Fish Castle Restaurant is a gem of a place if you love noodle soup (hmmm… noodle soup[1]). This halal eaterie is ran by Mr Lee and I heard so much about it from my brother that we had to try it out when we got back. Disappointed we weren’t.

As usual, I went for the mee hoon soup. It is served sans taugeh and has fish balls, fish cakes and a couple of napa cabbage leaves. If you look at their menu, they take pride in their fish balls which are free from preservatives. At first taste, one would think there wasn’t enough salt, but that’s the beauty of it. It’s great for those who like to have less salt in their food, and you can taste the subtle flavours in the clear soup. Portion-wise, my mee hoon soup was just lovely, and paired with fresh soya bean milk, I was stuffed.

They also do non-Chinese noodle dishes and ayah enjoyed his plate of mee rebus. Their bubur pulut hitam dessert was a hit with ayah too. Will have to try those when I come here next time.

106 Jalan SS21/39
Damansara Uptown
47400 Petaling Jaya

After a sesh at Raju’s one Sunday morning, my friends and I had some coffee at Artisan Roast Coffee at the Rahim Kajai precinct in Taman Tun. I’ve never been, and one thing you shouldn’t do at Artisan is order teh ais like I did. Heh. They do iced rooibos, though.


I was actually satiated with roti canai and teh tarik that I didn’t think I could manage a cuppa. From their menu you’d see that they have coffee beans from different parts of the globe, and even these change depending on what they can get in the market. I love the atmosphere which is pretty arty in the literal sense (check out their flowchart of ordering coffee). It was then that I bumped into Ajim, my nephew, who did the mural of the blue-haired girl on the wall at the entrance[2]. Do check out the place, and I promise to do a better review where I actually savour the kopi next time I visit! They open every day from morning time til midnight.

4 Lorong Rahim Kajai 14
Taman Tun Dr Ismail
60000 Kuala Lumpur

I think this eaterie was mentioned in passing just the once in this blog. Well, better late than never. I’ve only eaten nasi kandar at two establishments in KL/PJ – Kayu and Pelita. Sorry, Pelita fans, Kayu wins hands down for me and the family. You could walk in at 4 AM and the nasi and lauk combo still tastes good. And that’s what we did – had our sahur at the nearest Kayu for us which is in SS2.

They used to have one at the Aminuddin Baki precinct in TTDI but it shut years ago. Pity. What do I have when I have my habuan?

Ayam goreng dada, sayur kobis and kuah campoq will do for me just fine every single time.

64 Jalan SS2/10
47300 Petaling Jaya

The last time I had ice cream at Swensen’s was at their Damansara Jaya outlet more than two decades ago. Their outlets are a dying breed now, with their SS2 branch now shut all that is left is the one at Subang Parade. The last outlet in the country. I had what I always had as a kid – the three-scooped Gold Rush, which was sublime as it was all those years ago. I wasn’t too keen on their Coit Tower (which sports a Jalur Gemilang now as opposed to the Star-Spangled Banner). But gone are the wooden deco and Tiffany lamps, all there are now are plain characterless white tables and chairs.

This was also my first visit to Subang Parade in decades. Defo a place I’d avoid as the roads are so damn busy. We were told they are shutting the Subang outlet soon too, but a new branch somewhere else (can’t remember where) will be opened soon. If you wanna try a Coit Tower or the classic Earthquake, you can haul yourself to:

G30 Ground Floor
Subang Parade
5 Jalan SS16/1
47500 Subang Jaya

_____________________________________

Kluang Station at the OU New Wing is a recent favourite of mine, not because of their roti bakar and kaya, but for the chicken chop.

In fact, the whole family is into chicken chop at this easily missed eaterie on the lower ground floor. I used to have my chicken chop at another establishment (which will remain nameless) in Ampang but have not been back for 8 years now since I had food poisoning from eating bad chicken chop kuah. The portion is that of a quarter chicken but it is sizeable. The gravy is just sublime, and the chicken was properly cooked, and crispy batter to boot, accompanied by a decent heap of chips. Guaranteed to keep you satiated for a good few hours. As for the rest of their kopitiam-styled menu, I have done a short review of it here.

Last but not least, kuey teow at Subang Ria. I am sure I have gone to town with the char kuey teow at this well-loved establishment but the Penang mamak kuey teow goreng served by the small immediately behind the Chinese one deserves a mention. It used to be run by a pair – one older, one younger. However, the older chap died a couple of years ago, leaving the younger apprentice running the show now. When he fries the kuey teow for us, it does feel that the portion feels a tad bigger than usual. And it is way bigger if you ask for a take away. No taugeh for me as usual and it is just one level down from the ever-superb Combat kuey teow goreng at the Taiping Casual Market. As Taiping is a way away, SS5 will do for now!

_____________________________________
[1]Remember who said this?
[2]Ajim’s the frontman of Juxtaposed and is a talented fine artist. Check out his works here.