4Play Seafood & Co.

Seems that December / January is when I receive food review invitations. Why? No idea, but I am always gladly surprised to find random emails with such invites in my mailbox. Who wouldn't be, right? We are Malaysians, we are motivated by food! :D

This time, I received an invitation from a new place in Publika called 4Play Seafood & Co. How could I not invite friends when friends are allowed? The first person I thought of was my review makan kaki, Alicia. And then, it was Li Xin, who coincidentally was back from Melbourne for her summer break. Thought that I'd kill two birds with one stone to catch up with her before she flies back Down Under. I rang a few others, too, but they all had prior commitments. My phone conversation with Kenny, in particular, was rather hilarious. When he asked the name of the establishment, I simply replied, "4Play". He laughed because it sounded like something else... 😆

We chose a dinner slot to be there. The traffic was not horrendous but it was slow-moving from where Li Xin and I were coming from. Thankfully, she was okay to drive me because well, you know, it is rather hard to drive with a fractured right foot. We met Alicia there, who had no problems finding the place. Yours truly here hardly goes to Publika so it was a bit of a challenge and it didn't help that they are partially hidden by a huge pillar. We found the place nonetheless so all good.

Chef Desmond came out of the kitchen to quickly exchange pleasantries and then we were promptly served by the friendly waitstaff. One good thing about reviews is that we needn't crack our heads on what to choose from the menu, as they would have a pre-planned menu for us.

We were started off with a plate of Wild Mushroom Soup (RM20), a plate of shiitake, oyster and white button mushrooms simmered in a rich cream broth and drizzled with truffle oil. We appreciated that they used real mushrooms and with the accompanying basket of garlic bread, we felt that we were off to a good start.

Thankfully, there was only one plate of Seafood Cioppino (RM26) and not three, unlike the mushroom one because otherwise, I think we'd have too much liquid in our tummies to fit in anything else. On the menu, the description of this dish was clams, prawns, squid and mussels slowly simmered in a herbed tomato broth. Ah, okay, so cioppino meant soup and when we looked up Wikipedia, it is actually an American-Italian fish stew originating from San Fran. 

It definitely had all the described ingredients but while we thought it was well-presented, it was a little too salty to our liking. We wondered if this was meant to be eaten with bread, as on its own, it had a rather strong taste.

An adorable plate of Chilli Padi and Honey Chicken Wing (RM25) followed. We agreed that if we were to order a la carte, this would be one that would catch our attention on the menu. It simply was just deep-fried chicken wing dipped in a chilli padi and honey sauce. This was easily the star of the night. The chicken skin was crispy, it smelt fragrant and the sauce was addictive. 

When the following three dishes were served, we noticed how generous they were with their portions.  The following three were Golden Salted Egg Yolk dishes and we were served all three meat choices of chicken (RM25), prawn (RM28) and calamari (RM25).

They weren't too bad, plenty of flavour but we were not really able to taste the salted egg yolk. We could taste plenty of everything else, though and they were well-battered. Not bad, not bad.

Perhaps we were comparing the taste to more Chinese-style cooking, you know, where in Chinese restaurants you'd be able to taste the salted egg yolk to the extent of feeling your cholesterol levels spike.

I found the Creamy Spinach Stuffed Mushroom (RM22) interesting, as I have not had this combination before. However, if you are not a spinach or mushroom fan, this is not for you. Trying this made me wonder if it would work with cheese instead of cream, if I were to try making this at home.

Served in a black hotpot was the Clams (500g) in Creamy Butter Chilli and Curry Leaves flavour (RM30). We could imagine how tasty the gravy would be after being kept in the fridge overnight. Ooh, just imagine dipping bread into it... yums!

Another show-stealer was the claypot of Spicy Prawns (RM28), a serving of deep-fried tiger prawns served with their homemade sauce. The sauce was the secret to it being delicious - a little bit of sweet, sour, spicy and salty that made it really addictive. 

Alicia's favourite was the Crab (500g) in Salted Egg Yolk flavour (RM75). Served piping hot, it lip-smacking good but she wondered why it did not have much meat. Again, comparing to Chinese restaurants where crabs have plenty of meat. I am not a crab person so I left this to her judgement.

One that is not for people who cannot take spiciness is the Mussels (500g) in Spicy Chilli (RM35) flavour. I enjoyed this but after a few shells, the spiciness really kicked in. Li Xin and Alicia didn't think it was too spicy, though, so I guess it was just me.

And how could we end a meal without dessert? Dessert is always the first thing I look at when I browse a menu. We all went, "Ooh..." when the waiter placed the plate of Choco Molten Lava Cake (RM21) on the table. Crossing our fingers for the chocolate to flow out like volcano lava, we were not disappointed. It was good on its own, we thought the caramel syrup on the side was not necessary.

We were so well-fed that we could barely move at the end of the meal! We had to pack some of the dishes to bring home, too. Look at the flatlay of what we had, and this was not even everything! A little scary for just three girls, eh? ;)

As we were walking out, one of their waitstaff informed me that if readers mention my blog, they would give a 10% discount. So do pay them a visit and when better than during the upcoming CNY break?

A big shoutout to the management and staff of 4Play for the plentiful meal and all the best!

4Play Seafood & Co.
A1-G2-07, Jalan Dutamas 1, 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: +603 6211 9908
FB | IG

Okonomi

Not long after the first invitation to Green Tomato Cafe, I received another invitation to review a Japanese place in Publika called Okonomi. I asked Alicia if she was free to go with me again and when she said yes, I replied the e-mail to set our lunch food review date and time.

Alicia sure knows her way around Publika - I duly just followed wherever she pointed me to.

We were warmly welcomed by the staff and were shown to our designated table. It was a rather breezy order, as there were already some dishes that they specifically wanted me to try. We just ordered some other dishes that caught our attention (without thinking that perhaps we would not be able to finish so much) and our drinks. Our huge meal is as follows:

Gratin Chicken (RM15.90) is a piece of boneless deep-fried chicken served with a rich cream sauce and salad.

Katsu Chicken Burger (RM15.90) is a burger of gently breaded deep-fried chicken, melted cheese and crunchy iceberg lettuce layered in season rice topped with sesame seeds. It looks like nothing fancy, right? But I tell you, looks are deceiving for I can have this all on its own if I should come here alone.

Slammin' Salmon (RM19.90) is a freshly-made and toasted sushi roll of uramaki, seaweed, white rice, double portion of salmon, Japanese cucumber, tamago, spring onion and garlic mayo. They definitely generous with their portions here!

Chicken Karaage Waffle (RM18.90) is a dish of deep-fried kimchi-flavoured chicken served with golden brown waffles and a rich cream sauce.

If anything, you should order this and any other dish of theirs that comes served with this rich cream sauce - amazing flavours this sauce has! We couldn't get enough of it!

The main selling point of Okonomi is that you get to customise your own sushi roll.

Having chosen the type of rice, how you like your seaweed, your fillings and your toppings, they then roll 'em up for you.

Fresh. Like you can watch them do it, too.

We had no idea if our combination would be alright but we went ahead with it anyway. Wah, did we regret choosing the spicy mayo - we were burning! If you can't take spicy, please do not choose that. 

While I only sipped on normal green tea, Alicia ordered a matcha latte and dare we say it is the best one we have ever had in Malaysia. Aiya, cannot compare to those in Sydney la (she just returned from visiting me in Sydney a few months back), but this definitely has standard. Didn't manage to get a pretty shot of the cup full but goes to show how irresistible it was!

Our food blogger friends, Chris and Christine from Brought up 2 share recommended their Matcha Lava Cake (RM21.90), and so we reminded ourselves to order one portion to share.

The wait for it is 15 minutes, so would be good to order it along with your main meal. The wait staff would know roughly when to inform the kitchen to start baking. 

It really was mouthful after mouthful of indulgent matcha heaven! I can just imagine one of my ex-students crying out of bliss if she were to be eating this. 😂

A big thank you to David from T3 Digital Agency for the invitation - my friend and I had a really good time, so good that we wished our stomaches were way bigger!

Okonomi
A4.G2.02, Ground Floor, Block A4, Publika, Solaris Dutamas, 1 Jalan Dutamas, 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Mob: +60 14 971 5493; E-mail: info@okonomi.com.my
Daily 11:00am to 11:00pm
FB | IG

Mee Jawa Publika

Mee Jawa is actually the name of a noodle dish which some say is a variety of the local Mee Rebus.

The old school bicycles at the entrance caught my attention. The red went well with their signage.

They had an airy, clean, simple, open, no fuss concept. Like.

And bamboo appeared to be their feature material. The ceiling and lampshades were made with bamboo.

You cannot come to Mee Rebus and not order a serve of mee rebus, can you? For RM8.90, this was a generous serving of yellow egg noodles in gravy made from potatoes, curry powder, water, salted soybeans, dried shrimps and peanuts. Garnished with half a half-boiled egg, calamansi lime, spring onions, lettuce, chillies, fried tofu, fried shallots and bean sprouts, this version came with chicken slices, too.

For the same price, the fried version of the mee rebus was basically the same stuff without the gravy but fried in dark and sweet soy sauce. 

The Seafood Tom Yum with Rice (RM11.90) was too much for one person. Not bad for what they charged and perfect for people with a not-too-spicy palate.

We also ordered a plate of rojak to share but I was so caught up with visiting a new place that I forgotten to take note of how much it was! Lots of crunchy peanut and sesame - like much!

And yes, fail case again here, I do not recall the name of this dessert. Some tongsui with grass jelly. The cooling effect helps balance the heaty fried food.

And the next day, I brought my parents. :)

Mee Jawa Publika
A1-G2-09 Solaris Dutamas, 1 Jalan Dutamas 1, 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: +60 3 6205 5566, Email: meejawa_sb@yahoo.com
Open daily 8:00am to 10:00pm
*Halal (Pork free)