Category: Food Reviews

Eversince I read about this new Korean seafood restaurant in Solaris Dutamas, I was determined to visit the place. I tried to get some friends to go with me, but as predicted, only my foodie soulmate Jayna was up for it hehe.

We were there quite early so we managed to get a table though many tables were already marked as reserved when we arrived. The interior was simple and cosy.

# – Crazy Fish.

# – The area where live seafood were prepared.

After we were seated down, we were served complimentary banchan.

# – Seasoned cucumbers and some kind of julienned pancake/omelette?

# – Scallion pancake and dips.

Our main goal was to try the infamous Korean delicacy, “Sannakji” or live octopus.

# – Sorry, octo.

There were other live seafood on display that we just couldn’t identify.

# – Urechis and sea squirts? Nope, no idea.

Nevertheless, in the spirit of trying, we ordered a plate of sea squirts, on top of live octopus and salmon.

# – Salmon.

# – Octopus and sea squirts.

# – Octopus, chopped up and still wriggling.

# – Sea squirts, chopped up. We had a bit of a laugh trying to figure out how to eat it. Basically the fleshy bit is on top of the hardshell, which you can pick up with chopsticks.

The salmon was very nice but you could probably get the same if not better quality from a decent Japanese restaurant.

As for the octopus, well it was an interesting experience to eat something that lively. Everybody should try it at least once.

Taste-wise though, there wasn’t any discernible flavour other than the salt and sesame oil that I dipped it in. The texture was rubbery and chewy. Honestly, we were slightly disappointed at how incredibly bland it was.

# – The boss showing us how to eat the octopus. First you pick it up with wooden chopsticks (the traditional flat metal Korean chopsticks are pretty much useless as there’s no friction), dip it in sesame oil/salt then pop it into your mouth. Chew before swallowing.

# – Here’s a video of Jayna eating it for the 1st time.

Nevertheless, we were glad we have tried it, although it’d be our first and last time. At RM70 per octopus, it also felt incredibly expensive to me.

The sea squirts were spongy in texture and quite briney. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have any addictive attribute to it. I’ve read somewhere that it’s reminiscent of oysters…but nope, not even close as it lacked the firm, silky texture of a good oyster. Perhaps it would taste better cooked?

We also ordered a bowl of spicy panmee for carbo loading purpose…yeap, really the chinese wheat noodles we’re all familiar with.

# – Spicy panmee. Nothing to shout about.

# – Me and Jayna.

So, will I go back again? I might bring friends/family there just for the novelty factor of eating a live, wriggly octopus but other than that, no. I am probably comparing apples and oranges, but I would much rather spend what we spent (around RM160) at a decent Japanese restaurant for flavourful raw seafood bursting with umami.

You definitely can’t fault Crazy Fish in terms of freshness but flavours? Well, at the end of the day it’s subjective, isn’t it?

Crazy Fish
9-G, Jalan Solaris 3,
Solaris Mont Kiara,
Kuala Lumpur.
Daily for lunch & dinner (until 2 a.m.), except the first Monday of each month.
Tel: 03-6211-7313

Everytime we’re in need of something tasty & healthy for lunch, we would head to Obanhmi in Damansara Utama or Uptown. We may have eaten there about half a dozen times so far.

This place has never disappointed us once. Offering a range of Vietnamese style sandwiches called banh mi on top of a few other Vietnamese fares, Obanhmi is a wonderful place to grab a quick but satisfying meal.

# – The Vietnamese sandwich.

# – Obanhmi.

Parking is not as terrible as the inside square of Damansara Uptown, most times we’re able to find a space near the shop.

The menu isn’t big, but that’s okay as they focus on what they’re good at.

# – The menu. Price is certainly affordable – around the same as Subway but with much better food. Non-halal though.

Obanhmi makes their own baguettes. If you like to have your baguettes super fresh, you could check them out at specific times.

# – For freshly baked baguettes, go at 8am, 12.30pm, 1pm and 6pm.

# – The interior is simple and comfortable.

Our staple is the “O Roasty” sandwich – a bahn mi packed with pork liver pate, fresh vegetables, pickled vegetables and ROAST PORK.

# – O-Roasty.

# – Cross section of O-Roasty.

They have recently introduced a new item which name has escaped me now, but it’s basically a bowl of vermicelli, with chopped up roast pork, chopped up deep-fried spring rolls and loads of fresh vegetables served with a clear sweetish spicy sauce.

I LOVE THIS!

It’s decadent yet refreshing, like a very good bowl of salad meal should be. Lots of textures and taste.

# – My favourite at Obanhmi now.

The serve really good rolls too…both fried and fresh rolls.

# – “O Rolly”, the fried rolls. Crispy on the outside and great texture on the inside. Delicious filling of minced pork, mushroom, carrots and glass noodles.

# – My weakness is the fresh summer roll though, called “O Summery”. It’s a sight to behold!

# – Cross section of the summer roll. Served with a delicious homemade hoisin sauce, the fillings include basil, mint, chive, lettuce, avocado, pork and prawn.

Of course they serve a mean Vietnamese coffee! They have other beverages such as Vietnamese iced lemon tea, soft drinks and beer too.

# – Vietnamese style iced lemon tea and milk coffee.

Obanhmi
33 Jalan SS21/56B,
Damansara Utama,
47400 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor, Malaysia
47400 Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
Tel: 03-7732 8540
Email: obanhmishop@gmail.com
Tueday – Sunday: 9.30am – 9.30pm
Monday: Closed
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OBMshop

We recently had dinner at this newly opened Korean restaurant in Damansara Uptown/Damansara Utama and we were very pleased with it. Located on the same row as Pot & Bone, there’s ample parking space by the restaurant.

# – Han Woo Ri in Damansara Uptown.

Upon entering the premise, we noticed some smokiness from the bbq grill but it wasn’t incredibly unpleasant.

# – The grill on every table.

The menu was average, pretty much the same things you could find in most Korean restaurants in Klang Valley.

Upon sitting down, we were served a bowl of complimentary fermented soybean paste soup each and a plate of pickled sliced onions as well as other condiments.

# – Complimentary soup and pickled slide onions.

# – Condiments – a sweetish sauce I can’t recognise, bean paste and sesame oil with salt.

For the barbeque, we ordered slices of rib eye, marinated pork neck and thinly sliced beef. Customary side dishes or banchan were served too.

# – The staff did the grilling of the meats. In picture are the thinly sliced beef (cha dol bagi) with all the banchan.

# – Marinated pork neck (yang nyum mok sal) – fresh, fatty and tender.

# – Sliced rib eye (gal bi sal). Check out the marbling!

We really enjoyed the barbecue. The pork neck and rib eye especially, were fatty and tender but slightly crisp on the edges thanks to the skilled staff who did the grilling.

We also ordered a dol sot bibimbab and kimchijigae (which came with a bowl of rice).

# – Dol sot bibimbap – lovely though could do with more red pepper paste/gochujang. In hindsight, I should have asked for more gochujang.

# – Kimchijigae – good depths of flavour with abundance of meat, glass noodles, sprouts and tofu. Belly warming!

The thing that really stood out for me at this restaurant was the service. It was impeccable!

All the staff were keen and had smiles on their faces – quite a rare sight in Malaysian restaurants really. And they asked us at least 3 times whether we would like to replenish any side dish.

Our dinner ended with complimentary slices of watermelon and traditional Korean rice drinks (my favourite!).

# – Rice drink and fruit.

And the most important part, the prices. Well, it’s not particularly cheap or expensive. As with most of the decent Korean joints in town, prepare to pay a bit more for the bbq beef range while the other stuff are perfectly affordable. If you want to try the restaurant out without paying too much first, I suggest going during lunch time as they have very reasonably priced lunch set menus.

Han Woo Ri – Korean BBQ Restaurant
34G, Jalan SS21/62,
Damansara Utama,
47400 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor.
Mon – Sun: 11.30am – 2.30pm, 5.30pm – 10.30pm
Tel: +603-7731 3357