While I was visiting my sister in Melaka, I told her I was craving for some Arabic food. This was the time when I was caught up in the Arabic food fever. All my life I had been a person that hates rice that were cooked with spices. But two weeks before that night I had first tasted Nasi Arab and it was like riding on a rainbow. I never thought it could be that delicious. So for the rest of the two weeks I’ve been going places to taste other Arabic food on the menu.

That night we drive off to Bukit Beruang for a quick detour of take away food before reaching home. She brought me to the famous Dima Restaurant, a restaurant that serves perfect Arabic food for people who are a novice like me.

But sadly luck was not by my side that night. We didn’t have time for a dine-in or even a long time to spare. On the outside threshold of Dima Restaurant, there’s a small booth of Arabic food stall, the also famous Kaliph Kebab.

Kaliph Kebab is also an Arabic food franchisee. The main restaurant was located in Shah Alam. But here at Bukit Beruang, they only have a small booth stall to taste the market before opening a new restaurant there.

Me being appreciating what food I had, I ordered 4 different kebab to be take away and savor at home. I ordered the Grilled Chicken Kebab, Grilled Beef Kebab, Chicken Shawarma and Kebab Sandwich. We drove hurriedly and I’ve been hugging the kebabs to keep it warm and hot.

At home, together with my brother in law, we swallowed every bit of the kebabs like there’s no tomorrow. It was delicious. It was marvelous and it was not enough. How I wished I would have ordered more. The chicken were marinated with the best of spices and it was marinated evenly. The lettuce were fresh and it give the kebab an amazing texture and crunchiness. The wrap or the ‘pita” was actually not dry! I’ve eaten kebabs before and sometimes the shop gives a hard and dried wrap. But not this shop.

I would ABSOLUTELY SURELY DEFFINITELY would come to the franchise in Shah Alam. Just you wait.

Who didn’t know about this famous place? I mean, this place was all over the TV and people was craving to come and dine in here.

Located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur near the Dang Wangi area, the shop was always packed with people. There would never be such a thing that this shop is not crowded. It was so famous that it makes the area jammed pack with cars trying to find a parking spot. So coming here with my motorcycle was a clever step.

The shop give you the exact western feel because of the decoration and lighting. The shop looked like a ranch where people wears cowboy hats and boots. The food was fabulous and original. The food was terribly awesome and the plates were full to ensure you don’t come home craving for any other snack. The meal varies from a simple chicken chop to the fancy venison steak or some New Zealand beef. There are even a set with Moroccan rice to fill your big o tummy. So there will be choice for everybody.

I planned to have a change of taste and here I am, suddenly ordering their Mixed grill and my friend ordered the Chicken Combo because he was feeling fancy. It was packed and it took some effort to call out the worker to order our food. Luckily the food arrives within minutes because my stomach was grumbling and we were both are starving. The food is a joyful and merry.

My stomach felt happy. My mixed grill consist of one piece of grilled steak, one grilled lamb, a small fillet of grilled chicken and 2 playful little grilled prawn. There were also their must have french fries and coleslaw complete with two piece of bread with the total price of RM15.00. It was more than affordable. The oriental gravy were poured all over the foods and it was satisfying. Though the steak were a little bit overcooked, everything else was fine and perfect.

On the other hand, the RM14.50 Chicken combo is a platter put with fried chicken chop, a piece of tempura fish and chip, 2 prawn and 2 pieces of mussel. And then of course, their french fries and coleslaw. The difference was, the gravy was black pepper flavored and they even provide some thousand island sauce and lemon slice to be eaten with the tempura fish and chip.

Our hunger was justified and satisfied. It was a happy time and happy surrounding for us. We both had great time and will surely come again to taste other western food they had to offer.
 

There’s a new mall opened recently named Quill Mall and my favorite spot there: The Original Milkshake Co at level 4, lot 4-63. The Original Milkshake Co or the TOM Co were a milkshake stall that give you a new meaning of comfort chilling. The shop’s decorations were cute and creative, along with interesting logo. The inimitable milkshake shop was created by a young Malay entrepreneur and now a blossoming industry that gives you colorful flavors to enjoy.

What I like about this shop was the milkshake offered was topped with crazy toppings that includes a range of flavors of cakes sold by the owner’s sister, which was also the baker of the homemade cake business – and famous, MAD treats dessert.

This milkshake joint has everything on their menu from normal original flavours to snickers and Nutella for them who had sweet tooth and even carrot and coconut for the one feeling tropical. And after selecting your flavor, you can choose any fun toppings you want! The drinks were categorized as premium and comes in 3 sizes, small, medium and large. The price start from RM6.90, RM10.90 and RM13.90 respectively.There were also the signature and classic categories that range from RM5.00 to RM15.90. 

For the desserts experts, there were almost everything –caramel, chocolate, oreo, marshmallow, muti-flavored ice-cream, peanut butter, popcorn, brownie, root beer, red velvet and the most surprising: pretzel milkshake. At first it blows my mind to just even read that but trust me, they worth their bearing name.

With nice air-conditioned environment, one cannot resist to stop and take a slurp at their milkshake. I put my order of a marshmallow-topped vanilla milkshake blended with peanut butter & Oreos and a Pretzel milkshake with pecan choc-chip. Talk about a roller coaster ride of flavor! The salty peanut butter marries the oreo taste perfectly and so sis the pretzel and pecan chocolate chip.And one more important last note. All the flavor might sound extreamly diabetic and dangerous, but trust me once again, it is not! It was blended well, the balanced taste, nothing too sweet or cloying. One HAS to try this.

What used to be a new and starting mamak stall had now grown into a fancy bistro where it serves almost literally everything. Tawakal Restaurant & Café used to be a simple stall but now it had been upgraded and given a whole new fresh breath. The restaurant now had been renovated bigger into two shop lots but still divided into two area – air-conditioned and non-air conditioned. It was much fancier and there is now even a roof top dine in area where you can eat under an open sky at the roof top – though I’d say the roof top was rarely open due to lots of birds and rainy, hazy weather.

The shop – which was located in the city center of Bentong, Pahang was a very popular shops amongst the people there. It is opened for 24hours every day through the week.

The shop interior was way better than before and the air – conditioned side, there’s even two rooms with glass wall for reservations if there’s any special occasions or even, a simple family gathering. The chairs are all new and there were a few new freezers that sells unique desserts by local entrepreneurs.

The menu ranges from the mamak food varieties to the authentic malay-thai food, western dishes and the amazingly delicious steamboat. As per usual, I am a true western food lover and hence, the dish of black pepper chicken chop with mashed potato dish served upon my plate.

I’d say, the dish was splendid. All full marks were given because there is not one flaws on my plate that night. The chicken was original and not store brought. It was pure chicken breast fried perfectly with the beautifully decorated vegetables. I shall emphasize here that the broccoli, cauliflowers and the capsicum were all drizzled with olive oil and then grilled to perfection with the right amount of flames. It was not too soft yet not too crunchy. Just a perfect partner for the sauce. The mashed potato makes me feel like I’m on cloud nine. It’s soft texture – almost to mousse form! – were amazing and it was seasoned well. And not to forget the lovely plating.The special drinks there were the 3 layered tea. The special tea was actually a layer of gula Melaka syrup, evaporated milk and brewed tea. You have to mix it well before drinking. Next time I’ll try their delicious looking steamboat. Tempting!

Deep in the city, there’s a special mamak stall that sells the best roti special – the Mansion Tea Stall. The shop is always hidden until it makes the identity if the shop as a mystery. Most of the customers consist of people who lives in KL that knows the secret stall. The stall was regular and the menus were the same as the other mamak stall along the same road. But what makes it so special?

During my college days, my buddies and I would always craved for a midnight ‘lepak’ place. The problem is our regular mamak stall was always full of other students. That’s when we discovered this special stall.

Regular customer would always call it ‘Mamak Telur Goyang’. Don’t be mistaken. People call it that because the most famous menu of the stall is its Roti Special where the roti canai is cut in small squares and is dipped deep in curry gravy, or what the Malaysians called ‘roti banjir,’ then served along with two half boiled egg dancing in your plate just waiting to be eaten. The price was reasonable, which is RM3.50 per plate. The range of water was normal like other mamak stall but I’d suggest their ‘teh tarik’, because it was full of foam and creamy taste.

There were also other menu on the list but people would mostly ordered the Roti Special. You can opt to eat it with some ‘sambal’ which are full of fried anchovies (ikan bilis) which would totally give your meal some texture.

The environment of this shop was also chilling and relaxing. Most people would come here to chill and enjoy a different view of our beloved City of Kuala Lumpur. Teens and even officers who had just finished their work would come to the stall and eat. The stall was so small but yet the dining tables were arranged alongside the side walk, which actually would give you the old-school buzz of ‘lepaking’ at a mamak stall. What a memory.

Though I can’t say that this stall hadn’t had any downside. First of all, the stall was located at a very packed place so if you are thinking of coming by car, you would probably had to circle the block for a few times before you get any parking. The arrangement of the dining tables were too packed and closed with each other, making the customer felt a little uncomfortable, especially if you are a woman. Plus, because it is near with the city center, they can’t avoid the appearance of beggars. And the beggars there were quite extream to the point of touching and forcing. So people, watch out a little for your precious belonging. I’d say I wouldn’t recommend women to come here alone. I could get pretty scary along the dark alley. As for the hygiene issue, I’d say that a person with OCD should probably don’t come here. Because the shop was located near the river, there will me some mouse and other ‘unfriendly’ animals and at times there could be smells coming from the polluted river.