Maria's Restaurant & Café @ Metropolitan Square, PJ

Ever heard of this song by Santana back in the year 2000? 

♫ Maria Maria, she reminds me of a west side story.. ♫ 

As I purchased Maria's Restaurant & Café's Groupon voucher a couple of weeks ago, this tune was stuck in my head. Well, 'Ave Maria' by Kim Ah Joong managed to creep into my musical system as well but Santana seemed to have a better grip, holding its spot on my mind whenever my eyes are set on the word 'Maria'. 

Let's cut to the chase. 

Located just above Citibank & Old Town White Coffee, I had my lunch at Maria's.

All items are subject to 10% service charge. Check out their full menu. Yum yum.

Random pic of Maria's table setting along with their purple menu.  

Urk, my iPhone 4's camera doesn't do any justice to this restaurant's beautifully decorated interior. 

I liked what they have done with this place. If Maria's Restaurant was a girl, she'd be characterized as a non-pretentious individual & you'd definitely like to hang out with her. Yup, this place gave me a cozy vibe and relaxes my nerves. 

Fresh Pumpkin Soup (RM9.00)

If it's not the month of Halloween, I'm generally not a fan of pumpkins..

But 'tis the season to be jolly as this particular pumpkin soup tasted as if it was made with heart. It tasted homey and sweet. Although it might be a tad too sweet for my liking, I gotta give Maria's some credit for not serving us diluted soup (which is what I absolutely loathe when dining in a restaurant). 

Quality: Check! 

Fresh Mushroom Soup (RM9.00)

mMmm, nothing like a hearty bowl of mushroom soup to cheer up your day. 

Pity I didn't get the chance to taste the croutons. The soup was not as thick as the pumpkin version but it wasn't diluted either. Which meant that the pumpkin soup was really concentrated whereas the former was just right. I really liked this one. As a fan of mushroom soup, Maria's version has definitely secured its spot as one of the better ones out there for its stated price above. 

Grilled Chicken with Honey Mustard Sauce (RM20.00) 

The mains were served with sauté vegetables and a couple of wedges were tucked beneath the meat.

I've read several reviews regarding this place prior to my visit at Maria's and realized that most diners recommended Maria's Honey Mustard Sauce over its Mushroom Sauce. Not wanting to challenge the people's choice, we too ordered honey mustard! 

Verdict? All of us liked it. I'm not a fan of chicken meat but this could be an exception. Along with it's accompanying sauce, the meat was pleasantly tender. The sauce was sweet but I wished there was a stronger punch of mustard in it (I friggin' <3 mustard). Overall, this was an enjoyable meal. If only the portion was a tiny bit bigger :p 

Pan Fried Canadian Seabass (RM58.00)

Premium white cod served with sake sauce. Wa wa wa, the dish's name alone has managed to successfully capture my undivided attention. Question is, does it taste as good as it seems? Yeh, pretty much. Albeit the slightly salty potato wedges, everything on the plate was spot on. What can I say? The cod was fresh and well prepared. Its skin was crisp yet the flesh tasted juicy. Come on, who doesn't love cod?! 

By the way, I would say that this meal is worth every penny as Maria serves a pretty generous portion of cod to their diners. Look at that slab of fish!

I know many restaurants that are extremely tightfisted when it comes to serving cod, leaving customers unsatisfied at the end of the day. *the portion can be extremely miserly at times! Which makes me sooooo angry* 

Australian Chilled Fillet (RM59.00)

Usually, I would prefer having a medium-rare steak but I opt for a medium one today. There were two slabs of steak fillets stacked on one another but I have to comment that one of it was medium-rare whilst the other was medium. Fine by me, as long as it wasn't well done. 

Quality wise, you can't expect it to taste like wagyu as the price would've been double or triple its original price. It tasted like an ordinary piece of steak that I bought from the meat department in  Coles while I was in Australia. (It is a chilled fillet after all.) 

Sorry, this is a miss for me. ý ý ý  

Apparently, the menu stated that the chilled fillet is served with red wine sauce. If that's what red wine sauce is supposed to taste like, I am a little speechless. In my opinion, it tasted like mushroom sauce... At least the chefs managed to get my order right-ish? 

One of Maria's waitresses seemed to be in a rush to clear our plates though,.. my mum was chewing on what's left on my plate (snow peas) and a lady walked over & said "Excuse me", picked the plate up & walked away without any signs of hesitation while mummy was still holding her fork with a snow pea stuck on it. 

Mm seng muk. 

Lemon Cheese Cake (RM9.50)

On a lighter note, I really enjoyed this dessert! Was looking forward to Maria's tiramisu but it wasn't ready yet :( 

Was aiming for their moist chocolate cake too but the crowd seemed to prefer lemon cheese instead.  No regrets tho'! It was a real joy to eat. The cake wasn't too sweet and the cheese tasted light. The lemon wasn't overpowering either so everything came together really well. 't was gooooood. 

Maria's Restaurant & Café

Lot C131A, Center Wing, Level 3

Metropolitan Square

No. 2, Jalan PJU8/1

Bandar Damansara Perdana

47820 Petaling Jaya

For reservations: 03-7725 2313

Yours truly,

Jx

Din Tai Fung at e@Curve, Mutiara Damansara

One of my better days, finally tried Din Tai Fung! 

Happy happy joy joy, happy happy joy joy! 

To be frank, I didn't think much of this place prior to stepping foot in this renowned Taiwanese restaurant as I could just imagine that what lies ahead would probably cost me a mini bomb in my wallet. 

After all, it's just Chinese food right?... Wrong. It's top notch Chinese food! 

Come to think of it, how would you describe one as a top notch restaurant? Din Tai Fung doesn't serve those fancy dishes such as 'Buddha Jumps Over The Wall' but I do believe that their dishes are executed pretty remarkably. Simple dishes delivered well.  

Ordered Hot Tea for RM2++ and it is refillable! HEHEHE

XIAO LONG BAO!!! (RM10.30++ for 6 pieces)

I love Xiao Long Bao's. I tried my first XLB in Dragon-i and ever since then, I was playing the role of a love-struck teenager, obsessed and pining over the pork-soup-pao. *exaggerates* 
It is suffice to say that I have had my fair share of bad-tasting xiao long bao's from dim sum restaurants and I promised myself that I will NEVER ORDER XLB'S FROM RESTAURANTS SELLING DIM SUMS EVER AGAIN.

ISN'T IT CUTE? I love the concept of hot soup in bao's. Too adorable to eat. Kinda reminded me of Bomberman's bomb. The jelly-looking-jiggly-one.

I'm not particularly a fan of fresh sliced-ginger (from my second picture above) but I gotta admit that it does go really well with XLBs. Glad that Din Tai Fung's XLBs didn't burst as soon as I picked it up with my chopsticks. Was the wrap too thick? Nope, it was perfect! Totally nailed it. Couldn't ask for more. Thinking about it makes my stomach drum. EVERYTHING WAS AWESOME! Mouth-watering from the inside & out! 

Shrimp & Pork Fried Rice (RM15.50++)

Simplicity at its best. If I could master the art of cooking this beautiful plate of rice, I'll have a very fat wallet by now. A VERY fat wallet. 

Want to know what's wrong with it? .. Nothing. 

"Omg Jess, don't exaggerate la.." 

But I'm not! Okay, maybe a little. It's just my type of perfect fried rice. Maybe not yours? Maybe..

It wasn't too tasty in the ajinomoto kind of way. It tasted natural.. Which I know it may sound like utter bullshit because most chefs would almost definitely add artificial flavouring when they cook. 

Let me paint you a picture on how it tasted like: The texture of the rice was perfecto! Not too hard nor mushy. The fried rice tasted really eggy, which I absolutely love. Maybe that factor contributes to the reason why the rice tasted naturally delicious? It wasn't salty. The prawns were FRESH! Such a major plus point as this was one of their key ingredients and it wasn't a let down. Plus, the portion wasn't small either. 

Cha Jang La Mian (RM13.50++)

Really loved the texture of this 'la mian'. *Btw, This was one of DTF's Chef Recommended dish*

I'm not sure what Cha Jang means. Taste wise, it was decent. It's unique. Haven't really tasted anything like it before. My hubby on the other hand needed some time to acquire the Cha Jang La Mian's taste. The sauce on its own was kind of salty but it goes well with the perfectly cooked noodles.
CJLM's portion is well suited to a lady's appetite. 't was rather small. 

Spicy Prawn Wan Ton (RM10.00++)

This appetizer was also listed as one of DTF's Chef Recommendations. Shrimp was fresh as expected but the spicy prawn wanton wasn't spicy as the name might suggest. Suitable for ang moh's or individuals who can't take the heat.
You know, this would've been a great dim sum dish. It's nice to eat but I'll probably try something else the next time I visit.

Taiwanese Spring Roll (RM7.50++)

Yummy. Although this mini rolls didn't make it into DTF's list of Chef Recommendations, I still find it delicious! Crunchy yet not oily. The filling tasted the same as Xiao Long Bao's minced pork but I really didn't mind as the pork filling was divine. A pretty good snack to munch on.

All in all, RM70 was well spent to feed the lives of two.

Would definitely dine here again! *Take all my money!*
The restaurant was spacious, clean and the waiters were very attentive! In my opinion, DTF's food was definitely above average. Price is on par with Dragon-i and the dishes offered by both restaurants are pretty similar. *Somehow, I have my heart set on DTF*.
Don't take my word for it, ABS-CBN News stated that Din Tai Fung tops best Asian restaurants poll.
Apart from our fellow Malaysians, there were many other foreigners from China/Taiwan and even Americans that dined in this restaurant during the time of my visit.

Din Tai Fung

G17-G20, Ground Floor

e@Curve

Mutiara Damansara

Petaling Jaya

Tummy satisfied,

Jx

Famous Seremban Favourites Restaurant @ Aman Suria, PJ

Hello friends!

This post is specially dedicated to pork-lovers. 

Before I continue babbling on about this place, I'm going to apologise for not snapping a picture of the restaurant's entrance & its bright yellow sign board! 

My mind was a little preoccupied as I was picturing the sweet succulent charsiew melting in my mouth.  Writing this post is probably going to make me hungry.. but let's soldier on! 

FSF'S menu!

Despite having quite a wide variety of items to choose from, customers from all over PJ & KL travel to  Aman Suria just for FSF's specialty dish, Char Siew. Although this restaurant opens until 4pm, their charsiew may already be sold out by then! Let us always remember this idiom, 'the early bird catches the worm'. 

Char Siew  (small : RM7.00)

*Tum tum tum tum!* THE MOMENT WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! ......yeah well, I wished this plate of barbecued meat was presented in a more enticing manner. Today's presentation looked rather...ugly.

SIGHS. Maybe other bloggers made a special request to the owner for a beautifully arranged plate of charsiew with extra glaze on its skin or somethin'. I've seen a few pictures of FSF's charsiew featured on other blogs & they even have fine slices of spring onions decorated on top of its meat! Looked super delicious, OKAY?! On a side note, I'm using an iPhone 4 so please pardon the quality of my pictures. HEHEHE

Anyway, try to ask for 'poon fei sao' which means 'half fat, half lean meat 'when placing an order for the charsiew. I forgot to request for it so as you can see from my picture above, one of the charsiew had no fats in it. Dipping sauce for the barbecued meat is provided as well so please put it to good use! It does make a lot of difference.

In all seriousness, I thought the serving today was a tad dry. I've had better days..
Perhaps the parts of charsiew served to us this afternoon weren't as great. It's alright, let us forgive FSF.
I'll definitely be back some day soon to give it another shot. haha

Wan Tan Mee (small: RM5.50)

Wow, does this plate of WTM look ridiculously plain or what? Usually, FSF's wtm is topped with a few slices of yummylicious charsiew & a small bowl of soup containing 2 miserable pieces of wanton. Since we've ordered a plate of barbecued meat, we told the waiter to replace the meat with wantons instead. 

Voila, we now have a plate of noodles with vege & a small bowl of soup with 5 wantons.
Honestly speaking, WTM is one of my least favourite hawker food, so my interest for this plate of noodles can only go so far. Having said that, I would still recommend everyone who orders wtm to eat   it with pickled chili. It gives an extra twist to the noodles! Still, don't you think that a small-sized wtm served in FSF is a little pricey? RM5.50 for a small plate of plain noodles with boiled wantons. 

Lo Shi Fan w black sauce (medium: RM5.00)

I love minced pork! AND. I. LOVE. LOSHIFAN! One of my favourite type of noodles in the world. Probably cause it doesn't require much chewing and the texture is super smooth! It's like you can chuck one spoonful in your mouth and SWALLOW IT JUST LIKE THAT, y'know what I mean?!

Anyway, I find it reasonably priced for a medium-sized serving. In my opinion, this is the kind of staple food one can eat errday! The RM5.00 bowl of deliciousness consists of loshi-noodles, minced pork, spring onions & black sauce. Since it's SO simple to eat & I'm extremely biased when I come across something I like, I'm giving this bowl my stamp of approval. HAHA. *Please note that it doesn't taste special, extraordinary or lip-smackingly yummy*. It tasted fine, but I like it that way. Simple & filling!

Famous Seremban Favourites Restaurant

78-1 Ground Floor, Jalan PJU 1/3B

Block F, Sunway Mas Commercial Centre

47301 Petaling Jaya

Operating hours: Monday, Wednesday-Sunday [ 8am - 4pm ]

Closed on Tuesdays

Over & Out,
Jx

Restaurant Soon Soon Pan Mee & Fish Head @ Damansara Perdana, PJ

Although there are many eateries at Damansara Perdana, this tiny coffee shop is ALWAYS packed during lunch hours. 

For the record, I've been having my lunch here AT LEAST once a week. *Fan girl mode!* One fine day, I'll be the mayor of Soon Soon Pan Mee & Fish Head in Foursquare!!!! Muahahaha. Just you wait.

There are approximately 20 tables in this kopitiam. Based on my noob-y calculations, the owner of this restaurant must've found themselves a pot of gold. Why? They nailed the recipe for fish head noodles and I reckon that their overhead cost is low as they only have pendaflour lights and ceiling fans to maintain. Plus, this restaurant's turnover is pretty high. 

Hanging on the wall of fame, these noodles are amongst the many selections available on the menu.

For individuals who are not a fan of pan mee & fish head, simple western breakfasts are offered as well.

..But seriously? Come on, you're dining at a restaurant named 'Soon Soon Pan Mee & Fish Head' and you're ordering toasts with eggs?!?! 

F1 : Fried Ling Fish Head Meehoon (RM8.80)

You may be wondering, "Whoa, damn a lot of things going on in this bowl right. How to eat?? Where should I start??"

My dear, Let sensei Loh teach you the ways in culinary life:
1) Pick up your spoon
2) Scoop a spoonful of soup
3) Put that milky broth in yo' mouth!
4) Close your eyes & savor it..Savor it.
5) Smile with delightfulness like you've just received your paycheck.

Once you have tasted the milky goodness, everything else will fall into place and you'll gobble the whole lot in no time.

I must say that this is the best fish head noodle I've ever tasted. If you've already tried this and think there's a better one out there, let me know! :) I tend to be a little bias and over exaggerate when I find something I like. HAHA. What a bad habit, Jess.

So far, taste wise.. fried Ling fish head meehoon has never let me down. It has been pretty consistent. If this dish was a human being, I'll sing 'Just The Way You Are' to Ling. Because I truly am happy just the way the whole dish is made.

Instead of thin vermicelli noodles, I opted for thicker ones. (Additional RM0.50). In my opinion, the thicker noodle goes wayyyyy better with the broth & fish head.

Oh yeah, before I forget..The waiter will inevitably ask if you want 'susu' (milk) in your soup. Just say yes! 

It goes best with milk :)

Before you go all, "Urk..eww, stahp! This picture is not pleasing to my eyes at all..."

I just want to prove my point on how great this is! 9 out of 10 times, I'd finish everything in the bowl (except the fish bones & ginger slices.. duh). 

"If it's so good, why didn't you finish everything served 10 out of 10 times?", says your mind subconsciously. 

Answer: As the coffee shop is really packed during peak hours, it is pretty common to share your table with a stranger or two. I find it kinda awkward to sit directly opposite with somebody you DON'T KNOW whilst having lunch/dinner/whenever. Therefore, I can't enjoy my meal to the absolute fullest! I hope I'm not the only one feeling this way..Also, I think that it's a little embarrassing to finish the whole bowl of soup in front of a complete stranger. He/she may think that I'm a 'tam chiak lang' (glutton) or that I don't have enough to eat. 

P2: Dried Pan Mee (RM5.00)

Praise after praise was given to the fish head noodle in this coffee shop. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the dried pan mee offered at Soon Soon. It only tasted ordinary and I'm pretty sure you can get this elsewhere for a cheaper price. It doesn't taste bad but it doesn't Wow me as much as the fish head noodle. It's edible, it's OK, it's very ordinary.

To avoid the working crowd during peak hours & sitting with total strangers, I suggest you visit this place before 12pm or after 2pm. Hope you'll enjoy this as much as I do. I PRAY THAT YOU DO! Maybe I'll see you around during lunch hours some day! 

Soon Soon Pan Mee & Fish Head

18-1, Jalan PJU 8/5C

Damansara Perdana, 47820

Petaling Jaya
Operating hours: Monday-Saturday [ 6 am - 5 pm ]

Until next time,

Jx