Eatomo @ Bangsar

All our visits thus far to Eatomo had been to their first and original branch in Taman Desa where we first fell in love with their food (you can check out my previous visits here, here, here and here).  They subsequently opened their second in Solaris Dutamas and then their third a little over two months ago.

So, we decided to eat at Eatomo @ Bangsar for a change since I noticed a couple of new dishes on the menu (highlighted by eatdrinkkl's post) that I didn't see in their Taman Desa branch (on my last visit there, probably it's available now but I didn't want to take the chance that it's not).

On arrival, I was immediately taken in with the ambiance and decor of this new branch.  Definitely preferred this brighter, newer and more comfortable space compared to their first outlet in Taman Desa.

There's both an indoor air-conditioned area and an alfresco dining area.  I won't usually choose to sit in the outdoor area but this one was comfortable and cooling.  Anyway, the evening we were there, we didn't have a choice as all the inside seats were occupied since there was a large group celebration.

Extra touches of greenery in the outdoor space which I appreciated.

Creative-looking ceiling lights made out of colourful painted wooden boxes.

And the attention grabbing walls adorned with hundreds of oyster shells.  Lovely idea but wonder what happens when it starts to collect dust...hee..hee! ;P

One such dish that I wasn't sure if it'd be in Taman Desa's menu (yet) that got me here was the Gyutan Aglio Olio @ RM24.90 of wok-fired, thinly sliced and tender prime beef tongue with spaghetti instead of rice, a fusion dish of gyutan and pasta.

Cooked perfectly al-dente and tossed in a house special three-chilli, spicy shoyu and garlic sauce, every strand was coated with lots of flavour.  Slightly fiery but tolerable (after I picked out the bird's eye chillies) though I'd prefer they dial down the oiliness.

Of course, their best-seller of Wok-Fired Spicy Gyutandon @ RM21.90 remains a firm favourite with us as always.  Great for those who like punchy, in-your-face flavours with three types of chillies in play in this rice bowl...fresh, less fiery green and red chillies combined with heat seeking missiles of green bird's eye chillies! >_<

This is a dish that's ideally made for people who can eat (and take) the spiciness of cili api.  For me, personally, I'd eat the red and green chillies (no problem) but not the bird's eye chillies (at least not all of them) though they're still needed to amp up the flavours.

The Grilled Unagi Tamago Don @ RM32.90 is meant for fans of both eel and egg....and I'm one of them, of course.  Filled with grilled-to-order unagi and fluffy tamago sitting on a bed of steamed calrose rice made more fragrant with a sprinkling of chopped nori and furikake.

I've always enjoyed the good quality unagi here that's well-charred and smoky in flavour though I got my not-so-favoured lower part of the eel this time.  As for the tamago, I would have preferred to get a whole piece intact rather than having it cut up like shredded omelette, thus losing a bit of bite.

My Personal Opinion

I like pretty much everything I had so far (in all my visits) though some feel the portions are a bit small but they tend to forget also that the prices charged are very reasonable (with most under RM25) for the quality given, so I think the portion sizes are justifiable.  Order two if you have a bigger appetite (RM50 is still a bargain for a good Japanese meal, don't you think?) :P

This will be my new go-to branch from now on since I prefer the atmosphere here although finding a parking space won't be as easy.  I also like the friendlier (and more engaging) service of the staff in this branch.  I'll be back for more! ^o^

Eatomo Food Co
No 21 Jalan Telawi 2
Bangsar Baru
59100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2202 3280

Just One Food - KFC's Dunk & Dip Crispy Tenders

KFC's Crispy Tenders is not something new, it has been around for a few years now (since the beginning of 2016 as per their Facebook).  The only thing new is that they would periodically introduce new sauces to go with the crispy tenders...like the recent sour cream & onion or sweet mustard.

But even more recently (I don't know when exactly, maybe a month ago based on a promotional video on their Facebook), they introduced yet another dip to go with the chicken tenders....the new KFC Dunk & Dip Crispy Tenders.  I think this is, by far, their best dip yet! ^_^

You start off with 3 good-sized boneless chicken meat tenders that have the same decent taste of KFC chicken but without the bones...how wonderful is that!  I actually prefer to eat these hot & spicy chicken tenders as they're super crunchy and not too dry.

And then they're paired with a Smokey Zesty Dip and Crackling Rice Pops for you to dunk & dip your crispy chicken tenders into.  Happy days! ^_~

The Smokey Zesty Dip is a smokey BBQ onion sauce that tastes somewhat similar to some kind of BBQ sauce (not sure of the smokey part though) that has some sweetness (not overly sweet) and tang (really tangy).

The Crackling Rice Pops consists of rice pops with a spicy curry flavour that has a real kick to it (but tolerable, even for me).  First impression, I thought the rice pops were mixed with fried curry leaves but, on closer inspection, the spices looked rather similar to a bottle of mixed spices (of possibly rosemary, thyme, oregano and parsley) with probably additional paprika and cayenne for spiciness.

So, I dunked (to coat the crispy tenders with the sticky sauce).....

...and I dipped (to get the super crunchy rice pops to stick to the chicken tenders)....

....and then I ate!  The hot & spicy chicken tenders were already tasty, spicy and crunchy to begin with...and the rice pops made it tastier.....spicier....and crunchier! ^.^

The rice pops were really, really well spiced and so, so good...it tasted like one of those pre-packed Indian savoury snacks with super crispy thin murukku, flour crisps, nuts, peas and curry leaves.

Pair that with an Original Go Bowl for just RM3.70 (good value indeed) with crispier fries and crunchy Zinger chunks drizzled with their signature gravy (which is the same brown sauce that you get with the mashed potatoes) and finished with a sprinkling of chilli flakes (similar to bottled chilli flakes) to give it a bit of heat...and you have a meal fit for one.

This is exactly how it was packed to go...open at the top like that!  I wish they'd packed the gravy separately for us to pour over at home as the fries can get soggy by the time we reach home.  Of course, I liked it more when I got well fried fries like in the earlier pic.

You can order this Dunk & Dip Crispy Tenders with smokey zesty dip and crackling rice pops as a 3-pc a la carte @ RM6.90....for now.  But I don't know how long it'll be available as an a la carte item since the Shrimp Nuggets which was originally available a la carte for RM5.90 is now no longer sold on its own except in a combo meal with chicken starting from RM28.50 (I finally asked the KFC worker when I found the words 'sold out' twice when I tried to get it.  I guess I waited too long to try the Shrimp Nugget). 

This Dunk & Dip offers fragrant, crunchy goodness in a bite!  I didn't care for the tangy BBQ sauce but the crunchy dip I loved...I can eat that just on its own! ^o^  You know how (sometimes) the actual products can end up being 'what you see is not what you get'...well, I'm glad to report this is not one of those times! :P

If you happen to be hungrier or greedier, have it in a set (Combo A) with 1-pc chicken (OR or HS), 3-pc crispy tenders, 1 Smokey Zesty Dip, 1 Crackling Rice Pops, 1 coleslaw (R), 1 whipped potato (R) and 1 Iced Lemon Tea (R) for RM13.90 or pay RM17.90 for an extra piece of chicken (Combo B) if you're extra hungry or greedy.

Just dunk....dip.....crunch!  But, hey, don't wait too long...go get it now before it disappears from the menu as it may be for a limited time only (or it becomes only available in a combo meal like the Shrimp Nuggets and not sold separately).  I've had it twice already...in one week!....kekeke! ;)

Frozen by Ken @ Bangsar

After our more than satisfying meal at Skive but not so satisfying dessert of ice cream that left us wanting more, we decided to adjourn somewhere else for....what else...more ice cream! ;)  Since Frozen by Ken @ Bangsar was located within a short walking distance from Skive, that turned out to be where we were headed next.

Opened barely a month when we visited, Frozen by Ken specialises in Australian-inspired ice cream themed desserts and cakes (a result of the owners stint with Christy Tania of Masterchef Australia fame, an acclaimed pastry chef and dessert queen) together with a couple of snacks (like sandwiches, croissants & pancakes) for light bites.

First thing when you're in a dessert shop is to head to the counter to feast your eyes on (or more like ogle at) the array of beautifully crafted cakes made with ice cream and sorbet...and the ones here (about 8 options) on any given day are certainly very pretty....but they don't come cheap.

The one on the left is The King, befitting with its little crown, featuring a combo of Musang King durian and coconut sorbet.  With its spikes and lightly torched skin, it truly mimics the looks of a real durian to the tee...it's a dessert that's too cute to eat! ^_~  This was the only one we were attracted to but since we've already had some durian desserts earlier, it wasn't an option.  The King is followed by the Tropical Cheesecake and Chocolate Grandeur.

Featured here (on the left) is the Raffaelo (hazelnut milk chocolate ice cream & coconut sorbet with hazelnut crunch & dessicated coconut sprinkling) followed by Mosqow (pandan kaya ice cream & coconut sorbet).  Most of these dainty desserts are priced between RM18 - RM22! O_o

Since we were too full to have any dessert (+ the prices were also a deterrent), we decided to go for their ice cream instead.  On any given day, there are about 18 - 20 ice cream and sorbet flavours to tempt you.

The names/types of ice creams and sorbets available are listed on their menu.

Since we were so full from our previous makan place, we had limited space for ice cream and decided to get just a Tasting Platter @ RM19.90 that allowed us to taste 4 mini scoops of ice cream flavours.  Sorry for the reddish-looking photos as we were sitting directly under some pink neon lights that say "life is uncertain, eat dessert first"...and we couldn't agree more. ^.^

The flavours we selected were PBJ aka Peanut Butter & Jelly (peanut butter ice cream with swirls of raspberry sauce and peanut buttercup), Soursop Lime Sorbet, Tropical Cheesecake (cheesecake ice cream, mango passion sorbet, pineapple compote & orange crumble) and Old-Fashioned (vanilla ice cream, biscuit cuiller soaked in whiskey & orange caramel sauce).

All four flavours we tried in this quaint little dessert shop, Frozen by Ken, were generally pleasant.  I'm sure Elsa.....and Barbie would agree....hihihi! ;)

And like any sweet temptation, it goes best with a good cup of joe...like this Hot Cappuccino @ RM11 :)

If you want to take 'them' home, you can too.  Takeaway tubs are available in convenient glass jars (with sweet-looking rose gold aluminium covers) for you to enjoy in the comfort of your home.

Best paired with a good, strong, fragrant coffee (at home)...perhaps one of Organo Gold's instant coffees (black, white, latte, mocha, King of Coffee...you choose, you decide) for that perfect aroma and taste! ^o^  I'm all for instant coffees when I'm at home too...fuss-free, easy to put together and, most importantly, ready in a jiffy.  After all, who can dispute the perfect marriage of two delicious essentials like coffee and ice cream.

My Personal Opinion

The ice cream flavours here are likable (certainly more likable than at our previous dinner venue) and what's even better, you can try many flavours in one go via their tasting platters.  It's a possible option if you're looking for something to cool you down on hot days (though they weren't short of customers at night either).

I read a review by The Nat Channel which vouched that the inspired desserts here are even better than those from Xiao by Crustz, Foo Foo Fine Dessert, Mad Hatter, Tiny Temptress and Shugatori (wow, that's a pretty bold statement, I have to say).

Since I didn't try any of their desserts or any of the dessert places mentioned earlier (other than Foo Foo Fine Dessert which I thought was really good when I was there last), I've no comments about the desserts other than the ice cream.

Frozen by Ken
6 Jalan Telawi 4
Bangsar Baru
59100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2856 8289

Malaysia Boleh! 3 @ Shoppes At Four Seasons Place

Since reconnecting with our #1 sought after curry laksa here, we've been coming to this place on a fairly regular basis.  And oh, the curry mee now offers 3 types of yong tau foo (but no chicken liver) as add-ons at RM2 - RM2.50 per piece (rather expensive, I might add) that could see the price of your bowl of curry mee bumped up to more than RM15! >_<

While my husband continues to indulge in his favourite curry mee on each and every visit, I've had to put on hold my fondness of the curry mee so that I can try the other options available (and write about them).

I was gently reminded by choiyen (in my previous post) that I was supposed to try the Fried Hokkien Mee @ RM12 (regular, RM15 for large) and so I better made sure I did on my third visit (haha!).  At first glance, I was happy to see the sprinkling of pork lard crisps which is a super important ingredient in a plate of Hokkien Mee as far as I'm concerned.

It only had two good-sized prawns that were firm and sweet but (luckily) they made up for it with a generous amount of lean pork slices and softened cabbage...plus the freshly cooked sambal accompaniment, with its distinct fiery red colour and oil around the edges, is the hallmark of a well-made sambal that will hit the spot nicely.  

There's nothing better than digging into a plate of piping hot, freshly fried Hokkien Mee and get a free facial sauna at the same time...kekeke! ;D

And when the smoke clears, you'll be greeted with noodles that are deliciously coated in a thick dark soy concoction that's neither too dry nor too wet...and you just can't help but slurp up each delicious strand! ^o^ Overall, this was a really, really good plate of mall-executed Hokkien Mee I have to say, so much so that I'm willing to overlook the fact that their version didn't come with any pork liver.  Though the noodles were a hint on the salty side (for me personally) but considered well seasoned for most tastebuds in general.

Next, I tried the Ipoh Kuey Tiow Pork Noodles @ RM9 with minced pork, pork liver, lean pork slices, choy sum and the ever important but not so generous chee yau char.  The pork lard crisps I had that day didn't taste very fresh and weren't all that crispy or fragrant.  The soup base is the cloudy type and wasn't particularly porky-flavoured either.

My preferred bowl of pork noodles would usually be a combo of meehoon and mee but it'd be foolish to choose anything other than kuey teow since this wasn't just any pork noodles but specifically Ipoh kuey teow pork noodles.  The kuey teow was certainly slippery smooth, smoother and more thinly sliced than our usual kuey teow here, but probably not as thin and translucent like those Ipoh sar hor fun noodles.  Unfortunately, for this bowl of pork noodles, the kuey teow ended up to be the best part.

The previous Kuantan Nasi Lemak has since been replaced by the Pudu Nasi Lemak & Fried Chicken stall.  I was quite happy with the good dose of santan flavour in the rice.  The sambal for the basic nasi lemak @ RM3.50 also turned out better than I expected since this was a Chinese-style nasi lemak.

I thought I wouldn't like the sambal but I did.  It tasted more towards a typical Malay stall sambal than a Chinese one.  You can add on a piece of fried chicken wing @ RM4, thigh (RM4.50) or drumstick (RM5). However, the fried chicken wasn't all that great as I found the batter had a floury taste (it reminded me of those store-bought seasoning powder mix). ;P

From the Pudu Barbeque stall which offers roast duck (RM10 or RM13 for duck drumstick), roast pork (RM10) and char siew rice, we ordered the Char Siew Rice @ RM9 as it was the only meat that was in abundance (we would soon find out why).  There weren't any roast pork left and only a quarter of a duck was still hanging in the stall (we happened to be there for dinner this time).

The char siew turned out to be a disappointment as it was very meaty and didn't have that dark caramelisation.  Neither was it the tender, melt-in-the-mouth type of char siew.  Better to give the char siew a miss altogether (in fact they looked very similar to the ones at the wantan mee stall).  The other strange thing I noticed is that the char siew was sitting horizontally on a plate of dark sauce instead of the usual presentation of them being hung vertically on hooks where the caramelisation is obvious for all to see.

We ordered the Fried Carrot Cake @ RM9 again as we remembered it turned out quite well the last time we had it...but, sadly, this time we were massively disappointed (so it deserve a photo).  It just wasn't fried long enough to produce the crisp, caramelised edges and losing that bit of wok hei in the process.  That's because there were more orders to keep up during dinner time and the chap (maybe it was even a different chap) decided to fry a few plates at one time. >_<  Glad to report we had it again another time (in the morning) and it was cooked just the way we it should be.

Another thing I didn't get to eat in the mornings was the Chai Kueh as they're always not ready when we're there at 10am.  They offer 4 variations here...Chives, Sengkuang (Jicama), Yam & Pumpkin Chai Kueh @ RM2 each and I got all 4 types to try (do watch out for the chilli dip though which can be quite spicy).

All four types were fairly decent, with thin and translucent skins, but none stood in taste among the four.  It really depends on what filling you like to eat most and, for me, I like the sengkuang one the most.  The chives had a nice flavour without being bitter.  I was surprised by the yam and pumpkin ones which had dried prawns in them and not just yam and pumpkin paste like those I've eaten before.  Didn't like the yam one all that much as the yam paste wasn't very smooth and the pumpkin one turned out to be really cold (probably sitting on the tray for far too long).  Best to eat them when they're just out of the steamer.

The last time I was here I had Kopi-O-Ping which wasn't very good, so this time I tried the Teh Ping which also turned out to be meh.

My Personal Opinion

I'm slowly but surely eating my way through all the stalls here one by one! ;)  Of all the stalls I've tried so far, the curry laksa is still my undisputed #1 favourite followed by the hokkien mee and chicken rice.

Malaysia Boleh! (Food Court)
B1-01B Shoppes at Four Seasons Place
145 Jalan Ampang
50450 Kuala Lumpur