Lan Je Steamed Tilapia, Kota Damansara

I got to know about Lan Je from KampungBoyCityGal's post. The way they describe the steamed tilapia is really hard to resists. So when my colleague asked me what do I recommend for our off shift lunch on Friday, I suggested Lan Je.

Lan Je has three outlets, the original is in Rawang (quite far), and the other two branches are in Kota Damansara and Balakong respectively. As the three of us stay near Kepong and Selayang, so the outlet in Kota Damansara is the obvious choice for us.

As I've already know what's the lunch crowd will be like during peak hour, we chose to go there at about 11.30 a.m. True enough, the lunch crowd is not there yet but there's already 4 to 5 tables taken by customers there.

To my surprise, Lan Je is a pork free restaurant but if you have watched the 15Malaysia film Halal, you will know that pork free doesn't mean Halal. As with any restaurant uses fresh market produce, the price is based on the market price of the day, which is listed on a whiteboard hanging on the wall.

We ordered a pot of boh lei (普洱 pu er tea) (lol sounds like boleh). The tauke lui (she seems to be the daughter of the boss of this outlet helping out during school holiday) asked us whether we want to order steamed tilapia for each of us. Just as she spoken, I saw the table next to us was served with one steamed tilapia per customer @_@ We declined the offer and ordered one bigger steamed tilapia mild spicy. There's a few level of steamed tilapia in term of spiciness in Lan Je, not spicy, mild spicy, very spicy and super spicy (it is the amount of cili padi they put that differs the spicy level lol). We ordered two more dishes, stir-fried choi tham (菜胆) and kungpo chicken (宫保鸡).




The first dish to reach our table is the stir-fried choi tham (菜胆). I like it very much because it is very fresh. I can feel the crispy texture once I bite into the leaf and the saltiness is just nice. Most of the saltiness comes from the fried small anchovies. I wonder where they sourced for the vegetable. I recommend this as the vegetable dish to order here.

Rating: 4/5

Next dish is kungpo chicken (宫保鸡), which is quite a disappointment, it's like the wok hei is not enough and the sauce on the chicken is a bit wet, from my point of view a good kungpo chicken, the sauce should be dry and absorbed into the chicken meat. That is why kungpo chicken is an easy dish to learn but hard to master. Make a self note, not to order kungpo chicken the next time I come here.

Rating: 2.5/5

The steamed tilapia took about 20 minutes to be ready and it was very well worth the wait. If a steamed fish is served to you in a short time, you will surely get a steamed fish that doesn't taste good. Why? Have you ever tasted nice steamed fish in wedding dinner? Because of time constraint, some restaurant steamed the fish first without the sauce, then when there's order, the cook just put the sauce and condiments on the steamed fish.

From the look at the fish eye, I already know that the tilapia is very fresh. True enough, I can't find gamey taste at all when I bite into it. The tilapia is not over or under cook either, just nice enough for the meat to be smooth and tender. No wonder each customer must order one steamed tilapia all for themselves. We ordered mild spicy. If, I have the steamed tilapia all to myself, I'll order super spicy ;)

Rating: 4.8/5

We've cleaned all three dishes. I of course finish off the fish head.

By the time we finish eating, the restaurant was already packed and there's customers waiting for table. True enough the steamed tilapia here is truly amazing. Will surely come for another visit.

Address:

Restoran Lan Je (籣姐清蒸非洲鱼)
F-50G & 51G, Jalan Teknologi 3/9
Bistari “DE” Kota
Kota Damansara
PJU 5, Petaling Jaya
Open from 11.30am-3pm, 6-9pm. Closed on Tuesdays.
Tel: 012-669 9919, 016-6189919

Map (click to enlarge):
Kota Damansara

Rawang

Balakong

Other Ppl's View:

Masak-masak
KampungBoyCityGal
A Whiff of Lemongrass
Motormouth

Indulge in the Uniquely Singapore experience

I've visited Singapore a few times before, mainly because my sister, brother-in-law and my mum are living there. So, do I get bored going there so many times? Of course not, there's so many interesting places that I still haven't go yet in Singapore, not to mention interesting food that I haven't try yet. The few times that I went, I didn't manage yet to go to Sentosa or ride on Singapore Flyer. I went to Sentosa once when I was still a kid but I heard there's a lot of new attraction added recently such as the Sky Tower , Underwater World Singapore, and Sentosa 4D Magix. There are still a lot of of attractions that I might not know of. That is why I should be given an opportunity to experience the rich blend in culture, cuisine, arts and architecture of Singapore. Then I can blog about it and help promote tourism in Singapore. :p

If given the opportunity to plan for a 1-day itinerary trip visiting Singapore. Most probably it'll be like this:

Picture source here.

Arriving at Changi Airport eight in the morning. Before checking out, of course I'll do a bit of shopping for gifts to my sister, brother-in-law, my mum, my niece, and my nephew. Booze, chocolate and vitamins checked. I'll just take the MRT from Changi Airport to Tampines and from there take a bus to my sister's place which is just opposite Changi Prison. This might takes about 20 minutes. Oh, having an EZ-Link card will be more convenient while traveling on public transportation in Singapore. It's something like our Touch'nGO card in Malaysia but with more usage like buying drinks from vending machine and other cashless payment in participating merchants. So, if it's your first time going to Singapore and you plan to travel by public transportation, getting an EZ-Link card is a must.

At Tampines Mall (the Tampines Station is just in front of Tampines Mall), I'll go to Ya Kun there for my breakfast. I just love their kaya toast. Nothing like a nice local Singaporean breakfast to starts the day before all the traveling.

Picture source here.

After the scrumptious breakfast, most likely the time will be about 9.30 a.m. I'll take a bus from Tampines to go to my sister's place first to drop down my luggage. It only takes 15 minutes to reach her place that is just opposite Changi Prison. After dropping all the things, at 10 a.m. I'll take a taxi from Changi Prison and go to Takashimaya in Orchard Road. Time for shopping!!!

Oh, using the expressway I will be able to see Singapore Flyer.

Harrods in Takashimaya, Ngee Ann City.

Shopping for girls, 8 hours is still not enough but for a guy like me 2 hours is more than enough. Ah, how time flies, it's already noon. This means time for lunch. There's many eateries in shopping center in Orchard Road. I can go to Food Republic that has a lot of choices of local Singaporean hawker food or even to Tonkichi in Takashimaya for their buta katsu (Japanese fried pork chop) but alas I craved for the Ah Kow die die must try bak chor mee (minced pork noodle) in Hong Lim Market. Bak chor mee is a Uniquely Singapore hawker food that you can't find elsewhere that's why 1-day trip must die die go eat. I'll take the MRT from Orchard Road Station to Chinatown Station. Do some sight seeing in Chinatown while walking towards Hong Market is fun. Maybe I will buy some bak gua (pork jerky) on the way.

Hong Lim Bak Chor mee. One bowl is not enough but have to save space for other nice food.

Burp..After devouring the bowl of delicious bak chor mee, why stop there? Walk back to Chinatown (need the exercise to burn the calories) from Hong Lim Market to go to Mei Heong Yuen for their dessert. I especially like their walnut paste, I can't find it in Malaysia.

Spoil for choice.

Estimated time is now 3 p.m. Since there's time to kill before dinner (omg, thinking about dinner already?) I'll take the MRT to Habour Front and take the ferry to go to Underwater World Singapore in Sentosa for a relaxing tour of the aquarium after half a day of non stop traveling.

Picture source here.

After a fun filled and knowledgeable discovery of the underwater world creatures. I will travel to Clarke Quay. Estimating reaching there about 6 p.m. I've tried the Reverse Bungee Jump once in Clarke Quay when I was here 3 years ago. It was fun and exciting riding it. Once you're up on the air, you can see the bird eye view of Clarke Quay, even though for a few seconds, it's beautiful. So, the first thing I do when I reach Clarke Quay will be riding the Reverse Bungee Jump.

After the tossing up and down on the Reverse Bungee Jump, it's time to pay tribute to the five temple (stomach). Walk over to The Central which is nearby Clarke Quay. Inside Central are a lot of nice restaurants, there's Western, Japanese, Korean, German, and more than I can remember. It's like an International food arena here. I of course will be going to one particular Japanese restaurant here that serve up delicious buta katsu using Berkshire Pig (Black Pig) meat imported. TomTon is where I'll be having my dinner. This place was even recommended by Choi Lan (蔡瀾), a famous food critic from Hong Kong.

Dinner at TomTon.

I estimate that I'll finish dinner around 8p.m. and hey the night is still young. It's time to chill and party in the night at Clarke Quay. Before going to Clarke Quay, let's stop by Azabu Sabo for two scoops of Hokkaido ice-cream. This ice-cream stall is at Central facing the river between Clarke Quay and Central.

It's very popular.

Yummy Hokkaido ice-cream.

So, back to Clarke Quay again. There are a lot of nightspot in Clarke Quay that one can choose. There's a lounge named Clinic which all the the furniture and decoration look like the hospital's bed, wheel chair and drink is serve using syringe. In Clarke Quay, we also can find the first Hooters in Asia. I don't think Hooters will be opening in Malaysia soon.

Clinic.

Hooters girl.

The place that I really want to try out is Brewerkz. Why? Beer!!! Freshly brewed beer from their own microbrewery in the restaurant. Brewerkz has an outlet in Riverside Point, which is within walking distance from Clarke Quay.

Picture source here.

After a few rounds a fresh beer. I can opt to go back to my sister's place or take the taxi to Geylang for supper. Black pepper crab and claypot kung po frog seems nice. Depending whether I am tire or not, the supper is optional. Ah, 1 day is really not enough to tour Singapore.

Hope I can take more days off, so that I can...

Indulge in the Uniquely Singapore experience.

Taman Miharja Pan Mee

My colleagues and I used to go to Taman Miharja for the popular pan mee when we're on Sunday morning shift. But it's been a long time I never come here for pan mee already because a few of the makan kakis already left the company. So this post is way back a few months.

The pan mee stall will be packed on Sunday afternoon, so try to go before 11 am if you don't want to wait for table. The pan mee is prepared by an auntie, which I think is also the taukeh soh (lady boss).




I usually order soup pan mee here. The condiments that comes in it is mok yee (cloud ear fungus), potato leafs, fried anchovies (crunchy nevertheless) and pork balls. The pan mee here is not as smooth as the one in I ate in Mahajaya Business Center, Desa Petaling but it's not too bad. I like the generous amount of mok yee they gave.

For a bowl of pan mee to be delicious and stand out from the competition, the condiments must be generous and the right combination, pan mee must be smooth and firm, soup based goes well with the pan mee and one last important factor is the chili sauce. I like the chili sauce here but be warn, it's quite spicy and not for the faint hearted.

Oh, the pork balls here are very nice too. So we ordered an extra bowl of pork balls. Most of the customers do that here from my observation. Maybe it's because the pork balls is served very fast so that you can eat the balls while waiting for your pan mee to be cooked.

Rating: 4/5


Address:

Don't really know the address, except that it's just in front of Miharja Flats. You can refer to Masak-masak detailed instruction to go there.

Google Map here.

Other Ppl's View:

Masak-masak
Jenkin Yat

R.I.P. Boy ???? - 2009

R.I.P Boy ???? - 22 Sept 2009

Arizona is like Malaysia

What I meant is the weather because Arizona basically is a warm state. Currently I think it's about 80 degree Fahrenheit which will be around 26.7 degree Celcius. So, actually Arizona is a suitable state for Malaysian student to study and live in, if you don't like cold weather that is. For those student that is looking for a place to stay, you might want to check out SFP. Now that's more choices of university in USA rather than the usual New York or San Francisco. ;)

It's Krrunch Time, Get Playful!

If I am not at work, I'll be spending most of the time at home. I haven't get an Internet connection yet at home (going to do that soon). So, what do I do at home. Well, if my cousin Joyce are back, then I can copy the TVB drama series that she's downloaded. If not, then I'll just have to watch local TV station, sorry no Astro :p.

The old dull TV.

When most people already have their HD ready or even Full HD LCD/Plasma/LED TV, I am still watching TV or DVD on the antic CRT type TV. The brightness is not too good already, I adjust the brightness to 100 percent and I still get very dark picture. So, watching TV at home is not Krrunch anymore. :(

This is what I meant! Not Krrunch!

To add more Krrunch to it, is to have snacks while watching TV. When it comes to snack, what else if not the once you pop you can't stop potato chips, Pringles!! I can finish a whole tube of Pringles even before an 1 hour shows end.

It's Krrunch Time, Get Playful!

Sometimes the show that is on the TV will be quite boring, so I'll do something Krrunch using Pringles. Play who gets the Pringles with my dogs lol. Of course, I'll limit their intake of Pringles because snacks is meant for human not pet :p But then it's no harm giving Pringles as treats to your pet once in a blue moon.

I call out my pet dogs, Boy and Blackie (no prize for guessing which is which :p) and attract them with Pringles Original. Mind you, they are very picky eaters, not every food you waive at them they'll come to you. Pringles work wonderful with them though.

Boy stands on two legs to get a slice of Pringles.

Not to be outdone, Blackie jumps for his.

Get ready!! Go!

And Boy scores while Blackie look on.

Now who says watching TV at home is boring? You just have to know how to add some Krrunch into it.

See the video I took of them on how they are going gaga over Pringles Original potato chips.



Did I wrote that Boy and Blackie are very picket eaters? It's very difficult to get them to eat their dog biscuits without adding some additional tastier snacks in it. Since they like Pringles so much, I decided to put two slices of Pringles Original and mixed it with the dog biscuits.

Remember to crush Pringles to bits to mix with the dog biscuits.

Picky eaters no more.

What can I say? Everyone likes Pringles, even my pet dogs like it. Come Boy and Blackie.

It's Krrunch Time, get Playful!

Japanese Curry Rice from Pasar Malam

Two weeks ago on a lazy Saturday night, I was at home (too tire to go out, been going out from Wednesday to Friday) catching up on TVB drama series. Then it was dinner time, I know that the nearby taman, Taman Sri Bintang got pasar malam (night market) every Saturday evening. So, I drove there to get my dinner to be pack home so that I can watch TV while eating lol.

As I walk towards the pasar malam, I noticed the make shift stall that is on a small lorry. The stall is selling Japanese food. There's no sashimi of course. There's Japanese chicken curry rice, Japanese prawn curry rice and assorted tempura. RM 4.50 for Japanese chicken curry rice is a bargain compared to when you it in Japanese restaurant. One on the go please :p

I then walk for awhile in the pasar malam to see what's there to offer. I bought a few sticks of fried stuff and two dust removing cloth (RM 10 for two and works very well in removing dust from TV and other stuff).

The Japanese chicken curry rice do taste authentic like what you will find in Japanese restaurant. Also given is a small portion of sliced cabbage with Japanese mayonaise. I can do with a larger portion of the salad. The only down side is that they don't sell Japanese pork curry rice. Which will be using buta katsu instead of tori katsu. Nevertheless, it's still very appetizing.

Rating: 3.5/5

I was already quite full after eating the curry rice but I still have a few sticks of fried stuff to finish. Well, no choice. I'll start with my favourite, fried chicken backside ;) (those with heart problem please don't try this at home) Now I know why my blood pressure is at so high when I checked in the clinic a few days ago. Sigh, no more buttock for me.

Next one on the list is fried sotong (squid). They only use the tentacles part. Crunchy.

After the squid, I am really very full. So, I saved the fried dried tofu and fried fu chuk for supper.

It's really fun to go to pasar malam and hit on the food there once in a while. You might find some interesting food there.

Movies That I've Watched Last Two Weeks

Simon Says: Bangsar Babe is one of the Miss World Malaysia 2009 Finalist, go vote here for her so that she can win the Miss Online Favourite title. Help out a fellow blogger. Thanks.

I went to 4 movies screening last two weeks. 2 from Nuffnang, 1 from Sony Pictures (which I got it from Nigel) and 1 more is from exchanging coupon from The Star.

The first from Nuffnang is Final Destination: Rest In Pieces.

Die from drowning in a car? Nah, too simple.

As for the story, I'll say it's not that good but it's not the story that we're looking for in this movie. It's the way the characters die that I am looking forward to. I recommend the 3D version if you're looking for some gross blood and gore.

The Ugly Truth from Sony Pictures.

A cliche romance comedy, guy and girl hates each other at first, then slowly they fell in love with each other and they lived happily ever after in the end. Even though quite cliche but it's worth of watch because some of the funny lines inside the movie that is too funny not to watch lol.

Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler did a great job.

The third movie, Gamer. Almost every week you'll get free movie coupon found in The Star. I've been to like 4 movies screening through this way. Another movie starring Gerard Butler. He has two movies premiering at the same time in Malaysia. Both are very different movie. Gamer is about online gaming goes real life, meaning the character the player is controlling is real people.

Great climax in the middle but the ending is a bit dull and predictable.

The fourth movie, Beyond A Reasonable Doubt (BARD lol). A screening thanks to Nuffnang again.

Michael Douglas as a corrupt District Attorney in the running for the Governor.

A investigative reporter with a hidden past.

Amber Tamblyn as an Assistant D.A. that work for a corrupt lawyer and slept with a killer.

Not a bad movie except for a confusing end.