ronnycakes reviews: Kompassion by My Elephant, Damansara Kim

My Elephant has branched out to include a new non-halal Thai cuisine outlet by the name of Kompassion; and because My Elephant’s Thai food has always been something we enjoyed, Kompassion naturally made its way into our must-try list.

We arrived on a Sunday afternoon at about 1pm and already the entire shop was almost full to the brim. Luckily there was a tiny table for 2 that was available.

One thing you’ll notice on the menu is that there are a lot of fusion concepts at play and the dishes such as Thai Curry Ramen and Linguine Pad Thai to name a few, are dishes that you definitely don’t see in usual Thai restaurants. Another major plus point about Kompassion is that they serve pork whilst most commercial Thai restaurants are restricted to just duck/chicken/fish/beef offerings.

For starters we had the Smoked Salmon, Pork Bacon & Kimchi Salad (RM18.90). Who would have thought salmon, bacon and kimchi could go so well together? Both of us loved this so much and practically had to fight each other off for the last bite. Absolutely delicious and definitely out of the ordinary!

For mains, I had the Tom Yum Fried Rice with Grilled Seafood (RM18.90). A generous helping of scallops, prawn, squid and a piece of grilled salmon was served up with my rice. I loved the fried, but found that it lacked a little oomph in terms of spiciness and sourness but I suppose that is just personal preference.

Kimchi was also served on the side for the rice and it lent a sour-ish and savoury taste to the rice.

Wils had the super hearty Linguine Phad Thai served with Prawn, Crab Stick and Squid (RM15.90). Fried linguine noodles tossed with peanuts, chili flakes and seafood. Very refreshing!

 

If we had come to Kompassion with a larger party we could have tried their sharing platters of pork or Tom Yam Soup (costing about RM50 per bowl :O) but since it was only the two of us we went for the lighter stuff.

The next time round, I’ll definitely be trying that curry ramen for myself, and not forgetting a repeat order of that Smoked Salmon, Bacon and Kimchi Salad!

Address:
KomPassion Thai Fusion Food (same row as Euro Deli),
5, Jalan SS20/11,
Damansara Kim, Petaling Jaya.

Map *here*

ronnycakes revisits: Wondermama, Bangsar Village I

Remember we said that we would be highly anticipating Wondermama’s new additions to the menu in our last post? So on a night where Wils was craving for burger, Wondermama popped into our mind and we became curious how they would give the classic burgers a twist with their fusion concept.

The day that we went over, Wondermama had already introduced two new burgers into their menu; the Prawn Katsu Burger and the Kimchi Beef Burger (sounds super unique right!), but sadly the kimchi burger wasn’t available so we opted for the prawn one.

 
The Prawn Katsu Burger (RM15) combines Asian and Western together, with fresh crispy deep fried prawns with a hint of tartar sauce on a sesame bean bun. We opted for potato salad instead of fries to go with our burger, and the burger also came with a small serving of sautéed mushrooms. It was no doubt delicious, but a little on the small side for our appetites. :p

Potato salad with croutons!

We were given the chance to try this Clam Vongole before it was introduced on the menu. A soup base of tomato, white wine and here’s the kick: a touch of sambal! Definitely something you don’t see everywhere.

We also tried another recommended dish on the menu, the signature Nasi Lemak 2.0s (RM23.90), served with the basics of nasi lemak: sambal (with petai!!), anchovies, boiled egg, peanuts and crackers. What makes this stand out is the inclusion of deep-fried soft shell crab as a substitute for the classic fried chicken, and this Japanese-Malaysian twist works! Loved it.

 

 
To wrap up another great meal, we had this Chocolate Ice-cream with Beef Bacon. When we first heard it we were like ummm bacon and ice-cream?? Seriously?? We were definitely skeptical with this one but surprisingly the flavours blended well together (even for someone who doesn’t fancy beef).

Once again, an extremely satisfying meal that had us clutching our stomachs and now we can’t wait to go back again for more new offerings!

Address:
Wondermama (the old Outback Steakhouse),
Jalan Telawi 1
Bangsar Village I,
Bangsar Baru, Kuala Lumpur

Map *here*

ronnycakes reviews: Wondermama, Bangsar Village I, Bangsar

Wondermama – the new kid on the block, taking over from Outback Steakhouse at the old wing of Bangsar Village. Before we had a chance to try it ourselves, we had already amassed some information about the place from other bloggers. Most reviewers said that food was good, but a handful said it was a bit of a gamble. So how did we rate it?

  

Wondermama’s décor is completely old school and retro. You’ll see things like paper calendars, tiffin carriers, clay pots and ceramic bowls, and that is indeed what makes it so endearing. It reminds me of all things old-fashioned from my childhood and from my mum’s hometown which you can hardly see in modern places nowadays. Notice the Chinese rosette cookie mould (google it and I’m sure you’ll recognise it!) used as a stand for the specials menu.

I think these are iron woks turned upside down and painted pink!

Old fashioned medicine pots!! According to the Chinese, medicines are extra effective if boiled in earthenware pots like these, because they absorb the nutrients from the earth.

 

After ordering our food, we were served with complimentary Nyonya Kuih (Freebies!! Chinaman at heart). It was a lovely appetizer, but the only thing that didn’t make it stand out was the fact that both kuihs were a tad too dry.

 
For starters we had the Dancing Squid (RM15.90) which was panfried squid with butter, celery, and cod roe. What would have been a boring dish was saved by Wondermama’s sambal. Fiery and savoury, it was so good we even dipped our kuih in it!

 
One of their recommended dishes: Spicy Seafood Maggi Goreng (RM14.90) which was served up with pan-fried salmon, prawn, sotong and an egg. Despite the hefty price for maggi goreng, this plate of noodles was amazingly good! It was described on the menu as being fried with home-made spicy sauce, and we could taste the slightly numbing spiciness. Wok hei was strong in this one, and Wils eagerly tried to fight me for the last bite.

 
The next thing we had was another fusion blend, Otak-Otak Naan Pizza( RM14) which is the first of its kind we’ve come across. The naan is crispy with a filling of spicy otak otak, and a drizzle of mayo. A smorgasbord of taste.

 
The extremely friendly boss (whose name is I just found out is Edwin Yao who was the founder of places like Umaiya, Hajime, and Wabisabi) treated us to a house specialty, Pisang Goreng with Ice-Cream. If you’re reading this, thanks for the amazing hospitality! :D
Whipped cream, a smattering of marshmallows and  a dollop of vanilla ice-cream topped two pieces of Pisang Goreng. Lovely end to a lovely meal.

After we were done and about to leave, the owner lead us on a tour of the upstairs part of Wondermama, named The Wonder Kafe which is set to open its doors this month.

 

 
The wifi sign is a paper cut! Max old school! <3

 

Wondermama is definitely a place not to be missed, due to its offering of unique fusion food and top-notch service. Things are always exciting here because new items are always being added to the menu monthly! Upcoming are the Wonder Kafe upstairs and the addition of burgers on the menu. We’re definitely making a date for our next visit.

Address:
Wondermama (the old Outback Steakhouse),
Jalan Telawi 1
Bangsar Village I,
Bangsar Baru, Kuala Lumpur

Map *here*