Sin Hing Long Sabah Pork Noodle @ Pandan Indah

A dedicated shop selling Sabah pork noodles (or sang nyuk mee), Sin Hing Long Sabah Pork Noodles @ Pandan Indah, has opened in my taman since the beginning of the year.

This (I believe) is their third branch with their other branches located in Taman Connaught, Bandar Sungai Long and Imbi.

Some people I know told me that they didn't find the food nice, hence it took me a while before I finally ventured in to try.  This place specialises in just one dish and it's their Sabah Pork Noodles @ RM11.90 which was what I started with.

I chose dry noodles for my first sampling and you have a few options of noodles you can choose from.  I had to ask the server since the menu was written mostly in Chinese.  The options are Hakka noodles (as above), yee mee, lo shi fun, meehoon, mee and kway teow.  No complaints on the sauce used to toss the noodles with its fragrant pork lard oil and pork lard crisps (wish there were more).

The bowl is filled with the standard ingredients you'd find in any pork noodles like liver, intestines, meatballs, lean pork slices and choy sum.  It's the slices of sang nyuk (or lean pork) that sets sang nyuk mee apart from the rest of the pork noodles.  They're easily recognisable by their whitish sheen (from being rubbed with cornflour) and is an absolute delight to eat.

You can see just how paper thin the pork slices are...which is the hallmark of the Sabah-style pork noodles and they were super tender as well.

On another visit, I had the Sabah Pork Noodles Soup @ RM11.90 instead with my first choice of cho mai fun (thick meehoon) though their version isn't very thick (some will even mistaken it for thin meehoon).  The soup, with its distinct milky white colour (rather similar to a tonkotsu ramen broth), is made from hours of boiling pork bones which gives it that signature opaque white, creamy pork bone broth...and this is also what sets Sabah pork noodles apart from other pork noodles.

The soup base I found a little on the salty side (but should be fine for the masses) and what elevated its taste for me was the addition of white pepper...lots of it....which was freely available on every table.  But this was no ordinary pepper, it was Sarawak white pepper with a more fragrant aroma and peppery taste that's unlike the usual white pepper we normally get.

I found that the broth tasted so much better with a few good dashes of this Sarawak white pepper.  Later, at the payment counter, I noticed that they sell these Sarawak white peppercorns at RM32 for a 450g pack.

For dry noodles, I've tried the Hakka noodles, yee mee and lo shi fun...and for the soup version, I've only had it with the thick meehoon and kway teow (the former being my favourite).  The coffees here are not bad too...I've tried both the Iced White Coffee and Hot Cham.

The dry noodles are tossed in lard oil and lard crisps but there's very little of it.  So, if you want more, order additional pork lard @ RM1.50.

And for me....it's a must, of course! ;)  Now that's more like it...the chee yau char was fragrant, crispy and very fresh.  It certainly made the noodles even more pleasurable to eat.  The place also caters to those adhering to a carb-less diet by just offering a bowl of proteins with either just the lean pork, kidneys, tendon, intestines, liver or meatballs.

Since they sell only one type of noodle here, there are a couple of snacks that you can order as sides to your noodle meal starting with the Fried Fu Zhuk with Fish Paste @ RM8.90.

Fried to crispy perfection, I liked that the oil (in which it was fried in) tasted fresh and you can see it has quite a bit of fish paste filling unlike many others where you just taste the fu chuk only.

The Fried Meat Roll @ RM8.90 served with a Thai-style sweet chilli sauce is something similar to Penang Lobak except this one is cut up into pieces before being fried.

There were complaints about it not being fried as a whole roll which contributed to its dryness but I thought otherwise as all the sides were extra crispy without losing too much in terms of juiciness.

Another side order was the Sai Toh Fish Cake @ RM8.90 that tasted ordinary and rather similar to those found in many shops that offer this as a snack...as these are not made inhouse and probably come from a common supplier.

Just so you're informed, we were here for dinner one evening and all the other side orders were sold out except for this, so you know this was probably the least favoured snack...lol!

My Personal Opinion

This Sabah pork noodles offers a different option to the usual pork noodles...and I've to say I enjoyed it so much that I'm eating it almost on a weekly basis.  Of course, the availability of Sarawak white pepper made the soup taste even better, in my opinion.

The unflattering reviews of this shop (by some people I know) actually turned out to be untrue.  That's why it's always best to try out for yourself instead of relying on other people's views on it.  So, if pork noodles is a favourite of yours, then I would recommend that you give this a try.

Sin Hing Long Sabah Pork Noodles

No 5 Jalan Pandan Indah 4/10

Pandan Indah

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Pepper Lunch @ Aeon Maluri

Pepper Lunch @ Aeon Maluri is a casual, fast-service restaurant franchise based on a Japanese teppanyaki-style cooking method (with branches in Pavilion Bukit Jalil, Main Place USJ and KL East Mall including Genting & Cameron Highlands) offering a unique DIY teppanyaki dining experience.

Although Pepper Lunch has been in the Malaysian market since 2019 (I think I first noticed them in Pavilion KL), the branch in Aeon Maluri was opened just last year in November which makes it very convenient for me when I'm out grocery shopping in Aeon.

Pepper Lunch offers options of premium steaks, sizzling curry rice, teppan pasta, deluxe combos (of 2 or 3 meats), Japanese classics (with teriyaki sauce) and cheesy omelette rice but their signature is pepper rice which was what we started with, their Beef Pepper Rice @ RM19.90 nett.  This Beef Pepper Rice happens to be one of the weekday promotion sets (under Belly Busters) and comes with an egg and refillable Green Tea.

Pepper Lunch offers the novel concept of you cooking your meat on their patented sizzling hot pan for that unique experience of 'Sizzling it your Way' where you get to cook your meat to your desired doneness, so the protein is served raw to your table.

On the table you'll find bottles of garlic soy sauce, sweet brown sauce (not a fan) and more black pepper for you to season your meat and rice further should you feel the need to.  The taste of the black pepper is adequately sufficient but I love more + a drizzle of garlic soy too.

I had the Beef & Salmon Pepper Rice @ RM24.90 and, similarly, the salmon and beef was served raw for you to cook.  The beef is sliced so thinly that it's automatically tender.  Between the beef and salmon, I preferred the beef.

Although the instructions tell you to mix everything together until the meat is cooked, I prefer to let the meat sizzle and cook on the hot pan separately, that way I can get a bit more browning on the meat.

I also ordered a side dish of Mashed Potatoes @ RM4.20 to share.  Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy the mashed potatoes because of the brown gravy.  Let's just day I'd rather eat KFC's brown gravy...lol! :O  Other side dishes include miso soup, edamame, french fries and crispy fried chicken.

Since we enjoyed the food, we made a return trip soon after.  My son had the same Beef Pepper Rice again but since it was a weekend, there was no promotion set offered, so it cost RM20.50 this time.

I decided to try one of their teppan pasta and ordered the Beef Aglio Olio @ RM22.80 (other options include Seafood Aglio Olio, Salmon & Prawn Carbonara and Chicken & Cheese Chicken Sausage Aglio Olio).

Going for the beef aglio olio was a no-brainer as beef is a less common option for pasta than seafood and chicken at most places.  The thinly sliced beef is the same one you get with beef pepper rice...the only difference is this one comes with a preset sauce for you to drizzle over your beef and pasta.

I asked for the cheese to be omitted.  I noticed a bit of extra seasoning besides the chilli powder...possibly some seasoning (like chicken powder) together with a sprinkling of dried parsley.  I guess if you still needed further seasoning, you could use the garlic soy and black pepper that's freely available on the table.

My Personal Opinion

Overall, I think Pepper Lunch hits all the right spots when it comes to a satisfying peppery meal with either beef or salmon (chicken and prawn options are also available) and you can have it with either rice or spaghetti.  Between the two though, I prefer it with rice...while beef is my first choice for protein.

This place offers an affordable (prices are appropriately reasonable) and quick meal (the food does arrive at your table pretty fast since it's served raw for you to do your own cooking).  And it's all done with their patented sizzling hot teppan which makes cooking it a breeze for everyone.

Pepper Lunch

S10 Second Floor Aeon Maluri

Jalan Jejaka

Taman Maluri

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tap Room @ Bamboo Hills (Again)

Believe it or not, this was our third visit to Tap Room @ Bamboo Hills in 6 months! :O  Well, we love the vibes and ambience here, and the food and drinks, of course...and we always end up having a good time here! ;)

Let's see, our first visit to Tap Room was just for snacks, desserts, coffees and beers as we already had a lavish premium beef lunch at Kampai Yakiniku before that.  For our second visit, we had a proper meal there, specifically their pizzas at Pizza Duo, together with some nice starters from Tap Room.

This round we tried a few more different appetisers from their tapas menu starting with the Grilled Eggplant @ RM24.80 featuring roasted eggplant with golden baby shrimps, lemon aioli and sriracha sauce.

The lightly battered baby shrimps were nice and crispy eaten with the mildly sweet and earthy roasted eggplant pieces with a bit of crunch and freshness provided by the baby pink turnips and edible micro herbs. It was a delightful enough starter to start. ^_~

Next was this dish of Roasted Cauliflower @ RM24.80 which consists of a whole roasted cauliflower with coconut flakes and served with either pomodoro sauce or a creamy sambal terasi.  What you see here is the pomodoro sauce which is typically a tomato-based sauce (though we also requested for the creamy, slightly spicy sambal terasi later).

I was inspired to order this dish when I saw it on the menu coz I've always liked fried cauliflower at Indian restaurants + I was reminded of a cauliflower dish I similarly enjoyed at a (now-closed) restaurant.  This preparation is slightly different (of course)...the roasted (and softened) whole cauliflower had a sweet glaze over it almost like brown sugar (or gula melaka) and the toasted coconut flakes offered yet another layer of sweetness to it.

Just like our previous visit, we ordered a third dish to share, the Ultimate Cheese Sandwich @ RM66.80 thinking to indulge again in the awesome pizzas we had so enjoyed on our last visit.  But that derailed our intention dead in its track! :O  Why, you ask?  I thought I was ordering a third starter...and it was clearly not when it arrived.  We were clearly not expecting such a humongous sandwich! O_o  It certainly did not look anything like the portion size of the one in the menu.

Not only was the bread huge, they were thick as well (at least an inch thick), the ultimate cheese sandwich was filled with smoked duck, mushrooms, baby spinach, caramelised onions, cheddar, mozzarella and truffle oil.  It was served with a side of garlic+honey+soy shoestring fries and a salad of baby spinach, cherry tomatoes and red turnip.  Not that the sandwich wasn't good but we were so full (there were 4 slices and we each had one) we couldn't eat anything else let alone our initial plan of coming here to eat the pizzas we enjoyed so much on our last visit.

We were so stuffed we couldn't even eat dessert, so what do we do...we ordered more drinks (so this turned out to be more of a drinking session than an eating session)! :D  There were beers (India Pale Ale @ RM28, Pale Ale @ RM23 & Happy Lager @ RM23), 3 glasses of cocktails for RM85, coffees of Iced Caffe Latte @ RM16 and a cold pressed juice of Heart Health (Beetroot/Apple/Carrot/Ginger/Lemon) @ RM18.  There was no better day to enjoy beers at a 68% discount than on the eve of the National Day holidays when we were there! ^.^

My Personal Opinion

This third visit to Tap Room was a visit where we not only ate the least things (only 3 dishes) but also ate the least inspiring dishes.  Not that they weren't any good...they were still decent just less impressive compared with what we had on our earlier two visits.

Their menu has so much variety that not every dish we pick will be outstanding.  We got ourselves stuffed silly in the process...and maybe a little disappointed coz our original intention of coming here to partake in the pizzas we so enjoyed the last time was not met.  But no regrets, we can only get to know how much we like a dish after trying, right?  In the end, we enjoyed our drinking session...and our get-together chit chat session as always. ^_~

Tap Room

Unit P10-01 & P10-02 Bamboo Hills

Taman Bukit Bambu

Off Lebuhraya Duta-Ulu Kelang (DUKE)

51200 Kuala Lumpur

CoffeeLicious (Lunch Options) @ Pandan Indah

CoffeeLicious @ Pandan Indah has been a regular haunt of mine (since discovering its existence months back) for a good western breakfast and a cup of coffee in the mornings to kickstart my day right (and I'm there on a regular basis).

I enjoy the tranquility of a quiet morning while sipping on my cup of coffee.  But CoffeeLicious isn't just about breakfasts, they have lunch options too.

And seeing how much I did enjoy their breakfast items, I came with a friend for lunch one day.  She chose the Spaghetti Carbonara Lunch Set @ RM25 inclusive of a drink.

The moment the spaghetti arrived, we were bowled over by just how large the portion was.  It came generously filled with chicken ham and fresh shiitake mushrooms (button mushrooms would have been better, of course) topped with cheese and a sprinkling of dried parsley served with a piece of crunchy sourdough toast with garlic spread.

I had the Spaghette Bolognese Lunch Set @ RM23 (which also includes a free drink) and served with the same garlic-infused sourdough toast as above.  You can again see how plentiful the meat sauce was...and they were not kedekut (stingy) with the minced chicken either.

I found myself enjoying this bolognese more than I thought I would as the tomato sauce was just nicely balanced, not too acidic like many I've had before.  Of course, I told them to hold the cheese in my spaghetti.  Again, it was a very big portion and you'll definitely come away feeling full.

Our drink of choice was of course Iced Latte....which is my friend's favourite choice of coffee and mine too, a firm favourite when I'm here.

Besides these pastas set, they've also introduced a couple of new sandwiches that are heartier (and probably more suitable for lunch though they can also be for breakfast if you're extra hungry or have a bigger appetite) and they include the Chicky Chick Sandwich, Avo Prawn Sandwich and AvoWhole Sandwich.

As you can see, many of their dishes are avocado-focussed, so if you're fan of avocado you know where you can get your fix....and I'm a fan! ;)  So I started with this Egg & Avocado Toast @ RM20 comprising of scrambled eggs and avocado over a piece of sourdough toast (with coffee, of course, a Hot Long Black @ RM9).

The scrambled eggs are as per usual, nice and fluffy, with slices of fresh, creamy avocado.  If you're a fan of avocado, you'd know that avocado and eggs is a perfect combo! ;)

Although I love eggs and avocado together, I would have liked it better if the avocado was mashed for that creamier texture instead of just sliced.  I made a special request the next time I had this and was happy they obliged and agreed to make it into an avocado mash for me...yumzzz! ^o^

On one of my visits here, I tried something from their new sandwich menu, the Avo Prawn Sandwich @ RM28 paired with an Iced Latte @ RM12.  I was a bit taken aback when the dish arrived as it looked nothing like the pic in the menu...it was served more like a Japanese-style sando sandwich.

Releasing the sandwich from its packaging, I could see that it was filled wth prawns, scrambled eggs, mashed avocado and cherry tomatoes.  I'm afraid I didn't like the prawns as they were those frozen, translucent-looking prawns with an overly crunchy texture.

Needless to say, this was the least favourite thing I ate from here.  I would have preferred if it was served exactly like the one shown in their menu or, even better, an open-faced sandwich coz wrapping it up made the sourdough soft (like those soft, fluffy milk bread used in a sando sandwich)...but I want that nicely toasted, crisp, crusty texture of sourdough as it's supposed to be.

My Personal Opinion

A convenient and pleasant stop for me in the mornings to get my fix of coffee, breakfast and (sometimes) lunch on days when I'm hankering for a western meal.

If you're a lover of avocado (like I am), they have quite a few options on their menu for you to sink your teeth into like the Mushroom Egg & Cheese Bagel + Avocado and Avocado Beet Hummus Toast besides the two newly launched sourdough sandwiches...but their Egg & Avocado Toast is still my favourite (and I make a special request for the avocado to be mashed). ^.^

CoffeeLicious

3G Jalan Pandan Indah 4/33

Pandan Indah

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-4288 3387