Mantra, Restaurant & Bar - Sunway Pyramid

Lyn and I met up with Czar in Sunway Pyramid for lunch. We wanted to hear about her trip to NZ recently and thus, looked for somewhere quiet to chat. However, most of the restaurants located on the skating rink side usually didn't have that many patrons. We ended up at Mantra on Level 6 as Czar said that the food there was quite good.

Mantra's speciality is their Northern Indian cuisine, though they also have Thai food. The chefs are from India and Thailand we were told. The place was nice and pleasant , quiet enough for us(more so since we had an early lunch). The cascading water on the wall at one side created an ambiance. However, there isn't any chanting in the background but pop music being played. That somehow created a bit of disharmony. Ha ha ha....
The three of us decided to go for the Northern Indian cuisine. Lyn had an order of Garlic Naan (RM4) to go with her Chicken Malai Tikka (RM15.90) which according to the menu are boneless cubes of chicken steeped in a marinade of royal cumin enriched cream. There's also cheddar and a hint of fresh coriander. The meat is glazed in the tandoor.

The garlic naan was lovely, not too thick. It was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

The Chicken Malai Tikka was tasty. If one is not a meat eater, it may be a little too much meat. Would be good to share.

I opted for Lamb Thali (RM15.90) which is a special Indian meal set. It consists of lamb curry, rassam soup, dhal, two vegetables, masala, papadam - all served on a banana leaf on a round tray.

The dhal was delicious and the two vegetables were potatoes and peas and the other container was a mixture of diced vegetables. The rassam was good too. The lamb curry was great and I thoroughly enjoyed my meal.

Czar went for the more conventional Chicken Briyani Set (RM16.90). The Briyani rice was very nice, the best I've tasted. The curry gravy was again lovely. The chicken came buried under the rice and the only gripe Czar had was that it was a tad too small and had more bone than meat.
Other than that, we thoroughly enjoyed the food here and would come back here again when we want something different rather than eating at the mamak. It was a leisurely lunch and indeed a welcome treat.

WMW's mantra : This food is good for me, this food is good for my body. I will not put on weight eating this food.

New Formosa Taiwan Restaurant, SS2

Visited boo_licious's blog and saw her post about her dinner at New Formosa. I told her that I was about to blog about my dinner there too. We didn't order any dishes though and opted for the Stonefire Hot Pot (beef and chicken) with bonito stock instead. It was my first time trying this here, the last time I was at this restaurant was many years ago, having the regular dishes.
What they do is that they will fry the meat in the pot with lots of garlic, onions and spicy sauce. The beef and chicken were so full of flavour and really tasty!
After the meat is cooked and served to us, they will then pour the soup into the pot. When it boils, the rest of the ingredients (yam, tofu, mushrooms, prawns, pork balls, fish balls, cabbage, chicken, foo-chook "beancurd skin" and corn on the cob) are then mixed into the pot.
With some remnants of the spicy sauce, garlic, onion in the pot, the soup was simply wonderful, complimenting the ingredients. It's a different kind of steamboat, one I wouldn't mind coming back for again. Lovely.

It was recommended that we tried the Caramel Yam for dessert and I'm glad I got a chance to. Being quite full, we ordered a small portion. Slices of yam are rolled into some honey and sesame seeds and then quickly dipped into ice cold water to harden it.
So, what you get is a crunchy effect on the outside with the nice soft yam on the inside. This is a great dessert!
It was a good meal, something different from the norm. I'm looking forward to coming back here again.

A nickel will get you on the subway, but garlic will get you a seat. ~ Old New York Proverb

Mr Wong & His Kuih Tutu

I've a story to tell behind the post and pictures today. On Nov 4, I had posted a short farewell message to an uncle who passed away in an accident. He used to sell kuih tutu in the weekly night market in SS2 and in Taman Cheras (Yulek) too.

My friend in Cheras told his daughters (who have been carrying on with the business since the demise of their dad) what I did and they were grateful that someone else remembered their dad too. One of them passed a contact number through her, so that I can email her the link. I smsed her and asked for her email and two days later, I received a call from the uncle's wife.

I never knew my short post would lead to this encounter. It was heartbreaking indeed to have learnt more about the uncle, Mr Wong. Me, being a real softie, tried hard to fight back the tears as Mrs Wong spoke to me. Apparently, it was quite a big blow to Mrs Wong and the rest of the family as Mrs Wong had also lost her son to lung cancer 5 months before the accident claimed Mr. Wong's life. It seems that Mr Wong was feeling tired but had promised a friend to help out with some errands. He was the sort of man who kept his promises. His friend was supposed to pick him up from a designated place but was running really late. As Mr Wong got restless, he decided to drive off to meet some of his other friends first. It was then the accident happened - he drove up the kerb, over the drain and crashed into some trees. Mrs Wong believed that he must have fallen asleep at the wheel for a split second and that cost him his life. He wasn't one to drive fast, and he came across to me as an alert elderly man for someone who's in his 70s, not one who has slow reflexes, I mean.

Mrs Wong tells me it has been hard dealing with the loss and she still looks at his photo every night before she sleeps. He is dearly missed by the family. Only time will help ease the pain and I told her what helped me go through the loss of my dad was to think of all the happy times I had with him. Maybe it would help if she thinks of the happy times she had with Mr Wong too. She had called to thank me for writing about him in my blog and said that if Mr Wong knew, he would have indeed been very happy too that someone thought about him enough to write about him. I then asked if she would send me a pic of him so that I can put in on my blog. I received it last Thursday from her daughter. He must have been in his 50s in the pic. So, today's post is dedicated to Mr Wong and his kuih tutu.

The daughters are doing a great job , the Kuih Tutu still tastes great. Not too much flour and tasty filling. They said they are still doing the business as a way of remembering their Dad. Mr Wong, you would be proud of your daughters. Here's to you Mr. Wong. Have a great new life! And to you, Mrs Wong and family, may your tears be dried, souls be soothed and clouds be lifted, all in good time. Live well...

May you have warm words on a cool evening, a full moon on a dark night, and a smooth road all the way to your door. ~ Irish Toast