Noodle Station

Semasa kami meronggeng kali kedua di Poney Fair itu, kami had lunch at Noodle Station. Sebenarnya, banyak kali dah kami usha Noodle Station ni, sebab kat Alamanda pun ada satu outlet, tapi tak pernah jenguk sebab we thought it would be some average kedai yang jual mee je. So sebab Mummy teringin nak makan laksa asam, when we saw Noodle Station at SACC Mall, kami pun decide la nak try.

We were pleasantly suprised bila kita tengok menu dia - sebab extensive jugak la, not just mee goreng, mee sup, mee kari - mcm Laksa Shack atau Lemongrass Cafe. Noodle Station has a lot of noodle varieties to choose from - sampai tak reti nak bezakan dari satu item ke satu item yang lain. Everything looks, and reads good. Finally, Mummy chose the Springy Noodle in Tomyam Seafood, Wen chose the Springy Noodle with Crabstick and Fishball, while Daddy (tak ikut konsep) pilih Tomyam Fried Rice with Prawns.

Lagi satu, menu beverage dia pun very extensive, memang banyak choice. From smoothies, ice-blended, coffee, tea, shakes, fruit cocktails, fresh juices and to the ordinary drinks, memang kalah menu kedai mamak. Daddy ordered Iced Teh Tarik Hazelnut, Mummy drank I Love You Lemonade (Curacao with Lemonade), Wen minum Pink Guava Lemonade and the kids shared Strawberry Milkshake. Semua air ni sedap and refreshing.

The meals pula - springy noodles dia sedap dan cara masaknya kena dengan taste buds kami, rencahnya cukup - tak pedas sangat, tak masin, tak masam. Nasi goreng Daddy pun okay cuma kurang isi dan prawns. We do recommend this outlet for some fast, healthy and tasty noodle selection. Do take time to examine their extensive noodle and beverage menu - pilih mee dan air yang sesuai supaya berbaloi dengan selera anda!

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Old Timer Kopi

There is one simple-looking kopitiam in Seksyen 9 Bandar Baru Bangi, called the Old Timer. We think it is named that because it plays classic Malay songs, which is very refreshing. Old Timer might lack one significant signature dish, but it is the quality in their dishes which stands out. From their Kuey Teow Soup, Mee Kari, Soto Nasi Impit, Pulut Rendang and Nasi Lemak, everything is simple yet tasty and delicious.

Besides that, the owner, though we do not know them personally, is a very friendly and attentive lady.

We will not recommend a particular menu for you to try out. But if you want an alternative to a franchised kopitiam (yeah, like Old Town - boring or Bangi Kopitiam - dwindling standard), head to the Old Timer, relax, listen to the Keronchong, and indulge yourself.

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Pho Hoa

Ye lah Mummy, lama dah kita tak buat food review.. sebab dah lama tak pegi tempat makan yang worth a review nih.. (macam dah established je part review kita nih kan..). Anyway, tadi kitaorang berempat + Mak Nek + Danish telah, seperti yang Mummy postkan sejurus sebelum ini, pergi shopping tingkap di Ikea + Ikano + the Curve. Maka kami pun mencari-cari tempat makan yang sihat dan bernutrisi (polisi kami sekarang).. dan terjumpalah Pho Hoa Restaurant, yang berkonsepkan makanan ala-Vietnam.

Kami pastikan kedai ini mempunyai tanda Halal terlebih dahulu, sebab restoran Vietnam lain tak berapa nak halal. Alhamdullilah, Pho Hoa ada cert Halal, dan kami pun masuk la.. tapi pekerja dia ramai Bangladeshi lah, takde Vietnamese pun... Walaupun Daddy pernah berkursus di Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, tapi sebab banyak makanan tak halal, so tak pernah le merasa semua mende yang ada di sana (walaupun di satu majlis makan, daddy ter-belasah belut sebab orang Vietnam tu kata fish.. very nice fish..)

So yang famous kat Vietnam ini ialah Pho Hoa noodles, mee Pho dalam ramuan sup tradisional Vietnam. Antara ingredient yang boleh anda pilih ialah daging nipis steak, brisket, meat ball dan ayam, serta garnishing sayuran yang banyak memang sihat dan berkhasiat. Supnya pun sedap, dan portion hidangan cukup dan mengenyangkan.

Mummy pilih Pho Hoa with steak and brisket, Mak Nek pilih with brisket and meat balls, dan Danish pilih Poa Chicken. Cuma daddy je pilih Rice Set, dengan Grilled Chicken - okay gak, ayam dia tender dan rencahnya sedap, yang lain biasa je.

Kalau you all suka kopi, boleh la cuba Vietnam Drip Coffee, yang memang popular - daddy tengok diorang jual kopi ni di tepi-tepi jalan Saigon jer.. Tapi tak berapa nak cuba sebab orang kata very strong dan kaw sampai rasa pahit. So, kitaorang order minuman yang biasa ajer.. but we do recommend you the Chinese Jasmine Tea (daddy yang order).

Overall, bagus gak la restoran ni, sebab kami surf website dan dapat tau franchise ni dah sampai ke US, tapi di Malaysia niingredient-nya boleh di localizekan - sebagai contoh, kalau di US depa hidang pork chops, di sini jadilah ayam.. mudah je kan? So kalau international franchise nak start di Malaysia tak salah/susah pun nak jadikan ia halal, kan.. just localize the content.. (macam Bubba Gump). Ya, kritikan ini kami tujukan kepada TGI Friday's yang sampai sekarang tak reti-reti nak replace Jack Daniel's sauce dia dengan versi yang halal.. Sebab tu la makanan Friday's tak sedap..

Anyway, back to Pho Hoa, kitorang recommend la tempat ini, sebab makanan yang sedap dan berkhasiat - a little something different for your taste buds.
As usual, kami meninggalkan restoran itu dengan keadaan meja yang huru-hara.. ;)

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Breeks Cafe, IOI Mall

Selepas tercangak-cangak beberapa ketika.. inilah kedai pilihan kami. Ya.. Breeks Cafe.. which is another American-styled cafe. Don't worry, it is a halal-certified cafe.

Daddy mithali.. with the Father's Day gift on the right bottom picture 

Daddy had the Cajun Chicken Chop.. the taste was really superb. Isi ayam yang agak tebal, was very well grilled but still juicy. The sauce was not spicy, but sour as well.

I had the Chicken Pattie Melted, which was a thick pattie wrapped in cheese. The meat was great, and it would be suitable for a burger as well. Again, the sauce complemented the taste of the dish superbly too.

Chicken nuggets for the kids. Crispy.. tapi rasa ayamnya agak pelik sikit. Rupa nugget ni macam begedil atau meatball. Bukan nugget yang dibeli di pasaraya.. However, the kids still love it.

The yummylicious Nutella Milkshake. If you remember Nutella, if you thought it was good on bread, it is even better in a vanilla milkshake. This chocalatey conconction went down well with our selection of dishes for the day. All in all, Breeks offer a relaxed and clean place for a quick, decent meal.

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Black Canyon Restaurant, Alamanda - II

This was our second visit to the Black Canyon, Alamanda and our first iftar outing this Ramadhan. With buffet prices skyrocketing even at the most average of hotels (yes, Equatorial Hotel Bangi, we're talking about you), we would welcome places which offer good food at an affordable price. At Black Canyon, we eyed their set menus - for 4 persons at RM39.90 - it was acceptable. There were the four of us plus Helmy, so a set menu like that sounds just right.

We went for set D - and on the item was (eh, I'm getting my tenses mixed up here) - chicken green curry, spicy stir-fried combination of prawn, chicken and chili, stir-fried mixed vegetables with oyster sauce, stuffed omelette, steamed rice for 4 and add RM6 for 4 glasses of iced lemon tea.

First, the steamed rice was soft, fluffy and non-fragranced, which was great for me. The centrepiece dish - the green curry, though a bit strange because of its colour - was spicy but delicious. Helmy kata rasa macam masak lemak, perhaps maybe you can ask them to make it less spicy to suit your palate.

The stir-fried combo of prawn, chicken and chili was a hit-and-miss thing, the taste was okay but the presentation a bit mushy - kuahnya banyak sampai tak nampak isi. And we forgot to count how many prawns were in there.

The sayur campur and telur bungkus were also good, and complemented this set. They certainly selected the right companions for this set - you have some spice, some soury thing, some mushy thing - but most importantly it was delicious. Even the kids enjoyed it.

We ordered the ice-cream for dessert, can't remember the name though, - but we think the portion was a bit stingy. Half scoop saja kah..?

In a nutshell, it was a satisfying set meal, we do recommend you to pay Black Canyon a visit - we're sure you're gonna find something that fits your taste.

Mama Chops & Papa Grill

This is not the first time we had a meal at the Mama Chops & Papa Grill outlet in Seksyen 8, Bandar Baru Bangi, but upon our visit this time, we discovered some new items on the menu. Other than their signatures - grilled chops, combos and chicken cheese - the outlet has added some rice and noodle set-meals, touted by the waiter, as local food cooked Western style (whatever that meant lah).

Wait a minute, we forgot the name of Mummy's meal.. maybe it was the Cantonese Style Kuey Teow Noodle - fried kuey teow in thick gravy, it looked more Chinese style than Western. But it was mouth-wateringly good - the gravy wasn't diluted and the kuey teow wasn't overcooked.

Daddy had the white rice with sweet and sour chicken - again, nothing Western here - but thankfully it was tasty. It was a welcomed addition to Mama Chops' menu. A little non-profit promo here - the noodle and rice will go at RM7.90 plus a drink, for the Ramadhan month.

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The Bayou, Alamanda

We checked out The Bayou Restaurant at Alamanda last weekend. This outlet was formerly known as The Coast, serving American Southwest menu, which was rather good everytime we dropped by (Mummy likes the Fajitas and Quesadilla, Daddy likes the Cheese Steak Philly Sandwich). The Bayou , managed by the same management as The Coast, looked like an upgrade, with stylish decor and ambience, but would the food be up to the standard set by its predecessor?

Mummy ordered the Neptune Delight, which was Tiger Prawn, salmon and potatoes in gravy. It was ok but perhaps they could have put in two Prawns instead. Daddy had the Honey Lemon chicken with buttered rice, whereby the rice was dry and the chicken a little bit too soury. Mummy's cousin Helmy (he from our previous posting - Back to School, 29 June) had the beef lasagna, which was also good but average. Their menu was extensive, perhaps we just chose the wrong food that night.

As mentioned before, the place was cosy, comfortable and roomy (important when you have two very active kids). The food, however, was sub-standard, so it was rather puzzling why they had to close down The Coast (in our opinion, a very rare Bumiputra-run outlet serving good Tex-Mex food). Worth a try, but make your food selection wisely.

Restoran Chicken King

While making our way to Seksyen 7's bustling new commercial square one night, we stumbled on a brightly-lighted Restoran Chicken King (actually we were looking for a supposedly newly opened cafe advertised via flyers - turned out the place was still under renovation!). Self-touted as the first outlet in Klang Valley, Chicken King offer a variety of chickens either fried or grilled.

My wife ordered the Sizzling Black Pepper Chicken Chop while I went for the Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Chop. You can have these dishes with either fries or rice. The sizzling variety was served on a hot plate but it was slightly over-burnt and the sauce rather average. My grilled chicken was a bit tough too and the sauce tasted far from teriyaki-like. One rather strange thing was these two dishes were served with sambal and papadoum. Though commendable as it could be intepreted as an attempt in fusionising, but we personally thought it was misplaced.

On a positive note, Chicken King do serve air buah gelas besar - a behemoth 1 litre guzzler. Unlike some shops who'd only fill up with lots of ice and watered-down juice, this one was sweet and well, juicy.

Anyway, Chicken King do have an extensive menu, so it is unfair to judge the place based on our two dishes. We would still highly recommend this cafe due to is spaciousness, cleanliness and simple yet bright decor.

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Black Canyon Restaurant, Alamanda

We went to Alamanda last night for dinner. After having a cup of double-scooped ice cream at Baskin' Robbins, we decided to have a heavier meal at The Chicken Rice Shop. Unfortunately, we saw 'someone' that mummy does not want to bump into. :P

While wandering at the Rasa Food Court, daddy pointed to this restaurant and we decided to give it a try. Black Canyon's excellent reputation is based on serving coffees of the highest quality, with the best aroma and taste, made from 100% fresh coffee beans imported from around the world, as well as those grown in Thailand under Royal patronage.

Black Canyon coffee houses also serve an extensive food menu. The menu combines Western dishes such as soups, salads, pasta and French fries with Eastern favorites like fried rice and noodles; and Thai specialties tom yum, som-tam, etc. A unique feature of the menu are the "fusion" dishes which combine East and West, examples of which are spaghetti with green curry sauce, fusilli noodles in tom yum soup, spaghetti with red panang shrimp sauce, etc. Read more..

budak-budak yang kuat makan pada malam ittew..

Black Coffee Champ Iced Coffee

The black coffee tasted great and refreshing. Nasib baik masih bisa tidur dengan lena selepas itu.. May be it was not strong enough for me.

Vegetables Spring Rolls with Sweet and Sour Sauce
(tangan Khayra yang tak sabar-sabar nak makan)

The spring rolls were crispy and tasty! Khayra liked it very much. Cuma carrot dipotong agak panjang that Harraz thought itu cacing. Hehehe..

Stir-fried Seafood and Curry Powder with Rice

This dish's name would suggest it to be spicy, but since I wanted to share the meal with the kids, I requested them to make it less spicy. Tapi budak-budak tak makan pun kuahnya. Otherwise, the taste was okay, walaupun hasilnya jadi tak pedas langsung. The taste blended well, with the prawns, cuttlefish and fish in generous amount. The rice was savoury and soft, and the kids liked it very much.

American Fried Rice

The American Fried Rice had an ordinary presentation, but daddy liked the taste of the fried rice. Rasa macam nasi tomato pun ada. I assume the additions of fried egg, sausages and chicken justified its 'American' name, but the chicken was a bit tough.

When we were about to leave, the family who sat next to our table gave us two slices of Secret Recipe's Choc Indulgence. They were celebrating one of their family member's birthday. And, owh.. they were actually from Brunei, taking a night's transit in Putrajaya before continuing their flight to Australia. Huu.. bestnya jalan-jalan. All the way from Brunei, must be very rich people :)

So, give Black Canyon a try, you must try the coffee.. and another thing, their menu presentation was bright and colourful too, kind of enticing you to order everything on it. Well, there's always next time..

TONY ROMA'S Restaurant, Mid Valley City

Sometimes it is quite unfortunate that when we pay a return visit to a particular restaurant, it turned out to be not as tasty as the first one. This happened to us at Tony Roma’s (The Gardens), we enjoyed our first outing there but were disappointed upon our recent second call.

My significant other ordered Tony Roma’s chef recommendation, the Bountiful Beef Ribs. Expecting the meat to be tender, juicy and dripping off the bones, we instead got a dry and over-grilled rack of ribs. The marinate sauce left a strange after-taste too. Perhaps it was meant to be that way. Pictures below show before and after effects of aforementioned ribs. Hey, no sense in wasting. 

Meanwhile I took my chance with the Sirloin Cheddar Grille, which was "tender sirloin sliced thin and piled high on Texas Toast and topped with cheddar cheese, tomato slices, crisp onions and BBQ mayonnaise". What a waste of words, let me sum the dish up for you: bland, dull and uninspiring while the cheese just didn’t blend with the meat. Thankfully the restaurant’s smokey sauce saved the day.

My mother had the Grilled Marinated Chicken with Rice and it was quite good. The rice was soft and plenty, the chicken grilled almost perfect and the portion was right.

Anyway, perhaps you should lower your expectations when you visit a restaurant for a second time. Tony Roma’s do have great food and excellent service, perhaps we left our taste-buds at home that day. Well at least Tony’s better than the much-hyped TGI Friday’s anyway. My daughter will testify to that. 

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