Eat: Udon-ya San, Pandan Indah

Back in November, both my parents (if you don’t know by now, are food bloggers who goes by Auntie Lilly, http://followmetoeatla.blogspot.com/ and Uncle Hong, http://bestrestauranttoeat.blogspot.com/) found this little gem nestled in an unassuming location of Pandan Indah, which serves Japanese Udon. I’m no expert in udon, but I loved the one from Kodawari Menya Udon and hated the one from Sanuki Udon.

So, when I found out about this place I knew I had to give it a try. Japanese cuisine had always my favourite cuisine, and when something this good comes by I have to give it a try. Before I move on, let me share with you something. I have a very simple guide to judging how well a restaurant is, which is to try their most basic or simple dish and judge it based on that one dish. This would set the tone and expectation of how the other dishes would fare. The logic here is if you simply cannot get even the basic right, how can you get the more complex dish to taste delicious?

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Let’s have the pictures to do the talking for me, as I tell you more about what I had in Udon-ya San.

Tsukimi Udon Soup | RM7

This is the house’s speciality, which is a udon served with a mildly flavoured broth Kake soup, along with fresh seaweed, spring onion, fried tempura flour bits and with a soft poached egg on top of the udon noodles. First sip of the soup, was just love. This was comfort food, something that you eat that will warm your tummies and leave you feeling contentedly fuzzy. The taste is mild and the udon, was springy nice. It doesn’t have the overwhelming doughy flourish taste to it.

Tsukimi Udon Dry | RM7

And here, you have the dry version of the Tsukimi Udon Soup which is also pretty delicious as well. If you’re up for some spicy kick to your udon, you can put some of the dry chilli paste in together with your noodles. The condiments of the Tsukimi Udon Dry is similar to the Tsukimi Udon Soup’s version, just sans the soup.

Curry Udon | RM8

For all Japanese curry fans out there, you’ll be delighted to know that there is a Curry Udon here in Udon-ya San. Personally I have never been a fan of Japanese curry, I like my curry to be as spicy and thick in flavour. The ones in Udon-ya San have a rich curry flavour and pairing it up with the udon seems almost like a match made. I’m really particular about having powdery taste in my curry, so I’ll be happy to let you know that this doesn’t have.

Carbonara Udon | RM9

Here’s Udon-ya San attempt at a fusion Italian by having the udon served together with carbonara sauce served with toppings of pancetta (cured pork belly) which is made by the chef himself. This sauce was light and creamy, with the combination of bits of pork belly… this is what food orgasm taste like in your mouth.

Mentaiko Udon | RM14

What would a Japanese cuisine experience be without having mentaiko? When this arrived at the table, I almost squealed out in delight. Mentaiko is one of my favourite food from the Japanese cuisine. These amazing mentaiko are premium quality cod fish roe. The udon is served in a creamy roe sauce and then topped with a generous dollop of mentaiko for more rich goodness. If I had it my way, I would eat unlimited bowls of this.

Mentaiko Udon | RM14

Black Pepper Udon | price unavailable

This was introduced by the chef, it is something that the chef is experimenting with whether customers would enjoy this and order it. When this arrived, for a split second I thought this looked like Hokkien Noodles. I thought it was an interesting combination, to have black pepper laden sauce with udon. Next up, I’ll talk a little more about the side dishes.

Ajitama | RM 2 for one egg, RM 4 for the plate above

Kakiage | RM 3

Assorted Vegetables Tempura | RM5

Chicken Karage | RM4

Tonkatsu | RM6

Chicken Katsu | RM5

Of all the side dishes above, I found myself really loving the Vegetables Tempura and the Tonkatsu. I usually avoid having tempura because I hate the thick batter used, but I found the ones here was lightly coated and the vegetables were crispy, paired well with the sauce too. The Tonkatsu was used using special bread crumbs shipped from Japan, which is why it has a light crispy batter while maintaining the juicy-ness of the pork. Of course, not forgetting the signature boiled eggs. From the picture, you can see that the egg yolk is still gooey and only the egg whites are partially hard. That, is the perfect Ajitama.

I would like to end this post with the unqiue drinks selection you can have at Udon-ya San. Pictured below (left to right) is the Passion Plum(RM5), Lemongrass Lemon(RM4), and Cucumber Lemon Juice(RM4).

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And that is all from me, I don’t need to tell you any further but I just found my go to place for some delicious comfort udon goodness. If you’re planning to head over to, here are the details of the restaurant.

// Udon-Ya San Restaurant // 

65 Jalan Pandan Indah 4/3A, Pandan Indah

011-1310 4182

Open daily except on Friday from 11am-3pm & 6pm-10pm

Till next time,

xoxo

Out & About: The Party of The Century at Empire City

Ever since I watched The Great Gatsby, I fell so madly in love with the parties that Mr. Gatsby held at his mansion. With all the ladies dressed to the nines, the guys looking all dapper with drinks and food, and oh, entertainment too. Ah, that high life. I thought it would just be something in the movies, but I was invited to the Party of The Century, (I posted about it here earlier) and it was slated to be just like Gatsby’s.

For the week leading to the big night, there was so much hype about what everyone else is wearing and the type of looks which would fit the theme of 1920’s. The 1920’s dresses were about sparkle, beads, and floating chiffon paired with feathers and headbands too! I was headed to the party from work, so I opted a knee-length white drape dress which actually was too simple for the theme. To play up the overall look, I did a smokey eyes make up with Mary Kay's Mineral Eye Color Quad in Black Ice. I had my hair down, embracing my curls. I never loved my hair more than now.

| With the gorgeous, Elvina Chua. Almost didn’t recognise her! |

The Party of The Century was held in Empire City which served as a preview to the place. It actually wasn’t too difficult to locate the place, it is nearby One Utama, just a little further down the highway. It’s located on the opposite of the road, as compared to One Utama. And my, was the place super spacious and done up very grand for the event.

I had friends asking me after the event how it was and this is what I told them. Imagine the concourse area of a mall being transformed into a grand ballroom and all levels in the mall overlooks the concourse, with the decoration of those grand ballroom. Everywhere you turn it just feels like I’m in a grand mansion with food and drinks everywhere, and I’m just surrounded with all the guests which are dressed to the nines.

| I’m really loving Sycookies’s outfit for the night, so 1920’s! |

Being one of the #Team50MY bloggers, we got to party VVIP style with access to all sections of the party. In the VVIP section, we got to rub shoulders with all the celebrities who attended the party. There were pretty much all over the VVIP section, just chilling and enjoying the party. :) At the section where I was, I saw Peter Pan (潘裕文), Taiwanese singer and Elanne Kong, a TVB actress.

What I heard from my friends who attended the event was that they were able to find other TVB actresses and actors, along with all the other celebrities which attended the party, and even got pictures taken with them. It’s a pity I didn’t bump into any other celebrities, but that was probably because I was down at the stage area for the performance. I wanted oh-so-very-much to attend this was just so I could see Paris Hilton in person.

 So, it was really amazing that I managed to see her right at the very front of the stage. She started her set with her own songs first, trying her hands at being a DJ. After her performance, Taboo from Black Eyed Peas performed and man, did he bring down the house with BEP’s songs. So much love for Black Eyed Peas. The highlight of his performance was when he ended it with singing, “Where Is The Love”  and he shouted Black Eyed Peas come back! I hope that means they are making a come back soon, cause I have been waiting forever for that to happen.

And that pretty much sums up the highlight of the party, mannnnn did I have the time of life. Looking back as I’m posting about it now, I wished I took more pictures with all the lovely friends I met that night for memories keepsake. Instead I was too pre-occupied with enjoying myself, that I didn’t take that many pictures. So, I’ll tell you what.. you should look out for the pictures from other bloggers of #Team50MY, just use the hash tag on all social media, and you should be able to find them. You can also use these hash tags, #POTCMY and #PartyofTheCenturyMY. 

| A shot of the place, after it ended. Just to show you how it looks like. |

Till next time,

xoxo

Snaps: Sekinchan Road Trip(s) with the Olympus PEN Lite E-PL7

If you noticed the extra “s” in the title above, it is because I actually went on two road trips to Sekinchan. The first are with the shutter-loving photographer guys, and the second was with my family. And of course, in both trips I brought the Olympus EPL7 with different set of lenses. The first trip was intended to head to Sekinchan to shoot the paddy fields and Sekinchan town. So, I brought along with me the following lenses; Olympus 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 M. Zuiko Digital ED Zoom Lens, Olympus 25 mm f/1.8 M.Zuiko Digital, Olympus 45mm f/1.8 ED M.Zuiko Digital and Olympus M.Zuiko 60mm F2.8 macro lens.

That means that I had with me, the Olympus PEN Lite E-PL7 and four different lenses in my bag with me that I managed to fit into my sling camera bag (the one pictured above). One of the biggest advantage being on the Micro Four Thirds system had always been the fact that the cameras and the lenses are compact sized, and are able to deliver quality images. Recently, I had a friend who asked for my opinion on recommending a camera which is suitable for travelling and selfies. There is no better camera that came to mind other than the Olympus PEN Lite E-PL7.

I posted previously on all the functionality of the camera, and based on that, it is easy to see why the EPL7 comes to mind first. It’s compact size makes it easier to carry it around, without feeling burdened by it. With the 14-42mm lens is attached to the EPL7, the pancake lenses made it look even tinier. A lot of times, I have heard comments that goes something like this, “Oh, I don’t think the kit lens (14-42mm lens in this case of the EPL7) is good enough. Better to get xxx lens.”

These pictures above are taken with the Olympus 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 M. Zuiko Digital ED Zoom Lens,  which is the lens that comes with the EPL7. Some would call it the kit lens. A good friend once told me that there is a reason why the kit lens is the kit lens. It is a lens which is capable of many things; from shooting wide to zooming it closer. Granted that it will not be as sharp as primes are but I would say that the kit would generally cover most of your shooting needs.

This would bring me back to the one recommendations that I tell friends who just got the camera, “Always shoot with the kit lens first before anything else. Shoot extensively with it, know what it can and what it cannot do. It is only from that, that you’ll know what the kit lens lack in and only then do you get another lens to which can do it instead.”

It is no surprise why the EPL7 is an amazing camera for travelling, simply because it is such a handy camera to take selfies with. I won’t need to run you through why, I already wrote two posts about the functionality of the camera which allows you to do so. The first would be flipped-down LCD screen and the second would be the WiFi connectivity. If you haven’t read my posts yet, do check them out here; Snaps: Selfies with the Olympus PEN Lite E-PL7 & Review: Why I love the Olympus PEN Lite E-PL7.

So, back to Sekinchan… I honestly didn’t get much pictures that I like enough to post it up. This was rather disappointing for me, but I was rather distracted to shoot. It happens whenever I’m shooting something that I’m not familiar with, like in this case landscape. But I always tell myself I need to push myself to try the different things. And this is why I keep shooting, because there is no shortcut to getting better at something. You do it more, you do it better each time.

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The rest of the pictures below are taken in fishing village of Sekinchan and around Pantai Redang. If you’re planning to visit the fishing village, do make sure you’re there early because by noon, there is nothing left to see. Most of the fishermen would have already sold their local catch and returned back home. So, what we did see was ladies working on the squids.

Then, we headed next to Pantai Redang which was a carefully hidden beach. However, it was rather commercialised with quite a number amount of tourist on the beach. You’ll also find tonnes of stalls selling all kinds of knicks knacks; from soapy water with strings to make giant bubbles to stalls whipping out seafood dishes, to souvenirs as well. What I love about the beach was these tiny tree houses along the beach. There was hammocks inside these tree houses and it is oh-so-comfortable to just chill in it.

Another tourist attraction on the beach would be the wishing tree, where you can get these strings from the temple nearby and write down your wishes on the strings. You can get the strings for free, and donations are welcomed. There is a trick to tossing the strings, you hold them by the middle of it and with the weights on both ends downwards. It’ll be easier for the strings to be hooked on the branches.

It wouldn’t be a complete road trip to Sekinchan without having some local seafood dishes, and for this, we headed to a place which was recommended by the locals called Cha Po Tion (Jalan Besar Bagan, Bagan Sekinchan, 45400 Sekinchan, Selangor). We had some of the dishes that the restaurant was well known for like the porridge soup, sweet sour spicy noodle soup, and steamed clams. Do note that these are not the actual names, my parents ordered them in Chinese and I had no idea what they are called.

For my second trip with my family, I brought along with me the Olympus M.Zuiko 60mm F2.8 macro lens, Olympus 25 mm f/1.8 M.Zuiko Digital and the Olympus M. Zuiko Digital ED 9-18mm f/4.0-5.6. This time around, I brought an even smaller backpack and have successful managed to place my camera, three lenses, my purse and my cosmetic pouch as well. If my camera and lenses were any huger, I would have probably needed two bags just to fit them all in.

So, that is all for my short post on my Sekinchan road trips. I took the time to share more about the kind of gears I bring on a road trip, along with how I generally feel about using the Olympus PEN Lite E-PL7 as a travelling camera. It isn’t an in-depth review or a comprehensive post on why I like the EPL7 when I’m travelling. It really more about sharing my thoughts and feel generally. I hope you enjoyed the post and thanks for reading! Hoping to talk more about my Phuket travels next!

Till next time,

xoxo

Out & About: The Party Of The Century, coming soon!

About a few weeks ago, I first heard that Paris Hilton will be in town for an all exclusive party, who will be sharing the stage with the Korean pop boy band 2AM. And I was pretty excited to be at this party, because hey, it isn’t everyday that you get Paris Hilton here in Kuala Lumpur. Growing up, I remember how popular Paris Hilton is amongst my friends. So, this party is called The Party of The Century and it was only by invite only. I was keeping my fingers crossed on when the details of the event would be released to the public.

Then, just last week I received an invitation from Party Of The Century and when I saw the invitation, I realised that it’ll be a theme party which just adds to the fun of it especially when everyone dresses up according to the theme. 

The theme is Glamorous 1920s, which is the same era in the movie “The Great Gatsby”. The parties in the movie were so fabulous, and I have a feeling that this Party of the Century would be just like that with all the ladies dressed to the nines and the guys in tuxedos. YUMS.

An aerial view of Empire City. Picture from here.

This party is actually held in conjunction of the preview of the Empire City, which is a 30 acre development area in Damansara Perdana. The Empire City consists 2.5 million square feet of net lettable retail area, eight corporate towers and office suites, international five star hotels and a cinema themed hotel. It sounds like one of those places I’d imagine to see when I visit another country. It would be cool to see how this concept will work out, and really nothing is better than having a mega huge party there first!

It won’t be just any normal party because they have quite an impressive line-up.. all the way from Korea – the boys from 2AM and then Paris Hilton and Taboo from Black Eyed Peas from United States and Mark Vincent from Australia. And I have inside news that, there will be other celebrities gracing the event too and they come all the way from Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan and Indonesia.

For more information, do visit the following links for updates on the event and if you’re looking for passes to attend the event, here’s a hint. Stalk the Facebook pages, because there are plenty of giveaways going on at the moment. Do enter the contest to get your passes, and say hi to me if you’re there! ;)

// http://www.partyofthecentury.my/ //

// https://www.facebook.com/partyofthecenturymy //

| Instagram: @PartyOfTheCenturyMY |

Eat: Kafe Vietnam, Bandar Puteri Puchong

One of the amazing things I love about living in Kuala Lumpur/Selangor, is the myriad of cuisines you can choose to have in. This is probably why whenever friends ask me, “What to eat, ah?” .. I’ll be like, “Give me a type of cuisine, and I’ll check my list.”  I was in Kafe Vietnam, early last month and I managed to try some of the dishes and I have never tasted any Vietnamese cuisine as authentic as I had there. Kafe Vietnam is on my list now, if I ever crave for delicious authentic Vietnamese food.

I’ll mention briefly on the set up and ambiance of the place; it’s a simple, no-frills cosy cafe so the interior of the cafe is a very basic one. The cafe is located on a corner, with a mannequin dressed in blue ao dài, with the name of the cafe plastered above it. You won’t miss it for sure. Let us head on to the dishes I tried there.

Goi Ga, Chicken Salad | RM13.90

Goi Bo Bop Thau, Beef Salad | RM13.90

Goi Rau Cau Tom Thit, Jelly, Prawn & Pork Salad | RM13.90

We started things off with the few salads, in which the fresh vegetables are served with cooked chicken, beef and prawn. These salads are mixed with condiments like peanuts, herbs together with sweet sour-ish tangy fish sauce. I would say it is rather refreshing as an appetizer to kick things off for the night.

Thap Cam Cuon, Deluxe Mixed Platter of Thit Nuong, Nem Nuong, Chao Tom, Cha Gio | RM31.90

Then, we were introduced to the famous Vietnamese rice paper to eat together with the mixed platter above. The mixed platter above is made up of Skewered BBQ Minced Pork, Chunky Pork, Sugar Cane Prawn Cake & Fried Spring Roll. These are all to be eaten together with the rice paper and the fresh vegetables and fruits.

Bahn Xeo, Vietnamese Pancake | RM15.90

Pho Bo, Beef Clear Soup Rice Noodles | RM14.90

Bo Kho, Mild Spicy Beef  & Carrot Stew with Egg Noodles | RM14.90

Bun Bo Hue, Hue Slice Beef, Ham with Thick Rice Noodles in Spicy Soup | RM14.90

You cannot not have Pho, if you’re eating Vietnamese food. Having already had such a good start with the salads and also the rolls, I had my expectation higher for the Pho(s), and it didn’t disappoint one bit. To be honest, with the first slurp of the noodles coupled with the delicious soup, I was smitten. For a moment, it felt like I was in Vietnam eating this bowl of warm pho on a cold rainy night, by the streets. Of all the three, I loved the Pho Bo the most. The simplicity in the dish, brought out the very essence of what a simple clear noodles is like. This is comfort food at its best.

Com Ga Xoi Mo, Special Rice with Oil Seared Chicken | RM13.90

Com Thit Kho Trung, Rice with Stewed Pork Belly & Egg | RM13.90

Com Ca Basa Kho Tieu, Rice with Black Pepper Basa Fish | RM13.90

Vietnamese cuisines have always been rather famous for their rice noodles and I wasn’t aware of any of their rice dishes. The dishes above may seem like rather typical dishes, or it may even resemble some of the Asian dishes we have here already. The Special Rice with Oil Seared Chicken looks just like any other chicken rice dishes but the chicken here is oil seared, and not fried. This was you have crispy skin and tender, juicy meat on the inside. No wonder that this is a favourite among the kids.

Rice with Stewed Pork Belly & Egg is another rather simple dish, but the pork belly was so yummy-licious. It was those pork belly which slowly melts in your mouth. Yums! The stew had a mild taste, and it wasn’t very over powering. And my favourite of the three would be Rice with Black Pepper Basa Fish. This Basa fish is a type of fresh water catfish which originates from Vietnam and Kafe Vietnam have them imported from Vietnam itself. The fish was very fresh and you can taste the silky smoothness of the fish with the first bite. It was very appetizing to eat with plain white rice. In fact if you gave that to me, I can eat more than just two pieces of fillet.

Hen Xuc Banh Da, Fried Saffron Lala Meat with Sesame Seed Rice Crackers  | RM17.90

Overall, I loved almost every one of the dishes here from the salads, the rolls (my favourite!), the different variety in the noodles and also the rice dishes too. I’d be completely honest and say that when I finish my meal, it felt like I just had a meal in Vietnam itself. It really does taste as authentic as what I think the Vietnamese cuisine is. I do know for a fact that the chef hails from Vietnam, and the place is owned by Vietnamese. To further substantiate that point, the Vietnamese here in Kuala Lumpur eats at the place too when they miss their local dishes back home. It is safe to say that this is the closest to Vietnam that you can get without flying there.

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// Kafe Vietnam, Bandar Puteri Puchong //

1, Jalan Puteri 4/1, Bandar Puteri Puchong

012-3015928, 03-8052 7472

Open from Monday to Sunday from 930am to 930pm