Introduction: You Are What You Eat

And the question would be, do you eat to live or live to eat? 

 Hello world, welcome to our blog! 

Malaysia is really a food heaven, as we all know. And as Malaysians, we have always been proud of this. So in here, you would be able to read about places we had gone around tasting. We don't guarantee the food to be crème de la crème (best of the best) because, well, we're not here to promote or to give bad remarks either. We were just given the opportunity by our Business Communication lecturer, Ms. Zurina to do this blog writing assignment. So, we basically pop in random places and gave them a try.

There are a total of 7 members in our group. And I shall present to you ...

REGINA LEE JIN NAH:

The Blog Editor, Photographer.

And everything in between the words and pictures of the blog.

AILYN LOW MAE LEEN:

Blog Author #1.

Man eater at T-Bowl Concept Restaurant.

SEOW SHAN-NA:

Blog Author #2.

Man eater at T-Bowl Concept Restaurant.

VIVIENNE LAU HUI ERN:

Blog Author #3.

Man eater at Manhattan Fish Market.

DENIECE HIEW SHER LYN:

Blog Author #4.

Man eater at Manhattan Fish Market.

SHAHNAZ BT. SHEIKH SALLEH: 

Blog Author #5.

Man eater at Orkid Thai Restaurant.

NIRMALA RAJAKUMAR:

Blog Author #6.

Man eater at Orkid Thai Restaurant.

Blog Entry #1: What you see is not normally what you get (T-Bowl)

Hello Food Junkies Out There! 

As you all know from the previous post, we were assigned to write a food review for our business communication assignment. And so we began our journey to find a restaurant that could give us something unique to review on. For our first pick, four out of seven members from our group (Ailyn Low, Regina Lee, Seow Shan-na, Vivienne Lau and two other friends) decided to go to the non-halal, T-bowl in Sunway Pyramid on the 16^th of April at 12.45 in the afternoon, as it was convenient to go there after our classes. T-bowl, which originated from Taiwan, is a toilet-based concept restaurant. It was definitely a very interesting and somewhat aberrant visit that you can only experience there. On the other hand, we believe that this restaurant is NOT FOR THE FAINT-HEARTED as at first sight it could seem quite repulsive as just about everything (except SOME of the food) looks like it came out from our bowel system or objects from the toilet.

Yes, we are posing with the poos ;)

The entrance of T-Bowl (disgusted yet?)

Moving on, we were greeted with an ENLARGED TOILET SEAT as the arch of the entrance and a friendly and ever-ready waitress waiting to direct us to our table upon our arrival. The minute we stepped into the restaurant, we were flabbergasted at the sight of toilet seats as chairs, sinks and bathtubs with glass tops acting as small and large tables respectively. Comics of their mascot (as we like to call it, Mr. Poo) decorated the walls and the ceiling. Crystal stones and rubber ducks were some of the creative decorations that were placed in the table. Some tables had toilet seats and squatting ones as chairs instead of the norm. Overall, the ambiance of the place was baroque and unhurried; an appropriate place to relax after a hectic day of jam-packed classes or work with friends over some scrumptious food.

SQUATTING TOILETS??!! *I wonder how they're gonna sit there*

Decorations in the bath tub are so cute ;) *Regina's on a toilet bowl!*

Mr. Poo's comics on the wall looking down on some hungry businessmen.

The crowd happily gobbling down their food.

To the interesting bit: FOOD!  
*caution: one's mouth may water excessively and one might go very hungry. You have been warned* 

The menu was simply exceptional. A toothbrush was attached to the front page of the menu which gave it a little edge as well as the selection of food and their titles accompanying them. For instance, Big Poo was the different varieties of rice sets and Little Poo were appetizers. They served an assortment of food from Asian (Ramen and Teppanyaki) to Western (Toast and Spaghetti) and not forgetting the much loved desserts (CHOCOLATE ICE-CREAM) *faints* The variations of choices that this restaurant offers definitely satisfy almost all our taste buds. After looking through the variety of food in the menu, and stalling time by laughing at everything astonishing we found, we finally took our orders. 

Ailyn had the scrumptious Aubergine and pork belly with rice accompanied by a delectable mango sago pudding, Regina ordered the lip-smacking Thai Style fried rice with a thirst-quenching glass of ice lemon tea while Shan-na and Vivienne had the set lunch, stringy Cheese Baked Curry Rice and the mouth-watering Spicy baked fish with rice respectively, which was complemented with a cold glass of ice tea and fruits to wash it all down. The service of  the food took a while but the taste of it upon being served (as well as the taking of pictures in between) made up for it. Ailyn’s food and dessert was served on a replica of a blue bath tub whereas Regina and Vivienne’s food was on a blue and yellow toilet seat lookalike. Shan-na‘s baked rice, however, was served in a yellow toilet seat imitation. All the drinks were served in a cup that was a duplicate of a male urinal and the fruits were in a bath tub. The ice-cream that our friend, Bryan, took was served in a white mini toilet seat and it, literally, looked like poo as it was chocolate ice-cream. Overall, the food was satisfactory but there is, however, still room for improvement. For instance, Vivienne’s fish, in her opinion, should have been a bit more grilled. The table setting of the place, like their plates and cups, could play tricks on one’s mind to think of it as poo, urine or even soap as what Ailyn had said about her mango sago pudding which was in a yellow lookalike bathtub. On the bright side, it is called T-bowl for a reason and is actually very creative. *You just need to prevent yourself from 'letting go' ;)*

Regina's Thai Style Fried Rice on a 'toilet seat' *yummayyy*

Shan-na : (OMG! Cheese baked rice in toilet seat! *shocked*)

Ailyn's Pork Rice is so delicious ;)

Ailyn: *OMG* I'll give you one shot and don't disturb me and my food! I'm a messy eater.

Vivienne: Why do you always have to take photos of me? My food has arrived. I'm hungry and it smells good!

Bryan: If this is how poop tastes like, I'll eat my poop everyday! *bites* OUCH! BRAIN FREEZE!

During our trip, we observed that the age range of diners there are from children as young as 10 to middle-age adults in their mid-40s as this place is basically a family restaurant. Very often, students and business people dine here during lunch break *just like we did*. The price range for their food is around RM 5 to RM 30 which is affordable for college students who wants a complete and healthy meal that could fill our stomachs and get our money’s worth.  

To sum it all up, this restaurant, as disgusting as it may seem at first sight isn’t as bad as it looks. As the saying goes, never judge a book by its cover *literally*. In truth, the food isn’t particularly as bad as what the restaurant is named after and conventional people should give it a try, not only because of its food but also because of the unique concept and the creative idea of it all.

So what are you waiting for? Head on over to T-bowl to get your little *or big* poo :)

Be happy and eat at T-bowl like us ;) *cheers*

Blog Entry #2: Something fishy going on here? (The Manhattan Fish Market)

Greetings, my fellow food lovers! I am certain you must had been left with such an absolute feeling of delight after reading the first blog entry. Now moving on to our next stop …

On a typical hot Wednesday morning, a large group of Sunway college students were seen laughing giddily on the way walking through the canopy walk. It was in fact, me (Deniece) and my friends (Regina, Shan-Na, Ailyn, Vivienne, Shahnaz, Nirmala … I lost count) getting all hyped up to hunt down for food at Sunway Pyramid. Passer-bys gave us weird looks for being so loud and chatty. We were deeply sorry - but that’s exactly how HUNGRY PEOPLE are.

It took us long enough wandering around, staring blankly at the directory map till we finally stepped into pretty well-known Manhattan Fish Market. By the time we literally gawked at the waiter to get our tables combined for 12 of us, we were famished. *time for the hunger games everyone!*

At the end, we still sat separately at two tables (sadly). Because apparently a whole row of tables were already booked beforehand by some college … kids, pretty much the same age as us. Considered the rush of lunch time hasn’t exactly ticked off yet, the restaurant was already so heated up with crowds. Observing around the place, we saw that the seafood restaurant was definitely a local catch as it attracts people of all age and all races as well. The ambience of the place was casual and comfortable. It was well-lit, with bright and clear lighting, but at the same time had a cozy and homey feel to it.

Don't it just feels like - home sweet home?

Take #1: Woman In and Out of The Mirror ;)

Back to the food, we had such a hard time selecting our choice of food because we wanted to make the RIGHT decision so badly. Ah, we’re all the fickle-minded kind of human, picky and choosy when it comes down to something as important as filling up our stomach. There were in fact far too many delectable dishes to choose from the menu. The snapshots of the food were certainly enticing, attention-drawing and uniquely displayed, leaving the lot of us already full as a feast for the eyes.

But wait, don’t they always type in this tiny-weensy font below the menu – for illustration purpose only? Oh yeah …

Before that, I definitely must say the waiter that served us was very friendly! Seeing us as college students, he suggested us to go for either the student package or combo set which was at a more affordable price. We were all appealed to his ideal suggestion as there was no need to burn a large hole in our wallet!

And we shall begin with the appetizers and drinks first, monsieur. My table ordered the thirst quenching and all time favourite, ice honey lemon tea. And then as the usual starters we had a small bowl of creamy mushroom soup. It was indeed in a smaller portion, but still enough to satisfy our taste buds! Whereas for the other table, they ordered a variety of drinks and they had this amazing and scrumptious fried country mushrooms, which was gobbled up by everyone in split seconds. Each one of us only had a fair share of one or two pieces. Sadly. 

Soup of the Day: Creamy Mushroom Soup *oh boy!* 

Shahnaz and her fizzling cold drink, look at the light effects! 

Note: Yes or no to colouring-s my people?

 
The Chef Recommendation: Fried Country Mushrooms

Shahnaz and Vivienne both ordered Manhattan Baked Dory in Garden Herbs. The baked fillet sprinkled with herbs all over it was served with Garlic Herb Rice and gotten thumbs up from both of the girls. Other three of my friends, Bryan, Nic and Shan-Na went for a taste on Manhattan's favourite dish - Manhattan Fish 'n Chips. It was the restaurant's signature item and so of course, it was the best of all! Johanna and I had Cala Ala Olio, spaghetti and shrimps dusted with cilli flakes. But the girls rated - just okay. The one that took the longest to serve was Regina and Adelyn's Giant Fried Platter, because it was definitely a huge feast to prepare. Underneath the giant mix of fried fish nuggets, shrimps, calamari and fried country mushrooms was garlic herb rice, what a surprise it was when they saw it half way eating through the very crunchy dish.  

Shahnaz enjoying her Baked Dory in Garden Herbs.

Bryan having a bite of Manhattan's signature dish - Fish 'n Chips.

Johanna showing off her pasta before indulging into it.

The Giant Fried Platter that was definitely worth the wait! 

No doubt, most of us made the perfect and right choice of food! And take note we are not being bias here, but our tummies were SO satisfied and even yearned for more. Unfortunately, we were a little tight on our cash flow, therefore we resisted for the next time. (just wondering when would next time be ... ) 

You know what? Forget about for-illustration-purpose-only, these are for real people. Trust me - one bite was all it took.

Blog Entry #3: It's family thai! (Orkid Thai Restaurant)

AND NOOOW LADIES AND GENTLEMEN ...... OUR FINAL POST!

The third and final place we decided to invade was somewhere a little less in Sunway and a little more unknown. Since Nirmala and I (Shahnaz) didn’t get a chance to join everyone else to the T-Bowl restaurant, we decided to have a little expedition all on our lonesome, at least that way we’ll have all the fun, I mean workload, evenly distributed.

The name of the restaurant, Orchid, flows well with the theme of what it serves, Thai food! I’m sure many of you didn’t even know that the unofficial national flower of Thailand was in fact an Orchid! 

This family oriented restaurant is placed in Seksyen 9, Shah Alam, near the Concorde Hotel. That if you were driving by without having that certain address typed into your GPS, you’d most likely miss it completely. Frankly speaking, the outer exterior of the restaurant doesn’t have the immediate ‘wow factor’ that most other restaurants of today have, like bright colours, an interesting gimmick or classy appearance.

Now before you whip out your iPhones and Blackberrys stating posts on Twitter or Facebook complaining about the place. Step inside and get ready to place your taste buds on a nice, delicious journey.

As said, the restaurant is family oriented which to the restaurant stands for big tables. The tables there have at the smallest is a table for 6 and at the largest is a table for 12. The time that we went there was around lunch time on a weekend, where I can assume that most families have some sort of family activity. Being the reason why not many people were there, but take my word when I say that usually at night the place will be packed full of people, conversations and a warm bustling atmosphere. It’s the kind of place you go to with family when mom wants to have a break from cooking dinner every night.

Tables, chairs - the usual surroundings of a restaurant.

The establishment doesn’t have many eye grabbing attractions, save for well placed décor, because the main idea is to eat and enjoy the food, the entertainment they offer is the loss of distraction (like giant flat screen televisions) and a gain of family communication.

A painting of a fisherman's village hung on the wall.

As soon as you come in they will immediately direct you to a table, then place light snacks of peanuts and crackers on the table to nibble on while waiting for the meal. The service was fast, efficient and helpful! When we were caught in our decision making on which fish (the main attraction) to get, our waiter looked through what we had already ordered and made a suggestion that he said would complement the meal. Guess what? It did :)

Nirmala: "Hmm, decisions, decisions ..."

They even helped take pictures for us, probably thinking that we were one of those picture-aholics. After the meal even, when we were checking the receipt to know how much we have to divide it between us, we saw they charged us for a minor item which we didn’t use, they immediately apologized for the mistake and did a redo on the receipt.

The both of us having a splendid time at Orchid. *cheers*

So both of us had a nice lunch of, Three Flavoured Fish, Mango Kerabu, Tom Yum Fishball and, of course a necessity in almost every Asian meal, Rice. Since the average meal goers of the restaurant are around a small party of 6, the portion was way too much for the both of us, so considering the portion and price we’d have to say that we struck a pretty good deal and plenty of left over’s for dinner. All in all it was a fun little adventure for the both of us and not to mention stomach filling, and that my friends, is that…. Or is it?

Three Flavoured Fish recommended by the waiter.

Shahnaz is so very tempted. *saliva drops*

The so very famous traditional thai dish - Mango Kerabu! 

And of course, definitely the-not-to-be-missed Tom Yum Fishball! 

Bon appetit! 

Wait! Wait! Another interesting thing I think you’d like to know about the restaurant would be that the food they serve is unbelievably fresh! When we were through with our meal, we discovered that they kept live fish, crabs and other sea critters in tanks on the lower floor of their restaurant, just waiting to be made into a dish at the announcement of an order. 

Shahnaz poking around at the fishes bubbling in the aquarium tanks.

Nirmala grinning at the crabs: "You shall be my next big feast!"

So we know for a fact they really mean it when they say they serve fresh fish.

 Too bad for the fish though :P