Thanks For Lunch Treat @ Soy, Ibn Battuta Mall

if you ever wanna eat at ‘soy’ chinese restaurant, the best branch would be at ibn battuta mall, simply because of the ambiance – it’s located at the CHINA court! I mean, what better way to enjoy oriental dishes than at a section of the mall with a CHINESE theme?

(ibn battuta mall has sections named after countries – china court, india court, egypt court and few more – representing the travels of the great explorer ibn battuta)

 

thanks so much for the delicious treat abg kama azlan & kak mas, our lovely buddies from abu dhabi – great company, good food, delightful conversations and lots of laugh! thanks for thinking of us when it comes to lunchin and munchin!

 

 

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I want one of these. cute square thingys to put sauce, dips and condiments

 

I’m not a fan of spicy tomyam, so this one I like – which means it’s NOT that spicy. so for those who love their tomyam to be authentically super spicy, please make a personal request to the chef. heheh. I enjoy slurping this ‘tomyam prawn’ because it has enough spices and taste to make it delicious, and less-spicy enough to make in tolerable!

 

this dish is surprisingly good. I’ve only eaten sweet spicy fish, so this was a nice surprise. ‘sweet spicy hong kong chilli prawn’ is NOT that spicy for this malay (try la sambal udang melayu style baru tau spicy tak spicy!) but being a non-fan of spicy dishes, I love it. the use of lots of capsicum gives it an additional taste that I like, and the texture of the prawn is nice and tender.

 

the star of the table was this magnificent dish of ‘black pepper crab’. aku ni pemalas nak kopek-kopek so I let the boys have their fun scouting for crab flesh in the middle of the thick peppery gravy. us ladies just wait by the side for our knight in shining armor to drop pinch of crab flesh on our plate. thanks guys! this dish is alright!

 

mix green veggies – fresh veggies, crunchy and tasty. a simple dish that satisfies!

 

for the kids – ‘crispy honey chicken’, which sounds promising but fail to impress. the chicken is too dry despite coated with liquid. had it been bigger pieces, this would have been a better dish.

 

girl talk over two plates of delights. blueberry cheesecake and a very questionable chocolate cake. I say ‘questionable’ because the chocolate cake has got this weird after-taste that’s similar to a soap bubble. like, seriously. what WAS that? we didn’t even finish the chocolate cake. (nways, got a girl-crush on kak mas. she’s so cantik! she reminds me of my lovely auntyna. kan? kan?)

 

the blueberry cheesecake, however, is a winner. deliciously smooth and creamy. yum!

 

here’s kazim sharing a plate of chocolate cake with uncle kama azlan. this was BEFORE we realize that the weird soap-bubble taste was not a figment of our imagination. kih kih.

 

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thanks again abg kama azlan & kak mas, for the treat at ‘soy’ ibn battuta mall! always entertaining when hanging out with you guys. the next time you’re in dubai, you know who to buzz – especially to keep you guys company la for lunch, dinner or supper!

Big Family Gathering @ Little Penang Kafé The Curve

it was the final weekend before ramadhan starts, and my whole family (abah, umi, my sisters & husbands plus kiddos) stayed at the royale bintang the curve for the weekend just to lepak satu family. and also because my abah wants to belanja his cucu-cucu for a day of fun at kidzania the next day.

for dinner we gathered together at ‘little penang kafe’ for a taste of penang hawker food at the curve damansara.

 

‘little penang kafé’ described itself as being “the first restaurant to offer authentic penang hawker food in a shopping mall”. the interior certainly sets the mood, taking us back in time. and the menu suggests the same – filled with penang hawker food and baba nyonya delicacies like char kuey teow, kuey teow soup, mee udang, curry mee, assam laksa and many more.

 

it’s not often do we get to dine out ramai-ramai like this. most of the time atok prefers to just tapau and eat ramai-ramai at home. tak pening atok dengan cucu-cucu yang bising! hihi. so this was considered a HUGE outing for us. we were just missing azi’s husband faiz (working) and my mr khairul who was still in dubai at the time. syida’s hubby nash was taking the picture.

 

obviously I can’t help NOT ordering my favorite kuey teow. penang fried kuey teow has always been my favorite and would never miss getting kuey teow sani or kuey teow gagak whenever I’m in penang. the kuey teow at ‘little penang kafe’ is as good as it gets – well-seasoned, dry just the way I like it. I would order this again.

 

abah with his choice ‘penang curry mee’

 

‘penang curry mee’ for abah. said to be ‘the most sought after hawker dish in penang’. judging from the empty bowl at the end and hoq quiet abah eats – the curry mee must be dead good.

 

this was umi’s pick of the day : ‘penang jawa mee’ – a nyonya style mee rebus. the gravy looks deliciously thick and the portion is huge. you can share this one if you’re not too hungry!

 

abah & umi with their delicious penang dishes at ‘little penang kafe’.

 

my eldest nephew haiqal with his dinner : fried rice with egg sunny side up. simple yet satisfying. haiqal next time order something else ok. nasi goreng ni mama pun bole buat! haha

 

BFF & cousins : my nephew haqeem & my eldest son khaleef ordered the same food – ‘fish ball noodle’ simply noodle in clear fish ball soup. not spicy, hot from the pot. delicious.

 

the boys’ ‘fish ball noodle’. you can even choose your noodle – bihun, mee kuning or kuey teow.

 

cousins & BFF! haiqal, haqeem & khaleef in their football jerseys

 

 

love the interior : the ceiling, the walls that look like it’s made from papan in kampung house and the grill looks authentic too – like eating in those old chinese coffee shop in penang. ‘little penang kafe’ is my new favorite place to makan!

‘little penang kafe’ is on ground floor at the curve. forget marche. go hawker style next time!

Sisters Hang-Out For Muslim Chinese Food @ Homst, TTDI

I LOVE chinese food, chinese style, chinese dishes – and there are a few chinese-muslim restaurants in TTDI around where my sisters live. the following night after I arrived in KL from dubai, my sisters took me to ‘Homst’, a chinese-muslim restaurant in persiaran zaaba in taman tun dr. ismail, near the proton showroom.

I was looking forward to try my favorite chinese-style lauk, ‘lemon chicken’!

 

yong, me, syida & azi

 

I arrived in KL from dubai the night before. that night my eldest sis yong arrived by herself in KL from ipoh via ETS (electric train service) – this was the night before four of us go for Being ME2, the women’s only islamic conference (that explains why my boys were with my in-laws in puchong, tolong jagakan while I go for Being ME2). so four of us lepak makan-makan borak-borak over delicious chinese dishes!

 

we tried the seafood tomyam. memang yum! well, I’m not really a fan of tomyam so to me this is good enough. not sure about hardcore fans of tomyam though.

 

this is ikan kerapu sweet sour. super delicious – the flesh is juicy and well-seasoned. not too spicy so just right for me. loved it.

 

the lemon chicken is not bad. loved the texture of the chicken – crispy on the outside and tender juicy on the inside. the lemon sauce wasn’t too thick but I prefer they put it on the side. I don’t like my chicken to be soaked in lemon sauce!

 

another must-order when I go to chinese restaurant – the fried calamari or sotong goreng tepung. the best I’ve had is still in muhibbah (somewhere in sg penchala I think) but this one ain’t bad. crispy crunchy and not rubbery.

 

fresh kailan with salted fish (ikan masin). delicious addition.

 

ok are they stealing from faiz’s plate? haha. faiz pon macam erk..

 

it’s our first makan-makan together after so many months of not seeing each other so we lepak until the restaurant pun dah empty. see picture below la, orang dah takde dah masa kitorang habis makan hihi.

 

the lamp is a nice touch. my sisters said homst had newly expanded the restaurant. previously they didn’t have 2 lots and now that it’s constantly full-house, diorang besarkan restoran.

 

the original lot. simple chinese-restaurant feel with marble-top tables.

 

‘homst’ is at persiaaran zaaba in taman tun dr. ismail alright. personally to me it’s not as awesome as muhibbah or mohd chan abdullah but if you guys are in the area, check it out.

Father’s Day Dinner @ Vietnamese ‘Hanoi’, JLT

it was father’s day, and on a special day like this we usually get something like a fat juicy steak. however, this penang boy mr. khairul with a kampung taste wanted something asian. something simple yet delicious. something that reminds him of home.

we looked for something simple like kuey teow soup or noodle soup – and found a nice vietnamese restaurant called ‘hanoi’. by the end of our visit there, it has become one of the best place to get soupy dishes in dubai – vietnam style!

 

 

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the first thing I noticed when I walked into ‘hanoi’ were the trees! fake trees of course, but a lovely addition nonetheless. it blends well with the color scheme of orange and green. simply loved it!

 

walls are adorned with random pictures of vietnamese makcik in vietnam setting that brings out that asian feel. simple, random, but it works! the bench-seats are comfy and gives that homey, relaxing feel too. overall a family-friendly cozy place to enjoy delicious soupy dish!

 

the ‘open’ bar – juice bar, that is.

 

simply love the color scheme! ceria!

 

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the menu is quite extensive within the soup domain – written in vietnamese, with translation. everything looks good, really. there are mainly 4 types of noodle available :

• pho – rice noodle
• mien – glass noodle
• bun – rice vermicelli noodle
• mi – egg noodle

 

the celebrated guy – the father – bapak – mr. khairul’s choice : pho dac biet : ‘hanoi special pho’ (pho = rice noodles aka kuey teow) with meatballs. delicious. really. just like the plain kuey teow soup you get at RnR tapah. instantly a favorite with him, and me too!

 

stuff for the soupy dish that i won't even consider adding because I just like my soup to be plain. so tolak ke khairul hihi

 

my 'mi vit tiem' - braised five-spice duck noodle.

 

my noodle with the duck is super delicious. imagine eating this big bowl of hot delight in a cool winter’s night? perfect! makan panas-panas time sejuk-sejuk winter sure da bom!

unlike mr. khairul’s soup dish with ‘pho’ or rice noodles, mine was with ‘mi’ – egg noodles. I really prefer the rice noodles because it’s my favorite noodle of all but this ‘braised five-spice duck’ dish is delicious enough to eat with any type of noodle.

the duck is tender, and because it’s in a soup dish, it’s not as dry as the other duck dishes I’ve ever tasted before. hoisin sauce is available on the table so it was just a delicious dish to enjoy. huge portion of noodle, a lot of duck to munch and the soup is tasty.

altogether a highly-recommended dish. the next time I order this dish, I’m requesting them to change it to rice noodle!

 

my eldest boy khaleef absolutely LOVE anything soupy so he totally enjoyed his kuey teow soup, a dish ordered from the list in the kids’ menu. I’m glad to note that the portion is huge even for a kids’ meal. delicious, enough for two. A plus!

 

seriously, this is the first time I’m using metal chopsticks. pardon me for getting a little over-excited. there’s a certain feel of authenticity when you enjoy chinese/japanese/vietnamese food using chopsticks. somehow it tastes better! haha.

 

this is ‘goi cuon’ or ‘fresh summer rolls’

 

the worst-tasting popiah i've ever eaten!!!

but wait – before you decide to take my word for it, consider that a) I don't really like popiah basah, or unfried spring roll like this; b) i don't like prawn, and c) i hate the taste of cilantro, and d) I don’t like disproportionate food (eg: more filling than the percentage of pastry in a pie bla bla) – tapi gatal nak makan just to try. amik ko. sohun pun ade dlm tu.

but mr. khairul likes it. fresh. unik. so you guys might like it too. just not my cuppa tea.

 

thanks for being a great bapak to my boys. funny, yet responsible. playful, yet strict. the boys look up to you to make them the man they’re going to be. a good role model, peacemaker and a coach. love always!

 

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‘hanoi’ is situated at JLT (jumeirah lake towers) cluster C. you’ll see the italian café ‘o pasta’ and walk down. you’ll see a pizza place, so walk further. soon you’ll see an unassuming place called ‘hanoi’. sit back and enjoy sipping your hot soup with yummy noodle.

 

save this spot for me when winter comes! to my fellow malaysians, kalau nak merasa kuey teow soup ala-ala RnR tapah, moh la ke ‘hanoi’!