POWERTEA with Deep Fried Lok Lok @ Mount Austin in Johor Bahru [Malaysia]

Due to a dizzle earlier, it was a slow Friday evening at Mount Austin in Johor Bahru. However, one eatery stood out for its almost full house capacity; POWERTEA.

I assumed it was a bubble tea shop given its name but no, the display fridges said otherwise. Judging the wooden skewers, I knew this has to be a lok lok eatery! It still begets the question; why was it so popular since lok lok is very common in Malaysia!?

Answer found; one wooden skewer with ingredient cost just RM 1.10; that's like 33 Singapore cents! Frankly, I couldn't believe my eyes and had to clarify; is it RM 1.10 per stick or from RM 1.10 per stick? The staff was affirmative; RM 1.10 each, full stop.

Shortly after, I returned with Alex so that we can try the lok lok. Three large fridges with a wide variety of skewers from vegetables, to meat, processed food etc! My apology for the low resolution as I was using my mobile phone.

It was already 11.19 pm and weight-conscious me shouldn't be having any supper! Hence, I was being conservative and went with just 18 skewers... 

The metal plate filled with my beloved skewers shall then be brought to the counter outside where the number of skewers would be counted and you would be asked whether you want spicy, or not. A piece of acknowledgment paper would then be printed for the next step in the ordering process. 

Make payment at the other counter, inside the eatery this time, and also to order your drink! That's where the POWERTEA comes in! You can a good range which also included traditional coffee, and even hot chocolate! Once payment is made, you would also be given the buzzers to collect your food, and drinks. 

Now to take our sauces/dips! 

Mind you, there were 19 sauces which included Viet Thai chilli, BBQ, Korean BBQ, thousand island, cheese mayo, chicken rice chili, mayonnaise, sesame, satay, power spicy, sour spicy, wasabi, Thai, green chili, chee cheong fun etc! 

Never-ending customers! 

After a short wait of about twelve minutes, the buzzer beeped. Beautifully deep fried, and I didn't see oil dripping from the sticks /or from the fried ingredients; not that it matters since deep fried food would never be oil-free although visually, less of a sinful burden.

Oh, forgot to mention my hot chocolate; it was okay but I chose this simply because I am trying to cut down on caffeine, since my quality of sleep has deteriorated as I age. p.s. average tasting and not impressionable; maybe because I didn't expect it to be in a disposable cup.

Back to the sinful skewers! Now, RM 1.10 sounded like a marvelous deal but the devil lies in the details. Some portions were really quite small, which I shall explain shortly, although I am not complaining.

For example, one stick with just one cheese tofu.

Or one stick with just one small head of cabbage, or one slice of abalone mushroom. While some would argue that that's despicable marketing ploy, I see it as providing consumers with more choices! While I love cheese tofu, I wouldn't want to eat too many like 3 on 1 skewer! 

Most worth it ingredient was the prawn! Appearing on the tables of many diners, the prawns were big for just RM 1.10 and the meat, after frying, didn't taste mushy and was much better than expected. 

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Done! I felt so guilty to have taken too much sauce, and the good, old SOS chilli was my favorite amongst the four (cheese, satay and chee cheong fun)! Skewers wise, I have always have a soft spot for deep fried food and it's a matter of determining which one I would not order again; personally, it has to be the brinjals which had a limp, soft texture even after frying! 

Address

Lot GF-L005, Austin International Convention Centre, 

Jalan Austin Heights 8/1, Taman Mount Austin, 

81100 Johor Bahru, Johor Darul Ta'zim, Malaysia

Map

As above. 

Pricing

Lok Lok - RM 1.10 per Skewer

Hot Chocolate - RM 8.90

Additional Information

No pork, no lard used. And no alcohol for sale too.

Guess the above would mean Muslim-friendly? 

Trình Cà Phê @ Da Nang in Vietnam

I am glad to have taken a screenshot of the above when I was in Da Nang, because while I remember its location, I simply can't find the cafe on Google Maps! 

Turned out the cafe had closed last September and it was indeed a great pity. I had no intention to check it out but curiosity got to me when I noticed people going into this narrow lane between two buildings at a neither here or there timing of 10am.

Peering in, we saw a packed cafe; it's like two different worlds. The bustle of motor vehicles along the busy road outside, versus a scene of chilled relaxation inside. For a moment, I thought we might have chanced upon a party or maybe a religious gathering! 

 

Honestly, I love the atmosphere! Customers, locals it seemed, were simply enjoying whatever they were doing and while the weather was warm outside, we were sufficiently shaded and you don't quite the intense heat right by the roadside. As I mentioned earlier, like two different worlds.

Interior of the cafe was like stepping into history! And see how spread out the tables were; in Singapore, our limited land would mean squeezing as many tables as possible, unless you can balance it with high menu pricing. 

Sewing machine as table!

That would have been nostalgic for my mom!

Free Vietnamese green tea and that's almost like a welcome drink for customers who have yet to make an order! I read reviews that the waitresses were rude with a big heart; well, generally friendly for us, foreigners. 

Latte - Alex's order that drew a roll-eyed expression from me. Why come all the way to Vietnam to drink latte!? Each to his/her own and I should never judge. 

Milk Coffee - I was expecting this to be a relatively safe bet yet this was literally the strongest and most intense Vietnamese milk coffee I had for my entire trip; one that opened up the pores for my taste buds! 

Bread - on the menu, it was just indicated as banh mi and I don't know what bo toi means! At the very least though, I did draw similarities with the best ever garlic bread from Paris Baguette! 

Freshly toasted from the oven, this hasn't reached the high standards of Paris Baguette but nonetheless, still a strong competitor with the richly aromatic garlic flavor! Most importantly, it wasn't as oily as the one from Paris Baguette.

Loving the buttery insides!

How exactly were they made of?! 

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Seated on the foldable chairs, it was a comfortable and relaxing experience for us; different from squatting on stools and unsheltered from the sun. It's a pity this outlet no longer existed.

Good news though; a new branch had opened and I would be sharing the details below. It should be the correct one as the same logo was used. 

Address of New Outlet

25 Phạm Hồng Thái, Hải Châu 1, 

Hải Châu, Đà Nẵng 55000, Vietnam

Map of New Outlet

As above.

Menu from Old Outlet

As above.

Pricing

Latte - 42,000 dong

Milk Coffee - 25,000 dong

Bread - 35,000 dong

Click here for my 8 Days' Itinerary to Danang (The City of Bridges) & Hoi An (The City of Lanterns) in Vietnam

MẸT Vietnamese Restaurant & Vegetarian Food 4 @ Hanoi in Vietnam

On my first visit to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, I did notice a highly rated restaurant that appeared to have a few branches. The name is MẸT Vietnamese Restaurant & Vegetarian Food, which I thought was a vegetarian establishment and realized much later that it just meant vegetarian options! 

Hence, on my second visit to Hanoi (where we also headed north to Sapa), we decided to check it out with my family! What surprised me was that I found even more branches now, with six branches just in Hanoi! 

Fancy some traditional Vietnamese rice wine?

One small cup cost just 50,000 dong! 

English menu would always be preferred and English speaking tourists would be assured that the staff members spoke great English! Jinx, the waiter attached to our section, was amazingly helpful! Anyway, here comes out food.

Banana Flower Salad with Shrimp & Pork - visually not appealing yet turned out to be extremely appetising! The taste was interestingly and the best I could do was to describe it tasting like onions, without their sharp flavor. 

Pork Rolled Wild Betel - ordered simply because it was unique. Taste wise, alright and should you be counting your calories, you may choose to remove this dish from your order list.

Special Vietnamese Pancake - again, those on calorie watch can consider having this, given the generous amount of fresh vegetables that came with this traditional and popular Vietnamese dish! 

Wrapped with rice paper, the pancake was crispy and tasty (with the dip). 

I did feel the portion was a bit too small. 

Rice Noodle Soup with Beef - it was winter when we visited Hanoi in December and this bowl of pho bo was rightfully soothing for both stomach and soul! Broth tasted flavourful, not overly sweet with beef slices that remained tender. 

Hanoi Traditional Grilled Pork - bun cha was one of my favorite noodle dish in Vietnam and ranked higher than pho. Unlike most places, the pork was just sliced pork and not including the pork patties  that would generally be given.

Grilled slice pork was well marinated and not as tough as I expected. Best of all, my family loved this although we had bun cha in three different eateries on this trip, and the one they enjoyed the most was from this hidden gem at Sapa! 

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In a nutshell, the MẸT brand is a good starting restaurant if it was your first trip to Vietnam. Food were decent, wide variety and service was great! 

Address

34 P. Gia Ngư, Hàng Bạc, 

Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam

Map

As above.

Website

https://metvietnameserestaurant.com/

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Banana Flower Salad with Shrimp & Pork - 110,000 Dong

Pork Rolled Wild Betel - 120,000 Dong

Special Vietnamese Pancake - 125,000 Dong

Rice Noodle Soup with Beef - 90,000 Dong

Hanoi Traditional Grilled Pork - 120,000 Dong

Click here for my 

summarized itinerary 

of my 3 Days trip to Sapa!