#MakanMakan Food Hunt: 10 Restaurants Must-try at 1Utama [Part 1]

Ever since I moved to PJ about 3 years ago, 1Utama has been my favourite shopping mall. The large shopping mall has everything I need!! And when it's time to feed my hunger or just to satisfy my craving for tea and dessert, it could really be a dilemma as there are just too many choices *.*

Fun Fact: Do you know, 1Utama is the World's 4th Largest Mall (by CNN)  ≧◡≦

So I was grateful that I had the chance to experience a gastronomical #MakanMakan Food Hunt at 1Utama :D There were 10 participating F&B outlets for this 1U #MakanMakan Food Hunt and we were to visit all 10 from 11am to 4pm. The outlets stretch from LG Food Street to 1F Highstreet, so basically we were exploring 1Utama from end-to-end, New Wing to Old Wing, in the 5 hour time frame @.@

LG Food Street: (1) Moo Cow Frozen Yogurt, (2) Little Fat Duck : Express Gourmet

LG Rainforest: (3) Nana's Green Tea

LG Highstreet: (4) Curry House CoCo Ichibanya, (5) MyeongDong Topokki, (6) O Banh Mi

GF Promenade: (7) Betjeman & Barton, (8) Quiznos Sub

1F Highstreet: (9) The Library Coffee Bar, (10) Bisou Bake Shop

I was very glad because most of the eateries would be first time experience for me :D Particularly Nana's Green Tea and Betjeman & Barton, because they are in my wishlist ever since I passed by the shops for the first time >v< 

For easy reference, let's go through each of the outlet, in the order as per the food map above :) And because the post is quite long, I'm splitting it into 2 parts :)

(1) Moo Cow Frozen Yogurt

Being a dairy-lover, Moo Cow Frozen Yogurt is naturally a pleasant dessert for me :D Moo Cow's frozen yogurts are freshly churned from natural ingredients and flavours, which include fruits such as blueberries, strawberries, kiwi, pineapple, soursop etc, chocolate, dates and even rootbeer!

My very Moo Cow Frozen Yogurt in cup, with peanut crunch and chocolate sauce. It tasted sweet with a hint of sourness, and was very cooling and refreshing!! Definitely a great on-the-go dessert on a hot day :D (don't you think it's very hot these few days? >.<) Weight conscious? Fret not, because Moo Cow yogurts are not only pleasant to the taste buds, but also have low fat and sugar content.

The yogurt drink is also one of its kind. I expect it to be similar like those you can get from the supermarket, but Moo Cow Yogurt Drink was slightly thicker and less sweet. A great breakfast drink if you ask me :D

Yogurt in Cup: RM10.90

Yogurt Drink: RM3.80 or RM23.00 (4 bottles)

(2) Little Fat Duck : Express Gourmet

If you are looking for duck dishes here, you'd be disappointed, lol~ But if you are looking for an affordable yet delicious French and Italian cuisine, then this is the right place to be!! Little Fat Duck began as a food truck at Subang, which means they would be happy to park their truck and cater to events and parties.

Well, I only knew about Little Fat Duck when they opened their first kiosk at 1Utama. That time, I really thought they are about duck business but alas, there's no duck on the menu!! Anyway, I have been hitting Little Fat Duck for good few times and my favourite has always been the Creamy Fish Pesto :D Made using fresh basil and fresh cream, the pesto sauce was light & incredibly refreshing. The pasta came with a big handful of bite size grilled fish. Served on a paper takeaway box, it's a great as on-the-go lunch too :D

Beside pasta like Bolognaise, Carbonara and Aglio Olio, there are Chicken Confit and Grilled Fish too served on a bed of mash potatoes. To complete the meal, I usually opt for the refreshing Iced Lemon Tea and home-made Milk Puddings :) Yum!

Source: CpMooN's Instagram

Creamy Fish Pesto: RM6.00

Iced Lemon Tea: RM2.50

Milk Pudding: RM3.50

(3) Nana's Green Tea

Nana’s Green Tea was established in Japan, a pioneer of Japanese Café dealing with “Matcha”, green powdered tea. It was first started off as the Japanese version of Starbucks in Jiyugaoka, Japan. The chain cafe delivers green tea related desserts in the form of hot and cold drinks, parfait, slushy and jellies among other fine Japanese food culture and traditions, as the 'new Japanese style', that suits the lifestyle of modern people.

According to the staff there, the Matcha "Nama Chocolate" Parfait is one of the best-selling items at the outlet. So we ordered one. It's an artisan dessert starting with a layer of Kanten jelly and Matcha syrup, then topped with vanilla ice cream and corn flakes, and garnished with Matcha ice cream, Matcha Chocolate Ganache, red bean paste, whipped cream and a drizzle of Matcha syrup. If you like green tea like me, then this would be a perfect, heavenly delectable dessert, with a hint of sweet and bitter taste ♥♥♥

The next best-selling item is the Hoji "Gateaux Chocolat" Parfait. (Hoji is Japanese green tea roasted in a porcelain pot over charcoal) It's starting with a layer of Kanten jelly and Hoji syrup, then topped with vanilla ice cream and corn flakes, and finally garnished with Hoji ice cream, Hoji Chocolate Cake, Hoji bean paste, whipped cream and a drizzle of Hoji syrup.

And I want to say....their parfaits are very pretty (ღ˘⌣˘ღ) 

Matcha "Nama Chocolate" Parfait: RM23.10

Hoji "Gateaux Chocolat" Parfait: RM23.10

(4) Curry House CoCo Ichibanya 

Non-halal

CoCo Ichibanya is the world largest Japanese curry restaurant chain. How large? As of end of August 2015, they have 1,258 restaurants in Japan and 145 in the rest of the world, bringing a total of 1,403 restaurants!! The Japanese curry house’s tagline, “The tastiness you can choose”, reflects the concept of allowing patrons the flexibility of customising their meal from the curry’s level of spiciness and types of toppings to the rice and curry portions.

The CoCo Ichibanya Curry House at 1Utama is their first restaurant in Malaysia. The restaurant offers a contemporary, friendly and casual ambiance for a great dining with friends and families. There are five levels of spiciness for their Japanese curry, from Level 1’s medium hot to Level 5’s crazy hot.

Pork Cutlet Omelette Curry rice is one of the signature dish and there are really good reasons why it's a signature dish!! The curry was more savoury than sweet (unlike most Japanese curries), complement well with the rice which was imported from Japan. The pork cutlet was cooked tonkatsu style to perfection, crisp and crunchy, while the meat inside remained tender and firm. The omelette was light and fluffy, topping the bed of rice, surrounded by the thick curry gravy. I wished we had more time to enjoy this yummy curry rice, woohoo~~~ I definitely will come back here again and have a proper curry rice meal *v*

I didn't really try the Chicken Cutlet Salad, but the girls said it was just as great :D

Pork Cutlet Omelette Curry: RM26.00
Chicken Cutlet Salad: RM10.00

(5) MyeongDong Topokki

As if having the street food during my trip to Korea last May was not enough, visiting the MyeongDong Topokki is a great way for me to rekindle with the memory *v* MyeongDong Topokki is a Korean street food restaurant specializing in Topokki (LoL at my description, haha)  Fyi, Myeong-dong is one of Seoul's main shopping & food district (you'd get crazy with the hundreds of beauty stores there!!) With MyeongDong Topokki, you do not need to fly all the way to Myeong-dong for the delightful Korean street snacks!

I tried the Topokki (Korean rice cake) in the original flavour sauce. The Topokki was chewy and bouncy, and the thick sauce had a hint of sweetness. It's best to consume while it's still tender hot else I think it won't be as nice if left intact for a while. 

Kimali is deep-fried laver roll with glass noodles. I have a confession....I thought it was fried black glutinous rice....because it did look like one!! =.=" I think it's unique because it had a contrast of texture; crunchy at the outside, fluffy at the inside :D

The Tuna Kimbab here was very delicious!! Perhaps because I like sushi so much? :P And Odeng too!! Odeng is a street food that is sold from small carts and is served with a cup of the fish broth that it is cooked in. It's similar as the 'luk luk' in Malaysia :D The Odeng here was very delightable and warm, suitable as great snack during rainy days hehe~

Topokki: RM10.80
Kimali: RM8.50

Tuna Kimbab: EM13.00

Odeng: RM7.80 (for 2 sticks)

Continuing to 1U #MakanMakan Food Hunt Part 2~~~