The Straits Cafe @ Centrepoint, Petaling Jaya

For as long as I remember, The Straits Cafe has been part of the tenant of Centrepoint. With it occupying a corner lot, it offers majority of its seating is within the central area of Centrepoint, with outdoor umbrella. 

Good crowd 

I salute the list of items offered by The Straits Cafe, which seemed endless, when I flipped through their pages of menu. They offer local Penang flavours, but I trust its not limited to that, made halal. And the more I should salute the kitchen staff that ensures they are able to cope with the amount of choices, yet delivering the food with good quality. 

First start was order of their Pandan coconut to quench my thirst. I love their coconut, a drink kept so cold, and just right level of sweetness. 

Pandan Coconut. Price-RM7

Craving for something sour, I ordered their Seafood Tom Yum Soup. It has the grainy texture that I liked, and the sourness balanced the spiciness of the tom yum soup. 
Within the soup was prawn, fish fillet, squid, and coupled with cabbage and carrot. Strong taste of lemongrass was also visible in the soup. Nice. 

Tom Yum Seafood Soup. Price-RM6.50

I loved the way their fried kuey teow was presented. Noodle was placed neatly on top of banana leaf accompanied by carrot and purple cabbage at the side. It was really tasty with slight burn on some parts of the noodle, making it even more flavorful. The noodle fried wasn't too oily, and has a strong fragrance that has to be resulted from the 'wok hei', despite no usage of pork lard. There were generous size of prawns fried alongside this plate of noodle, egg, and the bean sprouts and chives used was of the right portion and was added just at the right timing of cooking. 

Penang Char Kuey Teow. Price-RM9.90

My friend ordered their Garlic Pepper Beef Fried Rice, with request to lessen the garlic. Its nice that we can customized how we would like the beef to be. The beef was cooked well, resulting in good texture, and it was cooked with black pepper sauce, that comes with cuts of capsicum and carrot. All was just right to accompany the fried rice. Again, their presentation was nice, as this was served with cuts of fresh cucumbers and tomatoes. 

Garlic Pepper Beef Fried Rice. Price-RM10.90

Overall, a satisfactory lunch. For group that has different taste of food, this will be the right place to head to, as they are never short with choices, yet each one will get to order their individual choice of food. 

The Straits Cafe 
Lot G5, Centrepoint, 
Lebuh Bandar Utama, 
47800 Petaling Jaya

Tel : 03-7722 1153 

Business Hours : 10am-11pm 

Naked @ Plaza Damas, Kuala Lumpur

Does having a catchy name such as 'Naked' garner more attention? Possibly. The founder, Marco Robinson is an author, entrepreneur and property expert, and believe that Naked is built on foundation of passion. A passion for sexy food, wicked entertainment and naughty drinks. Hmm... How interesting. 

Naked is located at a corner lot, at Plaza Damas, and one will not need to worry, as they have ads and signages around Plaza Damas. 

Some parts are not to be exposed 

At time of my visit, the upstairs seating area is not open to customers yet, however, will soon be opened. I was graciously offered by their staff to check out the upstairs area. 
Cosy and good use of space. 

Upstairs seating area, overseeing the kitchen

Naked offers the right environment not just for dining, but also a nice place for drinks. 

Lots of alcohol in the house 

We were not entirely hungry, thus ordered their Classic Caesar Salad, with option of Chicken with additional RM5 charge. The salad combines baby romaine, poached egg, crispy herb crostini and shaved cheese. Of all the crostini to accompany caesar salad that I've tried, I must say that Naked's crostini does stand out with its nice distinctive aroma of garlic used to made it. And the toast was done with perfection, as it was nice crunch in every bite. 

The poached egg was a good change from the normal hard boiled egg. 

We wanted to avoid the typical caesar dressing that accompanies this salad, we requested for replacement of sauce, and we were given the lime sauce. I love the sourish and tanginess of the sauce, which at the same time was a light sauce. 

We opted for additional chicken for the salad, which was cubes of chicken. Portion and size of the chicken was a little smaller than what I expected. 

Classic Caesar Salad. Price-RM20. Add Chicken. Price-RM25

The Naked House Pizza was the other choice we made. It was filled with herb marinated roast chicken breast, pickled jalapenos, red onions, mushrooms, topped with some fresh chives.

It was a really big sized pizza, filled with lots of cheese. However, the taste of all the combined ingredients doesn't make this a too tasty pizza. The taste of the chicken was really mild, and perhaps require a little more stronger marination, and cut to bigger slices of chicken, as the small chunks wasn't too apparent when placed in the mouth.l 

Naked House Pizza. Price-RM40

I somehow really enjoyed the lime juice which has the right balance of sourness. 

Lime Juice. Price-RM5

A point to note is that Naked has a team of really friendly and highly attentive staffs. Nice. 

Naked Restaurant & Bar 
E-0-2 & E-1-2, Plaza Damas 
60 Jalan Hartamas 1, 
Taman Sri Hartamas, 
50480 Kuala Lumpur 

Tel : 03-6206 1623 

Business Hours : 11am-12mn daily 

Facebook link, here

Lazeez @ Solaris Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur

Having passed Lazeez several times, I had the perception that they mainly served pastries. Only discovered very recently that they serve extremely yummy Iranian lunch and dinner. 

Look out for this signage 

As I sat inside the restaurants, I could see that Lazeez was filled up with mainly regular customers, that seems totally familiar of what they are set to have for their lunch. 

Cosy & filled with regular customers 

Most customers, I saw ordered their packet rice which comes with chicken and a soft drink or ice lemon tea at only RM8. And I had that, during my 2nd visit here. It was rice cooked with extract of tomatoes, coupled with cuts of fresh tomatoes, and a 1/4 grilled chicken. Satisfying. 

Chicken & Rice Set. Price-RM8

I was a little drooling when I walked to their spread of food to make my choice.

Even the look of their rice was enough to make me happy. There are choices of broad bean and dill rice, lentil rice and raisins, plain rice and green bean rice.  

Yummy looking rice 

From the square cut of rice, it was really too much for one to finish. Its soft rice cooked with saffron and filled with some chicken shred. 

The broad bean and dill rice. Price-RM7

I can't keep my eyes off what one customer was having. He was having this piece of big Lasagne which looked absolutely appetizing. The soft cheese on top seemed irresistible. A look at how the lasagne looked is in my picture below. 

Spread of yummy food

Nice yummy food

This was the chicken I had. It tasted a little like our Chinese style of "Choy Kiok", the sour & spicy vege. This tasted a little more mild, with slight sourness. Chicken was cooked long enough and meat was soft and tender. 

Chicken

The other dish I had was their Gheymeh, a yummy mixture of meat and eggplant with split peas cooked in tomato paste. Excuse my picture, as I only remembered to snap a picture, half way eating. @__@

We also had the yoghurt with cucumber to accompany my rice. 

Gheymeh & Yoghurt. 

I tried one of the best tasting sauce at Lazeez. Its a concoction of tomatoes, chilli, lime or lemon, and I couldn't figure out the rest. Hehe... But the tanginess of this sauce makes me crave for more. 
However, during my 2nd visit, the taste differs, and it was much more spicy from the sauce I had during my 1st visit (as illustrated in picture below). 

Sauce by Lazeez, to accompany your rice

Overall, their food was really fresh. All are cook near to lunch time, and customers get to eat hot food. Yumms. 

Pick up and delivery service is also made available (number reflected below). 

Lazeez 
No 7 Jalan Solaris 3, 
Solaris Mont Kiara, 
50480 Kuala Lumpur 

Tel : 03-6211 2384

Facebook link, here

Nando's @ AEON Bandar Bukit Tinggi, Klang

My No 1 favorite fast food ought to be Nando's. It has popped to my mind many times in the past on why don't we have Nando's in AEON Bukit Tinggi. It was a good news to me when the change of tenant took place in Dec 2014 where this lot was taken over by Nando's. 

Amongst all fast food chain, the interior of Nando's is one that is most pleasing to my eyes, I like the colors used, with the warm lighting, and all that represent the origin of the brand, 

 

The grand entrance to Nando's 

Always busy - Nando's

Many art pieces used on the vibrant color wall 

One of the main selling point of Nando's is the extremely yummy chilli sauces that they offer. Seriously, the taste of the sauces alleviate the overall taste of the grilled chicken, which its already so satisfying.

Customers are welcomed to take their sauces

My absolute favorite sauce is the Garlic Peri-Peri flavor. It has the tanginess that truly open up my appetite. Its almost like, the more I take, the more I want. I love just the right level of spiciness that fits me just nice.

Our selection of sauces 

For sharing, we ordered their Full Platter, that comes with whole chicken, and sides, with the option of either 1 large size or 2 regular size sides and 2 bottomless drink. 

First thing first, we need to make a decision on our Peri Peri Chicken flavor. There are the options of Lemon & Herb, Mild, Hot and Extra Hot. I have always took the Lemon & Herb option, with just the right level of 'heat', as Nando's call it. 

As they explained, all their chicken came in some form of marination, thus customers may definitely get to taste some spices within, even the option is for a 'plain' taste chicken, ie, not the Hot Peri-Peri. 

I truly appreciate the existence of Nando's, where they marinate for 24 hours with their secret sauce, that ensure its sipped right into the bone. Upon which, they are flame grilled, using the various Peri-Peri sauce. And I do agree with Nando's, the result is Ultimate PERIfection! 

Meal Platter. Price-RM55

The Nando's chicken has each time fulfilled my craving for chicken, and not just any chicken, but good, tasty, high quality chicken. The skin that carried slight burned effect from grilling tasted ever so perfect, and each part of the chicken was just so tasty. Of course, with each bite, I would dip it with my favorite Garlic Peri-Peri sauce.

A dish I would say yes to, anytime

For the sides, we opted for the chips and garlic bread. I like the thick texture of chips, and the garlic bread was crispy on the edges.

It was only during this dinner, I discovered about the Peri-Vilege, where you download a phone apps called 'Peri-Vilege' which enable you to claim free meals from Nando's. It rewards you upon visiting Nando's after every 3 times. Simply, this is how it works - each time upon ordering, show the staff your Peri-Vilege ID, and they will reward you your 'chilly'. Get your chillies for 3 times, and during the 4th visit, you will get to claim a 1/4 chicken for free, the following 3 times, do the same, and you will get to claim a 1/2 chicken for free, and the last cycle, you will get to redeem 1 whole chicken for free. Wow, total reward worth RM75.70. Upon being bombarded by so many different loyalty programs, this is by far, one of a truly good way to retain and reward some loyal customers like me.

Peri-Villege

It is no surprise that majority of Nando's outlets are filled with so many customers, contributed by its winner chicken recipe.

Nando's
Aeon Bukit Tinggi
G25, Ground Floor,
1 Persiaran Batu Nilam 1/KS6
Bukit Tinggi 2,
41200 Klang

Kaffa Espresso Bar @ Damansara Uptown, Petaling Jaya

Kaffa Espresso Bar, located within Uptown, to my opinion is one of the busiest commercial development I've been. Finding a metered parking is almost impossible. Good thing is that Uptown is occupied by many offices that would contributed to Kaffa business. As for me, for coffee fix during weekend, Kaffa is one of the cafe that is on my top list. 

There's just something about me and my affinity for turquoise color. I love that Kaffa used lots of wood, black and turquoise color within its American vintage theme.

Let James Dean & Marilyn Monroe welcome you

Cosy outside seating 

I ordered their Salted Caramel Macchiato this round. I love that Kaffa's presentation of coffee is different from others, where it used their own produced enamel mug, similar design as the old styled mug that I used at my late-grandma's home. Kaffa also sell their mug at RM29.90 each. 

I love the aroma of the espresso used, with a good blend of milkiness, top with coffee art using caramel. Sips of coffee combing taste of caramel is a bliss. 

Salted Caramel Macchiato. Price-RM12.50

Under their Chef's Special, I was attracted to their Grilled Whole Sea Bass, as I seldom savor fish as a whole, apart from steam fish in Chinese restaurants. I liked the presentation of the fish that was topped with caramelized capsicum, and alfafa, and Kaffa provided 2 separate small bowl to contain the salad and mashed potato. Neatly presented. 

The taste of the grilled seabass was extremely yummy. Just the right balance of saltiness in taste, and the freshness of fish was apparent and goes really well with the onion sauce.

The salad was fresh, drizzled with some oil (somehow doesn't taste like olive oil), and the mashed potato was very fine in texture, however, tasted way too milky. 

Grilled Whole Sea Bass. Price-RM22.90 

The other order we had was the Grilled Chicken, Swiss Cheese and Avocado Triple Decker Sandwich. Somewhat, this order wasn't one that I would recommend. Presentation wise, it was a pass, however taste wise, it was a little ordinary. Similarly as the other order,  the salad that accompanied the sandwich was just drizzled with some oil, while the chicken within the sandwich tasted a little too bland. Suggest to look into the quality of bread used, and to place a little more effort on the chicken taste.

Chicken, Cheese & Avocado Sandwich. Price-RM17.90

Kaffa also offer good selection of cakes.

Cakes and drinks 

Overall, Kaffa Espresso Bar is a cool hangout place, with good coffee, and good variety of food, cakes and drinks. Some suggestion would be to place some of their stock  behind counter and within the cake chiller fridge to the inside kitchen so that they customers eyes doesn't get this busy when they checked around the cafe.

Kaffa Espresso Bar 
97 Jalan SS21/37, 
Damansara Utama, 
47400 Petaling Jaya 

Business Hours :
Mon 10am-11pm, Tue 10am-10pm, Wed-Fri 10am-12mn, 
Sat-Sun 8am-12mn 

Tel : +603 7732 4502

Facebook link here

Website here

Kissaten @ Setia City Mall, Shah Alam

I still recall years back when I visited Kissaten when they first opened in Jaya One. Having tasted the first char siu pizza (non-halal) from them, this somehow held very special place in my heart, as it was extremely yummy, and having bbq pork within. 

Kissaten now also have a branch in Setia City Mall, Shah Alam. When they first started operation, shoppers to this mall will need to walk out from the mall, to find Kissaten's main entrance. However it was recently that they have make slight renovation, by opening up a side entrance that was visible to shoppers even from within. From my recent visits, I witnessed tremendous growth in crowd, presumably contributed by this, plus the fact that it is offering of set lunch. 

The original main entrance

The rather new side entrance, connected from mall  

I have always liked the interior of Kissaten, contemporary design with lots of solid wood used.

Nice set up 

The Lunch Bento menu offering was so affordable that I find it hard to resist. And they are available from 11am-3pm.

I ordered the Salmon Sashimi Lunch Box. The presentation of the food was neat, and compact. It came with 5 slices of salmon, salad, rice, cold potatoes, miso soup, chawanmushi, fruits, and a glass of green tea. Overall this was such a value for money meal. All taste good, and for the chawanmushi, if it was steam to have a smoother texture, it would be ideal.

Salmon Sashimi Lunch Box. Price-RM15.90 

As for Cass, she ordered for the second time the Ginger Pork Lunch Box. The set came with the very same side dishes, except for the main item which was the Ginger Pork. The meat was tender, and carried enough of the ginger, that balances the taste well.

Ginger Pork Lunch Box. Price-RM13.90 

A thumbs up to the lunch bentos offered by Kissaten. Apart from it being extremely value for money, it also tasted good.

From they first started, I observed that they now have much more offering, which included cheesecake from Purple Monkey, and some very fanciful yet very tasteful looking ice-cream as dessert such as Bear Paw Popsicle, Green Tea Azuki Popsicle, etc. Can't wait to savor this for my next visit.

Very appetizing dessert available 

Kissaten 
Setia City Mall
LG28, Seksyen U13,
40170 Shah Alam, Selangor

Tel : 03-3358 5903

Shimino @ Pavillion KL

If one had visited the cinema at Pavillion, they will not miss spotting Shimino which is just located opposite, next to Nike. 

The set up of the kiosk was really attractive, with the design appealing especially to the youth and trendy group. Colorful and vibrant are best words to described how I felt when I saw the kiosk.

The vibrant kiosk 

With its recipe originated all the way from Harajuku, Japan, Shimino has upkept how the crepe and the cream within the crepe should be made.

The display shelves demonstrates replica of the crepes, made as believable as the real one. And decision of your desired choice may not be easy, as all looks really delicious.

Shimino offers their original crepe as dessert, savoury and crispy crepes with over 26 varieties of flavor combinations, with choices of fruits such as fresh kiwi, mango, banana, mandarin orange, pineapple, strawberry and longan. And something to entice the kids, there are options that comes with ice-cream, honey or chocolate topping. 

Apart from this, they also offer savory crepes, with selection of beef sausage, chicken slice or beef strip, and also the option of crispy crepes. 

Replica of Shimino crepes 

I was craving for some chocolate and banana, thus, it will be my ideal choice to take the Banana Ice-Cream crepe that came with chocolate ice-cream.

The chosen one

The mixed batter was spread thinly and evenly on the hot pan and upon the crepe being ready, the staff used the knife to hold / hang the crepe, and upon which, she swing the crepe a little, in order to reduce the heat. This process will enable that the whipped cream added to it, doesn't get 'melted'.

Upon all the ingredients being placed on the round sheet, its folded to a slight triangle shape, and then wrapped around by the paper mat.

The process of getting ready my crepe 

The whipped cream has a very milky taste, yet it tasted light. However, I remembered that it has a much smoother texture when I had it previously.

I just liked it all formed together, and careful eating is required so that one doesn't spill the ingredients out of the crepe.

The crepe tasted really soft, and with my this option ordered, I had to mainly finish the ice-cream first, as its on top of the 'cone', and I guess kids will really like it as it is sprinkled with rainbow rice, and it was a satisfying dessert for me, with my crepe filled with whipped cream and banana. I also liked the fact that they have the option of mini size, which may be a better option for me next time.

Banana Ice-Cream. Price-RM9.90 

Shimino have came a long way since they first started operation in 2010. They have now added many more varieties to their menu offering which includes snack food, syphon coffee, fruit tea, shaved ice and fresh juices.

Shimino 
Pavillion KL
Lot C5.06.00 & E5.06.00
Level 5,
168 Jalan Bukit Bintang,
55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-6148 1810

Website: shiminocrepes.com.my

Al-Amar @ Pavillion, KL

With some plants occupying the front of Al-Amar entrance, its lends a little nature within the mall, and the glass panels that looks through its dining area, I was set to give this Lebanese restaurant a try.

Having located at the 6th Floor, the F&B outlets gives me an impression of a little more premium from those located at the lower floors.

An inviting entrance to Al-Amar

I love the very classy, and elegant dining atmosphere, with usage of maroon color and gold. The interior design is very much similar to what one will find in Lebanon restaurants itself. This must have helped the expats to feel, right at home. 

Upon seated, I observed that Al-Amar boasts many awards, that was awarded by Time Out KL, Trip Advisor, Malaysia Tatler and The Malaysia International Gourmet Festival, some for Best Middle Eastern restaurant, Most Outstanding Cuisine, Best Marketed Restaurant, and many other categories.

Very classy and comfortable atmosphere

I like how their menu looked on the cover. There were much reading to do, and it would be a lot better should the menu come with pictures. The current menu isn't inviting enough, especially for those who are not familiar with Middle Eastern food, or one that doesn't truly comprehend English.

Cover of their menu

We started with the lentil soup made of grinded lentils, potatoes, and onions, served with grilled lebanese bread and lemon wedges. At the first sip, it taste like I'm drinking a lighter version of dhall, but upon few more sips, I love this tasty, grainy like soup. With this order, it comes with generous 4 pieces of Lebanese bread that was freshly made. 

Lentil Soup. Price-RM16.90

The very fluffy Lebanese bread that comes with Lentil Soup

Especially keen to taste their traditional salad, we ordered the Tabbouleh, a traditional must have made of fresh parsley, tomatoes, onions and bulgur wheat, topped with lemon, olive oil and spices.
Not accustomed to this combination, I liked the fact that its really fresh and the good feeling when you know you are having lots of greens. 

Tabbouleh. Price-RM22

Under the list of Hot Mezze on their menu, which means small dishes before main dish, we chosed the Hommos Bel Lahme, which is the mashed chick peas mixed with tahina topped with sautee beef. I love the look of this appetizer which forms a round circle surrounding the sautee beef. With the very rich flavor of chick peas, its gives a creamy like texture to the taste bud, and it just goes so well with the chunk beef, whether you choose to eat them separately, or combined. With it being cooked with lemon, the sourness gives a very refreshing start to my meal.

Hommos Bel Lahme. Price-RM25

With appetizer and soup ordered, we decided to go for the Mixed Shawarna Platter that combines beef and chicken that comes with salad as its side, fries, that comes with tartar and garlic sauce. I like the mix of salad with pickled cucumbers, fresh lettuce, onion, and tomatoes. Good balance to the meat. Generous portion of shredded grilled chicken and meat, both meat were so tender, and the tastiness of the meat suggest that its has been marinated long enough to derive with such flavorful taste.  

One that appreciates healthier option would be pleased to have their fries, as no or little sign of oil used (must have fried using the air fryer). 

Mixed Shawarna Platter. Price-RM40 

Platters that comes with a slice of bread

We wanted to try their Baklava for dessert, but failing to finish some parts of our food, we decided to keep this to the next round.

A check to their website, some info worth for sharing is that during weekends, Al-Amar offers some entertainment which includes Middle Eastern music every Friday, belly dances on Saturdays and buffet is made available on Sunday afternoon for lunch. 

Al-Amar Lebanese Cuisine 
Level 6, Pavillion KL,
168 Jalan Bukit Bintang,
55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel : 03-2166 1011

Website : www.almar.com

Facebook link here