KL Sedap 2014 Part 5: Chili's

Chili's is definitely one of the more popular names when it comes to Western food fare especially when we go over to Malaysia since we can't have it here in Singapore. And yeah there are more choices nowadays but Chili's has been around for quite awhile and still seems like a very popular place to visit!

Burgers, Ribs, Steaks, Mexican - you name it and you can get it here!

Classic Nachos (RM25.95)

Okay we have to start by saying that this was not what we were expecting... LOL
When someone says Nachos, I think of a nice big messy pile of Nacho chips, beef, jalapenos, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, lettuce and cheese all looking gooey and stuff like that.

Well, this was a very... err... well presented plate of Nachos!

The Nacho chips were coated with some melted cheese and you're supposed to scoop on some salsa, guacamole and sour cream and have the chips like that one by one. Well, I guess that's one way to do it but maybe having it the good old fashioned (and more messy) way might have been more enjoyable. The taste was okay but definitely something different from the norm 'Nachos' we have.

Wings Over Buffalo (RM22.95)

Another appetizer we decided to have was Chili's take on Buffalo Wings.
Comes with some celery sticks to dip into the ranch sauce provided as well so you get your veggie intake while enjoying the junk food LOL

Let us give you a WARNING...
These wings are coated with a buffalo seasoning which probably includes a nice big dash of Tobasco Sauce... How did we find out? When you bring the wings to your mouth to quickly, you're probably gonna get a nice big whiff of the Tobasco in your nostrils. And THAT'S when you find out.

But besides the surprise, the wings were okay for a started. A little crispy on the outside and the BBQ flavour is really gonna awaken your tastebuds.

And another thing... they're kinda... small.

Guacamole Burger (RM25.95)

Time to starts on the mains and a nice bid ol' burger will do the trick.
You've got a nice juicy beef patty that's piled on with sauteed bell peppers, fire-roasted Jalapenos, caramelized onions, cumin-lime sour cream, Monterey Jack cheese and, of course, a nice big dollop of guacamole!

For the benefit of those who might be going "What's Guacamole??" right about now...
Well, it's a Mexican-food must-have and made up mainly of mashed-up Avocados. Some seasoning like salt and pepper is probable and some versions even go extreme.

Well, just the simple stuff here and the beef patty was cooked to perfection. This would be a great dish for someone who really loves burgers or is just really really hungry.

Chicken Crispers (RM26.95)

I actually wish I had taken this dish because it looks so darn good!
Hand-battered chicken strips are deep fried to a nice crispy perfection before being bathed in sweet-spicy sauce. Served with fries and come corn... MACAM POWER LIKE THAT!!

Anyways, because it's chicken breast and because it's deep fried, it turned out a bit dry...

BBQ Beef Ribs (RM57.95)

Here's what I had... And you know I'm gonna go for the meat right?
And even though we'd just had ribs at Tony Roma's awhile back, I couldn't resist to see if the ribs here were any different (or any better for that matter)

I will say that the ribs were considerably smaller but still had a very distinct BBQ flavour to them.
As you can see, they really baste it on there and you can even add more if you'd like.

Meat was tender but a little on the dry side though. But I guess I really can't complain much because I still quite enjoyed the ribs. And the serving was actually just nice for 1 person especially if you're going to have some side dishes to go along.

Southwestern Grilled Lamb (RM36.95)

This was probably the best-cooked meat on the table this time around.
The lamb was simply perfectly cooked and a nice medium well. Tender to cut and a great juicy flavour to it too!

You've got some Black Pepper sauce to go along if that's your thing. Enjoy with some mashed potatoes and veggies too.

Flame Grilled Ribeye Steak (RM55.95)

Here's the biggest disappointment of the meal....

We'd asked for the meat to be Medium Well but it arrived Blue.
What exactly is Blue? Well, it's the stage in between Rare and Medium Rare. That means only the outside is lightly seared and the meat inside is still pretty much raw. You can actually see this towards the bottom of the steak in that picture above... See those raw bits?

Yeah some people might go for that but not us and it was disappointing to order a good cut of meat and have it served not to expectations...

Anyways we send it back and they cooked it a little bit more and that was that.

Adam's Verdict:
BBQ Beef Ribs 2.5/5 -- Classic Nachos 1.5/5 -- Wings Over Buffalo 1.5/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Southwestern Grilled Lamb 4/5 -- Classic Nachos 2/5 -- Wings Over Buffalo 2.5/5

Razali's Verdict:
Flame Grilled Ribeye Steak 3/5 -- Classic Nachos 3.5/5 -- Wings Over Buffalo 4/5

Fateha's Verdict:
Chicken Crispers 3/5 -- Classic Nachos 2.5/5 -- Wings Over Buffalo 3/5

Azim's Verdict:
Guacamole Burger 4/5 -- Classic Nachos 3/5 -- Wings Over Buffalo 4.5/5

So I guess Chili's is actually not too bad. They do have quite a big menu so you can really try a few things if you're looking for something you like.

CHILD FRIENDLY FACTOR

Ask the staff about the 'Kids Eat Free' specials they have! And yes they do have baby chairs upon request. But try and ask for a table near the window if possible because the booths are pretty crampy. Plus at least you'll have a nice view while you eat.

Overall Child Friend Rating - 4/5

Chili's

Lot 346B Level 3, Suria KLCC
Kuala Lumpur City Centre

Tel : +60 3 2164 1400
www.chilis.com.my

Operating Hours:
Sunday - Thursday :11.00am - 11.00pm
Friday & Saturday :11.00am - 12.00am

KL Sedap 2014 Part 4: Berjaya Times Square Taste Of Asia Foodcourt - Korean Food

So it was time for brunch and we were a bit short of time because we were leaving for the airport in awhile so we didn't want to have to go out too far to get something to eat. Since we were staying at Berjaya Times Square Hotel, we decided to just stick around within the shopping centre itself.

We'd heard about the foodcourt at B1 but never really visited. They seemed to have quite a few options but we didn't know what would be open since it was still early goings and looked like some of the stalls were not even open yet.

In the end, my Darling Wife and I settled on the Korean Food!

Chicken BBQ (RM8.60 ala carte)

I had actually decided on the Bi Bim Bap (because I love it) but the stall was just opening and it wasn't ready for sale yet :\

But I guess it's a good thing because if it had been ready, we would not have been able to find out that the Chicken BBQ is actually really good! It comes on a hotplate so it's nice and sizzling and bubbling when it arrives so that's always an appetizing sight!

It's also got a sweet/spicy gooey sauce to go along which I really enjoyed because I don't mind the sweet but my Darling Wife would have preferred it a little less sweet and maybe a little more spicy.
The chicken was nicely cooked and onions are always welcome.

Kim Chi Fried Rice (RM11.20 set)

We had the Kim Chi Fried Rice to go along and it was quite a pleasant surprise because this was the first time we were having Kim Chi Fried Rice. I mean, we both love Kim Chi, but we've never had it in fried rice before.

Firstly, let me say the accompanying side garnishes were a bit weird.
The seaweed was a bit misplaced to be honest and this was also the first time we had shredded potatoes in Korean food (is that normal??). Thank goodness for the sunny side up fried egg!

The rice itself is rather wet because it looks like it's fried with the kim chi (paste?) and also with bits and pieces of kim chi which was actually quite nice. It's quite starchy but the flavour was actually pretty okay to be honest. It's not as spicy as it looks by the way...

Set meals are accompanied by a bowl of soup (which you can give a miss no problem), a cup of Korean tea and also some kim chi and errrr shredded potatoes LOL

Adam's Verdict:
Chicken BBQ 4/5 -- Kim Chi Fried Rice 3.5/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Chicken BBQ 3.5/5 -- Kim Chi Fried Rice 3/5

Plenty of other choices at the Berjaya Times Square Foodcourt but the Korean Food stall seemed really popular and I guess we can see why. Now, after typing this review out, I feel like having some Korean food LOL

Korean Food

Berjaya Times Square Taste Of Asia Foodcourt
Lot LG-23, West, Lower Ground

www.berjayatimessquarekl.com/store/taste-of-asia-food-court-lowerground-floor-west-wing#

Operating Hours:
10.00am til 10.00pm Daily

KL Sedap 2014 Part 3: Mohd Yaseen Nasi Kandar Pulau Pinang

So my family has actually been visiting this same Nasi Kandar joint since Mein Bruder and I were just kids. We used to drive up to KL a lot for holiday and this was always the first stop. It's either we'd drive there straight after arriving in KL which would normally be close to lunchtime and we'd park and makan there or at most we'd pack a few and eat at the hotel.

Yeah we know there're so many Nasi Kandar places in KL right? Guess there's just something special about this one...

They've got quite an array of dishes for you to choose from. Granted that most of them are variants of the same thing (e.g. chicken or prawns cooked in 3 different ways) but you're still going to be hard pressed for choice let me tell you that.

And this place is old school so the rundown is really simple.
You join the queue and when you reach the counter, there'll be a guy ready with a plate of rice. You then proceed to tell him what you'd like piled on your plate and he obliges.

And when you're done, that's when the magic begins!
The guy will then proceed to finish off your plate with a little bit of every type of gravy there is there.
A little bit of this and little bit of that. What you end up with is a plate of yum!

Not sure what I mean? Check this out!


And that's considered not much okay! I've seen guys literally scoop out a little gravy from as many as 10 dishes onto a plate!! Well, suffice it to say that you'll have a very flavourful meal!

But what exactly can you choose from?

So you'll see this giant price list on the wall but not all the items will be available at one time of course. But rest assured you'll have quite a few to choose from. Let me give you a better idea of what you might consider getting.

I know this is not the best picture I could have snapped but hey I was impeded by the glass!
Anyways, this is a chicken dish. In fact, this is the #1 chicken dish here! I'm guessing this is listed as Ayam Kicap on that pricelist but it's far from just being your average Ayam Kicap trust me.

Pretty much everyone gets it because this is the bomb and they wheel this dish out by the bucket (literally) because it's such a sell-out item that goes really fast! It's got a very distinct taste which is really something that makes you wanna have more and more.

They've also got other types of chicken such as Honey Chicken and Masala Chicken but trust me and try this first okay.

Other big ticket items are the seafood dishes and it's not a guarantee they'll be out because I guess it depends on what they can get at the market too.

Crabs are a rarity and the prawns are always a big draw. But the Fish Roe is always the bomb am I right? But don't have too much okay leave some for the others LOL

So this is what our plates looked like.

The plate on top is mine and costs about RM13 somehow. Well, I wasn't counting because this was really a great plate of makan. I always have a little extra Salted Egg on there!!

They also have a few vegetable dishes for you to choose from but I always garnish with a simple serving of ladyfingers and also they have this cucumber/pineapple pickle thing.
Sometimes, simple is best!

My Darling Wife's plate costs a bit more because of the prawns and the fish roe so it;s about RM20. She opted for the Masala Chicken by the way which had a bit of a spicy kick.

And you can wash everything down with some Ais Limau!! Refreshing!

Adam's Verdict:
Nasi Kandar 4.5/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Nasi Kandar 4/5

The only other Nasi Kandar joint we've tried was Nasi Kandar Pelita.
Yeah it was not bad but I guess maybe because we've been going for so long so it's might be a habit. But there's no doubting the Nasi Kandar here is power.

My Dad has been to Penang and tried the 'original' Nasi Kandar there and he tells me it's really quite different from the Nasi Kandar we get in KL. Well, the original may be different but I think I might still prefer this version instead. :)

PS the newly renovated sign outside the shop reads MOHD YASEEM for some reason...
Maybe a typo?? LOL well look for the old school sign in the shop or just look for the queue.

Mohd Yaseen Nasi Kandar Pulau Pinang

351 Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Operating Hours: 24hrs Daily
Closed between 1-2pm on Fridays

The Manhattan FISH MARKET: New and Bolder!

I'm sure you have all seen the teasers we have been leaving for you on our Facebook and Instagram pages right? Well, they have all been leading up to this!!

The Manhattan FISH MARKET launches 43 New and Bolder Sea-lections (see what they did there?) which means more tasty makan for us and a wider selection to choose from so that everyone can find something they'll like!

Yes. You read right. That's 43! FOUR-THREE!! Power right!!
The Halal Food Blog Team was honoured to be invited to take a sneak peak at the goodies that are in store for us! Let's take a look at some of them!!

Oyster Roulette ($7.95)

Image courtesy of The Manhattan FISH MARKET

In the appetizers department, all your oyster lovers are in for a treat!
They have a new appetizer called Oyster Roulette and the concept is interesting!

You guys know about Roulette right? Where it's a game of chance to see who's the 'lucky' one?
Well, you're served with 4 poached oyster shooters in a bed of ice. These poached oysters are bathing in a spicy chilli concoction. The catch - 3 of them are mild but 1 of them is the super spicy one!

Besides a great idea to spice up your dining experience with friends and family, the oysters are amazingly fresh too and the chilli 'sambal' here is pretty tasty too!

But for all you 'hantu chilli', not to worry. You can ask them to make all 4 the spicy type if you'd like or vice-versa if you don't feel like burning your mouth off. LOL

Onion Glory ($7.95)

One of my personal favourites of all the dished we tried that evening was something they called 'Onion Glory'. Seriously so good!

It's a big onion which has been individually peeled off slice by slice and then coated in a special crispy batter and then it achieves full deep-fried glory!

The outer coating is super crispy and tasty with some special seasoning! Maybe it's just me but I'm a sucker for this kind of thing but I'm sure all you onion lovers are gonna love this too. And don't worry about having 'onion breath' later this is a good quality white onion so you can enjoy the flavour without too much problems later on!

It's served with kind of like a ranch dip which goes perfectly with the deep-fried onion slices!
I could honestly finish off a serving all to myself!

Ocean Gems ($5.95)

If you're the type that likes to start with a salad before the big dishes arrive, then maybe you'll like the Ocean Gems which gives you a salad with a little bit of extra bite to get your meal started.

Nice crisp lettuce, cucumber, carrots, bell peppers and this is all mixed in with some prawns and also some plump and juicy scallops! The seasoning is on the tangy side which gets your tastebuds up and going and the fresh seafood give you a nice texture with the fresh veggies.

Okay? Ready for the mains? Here we go!

Curry Hill Seafood ($16.95)

So this is a curry dish inspired by Murray Hill (in Manhattan, New York) which apparently is the place to go to for Indian cuisine in that area.

You've got a slipper lobster, some fish slices and also some succulent mussels all cooked together in a curry which is sure to get some of you going for more and more. The curry is expectedly a fish curry since it IS a seafood dish and it has quite a zing to it too!

Oh they also have a Tiger Prawn version ($14.95) if you're a prawn person!

Served with some battered vegetable (kinda like a tempura style) and also some baguette for you to soak up all that curry!!

Ocean Perfect Perch ($15.95)

All you Sambal Fish lovers (like me) are gonna jump for joy with this dish.
One of the dishes I absolutely LOVE to order when I visit The Manhattan FISH MARKET is the Crispy Whole Barramundi which is a whole fish deep-fried and smothered with fiery spicy sambal.

Well, if you're not into digging into your fish and dodging the bones and such, this is a perfect choice for you because the Perch is already filleted and just just have to enjoy!

Served with some rice and some veggies to give you a perfect plate or rather a Perfect Perch!
PS yes the sambal has a spicy kick to it!!

Fishy Chicky Bang Bang ($13.95)

Okay now let me tell you about Fishy Chicky Bang Bang (which also happens to be my fave dish that evening by the way).

So after hearing the name, you're probably thinking "Is it Fish or is is Chicken?" and when I tell you it's actually BOTH FISH AND CHICKEN you're gonna go "No lah cannot be!!" right right?

Top layer Chicken, Bottom Layer Fish

So the top layer is actually a fried chicken fillet which was sheer perfection I tell you. The batter was crispy just the way we like it and the chicken meat so succulent! The bottom layer is dory fillet and these two are joined together in holy gastronomy by melted Cheddar cheese!!

Now if that doesn't get you I don't know what will because this was THE BOMB!!

And as if I wasn't impressed enough, they added this beautiful sunny side up egg resting in a nest of fried spaghetti! Talk about showing off some skill!

The final main we have here features one of the signature trademarks of The Manhattan FISH MARKET and I'm taking about something that's sure to 'light' things up geddit geddit?
(Yeah I know I know enough of the lame jokes right? Okay let's go!)

Flaming Cheesy Baked Rice ($15.95)

All you baked rice lovers are gonna have a field day with this one.
Imagine a fresh Dory fillet that rests atop a bed of herb rice. And then imagine some cheese added to the mix there. And then we torch the bugger!!

The result is fantastic!! (Or as they say in these parts - FIN-tastic!)

Dig into a great steaming dish of deliciousness. Great flavours and you're gonna love this if you love cheese. And we can see it takes great skill to handle that torch okay one wrong move and it's toast but they obviously have the professionals over here because this was perfect!

So right about now you're probably thinking about dessert am I right?

Strawberry Flamin-go ($4.95)

Here's a dessert they actually use the torch on (for the marshmallows on top!)
You've got a chocolate sauce right at the bottom which you have to dig through some mango pudding for. You've got some fresh mangoes and strawberries in there too!

And of course, finish off with some marshmallows for a sweet finish!
And at that super price, this is a steal!!

Super Fruit Crumble ($4.95)

I actually quite preferred this one. Maybe I'm a sucker for ice-cream!

This is, to put it simply, an Apple Pie in a glass!
It's got the yummy crumble right at the bottom which like the apple pie crust and then you've got tasty apple sauce (with apples) all topped off with some cool Vanilla ice-cream.

Don't even let me start on how tasty this was. Apple pie and Vanilla ice-cream is one of the best combos ever and now you can have it all in this nifty little glass!

Lemongrass Cooler ($6.00)

I love Lemongrass aka Serai and absolutely don't mind it in a drink at all.
This is a refreshing beverage that gives you the great flavour of lemongrass infused with lychee, Camomile tea and even some Aloe vera in there too.

Super refreshing and a great beverage to go along with the food you're gonna enjoy.

To be honest, I had a hard time choosing which drink I was gonna have but this one won! In a close 2nd place was the delicious-sounding 'Melon Breeze' which is a strawberry, watermelon and lemon mocktail! Sounds good right?

Well, besides the dishes we have covered here, there are also some other items on the menu that are definitely interesting and tasty enough to have a mention.

Icy Hot Fish Bananas ($7.95)

You wanna talk interesting then you've gotta mention the Icy Hot Fish Bananas.
Oh yeah it's bananas coated with fish paste  and deep fried to perfection. Top that off with some Vanilla ice-cream and strawberries!

Definitely one that we're gonna try when we head back to The Manhattan FISH MARKET soon!

Volcano Island ($40.95)

We know how much you guys love your platters and here's one to reckon with!

The Volcano Island includes a serving of Curry Hill Seafood (choose from Slipper Lobster or Tiger Prawns), fried scallops, spicy poached Dory nuggets and Volcano Mussles served with Garlic Herb Rice and also some baguette too!

Great for sharing1 Especially if you were planning on trying the Curry Hill Seafood so now there's something for everyone at great value too!

Well, not only have they updated their menu, The Manhattan FISH MARKET has in fact added 43 new dishes to their menu which mean 43 new flavours for you to check out. We've only covered a few here and we're already counting the days til we visit again!

The new menu launches TODAY 12 November 2014 so makes plans and head down to The Manhattan FISH MARKET ASAP to enjoy their new delectable offerings!

A special shout-out to new friends we met while dining at !The Manhattan FISH MARKET!!
Big up to Swee Geok from Make Your Calories Count and Meiling from Universal Scribbles! Check out their blogs by clicking on their names there okay!!

The Manhattan FISH MARKET

16 outlets islandwide
www.manhattanfishmarket.com

Operating Hours:
Varies with different outlets