In Penang, it is a must to eat Char Kuey Teow. When you ask the Grab driver where to get โgoodโ Char Kuey Teow; the commonly, famous recommendation would be at Lorong Selamat.
Where is the Char Kuey Teow
Locally known as Lorong Selamat Char Kuey Teow, it is located in Kafe Heng Huat, a coffee shop along Lorong Selamat in George Town.
Kafe Heng Huat in 2014Kafe Heng Huat in 2014
The Char Kuey Teow
The Char Kuey Teow (CKT) in Kafe Heng Huat is controversial for itโs mixed reviews from the service to the taste, to the size of the prawns, and to the price.
Furthermore, because it is a recommendation, be prepared for the long waiting time. Hence, you should plan your journey to avoid waiting, just for a plate of Char Kuey Teow.
Tokyo Ramen is on the 4th floor in Lot 10. The 4th floor – J’s Gate Dining – is commonly and famously known as the Japanese food floor. As for Tokyo Ramen itself, it is in the private dining area – Isetan Kuala Lumpur.
Grounded by warmth and humility through service and hospitality, values inherently associated with the Japanese tradition of Omotenashi, The Tokyo Ramen inherits the ambience The Tokyo Restaurant has to offer.
An epicentre that connects family, friends, and acquaintances, underneath the blush of coral tapestry and amber incandescence. Elegant booth seats and leather-grain furniture further cosset you away from the strains of the world beyond.
โA bowl of happiness from Japan, served fresh for Malaysia”
Sink your teeth into the umami-rich ramen option from THE TOKYO RAMEN!ย Made with authentic Malaysian free range chicken, The Tokyo Ramen incorporates The Tokyo Restaurantโs rich flavours and is the perfect gathering spot for ramen lovers of all races and religion. Celebrate the deliciousness of true Japanese ramen, and fill your heart and bellies with joy and satisfaction! Strictly no pork used.
Let’s dive into their menu. Hungry for lunch, we ordered the Asakusa Sho-Yu Ramen (signature ramen), Bara – Chirashi, and Tori Chashu Don.
“Halal Authentic Ramen, Produced by Japanese Muslim Chef”.
The Asakusa Sho-Yu Ramen (RM30)
The โYukiriโ process in the cooking of Japanese noodles like ramen, udon, and soba involves pulling the noodles out of hot water and shaking them free of liquid in a colander so that they retain their delicious springy and perfect texture.
This method ensures that the liquid in the noodles does not dilute the soup, leaving you with textural perfection as well as an intensity of flavours that soothe the soul. All expert noodle-makers are well-versed in this art; but you, too, can be your own expert by properly draining your ramen noodles at home!
Bara – Chirashi : Assorted Sashimi Sushi Rice BowlTori Chashu Don : Chicken Chashu Rice Bowl
You can follow Tokyo Ramen on their instagram below or click “Menu” above to explore their menu online.
Looking for traditional, home-cooked Chinese food – Hakka cuisine – to warm your heart and tummy? You don’t want to pass Michele’s Kitchen in Damansara Jaya, Petaling Jaya.
How to Get to Michele’s Kitchen
Michele’s Kitchen is along Jalan SS22/23, just opposite the eastern entrance of Atria Shopping Gallery. It is not hard to miss with it’s purple signage significantly distinguishing itself from the other shops.
The side parking along Jalan SS22/23 is easily filled from day to night. Parking is aplenty in Atria and around the block with more street parking available.
Michele’s Kitchen
Michele’s Kitchen is a 2-storey restaurant. Hence, during peak hours, there’s still tables available for dine-ins. Instead, we did a take-out and picked-up our food after ordering online.
You can order on Grab or online through their website. Ordering online on their website was a smooth experience, as you’re given the option to pay with credit/debit card or via Paypal. After payment is made, you’ll receive an email and SMS to confirm your order and pick-up time.
Click Image to visit their online menu and to order
Michele’s Kitchen top sellers are the Crispy Pork Belly, Nyonya Garoupa Fillet, Bentong Tau Fu Pok, Hakka Yong Tau Fu, and Signature Tau Fu.
For a simple dinner and a small family, we ordered their Nyonya Chicken Series, Sheng Melon Tau Fu, Bittergourd Fried with Salted Egg, and Baby Spinach.
Nyonya Chicken Series (RM24.60)Sheng Melon Tau Fu (RM20.20)Bittergourd Fried with Salted Egg (RM17.90)Baby Spinach (RM11.20)
Damansara Uptown is no stranger as the place to hang out, eat, and have desserts. If after a plate of Damansara Uptown Hokkien Mee or a meal, and some jalan-jalan in Starling Mall; why not have dessert at Shugatori. Aptly named as SHUGATORI: THE DESSERT CAFE.
How to Get to Shugatori
Shugatori is located along Jalan SS 21/1a in Damansara Utama. It is not hard to miss as it is facing the main road – Jalan SS21/1. If you’re turning in from the SPRINT highway, it is on your right.
Parking may be a challenge during the day and night, as the parking spots tend to be filled with cars by office workers and people who frequent there.
Due to the limited street parking, you can park at Starling Mall or at Uptown 7 (elevated parking). Then walk across to Shugatori.
Shugatori Dessert Cafe
Waffles, croffles, desserts, coffee, macarons, or all? Browse their menu below.
We ate their Biscoff Waffle, Peanut Butter & Jelly, and Razuberi Yoguruto. It was an experience indulging in 3 different types of pastries and desserts together: waffle, croissant, and cake.
Biscoff Waffle (RM23)
Classic waffle with biscoff crumbs, white chocolate, topped with vanilla ice cream dizzled in biscoff sauce.
Peanut Butter & Jelly (RM18)
Buttery croissant served with mascarpone whipped cream, raspberry compote, chocolate chips and two scoops of vanilla ice cream.
Razuberi Yoguruto (RM23)
Charcoal honey castella plated with mascarpone whipped cream, mixed berries compote and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
If you’re a Maxis user, there is a “RM10 OFF total bill with minimum spend of RM38 & above.”
Open the Maxis app on your smartphone and click Deals at the bottom tab (if you’re iphone user). Type Shugatori or search under Food & Beverage for “Shugatori”. Then “Download Deal” and show it to cashier upon payment.
It was a cold and wet autumn night. We were craving for something hot and spicy. We had soup curry as planned at Soup Curry Garaku in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan.
Where is Soup Curry Garaku?
The restaurant is located below ground, so we walked downstairs.
Let’s check out the menu. They’ve different types of soup curry dishes with chicken, shabushabu, pork, vegetable, sausage, mushroom, or lamb.
Then, select the amount of rice and the level of hotness. Rice comes in small (100g), middle (200g), or large (350g) amounts. The hotness level range from mild to standard to hot to very hot to ex hot to fire!!! You can also add on “toppings” with the curry, at additional charges.
To savour the curry in the comfort of your own home, you can also buy their soup curry powder mix.
Not to be confused with Jeon Mi Do in Hospital Playlist and Thirty-Nine, this is Mido Korean BBQ in SS2, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.
In Petaling Jaya and in SS2, we are not short of Korean BBQs. Before After (a) Meal, go to Mido – a few doors back.
Getting to Mido Korean BBQ
Mido is directly opposite McDonald’s in SS2. Mido is easy to spot with it’s traditional Korean-looking front.
If you’re driving, parking is easy at the right timing. Find parking along Jalan SS2/64 and anywhere else in the commercial square of SS2.
Mido Korean BBQ
The interior has a traditional Korean house and restaurant feel. You’re not out of place, as there is a robot (on wheels) going around delivering your orders.
The seating arrangements are comfortable for 1 to 4 pax per table. If you’re eating in a big group, you’ve to split the group to 2 or more tables.
At the time of writing this, Mido had a few promotions running. Birthday babies get 1 free pajeon (Korean pancake).
We went on a Thursday and so happened it was ladies’ night. If there’s 1 lady in the group, you get 10% off from the bill. Then, if there’s 2 ladies in the group, you get 20% off from the bill. Then, if there’s 3 ladies in the group, you get 30% off from the bill. Finally, if there’s 4 ladies, you get 40% from the bill.
The promotion applied to a la carte dishes. We pounced on the beef, pork, and other dishes. You could either have the meat cooked for you or you can cook yourself at your own pace. We had the meats cooked for us.
We ate AUS Grade 5 Ribeye, Pork Belly, Pork Collar, Skirt Meat, Steam Egg, Corn Butter, Seafood Pancake, Kimchi Military Casserole, Mini Kimchi Soup, and Mido Rice Balls.
You can’t give Sankaku Market a miss when you visit Otaru in Hokkaido. It is a down-to-earth marketplace with vendors selling fruits, veggies, seafood, and prepared seafood dishes in this wet market.
Otaru Station
Where is Sankaku Market
It is the closest tourist attraction (200 meters or about 2 minutes walk) to Otaru JR station. After exiting the station, turn left and walk up the stairs to the covered wet market.
Sankaku market is a short 200 meters and small fresh market. There are many seafood stalls and restaurants in the alley. The seafood stalls sell:
Raw salmon
King crab leg
Arabesque greenling
Atka mackerel
Surf clam
Oyster
Neptunea Arthritica
Ezo Neptune Whelk Winkle
More
Eat in Sankaku Market
There are a few restaurants in the market. In one of the restaurants, you can grab a crab and they’ll cook it for you on the spot!
Donโt forget Ajidokoro Taekda and Kita no Donburiya Takinami Shokudo in the middle of Sankaku market.
Alternatively, you can also create your own seafood rice bowl.
Choose rice bowl size: small or middle size
Choose 3 to 4 combinations out of 10 preferred toppings. Toppings are:
Salmon roe
Sea urchin
Crab
Tuna
Botan shrimp
Sweet shrimp
Salmon
Live scallop
Flying squid
Seasonal food
I created my own bowl and ate seafood rice bowl of sea urchin, crab, tuna, Botan shrimp, salmon eggs, salmon, live scallop for dinner at Takinami Shokudo.
When Ma Maison Ebisu at Lot 10, Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur opened, I was first introduced to tonkatsu. What is tonkatsu? A Japanese dish of meat coated in breadcrumbs and fried.
All set meals come with rice, tonjiru (miso soup with pork), cabbage, and pickles:
Rosu Katsu (Deep Fried Pork Loin)
Hire Katsu (Deep Fried Pork Fillet)
Okonomi Katsu (Variety Katsu)
Iroiro Katsu (Assorted Katsu)
Rosu Katsu (Deep Fried Pork Loin with Cheese)Sakana Set (Deep Fried White Fish)
If youโre coming from Lot 10 parking lot, take the escalator or lift from the 5th, 6th, 7th, or 8th floor down to the 4th floor. But if youโre coming from the Bukit Bintang MRT or monorial, take the escalator or lift from the ground floor up to the 4th floor. The 4th floor is also known as Js Gate Dining, where there are only Japanese food on this level in Lot 10.
Then in 2019, when I was holidaying in Japan, I ate the tonkatsu at Tonkatsu Wako Pole Town, Sapporo, Hokkaido.
Also known as Shi Shi Do Ramen Bar (to me), is in the Gasket Alley. The Gasket Alley is not hard to miss, as it is directly opposite Jaya 1 shopping mall and behind Columbia Asia Hospital – Petaling Jaya.
The Gasket Alley is a small warehouse with restaurants, dessert outlets, an IT store, and Harley-Davidson of Petaling Jaya. Head right to the end where you’ll find the authentic Japanese Tonkotsu Ramen in Section 13, Petaling Jaya.
If you’re not Grabbing to the restaurant, within the compound, there is a short row of visitor’s parking. Alternatively, you can park at Jaya 1 or the office complexes down the road, and walk up to the Gasket Alley.
During lunch hours or rush hours, there can be long queues outside the restaurant. So it’ll be best to go early and time yourself beforehand.
Inside the Ramen Bar
Instead of going to Japan, Japan is brought to you. And you’re transported back into time inside the ramen bar.
There is a ground and mezzanine level. On the ground floor, it feels like you’re eating in the streets of Japan in the old days of history’s past. You’re surrounded by “shophouses” and an old street lamp post in the middle.
Ramen Bar Shi Shi DoFood
The pork broth is delicately boiled and skimmed up to 48 hours to bring out the natural yet rich flavour of the finest pork bones. On top of that, the meticulously custom-made springy noodles are perfect to be slurped up with the creamy soup, alongside the tender braised pork shoulder, soft boiled egg, black fungus and spring onion. With a 9 years of history, the artisans have been focusing on serving the ultimate tonkotsu ramen, from the stove to the serving table, only for you.
Orders are made with the touch screen tablet on the table.
There are three types of ramen to choose from. Each mainly with a different meat given: pork shoulder slice (1 piece), Yakibuta (2 pieces), and Ippon Yakibuta.
Then you can choose and mix the flavour, from single, to double, and triple flavours. Single flavour consists of either pork soup, black garlic pork soup, spicy pork soup, curry pork soup, basil pork soup, and pepper spicy pork soup. From these selections, you can mix and match to double or triple flavours.
Ajitama Chashu Ramen (RM25.00)
If not ramen, you can make your own hot pot. There’s Shishido Original Tonkotsu Hot Pot and Shishido Original Spicy Tonkotsu Hot Pot.
Shishido Original Tonkotsu Hot Pot (RM22.00)
They also have three types of Tsukemen to choose from: Tonkotsu Tsukemen, Yakibuta Tsukemen, and Ippon Yakibuta Tsukemen. Like the ramen, you can also mix and match the flavours. The single flavours are black garlic pork soup, spicy pork soup, curry pork soup, basil pork soup, and pepper spicy pork soup.
A fusion of Pan-Asian and modern western gastronomy, the Brew House can be found at Sunway Pyramid. The Brew House @ Sunway Pyramid is located at Sunway Pyramid West and under Sunway Clio hotel.
The Brew House is not just at Sunway Pyramid. It can also be found throughout the Klang Valley, in Ipoh, in Penang, and in Johor.
Parking is convenient. You can park in the basement under Sunway Pyramid itself or under Sunway Pyramid West, and then take the lift up to the ground floor.
The Brew House is a corner lot shop on the ground floor fronting the NPE highway.
The Brew House
Whether you are popping in to sample their latest and freshest brew, a quick after work glass of wine or, having lunch, dinner or supper with friends or families, have a great experience.
The Brew House offers an innovative approach to dining. The food is a fusion of Pan-Asian and modern western gastronomy, and is as inspired and varied as their brews.
Expertly prepared by their Executive Chef with the freshest ingredients and flavours that is ever-evolving, the meals are ideal for any celebrations with friends and families. They also offer a selection of meats, pastas, pizzas and asian delicacies โ perfect just for grazing and the ideal accompaniment to a pint of the freshest Brew or glass of wine.
Swipe on instagram to view the Roasted Whole Pork Knuckle, Brew House Signature Pork Chop, and Roasted Pork Belly.
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