CRIZ BON APPETITE

Savoring The Best All Over Town…

LA FRANCE

Posted by Criz Lai On June - 12 - 2008

Note: This little French stall has now relocated to a big mansion at 3B Jalan Irrawaddi, Penang effective September 2011. Business Hours: 12pm-10.30pm (Closed Tuesday)

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Bienvenue à la La France! Est-ce que je peux vous aider? Que voudriez-vous avoir hui?Oops! I have forgotten that I am not in France but I am surely having French food over here now. Haha! By the way, those words meant “Welcome to La France! How can I help you? What would you like to have today?” Why was I mumbling in French when I am right here in Penang, Malaysia? Well, here’s the answer. Please read on.

Have you been to the Northam Beach Café for the past 6 months? You would have noticed that there is a stall selling French food by a young couple. The hubby is a Frenchman whereas the wife is our local Chinese who can speak real fluent Hokkien. One look at the menu and you might be wondering why they are serving omelettes, crepes and Ciabatta or white breads during dinner time. As for the locals, those are for breakfast. For the French, those dishes are homemade food that you can get practically anytime of the day.

How was the food then? I would say I was very impressed with the quality of food served. Although it was not fine dining, it was one of the best French food that I had taken locally in years. The breads were of good quality, so were the crepes which were freshly made on spot. As for price, it was a good bargain for the quality food served. We managed to try out the Marine Provencal (RM9.80) which consists of a long Ciabatta Bread filled with large chunks of tuna fish mixed with Mozarella Cheese and sprinkles with herbs. It came accompanied with coleslaw and Pomme Frite (French Fries). It was marvelous!

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As for dessert, we ordered the Crepe Peanut Banana (RM4.80). It has thin soft crepe filled with banana precooked with grounded cinnamon and herbs. The crepe came in pairs with garnishes such as chocolate, grounded peanuts and icing sugar. Well, the French are the experts in decorating their food. This dish is a must try for those sweet tooth people out there. Do you know what is so great about this place? It’s MSG free for a healthier diet and most importantly, it’s tax free!

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If you have the opportunity to be there, do also try out their Omelette Fromage, Omelette Jambon-Fromage, Omelette Forestiere and Omelette Primeurs. To get there is real easy. Just drive along Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah where the Northam Hotel is and turn left into the Northam Beach Café. The stall is strategically located within the dining area.

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Name: LA FRANCE @ NORTHAM BEACH CAFE
Address: 58, Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, 10050 Penang, Malaysia.
Tel: 604-229 0362 (Northam Beach Café contact number)
Opening Hours: 6.00pm – 11.00pm (Closed Tuesday)
GPS: 5.427159, 100.323522

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 7/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

YAW’S ROAST AND GRILL

Posted by Criz Lai On June - 9 - 2008

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Have you heard of Yaw’s Roast & Grill before? Maybe this name is rather new to you but this western food corner used to be from one of the famous western food restaurants along Jalan Burmah in Penang many years ago. It was formerly called Top Top Snack Bar & Restaurant. The western food corner has been operating there for many years in a residential house. The taste for the food served has not change but the menu surely increased a lot.

If you love to have some quiet moments in a nice and cozy place, spending some romantic moments as well in a dim lighted corner, do check out this place. The best is that you do not need to pay extra for whatever taxes that you normally pay in any other restaurants.

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Since I was around that area, I decided to patronize this place with a friend. We ordered the Soup of the Day @ Onion Soup (RM6.50) as appetizer, Black Pepper Chicken Chop (RM7.50) and a Chicken Minced (RM8.80). All together plus drinks, we paid only RM25.80 which is reasonable for such quality food.

Garlic toasts were given complimentary from the kitchen, slightly toasted to perfection with yummy garlic butter and herbs.

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The Onion Soup was also perfect, creamy yet did not have the over-powering taste of onions at all. It came garnished with some crouton (small pieces of deep fried cubed bread) and celery.

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The Black Pepper Chicken Chop was also great. It has crunchy deep fried chicken topped with thick not-so-hot black pepper gravy, suitable for kids too. In fact, I did ask for an extra bowl of the gravy without additional cost incurred.

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If you are a potato lover, you would love this dish – the Chicken Minced. It is actually a ring of buttered mashed potatoes, slightly baked and garnish with the chef’s special creamy chicken cube gravy. This is a must to try out. Do not underestimate the look of the portion served. It is really very filling.

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To get to the place might be quite confusing as it is hidden from the main access road with no signage at all. If you are coming from town towards 1-Stop Midlands Centre, you will see Convent Pulau Tikus on your right. Turn into the road (Lebuhraya Maktab) immediately after that. Drive forward and turn into the second road (Jalan Midlands) on your left. As you reach the first junction (Gerbang Midlands) on your left, find a parking space nearby. The place is just at the corner house.

YAWSMAP

Name: YAW’S ROAST & GRILL
Address: 1, Gerbang Midlands, 10350 Penang, Malaysia.
Tel: 604-227 6273 / 012- 484 8178
Opening Hours: 5.30pm – 11.00pm (Closed Monday)
GPS: 5.435490, 100.307708

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 9/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

HAPPY DUAN WU WITH ZONGZI

Posted by Criz Lai On June - 7 - 2008

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Zongzi or rice dumpling is traditionally eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival (Mandarin: Duanwu; Cantonese: Tuen Ng) which falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese calendar. The celebration happens to fall on today, 8 June 2008. These zongzi are wrapped with bamboo leaves and left to boil for several hours in order to get the glutinous rice to cook well.

I will show you the many types of zongzi which are easily available in Penang during this celebration. Firstly, let’s look at the traditional zongzi which has the glutinous rice pre-fried with soy sauce, dark soy sauce and pepper prior to boiling. The rice is then wrapped together with salted duck egg yolk, pork, mushrooms, water chestnut and dried shrimps.

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The Nyonya Zongzi is totally different. It has pounded groundnuts, sweetened winter melon, some pork, dried shrimps and cooked with some spices. Normally, a small piece of pandan leave is added while wrapping to give it that special fragrance.

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Another variety of the zongzi is the Green Bean Zongzi. It is normally filled with boiled beans and some fatty pork. Sometimes, the maker will also add in some salted duck egg yolk. Normally these zongzi will be eaten with chili sauce or fine sugar.

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There will also be the Jianshui Zongzi where the zongzi are treated with lye water to get the yellowish color. These zongzi are eaten with Gula Melaka (Palm Sugar) cooked with some santan (coconut milk). Some people will even fill the zongzi with sweeten red bean paste.

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I happened to come across a new version of zongzi which is the Nasi Kunyit filled with Sambal Dried Shrimps from Lily Ng’s blog. She even provided us with the recipe for making them.

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FUN TEA GARDEN / DYNAMIC CAFE

Posted by Criz Lai On June - 7 - 2008

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Do you want to have freshly cooked dim sum with freshly peeled prawns? You should consider checking out this new dim sum shop called Fun Tea Garden in town, just opposite Pizza Hut, Prangin Mall. There are many varieties of food to choose from ranging from century eggs broth, dumplings, steamed buns of different fillings (Bao), deep fried prawn roll, egg custards, sesame glutinous rice balls, paper wrapped chicken, sweet vinegar pork legs, and many more. On top of these yummy choices, you can also order noodles such as fried hor fun, fried ee mee, fried fish bee hoon and so on.

Presently, with the new opening in late May, the dim sum tea house will waive any teas ordered in June with a minimum order of RM5.00. Not bad right? You could at least save up some charges on drinks. We tried out a few plates of their recommendation and paid barely RM15.


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Here are some other types of the dim sums served in the tea garden.

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The dim sums would be served up to 12 noon but you can opt for their economy rice. The tea garden also provides many tasty dishes with rice up to 1am. The menu changes daily too. Here are some of the dishes served there.

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It is not hard to find the tea garden as it is strategically located opposite the Prangin Mall’s Pizza Hut. Drive from Penang Road into Jalan Dr. Lim Chwee Leong (previously Prangin Road), and you will reach a traffic light. The tea garden is on your left. You can find some parking by the road side or in a car park on your left before the next traffic light.

FUNTEAMAP

Name: FUN TEA GARDEN / DYNAMIC CAFE
Address:
150 & 152, Jalan Dr. Lim Chwee Leong, 10100 Penang, Malaysia.

Tel: 013-421 1274 (Danny Ooi)
Opening Hours:
Dim Sum: 7.30am – 6.00am (Closed Thursday)
Economy Rice: 5.30pm – 3.00am (Closed Thursday)
GPS: 5.414822, 100.332148

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 8/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 7/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)


CRYSTAL JADE MEAL3

Posted by Criz Lai On June - 6 - 2008

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After shopping in the Pavilion KL, three of us decided to retire in Crystal Jade Meal3 Restaurant in the mall for dinner. The ambience of the restaurant was great with some soft music being played throughout our meals. Since I was still quite full with all the eating sprees, I ordered some appetizers such as Deep Fried Salty Cuttlefish and a Puffy Mushroom Soup. The cuttlefish was just average. It tasted like soggy tempura, mixed with some chili sauce and sprinkle with salt water. Nothing very special at all. The mushroom soup tasted like diluted instant mushroom soup topped with not-so-puffy pastry. They could have done better with this dish.

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One of my friends ordered the Baked Rice with Seafood and Cheese. This dish tasted real great with generous amount of clams, mussels, squids and prawns. The creamy cheesy topping was matching enough with rice.

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The other friend of mine ordered Aglio D’Olio Chix. It looked like spaghetti bolognaise but the taste was totally different. The chef did a bad combination of mixing spaghetti with some blended chili and herbs. On top of that, the chicken topping tasted like not marinated chicken coated with flour. Impressive presentation but taste wise was poor.

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Maybe I was born and bred in Penang and got used to the rich taste of the food prepared here. Overall, with 3 drinks and 3 glasses of water plus 10% service charge and 5% government tax, the bill came up to RM81.55 which is quite pricey for the quality of food served.

The restaurant has many branches all over the world and 6 branches in Kuala Lumpur. There are two in the Pavilion, three in Midvalley Megamall and one in Lot 10. To get there, just walk into Pavilion Kuala Lumpur along the famous Bintang Walk (Jalan Bukit Bintang) and get a Pavilion map from the customer service counter. Find your way to the level 3 outside corridor of the mall. The restaurant is just right at the corner. This place also has bar corner for you to laze about and relax until quite late into the night.

CRYSTALMAP

Name: CRYSTAL JADE MEAL3 @ PAVILION KL
Address:
Lot C3.02, Level 3, The Pavilion
168 Jalan Bukit Bintang,
55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: 603-2148 2116
Opening Hours: 10.00am – 10.00pm
GPS: 3.148518, 101.713936

RATING:
Ambience: 8/10
(1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 7/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 6/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 7/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

PETALING STREET (CHINATOWN) HAKKA/PAN MEE

Posted by Criz Lai On June - 5 - 2008

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Petaling Street or Chinatown as most tourists would call is not only a haven for good bargains of items such as clothes, DVDs, watches, bags and shoes. It is also a haven to please your appetite up to the wee hours of the morning. If you know how to explore further into the many lanes and corners of this street, you will discover many delicious hawker stalls hidden from the main shopping area.

One such stall which I have discovered some years back served the most amazing Hakka Mee and Pan Mee in that area. Not only are the noodle portions quite a lot, they are also cheap. RM3.50 per plate compared to RM4.50 in any of the cafés on the main road. Now you know why I have never stopped visiting this place. The stall also served many other noodles variety such as the Curry Chicken Wan Than Mee which is just as good. Here are the two noodles which we had ordered.

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Finding this noodle stall would be quite hard as it is hidden in one of the lanes. If you are walk into Petaling Street, Chinatown’s main entrance from Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock (opposite Kota Raya) and you will reach a crossed junction. Hong Leong Bank is at the corner on your left. Turn left into the road (Jalan Hang Lekir). Walk straight up until you see a lane on your right. There will be a shop selling DVD there. Walk inside and you will see the stall. Next to the stall is a Roasted Chicken/Pork (Char Siew) Rice which is just as good.

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Name: PETALING STREET (CHINATOWN) HAKKA/PAN MEE
Address: Jalan Hang Lekir, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 9.00am – 8.00pm
GPS: 3.144298, 101.698025

RATING:
Ambience: 4/10
(1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 7/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 7/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

FEI KAY KLANG BAK KUT TEH

Posted by Criz Lai On June - 4 - 2008

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Whenever Penangites think about Bak Kut Teh, it will always be the soup based type where they will choose whatever parts of the pork which interest them most. Recently, I was invited by a friend in Klang to try out one of the best Bak Kut Teh there. To my surprise, the Bak Kut Teh came in two types – the dry and the soup based. The soup based Bak Kut Teh was like those served in Penang except that the pork inside were meaty choice pieces. But the dry one made me want to go back there again to eat more.

The meats, mostly belly parts were cooked in herbal soup and then cut into smaller pieces. The meat were then fried in some yummy dark sauce, cuttlefish strips, sliced lady’s fingers, dried chillies and some mushrooms and brought to boil in a claypot to maintain its hotness. You should try out this yummy dry version.

The two claypots of Bak Kut Teh cost 3 of us only RM23 with 5 bowls of rice. Here are the photos on how the Bak Kut Teh looked like.

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The restaurant is within the Taman Bayu Perdana area along the main road of Persiaran Pegaga. You would not miss the place as it has an airplane logo on the sign board. If you are not sure, just ask around as most of the Klang people would know the location of this shop.

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Name: RESTORAN FEI KAY
Address:
95 (Tingkat Bawah), Persiaran Pegaga,
Taman Bayu Perdana, 41200 Klang, Selangor, Malaysia.
Tel: 019-340 8883 (Fei Kay)
Opening Hours: 8.00am – 10.00pm
GPS: 3.019970, 101.431875

RATING:
Ambience: 5/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 7/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

THE SOYA SHOP

Posted by Criz Lai On June - 3 - 2008

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While I was down in Kuala Lumpur, I stumbled upon a stall in Low Yat Plaza selling soy milk and douhua (soy pudding). What caught my attention was the Tang Yuan served with soy milk. For your information, I love Tang Yuan and have been seen frequently patronizing the stall along Jalan Magazine in Penang.

The Soya Shop served great Tang Yuan with soy milk. It is a great dessert for the young as well as the old. Not only was the soy milk fresh and hot, you could freely choose either plain syrup or brown syrup of your choice, easily available on the table. This is a great idea for those, especially diabetics, who like it plain or not too sweet. The Tang Yuan comes in four flavors, namely Coconut, Chocolate, Red Beans and Pandan Lotus Paste. All of them were juicy soft and tasted great. Each bowl only cost RM2.80. The products served are completely halal.

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I was too full from my lunch before this to try another bowl of douhua. I heard from Masak Masak that they do serve douhua with red kidney beans too but I did not see any publicity from this stall. Maybe they have it in another branch.

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Photo Courtesy of Masak Masak

The Soya Shop has many branches in Hartamas Shoppig Complex (2nd Floor), Summit USJ (Ground Floor), Endah Parade (1st Floor), Low Yat Plaza (4th Floor), City Square Food Court (Lower Ground), 1 Utama Shopping Centre (Lower Ground) and Pasarakyat (Ground Floor), Giant Hypermarket, Bandar Kinara (Lower Ground) and many more to be set up soon. I managed to try out the one in Low Yat Plaza, so here is the map for the Bukit Bintang area branch.

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Name: THE SOYA SHOP @ LOW YAT PLAZA

Address:
Level 4, Low Yat Plaza, Off Jalan Bukit Bintang,
55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: 603-6275 8803
(Pasarakyat)
Website:
http://www.thesoyashop.com/
Opening Hours: 10.00am – 10.00pm
GPS: 3.143933, 101.709784

RATING:
Ambience: 6/10
(1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 7/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 7/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

KOPITIAM SOON LEE

Posted by Criz Lai On June - 2 - 2008

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As you know, I was down in Selangor for a few days and I was brought by the boss/cook of Restoran Goh Teo Kee (Pg) to one of the best seafood restaurants that I have ever been to. I must admit that the food there tasted even better than most seafood restaurants in Penang. Kopitiam Soon Lee is just located a few minutes’ drive away from Mines Shopping Fair / Mines Wonderland / MIECC. The success for this restaurant lies in their secret sambal (chili paste) recipe.

Seven of us went and we ordered 6 dishes which comprised of Grilled Lamb Chop, Spicy Stir Fried Squids and Clams, Steamed Chicken with Ginger and Dong Quai, Grilled Sting Ray and Stir Fry Brussel Sprouts. In fact, the squids tasted so fresh and tender that we ordered another plate. I would highly recommend this Spicy Stir Fried Squids dish.

With the amount of food, the price paid can be considered real cheap. Here are the breakdowns of the total cost for the meal (RM144.30 including rice and drinks) for 7 persons. Grill Sting Ray (RM19), Steam Chicken with Ginger and Dong Quai (Chinese Angelica or Female Ginseng) (RM26), Spicy Stir Fry Squid (RM15 x 2), Spicy Stir Fry Clams (RM15), Grilled Lamb Chop (RM15), Stir Fry Brussel Sprouts (RM10) and 5% Government Tax.

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The super nice shop is located about 5 minutes drive away from Mines Shopping Fair. Just follow the map towards Seri Kembangan and you will not get lost. Your effort in finding the place will surely be rewarded with the best seafood in Seri Kembangan.

SOONLEEMAP

Name: KOPITIAM SOON LEE
Address:
No.21-1, Jalan SP 2/1, Serdang Perdana,
43300 Seri Kembangan, Selangor, Malaysia.
Tel: 603-8941 5144
Opening Hours: 10.00am – 1.00am (Closed Tuesday)
GPS: 3.032387, 101.707853

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10
(1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 8/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 9/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

RESTORAN ESQUIRE KITCHEN

Posted by Criz Lai On May - 31 - 2008

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I had a convention down at MIECC within Mines Wonderland vicinity recently and managed to get the opportunity to visit Restoran Esquire Kitchen. Due to time constraint for the lunch break and overcrowding of the place, I only managed to grab a quick meal. But from the look of the packed restaurant and plates after plates of food filling up to the max on most tables, I guessed this must be a great restaurant.

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Until now, I am still wondering how I could have withstood the temptation of all the nice aromatic food passing me all the time. Haha. Anyway, I ordered a bowl of Fried Sauce Noodle which does not look like it has been fried at all and a glass of soy milk drink by paying not more than RM12. The noodles tasted great with lots shredded carrots and cucumber topped with some stir fried fermented beans minced meat. What a healthy meal for once. 😛

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Luckily, I managed to borrow the menu from the waitress and took some shots of what are the rest of the yummy food to share with you.

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Once you are in the Mines Shopping Fair, you would not miss this place as it is at the ground floor of the complex. They also have around 15 branches all over KL, Bangsar, Subang Jaya, Klang, Petaling Jaya, Cheras and Ipoh.

ESQUIREMAP

Name: RESTORAN ESQUIRE KITCHEN
Address:
Ground Floor, The Mines Shopping Fair,
43300 Seri Kembangan, Selangor, Malaysia.
Tel: 603-8944 1377
Opening Hours: 11.00am – 10.00pm
GPS: 3.028305, 101.718550

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10
(1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 7/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 7/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 6/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

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