An Invitation for a Food Review at Bari-Uma Ramen @ Jaya Shopping Centre

I was excited to be invited by Xavier Mah for a food tasting at Bari-Uma Ramen, the first of its kind in Malaysia originated from Hiroshima.  It is located at the new Jaya Shopping Centre, Section 14, Petaling Jaya. Apparently there are 40 over outlets in Japan and a few in Singapore. Welcome to Malaysia.

Ramen is the main story in this restaurant and the ramen is made in the restaurant itself and the noodle machine can be seen at the shop. Besides the specially in-house made ramen, the broth is actually the most important and unique factor in Bari-Uma. The tasty broth is a concentrated and creamy boiled out from pork bone for over 10 hours, it's obviously time consuming and a tedious process. We were told that the broth in Petaling Jaya had to be diluted so as to suit our local taste.

We started with Yakitori Combo served in Tare Sauce - Five different sticks of different combination comprising of chicken breast, chicken thigh and pork belly with leek. These skewered meats were well grilled and very enticing. I enjoyed the pork belly the most it was tender and juicy....mama mia.

Negi-Mayo Gyoza - Dumplings that were not dry and oily on the skin but rather soft and easy to bite and in the inside with generous filling which was juicy and delicious. The chilli sauce and mayonnaise on top made it appealling to indulge.

Ishiyaki Chaofan Chashu - in hot stone bowl that was rich with its generous ingredients of meat and egg pieces and the smell of it was so attempting . I bet my sons would love this dish.

Kara-Uma - spicy pork flavoured shoyu broth ramen with thick cut smoky grilled pork and three slices bamboo shoot. This imported delicious pork is grilled to perfection and cut to a size perfectly to suit your bite. If you want more of this chashu you can have a side order for more slices of this porky wonder.

I just cannot imagine the broth in Japan which I find it already so concentrated and creamy for any noodle soup never the less it's really unique and by the way this is the signature dish of  Bari-Uma Ramen. I chose Ajita-Uma as it comes with an egg that is hard on the egg white but half cooked in the york. One has to be really skillful to make such egg for this dish. There are choices of how you want the ramen texture to be....soft to springy... I like it springy and chewy.

 Ice cream for dessert a choice between green tea or sesame flavour.

A simple decor yet conducive place to dine at Bari-Uma Ramen Petaling Jaya.

 It was another opportunity to meet new friends in this food industry. And once again "terima kasih" to Xavier for the invitation and not forgetting Wong Cui Yin from Xavier Mah Consultancy.  

Bari means "super" and Uma means "tasty" so this is a super tasty ramen joint. Thanks to Aldred for his great hospitality, I will definitely bring my family and friends here for a Bari-Uma experience soon. Cheers!!!!

Bari-Uma Ramen

Jaya Shopping Centre

L3-11, Level 3,

Jalan Semangat,

46100 Petaling Jaya.

Tel :  03-7932 2958

GPS : 3.109236, 101.636982

A Leisure Ride and Steamboat at Damansara Village

It was a Wednesday evening where a group of keen cyclists mostly foldies gathered at Bandar Utama for a leisure ride. Nothing like after a stressful day at work where we were able to let loose ourselves in the evening with our wheels.

SK Yeong was kind enough to lead us to Bandar Sunway via all kind of routes comprising of  big roads, small roads, short cuts and carrying our bicycles crossing high pedestrian bridge. It was interesting and a slight rain that made it more adventurous. 

After having lot of fun taking pictures at Sunway Pyramid it was time to head back towards our base and most important of all was dinner time. Min had pre-booked a dinner at Damansara Village we just couldn't wait for it.

The seafood served was fresh and all went well into the boat with superb herbal soup in it. It was no doubt tasty and healthy in terms of its richness from the herbs. You could also opt for plain soup instead of the herbal one, it is all up to your liking.

Besides the seafood these are the basic foods you normally get in a steamboat meal.

Thanks to Min for arranging the dinner and the special treatment from the restaurant.

Gino feeling excited and showing off with his big prawn while Lee & Kim salivating behind.

We were honoured to have the owner of Damansara Village radio celebrity Patrick Teoh to dine with us.

Obviously all my buddies were having a jolly good  time savoring the lovely steamboat feast on a wet night after a good exercise braving ourselves on the road. 

Damansara Village Steamboat

1067, Jalan Jenjarum, 

Kg. Sg. Kayu Ara, 

Off Jalan SS23/10, 

Damansara Jaya, 

47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Tel: 603 7803 1832

GPS : 3.124046, 101.612863

Restoran Sin Kee Happy 快乐成记 @ Seremban Jaya, Negeri Sembilan

You would not just walk into this restaurant by chance, it has to be (most likely) recommended by somebody who knows about Sin Kee Happy. I have been here twice and I simply love their food. To me it is a must try restaurant and I assure you that you will not regret after trying their dishes.

We started with Ying Yong Kailan green veggie fried into 2 versions which was simple, interesting and tasty.

Next came the wild boar curry it was spicy, the meat was tender and it went very well with the plain white rice.

This is the highlight of our visit a fish in hot clay pot, we wanted some other premium fish but all of them have been sold out. It was a basic grouper fish cooked with yam, pumpkin, celery, wolfberry in a clay pot making it so delicious and that is why it is their established signature dish at Sin Kee Happy Restaurant. Remember don't leave this place without eating this.

White tofu cleverly deep fried topped with minced meat and choi po (preserved vegetable) was another great dish for us.

One is not enough we had to have another fish and it was a fresh tilapia fish of another version. Both the dishes were awesome and the portion were just sufficient for 5 of us to share, nothing more and nothing less.

After the wonderful food at last but not least a complimentary dessert was served to wind up our lunch. It was definitely a great meal indeed at Sin Kee Happy that have made us happy walking out of the restaurant and we will be back for more fishes.

The location is pretty difficult to find , the shop houses are kind of run down but basically it is located somewhere behind TESCO Seremban Jaya. Have fun finding the place and enjoy the food.

Restaurant Sin Kee Happy 

快乐成记

1, Jln Sj 8/1-b,

Taman Seremban Jaya,

70450 Seremban,

Negeri Sembilan

Tel : 06-677 7735

GPS : 2.67635, 101.97816

Goh Huat Seng Restaurant for a Traditional Teochew Steamboat Experience 吴发成菜馆

A Teochew Nang (people) going for a Teochew traditional steamboat in an old Teochew restaurant located at Kimberley Street, Penang. Goh Huat Seng Restaurant is one of the oldest restaurants in the island and I am glad to be able to savour this marvel just the same way it was done in the olden days that is using charcoal instead of gas or induction cookers.

We opted for a Teochew fish head soup 鱼头炉 instead of a standard plain version. I simply enjoyed the soup it was so delicious and just couldn't stop sipping it the whole night through. 

Besides the fishhead soup with some ingredients in it for RM60 we made some side orders to compliment the feast such as fishballs, wantan, vegetable, fresh fish fillets and prawns.

The soup never failed to stop boiling as we keep on sipping it, the refill was ever ready for the boat. I was amazed by the continuous burning charcoal...

It was this cute mini fan that expedite the burning.

One of the best Or Chien (Oyster Omelettes) I have tried in Penang, it was not oily, not starchy and awesomely delicious. Thumb up for this dish.

I realised there is an opening above us and it is an air well in the middle of the shop. That was the architectural concept of an old pre-war shop house with good ventilation and natural lighting.

The basic pricing of the steamboats of Goh Huat Seng.

The olden days' interior decor is still in existence and I guess it was very popular for wedding dinners in this restaurant during the younger years.

My mum enjoyed the dinner so were the rest of us. It was a good experience to indulge ourselves in this classic setting. We will be back for this Teochew cuisine again.

Goh Huat Seng Restaurant 吴发成菜馆
No. 59-A, Lebuh Kimberley,
10100 Georgetown, Penang
Tel: 04 - 261 5811 / 04 - 261 5646
Business Hours: 11:00am - 3:00pm & 5.30pm - 9:30pm
Closed on alternate Mon

GPS :  5.415944,100.333438

See Kong Ooi Restaurant - For a Nice Home Cooked Food in Penang

Let's go back to Penang for the weekend.

Yes I am back for another food hunting adventure.

After a heavy day stuffing so much food into my tummy I decided to go for something simple and nice like a home cooked food before I call it a day. We went to See Kong Ooi Restaurant at Transfer Road, an old restaurant which was established since 1936.

We started the dinner with a bowl of seaweed soup with minced meatballs, fishballs and egg and it was my favourite dish among all the dishes, soup can get me go bonkers the minute I start sipping it.

Assam prawns was served separately with a small saucer of sambal belacan and it was another great food on the table. Frankly speaking I like the Assam prawns to be cooked until it's dry with a smoky burnt fragrant of assam ...that will be awesome.

A dish of crunchy stir fried green Kailan.

Steamed minced pork with salted fish garnished with thin strips of ginger, red chilli and spring onion just like some mothers at home could do it.

Assam curry fish was naughtily sour but satisfactorily nice & interesting with our taste buds.

The pricing was very reasonable, food was served in a pretty fast time despite it was crowded and most importantly the food was good. Kudos to the young generation who have taken over the shop from their grandparents.

See Kong Ooi Restaurant

 西公園飯店
7 & 9 Transfer Road,
10050 Georgetown, Penang
Tel: 04 - 2627845 / 018 - 409 2256 / 016 - 444 9990
Business Hours: 11:00am - 11:00pm
GPS : 5.422267,100.331212