Ramly Burger @ Tari Cafe, Penang

How many of you have NEVER had a Ramly Burger before? I guess NOT many right? How many of you would say that the Ramly Burger is better than Burger King or McDonalds?

Well this post is dedicated to those who had never had a Ramly Burger before!

Ramly Burger is actually a Malaysian brand. It is a brand that makes burger patties. Normally you can locate a Ramly Burger stall outside 7-11 shops all around KL. These stalls normally start work in the evening and work till like 1am in the morning, targeting people who visits the 7-11 to buy cigarettes or drinks late at night.

Pictured above are the buns and burger patty being cooked on a hot plate. I would like to say that, no 2 burger stall cooks it the same way. Some would add some L & P sauce, while others would put some Maggi Seasoning sauce.

Picture above we can see the burger buns being prepared. Some add BBQ sauce, while some would add mayo. Some put lettuce, while some put cabbage. There is not ONE correct way of cooking, thus making all the different stalls different. Of course, some are better than others, but generally, all of them are unique yet interesting.

Here we have the finished Ramly Burger . We had ordered the special which comes with an egg wrapped around the burger patty. Normally eating the burger is NOT an easy task. Loads of sauce, or very would be oozing out of every possible corner... :p

Pictured here is the Hot Dog special. As you can see, it is a mouth full. You can even see the Egg wrapped around the sausage.

If you have NEVER had a Ramly Burger , please head to a 7-11 tonight and purchase your first Ramly Burger . You'll never regret trying it. And to answer the first few question above, yes I reckon the Ramly Burger beats any McDonalds burger!



View Larger Map

Hokkien Mee and Fried Rice

The quest for a great Hokkien Mee (Black Noodles) goes on. Today's Hokkien Mee is the famous one situated at Uptown, PJ. It is the same row as the new HSBC Bank, situated at the end of the row, the corner near police station.

It opens in the evening and only does the dinner and supper business. You won't miss it as it would have loads of tables situated outside filled with people.

Not to worry, their menu are very limited, thus the quick service of food. Within 15 mins, all the food were served.

What would it be silly, if we didn't try their famous Hokkien Mee. It is pretty good, and doesn't have a bitter aftertaste where some place have. It is very tasty, but be warned, it is cooked with loads of Pork Lard!! No wonder it taste so good!!
Next on the menu is their fried rice. Since returning from Melbourne, Australia I haven't had any decent fried rice. One of the best ones I had while in Melbourne is the King of King Friend Rice with Egg Chiffon!

Anyway, back to the task in hand. The fried rice they have is one best I have eaten in KL. Again, it is tasty, with lots of Char Siew with long beans and friend egg. The rice is not too dry and is excellent! Order their fried rice, you won't regret it!
Next we had some vegi. Their menu only had like 2 vegitables to choose from. I believe we order the Choy Thum. No idea what it is called in english. The vegi is probably lightly fried and topped with fried garlic, fried shallots and some oysters sauce. It is good, and not too oily as some other place.
The last interesting item we had for the evening is the Pork Soup. This comes highly recommended. The soup comes with some vegies, fried pork, as well as some lightly fried omelete. The egg, is very lightly fried, meaning it is very thin, almost like the egg chiffon I had from Melbourne. A unique item, and must be ordered if you are eating here.

Conclusion
Ok, the quest for good hokkien mee, was not wasted. The hokkien mee was good but not fantastic. The fried rice however was their best dish, if you asked me. Even my dad who had dinner with me agreed that the fried rice was better than the hokkien mee. The pork soup too was great.

Overall, the food was very reasonably priced. I would give the food at this place a 4 of 5 stars for their overall food quality and taste. You won't be disappointed if you ate here, as all their items was good.

Chili Pan Mee

Chili Pan Mee at Kin Kin in the city is one of the more famous Pan Mee around. They claim they are the first one in town with their style of Pan Mee. Now, they have another branch in Cheras area. If you want to try the Pan Mee, please reach there early. They are open for breakfast till like 3pm. But if you arrive late, you may have to wait up to an hour to get your served.


Here we have a photo of the Dry Chili Pan Mee being served. It is served dried with a poach egg on top and also a bowl of soup with some pork and some vegi. From the photos you should be able to see their ikan bilis, which are a decent size and have a decent amount served.


Next you'll have to stir in your poach egg into the noodles. I am not too sure what is the correct way to eat it, but it seems to be what everybody else is doing. There isn't any gravy and just by itself, it doesn't have much taste.

The secret comes from their dried chili condiment. You wouldn't be called the famous Chili Pan mee, if you do not have these special dried chilis. These stuff looks really potent, as you may have mistaken it for an active volcano instead :) Just stir in loads of it until the Pan Mee changes to a Reddish colour.


You can add a little of these lime into your Pan Mee to give it a little sour after taste. I personally think it great, but it is up to your own personal taste. Anybody who knows me, will know that I can't really take anything spicy. By adding some lime, it also makes it a little less spicy...


Ok, now that you have stirred in the chillis, you'll get a really spicy looking reddish pan mee. After your first bite, you'll have no regret of trying this notoriously spicy pan mee. It taste different from the other pan mee. The noodles itself is not fat and thick like the usual pan mee, in fact the thickness of the pan mee and texture is very similar to the spaghetti.


Above I have a photo of the Soup Pan Mee instead. For those who prefer the wet style, please go ahead, but somehow, I felt that it is not as nice as the dry one. With the dry pan mee, you'll be able to taste the dried chili. Overall, I think it is great and unique style of Pan Mee. I will give it a 3.5 of 5 stars. Don't get me wrong, but because, I am not a Spicy food type of person, it didn't get my 4 star that I would have given.

The only regret that I may have is that..... can my tummy take all the spiciness......

Braised Duck Rice in PJ Old Town

I hope you know where the UOB bank in PJ Old Town is. The Braised Duck Rice place is at the corner directly next to the UOB Bank. They only serve duck rice in the evenings. During lunch hours, its filled with hawker food instead.

As I have mentioned before, these place specialised in Braise Ducks. You better get here early, because on weekends, as early as 6pm you'll see people filling up the tables. You will also notice there are not 1 person chopping the ducks, but 3 person. One person is only chopping for the take away customers.

The Braised Duck is different from the usual Roast Duck that we have. There is a famous Roast Duck place at Paramount Gardens, PJ called Sunrise. But today, we would be discussing on the mouth watering Braise Duck instead.

The duck have been de-boned and sliced up to manageable bites. If you notice, the duck is covered with gravy.... hmmmmm delicious stuff. Paired up with the oily rice and the duck gravy you'll have a potent combination!! Simply out of this world delicious!! Don't take my word for it, drop by and taste it for yourself. I won't even wait till the end of this post to give it a rating, it will get 5.5 of 5 stars on the spot! :)

They have loads more side dishes. The mushrooms are great too. Then again, anything cooked and simmered in the duck gravy would turn out beautifully.
Picture above we have the Kiam Choy. It tastes good and compliments the duck rice well. Please note that is taste excellent too, but this is because it has been cooked with loads of lard.

They too have another nice side dishes, which is the duck's intestines. You'll have to get there really early to taste this, as on most days by 7pm it will all be sold out. Duck's intestines taste different from pigs small intestines. The texture is totally different, so it is a little hard to describe it. Just get there to try it!

Of course if you can't get the duck's intestines, just have the pigs small intestines instead. It is great... then again like I said earlier, anything cooked with the ducks gravy would turn out perfect :)

This place serves the Best Braised Duck Rice available. You'll have to taste it to believe me. Remember get there early so that you'll beat the crowd and save time on waiting for you food. Overall this place serves a great meal. It gets my 5 of 5 stars rating without even thinking twice.

Hokkien Mee: Singapore Style

Have you guys eaten Hokkien Mee before?

Yes we have the KL Hokkien Mee which is the black noddles, or the Penang Hokkien Mee, which is commonly known as the Prawn Mee here in KL...

So what will be the Singapore Hokkien Mee be liked?

Well, think of it as a Dry style Prawn Mee... get the idea?

Well, I am sorry for not capturing any photos for this article. I was too caught up with dinner, that I totally forgot to capture a photo of the item. Promise to get a photo on my next trip down.

The Famous Singapore Hokkien Mee is situated in a food court called "Food Republic" in a building called Wisma Atria along Orchard Road. Wisma Atria is actually next to Takashimaya.

From the street level, there is an escalator that takes you up to the food court, which is at level 3 or 4. Once up there, you'll have to walk around to locate your Famous Singapore Hokkien Mee. You can't missed it, as it is the ONLY stall with a long queue, of at least 10 people queuing.
Check the google map link here...

Everywhere you walk in the food court, you'll see people eating it...

How can I describe how it taste like... hmmm...

Well think of it like the Penang Hokkien Mee. Instead of the yellow noddles, they have used a similar smooth and thinner noddles, a little like spaghetti. It is still prawn based, so it will have strong Prawn flavours. Instead of having soup in it, it is has gravy.

Think of it as, it started off with the Prawn based soup, but they simmer it long enough until it becomes a gravy. Think of all the flavours being thicken into a gravy instead of Soup!

It is the most interesting Hokkien Mee I have tasted to date. The texture of the noodles are much better than all those yellow noodles and it has a very strong and powerful flavor. A must try for the food Critics out there!

I personally enjoyed it, and would give it a 5 of 5 Star!!

Hmm... you reckon it will start appearing around Kuala Lumpur?

Char Koay Teow @ Lorong Selamat, Penang

I am sure everyone knows the famous Char Koay Teow at Lorong Selamat. The one where you'll have to hold empty plates when you order, stand behind at least 5 people and queue for at least 20 minutes. The one where the lady wears a goggles and Croc sandles when she cooks.

Lorong Selamat Char Koay Teow has recently move to their own shop. Previously they cook off a push cart outside a Kopitiam. Now, they have moved to their own shop, about 2 doors away from the old spot at Kafe Heng Huat. They still cook off their push cart but you'll have plenty of room to seat and no more queues. You don't have to queue anymore since they move to the new place; but doesn't mean that you don't have to wait!

Who said Penang food is cheap? The Koay Teow here ain't cheap, $RM5.50 for a standard Koay Teow with egg, or $RM7.50 if you wish to have the Special, where it has extra prawns. The prawns provided in the standard one ain't small, as you can see from the photos, but if you love your prawns, get the special instead!

The Lorong Selamat Koay Teow is one of the Best Koay Teow around. You'll not regret trying it, trust me. Time after time, whenever I am Penang, we would always visit this place. Previously we had to queue up and wait 20 mins, but your wait is over since they moved to a new place. Now you can sit in the comfort of the shop while waiting for you food.

Mee Goreng @ Bangkok Lane, Penang

Anybody staying in Penang, would have heard of the Mee Goreng at Bangkok Lane. It is Famous... so famous that even my mom eats there... my mom ... no kidding... well as you can see, good food does not distinguish between the age, as well as the great generation gap :)

In general, I am not a fan of Mee Goreng at all. Situated at the corner of Bangkok Lane, where my new retail Chai now resides, I had to give the Mee Goreng a try. There were not many options, but I was told that if you ordered the "chili" version, get ready to be blasted to the Moon, as it was seriously out of this world spicy. Then again, maybe its just the general Penang standard of spiciness...

I as usual, ordered "no chili" version. When the food first arrived, it looked very moist or a little on the wet site. The colour of the mee, looks as if the noodles were glowing orange... They too served the whole table at once, showing that they cooked in bulk.

"Didn't I tell them no chili? Hmm anyway, here it goes..."

The Mee Goreng is excellent! It may look wet, or a little on the glowing orange side, but it was great. It had small squids in the mee goreng which taste good too. Finally I understood why, there were a long queue for the take-away.

The food is not over-rated! Overall I will give the Mee Goreng a 4.5/5 stars. I was impressed with it, as I normally don't eat Mee Goreng. This would be an acception!

Out of towners, do give it a try. You'll not regret it.

Pork Noodles @ Sunway

Today we will do a review on the Pork Noodles I had for lunch near my office the other day. It is situated at the Mentari Business Park block, just round the corner of the McDonalds. I must say that, not all Pork Noodles are created the same! The only other great tasting Pork Noodles acceptable to my taste buds, is the one in PJ State.

The one that I had, is a little different and best ordered with Instant Noodles (Vits), instead of the usual Yellow Noodles and Mee Hoon. Please add the optional Egg into the soup if you prefer it. It tends to give the soup an egg yolk taste. Like all other Pork Noodles, it will be served with pork balls, mince meat, some intestine and some vegetables. The soup is really tasty and goes extremely well with the instant noodles.

The Pork Noodles is so delicious till I have to lick the bowl clean.... joking... I reckon it must be drugged or something. Actually, probably a whole ton of MSG, as I do get quite thirsty after the meal! Hmm... does that mean, anyone can be a Master Chef by just sprinkling some MSG?

Poh Lian seen eating with the optional Egg in the soup

Conclusion

It is one very delicious Pork Noodles! Although it may contain a little excessive MSG, I reckon it is one of the top Pork Noodles around. Overall, I will give it a 4/5 star.

Curry Mee @ Ah Loy, OUG

I am sure many have tasted and tried the Curry Mee at Ah Loy's and it needs no introduction. Ah Loy is situated in Taman OUG, at the row of shop houses behind the BHP Petrol station. For those who have never tried it, it is one of the best Curry Mee around.

It comes with a very generous serving of chicken pieces (not those shreds of chicken) as well as some cockles (see hum) and some deep fried pork skin (pictured above!). The deep fried pork skin, is either loved or hated by some. The soup is unique as it is very thick! Loads of santan (coconut milk) in the soup, making it really rich in flavour. Just perfect!

Conclusion
The Curry Mee at Ah Loy's is one of the best around. I have never tried any other curry mee that comes close to this. The extra lemak soup makes it truly unique. If you are a big fan of curry mee, you have got to try it! Overall, I will give it a 4.5/5 stars.

Hokkien Mee @ Paramount, PJ

I have heard many mentioned that there is a famous Hokkien Mee around this neighbourhood. So one night, after badminton with my brother Rick, we decided to roam the streets of Paramount... in search for the the famous coal cooked Hokkien Mee. We reckon we found it, as everyone who eats at this place, too orders the Hokkien Mee.

Name: Restoran Millennium Eighty Six
Location: Situated behind Caltex petrol station at Paramount, Petaling Jaya
Price: Less than RM 10 per head
Overall Food: 3.5 / 5 Stars

This place cooks Tai Chow after dark every evening. When we first arrived, we were not too sure whether is this the place, but after noticing the cooks adding coal to their cooker, we realised that we must have hit the jackpot. Not only that, it was the only place with people eating, while the rest of the area seems a little dead and deserted. As you can see in the photos above, they cook using coal!

Hokkien Mee

As you can see from the photos, I am refering to the KL's version of Hokkien Mee, not the Penang's version which is the Prawn Mee. The Hokkien Mee was cooked with loads of lard. Excellent tasting, but a little oily if you asked me. Not too sure whether could I taste any different if they used a gas cooker instead... Since I am not a big fan of the Hokkien Mee, I can only give it a 3.5/5 stars only.

Pork Ribs Yee Mee

The Pork Ribs Yee Mee was a little different from the others I have eaten as they have added some chillis and capcicums. By adding the capcicums it has given the Yee Mee a little extra chilli smell and flavours but not the spiciness. Overall the Yee Mee was great and the pork ribs was nice and tender. I too would give it a 3.5/5 stars.

Conclusion

Travelling to Paramount seems a little far for supper if you asked me. The food is nothing to shout about. Taste good, but not fantastic enough for me to dream and crave for it all week long. If you craving for some Hokkien Mee, give it a try. It may be the only few places that still cooks with coal! There should be another famous Hokkien Mee somewhere in Kota Damansara. Anybody knows where is that?