Hoagies Hauz: hidden gem amidst fast bites

I learned something new today, I always wonder what is a hoagie, so according to Wiki:

"A submarine sandwich, also known as a sub, wedge, hoagie, hero, or grinder is a type of sandwich that consists of a length of bread or roll split lengthwise and filled with a variety of meats, cheeses, vegetables, and condiments.The sandwich has no standardized name, with over a dozen regional variations used across the U.S."

"The term hoagie originated in the Philadelphia area. The Philadelphia Bulletin reported, in 1953, that Italians working at the World War I–era shipyard in Philadelphia known as Hog Island, where emergency shipping was produced for the war effort, introduced the sandwich by putting various meats, cheeses, and lettuce between two slices of bread. This became known as the "Hog Island" sandwich; shortened to "Hoggies", then the "hoagie"."

crunchy dog

mashed potato toaties

Not exactly sure whether it is true not, but that did not deter me to try Hoagies Hauz. After few times waiting for long in Pasta Zanmai, me and Lyn wanted a fast bite in Nu Sentral but refuse to go for the typical fast food. There are some burger joints which looks appetizing, but are not pocket friendly though. On the top floor, next to GSC cinema, we manage to find this simple shop, catering for a fast bite, probably before catching a full length movie.

signature hoagie

cheezy linguine chic fillet

The whole experience is simple. Simple deco (with dimmed lighting), simple table and chairs. Order your food at the counter and it will be brought to your table. Forget about waiter coming to recommend you dish of the day. However, looking at the menu board behind the counter, there is a whole long list of different sandwiches, sub, hoagies with a few selection of baked pasta and rice. The best part is, as long as you don't compare the price to any mamak stall opposite the street, the average price here is rather impressive. Expect to spend less than RM10 for a decent hoagie, less than RM15 for a slightly sophisticated ones or pasta, and of course, there are also some slightly pricey dish.

Since Lyn likes mashed potato very much, we ordered the mashed potato toasties (RM8.20). Mash potato between a toast? That is an outright weird idea. Surprisingly it taste good. The mashed potato blended nicely between the toast with the right aroma of melted cheese. The toast may looks small, but with heavy carbs in the middle, it is more filling than it looks. The signature hoagie with grilled chicken and buttermilk sauce (RM12.50) taste good, though I prefer the sauce to have more butter taste to it. The crunchy dog (RM9.80) boasted a generous amount of melted cheese served with a large hot dog. Truly heaven for cheese lover. However, the cheese is bit overpowering that it overshadow the rest of the ingredient, including the beloved mashed potato. The cheezy linguine chic fillet (RM13.80) is a bit of hit and miss. While I loved the heavy cheese sauce baked with pasta, the whole pot felt bland with the chicken fillet tasting odd one out.

At the end of the dinner, both of us were extremely satisfied with all the food. Most of the selection (especially hoagies, hotdogs, toasties) exceeded our expectation while some felt just average. We were so happy that we came another day just to try out the rest of the menu. That would speak for our satisfaction with Hoagies Hauz.

Hoagies Hauz
L5-11, Level 5, Nu Sentral.

Pasta Zanmai: good for a stop in a busy day

There were many people who told me there is nothing to eat in Nu Sentral. Really? That busy place which are packed with people everyday? After a long day of driving (and Lyn shopping), we decided to just hang around in Nu Sentral and try our luck here. 

On the top floors, there are many shops with different offerings. Local cuisine, japanese, koreans, and you just need to name it. We decided to try something more filling: pasta. Pasta Zanmai (not sure whether it is related to another Sushi Zanmai one floor up) offers fusion Japanese, focussing more on pasta choices. 

The shop looks simple and clean. The staff is very nice, but the service is really slow, considering there are only a few tables full. Or maybe a minute seems to last forever when you are hungry. Surprisingly the price are not too expensive, one could get a decent dish for less than RM20. Do not expect budget offering either; this is a shopping complex after all. 

I ordered the black pepper cheese baked rice (black pepper doria) (RM18) which was fairly good. Lyn loved the taste more than me though. We loved that the black pepper did not overshadow the chicken (which a lot of shop did just that on any black pepper dishes), but it is still too heavy for my liking. Lyn ordered tori kino pasta (RM17 for small), which appeared as a diluted  cabonara. It is not too creamy, which is an advantage to lots of health conscious people out there, but bursting with taste. For Lyn to praise cabonara (which is not her favourite way of cooking pasta by the way), it has to be really tasty. So far, the pasta dishes had exceeded our expectations (which are not high initially), but the rolls were bit of let down. The unagi avocado roll (RM 12 for half a roll of 3, RM20 for a full roll of 6) initially taste good. However, the taste of BBQ and mayonaise over powered the unagi so much that I can hardly taste any unagi at all until I isolate a few piece and eat it on its own away from the roll. Believe me, after tasting unagi in sukiji, it changes my perception on eel and how they should be cooked. 

The whole dining experience here did not define any new standard to shopping mall eating. But it did debunk the myth that there are nothing to eat in Nu Sentral. Would I come again? Yes, especially when I am hungry and lazy to move away from the central location. 

ratings: 3 poink~!

comments: extra poink for the convenient location.

Yut Kee: memories of Hainan delicacies

Everytime I heard Hainan pork/ chicken chop, I would remember how my dad used to take me to this old corner Chinese coffee shop in Kampar which made one of the best fried meehoon and Hainan chops. Therefore when my friend wanted to bring me to try Hainanese food in KL, I was simply ecstatic.


I do not know how to describe the roads in KL, so I have to apologize not able to direct anyone to Yut Kee. Just google the place and I am sure Google map would provide adequate directions. My friend was describing that this place used to operate in another building and have much history. During the Saturday lunch, the place is packed full of people, that we basically have to leave our names and wait outside. Good signs, I think, since everyone is willing to wait.

Although there is so many people, their system is working well. There will be staff directing us to our seats, another to take our orders, and the orders came very fast, considering the amount of patrons they need to serve. First for us to try is the Hainanese chicken chop (RM9.50). The meat is tender, the gravy is tasty, but I felt it is rather oily. I understand that the meat need to be deep fried with batter but I had tasted less oily elsewhere. My friend recommended roti babi (RM9), which is a must for pork lover. The meat is seasoned well, and with the bread, it felt like pork sandwich with special patty. Nice and filling. The price, is very reasonable given that we are eating in KL. It would not burn a hole in my pocket at all.


I was unable to try the other dish, but I am sure there are reasons why this place is so popular. I would love to try the chops again, but I hope they would reduce the oil.

ratings: 3 poink~!
comments: prepare to wait, but the food did not disappoint.

Yut Kee Restaurant
1, Jalan Kamunting, Kuala Lumpur.