Auntie Sim Kitchen @ Damansara Uptown

 

Regal Comfort Chinese Dishes

 

A restaurant that has been running past a decade in the bustling township of Damansara Uptown, Auntie Sim Kitchen has been serving up Teochew and Hong Kong style Cantonese dishes to ardent foodies. What started as a casual café has now been elevated to private dining as well as casual Chinese dining space to appease palates of all diners.

 

The restaurant is named after Elaine Sim, more commonly known as Auntie Sim to many, who is so passionate about ensuring her diners enjoy quality and tasty dining at Auntie Sim Kitchen. Strongly focusing on the quality of the ingredients, Elaine often travels to source the ingredients from Hong Kong herself. The restaurant has two floor dining spaces. While one can opt for the ground floor for a casual and comfort ambiance, they also have the option to head upstairs for more privacy dining with private rooms available as well as main dining room.

 

Menu is full of dishes and those first timers like me was obviously impressed with the list of choices. From premium seafood, soulful soups, to succulent beef and pork as well as the humble chicken rice, there’s even the traditional Teochew braised duck and pork, the menu literally caters to even the finickiest eaters as well as those who seeks comfort dishes.

 

The Traditional Teochew Prawn Balls (RM35) and Szechuan Style Salt & Pepper 3 Combo (RM25 small) came highly recommended as the restaurant’s signature bites to whet the appetite.

 

Heh Cho or Traditional Teochew Prawn Balls had us tucking into balls of sumptuousness. Deliciously moist, the prawn and meat filling had a solid bite encased in crispy beancurd sheet. From the perfect balance of crispiness to juicy filling, it’s certainly a must-order at Auntie Sim Kitchen.

 

A trio pairing of eggplant, squid and Shimeji mushrooms, skillfully fried to light crispiness and finished with a tasty coating of chiu yim sums up Szechuan Style Salt & Pepper 3 Combo. The dish is so light and easy to enjoy, we polished this off happily that evening.

SuperThai Restaurannt @ Damansara Uptown

Terrific Thai Flavours

Damansara Uptown has always been a hotspot filled with lots of restaurants and businesses all tightly packed in the Square. There are so many options when it comes to food and the list of cafes, restaurants, fast food and kopitiams are quite mind boggling. Here's one more we found recently that is worthy of a visit if you're looking for affordable Thai food in the area.

Brought to us by the team behind The Good Guys, SuperThai Restaurant is a hidden gem that serves rustic and humble Thai cuisine at pocket-friendly value. Despite its operation for a year, the restaurant remains low key, operating on the 1st floor, right above Capitol Nasi Dagang on the same row of shop lot as The Good Guys.

The restaurant is designed with minimalist industrial concept. SuperThai chose to focus on doing what they do best, serving rustic and flavourful Thai dishes in their photo-filled menu. One can opt for regular a la carte menu or go for the lunch specials as well as the single portion dishes.

Tuck into porky SuperThai signatures like Flame Grilled Pork Neck (RM28) or Pork Knuckle in Sweet & Sour Sauce (RM55). It’s always a plus point for me when swine shows up on a menu. Pork neck, well marinated and chargrilled till smoking and tender, the Flame Grilled Pork Neck is also given a boost of spicy flavours with a side of piquant heat and garlic notes in the green chili sauce.

The Pork Knuckle in Sweet & Sour Sauce goes through a tedious process of marinating, boiling and deep frying before its cut up and drenched in a sweet and sour sauce with some bell peppers and onions. Gelatinous bits with tender meat is very appetizing with fluffy steamed rice. There is a lovely balance of sweetness with sourness that tantalizes the palate to keep enjoying this porky dish.

It’s literally never a Thai meal without a Tom Yum soup! The version of Tom Yum Seafood (RM27) is rustic and liberal with heat and tangy flavours, almost to the extent of raw flavours. There’s generous amount of prawn and squid in the soup as well. This soup hit all the right spot in terms of flavours and richness, concluding a satisfactory note in a Thai meal.

The Basil Leaf Minced Meat (RM18) was a personal favorite of mine. I enjoyed the sheer simplicity of minced meat sautéed in an unctuous soy sauce and fish sauce based sauce perfumed with basil leaves. It’s also garlicky and has a subtle heat that teases my palate with much addictiveness. Give me this dish alone with steamed rice and I would be thoroughly satiated as a meal.

The Stuffed Squid (RM29) came highly recommended. One of the most ordered item on the menu, the dish is best eaten hot. Two whole squids, tentacles and body, stuffed with juicy minced meat filling topped with green coriander, garlic and chili sauce as well as copious fresh garlic slices are steamed and served with plenty of tasty broth. The robust flavours and well-balanced Thai flavours of savory, sweet, spicy and sourness made the dish appetizing and hearty.

Somehow the Thai always know how to make a scrumptious Crispy Omelette (RM12). The version here is near perfection with fluffy omelette that has a crispy edge. Super yum for diners of all ages…

The next dish of Steamed Fish with Lime Sauce (RM48) is another classic one that appears in Thai restaurants here. The fish is beautifully steamed in the piquant broth. The broth is what makes this dish and it was certainly flavourful with lots of garlic, fresh herbs, lime juice and chilies. One has the option of Patin fish or seabass so check with the server on the availability of the fish for this dish.

The Thai Steamed Prawns with Glass Noodles (RM28) was decent with prawns on a bed of sautéed chewy glass noodles. It is nicely redolent of sesame oil fragrance with garlicky aroma. A good dish though I have had better ones elsewhere.

I do like the twist on the Tom Yum Kai Lan (RM15) but I would have loved the tom yum flavours to stand out a bit more since it reads tom yum. Nevertheless, the vegetable dish is well cooked and tasty.

Moving on to single dishes, diners should really enjoy SuperThai’s single dishes such as the classic Pineapple Fried Rice (RM18). We certainly like the addition of luncheon meat in this rice dish studded with chicken, pineapples, raisins and peanuts.

I really enjoyed the value-for-money Special Nasi SuperThai Set (RM20 + a free drink). It’s a full platter of rice with various dishes that is utterly pleasing, especially when one is dining solo. One gets Tom Yum Soup, Green Curry Chicken, Salt & Pepper Squid, Mango Salad, Crispy Omelette, BBQ Pork Belly and special Seafood Sauce. Super satisfying set meal that is a little mini buffet on its own!

Another dish that is equally drool worthy is the Thai Pork Leg Rice (RM17). The chopped braised pork leg is moreish with lean meat as well as gelatinous tasty bits and skin. The flavours are sublime with hints of spiced soy sauce that goes well with the braised bean curd, soy sauce egg, pickled mustard, soup and pungent chili sauce.

All the set or single portion meals are available all day long. Other ones to try includes Thai Beef Noodles (RM15), BBQ Pork Neck Rice (RM14), Mince Pork Basil Noodle (RM11), Phad Thai (RM13), Tom Yum Petai Rice (RM14) and more. These also comes with a drink.

Lemon grass (RM3) to wash down all the spicy and robust flavours of Thai cuisine.

There may not be many choices of desserts at SuperThai but the ones available is sufficiently satisfying for me. The house made Coconut Ice Cream (RM10) is heavenly on the palate. Lusciously creamy and topped with tapioca coated water chestnuts, peanuts and more, this dessert is rich and satisfying.

We also enjoyed the twist of the classic Mango Sticky Rice (RM10). Usually served warm but I admit to really liking this version of creamy coconut laced sticky rice with fresh sweet mango served with coconut ice cream.

Reason to visit SuperThai? Pocket-friendly Thai dishes with lots of flavours!

SUPERTHAI RESTAURANT

29, Jalan SS 21/1a,

Damansara Utama,

47400 Petaling Jaya

Tel: 60 3-7710 5888

Facebook: www.facebook.com/superthairestaurant/

Business Hours:

Lunch          12.00pm to 2.30pm

Dinner         6.00pm to 10.00pm

Beans N Beans Korean Cafe @ Uptown Damansara

Korean Desserts, Sandwiches, Coffee and More

While there are certainly many Korean restaurants in town, there are not as many Korean cafes or bistro. There are some but these are mostly dessert cafes. One fine Sunday lunch, I met up with Choi Yen and her family together with mine to check out one of the latest Korean Café on the highly populated Uptown Damansara.

Sporting a cute name of Beans N Beans Korean Café, there are currently three outlets in Malaysia – Uptown Damansara and Citta Mall in Petaling Jaya and Oceanus Waterfront Mall in Sabah. Over in Sabah, their original outlet is known as Nunpat Korean Dessert Café. The Uptown Damansara outlet is located on the same row as Fat Spoon Café but right at the end of the row.

Walking into the café, one feels at ease immediately. Designed with comfort, there is an easy-going vibe at sight with all the elements of wood, brick and dark steel theme. What really makes this place delightful is the space it has for a café, making it easy to lounge there for some relaxing moments of a good cup of Joe and some Korean desserts of light bites.

There is also a section filled with comforting sofas and low tables. For those who simply must do something, there is a corner filled with lots of board games, toys and other knick-knacks to pass some time. Needless to say, my little one had a blast with Choi Yen’s little one there. It’s a great place for family gatherings too cos the café has enough stuff to keep the kids busy.

The menu is decent and simple. Although Beans N Beans do not have a long list of items, there are still plenty of sandwiches, toasts, desserts, coffee and other drinks to keep one pretty satiated.

Sparkling Grapefruit (RM12.80) is one of their best seller beverage and I can certainly understand why. I had two of this delicious and refreshing drink which is made in-house. The beverage has delicious sacs of juiciness of the bittersweet grapefruit that is so thirst-quenching.

Little D had the Beans N Beans’ Signature Hot Chocolate (RM11.70) and loved it. Warm fuzzy chocolatey notes with touches of creamy milk summed up the beverage.

Banana Apple Vinegar (RM10.40) wouldn’t have been my choice of beverage since I am not a fan of banana. Guess what, after a little encouragement to try this healthy Banana Apple Vinegar, I must admit that I enjoyed this hot tangy and fruity beverage very much. The banana flavour has turned mellow and the fruity sweet hint of apple is wonderful in this vinegar.

Green Tea Latte (RM12.00) for those who loves green tea with a blush creamy note.

Beans N Beans serves a decent selection of sandwiches and desserts for now. Menu will change and there will be more choices available. We had their latest sandwich of Ham & Cheese Grilled Sandwich (RM14.80) recently added. It’s a crowd pleaser for sure since one can always enjoy a hot and toasty ham and cheese sandwich. The adults as well as the kids were going for this one happily. They even added fresh tomatoes and served this with potato chips.

There is also another version of Omelette Ham Cheese Sandwich (RM14.80) where a thick omelette with vegetables is sandwiched with ham and cheese and toasted as well. Pretty hearty and great for all day dining.

For a touch of Korean flavours, go for their Chicken Bulgogi Sandwich (RM15.80). The delicious savory and sweet chicken bulgogi is nicely balanced with crisp lettuce and fresh sliced tomatoes with toasted bread. I like the savory and sweet flavours in this sandwich a lot.

Leave it to the Koreans to come up with savory and sweet dessert made with bread. The Garlic Cheese Bread (RM14.80) is very unique, combining salty garlicky and cheesy notes with hints of sweet condensed milk and some herbs. Sounds odd but tasted pretty yummy!

Again here I wouldn’t be jumping to order their Red Bean Cheese Toast (RM13.50) because I am not a big fan of red bean but Beans N Beans has proven that I may need to eat my own words because after having a taste of this dessert toast, I must say that this is my top favorite toast in the café. Its got that salty and sweet flavours going again where creamy sweet red bean paste with hot melted cheese is sandwiched, toasted and sprinkled with peanut powder, almond flakes and finished with drizzling of condensed milk.

This one is just so gorgeous that I literally almost finished this toast myself happily!

Matcha Bomb Bread (RM16.80) showcased the classic pairing of green tea with red bean, in this case, green tea ice cream, sweet red bean paste on toast. Its not my favorite of the lot and one does have to gobble this up pretty fast since the ice cream will melt in a jiffy on the warm toast. The others seemed to enjoy this more than me.

Bingsu has taken our nation by storm and Beans N Beans also has quite a few variations of the popular Korean snow ice on their menu. Being the ardent cheese lover, I was really excited to try the Cheese Bingsu (RM17.80). A hefty portion, it was piled high with milky shaved snow ice and finished with generous cubes of cheesecake, corn flakes and a large scoop of ice cream. Love the creamy snow ice with cheesecake!

Another signature and must try is their Green Tea Bingsu (RM17.80). Piled high again this time with injulmi mocha-like balls and large scoop of creamy bittersweet green tea ice cream on intense green tea snow ice, the bingsu is heavenly on the palate. I love how the intensity of green tea takes limelight here and savoring spoonful of green tea ice that just melts-on-the-tongue is such a refreshing and wondrous sensation.

Beans N Beans is such a great place to hang out with family or friends. The place is cozy and there are plenty of games and stuff to keep everyone of all ages busy. I really enjoyed their menu and so did my family. My top favorites include Sparkling Grapefruit, Ham & Cheese Grilled Sandwich, Red Bean Cheese Toast and Cheese Bingsu!

BEANS N BEANS

107, Jalan SS 21/1A,

47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor D.E.

Tel: +603-77328288

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Beans.Uptown/

Operating Hours:

Mon – Thu & Sun ~ 8.00am to 12.00am

Fri & Sat ~ 8.00am to 1.00am