Satisfy the Cravings for Japanese Feast @Aoki Tei Japanese Restaurant (青木亭放题）; Sunway Nexis

Maya Angelou said it best, “…people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” A great dinner treat from the head of department for recognizing and acknowledging each members' hard work for achieving sales target in the previous financial year. On that night, it was a celebration of achievements for all! The dinner was held at Aoki Tei Japanese Restaurant; Sunway Nexis. A well-meant gratitude had been expressed by the boss before everyone started to fill up each stomach with food.

Aoki Tei Japanese Restaurant; a good venue for satisfying the cravings for platefuls of sashimi,mix of raw fishes, sushi, seafood drenched with cheese and etcetera. The a-la-carte buffet priced at RM58++ for lunch and RM78++ for dinner. Bottomless drinks including green tea, sake and beers were available at Aoki Tei.

A red Kimono was hanged at the main interior as decoration and above it was the Aoki Tei 's sake.

It wasn't the typical buffet that had full range of dishes served at one side, but Aoki Tei offered ala-carte buffet which was made-to-order. A better way to remain the freshness of food. While there're more than 70 dishes to be ordered, yet each stomach had limited capacity to try all. Here's some of the Japanese feast that we had on that night. 

いただきます!

Umai Chinmi was good to be served as appetizer before starting the feast.

Seasoned octopus was very flavorful, while not many of us fancy with the seasoned jelly fish.

Grilled mackerel fish with salt (Saba Shioyaki) which was served with a slice of lemon to enhance the taste.

Chawan Mushi or Japanese steamed egg

California hand rolls

Top Glass Salad with shredded chickens and assorted vegetables.

It was ordered to balance up the meals as not all would like to be carnivores! :)

Sashimi (5pcs)

The most satisfying feast of tonight was the thick slices of  fresh sashimi. I had eaten 5 thick slices of it and regretted for not ordering one more platter.

Delicious sizzling seafood comprised of tiger prawns, salmon and squid legs topped with cheese.

 Cheese Baked Oysters were very scrumptious and we had topped up few orders after the first try. 

The tasty oyster topped with melted cheese. 

Gani Cheese Fried ordered by the next table.

I was anticipated for unagi yet there's no eel fish served here.

Mini chicken pizza

Well, it's like a heaven for sushi and sashimi lovers where the next table had been serving with jumbo platter and crystal platter. According to one of the eaters, nothing was very top notch about it, but good enough to satisfy one's cravings for sashimi.

Jumbo Platter

Crystal platter

8 kinds of seafood are included in this set and it's definitely worth ordering for feasting since this dish was costed RM199.

Takoyaki - The famous Japanese street food was served piping hot.

The flavorful diced octopus was crispy on the outside.

Prawn tempura with too much batter flours.

The batter was thick, tasted heavy, covered the taste of prawns which was suited my taste.

Soft shell crab hand rolls

Crispy crab, lettuce, Terriyaki sauce and mayo.

I had tasted two hand rolls of this due to the orders were mixed up, yet delightful of the taste.

Edamame beans- great healthy snacks when your stomachs need a rest after filling up with too many meats.

Miso soup (Japanese bean paste soup)

The feedback from the eaters that the miso soup tasted much more flavorful compared to Gyu Suji Nabe.

Inari sushi with salad dressings 

Sake Kurage Maki-Jelly fish rolls wrapped inside-out with salmon and avocado.

Hmm, nothing much special for me but those who didn't fancy of fresh raw food were satisfied with it. Desserts were available with the 4 different flavors of ice-cream i.e. vanilla, matcha, chocolate and wasabi. The matcha ice-cream was too good that I had the 2nd scoop.Mild bitterness with the nice green tea scent.

Chocolate flavor ice-cream was good for sweet-tooth.

Matcha ice-cream here yielded a perfectly sweet with mild bitterness, creamy dessert.

The celebration would not be exciting without the free flow of sake and beers. Raising up the glasses of beers/ sake or cups of green tea to cheer for the good achievement, hoping for the best to the current year! The celebration for those who born in April and May had heated up the party at the end.  

One of the group photo I liked the most.

ごちそうさまでした!
ありがとうございます!

Address:
Aoki-Tei Japanese Buffet Restaurant
Unit D-GF-05, Sunway Nexis
Jalan PJU 5/2, Kota Damansara
Phone number: 03 61436868- Table booking recommended

Appetizing Pasta @ The Morning After Coffee Company, T6 Light Grey Mall,Sungai Buloh

Every working day, I usually anticipate for the lunch hour for meals and a 30-minutes walk with dissociated minds. The long lunch hour during Friday is the best moment for ranting or chatting before working productively for the rest of the day. Sometimes, I hope that the hustle and bustle of work life open doors to new ways of thinking yet the change is still needed to be self-initiated.

Anyway, last Friday was special in which we left office earlier to eat lunch and switch gears. It's the first departmental lunch for welcoming new bosses and new joiner to the team. The place to have the lunch session was pre-booked at The Morning After Coffee Company; a hipster cafe located at T6 Light Grey Mall in Sungai Buloh.

The rustic and industrial theme decoration of the cafe with an exposed brick wall stating the cafe's name.

Above our heads, there's a big lamp which looked like from operation theater's. *Just kidding*

The menu was provided once we were seated and we promptly placed in the orders. I shall not share much details related to the work. Therefore, let's see the pasta we had ordered. Each pasta was made to order with nice firm at each bite. The pasta here were worth to try, each platter of pasta came with a large portion with generous amount of ingredients.

Grilled Chicken Pasta in Creamy Pesto Sauce
Grilled chicken breast meats and sun-fried tomatoes smothered in a creamy pesto sauce with pasta.

The Signature Soft Shell Crab pasta with Neapolitan sauce and rocket salad
The pasta with the highest price was served and its high-stacked presentation had gained the attention from most of us.

The pasta was scented with lemon grass and tossed with tomato and garlic in a spiced prawn oil. The tangy sauce was quite similar to bolognese pasta's and well-matched with the large portion of crunchy deep fried soft-shell crab.

 Spicy Aglio Olio with Grilled Prawns and Zucchini 
My choice of spaghetti with salivating prawns and sliced zucchini. For the 1st dining experience for the Italian cuisines, I usually ordered their simplest yet classic Italian pasta recipe. As the name suggested, the pasta was cooked with olive oil, grilled prawns and speckled with chili flakes. It's appetizing with the spiciness jazzing up the taste department. Well, I was delighted of my choice of meal with many plump, fresh, and juicy prawns on pasta.

Nice presentation of the food

Creamy Beef and Mushroom Pasta
The pasta topped with generous amount of sauted mushrooms and beef slices, tossed in classic creamy carbonara sauce.

Smoked Salmon Pasta

This pasta would be great for those who like to eat salmon slices and spaghetti enriched with tomato sauce.

A massive platter of pasta smothered in some kind of luscious sauce made one overwhelmed with happiness to end this weekend. It was delightful to have department lunch once awhile, to satisfy stomach and to socialize :)

Address:
After Morning Café at T6 Light Grey Mall

9, Jalan LGSB 1/1,

Pusat Komersial LGSB, OffJalan Hospital,

47000 Sungai Buloh, Selangor

Chinese Cuisines @ Restoran Lee Hong Kee (李雄記酒家) and Jeff Lee Kitchen (鲜味馆)

Both Lee Hong Kee Restaurant and Jeff Lee Kitchen are located in rural area of Kampung Baru in Sungai Buloh. As most colleagues have recommended on the Chinese cuisines, we have decided to have family dinner at the mentioned restaurants during weekends in April. As both restaurants are having most positive reviews from Trip Advisor as well as food patrons' blogs, we were having high expectation towards the food as well as dining experiences. Here's my unbiased reviews of both restaurants beginning with Lee Hong Kee Restaurant.

Restoran Lee Hong Kee (李雄記酒家) 

Lee Hong Kee Restaurant offers call-in booking service and able to extend the booking service for 15 minutes on the appointment date (time). It's best to arrive on time to avoid disappointment as it's as crowded as the Jeff Lee Kitchen. The relocated Restoran Lee Hong Kee was very spacious with high ceiling, therefore the noise level was much reduced although the restaurant was packed with food patrons.

Chinese Barbecue Pork (Char Siu Pork) 

The grilled pork with a sweet-and-sour marinade was the first dish to be served. We had requested for more meaty type and quite satisfied with the barbeque pork as it's well marinated and crunchy.

Signature claypot bean-curd
The home-style bean curd with braised peanuts, minced meats and broad beans.

Stir-fried sweet potato leaves
The sweet potato leaves were stir-fried with garlics and chilis. The portion was big and flavorful.

Deep fried tilapia fish with petaiNothing was more stunning at the dinner table than serving a whole deep-fried fish with sweet-sour sauce and generous amount of petai. The combination with fragrant petai and fresh tilapia was interesting for us as we used to order steamed fish, this dish happened to be the 1st runner dish after Barbeque Pork.

Sweet and sour pork chop 排骨王Hmm, sweet and sour pork chop was also one of the recommended dishes here yet it's unsavory for me.


The Standing Chicken (栋笃鸡) was the prominent dish that attracted food patrons from other states. To me and my family's dismay, it was just a roasted chicken serving in a "standing" position. The disposable plastic gloves and a pair of scissors were provided, but you may request the waiter to chop it for you. Being the lazy eaters, we opted for the latter option to taste the dish.

Photography of the "standing chicken" would just nice for satisfying readers' curiosity. Upon  was rather dry and almost tasteless. It could be the reason why the chili sauce and mixed salt (MSG) being provided as well. We were quite disappointed with this famous dish of Restoran Lee Hong Kee and thought it would be marinated with herbs.

We footed the bill for about RM170 and the overall dining experience was still good except for the roasted chicken that had failed to pamper our taste-buds.  

Jeff Lee Kitchen (鲜味馆)

The restaurant has 2 adjacent shop-lots with another shop-lot next to two doors. It's located at Kampung Baru near the wet market. Jeff Lee Kitchen does not allow table booking service for less than 10 persons per table. The business could be too overwhelming where the staffs were quite rude to speak with even on the phone.

Upon arrival at 6.30pm, it was a rainy day and we were quite shocked to see long queues in front of Jeff Lee Kitchen. Without hesitation, we approached the cashier counter to have our list of foods to be ordered. We had been requested to wait outside of the restaurant and the staff will call us when there's any vacant seat. We waited for 15 minutes and foods were served after another 20 minutes.

Deep fried tilapia fish with petai
The combination of sweet and sour sauce with pungent petai complemented the flavor of the deep fried tilapia fish. The portion of the fish was considered small for 7 of us.

The signature bean-curd with minced meats.

 Claypot Lou Shu Fun

The claypot of lou shu fun (also known as silver needle noodles) was served next, coming with minced pork ad topped with an egg. Stirred and mixed the raw egg and noodles for smoother and thicker gravy. It's one of the dishes most had raved about, yet my family and I just felt it's a decent dish but not the top notch food that worth a thumb-up yet. Overall, it's well stir-fried lou shu fun and this claypot of noodles costed around RM40.

Stir-fried sweet potato leaves

Signature Crispy Pork Belly

As the roasted duck was out of order, we had been recommended to try their signature crispy pork belly. It appeared to be the only dish that we liked. The pork belly were well marinated and crispy.

The tables here were packed to each other, giving us the uncomfortable dining experience. The environment was very noisy and bursting. The after-meal experience became worse when one of the food patron broke a glass and the family left speedily on the spot. The waiters came out to clean the area and found a dirty pampers left under the table. It was most probably left by the family that we saw just now.

As for the eatery opinion of mine, the food was not up to scratch and more expensive (RM 195) compared to the Restoran Lee Hong Kee. We had a raging thirst all night after the meal and it was a terrifying experience guessing how much Monosodium Glutamate was included in the dishes. Well, the overall dining experience here had fallen from my expectation. It's probably my last visit to Jeff Lee Kitchen even though I would like to try their minced pork egg noodles.

Address:

RESTORAN LEE HONG KEE (formerly known as RESTORAN LYJ)

No.3, 5, 7 & 9, Tingkat Bawah, Jalan Kati GU 19/G,

Kampung Baru, Sg. Buloh,

40160 Shah Alam

Malaysia.

Tel: 03-6140 2678 / HP: 016-667 4810 (Mdm Nin / 阿珍)

Jeff Lee Kitchen

Lot 4133 Jalan Perkhimatan(Opposite the market)

Kampung Baru Sg Buloh

47000 Selangor Te; 03-6156 1817

Reunion dinner of the Year of Roaster at Fong Lye Taiwanese Restaurant (蓬莱茶房台湾料理)

Chinese New Year is slightly more than a month away but reservations for reunion dinners were filling up fast and most restaurants were fully booked. In line with the festive season, we had chosen to have dinner on the 2nd day of Chinese New Year at Fong Lye Taiwanese Restaurant. Reunions Sets were offered from RM388++ onwards depending on number of pax.

It was the 2nd time we dined here , the service wasn't pleasant as the waiters were not attentive even though the restaurant was not fully occupied. The desserts were served after 30 minutes of waiting time. Food were with good quality yet the price of reunion dinner set is at high edge. We opted for RM588++ set and the final bill was around RM800. Based on the food menu of restaurant, each food was priced approximately 20% increment compared to foods' price during non-festive season.To save on feast of Chinese New Year period, I think fast foods, western foods, Korean/ Japanese foods might be cheaper and more budget-saving compared to Chinese restaurants.

Tea set

Cute toothpick holders

4 dishes platter with Taiwanese snack foods including:
fried spring rolls, Taiwanese sausages with cucumber slices, meat with salad sauce and stir-fried octopus

Assorted vegetables with lily bulds and almond flakes

Shark's fin soup with crab meats
The soup of our choices had finished with this being replaced.

Abalone chicken soup

 3 Variety Supreme Chicken or Three Cup Chicken 

 3 Variety Supreme Chicken or Three Cup Chicken 

Steamed fish with  with their special starchy soy sauce with chilies, spring onions, garlic, etc

 
Prawns cooked in two different styles: fried prawns with salad cream and fried prawns with peppers

Fried prawns with salad cream 

Fried prawns with peppers

Braised pork meat with vegetables to be paired with array of mantou

Braised pork meat with vegetables

The waiter recommended the Taiwanese eating style where the pork meat was placed inside the mantou with sprinkles of peanut flakes

The desserts came with red bean soups and pancake.

Red bean soup with two glutinous balls which was over sweet for us.