Dining with an Oriental Touch at Grand Harbour

(I apologize for the lack of updates in the month of August, things have just been crazy!)
Anyway, I am finally back with my posts....

Grand Harbour is a Chinese restaurant which I have tried a year ago, for the first time in their outlet in the heart of KL city. I was delighted to hear they have expanded to more outlets with one of them being in the ever busy and happening Mid Valley Megamall.



The restaurant's interior design revolves around the clean Oriental concept, focusing on brightly lit rooms and an open view of the cooking area, as diners could enjoy watching the chefs in action, preparing the food.



Typical of Chinese restaurants, round tables and bustling crowds along with their waiters amidst the cooking aroma are also synonymous with this one; a place famous for their wide Chinese varieties, ranging from dim sum, noodles, rice, home-styled dishes and even desserts and pastries.



The concept of the restaurant is centered on the Hongkie-style of offering; and it is interesting to note the eclectic mix on their menu. It is not odd to find simple fare typically found in an ordinary Hongkie coffee shop or stall; such as Milk Tea, polo (pineapple) buns, steamed buns, to the average and fancy dishes to entice the taste buds of their eager diners.

Iced Hong Kong Milk-Tea (MYR4.90) is ordinary with the light taste of the familiar combination for the Char Chan Teng (Hong Kong style of cafes - as commonly referred to among the local Hongkies) regular goers.

Crispy Shrimp Rice Roll (MYR9.30) is one of my personal favorites; with the unique rice roll (just like chee cheong fun with a slightly thicker texture) wrapping a mix of fresh shrimps and vegetables, layered with a thin crisp in between, this is a real winner and one of the unique, not to mention tantalizing treat I have tasted.


Lightly drizzled with soy sauce to add to the rounded taste of the dish, this is appetizing and delightful to start or to enjoy as a side.




Stir Fried Noodles with Fresh Water Prawns/Sang Har Meen (MYR28.80) is another enticing dish to enjoy and the portion is enough to serve two. While moderately sized, the quality of the dish is not compromised; in fact, it was even better with the retention of the freshness of the prawns which are succulent additions to the juicy vegetables, making them a perfect complement to the enjoyable crispy and intermittent soft texture of the fried noodles.
The gravy was kept to a light starchy texture, and just the way I like it (it would be a spoiler if it were to be thickened with the starch)






End the meal with a simple treat from their selection of many sweet temptations; which could lead one to an indecisive time, but I was all set to pick my very own choice.

Sweet Osmanthus Cake (MYR5.80) was true to its name; sweet tasting solidified jelly with the osmanthus flower bits in between bites, though the sweetness of the cake was definitely slightly heightened than usual, or at least to my personal liking.



Still, I have always had this fondness for osmanthus flowers; be it tea or this unique dessert, which can be quite a rare find, I would definitely set my eyes on it upon spotting it in any menu selection (since it is rather rare!). However, if the sweetness was slightly tuned to a more acceptable level, it would definitely be perfect for me :-)






These are just the few dishes I have tried on my visit, and I am looking forward to more on my next.
It would be best to make reservations on weekends or public holidays as the place tends to fill up with the bustling crowds, and the waiters could also speed up a little in terms to attending to their guests as well.

It's great to have another restaurant to add to the list to satisfy my occasional Hongkie food cravings, and with varieties like these, I am all in!

A Little Christmassy meal @ Kim Gary

Queensbay Mall is the recent branch home to the chain Hongkie cafe; Kim Gary.
This became the hot spot for most Industrial Zone folks' haunt and also our pre-Christmas gathering!

It was pretty crowded; could be the popularity or the fact that it was the latest eatery spot in the Pearl's most happening mall.
We had to wait pretty long before our food arrived and the first which came was not even our order, although I must say that it was pretty enticing~

The Christmas set meal by Kim Gary; which costs about RM29.90 as stated in the menu.
I think it came with a choice of soup, drink and main course.
This was the seafood baked cheese rice (if I am not mistaken)

The western selection; which served both chicken and fish


The cheese baked rice with eel selection


Spaghetti with meat (I think it was beef)



Cheese baked broccoli for a side dish


And this, the classic dish which made my friend wait for more than 40 minutes!
Baked cheese seafood/shrimp rice

The baked cheese was rather mushy and 'watery' that it was little like battered eggs than baked cheese.
Anyway, the shrimps were pretty fresh which made up for it.

And the Aftermath


For all the cheese baked rice, Kim Gary offers one of the wide varieties compared to the other Hongkie outlets.

A very MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of you (again)~~~

Kim Gary @ Gurney Plaza

Good ol' Kim Gary is never without buzz each time I was there; in these outlets in Penang and The Curve.
Recently they introduced another seafood menu as a marketing ploy to attract their customers to the ocean besides their conventional menu items.

Bosch soup is one of the favorite items; and the regular soup of the day whenever you order their set lunches.

Served in a small cup, they contain a proportionate amount of carrots, onions, tomatoes and the sourish taste make this a mini cup of veggie delight.

I've always liked the fact that they served it hot - it's smokin' when it reaches your table!~


Honey lemon with aloe vera is a refreshing concoction which provides a cooling and soothing effect.

I love the bottles which they serve the drinks in; although the ice cubes were tad a bit too much for me to reach to my aloe vera chunks - it gets annoying:p

A Hongkie-Char chan teng meal is never complete without a glass of Yin Yong (combination of tea and coffee)

Yin Yong is basically another version of our local Teh tarik in our eastern counterparts although it takes a few good criteria to determine a good cup of yin yong - such as the right ratio of the mixture between the 2 beverages, the smoothness, the aroma, the blended taste...(haha, teh tarik, you just drink it; as long as it's frothy enough - dun care about requirements)

Kim Gary seems to make pretty good yin yong; as most of the people I know prefer their yin yong compared to their other Hongkie counterparts here.

This is the new Grilled Seafood which we ordered

Priced at RM22.90, it came with assorted seafood on a sizzling plate.
There were salmon fish fillets (~2 pieces), prawns, calamari rings, mussel, scallops and the accompanying selection of corn cob, broccoli, stir-fried cabbage and onions and potato wedges as the main calorie...I meant carb provider:)


For dessert, they served the milk pudding with red bean (something which was pretty popular in HK and Macau)

The one they serve over here was pretty disappointing though; coz it was pretty much tasteless and it didn't even feel like a pudding


In case you're interested in their "Ocean" wave, you can head over to Kim Gary and try out the seafood selection.
Oh, did I mention they do not accept credit cards? :)

Seafood Steamboat @ Wong Kok, 1U

Enough about miserable food; here's to some nicer food pictures to satisfy the soul which made me wanna go back for more:)

Wong Kok in 1 Utama is one place that I've set my eyes upon for a while as I have been there several times but never did get the opportunity to despite my countless shopping trips there.
On one of the occasion that a trip was finally made to the famous Wong Kok located in 1 Utama (how ironic, names of 2 locations coincide in a single sentence - how an English teacher would frown at the legality of the grammar!~)


The lighting was sufficient in the restaurant which exuded a rather bright and positive environmental greeting when guests enter the place.

Of course, the fact that there were windows lining the restaurant due to its location by the lakeside(sorta) and constantly receiving the solar energy did contribute to the brightness of this place.
Whatever the reasons, I am buying it as I do like brightly lit places...somehow makes you all cheered up!~


Roger Kwok, staring up at my face on the table.

The guy, famous for Ah Wong fame is the chain restaurant's endorsed ambassador and the reason why his smiling face is plastered all over the tables; on those posters meant as plate mats.

If you can see the bright atmosphere in the pictures, one of the biggest factor is definitely the strong solar rays out there and you will definitely agree that this ice blended smoothie is one good choice that you will pick from the menu as well.

Pineapple smoothie; priced at RM7.90 (can someone tell me why smoothies always carry a 90 cents in their price tag?)

There were actually sago in this drink; colorless of course, due to the screaming yellow of the blended pineapple (or flavoring)
It was tempting and chilling initially; the gushing cool ice-blend liquid down your throat as it soothes the heat from the glaring sun outside.

However, a warning for those who do not have a sweet tooth (like me), and also diabetics...as this drink contains too much sugar content which can definitely create that need to inject your insulin thereafter!

For a cooling and yet less-sweeter option, this bowl of herbal jelly (guai ling gou) with white fungus is a clear winner (RM5.90 - I still wonder what the 90 cents tag for all drinks/food are for...the labor cost?)

It looks just like a make of a sunny side up...only that it's like black in the middle. Or you can imagine it as a lost comet!

It was really soothing and it was definitely the right choice for me to soothe my throat and yet feel fulfilled by this combination of a beauty drink:)

The new "in" thing in Wong Kok is the steamboat; and this is the seafood steamboat

Priced at RM21.90, it's served in hard quality paper (this also seems to be the trend of modern steamboats - serving in paper as some kind of magic show? That the paper can hold the food/soup; that's really hot soup mind you! I find it some kind of mockery against the old-time magic trick that most of us had been seeing in our childhood magical performances....it's like "Neh neh, we can all do this trick too...much better than you....we can put our cooked stuffs into this paper, better than the magicians who can only hold water/milk!"
I pity all the magicians, you can no longer use this trick to fool the intelligent new generation anymore:p


It was bubbling hot; with glass noodles (which I suspiciously weighed as more than any other items in the steamboat!)
There's also beancurd, vegetables, enoki mushrooms, prawns, fish fillets, squids, seaweed, and tons of wolfberries (I love them!)


The side dish ordered was this Fried mushrooms and vegetables which looked really appetizing on the menu (RM8.90)

Boy, was I disappointed when it arrived!
Not only was it late but it tasted more like Oiled mushrooms and vegetables!

Maybe it's me...but I didn't like the way it turned out (remember I am pickyeater:)

Overall, the meal was not too bad and the environment was good.
But one comment though; the service here is really slow!!~
I was really disappointed in how the staff took so long to respond - if the space is too large within the place, I suggest that they should look into implementing the bell system on each table to have a waiter/waitress respond to them in a shorter time.
Food for thought?

Lunch @ Kim Gary, The Curve

We are getting endless list of Hongkie food outlets here in Malaysia; and they are sprouting like mushrooms everywhere. Probably due to the affordable prices and also the easy and convenient bites for light and yet filling food anywhere.

Kim Gary was one of the more popular Hongkie outlets here in Malaysia; and they even had Bosco Wong to endorse their brand.
One of their outlets is located in The Curve; and it was really crowded with shoppers on weekends; from 11am onwards. Most of the people will choose to have their "brunch" at this time as well.


They placed importance in hygiene; judging from the way they organize their utensils in the plastic case.


They do offer set lunches at an affordable price of RM11.90; inclusive of a soup for starters, main, and a drink.
Their tomato soup was one of the favorites among most patrons and I find that they usually serve this as well.


For drinks, there is a limited choice; between Milk tea, tea and iced lemon tea (if I am not mistaken).
Of course, milk tea is to be sampled upon when you dine in a Hongkie Char Chan Teng.


There is also a wide range of drinks offered on the menu but my favorite will have to be the Lemon with Aloe Vera drink.

It was just a great combination; and really soothing for the throat:)

The main in the set; Spaghetti with Fish fillets in cream sauce. You can opt for either rice or spaghetti serving.


For side order, this is one of my favorite; Fish fillets with sweet corn (RM7.50); it used to be only RM6.90.

Guess when price of rice increased; everything just followed.

As I have mentioned; there is such a wide range of beverages and desserts.
Somehow I noticed that Taiwanese and Hongkies love snowies.
There is a list of fruity snowies; and this is the red bean snowy.

There was a tangy taste that I couldn't describe; but it's definitely not coconut milk.
It tasted like pop soda or something.

Anyway, I really enjoyed this as dessert; cooling and just my favorite; iced red bean!:)


I got a discount voucher which entitled me for 20% off my next visit;)