I have heard about Bijan so many times and I remember it being nominated multiple times for Best Malay food in Timeout KL (and perhaps have won a few times) but I've never had a chance to check it out until last week when a couple of friends came up from Singapore. Figured it would be a nice place to chill, imagined our surprised when we walked into a roaring crowd on a Monday night. Turned out, there was a party going on but nevertheless I was impressed that it was that busy. With the reservation moved to a later time, we were seated at a nice table right next to the bar. On first glance, the decor is pretty well thought out, simple and minimalist with bits of bamboo blinds, "batik", and few traditional antiques.

When it comes to Malay food, there's often no elegance about it (much like Chinese home cooking), it's all about comfort and familiar flavours, so when the website specified home-style cooking but the restaurant looks clearly setup for fine-dining; I couldn't help but chuckled a little in my heart. Before we started I was secretly hoping the pretentiousness won't show on the dishes.

Unfortunately, the starters didn't exactly wow us. Take this "Otak Otak" for example, presented to us in a "Western" soup mug. Immediately, I thought that this would not be good because the top looked exposed and dry, and the traditional bamboo leaves method is supposed to keep the fish mousse (if you well) aromatic and moist. And my suspicion was right: It was bland, and just.... bland. The bits of fish didn't help either. I don't think it was very fresh to start with. And the bread on the side? Stale and tired looking and tasted horrible when paired with the Otak Otak. Let's hope it doesn't get worse from here.Acar Tauhu comes with skewers of tofu cooked in coconut milk. The tofu itself was bland and I didn't taste any hint of coconut but the acar made up for it. It was sweet, sour but not spicy enough for my liking. But at least this is a good vegan dish to cater the vegetarians. Here's an appetizer platter that was not really that appetizing: Kepak Ayam Goreng (best dish on the platter, juicy fried chicken that was suffiently seasoned, but nothing impressive), Pulut Kuning Serunding (bland), Popiah Goreng (pretty much vegetable spring roll, that was ok, at least Frank liked it), Cucur Udang (ordinary, not seasoned well enough). The chili they provided was pretty lackluster too. Luckily, the Sup ekor (oxtail soup) was tasty enough, though it resembles more of a Western version. At least the oxtail was lovely and tender and I enjoyed the depth of flavours in the broth.

Will the main course be good enough to encourage us to come back? Stay tuned!

The Cronut craze has taken the world by storm. It's basically a hybrid of Doughnut and Croissant. Created by Chef Dominique Ansel in New York, this unique dessert has spread all the way around the world, making it the biggest viral dessert to date. Although Chef Dominique Ansel has basically trademarked the name Cronut so copycat versions usually calls them dossants, or in Dessert Storm's case KLonut. Of course, I would assume that none of the copycat version would taste exactly like the original, because this recipe has taken months to develop and perfect. However, those of us who lives far far away from NY can only drool while we try the copycats.

We were curious enough to try the KL version though, so we ventured to B.I.G at Publika to check these babies out. They currently have 3 flavours for sale: Coconut and Kaya, Peanut Butter, Milo and Condensed milk. This is the Coconut and Kaya version and I thought this was the best out of the three. But that's not to say it's great. The pastry was disappointingly flat and tasted pretty flimsy. None of that crunch I was expecting, from watching all those Youtube videos about cronut. You can finish this thing in 3 bites (and I have a small mouth)The peanut butter version is pretty forgettable, since I have forgotten what it was paired with. Salted caramel, probably. But meh. Not nice at all. Don't get me wrong though, it's pretty difficult for anything deep fried (especially pastry) to taste bad, but it just didn't live up to the expectations I had. The Milo and Condensed milk version was alright, but unfortunately was the flattest of the three.

I have a feeling the KLonuts at dessert storm is basically just deep fried puff pastry instead of using yeast like proper doughnut/croissant, because the original Cronuts do look a lot taller. And for RM7 a piece, I do not think that these are worth trying yet. Maybe they will continue to improve their recipe.

Tom, Dick & Harry Pub is somewhere I frequent and mostly for work. Most of the time I don't order any food but yesterday we had a long gig at the Taman Tun Pub so we had our early and 'light' dinner before the event started. TDH TTDI is situated on Lorong Rahim Kajai 14 with many striving pubs (Sid's Pub being another one that is always packed), and there is definitely a reason behind their success: their grub, the friendly staff and generally pleasant ambiance.

You cannot go to TDH without ordering a side of these Pork fries. The name sounds straight forward, but you might (or might not) be shocked to find that these are basically deep fried luncheon meat! Despite sounding absolutely horrible especially to health freak, it's super addictive. I mean, just look at this!You can see how crispy it is. With the soft umani centre, it's dangerous not to down in one!

To make ourselves feel a little bit better (not so much since even their salad contains pork), we order a Caesar salad too to share. And I must say this presentation is not bad at all for a pub. Filled with the usual romaine lettuce, pieces of bacon, some grilled chicken, garlic bread and a fried egg on top. We requested for the dressing to be on the side (to avoid extra calories, but who are we kidding anyway... haha). I liked the thick dressing which is infused with plenty of umaniness from anchovies, though not sure if it's made in house. This was a decent salad. If the bacon were more crispy it would have been perfect.

At TDH, they really take their pork seriously, so if you love your bacon, this is where you should consider visiting. Psstt... they also have Pork knuckle! Vegetarians might find themselves enjoying their version of pizza, which is actually a cheat version with some flat bread, but still good nonetheless. But if you are a vegan, I guess your best bet is the beer. ;)

When it comes to Hokkien mee (KL style, of course), pretty much everyone has their own favourite. And if you are in PJ area, you probably rate Ah Wa Hokkien Mee quite highly, as we do. This one we went to was Millennium Eighty Six (there is another Ah Wa Hokkien Mee not far away near the highway, not sure if they are related), which also has quite a few other stalls selling your typical grilled or fried dishes. We ordered some Chicken Wings to share.Lovely golden colour, juicy and full of flavours. Having said that, it's hard to mess up Chicken wings. Some grilled stingray. Having grilled fish like this is a rare treat for me so I can't really say if this compares to all the great ones out there. But the sambal was delicious and we were fighting for the flesh.We also ordered fried cockles and this was absolutely delcious. By the way look at the size comparison, I got the giant one! Of course, one cannot go without ordering Hokkien Mee here and this was the highlight of the night. Full of wok breath, dark and sticky with just enough toppings to keep us satisfied. Not too wet and not too dry, this is pretty much perfection. Too bad this place is a little out of reach for me now since my family have moved and I don't often go to PJ by myself.

I venture to Bangsar Shopping Complex quite a lot, but very rarely stop by for a meal there. The beauty of my job is I often have meetings in a restaurant or cafe and that's why we ended up at the new Ben's at Bangsar Shopping Complex (how many are there now? I have lost count). Since it was afternoon tea time, it was only apt to order a couple of desserts to share. My last visit to Ben's at Pavilion was rather disappointing so we didn't even try the desserts. So I wasn't really expecting much. But then these beauties were brought to us: Lemon Meringue Pie
I have a weakness for lemon desserts and this would probably one of my fav dessert dishes. Look at the glorious, perfectly done meringue with the beautiful browned top. The lemon curd filling was pretty tangy with perhaps a little bit too much sweetness (I like my lemon desserts very tart, otherwise what's the point right?). The pastry wasn't too memorable, but at least we managed to eat it. Sticky Date Pudding
But to me, this was so much better executed. I do have a soft spot for sticky date pudding because it reminds me so much of Melbourne. The pudding was warm, moist, dense with stickiness of the chopped up dates but not overly sweet, and the butterscotch sauce was crazy delicious and complemented the pudding perfectly. Don't you think this looks like a snowman? So Purely coincidental, of course.

I might not go back to Ben's for their main meals but desserts are ok in my book. The service staff was polite and attentive which is a bonus too.