Fireman BBQ @ The Curve

Weeks ago before Christmas, bear and I were at The Curve to catch a glimpse of their Christmas decor. As usual, the place was crowded. Could hardly snap any pictures too. We got rather restless with the increasing number of people, so we squeezed through the crowd to look for a quiet place for dinner. Everywhere was simply full of people! We continued walking along The Street and went upstairs. To our delight, we saw the Fireman BBQ nestled cosily at a corner.

Fireman BBQ

We took a peek into the shop and felt a glow of Christmas warmth oozing out. The workers wore a Santa hat and were extremely friendly. (But most importantly, it was quiet and there were not many customers in it!)

Trendy looking interior

For some, you may not even step into a shop if there aren't many customers in it. But I've heard about Fireman BBQ before and it sort of reminded me of BBQ Plaza (I've had many wonderful experiences at BBQ Plaza and couldn't help comparing it to the Fireman BBQ).

Basically, it's all about cooking (or you may want to call it "grilling") your meat over a heated pot. The rim around the pot will be filled with soup, allowing you to simmer your vege, fish noodles or meatballs in it.

When we were seated down, I was absolutely impressed. Instead of gas, they used induction cooker to heat up the pot and cook the food.

Do you smell what the pot is cooking?!

To start off dinner, two pieces of lard are placed over the pot. Use your chopsticks to press on the lard and spread them all over the pot to add more flavours. Besides that, it serves as a layer of base to prevent the food from sticking onto the pot when cooking.

We ordered a set meal for 2 (around RM32++) which came with two bowls of rice of our choice (spicy rice, fried rice, or white rice). Bear ordered the spicy rice while I asked for the fried rice.

My fried rice

I took a spoonful of rice and stopped because the rice tasted very plain. I didn't like it. However, the spicy rice which bear ordered tasted great (and I regretted not ordering it!).

Not long after that, the set meat was served.

Oo laa laa, can't wait to cook 'em all!

One look at the plate of meat and our stomachs started growling. We digged in almost instantly. Pieces of meat were placed on top of the pot and they didn't take long to get cooked. The meat was fresh and I must say, the service there was pretty good too.

Cook baby cook!

Oh, and did I mention that you can dip the meat into the sauce to make it more savoury?

Squeeze some lime juice into the sauce and
add in the garlic and sliced chili

To my dismay, the sauce did not excite my tastebud at all, unlike BBQ Plaza, they serve some really flavourful sauce. A habit of mine when eating this, is that I love to add the sauce into the soup to make it tastier, because the soup usually tastes bland. But after adding this sauce into the soup, the soup still tasted quite the same.


After dinner, we asked for the bill. The price was reasonable and a tad cheaper than BBQ Plaza, which I thought was a rather good deal. And to our surprise, they even gave us a little Christmas present before we left.

It sure felt weighty inside

And guess what? It was a Fireman BBQ Cash Voucher worth RM30 and a Eau De Toilette set for men! (Grrr.... what about the ladies??)

Looks more like a gift for the bear

My experience at the Fireman BBQ was a pleasant one, especially with their attentive services and the use of induction cooker instead of the traditional gas stove. The meat was freshly served and the pots still looked brand new! Now, if only they could turn their sauce into something fantastic, I'm sure people will definitely love it!


(oh, and before I forget, here's a picture taken outside of Cineleisure.I really like it!)

Merry 'belated' Christmas to all!

Nasi Lemak Cikgu @ SS5B/2, Kelana Jaya

Bear & I, for the past one week, have been on diet due to the excessive weight we've gained these days (thanks to all the makan makan!), yet most of the time, the temptations around us were so overwhelming that we couldn't help but succumb to it. Last Saturday, the same thing happened again. We got so tired and hungry from all the walking at the PC Fair in KLCC that the last thing we wanted was a hearty meal! At first, we couldn't decide where to eat, then I suddenly remembered someone once blogged about a nasi lemak shop called "Nasi Lemak Cikgu" in Kelana Jaya... so off we headed to the shop.

While searching for the shop, we almost got lost. I could only remember it was located in SS5B (and not the street number). After driving round and round the place for 15-20 mins, I squealed with excitement when we spotted a red-hot looking signboard along SS5B/2!!

Chilli red signboard!

It was 6pm when we arrived at the shop. A lady working there told us the chicken would only be ready in 15 minutes (Well, 15 minutes was no big deal especially after going through all the trouble finding the place!)

When the chicken was finally ready, we wasted no time. We ordered two plates of normal nasi lemak & chicken. To my amazement, the serving was intriguing because the chicken was huge and looked delicious!

Nasi lemak served with hard-boiled egg, sambal,
kacang, ikan bilis & chicken

This is bear's nasi lemak (look how huge the chicken is!)

A plate of nasi lemak like this costs around RM6.00. They do serve sotong as well but I'm not too sure about the price. I must say that I really liked the chilli sambal. It tasted just nice, not too spicy, not too sweet, and not too plain. Unlike other people, I don't like too much sambal added to the rice because it's the pandan taste in the fragrant rice that I savour most. But somehow, this sambal won my heart and I don't mind eating it alone at all!

Yum yum!

For me, the fried chicken tasted great. It was tasty and the texture was smooth and flavourful. It rested nicely in my mouth as I chomped on its chewy meat. But for bear, he felt that the texture was a little too dry. Not too sure why we had different views on the chicken but I certainly enjoyed it (or maybe because I was too hungry?).


Anyway, I had a great time enjoying the nasi lemak. It may not be the "bestest" nasi lemak in town, but I truly enjoyed every bit of it!

The Manhattan Fish Market @ Ikano

Eating at The Manhattan Fish Market was never new to me, well, at least not to many people, but it is unquestionably one of my favourite dine-in places. I can't remember how many times I've been there but it definitely has my votes (and two big thumbs-up)!

You might be asking, why is it called Fish Market? Shouldn't this be a restaurant? Do they sell only fish?? (Ok, one question at a time!) The name might sound... well, a little tacky, but there is a rich history behind this restaurant...

"The History of The Manhattan Fish Market"...
All written on the wall

Oooo, it sure feels like we're back in history class, but if you think the restaurant is as uninteresting as the introduction, then you're so wrong! Take a peek into the restaurant and you'll see a whole world of difference...

Anyway, Bear & I were at Ikea last weekend to shop for some furniture and the place was jam-packed with people. So we decided to walk a little further to Ikano to have dinner at The Manhattan Fish Market.

As usual, we ordered the Seafood Platter for 2 (priced at RM40++) and two glasses of bottomless iced lemon tea.

Bottomless iced lemon tea

I can't remember how long we waited for the food 'coz it took them quite a while to prepare it, and just as I was beginning to get impatient, the food finally arrived..

...and voila! Here comes the Seafood Platter!

Fries, calamaries, shrimps,
baked rice, fish chip...yummy!

By looking at the sumptuous serving of glorious, golden meal laid before us, I say it was worth the waiting! It sure looked like it was glowing under the warm, mellow lights, awaiting its destiny to melt tenderly in our mouths...

The funny part was, I didn't even know where to begin with. I'd be asking myself, "Should I start with the fish first? How about the rice?? Ooh...and the tasty calamaries, should I eat that first? But the shrimps seem so tempting too!" *Slurp!*

At last, I decided to go with the rice first, because it's one of its kind and by far the best baked rice I've tasted. I could still remember the first time when I took a mouthful of it, my mind went totally blank, eyes blinking with delight. It has a touch of butter, garlic, onion, plus other ingredients baked to perfection.

Squeeze some lime onto the fish

Next, I went on to the fish. It was soft and juicy with a thin spread of tartar sauce over it to give it a succulent texture. For those who dislike the taste of fish, this could be just right for you. Bear doesn't like fish, but when he took a bite of it, he didn't complain at all! The chef has somehow "miraclously" removed the smell of the usual fish.


Then came the shrimps, freshly melted in a coat of mayo to add a distinct flavour to it. The calamaries on the other hand, were soft, chewy and delicious.

Overall, The Manhattan Fish Market has never failed me with their delectable food each time I visited them. I'm definitely going back whenever I can!