Merchant's Lane 2.0, Kuala Lumpur

Date visited : 5 January 2017

It was first working week of 2017 and my boss decided to organize a New Year team lunch. There were 2 Malay colleagues in our midst and since I was assigned to choose the venue, I chose Merchant's Lane for 2 reasons... it's Halal and I needed to try out more items on the menu.

Let's start with the appetizers. There were 2 items on their menu and we ordered both.

First is called the Pipits Nest. It's consists of brinjal fries, onion rings and chicken tenders.

The other is called Port Klang. It's consists of deep fried calamari, dory and prawns served with sweet chilli sauce.

Both of the above are equally yummy as they're crunchy outside but tender and juicy inside.

Now let's see the mains...

First is the Spagetti Bolognese. For those who wants to play it safe, this is for you. But I personally preferred the Italian Chow Mein I had during my last visit here.

For chicken lovers out there, the Kai Fan 2.0 is the choice for you. It may look simple but the grilled chicken and the pandan rice makes a yummy combination.

For the fish lovers, we have the Kg Sg Tua.  It's grilled salmon served with sweet potato mash, butter herbed veggies and masak lemak cili padi sauce. I usually prefer my salmon raw, but this salmon taste great. It's soft, juicy and most important of all, it doesn't taste too fishy. The sweet potato mash and the sauce complimented it well.

 And for those who loves spicy food, this is the right choice for you... the Ong Bak Tomyum. It's macaroni served in tomyum broth. The sourish and spicy tomyum broth makes it very appetizing.

Since we came in a big group and able to share our food, we managed to save some space for some dessert. Out of the 2 available choices, we chose Kalau Aku Kaya because it was a new year and we would like to wish for a prosperous year for our team.

It's a fried Brioche styled bread balls served with tangy lemon ice cream and kaya sauce. If you're wondering what are those black earth looking stuff on the plate, my guess would be crushed oreo cookies.

If you would like to read my review on my previous visit here, please click here.

OUR RATING

Ambience : 3.5/5 (But you can get some Instagram worthy shots here)

Service : 4.5/5

Food Quality : 4/5 (The creative combination of flavours makes each dish unique and delicious)

Value for Money : 4/5 (Generous portion)

Status : Halal

Will we go back for more : Yes!

Other information:

Address : 1st Floor, No 150 Jalan Petaling, Kuala Lumpur

Contact No. : 03-2022 1736

Business Hours : 11.30am - 10pm (Mon-Fri) / 9.30am - 10pm (Sat-Sun) / Close on Wednesday

Transaction : Cash and Credit Card

Links : https://www.facebook.com/pg/merchantslane/

Baba Low's 486, Bangsar

If you are looking for something simple but yet tasty and not too pricey in Bangsar area, this place is one of them. Since it's not located at the busy area of Bangsar, it may be tricky to find this place. This small but yet cosy place is called Baba Low's 486.

It's quite a popular lunch spot during the weekdays... maybe because of it's pricing. It serves simple peranakan style food at a low price. The menu is very simple and straightforward. Not too complicated and overwhelmed with too many choices.

The following are some of the items I would usually order when I come here.

This is the delicious Mee Siam... but you have to eat it while it's hot. It may be a bit spicy to some people but if you like spicy food, you should try this.

Another popular dish is the Nyonya Laksa. It has a thick and sourish soup base and it's very appetizing.

My personal favourite is a dish called Ayam O. If you like something soupy and warming for the stomach, you should definitely try this. You'll be given a choice between rice or noodle. I will usually choose rice. The soup has a slight gingery taste and that's what makes it delicious and warming to the stomach.

Their Pai Tee is quite nice especially when it's eaten with their homemade Vinegar Chilli Dip.

If you still have some space in your stomach, you should try their peranakan style cendol too. It's very refreshing and thirst quenching. For me it has just the right level of sweetness.

OUR RATING

Ambience : 3.5/5 (It's cosy but may be difficult to cater for a big group size)

Service : 3.5/5 (Please do be patient with the elderly aunty if she's taking your order)

Food Quality : 4/5

Value for Money : 4/5

Status : Halal

Will we go back for more : Yes

Other information:

Address : No 11 Lorong Kurau, Lucky Garden, 59100 Kuala Lumpur

Contact No. : 03-2284 8486

Business Hours : 7am - 10pm Daily

Transaction : Cash (Not sure if they accept Credit Card)

Restoran New Yee Sang Seafood, Kelana Jaya PJ

Let me introduce to you my all time favourite chinese coffee shop/food court... Restoran New Yee Sang located in SS5, Kelana Jaya. It's only available for breakfast and lunch.

When I don't feel like splurging on food and is looking for simple yet good local food, this is usually my go to place. In fact, every time I'm here, I have a hard time deciding on what to eat... there are so many to choose from.

The most popular here, in my opinion, should be the Fried Rice. The Fried Rice here has luncheon meat and chinese sausage added among other ingredients. And of course together with the frying skills, it made the this Fried Rice really lip smacking!

The same stall also makes a very good Yin Yeong...

Another one of my favourite is the Ipoh Steam Pot Rice here. It's the best that I had so far and this stall is run by a lovely elderly couple.

They have quite a variety to choose from and each one is equally good. But my favourite picks are between the Mushroom with Chicken, Salted Fish with Chicken and Ginger with Chicken.

And when I'm craving for something stronger in flavour, I'll always order the Curry Chee Cheong Fun + Curry Chicken. I've ordered this so frequent that even the lady handling this stall could even remember my special request... to add fu chuk and more fried onions.

The Nasi Kunyit offered by the same stall is good too.

Just for today's write up, I decided to give the Sam Kan Chong a try... it's good but not the best I've tasted. I decided to mention this because I have taken a good photo of it.

Among the other good food in this place but not manage to show with photos are the Ipoh Hor Fun, Hakka Lui Cha and the Indian Mix Rice. I need to make a few more trips in order to capture more photos. I will be updating this post when I have additional photos to share.

OUR RATING

Ambience : 3/5 (It's a typical kind of coffee shop/food court)

Service : 4/5

Food Quality : 4.5/5 (For the ones that I've recommended)

Value for Money : 4.5/5

Status : Non Halal

Will we go back for more : Definitely

Other information:

Address : No 18 Jalan SS6/8, Kelana Jaya, Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Business Hours : Daily Breakfast and Lunch only

Transaction : Cash ONLY