Spicy Black Bean Veggie Fish dish was one that we ordered to share. I must agree that it was just splendid. The mock fish tasted good and the texture was just lovely. So was the black bean paste that was used. Not too salty and it came with generous portions of sliced ginger that gave the dish an added spiciness. Again for RM 12.00 , look at the portion size. Truly worth it!!! I would rate this at 8.5/10 .

In summary, it was a good meal and all the dishes that we tried were tasty. Particularly, I loved the Pan Mee and the Veggie Fish. The rice was nice but I didn't quite enjoy the brown rice. Maybe, those who are used to Brown Rice would have enjoyed it better. Price wise, it felt that they were all very reasonably priced. Would definitely love to return again soon.

Address: 46, Jalan Setia Rawang 1, Taman Setia Rawang, 48000 Rawang, Selangor, Malaysia.

Telephone: +603 6091 8520

Opening Hours: 0900 - 2130 (Closed on Wednesdays)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vegesense

CTS Kacang Putih Ipoh @ Ipoh, Perak

Some of us are familiar with Kampung Kacang Putih that is located in Buntong, Ipoh but for many of those who have never heard of this place and have on numerous occasions asked me about the location, here is a brief write up for you. This little village is located along Laluan Sungai Pari 2. Once you head into Buntong, keep driving straight till you come to the roundabout. At this roundabout, go straight, slow down and take the first left turn. Here you would be able to see a few Kacang Putih outlets, some medium scale and some very large ones. I have tried a number of them and somehow, prefer this CTS Kacang Putih. Maybe it is because I have been their customer for more than 15 years and have traveled a long way with them. Once again, taste is a matter of individual preference and I would recommend you to take a walk to all of these outlets, taste their Kacang Putih samplers yourself and decide. 

CTS Kacang Putih

Everything here is made in house and with that, freshness is guaranteed. Those days, it used to be made using the conventional methods but nowadays, as the business has grown, machinery have been introduced to do most of the work. Some of these guys here are so big that they even export to numerous countries and their businesses are worth millions. 

Prices Are Cheap

Pre Packed Items Available In Various Volumes

They do both retail and wholesale business and most vendors from Kuala Lumpur get their supplies here. In fact, I was told that their retailers come from as far as Johor Bahru.Try comparing the retail prices here and that that we get in Kuala Lumpur and you would be surprised. A small packet like the ones above is priced at RM 3.00 where as the same is sold in Kuala Lumpur for RM 8.00 . That is the kind of prices that we get here. 

Wholesale Packaging

Besides the usual nuts, they also have the full range of 'karam's' as it is rightfully called in Tamil which includes all those spicy items like mixture, murukkus, pakkoras etc and even crackers like tapioca crackers, rice crackers etc. All at very reasonable prices. 

Some Of The Other Manufacturers

Another Large One With An Air Conditioned Outlet

As the years have passed, now we have more people in the business who have gone international and some even have air conditioned retail outlets..... all in the same Kampung Kacang Putih. 

Map To Location

Contact Details

If you have the habit of snacking on these items daily, then I would recommend making a trip to Ipoh to get your supplies at much lower prices. I usually get them once a month and they remain reasonably fresh in air tight containers. A must visit for Kacang Putih lovers!!!

Address: 28, Laluan Sungai Pari 2, Buntong, 30100 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia.

Telephone: +605 255 4561

Opening Hours: 1000 - 1900 Daily

Grill 2 Chill @ Tanjung Malim, Perak

Here we have another new Western Restaurant that had commenced business in the ever growing food population of Taman Universiti, Tamjung Malim. Good that now we are having more food options but I am just afraid that this might dilute the customer population among the businesses. Anyway, it is all about healthy competition and me as a customer would never say no to greater food options. 

The Restaurant Along Jalan U1, Taman Universiti, Tanjung Malim

Big Screen Projector TV

A Nice Set Up

The restaurant is located along the main block itself and is easily noticeable. Parking as usual can be an issue here but if you're willing to walk a little, then you could always find bays further up along the road. The place was simple and nice with a projector TV running movies. It was a weekday when I dropped by and even then, the number of customers were quite encouraging. 

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

Their offer on the menu was good. A good range of western dishes along with some local dishes and they were all very reasonably priced. Service was good too as the waiters were fairly quick to attend to customers. 

Teh O Ice @ RM 1.50

Asam Boi @ RM 1.80

The Iced Teh O as usual is mostly a staple drink in most Malay restaurants and the preparation here was equally good. The Iced Asam Boi again is another simple preparation and I felt that that too was equally decent. For both the drinks, I would rate them at 7.5/10 .

Grilled Chicken Chop @ RM 9.90

Top View Of The Dish

For RM 9.90 , I would say that the portion was good. It came with a reasonable sized grilled chicken, some wedges, coleslaw and corn on the cob. When I compare this with the competitors located along the same row, this is anytime better compared to those extremely stingy portions that is served there. 

Grilled Chicken Topped with Black Pepper Sauce

As mentioned earlier, the portion was a very reasonable one and it was grilled to perfection. The meat was tender, juicy and the marination was bold and stood out even after adding the black pepper sauce. One can opt for either black pepper sauce or mushroom sauce and as a matter of preference, I went for the former. 

Wedges

Corn on the Cob and Coleslaw

The Wedges was good. Deep fried and not overly done and it was not even greasy. That is surely a plus point. And their coleslaw, that again was up to expectations. In fact, it exceeded my expectations in taste. Surely one of the better ones that I have tasted. Overall, it was a good dish and based on my taste buds, I shall rate this dish at 8.5/10 . 

Nasi Lemak Omak @ RM 6.90

Another one of my favourites that I did not miss trying. The Nasi Lemak set comes with the usual fragrant rice, Prawn Sambal, Chicken Rendang, Fried Peanuts and Anchovies, sliced cucumbers and an egg. For the price, they have given prawns and chicken which I feel is a good deal. 

Fragrant Rice

The portion was good but honestly, I felt that it could have tasted better. The creamy taste that we get from coconut milk was lacking. Not to say completely but as mentioned, it could have been surely better. Not one of the better ones that I have tried. I would rate the rice preparation at 6/10 .

Prawn Sambal

The Sambal was a light one and it wasn't spicy at all though it may look fiery. Came with a few small sized prawns and it tasted good. Again, not the best that I have tasted but still decent. I would rate this at 7/10 .

Chicken Rendang

Not a very large cut but sufficient bearing in mind the volume of rice given. This one I enjoyed the preparation and it was good. Again not the spicy version but it was a taste to remember. I would rate this at 9/10 . Overall, it was a plate of decent Nasi Lemak. There is great room for improvement when we talk about the sides and the rice itself. Nevertheless, decent it was.

Curry Noodles @ RM 4.90

This was one that I had as a take away and it was a disappointment. Not in terms of taste but just look at the amount of curry which they had packed for me. It looked more like a dry curry noodle instead of the usual curry mee. They should definitely know how to measure the amount to pack for take aways or if the curry had been sold out, they should have then informed me in person as I would have swapped it with something else. Taste wise, the curry came with some chicken chunks and fish cakes and it had a strong taste of cinnamon which didn't quite appeal to me. Overall, I would say a let down. Firstly the volume of curry itself and secondly, the taste of the curry. This I would only rate it at 4/10 . Just okay for me and not one that I would consider ordering again.  

In summary, I very much enjoyed the Grilled Chicken Chop. The Nasi Lemak was nice but the Curry Mee was a let down. Definitely a place that I would recommend for their Western dishes. Hope to return soon to try out their other western dishes as well.  

Address: No. 26, Jalan U1, Taman Universiti, 35900 Tanjung Malim, Perak, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: Sunday - Thursday 1700 - 2300

                             Friday & Saturday 1700 - 0000

D Santap Asam Pedas @ Batu Caves, Selangor

Recently, I was informed by a friend that there is a good place for Nasi Lemak in Sunway Batu Caves area. After doing a little bit of research, I found out that it is the famous Asam Pedas restaurant that is located beside one of my favourite South Indian restaurants, D Maduras and the name of this restaurant is D Santap. I wonder what is it with that 'D' that so many of them seem to be adopting. Having had some work at EPF this morning, I decided to drop by for breakfast since they are only two rows away.

The Restaurant in Taman Sunway Batu Caves

Nice Spacious Concept

Cleanliness Was Good

I arrived sometime around 10.30 am and by then many have already had their breakfast and there were just a handful of customers. Some of their Indonesian staffs were busy preparing the Asam Pedas for lunch and a Bangladeshi guy was making Roti Canai. Seriously, that was one odd looking Roti Canai and it looked like he was using 1 liter of oil for each Roti Canai. I checked with another staff and he mentioned that Nasi Lemak was available. I then placed my orders and moved over to a table. The set up is quite good actually. The place was clean and the open air concept that they had adopted added greater ventilation inside the restaurant and I hardly felt the heat from outside. Finding this place is quite simple. Assuming you are coming from Batu Caves, keep going straight and once you come to the temple, keep left and avoid the flyover. You would then be passing Divine Life Society, Lord Ayyappan Cave Temple on your left and within a short distance, you would be able to sight this restaurant, again on your left. 

Coffee @ RM 1.50

Coffee was good. Definitely not the best that we get at those Indian Muslim restaurants. Still, I would say it was a well fixed drink. Not too much milk and tasted bolder, just the way I like it. This I would rate at 7/10 .

Nasi Lemak @ RM 2.50

It didn't take them too long to send the Nasi Lemak over. At a glance, it looked good and smelled good. The only sight that I didn't like was the old Banana Leaf used. That seemed like one from the week before. Otherwise, it surely looked good. 

The Aroma Was Awesome

The rice was definitely one that was cooked with the right amount of coconut milk as it did taste good. The only setback with it was the fact that it was slightly undercooked. I wonder how they could do such a blunder but it is what it is. If only that was right, then it would have been perfect. For this undercooked preparation, I would rate it at 3/10. Assuming it was properly cooked, then I might have given this a 8.5/10 .

Fried Peanuts Were Fresh And Crispy

Sambal Was Super Good

The fried peanuts were fresh and crispy. And the sambal, that was super good!!! Extremely spicy just the way I love it and the taste was just heavenly. They were also very generous with the amount of belacan added to the preparation. There were no anchovies in it but plain onions and ground chilies. This was a total saviour to the undercooked rice. It was so good that I didn't mind finishing up the entire plate. Truly potent stuff!!! The sambal, I shall rate it at 9/10 . 

If only the rice was properly done, then this would have been bliss. Otherwise, nothing else to complain about the dish. I still have mixed feelings if I should boldly recommend this. The sambal was awesome. No doubt about that. But the rice? Was it an 'only today' accident or does it happen every now and then. Unconvinced, I shall just not cast my vote of confidence.

Address: No. 1, Jalan SM 1, Taman Sunway Batu Caves, 

                68100 Batu Caves, Selangor, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 0800 - 2200 Daily