Okomen Japanese Restaurant Desa Sri Hartmas review

Tweet Let me start off immediately and say that this is not the kind of Japanese cuisine I would go back to.

We decided to be adventurous and try something new for Saturday night dinner and after a quick search we decided to check out Okomen at Desa Sri Hartamas.

Bad move. We arrived at 730pm and there were only 2 tables occupied. That should have warned me ahead.

The good stuff...
- gyoza was good, maybe because we ordered that ahead and we were very hungry
- the kid's meal with ramen, chicken and tempura was okay, placed in a cute lunchbox
- steak combo set was tasty, the pork pieces were huge and juicy, the steak was small but also tasty, and salmon was not bad. Would recommend this set.
- pork yakiniku was tasty
- I asked for a baby chair and they had one available. I hate restaurants that don't provide high chairs

The bad stuff...
- the Prawn Mayo was too much mayo plus mustard... Not the kind of dish we appreciate. Very small shrimp pieces. I get better value at that price when I had dinner last night at Alexis Gardens (shrimp in olive oil)
- tori oko was ultra mayonnaise to my taste. It looked nice but when I tasted it I regretted ordering it. Definitely not the kind of Japanese stuff we like.

Overall:
Pricing : average, not too expensive
Food: 5/10 ... Not the authentic Japanese stuff we were looking for
Ambience: 6/10 looks Japanese modern, simple design
Service: 6/10 one of the staff didn't seem to speak very good English, my water was empty I had to call their attention despite that the restaurant was close to empty
Return Again? No, most definitely not

A Saturday night where I made the wrong choice... Oh well. Learned my lesson. Next time I want Japanese stuff I better just stick to the places I know and have come to love & trust.


Okomen
7G Wisma CKL, Jalan 22/70a, Desa Sri Hartamas
Tel- 0362059828

Why Sunrise is a Good Choice for Expats

Tweet Being foreigners in KL, it is always nice to meet new people as well as experience other cultures. So when Sunrise properties organized a Cherry Blossom event for Mont Kiara residents, we were curious to attend.

The Saturday afternoon event was a success, with lots of expat families attending with their little ones. There were games and prizes to keep the small ones busy and happy!!! There was also food and souvenirs, plus some performances which made it all fun.

The Japanese and Korean community is really big here in Mont Kiara, so I saw many of them at the event.

For expat families looking for a good place to stay... With events organized by Sunrise, plus free shuttle rides across different condo and commercial areas like One Mont Kiara, Publika and Plaza Mont Kiara...it is a good choice especially families who want to live within a nice community.

My daughter often goes to play at Sunrise Funzone too, which is a great way to meet others kids.

Farm In The City, Great for Toddlers!

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A nice place for toddlers to visit

At the entrance of Farm in the City

Little ones can pet and feed the animals

Today we went to visit Farm in the City at Seri Kenbangan. It was a 45-minute drive in the morning (coming from Mont Kiara). We went together with my daughter's school and it proved to be a fun trip for the kids.

We had parents who brought 1-year old's up to kids around 5 years old. Some had strollers, which was okay because the path was stroller-friendly.

We were blessed with superb weather, sunny but not extreme. There were some spots with shade and seats, should you need to rest or have a drink.

The farm is well-kept. I would say that the place is clean and didn't have an overpowering smell of animals (I'm 4 months pregnant and this could have really bothered me!)

The people were friendly and they had photographers walking around to take your pictures. In the end, I did purchase a photo souvenir for rm20 which was a good shot of myself and daughter with a 30-year old giant turtle.

She was able to pet and feed the rabbits and I think she enjoyed that the most. She tried to feed the deer (which were walking around freely) but it came to close and she screamed, haha, that was the first time I have ever seen her like that! She also fed the cow (who had a best friend dog inside his cage). It was also fun seeing her feed the fish, the pond was big and had swans there, too!

I would highly recommend to parents with young children. The Farm is not too big that you can finish in one morning... Ending with lunch or light snack at their restaurant. They had pony/horse ride too but we didn't do it this round.

The toilets were okay. Plus they had a number of wash areas where kids and adults can wash up after petting / feeding the animals. I am glad they were thoughtful and made some child-friendly wash bins which means they could easily reach the faucet.

What we appreciated was the fact they provided all the food for us to feed animals, unlike other places where they try to sell it to you.

For lunch, you could pack your own food and eat there or you ca order food from their restaurant. They had western style seats and also tatami style (which the kids loved). The school helped to organize a simple lunch set for the kids while we brought some sandwiches for ourselves. They had cold drinks and ice cream, too.

For a short drive from KL, it will be a worthwhile trip for your kids to see animals up close!

Will get to see some plants and fruits around the Farm

Huge porcupine

Kid-friendly washing areas are provided - perfect for after petting!

Feeding the fishes and swans

Nice view

Enjoying with the rabbits

Duck area

Group picture before going into the Farm

They will give free food to you so you can feed the animals -- like this one!

Giant turtles -- you get to feed them and touch their backs!

Well kept Farm in the City

In case you are interested to have a donkey / horse ride

After the walk around the farm, you can eat and relax at their cafe

Tatami table style also available at the cafe -- kids loved it. They prefer to sit on the floor.

My daughter feeding the giant turtle

Nice weather and view at Farm in the City

Three Little Pigs and The Big Bad Wolf Bangsar

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After my French class at Alliance Francaise in Bangsar, we decided to check out the fairly new pork joint at Bangsar Village 1. The name is catchy and easy to remember, it being such a popular story when I was a little kid.

Three Little Pigs and The Big Bad Wolf is located near the Village Grocer (that's how we went in). Fairly busy on a Saturday lunch time (late lunch about 130pm). The waiters were attentive, plus points for that. I noticed a lot of people having their breakfast menu (eggs with some pork bacon), but I wanted to have lunch so we skipped all those breakfast stuff.

I then discovered they had a different menu for the evening dinner, because we looked for the pork ribs on the menu handed to us, and we didn't see any.

We ordered the famous pasta they have which was called The Wolf pasta (or something like that), hubby had the tonkatsu salad while I ordered the pork fried rice for my maid.

Verdict: the pasta was creamy but nothing overly too wow about it. Hubby's tonkatsu was so-so while the salad beneath it was really not that fresh looking. My maid's fried rice had too much chili in it (for foreigners like us). All in all bill came up to be below rm100. We also ordered some fries, which was probably the best dish that we ordered for that meal (haha).

Not sure if I would come back for lunch. Perhaps will give their breakfast a shot. After which if still not too impressed, will give this place a miss next time. It may serve pork but I could find pork dishes somewhere else.

The Wolf Pasta - I was not too impressed...

Salad leaves were not very fresh... a letdown for us.

Tonkatsu Battle in KL, which is best?

Tweet After my Manila trip, I kept thinking of that Japanese tonkatsu place my friend brought us, which is called Yabu (Magnolia Robinsons mall). I was elated when I noticed the ad of Tonkatsu at Pavilion mall and decided to check it out. The place was not fully packed during CNY break, though still had patrons, mix of Chinese and Japanese folks. The meal was great and my tonkatsu craving was met. Overall I would say 4 out of 5 stars.

I wasn't satisfied in stopping there with my tonkatsu search since I saw some blogs writing about the newest Tonkatsu place in town called Tonkatsu by Ma Maison. Seems it is a branch from Singapore and I had to check it out.

Surprisingly for CNY, many restaurants were open (to our delight). When we arrived for lunch at Tonkatsu by Ma Maison (at Isetan 1 Utama), we saw it was almost full of Japanese people. During our meal there was non-stop flow of new customers, a mix of Japanese and Chinese. But mostly Japanese folks.

The pork and crab were superb. I even found their portion larger than the one at Pavilion. Staff was friendly and they have free green tea and water.

I rate the one in 1 Utama 5 out of 5 stars. Definitely worth the money and visit for some good tonkatsu!

All photos are pics of Ma Maison Tonkatsu... Except for the bill of Tonkatsu by Wa Kitchen. I took a pic to compare the prices. Definitely Ma Maison wins hands down. Food was better too, with option of brown rice which my hubby and daughter loved.

My Elephant Hartamas Thai Restaurant

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This is a straight-forward review of a popular Thai restaurant around the Hartamas neighborhood. I went there yesterday with my in-law's and 3-year old daughter for lunch.

Verdict:

GOOD STUFF:

• easy to park at that neighborhood
• they provided crayons to keep my daughter busy while we waited for the food
• they have baby chair
• they had lunch menu at very interesting prices, ranging from RM9.90 to RM14.90
• they were packed for lunch, I guess many people were taking advantage of the lunch menu prices
• the fried chicken and the tom yum soup with noodles were worth mentioning
• food presentation very nice

BAD STUFF:

• told the staff less spicy... but the dishes we had were still too spicy for our taste... hence the in-law's didn't enjoy their last lunch here in KL (they flew back to France that evening)
• they charged for their water, which in-law's found to be yucky taste... they said there was a certain taste they didn't like. However, after staying here one month, they had never complained about the water at home nor at the other restaurants we went to.
• the waiters were struggling with English (in my opinion).
• the rice they served on my plate had a huge portion of it which was very hard rice. I think they gave me the bottom of the rice cooker, which I found unedible

CONCLUSION:

Won't go back. This is my 2nd time at MyElephant. Last time was with some girlfriends who ordered dinner a la carte. I think majority of their food is too spicy for non-Malaysians. I found the selection at the Thai Restaurant called Bangkok House at One Mont Kiara more friendly to foreigners.