Restoran Mahmood Bistro

Restoran Mahmood Bistro

3 Jalan DBP 1 Dolomite Business Park

68100 Batu Caves

+60162212153

(Coordinates: E101° 41' 22" N3° 13' 46")

We were in the neighbourhood and thought we’d give the place a go. We are familiar with Bangi Kopitiam (situated next door) as this is a usual venue for my car club’s gatherings, but since we were not in the mood for ‘kopitiam’-ish fare we opted for Mahmood Bistro, a relatively new place that opened next door.

fairly new

along the Dolomite

The restaurant draws a very large crowd (of mostly football enthusiasts) looking to watch the live English Premier League matches shown courtesy of a projector and a very large white screen.

Pashtun or Pathan?

hmm.. what shall she have?

Run by a group of what looked to be Pathan or Pashtun looking people, the menu was surprisingly very Malaysian with distinctly Mamak styled dishes. Cat and I were famished and opted for rice; I had a Spiced Chicken with Fried Bitter Gourd while Cat had Chicken Cutlets with Pickled Cucumbers. Brendan had not one, but two Naan Cheese!

Cat's rice with chicken cutlets and pickled cucumbers

my rather spicy chicken with bitter gourd

standard Malaysian beverage

Brendan had not one...

... but two servings of Naan Cheese

The damage? Including two Iced Lemon Teas and an Iced Nescafe it all came to… wait for it… drum roll please… RM23! We will not bore you with our usual tirade; suffice to say this restaurant will quickly endear itself to us. If you are a football fan looking for for the biggest screen to watch your EPL matches in Batu Caves while having reasonably priced meals, this is the place to be.

Arena Foodcourt (AEON Taman Maluri)

Arena Foodcourt

Ground Floor, AEON Taman Maluri

Jalan Jejaka, Taman Maluri Cheras

55100 Kuala Lumpur

(Coordinates: E101° 43' 42.5" N3° 7' 34.4")

Once again, our collection of loose coins grew into a pretty bundle, and we came to AEON Taman Maluri to make us of its My Syiling Machine. It was pretty amazing to us a palmful of coins could come up to RM80 in cash vouchers which we swiftly frittered on buying our weekly provisions at the supermarket section.

We quite enjoy going to AEON (formerly Jusco) stores’ food courts and thought that while we here we might as well have lunch. As with most of their food courts, this one serves pretty decent meals at reasonable prices (we absolutely adore the variety of dishes at Food Avenue at AEON Rawang!).

Cat and I ordered from this stall

Brendan got his lamb chop here

at the counter

tickled pink!

efficient beverage counter

I got my iced mocha here

Brendan ordered the Lamb Chop; Cat tried the Penang ¹Loh Shee Fun while I sampled the ²Nasi Goreng Pattaya.

¹known as silver needle noodle in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and rat noodle in Malaysia and Singapore, named as such because the shape of the noodles is long and tapered much like a rat's tail or a needle, made from ground rice flour

²Fried rice enveloped within a pocket of thin omelette. A similar dish exists in Japan, and is called Omuraisu (from the English words omelette [Omuretsu] and rice). It is a fried ketchup-flavored rice sandwiched with a thinly spread beaten egg or covered with a plain egg omelette.

beverages came first

Brendan's lamb chop

Cat's 'rat tails'!

my nasi pattaya a.k.a. omu-rice

We’ve never (yet) complained about the quality of dishes served at AEON’s food courts, and this one is no exception. Everyone enjoyed their dishes and the damage (with a round of Iced Lemon Tea for Cat and Brendan plus Iced Mocha for moi) came up to a respectable RM36.13 inclusive of 6% government tax, still within the dominion of the everyday food for the everyday person.

Thurkah's Banana Leaf Restaurant

Thurkah's Banana Leaf Restaurant

No. 37 Jalan Bandar 1, Taman Melawati, 

53100 Kuala Lumpur

+60341089337

(Coordinates: E101° 45' 4.00" N3° 12' 33.50")

It’s a Friday night and Cat usually cooks us our dinner. We were out of provisions and with nothing to cook we left our apartment and headed on to the Ampang Kuala Lumpur Elevated Highway (ALKEH) thinking we’d have dinner somewhere in Sri Rampai.

Alas traffic heading out via the Jelatek Exit was backed up and we proceeded to the next Exit (MRR2) thinking we’d try another route to the Setapak / Sri Rampai area. This stretch of highway was also pretty busy with traffic backed up at most turn-offs and exits jammed as well. We eventually ended up at Taman Melawati and I remembered Thurkah.

we like the signage

you won't miss it

we came late, not much dishes left

the aroma!

We were here a few months ago but did not manage to snap any photographs as my DLSR was on the blitz. As usual, I would always sample the Spiced Mutton; Cat had her customary Fried Mackerel while Brendan chose the Fried Chicken. 

he was soooo hungry!

my spiced mutton

lovely

Cat's fried mackerel

Brendan's fried chicken

he can hardly wait

the rasam was a  bit bland

not bad

Taste wise, although may not be on par but it gains points for not being as spicy its brethren banana leaf restaurants in Brickfields and Leboh Ampang. And the damage? unlike the upscale varieties in Bangsar and Damansara, having a banana leaf experience at Thurkah will not blow a hole in your pocket as the total came up to a respectable RM36.50, within the realms of the everyday food for the everyday person.

Nasi Kandar Arifah

Nasi Kandar Arifah

Jalan Kasipillay off Jalan Ipoh

51200 Kuala Lumpur

(Coordinates: E101° 41' 7.9" N3° 10' 38.7")

Brendan was attending a birthday bash held at an apartment nearby and since it was scheduled to end at 9:00PM, Cat and I decided to have dinner here while we waited. We came here once before (during the time when I was still grappling with the effects of hypothyroidism) but did not manage to cover it on our blog.

along Jalan Kasipillay

we didn't come for the nasi kandar

If I recalled correctly, I quite enjoyed the thick and fluffy ¹Roti Naan the last time we were here; I duly ordered the same this time round while Cat ordered a plate of ²Mee Goreng.

¹thick flatbread made of wheat flour leavened with yeast and usually cooked in an earth stove

²thin yellow egg noodles usually stir fried with garlic, onion, prawn, squids, chicken,  beef, chili, cabbages, tomatoes, egg and bean sprouts

iced nescafe and coke

what we came here for

a closer inspection of the naan

Cat's mee goreng

While the Roti Naan did not disappoint, the usual accompanying side dishes were absent save for a generous portion of thick dhal curry. We guess it’s a sign of the times, and glance at the cash register counter confirmed our suspicions that this restaurant (like most others) is facing cash flow problems. How do we know this? Cigarette suppliers do not provide on credit, and when a restaurant’s cigarette stall is empty this signifies that it can no longer meet the cash terms demanded of the supplier.

The damage? Since it was just the two of us dining the total came to RM11.30 which is definitely within the realms of the everyday food for the everyday person. Here’s hoping this restaurant weathers the storm as we would hate to miss its Roti Naan.

Kam Kee Chicken Rice

Kam Kee Chicken Rice

42 Jalan Sultan 

50000 Kuala Lumpur

(Coordinates: E101° 41' 55.0" N3° 8' 35.7")

I’ve had the sniffles since yesterday, and since everything I eat pretty much tastes like rust right now I had a strange craving for Chicken Rice (don’t ask me why). Surfing the net this restaurant came up trumps in several food blogs and sites, so we decided to give it a try.

Located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur’s ancient and bustling  Chinatown, this restaurant does rip-roaring business during lunch especially at the weekends (it doubles as a seafood restaurant, Han Kee at night!) so we wisely made sure we were early.

along Jalan Sultan

it's a seafood joint a night

the first thing you see

ooh la la

transparent pricing

Truth be told, we were never fans of the ¹Hainanese Chicken Rice and had always preferred roasted instead of steamed chicken. Kam Kee has come a long way in convincing us the steamed chicken (if done right) can be as flavourful as the roasted variety.

¹A dish of plain rice and steamed chicken, accompanied by chili sauce, ground ginger paste and dark soy sauce dips

the rice and soup came first

condiments

steamed chicken done Hainenese style

as always

We quite enjoyed our steamed chicken and would certainly come back for more. In fact besides the chicken we found the rice itself very delicious and unlike most others (where it can be a bit bland). And the damage? Including a round of the usual herbal tea, it all came up to RM24 which is well within the realms of the everyday food for the everyday person.

A word of warning: Due to its diminutive size this restaurant can only cater to a limited number of diners at any one time, and because of this some (low-classed and poorly brought up) impatient diners will ‘hover’ over your table ‘clucking’ and ‘clacking’ if they feel that you are taking too long!

Chicken Rice Stall @ Restoran Sin Palimen

Chicken Rice Stall @ Restoran Sin Palimen

AS120 Sungei Wang Plaza

Jalan Bukit Bintang

55100 Kuala Lumpur

+60123717231

Today we spent much of the morning gallivanting. We were at Art Friend in the Gardens, Mid Valley because Brendan had to get some supplies for his school art project. Then we headed over to Low Yat Plaza for a replacement keypad for our laptop. After running our errands we decided to have something simple for lunch and headed to Sungei Wang Plaza’s food court.

appetizing

we were salivating

waiting to be served

The restaurant Sin Palimen (which we took to mean ‘New Parliament?’) caught our attention and the chicken rice stall looked particularly appetizing. I had a tooth extracted a few days ago and opted for ¹Char Siew Rice which was easier to chew; while Brendan and Cat had the Roasted ²Chicken Rice.

¹barbecued pork served with chicken-flavoured rice, cucumbers, drenched in sweet gravy or drizzled with dark soy sauce and garlic chilli

²roasted chicken also served with chicken-flavoured rice, cucumbers, drenched in sweet gravy or drizzled with dark soy sauce and garlic chilli

herbal tea as always

my char siew rice

Cat's roasted chicken rice

he couldn't wait

let's eat!

The dishes we ordered did not disappoint; the price also gave us a pretty pleasant surprise. Including herbal tea all around it came to a paltry RM18! If you’re ever in the Bukit Bintang area doing some shopping and are looking for something simple yet filling then come right over to Sin Palimen!