Simple Life, Bangsar South

The deal: RM29 for RM50 cash voucher for food and drinks at Simple Life

What we got:

Vegetarian food is our go-to food on those days when we feel like we've had a little too much meat in our systems. That, and it makes us feel just a little bit better that we're doing our (small) part for the environment too by consuming less meat.

Sweet and sour crispy abalone mushroom set (RM18.90)

The set meals at Simple Life are priced decently enough. Not as cheap as we hoped for meat-free meals, but not exorbitant either. We got a sweet and sour crispy abalone mushroom set, which came with brown rice, a mini salad, some chopped beans and carrots, pandan 'chicken', and a bowl of soup.

The mushroom were delicious; fried till crispy and coated generously with sweet and sour sauce, tossed together with capsicums and tomatoes. We loved that they served brown rice instead of rice, and the little side dishes that came with the set. Top it off with a bowl of clear soup, and you've got a pretty filling meal for one.  No complaints taste-wise.

Mini steamboat set meal (miso soup) (RM20.90)

We also got a mini steamboat set meal, where we had a choice of either black beans, miso, burdock or tom yam soup. The steamboat ingredients included mushrooms (common, shimeiji,  oyster and emoki), corn, carrot, pumpkin, tofu, seaweed and other greens. Our choice of miso soup--the soup is essentially the make-it-or-break-it of a steamboat, really--was a good one; slightly salty at first, but once you've got all the ingredients  in, the sweetness of the vegetables really balances the whole thing out.

Melaka nyonya cendol (RM5.90)

We couldn't say we really enjoyed our dessert though. While we're fans of gula melaka, this cendol seems to have gone overboard with it, so it ended up being really sweet--too much for our tastebuds to handle.  

RM50 for a vegetarian meal for two (before vouchers) may seem a little steep, to be honest, but we've seen Simple Life vouchers featured several times on group discount sites, so do look out for that; it'll be lighter on our wallets, and perhaps our waistlines too.

Tax: Service charge of 10%

How much we paid: RM29.25

Fikcles Cafe, TTDI

The deal: Meal + drink for 2 for RM28 at Fikcles Cafe

What we got:

Lontong goreng (RM10.90)

The lontong goreng seems to be a much raved-about item in the blogs we trawled prior to visiting the cafe (yes, research is important!). Fried rice cake with onions, garlic, ginger, chilli and an egg, the portion was big enough to share. As it was our first time tasting this dish, we have nothing to compare it to, but on a stand-alone basis it proved to be rather decent. We would've loved it more if there was less chilli oil pooled at the bottom of the dish.

 Hearty breakfast (RM14.90)

We wanted to try the salted egg squid, since this also seems to have garnered positive feedback from previous customers. Alas, we were informed that they would not be offering this dish that day, as they did not want to compromise on the taste of the dish as the quality of the ingredients were not up to par that day. We got the hearty breakfast instead upon their recommendation.

The scrambled eggs, unfortunately, suffered from too much of a good thing--with the good thing being butter. Not sure if it was a fluke that day, but like how Kaffa Cafe botched their scrambled eggs with way too much salt, the chef here seems to be a bit too generous with the butter. The sausage was slightly spicy and very delicious, while the mushrooms, baked beans, tomato and croissant was average. 

Green tea extravaganza (RM14.90)

Essentially ice-blended green tea with milk. You'll love this if you love Starbuck's ice-blended green tea cream. Serving size was great too.

Flat white (RM8.90)

If there's one thing we would recommend they improve on, it would be the ventilation of the place. Because the kitchen wasn't properly separated from the dining area, we could smell what's cooking the moment we opened the doors to the establishment; not exactly what we expect when we choose to have our meal at a cafe. That aside, our waiter was really friendly, making for a pleasant dining experience.

Tax: None

How  much we paid: RM28

Yuu-jo Japanese Restaurant, Mont Kiara

The deal: Omakase 6-course meal for 2 pax (RM37) at Yuu-jo Japanese Restaurant, Mont Kiara

What we got:

Despite being advertised as 'omakase' on the deal site, it really isn't. This 6-course meal seems to be a current promotion, because you could order it even without vouchers, albeit at a higher price. 

For our first course, we were served a bowl of soup each. Although it was labelled 'chicken soup', the broth was more vegetables than meat chunks, but it doesn't matter--it was delicious regardless. We couldn't get enough of this.

Next came the salad. Now, we're not salad people (give us meat any day!), but we enjoyed this one: salmon flakes and bits  of tempura with cherry tomatoes and greens. The highlight of this dish? The dressing, hands down. My partner took his first bite and went, 'Wow, refreshing!'. The dressing was light and citrus-y, and, cliche as it may sound, really awakens the tastebuds.

Dish 3: salmon carpaccio. Unlike the thin fish slices you'd normally find in most Japanese restaurants, Yuu-jo's salmon was sashimi-thick and served skin-on. Would've preferred it without the skin, though. My partner felt it wasn't very fresh but I thought otherwise.

Our fourth dish (and we were starting to feel like we've eaten half a main course by now) was yasai, or vegetable, tempura. Consisting of cucumber, eggplant, sweet potato and onion, I didn't quite like the breaded texture of the deep-fried vegetables. Give me normal tempura batter anyday.

Ah, our main course, finally. He got the beef teriyaki don while I chose the salmon teriyaki don (serving for both was a little on the smaller side). Nicely flavoured from the salty teriyaki sauce, but the beef turned out tougher than we'd like, while the salmon came a little dry on the inside. Not a bad dish overall, but could've been better.

Dessert was ice-cream. We were given one scoop of vanilla and one of chocolate. Nothing to shout about; these taste like your typical store-bought frozen treats.

At RM18.50 per person, I'd say it was a good deal.

Tax: Service charge of 10%

How much we paid: RM37

Pu'er Tea Shop & Restaurant, Sri Petaling

The deal: RM30 for RM60 cash voucher for food and drinks at Pu'er Tea Shop & Restaurant

What we got:

Ripe pu'er braised pork - small (RM20)

You can't really taste the tea in this, but then again, tender pork belly in soy sauce--what's not to love? 

Pumpkin tofu - small (RM15)

Having been to this shop before, we felt the pumpkin tofu seems to have dropped in quality (if memory serves me well). The pumpkin gravy was a little diluted from our last visit, but I still loved the nutty flavours of the pumpkin with the beancurd and minced meat.

Kam heong squid - small (RM18)

Butter crispy chicken - small (RM18)

Kam heong squid and butter crispy chicken, tai chow staples that are executed well enough here (although if we had one gripe, it would be that the chicken was just a tad dry).

Nai bak - small (RM10)

We wanted to try their two-taste kailan but unfortunately they've already run out of it, so we settled for nai bak. They got our order wrong though; we wanted to get medium nai bak but they gave us the small portion instead. We only found out when the bill came. It was also when we saw the bill that we realised they did not have service charges, which meant we could actually have ordered another dish (our bill came short of the voucher value). Rice was RM1.50 for regular and RM1.00 for small, and tea (they only have pu'er) was RM1.50/pax.

It was a good meal overall. At RM60 for a Chinese meal for five in a air-conditioned, restaurant setting, I think it was a pretty decent deal.

Tax: Government tax of 6%

How much we paid: RM60

Laguna Mabuhay Philippine Restaurant, Jalan Gereja

The deal: RM10 for RM20 cash voucher for food and drinks at Laguna Mabuhay 

What we got: 

Despite the Philippines being much closer in proximity to Malaysia, there doesn't seem to be many outlets in KL serving Philippino food, with the more popular cuisine imports being Japanese and Korean. In fact, before I've even heard about Laguna Mabuhay (via the ever-popular, unbelievably up-to-date Eat Drink KL) I wasn't even aware that there were food outlets offering Philippino cuisine. We've always up for trying new things, so why not food of the Pinoys?

Laguna Mabuhay is located a stone's throw from the busy parts (read: Bukit Bintang) of KL city centre. A good landmark would be Museum Telekom; once you spot it, the restaurant's not too far away. 

Pork sisig (RM12)

Laguna doesn't have a particularly glamorous, or even new, setting. In fact, things appear to be a little, shall we say, aged there. That, however, shouldn't be a deterrent at all for those curious about what the restaurant has to offer.

While we were looking at our menu trying to decide what to order, which was a little hard because there weren't detailed description of the dishes with names that sounded foreign to us, the affable owner--Ronnie Tan, we presume, based on a letter we saw hanging on the wall--came over and asked if it was our first time having Philippino food. He recommended the pork sisig, adobo pork and pinakbet, all of which we got.

We were told the pork sisig is reminiscent of oyster omelette, or o'chien, only with pork instead of oyster; we'd have to agree. Served on a sizzling plate, you mix the raw egg with minced pork, and top everything off with a squeeze of lime if you'd like. 

This dish ended up being a little dry though. My partner didn't really enjoy it but I found it okay.

Pinakbet (RM14)

The pinakbet was is a (mainly) vegetable dish consisting of bittergourd, okrea, long beans and cucumber with slices of  meat in a fish/shrimp paste. To a certain extent, the sauce reminded us of tau cu, or black bean sauce. Both of us enjoyed this.

Adobo pork (RM15)

Ronnie also shared with us that the main tastes in Philippino cuisine comes from vinegar, tamarind and calamansi. The pork adobo is essentially vinegar pork--good vinegar pork, that is. The portion may look deceptively and inaccurately small in this picture, but trust us, the pork chunks are  pretty sizeable. We would've prefer the meat to be a little more tender though.

Rice is RM1.50 per bowl. We're grateful to Ronnie for the gracious hospitality, and currently have our eyes on the delicious-looking stuffed squid for the next visit!

Tax: None

How much we paid: RM25.50

Fatty Cat Steamboat, Dataran Mentari

The deal: All-you-can-eat steamboat buffet at Fatty Cat Steamboat for RM21 (adult)

What we got:

Steamboat is perfect for cold, rainy days--but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy it in our current hot and dry weather. Fatty Cat Steamboat's air-conditioned interior provides a comfortable environment for those wishing to indulge in steamy affairs (of the food variety!).

Unfortunately for us, we were given unstrategic seats--right in front of/blocking their storeroom. We had to shift our chairs several times just so they could access the entrance of the room; pretty inconvenient,really.

Famous double boil soup and tom yam

On to the food. We chose to try two soup bases; their famous double boil soup (essentially pork bone broth) and tom yam. While the pork bone soup was good, the tom yam suffered from being too salty and rather lacking in spiciness but it was, weirdly, kind of addictive in its own way.

There were 5 types of sauces provided: belacan, red chilli, green chilli, satay peanut and one that which was rather reminiscent of taucu (fermented black beans).

They started us off with a set, comprising items such as cocktail sausages, seafood tofu, mussels, scallops, bamboo clams, fish noodle, fish fillet, and enoki mushrooms,amongst others. We could add on other items such as pork slices and beef slices with a limit of 2 plates per round (but no restrictions on the  number of rounds). Fatty Cat Steamboat also had fried items like fried squid and crispy pork (pictured above) but they were nothing to shout about.

Menu

We had a chat with (who we think is) the owner, an affable man, who informed us that the outlet had only been open for a month. His concept of having customers place orders with the employees, rather than to have all the buffet items laid out, was so everyone could enjoy their meals without having to get up from their seats to get the items or battle amongst themselves when an ingredient gets refilled. We like this concept too (as well as the conveyor belt format some hotpot outlets offer, though we've had experiences where items run out on the belt and the staff were unhelpful in filling them up again) for its convenience.

The buffet came with an option of ice lollies, which you'd have to walk to a nearby freezer to take, but without drinks. Towards the end of our meal, we observed that some tables had orders of cooked crab. After checking with the staff, we  were told that they offered items such as fried rice, fried noodles and fried crab as well--which we were not aware of as this wasn't stated in the menu. The fried crab was limited to half a crab per person, though there was no limit on the number of (raw) crabs you could order for your steamboat. Alas, we were too stuffed by then give it a try.

Was it good? Although we wouldn't quickly rank it our favourite place for days when cravings for hot, soupy meals hit, I'd say yes, we wouldn't mind visiting again. They've got variety, and we like that it's done buffet style (the price for a la carte steamboats can really add up especially if you've got a good appetite). 

Tax: None

How much we paid: RM42 (RM21 per adult)

Baba Low's, Bangsar

The deal: RM15 for RM30 cash voucher for food and drinks at Baba Low's

What we got:

Located in Lorong Kurau, you'll find Baba Low's nestled within a cosy neighbourhood in Bangsar, a slight distance from the bar-lined area of Telawi and mere steps away from the BIG Group's Hit & Mrs. Don't expect a fancy establishment; Baba Low's kopitiam-like setting and one-page menu makes for a simple, fuss-free dinner.

Pai tee (RM5.50)

Popiah peranakan (RM4.50)

What better way to start off a nyonya meal than with a plate of pai tee and popiah. The pai tee was pretty average, while the popiah turned out to be rather yummy--the skin was thicker than usual (may be a plus for some, minus for others) and the spicy-sweet sauce they used provided a nice change to your run-of-the-mill popiah.

Nyonya laksa (RM7)

Pong teh (RM7) and white rice (RM2)

Baba Low's nyonya laksa would be perfect for someone who loves a good, lemak curry; the laksa, which comes with half an egg and several beancurd puffs (we asked for no cucumbers please!) was absolutely creamy. It may not, however, satisfy someone looking for a curry with a kick, because the laksa wasn't big on the spicy. 

The pong teh chicken proved to be value-for-money. The dish came with several big chunks of chicken and potato, more than enough for one diner. Taste-wise, although not the best we've had, it was tasty enough and went very well with the white rice.

Cendol (RM4.50)

We expected more from the cendol though. We could taste the fragrant gula melaka in the first few bites of the frozen dessert, but once we mixed everything up, the taste became rather  weak. Too much ice, perhaps?

Tax: None

How much we paid: RM15.50

Mr Dakgalbi, Bukit Bintang

The deal: RM10 for RM20 cash voucher for food and drinks at Mr Dakgalbi / RM20 for RM40 cash voucher for food and drinks at Mr Dakgalbi

What we got:

Banchan

Starting off with the appetisers: the banchan consisted of the customary kimchi, slices of radish and a salad reminiscent of coleslaw. The kimchi was more sour than spicy, but it was addictive enough that we asked for a refill. The dressing for the salad was rather unusual--I couldn't quite place the taste but I knew I wasn't a fan. The radish was, well, pretty average.

Mr Dakgalbi (2 servings) 

We got the set meal for 2, which consisted of 2 servings of Mr Dakgalbi (chicken, potato, onion and rice cakes) + ramen + rice + cheese. To avoid over-stuffing ourselves with carb, we asked if we could switch the ramen + cheese (RM6 each) to octopus (RM12), to which they politely obliged. 

Taste-wise, my partner and I thought Mr Dakgalbi's dak galbi proved to be slightly tastier than the other place we visited, although our experience at Ayami will always be remembered fondly for its lovely service crew. 

Tax: Service charge of 10%

How much we paid: RM30

Ayami Korean Chicken BBQ, 10 Boulevard

The deal: Korean dak galbi meal for 2 people for RM38

What we got:

Dak galbi for 2 (RM44) with an add-on of fried rice (RM7, not pictured)

  

Ah, our virgin taste of dak galbi. Having not had Korean food in a long while, it couldn't have come at a better time. 

The deal entitled us to two servings of dak galbi (chicken meat, cabbage, pumpkin, sweet potato and rice cake) with a choice of accompaniment and a choice of soup. We chose fried rice and sun dubu jigye, a Korean-style soup with beancurd, clams, prawns and vegetables. 

Sun dubu jigye (RM15)

While we have no prior dak galbi experience to compare the food with, we thought the dish tasted pretty good. The chicken was flavourful and not overcooked, and the vegetables and rice cakes provided crunch and variety to the dish. The fried rice, which was cooked after, was decent. My partner also enjoyed the soup (I couldn't taste it as distinctly as my tongue was overwhelmed by the stronger-tasting kimchi), although it wasn't spicy like what Wiki says it should be. 

Banchan

What I'd really like to rave about, however, goes beyond the food--it's the amazing service at Ayami. Despite arriving an hour to closing (which is not very much time considering dak galbi takes a while to cook), the staff did not turn us away. They made sure the food was cooked sufficiently and did not rush us when we ate. When asked if they could increase the spiciness, they obliged and the owner--so we suspect--came out to personally add the chilli paste, at no extra charge. One of the things that surprised us most was how they refilled our banchan without us having to ask for it, even when it was already ten minutes to closing and they have pretty much cleaned/packed up the rest of the restaurant. 

Throughout the meal, we were pretty awed at the level of service given. We have encountered horrible attitude before when dining with vouchers, with some establishments treating voucher users like second-class customers; cutting corners by serving minuscule portions of cold, crappy dishes and looking to add charges wherever they could. With good service such a rarity here in Malaysia, the fact that we were treated so hospitably despite using vouchers was a very pleasant surprise indeed. 

Great first impression,  Ayami; here's hoping you continue to thrive.

Tax: Service charge of 10% (included in the deal)

How much we paid: RM38

Menya Musashi, The Intermark

The deal: RM20 for RM40 cash voucher for food and drinks at Menya Musashi.

What we got:

Note: Prices are estimates because the menu we got at the restaurant differ from the one shown online, and since it's been awhile I can't recall how much it was exactly

White Musashi ramen (RM24)

Black Musashi ramen (RM24)

The white and black Musashi ramen came with 2 pieces of chashu, one ajitama (flavoured egg), spring onion and black fungus, along with a dollop of white and black paste, respectively. The white soup base was lighter in taste compared to the black soup base, although it was by no means bland. Both were distinct in its own way, with none better than the other--it was all a matter of preference. I picked the black soup while my partner went with the white, only because I was captivated by the colour of the broth.

We also added one ajitama (RM2), in addition to the one we already had in our ramen. Comparing this with Ippudo's, I thought Menya Musashi's flavoured egg was better executed. It was perfectly half-runny and went so well with the ramen.

Gyoza (RM14)

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the price of the gyoza increased quite a bit from the menu provided when I bought the deal. From 6 pieces for RM10 to 4 pieces for...RM14? We thought that was a bit steep. No complaints on the fillings, though; the gyozas were adequately stuffed with meat and leek.

For drinks we had the macha milk (RM5), which was forgettable. 

Tax: Service charge of 10% and government tax of 6%.

What we paid: RM40.05

Zhou Porridge Restaurant, The Scott Garden

The deal: RM15 for RM30 cash voucher for food and drinks at Zhou Porridge Restaurant.

What we got:

Congee steamboat set for 2 (RM39.80)

The steamboat set comprised of prawn, broccoli, an egg, crab meat, crab sticks, fried fish fillets, Taiwan cocktail sausages, fish maw, fish balls, golden needle mushrooms, minced pork and fried beancurd skin (the last one served separately and not pictured here).

For our porridge base, we chose the prawn-flavoured one.

We let the porridge boil for a bit and then threw all the ingredients in, resulting in a concoction that looked like this:

We thought the porridge base and the ingredients went pretty well together. Despite the menu stating that it was a set for two, the portion was more than sufficient for two, and would feed three average eaters, or maybe even four small eaters. Being bigger-than-average eaters (only in terms of appetite and not size, we hope!), we could wipe the pot clean, although we were pretty stuffed at the end of it.

Besides the above, we also ordered deep fried loh bak (RM6.90). This turned out to be a disappointment. Servings were small, not particularly tasty and not worth the money. 

We also got two desserts (longan and red dates with lotus seeds in syrup and honey aloe vera with aiyu jelly, RM6 each) but they were nothing to shout about.

Tax: Service tax at 5%.

How much we paid: RM30

Manmaru Homemade Udon, Mid Valley Megamall

The deal: RM10 for RM20 cash voucher for food and drinks at Manmaru Homemade Udon.

What we got:

Kamo seiro udon (regular: RM15.90)

I love udon. If I had to choose between ramen, soba and udon, I'll almost always choose udon (except when there's cold soba, because cold udon still seems a bit strange to me). It's been two months since I've last had udon, so the voucher was very timely.

I got the kamo seiro udon, which was udon served in hot water, with duck broth in a separate bowl. I know they call it 'gravy' on their menu, but I thought broth would much better describe its consistency. There were four or five slices of duck, which were tasty. The broth tasted somewhat herbal-y but I found it a little too salty.

Niku udon (regular: RM14.90)

My partner got the niku udon. The beef slices were tender and the broth was less heavily flavoured compared to the duck one, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. We also thought the noodles were firmer in texture compared to udons we've had in other places.

Tori karaage (RM2/piece)

 Yasai kakiage tempura (RM1.80/piece)

The tori karaage was less oily than the ones we have at our usual udon place, and the kakiage had less flour coating as well--which means we could taste more of the veggie, with us deceiving ourselves that this was 'healthier' (though we know it likely isn't). 

After our meal, we washed it all down with a cup of cold green tea (RM1.50).

Tax: None.

How much we paid: RM20

Opika Organic Market & Restaurant, 1 Utama

I thought it'd be nice to start off this blog by featuring something healthy, which is also something I practically never have: organic food.

The deal: RM25 for RM50 cash voucher for food and drinks at Opika Organic Market & Restaurant.

What we got:

 Pumpkin soup (RM9.90)

I've only had pumpkin soup several times in my life, as I have a tendency to order mushroom soup (this being the most common Western-style soup restaurants here normally feature) and wouldn't normally have it unless it comes as part of a set meal, but this came recommended by a friend. 

Hearty and rich in flavour, the soup was delicious. This is definitely something I'd order again.

Quinoa salad (RM17.90)

The picture above was taken from Opika's website, because I'd accidentally deleted the picture I took of my salad. This salad marked my first taste of quinoa--I didn't dislike it, but I didn't love it either. I guess I'd say it's something interesting to try if you haven't yet have it. The avocado and mango layers work to provide a twist to the salad which might have tasted slightly one-dimensional otherwise. The prawns were fresh too.

Confit of free range chicken, raw honeyed mashed sweet potato with pineapple salsa (RM29.90)

I actually asked if they could debone it for me, AND THEY DID. Can I say I'm impressed? I don't believe many restaurants do this ('oh sorry we can't', 'it's served with the bone, miss') so props for them. I tend not to order bone-in meat because I'm not very good at eating them, so I was clearly delighted that they were willing to have it deboned for me. 

The sauce for the chicken tasted somewhat like rendang, which was not too bad although I would've preferred, say, a mushroom sauce. The pineapple salsa was decent, and they were generous--a bit too generous, really--with the mashed sweet potato.

Chicken bolognese (RM19.90)

Again, picture taken from Opika because my partner has already dug into his food because I could snap a picture, but it looked, and tasted, average.

Buttermilk pancake (RM14.90)

Served with caramalised bananas, maple syrup and butter, and came with a cup of tea/coffee.

Soft yet crisp around the edges, with yummy ripe bananas. Our choice of tea instead of coffee, though, came tasting like plain water. 

Others: 2 glasses of filtered water, RM0.50 each.

Tax: Service tax at 6%.

One thing of note at Opika is the very pleasant wait staff. They were friendly and accomodating and overall a joy to interact with. 

How much we paid: RM50