Monday, September 08, 2008

Hawker Delicacies @ Champs Bandar Utama

After trying their most talked about ribs, I had aways wanted to come back and check out their pork noodles. So much so, that one day Adrian was in the Centrepoint area, and asked me, dude, whats nice to eat here, immediately I said, try their pork noodles @ Champs. Although I have never even smelt the noodles before, the recommendation was based on reputation.. hahaha... So our friend came back on Monday morning and told how nice the noodles were and all...

So fast foward a few weeks later, I mentioned pork noodles again, and I got him fantasizing about Champ's Pork Noodles ( Chu Yoke Fun ), so much so, we ended up at Champs that night.

Surprisingly our friend arrived on time while Sayang and I made it there slightly later. It seems on weekends this place can be preety slow, either that or as I remembered it, it was the day Petrol prices went up to RM2.70.

For a pub, they surprisingly sells drinks like Teh Tarik , Kopi - Ping, Barley ice, etc... I ordered a Tiger for myself, while they ordered their Teh Tariks. Drinks were quite alright, and they have Guiness, and Kilkenny of the tap too...

Starter of the day was, half a dozen chicken wings. Marinated with spices, it is deep fried and served smoking hot. Usually when its smoking hot it tastes the best, especially when you rip the meat off the bones, and you see smoke gushing out, followed by its aroma, definitely a feast for your senses. Unless of course, the next table start blowing cigi smoke over la.. hahahaha...

Sayang ordered her prawn mee, which came in a big white bowl, its broth oozing out with aroma, before they put it on the table and all. It had two pieces of big prawn, lots of chicken and pork slices, and the soup was sweet and bursting with flavours. Spiciness was just nice for Sayang although I might "ka liu" with the additional sambal provided.

Adrian and I both went for the Pork Noodles that we have both heard so much about. In this bowl is a generous serving of bee hoon, lots of choi sum, lots of pork slices, pork liver, eh what do you call chu cheong in English ?, minced pork, and lots of lard...... The soup was so flavourful, and sweet man... this is what I call in Cantonese, lok chuk liao ( the right ingredients, in generous amounts ). The noodles costs about RM18 / bowl I think, and it was all worth every penny. The pork noodles were like freaking awesome....


There shouldn't be a need to call up and reserve, although on weekends, you have a lot of families coming in to dine, and they fill up the pub in no time.

Champ's Bistro

Address: Lot F10, 1st Floor, Centrepoint,
Lebuh Bandar Utama, Bandar Utama,
47800 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Telephone: 03-7722 5800

Also read:

Bernsy - Trying out their Ribs at Champs
Nic's Visit
KampungboyCityGal
Kiasu's Visit

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Ribs @ Champs Centerpoint, Bandar Utama

It was one Sunday when we decided, hey why don't we go to Champs at Centerpoint. Want to try their ribs. Actually, what really caught our attention was that when we were at Bernard's which happens to one level below Champs, you can see a big banner that says, The much talked about Ribs in town....


I really haven't been to Champs for food, so this is really the first time. Some time back, we used to come here for a beer or two, but thats all. Nevertheless, when you walk into this outlet, you should be able to find many framed newspaper writeups about their food, and about the restaurant. Whats interesting is that, this restaurant is actually named after his St Bernard, call Champ...

Our only focus today was to try their ribs. Two persons, two mugs of beer and one rib. Sayang is doing her Kilkenny, while I just ordered my Tiger. Their tiger mugs are frosted leh, a little gimmick there, but I do not believe it has made the beer any better....


The ribs really did take a while to cook. This fella here cooking our ribs, as we were the only ones here that day. Still early la, we arrived at about 6 something, but by 7 people began to pour in , and they come in families who all seem to be regulars. So here's a hint: if you are in a hurry, don't order them ribs. Or if you are hungry, perhaps you should consider ordering some starters.

After 25 minutes, the cook is making some finishing touches before it was presented out.


So this is it, their PORK RIBS. Served with broccoli, one whole corn and some pickled vegetables. To tell you the truth, its a huge serving of ribs, and my Sayang was stuffed after eating 3 and a half pieces of the ribs. I personally found it quite tasteful, succulent and rather tender.

For the sake of comparing right, their ribs really kick ass if you want to compare with Cagayan's ribs (Centerpoint new wing), but we still prefer Tony Roma's Ribs. Tony Roma's still serve the better ribs. I am not sure what to say about Checker's ribs, but they are abit different.


My other rib posts:
Cagayan
Checkers
Tony Roma's

Also read what other bloggers say about Champ's
KampungBoyCityGal
FOODPOI


Champ's Bistro

Lot F10, 1st Floor, Centrepoint,
Lebuh Bandar Utama, Bandar Utama,
47800
Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
03-7722 5800
Open from 10:00am to 12:00am daily

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Bernard's @ Centrepoint Bandar Utama

This Bernard's Pub & Cafe, has indeed been around for ages, and I mean, its been around for more than 10 years. I came to know about this place after Bernard took over this outlet from the then very hot Java ( some kinda place we used to go clubbing, then). It was then made into a pub and cafe, laid back , with their TV screens showing mostly sports programs, and at times, Music Videos. We used to come by on weekends, to have our dinner, and watch football with friends, on special occasions. They used to have the biggest screen in Bandar Utama, before the crowd went to Phileo Damansara.

Today Bernard's is still the same laid back pub, where Happy Hours is for regulars to gather and chit chat. For me, its a good place to have nice chicken rice, and superbly nice nasi lemak.


As you flip through their menu, which is quite mature, you will find that not only do they serve you foreign beers on Tap, hard liquor by the bottles, they also have a range of cocktails they serve, and categorised in medium and strong...... What caught our eyes on the menu were, Pussy Juice and Sperm Shot.

I have no idea why the Pussy Juice comes with one little cherry in it, and it tasted like ribena with some other kinda liquor, and the alcohol content was not very strong, hence you could find, Pussy Juice in the medium section of cocktails and is served in a Guinness Half Pint Glass. Sayang ordered a sperm shot, and it was abit too strong for her, so in the end, we swapped drinks. Bernard's Sperm shots does indeed come in a shot glass....


Our main focus that day was to try these two items. Bernard's Chicken Rice and his Nasi Lemak. Bernard's Chicken Rice Set comes with a Quarter Chicken, chopped up and served on a plate of cucumbers, and light soya sauce. A plate of bean sprouts, poured over with their mix of sesame oil and light soya sauce, a bowl of rice, and the peanut soup.

While eating their chicken rice, you will realize one thing, their serving is huge, their chicken is moist, shiny, slippery, and tender. The sauce mix is nice and tasty, but still can't meet up with Ipoh's chicken rice. I'd consider this to be the better chicken rice we can find in KL. For chicken rice lovers, you will love their chili paste, again one of ze best in KL.

Sayang's usual order is the Nasi Lemak. Bernard's Nasi Lemak comes with a huge piece of fried chicken, a bowl of santanized rice, one whole boiled egg, tasty sambal, acar nyonya, and a few slices of cucumber.

While you are eating, drinking or whatevering, Mr DJ spins up some 80s easy listening rock songs for your pleasure. On weekends, you should be able to see less of the Happy Hour crowd and more of the family crowd coming here for their food.


The following weekend we brought Sayang's Parents to come sample their food. I have also decided to try other things, like Seafood Spaghetti (which has some other name ), Appa went for his fish and chips, and Mom, tried their Prawn Mee. Sayang leh, Nasi Lemak again.




Sad to say, their other food we tried was all so so only. Do not wish to elaborate, but, Sayang's Nasi Lemak was still the best served food on the table that evening. The fish and chips was well tasted like fried fish fillet and chips, with a special kinda salsa, which tasted abit sourish.

The prawn mee could improve but still just on the average side. It has got two huge prawns in it. In the end, my recommendation is still to go and try their Nasi Lemak ( Rm12), Chicken Rice (RM12) , don't try their Pussy Juice its not that nice,unless you really want that cherry. Try Bernard's Sperm Shot.. it just looks quite nice, and its quite a strong drink.


Address:
G9A-14, Centrepoint,
Jalan Leboh Bandar Utama,
47800 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
Tel:03-7710 3188

Also read:

KYEATS
Memoirs of a Chocoholic