Burger Bakar Kaw Kaw @ Puchong Utama

I know about this place from an article from a local newspaper few weeks back. Search around the net for the exact location and the rest is history. The place boost of their grilled burger or we local called it Kaw Kaw Burger Bakar. The idea came from two partners namely Nas & Nini. You can check out their FB page HERE. The first stall is located over at Seksyen 2 Wangsa Maju and the one I'd visited would be the second located over at Puchong Utama. I heard that customers lined up for hours to taste the burger. Queuing up for hours for a local burger? For real? 

When we arrived, the place was already pack. The owner is taking orders while the rest of the people are busy at their own station preparing the patties. One guy is busy preparing the patty while there are some who is doing the ingredients and some packing. Look very organized, like McD. 

As you can see, all the workers are wearing plastic gloves, which is very hygienic. 

This is how big the each of the patties looked like before it is grilled. 

This is how the patties looked like after it's almost done. Delicious~ 

The patties is prepare with their special marinated sauce which I think is the one inside the bucket. The patties are stacked together when it's ready and being prepared to be served. 

Let us look at the menu now. I knew that their burger is not cheap but you need to see it to believe it. Me and my friend decided to go with their Single Cheezy Baconizer. I can't imagine paying RM20+ for a local burger since Carl's Jr is charging that but inclusive of drinks and fries. Anyway, we don't judge a burger before tasting it anyway. So we got our number and the boss told us that we need to wait 1.5 hours for it. OMG~! My friend told me it's OK and we decided to wait for it and chat our way through. 

After one hour of waiting our grill burger finally arrived. We were given the wrong burger actually. As you can see, the burger come together with 3 pieces of hotdogs. I asked the boss and found out that it's a set menu. He said it was their fault and we don't have to pay extra for it. Happy~!! We were rewarded for our long wait it seemed. 

I heard that each of the patty weight 175gm. When we take a look at the patty, it's really thick and juicy. The melted cheese on top of the patty and hotdog was such a sight for both of us. The only remarks I could give for the burger would be more salads. The burger focuses more on their patty and cheese but not enough vegetables. I mean it's local burger but I think it would help if they try to make it a tit more healthier. Under that bread there's beef bacon on it. I think you can see there's a small red color meat pocking out from that thick layer of cheese on top. 

The patty is big and juicy. It's really hard for both of us to sink our teeth into the whole thing. Hence they prepared fork and spoon for us. Actually I like to have my burger by getting my hands dirty but since my friend is not into that, I too don't have the mood to go down and dirty with it. Overall the burger is really filling and delicious. Another thing  that they can improve on would be their bread maybe. I think they can have something better than the one they are using now. Worth the RM11.50 we paid? I won't have it on a daily basis but it's truly something different from our local selections. At least now we have an option for grill burger rather then the usual pan fried. 

Plan B @ Publika, Solaris Dutamas

I heard about this place since last year I guess but didn't have the chance to really set my foot there till last week. Decided to give this place a try and luckily my friend knew about this place and the rest is history like they say. Anyway, let me introduce the place first, it's called Plan B. Cool Name~! It's actually under a big umbrella called the BIG Group (another cool company name). 

The BIG Group opened a lot of their flagships around town and Plan B is one of them. They even have their own grocery market called B.I.G (Ben's Independent Grocery) downstairs. So Cool~! You can check out their website here. Now let's get back to Plan B. 

Publika is definitely a unique place cause I can't find the parking and decided to valet park instead. The price is RM10 for the first two hours. I guess it's alright. Plan B is located at Level G2 and it's quite easy to find even if it's your first time over (like me). There are a lot of seats indoor and outdoor.

I especially like the deco on the outdoor which you can see from the picture above. Yup, those are chairs being hung on the ceiling board. Cool~! The place was packed when we arrived and luckily my friend came early and managed to get a table for us. As we are seated, people started to queue outside waiting for a table. Business is really good during lunch hour I guess. Not sure how it goes after office though. 

Ordered a bottle of mineral water. The mineral water is FOC and is bottle in some sort of a medicine type bottle. Good idea. 

As usual, I started off with some mushroom soup before the main course. I was particularly hungry that afternoon so I go ahead with it.  It's either this or Borscht Soup. I am more of a mushroom guy so I decided to go with this. It's actually vegetarian. This is not the best mushroom soup I have, but it's above average I I have to say. Chunk of small mushrooms to bite on really do tickle my fancy. 

My friend ordered their seafood Borscht soup. We did asked the waiter what is the portion of the soup and he did replied us that it's not that large. But this Borscht soup really make up for it's size with it's plentiful of seafood. I think you can order a white rice and take this as your main if you are a small eater. 

Mushroom or Borscht?  

My friend decided to go with pasta and both of us actually saw this dish because of softshell crab in the menu. They do have Carbonara but both of us didn't ordered that (surprisingly). Both of us agreed that this would be the better choice. It's spaghetti in creamy butter sauce but get this, it's tossed together with  chili padi, crispy curry leaves, and chili flakes. Top that with some soft shell crab and you got yourself an Asian style pasta. I don't think everyone can accept this dish as it's some sort like a fusion between pasta and kam heong cooking style. But both of us really dig this. Super creamy and spicy at the same time. Soft shell portion was really generous. And it's freshly fried too. 

So what's for me? I didn't ordered their Carbonara but went with one of their burger. I was reading the details of the dish when I saw one thing that decided it all, onion rings. Yup, I am a bit of a onion ring freak. The dish was really large. Other than the main patty we have french fries and salad at the side. The bun is soft and I think they might be making those buns themselves too. Just guessing here though. 

Look at those juicy beef patty. The cheese on top and three crispy golden onion rings on top. Simply delicious. How do you eat it? This is definitely not an issue for me since it's a burger freak.  Just cramp everything in there, open wide and just sink your teeth in those juicy home-made patty of theirs. Highly recommended. By the way, I didn't even managed to finish the salad off since I was already full. 

The kitchen was neat and clean and well organized. I can see the barista is busy preparing the drinks for the customers and all.   

There's also three big Samsung infinity LED on the wall. But not sure why are they showing 60s Malay movies on and on?! We had a great lunch and saw some cool chicks. What a great place to hang out too. Price might be slightly high but it's fine with me. The bill amounted to $87 in total. $40+ for a lunch? Depends I guess. You can't really set a price tag on good food now, can you? Definitely coming back here again soon. Who am I bringing next round? 

Rating: 

Food: 4.5 out of 5.0

Service: 4.0 out of 5.0

Ambiance: 4.0 out of 5.0 

Otak-Otak Place @ Tropicana Mall

After posting two Taiwanese dishes for my last post, I had decided to come back to our local food. We have plenty of local delicacies over at our country. Since we're multiracial country, so we had a lot of choices in term of food variates. And for my lunch last week, I had decided to give this place a review since I had tried it a few times already. The name of the place is Otak-Otak Place. It's located inside Tropicana Mall and I think this is the first of many branches around town if I am not mistaken. As the name goes, the place specialty would be otak-otak. For those who are not familiar with the term otak-otak (brain), no we're not eating any brain here mind you. It's actually a cake made out of fish meat to put it simple.

Once entering the restaurant, you will be brought back to your childhood time as the deco of the place are 80s. You have all the candies and tit bits from the 80s in there that you can check out and even toys too. I think they are under CNI group with all their products on display and all. They have another branch over at CNI HQ at Hicom Glenmarie too.

Here are some of the sweets which is on display on their shelves. Really brought back some memories. You have your Rota or Ding Dang chocolate in a box which is so ever famous during my childhood time. I think people who are in their 20s now never heard of this before.

Babe wanted to order their roti jala when she saw it inside their menu. I am not a big fan but since she was once in the flour industries, she's very fond of this particular dish after a road show demonstration on it. The roti jala is actually made out of flour, eggs and some coloring. A simple dish which you can make in your kitchen anytime. The main or rather side dishes would be the curry chicken to go with the net bread. The gravy was really thick and nice. Dip the net bread in the gravy and take a bite with some potato and chicken. A very local food and just simple and nice.

I had ordered Ice Lemon Tea since it came with the set lunch which I had ordered. 

They have a few type of tea to choose from and babe had decided on their teh tarik with ginseng. Really refreshing and it comes with a piece of biscuit too. Our local English Tea.

I had recommended the otak-otak char kuey teow for babe since I wanna give it a try too. The portion was large. I mean for the price you are paying, this is quite worth it. The kuey teow itself is above average and just the way I like it which is not too dry and eggs are everywhere on the noodle. The special part of it would be the extra otak-otak on the side. But that is not just all, cause they even added bits of it into the noodle when they cooked it. So you can bite into bits of otak-otak anytime. Something different for me but still it would be better if they have fried lard in it. 

As for my lunch, I had ordered their Western cuisine which is the black pepper chicken chop. I wanted to give their Western dishes a try although it's not my main purpose of the visit. At least I know both of their local and western food are alright when I recommend this place. The portion was just alright, not too large. Black pepper sauce isn't that strong of a taste which is just to my liking. Some of my friends preferred a stronger black pepper taste. Side dishes would be the salad and fries. Nothing too fancy but passable.

My set lunch comes with two stick of Otak-Otak fresh from the grill. 

Once open, you can see the otak-otak or fish cake is juicy and delicious. Took a bite and it's quite alright. For those who tried Muar otak-otak before, well this exactly the same to it but it's there somewhere. I heard that the owner shipped the otak-otak directly from Muar weekly over.

Overall my lunch is quite fulfilling and I am really satisfied with it. The amount of customers in the restaurant really shows how good is their food. Service is alright although your call for service might fall on deaf ear during rush hour. But I can still live with that since they come and apologize and are really polite in serving the food. My black pepper set lunch cost me RM15.90 inclusive of drinks and the char kuey teow is RM10.90. For lunch, I can still live with that price tag. Maybe not everyday but on invitation. 

Food Rating : 3.8 out of 5.0

Ambiance Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0

Service Rating : 3.8 out of 5.0

Will I Return? Yup

Address: Otak Otak Place 

Lot L1-58, 1st Floor,
Tropicana City Mall, No. 3, Jalan
SS20/27, 47400 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor Darul Ehsan.

Tel / Fax: 03-7728 0403
Operation Hours:
10.00am – 10.00pm (Daily) 

Other Branches: 

One Utama Shopping Centre

IOI Boulevard

Suria KLCC

Wisma CNI

Alexis Kitchen & Bar @ The Gardens

It's been a while since my last visit to Alexis but this was my first dinner at their outlet in The Gardens. It was pre-booked by one of our friends from the gym for one of our friend's birthday. So I took this opportunity to check out their food if there is any improvement since my last visit.

Soup of The Day - RM 15/bowl

Their soup of the day was supposed to be tomato but what I was served instead taste and look a lot like pumpkin. Other than that, the soup was really nice as it's creamy and not too thick. Sprinkle a bit of pepper on it and dip a slice of garlic bread and it's perfect. Portion was generous and I would recommend this for those who like pumpkin only. It's hot and it's fresh. Nice~

Saigon Spring Rolls - RM19/set

It's actually chicken & prawn & fungus served with chili dips. It was recommended by one of our friend. Actually it's not that bad. Freshly fried but a bit oily though.

Tomato Bruschetta - RM17/set

I give a 4 out of 5 for the presentation. Totally love the way this bruschetta is being served. But it's not always about looks now, is it? Taste wise, well it's alright. Nothing spectacular as it's looks. But still a decent starter for you to jump start your taste bud before the main course.

Light Deep Fried Calamari Rings - RM17/set
This is one of my favorite side dish, which is the fried calamari. Who doesn't like fried calamari. Portion was just moderate but it's really nice to warm up your tummy.

Duck Confit - RM26
This is yet another starter we ordered. The duck is crispy on the outside and being served with roasted pear salad. The taste is really strong on the duck. Not bad for a starter. Portion is moderate but justifiable with the price you're paying.

Angelhair Aglio Olio - RM38/plate

It's angelhair aglio olio with grilled yabbies and extra virgin olive oil. It's plain simple but it's not bad if you add lots of pepper on it. It's one of the better one I taste in such long time. Nothing spectacular but average.

Sarawak Laksa - RM20/bowl
Was told that this is one of their famous or recommended dish of the place. Three of our friend ordered this dish with different comments. One being not able to finish it as it was that bad. So I can't comment much on this but you need to try it for yourself.

Chicken Escalope - RM35/plate
This is actually thyme infused fillet of chicken, rocket & roasted cherry tomato. First impression, Chicken Marryland. So you can expect the chicken would be very dry and you need lots of sauce (which they didn't provide) to finish this baby off.

Wagyu Beef Cheeks - RM48/plate

Here's my main which is their famous Wagyu beef cheeks braised in red wine with rocket gremolata & mash potato. Damn the beef cheeks are so soft and tender. It's practically melt in your mouth. The sauce was really good too as it's a mix of red wine. The mash on the side cleanse a bit of the wine taste before finishing off with some of the salad at the side. Definitely a good dish. Portion wasn't that much but it's Wagyu beef, so it's worth the money.

Spaghetti Seafood Parcel - RM38/plate

This is also one of their recommended dish which is baked tiger prawns, mussels, calamari & parsley spaghetti wrapped in a plastic bag. They will cooked the whole pasta and seafood being wrapped inside this bag and they will cut the top off when it's served to show it's freshness. So how it taste? Tasteless. A bit disappointed of the whole dish.

Steaks from the grills - Tenderloine - RM70/200grams

This had got to be one of the most expensive dish in the menu. It's their steaks which you can choose from rib eyes, t bone, sirloin or tenderloin. And it's being sold by the grams. But heck it's really thick and juicy. The sauce that they provided is a mixture of green and mustard I think. A truly filling meal. If that doesn't fill you up, then finish up the mash potato at the side.

Linguine Vongole - RM32/plate

One word, clams. Lots of them. It's clams cooked in chardonnay & sliced basil. Comparing to the previous seafood pasta, this has a very strong seafood taste. Strong enough to really taste the sea water I think. Not my plate of pasta. That is why I always say that seafood and pasta don't mix good together.

As for the dessert we ordered their famous Almond with Tiramisu cake. Damn this cake is such a sin. It's sweet but not too sweet. The almonds are crunchy and the peanuts sprinkle together with honey tasted really nice combining with the tiramisu in the cake. Pieces of chocolate being mix together in the cake is a good choice. No wonder it's one of their best seller in the house.

So what can I say bout this dinner? It's a mix experience actually. Some had nightmares, some had sweet dreams (like I did). Ambiance was great for dinning or light drinking. They served wine and beers too. We had our own section all by our own but I guess our noise shocked the whole restaurant that night. Definitely worth a try for those who haven't visited them before. The total damage that night was RM1,000 inclusive of everything. Not to say expensive I guess. As the food is good and the company is great. Quite hard to rate as the feeling are both good and bad altogether. (Rating: 3.8 out of 5.0)

Killiney Kopitiam @ Uptown

First heard of this place from a friend from Singapore. Found out that they have a few stores locally too and one being at Uptown Damansara. So one night after my usual work out with my friends, I had decided to give this place a try. The name of the place is called Killiney Kopitiam. From the menu I noticed that the kopitiam menu or theme are based on Hainanese style. The origin of this kopitiam actually was from Malacca but due to some reason was relocated to Singapore and the rest was history.

French Toast

This french toast is definitely different from the one we had at Old Town or any other kopitiam. The bread is dipped in egg and fried. Although the bread may look a bit over burn but it tasted nice. The bread is accompanied with their home made kaya and butter. Kaya was really nice but maybe a bit too sweet. Add that together with the butter on the bread and it's perfect.

Singapore Laksa

Saw this laksa from their menu and was tempted to give it a try although I don't really take this kind of heavy meal after my work out. Was surprised that the soup was not as red as shown in the menu. But they did gave some belacan to go with it. I like everything of the noodle but the noodle itself. I am not sure why they use the noodle like one the in asam laksa. I think I like my noodle to be those local yellow noodle. But this is one good bowl of noodle.

Yes, I finished the whole bowl off to the last drop of soup. It was really that nice.

Surprisingly the shop wasn't that pack like any other kopitiam around the area. But then again it's good that it's not too crowded so the food is served faster. Not sure bout morning and afternoon though. Will definitely give it another try next week or so. Other then the one we had, they also serve Hainanese Chicken Chop, Mee Siam and some other toast bread. (Rating: 3.8 out of 5.0)