Daorae Korean Restaurant: Taipan USJ

As Cleo's mom is leaving for Australia on Wednesday the 4th of December (she is going there for a month as a confinement women), we decided to take her to a Korean Restaurant in Taipan as a treat. The restaurant has been in operation for close to 2 years but we have not given it a try as normally Korean food are expensive and we were saving it for a special occasion.

The tables come with a "circular bbq pit" in the middle. Above each "pit" there is an extraction fan, which frankly does not work too well. When the restaurant started to fill up the place become quite smokey and stuffy.

We got a window seat and Anthony started playing with the camera, the first pic is taken by him and the second by me...mine of course is the more high quality one haha...saving up for a Digital SLR...at the way things are going probably I can buy one in 2 years time haha.

Each of us are given 3 types of sauce. The first one is some kind of sweet sauce, the second is the Korean version of sambal and the third is chilly sauce. I am so used to eating chilly and frankly the Korean sambal and chilly does not even tickle my tastebuds.


We ordered a plate of BBQ Pork and a plate of BBQ Chicken.

The first pic is the chicken which is coated in some lightly spiced sauce and the pork is the second pic which goes extremely well with the raw garlic.

Anthony as usual was restless. Did not manage to take the pic of him running all over the restaurant. The staff were extremely friendly, they played with him and generally kept him out of harm's way.

Victor was also feeling restless, but he finally fell asleep after Cleo carried him. He can really cry when he does not get his way.

The best thing about Korean food is the unlimited servings of side dishes. Each of us were served a steaming bowl of seaweed soup which tasted extremely good. It is not as salty as miso soup. We were also served a bowl of steamed egg with seaweed. Personally, I did not enjoy the egg as it was quite bland. The smaller plates in the third pic are the various side dishes ranging from kimchi, salads, cockles, spicy eggs (extremely spicy, this dish definately tickled my taste buds to the extreme), tofu and loads of other stuff.

We also order a serving of seafood noodles and a serving of kimchi fried rice with egg. The fried rice tasted "normal" it's like nasi goreng tomato. But the noodles are out of this world!! extremely good and worth every penny.

Towards the end of the meal we were pleasantly surprised that they served us Korean pancake on the house for dessert. It is extremely nice and slightly crunchy, albeit slightly more oily than what I am used to. Fruits were also served, but we did not consume the fruits as Anthony wanted to "rush" home.

Three more pics before i end the post. First one taken by me, showing Mr Anthony Eng enjoying his noodles. He was initially eating rice, but when the noodles arrived he insisted on having some. The other two pics, surprisingly was taken by Anthony. Not too bad for a 2 year old!!.

Anyway, in conclusion I give the restaurant a rating of 9 out of 10. It is value for money. Price wise it is definitely way below normal Korean Restaurant prices. Further, the staff are extremely friendly and it is definitely family friendly. The staff were very attentive and always kept an eye on Anthony when he was running around the restaurant.

I highly recommend this Restaurant. The address is:

No 8C, Top Speed business Center, Jalan USJ 10/1J 47620 UEP Subang Jaya. Tel: 03-80242616. Do make reservations for during weekends, as it is quite popular.

My Kitchen: Hainanese Cuisine

After seeing an advertisement int he papers for this restaurant and being Hainanese, we decided that it would be a grave crime if we did not at least give this place a try. I was initially very skeptical as to whether this restaurant would be serving authentic Hainanese fare.

However upon entering the restaurant I was pleasantly surprised to find that they have a menu of Hainanese fair that is typically served during Chinese New Year.

The menu has an extensive range of hainanese fair, but some of them are not really original...I mean hainanese got nasi lemak one meh?




We ordered quite a few dishes. The rice balls are a definite must try, its way better than the ones you get in Malacca. The mutton soup is also highly recommended. The Hainanese Chicken Chop is soooooooooooooo good that I am salivating while I type this. In total, we ordered about 9 dishes inclusive of 5 drinks. Price wise it is reasonable. Cost my parents only Rm85. The vege and steamed chicken is nothing to should about.

Rating out of 10? I give it 9...the chicken chop and rice balls contributed 5 points.

Dim Sum: Sri Petaling

As my dad is a big fan of Dim Sum, decided to haul the whole family to Sri Petaling, which is about 20 mins drive from my place. The particular establishment that we visited is famous for the "Kai Pau" literally translated it means "Chicken Dumpling".

This is their signature "Kai Pau". Its basically "Lor Mai Kai" = Glutinous Chicken Rice wrapped with "Pau"= Dumpling. It is very tasty and juicy if compared to the conventional "Lor Mai Kai".

Of course, we ordered my dad's favorite (fried carrot cake) and the usual dim sum fare.

Anthony, as usual wants to sit on someone's lap while waiting for the food to arrive. Very "manja" with my dad.

All over the "restaurant" are plastered with news paper clippings featuring the food. In my opinion, if you really crave for a "Kai Pau", this is the place to go. But having said that, if you just want to savor the conventional Dim Sum fare there are other better places. Overall I give a rating of 5/10.

Celebration Dinner: Overseas Restaurant, Subang Parade

We decided to take my parents and Cleo's mom out for dinner at Overseas Restaurant In Subang Parade. The dinner was to celebrate my parents wedding anniversary as well as to celebrate Cleo's promotion to Head of Internal Audit and my promotion in terms of grade.

Food Ordered:
- Sizzling Bean Curd.
- Salted fish and Prok Belly in Claypot
- Mixed vege in sambal
- Stir Fried Fish Fillet
- Herbal Chicken Soup (individual bowl)
- Pork Ribs

Mr Anthony Eng as usual think rice is God's gift to man and only wants to eat plain rice. We had to trick him by mixing the bean curd as well as fish plus some soup into his rice.

I must say that Anthony is now "table trained" in terms of making sure that whatever is on the spoon gets into his mouth. Not that messy anymore. He still has a sharp eye, any "foreign" object in the rice like greens will be hand picked and discarded!

As for staff friendliness, I give the restaurant a 8/10. The staff are really friendly, I would have given full marks except for the fact that they do not provide plastic plates and bowls for children.

Food wise? I give a 9/10. It would have been full marks, but the sizzling bean curd was not sizzling when it was served and it is "normal". No additional toppings of meat or vegetables. I would have expected a 5 star Chinese Restaurant to serve something more elaborate and not what you can get from a "normal" restaurant.

But overall, in my opinion Overseas Restaurant is still considered one of the best Chinese Restaurants in town and is highly recommended if you want to treat your family.

Din Tai Fung Chinese Restaurant

After my long trip overseas, we decided to head to The Gardens Shopping Mall to try out DIN TAI FUNG Chinese Restaurant. The restaurant is famous for their steamed shanghai dumplings (xiao long pao).

The line was so long that we had to wait at least 20 minutes before our table was ready...luckily they had an open kitchen concept..it's quite interesting to see how the Chefs prepared their world famous steamed dumplings.

This is how they steam the dumplings. This particular chef works non-stop in ensuring that there is a continuous supply of freshly steamed dumplings.

While waiting for our food to come, Fong Fong busies himself with the available cutleries.

The first dish arrived within 5 minutes. This is one of their signature noodle dish called "La Mien" literally translated it means "pulled noodles". It is so called due to the chef "pulling and tugging" on thick rolls of flour to produce thin strips of noodles. The noodle tasted really nice, the meat is juicy (probably full of fat haha) and best of all it is not salty.

The fried rice in the background is nothing to shout about. Rice is a compulsory dish if Fong Fong is around!! The dumplings in focus is the signature steamed shanghai pork dumplings. it is a testament to the chef's skill when you pick up dumplings individually without the dumpling skin breaking (and thus spilling all the tasty soup). I give this dish a 10/10.

This is what they claim to be their signature dish as well. Instead of pork fillings, it is filled with crab meat and pork. Although it tasted good (Cleo and my mother in law loved it), personally I still think Din Tai Fung should stick with the traditional meat dumplings.



Fong Fong as usual insisted on sitting on my mother in law's lap while he eats. Manja....


In total, we ordered 2 baskets of dumplings (half dozen each), one fried rice and one "La Mien". 3 ice tea and one warm water. Total damage? RM65 inclusive of taxes. In my opinion it is not cheap, but totally worth the money spent. Food rating? 8/10 (I would have given it full makrs but for the "normal" signature fried rice and crab meat dumplings). Staff friendliness? 10/10. Children Friendly? 10/10

So head on to The Gardens, adjacent to Mid-Valley Mall, Din Tai Fung is at the Lower Ground. It is best to call (+603 2283 2292) for reservations as it is usually packed on the weekends.