Zakuro 2 Japanese Restaurant

Zakuro 2 Japanese Restaurant

The Scott Garden

1-36 1st Floor Kompleks Rimbun Scott

289 Jalan Klang Lama

58000 Kuala Lumpur

+60379878148

(Coordinates: E101° 40' 29.25" N3° 5' 41.75")

Cat found this bargain one day on mydeal.com.my: “70% Off Japanese Set Meal - Main Course, Chawanmushi, Miso Soup, Appetiser, and Rice & Fruits for RM15 per pax at Zakuro 2 (Old Klang Road). Voucher Value: RM49.50”. We were intrigued and duly purchased three vouchers.

The restaurant is located within an upscale cluster of small offices and home offices (SOHOs) development called Scott Garden, and looked a lot like Publika. Tesco is the main anchor and its hyper mart is conveniently located at the lower floors.

the shop front

within a SOHO

tasteful decor

pleasing to the eye

Taking the escalator up to the first floor Zakuro is situated on the right side of shoplots flanking the long alley/walkway. Great first impressions as we walked into this restaurant, looking around at the pleasant decor, taking in some incredible aromas, and being greeted and seated courteously and efficiently by the “maître d’”.

waiting to be served

pretty utensils

japanese sweet soy sauce

the list of set meals

Our vouchers entitled us to some great set meals, and after a little deliberation Brendan settled on the ¹Udon + ²Inari Sushi; Cat went for the Mixed ³Furai while I tried the Chicken ⁴Teriyaki.

¹_{thick wheat flour noodle}

²_{pouch of fried tofu filled with sushi rice}

³_{assorted deep fried fish and vegetable}

⁴_{broiled or grilled while being basted in a marinade based on soy sauce, mirin, and sugar}

chawanmushi (egg custard) came first

Brendan's udon and inari sushi

he looks pleased

Cat's mixed furai

can hardly wait

my chicken teriyaki

Truth be told, Brendan’s had better Udon at Sanuki while Cat and I agreed that Yokozuna (for the same price) had a wider choice of set meals and their portions more generous. But for the discounted price of RM14.90 a set we were not complaining much. Would we come again? To be perfectly honest if the set meals remained at the same price we would give this a pass in future.

Restaurant Bao Bao 你吃宝宝了吗?

Restaurant Bao Bao 你吃宝宝了吗?

8G Jalan Perubatan 2, Pandan Indah

55200 Kuala Lumpur

+60380633072

(Coordinates: E101° 45' 7" N3° 7' 43.5")

We’ve lost count of the times we intended to have our meal at one restaurant only to find ourselves eventually settling for an entirely difference restaurant. Tonight was once such occasion. We had meant to try out Chong Ko Hakka Noodles (彰哥客家面家) famed for their ¹Kuala Lipis dishes.

¹a town and district in Pahang, Malaysia

As luck would have it the place was closed. We found it strange for a restaurant to be closed on a Saturday night, and suspected that the restaurant could in actual fact be ²closed down.

²Feedback from Kin Kinster: Chong Ko Mee doesn't open for dinner. They open for breakfast and lunch, 8:30am to about 4pm. Closed on Mondays unless it's a public holiday.

closed, or closed down?

A few doors down we came across this restaurant which Cat says (oddly enough) means “have you eaten at Bao Bao yet?” or something to that effect in Mandarin. Being an end lot, the restaurant has no wall on one side providing excellent ventilation. A lot of the times we demur from a few restaurants that were stifling and stuffy. Simply furnished with wooden chairs and tables, you get an almost “school canteen” feel about the place.

last one standing here?

interesting signage

simple furnishings

even simpler menu

this is Brendan's awkward look!

Scanning the simple menu, Brendan and Cat settled on the Fried Pork with ³Nan Lu ⁴Pan Mee while I had the Braised Pork in Soy Sauce Gravy with Rice.

³_{fermented bean curd}

⁴_{flat flour noodle} 

my braised pork with rice

assortment of drinks

we honestly don't know what to call this

While we had no issues with the taste of the dishes we were eventually served with, we had problems with the blatant misrepresentation. What was touted as Fried Pork with Nan Lu Pan Mee in the end turned out to be normal Pan Mee with Barbequed Pork Belly (“Char Siu”), with no hint of fermented bean curd at all! Oh well, since it is a small unassuming and nondescript restaurant, we will take no further offence.

Brendan did not manage to finish his Pan Mee, due in most parts to the fact that Cat has now been preparing homemade Pan Mee and the commercial variety no longer holds the appeal it used to have with him. We’ll be having homemade Pan Mee tomorrow night so I’ll be sure to post some photographs of Cat’s efforts here, stay tuned!

reasonable enough

Oh ya! We forgot to mention the damage, right? Plus an assortment of drinks it all came to RM22.50 and funny enough, the bill revealed that Brendan and Cat had in fact had the dried Pan Mee… face palms, anyone?

Restoran Padang (Revisited): Closed

(closed as of January 2014?)
Restoran Padang

43, Jalan Dang Wangi

 50100 Kuala Lumpur

 +60326924950

(Coordinates: 3° 9' 21.75", 101° 42' 1.25")

Brendan had school today, and since we were running late we decided to have lunch in as close proximity to our apartment (and the school) as possible. Wanting to make sure Brendan had his fill before the long school hours, and since the canteen runs on half its usual capacity we settled on having lunch at our second favourite ¹Nasi Padang restaurant in Kuala Lumpur, the aptly named Restoran Padang.

¹_{padang-style rice, a miniature banquet of meats, fish, vegetables, and spicy sambal (fiery-spicy condiment) eaten with plain white rice}

right across Wilayah Kompleks along Jalan Dang Wangi

 

a dying breed of restaurants

 

we were the only ones there,  a crying shame

We’ve covered this restaurant a while back but this restaurant is always worth more than a mention. Located along the busy Jalan Dang Wangi, parking can be tricky and we (as is always the case, illegally) park along the road shoulder by the shop front. This restaurant is a family business managed by three brothers who have watched Brendan grow from a toddler to a teenager.

 

the first thing you see

 

our 2nd favourite place

 

lovely gulai

time to select our dishes

As always, I had the ²Gulai Ikan Cencaru with rice; Brendan also stuck to his usual, the ³Ayam Goreng Padang with rice while Cat tried the ⁴Gulai Ikan Tenggiri with rice.

²_{Torpedo Scad in rich, spicy and succulent curry-like sauce}

³_{fried chicken with spicy granules}

⁴_{Mackerel in rich, spicy and succulent curry-like sauce}

Brendan's rice with ayam goreng padang

 

Cat's rice with gulai ikan tenggiri

 

my rice with gulai ikan cencaru

What can we say? We’ve been coming here for ages and this restaurant never fails to satisfy us. Even with the passing of the brothers’ late father the taste has never wavered. The damage? Cat and Brendan had Iced Lemon Tea while I had a can of Pepsi, and it all came to… hold your breath… RM19! The everyday food for the everyday person is a catch phrase we thought up with precisely restaurants like this in mind.

A special plea: A lot of eateries in this area depend heavily on lunchtime traffic from the nearby offices, and Jalan Dang Wangi can be pretty quiet in the evenings except for club-hoppers patronizing the nearby Heritage Row. We’ve seen restaurants come and go in this area, and a lot of restaurants have closed down for the sheer lack of customers especially during dinner time and the weekends. So to ensure this gem of a restaurant remains in operation please do make an effort to visit Restoran Padang!

Update: Its closed as of January 2014 ;(

Sri Steven's Corner (OUG)

Sri Steven's Corner (OUG)

18 & 18A Jalan Hujan Rahmat 2

Taman Overseas Union

58200 Kuala Lumpur

+60377888888

(Coordinates: E101° 40' 23" N3° 4' 21")

We’ve been meaning to come here for a very long time now. The Pandan Indah and Setapak outlets have always been very dear to our hearts and visiting the original Sri Steven’s Corner here in OUG is almost like performing a pilgrimage.

The coordinates provided by Google Map ultimately led us to a quiet residential area (somewhere along Jalan Hujan Emas). We made some quick adjustments to the coordinates and a search for Jalan Hujan Rahmat 2 on our GPS navigator eventually led us properly to the premises.

Located along a narrow road near the OUG wet market, we were thankful to be here during the daytime, we can imagine that at night (during peak hours) parking can be a b*tch here.

the original outlet

parking can be tricky during peak hours

Cat and Brendan was so in the mood for ¹Banana Leaf Rice and quickly made their way to the counter; they promptly ordered Ikan Tenggiri Kari (Curried Mackerel) and Spiced Chicken Cutlets respectively. I read somewhere that the ²Nasi Lemak here was pretty good and decided to try it.

¹white rice served on a banana leaf with an assortment of vegetables, pickles, papadum and other condiments

²fragrant rice dish cooked in coconut milk and screwpine leaves

cosy

curry & spices galore

the sign is hardly needed

Cat and Brendan enjoyed their dishes immensely; Brendan took particular pleasure in his banana leaf rice with spiced chicken cutlets. I had to agree with the good reviews the Nasi Lemak received, and adored it as well.

Brendan's delightful spread

Cat's delicious meal

I loved my nasi lemak

bon appetit!

The damage? Including a can of Pepsi Cola each for Cat and Brendan, and a glass of iced coffee for moi the grand total was a mystifyingly low RM22. The everyday food for the everyday person? All together now… heck yeah! Will we come back? A resounding yes!

I Love Hokkien Mee

I Love Hokkien Mee 我愛福建面

106G Jalan Radin Anum 1, Sri Petaling

57000 Kuala Lumpur

+60122369948

(Coordinates: E101° 41' 34" N3° 4' 1")

Sri Petaling is an area unfamiliar to us, and driving around aimlessly at night can be pretty challenging. As luck would have it (as has always been the case) we had actually planned on having dinner at a food court nearby which was closed. We’re not sure if it’s closed for the day or permanent out of business, but the place sure looked dark and desolate.

Wandering further down the road we stumbled across this novelty restaurant with the interesting name. It actually says Restoran I Love ¹Hokkien Mee on the signboard!

¹yellow noodles braised in thick dark soy sauce with pork, squid, fish cake and cabbage as the main ingredients with cubes of pork fat fried to a crisp (the best examples are usually cooked over a raging charcoal fire!)

 

we kid you not!

 

the interior dining area can be stuffy

 

someone's feeling bashful?

Since its one of Cat’s perennial favourites, she promptly ordered the signature dish while Brendan tried the ‘Dry’ ²Fried Kuey Teow. I was not in the mood for noodles so I ordered my recurrent favorite, the simple and satisfying ³Fried Rice.

²flat rice noodles stir-fried over very high heat with light and dark soy sauce, chili, a small quantity of belachan, whole prawns, de-shelled cockles, bean sprouts, chopped Chinese chives and egg

³steamed rice stir-fried in a wok, usually with other ingredients such as eggs, vegetables and meat

 

thick dark juicy Hokkien Mee!

 

Brendan had the char kuey teow

 

fried rice, simply

 

chiak kah pa!

 

respectable

While the dishes were a bit pricy (RM7 per plate) taste-wise we were not disappointed. All in all including fruit juices all around the total came to a respectable total of RM30, which translates to RM10 per person, the modest going rate for dinner in the Klang Valley these days. The everyday food for the everyday person? Yes, we would agree to that but the more important question is; would we come back? Again, the answer is a reserved affirmative since Sri Petaling is apparently a food haven for Chinese cuisine offering a very wide range of dishes.

We will definitely be back to this neck of the woods to explore the various and plentiful eateries here.