At the New Rebung

Restoran Rebung had moved. They were no longer located at Lorong Maarof. Since the New Year Day, they are now located on the roof of a car park block right opposite the main entrance of the Police Headquarters in Bukit Aman, right in the middle of Tasik Perdana.

At least that solved their parking problem!

The unmistaken image of Chef IsmailThe logo and theme remained the same, but notice the particulars has changedCertainly parking is not going to be an issue from now on ...My Mum was leaving for Sungai Petani with my Aunt this afternoon and I was asked to sort out their transport to KL Sentral. So, we decided to have lunch as well, and knowing how fond my Mum and Aunt for Chef Ismail, we called the restaurant number only to be told that they have moved.

Determined, we went on to find where the new venue was. It turned out to be rather straight forward. We drove towards the Police Headquarters and looking around, we stumbled on a huge banner of the restaurant. True enough, it was on the fifth floor of a new car park complex - so new that they have yet to start charging the entrance fee yet.

I think the new space is more spaciousMy Aunt making her selectionMore room outsideAnd of course, there was space for karaokeAfter parking, we took the lift to the roof where the restaurant more or less occupied the whole floor. They have a huge kitchen, both indoors and outdoors seatings - indoors was better since it can get really balmy in the bright sun at a roof of a carpark - complete with a stage where the chef was known to belt a tune or three!

We sat down for a buffet lunch, and they had selections - the mains - in the indoors as well as tit bits at the stalls outdoors. I was sure that there would be green shrubs and herbs lining the whole restaurant as time goes by. There were also private rooms which I was sure would be popular in the future.

His signature on the platesThose were not for take-awaysDetails of the new placeThe food items more or less remained standard and as usual of high quality. And Chef Ismail himself was on hand to welcome the guests when they walk in or left, turning on his charms. Despite being in operation for less than a week, the place was full when we there this afternoon. Definitely will be coming again in the future. The cost? Anita paid today, so I wouldn't know ....

Mother's Day Part II

My Mum prefer a traditional Malaysia restaurant. And her favourite had always been Rebung, an outlet ran by a local celebrity chef, Chef Ismail. The last we went there was about three months ago, and the quality of the food there had always been consistent. We sort of like knew what we were in for every time we called in.

Since it was Mother's Day weekend and all, I decides to book the table. It turned out that there were plenty of space available, although we managed to get a spot indoors.

Always disconcerting when the chef at the restaurant took to the karaoke ..... and that was what happenedThe food was good as expected, and all my favourite was there. Satay, asam laksa and daging salai. Those kept me happy.

But the highlight of the might was definitely Chef Ismail's singing. He was on the karaoke for quite a while. Yes, he was actually at the premise, and greeted us at the table, which made my Mum's day.

It was a good evening, certainly better food wise compared to the evening before at Makan Kitchen. And it cost less as well.

I must say, I was impressed at the consistency of the dishes there. For the last few years that we've been frequenting the restaurant, the food had been good. We always found something to keep us happy. But the parking there still needed sorting out. It was painful trying to get a space even though the place was only half full.

Anita, my Mum and my sister, JuliaI also noticed that the restaurant had expended to the bungalow next door. But it was outdoors and was rather too warm for out liking. We still preferred the space indoor.

Just by sheer consistency, the restaurant still retained my recommendation.

Rebung Dinner Slideshow

Return to Rebung

After the packing was done for the day, I invited my parents and sister to join us for dinner to celebrate Irfan's birthday. We went to a restaurant not far from the apartment, a familiar one called Rebung. It is owned by a celebrity chef, Chef Ismail and the Angkasawan, Sheikh Muszaphar.

The blast time I was there was a couple of years back for iftar. We booked a table earlier as to not have to worry about seating outside and creating too much noise with my boys and their cousin about.

The table was waiting for us when we arrivedThe birthday boy taking his seatKicking things off with satayThe buffet spread was simple but had all that you need. Starters, light meals, nice rice dishes, prepared on site, and not to forget the desserts.

I did the rounds, and had satay for starters and then laksa Penang. For the main meal, I took three dishes with the rice - sambal tumis, masak lemak daging salai and asam pedas ikan pari. This was followed by ABC and teh tarik. You could also have roti jala, roti canai, rojak among others if you fancy them. Failing that, there was always ala carte. That was what we did for the children. All this in the background of a live singer. Nothing fancy, but it helped liven up the atmosphere.

A decent spread. Not too many items, but they were all nice.I hope that the nasi lemak was not from the morning stockThis two had been yapping up all eveningFinishing things off with ais kacangI must say that all the items were above average in terms of quality, and well worth the buffet price - which was not exactly cheap. If you have visitors coming over, you could certainly bring them here to sample the local food. It doesn't have the glitz of Songket - no shows when we were there - but the quality of the food alone was enough to make up for that. Highly recommended.

Birthday at Songket

It was my brother-in-law's birthday today, and last night, we joined him and my in-laws for dinner. Anita picked the place and she came across a Malay restaurant along Jalan Yap Kwan Seng called Restoran Songket. It had a snazzy website, and Anita was quickly drawn to it. Made our reservation and got there early just in case the heaven's opened and traffic became mad. And it was a revelation.

Nestled quietly behind a bigger mall - can't recall the name of it, but where Tomy Roma's restaurant was located - one had to pay attention to the turn. If you were to miss it, then one might get stuck in the traffic on turning back. Any how, it was well sign-posted and we got there the first time. Parking was ample, although the lighting around the car park was rather dim. I did not see any security guard posted there, but I assumed that there were.

There were couple of parts to the restaurant. The open area and a more conventional in-door dining near the bar. There was also a private room, but you would miss one of the main attraction to the restaurant - the dance show.

We were seated at the terrace, a nice airy covered area, right along the dance show area. The waiters there were very personable and attentive. The menu were straight forward, and they gave us clue as to the portion. The waiters seemed to know the menu items intimately as they described them pretty well. I was impressed. Our orders were complicated but all the items arrived even though we did not see the waiter taking any note to the order.

Then, there was a cultural show. We were not talking about a 5 minutes do by some amateurs here. These were proper dancers, and their set lasted 45 minutes - going through the routine of Malay, Indian and Chinese dances - complete with interactions with the audience, ending with photo op should you wished to join. If you have a foreign visitors coming to visit and you were looking for some authentic local food, with a bona fide cultural show in a great ambiance, you could not be wrong.

Let's talk bout the food. The starters were disappointing. I had some tauhu sumbat and otak-otak. Pretty average. But the same cannot be said about the main dishes and soup. They were very good. Not the best - but it won't embarrass your foreign guest if you brought them there. The best dish I had that night was adam pedas. The oxtail soup was rather too mild - but I was sure you could ask for a spicy one should you wished for as the staffs there were so attentive.

The staff found out that it was my brother-in-law's birthday, but we couldn't find the time to get him a cake. The staff soon sorted that out with a complimentary slice. Well played the manager!

We were greeted by the manager and the chef on the way out after the meal. I must say that I was impressed with the service, and would definitely bring a foreign visitor should I need to show one around. I was sure that it would be a memorable evening for them. A word of caution for the Moslem readers, as although eh food served there was Halal, the restaurant also ran a bar, and served wine. They assured me that the dishes were separated though, and I have no doubt that they do.

The price was also very reasonable - I was the one paying the bill. The bottom line was, I would definitely be coming back to the restaurant.