Food Review: Aroi Thai @ Paradigm Mall, Kelana Jaya, Petaling Jaya, Selangor

We currently live near Paradigm Mall, which has frequently become our haunting ground when it comes to food. As of late, Paradigm Mall seems to be undergoing renovation with new tenants and food vendors, which earns a much needed thumbs up from me! The latest F&B to join their family was AROI THAI, a Thai food joint.

Store front. You can see the occupants to the left and right are opening soon.

From the menu, you can see that the prices are very affordable. The Boat Noodle, Boat Selection and Street Selections are bite-sized and very affordable, at RM 1.90 each, and they also have the BIG Meal for regular portions.

You can also opt for the Set Meal, which comes with a drink and dessert at a reasonable RM 13.90.

The lunch crowd and interior is very clean. There are bamboo logs and kite-type fabric hanging from the ceiling for an authentic look and feel. They have also placed lemongrass stalks randomly on every other table for extra decor.

As the food court facing the restaurant has yet to open, there was a slight somber feeling.

Condiments such as chili flakes, sugar, soya sauce (or fish sauce?) and chilli sauce to help zing up your meal!

We ordered the bite-sized Boat Selection of Hot Basil Minced Chicken - Pad Kra Pow Kai - and Green Curry Chicken on Rice, each bowl for RM 1.90. To be honest the colour of the Green Curry didn't excite me - the colour was quite light. Tastewise, I had hope to be hit by a powerful spice kick, but it was quite mild in flavour. The Pad Kraw Pow Kai looks a bit more exciting in terms of colour. Tastewise it didn't taste as fresh as I had hoped; I barely taste the basil, but I felt a slightly fieriness of chilli.

Pad Thai and Red chestnuts dessert. Traditionally, the jackfruit is served with this dessert, instead they had topped it with mango. They had also drizzled the dessert with rose syrup taste, so taste-wise the dessert had an unusual taste compared that we're used to. To me, the Pad Thai had the most flavorful taste out of all the dishes served. It had a vibrant taste based on a squeeze of lime juice, sweetness from the nuts and palm sugar, and a spicy kick thanks to the chilli flakes. There were crunchy elements thanks to the raw beansprouts.

Beef Glass Noodle, which tasted almost the same as Boat Noodle franchise. To me, the soup taste is generally not to my liking (it has a very strong and pungent beefy taste, and the stock is quite sweet).

Crispy wanton skin and fried spinach leaves. Both were fried to golden crispy perfection, but I wished they had strained the fried items on kitchen towel, as the oil residue was still quite strong on the food.

My Thai Fried Squid Ring special which they forgot about. The batter was quite thick. A disappointment.

Rating:

• Variety: 5/5
Definitely lots of options to choose from, from bite-sized, to regular plating, to noodles, rice dishes, or sides, with wide variety of drinks and dessert to choose from.

• Taste: 2/5
I was really disappointed with most of the dish tastes, which tastes watery, bland or imperfect texture. To me, the redeeming dish was the Pad Thai.

• Value for Money: 5/5
Price-wise, even for a F&B the price is very low. The dishes are quite affordable.

• Cleanliness: 5/5
As a new restaurant, everything was definitely spotless. The only thing I noticed was that the menu seemed oddly battered, for a new establishment.

• Service 4/5
Friendly staff, unfortunately they forgot my menu item, which they had even printed a copy of the receipt after we ordered.

• Ambiance: 4/5
Love the vibe with the hanging bamboo logs.

• Overall: 2/5
It's a shame the food quality was not up to far, however I do hope the taste factor was attributed due to the fact that it was just recently opened. I would give it a bit more time and visit again to try other dishes, to see if there have been improvements. Watch this space!

Aroi Thai,

LG, Paradigm Mall, 47300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

(Next To Penang Teochew Chendol)

Food Review: McDonald's Spicy Korean Burger

So the latest food craze (because in Malaysia, 90% of the things that go viral are food-based) is McDonald's Spicy Korean Burger. It was so popular, that it was temporarily unavailable for a while. The first time I had it was on a trip to Pahang, and I had half the burger after my mom and aunt decided to have a "bite" (equals half the burger). To my recollection, my half of the burger tasted quite good even though I only ate it 30 minutes after purchasing it.

So when I wanted to purchase it again, the burger was unavailable. I was quite happy to hear the news that it was available again, so I headed to McD to tapao the lunch meal.

By the time I returned to my office, the chips/ fries looked exactly like the photo, the drink had melted slightly so it was more pale, and the burger was waiting to be unveiled...

Messy. Sloppy. Full of crunchy veggies as seen in the photo. The charcoal bun is as black as in the photo. There was sauted onions and some bright orange sauce slopped onto the burger.

My first bite into the burger was as memorable as the first time I had it. 

• The beef patty was still warm and juicy. It was quite thick, and not thin as other regular burgers. The burger patty itself was full of spice and flavour, so you could have Oriental influences in every bite.
• The sauce was, I'm sure, kimchi-inspired. To me, it reminded me of the Samyang noodles. The spice level increased more and more with every bite. Suddenly, the spice had creeped up to me, and hit me smack, bang, on my tongue, to the point where I turned to my collegue and said, OMG IT'S REALLY SPICY. Do bear in mind that after I gave birth, my spice level somehow reduced and I tend to find food that I would normally find not spicy (prior to giving birth) now spicy.
• The vegetables consisted of crunchy lettuce head and purple lettuce, with julienned carrots to add a much needed crunch to the burger and also to cool down the spice from the sauce. 
• The saluted and caramelised onion added a touch of sweetness to the burger, adding a great balance of sweet to the savoury dish.
• The charcoal burger itself was a regular burger bun, except for the colour, reminiscent of the charcoal colour. 
• As you can see from the photo below, eating the burger was a messy affair, with the sauce dripping everywhere.

On a side note, my friend Ida pointed out to me that they did a clever marketing ploy, imitating famous Korean posters when promoting their burgers.

 

Left: McD poster. Right: Original K Drama is Boys Over Flowers

Left: McD poster. Right: Original K Drama is My Love From The Stars

Left: McD poster. Right: Original K Drama is Descendants of The Sun

Creative, huh?

Rating:

1. Variety: N/A
2. Taste: 4/5
• It was spicy for sure, but each bite was a lovely harmony between all the saltiness of the beef, the freshness of the veggies and the sweetness from the sauted onions. The sauce added that Asian kick of Korean spice to the burger.
3. Value for Money: 3.5/5
• I do believe paying RM 16++ for a burger set from a fast food restaurant is a tad pricey, even if the burger was big.
4. Cleanliness: N/A
5. Service 5/5
• Burger was receiving in less than 5 minutes of ordering and paying for the burger. Tip top fast service.
6. Overall: 4/5
• I would have the burger again. However, I do wish they had a poultry version of the burger to appeal to Malaysians who can't eat beef during to religious purposes.

Spicy Korean Burger @ McDonalds, Nationwide @ Malaysia
Address: http://www.mcdonalds.com.my/promotion/article/latest-news-spicy-korean-burger-is-back

Website: http://www.mcdonalds.com.my
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/My.McDonalds/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mcdonaldsmalaysia/

*This post was not sponsored or endorsed by McDonald's or any of its' subsidiary companies.

Food Review: Nathan's Famous @ IOI City Mall, Putrajaya

This little restaurant is tucked away, near the skating rink. If you're not the type to explore IOI City Mall, you might not have noticed this restaurant, Nathan's Famous, Inc. an American company that operates a chain of fast food restaurants specializing in hot dogs.

With just a staff of three, and a semi-full restaurant, this self-serving restaurant/ fast food concept (not sure of the concept) was a bit slow on the service.

Of course, the decor made you feel like you were in New York, with it's illustrations, black-and-white chequered floor tiles, American booth seats and photos of the original Nathan's displayed on the wall.

Upon receiving the burger, I was quite disappointed with the size as I paid RM 16.99 ala carte for a supposedly "10 Super Cheese Burger". 10 cm? Definitely not 10 inches haha.

For the price of RM 16.99, you get an ala carte burger with single patty, beefed up with two pieces of lettuce and tomato slice. Burger was overdone. Shame, as there was potential. Essentially, an overpriced Cheeseburger from McDonald's.

We thought this would be the best-tasting Chilli Cheese Fries, but nope... was disappointed by the dollop of cheese on top with the bare minimum covering of the chilli beef. This was RM 8.99.

My husband ordered this Cheesesteak which essentially was dried bread topped with a too much artificial-tasting Cheese. Is this what American Cheese tastes like? It looks very heart-attack inducing. This was a set, totalling up to RM 22.99, and the set came with fries and a drink, if you're wondering.

The best tasting item we ordered; the lemonade drink! 

The bill for two pax.

Ratings:

Food: 2/5

Service: 2/5 

Pricing: 2/5 

Overall: 2/5

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/NathansFamousMY/

Web-site:

http://www.nathansfamous.com.my/

Address: 

L1-13B, First Floor, IOI City Mall,
Lebuh IRC , ​IOI Resort City,
62502 Putrajaya
​Sepang, Selangor

Conclusion:

Won't be hurrying there anytime soon. I'd suggest a cheaper and tastier alternative of A&W's Coney Dog. I believe they need to adjust the taste for the local market, and improve their service as well as cooking style.

Killer Gourmet Burger, KGB @ Taman Tun Dr. Ismail branch

For one of my closest friend's birthday, we decided to celebrate it at Killer Gourmet Burger (KGB) Taman Tun Dr. Ismail. I heard many good things about it.

It's a Minion-themed party. WHO SAYS 27 IS TOO OLD FOR BIRTHDAYS??

Ordered this Texas Jalapeno Steak & Cheese Fries to share, I think around RM 20 or less.

But someone doesn't want to share... The sad thing is, all the topping's just for show.. when you dig deep it's just regular fries.

I don't remember for the life of me what this burger was called. 

Happy faces being fed. Raihan's overjoyed by the size of her cheese from her Mexican-inspired burger that came with guacamole. Mmm, moley moley.

The queue and wait was a bit long, but I guess that's what happens when you go to burger joint on a Friday night. Their milkshake is quite small for the price. 

Overall Experience:

Food: 4/5

Service: 2/5

Pricing: 2/5 

For a little peace and quiet, we proceeded to Kaffe Coffee, just down the road, to cut cake.

Birthday girl (left) lighting up her own cake HAH!

The tasty chocolate cake by Nadia, purchased from Lavender. I think the coffee foam was Nadia's (questionable?). Not sure what it is - an old woman? Bahaha.

Forced selfie with Raihan!

Thanks Kaffe Coffee for allowing us to celebrate the birthday there!

80. Food Review: Noodle Shack @ Citta Mall, Ara Damansara

Today, some colleagues wanted to watch the queen of movies, Angelina Jolie Maleficient at Citta Mall. I am planning to watch it with my fiance so I joined them for dinner beforehand at Noodle Shack, Citta Mall. 

Colleague: Ah?? Noodle shag? What you order, wan?

Me: Noodle SHACK LA!

-_-

Ridiculously sharp, stock-image quality, all the things my pictures are not photo from their website.

Although it hasn't received any halal certs from JAKIM, they do not serve pork and they claim to be MSG free.

I ordered the Sambal Chilli Shrimps and Eggs Pan Mee (RM 11.90), and Rose Tea (RM 4). After waiting for a bit, the long-anticipated meal finally arrived... and I gotta say, it is pretty darn good. The awesome folks knows that us Asians like the spice and heat when eating, so they gave us complimentary sambal belacan and soup with the meal (I had four small portions of sambal belacan because my colleagues was not into it).

 Sambal Chilli Shrimps and Egg Pan Mee

Excuse me for the low quality photo. 

Man, I really need a better phone if I'm gonna be commenting on other people's places. 

The Sambal Chilli Shrimps and Egg Pan Mee was really fantastic! Really chockful of flavor. The pan mee was not overcooked, it was still a little 'al dente', as the Italians would say. The minced chicken had a subtle taste of garlic. The egg was cooked and still runny. Love it when they cook the eggs this way! But the star of the dish was definitely the Sambal Chilli Shrimps. It was really good, wished I had more of it. When you mix everything together (with the sambal belacan condiments), it was like an explosion of Asian flavors and you just wanted more. I really loved this dish. This is saying something cause I don't particularly like noodles much.

Rose Tea, RM 4

The rose tea was surprisingly good; it was four small rose buds in a strainer steeped in hot water. I drank it 10 minutes after it was served, and the flavors were so intense. It was like drinking a hot and less-artificial sirap ais. Really flavorful. Nice to have on a cold, windy day. Being the Asian that I am, I forgot to ask if I could refill the glass.

Review Scores
Food: 4/5
Menu options: 4/5
Price: Affordable - less than RM 12 per dish; drinks were around RM 4 - RM 6
Ambience: 3/5
Service: 5/5
Overall: 4/5

Definately would come back again!

Details:
Noodle Shack at Citta Mall, Ara Damansara
G33A Citta Mall,
Jalan PJU 1A/48,
47301 Ara Damansara,
Selangor
Website: http://www.noodleshack.com.my/



Disclaimer note: This is an independent food review, in no way endorsed by Noodle Shack or it's subsidiary holdings. However, if the good people from Noodle Shack would like to send me some awesome vouchers, you can e-mail me at junee.yusoff@gmail.com