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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Rumah Makan Wong Solo, Bandar Baru Bangi

It was Bandung revisited.. at least in the form of a restaurant. Wong Solo Restaurant, serving authentic Indonesian cuisine, has finally arrived in Pusat Bandar Baru Bangi. So of course lah we have to check it out, still fresh from our Bandung trip. The place had all the decors you'd expect to find in an Indonesian rumah makan. They even have a musolla, seems like the owners wish to maintain that Indonesian eatery trend here.

As for the menu, they had it all too, almost - ayam penyet, empal sapi, pecel lele, cumi goreng, gado-gado, tempe, cah kangkong, cap cay - and the drinks - soda gembira, es buah.. just like Bandung lah..! We went for the set meal - either ayam, sapi, cumi or fish (but there's no ikan terbang here) - served with rice, tempe, tauhu, balado terung, vege and one cup of mineral water.

I went for ayam bakar. The ayam was quite small.. I remember Bandung's ayam was much bigger.. but the taste, just nice. Tasted barbecuey and tender.

My wife ordered the empal sapi, and sure enough, the beef was tender, soft and juicy.

The rest of the meal, like the tauhu and tempe, complement the meal sufficiently, but beware of the balado, it could be a little spicy for you.

They also provides cubicles for those yang suka makan bersila.

If you're looking for a simple, moderate but fine-tasting meal, pay a visit to Wong Solo. We want to give it our highest recommendations, but maybe we are still biased from our Bandung visit..

Kacang Pool In Bangi

The Kacang Pool, a dish which originates from the Middle East but somehow imported and popularised in Johor, was first introduced to me by my mother-in-law. So it was a delightful suprise when we found the Kacang Pool on the menu at Kawan Kopitiam, located in Seksyen 3 Tambahan, Bandar Baru Bangi, a few months ago. We went back there last night for the single purpose of satisfying my craving for the Kacang Pool, or to give its Anglo-French name, the Foul Macademe.

Kawan's version of the Kacang Pool sticks to its Johorean roots, with the beans cooked with herbs and spices and added with onions, chillies and a squeeze of lime, and served with soft-yolk fried egg on top. A slice of thick bread completes the dish. I have to give two thumbs up to Kawan, as their version stands up in comparison with my mother-in-law's and also the Singaporean version, which i tried at my wife's relatives' home south of the border.


While in Singapore a few years back, I also came across the Milo Dinosaur, which I had at Jalan Kayu's famous roti prata shop. Kawan also serves this drink, which is basically Milo but with lots of Milo powder on top. The Singaporean version was better, though.


My wife also had Kawan's chef recommendation, the Nasi Goreng 3 Sekawan, but I did not see nor taste anything which might suggest the idea behind its name. Sorry Kawan, your signature nasi goreng is just fried rice with another name. However, if you're looking for a bowl of Kacang Pool, you needn't travel south, Kawan Kopitiam's got it.

RESTORAN AYAM PENYET

Restoran Ayam Penyet, the famous Indonesian franchise, has finally arrived in Bangi, or Seksyen 15 to be exact. If you're wondering what the name is all about, it's just that - smashed (penyek) fried chicken served with tempe, tauhu, kangkong and sambal. You can add steamed rice if you like. Also available are the beef, prawn and fish versions.

The picture above is the empal penyet or smashed beef. Don't let the looks fool you, it's actually very tender and tasty, though thesambal is quite spicy. Likewise is the signature ayam penyet, the meat is tender and fried to crispy-perfection.



To accompany your meal, we would suggest the Indonesian Milk Tea, which tastes different from our local brew. It is creamier and well, tea-ier. Also have the time (and stomach space) to try the Bubble drinks, and the picture shows the Cappucinno Bubble - not too bitter, not too sweet - just good.


Visit the Ayam Penyet for a quick yet delicious meal. Its simple setting and decor might not be much for the eye, but the food more than makes up for it. Indulge for a smash-ing good time And oh yeah, the restaurant's ordering system is quite unique - but I won't spoil the suprise - that's for you to find out.

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