"Hakkakaya" - translated as RICH HAKKA

TCK 1920 Hakkakaya is one of the funniest restaurant names I have come across.



Don't you think so?

When Kate brought me here, I thought they served Japanese food till I read the fine lines: Old Pasar Road Cafe.



HAKKA KAYA, must be the influence of feng shui. Here are a few names I thought they should have tried: Hokkienkaya, TeoChewKaya, Mestikaya, Cepatkaya or Manyakkaya.



I did not know what to expect from a "Rich Hakka" restaurant. When handed the menu, a list of East meets West dishes were available.



Having craved for Nasi Lemak for the whole day, Kate ordered Nasi Lemak Ayam Rendang. It tasted very good indeed. Tasty chicken rendang, addictive anchovies, irresistible sambal and delicious coconut milk pandan rice.



Since Kate went East, I ordered West. The Carbonara I ordered came with a little cup (yes, a little cup) of mushroom soup. Though small in amount but it made up in quality.



I began to realize that the chef must have a fetish for "fine dining" presentation of food.

The Carbonara, served with sufficient slices of chicken ham and mushroom was not bad considering I was already half full from the "kau kau" mushroom soup.



Getting bored of settling for either soft drinks or chinese "leung shui", we ordered "Bu Bur Cha Cha".

Once again, Hakkakaya did not fail to surprise us with the quality of food. It was served tasty creamy, rich with coconut milk or "Santan".

We were already beyond our expectation at this point. Do try the food here if you are bored with the extended choice of food served in One Utama. Located at Old Wing One Utama, it is tucked between to Kenny Roasters and Mardigras Pub.

"BURRPP"

Restaurant Kin Kin "Chilli Pan Mee" RE-OPENED! (Non-Halal)

Restaurant Kin Kin is back in business after closing for a week for er...er.. renovation wor.



Tastybananas wanted to be the 1st to do a review of the much expected "new look", which only turned out to be new "floor tiles". I did ask the owner just to make sure.



I was expecting air-conditioning, uniforms for workers, better service attitude and speedier food orders.

Nevertheless, the most important thing is the food. It remains as good and spicy as ever before. I had to do a take-away as I needed my fix of their "chilli gun powder".

So Kin Kin Pan Mee lovers and soon-to-try readers: same place, same time, same taste and same customer service (pun intended)!

"BURRPP"

Uncle Lim's "kopitiam"

Modern "kopitiams" has really been the trend. To name a few, there are Bangi Kopitiam, Kluang Station and the ever famous Old Town Cafe, which seems to be mushrooming in every corner of town.



Uncle Lim's Cafe is no different. It brings back memories of what use to cost us cents for a good cup of "kao" coffee or tea, toast bread and delicious half boiled eggs.



I like Uncle Lim's Cafe simple offering. The menu is short without over-creativity in their choice of food. (Have you tried toasted-REALLY-brown-bread-with-vanilla-ice-cream at one of the "kopitiams"?)



Now to the food .....



We ordered Nasi Lemak Ayam Rendang. It came with Sambal Sotong, which added more "umpphh" to the dish. The Ayam Rendang was good and the rice still had the pandan flavour, which keeps it original.



The Laksa was equally good. The curry was creamy, but lacked in ingredients.



We also ordered the kaya toast bread. I like the bread very much compared to some-famous-mushrooming-kopitiam in town.

To make every bite different, I tried dipping the bread in my Laksa. It turned out delicious! (Warning: Acquired taste advised).


(The blend of sweet-toasted-bread with soury and spicy curry gave every bite a heck-of-a-twist)



If you are thinking of getting your dose of nostalgic "kopitiam" taste, try Uncle Lim's Cafe at Ikano Power Centre.

"BURRPP"

Steam Fish Head - Sun Fock Wah Coffee Shop (Non-Halal)

Sun Fock Wah Coffee Shop is not the regular kopitiam you will expect - not the menu, not the location. Order your favourite toast bread and kopi-ping (iced coffee) and you will have all eyeballs staring at you.



This coffee shop specializes in Steam Fish Head.



It is tucked among some light industrial area in Jalan Chan Show Lin and under a HUGE tree.



What I love about this place is they keep the menu simple:

Boss: What style of fish ahhh?
Me: What style is good ah?
Boss: Kaali (curry) lor, garlic lor, ginger lor ... (mumbles a long list of other choices)
Me: Eh...ginger lah
Boss: Vegetable leh? (mumbles a few)
Me: Eh..."khai lan" lah

All you got to do is 1) order your fish and 2) vegetable. Simple! There are also other dishes but only upon asking.



The service here is very fast, despite the crowd. We only had to wait for less than 10mins, and we were ready to feast!



The fish was well prepared. It was not too cooked and it did not have any fishy taste or smell. The portion was good for 4 pax, although it was only me and Kate.

I observed that the type of fish head differs from table to table. Maybe you can ask if which type of fish head taste better if you are planning a visit here.


(Vegetable to balance each meal)



Sun Fock Wah Coffee Shop will be moving to a new premise beginning 1st July 2008.



Overall: Simple menu-hassle free, very fast service and cheap! The fish head, vegetable and drinks only cost RM25.00!

"BURRPP"

Quick updates:

Tastybananas.blogspot.com is featured in today's Sunday Star (Metro Section Pg. M9) + Star Online! Hooray!

"Chow Park Kiuh" - Restaurant Aik Yuen (Non-Halal)

My sister has been bugging me to go try this "Chow Pek Kuih" at Restaurant Aik Yuen. So for the love of good food, I went on one Sunday night.



I was told "it's just behind Tawakal Hospital". What seemed to be pretty straight forward was indeed scary as I had to turn into some dark alley before seeing a bringly litted food stall with many people.



I was amazed.



For starters, we were recommended the fresh fish cake. Not too bad.



Then came the much publicised "Chow Pek Kiuh" - merely made of flour, sliced thinly about the length of your thumb, cooked in black sauce. I did not like it but it cannot be wrong as every table ordered.

Caution: Eat while hot, or else you would be eating rubber.



Next was "Chow La La". Nothing great, I prefer the one at Sea Park (have not blogged about it yet).



Then came "Fokkien Mee".



The home made chilli paste was-to-die-for. This goes well with any dish.

Overall, there was nothing much to shout about the food here. If you are curious about how famous the "Chow Pek Kiuh" is, drive to Hospital Tawakal in KL, turn right into a dark narrow alley after 7-Eleven.

"BURRPP"

Restaurant Chan Thoong Kee - Out of this world Hor Fun! (Non-Halal)

Sometimes, suprises are what you get when you least expect them. It was a case of the typical Hor Fun Noodle.



It is not the Hor Fun that was different, but the fresh prawn wanton and soup that rocked our appetite!



We walked in and it was damn obvious what should be ordered.



The famous Fung Wong biscuits here are also very in demand.



It is a food satisfaction guarantee to see so many writeups hung on the wall-of-fame.



Chicken Hor Fun noodle - fresh prawns, tasty chicken shred and delicious soup.



Wan Ton Hor Fun - Tasty fresh prawns wantons and delicious soup.



It is not the size but the content that matters, in this case.



It was too irresistable not to order additional fresh prawn wantons.



To cool us of our appetite, we ordered the soothing "Lor Hon Kor" drink which was served in a very creative manner. It had longans, Lo Hon Kor and Lemons in a mini pot - what a good blend!



The menu.



I did not manage to try any biscuits but will surely be back for the Dry-Hor-Fun (saw the next table slurpping away, just short of eating the plate) and the freshly baked goodies.

Directions: Located near the Imbi wet market in Bukit Bintang area, opposite a open car park. Business hours is from 9am - 6pm daily.

"BURRPP"

Yut Kee Restaurant - "Pork Bread" anyone? (Non-Halal)

(The following post is a recommendation by fellow reader - SQ. Thank you for the
"porky" lunch experience!)



Yut Kee Restaurant is one of the busiest restaurant in KL. I have passed by this shop many times but I never knew they served among the most delicious choice of dishes.



Apparently, this restaurant has been in the news many times for its' wonderful home-baked cakes and highly rated dishes.



Do you still remember the cast "Kopitiam" sitcom? - They came, they tasted, they were photographed!



We did not have to wait long for our table but the queue was not getting any lesser by 1pm. Suprisingly, the turnover of crowd here is very fast. Just be patient, and you will be attended to pretty fast.



Yut Kee Restaurant serves a variety of dishes but we ordered what was highly recommended by SQ.



"Lam Mee" - It looked ordinary at first glance but it definately tasted good. The blend of various seafood and the gravy made the dish stand out from many versions of "Lam Mee" that was tasted before elsewhere.



"Chicken Chop" - How could this be any different right? Try it! The chicken is cooked very well and topped with gravy which makes you wanting to go for round 2.



"Pork bread" - This was the highlight of our lunch.



Let's start with the bread. The bread is coated with egg and cooked till golden brown.



The shredded pork (not pork floss) is used as the filing. The combination of the pork and the bread and the way it was prepared makes it deliciously addictive.



Directions: The restaurant is opposite Wilayah Complex (near Sogo) in KL. Park at the parking lots or else your car may get towed or summoned. For more accurate directions, call owner at 03-26988108.

Thank you SQ for the great lunch. It was definately worth the wait, the sweat and ......

"BURRPP"