Double Star Restaurant

I have been there for few times, and I do like this restaurant not just because of the tasty of the foods, but also the warm atmosphere. The first impression on this restaurant is a restaurant that quite similar as those young café restaurants KL which I miss so much in Miri.

The decoration of this restaurant is simple but comfortable. What I mean for the warm atmosphere? Is because of the warm smile and politeness of the waitress; they would not show impatience when I keep flip over the menu but still do not know what to order, but will recommend some choices for me and even walk towards and turn their menu board to my seat, just to let me see clearly what are their today’s special. It has variety of foods: from Chinese chicken rice, to Western style toast and even Thai's Tomyam soup noodle. One more thing, they charge at a reasonable price, a price which I consider as cheap in a café restaurant.

This time, we had ordered two rice meals for our dinner: Spareribs with bitter gourd rice and Fish steak rice.  For drinks, we had ordered Grassjelly and a cup of hot green tea. The grassjelly was too icy, too much ice in it.

Spareribs with Bitter Gourd

Spareribs with Bitter Gourd served with rice and soup


 















My favourite --- Beef with Egg Rice ~YUMMY~

 

















Fish Steak with Rice

Extra order: Steam Salmon with tofu (bean curb)

All the meals are served with soup, and soup of the day is dehydrated Chinese cabbage (干白菜汤), my favourite.
Everything seems good in Double Star, but one thing to say is maybe they should update or change their menu book because it has started peeling and flaking.


Double Star Cafe & Restaurant
Lot 514,
Ground Floor,
Pelita Commercial Center,
Miri, Sarawak


Disclaimer:
The comments and ratings are based on the particular experience and personal opinion.

Meng Chai Seafood @ Miri

It is kind of difficult to find a good restaurant during Chinese new year. Not many restaurant opening and even they did, surely there are lots of people. It was nearly 1 week after chinese new year, 3 of us had a thought to find something good to eat for our dinner. Passing by the Meng Chai seafood restaurant, I saw lots of people in the restaurant, and with its word “Teppanyaki  铁板烧) attract us. It was difficult to find a parking place there, because it located beside the road. We drove round and round the area, still unable to find a parking place. Finally, we just had to park our car far behind the shop lots.

After we sat down, saw that there were few tables still not yet served. Well, Teppanyaki styles I guess have to need to wait for some times for our turn. To order vegetables, you can just directly make your order to the waiter, and for seafood, you may go to choose the fresh seafood yourself.  For good is, they would tell us the price for fresh and frozen seafood, and give recommendation on dishes and the way of cooking. It not likes some other restaurant, try not to let you know the price and charging you a high price at the back or giving a bowl of seafood that is much enough for 3 persons. Feel this restaurant is kind of “honest”.

Surprising me lots are the foods, are extremely DELICIOUS. First of it was the River Prawn, a very big one, RM80 per kg, and as the recommendation given, ½ kg is enough for 3 of us. With Shaoxing wine and the freshness of the prawn, I even drink the prawn soup, what can I said --- OISHII (DELICIOUS) ~



Next was Babylonia . It was the first I ate this and bigger size than I thought. Is kind of fun to pull it out and will feel irritable if it’s tail break off while I pulling it out, leaving a big portion inside its shell, really want break its shell to eat it. It was delicious too, and very fresh, LIKE it.






 

Next was spicy octopus. Not bad, It quite good to serve with rice, but seems the spices had cover its freshness of the seafood. Opps...had ate a lot before I remember to take a photo of it.

Lastly, a plate of vegetable, to balance our meal.

All these dishes plus 3 bowls of rice and 3 chinese tea, cost total less than RM 100. Delicious seafood with affordable price, surely I will go there again, and more frequently.


Disclaimer:
The comments and ratings are based on the particular experience and personal opinion.

Excapade Sushi, Kuala Belait, Brunei

I love to eat Sushi and Japanese beef noodles, both are my favourite, especially from SushiKin. Been told by friends many Malaysian like to go Brunei for sushi, because is cheaper and delicious than Malaysia sushi restaurant. During weekend, two of us drive all the way from Miri to Brunei – Excapade Sushi in Kuala Belait. It located quite near to Miri, just take roughly 1 hour plus to reach. After pass by the Brunei Bridge which is just near the Brunei immigration checkpoint, turn left you will a big teapot statue at the roundabout, turn into the second junction and then turn left, you will find the Excapade Sushi restaurant.

What I found was most of the cars parking in front of the Excapade Sushi are with Miri car plate number. It was raining day, but the rain stopped before we reach the restaurant. I thought it had been full of customers because heard that is a need to make an appointment if do not want to wait long for seat, but luckily there were just few customers inside.

I was quite excited when I found there is beef noodle in their menu - Sukiyaki Nabe Beef BND 9.00 (Brunei Dollar), and had ordered one to try. Same as SushiKin, using a hot pot in serving, but a bit shocked with semi-raw beef as I usually prefer well cook. Well, is ok for me to have a try on this. Besides the beef, most of the bowl are vegetables and just a little udon, seems like udon is not the main ingredient in this dish. Comparing this with the Sukiyaki Nabe in SushiKin, I of course will prefer the later one (SushiKin), not just because of the taste of the soup, is also due to the beef was cut into slices together with other ingredients: toufu and onion, make it a perfect match, love it indeed.

Another dish was Salmon Tofu Nabe BND 6.00. I would this rather than the beef noodle above. The taste is just nice and with egg, salmon plus toufu, make it delicious.

We just ordered one plate of sushi to try - Salmon Salad Sushi BND 2.50. The size is much bigger than those sushi that I have ever try and it quite yummy too, really impressed me.

Add up all together plus two cups of green tea, make it total BND 19.50. It seems cheap if it is in Malaysian Ringgit, after converting into RM, I still think that it is just almost the same as Malaysia sushi restaurant. But if anyone staying near Brunei or will be going there, Excapade Sushi is really not bad to go for, because the foods are quite good and diffrent choices.

Seafoods at Yehliu, Taiwan

Yehliu GeoPark, a beautiful seacoast in Taiwan, located in Wanli Township, Taipei. It has been known as Taiwan's North Coast's Pearl, rocks that been existed since million years ago with blue sky, rocks, wave, and beach has make it a beautiful panorama and well known throughout the world. Which make it so special are the rocks with different type of shape and forms: Candle rock, Ginger rock, Mushroom rock, Fossil, Pot hole, Queen’s head, Elephant rock, Earth rock, Fairy’s shoe, Marine bird rock, Bean curd rock and etc.

Nearby the Yehliu Geopark is the Yehliu fishing port with lots of fresh seafood available, therefore many seafood restaurants along the street walking to the Yehliu Geopark. While you are walking pass by the restaurants, you can see many restaurant workers standing outside their shop calling and shouting for business.
After visiting the Yehliu Geopark, my husband and I had decided to have our lunch at one of the restaurant there – San Ye Mei Shi (三叶美食海鲜). Well, what had it attracted us were the word at signboard: “fresh seafood set meal for NT1000” and the aquariums in front of the shop that fill full with different fresh seafood.

As we do not really know how to order, the staff had recommended us to take the set meal NT1000, which can serve up to 4 persons. We were desperately want to try the local seafood, the set meal including 3 seafood (steam prawn, ginger clam, squid, 1 crab soup, 1 vegetable, rice and tea).

Since it located near the port, the prawn and crab very fresh indeed. Personally like the crab soup with shao hsing rice wine (紹興酒) ,make the soup smell good.

 

Fried squid with vege, not bad just that the squid was difficult to chew.

Overall, my  impression on this restaurant is quite good, food tasty and staff are quite nice, we ate for quite long (more than 1 hour) but they still treat us politely, not as some other restaurant, keep looking at you to "signal" you that your time is too long. No extra charge (feel worry before enter to the restaurant because scare they will charge extra to foreigner). But next time, I will suggest not to order set meal, because seem not quite worth as going there surely main purpose is to eat seafood, and the set meal included a vege that seem like a normal dish, and the squid was fried with vege. Since there already has vege in our meal, why not order another type of seafood instead, NT1000 for 2 is not cheap too.

Enjoy Grilling

After doing some research online, I had decided to have a try in 極屋精饌燒肉 ,
which is a grill meats restaurant. What I had found from comments online, it has quite a worth eating, with acceptable ingredients at a reasonable price. It is located at Taichung town, opposite GuangSan Sogo, easy to locate, just get off from bus at Sogo bus station, walk along ZhongGang Road (中港路一段) for roughly 2 minutes, and you will see the 極屋 restaurant.

極屋精饌燒肉
 
It offers variety of choices in terms of pork, beef, mutton, chicken meat, prawns, seafood, and vegetables. While each type meats have choices like pork meat has streaky or known as belly, pork butt (shoulder butt or collar butt). I didn’t know which part is best to eat, so I just simply choose some to have a try.

Chicken Soup in pot
Before we made the order, the waitress had served us a pot of chicken soup, for us to warm our stomach and chase out cold. Feel warm after drinking the soup, but personally do not really like the taste.

I had ordered a set meal for two persons price at NT676, where I can choose two sets of main course, 6 plates of small dishes, an additional dish (either rice or udon mee), two cups of drinks, and two desserts.

Beef Set

Pork meat (side dish), seafood set

It use charcoal to grill

Main course mean the big plate of meats you choose, there are three choices: pork, beef, or seafood. Since we can choose two sets of main course, I had ordered for beef and seafood. I like beef a lot. I like the rice too, quite special, with some smash fish meat on top, smell good and tasty.

Smash fish meat rice

Dessert - Ice cream and chees yogurt

Desserts are ice-cream and cheese yogurt. For me, the desserts are just so-so, still ok, but not impressed me. Overall, this restaurant is quite worth eating, especially the set meal, where we can eat until stomach full. Of course, the choices and quality of the meats are less attractive comparing with others higher class restaurants, but with the price that 極屋offer is worth to try.
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極屋精饌燒肉
台中市中港路一段340號
No 340, ZhongGang Road Section 1, Taichung City.
(台中廣三SOGO對面 opposite GuangSan Sogo)

Taiwan Ginger Duck

Once I reach Taichung, the very first thing to do is to find some good foods to eat. After walking a while around Fengjia (逢甲), attract me was a signboard with "Ginger Duck" word. 帝王食補 KING DUCK located nearby Fengjia night market 逢甲夜市 in Taichung, Taiwan. Oh my, can you imagine how good it is, to have a hot soup in a cold weather is. I never try ginger duck before but had heard lots from friends and from Taiwan drama series.
 

Set Meal



Ginger Duck

The set meal cost NT168 per set, which included a ginger duck soup, vegetables set, mee suah noodles (面线) and a cup of juice. It serves in a small steamboat bowl and the most important ingredient, of course is the ginger itself.

I like this ginger duck; it has strong ginger smell and taste good, but is better not to cook it too long, as the taste change to a bit bitter at the bottom. After having this ginger duck, I feel much warm and had stopped running nose. The mee suah noodles (面线) with sesame oil had stimulated my appetite.

Ginseng chicken soup
 
Ginseng chicken soup is quite a big bowl that can serve 4 persons. Soup is a lot, but the ingredients, I mean the chicken is not many. Maybe the bowl is too big, or this is only the starter for them.

My hubby like this chicken soup more, but I do prefer the ginger duck. It much suit my appetite.

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帝王食補 KING DUCK

04-27086967

(逢甲店) 台中市西屯區逢甲路173號

http://www.tain.com.tw