Auntie Mei's Crispy Popiah (媚姨香脆薄饼), ICC Pudu, Kuala Lumpur

Noticed this stall at ICC Pudu (Jalan Kijang, Pudu, Kuala Lumpur 55100) and was curious about what made the poh piah crispy.

Got a regular one and another topped with chicken floss. The floss was stuck to the poh piah by a drizzle of something that might be peanut sauce.

The wrap was loose and the rolls fell apart as we tried to pick up each slice. The fillings included some fried batter which made them pretty crunchy as poh piah went. The one with pork floss seemed to have more fresh vegetables and less stewed turnip compared to the regular one.

Busaba, The Exchange TRX, Kuala Lumpur

Busaba (L1.02.0, Level 1, The Exchange TRX, Imbi, 55188 Kuala Lumpur) may be the first time we've having Thai food in KL. Typically, it's not something we go for since Bangkok isn't that far away and Singapore has decent ones as well. I prefer to eat something more Malaysian which we can't get back home. And some others. But one meat kinda tipped the scales in our decision. 🐑.

We did have some things we generally like. Like tom kha gai.

This was loaded with tender slices of chicken and coconut meat. Pretty delicious rendition if I might say so.

Some pomelo salad with tempura-ish deep fried prawns.

Fried prawn cakes. Decent rendition as well.

Sadly, the lamb pad krapow that walked us in was forgettable. Super forgettable. The meat was either very marinated, very fat free or both. No even the slightest hint of lamb. Pretty disappointing for RM65.

That one item on the menu which could've been it just didn't do it. As for the other dishes, it's not exaggeration to claim that they're more or less a dime a dozen in Thai restaurants in this part of the world. Will not be coming back of course.

Uncle Soon Fried Rice, Wisma Cosway, Kuala Lumpur

Uncle Soon Fried Rice (Lot 1.25 Wisma Cosway, 88 Jalan Raja Chulan, Bukit Bintang, 50200 Kuala Lumpur) is just next door to Francobolli. Tried a plate out of curiosity. Not bad tasting per se but there was too much residual grease. That sambal belachan definitely helped. None of the guys in the shop looked like they could be an Uncle Soon.

Francobolli, Wisma Cosway, Kuala Lumpur

A hole-in-the-wall-ish fresh pasta shop sequestered in the 2nd floor of Wisma Cosway (Lot 1.25 Wisma Cosway, 88 Jalan Raja Chulan, Bukit Bintang, 50200 Kuala Lumpur). Open only on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 11am.

Menu and seating space are limited. The former has only a few pastas and the latter fills up pretty fast after they open.

The one with garlic, olive oil and anchovy butter was kickass. Great linguine texture that had a good bite slicked with a gritty garlicky umami. 👍🏼 

Nicely done rigatoni cacio e pepe. Great texture as well with adequate cheese and pepper. What's more impressive was that I could also taste fruitiness from the olive oil in it.

Revisiting Hameediyah Multi Concept Dining

How did we get here? Probably craving for nasi kandar.

To the uninitiated, both plates look similar. Rice drenched with curries/sauces with colourful toppings. To the initiated, it probably also looks the same. 😂 We got a bunch of stuff that we did from the last visit - like fish roe, curried squid roe, cabbage, mutton korma.

Carrot susu here's not bad. Thicker than the one from Pudu Pasar Wanton Mee.

Betty's Midwest Kitchen, Aman Suria, Petaling Jaya

According to the owners, Betty's Midwest Kitchen (A-G-40, Jalan PJU 1/43, Aman Suria Damansara, Petaling Jaya, tel : +60 3-7886 9357) serves American diner inspired food from their visits to Iowa. There's a pretty good selection on their menu and more things that we wanted to try than there was space to do so.

We were intrigued by their meatloaf. Each slice was tender, crumbly and pretty meaty tasting with bits of carrots and something tangy I couldn't identify. There was a beer based sauce on the side which was also tangy. Not bad tasting.

One can top up a few ringgit for each main ordered to get soup and a drink. Current soup was described as tomato with ham. It's actually more like minestrone.

They have house made lemonade which was okay-ish.

Pork chop with apple sauce was pretty good. Pork's tender and yet had a satisfying chew. The sweet and tangy apple sauce was loaded.

What registered as outstanding was the gravy on their mash. Creamy, milky and rich with a velvety texture to boot.

Ah Fook Cheong Fun Yong Tao Fu (阿福肠粉酿豆腐), ICC Pudu, Kuala Lumpur

This stall at ICC Pudu (Jalan Kijang, Pudu, Kuala Lumpur 55100) was mentioned as a recommendation before. Judging from the queue, they appear to be the stall to get yong tau foo.

Tried the curry version. The selectable toppings were pretty good quality. Chee cheong fun was decent if unremarkable. Not feeling it for the curry though which was somewhat powdery. I was hoping that it would be the Nonya-esque style of curry with coconut milk but this wasn't it. If we ever came back, we'll try the sweet sauce/chilli instead.

Ann Nasi Lemak, ICC Pudu, Kuala Lumpur

I've read about this stall from ICC Pudu (Jalan Kijang, Pudu Kuala Lumpur 55100) a few times before. Curiosity got the better of us since we have also never eaten at the occasionally mentioned ICC Pudu which we wanted to check out.

Nasi lemak's decent tasting. One can choose from the available dishes/toppings at the stall. Love the flavour infused curried pig skin which were springy and tender. Sambal's pretty rustic...everything appears hand processed, especially the generous chunks of chopped onions. There was also some coconut bits which might have been serunding? Appreciated the adequate flavouring in the rice. Don't mind coming back.

A few days later......

Quite surprised by the difference today in the rice. It was lumpier and the santan flavouring appeared to be thinner. For some reasons, that rice downgraded from 'not bad' to 'forgettable'. What's happening? Sambal petai's not bad in this plate - the minced pork that came with it reminded me of hae bee hiam. Not a fan of their rendang pork. There's a flavour in it that I couldn't put my finger to which I would have preferred not there.

This plate felt like a different experience from the last time. 🤔

Pasadena Burger & Coffee, Lot 10, Kuala Lumpur

Pasadena Burger (Level 4 Lot 10, 50 Jalan Sultan Ismail, Bukit Bintang, 50250 Kuala Lumpur) was one of a handful of recommended burger joints. 

Got the one with blue cheese.

It's a miss for me. Meat was fine but there's too much going on between the buns - like the bacon, caramelized onions, sliced cheese, crispy cheese and sauce that in my opinion was muddling up the blue cheese.

I figured that getting their basic minus sauce plus blue cheese will probably be the best way to go. We'll see about coming back.

Claymug Coffee, Wisma Cosway, Kuala Lumpur

Came across Claymug Coffee (Lot G65 Wisma Cosway, 88 Jalan Raja Chulan, 50200 Kuala Lumpur) and stopped for some after beef noodles at Mama Lek.

While we witnessed the brewing done in actual clay pots, we couldn't tell what exactly about the process that made them different. What we could tell though, was that it tasted similar to the Hainanese coffee back home and it wasn't particularly aromatic.

Mama Lek (แม่เล็ก), Wisma Cosway, Kuala Lumpur

Thai beef noodle shop (Lot G-37 Wisma Cosway, 88 Jalan Raja Chulan, 50200 Kuala Lumpur). Isaan styled apparently.

Green tea was milky. Not bad though.

This was a bowl of sen lek (rice noodles) with mixed beef parts. Broth was rich & deep in a sweet & savoury manner, steeped in their blend of warm spices. Thankfully, it was more savoury than sweet.

Amidst the mixed cuts which included sliced beef, tripe, beef balls, brisket and tendon, we also found some tongue. First time encountering them in Thai beef noodles. Enjoyable bowl. Would love to come back again.

Mr Naan & Mrs Idly, Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur

Catchy name there (190 Jalan Tun Sambanthan, Brickfields, 50470 Kuala Lumpur, tel : +60 17-762 9070). Though for a restaurant with idly in the name, I was expecting them to open early enough for breakfast. 

Nice salty spicy masala lassi with cumin and a bit of burn on the throat.

Wanted a go with their special idly even though I had a good idea how it tasted. What with the nice drizzle of ghee and all. The texture's a little less dense than what I'm used to though. Still delicious with the chutneys and tangy sambar.

Their dal tadka was delicious. Believe it or not, it was deliciously savoury in a manner that reminded me of fried chicken. With a bit of heat as well. Nice one. 👍🏼

Some cheese naan to go with their dal. Good pairing if I might say so.

Vegetable briyani was well spiced and moreish. Portion didn't look huge but it was pretty filling.

Masala tea's milky and a little weak on the spice.