where and what to eat lah?

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Try asking around where is the best roast duck in London and most people will direct you to Four Seasons restaurant in Bayswater. Reputably and touted as one of the best roast duck in the world. Still, it didn't leave much of an impression even though I had it twice during my university days 7-8 years back. Well, maybe they were really good long before but definitely no where near world's best for the price I have paid for.


Then back in 2008, I was intrigued to see Four Seasons opened its first branch in Cap Square, Kuala Lumpur. I contemplated to step in since there wasn't many customers most of the time - I'm guessing it was either the food was really bad or overpriced. Is this the real Four Seasons from London or could it be another marketing ploy by using the same branding? Sadly, Cap Square killed them.


Not long after, they were bought over and revived back into Empire Shopping Gallery in Subang Jaya and Perdana Shopping Centre in Damansara Perdana. The restaurant itself isn't very big. The setup here is simple; place your order at the counter, pay and wait for your food. Since I work nearby, I decided to give it a go.


3 combinations (RM 29) with roast duck, char siew (bbq pork) and siew yoke (roast pork). The roast duck was tender and fragrant but, the skin wasn't as crispy and juicy as I hoped for. Maybe it was hung up and waited too long for me - after all, Perdana Shopping Centre is as dead as Cap Square. Luckily, the char siew and siew yoke didn't disappoint. Our Malaysian style char siew was juicy and carried a hint of sweetness at the caramelized outer skin. Definitely better Hong Kong style char siew in Four Seasons at Bayswater. The siew yoke was succulent with crispy crackling skin and followed by the melt-in-mouth layers of fat underneath.


Hong Kong style dry plain noodle (RM 4.50), it was indeed a plate of plain noodle with a not-so-plain price! However, the egg noodles texture was springy and appealing.


Stir fried Hong Kong kailan with garlic (RM 6.80), the green was fresh and crunchy with a strong garlicky flavor.

Peanut, pearl bean and spare rib soup (RM 8.90), warm and hearty soup with a deep nutty flavor and sweetness from the spare rib.

Verdict: On the whole, it was so-so. Slightly better than a normal bbq roast restaurant but nothing exceptional for the price paid for. It'll be difficult since the legendary Four Seasons in Bayswater has set the bar so high for them.


Address:
LG1, Perdana Shopping Center,
15, Jalan PJU 8/1,
Damansara Perdana,
47820 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor
Business Hours: Opens daily from 10am - 10pm
Pork Free: No
Taste:
Value:
GPS: 3.167597, 101.606004
Map:

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Having recently started in October 2010, The Big Mouth Cafe is a brand new cafe located in USJ9 Taipan, Subang Jaya. Gratefully, Kuan Hoong and I was invited by the owners for a lovely multi-course dinner treat (appetizer, soup, main course, dessert).


The Big Mouth Cafe offers a variety of Western dishes and delicious dessert treats, all under one roof. Small but cozy, this reclusive cafe is nicely decorated with strings of light bulbs and bright white walls.

Natural and healthy concoction juices for RM 5.50 per glass. We had the Skin Healthy (orange, cucumber and ginger) and the Anti Oxidant Healthy (mango, pear, carrot and apple). It was pretty alright actually since some of the concoctions can taste really awful.


Our meals started off with a selection of appetizers, one of it, the chicken Caesar salad (RM 7.60) with grilled chicken strips, fresh romaine lettuce, slices of cheese and crispy bread crouton in anchovy dressing. This bright salad was nice and stimulating with vivid flavors from the dressing. Since I had so many other Caesar salads recently, I personally prefer it with hard-boiled egg wedges and grated cheese.


Smoked salmon platter (RM 8.90), with olive oil dressing and accompanied with assorted salad. A classic and gorgeous looking entrée that I didn't expect from a cafe like this. For only RM 8.90, totally worth it!


Wonder duck (RM 15.60), smoked duck on fruit salad underlined with assorted salad. Yet another interesting salad dish I must say; but I find the fruit salad a little odd. The smoked duck was great nonetheless, smoky tender meatiness of the duck was utterly delicious!


Mushroom soup (RM 5.90), wild mushroom cream soup with crispy Milano bread. It was quite rich, hearty and tasty with the right consistency. Most of the cafe soups are not worth spending the money on but this was totally different! For only RM 5.90, it was definitely a steal!


Seafood chowder (RM 5.90), seafood cream soup with crispy Milano bread. Another worthy and invigorating cream soup with shrimps, scallops and clams in a light tangy tomato broth.


Lamb shank (RM 26.90), tender lamb shank bathed in demi-glaze sauce accompanied with vegetables and garlic bread. This delicious signature dish was absolutely tender and succulent with a robust herbal peppery sauce.


Black cod ratatouille (RM 29.50), tri-layers of seasoned pan fried black cod fish slathered with ratatouille tomato stew and served with sauteed pasta and vegetables. Well, the overpowering ratatouille stew was slightly too salty for my taste.


The Tandoor (RM 10.90), over-roasted chicken marinated in aromatic Indian spices and served with fragrant buttered rice and vegetables. The chicken was mouth-watering nice, juicy and full of flavors.

Impressive looking oxtail stew served in a bread bowl. It isn't available in their menu yet and we were the lucky few that were able to sample it first. It was deliciously rich in flavor with long hours of stewed beef cooked till moist and fork tender. Even though the bread bowl added that perfect touch to this hearty stew, it was a tad too hard and tough.


Lastly, dessert - the perfect sweet ending of a perfect meal and The Big Mouth Cafe's desserts were surely impressive! The chocolate volcano (RM 8.90), warm chocolate cake with erupted melting chocolate and served with a scoop of ice cream on top. It was rich and not overly sweet with warm fudgy indulgence oozing out that strikes a balance with the cold milky ice cream. After couple of spoons, it ended up with a messy sink-hole of chocolate fudge and melted ice cream. If only they served it the other way round out from the cup, it will be perfect!


Bread and butter pudding (RM 4.50), soft and buttery moist traditional English dessert served warm and complemented with a scoop of ice cream on top.


Apple streusel (RM 4.90), a classic German apple crumble dessert served with a scoop of ice cream on top. With an appealing streusel topping scattered and warm tender sweet apple bits throughout, it was one of our favorite!


Blueberry envelope (RM 6.50), deep fried blueberry pie encased in a buttery pastry served hot with a scoop of ice cream drizzled in sweet caramel sauce. The slight salted butter pastry added a delicate flavor to the sweet blueberry filling. Best of all, it was made fresh and served hot. Perfect!

Earl grey crème brûlée (RM 5.50), it was sweet and creamy with an even brittle layer of thick glassy caramelized sugar on the surface. The joy of the crème brûlée is the sensation of warm on top but cold on the bottom and the juxtaposition of the warm crisp sugar brûlée with the creamy cool custard.


The original vanilla mille crepe, a cake resembling a thousand layers of crepe stacked together whereby each layer of crepe is layered with fresh fragrant vanilla custard cream. When I had my first mille crepe cake few years back, it was love at first sight! I just adore the taste, and the texture; indeed a true labor of hand-layered love. I find it much more fragrance and less sweet compared to Food Foundry's mille crepe in PJ. It'll be a new addition with several other delectable flavors to their upcoming menu next month. At least now I don't have to drive south to Melaka to indulge and enjoy a slice of heaven!

We had lots of food and went home with a bigger tummy. Most importantly, will the servings be the same for every other paying customers and they told me yes! Since they have a centralized kitchen to handle the food preparation, outside catering and distribution, I hope it will not be much of a difference.

If you have eaten in The Big Mouth Cafe, share your thoughts and I'm sure owners would love to hear out any constructive feedbacks to help them improve further.

Verdict: The overall experience was great and the price was reasonable! The desserts were awesome and I really don't mind coming back for them.

May 21, 2012: Big Mouth Cafe USJ9 branch has closed down. I think there is another branch at SS15 next to Snogurt and Taylor's University.


Address:
24-1, Jalan USJ 9/5N,
Subang Jaya,
47620 Selangor
Tel: 03-8024 9095
Business Hours: 10am - 11pm every Mon - Sat and 3pm - 11pm every Sun and Public Holidays
Pork Free: Yes
Taste:
Value:
GPS: 3.046497, 101.586166
Map:

View Eat Lah Food Map in a larger map

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Worthy Book is a compilation of discount vouchers worth up to RM 18,000 from various participating merchants ranging from Dining, Entertainment, Retail and Services mainly within Klang Valley. Price for only RM 35 plus an extra 30% off (RM 24.50) just for our readers and in return, you'll get to enjoy RM 18,000 worth of vouchers - isn't it worthy enough?!


If you love Japanese food as much as I do, Worthy Book is the book to have. They have vouchers for Ichiban Boshi, Sushi Zanmai, Sakae Sushi, Kuriya and Sushi Tei. While others that are worth mentioning are Tony Roma's, Kenny Rogers, Wendy's, Boost, Krispy Kreme, Papa John's, Lecka Lecka, Modesto's and many more!


I have Sushi Tei like almost every week and spend average of RM 50 - 70 each time. There are like 5 pieces of 10% discount vouchers for Sushi Tei and that gives back my return of investment (ROI) easily. Moreover, you can claim it for tax relief too; after-all, it's a book!?

Whether you're a food lover, travel junkie, party goer, shopaholic, or someone that enjoys pampering spa and manicure services, there will be a section suitable for you. Too many worthy vouchers to cover here but you can refer to the online version of the book at http://www.worthybook.my/.

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1. LIKE Worthy Book's Facebook page.
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3. EMAIL me at russel.loh[at]gmail.com your details such as your Name and Facebook Name for verification.

If you missed your chance of winning it, you still can buy it at 30% discount off the retail price by quoting "eatlah". To get hold of Worthy Book, you can either email them at info@worthybook.my or call them directly at 03-2264 3115. Unfortunately, you can't find Worthy Book in any major bookstores in Malaysia yet.

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Like most people, you'll be shocked to find the legendary Ho Weng Kee wantan mee no longer in SS2 and replaced by Chan Meng Kee. I hesitated to step in at first even though they maintained the same menu as Ho Weng Kee. Nevertheless, I still gave it a try after hearing couple of good reviews from my fellow makan friends. Apparently, Chan Meng Kee was the popular wantan mee stall previously located at Restoran Mel's Corner in Section 17, PJ.


Wantan mee isn't something I usually eat, not because I don't like it but it's frustrating to find a good one! It usually has either good noodles, or good char siew, or good wantan - hardly come across with the all-in-one perfect combination.


Chan Meng Kee's char siew wantan mee (RM 5), the almost perfect all-rounder wantan mee. The char siew were tenderly juicy with sweet caramelized skins while the noodles were springy and tasty with some lard fritters in it. Their melt-in-your-mouth char siew is definitely better than Ho Weng Kee's!


However, the wantan was just normal and decent. If only they were bigger, well, I might be asking too much.


Ngau lam (beef brisket) wantan mee (RM 7.50) was one of my favorite must-order whenever I'm at Ho Weng Kee. Fortunately, Chan Meng Kee's version wasn't too bad either. The beef brisket was very tender, flavorful and combined with the springy noodles which absorb the long hours essence from the beef brisket broth - it was awesome!


You can too order your wantan mee (RM 2) separately, like how I always have it.


Sharing a plate of heart clogging char siew and siew yoke for two (RM 12). No doubt the char siew was very juicy but also unhealthily fattening as well; you might want them to tone down a little on the fats. Also, the siew yoke was fresh and succulent with golden-orange crackling crispy skins.

Not to forget, pork rib curry (RM 6) with chunky bits of pork rib that was falling-apart tender in a thick fragrant curry gravy. Since they always ran out of wild boar curry, pork rib curry wasn't a too bad alternative for the extra enrichment to the noodles.

Verdict: Chan Meng Kee certainly did not disappoint and definitely better char siew than Ho Weng Kee's. Service-wise, it was attentive and fast too.


Address:
32, Jalan SS2/66,
47300 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor
Tel: 012-688 1972 (Mr. Chan)
Business Hours: Opens daily from 8.30am - 4pm except for Mondays
Pork Free: No
Taste:
Value:
GPS: 3.1191868, 101.620268
Map:

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