Lammeeya @ Paradigm Mall, Petaling Jaya

Paradigm Mall is the latest buzz in town and it looks like everyone in PJ is literally flooding this place! Well, I have been to this mall a couple of times, and the first thing I noticed about the mall was their car park. The car park is rather confusing and unsystematic. Once, we went round and round just looking for the entrance to the mall, and when it was time to go home, we got lost again because we couldn't find our car!

Ok, all ranting aside, let's get back to my main objective of writing this piece of food review.

One fine day when me and my colleagues were in Paradigm Mall deciding on what to eat for lunch, we came across this shop called Lammeeya. They have other branches in PJ and Subang as well, such as One Utama, Damansara Uptown, and Empire Subang. By looking at their shop from the outside, it is a no brainer that the shop specializes in lam mee, i.e. braised noodles cooked in thick broth made of prawn stock or other meat stock. It is located on the 2nd floor, next to The Chicken Rice Shop.

  


The pictures in their menu certainly looked appealing and appetizing! (Gah, I'm such a sucker for these illustrations even knowing that I shouldn't fall for them!)

And when you look up and browse through the walls, they sort of have this hypnotizing power to make you feel the urge to order more food and drinks.

 .... and the pics on the wall say, "Come on baybeh, you know you want me!"........

Initially, we wanted to order their set lunch, but we were told that the set lunch was not available, yet. Feeling a little disappointed, we had no choice but to order from their ala carte menu. My colleagues opted for their Original Lam Mee - one requested for bee hoon, and the other one asked for thin noodles. I must say that when I first saw the price for a plate of lam mee, it almost turned me off right away. But I'm glad that I stayed on to try it because the broth was smooth, rich in flavour, and blend in well with the noodles to culminate the perfect combination of both noodles and broth. Even the serving was generous with huge portions of noodles, thin chicken strips, prawns, meatballs and gravy.

 

Then came my oh-so-eye-tempting Lam Mee (Udon) with Char Siew Chicken. The presentation was so beautifully done that I found myself obsessing over its outlook. The dish came with udon, half boiled egg (1/2), slices of char siew chicken and vege cooked in thick, yummylicious broth.  Now, you must be wondering what is "Char Siew Chicken"? Is it chicken meat stuffed into char siew? Or issit chicken meat PLUS char siew? Err.....nope, and nope. It is not char siew but chicken meat sliced into the form of char siew. Check out the picture below and see for yourself.

Pricy but satisfying! :)

 For side dish, we ordered a plate of deep fried tofu that came in 8pcs. The tofus were deep fried to golden brown, and the texture was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

Verdict: For a plate of lam mee to cost at this price is considered high, but the quality of the food was worth the penny. It may not be a dish that you would crave all the time, but it is definitely a dish that satisfies your tastebud.


Lammeeya
Address: Paradigm Mall, 2nd Floor, Lot 2F-31, No. 1, Jalan SS27/26A, 47301 Petaling Jaya

Baby High Chair from Ikea

Ok, let's take a break from all the food reviews thus far, coz to think of all the food that I had eaten in Melaka in just 1 day gives me the jibbers!

As Baby E enters his 8th month (and coming to 9 months soon!), I noticed a big change in his physical development - he has mastered the skill of crawling, and I mean crawling in full speed! Sometimes I wonder where he gets the energy from, moving from one place to another. It is so funnny that I get exhausted so easily simply chasing him around the house. I can't imagine how it would be like when he starts walking. Plus, one of the challenging things that I faced lately is during feeding time. After taking a few spoonful of porridge, he tends to become very restless and starts throwing a mad fit. Usually, we would feed him by putting him in his bumbo baby seat (which appears to be getting smaller for his growing body), or a more tedious way, which is to carry him with one hand, and holding his bowl in another hand.

So to solve this problem, we decided to get a high chair from Ikea for him.

If you want your baby to feel more comfortable while sitting in the high chair, you may also get Ikea's Barnslig Support Cushion to give your baby a soft and more comfy back support.

Colourful, isn't it? ;)

This is how it will look like after fixing the cushion to the seat.

With the high chair, not only were we able to use it during feeding time, but we were also able to place him in the chair while doing some housework or cooking in the kitchen. However, we made sure that the baby was always within eye distance so that he would not be left unattended and he was able to see us too.


Sometimes, whenever he gets bored, we would put books or toys on the tray to keep him occupied. 

  


You may opt for some other high chairs, but Ikea's high chair is by far one of the most affordable ones around without burning a hole in the pocket! :)

Restoran Mei Yuen @ Machap Baru, Melaka

(Day 1) 5th and Final Stop - Mei Yuen, Machap Baru, Melaka


By now, our stomach was on the verge of blowing up, but our host still insisted on bringing us to a Chinese restaurant for supper. Despite feeling overly stuffed after our dinner at Capitol Satay, we agreed to follow her as she was very keen on introducing us to what she claimed "The best cantonese fried kway teow in Melaka, and even in Malaysia!" WOW, what a HUGE statement she made! (And putting her head on the chopping block if it wasn't THAT great!)

The Chinese restaurant, which is called Mei Yuen, is located in a small Chinese village in Machap Baru, Durian Tunggal. Durian Tunggal is a small town in Melaka, and is about a 20-minute drive from Melaka town. When we arrived at the restaurant, her ever enthusiastic parents were already waiting for us. They came to the restaurant all the way from Tampin just to meet us - and I must say that her parents are some of the coolest and friendliest folks that I've ever met!

Initially, we thought that only the Cantonese Fried Kway Teoy would be served, but what we didn't know was that her parents actually ordered a few other dishes for us! *GULP* Feeling extremely full, we had to force the food down our throat.

The first dish was Braised Meat with Sang Mee (deep fried noodles) cooked in dark sauce. Even though I was full, I still loved this dish! The sauce was uber yummy, the noodles were soft and and the braised meat was tender and chewy.

Two thumbs up! My favourite dish of the night

Then came the much anticipated and talked about Cantonese Fried Kway Teoy. It was served in a huge plate, covered in a generous blanket of smooth, velvety gravy. Our expectation for this dish was so high that we digged in right away.


Sadly, I did not find it special or any better than the ones that I've tasted elsewhere. The gravy tasted so-so and it did not live up to our expectations. Even our host and her parents were not happy with the dish and complained to the restaurant owner. According to the owner, the dish was not cooked by the head chef, which explained why the dish did not taste as good as it should have been. I guess they were more disappointed than us as they had wanted us to try this dish so badly.


Next was the Kung Pao Chicken Meat, which was surprisingly tasty and not too overpowering for our taste. This has never been one of my favourite dishes but I must say that this Kung Pao Chicken was an eye-opener for me. The saltiness, sweetness and spiciness gelled perfectly well and the chicken literally found its way into my mouth, tricking my mind into having more despite my stomach screaming for me to stop shoving food down into it.

 Yummehhh~!

Some other dishes served was the Sweet and Sour Pork, which had a sweet and tangy flavour to it (just like any other sweet and sour dishes). The meat was succulent, tender and juicy.

Next on the list - Deep Fried Yam Ring. It was simply crispy and savouring.

And lastly, the Kung Pao Chicken Feet was served. Just like Kung Pao Chicken Meat, this dish was equally nice with the right seasoning, ingredients, and cooking style. (But seriously, by now, we were feeling a little sick with all the food that we have stuffed ourselves with!)

Verdict: All in all, I would say that the food here was great (except for the Cantonese Fried Kway Teoy, ironically) and the price was undoubtedly reasonable. But I have to be honest that we didn't entirely enjoy the experience here as our stomach was so full that we just wanted the whole eating spree to end for the day.

And thank god this was REALLY our last meal for the day!



Restoran Mei Yuen Sdn Bhd (梅园餐室有限公司)
Add: 238, Machap Baru, 76100 Durian Tunggal, Melaka.
Tel: 06-5251534

.......................... To Be Continued ...............................