Gastronomy Food Hunt at 1Utama

I always loved to eat and enjoyed sharing my food experiences with friends during any gathering session. Imagine, my surprise when I was selected to participate in the Makan Makan Food Hunt event organised by 1Utama for bloggers. I’m super excited to share my makan makan journey here with my readers.

Upon, arriving at the registration table each blogger was given a #MakanMakan Food Hunt passport and were grouped together in a group of 5. My foodie team mates for the day was Chin Yee, Mierah, Nicole and Carina and our team was named Makan Queens. A quick briefing by 1Utama team, revealed that we’re required to visit ten  participating F&B outlets within a 5 hours given duration.

The outlets included in the list are Little Fat Duck, Moo Cow, Betjeman & Barton, Quiznos, Nana’s Green Tea, CoCo Curry House Ichibanya, O Banh Mi, MyeongDong, Library Coffee Bar and Bisou. Just like a treasure hunt, we have a map to plan which outlet to go first in order to save time as we’ve only got 5 hours to cover all the outlets. Here’s a peek of my gastronomy journey:

1st Pit Stop – Quiznos

Location: Lot G202, Ground Floor (Old Wing; opposite Papparich & same row as TGI Friday’s)

At a glance:  

Offers unique submarine sandwiches, pizzas, soups and salads in a casual diner ambience.  Serving a variety of quality meats, cheeses with special signature sauces.

Our Menu:

Chicken Ranch & Swiss, Honey Mustard Chicken, Baja Chicken Pizza, Chicken Carbonara Pizza, Cheese Bites and Waffles Fries snacks. Price range from (RM7.80 – RM15.80)

My Verdict:

The sandwiches tasted a tad too salty but the pizza was great with its generous toppings (especially cheese). All items were served fresh from the kitchen.

2nd Pit Stop – Nana’s Green Tea

Location:  LG355, Lower Ground Floor Rainforest (New Wing; near to Starbucks)

At a glance:

Offers green tea, matcha green tea and other fine traditional Japanese cuisine with a twist to suit the lifestyle of the modern people a.k.a. ‘new Japanese style’. Best sellers include parfaits, green tea, sashimi salmon and lots more.

Our Menu:

Matcha Shiratama Parfait , Matcha “Nama Chocolate” Parfait , Matcha “Gateaux Chocolat” Parfait, Hoji “Gateaux Chocolat” Parfait and Hoji “Warabimochi” Parfait. Price range from (RM21.90 – RM23.10)

My Verdict:

Absolutely delicious, each parfaits stands out on its own and comes with a scoop of soft serve Vanilla ice cream. Some condiments includes Kanten Jelly, Matcha, Hoji Syrup, Cornflakes and lots more. 1 parfait can be shared between 2 pax. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to finish all of it on our own.

3^rd Pit Stop – Coco Ichibaya Curry House

Location:  LG333A, Lower Ground Floor (New Wing; opposite of Kluang Station)

At a glance:

One of the largest Japanese curry house in the world which offers mild and signature original flavour curry. There are five levels of spiciness for their Japanese curry, from level one’s mild hot to level five’s extreme hot. Also provide non-spicy dishes such as spaghetti, soups and salads.

Our Menu:

Smoked salmon salad, Pork Cutlet, Crispy Chicken, Squid Mayo, Seafood Curry (Level 2 Curry), Beef Yakiniku, Vanilla & Match Ice Cream for desserts. Price range from (RM9.00 – RM28.00)

My Verdict:

Loved the curry and the best part you can select the level of spiciness. To top it off, you can also opt how much rice intake you’ll need for your meal to ensure there’s no wastage. Squid mayo and beef yakiniku is my favourite dish as it was succulent.

4^th Pit Stop – Myeong Dong Topokki

Location:  LG312B , Lower Ground Floor (New Wing; nearby to bookstore myNews.com)

At a glance:

Named after the famous shopping street in Korea, Myeong Dong offers Korean Street food at its best especially Topokki a.k.a. (also known as tteokbokki) – rice cakes.

Our Menu:

Myeong Dong Station Set that consists of a bowl of Topokki and a plate of Kimali, Tempura Squid, Odeng (Korean Fishcakes on skewers in a bowl of soup), Vegetable Kimbab and Korean can drinks. Price range from (RM5.00 – RM18.00)

My Verdict:

Adored the topokki with its touch of chilli spiciness, however I’ve reservation on the Kimali (fried seaweed role with Korean glass noodles) as some might not like it. Other favourites would be Odeng (tasted like the Chinese ‘yong tau foo’ and the Korean can drinks with its bits of fruits jelly.

5^th Pit Stop – O Banh Mi

Location:  LG 328, Lower Ground Floor (New Wing; round the corner of Myeong Dong Topokki)

At a glance:

Contemporary restaurant serving Vietnamese Sandwiches with light snacks that are healthy. Famous for Banh Mi, a daily freshly baked Vietnamese bread. Opt from either the original or charcoal Banh Mi.

Our Menu:

Lemongrass ginger tea, Vietnamese Prawn Roll, Chicken Teriyaki Sandwich and Pork Sandwich. Price range from (RM5.00 – RM20.00)

My Verdict:

Nothing can go wrong with lemongrass ginger tea that’s so refreshing while we’re running around on the food hunt. The Vietnamese Prawn Roll tasted delicious with the juicy poached prawns. Chicken Teriyaki and Pork Sandwich tasted great as well.

6^th Pit Stop – The Library Coffee Bar

Location:  FK3, First Floor (New Wing; opposite Juice Works)

At a glance:

A cosy and laid back coffee bar that provides you reading materials while you’re waiting for food/drinks to be served. The perfect hangout place for the young and old.

Our Menu:

Insanely Scrummy and Mokalicious expresso shakes, Chamomile and English Morning Tea, Humming Ham pizza, Tuna Arrabiata spaghetti, Berries Waffle with berries and a scoop of vanilla ice cream and lastly Bee-Licious Chick sandwich. Price range (RM9 – RM16)

My Verdict:

Waffles are fluffy and lightly crisp with berries and icing sprinkle on top is my favourite. For drinks, can’t decide as both the Insanely Scrummy and Mokalicious expresso shakes are equally good. I’m also a fan of their English tea as it’s served with fresh tea/flowers in the pot (strainer is provided).

7^th Pit Stop – Bisou Bake Shop

Location:  FK6, First Floor (New Wing; opposite of Parkson)

At a glance:

Bisou which means “kiss” in French is a bakery serving varieties of cupcakes and cakes. Artfully decorated with sprinkles and sinful frosting each cupcakes stands out on it’s on.

Our Menu:

August Special Red Velvet Rainbow cake. Price Range (RM13)

My Verdict:

Adorned in rainbow colours with pink frosting on the top it’s simply delicious. Normally cakes that has rainbow colours are quite sweet. However, this tasted just nice and the chocolate flavour is not overpowering.

8^th Pit Stop – Moo Cow

Location:  LGK111, Lower Ground Floor (Old Wing; nearby Koong Woh Tong)

At a glance:

Moo Cow serves frozen yogurts that are freshly made from natural ingredients for the health conscious dessert’s lovers.

Our Menu:

Original Yogurt Drink and Original Frozen Yogurt with 2 selected toppings. Price Range (RM3.50 – RM9.90)

My Verdict:

Great tasty yogurt ice cream that’s soft and creamy. I opted for chocolate chips and cranberries, a mixture of sweet and sour which is appetizing.

9^th Pit Stop – Little Fat Duck

Location:  LGK102A-LGK103, Lower Ground Floor (Old Wing; nearby Koong Woh Tong)

At a glance:

Little Fat Duck originated from meals on wheels with trucks going around in Klang Valley areas. Now, it’s also available over the counter and provides gourmet express meals at an affordable price.

Our Menu:

Spaghetti Bolognaise, Chicken confit and grilled fish. Price Range (RM6.00 – RM13)

My Verdict:

Packed in a cute box, the food is simple and tasted great. I liked the chicken confit as it’s tender and juicy. As for the grilled fish, the sauce was pretty good.

Final Pit Stop – Betjeman & Barton

Location:  G220, Ground Floor (Old Wing; next to the adjoining entry of the mall & hotel)

At a glance:

The first outlet for Betjeman & Barton, the Paris based French house that serves luxury fine teas and delectable afternoon tea sets. They carries more than a hundred of green, black, white, oolong, puerh and rooibos teas –from China, Japan, India and Ceylon, including the superior quality Japon Gyokyro.  This is a place for you to indulge the afternoon away in style.

Our Menu:

Malesherbes Green Tea (in a pot), Jardin Rouge Gateau, Chocolate Orange Cake, Macaroons, Hazelnut chocolate and Tiramisu. Price Range (RM4.00 – RM28)

My Verdict:

Aromatic tea served with chocolates delicacies that melts in your mouth. Tiramisu is my favourite cake for the day as the coffee taste is not too strong. Another favourite would be the mini hazelnut chocolates which I can’t stop popping into my mouth.

After completing our task, we all troop back to check in with the 1Utama friendly staff.  I was so stuffed that I could barely walk. To be honest, we underestimated the time, all of us thought we had more than enough time to complete the task. However, it took much longer than anticipated with food preparation and snapping of pictures. I’m grateful that my team mates seems to know 1Utama pretty well and we managed to coordinate it properly.

Kudos to 1Utama and the outlets who served us with patience throughout the day. It was an awesome fun experience meeting new blogger friends while we get to indulge ourselves with great food in 1Utama. Hopefully, next year I’ll get invited again!