The Kin no Mizu restaurant caught my eye as the lone restaurant on the highest floor in the building. The electric blue exterior was a modern touch to an otherwise traditional Japanese dining experience. I went ahead and ordered one of my Japanese favourites and something different: the Dobin Mushi (Seasoned Clear Soup in Tea Pot), RM28; and the Unagyu Don (Eel and Beef Combination Don), RM65.

My appetizer, the Dobin Mushi, was immaculately dressed with really, really great quality ingredients. A large tiger prawn, scallop, fish, chicken and Japanese Matsukake mushrooms steamed inside this traditional seafood broth. That’s a lot of expensive ingredients all squished into that little tea-pot. So each tiny cup was packed with so much flavour that you can accent with a squeeze of lemon! Most tea pot soups from other restaurants are filled only with Matsukake mushrooms and cute Naruto fishcakes and bits of chicken. So really, this one was quite extravagant for its modest price.

Right after that, my Unagyu Don was on its way! This isn’t something I order a lot but I guess I was really craving Unagi that night. When it arrived, I was not let down! As I opened the little box, the Unagi glistened in its caramelized glaze and the beef, so rich and aromatic, was accompanied by some lovely Japanese mushrooms. Again, this place isn’t stingy with its portions. Sitting on a bed of rice there was a lot of Unagi and great quality beef inside this box. The side of miso soup was filled with lots of wakame (sea mustard leaves) and tofu. As the aroma wafted across the table, I dug in.

It was one of my better meals. I like the place a lot. The ambience was a wonderful accompaniment to a delicious meal. Thank you, Kin no Mizu for such a relaxing night after a tiring work day. Next time, I’ll be back for more!

My friends and found this quaint Taiwanese restaurant in Sunway Pyramid called 798 Rice Bucket. It’s located at the end of the street after the Brotzeit German bar and the Rainforest bar. When I got there, I saw that 797 also had a steamboat restaurant on the left of the 798 Rice Bucket Restaurant.
Upon entering, the restaurant seemed very simple like a clean coffeeshop indoors. It isn’t as fancy as Kim Gary’s or as modern as Wong Kok but it had a more homely feel. The menu was pretty big and we were pretty overwhelmed with the choices. I managed to settle on the order for the Herbal Chicken Hot Pot with Mee Sua. I could also choose to have rice instead of mee sua. The set arrived with a choice of either Lemon Tea, Jasmine Tea or some others. I chose the Jasmine Tea and it was pretty strong. Just nice for the soupy herbal meal I ordered.
When my set arrived, it also came with a side plate of appetizers. It changes every now and then I think because the appetizer on other tables looked different. Mine came with a crispy fried triangle curry puff, spicy sausages and sliced greens. My Chicken Hot Pot arrived and it was pretty large. The soup was boiled with Chinese herbs, red dates and chicken and had a great balance of flavour. The chicken was still tasty and not over-boiled in order to get that rich flavour. The mee sua was a great choice as it was extra tasty. Because it’s served separately, I got to mix it with my soup whenever I felt like it. This is great because I usually take a long time to eat my noodles. The soup gets absorbed by the noodles if I don’t eat fast enough.
Overall, it’s a really great meal. Prices for all the dishes are really affordable on their menu, so I’ll likely be checking them out again for other stuff soon. 

Tasty food often originates from the unlikeliest places. In this case, I found some tasty Fried Chicken Rice in a small stall by the roadside in Segambut. Right along the car repair shops (opposite Public Bank), sits a small stall that houses probably 30 people at one time. Their main dish is a quick and easy Fried Chicken Rice.
At the cost of RM8, I enjoyed a good portion of fried chicken and plenty of fragrant chicken rice. The chicken not heavily battered like in Texas Chicken or KFC. Think of it more of a light coating mixed with herbs and spices. The skin is always crispy and the inside is consistently moist across the table (my table had 6 people that day). My favourite piece so far is the chicken leg but I haven’t been disappointed by other parts of the chicken. Shamelessly ordered half a chicken just for myself already. The chili paste is quite a pleasure also.
You can quench your thirst with a choice of soft drinks, barley or Chinese tea. The most expensive is the soft drinks capped at RM2.50 so easily the meal was very affordable. It’s a very simple place with no frills. So, no air conditioning and parking is a little difficult to find if you come at the wrong time. It’s hit or miss, but not impossible. The owners are kind enough to block the parking at the front of their stalls for customers. Often when it is a busy day, you can help yourself to drinks or a side plate of rice. But of course, ask for permission to do so and remember to pay for what you got.
If there are any non-Cantonese/Mandarin/etc speakers here, don’t worry. The owners speak very fluent English and Malay for ordering and payment.

Today I had dinner at Estillo's in Publika. Looked forward to eating outside after the rain gave us great weather to enjoy outside. Estillo's wasn't too packed and it was easy to find a place. It's a little harder to get the waiter's attention because they hang around the middle or inside the restaurant. But other than that, they were very cheerful and pleasant. 

I had the Signature House Guacamole Salad with Grilled Chicken (RM26) to start with. The portion was standard bordering small. It was quite enjoyable going through the layers. At the base, there was guacamole mixed with red onions as the salad's foundation. Then, layer by layer, there were sliced baby tomatoes, grated hard boiled eggs, rocket salads. Finally, the aubergine crisps were on top with some light dressing around it. Overall, this tasted really good with just enough onions for that kick in the guacamole. The grilled chicken was cooked well and was a great compliment to the guacomole. This is the first time I've seen a guacomole as the base of a meal and it's a great find!

Next, I had the Paella Pan Pizza (RM26) with a marinara base topped with squid, prawns and chilli flakes. It was, really, really good and hearty. At each bite of this rustic pizza, I could taste the mix of seafood. Almost like the oil that cooked the squid and prawns were mixed in together with the marinara for that extra zing. The pizza dough looks thick on the top but was actually nice and thin at the bottom. It came pretty crispy with the first few bites. I guess the only thing I didn't see much of was the chilli flakes. It didn't really taste spicy either. But it's alright 'cos the portion of seafood and the flavors of the meal made up from it!
Overall, this was a great meal to share with a friend or loved one. Just enough, for two people to eat at night. 

 

I arrived with a big group of 18-people that day for a colleague's birthday. The restaurant seemed very new and the staff was very welcoming. They were quite attentive to a large group of us and were very good at managing all of our needs. The private room they had put us in was very comfortable and cosy with a lovely view for the afternoon.

I ordered from the lunch set menu: Sashimi to Yakizakana Zen (Sashimi and Grilled Fish Set). When the food arrived, my friends and I were very impressed with the presentation. The only thing I forgot to ask about was the Garlic Rice that came with it because it usually only comes with White Rice. Maybe it’s because my meal arrived really late compared to the others in my big party.
I started with my appetizers, marinated root vegetables (daikon and carrots) marinated in miso. The appetizer was cooked really well because it got broken down really easily with my chopsticks. The sashimi was really fresh with three types to choose from: salmon, maguro and white fish. Sometimes you can reaIly tell when the sashimi is old or not well taken care off by its taste, texture and look. But here, it looks like they take care of their raw foods pretty well. With this meal, I always prefer the grilled fish with salt compared to being glazed with teriyaki because it isn’t so overwhelming. The fish was still warm with the outer layer still hot and crispy from the charcoal grill. The fish this chain chooses always has minimal bones to deal with. The garlic rice wasn’t warm enough and bit heavy for me. Next time, I’ll keep to having white rice for this set. The chawanmushi is really silky and fresh as it was piping hot when it arrived. We all had our chawanmushi arrive after a while (mid-way through our meal). Usually it arrives as an appetizer but maybe because we were a large group that they had to do it that way.
Overall, it was a good meal. Despite the delay in service and a late chawanmushi, the experience was excellent and cosy in this restaurant.