Kafe Loong Grill Fish, NZX @ Ara Jaya

Upon arrival to the area, we noticed quite a few shops were closed down. It was only later that we learned about how only some places manage to survive although this place theoritically existed since 2 years back, but never quite made it. Kafe Loong Grill Fish, NZX @ Ara Jaya was one of them, and for a good reason too.

When these were presented to us, I first thought, wow, colourful drinks. Fascinating. Could this be the reason why they managed to survive while the others died?

And then came more colourful drinks! (ps it was the first time meeting the Witch as well, with her beautiful LX3, my fav camera of all time!) Each drink oozes of individuality and we had a hard time selecting the drinks for ourselves. I ended up with the blue drink with soursop inside, and I didn’t regret my decision 😉

The restaurant surroundings are lively and colourful, giving a pretty ambience to onlookers. I personally loved the working clothes the staff have to wear, they honestly looked cool!

Anyway to cut to the chase, we were served our first dish, which was the Roasted Pork Knuckle with Jelly Fish on the side. It was obviously tantalising, and you could smell the crispy skin freshly roasted, toying with your senses. The savoury dish went well with the varying sauces, and the Jelly Fish lent a little textural experience to the dish too.

We also had some Tau Foo Egg dish in tomato-based sauce and littered with vegetables. Simply by looking at the dish, one does not have to taste it to know that the cuisine could most probably be a fusion one, as I’ve not tried anything quite like it. The taste was so so, but it was definitely an  experience to go for.

Now, the Japanese Escargots @ RM 15.00 (S)/RM 25.00 (B) is arguably the best dish among those we’ve tasted here. I could not get enough of those little morsels of delight, surrounded by savouringly made butter sauce. In fact, I even wollaped the pastry, best eaten with the sauce. Just ask Jessica, she totally agreed with me. Definitely a must try!

There was also the Yam and Pork dish, which I didn’t really take a fancy too. That being said, if I was a fan of the dish it’d probably be something I like. But I’m not, so I only took a bite of each to try it out, and it was decent.

When the Special Mixed Vege @ RM 15.00 dish came, I thought it was a beautiful piece of art! Look at how the dry bowl of meehoon look-a-like was turned into a canvas holding onto the pile of vegetables, classic! It boosted my visual appetite, which in turn made it all taste the yummier ;D

I think this is the Double Egg Yolk Fried Prawns which simply burst with flavours. I thought it was a tad too salty for me, but it could be because I wasn’t used to the kind of dishes prepared, as some of these dishes are truly one of its kind.

Ah. Take a gooooood look at this Assam Grilled Sting Ray. What can I say, perfectly grilled Sting Ray, in perfectly flavoured, sour and spicy assam sauce, grilled in the perfect temperature to lock the perfect taste. What can I say, this restaurant didnt’ disappoint at least by name!

We had fishes a plenty: the next one served was the Meat Fish fried in Marmite Sauce. Why Meat Fish you say? Well, basically the meat on this fish is really tough. Like, really tough. But it seemed as though it was meant to go really well with the style of cooking, and upon placing a piece of fish meat dabbed in marmite sauce into my mouth, I knew I wasn’t wrong. A definite must try as well!

And last but not least we had Beautiful Smell La La, at least that’s what I think it’s called! Tasty soup cooked in alocohol and with plenty of la la’s to go around makes for a good meal, definitely an interest to la la lovers!

I was lucky to be one of the invited few by Big Boys Oven, along with others including Jessica, the Witch, Superwilson and of course, Richard and Edward. Looks like my days of exercising will be over with all this food I’m taking, but I’m not complaining am I?! haha.. Where else can you get to try interesting dishes, like this fish above?! So weird right lol…

Anyway, do look out for this restaurant if you’re around the area, the details below should help!