THE SALAD BAR @Citta Mall, Ara Damansara - Eating Healthy Need Not Be Boring Anymore Review Best Restaurant To Eat

Most of the time, the sheer mention about eating healthy, it usually means, not having delicious and mouth watering dish. What comes to mind about healthy food, is some boring and tasteless food. As the saying goes what is nice to eat is usually not healthy and what is healthy is usually not nice to eat?

With that in mind, I was initially hesitant to attend a food review session at THE SALAD BAR @Citta Mall, G-03, Ground Floor, Citta Mall, No 1, Jalan PJU 1A/48, Ara Damansara 47301 Petaling Jaya, expecting some green leafy salad and was preparing to go for a nice supper after this review. Find out whether we did have supper at the end of this review.

This is THE SALAD BAR second outlet, the first is located at Damansara Uptown where they have been operating for more than 5 years. The outlet here just opened about 2 months ago. The décor is simple and provide an ambience of healthy living. Over the years, the owner of the THE SALAD BAR, have set a mission to create tasty healthy food.

This was evident in the choice of ingredient used to create some of the special dish that suit the palate of healthy people looking to enjoy tasty healthy food. One of the critical factor in a salad will be the used of choice and fresh green vegetables.

The dinner session started with a delightful FRUIT SALAD BOWL - pleasing to the eyes with the bursting reds of the strawberries. Refreshing start.

This was followed by the BLOG SALAD which consists of olives, raisins, orange, dried apricot, onion and tofu with a special Asian dressings (premium soy sauce with sesame). It is rather unique but will take sometime to acquire the taste of it.

and the next one is the OLD GRANNY CAESAR WITH EXTRA AVOCADO – a plateful of goodness – this is an all-time favourite with chicken, cheese and herbs in Italian dressings mix with olives, tomatoes and boiled eggs. For us, we had the additional Avocado to top it up.

If having a standard SALAD is not your cup of tea, you can custom make your own salad by choosing on your own green i.e - 2 types, 3 toppings and 1 dressing to suit your own preference. 

For the main dish, we had the special CAULIFLOWER FRIED RICE. This fried rice does not contain any rice, in fact it is all cauliflower florets cut to resemble rice and fried with mixed vegetable. 

We were taken aback when we tasted the first spoonful, it was everything you get acquainted to Fried Rice taste, the crunch on the cauliflower makes it a little crunchier and sweeter compared with rice. It is a real wholesome meal without the carbohydrate of the rice but tasted quite similar to fried rice. It is really great for those who love Fried Rice but not the carbohydrate in rice. You also have an option to spice it up a little by ordering the spicy version, which they add on freshly cut chilli padi. 

Next, we had the TOMATO PASTA – simple tomatoes based top with Chery Tomatoes. Really for tomatoes lovers. Light meal and a little sourish. Vegan can have this.

Another pasta we had for the night is the TUNA PASTA SALAD, this is a rather unique combination of 2 different dishes into one i.e. pasta and salad, which are usually eaten separately but is combined here for a change.

How can we have no meat no dinner, with that we were introduced to a special Fried Chicken, which is AIR FRIED CHICKEN CHOP. Using the Air Fried Cooking method, no oil is used as the chicken are not deep fried in oil, but using a special Air Fried Fryer to fried this chicken.

For the health freak which still wants to enjoy fried chicken, this will be a great substitute for you. Also, the Fries which, was accompanied with the chicken was also Air Fried. No extra oil and guilty feeling to worry about.

THE SALAD BAR @CITTA MALL also serves croissants and sandwiches. The first one that we tasted was the TUNA CROISSANTS. The first thing we notice was the generous amount of Tuna that was sandwiched in the croissants. 

and this is followed by TURKEY CLUB SANDWICH 

and the last one YO DAWG which is served on a ciabatta bread with Sausage 

For drinks, there are a collection of healthy smoothies of which we tried two of it, which is the MANGO BANANA SMOOTHIE – a concoction of Mango, Banana and Home Made Yoghurt.

the second smoothie was the PURPLE GLITTER SMOOTHIE – which has Dragonfruit, Lemon and Home Made Yoghurt in it. This one has a tinge of sourness, but can be very addictive after a full meal like the one we had here.

Final conclusion, not all healthy food are boring and tasteless. It depends on how it is being prepared and served with special sauce and ingredients that can make it tasteful, wholesome and healthy at the same time. Well, after such a hearty meal, we did not go for any supper.

EDO Ramen @Mid Valley – Affordable Ramen For Ramen Lovers Review – Best Restaurant To Eat

By sheer coincidence, this is a back to back review of premium food made affordable by its sheer business prowess of its operator. We did one of the affordable meals earlier which was pasta but this time around it is the Ramen - another one of my favorite food. We had quite a number of Ramen reviews which, were priced anywhere from RM20.00 and above for a super tasty bowl of goodness.

We were invited to the EDO RAMEN @MID VALLEY outlet located at Mid Valley for the new offering of quality ramen at below RM10.00. Sounds impossible. So, what is in store, does it meets our expectation of a good quality and tasty Ramen.

EDO RAMEN @MID VALLEY décor is just a simple décor with minimum Japanese décor. It is brightly lit, has a simple menu and service is quick. This is the model in Japan, where customers come in for a quick bowl of ramen at a low price. Most of the time due to space constraint in Japan, the Japanese usually slurp up the piping hot Ramen standing

EDO RAMEN @MID VALLEY makes its own home made Ramen fresh daily, from the outlet based on a unique recipe by notable ramen connoisseur Mr Tetsuya Fukino. This is to ensure that you will be able to continue to enjoy the springy ramen.

The simple menu offering in EDO RAMEN @MID VALLLEY offers Ramen enthusiasts the option of 5 types of soups which is TOKYO, TONKOTSU, MISO, BLACK and GYUKOTSU and 2 categories of toppings (normal and ultimate) depending on your personal preference. Each bowl of Ramen also comes with a Lava Egg topping.

The first soup based we had, was the TONKOTSU broth in which, pork leg bones and trotters are boiled over medium to high heat, to extract out the marrow and collagen, which explains the strong hearty pork flavours of the broth.

After more than 12 hours, the final result is that the broth is of light brown in colour, sticky, thick and of a creamy quality – the hallmark of a tasty TONKOTSU broth. Although this is not the best Tonkotsu Ramen that I had before, the price you pay at RM9.90 is really a steal by itself.

The next ramen, we had was the MISO broth, Miso sauce is added to the TONKOTSU soup base to gives a tangy and robust taste of the Miso. This is really for those who loves Miso and Ramen.

For this, after adding in the MISO, the soup based is not as strong as the classic TONKOTSU, it was somewhat milder in taste and texture.

The next soup broth was the GYUKOTSU RAMEN, this is a new beef stock soup base introduce at EDO RAMEN, which I believe is used to test the acceptance level of beef broth in RAMEN.

For me, I would have preferred a much stronger beef flavours for my Ramen.

EDO RAMEN is running a promotion for this GYUKOTSU RAMEN.

For those who wants to add-on side dishes, among others the EDO RAMEN signature ABURI JAPANESE CHAR SIEW is a must add on. The individually slice Char Siew are grilled to a nice maillard, is slippery on the chop stick and melt in your mouth.

A must add on, if you are like me, really enjoy tasty meat with my Ramen.

EDO RAMEN also offers 2 types of Gyoza, the first one is BOILED GYOZA – which have an added spicy oil layering at the bottom of the Gyoza.

The next Gyoza is the PAN FRIED GYOZA.

With the cost going up, you can still be able to savour tasty and affordable homemade Ramen from EDO RAMEN.

Purple Pasta Restaurant & Cafe@ Oasis Ara Damansara – RM5 Pasta/Spaghetti Review – Best Restaurant To Eat

With the constant rise in cost and inflation, there are not many places where you can go for a decent meal at a very reasonable price but we were surprised when we were invited for a food review session at Purple Pasta Restaurant and Cafe which is located at D-G-06, Block D, Oasis Square, Ara Damansara 2, Jalan PJU 1A/7A, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

 
You wonder how true it is when they are able to sell their pasta/spaghetti at RM5.00 per plate. One might wonder whether they will cut off certain ingredients or the serving is of a extremely small serving. Nowadays, even if you ever had lunch at a coffee shop, it will easily cost more than RM5.00 and you probably have to sit on uncomfortable chair and a very hot environment.

The setting of Purple Pasta Restaurant & Cafe@ Oasis is simple and modern concept. There are different sections within the restaurant that will cater for different groups of people coming into this restaurant. There is an alfresco area where you can have a sit-down session with your friends in an open environment.

There is also a little cozy corner, where some soft sofa sets are, where you can hang around after lunch for some quiet reading or after dinner, coffee session to have some small chats with your friends.

and of course, the sit down area for your breakfast, lunch or dinner.

To start off our session of this review, we had the Garden Salad, which have lettuce, tomatoes, arugula, crotons, parmesan cheese top with a concoction of Japanese mayo and balsamico vinegar.

The light flaky crotons, was a perfect combination with the fresh green and the buttery powdered parmesan. Indeed a classic starter for a hearty meal ahead.

The dressing was of the right taste with a well balance of mayonnaise and vinegar which blended well with the crisp salad.

Next, we had, two of the top RM5.00 Pasta/Spaghetti.

The first one is the LAMB MARINARA. The tomatoes based sauce which was made in-house was not too sourish and it was topped with a generous amount of herbs.

The Lamb meatball was succulent and didn’t have the strong gamey lamb taste which makes it taste good. At RM5.00, it was very worth it.

The next pasta we had, was the AUTHENTIC CARBONARA, this version is very different from the other carbonara serves elsewhere which, we are used to i.e. flour and milk based.

From the onset it looks quite plain but the sauce is made up of yellow egg yolk, with parmesan cheese and guess what, roasted anchovies. It is then top up with a runny poached egg.

For fans of eggs, you got to try this. Make sure you let the runny eggs flowed into the pasta and mix it for a wholesome meal. For me, I would have preferred to slurp up the runny egg yolk.

For those that can eat a little spicy, you can add in some chilli flakes to give it that extra zing.

Both the above pasta, are part of the RM5.00 offering, there are other RM5.00 pasta of which, are CHICKEN CARBONARA, MUSHROOM CARBONARA, CHICKEN MARINARA, MUSHROOM MARINARA, CHICKEN GRAVYNARA, LAMB GRAVYNARA. You can sample these reasonably price pasta without burning a hole in your pocket.

The Purple Pasta Restaurant & Cafe@Oasis is embarking to introduce a few new premium pasta and dishes into their menu, which we have the privilege to sample and to provide feedback to the owner.

One of the first dishes to be tasted was the FRA DIAVOLO MUTTON. This pasta is a creation by the owner /chef himself, which he uses a base tomato sauce and a generous amount of dark chocolate to enhance the unique flavour of the sauce.

The use of the dark chocolate infused into the sauce are also able to kill off the gamey mutton smell and taste. The end result, the sauce was very addictive till the last drop. With a generous serving of mutton meat, the overall feeling of this dish was one of a premium taste.

The second dish we sample was the SALMON TARTARE – this is another fine example of the creativeness in the preparation and the choice use of the ingredients to bring forth the special premium taste. The Salmon are cured in-house with Rock Salt and Brown Sugar for at least 12 hours.

The combination of fragrant pear and ebiko add a new dimension and texture to this dish. The sauce was subtle yet complemented well with the slightly salted cured salmon which enhances the overall flavours of this dish.

The next dish was PRAWN CEVICHE – this dish is very challenging to most people who does not savour upon slightly raw or raw food.

CEVICHE is a form of cooking which uses the natural process of acid to cook the fresh seafood, in this case the PRAWN – no heat whatsoever was used in the cooking of this dish. Served chilled, you can actually taste the slight rawness and the tangy meat when eaten. Combined with vinaigrette onion and purple cabbage, it was a very unique and distinct taste.

The next dish i.e PRAWN THERMIDOR is as close as it is to eating LOBSTER THERMIDOR, as far as taste wise is concern. The chef is able to recreate close to the same taste of this premium dish.

The art of cooking the sauce and the use of Super Size Tiger Prawn, which have a firm and slight tangy rough texture, make it ideal as a close replacement to the lobster.

 

Lastly, we had the POACHED CHICKEN AND SMOKE DUCK - again with some creativeness, the chicken breast are sliced to pieces before poaching into the Earl Grey Tea, which gives it a distinct tea taste onto the chicken meat.

Placed in between the poached chicken slices, are the smoke duck slices that allows you to have 2 different taste of 2 poultry meat. Served on a bed of smashed potatoes, it was the perfect partner to the meat.

We hope that the owner will be serving up these specially created dishes, later at the Purple Pasta Restaurant & Cafe@ Oasis. Do check it out before you order.

By the way, if you are a coffee lover or fan, you might want to check out the TRIO SUGAR LATTE.

It is a latte served with this special azulette sugar which is purple in colour and look like the sparkling red rubies.

The Azulette sugar tasted quite similar to that of the cotton candy that we eat.

The other coffee is the PICCOLO COFFEE, this blend is a little stronger as it is more concentrated compared with the normal latte.

So, there you have it, a café that serves delicious tasting pasta at a very reasonable price or should it be cheap price and some nice coffee to finish off your delightful meal.