Great North Express – KL Cafe

Based on a recommendation from a reader, I tried KL Cafe in Kelston. It’s a bit of a drive to be honest, but I think well worth the visit. First you get to try a different place, and second, you get to see West Auckland. =) KL Cafe to me looks like a 2-in-1, quasi-takeaway-malaysian-cafe-hybrid. It works. Several samples below:

Char Kuey Teow.

Wonton Noodle.

Mee Goreng.

Prawn Noodle.

I didn’t manage to note the price unfortunately, but it’s standard price. Nothing that will blow you away. Out of these 4 dishes above, I quite like the Prawn Noodle. Apparently quite authentic. The people who served us are quite friendly and seem to recognise the locals.

My rating 8/10. Good try if you’re willing to go for a ride (assuming you’re not in West Auckland).

But someone did say to me, if you assume, you make an ASS out of U and ME. =)

Wagamama (Sylvia Park)

I don’t know what I was thinking, but I popped into Wagamama Sylvia Park the other night while waiting to watch a movie. From the outside it looked like a nice place to eat as I’ve been there before, and I think I had fond memories.

Samples I had below:

Chicken Katsu Curry ($17.50).

Chilli Ramen with Sirloin Steak ($24.50).

Overall, it’s quite average and too pricey. I guess the place does suit some people (apparently it’s fusion) and it’s popular. But I can find better tasting and seriously cheaper Japanese out there.

My apologies to all Wagamama fans, I don’t get this place. Rating 5/10.

Two Monkeys Vietnamese Restaurant

I am back, for the moment. I have been around but just didn’t have time to post any reviews. Anyway here’s a quick one.

This is for Two Monkey’s Vietnamese Restaurant located on Dominion Road (easily noticeable), near all the fast food place i.e. Wendy’s, Pizza Hut, Burger Fuel etc. First impression, the place does look somewhat authentic. Once you get in and see the menu (and hear the staff talk), it’s not really a Vietnamese restaurant. Although it does try to be. Perhaps, the boss or someone is. Who knows.

The first thing you don’t see is the lemon grass dishes, and it has random Chinese favourites in there! For this occassion, ordered the Beef Pho and Roasted Chicken on Rice (I thought this was lemon grass). Both are $9 which is cheap and I had the meal around 4pm.

Beef Pho.

Roasted Chicken on Rice.

Surprisingly, the rice dish was not bad. The Beef Pho was very average. The chilli they put on each table looked a bit dodgy and wouldn’t recommend to try.  Overall, not very Vietnamese at all. The price is reasonable and they seem to feed anyone at anytime which is good. Customer service is also OK. If you’re hungry at 3.30pm on a Sunday, this place is your best shot other than the fast food places.

My rating 5/10. It’s not horrible, but won’t recommend for authentic Vietnamese food.