Magic Wok Part II

Our first visit to Magic Wok was actually not bad.

Kinda mixed reviews I guess but it had been quite a long time since we visited so we figured maybe it was time for another shot. So we happened to be in the area with my Mum and Dad and decided to stop for some dinner.

Tom Yam Seafood Soup ($8.80)

Magic Wok we guess seems to be a primarily Thai cuisine based restaurant and that means they've gotta have some pretty mean Tom Yam Soup right? Cos that's like THE Thai dish we gotta have when we wanna have Thai food!

Well, the Tom Yam was not bad at all!
Packo with seafood like fish, prawns and squid plus other goodies like mushrooms this was actually quite tasty too we have to say!

So it's not as spicy as you might like your Tom Yam to be but at least the flavour is there.
Maybe you can tell them to make it more spicy when you order if you'd like.

Hotplate Black Pepper Beef $8.80)

Here's another dish we were pretty impressed with. The Black Pepper Beef is served still sizzling hot and bubbling on a hotplate! A must have for all you people who have gotta have the steaming hot!

The beef was actually really tender too and great black pepper flavour. In fact the black pepper flavour was actually a little bit more spicy than the Tom Yam Soup!

On top of that, we think the price actually really makes it worth it too especially if you're sharing.

Kailan with Beef ($8.00)

Yeah I know you're probably going "Another beef dish??" but hey we love our meat okay. LOL
Plus this is technically a vegetable dish. Sort of.

The vegetables were fresh and generous (check out those mushrooms!!) and the beef was tender.
But this dish was really lacking in flavour. Maybe it was a lack of sauce?

We were expecting more of like an Oyster Sauce kinda flavour to come through but it wasn't there. Even if this was a dish that was just simply fried with garlic, they should still have put some more seasoning because this was really really bland.

Thai Fried Baby Squid ($8.80)

This is a dish we had during our first visit... And it seems.... different...

Okay so the flavour was not bad (cos I'm a sucker for Fried Baby Squid) but the dish was definitely different. A case of inconsistency for sure!

The squid was slightly overfried which means they were a little bit tougher than you'd like (you know what I'm talking about right) and the lack of sauce (as you can see from the comparison pic) meant it was a little on the dry side. And where's the pineapple? Definitely better the last time we visited.

But hey. I still whacked the whole thing until finished (cos I'm a sucker for Fried Baby Squid).

Pat Thai ($4.80)

So my Darling Wife and I had plain white rice with our dishes but Mum and Dad decided to share a plate of noodles and when we say Thai noodles, it's gonna be Pad Thai (which also happens to be Mein Bruder's favourite by the way).

Well, comments is that the noodles were a bit bland. I guess you could mix up the chilli and add in some soy sauce if you want but hey you shouldn't need to do that right? Well, definitely another dish that could perk up with some extra seasoning. In the meantime, eat with chilli padi for extra kick!

Adam's Verdict:
Tom Yam Seafood Soup 3/5 -- Hotplate Black Pepper Beef 4/5 -- Kailan with Beef 2/5
Thai Fried Baby Squid 3/5 -- Pat Thai 2/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Tom Yam Seafood Soup 2.5/5 -- Hotplate Black Pepper Beef 4/5 -- Kailan with Beef 2.5/5
Thai Fried Baby Squid 3/5

Zain's Verdict:
Tom Yam Seafood Soup 3/5 -- Hotplate Black Pepper Beef 3/5 -- Kailan with Beef 2/5
Thai Fried Baby Squid 2/5 -- Pat Thai 2/5

Asmah's Verdict:
Tom Yam Seafood Soup 2.5/5 -- Hotplate Black Pepper Beef 3/5 -- Kailan with Beef 1/5
Thai Fried Baby Squid 1.5/5 -- Pat Thai 2/5
So it seems like Magic Wok is not a bad place to go for some good makan. Most of the dishes seem pretty good (just hope they cook it consistently!!) Definitely a place you can visit for a quick fix of Thai inspired food.

Magic Wok

Downtown East
1 Pasir Ris Close
#03-101



Tel: 6582 8928

Operating Hours:
11.30am til 10.00pm Daily

Singgah Selalu

There's makan place near our home in JB in Taman university. It wasn't there when we first moved in but soon after it opened, a lot of our neighbours were talking about it. But we all know that sometimes, what people say may end up not really being the same cup of tea for someone else. Am I right?

When my Mum and Dad visited with some friends, they returned with mixed feeling.
Well, I guess there was only one way to find out - visit for ourselves!

So the menu at Singgah Selalu actually offers quite a lot of stuff. Mostly Malay-Chinese-Thai style cuisine but that alone means that you can expect one particular dish (i.e. beef, fish, veggies etc) being cooked in a large number of styles (i.e. black pepper, tiga rasa etc).

Nasi Goreng Cina (RM9.00 for 3 pax)

The main dish was a toss-up between rice and noodles. We ended up settling on Nasi Goreng Cina.

We ordered it because it sounded like a really simple dish that would go well with the other dishes we were planning to order. What didn't expect was to get a dish that was pretty much filling on its own!

Firstly, the serving for 3 pax could easily feed 4-5 pax even without any side dishes.
And if that's not enough, this dish was PACKO with all kinds of goodies!
Chicken! Seafood like squid and prawns! Egg! Vegetables! Mushrooms! You really get your money's worth!

And if you're thinking that they're putting a lot of stuff to mask the lack of taste well you'd be wrong.
This was actually really really tasty if you ask me. I'm not sure how any other choices would have turned out but I think we struck a winner with this one!

Daging Rusa Lada Hitam (RM16.50)

So we thought we'd be a little extravagant and have some venison aka daging rusa.
It's not something we have very often for 2 reasons - 1) it's bloody expensive and 2) it's difficult to find a place that knows how to cook it well. And since we were in Malaysia, we decided to take a chance.

KWANG KWANG KWANG....
Sorry kiddies wrong choice here. From the pic above alone you can probably see how oily the dish is.
And the meat was really tough to chew! They serve it on a hotplate which probably overcooked the meat.
I's still eatable (after a lot or chewing) but we'd recommend you either order a different meat like chicken/beef or maybe try a different style of daging rusa instead of black pepper.

Sup Ekor Goreng (RM12.50 small)

Aha! At least there was a saving grace!

I'd actually only just had Buntut Goreng Special for the first time recently at IndoChili and was so impressed that I simply had to try it here and I was not disappointed at all! Meat and collagen oh my!

The meat was not as tender as at IndoChili but hey that's not too bad. This was actually really really tasty and that's a big deal because I'm the guy who didn't fancy Sup Ekor at all just a few weeks ago!
I didn't really care for the soup here though. It wasn't really tasty so I just whacked the meat!

But fair warning - this one packs a really spicy kick. You can see from the picture how generous they are with the chillies right? Chilli lovers rejoice! Everyone else - order more water!

Actually, this was the only dish my parents recommended after their visit and I can see why!

Telur Bistik (RM8.80 small)

We've gotta have an egg dish right? So I chose the Telur Bistik.
There's something about eggs and veggies coated in a sweet-spicy gravy am I right?

And it's not just eggs and veggies... More goodies like chicken await!
As you can probably guess, I ended up eating most of this one.

Asparagus Goreng Belachan (RM9.40 small)

For our vegetable dish, we chose another one that's not really considered normal I guess.

Asparagus??? Yes!! Memang sedap!
And you don't have to worry - the belachan taste is not overly strong. Just right and very tasty!
Definitely went well with the other dishes we ordered.

And how to prove the asparagus was yummy?
Well, my darling wife is so not the asparagus-lover kind of person and even she said it was tasty!
We have another winner I'd say.

Adam's Verdict:
Nasi Goreng Cina 3/5 -- Daging Rusa Lada Hitam 1/5 -- Sup Ekor Goreng 4.5/5
Telur Bistik 5/5 -- Asparagus Goreng Belachan 4/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Nasi Goreng Cina 4/5 -- Daging Rusa Lada Hitam 0.5/5 -- Sup Ekor Goreng 2.5/5
Telur Bistik 3/5 -- Asparagus Goreng Belachan 5/5
In case you were wondering, Singgah Selalu actually has a few different branches located in Danga Bay, Kip Mart, Kota Tinggi, Kotaraya and (this location) U Mall in Taman U. No idea if all of them cook at the same standards though...

I guess the reason we love eating in Malaysia because it's cheap and you have such a wide variety to choose from. When you find that place that rocks, you'll probably go back again. I guess there are a few things at Singgah Selalu I wouldn't mind going back for...

Singgah Selalu

U-Mall
Jalan Pulai, Taman U,
Skudai, Johor, Malaysia

Operating Hours:
11.00am til 10.00pm Daily

Jus! Episode 9 featuring The Halal Food Blog & Royal Kublai Khan

The 2nd episode which featured The Halal Food Blog Team aired on Suria on 1 July!

The team visited Royal Kublai Khan Steamboat Buffet and Seafood Restaurant for some steamboat and crabs. You can read our original review here!

In the mean time, enjoy the clip!

Royal Kublai Khan Steamboat Buffet & Seafood Restaurant

Okay has anyone heard of Royal Kublai Khan Mongolian BBQ Restaurant?
That's right!! That's the one at Park Mall in Dhoby Ghaut and I'm pretty sure quite a few of you have been there before to sample their food.

Well, Royal Kublai Khan has decided to 'expand his empire' further (get it? get it?) and has now opened a 2nd outlet with a slightly different concept - STEAMBOAT!!

There's no Mongolian BBQ here but you can try some Mongolian-style Steamboat!
This is a great place for you to visit whether it's only 2 of you on a date or even if you're going for a big family celebration! For large groups, they actually have 2 steamboats for the large table so nobody is left out when it comes to the fun of cooking your food.

I actually took a liking to the Spicy Herbal broth. It kind of reminds me a little of Tom Yam but not too spicy.
But if you want to play it safe, you can always go for the Herbal Chicken.

Pricing is also really good value for money!
Adults eat at $19.80++ and children above 3 years eat at $12.80++.
Still not impressed? Maybe you will be when I tell you what you'll get for the price.

The steamboat gives you a choice of two types of stock.
You can have either the Spicy Herbal, Chicken Broth or you can have a Combo like above!!

Assorted Yong Tau Foo

Sliced Beef, Sliced Chicken and Enoki Mushrooms

Shellfish, Assorted Mushrroms & Vegetables

Assorted Noodles

And that's not all!
You also get Fresh Prawns, Sliced Fish, Tofu, Squid, Fishballs, loads of assorted veggies for all you veggie lovers and extra Yong Tau Foo-style stuff like Money Bags, Cheesy Tofu and Ngoh Hiang (Chicken Roll)!!

All of the stuff we had was really fresh (especially the seafood!) and with the wide variety, you're definitely going to be stuffing yourself with all the goodies.

But here's the kicker..
If you're not really a fan of steamboat - NO PROBLEM!
They also have a buffet spread of cooked food for all those of you who don't fancy (or might be too lazy) to cook your own food at the steamboat!

The cooked food spread includes fried rice and noodles, satay, vegetables, seafood like prawns and sweet and sour fish and also some chicken. Best news of all? They have crabs!! Black Pepper and Chilli Crab (complete with buns!) and this is all spread out for you to devour!

And if you're feeling thirsty, you get free flow of either Cold or Hot drinks!

All that for the price stated above! Tell me that's not value for money?
MEMANG BERBALOI! :P

Adam's Verdict:
Kublai Khan Steamboat Buffet 4/5

Azlan's Verdict:
Kublai Khan Steamboat Buffet 4/5

Okay lah to be honest it doesn't seem to have much 'Mongolian' involved when it comes to the steamboat here but it's still really good! If you're looking for the type where you have a table BBQ or a table grill then this is not for you. This is old-school steamboat!

It's great value for money and there's something for everyone to enjoy.
They also have an ala carte menu which we will be reviewing soon.

But please note the following!!

• The Steamboat Buffet is for dinner and starts at 5.30pm
• They do cater for quite a few tour groups that come by so call and make reservations if needed!!

I can guarantee you I'll be bringing my family here soon for some steamboat!!

We were graciously given the opportunity to review Royal Kublai Khan with the team from Jus! which is a variety show that airs on Suria channel! It was a great experience and the team was really friendly.

Be sure to catch The Halal Food Blog Team on the 5th season of Jus!
The episode is scheduled to air on Monday, 1st July 2013 on Suria channel at 8.30pm!
Be sure to tune in and support!

Royal Kublai Khan Steamboat & Seafood Restaurant

175 Bencoolen Street
#01-56 Burlington Square (facing La Salle)
Tel: 6836 2389

http://kublaikhanbbq.com/royalkublaikhan

Operating Hours:
11.30am til 10.00pm Daily
Steamboat Buffet starts at 5.30pm

Makan In Malacca Part 3: Hard Rock Cafe

I just wanna rock and roll all night!

Let me start by making something very very clear.
The food served at Hard Rock Cafe in Malaysia (ie Malacca & KL) is certified Halal.
Their kitchen and ingredients are all certified Halal BUT the establishment itself is not certified Halal for the simple and obvious reason that they serve alcohol on the premises.

So the food is Halal but if you are really particular then please take note that they serve alcohol on the premises. The choice is ultimately yours :)

Well anyways, HRC is renowned for their western food but I'm afraid to say that their reputation has taken a bit of a dive recently. Some favourites like the Mushroom Soup and Beef Brisket have been removed from the menu and recent visits (to the KL outlet) showed that the service leaves a lot to be desired.

But hey. How can we resist right?

Black Pepper Steak (RM70.00)

Wow!
A 7 oz. Striploin smothered in black pepper with mashed potatoes and vegetables!!
Is your mouth watering yet???

The serving is actually pretty big (as it is with most of the mains at HRC).
The meat was juicy and the mashed potatoes was the bomb! You could go for the Sirloin if you like but I reckon the extra kick that comes with black pepper sauce is a big pull factor.

Medium-Well

The meat was cooked almost to perfection.
Medium-Well most of the ways but the closer we got to the centre, the pinker it became until it was pretty much rare right in the middle.

Hickory-Smoked Pulled-Lamb Sandwich (RM33.00)

I have this little obsession.
You see, I watch the Food Network a lot and I always see these places in America that have these massive BBQ menus. One of those items they have is the Pulled-Pork Sandwich.

Obviously I can't eat that actual item right? But it always amazes me to see how well-cooked the meat is and how tenderly it pulls apart all drenched in BBQ sauce.

Well I was really excited when I saw this on the menu.
They had a Lamb and a Chicken version so I decided to try the one which would probably have more flavour.

Phew let me tell you this was a mouthful of a sandwich.
The bread was really crusty which is just how I like it and the beans and coleslaw sides really help.

The meat itself was very tasty and tender but unfortunately a tad too dry.
It's fine at first but after awhile you start to realize it's pretty dry. The menu says that it's "served with your choice of their authentic vinegar-based or Hickory BBQ sauces" but when I asked the waitress, she said it's already been incorporated into the meat when it was cooked. Hmmm.. but I didn't choose yet.

Oh well never mind. The meat was still good enough but be sure to have your drink handy.

Plus at RM33.00 (approx $13.00) it's a steal.

Adam's Verdict:
Hickory-Smoked Pulled-Lamb Sandwich 3.5/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Black Pepper Steak 4/5

They have a live band that comes in on weekends so you can head down and have some good food if you're into the rock and roll. If not, then walk-off your meal with a stroll down Jonker Street just beside the HRC.

And by the way, the staff here were pretty attentive compared to what I heard about the KL outlet.
Or maybe it was the voice on the PA system calling to the staff to attend to tables.

Hard Rock Cafe Melaka

No.28 Lorong Hang Jebat, Melaka, Malaysia
Tel: 606-292 5188
http://www.hardrock.com/locations/cafes3/cafe.aspx?LocationID=610&MIBEnumID=3

Operating Hours: 
11:30AM - 1:00 AM (Sunday til Thursday)
11:30 AM - 2:00 AM (Fri, Sat & Eve of PH) - Kitchen Closes at 10:30 PM

Image from Google Maps