Wednesday 26 February 2014

myBurgerLab @ Seapark, Petaling Jaya

myBurgerLab @ Seapark, Petaling Jaya

The crazy fever on burger now tune to Malaysia after several well-known burger specialist shop appear in Petaling Jaya. We hop onto this famous "Burger Lab" on a very occasional event. This is one of the popular burger shop, whereby need to queue up at least 30 mins to secure you a seat and order.
myBurgerLab located at Seapark, Petaling Jaya. University or college students who familiar with the curry wanton mee stall which operates in the dawn or "flying wanton mee" stall at night will definitely detect the "myBurgerLab" easily, as it is on the same street, same row of shops. They share another similarity--limited parking space, especially after the opening of myBurgerLab, the situation becomes worsen, and so takes us around 20 minutes to look for a parking bay,

Seapark is considered as an old town in Petaling Jaya area, the shophouses there although not historical enough, but definitely erected more than 20 years ago, the facade of which hard to make us to relate it to a modern western fast food restaurant. It is definitely an adventurous decision to start a same type of business here. But the crowd proves that the owner DID IT. The crowd and the queue at the entrance of shop was terrified, and we learnt that we totally underestimated their fame and reputation. 
It was a weekend and during dinner time, which double up the crowd. But I am not in KL so frequent currently, this is the only chance to experience it. We starts queuing from two shops away from the restaurant. The owner is considerate enough to provide us ice water during the long queue. It is full house and yet people still queue up. Just a friendly reminder, do come along with friends. One may queue for order and one may look for seat (anyhow this is not encouraged by the owner). 
There is only one to two counters which take order, which definitely cannot afford the crowd.
Menu on the chalk board. Nicely display out all the menu that they have.
Kitchen in action. It is an open-kitchen, you can see them preparing your burger through the transparent glass. 
And, a pack of tortilla chips.
If not mistaken, the beverage here is free flow subject to management policy change to date.
Chicken Spicy Hawaiian 2.0 (Mild/Hot)  RM15
Here is the Chicken Spicy Hawaiian. The ingredient have grilled chicken, red sauce, Swiss cheese, shiitake mushrooms & pineapple ring. Other than Chicken Spicy Hawaiian, the combo is comprised of a packet of thick-cut french fries too, truly satisfy potatoes lover, especially with a dip into their special chilies sauce.  
Charcoal Bun is one of the distinguishing feature of the burger in myBurgerLab. The black colour bun definitely will not be preferred in the past, but it is now the apple in the everybody eyes!  The Hawaiian style burger comes with the pineapple ring, provides appropriate sweetness which attracts ladies to lean preference to. The taste of the patty is good too, smooth and moist, against the impression that chicken patty will be tough and dry.
Swisstake  Beef  + Crunchify  RM15 
Here is Swisstake Beef + Crunchify. It consist of Swiss Cheese, Shiitake & Enoki Mushroom, sauce X. I would say this is an excellent combination, the unknown white sauce match well with the mushrooms, the potato chips in between surprised me with the crunchy texture. RM15 for a burger is not cheap, but look at the huge and thick patty, definitely worth for it! The beef patty is just nicely done, retain the moist and juiciness of it.

The foods are good and worth for our second visit, but I definitely hope that they can expand the restaurant to enable customer to have a comfortable environment to enjoy their meal. It is indeed not a pleased experience when you couldn't find a seat while holding a tray of foods. I also expect the situation where the new coming customers standing next to your table rushing you finish the foods will only happen in food court.

Address : myBurgerLab 
14, Jalan 21/22 , Seapark
46300 Petaling Jaya
GPS : N 3 06.649 E 101 37.324

Business Hour :
Mon-Fri: 5:00pm till 10:15pm (last call)
Sat-Sun: 11:00am till 10:15pm (last call)
Close on 1st Mondays of the month

Branch : 
OUG Lab
Mon-Fri: 5:00pm till 10:15pm (last call)
Sat-Sun: 11:00am till 10:15pm (last call)

Sunway Lab
Mon-Sun: 11:00am till 10:15pm (last call)

Cyberjaya Lab
Mon-Fri: 11:30am till 2:00pm (last call)
Mon-Sat: 5:30p till 10:00pm (last call)
Cyberjaya closes on Sunday.

Wednesday 19 February 2014

Kah Kah Loke 佳佳乐苦瓜汤 @ Taman Sutera Utama, Johor Bharu

Kah Kah Loke 佳佳乐苦瓜汤 @ Taman Sutera Utama, Johor Bharu

One of the night, we went out for our late dinner. It was a long working day and thus we were wandering around Sutera Utama's area looking for some comfort food. There are quite a number of restaurants in the neighbourhood and we were definitely spoiled with choices. Being a fans to bittergourd, we were attracted by this "Restoran Kah Kah Loke" which offering the signature bittergourd soup and some common home-cooked dishes.
Some of the tables were occupied during our visit for late dinner. At least the little crowd (especially after dinner hour) provides us little guarantee of the taste of foods. We chose the indoor seats and ordered few dishes--the signature bittergourd soup, kangkung belacan, deep fried pork and sliced fish in Thai sauce.
Kangkung Belacan 马来风光  RM5
Stir fried kangkung with belacan is a very famous dishes in most of the restaurant, it is not exceptional here. It is very flavourful and is good to go with rice. Slightly different from some other restaurants, the chef being more considerate to please all category of customers by putting in more sweetness to the dish.
Bitter Gourd Soup 苦瓜汤  RM9
The bittergourd soup being the spirit of our meal was served soon after the kangkung. According to old people say, bittergourd is good to eat during summer or hot weather day, as it is with the cooling nature and is good for detoxication. We ordered the small portion one which consisting pork intestine, liver, and pork belly.The meaty colour of the soup shows that variety of ingredients in order to make the soup success. It taste good with the sweetness from the ingredient. The bittergourd was put in lastly before served, to retain the freshness and crunchy. Some people may not so into the taste of "greenness", but is just suit to my liking.
Kah Kah Loke Deep Fried Pork 招牌炸肉  RM4
Deep fried pork is one of the famous hakka dishes, and is normally served in most of the bittergourd soup restaurant in southern Malaysia. The pork belly is marinated with the red fermented beancurd, and coated with a thin layer of batter, deep-fried into the golden brown colour. It is something like deep-fried char siew, where the chef will cut it into pieces or slices before served. I like its crispy and the seasoning is just appropriate, not too salty.
Sliced Fish in Thai Sauce 泰式鱼片  RM7
While this the last dish, it was just a ordinary sliced fish with Thai sauce. Slightly out of our expectation. The onion and cucumber on the top are cut roughly, rendering the presentation of food fails. Perhaps it is near to the closing hour? Well.. Nevertheless thinking on the bright side, this meal only costed us RM25 with four dish. Undeniably, it is quite cost effective. 

Address : 佳佳乐苦瓜汤 Kah Kah Loke
130, Jalan Sutera Tanjung 8/3
Taman Sutera Utama,
81300 Skudai, Johor
GPS : N01° 30.9338' E103° 40.1727'

Tel : 07-556 0864
Business Hour : 10am - 3.30pm , 5.30pm - 10pm
Closed on Monday

Kah Kah Loke in Suteram Utama is the second branch in Johor Bahru, other branches located in every single corner of Johor Bahru--Taman Johor Jaya 柔佛再也, Taman TUN皇后, Taman Gaya高雅花园, Taman Nusa Bestari顺利花园

Wednesday 12 February 2014

Fish Village Seafood 渔村海鲜楼 @ Bukit Tambun, Penang

It has been a long time story for this post during Malaysia GE13. The time I purposely went back to my place to vote for our country's future (also my future). Seafood is always something I always craving for when I staying in Singapore, as the small island has very little production of seafood by itself, mostly imported from Malaysia and Indonesia, so it is so pricey and luxury to have seafood in Singapore. I and my family were having our fabulous dinner at Penang famous seafood spot, Tambun-- a place serving fresh and cheap seafood.
This is not our first visit to Fish Village Seafood Restaurant. Hence, we are quite familiar to the menu and signature dishes they serves. 
Boiled Octopus 水烫小章鱼
Baby octopus is always one of my favourite, especially when I visit Japanese restaurant. This baby octopus is cooked in a different way, with slight boiling, to retain the freshness and sweetness of the octopus, no extra seasoning was added. With a dip of the special-made sauce, definitely enhance the taste of the octopus.
Fried Noodle  炒面
As usual practice here, we ordered fried noodles to eat together with seafood. The noodles was good enough for its "wok" flavour.
Bok Choy  菜胆  
A portion of green as usual. Baby bok choy is a new try, but I definitely fall into love with the green crunchiness.
Deep Fried Soft Shell Crab  炸软壳蟹
Soft shell crab is a seasonal item, and we were lucky enough to grab some of these. Coated with a thin layer of batter, fried into golden brown, it is indeed crispy and I couldn't help myself from reaching it for more! I bet it will be good to go with beer too! 
Steamed Lala in Lime  酸酐蒸蛤蜊
Big clam are steamed with broth and lime juice. The clam are opening up widely inviting my appetite. With the little sour from the lime, it is extremely appetizing and I can finish the whole plate by myself! Yum yum.
Steamed Mantis Shrimp with Egg  蛋蒸濑尿虾
Deng deng, last but not least-- this is one of the favourite seafood dish. Normally we have minced meat or salted fish for steamed egg, but this is definitely the luxury version of steamed egg. The mantis shrimp is very huge in size and definitely over shadowing the steamed egg as the leading role, if you are craving for fresh mantis shrimp and high protein dishes, this will the best to try!

To have the best taste of seafood, steaming is always the best cooking method, not only allow us to taste the sweetness deriving from the seafood, but also prove that the restaurant serve really good and fresh seafood! Fish Village Seafood is definitely one of the best place to have good and authentic seafood at reasonable price. 


Address : Fish Village Seafood 渔村海鲜楼
1, Jalan Besar, Bukit Tambun,
14110 Simpang Ampat
GPS : N05 16.348'  E100 27.013'
(Right in front of of HK How Kee Seafood)

Business Hour : 12pm - 11pm
Tel : 012-4986506 / 012-5556688

Wednesday 5 February 2014

食客 Shik Gaek Korean Family Restaurant @ Taman Pelangi, Johor Bharu

食客 Shik Gaek Korean Family Restaurant @ Taman Pelangi, Johor Bharu

Once in a blue moon, we are here for our scarce Korean meal. When mention about Korean food, we always relate it with kim chin, bim bim bap and korean barbeque. Shik Gaek is a korean restaurant in Johor Bahru, which is specialised in Korean barbeque. Due to the overwhelming demand from the crowd, Shik Gaek has established few branches in Johor Bahru. The one we have visited is located at Taman Pelangi, combining two-three shop lots, provides spacious and comfortable environment for dining in.
The other best part of having Korean cuisine is the refillable and various side dishes. Similar to Malaysian styled appetizer, the side dishes are spicy-sweet-sour in nature, which is super good in opens up my appetite.
Our table full with side dishes, from range of kimchi, sweet potato, mushroom, vegetable, and so on. This was sufficient enough to fill two of us. Thus, we did not request for more side dish even though it was really delicious. 
BBQ Special 特式烧烤  RM59.90 for Two
Come to the main character of this meal, the meal consist of pork, chicken ,beef & mutton. I prefer pork as the fat is marbling evenly on the meat, render the meat retains its tenderness even after the barbeque.
The cooking method was very hygienic. Everytime customer left, they will replace the new barbeque plate for the next customer. By choosing the good quality and stainless steel barbeque plate, it looks clean and hygiene. 
KimChi Soup 泡菜汤
Another highlight is this Kimchi soup. It is included in this set menu for two. The soup itself was flavorful. Definitely something not cannot be missed out.
As on convenient side, the friendly and helpful waiters will place everything on the plate for BBQ purpose and taking care of the barbeque in front of us, provides us the utmost convenience but in the meantime does not take away the fun of barbeque.
This is the traditional way to eat Korean BBQ stuff. Anything pick up from the BBQ plate, dip into the special made barbeque sauce and wrapped into the cabbage, put whole piece into mouth in one. Absolute satisfied. 
Ddokbeokgi  辣炒年糕  RM15
Beside the traditional korean BBQ, we also order Korean style "Nian Gao". We suggest not order extra dishes if you have already ordered BBQ set. For this case, the Ddokbeokgi was too large for us. By the way, there was good try on the korean traditional "Nian Gao". It was a little bit spicy but acceptable for me. The texture of the Ddokbeokgi is just good and springy. With the Korean chilies sauce coating, it is not only looks attractive, but also nice to taste.

We will never forget about this korean BBQ. We strongly recommend that this korean meal as the price was reasonable and affordable. 

Address : 食客 Shik Gaek Korean Family Restaurant 
185 Jalan Sri Pelangi ,
Taman Pelangi, 80400 Johor Bahru
GPS : N01 29.029' E103 46.299'

Bussiness Hour : 11.30am - 11.30pm
Tel : 012-7976384
Taman Pelangi 07-331 4276 , Sutera Utama 07-556 6276