Laziz

28.04.2008
We were invited to the opening ceremony of Laziz Restaurant located at Mont Kiara. I have never been to a middle eastern restaurant for a very long time, so I was more than delighted to savour some middle eastern dishes.

Welcome to Laziz (menu book)...

We were there half an hour before the opening. We met the owner, Mr Mohamad and chatted with him for a brief moment as he was busy with the preparation. Mr Mohamad who is from Yemen is a friend of my wife.

The ground floor...Stairs to the upper floor...

The beautiful ceiling lights (in sketch format)...The tiles with Middle Eastern artwork...

Family members, relatives and friends thronged this makan place at 8.00pm and everybody was well dressed for the opening ceremony (except for us, we were in our office attire :p)

We had a bit of everything. We had saute beef, hommos, vegetable platter, lamb cubes, kebab, fried chicken (middle eastern style) and pesto. We actually wanted to learn more about the dishes but since the owner and his personnel were busy, we decided not to bug them.

All-in-a-plate...I should have eaten the food separately and accordingly. Some of sauces provided were meant to be taken with certain dishes. Instead, I mixed everything together in a plate. One of the creamy looking white sauce was really hot. I swallowed a spoonful of it (thinking that it could be as sweet as mayonnaise) but I was totally wrong. From there on, everything tasted very "pedas", making it difficult for me to evaluate the taste of other dishes I had throughout the night.

We promised Mr Mohamad that we will come again and will go for his specialty dishes.

Laziz
18, Jalan Solaris 5, Mont Kiara,
Off Jalan Duta Kiara, Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: (to be provided)

Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Rating: U

Rating System:
A = Recommended
B = Worth A Visit
C = Average
D = Below Average
E = Waste Of "Hard-Earned" Money. Seriously, I'm Not Kidding!
U = Unrated

Green House Thai Cuisine

27.04.2008
On Sunday afternoon, we went to SS12 with intention to have lunch at Kafe Bawang Merah. We read a review of this cafe at Cumi & Ciki Food Blog. But the cafe is closed on Sunday. So we had to look for an aternative makan place. We have been to almost every corners of Subang Jaya (inclusive of USJ) and we are running out of ideas of where to go....

While driving around SS15, we remembered that there is this Thai restaurant next to JM Bariyani House in SS18. And within minutes we reached that makan place called Green House Thai Cuisine Restaurant.

The Incredible Hulk colours - Green, green, green, inside out green!
We have no clue what the menu or pricing would be like. We just hope that the food is acceptable and the price is reasonable. We don't need another "disappointing" makan outing (like the one we had a day earlier).

Once we entered the outlet, place was slightly empty. Only three dining tables were occupied. That was not a good sign for us. Either the food is expensive or the food is crap.

We sat down at within seconds, the waiter came to us and "literally" threw the menu onto the table. Seriously! I'm not kidding! He just dropped the menu and the walked back to the kitchen.

When I opened the menu book, I looked at the price and it seems that the dishes are reasonably priced. Lega! And the selection is rather extensive. Green House serves starter like mini popia, roti udang, variety of soups, vegetable, chicken, beef, prawn, squid and lala dishes. Most of the dishes are priced between RM5.00 - RM10.00 per plate. The prawn dishes are slightly expensive, priced at RM16.90 per plate while the fish is based on market price.

Not wanting to "waste" money, we ordered "entry level" dishes:

Nasi Goreng Chicken Teriyaki @ RM7.90 - Teriyaki... Thai or Japanese?Nasi Goreng Beef Teriyaki @ RM7.90

Waallaa! The chicken and beef tasted really good. It was well marinated with the teriyaki sauce. The rice had a bit too much pepper (to our liking) but it was savoury nonetheless!

Sweet & Sour Chicken @ RM9.90A litle bit soggy and the chicken is slightly on the soft side but the chicken meat absorbed the sweetness and sourness of the sauce making the dish more "terasa".

Kailan Ikan Masin @ RM4.90

I would prefer a less soggy dish but the "kuah" was somehow rather tasty.

We practically enjoyed our lunch at this makan outlet and have no hesistation to recommend this eatery to anyone.

Green House Thai Cuisine
7, Jalan SS 18/6, Subang Jaya,
Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Tel: 03-56325290

Cuisine: Thai
Rating: Food = B

Rating System:
A = Recommended
B = Worth A Visit
C = Average
D = Below Average
E = Waste Of "Hard-Earned" Money. Seriously, I'm Not Kidding!

Restoran Puteri

26.04.2008
We went to Restoran Puteri located at TTDI's commercial centre years ago for a buka puasa buffet meal. The meal was ok.

Never thought of going to Puteri again until we read about Puteri's brand new opening, a spacious outlet with ample parking located on a hill at the edge of TTDI's township.

After a third attempt, finally we managed to locate Puteri, the restaurant that housed a wedding of a famous celebrity few months ago.

We entered the indoor dining hall around 8.00pm. Place was empty.

As for the dishes, every single dish is "high in price, low in taste! :p"

Ikan Kembong Goreng Berlada @ RM12.00Ayam Padang @ RM12.00
Kailan Goreng @ RM7.00Disappointing! That is all we have to say!

Restoran Puteri
Lot 3074, Jalan Datuk Sulaiman,
TTDI, Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-77284886

Cuisine: Malay
Rating: Food = D

Rating System:
A = Recommended
B = Worth A Visit
C = Average
D = Below Average
E = Waste Of "Hard-Earned" Money. Seriously, I'm Not Kidding!

Rebung

Celebrity Chef Ismail (see bottom pic* - on the right) and his business partner, Dr Sheikh Muszaphar, the famous local Angkasawan (pic* - left) opened a restaurant named Rebung in 2004. The restaurant which occupies a 1960s-style single-storey bungalow is located in Bangsar Park, KL.

We reached Rebung at around 9.00pm. Well, it was a bit too late for us to enjoy the "lauk-pauk" spread as there was nothing much left for us to look at.

Since it was drizzling, we opted for indoor dining. The indoor dining section was empty. Five minutes later we ordered Nasi Goreng and Mee Goreng. We were expecting a "tasty" Nasi Goreng & Mee Goreng but to our dismay, the nasi and mee were totally tasteless (by our standard). I asked my wife "How's your Mee Goreng?" and her respond was "Hmmmm..." She then immediately asked me "And your...?" I cut her off before she could finish her sentence by saying "Urrrghhh..."

Short while later, we left the restaurant. I had a quick chat with Chef Ismail at the payment counter. He was promoting his outlet and dishes etc etc etc. I wanted to tell him that his dishes didn't live up to expectation but I guess, I have to be fair to him as I have yet to try any of his signature dishes.

Next time perhaps...

* Snapshot is taken from The Star

**********Extract From The NST**********

When people think of mum’s food, they head for Restoran Rebung where chef Ismail Ahmad cooks in the style taught him by his mother, writes SHANTI GUNARATNAM

“MY life is all about hard work and dedication, and I enjoy working the graveyard shift to ensure the smooth running of my restaurant,” says celebrity chef Ismail Ahmad. His is a familiar face in the country as he has appeared in many cookery programmes on television as well as dramas.

His Restoran Rebung in Lorong Maarof, Bangsar, opens from 11am till 11pm and the jovial Ismail and his eight-member kitchen staff are kept busy all the time. Actually, he says, he works 16 hours a day, seven days a week.

“There is so much to do – organising the day-to-day running of the restaurant, planning the menu and cooking the dishes.” His customers come because they want home-cooked food just like what their mothers and grandmothers prepare for them. The slightest mistake with ingredients or cooking methods will find them complaining. “We are kept on our toes all the time.

In this business, it is important to give customers what they want and not what we think they want,” he says. “The secret to good savoury dishes and desserts lies in the coconut milk which must be fresh.

When I was growing up, my mother and grandmother constantly drilled into me the importance of using freshly-squeezed santan. “My late mother was a fantastic cook and she could whip up anything including kurma, briyani and other traditional dishes. Her butter cakes and pineapple tarts were the best,” he adds.

Besides running the restaurant, Ismail also caters for weddings, corporate events and family functions. Since the restaurant opened in October 2004, it has enjoyed brisk business. During the Ramadan, it has full bookings for the whole fasting month.

Ismail has leased the building next door to hold cooking classes for anyone who is interested in Malay cuisine. “During the school holidays, children can also come in and learn to cook. An academy such as this is a good idea because many chefs want to give classes but don’t have a suitable location to do so,” he says.

What To Eat
Customers of Restoran Rebung look forward to dishes such as daging salai, brinjal cooked in chili, the various types of masak lemak, sambal tempoyak, rendang, pecal and ulam. Also popular are kampung style fried rice, fried noodles, soups and other dishes.

“The buffet is popular. On weekends, especially Sundays, lots of people come in the afternoon and stay on till closing time. Some even go home for a few hours and come back later for more food,” he says.

How Much
The buffet lunch at Restoran Rebung is RM35 and the buffet dinner which comes with satay and entertainment, is priced at RM40. Those opting for a la carte dishes usually pay RM5 for a portion of daging salai, RM4.50 for tempoyak sambal, RM4.50 for a piece of fried tenggiri and RM3.50 for a plate of ulam with sambal belacan.

Traditional cakes such as kuih lapis, koci, talam, onde-onde, anak dara dua bilik, sepang rebus etc, are sold at RM1 per piece while a bowl of sweet green pea porridge, pengat pisang or bubur pulut hitam is RM3.50 each.

The restaurant also offers a fine selection of Cuban cigars from RM27.

**********End Of Extract**********

Rebung
4-2, Lorong Maarof,
Bangsar Park, Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-22832119

Cuisine: Malay
Rating: Food = D (based on the dishes we had)

Rating System:
A = Recommended
B = Worth A Visit
C = Average
D = Below Average
E = Waste Of "Hard-Earned" Money. Seriously, I'm Not Kidding!

Pappa Kopitiam

15.03.2008
The Adventure continues...

[Read related previous adventure here]

We headed towards Pappa Kopitiam at a snail's pace. Not because we were not eager to see what Pappa has to offer but we (basically me!) simply had to "control macho". Hehehehe!

Once we entered Pappa Kopitiam, I "frantically" search for a suitable spot so that those at Pak Li Kopitiam would not be able to see me having another round of meal (this time at Pappa Kopitiam). Hahaha!!! My wife, totally not amused with my behaviour, said "Dear, please sit down, order your meal and enjoy the dish!" I senyum lebar and replied "Yes mam!" Hehehehe!

While Pak Li Kopitiam offers some Penang-based food (Mee Udang for example), Pappa offers some Ipoh-based dishes, for example Ipoh Prawn Chicken Koay Teow Soup and Ipoh Chicken Koay Teow Dry Curry.

We asked the waiter number of questions pertaining to the menu but we got nothing from him. He can't speak neither English nor Malay. Instead of him getting another waiter who can converse in English or Malay to serve us, our waiter decided to stay put and continue to "amuse" us with his "I speak no English, no Malay" antics. That was a total turn-off. In the end, we ordered three "starter" meals - roti bakar, french fries and fish cakes.

The makan experience was salvaged by the great ambience. The modern decor makes this makan place looks a little bit "posh" (for a kopitiam outlet).

Since we didn't order any main dish, we have nothing much to say about the "starter" dishes we had. You can read an in-depth review at 3-Meals.Com

Pappa Kopitiam
No 2-1, Jalan PJU 5/5,
Dataran Sunway, Kota Damansara,
Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Tel: 03-61417128

Cuisine: Kopitiam
Rating: Food = U

Rating System:
A = Recommended
B = Worth A Visit
C = Average
D = Below Average
E = Waste Of "Hard-Earned" Money. Seriously, I'm Not Kidding!
U = Unrated