Henry Cook at SS2 Mall

Recently, I have been roaming around the city looking for new restaurants to dine in before work. I have been on strict diet for the past few months and I could take some gastronomic indulge once in a while.

And so I arrived at SS2 Mall – convenient, because around the mall and even the covered parking are free of charge. Except the valet service which is ridiculously high at 6 RM! There’s not much people here as the mall is new. Its Marketing staff needs to pump up some events here or else the possible near-residential-convenient-shopping place will die soon.

Henry Cook

Henry Cook is located at the Lower Ground of the mall near the restaurants adjacent to the shopping kiosks. As you walk around the paved area, you will not miss it because it has one of the striking interiors viewable from the outside.

Chili and Kitchen

Majority of the food crew are Filipinos so it is not really hard for me to converse and take my orders :D. Although when you are inside, just be cautious on how you would smell. They have an open kitchen in an air conditioned room. I stayed there for more than an hour but it really didn’t affect the smell of my clothes. Though this is just an assumption, that when they’re fully packed, I bet that the smell from the food might stick to your shirt.

Lamps and Post Its

The room is lit with hard tungsten lighting and most of the furniture are from Ikea. I actually didn’t think that when you combine Ikea products in one place, they’d actually look good! Magazines are near the couches and some playing cards are placed on the steel shelves.

Now to the food.

Chicken Kebab and Yellow Fragrant Rice

They have mainly beef and chicken on the menu. The sauce has a distinct Turkish/Persian feel that I have never tried with other restaurants before. The meat goes well with it! Also, the chili is not the typical chili that you could find in Malaysian restaurants. I actually liked it!

Chicken Roll and Potatoes

What surprised me is that this dish comes with green salad underneath the chicken roll and yet, it is also served with cucumber, red beans and some cold mayo dressing. I just though it is too much for someone who is expecting that he would be eating an omnivorous meal. Nevertheless, the meat is good. Maybe, if I chose the fragrant rice, it would have been better. Not that I am saying that the potato isn’t good, it is just too vegetarian when combined with the green and cucumber salads.

Chocolate Fudge with Vanilla Ice Cream

But of course, the dessert. Sadly, the chocolate fudge wasn’t nice. It was warm when it was served, which is supposedly be warm. Its just that the cake was too dry. It could have been inside the fridge nearing its shelf life. I always look forward for desserts, you know. The two main dishes were okay especially the kebab sauce but it just failed on the dessert. Maybe next time, it will be better.

Take Your Pick

These words on the wall, in any interior design, will always be catchy and they were! What would you think when you come across such words?

By the way, budget is from 20 to 30 RM per person.

Lot LG-54, Lower Ground Floor, SSTwo Mall, Jln SS2/72, , 47400 Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
Mon – Sun: 11:00 am -9:30 PM
03 7954 1125

Xiao Long Bao at Paradise Dynasty

It is weird that I have eaten more Xiao Long Bao when I was in the Philippines compared when I arrived here. Believe it or not, earlier was my first time here. There are scattered Din Tai Fung at major malls but I just didn’t care about going in. Maybe, I got used into dining this favorite dimsum when I was still with Rui.

Earlier, Vange and I went to Paradigm Mall at Kelana Jaya. Paradise Dynasty is offering The 8 Legends of Xiao Long Bao. We didn’t order it, why? Because we knew that we would be fighting for the assorted colors/flavors. Ergo, we ordered the original. Besides, I knew it would never disappoint us.

Xiao Long Bao

We just couldn’t believe we ordered too much. From the picture below, I even forgot to take a picture of the Sweet and Sour Pork. Hahaha. In order are Fried Noodles, Sliced Pork in Signature Pork Bone Soup and Scallops with Scrambled Eggs.

Noodles, Soup and Scallops

And guess what? We ordered some more! A bunch of dimsum buns, both cooked steamed and fried. Glutton it was!

Dimsum Buns

By the way, some of the food crew do not speak English. So you have to be patient. They have an awesome ambiance decorated with a big buddha at the middle of the dining area and a flowing water the runs from the statue to the front of the restaurant. The area is softly lit with tungsten pin lights which is somewhat irritating especially when they’re overcrowded across the ceiling. Other than that, the budget per person is about 30 to 40 Ringgits. We just had to pay more than 50 each because we ordered too much.

Gluttons at Paradise Dynasty

Oh yes, we ended bringing the half of what we ordered home. Yes, half of what we ordered were leftovers. LOL. Maybe next time, we will go for the assorted flavors.

Malones Irish Restaurant & Bar Pavilion KL

Last Tuesday, I went to Pavilion KL on my wee hours of my afternoon (as I work during the night) to have an Irish pub experience in the middle of busy streets of Bukit Bintang in Kuala Lumpur. I usually pass by the restaurant and I did not even notice that most of the waitresses are Filipinos. So, apart from the relaxing ambience that you felt like it was a Friday afternoon, I felt at ease that my fellow friends from my motherland were there to serve us.

Malones Pavilion

It has a small pool where you can play while drinking. This little thing actually provides a very relaxing ambience from the usual office environment since most of the offices near the Pavilion are just a few steps away.

Pool

So let us start from the appetizer.

Deep Fried Camembert with Cranberry Sauce

Golden fried breaded Camembert cheese served with greens and cranberry sauce. Me, as a nomad in eating, at first, I thought it was cooked with mozarella cheese inside. But I was wrong. It is as tasty as the Italian cheeses but this one is chewy. The Deep Fried Camembert with Cranberry Sauce retails at RM 20.90.

Irish Sausages on Colcannon and Guinness Onion Gravy

Grilled beef, chicken and lamb Provencal sausages served with Guinness onion gravy and colcannon (cabbage and spring onion mash). Your usual sausages but on this plate, it comes in three varities – beef, chicken and lamb. You can even ask to change the meat source if you do not prefer to eat beef or the other, from your friendly kitchen staff. Irish Sausages on Colcannon and Guinness Onion Gravy retails at RM 31.90.

Irish Seafood Pasta

Prawns, clams and dory cubes tossed with extra virgin olive oil, garlic, white wine and chili flakes. I am not really into seafood pasta because usually it is either too oily or too salty but the chef has a sensitive taste and he got the right saltiness. Is it me or my low-sodium diet that caught my heart on this dish. The Irish Seafood Pasta retails at RM 27.90.

Galway’s Cod and Clam

Baked cod fillet, white wine simmered clams and beef bacon. Served with colcannon (mashed potatoes with cabbage and spring onions). Always, when I do food review, a day before, I would need to visit my ortho for to tighten my braces and this was an answer to my prayer! The fish and mashed potato were soft enough to tickle your taste buds without chewing too much. Galway’s Cod and Clam retails at RM 47.90.

Gaelic Beef Steak

Mustard Baked Chicken

Seared 280g sirloin steak served with fries, peas and creamy mushrooms. There are two options for the garlic steak house specialty since of the publishers do not eat beef. Garlic and mushroom sauce have never disappointed me. Though it is the typical taste you would experience from most restaurants, still, this classic has always been a safe choice if you are not sure what to eat. The Beef Garlic Steak retails at RM 50.90.

Guinness Beef Stew

Seared beef cubes stewed in Guinness and root vegetables for 4 hours. Served with slices of Tuscan bread. I remember when Kaizer prepared penne pasta simmered in beer and this tastes like this one. I would imagine that the beer helped to make the beef meat more tender and sweeter with a kick of Guinness. Guinness Beef Stew retails at RM 30.90.

Chef Felix Siew and Regional Director Andy Chin

To date, Malones has 5 outlets at Suria KLCC, Sooka Sentral, Pavilion KL, The Curve and their recently launched outlet at Jaya One. Also, the Jaya One branch serves pork specialty dishes while the rest of the outlets have a pork-free menu.

Watami Japanese Casual Restaurant

It has been quite sometime that I have been to a Japanese restaurant. I have been lingering around the gym too much that I have already forgotten to dine. Good thing I was invited to join some of the food bloggers to taste and experience one of the authentic Japanese restaurants in Kuala Lumpur.

Watami has been around for some time around. It started, obviously in Japan and has expanded its original food and beverage line to other areas and industries such as nursing care, organic farming agricultural, ecological initiatives as well as building of schools in Cambodia. Here in Watami in Malaysia, they serve an array of authentic Japanese flavor and experience. So when you dine here, you are just not eating Japanese food, but you are also like in Japan, enjoying how Japanese eat and how they eat their food.

They recently introduced their set meals for 2 to 4 persons starts from RM 40++ per person. You can choose from any of the set menus available or order a la carte. The price range is about RM 25 to 50 ++ per serving.

Entrance

We were invited at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur branch and I was in awe when I entered the restaurant. The place is filled with warm lights, dark brown glossy wood furniture and soft couches. It feels like a zen-ish ambience without the bamboos and water.

Interior

One of the best things here is that you are just not here to enjoy the food, but also, to dine in with your friends or partner. People just do not look for quality food, but they also look for a good setting where they can mingle and talk. Also, if you are holding a small party, you can always call them in advance to book their VIP rooms.

So, let’s go with the food.

Watami Salad

Watami Salad – crisp greens with redonions, corns, cherry tomatoes, broccoli florets, shredded cucumber, shrimp,teriyaki chicken, nori, flying fish roe and fried wanton tossed with Tuna Mayoand Sesame Cream dressing. I have been avoiding myself from consuming mayonnaise because of the fat content but when you talk about Japanese mayo, can we just forget the caloric content for now? 😀

Gomoku Kamameshi

Gomoko Kamameshi – a traditional steel pot rice dish cooked tableside with bonito, carrot, shimeiji mushrooms, tofupouches, root vegetables and topped with salmon, shrimp, scallops, chicken and flying fish roes in broth. This is served uncooked and it cooks for about 20 minutes or you can just wait until the burning white charcoal. It has this sticky white rice that it is very pleasing to your mouth and you can actually smell the aroma from the steam, while it is being cooked on your table.

Gyuniku Sukiyaki Nabe

As expected, sukiyaki has always been part of the Japanese menu. Watami’s sukiyaki sauce comes from Japan so it never goes wrong. It has always been the same taste as it is controlled and packed from Japan. The sweet and salty distinct sukiyaki sauce is very different compared to the other sukiyakis I have tasted before.

Preparing Sukiyaki

I always like to mix the beaten egg onto the sukiyaki while it is cooking. Maybe next time, I shall dip the beef or mushroom to the raw beaten egg for a more authentic Japanese experience.

Anago Tempura Maki

Anago Tempura Maki – sea eel tempura roll. With the size of this maki, it is hard to eat this in one piece.

Wafu Pizza

Wafu Pizza – pizza topped with Teriyaki Chicken. Yes! They have a pizza. It is not the usual Italian or New York pizza but the crust is very soft, more like a soft and very thin dough. Again, you can never go wrong with the teriyaki sauce.

Hotate Butter Yaki

Hotate Butter Yaki – a Watami signature dish of oven-baked scallops and shimeji mushrooms on sizzling hot plate, topped with butter. This is my favorite. A fusion of lime and butter on scallops. This is like one of those side dishes or appetizers that can be your main dish if served in a bigger plate.

Chicken Katsu Tamago Toji

Chicken Katsu Tamago Toli – chicken cutlets with scambled egg sauce. This is served on the same mini-stove to keep the sauce warm. For around 3-5 minutes when it starts to boil, just pour the beaten egg and enjoy the awesome katsu tamago toji.

Passion Fruit, Lychee and Iced Tea

They serve big mugs for your refreshments, warm sake and other beverages.

Ichigo Creamy Parfait

What happens when the dessert is served? Everyone gets so excited! Too bad I was not able to take pictures of the other desserts that were served like the Green Tea Tiramisu.

More details on Watami can be found at http://www.watami.com.my or you can call their branches for reservations:

[three_fourth]Level 4, Connectionn, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur
1st Floor, Rainforest, 1 Utama Shopping Center[/three_fourth]
[one_fourth_last]03 2141 6671
03 7727 1399[/one_fourth_last]