she, the epicuriousgirl.

i did a review on the little dim sum place a couple of months ago and since then, they have added more new items and hence, I lobbied my colleagues to go with me after work one day since this place offers dim sum the entire day.

Spurred by the recent review in the star, we were rather excited about trying the newly added Mango Tong Yuen (芒果汤圆). Priced at RM4 for 3 rice balls, this dessert is only available in the evenings. The yellow-orangey balls came in a hot steaming ginger broth. Quickly took a bite to see if it tastes as good as it looks but must admit I was kinda disappointed. The skin or dough of the rice ball tasted weird, and somewhat powdery. Even the rich mango puree couldn’t disguise the taste. Still, I managed to finish one rice ball. My colleagues gave up after one bite.

Noticed a new addition to the dim sum varieties - “Spotted Shrimp Bags” which was actually shrimp and jackfruit (波罗蜜) bits in a translucent like skin. Sure, the combination sounds pretty unlikely, but it actually tasted good! Even I was caught by surprise. And all of us liked it.
I was also urged to try the ramen with shrimp dumpling, at RM6.80 per bowl. I wasn’t disappointed with this as the shrimp dumpling was very fresh and tasty. The ramen is quite springy as well. But I think overall, I prefer the dim sum dishes to the noodles.

other recent reviews:
- precious pea
- kampungboycitygal

i have been intrigued by zuup soup bar eversince i saw it tucked away in some obscure corner but somehow never managed to try it until recently. I quite like the look of the eatery, despite its small size. It has a somewhat clean, retro and cozy feel to it. To my surprise, saw a little enclave tucked away on the inside which could seat up to 10-12 people perhaps. I bet it would be a good spot for a private party!

Kids & teens alike will be excited with the PS2 that’s placed at one corner for their usage, FOC. Even my friend was tempted to have a go at it, but since some other guy was having fun with it we decided to browse the magazines one of the staff has thoughtfully placed on our table after we ordered. The staff also places a tealight candle on our table, which I assume is to enhance the mood or the like. But my friends and I always joked that the light from that lone tealight candle is to help us read/see better. Lol.

They have a whole menu on soups alone, and you an order any of them in the starter or regular size, or even in a bread bowl. The ones that caught my attention was the English Seafood Chowder, Butternut Pumpkin Soup, Minestrone, and Wild Mushroom Cappucino. I decided to have the Pumpkin soup in the bread bowl to share with my friend. We didn’t know the lunch set she ordered came with a starter size “Soup of the Day” which was Tomato & Pasta.

I am quite pleased with my choice of the pumpkin soup which was very hearty and creamy. the croutons that were served with it was a little more burnt than I would like it, but there was a lot of it to go around. Broke bits of the bread to dip in the soup. One of the servers actually asked us if the soup was ok, which I thought was quite attentive of him.

My friend had the baked potato with sour sauce which was part of her set meal. Served with salad (lettuce leaves & alfafa sprouts) and garnished with a single stalk of chives. I think she enjoyed it very much as she practically licked the plate clean. Either that, or she was very hungry. Lol. I had a bite and I felt that the topping complimented the hot baked potato very well. I ordered the Rack of Lamb that came with mint sauce and some sauteed onions and greens. It was a tad too oily for my liking, hence I didn’t enjoy it as much as I hoped to. But flavouring was just right, so I was encouraged to return to Zuup about a week later with another friend.

this time, my friend and I both had a good look at the menu before we ordered. the owners of the eatery (brothers, I believe) were around and I could see that they were very friendly with some of the regulars. Having a need to quench my thirst, I ordered Citronade and my friend, Passion Fruit Fizz. Didn’t know we would be ordering such colourful drinks (mine was blue and hers orange after being stirred). Lol. But they tasted very good!

once again, decided to share a soup and since my friend said “i need my meat!”, we chose the “Hungarian Lamb Stew” in a regular size. The soup had chunks of lamb, carrots, celery and onions in a consistent stew gravy, served with a dollop of cream and a sprig of parsley. We tucked in eagerly and was pleased to find how hearty the soup was. Definitely tummy-warming! tender meat and flavourful blend of spice and herbs. By the time our main courses came, there was only celery bits (I don’t really eat it) left in the dry bowl.

I ordered “Chick on Toast” which was fried chicken, salad, ham stacked on a piece of toast, and topped with a slice of cheese, and served with brown mushroom sauce. I quite like the fact that the waiter asked if I wanted him to pour the sauce or have it served separately. Obviously the latter since I needed to try the sauce first. I would have prefer creamy mushroom sauce but this wasn’t too bad. Everything was quite crisp, even the greens but I wish they used ham which wasn’t so artificial in colour and taste.

My friend ordered the “Pan Seared Dory” without realising that it was served with spaghetti as it wasn’t listed under the Pasta section in the menu. but as she was trying to decide between the fish and a pasta dish earlier, i’m sure she was more than happy to get a combination of both in the end. lol. the creamy garlic sauce used was a little bland, but that could be remedied with a little salt & pepper. we both liked how the chef twisted the long bean to form a ring to top the fish & spaghetti.

i think the variety of soups here will definitely spur me to come again as i would like to try them all! plus, service is impeccable and ambience cosy. great place to catch up.

Zuup Soup Bar
LG 223, Lower Ground Floor,
1 Utama Shopping Centre,
Lebuh Bandar Utama,
47800 Petaling Jaya.

other reviews :
- mei yen
- zen
- eatfirstthinklater

One of my colleagues loves japanese cuisine so on rare occasions that my boss decides to have dinner with us, we’ll normally have japanese food. We used to frequent Rakuzen at SS15 but after 3 occasions of having hygiene-compromised food (found baby cockroaches in them), we have decided to try a new place around the area and I recalled this tiny eating place near Domino’s Pizza opposite SJMC.

Shun is rather small in size in comparison to Rakuzen, and by the time we arrived, there were no spots downstairs and we were ushered upstairs. To our dismay, the upstairs was the smoking section, and the best the waitress could do was seat us at a table furthest away from the rest of the smoking patrons. i noticed that most of the smoking men were japanese and were enjoying their sake whilst grilling mushrooms slices over a small, portable grill.

My boss ordered grilled ginkgo nuts (ginnan), potato croquettes (korokke), soft shell crab hand-roll (temaki), cheese maki, edamame, agadeshi tofu and a sashimi platter for us to share. My boss and my senior shared a beef curry rice between the two of them. My colleague and I shared the Shun Bento and some yam noodles. The Shun Bento had salmon, tuna & octopus sashimi, tempura, a potato croquette, potato salad, miso soup, chawanmushi, rice and fruit.

Needless to say, we were all stuffed with the amount of food we ordered. The flavour and taste of everything was quite consistent, and I think we would enjoyed our dinner more if we were seated at the non-smoking section. Service was also rather slow, so this is not the place to go if you’re in a hurry. Took 15 mins before the bill came after we asked for it.

Shun Japanese Restaurant
4A Jalan SS12/1B,
Subang Jaya.

looking for eating spots in KL at night isn’t too hard. just look at where the cars are parked and follow the crowd! was cruising down the roads of KL with a friend one night and he recommended Kai Kee which supposedly serves excellent Spare Ribs Noodles (排骨面). driving down Jalan Maharajalela, one is bound to see one crowded corner lot shop with double parked cars along the row of shops, which serves Hokkien Mee. Judging by the crowd, the noodles must be something. But that will be tried and reviewed another day.

but just a few shops away, on the next block is Restoran Mee Kai Kee. This inconspicuous eatery packs in its loyal crowd too, offering noodles of all sorts, with the most popular one being Curry Noodles (咖哩面). Other well-known items on its menu includes Ipoh Beansprout Chicken (怡保芽菜鸡) and Prawn Noodles (虾面). I’m not too sure how to order here as our orders were taken by a foreign worker whose cantonese wasn’t exactly the most fluent. but i’m guessing that even upon ordering Curry Noodles, you can choose what to add - Chicken, meat/fishballs and spare ribs. I decided to have only spare ribs and noodles while my friend ordered curry noodles topped with the spare ribs.

I must say I didn’t expect yellow noodles (油面) to be used. If I knew beforehand, I would have asked for either hor fun(河粉) or something else as i don’t really like the alkaline taste in the noodles. The spare ribs were very good, tender and well imbibed in the gravy’s juices and I polished them off. Ah, pity about the noodles, which isn’t my favourite.

Restoran Mee Kai Kee 佳记面家
141, Jalan Maharajalela,
Kuala Lumpur.

other reviews;
- sun2surf (has location map)

As you know, most travel must-dos come from word-of-mouth and this next meal we had is just that. Just as the name suggests, happy herb pizza is basically pizza sprinkled with cannabis. Apparently you can tell the waiter if you want the pizza “happy”, “very happy” or “ecstatic”.

So we walked into Happy Herb Pizza, the restaurant on our last nite in Siem Reap, looking for a little excitement. the extra, secret ingredient is not explicitly stated in the menu so it’s up to you to tell the waiter how happy you would like to be. lol. We didn’t see any topping we liked so we asked the waiter if we could have our own picks and he agreed! So we ordered pizza with sundried tomatoes, ham & olives.

It took a while for the pizza to be served but we were well occupied with watching the geckos on the walls. i counted at least ten geckos! i wondered if they are happy geckos? lol. anyway, back to the main star of the night, the pizza. couldn’t really differentiate the so-called “happy herb” with the rest of the italian herbs sprinkled on the pizza by looks nor by taste. but still the pizza was heavenly due to the lavish use of cheese. nor did they skint on the ingredients either. quite worth the money paid - USD7 for a medium sized (8 slices).

i don’t think either one of us left the place feeling any different, honestly. so maybe our pizza wasn’t too “happy”. but still, i think it was a pleasant surprise finding such good pizza in siem reap. try it and if you’re tempted, ask for the “happier” versions. lol.

Happy Herb Pizza
#069, Mondul 1,
Khum SvayDangkum,
Siem Reap, Cambodia.

i didn’t check if any of the guesthouses in siem reap offered a bed & breakfast option as i reckoned we would be out early to try and catch sunrises at the temples anyway. and we hoped to get local breakfasts instead of having the american variety. when we asked our local driver what the national breakfast was, i was a little surprised to hear that it was pork & rice, noodle soups etc. not too different from the chinese community in m’sia then, i reckon. but malaysians generally love nasi lemak and regard it as the national dish anyway.

it was only after browsing through my travel photos that i realised i had baguettes for 3 of the 4 breakfasts i consumed in siem reap. i guess i am a safe traveller afterall. lol. it’s not that i didn’t want to try the soupy dishes but i reckon the heat and humidity became a deterrent. i was already sweating buckets as it is. our first two breakfasts were taken in the vicinity of the temples, after catching the sunrise at Angkor Wat. Our first khmer breakfast was taken at on of the restaurants opposite the temple itself, by the name of Angkor Reach Restaurant. Eager to be refreshed and awake, I ordered the local iced coffee and politikus ordered lemon juice. Her drink came out to be lime juice and over the days, i realised that cambodians generally label the kaffir lime as “lemon”. if you’re like me, and prefer lemons and calamansi to kaffir lime anytime, do take note of this.

anyway she ordered rice noodles soup and i, fried rice with spices. once again, i am not sure of what spices were used in the fried rice but there were fresh basil leaves and what i would guess to be turmeric as the rice had a yellow tinge to it. still, it tasted delish. the rice noodles soup came with generous servings of pork slices and vegetables. i don’t remember the soup much, but the noodles were served with blanched bean sprouts and lime halves. we squeezed the juice onto the bean sprouts and had that with the pork slices which gave the meat a tart bite.

on day 2, we had breakfast at one of the stalls - Mom Bayon Restaurant within the vicinity of the temples again, this time at Bayon in Angkor Thom. It was relatively early so the crowd was thin, and we could enjoy our meal slowly. I ordered the baguettes with the spanish omelette (eggs, cheese & onions) which was served with tomato & cucumber slices, a generous pat of butter and mixed salt & pepper. and politikus ordered pancakes with banana.

whilst waiting for our food to come, we sipped our coconut juice and people watched. an ice-delivery truck (actually a lorry carting huge blocks of ice) parked in front of the stalls and the men started sawing away at the ice blocks, before carrying the smaller blocks to the respective stalls. i was joking with politikus about what would happen if one of the blocks fell and the next thing we knew, one of the ice blocks had indeed fallen from the man’s arms. he just picked it up, dirt and all and placed it with the rest of them next to the coconuts. lol.

the pancakes came first, with golden syrup and freshly sliced bananas placed in between pancakes.it was quite heavenly as the pancakes were light & fluffy, and the banana slices complimented it very well. my baguette was lovely too, very fresh and i enjoyed sandwiching my omelette inside. it was a much needed power breakfast for us as we would cover 5 temples after that.

on our last 2 days, we only bought baguettes from roadside sellers for a quick bite. on both days, we opted for the cheese version instead of the fatty pork one. they add in cucumber slices and some pickled greens (raw papaya & carrot, if i am not mistaken) which gives it a fresh bite. i’m sure the baguettes cost us more than the locals as we had prices quoted to us from 2,000 riels to USD1 each. but still, it was convenient & fast, and easy to bite into when we’re on the tuk-tuk. lol.

A friend dropped by from Johor Bahru during the weekend and we proceeded to meet up for dinner with another mutual friend. He was hankering after decent korean fare and we were near Desa Sri Hartamas. Hence I suggested Korean House. Despite being a korean restaurant, the deco was more western than korean. but what exactly is korean deco? beats me.

It was still early for dinner when we dropped by around 6 p.m, but we saw two large korean families enjoying their dinner at the tatami-style seating area, which is always a sure sign that the food is rather authentic. the three of us went a little overboard while ordering as we each had something we salivated after. for me, i had to try the kimchi chigae (spicy kimchi, at RM15) soup. the other two ordered beebimbab (mixed rice, at RM15) and oji nyue bokom (spicy squid, at RM30) respectively.

the soup came piping hot and was deliciously sour and spicy, with generous chunks of tofu and some thin pork belly slices. it sure had a way of whetting our appetites. i preferred this version to the one i tried in hauen khon as the soup’s spiciness and flavour was more concentrated. my friend should have ordered the beebimbab in the heated stone bowl (doisot beebimbap) as the rice that has continued contact to the bowl would have a light brown, crispy bite to it. even my friend thought he ordered the wrong version. lol. but still, we enjoyed this immensely. i think the highlight of this korean dinner was perhaps the spicy squid. served cold with noodles, we were to mix it well ourselves. the chilli paste used has a tinge of sweetness to it, which accentuated the flavour of the squid. i wouldn’t mind ordering this the next time should i visit Korean House again.

actually, we started off with banchan, the variety of side dishes that were served to us (more than 10, if I am not mistaken). there was the usual kimchi, korean style potato salad (with apples), kongnamul (bean sprouts in sesame dressing), squid kimchi and many other types. apart from the usual cold side dishes, they served two others heated, one that was like custard egg in a metal bowl, and the other, corn & sausage bits in a mayonnaise dressing on a heated plate. yum!

and typically at a korean restaurant, we ordered two meats (the minimum order) for the korean BBQ - pog galbee (seasoned pork ribs, at RM2 and samgeobsal (unseasoned bacon cut from the pork belly at RM25). the waiter normally cooks the meat over the heated metal plate by flipping it over once he has cut the meat into bite size pieces. when it’s ready, he either piles it all on the side of a clean metal plate, or he distributes the pieces evenly. then, grab a piece of lettuce, run the garlic slices over the heated metal plates for a bit and wrap that up with the meat and some ssamjiang sauce before taking a bite.

despite thinking that the food would be too much for us, we managed to polish off everything and even had enough space for the complimentary watermelon slices at the end of the meal! it was one of the most satisfying korean meals i have had so far. our only complaint was that we smelt of smoke when we left as there was no exhaust pipes at the tables. but still, highly recommended.

Korean House
No.38-1, Jalan 25/70A,
Desa Sri Hartamas.

other reviews;
- Tenacious T
- wmw

l-r: our guesthouse’s facade, with Sokla, our tuk-tuk driver standing in front of it. Our Room, #15

we put up at two dragons guesthouse during our sojourn in siem reap due to the raving reviews in travelfish. true enough, the simple rooms were very clean, with the basics (towel, bottle of water) given. we didn’t manage to work the hot shower but that didn’t matter as i relied on the cold (more like lukewarm, actually) water to cool me down after a hot day out exploring. the tv had about 80 channels (!) and there was free wi-fi.

also read some great reviews on the restaurant so we had our first meal in siem reap there. there was a “khmer specials” on friday, which offered a 50 cents discount on the khmer dishes. both of our dishes cost $3.75 each originally. somehow i ended up choosing steamed freshwater fish with some citrus sauce (can’t remember the name). the fish came garnished with lime slices and the sauce has taken on the flavour of the fanta orange soda that they had used in making it. i must admit i wasn’t took keen on the taste of soda on fish even though the waitress told me it was a good choice when i ordered it. the chunks of fish were quite generous though, and since it was only coated with the sauce, parts of the freshwater fish retained a tinge of a muddy taste. was a little amused to see our rice served in a triangular shape.

politikus made a better choice i did in ordering amok, the steamed fish curry which is a traditional khmer dish. it came in an hollowed out coconut, which was more for decorative than taste purposes. to me, amok tasted somewhat like thai green curry, only that fish was used instead of other meats. it has copious amounts of coconut milk though, so it is very rich tasting. loved the use of sliced kaffir lime leaves and peanuts in the gravy. it wasn’t spicy at all. apparently, there are other ways to serve amok, ala otak-otak manner, custard-like, in banana leaf cups.

both of us were glad we ate the freshwater fish in our first meal as we visited the floating village Chong Khneas at tonle sap lake, the largest freshwater lake in south east asia and were not too keen on fish after that. lol. i guess the murky, teh-tarik coloured waters of the lake, coupled with the “lifestyle” of the boat people that made me balk a little.

washed down our lunch with excellent fruit shakes (i had coconut, she strawberries), which is blended with yogurt and crushed ice. we later found out that fruit shakes are a big thing in siem reap, with almost every restaurant offering them, at about $1 to $1.50 per glass.

Two Dragons Gueshouse & Restaurant
#110 Wat Bo Village,
Siem Reap, Cambodia .

Khmer Kitchen is another of those restaurants in Siem Reap that was recommended to me for authentic Khmer fare. It was only after I got back to KL and googled this place that I found out Mick Jagger visited this place and recommended it on The New York Times. We’re in good company then, lol.

We arrived past lunch time and found the unassuming place quiet and empty. but word is, it gets packed at night! the deco is simple, using mostly rattan chairs. the menu is simple and gives one many choices of either beef, chicken, pork, shrimp or fish etc. i was quite excited to see that they offered steamed dumplings which could very well be the cambodian must eat “spring onion dumpling”.

the dumplings were filled with chives and mengkuang (jicama/yam beans) instead. we have something similar here, which locals called chai kueh (菜粿). My grandmother makes them too, but her version looks somewhat like this, elongated and ingot-shaped instead of round.

We ordered beef loc lac, which is essentially marinated beef stir-fried with soy sauce despite the exotic sounding name. The beef slices were served with fresh lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes and a fried egg. An accompanying dip tasted tangy and salty, which i suspect to be lime juice, sugar & pepper mixture. I didn’t know that the correct way to eat it was to wrap the beef slices in lettuce and then dipping the bundle into the lime sauce. i just dipped the beef into the sauce and ate it with rice. lol.

Pumpkin seems to be a firm favourite with the patrons here as we saw quite a bit of pumpkin dishes on the menu. Being a huge fan, I ordered the baked pumpkin with shrimp. And I wasn’t disappointed. Baked together with shrimps, onion, julienned carrots, garlic in a custard-like texture, i loved it with my white rice. the chicken tom yam soup was a later addition and had generous chunks of chicken meat in it. i wished it was hotter (both in spiciness & temperature) though.

the quiet atmosphere and the laidback service was something we enjoyed that afternoon. great place for unwinding, while having great food.

Khmer Kitchen Restaurant
Alley behind Bar Street,
Old Market Area,
Siem Reap.

One place that we kept returning to in Siem Reap was Psar Chaa (the old market). The market itself is rather small in comparison to the ones i have visited in Bali & Bangkok but held its own charm. Only the outside stalls sell souvenirs and knick-knacks while the other, slightly hidden stalls sells everything you can find in a wet market - a variety of rices, dried fish / pork sausages, pungent fermented fish in glass containers (prahok, i believe they are called), vegetables, fruits etc.

but apart from grabbing some souvenirs for friends & family, we spent some time exploring the streets around the Psar Chaa, which had tuk-tuks and food carts parked beside it. i was intrigued with the variety of local street food sold on these food carts, ranging from fried noodles, sausages, some kind of fruit salad and baguettes (probably a vestige from the french colonialism). however, i think we only managed to try the baguettes throughout the entire trip.

our tuk-tuk driver, Sokla recommended eating at the Psar Chaa if we wanted authentic Khmer food. i was a little sceptical at first as most of these eateries had english menus, complete with pictures, seemingly catering for the foreigners. we plonked ourselves at some the red plastic seats at the eatery directly opposite the friends international & childsafe office. Had fresh coconuts while we waited for the chefs to cook up our dishes. also had some fun playing with reflective shots using the metal teapot.

i was piqued to see that they had frogs on their menu. i ordered the stuffed frogs but it was not available so i settled for frog with spices and it was easily the best dish we had in siem reap! i am not sure what spices was used, but i think turmeric is one of them, and red chilli slices and peanuts were also visible. i saw a khmer soup on my first day which I have been tempted to try and ordered it this time around - Taro soup with freshwater fish. politikus’s choice was spare ribs with pineapple curry. not too sure why they termed it spare ribs when only pork slices were used. the soup had quite a distinctive flavour, and i wouldn’t be surprised if this was due to the prahok essence which is used as an addition to many cambodian dishes, and every soup apparently.

Glad we took Sokla’s advice and tried khmer food with no frills at the Psar Chaa as it was a truly satisfying meal. Pity I didn’t note the name of the restaurant. Still, look out for the menu board with photos (as above), protected with cellophane tape opposite the friends international centre when you’re in siem reap for the foodie experience we had.