Getting there: Very near the clock tower, beside the post office.

Meal: Lunch

I went to Frasers hill at the turn of the millennium and I fell in love with this place. It was a corner of a row of dilapidated shophouse and what lured me to love this place is the well kept collection of orchid and other unusual flora and fauna. It is like having a summary if years of jungle tracking and having the highlights of unusual plants in one place. The mode dilapidated it is with green flora and fauna, the better it looks and feels. It is hard to imagine that this place is just beside a road. As soon as you enter, you feel that you are tucked away in a hut in the middle of the jungle.

I was once in Frasers a few years later for a short jaunt and the place was fully booked by golfers. I decided to take a break from rural-cyber monotonous life and headed down to Frasers. Fortunately, the place was empty. What seems to be employees were chatting and watching television, 5 of them I counted, and none of them entertained me, I had to go to the counter and ask for the menu, and another effort to make an order. The food is very bad, worst then it looks. The tea I ordered was high in tannin, undrinkable. And the flora and fauna is very much grey or brown. I am fairly disappointed with the food, service and ambiance.

Ratings:

Food: 3/10
Value: 5/10
Service: 1/10

Remarks: Used to be a good place to chill out. I guess it takes effort to make the place green and lively. Go at your own risk.

Getting there: Somewhere just off the main road.

Meal: Lunch

I headed to Foong Yuen right after Taman Negara and Foong Yuen was closed. I turned to my contacts once again and enquired about other good eateries in town. I was given directions to Sin Khai Huat. It is a little difficult to find from the back lanes and I rounded some kampung area for a while before I found the place. I later discovered that it was quite close to the main road heading out of town.

I was tired and hungry by the time I found this place. Service was quite fast. Food was decent, good enough for a hungry person. Meals are high in garlic content, so if you are a garlic lover, you would love this place.

The ambience is quite laid back; you could sit back and watch time fly pass. However, if you have an appointment to meet, you may want to have a look at your watch.

Ratings:

Food: 6/10
Value: 6/10
Service: 7/10

Remarks: Good location for a meal detour out of Jerantut.

Getting there: Pass the Pasar Besar on the left, then take a left. It is a corner lot, but you need to go along an empty road before arriving.

Meal: Diner

I arrived late in Jerantut, with plans to go to Taman Negara the following day. I had a tip that this is the best restaurant in town. I headed here close to 9pm, which is bedtime for most in this town. They were not very interested in new customer at this time.

The interior was very red, typical small town restaurant, things works… barely. They seem to have a good selection of Chinese tea and you can choose form an array of them.

Food was pretty good. Nothing to shout about, a decent dinner if you are looking for one.

Ratings:

Food: 7/10
Value: 8/10
Service: 5/10

Remarks: Try to go a little earlier. I think they may have better service when it is about sunset. I did not try many eateries in this town, but this one is quite good.

Getting there: Corner shoplot around the Sentosa area of Section 17 PJ.

Meal: Dinner

My uncle used to ramble on about the best Hokkien Mee in Section 17 and would refuse to try any other Hokkien Mee stating that it is the only one he would go to because it is “famous”. Everyone else is not “famous”, therefore must be no good.

A lot of good Hokkien Mee joints have popped out in the last decade, Ah Wa and Seng Kee to name a few. Times have change and so have the competition.

I recall this stall being outdoor and moved indoor the existing shoplot not too long ago. I recall the cook using charcoal. However, the current crew is rather young and gas is used in place of charcoal. I am not sure if it is a whole new crew or a totally new operation. Whichever it is, it seems to have the same taste. The cabbage is very well cooked, soft on the outside and crunchy and juicy on the inside.

In my opinion, from what I have tried, the best Hokkien mee in Klang Valley aka KL is a tie between Ah Wa and Seng Kee

Rating:

Food: 7/10
Service: 7/10
Value: 6/10

Remarks: Not sure if it is the same stall, taste as good as it was decades ago.

Getting there: At the ”world’s smallest roundabout” go in to the mosque one way road. Turn left at the field.

Meal: Lunch

The entrance to Kampung Baiduri is a small roundabout, more like a hump on the road, is known to be in the Guinnes Book of Records. I don’t know if it still is.

The restaurant is busy shop amidst a row of quiet shoplots in quaint surroundings; the shop is beside a field, hidden from the busy surrounding of Petaling Jaya. The atmosphere is like those of an outskirt kampung.

The rice is rather soft and light and the curry and gravy seems to be quite watered down. I would have preferred it thicker so that the rice and gravy can be more infused.

Rating
Food: 7/10
Service: 6/10
Value: 8/10

Remarks: Good place to chill out and get away from the busy pace of a city.

Getting there: Parking is horrible, park near by and walk. The place is at the end of Jalan Alor, off Bukit Bintang.

Meal: Dinner

This place is known for bbq chicken wings. Commonly referred to as Jalan Alor Chicken Wings.

This road, known to be the red light district. The entire road is lined with food stalls of all sorts. Telling people you are going to Jalan Alor for chicken wings may have dual meaning. You can spot the place with the amount of smoke it produces. Sitting places may be deceiving as they have tables scattered all over the place, ask a friendly staff where they are; out in the open or in an air-conditioned room. They serve more than just chicken wings; from fried rice to a sumptuous seafood meal. Be clear of your budget and appetite before ordering. I ordered a pair of wings, a lime-plum juice (koi-chat siew-mui) and hokkien-mee and the price was in the teens.

The chicken wings came melting hot, melting in the mouth. It was well marinated and smoked. Just look at the smoke produced in the smoker. I think it would taste more smoked with a closed smoker. However, I find it a little dry, possibly because it was over smoked.

The hokkien-mee was quite good, nice big bits of fried pork.

Rating:
Food: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Value: 6/10

Remarks: I seldom take chicken, can’t trust me on the ratings.

Getting there: Along Jalan Sultan, just off Chinatown (aka Petaling Street).

Meal: Dinner

Also known as Jalan Sultan Hokkien Mee. This is quite a close contender to Ah Wa which I have tried. A strong contender for The Best Hokkien Mee in Klang Valley in my opinion. Price is a little on the touristy side since it is just off Chinatown. As I sat out in the outdoors along the pavement, lots of tourists are passing by waving their camera around shooting at whatever unusual items they see. However, not many tourist stop for a meal; possibly due to its dirty, greasy outlook.

I recalled the Hokkien Mee tasting better years ago as to when I had it for this round. I remember the fried pork fat being large, crunchy and generous and the gravy being thick and dark. It is still good, just not as good as before. Quality seems to have drop, either that or quantity; or is it price that went up.

Rating:
Food: 8/10
Service: 7/10
Value: 5/10

Remarks: RM20 for a Kung-Fu-Chow, Hokkien Mee and vegetable (no drinks). Claypot Low-Shui-Fun seems to be a popular as well.

Getting there: Right behind Hock Lee Mini Market, in front of Restoran Seng Lee within the Batai Parking.

Meal: Lunch

This would conclude the trilogy of the best rojak in the core Damansara area that I know of. The best fruit rojak I know of in the Damansara area with my personal ranking are:
1. Damansara Utama (DU)
2. Damansara Heights (DH)
3. Damansara Jaya (DJ)

Here is my take of the Damansara Heights rojak.

It is situated in a quiet corner of Damansara Heights, hardly any traffic to capture attention. Location is not in its favor, yet the stall has quite a pool of customers, mainly office workers (and offices are quite a distant away). It is operated by an elderly couple and the stall is on a sidecar in front of a restaurant.

The take away packet that I had is sprinkled with a generous portion of peanut and in the inside, it has lots of pineapple and other pungent fruits. The har koh is not very strong in flavor but I think it has a good consistency. They had the good sense of packaging the take-away in Styrofoam box as to avoid self inflicted injury or create a mess similar to the Exxon Valdez if the skewers penetrate the Styrofoam.

I think it stands between the Damasara Utama and Damansara Jaya in more ways than one. Moderate in flavor, not as fruity as DJ, har koh not as thick as DU, overall taste and ranking is between both as well.

Choose your poison.

Rating:
Food: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Value: 7/10

Remarks: RM3 for a small and RM4 for a large.

Getting there: Just outside Atria Shopping Center, beside a food center. Opposite House of Languages.

Meal: Lunch

Where is the best rojak in Damansara? I usually get 3 answers: 1)Behind Hock Lee in Damansara Heights, 2)Damansara Utama, 3)Damansara Jaya (Atria)

My personal preference is for the first 2, they are almost the same, but I have a preference for the Damansara Utama version.

I find the Atria version rather watery and for my take away order, they served in plastic bags. Not a very good option. The other 2 served in Styrofoam containers. It was not a pleasant experience eating the rojak on the go in plastic bags. I poked myself a few times with the wooden skewer that penetrated the plastic bag on to my hand. This also created holes in the fragile plastic bag, which content was rather watery, which flowed out of the hole easily, which made my hand dirty… blah… blah blah… you get the idea… Used more tissue paper than there was rojak.

I find the concoction rather sweet and fruity for my liking. As a matter of fact, I did not finish the packet, albeit a small one.

Ratings:
Food: 6/10
Service: 6/10
Value: 4/10

Remarks: RM 2.70 for a small pack. Some people make drive-thru orders. My preference is for Damansara Utama stall, better value, better taste.

Getting there: Along what seems to be a big circular road. The shop is covered by a big cempedak tree and premises is down a slope beside a tailor (Tukang Jahit Bee Sin). Opposite the shop are a few stalls. Near Pusat Perikanan Air Tawar.

Meal: Breakfast

The shop is very popular in the morning. I see cars parked all along the main road but not a stall around looks busy. The shop seems to be hidden behind a large cempedak tree and difficult to spot.

There is a won ton mee stall on the right and a nasi lemak & meehoon goreng on the left as you enter. People who sit down seems to order won ton mee and those who take-away seems to order nasi lemak. Strange phenomena.

I am no fan of won ton mee, so no comments from me except that it is edible. The nasi lemak is quite good, somewhat Chinese style.

Rating:
Food: 6/10
Service: 5/10
Value: 6/10

Remarks: Difficult to find parking.