Kinpachi Japanese Restaurant | Subang Jaya

It is time to find some nice Japanese restaurant for a change and this is the place that I visited recently. It was one of the oldest Japanese restaurant in Subang Jaya, and it definitely proves it all by the looks of it. Kinpachi is located at SS17, Subang Jaya, and it is operated in the 1st floor of the building. During the weekend, it is mostly packed and the seating capacity is quite small as well, around 30-33 pax max. I would recommend to make a reservation or else you might bump into a long queue at the entrance.

I saw all of the chefs are mainly Japanese, I guess this is the reason they can keep a good standard in their food. However, the waiter and waitress are all foreigners.

As for their food, I think it is fairy good and authentic. The price is quite reasonable too for an authentic Japanese restaurant. Looking back at these photos, makes me mouth watering again. 

Salmon Avocado Roll-RM 23

Yaki Gyoza- RM 14

Chuka Iidako Sushi-RM 6

Ebiko Sushi-RM 6

Tonpei Yaki-RM 17

For those who are familiar to Okonomiyaki, this is quite similar to the dish. This is an omelette filled with shredded cabbage and meat, topped with sweet and savory tonkatsu sauce and mayo. It turns out to be quite delicious even though everyone was super full at the time it is served. But we managed to finish up without hesitation.

Tonkatsu Set-RM 34

Unajyu-RM 60

I'm personally quite disappointed with this dish. I am expecting it to be at least similar to Japan's taste, but they truly failed on the rice. Portion is quite small too considering the price that I am paying.

Barasushi-RM 32

Wakayama Ramen- RM 20

Chashu Men-RM 22

We loved most of the food and it definitely a YES YES for us to come back again for the quality and price. It is a must try Japanese restaurant if you are a big fan of Japanese food.

Kinpachi Japanese Restaurant

Lot1.06, Wisma Dicor,

Jalan 17/1A, 47500 Subang Jaya

Tel: 03-5632 2022/ 03-5632 2017 

Ben & Nick's Diner | SS16 Subang Jaya

I got the chance to try out this place when its neighbour restaurant was closed on its usual rest day. Surprisingly, it was the apartment guard who reminded us of this place, so we decided to try it out since we already came so far. Ben & Nick's is located inside the E-tiara service apartment, just beside Subang Avenue. You may park inside the few parking spaces available in the apartment complex, or outside at the road side.

I like this little place; a corner shop with outdoor and indoor dining. There aren't many tables in the restaurant, but the environment was very cosy and warm as if you are in your grandma's house.

The interior décor is filled with everyday household items

Mushroom Soup- RM 6.90

The mushroom soup looked quite tempting at first, however when we tasted it, the soup was too diluted and tasteless. Quite disappointed with the mushroom soup.

Grilled Chicken Salad-RM19.90

I ordered the grilled chicken salad but didn't expect it to be that big of a portion. It is enough to be a main course for me. Luckily I didn't order any main course that day, but the salad was quite good especially the grilled chicken.

Beef Ribs and Chicken Strips-RM54.90

BF ordered one of the most expensive dishes available since his philosophy was "you gotta' try the best, forget the rest!" on the first visit. As you can see, the portion is quite large, but not too overwhelming as most of the ribs are bones in fact. I like the way they wrap the bones with aluminium foil so that you can eat the ribs with your hands, just the way it's suppos'd to be eat'n =). The chicken strips however was a little too hard for my liking, I'd prefer if it was mashed potatoes instead. Nevertheless, the sauce and the beef was excellent, something worth trying out.

Ben & Nick's Diner

E-tiara Service Apartment, 

Jalan SS 16/1, Ss 16, Subang Jaya, 

Selangor, Malaysia

Tel: 016 201 0189

Mon-Fri: 12-2.30pm, 6-10pm; Sat: 6-10pm (closed on Sundays)

Organic Vegetarian Freshmart and Restaurant | Subang Jaya

My friend introduced me to this organic vegetarian restaurant since I'm into some healthy food recently, so I decided to go and try it out. I don't really know how to describe where the restaurant is located, as it is quite complicated. I would suggest that you find google maps using the address below.

First of all, a first glance at the restaurant looks like an organic grocery store. The front has lots of organic foodstuff being displayed and there are many people who come and buy these organic groceries. You need to go deeper into the shop and then you can see an area where they serve food to customers.

Honey Aloe Vera-RM4.90

One thing I didn't like about this restaurant is that they don't serve chilled beverage. And don't bother to order ice 'cause they don't have ice. It was a hot day so I ordered the ice honey aloe vera drink which is not cold but the word ice on the bottle only. It tastes...weird, I don't really know how to describe it... like aloe vera + honey + lemon + a little bit or barley kind of taste. I don't think this drink is for everyone's taste.

Fresh Coconut-RM3.90

We also ordered a fresh coconut. It was good and the meat was a bit hard to peel off. I can see almost all the tables ordered at least one coconut as the price is quite reasonable. 

Seaweed Rice-RM8.90

The seaweed rice looks great on the outside... but again, I'd say the taste is not for everyone. The fried rice is rather odd, unlike any type of fried rice I've tasted. I don't know what type of ingredients they might have used but it definitely does not suite me. The vegetables are also raw which are still ok, but they could have at least cut it into smaller pieces and not make me look like a fool who was trying to put those elongated been sprouts into my mouth.

Vege Fish Beehoon Soup-RM8.90

Yet again, the fish beehoon soup tastes weird. I think they might have used soya milk in the soup which gives it the weird texture and I somehow taste a whiff of vanilla in the soup. This definitely does not go well with Chinese pickles (咸菜)  and beehon. I definitely wouldn't recommend ordering this dish unless if you have to.

Stir Fried Bayam-RM8.00

Finally, a dish that tastes normal. It is quite good actually, the vegetables are fresh and crunchy. But yet again, it would be better to be cut into smaller pieces. I can't help but hope that if the cook have had some some consideration towards the people who eat the dish, he/she could've realize that each strand of vegetable is simply too long to be put in one's mouth.

Organic Vegetarian Fresh Mart and Restaurant

17 & 19, Jalan SS18/1B, Subang Jaya.

Tel. No.: 03-56362468

Business Hours: 9am-9pm (Mon-Sat), 9am-3pm (Sun)

Haikara Style Cafe & Bakery | Subang Jaya

This is actually my second time here as I accidentally discovered this place and wasn't prepared to give it a proper review previously. This time, I am back fully armed.The place is just beside Subang Avenue, at the ground floor of the E-Tiara Serviced Apartments. For those who are not familiar with Subang Jaya, you can search google map for Carrefour Subang Jaya, and it is just two blocks away. Though I'm not sure about the situation in afternoon, parking there should not be a problem as there are some "illegal" parking spaces just outside of the shop. Many cars do park there since the road leads to a dead end. 

Haikara Style Cafe and Bakery is run by a Japanese couple from Nagoya, and it gives you a homely feel to your dining experience. The staff are friendly and their menu offer a range of delicacies that are not found in other restaurants. The decor was set up nicely and its a good place for you to go for a cup of coffee or tea in the afternoons. They do serve a full lunch, tea break and dinner menu which I think is quite impressive for a small shop like this.

Here are all their own home-made bread and cakes.

Look us look at their full menu 

Mushroom Cup Soup - RM3.90 

A must try item, the soup is very fresh and tastes great. Although the portion is rather small, I would say that they did it right because appetizers are not supposed to fill your stomach. They do however leave you begging for more.

Croquette - RM9.90

Their Croquette, a famous Japanese appetizer made with minced chicken, onion and potato patty is absolutely delicious. Must try item, and it will open up your appetite without fail.

Chicken Tar Tar Don - RM18.90

Though the dish looks great, I would say that it is not meant for everyone. The chicken is topped with scrambled eggs and there is a very strong smell of vinegar. Not only that, the rice itself is also added with vinegar and that does not taste like the regular sushi rice that we are used to. The things that taste great are the chicken and the vegetables, because we Malaysians aren't used to eating such high amounts of vinegar in our dishes.

Fisherman Style Spicy Tomato Pasta - RM26.90

One thing great about this cafe is that their food does actually look identical to their menu! What you see, is really what you get and they don't skimp on ingredients. I like this pasta very much, although it doesn't taste like regular Italian pastas from Italiannes and other western restaurants. It has a strong taste of fresh seafood and also, it is VERY, VERY spicy. The wife of the storeowner did ask us about our tolerance to spicy dishes; we asked them to go on ahead and do what they do best. Just... prepare to drink quite a bit of water when you eat this dish :)

Previously in my first trip here we tried the Fish & Chips and the Chicken Cheese Roll. Both tastes really great! I'll be sure to come back again in the future to properly review those dishes and other items in the menu. Price wise, I think the dishes are priced moderately. But you do get a romantic ambiance suitable for a dinner with your loved one.

Haikara Style Cafe and Bakery

E-Tiara Ground Floor, Jalan Kemajuan SS16/1, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor.

+603-56300743

www.haikara.com.my

Opening Hours:

Mon: Closed

Tue - Thu: 11.00am - 11.00pm

Fri - Sat: 10.00am - 11.00pm

Sun: 10.am - 6.30pm

Coco 都可茶饮 | SS15 Subang (Moved to Times Square)

Last Saturday, I was invited to review on a bubble milk tea shop. Thanks to the owner, Peter who invited me after looking through my blog. Let me briefly explain about this shop. Coco Fresh Tea and Juice is a Taiwanese beverage which sell bubble milk tea since 1997 and now it is in Malaysia. Thanks to Peter and his partners to bring in Coco to our Malaysia, we are now able to try out the beverage without having to travel so far.

Coco都可茶饮 is the 1st outlet in Malaysia and also KL. If you have been to Taiwan and China, probably you will see lots of Coco outlet there, they have 800 shops world-wide now. Coco is located at SS15 which is just few shops away from Starbucks, you wont miss the shop as there is a bright orange signboard to catch your eye. The shop just newly open since February 2012 and I was told that every month they will have new promotion for different kind of beverage. 

 

A good place to hang out and chit chat with friends. I like the interior decoration, a bit feel of Victorian-esque. If you notice it carefully, you can see that there are around 5 different kind of furnitures. You have the choice to choose your favourite spot everytime you visit the place!

Here is the place where your drink is make! All clean and neat.

Let us look at the menu. There are 5 ranges of beverage and more than 50 choices to be choose from. You can choose the sugar level and ice level for your drinks like other bubble milk tea shop provide now. You can also top-up your drink to large with extra RM1 only. Not much choices of topping to add in but I think all the beverages without topping are real nice too. You can taste the real original taste of it.

Are you ready to look at the beverages?

Okay, Let's go!

Mango Slush Coco Pudding- RM 6.90

It taste like Mango Ice Blended with pudding. The ice was shaved rather rough a bit but it really depend on the person taste, some may like it to be rough so that you can chew on the ice,but some may like it to be fine. I kind of like the taste of pudding with mango, normally we get to drink only Ice blended with Mango flavour but with the pudding, it feel like getting more interesting in the drink. 

Cream Mango with Passion Fruit - RM5.90

If you are Gong Cha fan, you probably know the signature drink there, yes the cream with tea. Coco too have cream with tea and I like it much more than Gong Cha Signature Milk Tea. The cream is sweet rather than salty, taste like the whipped cream, delicious! Passion fruit is added inside too, you wont get bore of having drink only. On top of the cap, they provide a small plastic knife to cut open the lid so that you can enjoy the cream. It have an advantage is you wont have to worry about the drink to spill when you order take away as the lid is sealed.

Small plastic knife but sharp enough to help you open the lid. * Taada* now you can enjoy the cream!

3 Brothers-RM6.90

It is a combination of Milk Tea with Pearl, Pudding and Grass Jelly. 3 types of toppings, all are in black which make it named as 3 brothers I guess. Milk tea taste normal, not much different with other milk teas in the market except that they provide more toppings in the drink. You can have a try and taste how different when 3 of them are mix in. I was told that the pearl can be used in 3 hours only, after 3 hours they will throw it away and cook again to ensure the customers always serve with fresh pearls as well as the milk tea.

Mango Yakult- RM 6.90

First time for me to see Yakult is use in a bubble milk tea shop. Yakult's fan must come and have a try. So far, we only get to try the original taste of Yakult. Have you think of how will it taste with the mixture of Mango, Lemon, Grapefruit or Green Tea? Then, you can try it out here. 

Fresh Milk with Grass Jelly-RM6.90

I like the fresh milk, at least better than Chatime's Grass Jelly with Fresh Milk. The milk taste more natural  not that artificial. If you are a fresh milk's fan like me, must try it out! 

2 Ladies-RM6.90

It is a combination of coffee jelly and coco pudding. It taste more like those "Cham" (mixture of coffee and tea) we had in kopitiam but this is with jelly and pudding. Taste quite nice, another special drinks we rarely find elsewhere.

Bubble Gaga-RM6.90

They most favourite drink by customer. I do agree with it, all of us love it. It really look like lady gaga, mixture of passion fruit tea with passion fruit seed, pearl and coconut jelly. I have to praise on its passion fruit seed, taste very crunchy and special. Don't worry, the seed can be consume, it wont grow plant on your tummy :D. The drink was not too sweet (all the drinks are served in normal sugar level), taste very refereshing and won't make you get thirsty after drinking it. This is definitely the must try one!

7 of it and 3 of us. Will we finish it? Yes, we did it without leaving a single drop of it. Too much temptation, can't resist it !

I found this quite interesting inside the shop. I was told it was design by The One academy lecturer. It contained the history of Coco and details on the tea is brewed and their number of outlets world-wide. The whole picture is very colourful and attractive.

Finally I have the chance to take a photo with Peter. Thanks for the drinks! I will come back soon. My friends went the next day after I introduced to them. They love it! I will definitely come back but the parking there..uh..wish me luck! haha..

Coco 都可茶饮

73, Jalan SS15/8A,

47500 Subang Jaya,

Selangor.

03-56118979

www.coco.com.my

Rakuzen Japanese Restaurant | Subang Jaya

Let me bring you back to my favourite Japanese food which I have not reviewing about Japanese Food for one month now. My friend recommended me to try out this place after all it is quite famous in Subang. There are a few Japanese Restaurants that located the same row as Rakuzen and it might be a bit confusing on your choice of restaurant to visit. I was told that Rakunzen was the first Japanese Restaurant to start their business there and years by years, others restaurants build up. There are a few outlets in KL like Sri Hartamas and Empire Shopping Mall. In addition, Kura (One World Hotel) and  Hokkaido Ichiba (The Garden) are owned by them too. From all of the outlets, my friend still prefer the first outlet which is Rakuzen Subang.

It was quite packed that day when we arrived although the clock is showing 8.45pm. You can still see lots of people lining up to wait for their seat. There are two floors in the restaurants and we got ourselves the ground floor which is a bit noisy compare to the upper one.

I was browsing through their website and saw that they are having Autumn Special Dishes, you can view the menu below:

Let's look at what I have ordered during the visit.

Chuka Iidako-RM10

I just simply love Baby Octopus. I can't missed to order one since I'm in Japanese Restaurant. Although the plate they served was a bit small, but the size of the Baby Octopus aren't small at all. For that price and that size, I should have order more. Of course the Baby Octopus is fresh, it is really fresh. With some sesame of it,  it is irresistible!

S. Nameko Udon-RM18

"Nameko" mean a type of small amber brown mushroom that is normally cooked with miso soup. I love Udon's soup more than Ramen's soup, always clear and sweet. This potion is quite big for me, I did not manage to finish to whole bowl myself. But I really like it very much.

Salmon Skin-RM12

Crispy, crunchy, brittle and light. A flavourful snack to me. You can not stop eating it, it make you love it even more with every bite. A few drop of soya sauce onto the salmon skin add more flavour into it.

Spider Maki-RM22

Spider Maki is actually a rolled sushi filled with flavoured soft shell crab. It is served with mayonnaise on top and fish roe all over the roll. The potion is a bit small, only suitable for 2 person or even 1 person but the Maki is quite compact.

Unajyu Zen-RM48

Unajyu Zen is where Unagi is served on top of the rice with the sauce, a bit different from Unagi Zen where Unagi and rice are separated onto different plate and bowl. So, it really depends on one's taste whether to like it mix up or separate. My friend like the sauce to absorb into the rice which give more flavour to the whole dish. Unajyu Zen come with miso soup, chawan mushi, potatoes salad and fruits. My friend complaint about the potion that is getting smaller as the Unagi is only served one piece where last time they served two pieces. Overall the taste is still no bad. 

Rakuzen Japanese Restaurant

No.15, Jalan SS15/5A,

47500 Subang Jaya,

Selangor, Malaysia.

Tel.no: 603-55804717

sj-rz@superdining.com.my