Love Mee Soybean Noodle @ Pandan Indah

A few months ago (in last quarter of 2018), I discovered a new place by chance, Love Mee Soybean Noodle @ Pandan Indah while driving through the street enroute to somewhere else.

It's situated in one of the quietest areas in Pandan Indah.  That road is especially deserted at night.  Well, if you do intend to eat here, know that you won't have a problem with parking as there's plenty (I could even find parking right in front of the restaurant).

When I came here the first time, I wasn't sure what they offer as their signboard was not up then but I could see pictures of pork noodles as I walked closer.  The place was empty (except for one occupied table) as we took our seats.

Glancing at the menu, their main specialities include soybean pork noodles, Nanyang curry sets, soybean steamboat and some Hakka dishes like lei cha and yong tau foo.

I thought I'd start with one of their specialities, the Soybean Pork Noodles @ RM6.90 (S) with your choice of noodles.  Actually, when I first ordered this, I wasn't sure if it was the noodles or the broth that was made from soybean.  When it arrived, I realised it was the broth.

You can choose to have your pork noodles with either sliced meat (lean pork slices), minced meat, homemade pork balls, pig's liver or intestines, or a combo of two types of meat or one with a bit of everything like this one.  The porky ingredients tasted fine but the broth was something else.

This was the first time I've had a broth made from soybeans and it tasted very different from the usual meat-based broth.  I found the broth to be on the salty side.

Because I couldn't quite pinpoint the taste as it was something new to my palate, I decided to return to try it again.  This time I went with the dry version with kuey teow but the noodles were too starchy and the sauce the noodles were tossed in wasn't very good either.  The few pork lard crisps that accompanied the noodles were at least fresher this time round as they were rancid previously (which I made known to their staff).

I chose a combo of pig's liver and intestines, also @ RM6.90, for the soup.  This time, I noticed a distinct difference in the colour of the broth.  This one, which I had at dinner time, was a lot more cloudy (and whitish) compared to the previous one which I had at breakfast time.  I wonder if it's the result of continuous boiling from the whole day.

With this second taste test, the soybean-based soup tasted even worse as the broth was more intense...and I was able to confirm without a doubt that same lingering powdery aftertaste in my mouth that I first detected.   This soybean-based broth is certainly an acquired taste (one that I didn't acquire as I don't like this powdery aftertaste in my mouth one bit).

They offer a couple of snacks that you can order to complement your meal like this Deep Fried Preserved Dumpling @ RM7.90.  Not sure why it's called preserved dumpling as it tasted like any other dumpling (maybe there were some preserved vegetables in the filling?).

We also tried a couple of their Hakka yong tau foo (eggplant & yuba skin roll that's similar to bean curd skin) @ RM1.70 a piece (they offer 8 types).  These bites were ordinary in taste.

The drinks of Iced Black Coffee @ RM2.40 and Sour Plum Calamondin @ RM3.90 were rather pathetic too.

My Personal Opinion

I mean I do love to eat stuff made from soybeans like soybean drink, tau fu fah, tofu, beancurd sheets, etc....but no, not a broth made with soybeans.  Sorry, the taste is just too peculiar for me! >_<

Seeing that this soybean-based broth is an acquired taste and that would mean their steamboat would be a no for me too since it uses the same soup base.  And with their location on a deserted street, I just can't see how they can survive unless you're someone who is on a soybean diet or eats it for specific health reasons as, on both my visits, the place was empty with only one other table occupied.  It's a shame really coz if they had stayed as a pork noodles specialist with the usual broth, I think they may be more successful.

They do offer something else besides soybean pork noodles, like their nanyang curry sets (which I'm tempted to try) but after these two visits, I doubt I'll be back.  I'm sorry but I Don't Love You Soybean Noodle! >_<

Love Mee Soybean Noodle
No M3-A-1 Jalan Pandan Indah 4/3A
Pandan Indah
55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-4288 6131

Eatomo @ Bangsar

Oh no!  It's Chinese New Year already and I've still not posted what we ate over Christmas...kekeke! :D  Well, we were back to Eatomo @ Bangsar again!  That's a clever calculated option to choose Japanese over steakhouses during Christmas season if you want find a table easily without having to book in advance.

Gee, the tree looked rather pathetic with scant decorations and no lights.  We tried a couple of new dishes on this visit which I thought I'd share with you.

First, let's get our usual order out of the way, shall we? ;)  What else but the Wok-Fired Spicy Gyutandon @ RM21.90 of tender sliced beef tongue spiced with fresh cut red and green chillies and those tiny heat missiles of green bird's eye chillies.  This time, though, they seemed to have dial it down just a little with less of the fiery missiles which I preferred (otherwise we'd be busy picking out some of those little suckers).

I remember having the California Poke Bowl (and loving it) during my very first visit to Eatomo.  So, this time I thought I'd give another poke bowl a try, a northern-inspired Pokelantan Bowl @ RM21.90 with yellowfin tuna and butterfish tossed in zesty cili padi and fresh lime marinade topped with crispy salmon skin and kerisik gula melaka.

Unfortunately, I wasn't loving this poke bowl as much.  I felt there was just too much going on in the bowl. Plus there was way too much sauce until it became a bit too overpowering.  There was a creamy green sauce (which I believe is avocado guacamole) and also a spicy mayo sauce.  And what made it worse was that all these were mixed with an overly big bowl of mushy sushi rice that day (I think the chef or his little chefs were having an off day...bungled the cooking of the sushi rice and a bit too heavy-handed with the sauce).

So far, I've tried two (out of four flavours) of their Seafood Pots, Clams in Lemon Butter Garlic and Mixed Seafood in Thai Coconut Chilli, so this is the third, Clams in Spicy Cajun Pan Roast @ RM33.90 in a Louisiana-inspired blend of spicy cajun, garlic, pomodoro (or basic tomato) cream sauce.

The clams, this time round, weren't as fresh as I'd like them to be compared to the previous two times I've had it.  They also seemed a little overcooked to me judging by how the sauce was drying up around the edge of the pan.

The sauce consistency was fairly thick (as a pomodoro sauce should be), brought about by lots of onions, tomatoes, garlic and cream.

It had that slightly tangy tomato-ey flavour to it and was nicely flavoured with cajun seasoning of probably paprika, cayenne, bay leaves and coriander.  It was pleasant enough but not my top choice.  The fourth and final flavour is the Belgian Cream Curry which I don't think I'll be trying as I'm not that interested in (or convinced of) a western-style curry. :P

Sides for this dish are either Calrose Rice, Gourmet Fries or slices of toasted French Bread which we picked as they would be great for soaking up the plentiful sauce.  Now that I've had the chance to try three, my pick is the lemon, butter and garlic sauce by a country mile.

Luckily, the Mentaiko Mozza Fries @ RM16.90 saved the day.  These were their gourmet fries with mozzarella cheese topped with seared spicy mentaiko.

They were highly addictive....and so good! ^o^  I was pleasantly surprised that the taste of smoky, charred, creamy mentaiko was more prevalent than the cheese which is a definite plus for me...hee..hee! ^_~

My Personal Opinion

This was probably my least favourite experience at Eatomo amongst my many good experiences...and since the good outweighs the bad, it'll still remain as our go-to place for Japanese and Japanese fusion food.

It's not that the food I ate this round wasn't good, let's just say they aren't my preferred choices.  As I go through more and more dishes in the menu, I can now eliminate some dishes that don't rock my world...and that would be the pokelantan bowl, uni udon and seafood pots in spicy cajun and Thai coconut chilli sauce...for now! ^_~

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

Dai Cha Dim @ Pavilion

While looking through Pavilion's directory for a place to eat, I came upon a new eatery, Dai Cha Dim @ Pavilion, that was opened in mid-November 2018.

Noting that they were located on the sixth floor, we took the lift and it's situated just round the corner from the lift, next to Putien and Din Tai Fung, if that makes it easier for you to locate.

From the menu, this dai cha dim (loosely translated as big tea shop) seems to offer cha chan teng delights such as BBQ meats, noodles, steamed & plated rice, a small selection of dim sum & porridge, double-boiled soups and individual dishes to pair with rice.

Noodles with BBQ meats of char siu, siu yuk, chicken, duck and wonton and steamed & plated rice with Hakka-style char yoke (braised pork belly), luncheon meat, black vinegar pork trotters, sweet & sour pork, minced pork & salted fish and more...all screams comfort food! ;)

Since it was in-between breakfast and lunch, I wanted something light and went with the Shrimp Roe & Wonton Noodles @ RM15.30.  First impression when it arrived was that it looked exactly like Mak's Chee prawn roe noodles except this one had a tad less shrimp roe and the noodles were served cut in half (have no idea why it's served like that).  The texture of the noodles was da bomb...thin, springy and wonderfully firm, just like Mak's Chee, only a bit less fragrant because of a lesser quantity of shrimp roe.

But the one thing I did like that Mak's Chee prawn roe noodles didn't have was the inclusion of pork lard in the noodles...and they were super crispy and extremely delicious.  This was one of the freshest pork lard I've ever eaten...so, so pleasurable! ^o^

The soup wontons had a thicker skin and the prawn filling wasn't as plump if compared to Mak's Chee which were definitely better.  I don't see whole prawns in the filling but minced prawns (and perhaps some minced pork in the mix?).

The soup base of this one was certainly one up on Mak's Chee in terms of flavour.  I like this soup as it tastes much closer to our local tastebuds.

The Char Siu & Wonton Noodles Soup @ RM15.30 comes with thick cut char siu slices with wontons and greens in the same soup base.

The char siew was very commendable too with a nicely charred skin, a good ratio of fat to lean cut and fall-apart tender meat.

Typical of any cha chan teng, you're bound to find milk tea on the menu like this Dai Cha Dim Ice Bath Bottled Milk Tea @ RM7.80.  This one was pretty decent though you might want to skip the Ipoh White Coffee (Cold) @ RM6.50.

As usual with these places, orders are made through an order chit.  There are plenty of condiments on the table like a dried sambal, pickled green chillies, chilli sauce and both dark and light soy to amp up the taste of your noodles and rice dishes if you need it.  The condiments available reveal that it's more suited to our local tastebuds.

Check out a more recent post on the place here.

My Personal Opinion

Although the place seems to offer cha chan teng cuisine with its obvious Hong Kong-style noodles but yet there also seems to be a mix of our local Chinese cuisine in the likes of char siu, Hakka char yoke, black vinegar pork trotters and others.

I think if you like a bit of both, you can find it here but be prepared to spend more than what you'd pay at our local roasted meat stalls as prices are along the lines of say Din Tai Fung, Mak's Chee and the now closed, Starz Kitchen in Pavilion.

I know I've only tried two of their noodle dishes but I enjoyed them tremendously, so I know for sure that I'll be back to try more, perhaps some of their rice dishes on my next visit.

Dai Cha Dim
Lot 6.01.03 Level 6
Pavilion Kuala Lumpur
168 Jalan Bukit Bintang
55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2148 8108

Chinese New Year is just round the corner, so let me be the first
to wish you abundant wealth and good health in the coming year!

Favourite 'Budget Eats' of 2018

Since announcing my retirement and acknowledging that I will be blogging less frequently, I've come to realise something I've always suspected to be true...and that is...pageviews are directly related to how frequent one put out blogposts.  I know that for a fact now as I've seen my daily visit stats drop drastically (by half) of what it used to be now that I'm writing only one (maybe two) posts a week.  That's to be expected and it makes complete sense...coz why would one need to visit my blog if there are no new posts to read...haha! :P  Oh well, if it drops any further, that could be just the motivation I need to stop writing altogether. ^_~

Anyway, let's get back to my post for today.  Budget eats nowadays are confined mostly to food you'd find in coffee shops or some modern food courts in shopping malls.  Something most of us will be looking forward to in 2019 with rising costs of living.  Here's a round up (in chronological order) of some of my favourite budget eats in 2018.

D'Laksa @ Aeon Maluri

Ok, ok, so they use canned sardines (!) but even then they still tasted better than some popular food chains that specialise in assam laksa.  I like it coz the broth isn't too sour.

The Fish Bowl @ Pavilion


Many of us have grown to love poke bowls for its fresh ingredients and light taste that's both appetising and healthy.

Boon Signature Roast Pork @ Damansara Jaya


The siew yuk here is melt-in-the-mouth tender (a term more often used to describe char siew than siew yuk) with a super crunchy skin.  Though it isn't one of my favourite siew yuk because of the overly soft texture and strong hint of black pepper, the place still got on the list because of its Iberico siew yuk that I liked for the leaner cut, tender texture and flavour of the meat (though some will probably disagree at this even being considered a cheap eat...kekeke!).

Red Leaf @ Jalan Loke Yew


This prawn mee is a great find for all prawn mee lovers.  The sweet-tasting broth and fresh, good-sized, sweet sea prawns set them apart from all other prawn mee stalls.  But this shop also turned up two surprises in the form of Penang char kway teow and fried rice that's full of wok hei.

Mak's Chee @ Pavilion Elite


If you love fragrant dry prawn roe, then you must try the noodles here tossed with just that...absolutely umami-licioius! ;)  While you're at it, don't forget the reassuringly fresh, firm, juicy and sweet-tasting sea prawn wontons.  But the gem turned out to be their Cursory Rice which ended up to be the single most satisfying carb-loaded comfort dish I ate this year (you'll be glad to know that the latest version, instead of just plain rice, has the rice tossed in pork lard, soy sauce and chopped spring onions...mmm, even better).

Malaysia Boleh! @ Shoppes at Four Seasons Place


It's my favoured modern food court in the city.  Why?  Well, because it houses my no. 1 favourite curry laksa (that moved here from Imbi), that's why.  Besides that, it also offers various other yummy eats (in a clean and comfortable environment) like fried Hokkien mee, Ipoh bean sprout chicken rice, Penang fried carrot cake, char kway teow, Penang fried oyster and more.

Liang Sandwich Bar @ Sunway Velocity


I didn't think I would enjoy this snack as chain-style restaurants and food don't usually appeal to me...but I did.  The scallion pancake (or sandwich as it's called) is a different take on our traditional roti canai...better-tasting and less greasy.  It comes with various fillings (and sauces) but I only like the basic scallion one....nothing else.

Madras Lane @ Petaling Street


I purposely came here to try the third stall's (from the entrance) curry mee after learning that theirs made it to Lonely Planet's Ultimate Eatlist at number 2...and it was certainly decent, just not my number 1.  The yong tau foo turned out to be more than satisfying too.

Spag & Ju's @ Sunway Velocity


This place was the coming together of two food trucks each specialising in spaghetti and juices.  A humble and value-for-money meal of chicken chop (with either spaghetti or mashed potatoes in black pepper sauce) done right is what you should go for here (in fact, it's the only thing you should go for here).

Keng Nam Hai @ Kepong


It was the hua diao lala beehoon that first enticed me here.  Thick beehoon, fresh lala, flavourful broth with hints of rice wine and ginger....so good!  And then I discovered that they also have one of the best tasting curry mee, certainly a worth adversary to my no. 1 favourite. ^_~

These were just some of the cheap eats I ate in 2018 (you can check out my previous cheap eats list in 2017 here).  With ever increasing prices slowly creeping up on us, any budget eats are surely welcome in 2019.

Favourite 'Good Eats' of 2018

It's been a week since my last post...have you missed me? ;)  No?!!  Well, as I bid farewell to 2018 and say hello to 2019, it's customary for me to do a round up post of some of my favourite good eats of 2018.  You can check out my previous 2017 list here.

Wizards at Tribeca @ Jalan Imbi

A magical place (that's in disguise as a beautiful cafe ^_~) for great coffees and some good foie gras.  You'd want to sit...and linger.

Two Hands Restaurant @ Qliq Damansara 

Rest assured that you'll be in capable hands here.  This has to go down as one of the most memorable and enjoyable (new) dining experience I had last year...and it also happened to be my first tomahawk experience.  Now, who wouldn't want to eat this more often but we all know how expensive they can be (prices are even scarier if they're wagyu tomahawks...let's not even go there)! :P


But the one here is at least affordably-priced and of a good quality for the price paid too.  Respectably executed.  Beautifully seared.  Awesome taste.  I'm drooling over this stunningly succulent piece of meat as I'm writing this.  Just look at that....how can anyone resist that? ^o^


But they aren't just about the tomahawk here....their other dishes like parmesan cauliflower, fried calamari, salted egg custard prawns, soy glazed chicken wings and grilled Portuguese chicken & dirty rice are worthy of mention too.

Bonta Bonta, J's Gate Dining @ Lot 10 Shopping Centre


If eel rice bowls is your weakness (as it is mine), this place offers irreproachably tender-sweet unagi with a smoky finish for one of the best value unagi you're going to find.

Curious Kitchen @ Tropicana Avenue

Satisfy your curiosity with an Iberico pork-focussed menu with some tasty starters and sides.  Finish on a sweet note with the decadent Chocolate Mousse and Lemon Meringue Pie.  Plus you'll be glad to know that kids eat for free here.

BBQ Ma Eul Cup Bab @ Damansara Uptown

A great venue for family dinners, if you can stand the heat, that won't burn a hole in your pocket.  Choose from pork to chicken to beef to seafood and indulge in a hot sizzling 'affair'.  Must not forget an order of the Spicy Rice Balls...and guess what?  You don't really have to make them into balls! :P

Skive @ Bangsar

Skive is a worthy destination if you intend to play hooky...haha! :D  Portions here are build to feed an army (ok-lah, maybe not quite an army) but certainly big enough for two, maybe even three....like this immensely fragrant, evenly browned Whole Spring Ayam Berempah.  Bring your appetite, people.


Plus there are various house-made breads, home-made cakes and house-churned ice cream for those times in-between...washed down with coffees, tea or even sodas.

Bait @ Bangsar


This was the most impressive Seafood Aglio-Olio I've had with super fresh seafood and kitchen-made pasta (there's nothing like freshly made pasta).  I took the bait.....you would too.  This was my other favourite meal of 2018. ^.^

Delirium Cafe @ Suria KLCC


The place really beckons you to sit and relax with a beer in hand.  I guess if you're a beer drinker, you may be in a state of delirium after a couple of imported Belgium craft beers.  But I wouldn't know (since I don't drink beer) but the lunch sets are pretty delirious too, especially the Skillet Beef Aglio Olio.

Eatomo @ Bangsar

One of my favourite go-to places for simple, fuss-free and very affordable Japanese food.  Simply put, I've enjoyed almost everything I've eaten here...from comforting and hearty rice bowls of beef tongue, mentai-seared tamago and unagi to mentaiko fries to butter-garlic clams.

Steaks & Lobsters @ Desa Sri Hartamas


Always a good choice for steaks (and sometimes lobsters too) but, if you have the cash to splash, get the wagyu instead.  And not to mention, all sides are absolutely delicious...and refillable...which is a rarity! ^_~

Maven Coffee Store @ Taman Shamelin Perkasa

This final destination sneaked into the list, not because of its splendid food, but because of its splendid coffees that's nearest to me where parking is plenty and free.

The list isn't long (as my makan escapades have slowed down considerably the past year since I met up with my makan gang a lot less)....and some were repeated places (of course) which I enjoyed eating repeatedly nonetheless.  And, for the first time, there will be no separate sweet eats list as I'm trying (or hoping) to 'extract' my sweet tooth...perhaps not entirely sugarless but at least a sugar less diet....kekeke! ^_~