Best Ramen at 'Menya Kamikaze' @ 1 Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur

The other day while strolling around, I came to know that Menya Kamikaze is the recent ramen shop to be opened. I was delighted cause now I get to come here for ramen if I ever have craving for some hot ramen noodle. 

At one glance, it's a small shop located next to Sushi Zanmai. Menya Kamikaze have a bar counter with a small eatery area.

Their menu offers only few selections of soup base, sides dishes, a la carte, and drinks. 

Was craving for something fried and ordered croquette (RM10) from the a la carte section. It's interesting to find that the outer layer is steaming hot while the inside is still cold. Taste wise was not bad. 

Pork Soup Ramen (Kamikaze Size - RM22). Kamikaze size served 2 slices of roast pork, egg, bamboo shoots, spring onion, black fungus and seaweed. 

I was surprise with the portion that was served here. When we ordered the kamikaze side, I was expecting thin slices of roast pork (which we usually get) but was taken back when I scoop out not one but two thick chunks of roast pork. The soup base for this it's really thick, defiantly different from the ramen shops I had tried. 

I find that the serving size of Kamikaze is huge. Finishing two thick chunks of meat can be quite heavy for one person...even for a big eater like me. Highly recommended to share. Overall, I really enjoyed my ramen experience here. Will definitely come back for more. 

Menya Kamikaze
Lot 1-2, 1st Floor,
1 Mont Kiara
1, Jalan Kiara,
Mont Kiara,
50480 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: +603 6211 9499 

Birthday Celebration at Marhaba Restaurant @ Publika, Solaris Dutamas (Yemeni Cuisine)

My family & I were invited for dinner at Marhaba Restaurant, a Yemeni Cuisine which is widely known as Middle Eastern Cuisines. Turned out to be a birthday celebration for my god sis's hubby. I wouldn't know about this place if it's not for the invitation. 

It was a long walk to the restaurant if you park your car in the shopping mall (near Daiso). There's actually a parking space right next to the restaurant but we only came to know about it when we arrived (great excuse to walk back after a full meal). 

The interior of the restaurant looks sophisticated and elegant. There's a Majlas, a private place where guests are received and entertained in an Arabic Traditional way. This room is where the guests can sit on the cushions. 

A long table was reserved for our arrival, as well as the birthday boy. 

Complimentary lamb soup, raw carrots, cucumber and onions (dipped with sauces) were given as starters. Not a fan of the soup as I find the soup a bit too rich and oily to my liking, although few of the guest likes it. Mint tea is provided too as a complimentary. 

Mulauwah (RM7 for Small or RM12 for Big), or known as fresh Yemeni bread. It's pretty much like 'Roti Canai'...but a a much bigger version.  There was Ruthub (Soft Yemeni bread - RM10) but no picture taken since everyone was hungry and I was sitting at the far end of the table when the bread was served in the middle. >.<

We have Lamb Moqalqal (RM40), fried lamb cubes in fragrant traditional Yemeni spices cooked in oven. This dish is really good! The only complaint we have is that the sauce was not enough for everyone although there were three pots on the table.  (Sorry, no pictures again)

Fatoush (RM16) - Lavantine bread salad served with fresh mixed greens. It was okay but some find it a bit sour. 

Ethan boy decided to entertain us singing a birthday song to his daddy :)

Finally, we finished our meal with a birthday cake for desserts...a home made mille crepe cake! Delicious!!!

Ethan boy sings another happy birthday song to his dear daddy. Such a sweetie. :)

Overall, its a nice restaurant with beautiful interior and delicious food. We all have a fabulous dining experience. Big thanks to my god sis and her family for the invitation. :)

Marhaba Restaurant
D1-G4-1, Publika Solaris Dutamas
No. 1 Jalan Dutamas
50480 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-62078222 / 9222

Gals Night Out at 'Plan B' @ Publika, Kuala Lumpur

Another get together with the gals and this round we went to 'Plan b' for dinner. 

My last visits was way back in 2012. You can read my last post here.

Fortunately we do not need to wait for our seats since we were early. ^^

For drinks, hot chocolate for the 2 gals....

...and a latte for me :)

'Asian-Style Golden Soft-Shell Crab Spaghettini' (RM28). It looks so sinful by just looking at this. The portion of the Soft Shell Crab was huge! A bit too oily and creamy for my friend. It's best to share cause having this on your own may find it 'jelak' after a few bites. 

I have 'The Loaded Club Sandwich (RM28)', a healthy choice for me. ^^ Grilled chicken, crispy turkey bacon, tomato & avocado stacked on egg mayo on white bread with sweet potato and side salad. Pretty big helping too...best to share with friends. 

'Buttermilk fried chicken (RM28)', served with coleslaw & fries. As always, portion and serving of the chicken was big. My friend couldn't even finish her dish too and she has to request for a take away (for supper). 

Overall, they served quite generous portion here. The service of the crew is quite attentive, but do expect to be slow when the place is crowded. As for the food we have, I would advice to order different dishes than the one we have.  The dishes we had was either too creamy, too oily or too dry for 3 gals to share. LOL. 

Plan b
Lot No.65, Level G2
Publika Solaris Dutamas 1
Jln Dutamas 1
50480 Kuala Lumpur
Contact: +603 6205 5318
Operation Hours:
Sunday - Thursday: 8:00am - 12:00am
Friday, Saturday & Eve of Public Holiday
8:00am - 1:00am

Helmet Diving In Boracay - My First & My Last (No More)

Helmet diving was my first choice (apart from island hopping) when planning our itinerary for our holiday in Boracay. On our third day here, we found this small corner lot (somewhere in station 2) where we took up the package for helmet diving. It was 700 peso per head...compared to those who wanted to offer us 2000 peso for two people. 

There're various activities to do here and I'm sure there will be one that will interest you. 

We were not able to dive along the beach side where were due to the strong currents. *Bummer*

The staff were kind enough to accompanied us to the other side of the beach where the helmet diving take place. Took us 20 minutes to walk there. Great way for us to explore the surroundings. 

We were given a ticket and required to sign a Disclaimer Form before undertaking this activity. In short, they will not be liable if in the event we get hurt...or even death. *Scary*

After signing the form, we were told to board the speedboat.

To be honest, I didn't like the boat ride to the platform. They were really FAST...secondly...there was NOTHING to hold on while riding on the speedboat. They increased the speed because they thought it was fun for us to enjoy the thrill ride...which by the way I didn't like it at all. I was terrified and I was hanging on to my friend with my life. *No kidding*

I was relief when I finally stepped on the floating platform.

Once we arrived, one of the staff came over and have our pictures taken before the dive. We were then taken aside and an instructor explained to us what we need to do, how to equalise (relieve pressure in your ears) and taught us basic hand gestures for communicating underwater. He explained to us that the air is pumped into the helmet so we can breathe normally and advised us to have our head held upright and one hand holding the helmet.

It's funny how the feelings change...from excitement one minute...and nervous the next. When the helmet was finally put on me with half of my body in the sea...I was praying (and equalise) as the sound of the air pumped into the helmet... and of course, trying to breathe normally when climbing down the ladder. 

When we're at the seafloor, there were fishes everywhere...and it was amazing to see them up-close.  We wanted to walk a bit further but we can only walked short distance since the hose was attached to the helmet. 

The diver gave us bread to feed the fish so that he could take pictures and videos of us when the fishes swam over. 

Helmet diving lasted between 10 to 15 minutes. Time passed quickly when we are engrossed admiring the fishes and  surroundings. The other couple who went down before us were the first to go up. There was only one diver instructors in the water with us (there were only four of us). He was the same diver who took pictures and videos for us too. My friend and I were left alone at the bottom of the ocean....without a diver. We were fine at first cause we thought we get to stay a little longer to admire the fishes. HOWEVER.....the water started to rise inside our helmet! Both of us have to held our head high up so that the water would not go through our nose. It was then we realised we were having difficulty breathing in the helmet. 

Fortunately, after few seconds (which seems like forever) we finally felt the air in our helmet and the water finally subside. However I was already in panic mode and struggling to climb on to the ladder when the diver assist my friend to the top...with me being the last one at the bottom. >.<

Once I'm finally up and the instructors pulled my helmet off....I was super relief! I feel so much better when I breathe fresh air into my lungs! I was terrified earlier and when we told the instructors and the staff...they don't seem to care and walked away. =.=

After the whole diving experience, we were back into the speedboat...and another scary speed ride back again. We followed the couple who was with us earlier as the staff did not inform us that we need to follow him once we were on land. Fortunately I was able to catch a glimpse of the couple although the surroundings were crowded with tourist. Anyway...to cut the story short, we were given 1 CD with our pictures and videos inside.

My overall verdict??? The experience was both amazing and nerve wrecking. It was my first experience trying out helmet diving so breathing in the helmet was easier as compared to scuba diving (I had tried scuba diving before). However, the nerve wrecking part was the part when there was no air in the helmet for few seconds with water rising in the helmet. That was the scariest part!  The couple earlier who went down with us were experiencing pain in their ears...and one was having headache and nauseous. Fortunately my friend and I didn't have those problems. 

Would I go again? Hell no. Once is good enough for me. I guess my friend and I were fortunate that nothing bad had happened to us. Although it is something you should try at least once....for the experience. However, I do wished that the staff would be more considerate and aware of this situation so that such thing would not happen ever again. I wouldn't want anyone to go though this terrifying experience. If one panics...things can go very wrong. 

EcoGreen Organic @TTDI, Kuala Lumpur

Lately mum has been health conscious and have been buying loads of 'organic' food for the family...ranging from eggs, veggies and even to organic chicken as well.  So I'm not surprise when she suggested to take me for out for 'healthy' meal at Ecogreen for dinner.

 EcoGreen occupies two shop lots, one for its organic shop and another for its restaurant.

Looking at the menu, everything on the menu seems to look healthy and organic and I was concerned that I may not like the food. I mean...most healthy food I tried mostly tasted blend or tasteless. Anyhow, I was pleasantly surprise that there are variety on the menu.

They even have cake for dessert which is supposedly made from natural and organic ingredients.

We ordered sugar free Loh Hon Kuo, which is a Chinese herbal drink (RM4.80 per cup). It was defiantly sugarless.... but it's not bitter....in my own opinion it has a sweet aftertaste.

 

Mum ordered Roasted Herb Garlic Chicken (RM28.90). Didn't try her dish but Mum seems to enjoy this dish and telling me that it was quite tasty. 

I on the other hand tried their Oat Curry Chicken (RM28.90) since I was craving for curry. Their creamy gravy sauce supposedly mixed with oat, minus the coconut. Surprisingly it taste pretty good when I mixed the gravy with brown rice. I can taste the oat in the curry...it wasn't that bad....a bit different from the usual curry I have when having it at hawker stall. A healthy alternative for those craving for some curry in their diet. 

The bill came out to be RM67.40, without tax or service charge. I must say that the food here can be a bit pricey  as compared to the chicken rice and nasi lemak we have at the hawker stall, but then again most organic food are expensive. I will pay another visit to EcoGreen and try other dishes on the menu...especially their desserts selection.  

EcoGreen Organic
125 Jalan Aminuddin Baki
Taman Tun Dr Ismail
60000 Kuala Lumpur
+603 7725 8388
Open Daily: Mon-Sun: 10am - 10pm

Manna Story - Korean Food @ Plaza Singapura

Finding a place to dine on a Friday night it's a nightmare when you are smack right in a shopping centre. Everywhere is crowded and there's a long line of people queuing up. The thought of it scares me when meeting up the gals for dinner. 

Anyway, the gals & I went to try Korean food at Manna Story. Honestly, I'm not a fan of korean food or any hot & spicy food since my horrible ordeal while in Korea. Since most places were pack, we thought of giving this place a try. 

From the view outside, the in house decorations looks nice. 

The place was pretty pack....which is similar to the rest of the cafe/restaurant nearby. We were lining up for sometime (for half an hour) before we were seated.

Checking out the big sign board outside the restaurant. 

The gals were feeling adventure and wanted to try their Korean drinks selection since we were having Korean food. They have Citron tea and sweet rice juice. After taking a sip to try, I'm glad that I ordered my 'normal' Ice Lemon Tea. LOL. The drinks tasted weird...and I'm sure the gals feel the same way too but they didn't want to admit it. 

Sides Dishes were served while waiting for our main dishes. 

Kimchi Pancake - Crispy pancake with kimchi, vegetables, onions and bits of squids filling. The pancake is mildly spicy  and quite oily....but it was so good. 

Jajangmyeon - Black Bean Sauce Noodles. I've always wanted to try this after watching 'Running Man' (Korean Variety Show). Somehow the noodle look so appetising when seeing the cast eating these. My verdict? It was not bad...although I find it kinder sweet? 

We ordered Bulgogi but somehow it came out this way, which were quite different from the picture on the menu. It looks more like BBQ Chicken (choice of chicken, pork or beef) with vegetables, glass noodles and mushrooms in a hot stone plate. We requested no chilli but it came out mildly spicy. It was nice when we eat it with rice.

Overall the food was not too bad and pricing wise were reasonable. The gals & I smelled like BBQ after the meal but it was a great experience for us. Big thanks to the lovely gals for their time & treat. Hope to see you girls soon. Miss ya!!!