Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen @ Taman Tun Dr Ismail

Another fast food outlet opened (re-opened?) recently in Malaysia. This time it's Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen which is located at Taman Tun Dr Ismail. Since most food outlets are closed during Chinese New Year, we took the opportunity to try out Popeye's.

We ordered a variety of their meals to share amongst us. The fried chicken was crispy and sufficiently juicy inside but I felt it lacked flavour, possibly due to less spices? But then again, we ordered the non-spicy version so maybe we should try the spicy version next time.The fish and shrimp set came with 2 slices of battered fish fillets which were very juicy and fresh. The shrimp was fresh too. We liked this set the best.For our little girl, we ordered Chicken fingers. It tasted like the fried chicken, except that it came without bones which is perfect for children. The set meals came with two side dishes of coleslaw (which had added pickles in it) and mashed potatoes. Now, mashed potatoes is practically a simple dish, but at Popeye's, the mashed potatoes is brought to a new level with their special gravy. The gravy had specks of meat and chillies in it and Popeye's mashed potatoes was absolutely the best I've ever had! The gravy is seriously addictive! Although there are chillies in the gravy it is not spicy so our little girl loved it too.We ordered also some Cajun Fries to try. Unfortunately, I don't quite like it. The fries seemed to have been fried in some sort of batter, yet it didn't taste like anything unique. I'd very much prefer Nando's Peri Chips. Now, that's fries with kick!
Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen is located at Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad 1 (right opposite KFC) in Taman Tun Dr Ismail. Give it a try if you're looking for something other than burgers and fried chicken! Don't forget the mashed potatoes!

Claypot goodness at The Claypot Station

We had lunch at The Claypot Station at Dataran Sunway last week. The Claypot Station serves a wide variety of dishes in claypots.

Since we had just finished a spot of shopping, we needed something to fill our growling tummies. The Claypot Station seemed like a good idea!

We ordered 4 dishes to go with white steamed rice. We were recommended the Fa Tiu Frog which was paddy frogs cooked in dark soya sauce and Chinese rice wine. I really liked the thick gravy that smothered the frogs. It was finger-licking good!

The next dish we ordered was the Chicken in herbal soup. The soup was robust with the herbs, especially licorice. I liked the soup although I can’t say the same for the chicken. Somehow I didn’t think the chicken absorbed the flavour of the herbs well enough.

To counter all the meats we also ordered a plate of tofu with dried shrimps. The tofu was very soft and came topped with dried shrimps and oyster sauce.

For vegetables, we ordered the Sour & Spicy Vegetables. I’ve always loved this dish as the sourness and spiciness of the vegetables are so appetizing. The Claypot Station’s version is not too sour which I liked although it lacks the usual “kick” that the sour and spicy vegetables provides. I would have liked it a little more spicier.

The Claypot House is located at No. 23-1 Jalan PJU5/12, Dataran Sunway, PJU5, Kota Damansara, Selangor. Tel : 017-3936 352.

Grandpa's Bak-Kut-Teh

Claypot bak-kut-teh

One of my favourite bak-kut-teh haunts is the Grandpa Bak-Kut-Teh at Paramount Garden. The bak-kut-teh soup here is robust due to the requisite Chinese herbs, yet is light enough, unlike the Klang version which is thick and sticky.

Golden needle mushrooms ("kam cham koo")

At Grandpa’s, diners can pick and choose their preferred meat cuts such as ribs, lean meat, pig stomach, intestines etc. There’s also the optional golden needle mushrooms ("kam cham koo") and tofu puffs (tau pok). For diners who want variety, there’s peppered pig stomach soup, braised pork knuckle and herbal chicken in wine.

My daughter and I love the pig stomach and intestines for our bak-kut-teh. The bak-kut-teh comes in a claypot topped with coriander.

Herbal chicken in wine

My hubby ordered the herbal chicken in wine which he liked. The chicken is nicely flavoured with herbs and a generous dash of Chinese wine.

Restaurant Grandpa is located at 12 Jalan 20/16A Paramount Garden, 46300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. The restaurant is closed on Mondays.