Curry Leaf, Damansara Utama

In a dilemma...I write this post.  I feel that more folks should be dining here but yet would like to keep this place to myself. But good things must be shared, so share I must!  I am a fan of nasi briyani and when bro took me here sometime back, I had wondered why I had not made a visit to Curry Leaf before when it was so near to me all this time.  You know what they say...sometimes the very thing that you are looking for is the one thing you can't see! That's how I felt about Curry Leaf.  Just before this, I was telling my brother about the mediocre nasi briyani I had from a shop in Bangsar, where one was charged at a higher price if you were to sit in the air-conditioned section! The Nasi Briyani with Honey Chicken was about RM12.50 and yes, it was mediocre...yet people throng that place daily.

And here I was again, on a Sunday ... having my Briyani Mutton rice in the quiet Curry Leaf. A simple looking restaurant but with great food. This is a branch from the original restaurant located in Seremban and I'm glad they came to Damansara Uptown.  I only wished I knew about Curry Leaf sooner, I could have had more and better briyani rice!  Hahaha.... Anyway, there were about six tables taken but there were still ample empty tables.  I really can't understand why there weren't more customers.  My bro had his banana leaf rice while I gave my usual order.  I like to usually order a small plate of my vegetables - cabbage to go with my rice.

I love the aromatic spices they put in to stir fry the cabbage.  A great accompaniment for the briyani rice!

The lovely briyani rice comes in a little metal pot.  But don't scoff at that little pot as it holds a big serving actually. If one is really hungry, it will be no problem to finish it off but those with small appetite can probably share one, though I figure the best would be for 3 pax to share two pots of these.  There are several briyani variants; you have plain, egg, chicken, mutton, squid... It is served with some yogurt raita on the side.  Each rice grain is flavourful and the mutton is tender and cooked spot on! All this at a reasonable price of RM9! No more briyani elsewhere (for now...until I find one better!)! People oh people? Where are you oh people on a Sunday afternoon like this? Oooh, the pics here are taken with my new HTC One M8 by the way, I'm loving it!

Gao Ren Guan, Jaya One - Simple Pleasures

NON-HALAL

Absent from the blogosphere during the whole month of February, the past month had been a fury of Chinese New Year meals, one after another.  At a time when one is constantly barraged with the usual rich good food, it was a pleasant change when we dined at Gao Ren Guan in Jaya One recently.  Not to say that the food was different but it was really food that not only filled the tummy but touched the heart.  If you check out their website...they have a tag line that says "...feels like dining at home".  Yes, though the restaurant was crowded and with the endless loud chattering (that includes even the usual "loud wishes" routine during the lo sang ceremony!), we really felt at "home".  I had the opportunity to dine at Gao Ren Guan twice during this Chinese New Year period and I gotta say, it has now become one of my favourite restaurants to go to.  With great tasting food that speaks for itself, the simplicity won me over ... Needless to say, my friends are of the same opinion too and we look forward to our next meal there again.  Here are some of the dishes we "connected" with ...

Having eaten about 8 times of Yee Sang during this Chinese New Year celebration, the group of us really like Gao Ren Guan's version.  The condiments were refine but what made it good was the sauce.  Subtle yet rich enough, it had a sweetness that was spot on and yet a pleasant sourish taste that gave a balance of all the right flavours.  Looking forward to this in 2014!

Another great yet simple dish was the Hakka Char Yoke (Small RM10, Large RM20) - lean yet tender pieces of sliced pork.  Each slice had a wonderful crunch as we bit into it...breaking the crispy marinated layer of skin. A real delight!

Bulgogi Brothers, Oppa Korean Style @ Paradigm Mall

Chaswood Resources Holdings Limited recently added Bulgogi Brothers to its list of brands with its launch in Paradigm Mall.

Established since 2006, Bulgogi Brothers is a popular casual dining restaurant in Korea and is one of Korea's renowned restaurant chain.  Bulgogi Brothers first outlet in Korea is located in Gangnam; the same place in the title name of the most recent viral video, "Oppa Gangnam Style" as performed by PSY.  Bulgogi Brothers features the representative Korean food - the fire meat - BULGOGI, hence its name.  While I was not involved in any parody video of Gangnam Style (unfortunately), I was invited for a food tasting session of selected dishes just before its opening.  Lots of delicious photos ahead!

Starters - Sweet Corn, Sweet Potatoes, Sugar Snap Peas

Banchan - I especially enjoyed the sweet pumpkin paste (middle left) and the radish (top right)

Yukhoe (RM45.90) - julienned raw beef marinated in a mixture of chillies, pears and cucumber.  I absolutely love this dish, though raw, the beef had a rather firm texture to it and tasted sweet with the mixture of the sweet diced pears. Best eaten immediately when served (it's a cold dish, not as good if it drops to room temperature).

Haemul Pajeon (RM27.90)- Korean style pancake with seafood and green onions

I found Bulgogi Brothers' pancake a tad thick and therefore lack the crisp.  Average fare to me ...

Fave order @ La Yosh, Plaza Damas

I just had a thought about La Yosh and felt that I need to go back to eat my fave set lunch pasta order there (it comes with soup and salad).  I've been there in the past and had ordered the same pasta dish and the dish has been consistently good or shall I say great!  What's my fave order in this Japanese Western restaurant?

The Chicken Teriyaki Pasta!  I just love the full flavour of the whole dish, a generous portion of it too.  The pasta seems to be tossed lightly in the pan together with herbs and garlic.  The chicken itself has been well marinated and together with the teriyaki sauce, it really hits the spot.  Such a succulent piece of meat.  I should find my way there soon sometime this week!  Can't wait!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK AHEAD!

La Yosh Japanese Western
F-0-2 Plaza Damas (across from Starbucks in Hartamas Shopping Center)
No. 60 Jalan Sri Hartamas 1
50480 Kuala Lumpur

Tel : 603 6201 8648

Nostalgia at Yiu Wah Restaurant, Toronto

It's the last post on my Canada trip.  This time round, we're back in Toronto before we take the flight back to San Francisco after having spent 2 weeks on a Canadian road trip.  It's on a dim sum place we stopped at while scouting for food in Dundas Street West.  We saw an easel and the price was reasonable and decided to venture into Yiu Wah Restaurant which is located on the 3rd floor.  The restaurant has since been taken over and is now known as Dim Sum King Seafood Restaurant.  However, I would still like to blog about it as the place gave me a warm feeling when I ate there.

The moment we stepped in, I felt like I had taken a step back in time.  It is a very "old school" looking Chinese restaurant, (almost Hong Kong like) and evoked a nostalgic feeling.  I recalled when I was a kid and dining in the famous "Ming Court" dim sum restaurant back then in small hotel next to where I used to live; it was the Town House Hotel in Jalan Tong Shin.  Ming Court used to be crowded most of the time as they served rather good dim sum at reasonable prices.  Sadly, it's no longer around; long gone after Town House Hotel was taken over - the same hotel is now known at Corona Inn.

The all Chinese staff went around pushing a dim sum cart, offering some familiar and some less familiar dim sum to patrons.