Soondaeya Korean , Ampang

I used to think that I qualify as a Korean food fan...but now that I really, really think about it....perhaps I'm a fan of Korean foods more familiar to Malaysian tastebuds. You know, all the common stuff- BBQ meats, dolsot bibimbap, ramyun, pajeon, deokbokki, jap chae, kimchi chiggae, etc.

Initially I was quite skeptical about trying out their traditional Korean sausage - Soondae....but having read a few blogs, decided that it sounded quite doable after all. So off we trotted to Soondaeya in Ampang Putra, which is touted to be the first Korean restaurant in Malaysia to sell authentic soondae. Its not at the normal row of shops in the Taman Ampang Utama area where I go to eat Korean, and it took awhile before finding the shoplot.

By then, it was late- almost closing time on a weekday (they close at 10pm) and the place was empty, save for 2 tables. I did see my Korean hairdresser in a cubicle drinking with her friend- so this place must really be authentic. Or their makgeolli is good.

They didn't serve the normal banchan but gave our table 2 big containers of kimchi and kaktugi. I enjoy kaktugi - but have to say that their HUNKS of radish were a little big. Very rustic though, I suppose.

First served was the Pajeon. Now, I normally lurve pajeon. But this one was too full of leeks and green onions. It looked like a small patch of green grass. The pancake was rather doughy and didn't have the slightly crisp sides I have come to appreciate. Basically, it was just soft with lots of texture from the leeks. If you feel guilty about not eating enough vegetables....eat this and be glad.

Then came the main dish- a very generous platter of Soondae in 3 different colors- dark brown for the pork, red for the kimchi and white for veggie. The dish looked like it could feed 2 to 3 people. The dark brown sausage looked like a nice plump chinese "lobak" filled with pork and whatever else. However, once I put it into my mouth, here the similarity ended. I had been prepared for a strong porky smell but it turned out to be mild and not offensively porky. Its not my favourite and not something I will ever order again, however am glad to have tried this once. After having a bite from each colour, I just took the whole enormous platter home.

Upon dissection, the kimchi soondae looks to be made up of rice but I think it could well be shreds of white noodle mixed with the pork and kimchi. The casing is made of pig intestines and is thin + transparent.

Here's a photo when I got it home:

......my fat dog is crazy about this, so it will be her snack. Her little tail was wagging like a mad windshield wiper while I taking the photo.

Also tried their sik hye /rice tea (awfully sweet!) and cinnamon ginger tea ( if you like strong cinnamon- this is your cup of tea...yes, sorry.)

You may or may not love the soondae but at least you wont need to travel all the way to Korea now to say you've tried it, right? The other unusual item of food was "bossam" which looked like very fatty pork. And steamed. ..... unless you like fat + pork, order at your own risk.

Tel: 03- 4251 5170

Location: No 17-L2, Jln Ampang Putra 6, Ampang Putra.

Nerofico, Damansara Heights

OMG, "the kitchens are closed la...the kitchen is closed!" its almost 10pm and I'm just stepping into Nerofico...and boy am I hungry. Nerofico is empty, only 1 couple sitting outside on the patio.We take a quick seat inside, I glance at the surroundings- nice understated elegance. Good.

All flustered and slightly irritated, admit it, don't you get antsy on an empty stomach? I glance at the menu.
Really the prices aren't as intimidating as I'd thought they'd be. The pastas are very reasonably priced.
I'm not sure if they lower the air conditioning at such late hours but it was stiflingly hot. We shifted outside and I promptly got eaten alive by the mosquitoes.Catch 22 situation - stay inside and bake to death, go outside and get sucked dry. I chose to become mozzie food.

We shared-

• Carpaccio di manzo (RM34)  
• Ravioli di granchio    (RM26) 
• Lasagna ala bolognese (RM28)

The complimentary bread and olive oil+vinegar was alright. But "Butter for me, please."
Can't be helped, unhealthy artery clogging food makes for one happy camper!

The thin slices of carpaccio beef and wild rocket were light and a good starter.
I adore homemade ravioli, and crab meat ravioli is just 'mmmn'...so it was a happy occasion to see these neat little pockets of pasta stuffed with crab meat in a tomato based sauce.
We were talking so much that the ravioli had gone cold, if eaten straightaway I'd have probably liked it more. But the traditional beef ragout lasagna was delicious! Cold or otherwise- perfect comfort food.  imagine taking one home and eating it in front of the tv all by myself at 3am. heh heh.

The staff were patient and service was pleasant. Highly recommended :)
I'll be back soon to eat and listen to some Jazz.Surprised that their Jazz dates in Jan 2012 all fall on Thursday nights though.

Ground Floor Wisma Perintis,
47 Jalan Dungun,
Damansara Heights,
50490 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-20895312

Siam 62 Thai Restaurant, Kota Damansara

Its not easy to to find a great Thai restaurant and I'm always searching for one, so one weekday, both of us decided to drive over to Kota Damansara to try out some "Authentic Royal Thai Cuisine".

We arrived early and the restaurant had just opened for business, so there weren't many people around. Perhaps we were a bit too early though...the manager ? waltzed into the restaurant in his casual clothes and then put on on his white work jacket, haha. He was pleasant, we had no issue with the service- the food was served promptly and all orders taken with a smile.

SIAM 62 has a rather interesting, varied menu. Have you heard of  Red Curry with Rambutan before?
I decided to order it out of curiosity and picked prawn to be cooked in the red curry. There is always room for a good prawn!


This turned out to be a wrong choice since the curry was way too sweet and the prawns were not fresh. With its red fiery colour, the dish was pretty enough but definitely not worth the price for candied soggy prawn. sigh. That teaches me once again not to order strange things from the menu.

Since this red curry turned out a disaster, I decided to give them a second chance and order something which no self-respecting Thai restaurant should get wrong- Gaeng Kiew Wan ( Green Curry Chicken).
The gravy was thick and aromatic and went perfect with fluffy white rice. Extra rice please.

Tom Yam Goong (seafood) came next. It was decent, but honestly, nothing special.

Still hungry, we continued to order Yum Voon Sen (glass noodle salad) and piping hot fried fish cakes.
Both were absolutely delicious! The glass noodle salad was refreshing and had enough chillis to give it a nice kick.The fish cakes were soft and very more-ish.

After pouncing on all the dishes on the table, the realization that we'd forgotten to order greens dawned on us. Oh my! By then, the restaurant was starting to fill up with people, my tummy was full already and it would be indecent to unbutton my pants in the middle of the restaurant.

Btw, please humour me and agree that dessert is sometimes more important than the main course:)

No matter how full, I need to order something sweet for a satisfying end. In that, being a sucker for pretty pictures, I asked for their Luk Chup. Super cute mini fruit! Sadly this special handmade green bean paste is not available all the time as it takes a while to make, so I ordered a Tam Thim Krob instead. Not fantastic, it didn't have that rich, freshly squeezed santan taste, too little nangka and was floury.

Verdict: Stick to the tried and tested dishes. It didn't feel like a royal experience and I'm pretty sure Thai royals eat better than this, but if ever I'm in the area again and feel like Thai - I may pop by.