Mid Valley City

A little turned off by the look of the cheese but found myself enjoying this dish every spoonful I take (sans cheese). The curry was rich and flavourful but not overwhelming, balancing nicely with all the trimmings in this pot. Personally felt that the cheese was redundant. Nevertheless, give this a go if you’re looking for something savoury here. Curry rice rarely disappoints.

Here you can find the usual Malay food suspects such as Nasi Lemak and Mee Soto, and here you can also find this unique cone-shaped dish called the Nasi Tumpang. Just when you thought you've tried it all! Originally from Kelantan, this was once a staple food for farmers to bring to work. The shape just makes sense now (tiffins are just overrated and not practical). Choose between two minced meats (the ayam or the daging) which will then be pressed tightly and layered with sweet sambal gravy, egg, anchovies, rice, curry into a cone shape. The ingredients go well together, worth a try!

Tucked into a warming bowl of Mi Rebus (RM13.8) with sweet spicy potato-based gravy at this brainchild of our very own ex-prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir for lunch this week. With a menu chock full of other local rice and noodle dishes, this place would be perfect for group lunches.

With four outlets in their name, there’s no excuse not to visit 1977 Ipoh Chicken Rice for their Ipoh specialty steamed chicken rice! I love my steamed chicken slightly underdone so that the flesh is smooth and the skin is soft, and these guys delivered. Note that prices here are slightly higher than your average ‘kai fan’ hawker stalls, coming in at about RM15-18 for single sets of chicken + rice + drink, but this is just the cost of eating in a mall.

This place is worth stopping by for a hearty and creamy bowl of Fish Paste Mee Hoon Soup (RM15.50). This intensely rich and aromatic fish-based dish is made of evaporated milk, preserved vegetables, sliced tomatoes, spring onions and fried shallots. There’s also a hint of ginger in this soup which ticks all the right #comfortfood boxes.

This American chain popular for its salads and pastas does a mean lunch special here on weekdays, 11am-3pm. Get a 3-Course Italian Lunch for only RM23.90 nett (choose from 6 entrees of pastas, all with Salad, Soup, Bread and Bottomless Drink) and top up RM5.90 for one Dolcini (a mini dessert, special to Olive Garden). My pick for lunch was the Seafood Pomodoro - well-done, topped with a couple of mussels, clams and shrimps in marinara sauce. Finished this in seconds. Wish there were more on the plate!

Traditional steam rice, yong tau foo and all-day dim sum at Kim Gary’s little Express restaurant! Could not resist the dumpling section and picked out the steamed shrimp, fried fishball and spare ribs (RM5.50 each). Judging by its concept as an express restaurant, there really isn’t much to say about the quality. While the price may be steep for some, the food definitely arrived faster than Din Tai Fung. So if you’re looking for something quick, Kim Zen is perfect for those on-the-go!

An afternoon pick-me-up from this California-based chain. I don't always eat pretzels but when I do, I like mine peppered with tangy sour cream and onion powder. I was slightly disappointed at the amount of powder I received on my pretzel as it didn't come cheap too at RM4.30 (that's a ringgit higher than its only other commercial competitor). Nevertheless, points are given for the flavourful and tangy powder scraped up from the bottom of the packet. ✔️

Lunch was this Superior Fried Oyster o-chien (RM13.80) with copious amounts of big, fat, luscious oysters. I like how the oysters were fried separately from the eggs and starch so they do not shrink and become dry. Of course the ochien here is still incomparable to the roadside, street stall experience but it sure is good enough to satisfy cravings in a relaxed, air-conditioned setting!