Oversea Restaurant （海外天大饭店）

Whenever you are looking for contemporary Cantonese cuisine in Ipoh, you hardly can leave Oversea Restaurant out of your consideration. Being one of the more prestige Chinese restaurant in Ipoh, it has a vast selection of signatured dishes and received numerous awards and recognition, which includes "Asia's Finest Restaurant". 

1). Opened since 1982, being the second restaurant of the corporation and first of Ipoh's two branches, it located just opposite of Excelsior Hotel Ipoh.

2). Fairly spacious as it occupied five shop lots and it consists of several private rooms upon reservation.

3). One of its famous dishes is their roasted meat, and their pearl in the sea is their Barbequed Pork a.k.a. Char Siew or 蜜汁靓叉烧 (RM20). Half marbled pork is caramelized into perfection, literally melt in your mouth. Couldn't find anything else better than this! 

4). One of the must order dish is their signatured beancurd or 招牌豆腐 (RM17.50). Deep fried beancurd topped with its gravy. Crunchy on the outside and melts on the inside. Come good with rice too! 

5). Every meal must have its veggie, right? How about stir-fried fresh lily bulbs with assorted vegetables and macadamia nuts,  杏仁片百合素果 (RM18). You'll find all sorts of China's veggie and my favourite nut from Hawaii?!, oops it's Macadamia Nuts (夏威夷果). The best word to describe the dish? CRUNCHY!

6). This is the dish I've been waiting for, is their signatured Braised sliced pork belly with salted fish in claypot 咸鱼花腩煲 (RM18). Not so generous portion of pork belly is braised with salted fish and dried chillies, this is the most complementing dish to any bowl of rice! I'll take two bowls in fact, whenever this dish appear on my dining table.

7). Seafood has always on any Chinese restaurant, Oversea isn't exempted as well. With a wide range of seafood to scratch your head on, we decided to take the Steamed Bamboo fish in soy sauce, a.k.a. Ikan Hantu, 林哥鱼 or 顺壳鱼 (RM117). Being a fresh water fish, it doesn't consist of the trademark muddy odour and a hell lots of bones, on the other hand its meat is the freshest and smoothest you can get, although not the tastiest fish you can find. Bravo nonetheless!

8). Every meal need its mouth washer to end its night. We decided to try out their Chinese Pancake, a.k.a. 锅饼 (RM8). Well, it turned out not as highly as we expected. The crust is crunchy and hot (Thank God), however its filling is overfilled and tasted like Year Cake (年糕), maybe we held our heads too high..

The total bill comes around RM250, a little bit pricey for a casual dinner, don't you think so? As I was informed, for customers paying with Public Bank credit card, you can enjoy 20% discount of your total bill. With a vast selection of dishes on their menu, I can't find any reason not to return to try out their remaining signatured dishes. Head out to their any of their seven branches spreaded out in Klang Valley and Ipoh as well.

Oversea Restaurant （海外天大饭店）

Address : 57-65, Jalan Seenivasagam, 30450 Ipoh, Perak.

Tel. : 05-2538005, 05-2531970

Fax : 05-2533219
Business hours : 12pm - 2.30pm, 6pm - 11pm

Ampang Yong Tau Foo （安邦酿豆腐）

If there is anything that symbolized Ampang in Selangor, that is Yong Tau Foo for sure, (a.k.a. stuffed bean curd or 酿豆腐). Their signatured Hakka-style yong tau foo is so famous until there is a street full of family-owned restaurants in a row, namely Ampang Homeland, Orchard View and Foong Foong. Hard to choose from? So let's give Ampang Homeland a try!    

1). Located in in the heart of Ampang New Village, one of the first yong tau foo restaurant you'll noticed on the left side of the road. If you are worried about car park, don't be! The workers there will help you look after your car, take care of the traffic, make sure their customers eat in peace even though the cars double or even triple parked. Talk about service!

2). A very spacious two shop lots, easily can accommodate over hundred of loyal yong tau foo lovers.

3). A fairly simple menu yet contains a wide variety of dishes you can choose from, whether you like it fried, with soup, with gravy or even other traditional Hakka cuisine are also served here, such as Assam Fish （亚三鱼）, Pork trotter in vinegar （猪脚酸）, Pork with Pickled Mustard （梅菜扣肉）.

4). I have always been a fan of fried food, therefore I have ordered mixed types of fried stuff to try out, namely spring rolls （腐竹）, fried fritters （油条）and fried dumplings （炸水饺）. Each piece priced at RM0.90. A bit pricey as compared with Ipoh counterparts, but at least they are generous with the fillings.

5). The fried stuff would tasted plain without dipping their home-made (maybe factory-made though) chilli sauce (red in colour) and sweet sauce (dark in colour), which are readied on the table for all you want to dip.

6). Besides the deep fried dumpling, the wet version of Soup Dumpling （汤水饺）is also served here. Priced at RM0.90 too, it is stuffy and large in portion. Not forgetting also the soup tasted heavy in flavour too!

7). Besides their famous yong tau foo, they also served several signatured Hakka dishes here such as Pandan Chicken Wings （班旦鸡翼）as showed in picture above. The meat is crunchy on the outside yet tender on the inside. Their signatured wings are worth a try at RM2.50 each.

8). The food and service is good, the food is served within minutes after you ordered, talk about prompt service in today's standard. This place is worth coming back for more, especially with a group of friends and try their other traditional Hakka cuisine. With the help of the younger generation of family members, I am sure that this traditional and lucrative home business will continued for generations to come.

Ampang Homeland Yong Tau Foo （安邦家乡酿豆腐）

Address : No.622-C, Jalan Merdeka, Kampung Baru Ampang,

                68000 Ampang, Selangor.

Business hours : 8am - 5pm daily, closes on alternate Mondays

Tel. : 03-42924712, 019-3273288

GPS coordinates : N3 08.666 E101 45.822

Kin Kin Chilli Pan Mee （建记辣椒板面）

One of the food in Kuala Lumpur that I have longed and craved for is the dried chilli pan mee, where lots and lots of these restaurant are mushrooming around Klang Valley. Among the pan mee restaurant I ever tried in our capitol city, Kin Kin is the first that springed to my mind.

1). Located at the shop lots behind Pizza Hut along Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman.

2). Often you'll find yourself standing and waiting for other customers alms-giving their tables.

3). To my surprise, the noodles are made and cooked by the foreign workers there. I wonder how would it affect the quality of the noodles that crazed all the pan mee seekers.

4). Something to keep your mouth busy while waiting for the meal of the day is the Sweet Potato Leaves Soup. Cooked with anchovies and egg white added in, and voila! The leaves are fresh and crunchy, the soup is tasty and refreshing.

5). Here comes the grand prize! Various ingredients are added in, namely the pan mee, fried anchovies, minced pork, topped with a half-boiled egg and most important of all - their signatured dried chilli flakes! To be honest with you, one bowl is never enough for me, at least one and a half, some even take three!!

6). Mixed all these ingredients together with the pan mee to enjoy this heavenly creation. The degree of spiciness can be adjusted according to your level of tolerance. You may add in some lime juice and chilli padi in order to spice up your life a little bit! There you have it, a simple yet addictive meal that makes you return over and over again!

7). This is their secret ingredient - their signatured dried chilli flakes, you can add all you want! But bewared, this is not for the faint-hearted and stomach-sensitive ones! However, at the price of RM5.80 per bowl is rather pricey as comparison with other pan mee available else where.

8). What would you do just for a bowl of dried chilli pan mee? Some individuals even steal it, in order to mimic the legendary chilli and make fame and fortune for theirselves, but unfortunately was caught on CCTV.. For those who lived closed to Pandan Indah, you are lucky to have the one and only genuine branch of Kin Kin located at the address as showed in the picture above.

Kin Kin Chilli Pan Mee （建记辣椒板面）

Address : 40, Ground Floor, Jalan Dewan Sultan Sulaiman 1,

                off Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, 50100 Kuala Lumpur.

Business hours : Monday to Friday 7.30am - 7.00pm

                         Saturday to Sunday 7.30am - 5.00pm

                         (Off day on occasions only)

GPS coordinates : 3.161031, 101.698272

Tel. : 016-3728069

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Hong Lai Restaurant at Setapak （逢莱茶餐厅）

Stir-fried noodles （炒粉） has always been first on my short-list for dinner or supper whenever I am eating out. One of my favourite spot during my times in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur is Hong Lai Restaurant （逢莱茶餐厅）.

1). Situated along Jalan Genting Klang, opposite of Courts Mammoth.

2). Hong Lai is famous for their charcoal stir-fried noodles and there are always fire sparks coming off the wok all the time. It's a sight to behold, however better avoid parking your car in front of it!!

3). There aren't too many tables for you to sit but don't you worry 'cause there are plenty of them along the corridor to accommodate all the stir-fried noodles lovers,

4). Things aren't always gonna come your way, especially when it comes to waiting for food. Therefore, a bowl of Chinese Cabbage Soup with Pork （菜心猪肉汤）should cool you down while waiting anxiously for the first plate of noodles! 

5). One of the most famous noodles to try out in Kuala Lumpur is Hokkien Mee （福建面）or （大禄面）. The most way to cook it is to stir-fried with soy sauce until the noodles turned black, but not over-charred of course! Don't forget to order it whenever you eat here!

6). If you're not a fan of stir-fried black noodles, there is another version of Hokkien Mee for you to try out, is called Loh Mee (卤面), where the noodles is cooked in a viscous broth, almost similar with Wan Tan Hor. Tasted even better if you add some vinegar into it!!

7). Rice noodles, better known as Hor Fun（河粉） if you came from Ipoh, or Kuey Tiaw （粿条）if you came from Penang. As opposed to Wan Tan Hor, there is dry-version which offers a dry stir-fried rice noodles (干炒河). One of the most ordered dish here is their signature Moonlight Hor （月光河), where a raw egg is cracked onto the stir-fried rice noodles. Believe me, you'll be speechless.

 8). Last but not least, I have to order their stir-fried vermicelli (炒米粉) to complete tasting of the variety of noodles available. To my astonishment, it is very very hard for me to left out any of there, they are just simply delicious, out of this world!

9). Hong Lai has become one of my must-eat place whenever I return to KL, if time allows me to do so. Speaking of time, if you can't afford to offer some patience to wait, better reach before 7pm, otherwise just sit tight like everyone of us, waiting patiently for the master cook to waive his magic onto our beloved noodles. What could all the poor souls do just for a few plates of noodles?! Sigh..

Hong Lai Restaurant at Setapak （逢莱茶餐厅）
Address : Jalan Genting Klang,
               53200 Setapak, Kuala Lumpur.
(intersection between Jalan Genting Klang & Jalan Ayer Panas)
Business hours : 11am - 3pm & 7pm - 2.30am
GPS coordinates : 3.192168, 101.709086

Favola Italian Restaurant at Le Méridien

Italian cuisine has always associated with sophistication and classiness, which always been one of my favourite dishes. I was given the privilege to try out one of the fine Italian dining in Kuala Lumpur, in conjunction with my favourite festive season of the year, Christmas.

1). Favola literally means fable in Italian, it is located at Level 8 of one of the most prestige hotel in the heart of our capitol city.

2). The Crudo bar is decorated with painting from Renaissance's period, where the chefs prepared their cold appetizers.  

3). The dining area able to seat in 75 persons. The private dining room is divisible into 2 with different themes and can accommodate up to 20 persons.

4). Wine is not to be left out during such occasion, so I ordered a house-pour glass of Tuscany Banfi Col di Sasso Cabernet Sangiovese vintage 2007. Honestly it is one of the best I've tasted, if not the best..

5). Antipasti is the Italian word for appetizer, literally means "before meal", can be anything from bread to cheese and butter. Three types of bread are served hot from the oven with three types of sauce for dipping at your own liking.

6). Antipasti can served in hot (caldi) or cold (freddo) dishes. Roasted scallops (RM55) is one of hot appetizer and signatured dish offered in the menu, where fresh scallops are roasted on top of meshed cauliflower and truffle. Biggest scallops I have eaten so far..

7). Favola also offers a wide range of dishes for Vegetarians as well. One of the signatured caldi antipasti is the Garlic and Thyme Roasted Portobello (RM35), where braised spinach topped with Lombardy Taleggio cheese and with Portobello mushrooms underneath it. Well, not everyone is herbivore though, I had my fair share of veggies throughout my vegetable boy life.

8). Primi, which means first course ranges from pasta dish, soup or a rich rice and butter dish called a risotto, can be served on its own before the main course. Risotto is a class of Italian dishes of rice cooked in broth to a creamy consistency. It is also the most common way of cooking rice in Italy. In this case, we decided to give our "virginity" to Risotto con Aragosta (RM50), where Italian rice is cooked with lobster, green asparagus, lemon zest, green pea foam, parmesan cheese, butter, and onion. Well, not my bowl of rice though, as it tasted like half-rice and half-porridge, unless you prefer "soft rice".

9). Second primi to come is the Venetian pizza, where thin crusted pizza is topped with lobster, scallops, prawns, calamari and clams, literally it meets seafood pizza. The pizza is freshly baked in pizza stove, where you can observe the chef in action by tossing the dough and tucking into the oven. The crust is so thin and crispy, topped with lots of Parmesan cheese. An a big fan of pizza, it is simply the best pizza I have tasted since Pizza Bagus in Bali, Indonesia 2 years ago!

10). Secondi means the second course in Italian. The main course usually features a protein dish such as meat, poultry, lamb or even fish, just like any other cuisines. Mutton has always been one of my favourite meat,as I give the Pot Roasted Lamb Shank (RM75) a try, topped with cilantro gremolata. Well, it turns out even better than the franchised cake shop's award-winning version.

11). Beef is must-order dish for me, being the only beef on menu, Charcoal Grilled Black Angus Ribeye Fiorentina (RM130) is the chosen one. A 340g of ribeye is grilled medium rare with lemon halves, natural salt and served with polenta cake and truffle mashed potato. However, it turn out to be a poor choice after all, as it was over-charred frankly speaking, with burnt aroma with every bite. Yikes, should have try their pasta or some other seafood instead.

12). Dolci is the word for dessert in Italian, where famous desserts are made, namely Gelato and Tiramisu We are told of a recipe which was given to the chef by a friend, and made him swear on a stack of ice cream that he would never reveal the recipe, which refers to Cassata (RM30), a traditional sweet from Sicily, Italy. It consists of sponge cake moistened with fruit juices and layered with rich Häagen Dazs Vanilla, Strawberry and Pistachio ice-cream, candied peel, pink and green pastel, and served with candied fruit depicting cherries and slices of citrus fruit characteristic of Sicily. It literally melts in your mouth, not on your spoon. A wonderful piece of ice-cream cake nonetheless! With Häagen Dazs around, what more I need to say?!

13). As I have stressed over and over again, a meal is never complte without its dessert. There should always be room for dessert and you should not miss the chance to taste the Illy inspired Tiramisu (RM40), a modern take on the traditional favourite with layers of soft sponge soaked in freshly brewed Illy coffee, panna cotta, mascarpone foam and topped with cookie croutons. This is really the surprise of the night, where the chocolate shavings explodes in our mouths and we really loved and enjoy it!

14). We were presented with a small cup of Mini Pandolce Tiramisu, which is the miniature version of Illy inspired Tiramisu. It looks similar and it tasted almost the same, with the Tiramisu filling.

15). Last but not least, the finale to a satisfying meal comes with a decent mouth washer, where you are given the choice with Illy Coffee Selection of Ronnefeldt Tea and Coffee and served with Home made Pistachio Biscott. What an enjoyable and relaxing dinner I had, thrilled with anticipation and stomach-fulled with food. Not only does the food speak for itself, the spirit of dining is characterised by playful indulgence, togetherness and comfort to create the warmth and spirit of an Italian cuisine. Definitely my choice of Italian restaurant! Being a Starwood Prefered Guest, exclusive dining benefits can be enjoyed here when you present the membership card to the staff there. For more information, please visit their website at http://www.lemeridiendining.com.my/index.php?mid=28. Buona appetito!

Favola Italian Restaurant 

Location : Level 8, Le Méridien Hotel Kuala Lumpur

Address : No.2, Jalan Stesen Sentral, Kuala Lumpur Sentral,  

                50470 Kuala Lumpur.

Operation hours : Daily Lunch (except Saturday) : 12.00 pm to 2.30 pm

                           Daily Dinner : 6.30 pm to 11 pm
Tel : 03-22637434
e-mail : dining.lmkl@lemeridien.com

Dubrovnik Croatian Restaurant at Solaris Mont Kiara

Couple of weeks back, I was brought to experience a taste of the Mediterranean, at the first and only Croatian restaurant in Southeast Asia, in the heart of Mont Kiara with Croatian hospitality and traditionally prepared dishes, courtesy to Jacky!

1). As the name suggested, the chef and the owner probably originated from Dubrovnik, Croatia (Try googling it, where the city is located off Mediterranean coast)

2). A very spacious first floor with fine European decoration and for the eyes of dine-in customers to behold.

3). A Blueberry Smoothy (RM18), recommended by the waiter, where it was squeezed from fresh blueberries, apple juice & yogurt. Sweet, yummy and it gives you a blue tongue too!

4). First to come is a toasted bread, where you eat it on its own or dip with the appetizing vegetable salsa sauce. Crunchy on its own, dipping the sauce also not bad either.

5). Next to come is the Appetizer Platter (RM45), as the name suggested it is an appetizer where it consists of Strukli, Palacinke and mixed green salad. Strukli is made with fresh cheese dumplings, pan-fried with bread crumbs, and topped with sour cream; where as Palacinke is made of crêpes filled with cream cheese, baked in the wood oven with egg and cream topping.

6). Our first main course under the BBQ category is the Burger in Somun (RM36), where a juicy Croatian burger patty stuffed with cheese, placed in freshly made somun bread, served with home-made triple cooked fries and also can dip with the salsa sauce. The beef is well grilled and tender, however I still prefer our usual Ameraican style beef burger, oops..

7). The second main course under the hot stove category is the Zagreb Chicken (RM40), where a golden breaded chicken breast is filled with smoked turkey ham and melted cheese, served with potato fries and again comes with the salsa sauce. The cheesy fills is smoking hot and the dough is really crispy!

8). Our third and final main course under wood oven category is the Lamb Croatia (RM50), where a lamb steak is pan fried, baked in the wood oven, covered in green pepper sauce and served with steamed vegetables and pommes dauphine potatoes. The mutton is so tender and juicy, haven't tasted such a nice lamb steak for a long long time.

9). No meal is complete without its dessert. Therefore, our first mouth washer is the Apple Pita (RM16). Pita means pie in Croatian, where creamy apple filling are put in thin crispy dough, topped with sliced apples and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The sweetness is just nice, balanced well when take together with  the ice-cream. Hot in your mouth but melt in your throat!

10). Our dessert of the day come with Royal Chocolate Cake (RM17), where it is made of bitter chocolate top sitting on a crunchy hazelnut praline base and topped with a cherry. The chocolate flavour is so rich and it melts in your mouth. I am putting a Like on this!

11). The picture shows the interior of the restaurant with a Croatian national flag hanging down from first floor, where dine-in customers sit; where as casual beer drinkers can enjoy their beverages and snacks on the ground floor with cozy chairs and sofas. Although the food is pricey for what they are offering, but definitely I'll be back for more and to try out their other specialty such as Chicken Peka (cater for 1 day earlier reservation) and their special made pizzas. Can't have these anywhere else in this region!

Dubrovnik Restaurant KL

Address : J-0G-14, Solaris Mont Kiara,
               No. 2 Jalan Solaris, Mont Kiara,
               50480 Kuala Lumpur.

(Ground floor of Soho KL complex, opposite Coffee Bean)
Tel. & Fax : 03 6203 6780

Operational hours : Tuesdays to Fridays (11.30am - 3pm, 6.30pm – 11pm)

                              Saturdays & Sundays (11.30am - 11.00pm)

                              Closes on Mondays

For more information, please visit their homepage at:
         http://www.dubrovnikrestaurantkl.com