Pantai Seafood Restaurant, Kg Kayu Ara

I cant recall the exact year I had my first meal at Pantai; my guess would be a few years back, for my birthday dinner.

Fast forward a few years later and I find myself back here again, this time with new found friends who were gracious to invite me along for dinner one weekend.

But Pantai has definitely expanded it's area over the years, it was much larger and caters for even more customers now.

We left the ordering to the man, the ladies continued with the bantering..

The prawns made its grand entrance first..

Cooked to perfection, the prawns were springy, sweet and so fresh. The accompanying addictive sauce complemented the prawns beautifully..

Stir fried fish slices with ginger..

An ubiquitous dish which Pantai did a slightly above average version of. The fish slices were thick and had nice flaky texture. Sauce was quite light.

The 2 style kailan

I think I first tried this style of kailan preparation in Pantai. Though a tad oily, this was still as tasty as I recalled.

The salt and pepper deep fried squids

The batter was a tad hard, which took more effort to chew. Not very impressive, this was an average dish.

The main reason we were in Pantai... we wanted crabs..

To our dismay, the local meat crabs were fully taken up (that was before 8pm!) and we were recommended to have the irish roe crabs.

Irish crabs at RM100 a kilo... well it better be good. We ordered 5 crabs to be cooked in 2 styles- with salted egg yolk and steamed.

The salted egg yolk version was served first..

The salted egg coating was pretty good, but when we tried the crab roe, we were disappointed. Although it had quite a substantial amount of roe; these irish crabs roe were more bland and not creamy :(. Nevermind the roe, I took a bite into the meat. Gosh, there were so many segmentation on the insides of the crabs that it took all of us a long time to finish each piece.

The steamed version..

We could really see the difference of these crabs to it's local counterparts. First thing we noticed was the weird 'curry puff' looking shell. And it's really hairy legs! And those darn hair were though bristle like ; which succeeded in hurting my fingers quite a number of time.

After all the digging and scraping for the flesh (which was not a lot); the crab meat was not worth the effort at all. It was just plain bland.

I cant recall the cost of the meal, but I sure did remember the crabs were RM320 (the rest of the dishes were ok priced). Felt cheated? Most definitely.

Pantai Seafood Restaurant is located at Lot 13575, Jalan Cempaka PJU 6A, Kg Sg Kayu Ara, Petaling Jaya. Tel No: 03 - 7725 5099/1099

Grumps, Kelana Jaya

Michael got a few of us to pop over to Grumps recently, it had just started its business for a few weeks serving Italian fare.

Overlooking the lake (if you are sitting alfresco), it was a nice, quiet place for families and friends.

Some soup to start off the meal, Grumps Seafood Zuppa (RM19.90)

The soup was filled with a generous amount of prawns, squids, fish and mussels which gave it a sweet flavour. The white wine enhanced the soup, giving a twist to the taste. Pretty satisfying.

The lasagna with mince pork (RM19.90)

Maybe I'm used to my lasagna with beef, I find Grumps version a tad bland. The top part were pretty cheesy, but the layers of sauce inside may have more bechamel mixed in. I'm not sure. The tomato flavour seemed to be blanketed and came out mediocre.

Pork knuckle was served next (RM 38.90)

The serving was huge, like any pork knuckle you get from german restaurants. The skin were crackling and crunchy, the meat was juicy and quite tender. Quite tasty and you might enjoy it more if you are a meat lover. Loads of meat. The accompanying apple sauce tones down the richness of the knuckle. Also liked the fact that the sauce was not overly sweet.

The calzone (RM22.90) came with a slight difference..

It was more crescent shaped, with extra bits at the end. Quite cute actually. Mr Chardonnay had the honour to cut the calzone...And here's what we got; oozing melted cheese, mushrooms, ham and onions. Lovely to have it hot, the crust had a nice biscuit like crunch; the filling was juicy. Make sure you have it hot.

The hawaian pizza (RM18.90)

The size was a decent single person serve. Maybe we had it much later in the meal (when it was cold), I find it an average pizza. The crust was too thick and not crunchy. And I really dislike sour stuff and the fresh pineapples they used were really sour. If it was chopped to smaller pieces, maybe I would have liked it better.

Final dish, the Jumbo Tiger Prawn Thermidor (RM55.90)

The prawns were no doubt huge; the filling was baked to perfection, with a thin crisp top. There were chopped prawns chunks, mushrooms and creamy white sauce for the filling; making it a rather sinful but delicious meal. I would think it's better to share this dish though; having it all by oneself would be just too rich. Would have been better if it was less pricey :p

Grumps is located at D-02-01, Jalan SS7/ 13A, Plaza Kelana Jaya, Kelana Jaya.

Cameron Highlands, Part 1, Pahang

Went for a short overnight trip to Cameron, with a fun, boisterous group of friends..

It has been ages since I've been to Camerons, so I was the 'katak bawah tempurung' compared to the rest of them who makes trips to Camerons on a yearly basis.

What remains the same since I last visited Camerons would be the lovely cool weather, the chilly air at night and the lovely, healthy looking plants there..

The flowers were just lovely..

We went pass the tea plantation, but didn't really went down for a closer view...I had a really up close and personal experience with the tea plantation years ago, which I shall not share here :p

And so what did we do?

Other than lunch and dinner (which will be in another post); we popped over to The Olde Smoke house for it's notoriously expensive but scrumptious scones..

While we were waiting for that scones to be prepared, we enjoyed the ambiance of the Smokehouse.. Rustic, cosy and serene; a lovely place to hang out with family/ friends (maybe not to stay though..may be a bit creepy at night :p).

While we were busy enjoying the cool air outside, Vincent informed us that the scones were already serve and we were back to our table within seconds..hehehe

The famed, very over priced scones (RM25 for 2 scones and a cup of tea)

Warm, buttery, solid yet crumbly...smells fantastic, tasted divine..

Slather it with load of clotted cream, home made strawberry jam and/or butter...gosh, I dont mind having this everyday for tea. Sinful yet delightful. Wash it down with a cup of strong tea, no milk, non sugared. Perfecto.

We took a walk to the famed pasar malam at Brinchang town after tea.. It was already packed though it was not even malam yet..

Lots of food and fresh produce..

Had the deep fried lily bulbs and mushrooms. The lily were very sweet and juicy. Mushrooms were too oily though. Vincent and Naz got some ayam goreng rempah, nasi kukus, popiah basah.. I see lots more food like deep fried crabs (not the soft shell type), prawns, squids..quite a lot of seafood up on such a mountainous area, no?

And popping to the next pasar malam lane brings us to lots of fresh veggies and fruits..

The norm stuff everyone bought were the strawberries and sweet corn. I got myself some fresh mushrooms, local avocados, lily bulbs, cordyceps and pearl beans. Everything were just so fresh and tasted so sweet and crisp.

And for our other meals there?..that would be another post..

The Smokehouse Hotel & Restaurant By The Golf Course, Tanah Rata, 39007 Cameron Highlands, Pahang.

Moussandra, KL

A suggestion to meet for dinner after work in KL got us to Moussandra.

We wanted a nice, quiet place for some catching up and since all of us work in KL, it easy to pop over to (the almost dead) KL Plaza ...MC was stressed at work and the girls decided to meet up to help her relax and destress :)

Something that we could toast to...we had Sangria to start the meal..

Was a decent glass, but not even close to the delicious one that I had in Hong Kong( Mr BS claimed it's the best in the universe..maybe he was not joking after all)

Ceasar salad (RM20) to start the meal

Fresh veggies, cute little crisp garlicky bread toasts and a tad creamy dressing goes very well together. A good start (though would have prefered a bigger portion).

We ordered some tapas to share...

The Setas Salteadas (RM9)- Mixed mushrooms sauteed with herbs

Cant go wrong with this right? Very tasty, would have been better if they serve it with some bread. Portion size was ok for a tapas.

Some Banderillas De Gambas (RM16)- Grilled Marinated Prawns with Asparagus & Olives served with Garlic Mayonaise..

Pretty good stuff too, the prawns were nicely marinated, juicy and slightly charred...just that the portion was too dainty. Then again, it tapas :(

The famed Moussaka (RM40)

Served piping hot, I nearly burnt my tongue with the first bite. Very cheesy and creamy, definitely not for the faint hearted. The mince lamb was rather gamey, which was excellent. Would have been better if the eggplants were sliced thicker.. it was all melted into the bechamel, we could not detect much of an eggplant. Tasty dish nonetheless.

We ended the meal with Penne Al Pesto(RM25)

The pesto was very oily and not fragrant. Have tasted better versions of it.

Moussandra is located at Sub Lot B-8, Mezzanine Floor, KL Plaza, 179, Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur. I used the side entrance as the main KL Plaza looks sorta creepy to go in at night :p

Nong & Jimmy, Ampang

It was a rainy, cool evening and Gary gave me a buzz...

Up for some grilled seafood?

Sure!

And soon the 4 of us were on our way to Nong & Jimmy..

We left the ordering to the boys, Candy and I were relaxing and sipping coconut juice..

When I first went to N&J 9 years back, it was a very spicy experience but all of us were addicted to it. But after not eating there for a couple of years, I'm not sure how's the food now..

Gary ordered his fave, the seafood fried rice..

He likes the fried rice, he's not even bothered with the loads of large prawns that were in the rice...it's the fragrance of the rice that he's addicted to. I took a bite and knew why...it was filled with fish sauce..hence the fragrance and also, the 'wetness' in the rice. Very wet with fish sauce. Am ok with the rice, felt its MSG laden though.

The tomyam soup..

When I had this years back, it was so spicy that my lips and tongue burns everytime I took a sip. Was rather fearful when I took a sip, but it was no longer that spicy. It's just mediocre spiciness, acceptable level. Rather sweet base, I'd prefer it more sour.

The kangkung belacan

Fresh vegetables, this was pretty good.

The grilled sotong was served first..

This was excellent. The charred exterior gave the sotong a nic smokey flavour while the meat was sweet and springy. Very tasty. Have it with their special sauce (some peanut thai spicy sauce) and you'll be at cloud nine :)

Some grilled prawns..

This used to be my fave years back, so I was darn excited when it was served. Alas, there were some changes in their recipe...they slathered too much marination (which were mainly pepper) onto the prawns. Prawns were fresh and springy, but the marination kinda doused the sweetness of the prawns.

Grilled fish..

Thought the fish were not that fresh and too much tumeric over powering (probably to cover?) the taste of the fish.

Highlight of the meal, grilled crabs..

Large crabs, these were grilled to the right level...The meat were firm and juicy. You dont need any sauces for dipping, just enjoy the subtle sweetness from the crabs were good enough.

Nong & Jimmy is located at Lot 27363, Jalan Cahaya 1, Taman Cahaya, Ampang, Selangor.

Sushi Tei, Tropicana City

Wayne and Joanne mentioned that the sashimi at Sushi Tei's really fresh.
One week later, my brother told me exactly the same thing.
Resistance is futile I guess? :p

Something soupy to warm my belly first...
The Nabeyaki Udon (RM15.80)

Rather generous with the mushrooms and chicken, the soup was tasty (msg?). The udon's slightly over cook though.

The Yakitori Don (RM12.80)

Rice was compact and nicely soaked with sauce. Lots of chicken pieces, in which some was slightly burnt and somewhat dry. But I love the sliced onions though. So crisp and sweet! I can just eat the rice with the onions and sauce :p

Some eel, egg and flying fish roe roll (RM6)

The roe's fresh, popping with every bite. I could taste more of the egg than the eel; still a pretty decent roll.

Snacked on some chuka chinmi (RM6)

Cant go wrong with scallops right? Sushi Tei's version was slightly spicier, which I liked.

Some Soft Shell Crab rolled with fish floss (RM12.80)..

The crabs were juicy and crisp, the rice roll was thick as they also added sliced avocado and cucumber. The fish floss tasted sweetish; I didnt like the sauce drizzled over the roll. Tasted different, but not to my liking (not bad tasting, just different).

Some raw salmon (RM9.80)

5 thick slices of fresh salmon. And yes, it was very fresh and the meat was very springy. Now I know why they were so excited over the sashimis...

And the star of our meal...the Tokachi(RM48)..

Consists of 4 types of sashimi; salmon, butter fish, tuna and tuna belly, I knew I had to order as there's tuna belly. 12 slices of deliciousness; I thought it was pretty good value for money as the slices were very thick. And in order of my liking of taste and texture of each of these fish, I'd say the norm tuna comes last. The salmon's next; the same springy texture, sweet flavour. Butter fish won by a notch, the meat was firm yet bouncy to the bite; ends with a rich note.

But the winner was obviously the tuna belly.. Just looking at the marbling excites me :p. The meat, firm yet supple; breaks down easily with each bite. Almost melting into my mouth. Delectable.

The rolls, noodles and rice were ok, but I will definitely return for Sushi Tei's sashimi.

Sushi Tei is located at LotG-16, Ground Floor, Tropicana City, Jalan SS20/27, PJ.