Food Trail @ Damansara Uptown

- Inspired by people who have done numerous food trips all over the place. -

Here's what you'll need:

1) 5 hours of your precious time.

2) Good company - in your terms. A small party of 3 is excellent for the sake of seating convenience.

3) A relatively big appetite. Don't be fooled by the idea of walking around being quickly burning off what you have eaten.
4) Money. About RM35 - RM40 per person should be sufficient in this case.

A tip that will most probably save your lives:

Control yourselves and do not get ambitious at each stop.

Ready, set, go!
p.s. link to the map of this food trail available at the end of this post

Stop #1: Village Park

Yup, no surprise that this is a part of the lot. I can finally say that I have had tasted their nasi lemak. The place was swarming close to 11.00 a.m. and you'll need luck to get a table. Fortunately for us, Carmen managed to get us a spot.

Nasi lemak with fried chicken [RM9.00]

It took ordering through 3 waiters to finally get this dish to our table. The way the rice was done wasn't up to standard (a little towards the dry side and not fragrant enough) but the sambal did some justice. The fried chicken had a gingery hint to it which complimented the rice. In all honesty, I had set some expectations for this place but this turned out to be rather ordinary to me. 

If you wish to have a classic Malaysian breakfast of roti bakar and soft-boiled eggs, you can get them here as well. Might I suggest a cup of kopi ais to accompany them; something I ordered to kick start my day.

Information

Address: 5, Jalan SS21/37, Damansara Utama, Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Contact no.: +60377107860

Opening hours: 7.00 a.m. - 8.00 p.m. (Mondays - Saturdays) & 7.00 a.m. - 6.00 p.m. (Sundays and Public Holidays)

Ratings (out of 10)

André (A): 7.5

Carmen (C): 8.0

Emily (E): 7.0

Stop #2: Ecole P

Located along the same row as Village Park, Ecole P is a restaurant designed for you to reminisce about your primary school days. 

Upon entry, you'll see a whole bunch of your childhood candies, chocolates, biscuits, etc. available for sale.

Anyone's school canteen had cups like these? Mine had styrofoam cups though.

This is the most classic one of all, methinks. I'll let you figure out the significance of the clock. 

Hint: We did not visit at 10.10 a.m. 

This drink is called the Pokemon [RM8.90] which comprised mango, pear, raspberry, lemon, orange and passion fruit juices. It's technically a punch and there were too many competing flavours in one drink. T'was refreshing, nevertheless. 

Chicken chop fried with goldfish biscuits batter [RM16.90] served with a nicely done side of mashed potatoes and mushrooms along with a sour-ish fruity salad. The concept is pretty clever but we found the chicken chop quite ordinary. 

Despite the friendly owner and atmosphere, I personally don't plan on returning knowing that there are cheaper and more filling options around Damansara Uptown. I still, however, recommend that you try this place out at least once because it's not often one discovers such a nostalgic environment.

Information

Address: 19M, Jalan SS21/37, Damansara Utama, Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Contact no.: +60377329711

Opening hours: 11.00 a.m. - 10.00 p.m.

Closed on: Thursdays

Ratings (out of 10):

A: 5.0

C: 5.0

E: 5.5

Stop #3: Annie 1 Family Restaurant

We stopped by here to try only one dish: their dry wantan noodles with char siew. 

[RM6.50] The char siew was pretty amazing and no complains about the noodles. We only found the boiled cabbage, instead of the typical field mustard leaves, a little out of place.

We arrived at lunch hour only to find one table indoors available in the entire double shop lot restaurant. For the sake of lighting, we decided to sit outside anyway.

Information

Address: 18-20, Jalan SS21/58, Damansara Utama, Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Opening hours: 7.30 a.m. - 9.00 p.m. (Mondays - Fridays) & 8.30 a.m. - 3.30 p.m. (Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays)

Ratings (out of 10):

A: 6.0

C: 7.0

E: 6.5

Stop #4: Obanhmi Shop

One of the most talked-about places in Damansara Utama serving Vietnamese sandwiches.  

Fresh bread ready to be eaten - the reason behind the mesmerizing smell of the restaurant.

We ordered the BBQ pork sandwich [RM10.50] which was pretty good thanks to the Vietnamese chili sauce. The portion is huge for one person considering the thickness of the bread (not my kind of bread, unfortunately) and the amount of filling it holds. I love the beautiful colours of the ingredients and how they compliment each other so well.

Topped up RM5.00 for a iced Vietnamese coffee and this was superb. Now I understand the hype over Vietnamese coffee.

Can't say much about how authentic this place is but it certainly has a different feel to it judging from its significant flavour in the food. Also, be prepared for ingredients to be falling out of your sandwiches.

Information:

Address: 33, Jalan SS21/56b, Damansara Utama, Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Contact no.: +60377328540

Opening hours: 9.30 a.m. - 9.30 p.m.

Closed on: Monday

Ratings (out of 10):

A: 9.0

C: 9.0

E: 7.5

Stop #5: Fat Spoon

We were stuffed full like teddy bears primarily from Obanhmi despite only ordering one sandwich. Thankfully, we still had room for desserts. Wait, what am I saying?! There is always room for desserts. 

It was a hot day but we were in need of something to flush our system. Hence, green tea [RM7.00] it was. They have free refills so why not? #TypicalAsian

Durian crème brûlée [RM15.00]. I love durians and I'm perfectly fine with crème brûlée but this was a complete rip off because of its tea-cup size of serving and price. 

This was the saviour of the day; cempedak spring rolls served with ice cream [RM12.00]. The warmth of the spring rolls and cempedak filling complimented the ice cream well although I personally prefer having the spring rolls simply by themselves. 

Information:

Address: 73, Jalan SS21/1a, Damansara Utama, Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Contact no.: +60377283323

Opening hours: 11.30 a.m. - 3.00 p.m. // 5.00 p.m. - 10.00 p.m. (Tuesdays to Sundays) & 11.30 a.m. - 10.00 p.m. (Fridays to Sundays)

Ratings (out of 10):

A: 5.5 (3.0 for durian crème brûlée, 8.0 for cempedak spring rolls)

C: 5.0 (2.0 for durian crème brûlée, 8.0 for cempedak spring rolls)

E: 5.0 (2.0 for durian crème brûlée, 8.0 for cempedak spring rolls)

* * * *

All in all, we have covered the following the following cuisines: 

Malaysian, Western, Chinese, Vietnamese, Nyonya

Parking tip: I am a newbie when it comes to food trails but I can tell you that I was in dilemma trying to pick a parking spot. Especially when your first and last location are miles in between, the primary encounter would be, "Do I walk far now or walk far later?" My advice: "Walk far now." Why? You have energy now, use it. By the end of the day, you'll be exhausted, stuffed with goodness, and would want to head to your car ASAP.

Thanks for reading and have a good day!

Click HERE for the map of all 5 locations in this trail.

Special thanks to Carmen and André for being a part of the plan, contributing your calorie counts and your great company.