Restaurant Reviewed: Ramen King @ A Square, Bangkok

Heard from friend that there is a relatively new eatery in Bangkok named Ramen King. My eye was opened round big when i heard about ramen !! Yes i am ramen-fanatic and thus without second thought and knowing where it is i yelled "行きましょう"a.k.a. ikimashou or simply LET'S GO !!!!

A little bit of research over the business center in the hotel's lobby found out that the location is not accessible by BTS/MRT. The best way to go is to take BTS to Prompong station OR MRT to Queen Sirikit and then take taxi to A Square at Sukhumvit Soi 26. (link of the map to this location is at the bottom of the article)

Right in the entrance of A Square by the road side is Ramen King. 

A Square was open in last quarter of 2013 and it is positioned as a life style mall where center is a big carpark. Ramen King is just at the entrance of the mall, road side so it is very easy to locate when you are around there. 

Upon arrival, instantly it reminded me my time in Kyoto JR Station where there is a ramen ally with total nine ramen outlets representing nine styles of ramen across Japan. Here in Ramen King @ A Square, there are six ramen outlet. we tried 3: MisoBancho's （味噌番長）Special Miso Ramen; Butaou's （豚王）Tonkotsu Sukiyaki King Ramen and Miyamoto's （宮本）Special Tonkotsu Ramen. 

Butaou's best seller. Also my favourite in this outlet

I'd say it is certainly not at par to those in Kyoto Station but this is in Bangkok, so no complaint :P  Im certain it is way above average in Bangkok city.  Of the three ive tried, i like the Butaou's the most!!!  Without green bean sprout's stench, the sukiyaki-ed slices of buta (pork) blended perfectly into the tonkotsu (a kind of soup yielded from pork bone). On top of that, the onsen tamago (soft boiled egg) was really crow jewel, poke it and mix the runny york with the soup. Oh... the silky smooth texture :P   

Miyamoto's best seller: Special Tonkotsu Ramen

If you don't like raw egg york, you can try the Miyamoto's Special Ramen, topped with chopped raw garlic, this is something i never tried before even in Japan. Its creative but maybe they put too many bean sprout, i feel about eww... 

Misobancho's Special Ramen... really so so. 

Ramen King serves rice, variety of sushi and sashimi, macha dessert, Japnese beers etc So even if you dont fancy ramen, it is worth to come here and try to dine in a Japanese themed restaurant in Bangkok. I saw Japanese expatriate ate there too.  Was a kind of speciall feeling... 

So hows the rating? (-1 = no good, 0 = neutral, 1 = good)

Overal Atmosphere = 0
Servie = 0
Food Presentation = 0
Taste/ Texture = 0
Pricing = 0 

TOTAL SCORE = 0/5 (Nothing explicitly excited, wont be back again)

THE VERDICT: The wow factor for this eatery is the collection of 6 styles of Japanese ramen. The price are about the same in Japan but the quality are not really there. Maybe its been localised to some point, it annoyed me (the raw bean sprout). It is a pretty decent outlet and if you have time, you can actually go there because there are Japanese Onsen in the same building. 

Useful tips: 

1) It is worth to explore A Square in stead of the usual shopping mall

2) Remember it is not within walking distance from both nearest MRT and BTS station. 

3) It is best to get the front desk to write you a paper about the address (IN THAI ofkos) because the location can be a bit tricky. 

Other Picture:

Signboard of Butaou (King of Pork if translate directly). 

Bill 

Restaurant Reviewed: U Desserts at Butterworth

Talking about dessert, im really afraid of the 'dead sweet' from the artificial sweetener like sugar or syrup. Dessert should make you happy as a snack between or after meals not worry for being fat. This post, im going to introduce a shop that sells both traditional and modern desserts: U Desserts. 

KC, my sister lured to this dessert shop saying the desserts are very good especially the durian series. I have to confess here im not a durian lover but well, for the sake of family time, i agreed to go with Mrs. Lor and her on condition that they sells a lot more other than Durian series. 

Cover page of the menu

Its located about 100 meter from Chung Ling Butterworth, a place local people called 'Cheh Chu' a.k.a. green house, which the official name is actually Kawasan Perindustrian Teras Jaya (click here for map). Just facing the busy road of Jalan Ong Yi How... cant miss.  Upon entering, we were handled a cup of water and menu. I then surprised of such service. 

Decent but comfy environment

Basically they serve 3 main series: Durian; Mango and Traditional Chinese desserts. Decided to order 1 from each series but was told the durian flavoured already finish but can order others and add durian meat (wow..) and so we ordered: 2 from Mango series and 2 from Traditional Chinese series. 

Clockwise from top left: (1) Mango in Black Glutinuos Rice, (2) Red
Bean Pasts with Ginko and additional Durian Meat, (3) Mango in Sago, (4) Pureed Almond and Black Sesame

My Pureed Almond (white) and Black (Black) Sesame was surprisingly good. They give option of hot or cold and i choose cold. The texture was smooth but not to the very fine extend. I tried each on thier own before mixing it together. 3 flavours in 1 bowl :P  i always so greedy when it comes to food >.< :P

Mrs. Lor ordered Red Bean Paste with Ginko with extra durian meat (to compensate no more durian series dessert, she is a durian lover). And KC ordered Mango in Sago. We then ordered a Mango in Black Glutinous Rice to share share.

Whats more precious than a short family chit chatting ?

Portion is big and environment is pretty comfort (we sit in aircon area). We continue to chit chat after and the waitress refilled water for us so im comfortable with this restaurant. Hows the rating? (-1 = no good; 0 = neutral; 1 = good)

Overall Atmosphere = 0

Service = 1

Food Presentation = 0

Taste/Texture = 0

Price = 0

TOTAL SCORE = 1/4, will go there again if happen to be around there. 

THE VERDICT: U Dessers in fact never fall to the trap of general people does, the desserts we are were decent. If only the flavour of each individual ingredients, i.e. mango, glutinous rice, ice cream has bolder characteristic and yet harmoniously balanced, it will be perfect. But im already surprise a chain dessert shop like this one can maintain at such quality. Looking forward for a better round when i next return. 

Useful Tips:

(1) They accepts minor customisation 

(2) Aircon or Open Air seating area of choice

(3) Very wide variety of choices

Other Pic:

Contact of all the branches

Cant really finish the Mango in Glutinous Rice, too full from others 

The bill. 

 

Restaurant Review: Izakaya KU DE TA Bangkok

IZAKAYA - Traditional Japanese Robatayaki & Sushi (mid-price), one of the 3 themes in KU DE TA Bangkok, stands side by side with the SIGNATURE (Modern Asian Cuisine, high-price) and the CLUB LOUNGE in 39th and 40th floors in Sathorn Square Building (location here, 2-5 min walk from Chong Nonsi BTS), serves many varieties of traditional Japanese delicacy and their highlights are Robatayaki (Japanese BBQ) and Sushi. 

I actually came across this restaurant from a friend's recommendation. Tried earlier Sirocco @ Labua Bangkok, i have good faith with Bangkok's sky dining. Even Izakaya by KU DE TA Bangkok is located indoor, i still feel good in the general sight available. Lets see a first scent greeted us as soon as we were seated. 

Beautiful isnt it. In the 4 oclock direction of the sun, you
can see the mighty Chao Phraya river.

You just have to go at around 6:30pm and you will see the whole sunset  and i will show you what it looks like at the end of this post :P  OK. Enough about the scenery, lets talk more about this restaurant and the food it offers. 

Walk 3-5 mins from Chong Nonsi BTS towards Sathorn Square Building, tell the lovely ladies in the lobby that you want to go to Izakaya and they will lead you to the lift. When arrive 30th floor, there will be people waiting you to seat you at your choice of any free table. A very comfortable start of the dining experience :)

Clockwise from top left: (1) Avocado Unagi Roll (2) Signboard at
the lobby entrance of the building (3) Butabara (4) Ribu Buta 

We then ordered about 7 items mostly from the BBQ section of the menu plus a roll sushi, ramen and matcha dessert. I have to highlight here the below:

Unagi Avocado Roll: Rolled Sushi at its best and simple combination. Very big pcs of avocado and perfectly grilled unagi (eel), overall texture is soft, smooth and melting!!  The light buttery texture and the fluffy with a little bit crisp skin of the unagi  just gives a very good opening the my taste bud :D

Ribu Buta: Grilled Pork Ribs. Unlike the ordinary grill pork ribs in western cuisine, i believe the ribs were braise for hours before grill. Slight spicy but full of aromatic flavour form the fermented beans, the ribs were just a strong contrast to the roll we 1st ate. 

Matcha: The name is a bit wierd but this dessert served as a perfect ending not only because of the overall taste but also the surprise the tart gave: This is the recommended dessert by our waiter and soon i agree with him, you cut the tart and the matcha cream just spill out. Combined with the chocolate ice cream, I can assure you that it will be finished within 5 minutes :P 

Clockwise from top left: (1) Shoyu Ramen (2) Tori Negi (3) Matcha
(4) Enringe

The rest of the dish were good too like the Butabara - grilled pork belly wrapped in perilla leaf, ramen with flavoured york egg. Well, lets see the scoring below:

(-1 = no good; 0 = neutral; 1 = good)

Food Presentation = 0
Taste/Texture = 1
Service = 1
Price/Value = 1
Overall Atmosphere = 1

TOTAL SCORE = 4/5, will purposely make a trip there !

THE VERDICT: 7 items, 2 half pint draught Asahi, 1 perfect city sunset scene and friendly service at THB 2190. I really appreciate the efforts made by the team. Foods are skilfully prepared, had great dining experience there. what else :P 

Useful Information:

• Accept Reservation
• Smart Casual Attire
• If you want to go to SIGNATURE, please wear long pant 
• www.kudeta.com

Other Pictures:

Cosy setup. Advise to seat near the windows

Sunset view from Izakaya by KU DE TA Bangkok. 

Penang De Tai Tong Cafe (大东酒楼) Review

Rarely nowadays in Penang you will find DimSum restaurant still serving the traditional delicacies on carts and this old name, in many heart of Penangites,  still does. Rarely too nowadays you will see a restaurant that is 100% operated by local people but this one still persists. 

The Tai Tong Cafe's facade. 5min walk from Chulia Street or KOMTAR. 

Its has been long long ago since i first ate in Tai Tong. Located in Lebuh Cinta (click here for map), this restaurant has been running for the past 60 years. My first impression to it was that it is selling DimSum with very friendly aunty who will introduce to you what is special today and what is good. there are 3 of them, each handle cart for Pao (all kinds), Steamed Dimsum and Fried Dimsum. 

This is the Pao's cart. You can find almost all kind of Pao here

It was until last few years when i visited them again i realised that they are actually selling more than Dimsum! They do server CuChar (煮炒) which is what draws me in for a dinner fist whenever i feel like starving. Why? Because  i can have have both Dimsum and Fried Rice together under 1 roof (which not every Dimsum restaurant in Penang does). 

My fav SiewMai and the 2 new DimSum (dont know the name) 

Being still serving Dimsum with carts and operated with 100% local, i feel the persistence from the management. There are people claimed the quality (taste) dropped over years, but i feel otherwise. The Siew Mai is still loaded with prawn and pork without ugly stuffing like pork's fat and yambean (Mengkuang). My favourite still. Although in general, the taste is not outstanding but at least for me, it taste like what it should be. 

Also i kept seeing new things from them in my every visit. From new dimsum to the latest i saw yesterday: Salted Fish Pao, 咸鱼包. A fictional pao appeared in latest Hong Kong TVB's drama Glided Chopsticks, 食为奴.  

Salted Fish Pao/咸鱼包. RM 2.50 per pcs. To be honest, i dont really like
it because it does not taste like salted fish. No fragrant. However, the bun
has a crunchy top (fried before) and i think it is intended to have a thin side rather than 1 thin 1 thick. So so ...

Developing new ideas on the foundation of strong tradition. I guess this is the essence why Tai Tung is still packed every hour after so many years in business. 

So what is the rating ? (-1 = no good; 0 = neutral; 1 = good)

Food Presentation = 0

Taste/Texture = 0

Service = 1

Price/Value = 1

Overal Atmosphere = 0

TOTAL SCORE = 2, WILL GO IF HAPPEN TO BE AROUND

THE VERDICT: When every one whining of pricing increase and looking ways to cut cost by employing foreign workers (norm in FnB business nowaday), Tai Tong doesn't, not even the waiters. I like the aunties running the front line of the restaurant. They know what they are doing and they are happy to intro if you needed help. I feel the originality of DimSum culture here and that is the bottom line for me. 

Useful info:

1) 6am - 12noon: Dimsum, 12noon-3pm: CuChar, 6:30pm-12midnight: DimSum + CuChar

2) no aircon, no designated carpark. Come before 6:30pm for dinner before everyone else does

3) order ice cube if tea is too hot for you. 

Other Pictures:

The aunties army :P

Fried Rice

Salted Fish Pao On the Selve

Special Recommendation from Chef for the CuChar if you want
something more filling.

Restaurant Review: Ingolf 's Kneipe

A Real Hidden Gem on Penang Island

The fasade of the Ingolf's Kneipe

Located in Jalan Sungai Kelian, off Jalan Tanjung Bunga (in front of Flamingo Hotel and Paradise Hotel), this Germany themed restaurant has stood in business for as long as i can remember. Perhaps paying a visit will answer why: 

I think it has been at least 5 years since my last visit and in my memory , this Germany establishment serves very tasty food in big portion. So to be frank, i was a bit worry if things turn out sour. This restaurant comprises of seating area in ground floor, mezzanine floor and 1st floor. Upon entering, i felt there is nothing change in the layout. The ground floor is still semi open with a bar always full of guests drinking the fresh draught beer and also chit chatting with friendly bar tender. 

As normal, if you dont have reservation, you will most likely be seated in 1st floor (which does not sell any other beer but only Paulaner (strange reason but they said it is a deal between the 2 entities). So if you want to sit in either mezzanine or ground floor, it is good to ring them for reservation. 

As for the menu, it is consists of 2 parts for food: the standard menu and the special menu. For those adventurous, you can try their special menu. For us, our standards are Chef Julian House Salad, Butcher Platter (for 2 pax). Occasionally we will tried something from the special menu like the Chicken and Pork Duo Chop Special. 

Chef Julian House Salad. Served with assorted breads and salad dressing

From special menu: Duo Chop of Pork and Chicken.

Butcher Platter (meat meat meat): served with crosscut fries, sauerkraut,
brown sauce and assorted breads

Ive been to Germany few times for business trip and i cannot 100% say that it is authentic German food but it still well keep the essences of German Cuisine: meat, sausage, fresh crisps salad, bread and the most important of all, BEER !!!! At least this is from what i experienced. 

So how is rating?  (-1 = no good; 1 = good)

Food Presentation = 0

Taste/Texture = 1

Service = 0

Price/Value = 1

Overal Atmosphere = 0

TOTAL SCORE = 2, WILL GO THERE IF HAPPEN TO BE AROUND THE AREA

THE VERDICT: Forget about the 'real' authentic German cuisine but be indulged and be spoiled in the fresh beer, super awesome salad and of cause the great array of meat dishes that Ingolf offers. I particularly like they actually put attention to the salad as most of the main side. It really is packed with a lot of veggie which not many eatery offers. A small detail makes a long way :P

Useful Info:

1) Make Reservation if you want to seat in ground floor / mezzanine floor

2) Chef Julian House Salad is a MUST try

3) Draught beers are fresh at reasonable price.  

Other pictures:

First floor seating area

Ground floor seating area

Eighty Eight Restaurant Reviewed

Articles and posts from Trip Advisors and Facebook generally has an excellent review for this restaurant run by a young chef aged 26. From the pictures i've seen i agree the type of dishes and the presentation offered is rather rare in Penang thus i decided to give it a try as my Bday Dinner. 

The restaurant is named after the birth year of the chef cum owner. 

The restaurant is easy to find as it is just located right next to Kelawai Road and with a bright orange colour signboard, it is hard to miss. Carpark is limited, advise to come before 6:45pm. The girl asked if we have made reservation and were politely seated after we said no. Changed 2 tables (arrangement mistake and faulty light) but i think these small problem until i read the menu. 

4 lots available in front of the restaurant

I mean i knew this will be a pricey restaurant but now reading the full menu and seat inside i feel something wrong. The price is definitely on high side but the environment is rather cheapo. The wooden dining chairs are at the lowest range. So i made a new expectation: The foods must be outstanding to compensate with the interior decoration. Don't judge the book by its cover right?

Very minimum setting and simple furniture. 

We ordered Assorted Veg Soup, Vongole Al Pepe (boiled clam), Iberico Belly (pork belly), Chicken Paprika and 2 glasses filtered water. within 5 minutes, we were served a pcs of bread each side with caramelised butter as spread and a pcs of watermelon with some kind of topping. 

Clockwise from top left: The watermelon 'opener'; rocket leafs;
backed potato and shallots; mixed greens

The bread was good alone but the butter spread was just so so. Combining the hot bread in oily spread, it was just a big contrast when chewing the cold juicy watermelon. A plus point :P Soon after we finished this refreshing combo, the soup was served. 

Assorted Veg Soup. A blended soup good in flavour but ruined by the oil.

I particularly like the depth of flavour of this soup. Blended with variety of veg, the texture is equally good. Extra care must be taken when blending and maybe they filtered the soup too. However, the good flavour was messed up by the olive oil drizzled on top as garnish. Upon mixing up the olive oil, the taste is murky to me.  

Vongole Al Pepe. Like the freshness of the clam and the cherry tomato really add points to the broth. Thumbs up. 

The clam was served almost immediately after we finished the soup. Boiled in broth and wine and garnished with chopped parsley and chilli flakes. The clam was good and we actually finished this dish to the its last drop with happy face. And that left us a high expectation for the upcoming main course. 

Iberico Belly. Very pleasant looking dish but too bad. Its like a hot appetiser for me. 

I was told the pork belly was replaced from Germany's (RM 50) to Spain's (RM 78) for an unknown reason but i think it is worth to try so i ordered and i was immediately stunned when it was served! The dish was beautifully presented, a very elegant dish. But i think you also see the problem, RM 78 for 5 pcs of pork belly?!?!   More that 80% of each pcs was FAT ??  Are you serious ?!?!?!  I seriously think this is an appetiser because this has nothing to fill up my stomach even though 2 side dishes were served together.  Sous Vide can only save the texture/moisture by not overcooking the belly but because those were almost all fat, thus it is i think it is used in wrong place. In lay man term, the belly melted in mouth, great !!  (well, it is all fat what do you expect?)

Chicken Paprika. Nothing special to be highlighted except it is
being cook Sous Vide (i suppose)

Another main course we ordered was Chicken Paprika. I believe it was cooked by the same method so the texture is rather special compare to other's in the market. Garnished with drizzled olive oil and sprinklers of paprika, this chicken breast dish was sided with rocket leaf in oil and balsamic vinegar. The inside of the meat was somehow moist but it is obvious the outside was overcooked. Dried. Not too bad, chew with the accompanied salad will be ok. 

Gnocchi is originated from Italy. This one is just disappointing.

Finished everything ordered but i felt like i havent eaten anything. Thus i topped up with Gnocchi in pesto sauce (if my memory serves well). And i can only say that this was the last straw that broke the camel's back. Heavily salted and i think the same too for the MSG. By the time i finished it, i too finished 2 full glass of water.....  :S

So below is the rating:

(-1 = no good; 0 = neutral; 1 = good)

Food Presentation = 1

Taste/Texture = 0

Service = 0

Price/Value = -1

Overall Atmosphere = 0

TOTAL SCORE = 0, WILL NOT BE BACK AGAIN. 

The Verdict: Like i mentioned in my earlier post (here), cooking is not only ingredient and technique, the most important part is the 'heart'. It is ok to charge pricey and nothing wrong to present in a beautiful way but a 5 pcs of pork belly (more than 80% is fat) cannot be treated as main course. Every ingredients put onto the plate must be complimenting each other but not vice versa. Lastly, before everything out from the kitchen, the chef in charge must taste himself as the last guard for quality. And if they did on the Gnocchi, i can only say the food of this restaurant does not suitable to me even it is covered under very beautiful skin. 

Useful tips:

(1) Make reservation and go early

(2) No need to be very formal even some claimed it is a 'fine dining' restaurant. 

Other Pictures:

Look at the amount of fats. 

The Gnocchi was finished with 2 full glass of water. 

The bill. 

My Reunion Dinner - Reviewed

Every year this time, i have 3 dinners to go and for this first dinner, we ate in Tong Hoi Seafood Restaurant (东海鱼翅酒家). I knew this restaurant because it shares the same name with those in Ipoh (The Chermoh branch particularly) which i had really good experience with. So we decided to give it a try for this Penang's branch. And now I'm skeptical if this is the real branch. Find out more why it is so in below paragraphs. 

When we first knew there is a 'branch' in Penang we were so happy that it is also possible to eat their signature dishes in Penang which i think it is rather hard to get the same taste in Penang. Those dishes are made so Cantonese style that so far i only can get the same taste in Ipoh, KL's are rather similar but definitely not Penang's.  So for the reunion dinner last night, we made it there for a try. Located within the Lone Pine Club right next to the Lebuhraya Thean Tek, the restaurant is very obvious to be found (click here to be seen in Google Map).

My happy mode was immediately turned down when i was ordering. The signature dishes, i.e. Sesame Chicken (芝麻鸡), Steam Grass Carp with Ginger Paste (姜蓉蒸皖鱼腩) are not available in this 'branch' !?!? Luckily still managed to get one stir fried veg (i think it is available in Penang), the 清炒青龙苗 (sorry guys i really dont know how to translate this name). The waiting time was ok and below are the foods served:

Stir Fried Veg, 清炒青龙苗

Cod Fish Steamed with Soy Sauce, ‘清蒸’雪鱼

 Fried Chicken with Plum Sauce, 酸梅鸡

The presentation of all dished were decent. Nothing special about it at first glimpse. However we soon discovered there are problems when we 'uncover' the tops. (1) The corianders above the cod already wilted (2) The bean sprouts were SIGNIFICANTLY MORE than the green veg. I mean this is a full service restaurant so it should not make such 'mistakes'. Not to forget they 'are' the branch of a renowned restaurant chain in Ipoh.  

As for the taste wise, the vegs was ok. The cod itself was not fresh so the entire dish ruined. If only they have the ginger paste, maybe it can covered the not-fresh-fishy smell but they didn't. And then the plum sauce of the chicken were too salty and heavily mixed with MSG. I think they buy the premix plum powder. 

So below are the rating:

(-1 = no good; 0 = neutral; 1 = good, making full score = 5 and -5 = lowest point)

Food Presentation = -1

Taste/Texture = 0

Service = 0

Price = -1

Overall Atmosphere = 0

Total Score = -2, will not go back again.

The verdict: Charged at RM 90.70, i'd expect a full service dining experience but maybe because there demand is low in that area so the food/service level cannot be maintained. Im not saying this is not a good restaurant but just that for the same price, i can have a far better dining experience in Penang. 

Useful Tips:

(1) Ample of carpark without charge as it is located within a club house

(2) located on the 1st floor (no lift) of the building

(3) No menu, can ask for recommendations from the captain. 

(4) Can bring your own beverage but not sure if they have service charge on that. I saw people bring cartons of beers. 

Other Pictures:

The rice portion is small and the quality is a no-no. 

The saucer remained empty even after we finished the dinner. Nothing provided to fill it up so whats the point of putting them in the first place?