a month back elvin wanted us to try out a restaurant in kl but it didn't happen because the restaurant was closed. thought it'll be good to try it out, sheryl and i appointed elvin as our date on friday night.

green lotus; you can't miss this

the entrance; very inviting

nestled behind the mod shopping mall is a chinese-thai fusion restaurant along the old shoplots. you probably have seen it before but never took much notice despite it's flourescent green signage. elvin was right! the interior inside is balinese inspired and i must say, i love the blood red walls. the setting is dim and quiet, perfect for couples or people w/ bad skin and makeup. haha..

the main room

second room.. the one with red walls!

the ceiling adorned with antique fixtures and thai silk

the yellow orchid on every setting we chose the set dinner comprising of tom yum seafood soup, rendang chicken, ladna bean curd, four angled bean w/ belacan and deep fried calamari enough for 4 people. we were stuffed! food was good (the tom yum was so spicy.. extra shiok) and the price was right - RM 49!

good food; good company the best part about this place is that they have two separate private rooms. one of them has floor seating for a party of eight if i've not mistaken. actually, i did like the bathroom too! i would have taken some pictures because these people do have an eye for details -- even their door knob was interesting. but after all those eery ghost stories sheryl and elvin was feeding me with, brrr.. i think i'll leave the photo taking another time.

three's a company after that, it was jenga time at ceylon bar on jalan changkat bukit bintang. it is a cruel game to test your steadiness after a harvey wallbanger but i did well! perhaps the scare tactic worked; the loser has to send some rather indecent sms-es to people we shouldn't be sending to.

 our biggest accomplishment of the night; 36 levels and still standing lucky for me, no sms-es were sent. the only time that the blocks crumbled i had to call how han and speak to him in hokkien. nevermind that i know jack-shit about the dialect (and neither does HH), i had to repeat a rhyme created by elv and sher. grrrr... "wa si ong lai.. lu gong dai dai" (i'm a pineapple, you are a fool") wahlau-eh! trust me, with elv and sher's sick minds working overtime, they could have created a longer rhyme for me. too bad i couldn't handle so many hokkien words on one night. for the time being, i'm proud that my hokkien competency is still restricted to the female anatomy.

u

nder a blanket of stars

being hakka ourselves, we are such big fans of our food (can't speak the dialect though). during those days, my grandma would make her specialty 'cha yoke' which was subsequently forged by my very hainanese mother. after years of improvising the recipe, it took us a while to to distinguish what's genuine or not. we decided to go back to our roots to the authencity of hakka cuisine and try out a new restaurant in the curve - ying ker.

the setting is rather modern with leather chairs and veneer wood square tables. service was applaudable since it was so busy in there. people were lining up and staring at us like we were some fish in an aquarium! (we did the same too when we had to wait to be seated). we were served by a mainland speaking chinese. we understood her mandarin but she did try to speak to us in english like when we ordered a glass water. "do you want ass in water?" "ass?" "yes, ass.. cold water" "oh, ice." just then we thought perhaps we weren't so familiar with hakka food and beverage after all. 

RM 4/person oolong tea served in an iron pot

you can have a choice of white or brown rice. you should go for the brown rice! it may be RM 2.50 per bowl but it tastes good!

 fried egg with prawns and steamed pork with preserved vege.

their signature dish, 'cha yoke'. braised pork with that black fungus thing - 'mok yi'.

all mine! portions are pretty small for the price we pay. RM 18 for a few pieces of pork just doesn't seem worth it. perhaps our expectations were set too high since nothing beats grandma's/mommie's home cooked food.

hell no! you don't need to go all the way to kajang for sate anymore. there's one right here in damansara utama. for 60sens per stick, it does taste like the real thing. unlike most satays, each skewer comes with a plump piece of chicken and sometimes no fats at all. wonderful isn't it?

of course, satay goes exceptionally well with ketupat. must go for the ketupat and not nasi impit. ketupat is more fragrant because the rice is wrapped in pandan leaves whereas nasi impit is wrapped in plastic.

what i like about this place besides its location is their generosity of their peanut sauce and chili oil. for you non-kajang satay regulars, here's what you do with the sauce. scoop out the non-spicy peanut sauce and add about 2-3 teaspoons of chili flakes in oil. if you like it spicier, common sense says put in more than 3 teaspoons full.

i've only tried chicken and beef. i don't think i wanna have fish in a skewer. just not too appetizing right? sate kajang hj samuri same row as the ex-fajar in damansara utama

since i'm kl-stupid and pj-spoilt, dre brought me to one of his usual lunch places in cheras. even when it was the weekend, cheras was jam-packed with cars. but with our hungry tummy and built-up craving for kari kambing, who cared about the jam? we had a portion of their famous kari kambing. unlike most places, this one comes with the bone as well and it is supposedly tastier that way. and it's true! furthermore the meat wasn't overcooked so the mutton was tender and texture was soft. and you know when the curry is too good to resist is when your rice is worthy of being banjir-ed (flooded). we also ordered two pieces of deep-fried chicken (not pictured) and it was just as good. the chicken was freshly cooked so it was still juicy, warm and succulent. you know this food is 'baaaaad' when you can't skip the crunchy chicken skin! ack! as usual, you are also served white rice and a scoopful of stir-fried cabbage/taugeh (the yellow comes from kunyit). this place is actually a 'spin off' from the original. the current boss used to be a worker who just took down orders at the original nasi kandar also in cheras. i guess, once you've mastered the skill and discovered the secret recipe, start your own and make it bigger! should try their kari kepala ikan one day.

name of restaurant: kari kepala ikan cheras

lot 10480, jalan cheras (lrt maluri car park) -- just next to a police station.