Gourmet Heritage Village Eating Spree @Lot 10 Hutong, Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur

I've heard about this Lot 10 Hutong or Hutong Gourmet Heritage Village for quite sometime but was too busy and lazy plus no right "makan gang" to crash the place. So since Emel was here in KL and I was reallyyyyyyyy in need of a foodie companion to try out NON-HALAL eating places ... we decided that Lot 10 Hutong was our next destination in our soul cleasing eating spree.

A hutong is actually an ancient alley or lane, once common in Beijing's courtyard neighborhoods but now quickly disappearing. Lot 10 Hutong was the brainchild Tan Sri Francis Yeoh, in which he personally hand-picked 27 eateries that have survived the 2nd and 3rd generations - from the alleys of Kuala Lumpur to the streets of Petaling Jaya or the hidden corners of Klang and place it all in one destination. Being a non KL-Lite I am not very familar with any one of the eateries... hehehe

Hong Kong famous food critic and TV host Chua Lam used his calligraphic skills to write the characters "Lot 10 Hutong" in Chinese for the brand's logo.

And so to solve the problem, myself and Emel let ourselves be guided by what we wanted to eat and at the same made reference to some food blogs on which stalls to try.

Of all the stalls .. this was Emel's first choice ... Penang Hokkien Prawn Mee.

Emel's happy face after getting what she had been craving for. Yes ... I too miss the stall no 35 Hokkien Mee.

The Penang Hokkien Prawn Mee ... taste average.

My choice ... the Ho Weng Kee Wantan Noodles from Petaling Street, Kuala Lumpur. Maybe this Petaling Street wantan noodle that Mr Loke told me very nice.

For a KL wantan mee ... this can be considered quite good. However, in terms of taste I still prefer my Penang Wantan Mee sorry! By the way, this is their best selling mee - Char Siew Wantan Mee.

But I love the wantan though. Yummy....

Suddenly craving for something sweet and cooling.

And taraaaa ... finally I found the cendol that was equivalent in taste to the one in Malacca. In Penang, they used brown sugar instead of palm sugar and it was the palm sugar taste that I was after.

It was so satisfying...

We just couldn't have enough of the Lot 10 Hutong that right after window shopping at the Pavillion, we went back to the place for "yam cha" session.

This is a non-heritage stall that serves Chinese tea and Dim Sum.

I chosed Chrysanthemum tea with Har Kou and Siew Mai.

The Har Kou was nice but I think I prefer a thinner skin.

Siew mai ... quite nice too.

These are some of the stalls that I wanted to try next time. Seemed to be a hit with customers.

Kim Lian Kee Hokkien Mee.

Kong Tai Oyster Ommellette

Location:

Lot 10 Hutong

Lower Ground Floor
Lot 10

Jalan Bukit Bintang

Nasi Ayam Kampung @Restoran A. Hassan, Kompleks Rehat dan Rawat Awan Besar, KESAS Highway

When talking about Malay food ... in Kuala Lumpur the most popular is the Kelantanese Malay food. Within 5 km radius from my KL apartment there  is one Kelantanese restaurant famous for their Nasi Ayam Kampung (Free Range Chicken Rice).

I found out about the R&R Awan Besar branch from Precious Pea blog few years back. Usually, I frequented the restaurant branch in Medan Selera Kampung Baru, in the heart of KL as well opposite the Cheras Velodrome. Like the other 2 branches ... their fried free range chicken are also selling like hot cakes during lunches.

The new signboard.

The downside is the restaurant is located after the toll station so customers had to pay toll.

Exact location is at the R&R Awan Besar.

Emel ... all excited to satisfy her cravings for ayam kampung. Last month, I brought my mum.

Anyway, after many years of the so-called "11 herbs and spices" fried chickens ... it's great to be able to go back in time and savour "kampung style" fried chicken, with hot plain steam rice, which a blogger described it best ... "Just turmeric and salt, perhaps a bit of spices fried golden brown in sizzling oil". Furthermore, free range chicken or ayam kampung tastes better and leaner than commercially grown chicken.

It is best to visit the restaurant between 11.30 am to 12.30 pm as the food are still hot from the kitchen and there are not many customers yet. To be honest, if not because of the Nasi Ayam Kampung, the R&R Complex can be quite deserted.

Array of Kelantanese dishes for customers to choose from.

The star dish. Fried Free Range Chicken ... just turmeric and salt and fry!

Lala (clamps) in yellow coconut gravy.

Mix vegetable with squid tentacles.

Shrimp paste sambal ... to be eaten with the chicken.

Another popular sauce from Kelantan ... the fermented anchovies sauce in chillies and lime. My favourite. Supposed to be like a dipping sauce for the "ulam" (local salad) ... but I love eating with rice.

  Additional photos from previous visits...

Stir fried fern tips ...

I usually take  their deep fried cow lung. However during that particular trip ... I was saving my stomach space for Lot Hutong eating spree later.

Actually the food price there is not that cheap but comparatively it is still very affordable.Well nothing is cheap in KL nowadays.

Address:
Restoran A. Hassan Sdn. Bhd.
Cawangan Kompleks Rawat dan Rehat Awan Besar
Lebuhraya Shah Alam
(Close on Fridays)

Simply Thailicious @Flying Chillies, The Gardens, Kuala Lumpur

I passed this restaurant many times before, usually on my way to to Borders bookstore @The Gardens ... making mental notes later that I will try the food there some day. But it never happen until last weekend during our soul cleansing spree. Emel was suddenly having Thai food cravings right after we finished our Thai massage session at Thai Odyssey and this was only place that we could think of for a "Thai food fix", having passed the place earlier after lunch at Sushi Zanmai next 2 doors.

The entrance to the restaurant. You may choose between al-fresco dining or in-house dining.

Yea ... it had been months since I touched any Thai food. Maybe because I had excess of it in Thailand last year - Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Narathiwat and Haadyai. Anyway ... Flying Chillies is another Thai restaurant from SEA Cuisine that also gives you the famous (and pricy) Amarin Heavenly Thai and  Bangkok Jam. However, compared to Amarin .. I guess Flying Casual is a bit casual and no frills in settings and choice of menu as evidence here.

The menu ... simple and casual.

Hmmm ... I was still full from all the sushi ... what to eat, what to eat...

Nice huh ...

Emel was actually craving for steamed seabass with lime and chillies.... reminiscing the good old days in Kulim (there was a very good coffee shop selling good Thai food there, owner's wife is a Thai). She told me it is hard to get "the same taste" in any Thai restaurant in Kuching. Hmmm ... I had to agree with her. Even when I asked the Thai consulate himself on where to get original Thai food in Penang ... all he could think of was Bangkok Express.

Flying Chillies Steamed seabass with lime and chillies. The fish didn't have that earthy smell and farely fresh.

Stir-fry kangkung with shrimp paste. Hehehe ... I miss the stir fry kangkung at Aey house in Bangkok. They added roasted pork and it was yummy ... sorry!

The seafood tom yum was average. But hot.

Emel's choice ... Thai ice tea ... I love Bangkok's  ice tea and coffee. Can never get enough of it.

Decisions decisions ... had to choose between mango sticky rice and red ruby!

Hehehe ... finally I chosed Red Ruby. Okay lahhhh

Since we were quite full .. there were dishes that we couldn't try ... Chicken with Cashew Nuts (reminded me of Phuket),  Ming-kaem (another Thai favourite), Roasted Duck with Wanton Noodles (reminded me of a famous chain of steamboat restaurants in Thailand), Green Curry, Pineapple Rice and another favourite dessert ... Mango Sticky Rice ... (benchmark is Sri Ayutthaya's). Maybe will come again some other time to sample the rest.

Better come in a group as it is not that cheap!

Address:

Flying Chillies
T219 Third Floor The Gardens,
MidValley City
GPS Coordinates: N3 07.145 E101 40.538
Tel 03-2287 7708
Business hours: 10am – 10pm

Sushi Session @Sushi Zanmai, The Gardens, Kuala Lumpur

Besides Thiam Sang Hokkien Mee, another compulsory "ritual" every time Emel and me met up in Kuala Lumpur is trying out any Japanese restaurants. Japanese restaurants (especially Japanese Buffet) are growing like mushrooms in Kuala Lumpur ... thanks to Malaysia My Second Home Programme. Despite Japan's radiation food scare around the world at the moment, it seemed that Japanese restaurants are still a hit among locals. Even we brushed it aside as radiation exposure is already everywhere- cellphones and computers.

To maximise our weekends with "soul-cleansing" rituals plus convenient, we decided to station ourselves at MidValley. There are many Japanese restaurants in MidValley and The Gardens for us to choose from. However, that day our eyes were set on Sushi Zanmai ... simply based on the long queue utside the restaurant (typical of Malaysians hehehe). Another attraction is the Kaiten belt ... I love conveyor sushi restaurant, where we can choose mindlessly based on "looks".

The long queue outside the restaurant. When we passed the place later in the evening, the queue was even longer.

We didn't wait that long for our turn. Maybe many people that day just want to grab few plates of sushi then go. Furthermore it was just around 12.00 noon ... still early for lunch.We were seated at the conveyor belt area by the friendly waitress.

Place was neat, clean and with very Japanese deco.

After browsing through the menu selections and checking the price tags I realised the reason for the long queue outside ... wide selection, cheap and affordable (judging on the ingredients that they used for the sushi). By the way, I also realised why the word "Zanmai" sounded familiar. Apparently I have tried their sister restaurant known as Pasta Zanmai ... but they specialty is fusion Japanese Pasta. Anyway .. is it better than Sakae? That was for us to find out!

Sushi selections on the conveyor belt. Look at the pile of plates.

Salmon maki with avocado filling and mayonnaise topping. Yummy!

Chuka kurage or seasoned jellyfish.

Emel called this Paul after the famous octopus. Hehehe ... this Chuka Lidaho or seasoned baby octopus.

Cranky maki

Salmon sushi with mayonnaise toppings.

Salmon salad with sesame dressing - a must try! Used to love Yo Sushi! sashimi salad too but the place was closed.

Emel pouring the sesame dressing onto the salmon sashimi salad. Yummy!

Salmon sashimi ... 5 pieces cost just RM 7.00

Me ... eating my heart out.

Our sushi selections were mainly based on raw salmon that day. Well it is understandable ... if a person was too stressed out he or she will naturally craved for food rich in fatty acids or Omega 3 and 6 ... like salmon or cod. Both Emel and I just had a stressful week. Overall, the place and food was great. Will definitely come back again.

Address:

SUSHI ZANMAI, The Gardens
T-217, Third Floor, The Gardens,
Mid Valley City,
Lingkaran Syed Putra,
59200 KL.

TEL 03 - 2282 1160
FAX 03 - 2282 3160
MOBILE 012 - 702 1160
Email zm-gd@supersushi.com.my

DAILY BUSINESS HOURS
10.00 am - 10.00 pm