LaksaShiok

The second part of the Damansara Jaya series unfolds another hidden gem of a hot and delicious comfort meal for all: Claypot Chicken Rice. Although many will straight away prefer to go for the Kampar version sold nearer to Atria Shopping Centre, located in Restaurant Koon Kee, however we decided to give coverage on another restaurant not too far away tucked a stone’s throw away from KDU College.

Busy Corner Restaurant is really what its name described as: busy and packed to the bream when we arrived. Its specialty and main draw is the ever famous claypot chicken rice served fresh off the charcoal stove. The craving gets even more intense as rain pours down intermittently and a cooling weather draws in thereafter. This restaurant has its own merits as compared to the other competitor nearby. The claypot chicken rice, of course is good as it looks as above. Wait a little bit longer and stir it and you will get “charred” harden rice along the walls of the claypot that is crispy and nice. However, we still do not endorse eating the charred bits as it is rumoured to be carcinogenic (no sources however). The salted fish bits is a must to give the plain rice some flavour.

Like the other restaurants that serve claypot rice, one must not miss its selection of boiled soups, this time we just had a bowl of water cress soup (Sai Yong Choy), which is nothing fancy, but good for students away from outstations to taste home-boiled chinese soups.

The main attraction why this restaurants stood out from the other countless competitors, its variety of claypot rices seems to amaze people. They had this Claypot prawn rice, which is a great choice as it has big and succulent prawns topped up with chopped onions and sambal. A must-try if you come over to Busy Corner Restaurant. There are other selections of claypot rice and of course some vegetables as well to wash down the oily stuff. Do drop by, it is located near KDU College, just make a right turn when you see Petronas if you are turning in from the LDP highway or turn left if you are from Atria side heading to KDU. Prices are standard but a wee bit expensive for the Claypot Prawn Rice.

After a write up on the nearby Mama restaurant, there is also one more gem untold in the Damansara Jaya area. This is the second gem one can find as mentioned before. We were shopping around this area and saw this new outlet located at the ground floor of Atria Shopping Centre. Being a peranakan lover and spicy foodie, how can I not resist to try out this place?

Essentially peranakan. The decorations of this place is modern and provides a very excellent atmosphere to chill out and hang out with old friends, what more Atria being a quiet spot, its definitely a great place for those cozy gatherings. The first dish we ordered is the must-have otak otak. The taste of it is excellent and really goes very well with the rice. The spicy degree is not as high as mama restaurant, though.

This place also serves a must have penang delicacy, Lobak. As this establishment is halal, therefore it is made from chicken. This does not affect its essential taste for a lobak, its crispiness and fragrant taste when being chewed in the mouth are still there.

Also not to forget we also had a spicy dish, which was the Sambal prawns with vegetables. This is definitely recommended to all as the prawns are not only fresh but the chilli paste has a special flavour in it.

For non spicy alternative, we ordered a stir fried beef with black pepper dish, which actually is east meet west fusion; black pepper sauce and Asian style stir fried beef. Do not give this a miss as well.

The Egg Tofu in thick egg sauce is also great accompaniment with the rice. Note that this meals must go with at least a bowl of rice, otherwise there won’t be satisfaction. The verdict: Recommended, most points goes to its ambience and furniture, a must go for treating friends and family gatherings. The next writeup will also focus on Damansara Jaya area, on another unique gem.

Wow, after getting featured on The Star, Ive rummaged through some of my old photos that I have taken sometime on December last year to be posted here. One of it that is worth a mention is the ever popular 6 to 10 Grill that was featured on many other food blogs. Some may question: This is a Malaysian Food blog, shouldn’t it be featuring more of Malaysian food? I would dare say that western food here, especially the ones that are served in coffee shops and other outlets are being transformed into a new genre, or segment of “Malaysian Western Cuisine”. Other examples would be the Hainanese Colonial Chicken Chop being served by Yut Kee near Jalan Dang Wangi. It seems that you can never find this elsewhere in other parts of the world; as Hainanese chefs serve this delicious chops, a fusion between east and west to serve their colonial masters, as well as adapting their chinese ways of stir frying techniques.

One stuff that you will notice about this place: packed to the brim. It was pretty difficult for us to locate a table as we waited at least 20 minutes to get one. One thing you must try there is their famed Nasi Lemak, with their delicious sambal sotong and rendang daging. Though the cheapest course on the menu, it still packs a big punch and a favourite haunt for post-sweaty futsal and badminton sessions.

The real thing we are looking for, which is the value-for-Ringgit western meal. Pretty no frills as you can see, the Pork Chops in Hawaiian Sauce is really a great meaty main course with its sweet and tangy (Hawaiian-I-kid-you-not) sauce. Less fries are served, but no worries, as they will not do any good to you after all.

The mushroom soup that came next is something you would need before you start on a real western meal. No harm getting all soupy before a real meal.

The pan-fried fish here is something near the cheapest we can get at the menu. Its indeed a bargain for fish lovers and less fries again, maybe concerned for your health again? (hehe). In the end, we certainly feel that this place is not overrated at all. it lives up to its fame for being value for money and delicious in another way. Today’s review just focus on the “value-for-money’ aspect, so the other higher-end stuff, like the ribs are not featured here. Maybe I will give it a try some other time and I will do a second write-up on the other stuff we did not try that day.

6 to 10 Grill
Beneath Happy Mansion Apartments
Note: Its close to Food Foundry, which also serve great food

Reviews from other Food Blogs:
KYEats
Masak-Masak
Memoirs of a Chocoholic

Okay… So I have been lazy to update my poor blog for almost 3 months! Its just so happen that one of my blog entry on Mama restaurant was featured on today’s (23rd March 2008) The Star Sunday Metro. Can you imagine? LaksaShiok got featured on one of the highest readership daily in this country, and for the second time again! How could I bear to let my blog go down the drain like that! When I read the article on the papers, my heart was full of encouragement and warmth but it sank as well because I did not take much effort to update it due to heavy work commitments. I humbly apologize to my frequent visitors who have been so loyal to this blog for the lack of updates. A word of thanks to Sangeetha Nair of The Star for motivating me to continue on food blogging, it really gives me an immeasurable joy and delight to see my blog featured on The Sunday Metro again.

I will certainly learn to be thankful at times for golden opportunities and this time: Im not giving up food blogging, no matter what it takes. Even busy working schedules. However, there are a treasure trove of photos in my PC, with which waiting for me to take out to food blog. So here they are again! LaksaShiok is reopened again for now!

Nowadays city people just can’t get enough of the already thousands of eateries in the Klang Valley, they even literally ‘drive’ far away into the outskirts in pursuit of good food. We have done so, and couldn’t resist to get some grub in the small little quaint village of Broga, which is some 20 minutes from Semenyih town. Which lies between the borders of Negeri Sembilan and Selangor. Broga is a great place to be away from the bustling city. You can actually see the mountains surrounding that area, which gives a picture perfect photo that resembles that of a post card. Secondly, you don’t want to miss the fresh breath of country air, unpolluted and almost clean.

Broga is predominantly Chinese Hakka, almost everyone there speaks Hakka just like as Hokkien is in Penang. What better place to seek Hakka food, home cooked of course is definitely a promise to you people out there. This chinese restaurant serves great village Hakka food and you will be no doubt returning for more as their menu is quite extensive.

The steamed fish is great change from the everyday fried fish. The fresh water fish is breed from the nearby ponds of what Broga is famous for, fresh water fish farms here are abundant. The fish tasted nice as it is quite fresh and not too oily.

The Stir Fried Mantis Prawns (Lai Liu Har, Har Gou) with Dried Chillies is also a must try as it is a local specialty and taste just as well.

The Claypot Drunken Chicken served here is great. Just that the amount of rice wine in it is way too much, which can be reduced upon request to the chef of course. I guess its save to be served like that in villages, but for travelers please refrain from taking this if you are driving, especially if you are driving back in the dark country roads at night.

The Marmite Pork Ribs are standard order in every home-style tai chow outlets, so don’t miss this as it is sweet and its meat has a chewy texture.

The usual vegetables, Sweet Potato Leaves with Sambal Belacan is different than the ones served here; the vegetable is much bigger here and thus the roots is bigger in size. With the final dish, we had fruits for dessert and it indeed a great deal with the bill amounting to less than RM100, for 5 persons, which is similiar to Klang Valley standards. However you will be guaranteed the freshest of ingredients, given it to be in the countryside.