Mimi Nguyen Cafe

J-01-04 Jalan PPK 1

Taman Kinrara

47100 Puchong

Coordinates: 3.059103, 101.640962

We were in Puchong running an errand and stumbled on this place that boasted authentic Vietnamese cuisine. We were sold on the idea, and walked in purposefully.

The ambiance and décor was testament to its authenticity, and the personnel were actual Vietnamese as well.

unassuming facade belied what was in store

the decor got us hooked

For appetisers we tried the ¹Banh Beo while for the main course Brendan, Cat and I unanimously went for the Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup.

¹small steamed round rice cake with dried shrimp dipped in sweet and sour sauce

jasmine tea hit the spot

banh beo

Brendan, Cat and I

ordered the same thing

vietnamese beef  noodle soup

ulam (salad) 

Perusing the place, I noticed other patrons having a quite ravishing cup of Vietnamese-styled coffee so I followed suit.

irresistible!

The verdict? This ‘café’ which seemed more like restaurant is run by actual Vietnamese so the dishes served were authentic. Though not falling within the category of the everyday food for the everyday man it’s a welcomed occasional distraction.

Joe Wong Bak Kut Teh

No. 1 & 3, Jalan Segambut Tepi

51200 Kuala Lumpur

Coordinates: 3.145029, 101.711230

We have a particular penchant for ¹Bak Kut Teh (BKT for short). This cholesterol laden pot of black gold is an obsession is hard to shake. After reading rave reviews online we were hard-pressed not to give Joe Wong BKT a try.

¹a Chinese soup that literally means "meat bone tea", and at its simplest, consists of meaty pork ribs simmered in a complex broth of herbs and spices (including star anise, cinnamon, cloves, dang gui, fennel seeds and garlic) for hours. Additional ingredients may include offal, varieties of mushroom, choy sum, and pieces of dried tofu or fried tofu puffs. Additional Chinese herbs may include yu zhu (玉竹, rhizome of Solomon's Seal) and ju zhi (buckthorn fruit), which give the soup a sweeter, slightly stronger flavour. Light and dark soy sauce are also added to the soup during cooking and garnished with chopped coriander or green onions and a sprinkling of fried shallots, and usually eaten with rice.

If you have been following our blog you would have noticed a trend developing. Living in Subang we used to frequent Yu Kee, while trying out other establishments that serve BKT as well.

Joe Wong BKT is a newly found eatery and is pretty tricky to locate if you are not properly guided by GPS. It shares a mutual premise with the God of Prosperity Temple here in Segambut. After parking our car at the temple premises we walked to the back but not before passing by a few tables hosting a rather noisy session of ²Mahjong.

²a tile-based game played with a set of 144 tiles based on Chinese characters and symbols that originated in China during the Qing dynasty. It is commonly played by four players. Similar to the Western card game rummy it is a game of skill, strategy, and calculation and involves a degree of chance.

The exterior may not be charming or appealing but we did not come here for its aesthetics. What mattered was the herbal broth they prepared.

unassuming

simple

deceptively excellent

Scanning their menu, we decided on a pot of BKT and with the proprietress’ insistence we gave the Herbal Chicken Soup a try as well.

our new-found love: herbal chicken soup

BKT: black gold

to wash it all down

bon appetit

What can we say? Brendan who is a hard person to pleased was completely enamoured with the BKT, while Cat and I fell head over heels for the Herbal Chicken Soup. The taste, aroma and texture of meat was exquisite and although a bit pricy (the entire meal cost us RM57) we would still recommend this place to all and sundry.

Herbal broths have a new name as far as we are concerned: Joe Wong Bak Kut Teh!

Restoran Yu Yiee

97 Jalan SS 22/41

Damansara Jaya

47400 Petaling Jaya

Coordinates: 3.145029, 101.711230

Brendan was representing his school for a debate tournament at a private college nearby. Since it was still early and not wanting to venture too far off from the general vicinity we settled on having breakfast here.

a purple shop house?

the enduringly healthy alternative

Brendan ordered the ¹Pan (pronounced pahn) Mee while Cat and I had the ²Wantan Mee.

¹Hakka-style noodle, literally translates to "flat flour noodle" served in soup, together with dried anchovies, minced pork, mushrooms, and a leafy vegetable

²egg noodles tossed in oyster sauce, topped with barbecued pork, wontons (dumplings), choy sum (chinese flowering cabbage) and pickled green chilies

Brendan's Pan Mee

Cat and I...

had the Wantan Mee

the dumplings that accompany our dishes

The verdict? All of us enjoyed our noodle-based breakfast immensely, which we put down to the fact that the stall proprietors here were local Malaysians with years of experience.

prepared with loving...

Malaysian hands

And with breakfast not costing more than RM15 we would definitely recommend Yu Yiee to everyone.

Big Food Street (Closed)

(closed as of January 2016)

Bukit Bintang MUT-1(B)

Third Floor, Sungai Wang Plaza, Bukit Bintang

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Coordinates: 3.145029, 101.711230

Dropping Brendan off for his extra classes, we drove to the Bukit Bintang area since I had to buy a printer cartridge at an IT store here.

Lowyat Plaza, for all things IT and gadget-related

We parked at Sungei Wang Plaza, and since it was close to lunchtime we walked up to the third floor to try out a newly opened food court.

This so-called upmarket food court is located within Sungei Wang Plaza which is one of the oldest and still very popular shopping malls in town. Taking into account its location and foot traffic, we would think this food court would be doing rip-roaring business.

attractive front facade

hardly anyone here

This was hardly the case, and we thought maybe this food court catered to the weekday crowd. The existence of an older and more reasonably priced food stall clustered located on the rooftop could also be another factor?

I went to the Japanese stall and ordered the Chicken Teriyaki with rice while Cat tried the ¹Bee Hoon Soup. We both shared a bowl of mango flavoured ice shaving.

¹rice vermicelli soup

mango and peaches

oo la la

I tried the chicken teriyaki

my stomach was grumbling

Cat's noodle soup

let's dig in!

The verdict? The Chicken Teriyaki was okay; a little too MSG-laden for my liking while Cat’s soup was just so-so.

Since both our meals went into double digits in terms of price we wondered if this food court would be appealing enough to attract the tenants at Sungei Wang Plaza. Despite the spiraling costs of food the average person will still want to have his lunch cost no more than RM10.

We wish Big Food Street all the best.