Sushi Zanmai @ The Gardens Mall

Ever since Sushi Zanmai is available in IOI City mall nearby my office, I've stopped goin to the outlet at The Gardens.

Besides, there used to be an outlet in IOI Puchong which i frequently patronised, but it has been closed down sometime last year.

I have totally forgotten about this outlet at The Gardens until recently i craved for some Japanese food.

It was quiet and only a few tables occupied. The interior of the restaurant is always impressive....The walls and ceiling are furnished with wood elements carvings and pattern.

Nice lanterns too...

Food ordering was done via mobile phone. The site link was established by scanning a 2D barcode.

I wanted to try out their katsu curry rice...hence i ordered a small plate (there are only 2 size portion available, big or small).

The curry is OK, though i prefer it to have some potato & carrot chunks rather than just plain gravy.

Chicken katsu is deep fried to perfection, not too dry yet crispy on the outer layer. 

Instead of ordering sushi at a sushi restaurant, i had curry rice which is not their core😁

Despite that, when compared to Yoshinoya, this one taste better.

I also ordered an assorted tempuras platter...

This plate consists of 2 prawns, 1 fish slice, 1 eggplant, 1 okra, and 1 mushroom tempuras.

It was freshly prepared from the kitchen and was served piping hot.

Overall, a pleasant meal...and the price is reasonable too.

Total damage: RM28.60

Here's the shop front...at 3rd floor....next to Ippudo

My next target is to try out Ippudo's ramen.

Initially i wanted to try Ippudo at first, but not keen to queue/wait due to the restaurant has reached the limit number of patrons at that time (adhered to CMCO SOP).

another one in my next target list is 'Beauty in The Pot'.

The shop facade is nicely decorated in pink...with a huge pink teddy bear!

Such a unique colour theme for a restaurant...

Kettle Brand Potato Chips

Continuation post from my solo 'escape' to The Gardens/Mid Valley....

Well, my 'outing' to the shopping malls were sort of jail break after days of not goin out of the house.

It was pre-planned as i took leave just to spend some time outside of the house 😃

Saw this display in AEON departmental store, nearby the ladies clothing.

Am wondering, is there any Japanese festival goin on??

meanwhile, i went on to buy some BK burgers coz there were having promo of 2 burgers for RM9. See the link here.

I also went to the Jaya Grocer (The Baker's Son) to get a marble cake, as i previously mentioned of wanting to try it after tasted the butter cake.

The whopper jr. burgers are indeed worth the price coz it is more filling...The other 2 that I tried are cheeseburger and chicken burger which tasted similar to McDs. These burgers were shared by 3 pax.

As for the marble cake, it was kinda disappointing as i can't detect any butter taste in it. So, no more marble cake from Jaya Grover next time.

Ever since CMCO started, i was sort of moody seeing the high number of COVID-19 cases reported daily. To cheer up, i bought this bag of 'imported potato chips'.

Priced at RM13.80, i put high hopes on it...at least must fare better than Ruffles/Lays.

The chips are much firmer, with the texture similar to cassava chips, but still there's not much potato flavour...similar to Lays standards....another disappointing product!

I think i shall stick back to Tesco brand potato chips which are much cheaper.

Deepavali 2020

Two days before Deepavali, I went to The Gardens & Mid Valley malls for grocery shopping.

It was a weekday but there were quite a handful of shoppers around. Seems like business is back as usual in some shops/restaurants as I see people dined-in and leisurely walked around the malls with their shopping bags. And nope, they are not those celebrating the Deepavali as mostly are non-Indian shoppers!

And surprisingly there were also lotsa vehicles on the roads despite the CMCO...which means Klang Valley folks are still travelling around/goin to the offices(?).

Parking at the mall are aplenty as most offices in that area are not fully open.

This year decoration at The Gardens mall:

Their colourful 'kolam' is always that impressive! Thumbs up!

I'm sure that the staffs spent many hours to assemble this piece of art!

the Deepavali lanterns...just 'meh'....I think I have seen these lanterns before (must be recycled from the previous years)

here's the view of the 'kolam' from above. 

Huge!

Tapao

These are the 'tapao' food when the kitchen is 'closed'.

Since the 2nd CMCO, we no longer eat out, and tapao occasionally.

I had this curry noodles from the local neighbourhood kopitiam.

Please excuse the 'messy presentation'.

The curry is thick & oily, with lotsa taupok (beancurd puff) and beancurd sheets....I usually prefer a mix of meehoon & hor fun (flat rice noodles) for my curry noodles.

This bowl is around RM7.

The other day i had pasembor (Indian rojak).

RM5 for a packet of plain rojak (without sotong). The below picture was taken before I pour the peanut gravy.

This was bought from the food truck nearby the mosque in Sri Petaling...(the mosque that started out the 2nd wave sometime in March).

Good business for this rojak truck coz there is always queue whenever we go tapao.

BON APPETIT!

Kuih Seri Muka

The neighbour blessed us with some homemade kuih - Kuih Seri Muka.

Sweet and savoury at the same time.

The pulut rice is savoury and the top green layer is so full of santan and sweet like Kaya.

Sedap giler!

Meanwhile, back to my typical humble dinner at home....

I had daikon soup, mum's specialty deep fried chicken nuggets and wedges.

BON APPETIT!

Wheat Crackers vs Cream Crackers

Looks same but different...

The top is wheat cracker & the bottom is cream cracker.

I m OK with both!

I usually eat them plain without jam and dipping.

  Puer tea / osmanthus green tea for digestion

  When hungry I would have Homesoy...This is powder form and is without sugar...I prefer to add lil' sugar otherwise it would be too bland.

  Other biscuits that we have:

Julie's peanut butter biscuits and 'Luxury' tiramisu biscuits.

'Tiger' energy biscuits and 'Luxury' plain crackers. I hardly eat these.

Meanwhile i got this Reader's Digest FOC sometime in May (during the 1st lockdown). It was distributed to every house in the neighbourhood...yet to read....

I finally tried the Julie's Le-mond lemon filling cracker...Tastewise so-so only....the lemon filling is not that sweet but still artificial to me...like those Hack's lemon sweets, and almost the same taste as Luxury lemon biscuit.

Pizza & Cakes

Oct 29 (public holiday):

I ordered 2 regular pizzas from Pizza Hut. It has been some time since my last pizza meal from Pizza Hut.

These are on 'buy 1 free 1' promotion.

We had:

Super Supreme pizza

and Triple Chicken pizza

I prefer the Super Supreme as it has more crunch from the capsicums, onions and pineapple cubes.

Both pizzas cost RM31.90 nett inclusive of delivery.

Meanwhile, annoying sis bought a cake from RT.

Something 'almond with fruits'....not sure of the actual name for this cake....

500gm for less than RM50 (according to her)

the fruits are strawberries, peach, berries...

lotsa cream on top...which i did not eat

cake cutting ceremony😝

the cross section of the cake...

the texture is so spongy, feels light and not filling at all.

We did not like it, so no more RT cream cake next time.

Santan Tom Yum Noodles, Tesco Potato Chips & Big Value Ice Cream

When one is confined at home, the only relieving activity is to indulge in.....food...i mean junk food

Bought this cup noodles from Santan restaurant (in Mid Valley). This is the brand sold in Air Asia flight. But since nowadays there isn't much flight, these cup noodles are on sale at RM1 each! (RM1.05 nett after tax).

It is near the expiry date (Nov 2020).

I had it the following day after i bought. The seasoning soup doesn't taste good, not sure if it is because of nearing expiry date~~

But the packaging was intact and in good condition.

Tesco chips at RM2 per pack (of 60gram).

This time i tried on the tom yum flavor....Tasty and addictive!

I should have buy more!!! 

Finally, vanilla with chocolate coating ice cream stick...

Super cheap from Big Value...

guess how much?

40 cent (RM0.40) per stick only!

It is sold in a box of 5 sticks (at RM2 per box)...

again, should have buy more of these~~~

These junks are finished by now...am thinking on what to buy next!

Cheese vs Cheese

After seeing Mun's review on various cheese sandwich biscuits...i went on to try both Julie and Hwa Tai Luxury cheese sandwich biscuits.

The squarish biscuit is from Luxury. The roundish one is Julie's.

Hwa Tai Luxury brand

Side view of the Luxury cheese biscuit....overflowing with cheese fillings.

The cracker has a nice crunch and is savoury...The cheese filling has a strong cheesy aroma, which some might find it too pungent, especially those who can't stand the cheesy smell. Tastewise, very much like Super Ring cheese snack, but left an aftertaste in the mouth....

Julie's brand

The site view of Julie's cheese biscuit...the cheese cream filling nicely tucked in.

The cracker is savoury, less crunch and more dense than Luxury brand.

The cheese filling is not that overpowering, and slightly sweeter than Luxury brand.

In terms of cheesiness, this one lose out.

Both the cheese sandwich biscuits are just so-so...I would prefer cream crackers than these.

From the below, my preferred choice (top to bottom) would be:

1. Hwa Tai Sugar Crackers

2. Hup Seng Cream Crackers

3. Julie's/Luxury Cheese Sandwich Biscuit

OK, i m done with the reviews....will find time to review some others in the near future.

Empty Malls - Mid Valley Megamall & IOI City Mall

A day before the official 2nd lockdown, i went to IOI City Mall for my final dine-out lunch.

It was much quieter than usual though the supermarket were crowded with 'panic shoppers'...

Here's the almost empty skating ring...very peaceful and quiet

Meanwhile in Mid Valley megamall during Friday noon....plenty of parking spots....

Most restaurants were near empty...This was a few days after the COVID19 cases reported in some of the shops there

I did not dine in, but ordered take-aways from Burger King

Look at that empty corridor....usually this place is packed with diners during lunch hour

The Centre Court was empty too....i can easily count the people that passed by....

This place that i used to dine in....but now i think twice

This was the decoration since 2 months ago...i guess they will reuse this decor for upcoming Deepavali  too. It is so rare to see no one on every floor (when this picture was taken)

I went on to buy the premium butter cake from Jaya Grocer...

At RM12.90, the taste is much better than Lavender...

I will try the marble cake next....