Birthday treat at Thai Express

A few weeks ago, one of my good friends, Li Ping, decided to give me my much belated birthday treat at THAI EXPRESS, the fast food chain specialising in Thai street fares and dishes. Now it is noteworthy to mention here that there are currently only two Thai Express outlets in Malaysia, one in Pavillion KL, which is the one we visited, and another in The Curve Shopping Mall. So, if you live nowhere near these places, eat your heart out bwahahahahaha...ahem.

The place certainly looks like a fast food outlet, complete with colourful wallpapers and comfortable couch-chair, as well as an 'outside area' for those who are smokers.

We ordered the Tom Yam Gai Nam Sai, which is essentially Tom Yam soup with chicken. It is a bit too light for me, as i was expecting something more spicy. It's a bit too oily though. Taste-wise, passable la.

We also ordered the Snack Platter set, which is supposed to be a combo plate filled with finger-licking street favourites specially chosen by their chefs, or it says so on the menu. Now I don't remember the names of these street fares, even as our waitperson rattled off in a string of Thai words trying to describe what are those things. We'll just have to take his word that these are indeed top favourite street fares. But I have to say thought, the plate, when it arrives, fail to excite me. It looks like just some chicken wings and fried tofus. I was half-expecting deep-boiled scorpions or fried grubs, at the very least. But I guess we get the 'censored' version.

Next, we also had a plate of Sai Lek Kee Mao Gai, which translates into Super stir-fried stick noodles with chicken. OK, so we learnt that 'Gai' in Thai means chicken, just like 'Gai' in Cantonese. Now this one is not bad. it is perfectly cooked with enough 'fire' to bring out its powerful taste. It may look like a harmful plate of noodles, but looks can be deceiving my friends!

For drinks, we both ordered the Kiwi Lime Cooler, which is self-explanatory i think.

Thai Express is a place to visit if you just want a quick Thai food fix at affordable prices. The other good thing about them is they also offer Special Set Lunch at just RM 15 net, which offers a choice of six main courses, along with soup and drink.

Love at First Bite at CELADON

As far as I know, lots of people like Thai food. There's just something about Thai food that makes most of us salivates at their crispiness, spiciness, rich and flavorful treats like tomyams and whatnots. Too bad the same can't be said about Japanese food though, but that's another topic for another blog. My food-loving friend, Ash, and I recently had a lunch at CELADON, on the top floor of Pavillion KL, upon her recommendation. And it turned out to be a "love at first bite" encounter for me. People, if you're a Thai food enthusiast, you need to get your lovely derrière pronto to this restaurant, and I'm here to tell you why...

This Thai restaurant looks like a set out of 'Sex & the City", classy, posh and shiny. A perfect posh little place to have posh meals with your posh group of friends. And if you're not that posh, well, credit card helps too...A nice place to impress your significant other, to pacify an angered spouse or to show off your latest mistress, take your pick. But I digress.

The main theme here is minimalist white. From the tablecloth to the chairs.

They even have a chandelier looming over the central area, a wine rack, private rooms and one side of the wall completely adorned with rows and rows of coloured throw pillows. I'm sorry, but since when throw pillows are considered acceptable decorative pieces? I thought they are only good for resting your heads or a**. But I digress.

Waiting patiently for our food to arrive...

I ordered the Green Curry Chicken (RM 22.90) with Thai jasmine steamed rice (RM 4.90). It is so good I was ahh-ing and oohh-ing most of the time....The portion is generous, and the chunk of chicken is so tender and flavourful, while the gravy is authentically delicious.

My friend had the Celadon Phad Thai (RM 19.90), which, not only looks good but taste better. Imagine Penang Char Kuey Tiow, but more spicy and tasty...yummm..

For a finisher, my friend had a pot of Earl Grey, tempered by a plate of Mango Sticky Rice with Ice Cream (RM 18.90).

Meanwhile, I settled for a cup of freshly-brewed black coffee and the Chestnut, Jackfruit & Coconut ice-cold treat (RM 11.90), which is simply delightful. If you like coconut, you'll love this. Huge amount of coconut flesh for your enjoyment...

We felt like we have gained extra 10 kilos after the meals, but it was all worth it. I was completely sated for the rest of the day, which is a rare thing for me, and that says a lot about this place. Not only are the food delicious, but they serve generous portions too. There's nothing like good Thai food to make your day a little bit more spicier!

This is definitely one of those restaurants where you'll be coming back again and again. I know I will!

CELADON

Royal Thai Cuisine

Lot 6.37, Level 6,

Pavillion KL

Jln Raja Chulan,

50200 KL

Phone : 603-2148 8708

Fax : 603- 21488710

Little Taiwan Treat

The lower ground food court of Lot 10 mall in KL's golden triangle (you can't miss it really, that ugly green building) has recently underwent a complete transformation and refurbishment, with sexy results! The whole place, now called 'The Hutong Food Court", now resembles a glass-marble maze that you makes you feel like Alice in Wonderland, complete with shiny floors and mirrored walls. The first time you're there, i guaranteed you'll be feeling lost within 2 minutes. Not only that, but they have brought in a host of the best cooks in towns to bring you authentic eastern street foods that you can really sink your teeth into. Think Chinatown fares but without the giant rats and the garbage bags, and you'll have a good idea of how the foods are gonna be like.
Of course, not one to miss an opportunity to try out something, or in this case, someplace new, I decided to drag one of my friends, Kaaroline, along with me to give the place a full sweep. After much deliberation, we decided to try out the Little Taiwan Recipe stall, which looks very inviting and promising indeed.

We ordered the Spicy Mini Steamboat set for two, which cost RM 19.90 and comes with rice, a plate of taugeh, a plate of two herbal boiled eggs and a plate of fried tofu. The steamboat contains two gigantic prawns, generous servings of veggies, sotongs, meat balls, more tofu and the usual steamboat fares. The set is pretty good too. Affordable and tasty!

For soothing our throats after the spicy meals, we ordered the Green Pearl Milk Tea priced at RM 5.90 each. This kind of pearl milk teas used to be all the rage in Asia a few years ago, and I happen to be one of their fans. Who would have thought that sucking those pearls through the straw can be sooo satisfying? 

Those nice people at Little Taiwan even gave us a plate of jelly as  free dessert to wrap up this satisfying meal.  Awww....how nice..too bad the jelly tasted horrible. 
Overall, we really enjoyed our meals, as you can see from our smiling faces...Do give this stall a try if you happen to be here...

Burrppp...another good-eating mission accomplished!

What's for lunch today? 15 December 2009

Or as the French would say " Qu'est-ce que pour déjeuner, aujourd'hui?"...Well, I am feeling abit adventurous today, so, when the office clock strikes 11.45am, I haul my ever-expanding *ss over to Pavilion's Food Republic. After much deliberating (all 2 minutes of it), I decided on the Sweet and Sour Chicken Rice set meal from Little Wok.  The meal comes with soup and a fried egg, all for a wallet-friendly price of RM 8.50. 

It taste as bland as it look...The sweet part is suitably sweet, while the sour part is suitably sour too. But really, a totally unremarkable meal no matter how you look at it. But, hey, at least the egg taste...errr..fresh?
I also savour a cup of tea, which is unusual for me, as I'm a coffee person (Go Go Starbucks!!!) but hey, while I'm feeling adventurous, at least try something different right?

Oh I also had a box of mixed fruit from the nearby Gelato supermarket and then bought myself a capuccino jelly dessert from the Q Jelly Bakery Shop (www.qjelly.com). The capuccino part tastes capuccino-ny, and its roughly the size of a swollen rambutan.

For a RM 5 dessert, it ain't bad at all....
And that, people, conclude my exciting lunch adventure for today. Until next time, have some goodeatings everybody! (Yeah, by 'everybody' I mean all two of you..)

How to beat those Monday blues?

Well, the answer is a trip to Starbucks ...

I always have a 'thing' for Starbucks, from their yummy Java Chip to their delicious cakes and pastries. So, this Monday, when the MBS (Monday Blues Syndrome) hits me the hardest, I decided the best cure would be a trip to my fave coffee joint. Now they are a LOTS of Starbucks outlets around the city, but the one that I visit most of the times is the one located in KLCC Convention Centre, right in front of the Aquaria main entrance. 

Today, the person who is serving me is Bob, who is a nice fellow by the way. I ordered a regular coffee with milk to go, and my two fave pastries : the Cajun Chicken Dome and the Cinnamon Roll. 

 

 

After having these, I feel so much better already......

Size Does Matters @ Carl's Jr.

At Carl's Jr, it does....I have heard enough 'tales" form my friends about the legendary sizes of their burgers, so when an opportunity present itself one Friday to visit the fast food chain, I couldn't say no. (Yeah, my motto is : Never say never to food). The Carl's Jr outlet my friend and I visited is located in the Pavilion mall in KL, where I did most of my food reviews, solely because of its proximity and the large selection of goodeatings to be had there.

The first thing that struck me when i get to the restaurant is just how 'chaotic' the seating and furniture arrangements are. It's like they hired a schizophrenic designer who used to work for Ikea to come up with the layout and colour matchings. The wall seatings are Ok, but the big odd table in front of the menu counter and the small tables with squarish couch/seats scattered throughout the area just looked so out of place. And also, it's WAAAAAY too colorful everywhere you look. Someone should tell them that sometimes, less is more..Okay, enough bitching about the ambiance, let's meet up with Carl's Jr and his troop of legendary king-size hamburgers...

A quick glance through the menu tells me that they don't have that many selections to choose from (and you thought McD is bad). The star of the show is of course their GIGANTIC, HUGE charbroiled hamburgers...I ordered the Teriyaki Combo Burger, which is a MASSIVE serving of a BIG slab of beef chunk wedged between very generous amount of greens. The oozing black sauce on the beef is so good, it's not even funny...

And the fries that come with it...they are so good I almost bit my fingers off in my gluttonic haste to chow them down. And wolf them down I did. Now I've been to many fast food chains many many times before, but everytime i ordered fries, chances are good I will never be able to finish them. But this time, it's different. These Carl's Jr COLOSSAL fries, naturally-cut, are very satisfying with each and every bite. It very well redefined what good French fries are supposed to taste like for me. They certainly don't taste oily, 'lard-y" or empty-on-the-inside"-type other fries I've tried elsewhere (I won't mention name, but think creepy clown). These are actually cut from real, premium-grade potatoes!

My 'virgin' feast at Carl's Jr is definitely an eye-opening, stomach-expanding (and wallet-shrinking) experience. Carl's Jr is not only big in size, but also in taste. They're like the premium fast food restaurant that actually serve healthier and tastier meals (unlike the other fast food joint that I won't mention, but let's just say "I'm Not Loving Them", and  leave it at that).

The only gripe I had is that the price you pay for such good eatings is quite steep.. If they can tone down the price list, or come out with more 'value-meal" types for the medium-income class, that would be swell. To sum it up, I would say Carl's Jr got four of out five stars from me (one star deducted for the price factor). Burger King, you just got served! Now excuse me while I go burp some more...

Sumptous Dinner @ Dragon-i Restaurant

 

The Dragon-i restaurant in the Pavillion mall is one of the best places to sample signature dishes from China, featuring head-turning array of Shanghai's best dishes. The place's specialty though, is their noodles, which are prepared in-house by a team of trained chefs.
Dragon-i's menu offers a wide range of dishes, and I do mean a LOT of dishes...so choosing what to eat can be a headache for some, as everything looks delicious!

 

 

The place is incredibly posh, with rich wooden pillars flanking the main entrance, and tastefully-arranged decor pieces that gives a feel of being in an exotic Asian cookhouse.

 

I ordered the La Mian served in Sichuan hot and sour soup, which s sreally good. It has a rich flavour, thanks to the thick soup, though I'm not sure what the ingredients are. definitely recommended.

My friend ordered the La Mian with bean curd sheet and mushroom, which is really....nothing special. It taste kind of bland, just like any ordinary wantan mee soup you can get elsewhere, only served with better noodles.

We also sampled their in-house specialty - the Shanghainese steamed meat dumplings. These are little meat dumplings that contain lukewarm soup inside. Yes, to eat this, you need to carefully scoop one into your spoon, then gently bite the top off and slowly sucking out the soup before eating the dumpling itself. I've seen many friends who unknowingly spill the soup because of their, ahem, rough handlings. These dumplings taste OK, nothing to shout about. But it's real fun to watch your uninformed friends spill the soup all over themselves...

I ordered these steamed red bean buns simply because they look soooo cute...

For desserts, we have the Barley beancurd skin soup with gingko and quail egg, as well as the Almond beancurd with mixed fruits. The quail egg is a strange addition to the otherwise tasty dessert, while the latter is simply marvelous. A good way to wrap up a evening of fine dining.

For what it's worth, Dragon-i is a great place to have lunch or dinner with your friends and family, mainly due to its great setting and relaxing ambiance, affordable price range and the finest selection of Shanghainese delicacies.

Dragon-i Restaurant
Lot 1.13, Level 1,
Pavillion KL
168, Jalan Bkt Bintang
50200 KL
Tel : 603-2143 7688
Fax : 603-2143 7588