After exploring The Starling, I suggested to my partner that we should have dinner at Kim Zen Restaurant (non-halal).
This place is located on the same floor as Jaya Grocer and it has a kopitiam type of setting. You place your orders by filling up an order chit. Yes, I like that.
As usual, you will find me prepping my garlic, chili and soya sauce.
We had a herbal drink each. With the benefit of hindsight, we could have shared just one drink.
It was quite sweet with bitter undertones. I am not very familiar with herbal drinks.
We ordered one soup each, then we exchanged after consuming half. Share and share alike ๐
The minced meat with salted egg was tasty. There's lots of flavors there and the meat was tender.
The chicken dish was alright. I liked the black fungus and lilybuds.
Our serving of greens was OK. I prefer vegetables stir fried with garlic and salt rather than blanched like this. The only other choice was lettuce, I think.
Overall, I enjoyed our dinner. But I am somewhat sensitive when eating out. At some places, I am fine but at others, I will feel weak and drained either after the meal or the following day. Unfortunately, this happened when I woke up the next day. But that's just me, other people may not experience the same thing.
Same here, if me, i will also order different soup, can share, then can try out different variety... hehe...
ReplyDeleteYes, must have chance to taste many types of soup or dishes.
DeleteI saw many people at this place in the Starling mall. their branch in midvalley doesnot have so many people and i have eaten there before and I find the food so so only. Do you know why you would feel weak and drained after eating some meal? is it allergic or something in the food that you have to stay away from?
ReplyDeleteYesterday, I passed by around 12pm and it was full house. I don't know what it is that makes me ill, perhaps msg or other additives in the food.
Deletemaybe your body cannot take the strong herbs used in the herbal drink or maybe in the soup.
DeleteThe food looks appetizing like home cooked style. I like that kinda steamed minced meat with salted egg! Yums!
ReplyDeleteNow I have tried Rakuzen and next will be the Thai "Tuk-Tuk" restaurant upstairs. Then I will try this Kim Zen Restaurant! Will I bump into you some day???
I went yesterday to check Tu-Tuk's menu. Looks quite nice. If I catch you at Kim Zen, I will come by to say hello. I know how you look like hee..hee..
DeleteSince it's non-halal, of course I have never been there, PH ~_^
ReplyDeleteWhen you mentioned about herbal drinks, oh no! I'm not a fan of anything related to herbal. During my confinement also I made it hard for my mom/sis to 'force' me to eat what I was supposed to eat/drink!
Of course not, my dear :) Right now, not many restaurants at the mall. I was hoping that there will be Malay restaurants like Serai which I love.
DeleteMe too not really into herbal drinks. I find the taste too strong but sometimes I just oblige.
Seeing that you had what I would term pretty healthy food here (all steamed & blanched), I wonder what made you feel weak the next day...could it be MSG? >_<
ReplyDeletePossible msg or some other additives in the food. It was quite a bad reaction and sort of spoilt my weekend :(
DeleteYes, PH, I agree with you.. some places do not have this effect and some do, I experienced it before, that is why the saying, homecooked are always the best..
ReplyDeleteAgree with what you say. But sometimes we home cooks also want to taste other people's cooking hah..hah...
DeleteI'm not a fan of herbal stuff but will go for it if people say it is very nice.
ReplyDeleteHerbal drinks I don't really like, but herbal soups I quite enjoy if it is done well.
DeleteHmmm, I feel the 'after-effects' effect more and more also these days ... I wonder if it's a part of aging, a consequence of the current ways food is produced and/or cooked, or what. For me, it happens in about three hours after I eat certain meals, and my head feels rather heavy and it's a bit harder to process my thoughts intelligently :)
ReplyDeleteYou too, eh? What a bummer especially for you as it is part and parcel of what you do, eating out. I was like a zombie the day after and I don't know if I would go back there again.
DeleteWahhh.....hari tu baru survey, hari ni dah try ye PH hihi... Yang penting puas hati dan memenuhi selera.
ReplyDeleteLa ye ke PH....gitu pulak ek! Agaknya chef tertumpah perasa kot ...
Laju jer kan, Hainom? Pantang kalau nak try kedai makan hee..hee...
DeletePH ni sensitif pada perasa dan msg.
Steamed soup always turn my appetite on!!
ReplyDeleteI like it too!
DeleteIf there is too much msg in the food, I will be very thirsty for the next few hours and sometimes I will have very bad headache. Occasionally, I will also feel unwell.
ReplyDeleteI get that too, that terrible thirst :(
DeleteHi Phong Hong,
ReplyDeleteI like the steam minced meat with salted egg ... always reminds me of my late mom's homecooked dish. I don't prefer herbal drinks purchase from outside. Like to boil it myself, can adjust the taste.
Hi Karen! I rarely drink herbal drinks, only when I eat out.
DeleteThis happens to me if a restaurant uses MSG. I get a headache and feel tired.
ReplyDeleteIt's a bummer to end up like that after a meal :(
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