Rotis down at Jalan Galloway

I don't have the address of this 24 hour stall. It was located behind some police headquarters. But it was definitely worth the effort to trek down to the end of Jalan Galloway (Kuala Lumpur City 50150), a little street just beside Swiss Garden Hotel. These guys served freshly made roti canai (known as roti prata back home), ayam goreng and teh tarik amongst other things. I thought I saw a little painted sign on the stall which said Cafe Safari. Ignore the tacky name.

roti plaster

What was enjoyable about the roti canai (the counterparts of roti plaster and roti pisang as well) ws that it wasn't as heavy. The roti pisang featured cooked sliced bananas which was piping hot and readily melting in the mouth. It was also my first time having a banana prata with chicken curry and dahl. Unexpectedly good. After a couple of these washed down with teh tarik, I felt like I was ready for more. 4 of those rotis and a two cups teas amounted to a princely sum of RM$7. Was good tea (RM$1) that they brewed. Artfully pulled, so to speak. We liked it enough that we came back for more in the following morning for a takeaway of breakfast which included the mentioned rotis, thosai and fried chicken. Of course, washed down with more of those teh tarik.

roti pisang

Ramadan buffet dinner at Tarbush

The intention was to have dinner at this Lebanese place Tarbush (No. LG 16, Starhill Gallery, Jln Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, tel : (603) 2144 6393) and going a la carte. But as it was at the fasting period for the Muslims, the only option that was available for dinner was buffet styled.

The spread in the buffet included an array of dips with flatbread, tabouleh , rice & pasta, meat pastries and various meats. The food was quite good despite the fact that the non meat items were quite heavily lemon-ed. The braised lamb shoulders were tender and the tandoori chicken a tad burnt. The odd thing about the dips was that the hummus was so creamy and tasted so much of sesame that it was almost a tahini. Later on, I found out that it was indeed a mixture. The baba ghanoush had texture like the hummus. And a stewed cauliflower dish contained mostly ground mutton. Meat options pretty much ruled the table. From the dessert section, there was a really good rose scented creamy milk pudding (mahalabia?) which I couldn't get enough of despite being quite stuffed.

The variety of the spread wasn't very extensive but they were mostly quite good. It seemed that there's quality over quantity here. The only reason we might not be back was that there's quite a variety of middle eastern places to be found in KL city. One would be spoilt for choice.

Spicy pork noodles at Jalan Alor

This was actually quite a random pick out of the few stores that were operating in the middle of the day at Jalan Alor (close to the intersection from Bukit Bintang) after we had hit KL in the afternoon. It turned out to be not too bad but could've been more enjoyable if the weather wasn't so blazing hot. I hadn't any idea what the spicy pork noodles could be like before I ordered and the first glance reminded me of a very reddish tom yam. In the end, it was simply a bowl of soup noodles with sliced pork, pig liver and probably generous spoonfuls of chilli powder. Was there anything about it that was worth mentioning? Well, I guess I could say that the spicy soup still tasted of the pork that were cooked in them and that those yellow noodles didn't have the usual yellow noodle flavour that I dislike. It was otherwise, as it seemed.

Vegetarian bee hoon from Holland Drive Market

This was Chinese vegetarian bee hoon down at Zhen Ji Vegetarian in Holland Drive Food Centre (44 Holland Drive, #02-26, Holland Drive Food Centre, S120044) which I came across some years ago. Some of the toppings on the bee hoon are made in short order, notably, the crispy mock duck made of dried bean curd sheets which were hot and crispy. Those cabbages included were tender and not soggy. I wonder if the store has ever adjusted for inflation and the increasing cost of food ingredients in the recent times. For $2, it certainly made a cheap and tasty breakfast.

Mamma Lucia Pasta & Pizza, Robertson Walk

Mamma Lucia's Italian restaurant (11 Unity Street, #01-07 Robertson Walk, tel: 6738 0242) just next door from their churrascaria place turned out to be quite disappointing. I've been wondering about the place and the food always looked to be pretty nice on someone else's table. Until today, I had the impression that they couldn't be too bad since mediocrity generally gets weeded out by the nearby competition. There are at least few Italian restaurants in the vicinity of Robertson Quay after all. I suppose it told why the prices here are kept low. Frills are almost non existent. Not even a cloth napkin. No more of their walnut sauces. And the dips tasted canned.


I was wondering what I'd get for a $15 prosciutto e melon and laid the expectations low. It did turn out okay and the melon was fragrant but I thought that it could have been ripened further. This was a little too crunchy for my liking. The fronds of rocket at the top simply looked like they couldn't care less.


Unfortunately for their gnocchi alla gamberetti and/or possibly for myself, I just had to compare with what Porta Porta did for a prawn cream sauce. This one was rich with tomato, a little too tangy and had too little flavour from the crustacean if any. The prawns in the gnocchi tasted exactly like those that were used in the sister restaurant next door which meant that they were overcooked. But at least now I know.


To plunge further downhill, the pizza Gorgonzola e rucola arrived initially without the rockets. I cannot imagine how an overlook like that would occur considering that the name of the pizza itself already mentioned rucola. When informed about the situation, the pizza was brought back with that you see in the picture. Haphazardly put into place made difficult to eat with all leaves and stalks. I was also pretty disappointed at how pathetically tiny the quantity of Gorgonzola cheese there were on the pizza. With burnt crust edges and a soggy base this looked like they didn't even care.

Will never return.

Baseball soto and briyani from Tanjong Pagar Railway Station

This was known as a baseball soto from a store by the name of Noor Muslim Food down at Tanjong Pagar Railway (30 Keppel Road, S089059). I was quite intrigued by the name and guessed that it might have to do with the large begedil (potato ball) that was on display at the front of the shop. Turns out that the dish was indeed those big begedil that was stuffed with minced mutton. An order of it came in a bowl ladled over with that soto broth along with some chilli and fried shallots. The egg washed fried potato ball disintegrated quite easily after being cut open, becoming mushy like some kind of porridge. It was pretty good being spicy and all, but I thought it triggered the MSG alarm.


Over at the other end, we ordered a serving of chicken briyani from a store call Ali Nachia Dam Briyani. When one orders briyani from a supposedly dum briyani store, one expects dum briyani. Makes a whole lot of sense doesn't it? I wasn't expecting them to pick out a piece of fried chicken from a metal pot to be placed onto rice that came from a separate container. I had the idea they would have been cooked together. Anyway, no complains about the rice and fried chicken. However what passed off as raita and achar on the sides was a very watered down version. Curry was passable.

This wasn't what I had in mind. One might actually have to specify the type of briyani if you're looking for the dum version.