Kavitha's Curry House

Kavitha's Curry House

274 Jalan 5/51 Seksyen 5

46000 Petaling Jaya

+60377838441

(Coordinates: E101° 39' 19.4" N3° 5' 12.6")

We fetched Brendan from the airport this evening and the first thing he asked for was curry! Truth be told, Cat and I have had enough of curry and had wanted to abstain from it for a while but since Brendan always has an insatiable appetite for curry we could hardly say no.

We’ve been meaning to try Kavitha's Curry House out for a while now since reading rave reviews on the internet, and thought that this would as good a time as any to give it a go since it would be on our way home anyway.

inconspicuous exterior

it has a trick up its sleeve

rows of curry

clear and concise

Kavitha's Curry House is your typical no-frills neighbourhood banana leaf restaurant. The inconspicuous sign board and exterior/interior tells you to come and simply enjoy the food on offer. What sets this banana leaf restaurant apart from the others though, is the fact that the cuts of chicken, mackerel, squid and other cuts of meat are well marinated and only prepared and fried upon order, on a piece meal basis. The photo below best illustrates what we mean:

well marinated; made to order

Cat and I had the fried mackerel while Brendan had the fried chicken. The freshly fried dishes were simply delectable and something we do not normally experience elsewhere. We were also happy to note that unlike other similar establishments, Kavitha's portions of vegetable side dishes were very generous.

we started with the generous side dishes

she's happy to be able to nag again; he is not amused

then came the voluminous rice

freshly fried, made to order

bon appetit!

everyone digging in

only in Malaysia beveages

The damage? Including a round of Iced Lemon Tea for Cat and Brendan, and an Iced Coffee for moi the total surprisingly came to RM39.90, which is within the realms of the everyday food for the everyday person. Truth be told, Cat and I breathed a collective sigh of relief. For a while we were worried that the freshly fried dishes could prove costly. All in all, it was a pretty remarkable experience (nothing beats well marinated and freshly fried mackerel), an experience that we will be repeating soon enough (if a certain Belgium friend ever decides to pay us a visit, wink wink). 

Gomonae Korean Restaurant (Revisited)

Gomonae Korean Restaurant

Lot F32, 2nd Floor Ampang Point Shopping Centre

Jalan Mamanda 3

68000 Ampang

Coordinates: 3.157750, 101.750944

After a daily in the workshop Gwen was badly in need of a wash. Our usual lunchtime destination that killed two birds with one stone (have lunch while Gwen had her bath) was closed for the day due to a major festival being celebrated at the temple next door.

Driving aimlessly around, we stopped by a bank in the vicinity so that I could take care of some bills at the self-serve terminal. Since Ampang Point was barely a block away, we decided to have lunch there instead. I had black bean noodles on my mind and we found ourselves here at Gomonae.

small and unassuming

busy weekend 

limited seating

the kitchen

Seating is limited, and on a weekend it can be a challenge. We however manage to ease ourselves into a couple of seats (no mean feat considering my hardly diminutive frame) and proceeded to order the dishes that had perked our interest for a while now. ¹Jja Jang Myun is a dish heavily featured in most Korean dramas and I simply had to order this. Cat meanwhile was fascinated that noodles could be served cold (with ice cubes!) and ordered the ²Mul Naeng Myun.

¹A noodle dish topped with a thick sauce made of chunjang (a salty black soybean paste), diced pork and vegetables, and sometimes also seafood.

²Long and thin handmade buckwheat noodles served with a cold soup with the noodles contained in broth made from beef, chicken or dongchimi

I had this

well worth the hype, but the price?

Cat was fascinated with this

very generous portions

dying to dig in

free flowing green tea on the house

The Jja Jang Myun was RM14 a bowl while the Mul Naeng Myun was RM16. I thought my noodles were well worth the hype and Cat agreed that her cold noodles were pretty good (and served in very generous portions too). Having said this, we also agreed that this was not sometime we would be repeating anytime soon, as this was a onetime thing and the Korean noodles were merely a novelty to be tried once.

If looked at from a different perspective the total of RM30 (our Green Tea was on the house and free-flowing) was actually within the realms of the everyday food for the everyday person. Despite the justification however, we cannot fathom ever again paying double digits for a bowl noodles.

1-Stop Cafe

1-Stop Cafe

No. 2 Jalan Balam Off Jalan Ipoh Batu

51200 Kuala Lumpur

+60340426880

(Coordinates: E101° 40' 57.8" N3° 10' 54.9")

We took Gwen for her scheduled servicing at a workshop along Jalan Tiong which is where the Jalan Ipoh food district is situated. What was initially thought to be a mere routine oil change soon turned into major repairs (both left and right drive shafts needed replacing) which would take several hours.

not sure if it's a chain restaurant

exotic beverages prepared here

bright and cheerful interior

Since it was already lunchtime we decided to pay 1-Stop Café just a block away a visit. We were here a while back and remembered this place for its delicious noodles. We also loved the décor and ambience, especially the centerpiece ‘waterfall’.

hmm, what will it be...

This time I ordered the Seafood Loh Mee while Cat tried the Fish Ball Noodle Soup. For drinks, we were fascinated with the list of exotic sounding beverages so I tried the Honey Ginger drink while Cat tried the Maharaja (a combination of dragon fruit, soursop and milk).

Cat had the fish ball soup noodle

pretty appetizing, don't you think?

while I had this

simply exquisite!

the Maharaja meets Honey & Ginger

a bit pricey, but well worth it

What can we say? 1-Stop Café has never failed to impress and I was especially taken in with the exquisite Seafood Loh Mee. Cat was equally impressed with her Fish Ball Noodle Soup and we both thought our drinks were pretty amazing too. The damage? Since it’s just the two of us (Brendan’s in Singapore for the weekend) the total came to RM33.60 which is honestly borderline everyday food for the everyday person. But would we come back? This eatery does serve some superb noodles, so our answer would be yes.

Nasi Kandar Pelita @ Hartamas

Nasi Kandar Pelita @ Hartamas

No. 24 Ground Floor, Jalan 25/70A

Desa Sri Hartamas

50480 Kuala Lumpur

(Coordinates: E101° 39' 0.9" N3° 9' 44.3")

Brendan will be spending the weekend in Singapore courtesy of his Aunt Vivien and Uncle David (muchas gracias!). He’ll be leaving later today and so before dropping him off at my sister's we stopped over at Pelita for lunch.

a neighbourhood landmark

the quintessential Mamak

Despite being situated in a very upscale and affluent suburban neighbourhood, all kudos to Pelita for remaining the quintessential Mamak shop. And in spite of being an archetypal Mamak shop it attracts a wide variety of patrons from all walks of life and nationality. We found it fascinating that a Korean AND an Englishman were both having lunch during the time we were here.

the centre of attention

Cat selecting her mackerel

curry heaven

can you smell what's cooking

deep fried meats

As always we head to the rice stall where we were greeted by a wondrous array of curries and spices. Despite it being a Friday we restrained ourselves from the Bryani Rice (which can be known to induce acute bouts of drowsiness) and we all had white rice with various dishes. Brendan went for his perennial favourite, the Chicken Curry; Cat opted for Mackerel Curry while I had the Fried Mackerel.

Brendan's chicken curry

Cat's mackerel curry

my fried mackerel

he could not wait

she looks happy

I kid you not

our beverages

The verdict? Our family has and will always adore curry (though in moderate doses), and this particular chain of Pelita restaurants does not disappoint. The damage? Together with a round of Coca Cola for Cat and Brendan and an Iced Coffee for moi it all came to a very economical total of RM23.50, and Pelita definitely is a place where the everyday person looks for his everyday food.

Everyday Food For The Everyday Person: A Definition

We have been using this expression or phrase pretty often, but what exactly does it mean?

In this day and age, eating out in Kuala Lumpur can be a costly affair. Noticed we used the words ‘eating’ and not ‘dining’. We are not affluent enough to be able to ‘dine’ out, nor are we in the category of ‘people of calibre’ (in the words of a certain former Minister of Tourism who naively thinks everyone is able to afford to spend hundreds of ringgit a day dining out).

When we go out to eat, we try not to spend beyond RM50 (which works outs to around RM16.67 each for Cat, Brendan and moi), unless it’s a special or celebratory occasion.

So if we end up spending more than RM16.67 on average per person then the restaurant or eatery will not qualify for the honour of being a place where we would recommend the everyday person to have his everyday meal.

Just so you know.

Kannichikan Yakiniku

Kannichikan Yakiniku
42 Jalan 28/70a Desa Sri Hartamas
50480 Kuala Lumpur
+60323008829
(Coordinates: E101° 38' 54.9" N3° 9' 44.7")

Being well aware of our current infatuation with the Hallyu wave and all things Hanguk, Ginny and Vince decided to give us a treat for dinner at a Korean restaurant (with a twist). Since this place was in very close with their apartment Kannichikan Yakiniku was our dinnertime destination.

Korea-Japan Pavilion?

beside Oldtown Sri Hartamas

our adventures begin

This restaurant is unique in its outlook in that it grills Korean-styled marinated beef, pork, chicken and other types of meat over a Japanese charcoal fired stove. The term Kan Nichi Kan (and no, it’s not a swear word) means Korea-Japan Pavilion while the term Yakiniku, in its broadest sense, refers to grilled meat dishes.

KNK (Kan Nichi Kan)

the side dishes

green pipeline!

Interestingly enough, none of the personnel here were either Japanese or Korean. No matter, as long as the food is good. Ginny and Vince ordered a pricey set (since it’s their treat there will be no mention of the price in this post!) and we waited while the Japanese charcoal fired stove was heated up to the right temperature.

From this point onwards, we’ll let our pictures paint our words for us…

fire in the hole!

let's get ready to rumble

excellent Korean Scallion Pancake

marvellously marinated

food to the fire

the fun is in the grilling

more cuts of meat

Brendan enjoying himself

What sets this restaurant apart from other Korean BBQs is the quality of the sauces and condiments the meats are marinated in. The cuts of meat, once done were quite heavenly and very close to perfection where BBQ were concerned. However, if one had a grouse it would be for the lack of side dishes. Oh well, you win some, you lose some eh? If you’re in the mood for some unorthodox Korean BBQ (and have some money to burn) then Kannichikan Yakiniku might be just right for you.