Sunday, March 30, 2008

Pizza Hut Italiano Paradiso

First before you continue please watch this advertisment first. Before you jump to conclusions, no I am not trying to sell you Pizza Hut's food.... just thought this advertisment is so funny !!




end of video

So pretty cool advertisment isn't it ? To me this is one of those misleading ones. It's tag line is go for original right.....

So our visit to Pizza Hut was prompted by Sayang's mom, who wanted to eat some pizza, because that night, didn't feel like cooking. Usually I'd vote for Dominoes anytime , that has delivery to the house, but, to be fair, her folks really like the food at Pizza Hut.

One of the reasons why its really nice to dine-in at Pizza Hut, is because, you can order a Salad Bowl for only Rm6. You can put in as much salad as you can, on a little 5inch shallow bowl.


Then there is this really cool Italian Paradiso advertisment I hear everyday on Radio, and they even put it up on the net for us to see... whoa... have to order la, original Italian Paradiso wo...
So we ordered a set which comprises of 1 regular Italian Paradiso Pizza (chicken), 1 Bruschetta, 2 Bowls of mushroom soup, and 2 glasses of 7Up REvive... all for only RM32. Its a set meal.

For the four of us, we decided to add, that bowl of Salad, and one Brushcetta, and one more Cheestix.


The soup arrived, really hot, I think its the standard mushroom soup they put in that big black pot. Not sure if you can see from the picture but there was almost no cream in the soup. Its watery, no starch, no creamy, and there was only a little hint of mushroom flavour in it. If not because of the tiny shreds of button mushrooms that was floating on the soup, I wouldn't have gotten any hint that it was a mushroom soup. Oh you can see those little mushrooms, shreds, strips, floating on the picture above.

Cheese stix had little cheese, but did leave a cheese aftertaste...

We ordered two Bruschettas and one came to us cold, the other hot. In case some Pizza Hut manager reads about this, its from the Kepong branch la.... go send your auditors and audit their service.

Pizza Hut should not take pride in what they serve, because the only thing original about their food is that its Pizza done Malaysian style. They short change you in terms of quality of the ingredients, and the quantity of the ingredients. For instance, if there is a term for watered down cheese, thats what their cheese tastes like.

Now this is Pizza Hut's Italiano Paradiso Pizza. Its made out of a few chunks of tomatoes, capsicum, and a few pieces of chicken meat, a thin layer of watered down cheese, all in all, not a very good pizza to begin with.

They short change us on the cheese, plus I think this recipe does not contain tomato paste at all. To sum up, I think the pizza was more to fill up our tummy's ( I'd give an A+ for that if I were grading them), taste wise, fail.

This visit has not changed my views about Pizza Hut, their pizzas are a half past six in taste, and in quality. I am only bitching about this because they are much better pizzas to have then to waste your money at Pizza Hut, for instance,

try Dominoes
try Canadian 2 for 1
try Pizza Venezia


Also read other reviews on Italiano Paradiso...

Rubygurl
Ceritabosan
JY Yummy


ps how can pasta come in a laksa, how come mona lisa become mona ali... aiyooooo....

Friday, March 28, 2008

Why MCA by Comedy Court

Please take a listen to this song, Why MCA, by comedycourt.com.my





Really hilarious and I thought Allan and Indi, these two fellas are massive....

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

JCO Donut, Tapau from The Pavillion

One fine day, after a tiresome day at work, I got home and to my delight, I saw three boxes of JCO on the dining table. After having heard so much about JCO being the original Indonesian Donut Chain. Big Apple being the copykat.

Mom and dad, said the line was very long but they were determined to bring some donuts back home....


If you can only see the resemblance in how they make it, the colors they provide, and the flavours. The only difference I can make out is the pastry, or the donut itself. I find Big Apple's pastry a little big more fluffier / and softer as compared to J CO's Donuts.


So after you leave these donuts overnight, I think the J Co has better staying power than the Big Apple donuts. J CO's donuts has better staying power, and tastes close to its original form, after being reheated in the microwave.

Big Apple's just become too soft.... So if you're going to eat your donuts fresh and warm, Big Apple definitely nicer. But if you want to tapau and leave those donuts overnight, the JCO ones are definitely better.

Whatever said and done, Big Apple is now easier to get than J Co's. Big Apple has opened at The Gardens, Tesco Cheras, and soon, in Desa Park City too....

J. Co Donuts & Coffee
Lot 1.05.00
First Floor
The Pavilion
Kuala Lumpur

Also read:

teckiee
Narrowband
KYate @ J CO also
Masak-masak

Monday, March 24, 2008

One Noodle @ Desa Park City

Its really amazing at how much Desa Park City has developed since we first heard about it some few years back. We were on our way home from Pahang, when the few of us who has heard about Desa Park City said why not drop by and check this place out, we haven't had a chance to see it, after hearing a lot about it...

So we headed off to The Waterfront, Desa Park City's Commercial area, and One Noodle was spotted, and we decided to go in there for some makan. That night makan was on me anyways, after a succesful installation in Pahang, we were to celebrate la...

I recommended them the Seafood La Mian, and the two guys ordered exactly that. No complains about the noodles really, tastes just as nice as their HQ, in Kepong. Its basically a Seafood Soup Noodles with lots and lots of seafood in it, fish, clams, huge prawns, squid, and much more stuff.
Since I have already been here like, a few times this year, I decided to try something else. These came with Teochew braised pork and noodles. This dish was really appetizing, because of the full flavoured teochew braised pork.... Very hoi wai , thats how the cantonese would have said it... YummY!!!

We ordered some appetizers that took too long to arrive, so it sort of like became our dessert. Really nice, grilled dumplings, made simple, just pork and prawns in it. One warning to you though, becareful not to burn your lips or tongue while eating this stuff...
Seasonal Vegetables to complete this meal with some good fibre.

Total bill came up to about 98 bucks for three persons. A bit on the expensive side, but it was really good food. The noodles, seafood, and my braised pork were served in generous portions. The taste seems to be the same, really can give a thumbs up, but I do hope their service improves though..... My grilled dumplings took 40 mins to arrive......

This Desa Park City branch has got a nice interior decor in it, the kind that gives you that, "expensive restaurant" feeling.... I think the food is alright , ok, but service must improve tremendously....

Also check out

DailyRantings
previous visit

Weatethis
Aries Affairs
SlowCatchupKuan
Mimid3vils
IpohWav3

Friday, March 21, 2008

Haipeng Kopitiam @ Kemaman, Terengganu

I was on a business trip up to Kuantan, and while driving up to Kuantan, my colleague and I had 3 hourse to decide, stay in Kuantan town or Cherating ? After almost reaching Gambang, we impulsively decided, Cherating la.. cheaper seafood there... hohoho....

We reached Cherating after dark, and at night, we mostly drove around in dimly lit streets around Cherating Beach, looking for a nice place that serves Seefood, something that is appropriate for my diet, see food diet... and also bought a whole bunch of Ikan Satay and Keropok ikan and udang from those road side stalls along the highway, from Cherating to Chukai.

I must have been to the Kuantan branch before, but my colleague who was a bit blur blur, told me, in Chukai town got one Kopitiam very nice wan... so I asked, is it Hai Peng ? He said dunno wo... so we drove to Chukai town lo.... upon reaching Chukai town in the district of Kemaman, you can't miss this collosal sign that says, Kedai Kopi Hai Peng... and upon seeing that sign, I immediately recognize this building from Anneh's Blog , ah... this must be it, we have reached our destination..

As we walked in, I had to scout and see what other people are eating. Most people there look like they work around the area, and come here for their breakfast before punching in for work.

The most impressive item I ordered that morning was their toast. Its toast with majerine, and kaya , almost like any other toast served by any other kopitiams we can find in KL, except.... that their bread is not made of air..... its a piece of solid Hainanese bread the way it should be served...
I also had to try their Nasi Lemak which look absolutely delicious.. .....

Thats their Nasi Dagang, some sort of glutinous rice, served with Ikan Tongkol (really fresh ones), and a simple packet of fried bee hoon for breakfast. The Nasi Dagang was out of this world, because of the freshness of its fish, otherwise, its just a delicious packet of rice. Their beehoon was nothing to shout about, but still packs in a little oomph because of their special sambal used.


I really thought , this place is cool. It gives you a real old school kopitiam feel when you are sitting inside, its like reliving the good old Grandfather story days la.... Their coffee is like extra kau one, but taste wise, it can be very subjective. I brought back half a kilo of their coffee powder and found out that it stains my coffee plunger much more than the normal gourmet coffee and white coffee, and is less aromatic, slightly more oily than the normal AIk Cheong Kopi O, and definitely not very sourish....



Red Mummy
Food4Thot
Headsteadi
Masak-Masak

Monday, March 17, 2008

SangHarMee @ Souled Out, Hartamas

After that disappointing visit to the Apartment, we were going to meet up with Yew Meng again. This time around, he decided to take matters into his own hands, he called up and said, eh.. we meet up at Souled Out this time la... can eat and drink with the rest of them... so immediately said, wokay la...

By the time we arrived, most of them has already finished their food. Already started their beer and jollying session. Its really different nowadays, because I remember we used to really just hang out at Pool Bars, or SkyVenture till 5am in the morning drinking and playing snooker. Now, the conversations revolve around their kids, golf, and generally about the state of Malaysian politics.

Okay, so I ordered my Sang Har Noodles, and it came out like a tower... I was immediately impressed. The vapour from the gravy invaded my nose with a spectrum of pleasant aromas, the various herbs, and the prawn paste was strongly evident.

This plate of noodles really tastes quite authentic, and surprisingly delicious. The noodles were crunchy, and the gravy vapoury hot, and the prawns were fresh.... What more does one ask for when you order a Sang Har Noodles ? My verdict : This was flawless

SOuled Out at Sri Hartamas actually has an extensive menu of Western and Local Dishes, and I categorise them as Cafe Prices (affordable). And overall so far their food is quite alright, from average to good...

Other reviews:-

JulianSi
- compare his bad review of the SangHar Noodles with mind...
Minded Vian
Yuki
KampungBoyCityGal
JOe's Craving


Friday, March 14, 2008

The Apartment @ The Curve

When you have a friend coming home to visit from another country, you just want to share with the new places to eat, and at the same time catch up with him, and also try out a new place, at a chic, and trendy place. Thats why we suggested, let's try The Apartment at the Curve.

We always walk past this place, and before they opened for business, I thought, IKEA decided to open a mini showroom over on this side of the Curve.


The start off we had our starter. Some kinda mushroom with herbs and garlic pieces on it. Forgot how much this costs us, but at the end of the review, I will reveal the total bill. You can see that the mushroom is blanched first, then put in a pan , fried and tossed with olive oil, together with their blended herbs. Maybe the MAT salleh will like it, but I didn't. Sayang condemned the food, so I actually had to finish it up all by myself..... expensive la the starter, don't waste...

After we started, it never stopped. When my main arrived, I ordered a Cheese Baked Fish (forgot which kind also). It came with some baked potatoes, and that herb (which I found too pungent for my liking)..... The fish was ok though, simply baked, and drenched with cheese.... but still, for presentation wise, looks very normal, and they didn't put much thought into dressing the dish, plus the taste was just very normal......


Sayang ordered her Lamb Curry, served with bread. Those powdery stuff on the bread is actually sugar. I looked at the dish, and then I turned my attention to Sayang, I saw a face of disgust..... Do you know how the lamb curry tasted like ????

It tasted like a can of YEO's Canned Mutton Curry...... alamak. Rm20 or more leh that dish.

Our friend ordered this Pasta dish, and as I read from Meiyen's blog, this came from the Pride of Apartment. I took a bite, and thought it shouldn't be the pride of anything at all, because it tasted like a Fried Pasta very bland tasting fried pasta....

Sayang and myself have vowed never to eat in the Apartment ever again...

The bill came up to Rm99 something , totally not worth a single sen man !!!!



Masak-Masak
Life's Gr8
MeiYen
SimpleAsC

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Kam's Kitchen @ Cheras Revisited



Kam's kitchen has since taken over as our neighbourhood favourite Tai Chow Restaurant for our family. The last time I reviewed this particular restaurant , they had just moved to their new premise here (that was in August 2007). Today they consistently fill up their restaurants, and I was about to find out why....

It was just another family dinner, except that my brother felt like he wanted to drink abit. The captain, recommended us FRESH todi, just made early in the morning, so since we haven't been driving to Pandamaran or anywhere near Klang for our Todi fixes, ok la why not, we try one bottle, contained in a 1.5l Seamaster water bottle, I looked at it and thought, it was barley... hehehehe.... My first time drinking todi, and found it quite enjoyable, and I believe we add stout to it so that it gives the extra kick, and also to make it less cooling.... Todi , RM10 only, Guiness, standard coffee shop rates.

We ordered a fish, steamed with just light soy sauce and some garlic oil on it. RM12 only, as it states on the receipt. The fish that they serve you are usually fresh here, I have not had any bad complains with their fish ever. They now have an aquarium where they keep their fish alive until it is cooked.

My mom's favourite, Claypot Pumpkin chicken. The pumpkin is actually the main ingredient, as it is mushy, sweetish, with the mix of some Oyster sauce, the smaller chunks mixes with the chicken making it sweet. The bigger ones are cooked longer to make it soft and easy to bite in. Very appetising this dish.... Thats a huge serving for RM20.


For me , this Indonesian Style Prawns is the star tonight. Really very appetising, as it incorporates, really fresh king prawns, extra large in size, with "indonesian styled" curry. Not sure how to explain it, but its really nice. RM50.

Nai Yau Pork Ribs, with sesame. This is a dry dish, as the deep fried pork ribs, is glazed with the Nai Yau gravy. Another very appetising dish, from Kam's. RM15 only.

I actually have no idea what this vegetable is... RM15 only.

The entire bill came up to RM160. Very economical, considering we were having todi and lots of stout that night. Kam's Kitchen is slowly becoming a very famous restaurant for serving really good and economical food in the Cheras area.


Address:
Restoran Kam's Kitchen
No 6 Jalan 18, Kampung Cheras Baru
Tel: 012 290 5623, 017 677 3997
( better bring the phone number in case you need directions)

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

99 Steaks & Chops @ Tmn Tun

We were both driving around Tmn Tun one day and we drove past 99 Steaks & Chops. It had this banner hanging out in the front, with a really korny tag line, "Now everyone can eat !". To me thats like curi'ing Air Asia's tagline all.. wakakaka.. nevertheless, it did enough to get the both of us to walk in and try their food.

We ordered a soup, which surprisingly came with a piece of bread already dunked inside, and a swirl of cheese really gave it the extra body the soup needed. Quite brilliant (talking about the cheese) because it really gave a good oomph to the soup which otherwise could have just been another bowl of soup.

Sayang's inability to digest beef (not sure what you call it) always has her ordering her favourite lamb chops. I gotta say, this place does serve up some really nice lamb chops, and it came together with a scoop of coleslaw, mash potatoes, and some blanched vegetables (nice !!).

Since this place also offers free WIFI, you can see the notebook out on the table.


My usual quick beef fix is always satisfied by a simple burger. I didn't know what to expect really, so when the burger arrived, it really does look huge, for a Rm10(don't remember how much jo) something burger. They didn't ask me how I like my burger done, so it just came well done. The sesame seed bun that comes with the burger, is huge. Really makes the burger look a lot taller and a generous sized patty (larger than a quarter pound and somewhere less than a 1/2 pound ). Again for me the cheese really made the difference, and I enjoyed my burger that night.


So with this post, it ends, our journey into trying cheap Western Food joints like this. I really think this place serves some decent western food, at a very economical price. Just compare with my previous post on MamaChops ( haven't really got any good stuff to say about that place except for Cheap only).

Also try 6 to 10 Grill for some great pork chops, at an economical price, and also try their Nasi Lemak too. Cagayan at BU new wing, also should be categorised under economy western food, but, top two economy Western food should go to 6 to 10 and 99 Steaks & Chops.
Other reviews

Jules Eating Guide
Chefspiration
Small Kuching


99 Steak & Chops
12, Persiaran Zaaba
Taman Tun Dr Ismail
60000 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-7726 5327

Friday, March 07, 2008

MamaChops Papa Grill @ Amansuria PJ

We were just wondering what to eat after we finished a fitting session at Keith Kee's Boutique. We got to our car, and was driving to Amansuria, when we drove past, MamaChops and Papa GRill. To tell you the truth, no one have been to this place, and why not try out this place right ?

Thats how we always try food la, and so we walked right into the mamachops and papa grill outlet in Amansuria. It took awhile for the waitress to come take our order, as suddenly there was two more tables that arrived, just before us. Since they only had one girl working in front, we had to wait to get our orders taken.

After ordering, our sidedish was quickly served. This was a basket of garlic buns. Just KFC Hotbuns, spread with garlic Butter, grilled and served in a little basket.

Sayang's mom ordered her Mushroom Chicken Chop. She thought, it was just ok la. For me, it looked like it was styled towards the Hainanese Chicken Chop style of cooking. I took a piece and thought, ok la, it was really nothing special.

I wanted to have my beef, so I ordered this Grilled Ribeye Steak. I asked for Medium, but I got Medium Well. The rib eye was served with coleslaw, ala KFC style. But their fries were nice, and luckilly it wasn't served KFC style also. hahaha.....

Sayang also abit short on her Red Meat, opted for Mint Lamb Chops. Grilled a bit too dry for my liking, but she loved the lamb. Again the lamb, was not of the better ingredient, but in the end, our meal costed below RM50, so no complains la.

My complains with this place would be just two things, SERVICE, and they served me a 90% cooked Ribeye, when I asked for Medium. I wanted a bloody piece of meat, but they gave me a dry one, no hint of blood, and so on and so forth ( I like my meat Juicy !!! ) heh !!!

Other bloggers review:

There She goes Again


Pros: Really Cheap for a Western Restaurant. Huge Drinks
Cons: Don't know how to cook steak wan.

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Public Bank's Customer Service Department

In case you were wondering how come I have not been blogging as much as before, here is one reason why. I tried to call Public Bank's Hire Purchase Department's number after I have settled my car loan with them. So on the settlement receipt, our nice Public Bank staff nicely chopped their phone number so that I could come and collect the release letter some time later.

Ok la, so I called this number: 03 2272 3833 ( their so called Hunting Line). I wonder what the f$%k they hunt, because it just rings and rings and rings. You are very welcome to try it yourselves, if you don't believe. No one picks up this number, some more someone told me, its their hunting line......

So I called their Hire Purchase number - 1 800 88 1319. Very promptly some guy picked up. I told him what I wanted to do, he apologised and said,

PB HP: different branch sir, this one Jalan Ampang.
ME: OK. so what number I call sir ?
PB HP: You can call their hunting line...
ME: But I called the blardy number whole f@#$ing day liao....
PB HP : oh actually that number got some problem with their PABX System, so why not like this MR Wong, you call this number, 03 2273 9866 / 03 2272 6366, its the direct line to their manager's office.
ME: ok thank you, you are so helpful.

SO I called 2273 9866 - after a few tries, of 1 minute ringing someone picks up.

PBHP Manager's Direct Line: HarLO , Publick Bank!!
Me: Oh pubic bank hire purchase ah ?
PBHP Manager's Direct Line: Yes......
ME: I am looking for Ms.****** who handled my settlement la, so I want to know if my release letter is ready or not, so I called this number whole blardy day and no one picks up.
PBHP Manager's Direct Line: Aiyoh sir, this one ah, is Manager's Direct Line la sir. She is across from the other hall la, I can't pass the line from here. Like this la sir, why don't you leave a message I pass it to her. (FYI: its 130pm, I have already tried half a f$#king day trying to reach this lady).
ME: ok I am Mr Wong, I need to know if my letter is ready. Call me back at 012- XXX 6769.
PBHP Manager's Direct Line: Why don't you also give me your account number sir, so she can do something before she calls you.
Me: ok, my account number is ..................
PBHP Manager's Direct Line: OK thank you sir. She will call you back in perhaps about 15 minutes...
Me: Thanks I will be waiting...

330 pm : Sayang reminded me to call Pubic Bank...

Ok so I called back that number 03 2272 3833 for a few times got fed up and used the manager's direct line again. The lady didnt call me back, not sure if the message was passed or not. This time around, another person answered and told me its the manager's direct line, but then, I have to use that because so far , those numbers are the only ones that reaches someone in that building. Nia sing....... so this other person told me, to reach Ms ***** you have to call these numbers.... 03 2274 5031/ 5026 / 5042... whoa niama, 3 numbers wo... ok lo.

I called 5031 with my handphone, and 5026 with my office phone. Nobody fu%^ing answers the phone around here. PABX spoiled, an image of the telephonist, knitting sweater, appeared in head.... mahems....

After 4 tries, I called the Manager's Direct Line and complained. Someone offered to pass the message again, as they can't pass the line from where they are (the question is, why the F&^K can't they pass the line ?) . I repeat the story again, told him I settled, need release letter.

So I wanted to complain to someone, then I looked up Pubick Bank's website again. Found this number. 1 800 88 8318, it says there, Public Bank Customer Service Department.



Surely make you vomit blood wan. You listen to the call above and you will know what I mean..
Want to complain oso kenot... cis !!

But in the end, by 430 I got a call from 2274 5031 and the lady told me to come collect my release letter. So remember, this, Public Bank's service is probably just as bad as Maybanks... so choose your banks wisely.....