Power Beef, Taipei: A Must-Try for Steak and Uni Lovers

If you and your partner are on opposite ends of the culinary spectrum—one a beef lover and the other is a seafood lover - finding the perfect dining spot can be tricky. But in Taipei, there’s a place that promises to satisfy both cravings, Power Beef.

Located in the heart of Taipei, Power Beef is a well-known spot for meat lovers, offering premium cuts of steak grilled. But what sets it apart from your typical steakhouse is its pairing of beef with fresh seafood, particularly fish roe and uni (sea urchin).

For beef lovers like my husband, Power Beef is the place to be. Their selection includes high-quality wagyu, dry-aged cuts, and perfectly seared A5 Miyazaki beef that melts in your mouth.

The signature beef and uni donburi is a must-try, featuring thinly sliced, wagyu topped with fresh, creamy uni. Each bite is an explosion of umami, blending the rich flavors of the beef with the briny sweetness of the sea urchin.

As someone who adores seafood, I was thrilled to find that Power Beef doesn’t just specialize in steak. Their menu boasts an impressive array of seafood options, from delicate ikura (salmon roe) bowls to lavish uni-topped sushi. The combination of seafood and beef might sound unusual to some, but I loved it. I went for the special beef, uni and ikura rice bowl, with salmon roe bursting with flavor, balanced by the creamy, buttery uni on top.  Ohhh so good.

At Power Beef, both meat lovers and seafood enthusiasts can indulge in their favorites without compromise. The quality of ingredients is exceptional, every dish feels like an indulgent treat.

If you’re visiting Taipei and want to experience luxurious beef and seafood fusion, Power Beef is a must-visit. I’d definitely return for another round of beef, fish roe, and uni goodness if I ever visit Taipei again. Though I’ve technically checked Taiwan off my travel list, but who knows, we’ll see.

We went for an early lunch on Sunday. As you can see in the video, there weren’t many people at that time. However, it's best to make a reservation if you're visiting during peak hours.

Chan Hainam Kopitiam, Serdang

One of our go-to spots whenever we're in Selangor is Chan Hainam Kopitiam, located in Seri Kembangan, Serdang. The place is always clean, and there’s a wide variety of food options to choose from.

We especially love the Ipoh Style Hor Fun and the dry Yong Tau Foo—they’re absolutely delicious! And My son is a big fan of their BBQ pork rice.  The prawn mee is pretty good too. Unfortunately, it was closed both days when we visited last month, which was a bit disappointing. Hopefully, we can catch them next time!

While the food is fantastic, the drinks have been a bit hit or miss for us. The kopi Hainan was a bit too bitter for my taste, and the teh o peng was just so-so—not quite what I was hoping for.  However, I did try the teh C on our last day, and it turned out to be quite good, I will stick to the c next time.

Despite the mixed experience with the drinks, Chan Hainam Kopitiam remains one of our favorite spots.  It’s always nice to explore different options on the menu, and who knows, maybe I’ll discover a new favorite drink on our next visit!

Best Japanese Restaurant in Kuching

This is all based on my personal preference.

Best Japanese Restaurant in Kuching:

1. Soru Izakaya, Saradise.

2. Ginza Japanese Restaurant 銀座和食レストラン, Saradise.

3. Sushi Zanmai, Vivacity 

4. Zu Sakuraitei. Known for its fresh sashimi. But I had a not really good experience with their tempura, it's too oily.

5. 山河 Sanga Japanese Restaurant-Kuching

Tokyo Bento - RM18

6. Oishi Japanese Restaurant 

Best Japanese Ramen in Kuching:

1. Cookai, Saradise. Non halal.
It is better to make a booking beforehand, they serve limited bowls per day.

2. Rising Ramen, CityOne Megamall. Non halal.
If you want a fast and easy ramen, this is the place to be, so far they always have this menu available. No booking is required.

3. Ajisen Ramen, Vivacity Megamall, Kuching. Non halal.
It can be a bit too salty sometimes.

4. Senchiru Izakaya, Saradise, Kuching.

    Non-halal .  Urayaki Buta Noodle.

5. Himawari Ramen Bar. Halal. Always a long queue, open from 8:30-3pm.
This small restaurant is famous among Muslim customers. Since the restaurant is small, you can always see the long queue outside. be prepared to wait for more than an hour.  Not the best in my opinion, more like a beef noodle for me, they make really good tick broth. But hey, don't take my word for it, go and try it out, and do let me know ya.

Best Teppanyaki place in Kuching:

1. 渣· 烧鸟屋Teppanyaki & BBQ Bar | Kuching

Non-halal

Updated on 30 May 2024

Panettone

 Last week, my home-baker neighbour gave me something that looked like a big muffin but with a light texture.

I didn’t know what it was. I brought it to office the next morning for my breakfast.

Surprisingly, it was so tasty, fluffy, a little lemony flavour. It was so good.

I had long and busy days that week and I forgot to thank her for the ‘bread’. Though I did thank her that night, that was before I tasted the bread.

So came the weekend and I texted to thank her, and then only she told me that it is called Panettone.  It cost more than RM100 for that 1 big muffin, and it took her 1 week to make it.

I was like…. What???!!!

Ok, so sakai of me, this was the 1st time I heard of Panettone, but at least I recognised good food when I had one 😅

Thank you neighbour for giving me a taste of Milan 🤗

*photo taken after I took 1 bite and was surprised of how tasty it was. Nasib baik ada tanggap gambar.

Nasi Lemak Ganja, Kuching

Dinner kamek malan tok.

Nasi Lemak Ganja ni pernah viral satu ketika dulu.  Nama bukan main gik bahaya nak oo, halal nasi lemak tok, sikda apa2 barang terlarang dalam tok.  Tapi camne boleh lepas nama camtok ho?  Sikpa, kita cuba jak dolok.

Baru 1st time cuba tok, sedap, tapi sayang hari tok sikda sambal sotong kembang. Terpaksa lah nak datang agik tok. Kambing nya nyaman juak, lembut jak isik nya. Iouls suka.

Nasi lemak ayam goreng + curry kambing, RM13.  Berbaloi-baloi.

Kamek share nasi tok dengan hubby, add on 1 sup daging dari gerai lain. Adoi terlebih kenyang dah tok.

Tok la foodcourt Kubah Ria, Satok.

Kamek rasa tok lah nasi lemak terbaik di Kuching.

Nasi lemak rpr Batu Kawa nyaman juak, tapi mcm dah sik bukak.

Mun kitakorg tauk sine gik nasi lemak nyaman di Kuching tok, share2 lah auk.

#kuchingfood

Jelajah Selera Ramadan Buffet at Hilton Kuching

Jelajah Selera Ramadan Buffet Dinner at Makan Kitchen, Hilton Kuching.

Hilton Kuching proudly presents ‘Jelajah Selera’ this Ramadan with an extensive celebratory menu featuring a themed buffet at its brand new dining outlet, Makan Kitchen.

Signature dishes include:

*Roasted whole lamb served with Arabic rice

*Rendang Tok

*Grilled wagyu minute steak

*Signature cheesecake 

The festive buffet begins on 3 April to 3 May 2022, priced from RM98+ per person.

#RamadanatHilton

Senchiru Izakaya, Kuching

One of the best non-halal Japanese Restaurants in Kuching.

Located in Saradise, BDC new town, Senchiro Izakaya served a wide variety of affordable Japanese food.

This is considered quite a new restaurant in Kuching. Open about 2 years ago, then the MCO, so we didn't have a chance to go and try.

We finally went there yesterday for our dinner. I was not that hungry as I already had a boba tea earlier in the office.  So I opted for something light.

Buta Avocado - RM16

I loved it.

Hubby ordered Urayaki Buta Noodle in Buta soup based, RM18. Even though it didn’t taste as authentic as what we had in Japan, the soup taste more on the sweeter side, and the noodle still a bit too hard (maybe that is why they called it noodle rather than ramen), but it is still good value for our money.

And a pot of hot green tea at RM4.

Will definitely be back to try out more, I saw quite a selection of interesting lists on their menu. 

Plus they have an outdoor eating space, which is an important criteria for us when choosing our dining place. We try to avoid indoor restaurants as much as we can.  Even though some may say "it’s the same la, aircond or not still risky" but that's another story for another day.

Himawari Ramen Bar, Kuching

I finally went to try this halal Japanese Ramen restaurant in Padungan area, Kuching.   We have heard so much good reviews on this always packed restaurant.  We went there a few times at around 10-11am before but there's always a long queue outside the shop, so we had to change our plan and went to other places.

Finally, last December, we went to try our luck again.  We make sure we arrived early.  Reach there at 9:15am, there's already queue outside, but not too long, waited for about 10 minutes and it was our turn to get into the restaurant.

Service was fast, as not many seats available in the restaurant.  We ordered Gyuniku Shoyu Ramen (Beef Ramen), steam rice water cake and a refreshing lemon drinks.

The steam rice cake was ok, the drinks were really good.

So here's the long wanted Beef Ramen, the broth are dark brown in color and the noodle looks a bit too thick.

Honestly, I am a bit disappointed with the ramen  It tastes more like a beef stew with noodle added to it. The broth is too thick to my liking with lots of herbs and spices taste.  No, I don't mean that it is spicy.  I would prefer a clear soup base with lots of flavor from the bones, not from the meat.  If you know what I mean?

Well, maybe my expectation is a bit different from the rest.  I have tried many various types of Japanese ramen, locally, in Singapore, and in Japan.  I have never tasted anything similar to this.  But then of coz, I have not tried all the different variants, maybe this is authentic to certain places or groups in Japan.  If anyone knows, do let me know.

I am not saying that it is bad, I am sure many people love it, as you can see from the long queue daily.  I am just saying that this is not my cup of tea.

Price:

Steamed rice water cakes RM1.10 each

Gyuniku Shoyu Ramen - Superior Beef Broth, slow Braised Australian Beef, Vegetable of the Day (long beans). Mayu. RM16.90

Organic Apple Cider Vinegar Lime Mohito RM4.90

Not sure why it has different not on google maps: 

Makino Kochi Ramen Bar

De Waiting Hall, Kuching

De Waiting Hall, Aeroville Mall, Kuching.

 Our 1st time here. Also our 1st time in Aeroville Mall.

We had...

Smoked duck salad - RM26.90

 Deep fried pork belly - RM12.90

 Fried chicken wings - RM9.90

 Mushroom soup - RM6.90

 We also ordered 2 set of garlic bread at RM13.80

 All the food is good, except for the deep fried pork belly, which we can get at a better price and better taste at other regular foodcourts in town.

 We will definitely be coming back to try out other menus here.

Roti Katip Cheese

Saya suka sangat Roti Katip di De’Zafron Kopitiam ni.

Nampak simple kan? Dalam pinggan ini ada telur mata kerbau, 1 keping cheese, kuah kacang dhal, dan 3 keping roti bantal. 3 engkau, 3!  All for RM4.50.

Sebab dah beberapa kali makan, memang saya tau saya tak dapat habiskan 3 keping roti tu, so hari ni, saya cakap kat makcik tu..

Me:  Kamek mauk Roti Katip Cheese sigek, roti nya letak 2 jak auk, banyak gilak 3 keping, sik habis mek makan. Sambal pun iboh juak.
Makcik: Sik dapat, roti ya kamek orang dah hitung cukup-cukup jak.
Me: Sik boh jak ungkah. Bukan kamek mintak extra.
Makcik: Sik dapat, kelak tinggal 1 jak, ganjil sia.
Me: hmm auklah.

Bila makanan datang, memang ada 3 keping roti dengan sambal sekali.  Confirm la saya keluarkan 1 keping roti letak tepi, sebab sayang kan kuah tu, nanti diserap dalam roti extra tu pulak.

Bila bizz dah bagus, masa tu lah customer not always right.

Makcik tu sanggup membazirkan roti extra tu, bukan nya saya mintak kurangkan harga pun.

Takpe lah makcik, esok-esok saya datang lagi, iboh jerak.

Sidewalk Cafe, Kuching

Sidewalk, we are back after many years of absence.
None of my children remember this place, so it must have been more than 10 years since the last time we dine here.
Location is still the same, the ambiance is still very much the same as I remember it.

We had..
Lamb shank - RM35.80

Deep fried chicken chop - RM18.80

Seafood marinara - RM28.80

✅ seafood were fresh n done right

❎ would prefer a bit more sour taste in the sauce

❎ too garlicky

And garlic bread - RM5.80

Breakfast at Pathumwan Princess Hotel, Bangkok

The breakfast spreads were good, but nothing much to shout about.  Ohh how I miss hotel breakfast in Japan.  There’s always something new and exciting to discover, here we goes about Japan again.

But hey, at less they served bacon! That’s a huge upgrade from we have in Malaysia.

Didn’t take much photos since mostly what we had are similar for the following days.

So, here goes..

On adult plate..

On kids plate..

Yes, they serve Thai curry, steam bun, fruits, and many more common breakfast menu.

Yunique Tea, Emporium

Another new place in town for boba tea lovers, The Yunique Tea 御黑堂, Emporium, Kuching.

So much to choose from, but my favourite is the Avocado Dirty Cha (RM14.90). Trust me, there’s nothing dirty about this Cha 😅

It is fresh, not too sweet, deliciously creamy, ohh so good!

Brown Sugar Avocado (RM17.90)

Dranana Dirty Cha (RM14.90)

Mango Dirty Cha (RM14.90)

Strawberry Dirty Cha (RM14.90)

Lava Brown Sugar Bearioca Milk (RM14.90)

Avocado Dirty Cha (RM14.90)

Avocado Dirty Cha, oh so yummy.

Updated May 2022: This place is closed down now.