Restoran Gou Lou @ Damansara Utama, Petaling Jaya

Restaurant Gou Lou in Damansara Utama is the branch outlet of the famous Choy Kee in Jalan Alor that specialises in Fish Head Noodles and Tom Yam Seafood. I have been here once when they first opened and after a year, I am returning again.I was not impressed when I visited them the last time but recently a friend of mine had visited them and he told me that they have improved substantially and that is why I returned here tonight. 

Restoran Gou Lou in Damansara Utama

Interior of the restaurant

Newspaper Write-ups On Their Walls

The restaurant was quite full when I arrived and that was an indication that the food has definitely improved. Just like any other Chinese Restaurant, their interior was quite standard. There is both indoor and outdoor seating areas and the indoors is air conditioned. They have a Branch Manager who was constantly supervising the staffs ensuring they were efficient and quick to attend to customers needs. On both sides of the restaurant, there were loads of blown up newspaper articles on this restaurant which adorned the walls. 

The Menu

A Brief Note on the Cooking Methods

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

Their Menu comprised of five main areas. They are Fish Head Noodles, Tom Yam Noodles, Curry Noodles, Porridge and their drinks. Definitely a good variety was present in all those categories offered. 

Sour Plum Juice with Limau Kasturi @ RM 4.00

The above drink was very well prepared. It was quite pure and gave a very refreshing taste. I would rate this drink at 9.5/10 .

Fish Head Soup @ RM 9.50

Good Amount of Meat Was Present

Very Minimal Oil Used

Super Spicy Home Made Sambal

I was not in the mood for Noodles tonight and hence ordered the above bowl of plain Fish Head Soup. Regardless of whether you have it with or without noodles, the price is the same. Here they use fried Bonito fish head which comes with a good amount of meat. The soup has a very thick flavour to it and was wonderfully prepared. Definitely improved so much from the my last visit. The portion too was really huge. The homemade Sambal is definitely worth mentioning as it was really good and super spicy. I would rate this dish at 8.6/10 .

Mixed Balls Soup @ RM 7.90 (Small)

Fish Ball

Pork Ball

Chili on the sides

I also ordered a small bowl of Mixed Balls Soup. The small portion comes with six balls, three of which were Fish Balls and the remaining three were Pork Balls. Despite being small, this in itself can be a meal for a small eater. The soup came with loads of vegetables which is good to fill the stomach. Both the Pork and Fish Balls were good and the soup itself was delicious and definitely did not have MSG in it. A recommended alternative at this restaurant if you are not in the mood for Fish Head Noodles. I would rate this dish at 8.7/10 .

Deep Fried Dumplings @ RM 7.90 (Small)

Closer Look At The Fried Dumplings

The Deep Fried Dumplings comes in three sizes and this is the small portion. They were fried to a crispy Golden Brown colour and tasted very good. There were a good amounts of filling and made it a dish worth the money. I would rate this dish at 9/10 .

Directions to the Restaurant

They have definitely improved their dishes compared to my last visit and in fact, this time around, I found their dishes to be quite good and worthy of all those newspaper write ups. I believe the Branch Manager has definitely been listening to the customers reviews and has done some work on improvement. Definitely a place worth visiting if you loved Fish Head Noodles. 

Address: 73, Jalan SS 21/60, Damansara Utama, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.

Telephone: +603 7725 3420 / +603 7733 1663 / +6012 6198 106 (Jimmy Tan - Branch Manager)

Opening Hours: Monday - Friday 1030 - 2200

                            Saturday, Sunday & Public Holidays 1000 - 2200

Souka @ Taman Tun Dr. Ismail, Kuala Lumpur

Sharing a shop lot with Mukha in Taman Tun Dr. Ismail is a bakery called Souka. I am not sure if the owners are the same, but the cash till is separate. I have been to Mukha before and have posted a blog post on them but during that trip I was not able to try out Souka and that is why I am here again today. 

Souka and Mukha in Taman Tun Dr. Ismail

The Small Signage for Souka

Shared Seats Among The Two Outlets

Souka Occupying A Smaller Space on the Left

Customers Chilling Around

This restaurant does have it's loyal group of customers. Many of them are seen even working from this restaurant and there is also a number of students seen doing their homework here. This is definitely a favourite neighbourhood cafe. 

Menu of Cakes

Menu of Cakes

Their menu is simple but sufficient. Besides having the above, they also take orders for special deliveries.

Flat White @ RM 8.00

Souka does not serve drinks on their menu and hence I have had to order this Flat White from Mukha. As always, the drinks from Mukha are always up to expectations. I would rate the above Flat White at 9/10 .

Orange Cupcake @ RM 5.00

Orange Cupcake

In order to be able to sample more of their cakes, I ordered cupcakes as it would allow me to have more than one in a single seating. As the first one, I tried the above Orange Cupcake. It was delicious!!! Absolutely delicious. There is not a single thing about this cake that one could complain as it was a piece of perfection. I would rate this Orange Cupcake at 10/10 .

Red Velvet @ RM 5.00

Red Velvet

This too was another excellently prepared cupcake. It was absolutely flawless!!! I would rate this again at a perfect 10/10 .

Contact Details

Overall, I am very satisfied with the cakes here. They are definitely a taste to remember and I must congratulate the owners for bringing such standards to this neighbourhood. Keep up the excellent work guys!!!

Address: 15, Lorong Rahim Kajai 13, Taman Tun Dr. Ismail,

                60000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Telephone: +603 7732 2248 & +6019 2388 550

Opening Hours: Tue - Thurs 1200 - 2200

                            Friday 1430 - 0000

                            Saturday 1200 - 0000

                            Sunday 1200 - 2200

                            Closed on Mondays

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Souka/359725820708638

Restoran D'Tomyam @ Damansara Perdana, Petaling Jaya

Restoran D'Tomyam is another famous neighbourhood restaurant in Damansara Perdana. Located along the  same row as Public Mutual, this place is usually packed during the evenings and is mostly patronised by the locals in the area. 

Restaurant D'Tomyam in Damansara Perdana

Interior of the restaurant

The Drinks Station

The design reminds me of Restaurant Vichuda in Damansara Utama and I guess it is quite standard across most Malay Tomyam restaurants. Having occupied a corner unit, space is a great advantage for them as they could spread out their tables even to the parking bays and also along the corridors. They definitely must have a big pool of customers as by around 8 pm, most of the tables are taken.

Their Menu

Their Menu

Their Menu

Their Menu

Their Menu

Their menu is quite similar to most other Tom Yam restaurants and I believe this must be the Thai Menu. Do note that from 7 am to 5 pm, they serve Malay food and from 6 pm to 3 am, they serve Thai food. The service here is quite efficient and food is not served until all your dishes have been prepared which may sound like a very long time, but in actual fact takes them merely 20 minutes. They would bring all your dishes on a tray and serve them all. 

Teh Halia @ RM 1.70

Their Teh Halia is definitely made using the Ginger Powder and not fresh sliced Ginger. Slightly on the sweet side but it was nice. I would rate this drink at 7.5/10 .

Limau Panas @ RM 1.00

Their Hot Lime Juice was quite good. At the price of RM 1.00, I think that this is priced very cheap. I would rate this drink at 8.5/10 .

Udang Masak Petai @ RM 5.00

This dish was just above average. The Petai's were good but the prawns were not fresh. Taste wise, it was quite ordinary. I would rate this dish at 6/10 .

Ayam Masak Merah @ RM 4.50

This dish was terrible. Looking at the amount of colouring they had used, it seems quite frightening. I have not come across a restaurant that uses colouring for this dish. The taste too was bad.I would only rate this dish at 2/10 .

Sotong Masak Halia @ RM 5.00

This dish too was on the disappointing side. There was a very limited amount of squids which were once again quite stale. The sauces too were quite flat in taste. I would rate this dish at 2/10 .

Telur Bistik @ RM 4.00

This dish was better than the two previous dishes but still it was just about average. Something was just not quite right with the egg. Not sure if it was fried with recycled oil. I would rate this dish at 5.5/10 .

Sup Tom Yam Putih Ayam @ RM 5.00

This white style Tom Yam Soup is called the Lanna Style in Thailand and is native to the Northern Thailand region. It would say that this was well prepared and had a bold and sour taste to it. Definitely a relief from the previous dishes. I would rate this at 8.5/10 .

Sup Tom Yam Merah Ayam @ RM 5.00

This again was a well prepared dish although it is nowhere near the best ones that I have tried. It had good flavours and the right balance between spiciness and sourness. I would rate this dish at 8.3/10 .

On the whole, my meal at this restaurant was quite disappointing. Except for the two Tom Yam Soup dishes, the rest were quite bad. I wonder why this place is mostly crowded at night. Perhaps it is a matter of convenience and not for the taste and also the fact that they open till late night and hence it is a place where you could just order a coffee and have long conversations with friends. Otherwise, there is nothing great about this place.

Address: 19-1, Jalan PJU 8/5I, Damansara Perdana,

                47820 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 0700 - 0300 Daily

Telephone: +603 7728 9771 & +6016 695 6191 (Rosdee Dollah)

Loong Kee Bak Kut Teh @ Kota Damansara, Petaling Jaya

Loong Kee Bak Kut Teh is a restaurant specialising in various types of Bak Kut Teh and is located in Taman Industri Sungai Buloh. The address itself may seem confusing but location wise, this is in Kota Damansara area, right at the intersection between the Sungai Buloh road and Kota Damansara road, very close to the Selangor Green Lane and along the same row as Khalifah Restaurant.

Loong Kee Bak Kut Teh in Kota Damansara

Simple and clean

Typical Chinese Restaurant Layout

It was around 11.30 am when I arrived here and the restaurant was quite empty. Nevertheless, as time went on, people started coming in and by noon, there were roughly around 20 customers here. There isn't a menu here and some of the dishes are written on the wall and that too in Chinese. Luckily, the lady boss was kind enough to explain to me the variety of Bak Kut Teh's they serve. Ordering was then a breeze and with that, her brother started working on the dish. 

Cutlery & Chilies

Herbal Tea @ RM 1.50

The Herbal Tea was horrible. Having come in early, I was expecting the Herbal Tea to be quite pure and it usually is good in Bak Kut Teh restaurants. However, here it was utterly diluted and tasteless. I would rate their Herbal Tea at 1/10 .

White Rice @ RM 0.50

Do note that they do not serve the Yellow Oil Rice as only White Rice is served which was rather disappointing especially being in a restaurant that supposedly specialises in Bak Kut Teh. 

Yau Char Kui @ RM 1.50

The Yau Char Kui was hard and did not seem fresh to me. This was really bad quality and I would only rate it at 3/10 .

Soup Bak Kut Teh @ RM 10.00

Closer Look At The Dish

The Soup Bak Kut Teh came in a very light and almost clear soup that tasted more of Soy Sauce then the herbs. The amount of meat in the dish too was limited and there was just one small Tofu that was sliced into three thin slices. Besides that, there was no mushrooms or even Fuchok in the dish. Usually, a dish like this is good for me but today, I still felt hungry. The price charged for the amount served is rather ridiculous. I would only rate this dish at 5/10 .

Soy Sauce Bak Kut Teh @ RM 10.00

Another variety of Bak Kut Teh that they serve is the above Soy Sauce Bak Kut Teh. At RM 10.00, it comes in a small bowl that is no larger than the size of my palm. This however, was quite nice. It seems that this dish is prepared and the meat has to be marinated in the sauce for a number of hours before it is deemed ready for consumption. I definitely liked this dish and would rate this at 8.5/10 .

Overall, except for the last dish, this restaurant disappointed me in every dish that it served. The quality was not up to the mark or anywhere close to it and they definitely are stingy with the portion sizes. The price too does not commensurate the portion sizes. Would I come here again, definitely a big no. 

Address: No. 61, Jalan TSB 10A, Taman Industri Sungai Buloh, 

                47000 Sungai Buloh, Selangor, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 0700 - 2100 Daily