Shio Sushi @ Pandan Indah

Finally...a slightly higher end sushi restaurant (that's not like Sushi Mentai or Sakura Sushi) has opened up in my neighbourhood, Shio Sushi @ Pandan Indah...and I'm pretty ecstatic after my maiden visit.

Although I can't help but worry for them as I found the restaurant almost empty (there was just another table occupied) on a weekday (Friday) lunch (and I was there at peak lunch time at 1pm...and we even managed to park at their reserved lot).  I would have thought there'd be a bit more crowd from office workers during lunch time...but I guess the (higher) prices are not that affordable for the majority type of working crowd here (who aren't typically white-collar workers).

Notwithstanding that, we started with the Salmon Ikura Don @ RM28 as our first dish and when it arrived, my first impression was that the portion looked rather small (luckily, we ordered an extra dish for sharing).

The bowl was filled with slices of thick, fresh salmon sashimi as well as fairly juicy ikura though I would have liked if the salmon roe was slightly bigger in size but, at the price of the don, there's really no cause for complaint.  Besides salmon sashimi and ikura, there were also two small slices of tamago which was tastily done.

The dish for sharing is chef recommended from their signature series, the Shio Signature Roll @ RM12.  I could see finely shredded cucumber inside and crispy batter over sushi rice and nori sheet (it was a pretty basic sushi).

Nothing too spectacular with the taste of the roll (can't expect much also at that price) but the one thing I did notice was that the rice has slight tinge of (very light) brown.  On checking their FB, it seems they season their sushi rice with akazu which is a traditional Japanese red vinegar...rumoured to offer a naturally sweet with a much smoother, less harsh taste than regular rice vinegar.  Certainly decent in taste and the fine crumbs of batter were very crispy.

I zeroed in on the beef straight away and got myself the Saikoro Steak with Mini Tempura Set @ RM45 and was bowled over by the magnitude of it (it even had more dishes that the photo in the menu!).

Let's start with the mini dishes...it had a small plate each of potato salad, spicy tuna, including a miso soup and cawanmushi, with watermelon as dessert to end the meal.

There was also a mini salad of crunchy shredded cabbage, cucumber slices and wedges of cherry tomatoes tossed in a refreshingly light mayo dressing.

The side dish was the mini tempura with two batter-coated shrimps, one shiitake mushroom and one brinjal that were light tasting and super crispy.  A rather successful tempura, if you ask me, in terms of taste and crunchiness, accompanied by a traditional dipping sauce typically served with tempura.

Now, onto the main of saikoro steak featuring bite-sized beef that has been cut into cubes.  I was not asked my preferred doneness but when the dish landed on our table, I breathed a sigh of relief as I could see that the centre of the diced beef was still very much pink.

Cooked to medium rare (perhaps that's their default doneness) and tender with a good sear on the outside, they were extremely delightful for beef that price.  They were cooked in a savoury, delicious sauce with stir-fried vegetables of cabbage, red and green capsicum, onions and mushrooms.

My Personal Opinion

I'm so glad that a higher end (slightly only!) Japanese restaurant has finally landed in my taman compared to the usual lower priced Japanese outlets we have here that are highly popular.  Some may even consider this not affordable for a typical family meal but that's because they're probably not used to the even higher end Japanese restaurants elsewhere.  I actually think they're not high end or high priced at all.

Based on what I tried on my maiden visit, I'm 110% sure that I'll be back...very soon (to try other dishes)!  But as I'm writing this, I'm already thinking of having the saikoro steak again coz @ RM45 not only is it value-for-money, the portion is very generous and filling too (I needed help to finish, so the portion is certainly good enough even for a guy or one with a big appetite)! ^_~

Shio Sushi

48 Jalan Pandan Indah 4/6B

Pandan Indah 

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 012-693 6136

Master Duck @ Pandan Indah

We noticed a new place specialising in ducks opened up recently in our neighbourhood, Master Duck @ Pandan Indah when we were waiting for our seats in Win Win Western Food for dinner one evening and decided to check it out for an early lunch the following week.

Apparently they have another branch in Kepong but the shop here occupies a pretty small space with probably about 10+ tables inside...and that's because a major portion of its frontage space is taken up by a display cabinet (where the ducks are hung to dry) and their action counter (where the meats are chopped and prepped).

As the name implies, they're obviously a specialist in ducks...and that's the first thing that greets you when you walk into the restaurant.  On the left, you'll find ducks being hung to air dry (probably to crisp up the skin and for flavours to develop) before being roasted.

Right at the entrance, on the right, you'll see the already prepped and roasted ducks hanging deliciously to entice your palate.  Judging by the plentiful ducks on display, they must be doing good business.

Although I saw pics of wantan mee and curry mee (when I googled the restaurant), I didn't find any noodles on their menu.  Perhaps when they started a few months ago, they had that on the menu but they aren't offered now.  So our only option is to have the roasted meats with rice...and when it comes to duck, we (as a family) hardly ever never order a whole duck (coz only both of us eat duck) nor half or a quarter duck (as both of us only want duck breast)! ;D

My husband went for the Roasted Duck Rice @ RM10 with a request for duck breast and an add-on braised egg @ RM1 (he said the egg is rather cheap and I certainly agree).  I've to say the duck meat is rather meaty but tender while the skin is just lightly crispy.

As for the braised egg, the looks of it tells the story...I wouldn't call that a braised egg as the braising liquid hasn't even clung onto the egg. >_<

Taste wise, the duck was certainly decent.  Just to forewarn you, the meat marinade has a herbal flavour coz I know some people do not like roast duck with a herbal flavour (like my husband).  I too prefer a non-herbal duck but, luckily, the herbal flavour was not strong at all (in fact it's not so evident in the meat) but you can certainly taste the dong guai in the sauce underneath.  My only wish was for the duck meat to be a little juicier and perhaps a tad more flavour.

My son had the Char Siu Rice @ RM10 with a request for a half lean half fat cut of char siu.  The char siu was very tender with the meat falling apart like pulled pork.

The key to a good char siu is in the marinade and how well it's roasted.  This one met half its brief, commendable for being well roasted but the marinade could be better.

As for me, what's the best way of sampling more of their roasted meats...well, order a trio (of course) of Roasted Duck Mix Three @ RM17 of duck, char siu and siu yuk.

I asked for duck breast too...and you already know what I think of the roast duck and char siu.  As for the siu yuk, it had a fairly crispy skin and I wouldn't say it was superbly fragrant or savoury either.  I found both the skin and meat lacking in flavour.  So, it was the least successful of the 3 roasted meats I tried.

Duck (though I asked for breast, got some bones this time >.<) and char siu is what I like to get when I'm here since these two meats are preferred to the siu yuk.  It's what I usually have on my subsequent visits + I can share some of my char siu with my husband. 

At RM10 for a plate of roasted duck (breast) rice, I think it's great value with a sizeable portion.  The portion is (surprisingly) even heftier when I tapau (pack) coz they gave the bony parts as well under the breast...just look at that amount (I wasn't able to finish)! :O

Glad to come across a fresh chilli dip that's thick and spicy as many of the ones out there can be rather diluted (our second visit the chilli dip wasn't as thick but still decently thick).  It was good but could do with just a little bit more lime juice in the mix.  

I included a side dish of Choy Sum with Minced Pork @ RM8 which was just a small bowl of stir-fried finely chopped choy sum with a tiny amount of minced porked.  It was nicely executed and a good accompaniment for our otherwise meaty affair.  When I find this dish at the chap fan place in my neighbourhood, I will not hesistate to get it.  I don't particularly like choy sum but enjoy it when it's cooked this way (all chopped up).

On my second visit, I managed to try this recommended dish of Winged Beans with Dried Shrimp @ RM8 (it was not available on my previous visit) for the vegetable component of our meal.  The four angled beans was nice and crunchy although I would have preferred it to be cut a little thicker for an even crunchier bite.  Just note that the portion of vegetables is really small for RM8.  You can do an add on vegetable (for RM2) to your single meal of roasted meat rice...my husband joked "would that me one spoon of vegetables?"...lol!

For drinks, I was intrigued by the Salted Coffee and Barley Coffee on the menu, not something often offered in other restaurants.  Not knowing what it was and how it would taste, I ordered the Salted Coffee @ RM4.90 (still a safer bet than Barley Coffee I reckon).  Well, it turned out super enjoyable.  Lightly salty to counter the sweetness of the coffee (note that I didn't ask for less sweet coz I wasn't sure if the saltiness would be too much).

On my second visit, I gave Barley Coffee a thought, just for a split second (but the taste of barley in coffee doesn't quite sound as attractive or intriguing enough), before ordering the Salted Coffee again coz it was just too good to not have again.

When leaving the restaurant, lo and behold, I found the coffees being sold at the entrance.  Oh, apparently it's instant coffee from a sachet (so I can't ask for less sweet even if I wanted to)...and the brand is Uncle Wong from Taiping (since 1874!).  Well, I was tempted to cart a box home...but NO, especially not after I've read the content of sugar and salt (let's leave this for once a while indulgence when I'm here for the duck rice).

My Personal Opinion

Overall, it was a pleasant enough dining experience with the roasted meats...probably one of the better roasted duck (if not the best) we have in our taman for now though it's not among the better ones out there. Of the 3 roasted meats I tried, two were like supporting cast members to the main star as the roasted duck still came out tops (it goes without saying that they're still a master of ducks)!

It's a nice addition to the neighourhood of a standalone duck rice place (with roasted meats) where one can dine in a more comfortable environment (that's not a stall in a coffee shop)...and I'm happy that I can have my duck fix without venturing too far.  Above all else, it's really great value for duck coz at only RM10 a plate, the portion is pretty good (even bigger if you tapau). ^_~

Master Duck Roasted House

47G Jalan Pandan Indah 4/6B

Pandan Indah

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 011-5174 9741

Udon-Ya San @ Pandan Indah

Udon-Ya San @ Pandan Indah has been around for many years and though I noticed that they have a rather high rating (4.4) on Google, I've not come around to try.

The reason being I've never been a big fan of udon noodles....I prefer soba or ramen! ;)  But since it was one of my friend's favourite udon place (and she wanted me to try), we were here for dinner one evening.

Well, you're in the home of an udon specialist, so what do you have?  Udon, of course! ;D  I had the Tsukimi Udon Soup Set @ RM18 that comes with chicken kaarage, a mini salad, soup and green tea.  I've to agree with her that the udon is not bad at all (they were slurp-worthy)...and the soup had wakame, an onsen egg and batter bits in a subtle tasting soup which I appreciated.

My friend had the exact same thing, the Tsukimi Udon Dry Set also @ RM18, except she opted for the dry version.  The chicken kaarage that came with both the sets were 3 huge pieces, so the set was indeed value for money.  Well fried and crispy, they were decent tasting.

The mini salad that came with the set was the standard salad of shredded cabbage and carrot, a usual at Japanese restaurants (with a light dressing of roasted sesame).  Other choices of udon besides tsukimi (dry and soup) include cha su, duck, beef, seafood, curry, carbonara, mentaiko, goma salad and kake udon.

I placed an order for a side dish of Fried Gyoza @ RM12.  It was missing that crisp and well charred bottom (and edges) we've come to expect of a good gyoza.

Another side dish for sharing was the Assorted Vegetables Tempura @ RM7.  I was hoping for the batter to be lighter and crispier and not so thick.  Other side dishes include ebi tempura, kakiage, tonkatsu, chicken katsu, ajitama, goma salad and edamame.

My Personal Opinion

It's a place you can come for your udon fix...and that's about it! ^_~  The udon here is certainly slurp-worthy and decent (just not sure how it compares to other udon places since I've not eaten enough udon to be an authority on it as udon is not way up there on my list of favourite noodles to eat).

Also, don't expect too much from their other menu items that aren't udon.  In the end, I think the low prices may be the contributing factor to its ratings and popularity.  If you don't set your expectations too high, you should have a fulfilling meal here (with the emphasis on "full") at a very decent price.

Udon-Ya San

65 Jalan Pandan Indah 4/3A

Pandan Indah

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 012-236 8131

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