Malay Mix Rice @ Selera Utara Ikan Bakar, Pit Stop onroute to Penang

We stopped by a Pit Stop while driving from KL to Penang for a quick lunch. Malaysian Pit-Stops offer a wide variety food options ranging from Fast Food to an all out Food Court serving a variety of local dishes. We decided to try out two stalls which had a queue. Both were serving Malay Mix Rice with Selera Utara Ikan Bakar focusing on Fish Dishes and Selera Anda on Meat Dishes.


Beef Liver, Angled Beans with Bean Sprouts on Rice



Fried Chicken, Okra and Curry Fish on Rice



Assam Fish, Curry Fish, Sambal and Mixed Vegetables on Rice


The quality of the food was ok. What I really liked was the Fried Chicken which was crispy and had a nice Crisp Texture and a Curry Powder. It is definitely better than Wendy's or Tim Hortons back in Canada.


Food: 2.5/5
Ambiance: 3/5
Service: N/A
Price: $ (Approximately USD $5 per person)


Contact Information
Address: N/A
Tel: N/A
Map: N/A

Ben's @ Pavillion, KL

Ben's have opened up a number of restaurants across KL within a year and a half serving up local and western Cuisine. We paid a visit to their Pavilion location for lunch where we ordered from both East and West.

Mushroom Soup

The Mushroom Soup had a nice chunky texture however I wished the flavor would have been stronger.


Caesar Salad with Smoked Salmon

Similar to Delicious. The Romaine is crisp and fresh. The poached egg was cooked perfect with the yolk runny.


Steak Sandwich

The Ciabatta Bread was really soft but crusty on the outside. It went well with the medium cooked steak that is also tender. The sandwich was also topped with an Onion Ring.


Nasi Istimewa

Their Nasi Istimewa was really good. It was served with Sambal Udang, Fried Chicken and Beef Rendang. The Beef Rendang was my favorite.


Food: 3.5/5
Service: 3.5/5
Ambiance: 4/5
Price: $ (Approximately USD $15 per person)


Contact Information
Address: Lot 6.11 Sixth Floor, 168 Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: +60 3-2141 5290
Map:

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Nasi Lemak @ Village Park Nasi Lemak

When I'm back in KL, my mornings usually involve an hour's jog around the park near my house before I head to work. Sadly, breakfast is rarely part of my daily routine despite family and friends stressing the importance of having "The Most Important Meal of the Day".

Last weekend I finally had a rare breakfast occasion as I got up a little late and was too tired to jog and too hungry to wait a couple of hours for lunch! Calling a couple of friends we headed to Village Park Restaurant for their famous Nasi Lemak!





Drinks: Kopi-O, White Coffee and Teh Tarik





Nasi Lemak with Fried Chicken


In my humble opinion Village Park hands down is my favorite place for this dish. The rice wasn't very oily or soggy and had a strong flavor from the Coconut Milk. The Sambal is on the sweet side and wasn't fiery hot which was how I liked it. My favorite however was their awesome Fried Chicken! Marinated with Lemongrass, Turmeric and a host of other spices it was moist, crispy and packed a lot of flavor!


Kaya Butter Toast and Semi-Boiled Eggs


The Kaya Butter Toast was surprisingly good! The toast was very crispy and had the right amount of Butter and Kaya. It's been so long since I last had Semi-Boiled Eggs. Just a dash of Soy Sauce and White Pepper and the egg taste amazing!


Curry Laksa

The Laksa Gravy was quite thick because of the Coconut Milk and came with a mix of Thick Noodles and Rice Noodles. It may not be the best Laksa I've had but it is definitely above average.


Village Park definitely serves up one of the city's best Nasi Lemak. But what surprised me most was the other food we had such as the Curry Laksa and Toast which was also pretty good! No wonder this place is always packed with people drawing lineups for both dine-ins and take-outs.


Food: 4.5/5
Service: 3.5/5
Ambiance: 3/5
Price: $ (Under USD $5 per person)


Contact Information
Address: 5, Jalan SS21/37, Damansara Utama, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, 47400
Tel: +603-7710-7860
Map:

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Ramadhan Buffet @ Lemon Garden, Shangrila Hotel

Being a Shangrila Prestige member we chose to dine at Lemon Garden to try out their Ramadhan Buffet. It was quite full on the day we went and the spread was impressive. As most of you who have visited would know the restaurant features live cooking stations that touches on Chinese, Malay, Indian, Western, Italian and much more.




Since it was Ramadhan there was an emphasis on Malay Food with dishes such as Bubur Lambok, Murtabak, Whole Roasted Lamb and Malay Kuih.






The buffet was very big but we all agreed that most of the food served was sub-par. Oysters were not very fresh and had a bad aftertaste. Prime Rib although cooked medium was very dry as it sat out in the open for too long. Braised Short Ribs were tough and the sushi was very soggy.






Most of the assorted Malay Kuih looked really nice but were either bland or dry. One can get much better kuih at the Ramadhan Bazaars every night.




Despite most of the lackluster food I did like a few dishes. Salmon Sashimi was quite fresh and the Chicken Roulade was tender and went well with the ragout.





Chinese Dishes I liked were the Fried Rice and Steam Cod Fish. The rice was seasoned just right and did not stick to together. The Cod Fish was flavorful and moist.





There were a wide variety desserts on offer that night. You had cakes, shaved ice, ice cream, mousses, tarts and much more. Most tasted decent except for the Dark Chocolate Mousse. The chocolate was rich and extra smooth and had some little sugar balls that gave the mousse a nice crunch.





If you guys would like to see more photos you can visit my Flickr Set.
FYI discount vouchers are not valid for dinner throughout the Ramadhan period. However Prestige dining benefits can still be used.


Contact Information:
Address: Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur, 11 Jalan Sultan Ismail, 50250 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: (60 3) 2032 2388
Fax: (60 3) 2070 1514
Web: http://www.shangri-la.com/en/property/kualalumpur/shangrila

Breakfast @ Kompleks Makanan Tanglin, Lake Garden

I arrived in KL last night and spent it figuring out where to take May’s aunties to eat Nasi Lemak. Staying for two days and this being their last, I definitely wanted their last meal to be good.

Most people may think its not that hard figuring where good Nasi Lemak joints are. But it was for me because I haven’t had one in KL for quite some. Flipping through the KL section from the Star's review of good street food I saw Nasi Lemak Tanglin. Not only was it given three stars it was also located inside Lake Gardens! What a way to end this trip I figured. Take them for a good breakfast and have them snap loads of pictures at Lake Garden.

And so the following day we arrived at Tanglin Food Court at around 10am and queued up for our Nasi Lemak.



I’m not an expert on Nasi Lemak but I did enjoy the one here. I had mine with Sambal Egg, Curry Chicken and Beef Lungs. The Sambal here was a little sweet and relatively mild in heat, which was good for someone like me who can’t handle heat. I also enjoyed the chewy texture of the beef lung, which did not have any bad smell or taste that are usually associated with it. However what I liked most was the rice. It wasn’t very oily but still retained a nice coconut flavor.



In addition to Nasi Lemak I also ordered grilled stingray and cuttlefish from Pak Din’s Ikan Bakar Asli. This place was also highly recommended from the book and foodies.



Grilled over charcoal the fish was moist and had a nice smoky flavor. The flesh was moist and flakes off the bone.



The cuttlefish was my favorite. The curry spices and smoky flavor really went well with the cuttlefish and more importantly it was so tender to the bite.



Don’t forget, Malaysian grilled seafood is incomplete without the tasty tamarind based dipping sauce, which had a nice balance of sweet, sour and heat.



To go with my meal I also ordered some Kopitiam Teh. The teh was relatively mild and not too sweet, which was a nice complement to my meal.



At the end of the meal I was relieved that May’s aunties enjoyed it. As for me it's about time I had some Nasi Lemak back home after so many years. And I'm glad I picked this place to have it.


Contact Information:
Address: Kompleks Makan Tanglin Jalan Cendarasari, Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 016-650 8494 (Zainol)