Pepper Soup, USJ

If you're looking for good comfort food to eat in Subang Jaya or USJ area, if the timing is right, why not give this place a try...

This coffee shop is quite busy not only on weekdays but weekends too. There are quite a number of stalls in this coffee shop but this time, I would like to recommend the Pepper Soup stall. Calling all soup lovers out there! This is one stall you have to try.

This stall is located at the back of the coffee shop and they only have 2 selections, Pepper Soup or Lotus Soup. So if you like peppery soups, you would like this.

Even though this coffee shop opens at 8am and closes at 11pm, this stall is only open from 12pm to 3pm. It will close even earlier if they're sold out before 3pm.

Customers already start queuing in front of the stall even when they're busy with preparations before 12pm.

This stall is operated by an elderly couple but they are very fast. You have to be ready with your orders by the time you reach at the front of the line. There's really not much time to ask for more information. They get a bit irritated if you're indecisive when it's your turn to place your orders.

You just have to decide between the Pepper Soup (Pig Stomach Soup) or the Lotus Soup. The aunty or uncle will ask you 3 questions; if you want to tapau (pack to go) or having here, if you want with or without chicken feet for both soups and big rice, small rice or no rice. So be ready with your decision.

The aunty will then prepare the ingredients for the soup you ordered and the uncle will be the one busy preparing the soups in few pots at once. While waiting for them to prepare your order, you will have to scoop your own chilli, spring onion and soy sauce.

This is the Pepper Soup or most people would call it Pig Stomach Soup. The main ingredients in this peppery soup is the pork stomach and pork meat. My husband loves this.

I would usually order the Lotus Soup. The main ingredients in this soup is lotus root, pork meat and peanuts. This soup also has a peppery taste to it.

This is the best kind of food to eat during one of those cloudy or rainy days.

OUR RATING

Ambience : 3/5

Service : 3.5/5

Food Quality : 3.5/5

Price Range : $

Status : Non Halal

Other information:

Address : Restoran Tian Tian, No 12, Jalan USJ 20/8C, USJ 20, 47630 Subang Jaya, Selangor

Business Hours : 12.00pm - 3.00pm (Closed on Mondays)

Transaction : Cash

Mezcla, USJ Subang

Date visited : 15 April 2018

There may be times when you're not in the mood to have a heavy meal or complicated meals. Even a normal meal may be overwhelming and sandwiches may seem bland. Or maybe you're on a diet and looking for something different to eat. If this is the case, why not settle for something light and simple. Perhaps a burrito or a taco?

Tucked within the busy part of Taipan, USJ is a simple self-served restaurant that serves simple Mexican food.

They have a variety of burritos for you to choose from... chicken, beef, lamb, fish, shrimp or even vegetarian.

If you're not feeling much for a burrito, why not choose either a soft type wheat flour taco or a hard corn shell taco with a choice from 6 types of available fillings.

Or how about a quesadilla? If you still can't make up your mind, you can customize your own, be it a burrito or a bowl, from a variety of ingredients available.

There were 3 of us during this visit and we ordered a burrito, a taco, a bowl and some nachos.

I ordered the Spiced Grilled Chicken Burrito. As you can see, it's packed with tomato rice, pinto beans, corn, hot sauce, cheese, guacamole, lettuce and of course the grilled chicken. Don't underestimate this one burrito, it is quite filling.

This is a single Corn Shell Steak n Chili Taco. If you just want something extremely light or an option for some snacks, tacos would be just right for you.

If you would like something even more filling, you can choose to order the Pollo Bowl. This is Mexican Rice served with succulent Grilled Chicken Breast drizzled with their own made Hot Sauce accompanied by refried beans and pickled mango.

While I was lining up at the order counter, I managed to take a photo of their Original House Nachos ready for collection. It looks really yummy and wait till you see the Nachos we ordered.

We ordered the Beef House Nachos. The corn tortilla is covered with salsa, sour cream,cheese, jalapeno and ground beef. It's perfect for at least 3 to share.

This place may be simple but I like how it is friendly even to vegans. No wonder I see so many families enjoying food here.

OUR RATING
Ambience : 3/5
Service : 3/5
Food Quality : 3.5/5
Price Range : $
Status : Halal

Other information:
Address :18-1, Jalan USJ 9/5G, Subang Business Centre, 47620 Subang Jaya, Selangor
Contact No. :03-5879 9976
Business Hours : 12pm - 3pm / 6pm - 10.15pm - Thursday - Tuesday (Closed on Wednesdays)
Transaction : Cash
Links : https://www.facebook.com/mezclaburritos/

Banh Mi Cafe, Bandar Puteri Puchong

Date visited : 8 April 2018

This place has been in my neighbourhood for a long time now. I was googling for good food in Puchong some time back and this place came up. I drove there just to have a look but when I got there, I changed my mind. So at that time I left it as that.

Recently this place came highly recommended on FB and my sister even shared it to me. So since I was nearby on a Sunday afternoon, I thought it was time for me to give it a try.

By the time I got here, it was packed with locals, mainly families, as well as Vietnamese. Once I step into the restaurant, I felt like I'm in a local restaurant in Vietnam. It is not like one of those fancy Vietnamese restaurants, it is a cozy family restaurant that serves casual Vietnamese food.

When we talk about Vietnamese cuisine, the first thing that comes to my mind is...

The Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup. The taste of this beef noodle is quite similar to the ones I had in Vietnam. It is not adjusted in anyway to our local palates and that makes it delicious and very authentic.

Before we had our mains, we ordered two popular Vietnamese snacks.

This is the fresh Prawn Spring Roll. You can also choose to have it with pork instead of prawn. The dipping sauce was a tasty compliment to the spring rolls.

Another one of our favourite are the Fried Spring Rolls. From the looks of it, you might think that the skin is thick but when you take a bite into it, you'll soon find that it is actually not. It tastes as good as the yummy ones I had in Vietnam.

For my main, I ordered the Vermicelli Bowl Grill Pork & Spring Roll with Fish Sauce. This dish is quite delicious. From the picture it may look like a dry dish but it is not. The fish sauce moist the vermicelli enough and taste really good eaten together with the grilled pork and spring rolls.

This is not a dish that I usually find in a Vietnamese restaurant... Sizzling Beef Steak with Baguette. If you have a hearty appetite, this may be a choice you might want to consider.

Another nice choice was the Crispy Chicken Wings in sweet and spicy fish sauce. However, I would have liked it more with lesser onions.

We saw this on the menu and decided to order the Grilled Prawn for trying. Now this turn out to be a bit of a let down because it was too dry for my liking.

That's all we had during this visit and I may come back to try their Bahn Mi, a Vietnamese style baguette. If you're looking for some casual Vietnamese food in Puchong that's not too expensive, you may want to give this place a try.

OUR RATING

Ambience : 3.5/5 

Service : 3/5

Food Quality : 3.5/5

Price Range : $
Status : Non-Halal

Other information:
Address : 1 Jalan Puteri 7/10, Bandar Puteri Puchong, 47100 Puchong
Contact No. : 03-8060 0127
Business Hours : 10.30am - 10pm (Daily)
Transaction : Cash
Links : https://www.facebook.com/banhmikl/

Restoran Xfrens, Kemuning Utama

Date visited : 24 February 2018

It's Chinese New Year again and it also means feasting time! For some, the feasting starts 15 days before Chinese New Year and continues till Chap Goh Mei, the 15th day Chinese New Year which is also the last day of the celebration.

This year, we decided to have our annual school friends CNY dinner get together at this place, Restoran Xfrens, Kemuning Utama. When I was searching for the location in Waze only did I realize that they also have branches in Subang Jaya and Puchong Jaya (I'll share the addresses at the end of this post).

I arrived at 7pm and the place was already packed. Thank God my friend was wise enough to call and made reservations for 2 tables the day before, otherwise, we would have been one of those standing around waiting for tables to be available. So, if you're planning to come on a weekend with a big group, it is advisable to make reservations prior to your visit.

At first we thought of ordering a CNY set that starts from RM688, but because the ala carte dishes on their menu seems more interesting, we decided to each choose a dish from their ala carte menu instead.

Since it was CNY, Yee Sang was definitely a must, so we ordered the Yee Sang with octopus.

The Yee Sang was very tasty. There was a good balance between the sweet and the sour. Since there was a lot of unfavourable noise about salmon, the octopus was a rather good replacement.

Let's start with the vegetable dishes first.

This is the Stir Fried Potato Leaf with belacan. It is not very spicy and not too overwhelmed with the taste of belacan.

This is the Stir Fried Lotus Root with Waterchesnut. The combination of vegetables in this dish was quite tasty. The thing I appreciated most was they actually removed the "string" from the snow peas which many restaurants failed to do.

This is one of my favourite dish in the beancurd category, Beancurd with Pumpkin Gravy. I like the way they prepared this dish because it has that creamy buttery taste with a hint of spiciness from the bird's eye chili (cili padi) and fragrant smell from the curry leaves.

Now let's proceed with the meat dishes...

This is the Claypot Kampung Chicken with Chinese Wine. Maybe because of a bad first experience, I usually try avoiding this dish... even if it was cooked by my mom. I didn't want to be picky about food in front of my friends, so I decided to give it a go. To my own surprise, it was good! 

This is the Pork with Salted Fish in Claypot. It is also nice because the meat is not too fat and on overall, it's not too salty.

We also ordered another pork dish called the Pork Ribs in 3 Flavours. It is savoury, sweet, spicy and a fragrant taste of curry all at the same time.

And the last dish is my all time favourite, Salted Egg Mantis Prawns. It is crispy and well covered with salted egg. Yummy!

I highly recommend this place if you're looking for a decent place for a Chinese style dinner with your family or friends. Also, it won't burn a big hole in your pocket at the end of the meal.

OUR RATING

Ambience : 3.5/5 

Service : 3.5/5

Food Quality : 4/5

Price Range : $$

Status : Non-Halal

Other information:

Shah Alam Branch :

Address : No.10 & 12 Jalan Kemuning Prima E33/E Kemuning Utama, 40400 Shah Alam

Contact No. : 03-5131 9279

Business Hours : 11am - 3pm / 5.30pm - 10.30pm (Closed on Wednesdays) 

Transaction : Credit cash & Cash

Subang Jaya Branch :

Address : No 51, Jalan SS 18/1B, SS 18, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor

Contact No. : 03-5611 0488

Business Hours : 10.30am - 3pm / 5.30pm - 10.30pm (Only 10.30am - 3pm on Wednesdays) 

Transaction : Credit cash & Cash

Puchong Branch :

Address : No 7 & 9, Jalan Kenari 18B, Bandar Puchong Jaya, 47100 Puchong, Selangor

Contact No. : 03-8080 7800

Business Hours : 11am - 3pm / 6pm - 10pm (Daily) 

Transaction : Credit cash & Cash

Restoran Tian Tian Seafood, Sunway

If you are looking for a place to have a simple Chinese dinner with your family and friends, this would be the right place for you.

This can be considered a hidden gem as it is not located at the busy parts of Sunway and it is known mainly to the locals and people working in Sunway. I too did not know about this place until a friend who works in Sunway brought me here. I would have never wander to this part of Sunway on my own.

By day, it's just an ordinary neighbourhood food court. But in the evening, after the other food stalls closes, Restoran Tian Tian Seafood opens and dominates this place.

They have quite a variety of dishes to choose from and I have yet to try most of the items on their menu.

Let me show you some of the dishes I have tried so far...

This is the Salted Egg Squid. This is one of my favourite dish here.

Their Sweet & Sour Pork are quite delicious too.

This is their version of the Butter Milk Mantis Prawn. It may have been better if it was prepared differently because I find this a bit dry and the taste of the butter milk is not distinct enough.

I quite like the Steam Eggs served here. The texture is very soft and smooth. There are bits of century eggs, fried shallots and spring onions added into it too.

Stir Fried Kai Lan

Siong Tong Yuen Choy (Chinese Spinach Soup)

In summary, this place serves good food that will not burn a hole in your pocket. So if you happen to try out this place, let me know if you've discovered any other dishes that you may like.


OUR RATING
Ambience : 2.5/5
Service : 4/5
Food Quality : 3.5/5
Price Range : $
Status : Non-Halal

Other information:
Address : Selera Sunway Food Court, Jalan PJS 9/5, Bandar Sunway, 46150 Subang Jaya, Selangor
Contact No. : 016-283 3495
Business Hours : 6pm - 10pm  (Closed on Wednesdays)
Transaction : Cash only

Softcore, Sunway

Date visited : 1 January 2018

I've passed by this place many times but I have never made it a point to try it out. My chance came on the first day of 2018. I had a late brunch so I was looking for a place to have some light snacks and dessert. So this was the first place that came to my mind... Softcore.

The interior was very cozy and tastefully decorated. They have a variety of teas and juices to choose from. So even if you're not hungry, this would be a good place for a drink as well.

Before I start with the food that we ordered, let me show you our pretty drinks...

The refreshing pink drink in front is called the Pample Rose. It is made of pink grapefruit and sun dried orange topped with soda. The yummy white one at the back is the Oreo Cookies Milkshake. It is a blend of vanilla and oreo cream cookies.

And as for food, my husband and I didn't want anything heavy so we decided to go for some snacks instead.

My husband ordered the Hashbrown Stack. Their homemade hashbrowns are crispy on the outside while still soft and delicious on the inside. It is served with crispy beef bacon, coleslaw, a fried egg and some salad.

I on the other hand had a hard time choosing what to eat because there are so many interesting selections on their main menu and their special menu.

I finally decided on their Golden Toast. The two brown pieces you see in the photo are their version of french toast and they are topped with caramelized banana, fresh strawberries and blueberries. The toast are unique and it doesn't look nor taste like ordinary bread. It also have a crispy outer layer and a soft inside. They are drizzled with maple syrup served with lemon puree, strawberry jam & whipped butter. It has a combination of salty, sour and sweet flavours all in one dish.

Since the signature dish of this place is their molten cake, I had to try at least one of their chef's recommended selection.

I chose their Taro Molten Cake. It is made from purple yam, fried yam strips, yam coulis, gula melaka and served with vanilla ice-cream. I'm glad it did not disappoint me but made me want to come back and try other flavours as well.

On overall, this place is a very comfortable place to chill and chat with your friends while enjoying your food and drinks.

OUR RATING

Ambience : 4/5 

Service : 4/5

Food Quality : 3.5/5

Price Range : $$

Other information:

Address : 56, Jalan PJS 11/7, Bandar Sunway, 46150 Subang Jaya, Selangor

Contact No. : 03-5613 7273

Business Hours : 11am - 10.30pm (Sunday-Thursday) / 11am - 11.30pm (Friday-Saturday) / Closed on Tuesdays

Transaction : Credit cash & Cash

Links : https://www.facebook.com/gooeyness/