Restoran New SEA Seafood

Occasionally, we'd go on random food hunts to try out the not-so-cliche restaurants. That means turning into back lanes, going through kampungs, driving across town from Cheras to Damansara, at the recommendation of Mr. E, the most picky member of Traveling Danbo, of course.  

Mr. E explained that he chanced upon this restaurant one day when it was raining heavily and, since he couldn't get to his car, he walked into this shop to pass the time until the rain stops. 

The vege reached first. As we were ordering Curry Fish Head, we opted for a simple vegetable dish

The rain turned out to be a blessing in disguise and he dragged us back here to try their Curry Fish Head, even if it meant that we had to drive all the way from KL city center to Hartamas at 7.00 pm on a weekday (in lay person's terms: braving the after-office-1-hour-turtle-crawl jam, on an empty stomach, going bumper to bumper with other equally hungry after-work drivers who are generally nasty people). 

Homemade Taufu with pickled radish. Very nice.

This is the only (decent) picture I could take of the Curry Fish Head before it was polished off by the cannibals. It is nice, though Mr. E insists that it was tastier the last time he came, possibly because he specially requested for more vege to be added this time around, thus slightly diluting the curry. 



As I was too engrossed with eating, I didn't manage to get the name of this dish. It's venison meat. 


Restoran New SEA Seafood
 4, Jalan 25/70A Desa Sri Hartamas
50480 Kuala Lumpur
Business Hours: 7.30 am - 4.00 pm, 6.00 pm - 10.30 pm (Mon - Sun)

Shell Out

I have never heard about this place before until I stumbled onto it one Sunday evening. We were at that time on our way to Photo Crafts "The Cafe" which is located in the same block as Shell Out. 

 

The doodles on the glass windows and the photos caught our attention first. 

Then THIS -->  '2 crabs for RM36.00 only' <-- signboard made us stop at our tracks. 

While browsing through the menu outside, we were warmly greeted by the friendly boss. We decided to give it a try in the end.  

 

While waiting for our food, we were given paint markers to occupy ourselves.

We were allowed to doodle on the table.

 

On the wall.

 

On the lamps.

And on the windows.

No cutlery is provided required in this shop. Well, nobody eats crabs with fork and knife anyways. No plates also, everything is eaten on the table covered by a large piece of wax paper. 

First time in my life, I tried the Fried Shishamo Fish. This fish is commonly seen on conveyor belts in Japanese restaurants, which I tend to ignore because it didn't look appetizing at all. 

But we ordered it and, squirt a bit of lime juice for added flavor, it turned out unexpectedly crunchy and tasty.

The (RM36.00) crabs with corn as sides. We KNOW they're fresh. The incredibly friendly boss helpfully showed us the live crabs just so that we can decide the amount to order. After that, we opted for the Shell Bang flavor (a mixture of Cajun Sensation, Lemon Pepper and Butter Garlic), mildly spicy as we do not want the spice to overpower the crabs' original taste

The verdict: finger licking good, and the best part is we left without burning a hole in our pockets. I'll definitely come back to try the other food on the menu. 

Now if you'd excuse me, I'd like to get back to my doodling. 

Shell Out Seafood Restaurant

Jalan 16-1, Jalan PJU 5/15

Dataran Sunway Damansara

47810 Sungai Buloh

Business Hours: 

11.30 am - 10.00 pm (Mon - Thurs)

11.30 am - 11 pm (Fri - Sat)

5.00 pm - 10.00 pm (Sun)

Syarikat Kopi LOKL

If you're in the mood for a nice brunch on a Saturday or Sunday morning, why not head on down to LOKL, which is within walking distance from the Masjid Jamek LRT Station.

I would prefer to go during weekend though because it's quieter. For the same reason, parking would be less painful compared to weekdays. 

The simple black-and-white signage is easy to spot. 

Like most other cafés, the space in LOKL is not very big, which gives out a warm and cozy feeling.

 

Once inside, you will hardly remember that you are actually in the middle of the bustling city. 

Everything and anything can be used as props.

The Smoked Salmon & Cream Cheese Bagel. One of my favorite choices here.

Pancake with Coconut Whipped Cream and Gula Melaka.

I'm still here!!!

Noooooo ... Don't drink meeeeeeeee!!!

Look, there's a cute bear in my coffee.

If the weather is not too hot, you may enjoy your brunch outside the little open space. 

There are trees at the open space to (partially) block the scorching sun. 

Kedai Kopi LOKL
30, Jalan Tun HS Lee
50000 Kuala Lumpur
Business Hours: 8.00 am to 8.00 pm (closed on Mondays)

Caffé Bene

After our dinner the other day, we decided to drop by Caffé Bene to check out this new addition to Solaris Mont Kiara.

Once we arrived there, which was after-dinner hours around 9-ish, there was hardly any empty tables available.

After you've placed your order at the counter, they will hand this coaster to you so that you will know when your order is ready to be picked up.

This is called a Bingsu, which means 'shaved ice dessert' in the Korean language. It's basically shaved ice with sweet toppings like red beans, fruits, and gelato. We ordered the Strawberry Bingsu and the Coffee Bingsu.

I've asked the human to hold the Bingsu cup so that readers can assess its size. 1 cup of regular sized Bingsu is, I would say, big enough to be shared between 2 grown humans?

Besides Bingsu, The cafe offers a wide variety of coffee and waffles for its customers. However, if you are expecting a full meal then this is not the place as it doesn't serve heavy food.

To sum it up in one paragraph, this would be the perfect place for friends to meet up and gossip over coffee. The lively atmosphere, mostly attributable to its chatty patrons, would make your 'yam cha' session pleasant. However, this would not be the ideal place if you are planning to sip coffee alone the whole afternoon whilst reading a book quietly.

Bingsu! I'll be back.    

Caffé Bene
Ground Floor, SohoKL
Solaris Mont KiaraKuala Lumpur
Business Hours: 9.30 am to 12.00 am

Coffee Amo

Hidden amongst the old shops in Chinatown is a quaint little cafe called Coffee Amo. The signboard is comparatively small, but hard to miss. Just keep an eye out for it when you're within the vicinity.

Once you've found the signboard, take the creaky wooden stairs to the 1st floor. 

The creaky stairs, the framed old photos lining up the walls, the dim orange light, give an eerie but welcoming feeling to its visitors. Kinda builds up the suspense as to what lies ahead, no? :)

The interior of the cafe is less fancy compared to its other cafe counterparts, but that doesn't mean the ambience is any less enjoyable.  For me, subtle, thoughtful decorations are more 'photo-friendly' 'instagram-able'. Such as the tin flower pot and the occasional chalk art on the interior walls of the cafe. 

Look! There's a smiling bear in my coffee B)

If you haven't heard, Coffee Amo offers one of the most awesome foam art you can find. Just be prepared to drink your coffee cold because after you take your 10 20-or-so pictures of the coffee (can't disappoint your followers right?), your friends will want to take pictures of your coffee too (can't disappoint their followers too, ya' know).

And they have wi-fi! Good luck trying to pry me away from my table. I can sit here for hours.

Coffee Amo

 1st Floor

54, Jalan Sultan (near Petaling Street)

Kuala Lumpur
Business Hours: 10.30 am to 9.00 pm