Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

Kissaten ~ Translated to Cafe, in Japanese

Ho-mu Menyu- …. (Gee, the basic lesson in katakana* [thanks, Camemberu!] kinda helped)

Putting aside my Johor experience (food-wise, mostly), let me skip forward to a cafe situated in Jaya One (a commercial centre, but populated with so many food outlets, the place is a foodie’s wet dream come true, really); Kissaten Coffee and Restaurant.

Either embrace the zen-like modern ambience, tailored for yuppies (and youngsters, obviously)

OR bask in the sunlight, and immense heat, while dining al fresco … oh, you can puff away, suicidal one!!!

Various bloggers’ reviews on this outlet had an agreeable outcome; the desserts are must-tries, while the food may fall into either one of two categories, HIT, or MISS.

Cucumber Lychee (RM9.90)

Amnesiac ol’ me, had no recollection of recommended beverages. The only lady waitressing on that afternoon did not provide much assistance either, heavily pushing for the yoghurt drinks, and nothing else. Simple query from yours truly on the difference between Milk Tea (RM5.90) and ROYAL Milk Tea (RM6.90) subsequently led to the aforementioned waitress scratching her head, and mumbling of nothings. Obviously, staff training is still lacking, and creates room for improvement. I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed on this one.

Btw, the cucumber lychee drink is a BIG no-no. Diluted cucumber juice, too much ice, and none of the supposedly present lychee flavour (completely destroyed my hope for a bite of a lychee fruit or two …). At RM9.90 per glass, I paid premium price for a meagre thirst-quencher. Gimme good old Milk Tea anyday !!! 🙂

Char Siew Pizza (RM24.90)

The Char Siew Pizza (BBQ Pork Pizza) on the other hand, exceeded all of my expectations! Highly raved and commended by floggers alike, the pizza reminded me of Japanese pizza (Okonomiyaki), albeit with a twist. The presence of PORK!!! (oh, completely awaken the porky beast in me … muahahha)

Generously baked with cheese, and garnished with scallions, the combination of mayonaisse and sweet, okonomiyaki sauce (not sure of the REAL name for this, but there is a picture of the sauce HERE, in my Korean pancake post, in the last photo) works wonders. I was practically tearing away at the pizza, oblivious to my surroundings, and threw my table etiquette out the window for this one. Yup, trust me, this is THAT good !!!! The Char Siew is nothing like the Chinese Wantan Mee or Char Siew Rice type, but instead devoid of fatty portion, and less fragrant/decadent.

Cheesy, savoury goodness. Beats Pizza Hut’s best offering on anyday!!!

Ume Chicken Roll Set (RM15 – Promo price)

Currently, Kissaten is running a promotion for certain set lunches. Did I mention they serve various Japanese rice and noodles dishes, as well as bento sets? Most set lunches are in the realm of RM20+, and they’re holding special discount for certain sets. Do ask for assistance (though from the same “reliable” lady I mentioned earlier … hehe =P)

Ume Chicken Roll set came with white rice, miso soup, chawan mushi, and pickled Japanese cucumbers. The rolls may look small on the menu, or from my pic, but trust me, the batter-fried rolls of chicken thighs are very filling in their own rights. But wait, NO sauce provided??!!! Fortunately, the meat is tender and juicy, although fried until golden brown. But a plate of mayo, or katsu sauce would suffice, in my opinion. The steamed egg (Chawan mushi) was very, very smooth, until the point of slightly watery. But I like mine this way, so no qualms.

Pumpkin Cream and Vanilla Ice Cream (Rm9.90)

Desserts galore!!!! Limited choices, and again, the untrained mind (the waitress) continuously denied me of my initial plan to order the highly prized Rich Choco Pudding (RM7.90), purpotedly sinful, and velvety-goodness (according to various floggers). She kept questioning our picks, and recommended the cheese cake and cheese pudding instead. OK, fine.

The Pumpkin Cream + Vanilla Ice Cream was creamy and smooth. No strong pumpkin flavour, but a rather bland, and mild sweet broth, when combined with the vanilla ice-cream, made a lasting impression on our sweet palate. Just remember to finish this quick, before the whole dollop of ice cream melts and turns into a mash of diluted, sweet tong-sui.

Cheese Cake (RM7.90)

Since she insisted on the cake, we obliged. But regretted soon after. Don’t get me wrong. The texture was nice, not too soft or spongy (unlike Secret Recipe’s current offerings). But our only gripe was the somewhat mild cheese flavour. Not as cheesy as I’d prefer.

Location : Kissaten Coffee and Restaurant, L12A-1-1, Palm Square, Jaya One, Jalan Universiti, Petaling Jaya. Tel : 03-79541990.

For second opinions, hop over to :

masak-masak, Sweets for my Sweet Tooth, Shell Food Station, ling239, Kissaten’s own blog

The best way to counter loneliness and depression is … E-A-T !!!!!!!!! =P

Huh? Empty geh? Drink the gravies ah?

Breakfast – Kalai Curry House @ No. 38, Jalan Sultan Yussuf, 30000 Ipoh.

A favourite Indian restaurant that also serves yummy banana leaf rice, it is about 15 minutes walk from my office. Yeah, FIFTEEN. That explains why I walked here only once throughout my 8 months tenure in my current workplace. But today’s different. I willingly drove here (though only about 2km away) with Tall Gal and PLoo. Yeah, rebellious me.

Paper Thosai (Rm2)

Ploo was shocked speechless when her Paper Thosai arrived. From the menu, it looked timid and tiny, but in reality …. see above. About one metre in length, she took ~30 minutes to digest HALF of it. I took 1/4. Tastewise? Thin, crisp, but filling. Served with dhall, coconut chutney, and unknown spicy/sour chutney (probably tomato?).

Chicken Thosai (RM3)

Tall Gal was ambitious. She ordered chicken thosai, not knowing the portion served resembled a person’s lunch. Wrapped inside (sorry, forgot took pic) was a huge chunk of tandoori chicken breast, and also served with the same gravy and condiments as paper thosai.

Set Poori (RM2)

An avid fan of their poori, I re-ordered them for the umpteenth time, and end up satisfied, and full. Memories of first experience having these on banana leaves, with extra dhall gravy reminded me NOT to ask for extra gravy, as their dhall contains lots of nuts and legumes, and very thick & filling.

Lunch – Brewsterlane Kitchen @ 140-142, Jalan Sultan Idris Shah (Brewster Road), 30000 Ipoh
After a heavy breakfast, we expected a lighter lunch, or possibly skip one, but KYT had a “date” with KCA, and we ended up at this restaurant along Brewster Road, right at a crossroad junction. (Notice that this Brewsterlane is NOT the same as Brewster’s Restaurant as blogged before)

Fish and Chips (RM9.90)

Tall Gal and me ordered something from the Today’s Special menu, avoiding the set menu for fear of exploding from over-indulging. Her fish and chips came out fine, crispy batter, served with mayonaise and thousand island dressing for the salad. But most noteworthy were the homemade deep fried potato chips. Thinly sliced and crunchy, they made great snacks for telly session. 😉

Fried Seafood Udon (RM9.90)

I chose the fried seafood udon which came with ample serving of prawns, crab sticks, salmon bits and vegetables. The udon had a chewy texture, though the Japanese sauce (the one for okonomiyaki) used was overwhelming, drowning the overall taste of the noodles.

Grilled Teriyaki Mackerel Set (RM18.90)

KCA wondered mackerel fillet has a lot of bones to pick, to which I replied probably minimal, as I remembered my grandma often ordered saba shio set (mackerel) from Japanese eateries. Luckily it was true, as the chef filleted the fish, and suffice to say, this dish took the limelight. The teriyaki sauce as usual, went really well with grilled dishes, and the sweet, succulent flesh was flavourful, and went really well with white rice.

Ground Meat Deep Fried Beef Set (RM12.90)

KYT opted for the deep fried minced beef with batter, funnily resembling 2 yam puffs (=P). The beef was fortunately not dry, and mixed with carrots and peas, before batter-fried. Suspected potatoes on the outer layer, but could not be sure as I only took one bite. The sets came with rice, soup (not miso, but chinese style soup with papaya and pumpkins!), salad, chawan misu (steamed egg), fruits and green tea.

For drinks, we ordered fresh fruit juices (RM2.50 each) as funnily enough, some basic drinks such as milk tea were not available anymore. Hmm …. Dearth of tea leaves?

Teatime – Big Apple Donuts & Coffee @ Kinta City Shopping Centre’s Food Court

Big Apple finally opened its first branch in Perak last weekend, and the crowd was hot, at least for the first few days. But Mum still queued for 15 minutes for a dozen of these sweet delights;

Spot the repeats, and you’ll know which are my favs …

At RM17 for 12, it was quite a bargain. Though I grew a bit sick of them ever since binging on J.Co in KL (my record? 8-10 at one go … imagine my sugar level spiking like mad), I could not resist trying them at least once, since they opened an outlet so near to my house. Hehe…. But dinner time liao, so how? Decisions … decisions ….

Ended up eating a Duren Duren, and Mango Tango. Both were on par with KL’s Big Apple, but of course my vote goes to the former. Creamy, smelly goodness ….

Dinner – Thum’s Western Food @ …. refer old post.

Huh, after indulging for one whole day, I thought dinner would be something light. But NO, tonight’s dinner include grandma, and brother as well. Journeyed to Thum’s again, but I had the capati (no pics, not impressive) at RM2.20! I know flour’s price is shooting up the ceiling, but this is daylight(or night time) robbery! Portion was small, served with sardine curry.

But the onion rings (RM5) plus side order of onion sauce (RM1) saved the day, as always. 🙂

Tomorrow’s agenda? HOPEFULLY no more taxing food …. But doubtful. Again.