More to See and Eat in Petaling Jaya - Kuala Lumpur

After an adventurous morning in Genting Highlands, Mr. T and I made our way back to Kuala Lumpur. This time we were in search for durian! We have heard that we have just missed durian season, so we were expecting the worst but hoping for the best durian!

We made our way to the suburb of Petaling Jaya, which we heard was the home of the durian market. To our disappointment only one durian stall was open, which meant no other stall had any durian stock. Well we didn't want to walk away empty handed so we decided to try the durian anyway.

The first durian we tried was the durian susu (milk durian). Much to our delight this durian was delicious! There was a plenty of the durian and it was sweet, not stringy and just really tasty. Unfortuantely, the second and third durian we tried was so-so, but the first durian made up for it. For the three durian we paid RM85 for them, which was definitely above normal market price as we missed the peak durian season.

After our durian feast we went in search for dinner. This time Mr. T insisted on kway teow. So after some quick internet searching, we found Robert's char kway teow to be the place to go. Robert's stall in locted in Restoran Say Huat, which was a bit difficult to find as it was located in the middle of a quiet and dark residential area. 

Hakka Noodle (RM 6)

Char Kway Teow (RM 6)

Mr. T immediately ordered the char kway teow from Robert's stall. The kway teow was delicious. It was full of flavour and the charring on the rice noodles made it smoky and aromatic. I ended up ordering Hakka Noodle from a different stall and it was satisfying. It was not as flavoursome as the kway teow, but the subtle flavours were just right.

Our tasty dinner concludes our second day in Kuala Lumpur and we're looking forward to even more new experiences! So stay tuned.

Information

SS2 Durian (Ah Wai)

Jalan Harapan

Section 27

Petaling Jaya

Restoran Say Huat

Jalan 17/27

Section 17

Petaling Jaya

Up Up and Away to Genting Highlands - Kuala Lumpur

A place that everyone told us to visit while in Kuala Lumpur was the Genting Highlands. It's the Las Vegas of Kuala Lumpur and situated on a very scenic mountain. Mr. T and I went there on our second day in Kuala Lumpur. We were planning on going on the cable car, however, unfortunately, on the day we were there, the cable cars were under maintenance. We had to settle with driving there, not as scenic, but just as effective. 

There are different hotels in Genting Highlands, we decided on First World Resort first as we heard it was the newest and most family-friendly. First World Resort was certainly the most kid-friendly, it's very colourful complete with a child-friendly theme park inside. Mr. T and I were not too interested by the rides so we ended up just walking around and window shopped.

Inside First World Resort, Genting Highlands

When it came to lunch time, we chose one of the few restaurants there, Hou Mei. This place seemed the busiest, so we had high hopes.

Assam Laksa (RM 21)

Sui Kaw Soup (RM 20)

Dry Hor Fun (RM 21)

We ended up being disappointed in the food. The dry hor fun Mr. T had was bland and really dry. The assam laksa I had was just sour and the noodles was way too firm. The sui kaw soup was decent. For those who don't know, sui kaw is pretty much wontons. In the end we finished the sui kaw and left the rest. 

After lunch we walked a short walk to Genting Grand. Genting Grand was a much more luxurious hotel than First World, but there was not much to see in terms of shopping. It certainly had a very large and lively casino!

After our visit to Genting Grand we decided to start driving back down to Kuala Lumpur, but we made a short stop at Chin Swee Temple, which is a Buddhist temple built by the same person who built and owned First World Hotel and Genting Grand.

Statue of Lim Goh Tong

The views of the forest and the hilltop were breathtaking from the Chin Swee temple and the air was so cool and fresh, it was like stepping into a fridge.

After our visit to the Chin Swee temple we decided to go back down to Kuala Lumpur in search of Durian!

... To be continued

Information:

Genting Highlands

(First World Resort & Genting Grand)

rwgenting.com

Hou Mei

Level 2, First World Plaza

Hou Mei

Chin Swee Caves Temple

csc.org.my

Nothing Rhymes with Wong Ah Wah - Kuala Lumpur

As some of you may know, Mr. T and I got married about four months ago. We haven't had a chance to go on our honeymoon since then, so this short and sweet trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, is our mini moon! We travelled to KL from Singapore and we were looking forward to continuing our culinary trip. In KL we stayed in the Bukit Bintang area as was recommended to us by numerous friends. 

Our first night in KL, we decided to explore Jalan Alor, which is a famous tourist street where you can find all sorts of Malaysian and other cuisines. We were a little overwhelmed by the choices at Jalan Alor! Unlike a night food market, Jalan Alor is filled with different restaurants, so it was difficult to choose what to eat as we couldn't taste little bits of everything, we had choose a restaurant and order plates of food. 

In the end we decided to try Wong Ah Wah at the end of Jalan Alor, they seemed to be the busiest restaurant and by far the largest one on Jalan Alor. 

Signature Roast Chicken Wings (RM 3.20 per piece)

The signature dish at Wong Ah Wah is their chicken wings, so of course we had to try it. The wings certainly looked enticing and tasted just as nice. The skin was slightly crispy and nicely caramelised, the marinate was delicious. It was a very Asian chicken wings, so not saturated in sauce, but still very tasty.

Kam Heong Fried Lala (RM 10 - Small)

We also ordered the clams, which I love. These clams were tasty, the sauce was delicious and the clams were small but juicy. They were a lot of fun to eat on their own!

Seafood Fried Rice (RM 16 - Medium)

To add carbs to our meal, we ordered their seafood fried rice. The fried rice looked bland, but the aroma made it irresistible and the flavour was delicious. However, there was very little filling which was a little disappointing.

Salted Eggs Fried Sotong (RM 24 - Medium)

The best dish of the night was the salted egg yolk squid. This dish seemed to be on every other table, so we knew we were onto a winner. And this dish was certainly a winner. The squid were cut thinly so it was very crispy and that batter was packed with flavour especially coated with the salted egg yolk.

Overall, we enjoyed the dishes at Wong Ah Wah. As we were seated at an indoor table, the atmosphere wasn't amazing and the restaurant seemed a little dirty. It was not a five star restaurant experience, but the food was enjoyable, affordable and satisfying.

Ratings: /10
Food: 7.5
Value: 8
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Overall: 6.4/10

Restaurant information

Wong Ah Wah Restaurant

1 Jalan Alor

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

The Budget Michelin Star Experience at Tai Hwa - Singapore

As I'm sure everyone has heard, two cheap-eats food stalls in Singapore has been awarded the prestigious Michelin Star! So, when I was visiting Singapore, I just had to try it. There was only time to try one of these stalls, and from what I read, the noodle stall seemed to have the shorter queue time, and that's how I decided on Tai Hwa Pork Noodle.

My family and I arrived at Tai Hwa at 11am, and as we pulled up, there was already a ridiculously long queue! In the end we waited for two whole hours! Fortunately, there was a drinks stall selling delicious and refreshing drinks to keep us all sane during the wait. 

So, how Tai Hwa works, they only sell two dishes, the pork noodle and the soup kway teow. For each dish, they have four sizes, ranging from SGD$5 to SGD$10. 

Pork Noodle (SGD$8)

Soup Kway Teow (SGD$6)

The verdict: the pork noodle was nice, but not to our taste. The noodle itself and all the toppings was tasty, but it was served with a sour vinegar sauce which was too overpowering. Also we found they were inconsistent, with some bowls being nicer with less vinegar and others the extreme opposite. I also preferred the thin noodles than the thicker noodles.

The soup kway teow was actually more enjoyable, the broth was tasty and there was no vinegar in sight! Also, for the price we thought the portion was very generous!

Overall, was it worth the wait? For the Michelin Starred novelty it was worth the wait to try, but, don't think we'd be back in a hurry. 

Ratings: /10

Food: 7

Value: 9

Atmosphere: 5

Service: 6

Overall: 6.8/10

Restaurant information:

Tai Hwa

Blk 466 Crawford Lane #01-12

Singapore

Website: www.taihwa.com.sg

Shellfish Adventures At Long Beach - Singapore

Singapore is known for their crab dishes, black pepper and chilli crab are probably the two most popular. And when Singaporeans (and tourists) want crab, they go to Long Beach!

My family and I went to Long Beach for dinner at 5.30pm, it was the only time slot they had and turns out at that time, they had no other customers! So it was like we hired out the restaurant for a private dinner.

House Speciality Prawn (SGD$31.07)

We started the dinner with Long Beach's house speciality prawn, which is the cereal prawn. The prawns were very large and juicy and that batter and cereal crumb were delicious! 

Beancurd with Chef's Sauce (SGD$25.68)

We also ordered the beancurd with the chef's sauce under the recommendation of the staff. This dish was not as popular as the prawns at our table, the beancurd itself was delicious, but the addition of the floss and the sauce, which was a bit too sweet, was unlike anything we've tasted before.

Lobster (SGD$59.92)

The lobster was served next. This dish certainly wowed us with its presentation. The batter was tasty and that lobster was huge. I did think that lobster was a little dry after being deep fried, but below the surface there was plenty of lobster meat and it tasted very fresh!

Chilli Crab (SGD$166.92)

The piece de resistance of our dinner was the chilli crab. We ordered the fried bun to eat with this dish as well, which is apparently how it MUST be eaten! This dish was certainly overflowing with the chilli crab, it was pretty much chilli soup! We're not complaining though, because that sauce was delicious and perfect to dip the fried bun into. The crab was massive and the claws had the best meat to get our fingers into. 

This was my first time dining at Long Beach and now I understand why reservations fly out the door and people just take whatever time they can get! That chilli crab was extraordinary and to this day I can still remember that tastiness! 

Ratings: /10
Food: 9
Value: 7
Atmosphere: 8
Service: 9
Overall: 8.3/10

Restaurant information:

Long Beach - Dempsey

25 Dempsey Road

Singapore

Ph: +65 6323 2222

I Vote for Food Republic - Singapore

Just had a super short but super sweet trip to Singapore! This city never ceases to amaze me with its variety of food and shopping and the nightlife is second to none. Even food in a food court can be authentic and satisfying. In the two days we spent in Singapore, we ate at Food Republic in Wisma Atria twice!

Noodle with Squid Cutlet (SGD$7)

The first meal at Food Republic I tried the dry noodle with squid cutlet from RedRing Treasures. Everyone I passed seemed to have ordered from this stall so I had to try it. It exceeded my expectations. The crumb on the squid was light, crispy and tasty. The squid was tender and not chewy. The noodle and the sauce was also tasty!

Ice Kachang with Durian (SGD$3.50)

For desserts I chose the Ice Kachang with durian, this was so delicious and perfect for Singapore's humid and warm weather. The taste of the durian was well balanced as it wasn't too overpowering, instead there was just a hint of durian.

Ho Fun with Chicken Chop (SGD$6.90)

For our second visit to Food Republic I was attracted to the picture of hofun with chicken chop from Mini Wok Zhi Char, so I ordered it. At first I was disappointed by the lack of flavour, but after adding a splash of soya sauce, it became immensely more enjoyable and I didn't leave a scrap untouched!

Oyster Omelette (SGD$4)

Fried Prawn Noodles (SGD$7.80)

The last two dishes we ordered from Thye Hong. Their signature dish is the fried prawn noodles and the oyster omelette which we ordered. Apart from the cute presentation in the leaf, the flavours were also enjoyable. We wished there were more oysters in the omelette, but other than that no complaints!

I highly recommend anyone visiting Singapore and unsure of where to eat to visit Food Republic to get a feel of Singaporean cuisine. For a food court it has a lot to offer and can satisfy any appetite!

Information:

Food Republic - Wisma Atria

Level 4, 435 Orchard Road

Singapore