ronnycakes reviews: Bali Hai Seafood Market, Kota Damansara PJ

Bali Hai Seafood Market is a restaurant that hails from Penang, and this Kota Damansara branch is their first one in KL. It’s a huge open air (but surprisingly cooling thanks to the bamboo-ish hut covering on the roof) seafood restaurant that has more than a dozen seafood tanks on one side showing delicacies like live Alaskan Spider Crab, Snow Crab, geoducks, lobsters, fishes and such.

Starting off with the Indonesian Style Deep Fried Chicken Wings, this was the one thing that stood out for me all night. The chicken wings were fried just nice, meat was tender and the skin was just a hint of crispy. Coupled with the sprinkling of chili salt on top, one was definitely not enough for me (was there with a large group so only managed one piece T_T)!

Super delicious fried chicken wings.

Venison Stir-Fried with Kai Lan was a twist to the classic veg dish, oyster sauce with garlic and slices of venison. There was no gamey smell to the venison and it paired perfectly with the Kai Lan.

Tofu with Chicken Floss, your run of the mill deep fried tofu with chicken floss and dried shrimps adding slightly more oomph to it.

Steamed Lala in Spicy Ginger and Lime Sauce was tangy and spicy and very fresh.

Freshwater Prawns in Sweet and Sour Sauce were very fresh (and lots of prawn roe in the heads), and were priced at RM30 per prawn.

The obligatory Soy Sauce Steamed Fish at all Chinese dinners. The fish was very fresh but the sauce was quite forgettable.

Squid with Salted Egg Yolk was sufficiently savoury and rich. The squid pieces were tender and fresh too!

On to the star of the show! Large and juicy Meat Crabs in Kam Heong Style were delicious. Once again, the freshness of the meat was top-notch and the sauce was done very well. Kam Heong is my favourite style of crab! I especially love the intensity of the curry leaves.

All in all there were a few hits and misses at dinner, but all the seafood was very fresh. On the downside, food at Bali Hai is not what you would call cheap (the meal cost about RM1000 for 9 people) and the captain gave us a larger portion of prawns than she should have due to the amount of other dishes that we ordered. Maybe I’ll go back just for the fried chicken wings. :p

Address:
Sunsuria Avenue,  Persiaran Mahogani
Kota Damansara PJU5
47810 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
(nearby the Tune Hotel in Kota Damansara)

Map *here*

Clarissane reviews: Bulgogi BBQ House @ The Strand, Kota Damansara

A write up in the NST a few weeks back about a hidden, yet-to-be discovered Korean joint in the quieter suburbs of Kota Damansara fully operated by a Korean couple had me craving for Korean food. Since everything was handled by original Korean hands, I assumed the food would be more authentic.

A simple, no frill small corner lot shop was packed to the brim when we arrived at about 8pm. They had to open a table for us outside the shop. Wasn’t the best dining experience especially with all the BBQ smoke coming directly at us. I vowed to make reservations the next time!

The usual fare of Banchans (side-dishes) that you get in all Korean joints. The squid was most memorable, so springy in texture! And I’ve always loved the sweet-spicy anchovies. Simple yum!

We placed on order the couple dinner set @ RM38.90. If you’re familiar with Korean cuisine, their BBQ items are usually the best sellers. You can of course find them here as well, but we decided to skip it this time as portions here looked small and pretty pricey for what you get. But I’m sure it tastes good since a few tables did order it and boy did it smell good!

We settled for the Pork Kimchi Soup. This was pretty average, with generous slices of pork, mushrooms and vegetables. The soup was addictive though I couldn’t get enough of it!

The Chicken Chilli Bulgogi was a winner that night. Loved the combination of generous serving of onions and sliced chicken. Went perfect with rice :)

Both of us polished this dish clean :D

In addition to the set, we also ordered their Beancurd Stew, RM13.80. Portions were generous. The stew came with clams, mushrooms, chicken and a few other ingredients. The soup was also very addictive, I was telling my companion that it tasted like our local Maggi soup noodles :P

The set menu also offered a choice of Steamed Dumplings or eggs and we opted for the former. No regrets! The dumplings were fat and juicy, with generous amounts of pork filling.

We were served watermelon slices and a small glass of cold barley rice drink to finish off our meal. Perfect ending to a wholesome, delicious meal!

A good place for a nice, quiet, decent meal if you are craving for a Korean fare. Do remember to make reservations in advance though! Set lunches are served from RM9.90 onwards as well, will definitely go back to check that out!

Address:
Bulgogi BBQ House
12A, GF,PJU 5/20B
The Strand,
Kota Damansara

Tel: 03 – 6142 7088