4 KL Shopping Malls with Amazing 2024 Chinese New Year Decors for Photo Ops

As we bid farewell to the Year of the Rabbit, Pavilion REIT Malls is gearing up for an extravagant welcome to the Year of the Dragon, promising a year filled with luck, prosperity, and good health in 2024! Let's soar into the festivities and explore the captivating celebrations across Pavilion REIT Malls.

Dive into the Year of the Dragon with Haidilao's Exclusive Kung Fu Panda 4 Experience

Embrace the excitement of the Year of the Dragon in 2024 as Haidilao Malaysia collaborates with its overseas counterparts in Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam to present an exclusive Kung Fu Panda 4 dining experience. Teaming up with Universal Products & Experiences (Universal) and DreamWorks Animation, this special event will run from January 22 to February 24, 2024, allowing fans to indulge in a unique Kung Fu Panda-themed dining experience before the global release of the film on March 7 at Haidilao outlets.

credit: Haidilou Singapore

Stand a chance to ONG RM3,333 with Calbee this CNY!

Chinese New Year is fast approaching and apart from gathering with family and friends to share good food and great times, one thing synonymous with the celebration are the customs and traditions to bring in more luck so that the year ahead will be prosperous or in Chinese, “ONG!”

Want to try something new this year? Take on a new custom to be ONG with Jack ‘n Jill Calbee. Jack ‘n Jill Calbee will Elevate Your ONG with its golden potato chips and auspicious Chinese New Year Fortune Ang Pow Giveaway where you stand a chance to win the Grand Prize of RM3,333 cash ang pow and a Lion Dance Package Performance to usher in even more ONG!

International Buffet Offerings @ All New Lemon Garden, Shangri-La Hotel KL

The Lemon Garden restaurant in Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur has always boasted one of the best buffet spreads in the city with a wide array of international and local cuisines. But the years has worn out the interior of the restaurant and seeing that, Shangri-La KL decided in Nov 2016 to have its signature restaurant refurbished and renovated to a dining venue befitting of its name and its guests and customers.

Prosperity Menu and Poon Choy at Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur

Dine in with your loved ones at Shang Palace, Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur this Chinese New Year and ignite your senses to our magnificent array of dishes and set menus.

Savour their festive specialties on the a la carte menu such as braised deluxe assorted hot dish in claypot or Poon Choy, braised white cabbage with fish maw in golden broth and braised sea cucumber with golden garlic and leeks.

The five set menus known as Great Prosperity, Rich Fortune, Happy Reunion, Wealth Treasures and Immense Wealth are ideal for groups of four to ten persons. 

Lo Hei with Shang Palace, Shangri-La Hotel KL

Shang Palace at the Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur is offering seven varieties of Yee Sang to usher in the Year of the Monkey – Korean snow pear, crispy fish skin and jellyfish flower, salmon fish, Japanese tuna, sliced abalone, Canadian lobster and geoduck clam – at lunch or dinner with friends, colleagues and family for prosperity, good fortune and abundance.

Prices range from RM91 nett (small) and RM161 nett (large) for the Korean snow pear Yee Sang and Crispy Fish Skin and jellyfish flower Yee Sang, to RM126 nett (small) and RM220 nett (large) for Salmon Yee Sang and Japanese Tuna Yee Sang.

Sliced Abalone Yee Sang is RM173 nett (small) and RM313 nett (large), while the Canadian Lobster Yee Sang is RM290 nett (small) and RM546 nett (large). Geoduck Clam Yee Sang is RM266 nett (small) and RM511 nett (large).

Yee Sang is available for dine-in or takeaway from 8 January to 22 February 2016.

For reservations or more information, call 03-2074 3904 or email restaurantreservations.slkl@shangri-la.com or visit their website at www.shangri-la-specials.com.

Kam Heong Restaurant

Your typical coffee shop by day, a popular braised duck rice restaurant by night, Restaurant Kam Heong is the neighbourhood superhero when it comes to the emergency of the starving kind. It draws two different crowds thoughout the day with the working and studying crowd flocking there for good wantan dumplings and noodles and families and working crowds going there at night for their signature braised duck.

Jojo Super Kitchen SS2 review

When it comes to pan mee, Jojo Super Kitchen takes the cake as one of the best pan mee specialist in the Klang Valley. With multiple outlets in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya, fans of pan mee are spoiled for choice but the one outlet that most PJ locals flock to would be the Jojo Super Kitchen in the SS2 area.

It’s no surprise that their chilli pan mee is their best sellers with almost every table of patrons having one. With the option of thin, thick or even hand-shredded noodles, it mixes well with the beautifully poached egg, mince pork and crunchy anchovies. Usually pan mee is accompanied with a helping of dried red chili. But Jojo takes it a step further and offers two types of chilies in a bowl of their delicious chili pan mee; dried red chili and mashed green chili.

Satellite Chicken Rice Restaurant review

Crowned as the Best Chicken Rice in the Klang Valley by FriedChillies in 2010, Restaurant Satellite has been a Petaling Jaya landmark for decades and its Hainan chicken rice brings in a steady flow of loyal patrons. The corner shop lot keeps the old school coffee shop feel and friendliness with its owner constantly present and chatting up customers.

Customers could order either the roasted or steamed chicken that comes served with oily rice soaked in chicken stock for hours. Restaurant Satellite lives up to its name of being one of the better chicken rice in Petaling Jaya as the chicken is succulent with ample meat to go around.

Super Kitchen Chilli Pan Mee, SS2 review

I never used to be a fan of Pan Mee. I never understood the appeal of a soggy, not-thin-nor-thick noodle with ikan bilis and minced pork or chicken. Until two years ago when my sister introduced me to Jojo Pan Mee in SS2 and to its Lat Jiu Pan Mee and century egg dumpling.

Only recently I stumbled upon a new Chilli Pan Mee hunt, also in SS2. Well, new to me as this place has been in business for a long time now. Super Kitchen Chilly Pan Mee is located in Chow Yang along the same row as the Original Kayu Nasi Kandar, SS2. Parking is easy to come by compared to the main SS2 area.

Chinese New Year at ESG

I first came across the art of cutting paper on a holiday to Beijing, China but because I was a kid and had no idea how intricate it was, I never really did appreciate it. The same way, I didn't appreciate the historical landmarks all over the city simply because I could not understand a thing the tour guide was saying in Mandarin. I am a banana, you see. Yellow on the outside, white on the inside. Basically a non-Chinese speaking Chinese.

Bite Hopping with 1Utama & the Butterfly Project Part 2

In this part of Bite Hopping through 1Utama with the Butterfly Project, let me introduce you to the eateries found in High Street. After covering most of Food Street (which you can read about in Part 1 here), the next part of my foodie mission took me to High Street lower ground (LG). 

[Non-halal] But before that, on my way to the former new wing of 1Utama, I dropped by this hidden little hideaway for my Bak Kut Teh fix, Pao Xiang Bak Kut Teh. How do you find it? Just look out for a giant bowl next to the escalator on the lower ground floor and it is right next to the Chinese medicine store, way inside. 

Pao Xiang Bak Kut Teh is famously known for their string-tied meat that ensure the meat remains firm and succulent when it is boiled in the herbal soup. It comes served on a ceramic burner to make sure it is constantly hot as you slurp on it. And it just so happened that when I was here, it started pouring cats and dogs outside. Talk about the perfect weather for piping hot soup and pork!

Bite Hopping with 1Utama & the Butterfly Project Part 1

Today's installment of Bite Hopping was brought to you by 1Utama Shopping Centre in collaboration with the Butterfly Project. Being the 4th largest shopping mall in the world, you can be really spoiled for choice in terms of food in 1Utama. Spoiled rotten like a kid in Candyland.

Thanks to the Butterfly Project, I got to try out some of 1Utama's hidden food treasures last weekend as part of their Blogger Wonderfood Adventure. My mission, should I chose to accept or not (I did, that's why I am doing this anyway) was to explore, eat, taste and photography 15 selected outlets of the lower ground (LG) floor. All within a 5 hours time limit from 11am to 4pm.

As soon as I collected my food passport to collect stamps from the outlets and my goodie bag from the registration counter, I started mapping out my foodie route for the next five hours. (cue Mission Impossible music)

Let me start by introducing you to Food Street, located in the LG Promenade area directly beneath Isetan if you need a landmark to find it. There is a good number of eateries here that can satisfy any sort of craving be it local or international, sweet or savoury.

Yuen Buffet Steamboat, Sunway Mentari

Updated 18 Jan 2014: Yuen Steamboat has moved to Zenith Corporate Park, Kelana Jaya as of 15 Jan 2014. For more information, check out www.yuenbuffetsteamboat.com.my.
 
I am a huge fan of buffet steamboat with emphasis on the words: huge and buffet and Yuen Steamboat in Sunway Mentari has been my favourite steamboat indulging spot since my college days. And judging from the numerous blogs that have reviewed this place and the endless scores of people queuing outside at dinner time each time I am there, Yuen is a popular choice of many others too despite being located in the steamboat hot spot that is Sunway Mentari. I guess it pays to be a pioneer of something in this case.  

Yuen Steamboat boasts a wide range of fresh seafood, vegetables, fish balls and meat selection that makes it a popular choice for buffet goers. The crabs and prawns are big and ample and many eaters often go for those to quickly earn their money back. Depleted ingredients are quickly replenished by the ever attentive staffs.

Simpang Duck Egg Char Kuey Teow, Taiping, Perak

My parents always made it a point to drop by this place to get their Char Kuey Teow fix. On my recent trip back to Taiping, I too made it a point to visit the famous Char Kuey Teow stall. Located along the Simpang main road, the stall is right just across the road from the new Simpang McDonald's drive-thru and is next to a mini market. There is no obvious sign so it would be best to go slow as soon as you see the McDonald's on your right.

Simple stall with only one dish.

I was there at 730pm with my grandparents and shortly after we reached, a couple of cars and motorbikes too pulled up to wait for the stall to open. The old uncle manning the stall only starts frying his signature kuey teow at 8pm, no earlier, no later and during the wait, more people came and another old man had to jolt down the orders as the uncle set about making fireworks with his wok and charcoal.

Salted Egg Crabs@Pangkor Village Seafood

So recently my family and I wanted try out the supposedly famous Fatty Crab restaurant in Taman Megah. Unfortunately it was an impromptu decision made at 8pm that day and by the time we got there, a long line had gathered. No matter because we really wanted to eat crab that day so we joined the line as well.

And waited...

And waited...

And waited.

After half an hour, no one attended to us! Argh! There was an auntie (who for lack of a better word, was a real bitch) barking out orders at customers to wait for her to get to them. My mom tried to get her attention but she downright brushed past my mom to attend to a bigger group that arrived later than us. My mom was pissed.

Then I proposed heading over to the less-crowded restaurant opposite the road, Pangkor Village Seafood restaurant. Hungry and irritated, the family agreed and within two minutes, we were seated without any fuss. Every table in the restaurant was filled with people, which I guess, was like us. Unable to deal to Fatty Crab's shitty front service.

Unlike Fatty Crab which has a limited menu to deal with the overwhelming customers, Pangkor Village Seafood's range of dishes is much wider. That night, we ordered five dishes to try.

Fried steamed buns

To start off, we had the Fried Mantau Bun (RM2.50/5pcs) Expectedly, it was soaked in oil. Nothing a little tissue paper can't solve. From the first bite, it was crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside. Good stuff. Just wished it came with something to dip it in but it was fine for a starter.

Clam soup with white wine and wolfberry.

Next up was the lala soup (RM18), a family favourite. With white wine and wolfberry for favour and kick, the amount of clams in the broth is a lot. It was a nice way to wash down the other dishes we had.

I <3Taufu!

Aside from that, we also had the Vege Beancurd (RM13) and steam Green Dragon Beansprout (RM15). Those were pretty much average but goes well with the main star of the night, the Salted Egg Crabs (RM74).

Delicious salted eggs crabs

The crabs were fresh and the salted eggs were marinated so well through the shell and into the flesh that it has me sucking everything clean. They gave us a generous portion of the pinchers which was a real fun to break open in order to reach the fleshy goodness inside. All use of utensils were immediately abandoned as soon as the crabs came. By the end of the night, let's just say we all embraced our inner food neanderthals.

The total damage came up to RM134, taking into account a pot of tea, tidbits and rice. Overall it was a satisfying experience and I would definitely go back to Pangkor Village Seafood again for their Mantau Buns and Salted Egg Crabs.

As for Fatty Crabs, it will be a while before I will attempt to try that place again. Until then, I hope they come up with a much more efficient and unbiased seating system that isn't handled by an old lady who thinks bigger groups means more ka-ching...

Address:
59, Jalan SS24/8,
Taman Megah,
47801 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor Darul Ehsan.Tel: 03 7803 6577
Hours: 12pm-3pm, 6pm-11pm.

Din Tai Fung Lunch Set review

My parents always complained that I have expensive cravings considering that I am currently surviving on a student budget and the occasional freelancer paychecks. I try to cut down when I can but sometimes the craving for good food is just too hard to resist.

Din Tai Fung's famous Xiao Long Bao is undoubtedly one of my favourites. I get cravings for it so often it drives my parents crazy every time I suggest Din Tai Fung for lunch or dinner.

Which is why I was so glad when I found out that Din Tai Fung had a lunch set. For RM23.90, I get to satisfy my craving for Xiao Long Bao along with one main dish and a drink (ice lemon tea or soya bean). Totally worth it!



Lunch set menu for Oct.

The mains can usually be shared between two people as they are huge! I love their shrimp and pork fried rice because they are very generous with their crunchy shrimps, six pieces tucked away in their yummy not-oily fried rice.

Shrimp & pork fried rice

And of course, the main reason I ever go to Din Tai Fung - their pork Xiao Long Bao. I have tried Xiao Long Bao from other places but none are up to the standards of Din Tai Fung, mainly because their dumpling skin is too thick or the soup inside is very little. You won't get that at Din Tai Fung.

Oh, glorious dumpling!

The recommended method of eating Xiao Long Bao.

source: www.malaysianfoodie.com

I prefer to drink the soup first before dabbing the ginger and soy sauce and eating it whole.

The lunch set is available only from Mon - Fri, before 3pm. Not available on public holidays or the eve of public holidays.

Hah, let's see my parents complain about my 'expensive' taste in food now! :p

Address:
The Gardens Mall,
Mid Valley City
LG207, Lower Ground Floor
Tel:+603 2283 2292
Hours: Mon-Sun: 10am-10pm

For more info on their other outlets, head over to http://dintaifungmalaysia.com/

*This is not an invited review. Every opinion here is the writer's own.