where and what to eat lah?

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My first dining experience at the 'old' Paris Restaurant was more than a decade ago. Back in the 90s, they were operating at a run-down dirty old shack next to the Jasmine Towers and overlooking the 'beautiful' scenic views of the illegal squatter settlements. The foods were decently good and cheap for a decrepit roadside shack. Business was insanely good and it soars overtime. Now, they have expanded to a spanking 3 new spacious shop units with 4 floors high which easily accommodate trucks of people.

The New Paris Restaurant is renowned for their lightning speed Chinese fast food experience. No kidding, these military trained workers are really fast and efficient! Upon ordering, the first dish usually arrives within the 4th minutes and everything else arrives within 10 minutes at most. Even the cleaning part is done really fast, all the tables are wrapped with layers of disposable pink plastic sheets so that soiled plates, cutlery and leftovers can be wrap off immediately for fast turnaround.


The first dish to arrive was the steamed Patin fish (RM 48) sprinkled with fresh corianders, spring onions, sliced gingers and drenched with superior quality soy sauce. The fish was very fresh, sweet and perfectly steamed, maintaining the delicate silky and tender flesh. Drizzled the sweet savory sauce over a plate of warm white rice...Deeeeeeeliciouss!


Champagne chicken with watermelon (RM 18) is the New Paris's signature dish. Fried cutlets of chicken cooked in a special sweet and sour sauce with a hint of champagne. I ordered this almost every time I dine at New Paris, not because it is extremely tasty or whatsoever...Just that I can have all the mouth-watering watermelon balls as dessert after the meal :P


Claypot taufu (RM 15) with strings of mushroom, green snow peas and carrots.


Stir fried long beans with prawns in Vietnamese style (RM 10). The prawns were fresh, succulent and delicately coated in a spicy tangy sauce.

Verdict: New Paris is no longer cheap as before but strangely it is still packed (people mountain people sea). Furthermore, their isn't exactly the best but I guess the super fast service makes up for any short falls. I still miss the dirty 'old' Paris.


Address:
New Paris Restaurant
No. 62, 64, 66, Jalan SS2/72,
47300 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor
Tel: 03-7955 9180, 03-7955 0186
Business Hours: Opens daily from 11.30am - 2.30pm and 5.30pm - 10.30pm
Halal: No
Taste:
Value:
GPS: 3.118662, 101.625802
Map:

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Strangely enough, it never cross my mind to try out New Formosa Restaurant despite living in Petaling Jaya for more than 20 years. Since 1980s, they have been serving a wide array of authentic and creative Taiwanese delicacies while keeping abreast of their customers' growing health consciousness. Shame on me for allowing this to escape from the clutches of my gastronomical stomach.


The restaurant might be small but it probably has one of the brightest and shiniest looking deco with mirrors covered on both sides of the wall. It is probably also one of the most air-conditioned restaurant per square feet to keep you cool. Their menu is also probably one of the most extensive looking with more than 100 varieties of dish to choose from. Going through their menu is like reading an encyclopedia, it was very informative and detailed on the ingredients used and how it benefits you.

Master chef owner Mr. Lee Weng Eng and his friendly Taiwanese wife Mrs Jeanie Lee definitely has a respect for fresh ingredients and well-honed cooking techniques with an innovative approach to a healthy Taiwanese cuisine.


Steamed yam rice in hollow bamboo Taiwanese Hakka style (RM 18) is one of the must-try specialty. Fragrant rice steamed with chunks of beautiful powdery yam, mixed with chinese mushrooms, spring onions, shallots and combined with the right saltiness from the dried shrimps and Chinese sausage (lap cheong)...wonderfulest!


Each tube of bamboo yam rice is just sufficient for five rice bowls. No doubt that this is definitely my favorite award winning dish of the night.


Bean curd with minced meat and preserved salty vegetables (RM 15). This salty sourish dish is actually quite appetizing and it goes very well with bowls of fragrant white rice.


Signature deep fried sesame chicken (RM 15) is battered with sprinkles of sesame seeds and deep fried till perfection. Crispy on the outside while maintaining the tenderness and juiciness inside.

The deep fried sesame chicken is served with a special made sweet plum sauce and hot sourish kimchi chili sauce. The kimchi chili sauce is actually very tasty! Such a perfect combination with the deep fried chicken.


Stir-fried asparagus with fresh lily bulbs, ginkgo and pumpkin slices (RM 17). The sweetness of the pumpkin blends in nicely with the fresh crunchy asparagus, lily bulbs and ginkgo. Refreshing and innovative yet nutritional!


Dessert time! Their menu has at least 2-3 pages dedicated for assorted desserts; from Taiwan's famous sweet glutinous rice pieces to crystallized yam and puddings. How to resist not trying?! Die die also must try. The caramel custard pudding (RM 2.90) has a nice smooth creamy caramel taste with the right sweetness.


Yam ginkgo pudding aka Orh Nee (RM 2.90) is a must-try warm dessert! The sweet yam is mashed until it forms a smooth paste and mixed with ginkgo nuts. The original version is actually very sweet and fattening as it contains pork fats to yield the smooth textures. But this is a much healthier version without lard and low in sugar.

There were also a variety servings of puddings, from green tea aloe vera, mango to honey herbal but personally I only enjoyed their caramel custard and yam ginkgo puddings.


Original flavor handmade glutinous rice pieces (mochi) (RM 3.20) coated with sugar and showered with plentiful specially selected peanuts. It was served warm, not overly sweet and the peanuts were actually really good. Unfortunately, they ran out of mixed flavored mochi (RM 3.70) for the night.

Verdict: It was love at first sight! With so many varieties to pick from and such warm heartfelt hospitality from Mrs Jeanie Lee, will definitely warrant my subsequent visits.


Address:
New Formosa Restaurant
46, Jalan SS2/24,
47300 Petaling Jaya
Tel: 03-7875 1894, 03-7875 7478
Business Hours: Opens daily from 12pm - 3pm and 6pm - 11pm
Halal: No
Taste:
Value:
GPS: 3.11409, 101.62112
Map:

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When the place is crowded, it has to be good! Seems like it for Village Park, this is one of the place to go for good nasi lemak and the crowd can be huge during lunch time. The only problem is the hassle of getting parking spots in Damansara Uptown and waiting turn for tables. Don't ever ever ever flash or use your laptops in here, not even for a quick check on emails that probably consume few minutes. They get annoyed easily with customers doing that and they have stickers everywhere on the walls warning you about it. A very restrictive restaurant I must say...

Pick and choose your choices of side dishes to go along with your nasi lemak, don't say I didn't warn you about the price...They have ayam goreng rempah, sambal udang, rendang, petai, sotong, etc...so be moderate and go easy with your body.


Nasi lemak with ayam goreng rempah (RM 6.80) that comes sambal, crispy deep fried anchovies, crunchy deep fried nuts, half hard boiled egg and sliced cucumbers. The entire setup might looked quite messy due to my greediness, I personally requested for some rendang gravy and the left overs fried rempah. Every grain of the fragrant rice has the right texture and aroma in it. The chicken was very tender, juicy, fresh and with a hint of spices and gingers. It was good albeit a little salty for me. The sambal was good...not overly sweet and spicy...just perfect!

Apparently, one of us is not feeling too well and had to order something 'light', hence, we settled for their Ipoh Hor Fun (RM 5.50). It had this strong aromatic prawn smell, as you can see, they were quite generous with the amount of prawn oil drizzled into the chicken broth. It smelled nice but the taste of it was just okay, the soup was not sweet enough. There is a better one in Damansara Perdana, will review about it soon...

Verdict: Recommended place for nasi lemak. The only problem you have to put up is the huge crowds, the hassle of getting parking spots in Damansara Uptown and get berated when you are caught using your laptop. I'll think twice...


Address:
Village Park Restaurant
5, Jalan SS21/37,
Damansara Utama,
47400, Petaling Jaya
Tel: 03-7710 7860
Business Hours: 7am - 8pm daily, 7am - 6pm on Sunday and public holidays
Pork Free: Yes
Taste:
Value:
GPS:  3.13765, 101.62340
Map:

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