Me'nate Steak House / Hub @ Ampang

We first got to know of this shop from a friend. At that time, we were discussing the topic of "Where is the best wagyu beef you've tasted".. Not because we are avid fans of wagyu beef, sincerely the only ones we've tasted before was both from Tony Romas: Wagyu beef burger (RM50+/-) and Wagyu steak (RM120+/-). Being a prime/expensive type of steak (which recently became famous over the past year) we only had a few 'opportunity' to taste it.. Specifically speaking, Mrs Foodpacker's monthly get-salary-treat-bf meals! haha XD and this is one of those meals.. at the "House of Wagyu", Me'nate Steak House!

A Western speciality restaurant (steaks nonetheless!) run by Malay. Odd indeed, but let's see how they fair up ;) Operational hours: to 10.30pm

The open aired inside seatings. From hard wood chairs to plastics. A simple concept which makes you feel like you'll be dining fresh meat straight from the farm!

One of the best properties if this restaurant.. free flow drinks! The hot Milo is absolutely delicious after a heavy meal..

Freezers which store all the fresh meat! Here is where you can survey the types of meat that you want they have. Not all parts of meat seen in the menu is necessarily in stock for you (subject to availability) thus it is best to choose you meat first before you even sit down to take a look at the menu. Specify how you'd like them to be cooked or you can ask the staff for the recommended level of cooking for each type/part of meat.

Another reason NOT to go through their menu first before you survey their freezer is because.. the prices stated in the menu are per 100grams, slightly giving you the illusion and hope that your steak's going to cost cheap! Imagine how Mr Foodpacker's face was when they slammed this RM179.40 piece of meat on the table! HAHA (this particular meat was Wagyu beef which in the menu ranges around RM20-RM65 max per 100 grams depending on parts)
**Queue in sad song for Mrs Foodpacker's purse**

Wagyu tenderloin (bottom) striploin (top). Ranges from  RM100 to RM200 for striploin and RM130 to RM200 for tenderloin. The best Wagyu comes from tenderloin, hence the price. Pricing from most expensive to least: Tenderloin>Ribeye>Striploin>Sub-primal>Non-primal

Angus ribeye. Ranges from RM70 to RM100. They said that the tenderloin is normally not available for Angus.Pricing from most expensive to least: Tenderloin>Ribeye>Striploin>Sub-primal>Non-primal

Grass fed ribeye. Ranges from RM40 to RM60. Pricing from most expensive to least (grain fed): Tenderloin>RIbeye>Striploin>T-Bone>O.P.Ribs>Sub-primal>Non-primal

Grain fed ribeye (not in picture) ranges from RM40 to RM70.Pricing from most expensive to least (grass fed): Tenderloin>Ribeye>Striploin

Lamb rack and lamb loin. Ranges from RM30 to RM70. Pricing from most expensive to least: Rack>Leg>Loin>Shoulder>Ribs>Shank>Neck

These were what we chose out of the many. Though they might be a dime in a dozen, they are still a dime each ;)
Angus ribeye. RM70.20
Wagyu tenderloin. RM133.90
Lamb rack. RM49.90

The degree of cooking provided by the shop. Injecting a bit sense of humour into the menu. Reff: Well Done. We're guessing they are not  such big fans (which is exactly how most Malaysian like it =P)

Mashed potatoes. FOC. Comes with the dish. 1 steak = 2 scoops of mashed potatoes. If you ordered a big platter (all steaks served on a single plate) this is the amount of mashed you get! Yummy indeed, cute small scoops of potatoes that go effortlessly into your mouth. First item that we instantly finished on the table!

Beef Aglio Olio. RM18.80. Not your ordinary aglio olio pasta.. It is a VERY BEEFY pasta. We immediately wanted to order another one of this after we finished it! (But we decided not to as to save space for the other meals =P) If you are looking  for an authentic olio pasta that sticks close to the Italian roots, this is not the one. But if you are looking for something that suits more to the Malaysian tongue.. this is definitely an excellent fusion! Minced meat was used instead of bacon in this one.

Lamb rack (left): Medium well
Angus ribeye (middle/top): Medium
Wagyu tenderloin (right): Medium
All cooking degrees were chosen based on staff recommendation.
They should know best how to cook their own meat!

Wagyu tenderloin. RM133.90. 

Angus ribeye. RM70.20.

Lamb rack. RM49.90.
Probably not the best part of lamb to order. This one had many small and long inedible tendons.

Some black pepper gravy to go with the steak.. served warm on goes well with any steak. 

A cut from Wagyu tenderloin. You thought that the more expensive meat has the better taste? haha this one had a better texture than Angus. Which is what wagyu is known for anyway, high quality soft meat. Taste wise?

A cut from Angus ribeye. Simply tasted better than Wagyu! but lacking in texture. The heavily covered marinade might be the source of flavour.
NOTE: Based on our visit, and their style of cooking. It is safe to say, MEDIUM WELL is the best way to go on any steak. Trust us.. unless you are an steak eating expert, medium well is the most optimal level of softness and hardness inside out (that is edible, with no traces of blood)

And just in case if you ever think of running away from the shop without paying    

Dishing it out: At this restaurant you can eat every part of a meat on every type of meat you can possibly think of! But it is best to only stick to their steaks as we found their lamb to be quite normal. Service is fast, meals arrived only in 5-10 minutes after ordering! Which left us wondering the type of technology they have back in the kitchen that can cook a steak that fast! Though for the price we are paying for, the management should put in more effort to provide the customers with a better eating environment (we hardly think they can't afford it) This restaurant also serves as a grocey where one can buy meat at 30% the displayed price (minus cooking labour) Aside from steaks and ribs, they also sells sausages, bacon and much more.

On the downside, we would say that the dishes in this shop are HEAVILY priced. Which is pretty weird considering the fact that all the meat comes from their own farm and that should have been enough to bring down the cost to a considerable amount. Always pays to bring a big bag of cash when you dine here, because you can never expect how high the prices can fly up to. Or you can always opt for Tony Romas, a world renowned franchise which sells Wagyu steak at only RM120 =P


Coming back for more value: MAYBE for Beef aglio olio
Crowd: NO
Cleanliness: CLEAN
Service: GOOD
Category: HALAL/PORK-FREE

GPS Coordinates: N3.160795,E101.758692


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Tel: 03 4251 3460

..and that's our "DISH" of the day!!!!!

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US Pizza @ Dataran Pahlawan

Being fans of pizza, we are always critical on judging every aspect on a pizza. Those aspects include the softness of the dough, taste and quantity of the pizza sauce, mixture and generosity of cheese and toppings used etc. With only 3 outlets scattered around the state of Melaka (one in Penang) it's impossible for us to miss it every single time we visit this historical city. What keeps us coming back for more is the authenticity of what real U.S pizza should be.. loaded with cheese! Good for us, the quality of the food serve is still consistent even after 3 years of coming back.

US Pizza beats most of the heavily franchised pizza brands in my POV. Operational hours: follows normal shopping mall hours.

American iced tea. Our favorite drink at the shop. This is as american as it gets. It is very light and refreshing and also helps to clean the oily and greasy after taste of eating the pizza.

And here it is, a bowl of perfection! The most delicious lasagna we ever tasted! (from any pizza franchise) It is 'very' full of cheese in between every perfectly cooked lasagna sheets and the red sauce compliments every element brilliantly. In Mrs Foodpacker's opinion, it is even better than lasagna from Italiannies (that's because Italiannies lasagna contains more white sauce than the red sauce and she prefers the red sauce.. but Mr Foodpacker likes white sauce better! hehe) Still, US Pizza's lasagna is in a class of its own.

The super slimy super cheesy lasagna on a plate!

Hot and spicy buffalo wings. They are well flavored and taste good, the drummets were a little dry, but the wings were really juicy and tender. Anyone is a fan of chicken skin?



Meat Lover. Mrs Fodpacker's favorite. The pizza has the right combination of toppings and the sauce is of the right and balanced taste. The dough of the pizza is also soft and most importantly edible!



U.S Favorite. Aka pepperoni and cheese pizza. It is what it is, only better and even more addictive. VERY generous amount of cheese and pepperoni, soft dough, tasty pizza sauce,and garlic cheesy crust makes this pizza Mr Foodpacker's all time favorite.

Chicken mushroom.  For those who prefer chicken, this is good too. Just not as good as the previous pizzas..

Dishing it out: Unlike other pizza brands, US Pizza keeps it simple and as close to the American roots as possible. Being generous on the amounts of cheese and toppings, taking it easy on the pizza sauce and a soft crust for ease of munch make this Pizza franchise a true underdog againts other pizza giants in the industry. Do give it a try if you are in Melaka or Penang and don't forget to order the lasagna!

Coming back for more value: YES for everything (drinks,pizza,lasagna)
Crowd: YES
Cleanliness: CLEAN
Service: GOOD
Category: HALAL/PORK-FREE

GPS Coordinates:  N2.1903,E102.253152


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If you'd like to know the COMPLETE ADDRESS of the restaurant, please click on the "Location" tab below. (After Facebook comments and right before Blogger comments, its in between!)

..and that's our "DISH" of the day!!!!!

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Big Brother @ Kota Damansara

Credit to Ahmad Izual for introduction.

Big Brothers is situated in the busy after-work-hour city of Damansara. Specializing in Western cuisine this shop offers an array of menu to be chosen from. You will literally have a hard time picking what you want from the menu. From nachos to pizzas to steaks, they serve almost everything you can think of.

Is is never difficult getting a parking. Operational hours: 10am- 11pm.




Cheesy nachos. RM7.90. IMO, this is the selling point of this shop. Plain nachos and cheese, no meat. There is a special orange color cheese sauce in there that makes this meal absolutely cheesy! Not to mention the generous amount of mozzarella cheese on top and in between the nachos! Notice the parmesan sprinkle too? ;)
 



Honey BBQ spring chicken. RM25.90. Allow minimum cooking time of 30minutes. Allow eating time of also 30minutes =P For hungry people with big appetite. Sweet in flavour. Only con was, the fries below were soaked and mushy. 

 

Spaghetti carbonara. Around RM15. Another meal that was extremely cheesy! Very nice and creamy.




Au gratin chicken char-broiled. RM15.90. You can choose to have either mashed potatoes or french fries. Personally, we think the mashed potatoes here are the bomb. The coleslaw is nice too. Tender chicken with melted cheese and creamy mashed potatoes bathed with brown mushroom gravy.. can one ask for more?

 

Cheese baked rice. Third cheesy meal in a row and this one was a disaster. All it had was the cheese layer on top and the rest was history. The rice was too dry and tasteless that I couldn't finish the meal.



Dishing it out: If you want quantity over quality, go for this one. Despite the nachos being the star of the shop, the rest of their food are just edible. Price wise, it is quite reasonable though moderately priced. Good place to hang out with a bunch of friends though, as they serve a variety of cuisines that could satisfy many different tastebuds. =)

Coming back for more value: NO. YES for nachos
Crowd: You can't call it a crowd. But it is packed as the space is small
Cleanliness: CLEAN
Service: MODERATE
Category: HALAL/PORK-FREE

GPS Coordinates: N3 09.283,E101 35.541


View Big Brother in a larger map

If you'd like to know the COMPLETE ADDRESS of the restaurant, please click on the "Location" tab below. (After Facebook comments and right before Blogger comments, its in between!)

..and that's our "DISH" of the day!!!!!

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