CLOSED-O'baroi @ Taman D'Alpinia, Puchong

O'baroi is basically a Thai restaurant, with some local and Western dishes thrown in. Chef Mei who helms the kitchen is a 10 year veteran of a resort in Pulau Perhentian. He dishes out good Western and local dishes but hailing from Kelantan, he excels at Thai dishes.Here's what we tried during our recent visit:-

Serai drink and ice lemon tea - both were nice and refreshing.

Seafood tomyam. What can I say? I was impressed! For a Malaysian cook, this may be one of the best tomyam soups that I have had around Kajang. The chef got the balance of tangy, sweet, sour and pungent just right.

We were recommended the deep fried siakap with mango salad but asked for the fish to be steamed with a lemon sauce instead. I think we should have stuck with the recommended preparation as this turned out rather disappointing with the lemon sauce being rather watery and not sufficiently sour.

Sambal squid (with green peppers) was suitably spicy and the squid cooked just right to retain its crunchiness.

Kangkung belacan (ala PM Najib - hahahaha). Done nicely.

'Obaroi' fried rice - tasty and comforting though a tad expensive at RM12.90.

The star of the evening was a dish called 'Thai Style Chicken'. It had pieces of deep fried chicken which were nice and crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. This was topped with a simple sweet and tangy 'kerabu' of carrot, cucumber and onions. I would return to Obaroi just for this dish. Highly recommended.

Its a small restaurant in a quiet part of Puchong near the SKVE. I must try to get the GPS coordinates and post it here later as its a little difficult to locate. Its wort the journey there for the tomyam and Thai Style Chicken. Give it a try.

Location : 10, Jalan D'Alpinia 10, Taman D'Alpinia, 47120 Puchong
Contact : 012-533 2996

Le Moon's @ Jade Hills

Jade Hills comes to life with the opening of Le Moon's, a cafe, bakery and 'zakka'.

I haven't found out what 'zakka' means but here's what we have tried.

Confit duck leg. This turned out rather dry and the skin was not crispy as expected.

Thai chicken salad. Crispy fresh vegetables but the 'Thai' chicken was heavy on the turmeric and it did not really have any  Thai chicken to us.

Chocolate Marquee. This was finally redemption for Le Moon's. A rich and not overly sweet chocolate cake served with a raspberry coulis. Great balance of rich and tangy. Excellent.

They serve Illy coffee here, which is reasonably acceptable but unexciting. We also packed some pastries - a Chocolate Danish and a Raisin Danish. Both were suitably flaky and buttery. Excellent and recommended.

Conclusion - Le Moon's is a place to go for a cake and pastries. The food menu (at least the items we tried) needs more work. However they win hands down for The Prettiest Cafe in Kajang. Give it a try.

Location :  18-G, Persiaran Jade Hills Utama 1/1, Kajang
Contact :  012-620-3638 or 010-289-9585

The best Arabian food in Kajang

Of late there have been several new Arab / Middle Eastern restaurants sprouting up in Kajang. The majority are located in the Sg Chua area where there a number of flats/ apartments occupied by the Middle Eastern community.

I still have not learned to distinguish Lebanese, Egyptian, Moroccan, Turkish, Syrian or Greek cuisine. I have a feeling its going to be difficult task, like trying to distinguish the different Malay specialities from different states in Malaysia. So any feedback, comments would be appreciated.

Which is your favorite? Some of the choices out there include:-
1. Tareem Hadramawt Restaurant at Taman Sepakat Indah 2
2. Al Diafah at Taman Putra Kajang
3. Arabian House Restaurant also at Taman Putra Kajang 

Drop me a note in the comment box. Cheers.

Kg Koh chilli sauce, direct from Sitiawan

Happy New Year everyone!

Our Christmas outing for 2013 was to Sitiawan, Perak - home of the famous Kg Koh chilli sauce. We always have a bottle of Kg Koh chilli sauce at home to go with dim sum and fried foods. We did not get to visit a chilli sauce factory, but we made it a point to visit the Kg Koh wet market to stock up on some sauce. Here's what we got:-

The collection of Kg Koh chilli sauce bottles

Now you may be able to get Kg Koh chilli sauce almost anywhere in Malaysia, but there is one brand that is only available in Kg Koh itself.  It's the one in the middle in the photo above, NKJ's -

NKJ's, only found in Kg Koh, Sitiawan

It's thicker in consistency, more pungent and with a more pronounced garlic flavor. It's my pick between the 3 Kg Koh chilli sauces that we found. Do pick up a bottle if you're in Sitiawan. You'll find it in most provision stores there and you can even get them in six-packs, tied up with raffia string. Real old-school style.

Tien Pin Restaurant - Hainanese Taste

This small unassuming restaurant has been around for a few years and we have actually passed by on numerous occasions without really giving it a try. It was only a few months ago that we started patronizing this restaurant.

The unassuming facade of Tien Pin

Our first choice was Mee Pok (stated on the menu as Mee Pork-sic-RM6.00) which is similar to Hakka Noodles, something thats not so common in Kajang. Its basically flat wheat noodles topped with minced pork with a nice dollop of crispy pork lard and some spring onions. Mee Pok is common in Singapore whilst Seremban has my favorite Hakka Mee stall at the market complex. At Tien Pin, the mee pok is served with a bowl of soup on the side containing fish ball and fish cakes. They take pride in their handmade fish ball and fish cakes which contain no preservatives. These have a nice springy bite and a clean taste.

Mee Pok aka Hakka Noodles

 We also had their Curry Noodles (RM6.00). Pretty decent version with the same fish ball and fish cakes but with added tau foo pok and foo chook.

Curry mee (with green spinach noodles)

On return visits, we discovered the real star of this restaurant - the Fried Fish Noodle and Chee Cheong Fun (RM7.50). Fish noodle is their homemade fish paste formed into the shape of noodles. This is then stir fried with rolls of chee cheong fun (flat rice noodles), bean sprouts and spring onions very much like the ubiquitous char kuey teow. The result is a truly flavorful dish with varying textures - soft rice noodles, springy fish noodle, crunchy bean sprouts etc. I like to take my time, unrolling each piece of chee cheong fun to soak up the tasty gravy. Highly recommended. 

The highly recommended Fried Fish Noodle & Chee Cheong Fun

You can also order Stuffed Tau Foo or other Yong Tau Foo items which are stuffed with their signature fish paste.

Yong Tau Foo items

The coffee here is kopitiam style-thick and sweet. It's a great place to have breakfast, especially on hot days when you really appreciate the air-cond environment. Tien Pin is located behind the AmBank Kajang Branch at Section 10, Jalan Bukit (near the Kajang Convent school).

Takuya Japanese Restaurant

Our first visit to this new Japanese restaurant in Sg Chua:-

The set with salmon sashimi and stir fried beef (RM22). Came with salad, miso soup, cold tofu and chawan mushi. All were decent but not particularly outstanding.

Ros had the set with tempura prawns and unagi (RM28) with the same side dishes. Unagi was good but tempura was oily and the oil has a certain smell (overused oil?).

Close-up of the unagi

We also tried the a Spider Maki (RM22) which is a crispy fried soft shell crab roll with avocado slices. The soft shell crab was crispy but the roll was not well made, causing it to break up when picked up. Overall, it was pretty average.

Spider maki

They had some sad piano music playing when we got there and it depressed me to the point that I had to ask them to change the music. Not the right music for a Japanese restaurant.Overall the food and experience was pretty average. They won't beat Koya in Bandar Mahkota for the crown for best Japanese restaurant in the Kajang area.

Location : No 9-G, Jalan Berjaya 11, Taman Berjaya, Sg Chua, Kajang
Contact : 03-8734 1818
No pork served

The best places to eat in Kajang for 2012

As we come to the end of 2012, we would like to list our favorite restaurants. These are the places that we keep returning to. These are listed in no order of priority. Click on the links to take you back to our earlier reviews.

Chinese Restaurants
1. Wan Fatt behind Jalan Mendaling, Kajang -they are scheduled to move from their current location soon as the premises will make way for the MRT project. We will keep you posted on their new location.
2. Sing Kee at Bandar Teknologi, Jalan Semenyih
3. Min Kee at Broga – our regular family gathering place, great for the braised eight treasure duck
4. Fook Loy in Sg Chua
5. Sin Tai Mah in Semenyih, famous for their ‘lai sar yee’

Indian Restaurants
Unfortunately, we are still looking – please send us your feedback if you have found any worth mentioning.

Malay Restaurants
1. Satay Haji Samuri, the flag bearer for Kajang satay
2. Satay UK in Bandar Baru Bangi, good not only for satay but also for their signature Urat Ketin (UK) soup and Malay dishes.

Thai Restaurants
Only one worth mentioning - A’Wet Thai at Sg Chua

Indonesian Restaurants
These are sprouting up everywhere now, mostly selling Ayam Penyet. But our pick is Rumah Makan Cibiuk at Taman Putra, Sg Chua – possibly our best new find of 2012.

Japanese Restaurants
Koya Japanese Restaurant in Bandar Mahkota, Cheras. Pretty decent Japanese food at reasonable prices.

Happy eating and do keep the suggestions coming. Happy New Year!