I Ain’t Craving Much … (Oriental Cravings @ One Utama)
December 22, 2008 | 2,110 viewsSometimes searching for a good restaurant in a shopping centre can be tedious. Cheap food does NOT equal good food on most instances. And yet, a pricier option does NOT translate to great food. You get my drift? …. Oh well.
Oriental Cravings @ 1 Utama Shopping Centre
Situated next to Jarrod & Rawlins, THE supposedly one of the maestro of everything porky, Oriental Cravings has her own following, usually crowded during dinner hours, enticing passer-bys for a visit. All this while I’ve flicked off this particular outlet, keeping in mind another run-of-the-mill, mediocre Kopitiam wannabe. Yet what I failed to notice was that Oriental Cravings serve mostly Chinese cuisine.
The place was brightly lit, exuding a clean and yet rustic charm, reminiscing of traditional Chinese restaurants of yesteryearsYou can either sit inside, soothed by the comforting air-cond and minus the smoke and hot air if you choose to dine al fresco. Unless you want to smoke, I don’t see a reason for picking the latter option. The fans btw, are merely decorative.
Starting with a hot (or rather, warm) cup of coffee, the beverage was passable, roasted well without the hint of burnt beans, and glided down the throat perfectly. The other glass contained apple & aloe vera juice, courtesy of Fruitree can drinks. Need I say more?
8 Treasure Fried Rice ( RM11.90)Ahem. From the menu for individual servings, the options looked and sounded tempting. From Bah Kut Teh meal for one (RM15.90) to Sweet & Sour Pork Rice (RM12.90), and various noodles being served. I picked the 8 Treasure Fried Rice, for the sheer number of ingredients thrown in sounded too good to be true. Chinese sausage, roast pork, BBQ pork, prawn, chinese mushroom, peas, carrot, corn, and topped with omelette. Wow …. I was expecting a gargantuan serving of a juggernaut of a fried rice.
But take a look at my serving of fried rice above, and you’ll understand my exact emotion that moment. Mouth wide open, with a gaping hole and empty brains. =O
Nobody said anything about extra-finely chopped ingredients, and 2/3 measly shrimps?! Though credits must be given to the nicely fried rice, fluffy and not sticky, yet with mild ‘wok hei’ but paying RM12 for a plate of fried rice seems ….. absurd.
The sambal belacan which saved my plate of fried rice
Roast Pork Curry Laksa (RM13.90)
Fortunately, redemption arrived in the form of a gigantic bowl of curry laksa, brimming with roast pork, pork meatballs, tauhu puff, long beans and brinjal. And typical Nyonya laksa, with lots of coconut milk (santan, to you and me) in the curry. I completely forgot what noodles they gave though. But the portion was so huge, my dining companion was having trouble finishing the portion. I dumped my plate of 8 Treasure (ahem) Fried Rice and digged in, gladly.
Had the gravy been less oily, the bowl of laksa would’ve scored higher marks in my book. After a few scoopfuls of the curry, I’ve to surrender, picking on the ingredients instead. A little too much,at one sitting. But still heaven and earth compared to the fried rice.
The next table’s order of Sweet and Sour Pork was soooo drool-licious! I was stopping myself from crossing over and picked a piece. But a serving at nearly RM20, I think.
Location : ORIENTAL CRAVINGS @ G359, Phase 2, One Utama. Tel : 03-7727 2581.
The name sounds familiar… think I been here before…
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Had chic wine mee-suah the otr time and it was not bad. However i do feel that they r pricey..liked the kaya but on my last visit it was diluted already..hence i nvr went bk ;p
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Food doesn’t looks inspiring. RM12 for fried rice is a bit too much to bear. But the restoran looks sharp and bright.
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well wats not new..haha they charge rm12..and u still order mah..sure will continue to sell at that kinda prices 1 la..
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Wonder if they will open a sister outlet called “Western Cravings” soon, haha…
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The food menu picture is really nice, can make people mouth-watering, but the served food itself looks kinda dull…
Ah… advertisement, hehehe
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Pricey and not really tasty yet very crowded. Hmm reminds me of Little Penang Cafe. *run & hide from fans*
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ABSURD is right! I don’t care how many decorative ceiling fans there are or what rental at 1-U is like, RM12 for a plate of fried rice with frozen vegetables masquerading as “treasures” is not on! Nuff said!
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RM12 for fried rice?!…This is the type of restaurants whr we as Malaysians can do a part in reducing inflation, that is to boycott them!..Nonsense..
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Visited twice and I find their dishes generally quite oily. I managed to scoop out 1/2 rice bowl of oil, which I believe is pork lard out. Too much of the sinful liquid equals jelak! Their dishes fare much better and in fact, quite tasty.
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have been there before but didn’t think much of it though I liked the glutinous rice set.
but like you said, it does have its own following… always crowded when I pass by.
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I didn’t know that place serves pork? Right smack in the middle of 1 utama?
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The curry mee is more expensive than a fried rice o…? o.O
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Ah…1 more thing~~ U post too fast, didn’t manage to follow ur pace 🙁
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i guess some ‘auspicious’ dishes like 8 treasures are not that delicious, eh? hehehe…
luckily there’s the laksa, eh? 😉
“I was expecting a gargantuan serving of a juggernaut of a fried rice.” hehehe, u so farny lar! 😉
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jason : maybe. this place has been around for some time, I think.
thenomadGourmand : yeah, was either going for the chic mee sua, or the curry laksa. but the ROAST PORK in the title nailed it.
worldwindows : most ordered the laksa, fried noodles, and dishes with rice.
Joe : aiya, I simply picked ma. I was expecting really 8 treasures type, overflowing with erm … treasures.
Life for Beginners : Western Cravings may have chops at RM30 and steak at RM60. 😉
Selba : hmmm, i should’ve taken a shot of that sweet and sour pork from the next table. VERY the tempting one.
Tummythoz : ahhaha … Little Penang got fans also ah? but i know Oriental Cravings rather popular.
550ml jar of faith : hahaha … so true.
MBoy : erm, how bout the many others? eg. nasi lemak at RM15. ahem …
Precious Pea : so much OIL?!! from which dish? wah … can produce caloric count for a whole day. hahah …
jasmine : oh yeah! was going for the glutinous rice set, but sudah habis lah ….
joycy : yup, right smack in the corner of 1U. Jarrod and Rawlins serves them as well.
mimid3vils : least the curry laksa got more ingredients, and very rich broth. and sorry for the rapid posts. trying to finish my backlog b4 memory fails me.
Nic : mana ada farny …. you should look at my mouth wide open look that day. far from funny.
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hahahahahah such a funny encounter you had there! still absurd lol!
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The fried rice definitely is a turn off! I know what NOT to order next time, IF I decide to visit, that is. The sweet and sour pork for RM20?! Gosh!
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BBO : yeahlah. i wouldnt laugh if i were you.
iamthewitch : but looks yummy though. i wont mind paying for the pork, rather than the rice.
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Sure tried their clay pot loh she fan which consider not bad with a raw eggs on top. Seriously one of the nice place for foods in 1U Imho
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