Cheap Korean Delights from Ko Hyang @ The Gardens, Mid Valley City

So, what if you're fatigued from all the shopping at Midvalley or The Gardens (they're connected to each other, btw), and looking for a place to snack, but sick of the usual fast food, doughnuts, and pretentious food (you know, those charging triple the amount for a packet of nasi lemak, or those seemingly specializing in laksa but instead serving generic mediocre food + lacklustre servive?)?

The open dining concept may be slightly intimidating for those shy eaters, but who cares when you know you're paying for quality food, and prompt service?

Situated on lower ground floor of The Gardens, this place has received considerably positive reviews from all quarters. First read about this place from Boo, then wmw blogged bout this recently, and here's one from neko hime's.

Click on the picture for larger view, or believe in my superzoom eyesight. =P

This simple stall (not even a restaurant, nor shoplot for that matter) opened its doors ... wait, there is NO door. Erm, put it simply, started serving satisfied customers since the beginning of this year. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I clearly noted on my previous visit to Din Tai Fung, I was absolutely sure this corner was occupied by some other eatery.

Iced Coffee (white - with milk, not the Ipoh's variety!) (RM3.30) and Hot Sik Hye (Korean barley drink) (RM3.60)

The menu's far from extensive, but not too shabby either. Offering 20 authentic Korean dishes, from the perennial favourite of Bibimbap, Bulgogi to Pajeon, as well as lesser known noodle dishes such as Korean style Pam Mee (I think correlates to our Pan Mee), and stir-fried cuttlefish with rice.

Ban Chan (side dishes) - Free refills

Once seated, you'll be served almost instantly. The small lot houses an amazing 6 workers (at that time we ate there), performing their duties to utmost diligence, almost clockwork-like. You can ask for recommendations, but browsing the simple one page menu should not be a hassle.

Ban Chan (Korean side dishes) is complimentary, much alike other Korean outlets, and 3 types are served at any one time. Of course, the varieties may change from time to time. But the spicy and sour pickled cabbage (kimchi) is almost a staple. The side dishes can be refilled for unlimited rounds, if you ever feel like picking on some light snacks while chatting over a hot cup of Korean barley tea (Sik Hye), which was sweet, soothing, with a hint of smoky, roasted barley aroma.

Kimchi Pancake - Kim Chi Jeon (RM9.50)

Yup, the Kim Chi pancake is less than RM 10 per serving, which is a plus. The crispy sides of the pancake paired with the soft, chewy centre, flavoured with kim chi (yup, that famous Korean pickle again) and lots of chopped scallions. The accompanying tangy sauce provided much zing to the pancake, even a little too sour for my liking. But the pancake was indeed a great snack, or even a complete meal for light eaters.

Bi Bim Kuk Su - Korean sweet and spicy noodles (RM12.50)

Commonly eaten after a heavy, and heaty meal of barbecued meats, the cold noodles is supposedly cooling, and provided much fibres and balance to an otherwise carnivorous affair. But eaten on its own (without the BBQ cuts), the cold noodles at Ko Hyang was delicious, with just enough sauce (mixture of red pepper powder, vinegar, sugar and gochujang - Korean spicy/sour sauce)smothered around the thin, springy wheat flour noodles. The julienned cucumber and carrot added some bites, while a whole poached egg completed the ensemble for a balanced, and light meal.

Toss them up real good ..... and slurp away.

Korean cold noodles are usually eaten during summer, which ironically, best describe current Malaysia's weather. This permanently scorching/blistering weather will last for another 3 months, forecasted. Wow ..... I may just go for another round of cold noodles, or even cendol or ABC in days to come .....

Location : Ko Hyang Korean Country Delights @ LG-K05, The Gardens, Mid Valley City, 59200 Kuala Lumpur. Located in front of Justlife organic supplies, and Cold Storage on the lower ground floor of the Gardens, by the escalator.

Din Tai Fung @ The Gardens, Midvalley

Din Tai Fung is fast becoming a household name in serving brilliant Shanghainese dishes, boosted by the growing trend of dining in cool and chic Chinese restaurants serving Xiu Long Bao and La Mian. With outlets in Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia, China, USA, Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea and Australia, it's probably time for Malaysians to relish the hype. And the number of Dragon-i, Canton-i, Crystal Jade and similar outlets had been steadily increasing in Malaysia taking the competition up a notch or two.

A typical scene come lunch hour @ Din Tai Fung, The Gardens

Having sampled other Xiu Long Bao in other outlets (such as THIS), I'm still searching for a really tasty version of the small dumplings. And glad to say, Din Tai Fung passed the test, with flying colours.

The accompanying supporting characters ...

Appetizer of crunchy, julienned wood ear fungus, red chillies, glass noodles and whatnots (RM2.00, yup, NOT complimentary)

The first and only outlet in Klang Valley, and Malaysia (correct me if I'm wrong), Din Tai Fung is located at the lower ground floor of The Gardens, Midvalley. The floor with Purple Cane, Nyonya Colors, and of course, Rak Thai.

Be sure to arrive early for lunch, else the queue might be a potential deterrent factor. On weekends and public holidays, you'll be lucky to find a seat come peak hours.

Drunken Chicken @ RM11.80

Of course, they serve not only XLB and LaMian (hand-pulled noodles), but various other Chinese dishes as well. One fine example being a cold appetizer in the form of 'Drunken Chicken'. True to its name, the cold cuts of chicken thigh exudes a hint of Chinese cooking wine aroma, enveloping the palate with a refreshing, yet strong aftertaste. Don't worry, the meat may look pink, but they're not raw. Crunchy, and light, this entree teases the palate for more to come.

Cha Jiang La Mian (Hand-pulled Noodles with Minced Pork & Beancurd) @ RM12.00

Foodie of the Day, my lunch companion, Mr T chose the La Mian for a substantial meal, as opposed to me who wished for something lighter, after a heavy breakfast of Bak Kut Teh. He had nothing but praises for the Cha Jiang La Mian. I wished I had sampled a few strands, but slight misfortune while chewing on the Drunken Chicken rendered me 'handicapped' from fully enjoying my meal. Shucks ...

And ladies & gentlemen, the acclaimed Xiu Long Bao !!!

If it's your first time here, I highly recommend their XLB, aka Mini Pork Dumplings with Soup, encased within folds after folds of thin skin, an important aspect when relishing these morsels of goodies. At Dragon-i, the fillings of pork meat was a tad dryer than Din Tai Fung's, and the skin was not as translucent/thin as I'd hoped for. But the XLB from Din Tai Fung was a step above the rest, as they say. And the soup was NOT of tongue-burning temperature, further enhancing the "one sip of soup, one bite of pork" experience. Dip them into the julienned ginger in vinegar sauce, and you'd secretly hope you're not sharing the portion. Hoard them all, baby ....

A shot of the Drunken Chicken - Culprit to a bleeding tongue =(

Savour them one bite at a time ... OR throw the whole dumpling into your mouth, feeling the squirts of sweet, yet savoury soup

A thoroughly satisfying experience. Will definitely be back for more, once I've tried everything (worth-trying, I might add) at The Gardens, possibly.

Love Thai? (Rak Thai @ The Gardens, Midvalley)

The other day we were searching high and low for some good grubs around Midvalley shopping centre, but to no avail. In dire need of suggestion, what do people eat in Midvalley anyway? Other than the occasional Burger King/Domino Pizza cravings, we ended up in The Gardens for food on most days.

Comfortable, plush sofa ... But if you're dining, prepare for a bad back!

Initially planned to dine at Sushi Zanmai, but our pursue came to a halt somewhere halfway there, (it is located at the top floor of The Gardens, and walking all the way from Midvalley, that is quite a journey). Countless escalators to be transcended more, we surrendered to our hunger pangs, and the crowd at Rak Thai caught our eyes.

Let's hope there's no birds' droppings!

Of all the visits to The Gardens lower ground floor (where the REAL action's at, food-wise that is), I never paid much attention to Rak Thai, as the place was quite deserted on weekdays. Situated next to SBread, and Big Apple Donuts, and opposite Nyonya Colors, the patronage level seems to pale in comparison to other offerings, such as Din Tai Fung, for example.

But that evening, the restaurant was fully packed, and as soon as we sighted an empty table for 4, we rammed and bulldozed through every obstacles, and jumped into the seats. Muahaha .... The usherer was probably scratching his head, wondering "What's up with these barbarians?!!"

Pandan Lemongrass Drink (Rm2.50), Thai Iced Coffee (Rm3.90)

Beverages section is your usual suspects, from fruit juices to their "authentic" Thai tea and coffee, as well as the strange sounding Pandan Lemongrass drink. Surprisingly, the drink was pretty good, typical pandan-flavoured water with a stalk of lemongrass (as stirrer, I supposed?). Definitely NOT my choice, as I've absolutely no lurve for lemongrass. Hehe .... The Thai Iced Coffee was my choice, nothing special, but loved the milky caffeine boost. Oh, they serve Vietnamese Drip Coffee as well. Talk about influence from neighbouring countries!

Som Tam, or Papaya Salad (Rm4.90)

Thai food aficionados would attest to their famous tangy salad, in particular the mango or papaya salad. The portion may be small, but served its purpose as an appetizer, with its saliva-inducing sour and spicy flavours. Oh, careful as there ARE bits and pieces of bird's eye chilli implanted within the mash of humble-looking young papaya strips, raw long beans, and peanuts. Piquant, tangy, and appetizing, this was a positive sign of things to come.

Tom Yam Kung (RM10.90)

Yes, we are predictable. But what's Thai food without its ***star attraction***, the sweat-inducing Tom Yam soup. Two varieties are served, one with chicken, the other with seafood. When the large bowl arrived, I was stunned as the broth was clear, without any signs of murky tomyam paste, and the soup was brimming with ingredients. Albeit of the inedible species, namely lemongrass, kaffir lime, galangal, chillis and what-nots. Of course, 2 medium-sized prawns, oyster mushrooms, and chicken meat (or was there any?) were thrown in for good measure. But the clear tom yam broth may be misleading, as the full flavour of the spicy and sour concoction pulled through, and definitely on par with (or even surpass) the tomyam soup we normally have in Malaysia.

Pineapple Fried Rice (RM12.90)

Belacan Fried Rice (RM11.90)

Routinely, we would have ordered white rice to pair with the tomyam soup, but no intentions to stuff ourselves with meagre rice (no love lost, ok?), we opted for two version of fried rice; the Pineapple Fried Rice, and the Belacan (pungent/fermented shrimp paste) Fried Rice. Both were delicious in their own rights, the former shone with its sweet and sour pineapple cubes and fluffy rice fried to perfection, served in a hollow pineapple half. The latter on the other hand, was slightly disappointing presentation-wise, but scored with its strong flavours, coming from the belacan and the various ingredients used, eg. shrimps, eggs, kangkung (water convolvulus ... gee, vulgar sounding vege eh?) and crab sticks.

BBQ Chicken Khao San Style (RM12.90)

Khao San is a backpacker's paradise, a road buzzing with activities in Bangkok, Thailand. But I did not realize their BBQ Chicken is to-die-for though. The barbecued whole boneless chicken thigh was served on a bed of lettuce, and a simple Thai chilli sauce for dipping. A tad dry for my dining companions, but I found the meat to be juicy enough, and retained much of the taste of the meat, with a smoky finish. Not highly recommended, but satiate the carnivorous appetite.

Mango Sticky Rice (RM5.90)

Tub Tim Krob (RM4.90)

Desserts came in the form of Mango Sticky Rice and Tub Tim Krob. Throughout my trip to Bangkok aeons ago (gee, wont' someone PLEASE invite me along to Bangkok again? I'm on the brink of desperation!), one of my favourite street food was the mango sticky rice. Yup, nothing else came close, though the beef noodles fared pretty well in my books too. The version served at Rak Thai was abyssmal, a tiny, sloppy chunk of glutinous rice drenched with coconut milk, and half a mango, that's screaming "I'm a Local Malaysian Product!". Not as sweet as the ones I've had in Bangkok.

Tub Tim Krob is famous Thai dessert, which is essentially water chestnut with tapioca coating, dyed in dark red. Chewy, crunchy beads, served with jackfruit strips, and shaved ice. Refreshing, but slightly pricey for a small bowl.

They have NO signboards, just a simple banner

The meal cost RM77.77 for the three of us, including 10& service charge. Reasonable, as this is in The Gardens, after all. They sell various Thailand products as well, such as instant noodles (Mama brand comes to mind, but in Betong, we bought it at RM16 for a box of 30 packets).

Location : RAK THAI @ LG232A, The Gardens, Mid Valley City. Easy to locate, as coming from Midvalley's lower ground floor (the level with all the restaurants and fast food outlets), you'll notice this Thai restaurant on your left, exactly by The Gardens' border.

For other's take on Rak Thai, click on these :

3 Meals of Goodness, The Gastronomic's Diary

Alexis Bistro @ The Gardens, Mid Valley City

After the dim sum brunch at Tuck Kee in Kepong, work continued, which took us to somewhere around Masjid Negara/Railway Station. Wrong calculation on my behalf, as it was a Friday afternoon, equivalent to the Muslim's Friday prayers. The whole stretch of road was infested with vehicles, blocking the way to MOH HQ on Jalan Cenderasari.

So after a few rounds, the prayers had ended, but traffic policemen were blocking off some roads. Sigh ... Slightly frustrated, we drove off to Mid Valley. It was a wise choice, as there was supposedly a mass protest (albeit a peaceful one) around Sogo area, right after Friday's prayer. Wanna know why? Let's just say, a 40% increase in certain commodity has the whole nation up in arms, (muhibbah spirit in full-force, nevertheless!!) and war of words of gargantuan proportion ensued. =)

Al fresco dining option @ alexis

But of course, this blog aims to please the inner foodies in everyone, NOT rants on political matters. Blogs of political nature are ample enough to go around in the blogosphere for years to come, or possibly until the next election. Hehe ....

Selection of delights to please the sweet tooth ...

Searching high and low for a spot for tea break, we were torn between Cova, Alexis, SBread and Nyonya Colors. Nah ... Drop the last one. Over-rated pricey nyonya kuih. (Flamers still welcomed. Fanboys anyone? =P) Ended up at Alexis on 1st floor of The Gardens. Pretty easy to locate, though hidden in one corner.

Black and White Chocolate Cake (RM11)

The place was strangely quite empty. But it was a weekday's evening, after all. Ushered to a corner and seated. The ambience exudes a cool, cozy, and modern aura at the same time. Perfect for a chattering good time. Walked over to the cakes counter, picked 2 slices and whipped my tool out. My phone, I meant. Hehe ...

Chocolate Nutty Meringue (Rm13)

I was snapping at the wide array of cakes at the counter, when I noticed the waitress whispering to another. Then as I was about to shoot the beautiful wine display rack, a waitress warned me not to, as it's in their 'policy' not to let customers take photos, and I'd have to request permission from their manager. Huh? WTF .... I explained that I was snapping the photos for personal use, nothing more. Still she insisted that I talk to the manager first.

Ridiculous. To sum up my feelings at that moment. What if I'm celebrating a birthday/anniversary at that time, and cameras are clicking away, as expected. Must I put my hands up (ala primary school students) and apply for a written attestation? Not one to create a scene, I retraced my steps and waited 'eagerly' for their prized desserts.

The ambience ... supposedly dimmed yellow lights, but credits to my hp. Haha!!

The meringue cake fared better IMO, as the abundance of macadamia nuts did the trick. The black and white chocolate cake sucked, big time. To pour salt to the wound, that was a recommended item by the guy manning the counter (who BTW, was not fluent at all when suggesting recommendations). Plain water was NOT served, until we requested for them, although the bunch of waiters were chatting away near the counter. And don't even wish for them to refill your water without prompts. Yeah, and service charge is 10%. Go figure.

Location : Lot F209, First Floor, The Gardens, Mid Valley City. Tel : 603-22872281.

Other branches at Bangsar Baru, Bangsar Shopping Centre, and Ampang's Great Eastern Mall. For more info, click HERE.

Fong Lye Taiwanese Restaurant @ The Gardens, KL

Backdated blog la ... went to KL sometime in Feb 2008, practically a food tour. 1st stop for dinner, at around 9pm already, mind u, was this restaurant on the top floor of The Gardens, Mid Valley. Believe it or not, at this hour, on a weekday, it was FULL! We had to wait for 15 mins for a seat... Wow, talk about LATE dinner. During our wait, the queue stretched to a few more groups of ppl! Reli so nice meh? ... OK, we'll see ....

Three Cups Chicken Set (RM18.80)

The interior was nice la. Bright and inviting. But at that moment, all we could think about was FOOD! We practically made up our mind on what to order during the 15 mins wait, as they were pretty thoughful to supply us with a menu. Or it could be a set up, to tempt us with delicious array of food photos, in order to increase their revenues? Hmm ... conspiracy theory ...

Deep Fried Pork Ribs Set (RM18.80)

Skinny Fren wanted to order something else, but i read from boo_licious stating that the 3 Cups Chicken was pretty nice, so i forcefully ordered the dish for him ...muahaha... DICTATOR MODE ... Tastewise? Not bad though. The chicken was smooth, and braised deep in the sauce, supposed to contain 3 ingredients, soya sauce, sesame oil (?) and wine (?). Correct me if i'm wrong, cz i dun have a clue ... hehe .... =P

I ordered the pork ribs set. However, i didn't think highly of it. The fried pork ribs was tasty, possibly marinated with 5 spice powder? But a bit dry. They served it with lots of vege though, it's underneath the meat. One of the side dish captivated my attention, the one on the far right. I couldn't taste what it was, but the texture resembles artichoke? ... Slightly sour, spicy & chewy, it's very appetizing.

Taiwanese Sausage wrapped in Glutinous Rice

We also ordered a snack of Taiwanese sausage in Glutinous Rice, though we only got to devour it at the end of the meal, when everyone was already full. Nothing special about this, costing around RM8 i think.

Steamed Fish Set (RM16.80?)

Forgetful me ... Dunno what Fish (her name) ordered, but the fish (haha ... steamed version) was nice, none of those fishy smell, and steamed to perfection. Lightly steamed in soy sauce, her meal was light and satisfying.

Strawberry Ice (RM6.80)

For drinks, both of them ordered fruit juice, yoghurt or something like that. BAD BAD memory ... i ordered the above, VERY refreshing, not very sweet, with chunks of strawberry pieces and drizzled with strawberry sauce. Plus the vanilla ice cream, this is fabulous! But a bit too much for me, as the pork ribs set was pretty filling itself.

Verdict? MAY come back for more, provided that we do not have to stand around waiting for a seat, gazing at the 'stars' on the wall of The Gardens .....