Nutty Eve #9's food blog

Paradise Restaurant @ Madras Lane

2012-01-09T12:16:00.070+08:00

Mun and Uee intro-ed this new place for our New Year's day gathering and boy did we all face a tough time figuring out where this place was! Google didn't work be it using their Chinese name 市外桃园 or English name Paradise Restaurant.

It's hard to miss this bright purple-adorned establishment and stepping into the restaurant indeed brought a sense of serenity as the name itself indicates that this is the ideal escapade away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

The main entrance

The restaurant is made up of lower and upper floor comprising of the same theme:-

Table setting and the huge menu

The menu offers a variety of Taiwanese and Fusion Japanese dishes. We sampled some main dishes and side orders for adult and children alike.

Chicken in sesame oil and ginger with vermicelli

This was my dish and it was served hot. I love how the vermicelli is separated from the chicken stew so we are free to blend the amount we desire. The Chicken pieces were well infused with the sesame oil and ginger; with the vermicelli texture was just rightly soft. Hubby and I agreed this was not bad.

Hubby ordered this uniquely named Taiwanese dish called 蚂蚁上树, which is a spicy stir-fried glass noodle dish with minced pork. After sampling it, he complimented how tasty it was hence Denise and Uee followed suit so this easily became the most popular dish of the night :) The glass noodles were soft yet springy, and was well stir-fried with spices and minced pork. It was not overly spicy which can suit most palates.

Mun had Stewed Minced Pork Rice (鲁肉饭) which we were specifically informed that this was going to be in a tiny portion (we kinda figured this one out looking at its price compared to the other dishes)

This was not bad though I reckon we could not really tell since it was in such a 'generous' portion.

A showdown of the side dishes/snacks indicated that they were not too bad afterall.

Fragrant Deep Fried Chicken

Though a normal side dish, it was tasty with crispy yet not overly thick batter.

Taiwan Crispy Chicken Nuggets (盐酥鸡)

Being one of Taiwan's most popular snack, Paradise's version did not disappoint. The salty and crunchy skin of the chicken nuggets were then topped with chilli powder.

Fried mini shrimps

The shrimps were super crunchy and this was undoubtedly a very addictive snack indeed.

One thing to note is, the food was generally on the salty side, maybe owing to the fact that these were Taiwanese dishes so it might not suit people who prefer more neutral flavors.

Food aside, all of us felt that there were definitely rooms for improvement given how new this restaurant was. For a starter, Uee who was the first to order waited way too long for her food to arrive, only to be informed after few follow-ups that they have run out of this dish. This was very poor indeed, given the fact that her daughter was waiting for the food. The staff did not show a sense of apologetic and was not able to handle the situation well. A few of us had green tea which was refillable but we had to keep requesting for refills which we expected to be automatic.

Having said that, not everything was bad. The supervisor brought 2 egg tarts to Uee as an apologetic gesture for not informing her on the unavailability of her ordered dish. And the fact that the staff had insisted to refund our paid bill for a dish which they forgot to remove off the bill indicated that they tried their best to deliver to customer needs. We were also thanked and bid goodbye as we were leaving too.

This is a place worth giving a second chance.

市外桃园 Paradise Restaurant
33, Madras Lane 10400 Penang
Contact : +604-2266777

Agua Mediterranean Cuisine @ Straits Quay for NYE

2012-01-07T13:18:00.055+08:00

Hubby and I spent the last dinner for 2011 right here at Straits Quay, sampling the special X'mas/New Year Eve dinner menu of what Agua had to offer over. It was my second visit to Agua but the first for hubby. I will blog about my first visit separately as it was worthwhile mentioning.

I made a reservation ahead and was pleasantly welcomed with a fairly private table just for the 2 of us tucked in an inner corner of their establishment.

Having glanced through their menu prior, I have pretty much decided what I wanted to order for the main course but since Agua offered À la carte, hubby opted to order off the À la carte menu instead; and we'd share the starter and the dessert from my dinner set.

What was offered in their special dinner menu:-

In the end, I settled for Spanish Chestnut, Chili and Bacon Soup

As per the description, this is a Spanish country soup made with chestnuts, chili, potatoes and garlic served hot with bacon bits and garlic bread. I have loved the first soup I tried and I liked this one equally well. I love for a fact that their soups are always piping hot and believe me, not every place emphasizes on this small detail. The taste of the soup was rich and it did not come across too spicy as well. Very appetizing to start any meal with.

Next up I chose a dish which I felt represents Mediterranean cuisine better - Medallions of Pork Roussillon, which comprised of prime medallions of pork in a wine, apple and brandy sauce.

I've always had impressions that it is very tough to master pork dishes, particularly in ensuring that the porky smell will not be present, it is well-marinated and above all, prepared in an appropriate method that will bring out the best in the pork and not leaving it too dry. Having sampled this version, I must say the meat was not only tender and did not smell porky, the sauce was unique and somehow went well with the pork. I suppose if anyone was not told that this was pork, they might have a hard time guessing what meat it was. The main courses all come with Agua's own Gratin Dauphinoise potatoes, which is the French method of baking potatoes in milk, cream and cheese. They were beautiful, and so were the side of French Beans with bacon and garlic, which, put together, completed the whole meaty affair perfectly.

Hubby who ordered off the À la carte menu chose to sample their Sticky Spanish Ribs (RM 36.90)

As the name of the dish suggests, this is a sticky version of pork ribs compared to the usual affair we are used to. Having said that, sticky did not mean the ribs were dry though, as it did not taste dry, but rather a neutral taste - not too sweet neither salty. Hubby commented that this was like having 'char siew' ala Western style - which I find was quite apt :) The portions of the salad was so generous that it took both of us to finish most of them; and the Rosemary potatoes were nicely baked and flavorful too.

Last but not least, I chose the dessert of Spanish Bread and Butter Pudding, simply because it is my favorite dessert of all times! And also the fact that I wanted to see if the Spanish version offered anything different.

My eyes literally lit when this arrived at our table and tasting the first spoonful proved this dessert to be an equally good one compared to its non-Spanish counterparts. The only difference I could tell were the hints of alcohol and non-existence of raisins. Nevertheless, I still felt totally satisfied with this Spanish version of my favorite dessert no less.

While my dessert was being served, the owner of Agua actually served us complimentary Orange Liquors and we were definitely surprised with the festive gesture while we usher into the new year 2012.

One thing I would really want to mention was the customer-orientated service and attentiveness of the staff. When I made my reservation and requested for a soft copy of their dinner menu, the staff not only took down my email, he also called back a few times (missed his call twice) just to inform that he had sent it and if I had received it. During our dinner, we also received attentive and friendly service as well, not to mention the owner and staff thanked us and bid us goodbye, despite having most of the tables filled up.

Definitely a place I'll be coming back for more!

Invited Review : Young Heart Value Deal on RoundU.com

2011-12-05T21:22:00.041+08:00

It was a pleasure to be invited to sample the very healthy and hearty meal at Young Heart recently on their RoundU Deal.

This is a value deal at 37% Off featuring 6-course chinese dinner for 4 persons for just RM48!

Check out the spread and portions of the entire meal:-

The 6 courses include:-

1. Water Cress & Pork Dumpling (6 pcs)

Being famous for its hand-made dumplings, Young Heart boasts a wide variety of signature dumplings freshly made with healthy ingredients. The water cress provided hints of fluid as an added texture to the pork as the fillings. There were also Chinese wolfberries within which not only gives colour, but it also contains high antioxidant content. All of Young Heart's handmade dumplings are served with 3 condiments, namely fried spring onions, ginger with vinegar and chillie oil that is home made. I love to have my dumplings alternately with all 3 condiments.

2. Braised Brinjal

I normally don't eat brinjal but I loved this version. It was very light and the accompanying ingredients complemented the brinjals perfectly. According to the very knowledgeable owner, brinjals have nutrients which help to block the formation of free radicals and is also a source of folic acid and potassium.

3. Gula Melaka Chicken

This was a unique dish indeed as gula melaka is normally used as an ingredient to prepare sweet desserts, but it was wisely used to prepare this chicken dish. Not surprisingly, the owner shared with us that this dish is pretty popular among children alike and I find it appealing as well. The gravy goes well with rice too.

4. Braised Pig Trotter with Peanuts

The pig trotters were braised until tender yet not losing its flavor and I just loved the gravy. I could have all the gravy to myself if I could! :) Vegetables were added to give some 'green' touch to this all-meat dish and the peanuts brought out the pig trotters well. Not to be missed by pig trotters alike for sure.

5. Black Bean Jelly

These gems were made of black beans and topped with generous amounts of black sesame powder. It tastes light with hints of black beans and I just loved the black sesame powder. A nice dessert touch to this Chinese meal indeed.

6. Showu & Lotus Seed (4 bowls)

This traditional Chinese dessert more known to us as 'thong sui' was chock-filled with goodies like Showu and Lotus seed. Definitely a nutritious thong sui indeed. On top of that, one dried Chinese black plum was added onto each bowl which we found out was pleasant when consumed. After peeling off the skin with our mouth, we were surprisingly welcomed with the sweet plum meat. The overall sweetness of this dessert was definitely mild and the black plum gave it a natural flavor indeed.

White Rice (4 bowls)

We were all filled to the max by the time we completed our meal and I must say this deal is not to be missed! What a good homey and nutritious yet tasty meal for you and your loved ones.

The deal is still valid so grab it fast here!

Invited Review : Spasso Milano @ Straits Quay, Penang

2011-09-13T13:36:00.074+08:00

It was definitely a privilege to have been given an opportunity in sampling all the cuisines that the newly established Spasso Milano has to offer.

Spasso Milano opened its doors in the beginning of September, marking their venture in Penang after their first outlet in Ampang, KL. Spasso Milano aims to tantalize all the Italian food lovers with their sincere offering of a truly authentic Italian experience, through their head chef Felice Martinelli.

When I reached Spasso, Craig welcomed with all smiles and hosted me throughout the meal, and he was kind enough to recommend many of the palatable delicacies off the menu, which had been thoughtfully layout in categories.

First up, we each had a soup...

Porcini Mushroom Soup (RM 18.80)

This rich and delicious soup was made with 100% Porcini Mushroom which had been finely blended, and then drizzled with White Truffle Oil. The portion was definitely a generous one, and I truly enjoyed this aromatic soup that still had bits of Porcini mushroom evident in each spoonfuls.

Asparagus Soup (RM 16.80)

Asparagus soup, on the other hand, was lighter in texture, yet maintaining the zest of asparagus. Not to be missed by asparagus lovers.

Our soup was heartily accompanied by Homemade Garlic Focaccia (RM 9.80), which is a Focaccia bread that is homemade by Spasso, then topped with Butter and Garlic. The Focaccia was a show stealer, rather than being on the sideline of the soups. The bread was crunchy yet light and was filled with the aroma of butter and garlic. Great to have it just as it is, or dipped in the soups.

Smoked Duck Breast (RM 23.00)

When Craig recommended this dish, I shared with him that I am not a duck lover at all, as it usually comes with a smell when not being prepared properly. But since it was highly recommended, I gave it a shot. These were sliced home-smoked duck breast, served with avocado, and drizzled with Hazelnut oil. Boy, I was really dumbfounded when I tasted the first slice! The smoked duck breast, which I expected it to be rough and slightly chewy, was nothing like that at all. It was smooth, the texture was just right and most of all, it did not come with any duck smell at all. It was a sheer delight to enjoy this dish with avocado, and what's more, the hazelnut oil really complements the smoked duck breast well. The salad came with a thickened version of vinegar dressing as well. I was surprised that I finished 5 smoked duck breast slices! Highly recommended

Next, our Prawn and Asparagus Risotto was served (RM 32.00)

Don't be fooled by pale color of this risotto that is made with Carnaroli rice cooked with fresh asparagus, and then topped with pan-seared Tiger Prawns. Firstly, the risotto was very soft, very flavorful that I felt the risotto absorbing all the goodness of asparagus. As Craig does not fancy seafood at all, I was given the privilege to have the prawns all to myself! The pan-seared prawns were juicy, well flavored and tasted just wonderful.

Spasso Milano offers a range of Prima Pasta, which are imported handmade pasta with Durum Wheat. Guests now have the freedom to opt for the classic pasta range, or the Prima Pasta range, namely (from left to right) Orecchiette, Strozzapreti, Eliche, Paccheri and Fileja Calabresi

We had the Mushroom & Bresaola Pasta (RM 28.80) with Prima Pasta (RM 4) known as Paccheri, which is the broad cylinder type among the 5.

Bresaola is air-dried, salted beef that has been aged until it becomes hard and turns a dark red. It is made from round primal cut of beef and is lean and tender. Spasso Milano makes such a fascinating version of this - just check out the thin-ness of the Bresaola and the beauty of its texture. Though the prima pasta was broad, they were well done. Not only it came with the right al dente texture that all prima pasta should have, it basically soaked up the taste of creamy mushroom as well. The mushroom were plentiful and equally delicious, sheer delight to sample!

After all the hospitality of Craig and staff at Spasso, I was honored to meet up with Chef Felice Martinelli, who heads the team here at Spasso - with the sole purpose to delight us with authentic Italian delicacies. Chef Felice was very friendly, absolutely approachable, and he gave me a feeling of being very down-to-earth.

He was enthusiastically sharing with me his passion to deliver Italian cuisines which are authentic and mirror of what Italians are enjoying, without compensating the preparation and ingredients used to tune to local taste buds. It is very rare indeed to chance upon such an uncompromising Chef who wants nothing but the best for their guests. A light joke was initiated about how Craig asked Chef Felice on what are the Signature dishes here at Spasso, and Chef Felice simply emphasized that every dish featured on the menu are his Signatures. If they are not Signatures, they will not be on the menu! :)

Chef Felice and Craig insisted that I try out their desserts as well, so we had...

Tiramisu (RM 18.80)

Tiramisu is made up of Espresso soaked Savoiardi Biscuit & Mascarpone Cream. The version here is delicately done with the Savoiardi biscuit evidently visible, and I love how they top their Tiramisu with a good coating of cocoa powder on top.

Panna Cotta (RM 14.80)

Panna Cotta, which literally translates as cooked cream in Italian, is an Italian dessert generally made by simmering together cream, milk and sugar, mixing with gelatin and letting it cool to set.

The Panna Cotta here consisted of fresh cream pudding, topped with mixed berry coulis. Many might shun away from this dessert due to its sweetness, rich and creamy pudding texture. But being a super lover for pudding desserts, this just moved up my personal dessert ranking! The texture of the panna cotta as smooth as butter, the taste was rich and awesome, and it did not come across as overly sweet. The sourish mixed berry coulis complemented the creamy pudding like match made in heaven. Simply lovely.

We toured around the spacious and contemporary Spasso Milano and I learnt that Spasso boasts of its wood-fire oven which churns out delicious Italian wood-fire pizzas, as well as housing a full wine list with specialty wines that one cannot find elsewhere too.

The bar

Different table settings to cater for private groups, family, or romantic night out.

Spasso Milano houses many retail products that are fully imported, for example sweets, biscuits, jam, extra virgin olive oil, as well as premium tea.

What a great night it was - superb cuisines and friendly company. I was offered a refreshing orangecello to help digest all the great food in my stomach. Orangecello is a variation of limoncello which is an Italian lemon liqueur traditionally served chilled as an after-dinner digestive.

Thanks so much to Adrian, Craig, Chef Felice, Denver, Wayne, and not forgetting the hospitality of everyone at Spasso Milano for the great experience!

I'm already looking forward to tomorrow :)

Soo Kee Mee Stall @ Medan Imbi, KL

2011-09-11T14:26:00.055+08:00

Hubby brought me to this place which he claims offer the best Beef Hor Fun! So far we have been here twice and we have always enjoyed their signature dishes.

Infamous Beef Hor Fun (RM9 per pax)

The beef hor fun is filled with gravy and egg; the beef strips were tender, plentiful and marinated oh-so flavorful-ly. The ginger and scallion brought out the fragrant of the whole dish. This dish did not disappoint and the portions were huge. So if you do not intend to sample too much of one dish, always remember to ask for 1 person's portion; as they will submit orders based on the number of pax.

Another one of their signature dish Sang Har Mee (Deep Fried Mee with River Prawns) (RM 20 per pax, I think)

I love the tasty gravy that covered the giant river prawns, that made up of salted egg yolk. When we sampled this dish, the combination of the softened mee, river prawns and the fragrant thick gravy was the best! The river prawns were evidently fresh and we could see many tourists and Japanese mainly having this dish on their tables.

Paper-wrapped Chicken (Chee Pao Kai)

These chicken pieces are marinated, wrapped then deep fried. They were juicy, flavorful and acted as a good appetizer as the opening of your meal or as a side dish.

Sweet & Sour Fish Fillets

I feel that this dish paled a lot in comparison with their signature dishes. The gravy was gravy, battered fish fillets were battered fish fillets, all separate when the fillets should be coated out well with the sweet and sour gravy. The vegetables were hard and raw when they should at least be lightly cooked. The fish fillets were no doubt lightly battered but carried an apparent fishy smell to all of the pieces. Me. no. like. fishy. fillets.

Stir-fried Vegetables

Another simple dish that failed miserably. The vegetables were old and no longer crunchy.

As a verdict, the service here was definitely not friendly at all; as though every customer is being taken for granted. Other than their signature dishes, all the other dishes did not seem appealing at all, and I don't think they would even bother to improve. Pricing-wise, the dishes here are on the high side in terms of pricing due to its popularity. And, be prepared for huge crowds and filled up tables if you intend to dine here.

Soo Kee Mee
No. 14 Medan Imbi
55100 Kuala Lumpur
Contact : 03-2148 1324 / 03-2145 9528

Chai Diam Ma @ Queen Street

2011-09-09T12:34:00.043+08:00

Kellin suggested to visit this special Chai Diam Ma (Hokkien for sundry shop) together with Alvin on a fine Sunday noon so we met up there.

As the banner says, they feature lots of handmade crafts from local artists

Almost every corner we turn, there were bound to be hand made articles the likes of stuffed soft toys, button badges, accessories, soaps, and there are even clothing and shoes on sale.

These freedom handmade soaps are actually made by one of our work acquaintance :)

We noticed some brilliant usage of the egg holders where it was painted in hues of pink, housing more accessories - Cute! And for some reason, I love the big-headed owl too~

Touring the entire Chai Diam Ma, we saw some out-of-the-box 'deco' such as these fighthing fish containing bottles just hung on the wall, as well as old wooden furniture housing the handmade crafts.

There is a walkway leading to the air well at the inner back of the 'shop' which is made up of a mini garden where plants are either hung down from the top or being nicely planted in pots.

The menu is a scrap book with limited food and drinks item, and you can check out the daily specials written with white chalks on the board right above their kitchen.

In the end, we settled with (clock-wise) Almond Banana Milkshake, Dragon Fruit Shake and Papaya Milk

First up, my almond banana milkshake was passable, the dragon fruit shake was almost bland, if not for the vanilla ice cream on top of it; and the papaya milk was really runny and I don't think I could taste the papayas at all O_o

Alvin's Baked Macaroni with Bacon & Mushrooms (RM 14)

Ask Alvin how his drinks or food tasted, his response will always be 'not bad' :) I tasted a little bit of the macaroni and it was good. The macaroni was not too hard nor too soft, the cheese taste was not overly powering. The side was something interesting - cherry tomatoes with yogurt.

We ordered a BOLD dish called Kimchi Zucchini Mini Pizza (RM 8)

Our consensus impression was : wow, that's mini indeed. A bite of this mini pizza sent a message to our brain that this was definitely an odd combination. Kimchi + zucchini + cheese? It did not taste bad, just not something we'd fancy. Good try though! The base was crunchy.

After what seemed like AGES, my Rice Sambal Prawn (RM 14) finally arrived to my hungry gaze!

We could already smell the sambal when my order was being fried as we were seated very near to the kitchen and after trying a spoonful, this fried rice proved to be something coz it was very spicy actually! Yes, even to my standards which is slight higher than average Penangite's tolerance level. But I must say I enjoyed the fried rice as the spiciness etches in my memory til now. The onions brought out the fragrance of the fried rice and there were 8 prawns altogether in it (yeah, I counted), not forgetting the long beans they put in as well.

Last but not least, Kellin's Udon Sambal Prawn (RM 14) - sister to my rice version arrived at her Hangry gaze (hungry + angry) lol~

It was a fair bit of challenge for Kellin to finish her dish as she could not take too high level of spiciness but she made a good attempt. After sampling her Udon version, I still liked my rice version better, maybe because the rice could really capture the wok hei as well as the flavors from the onions and sambal.

On the environment, it is my responsibility to share that it gets *really* hot and stuffy around here in the afternoon, despite the blaring fans they put up on various corners. This may probably be due to the fact that the ceilings are low and that the kitchen is located very near to where the tables are. Wear cooling clothes, carry a mobile fan or something if you intend to come here in the afternoon.

In all, I personally felt that the specialty of this cafe lies in the array of handmade crafts on display as well as the feel of the deco that the owners attempt to portray. Food-wise, there are still rooms for improvement and I reckon they can increase more varieties as well as improve the speed of serving as well :)

Chai Diam Ma
15, Lebuh Queen,
10200, Georgetown,
Penang, Malaysia

La Bodega @ Pavilion, KL

2011-09-09T12:15:00.020+08:00

During day 2 of KL, we headed to Pavilion for some window shopping, and hubby was excited to bring me to this place for our brunch.

From the sight of the restaurant, it seemed like this was another drinking place/restaurant kind of establishment, so I did not have much of an impression. But hubby emphasized that a lot of social elites come here for their meals, people the likes of Tun Dr. Mahathir, local artistes, etc. And out of nowhere, we saw Tun Dr. Mahathir come strolling along the walkway towards Pavilion! (with like 5 bodyguards on the side) What a coincidence heh.

The restaurant's main offerings were tapas - snacks, canapés or finger food that originated in Spain, hence the tagline 'tapas y vinos' etched after the restaurant name.

We had Iced Mocha (RM 12) and Iced Coffee (RM 12) to kick start our day, and they were pretty decent.

Hubby wanted something light so he asked the staff to recommend him a sandwich, and they recommended him the Tuna & Cream Cheese Bocadillo (RM 15)

Just check out the chunks of tuna that could not be hidden! From the menu, this was described as 'The classic Spanish "bocadillo" - warm baguette stuffed with the highest quality Spanish tuna combined with cream cheese, olives, capers and Spanish black olives."

The sandwich did not disappoint at all. I am normally pretty skeptical when it comes to tuna sandwiches as they are normally very coarse in texture but these tuna chunks were simply a delight to consume. The cream cheese added even more smoothness to the whole sandwich and blended the tuna and the salad well.

Thumbs up from hubby too!

Next came the tapas that hubby insisted to order for me try as he said the tapas here are really good - Pollo Al Ajilo (RM 15)

What's this you ask? It is chicken sauteed in olive oil, garlic & parsley. It was a tapas recommended by the staff as well, since there were just too many tapas to choose from. The taste of the chicken was either well-marinated, or they had basically soaked up the flavor from the gravy itself. Though this looked rather normal, the taste was really appetizing, and you simply can't get enough of it. Seriously, I'm not kidding. Hubby also told me enthusiastically that the bread that goes with the tapas are refillable too :)

My dish took a while to be served - Eggs Benedict with Smoked Turkey Ham (RM 15)

My actual order was with Smoked Salmon but I was told that they ran out of that (not sure how) so I settled with the turkey ham instead, simply because I am a huge fan of poached eggs!

The menu says "Two poached eggs on toast with hollandaise sauce". And I just found out that hollandaise sauce is an emulsion, of lemon juice and butter, that is held together and stabilised by a third agent, egg yolks, to form a rich and thick sauce.

I was literally like a little kid ogling over her favourite eggs but I have always been fascinated with poached eggs ever since I was introduced to it many years back.

The oh-so beautiful gems tucked away safely underneath massive layers of smoked turkey ham!

Evidence of a well done poached egg - runny egg yolk oozing out from the well-concealed egg white - yummmsssssss~!

The turkey ham slightly paled in comparison to the awesome poached eggs but I enjoyed them no less, though I'd like it more if they had smoked salmon.

Came across some nice varieties of tapas on display and boy, they looked tempting indeed.

The al fresco area and the interior of La Bodega

While touring the restaurant, I was surprised to find wine rack over at the ceiling. Now how do they get the wines down then? Hmmm...

Another pleasant place I wouldn't mind making a return.

La Bodega @ Pavilion KL, Lot C3.06.00 Level 3,
Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, 168 Jalan Bukit Bintang,
55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: 03-2148 8018

Sanbanto Cafe @ SS2

2011-09-06T18:54:00.022+08:00

After reading about the various good reviews of Sanbanto and knowing that they not only rear their own pigs, but they also serve mouth-watering Pork Ribs, among one of the many pork cuisines they could whip up.

Since I've known about the pork ribs, I've been dying to try out this place since then, and Huai Bin was kind enough to even got a voucher from Milkadeal for their Double Cheeseburger so we can use it together while we're there!

So hubby and myself met up with Huai Bin and Lainey to pig out~ :)

The SS2 outlet has limited seatings so it is highly recommended that you make reservations to enjoy all the piggy dishes.

By looking at the menu, there were so many dishes that caught our attention! But we only had 4 stomachs so we had to go with some of the more 'signature' ones

Pork Belly Salad (RM 13)

The pork belly was bite size and super crunhcy! It had the right amount of fat yet you don't feel sick eating them in quantities of more than 1 :) Also, the honey mustard dressing goes surprisingly well with the pork belly too! The fact that it was served with plenty salad, cherry tomatoes and huge onion rings balanced out this dish quite well.

Next up - freshly made Cheese Baked Meat Balls (RM 10)

When this dish came, my saliva almost drooled out of my mouth! And it only took one bite of the meat ball that came with the cheesy gravy to melt me! They were heavenly good!!! I don't know how they do it, but the meatballs were very springy, did not exude any pork smell, the cheese gravy was not overly salty nor sticky, and everything just seemed to fall into place so nicely. Now why did I emphasize the 'freshly made' part? Simply because, we found out that these meat balls were literally made right on the spot in the cold room itself, located right the back of the outlet.

Next up was the Double Bacon and Cheese Burger (RM 33) which Huai Bin used the Milkadeal voucher to redeem

It was the most brilliant idea ever to have this burger cut into 4 portions for us, because the size was humongous! Bearing in mind that this was a double burger, meaning everything's doubled! From the flavorful pork patties, aromatic and crispy bacons, down to the cheese, tomatoes and lettuce. This was definitely a superior burger in terms of size and taste, no wonder it has made its light as an 'upgrade' from its current Bacon and Cheese Burger. The straight cut fries were fresh and not oily, and the salads refreshing too.

Last came the dish that I've been waiting for - BBQ Pork Ribs (RM 38)

The folks here at Sanbanto really knows how to make proper BBQ pork ribs alright - the ribs had a 'healthy' (read : unhealthy) portions of fat, paired with tender and succulent meat; all bar-be-qued with the flavorful BBQ sauce just nicely - charred slightly on the outer layer while maintaining the juiciness of the meat and fat within. Wonderful!

Check out the amount of food we had O_o

Later on, we moved on to boatHouse for a drinks session and here's one for the album - Huai Bin and Lainey - thanks for the company! It was great catching up with you guys in KL

Sanbanto will definitely be one of the places we'll be back for more oink oink delicacies!

Fong Lye Taiwan Restaurant @ The Gardens

2011-09-06T18:30:00.015+08:00

Went KL during the recent Raya/Merdeka holidays and hubby brought me to Fong Lye Taiwan Restaurant, located on the 3rd floor of The Gardens, Mid Valley city.

Because it was the very first day of such a rare 3-day-long holiday, the place was basically packed with people and we took a number to wait for a table. We were, however, pretty surprised as the staff brought over a tray filled with small shots of refreshing beverage for the patrons who are waiting with numbers - nice touch!

You basically write down your orders using the stationery provided and the staff will come over to verify them once you are ready.

Hubby & I! :) Check out the massive number of people waiting for their tables! O_o

Banana Milk (RM 7.30)

The blend was relatively smooth but I was still able to find tiny bits of banana so we know it's made with real banana instead of banana essence. It was not too thick, overall not bad.

Fried Rice with White Wine (RM 12.80) 红糟炒饭

The portion was pretty big and both hubby and I find difficulty finishing it. But I can tell you that we thoroughly enjoyed this fried rice. It was very aromatic mainly because of the stir-fried onions within, and you can almost taste that each rice was covered with the flavor. Ample of prawns and chicken slices uncovered within too. What a good fried rice this was!

Next was my 3 Varity Supreme Diced Chicken (RM 19.80) 三杯鸡套餐

As this was a set dish, it comes with 3 dishes as well as a soup.

Normally what I observe with the side dishes from these so-called sets are that they are dishes which are very common and served in very tiny portions; and I reckon they are better off not serving them.

But all the 3 side dishes were unique, tasty, and came in reasonable portions.

The rice that came with this set was a default 鲁肉饭 - stewed minced pork rice. The stewed minced pork was flavored just right and complemented the white rice perfectly. Eventhough the rice was just a 'side' in this chicken set, it was not done hastily.

The main highlight of this set would definitely be the chicken - 三杯鸡. The portion was generous, the thigh chicken pieces were well-marinated, the sauce was wonderful, and I've always liked the Basil leaves added in this dish.

Just when we thought the goodness stops at the highlight, the soup proved not to disappoint as well. It was a boiled chicken with winter melon soup. The soup was sweet and I think I finished most of the soup.

Hubby was curious to try out the Taiwan Style Oyster with Egg (RM 13.80), which is something very popular in Penang - Fried Oyster.

But we were not fancy of this particular style :) The oysters were very fresh and huge, but there was actually cabbage (I think) that went into this dish as well. The sweet chilli sauce that went on top was weird too. We were fond of our very own Penang version more :)

In all, I would come back to sample more of what Fong Lye has to offer, as they definitely left good impression and way more superior compared to a similar chain - Xian Ding Wei.
Oh, one thing to note : this place runs on Cash Terms only. I wonder how big parties foot their bill then.

Fong Lye Taiwan Restaurant
Lot T208, 3rd Floor,
The Gardens, Mid Valley City
Kuala Lumpur
Tel No: 03- 2282 8699

Il Bacaro Venetian Restaurant @ Campbell House, Campbell Street

2011-09-06T17:57:00.038+08:00

Peter brought me to this new restaurant along Campbell Street recently, and it is actually comprised of the hotel (Campbell House) on the upper floor, and its restaurant (Il Bacaro) on the ground floor, all within a restored pre-war architecture.

Il Bacaro, according to its website, is based on a traditional Venetian back street tavern where people can enjoy authentic Italian dishes served in a warm and friendly atmosphere.

The interesting interior and exterior of Campbell House, with a trishaw along the corridor and a Gong in sight along the staircase leading to the hotel.

Entrance to the restaurant

The place was basically filled up by the time we reached as early as 7:30pm and because we did not make a reservation, we waited a while to be seated but the service was attentive.

Noticed this refined-looking big-ass mirror just above where we were seated. Nice.

Their menu was basically a simple A4 paper but later on we were informed by the staff that the menu is changed on a regular basis e.g. weekly hence the reason.

My Iced Honey Lemon (RM 9) which was well made - not too sour and not too sweet.

Because the menu items were mostly in Italian, we asked the staff to roughly tell us what they were lol. And finally decided on...

Starter - Vongole Al Pepe (RM 12)

This is a clam dish which is surprisingly appetizing. The herbs and spices infused the clams well, and in turn the flavors of the clams enriched the soup as well. We almost lapped up all the soup! :)

Wild Rocket Salad

We were served this Wild Rocket Salad with balsamic vinegar along with our mains. Though simple, it complemented our carnivorous mains well, haha.

Grilled Manzo with Roast Potatoes & Rucola (Beef Tenderloin) (RM 65)

Peter normally goes for beef and he was ecstatic just by the bite of the roasted potatoes itself. I don't really believe how a roasted potato can be SO good so I tried some. It was really awesome stuff. The potatoes were bite size, flavorful and well roasted with the slightest crunchiness on the very edges. After sampling his beef, Peter couldn't stop reiterating how good the food here was that he kept repeating it again and again O_o

The shot taken by him. the inset on the bottom left corner was the piece of beef that he requested to have it re-cooked as it was too rare. They might have mis-communicated his medium as medium rare.

Slow Braised Lamb Shoulder served on Mash Potato (RM 40)

From the picture, one might not be able to make out how good this was, but boy, I never had such nice lamb! For one, it was really, really, really tender. It did not come with the slightest gamey smell whatsoever, and you just can't get enough of it. Unlike how we get filled really quickly with lamb meat, you don't feel it with this slow braised shoulder. The mash potato was another thing worth mentioning. It was heavenly good. Smooth, buttery, and I think they added some herbs or some interesting ingredients within that made it really unique from the ones we normally have.

As the food were good, we ordered one of their 3 dessert offering.

Torta Di Zabaglione (RM 15)

This was a pie-like dessert consisting of fruits as the fillings. The pie was not overly sweet and the sweetness simply came from the fruits. The top of the pie was lightly torched, giving it a caramelized layer but it was really light and gave it a good aromatic flavor. The pie crust was flaky too. What a nice dessert to end an equally satisfying meal, all thanks to Peter for bringing me here and for the treat as well!

The very helpful staff who took the effort in explaining the menu items to us shared with us that it is recommended to call for reservation or place order ahead so that we could be served quickly, as all of their culinary creations are freshly prepared by the kitchen, including all their breads, pastas, pizzas, desserts and so on.

Highly recommended from Peter and myself, definitely.

Il Bacaro
106 Lebuh Campbell
10100 Georgetown
Penang, Malaysia

Tel : +604 261 8290

Invited Review : Spice Market Cafe @ Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa, Penang

2011-08-28T20:18:00.095+08:00

Believe it or not, this was my first visit to Spice Market Cafe but I have to say that its superior level of customer orientation had given me a very good impression.

Not knowing what to anticipate, we were greeted with very sophisticated interior with clean lines upon setting our foot into Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa. As we reached pretty early, we took a stroll along the walkway to the gardens and pool area; and was in awe by the lush greenness of the aptly named Garden wing itself:

Spice Market Cafe went all the way to accentuate the theme of their restaurant by the classic trishaw as well as adorning all the spices on the left after the entrance. The cashier area was unique too, and I liked how they put it "Spice - the tastes that shaped Penang."

The upmarket yet cozy atmosphere played a good role in enhancing the entire dining experience. There were walls with elaborated tea elements; and for guests who would prefer outdoor-sy kind of dining, the outdoor seating were ample and comfortable as well.

Being a family-oriented resort, we could also find a children's area where games can be played and food is always in sight.

The Spice Market Cafe buffet lines were basically made up of a few key areas:

Salad and Appetizers

Though there were only 6 types of salad choices available, nonetheless the dressing options available were aplenty and guests can definitely find one or more that appeals to them.

As for cold appetizers, the varieties were not only elaborate, they even serve different types of cheese as well, this is something I don't see very often anyway.

Bread-lovers alike will definitely be delighted to know that they can pick from the array from bread available, as well as sample from the elegantly spread-out items the likes of oven-dried tomatoes with fresh basil and garlic, oven roasted pumpkin with honey, etc.

Japanese

At the Japanese station, one can find varieties of Sushi and Maki as well as my favourite Chuka Kurage!

Indian

I was fairly impressed with the intricate spread at the Indian station. They not only had naan, papadom, satay, but also a wide array of condiments to go with all the delicacies along this station. I liked Chicken Tikka the most here. Tandoori did make an impression too. The Mushroom Curry was unique and I really loved all the spices that made up the dishes at this station. I guess the Spice Market theme complemented the Indian station the most.

Egg Station

I was not really aware what this station was for at first until I saw the chef preparing an egg omelet with the condiments that a guest picked out. Boy, they sure was capable of dishing out many different types of eggs!

Carveries

We sampled a unique Fish and Spinach wrapped in Puff Pastry with butter sauce here. The fish was soft and the spinach tender. Paired with butter sauce, it was not bad at all. I did not try the Herb Roasted Chicken on the right though, as I wanted to sample other delicacies.

Chinese and Noodles

There were a station full of noodles, soba, yong tau foo, vegetables and condiments to suit any guests' palette. Too bad that we could not afford to fit any of these into our stomach!

On the dim sum corner, there were paos as well as dim sum as well. There were also other food items featured at this station where we managed to sample the Malay Spices Ox-tail Soup and Beef Bergedil.

Seafood

There were plenty of offerings for seafood lovers! Fresh prawns, Scallop, Mussel and not forgetting Cray Fish as well. Each of them comes with dressing and sauce which complements them perfectly. Super fresh!

Fruit Juice Station

Guests can choose from Orange, Apple, Guava, Pineapple juices from this station. OJ is still our all-time favourite :)

Dessert

We were definitely taken by surprise by the elaborate offerings at their huge dessert area! There was a glass encase filled with mini cakes and sweet tooth varieties like cheese cake, Eclair; there was a tempting display of log cakes like Blackforest, Tiramisu, Passion Fruit Mousse; a Chocolate fondue station; a Cendol-making station, even a candy-floss station which never fails to attract kids and kids-at-heart alike. I was particularly drawn to a tiny spot where a gem was hidden - Cherry and Peach Crumble with Vanilla Sauce. I am such a sucker for crumbles and puddings.

There were other available cuisines that I couldn't really pinpoint which categories they fall into - Lamb Stew, Harissa Spiced Beef Kebab with Peppers, Roasted Carrot Soup with Cumin and Coriander; etc.

Some of the items that we sampled

Spice Market Cafe's Executive Sous Chef Mr. Lim came over and took the liberty to share with us Spice Market Cafe's main theme, i.e. presenting Classic and Traditional cuisines, and went extra miles in elaborating the various standards practiced such as Shangri-la Food Safety Management System and HACCP, which are stringent control processes governing the storage, preparation, cooling, reheat of the food that will ultimately be served here to the guests.

We also had a chance to meet Jessica from Sydney who shared with us her passion to have been with Rasa Sayang Penang for 6 months now and still loving her job - good on ya!

One for the album - thanks to Chef Lim and Jessica, as well as Jason and Gill from Gourmet Garden!

It was coincidentally Pamela's birthday and it was thoughtful for Chef Lim and team to have prepared a lovely cheese cake for the occasion.

Not only cake was served, birthday girl also had the privilege to sample freshly prepared Minced Beef Ramen :)

For those of you who love to sample buffet offerings amongst a cozy atmosphere, set within a lush green Resort hotel where customer orientation and high stringent standards in food preparation are the utmost priority, this is the place you would want to be.

Dining on Super Star Libra

2011-07-25T21:09:00.009+08:00

Some tempting photos to showcase the sumptuous culinary served on board of Star Cruise's Super Star Libra... PG > Krabi > Phuket > PG

Captions to be continued.....

Frozen Yogurt @ Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

2011-07-17T23:39:00.003+08:00

Frozen Yogurt, or froyo - as CBTL calls it, catches the craze of yogurt as CBTL introduces a handful of specialty Blended Swirl Yogurt which caught my attention.

I tried the Black Forest Espresso Blended Swirl at the G-Hotel outlet of CBTL recently, and this was how it looked like (after taking what seemed like AGES to prepare)

Does the look of this blended swirl tempt your taste buds and make you feel like you wanna try it? Maybe it does huh? Well it did not quite make it based on the looks though.

So I gave it a try - the yogurt tasted NORMAL. Just like any other yogurt you'd find elsewhere. So I tried the black pearly stuff and I reckon those were coffee beans? Coz they had very strong coffee aroma. Then came the best part of all - the concoction at the bottom-most layer of the whole cup - which tasted like black forest alright, but it was more like a blend gone wrong whip-cream of some sort. HORRIBLE. RM 9.90++ for a regular-sized blended swirl when I could've gotten a decent ice blended by topping up a bit of money.

Don't try this, seriously. It's either they messed up my cup of blended swirl big time or the 'recipe' was wrong to start with. Either way, I'm not gonna try ANY froyo at CBTL anymore.

Tsunami Village @ Tanjung Bungah

2011-07-17T21:45:00.026+08:00

My mom's kawan-kawan sekalian intro-ed her to a reasonably-priced seafood place and we've visited this place a few times now, and the seafood is indeed fresh and inexpensive.

Here are some of the dishes we have sampled before...

Asparagus Stir-fried with Sambal (RM 8)

This dish was not bad, but some of the asparagus were a bit old and lack of crunchiness. But the sambal mixture was good nonetheless.

Venison Stir-fried with Ginger and Scallions (RM 12)

I thought this dish was not bad as the venison meat were tender but hubby did not fancy it that much.

Salted Egg Yolk Mantis Prawn Meat (RM 15)

Compared to what we got at Pearl Hill Cafe, this fared way better as the mantis prawn meat were clearly visible. The egg yolk tasted flavorful too.

Blanched Prawns 白灼虾 (RM 24 for 300 gms)

Having liked the famous version at Ocean Green all these while, I was a bit skeptical to order this at first. But they proved their mark on this dish as the prawns were super fresh and they have their own version of chilli sauce to go with the prawns too. Simply marvelous!

Steamed Prawns with Egg White (RM 16 for 200 gms)

Having tried this dish out of recommendation from the staff, we have not looked back ever since. I must say this is the first time I tasted this version of prawns. The prawns were steamed along with ginger over a bed of egg white. Coriander leaves were also added to top off the dish. There is another secret ingredient used that is rice wine of some sorts that gives it even more fragrance to the whole dish. We love it!

In all, I feel that the seafood dishes fared very well in terms of freshness, flavor and price. The views are awesome too since it is literally dining by the beach :) One thing to caution though, is the amount of mosquitoes if you were to take seats by the beach (yeah, ironic isn't it?). But there are plenty of tables on the inner side of the restaurant that are less mozzy-inhabited.

Please make reservations if you intend to go in groups as it gets full pretty fast and pretty early as we see tables marked reserved all the time. It is located diagonally opposite Maybank Tanjung Bungah branch (towards the Batu Ferringhi direction)

Tsunami Village Cafe
543-A Tanjung Bungah, 11200 Penang
Phone : 012-487 2718 / 019-447 2718
Closed on Mondays

Nadeje Mille Crêpe from Malacca

2011-07-04T23:49:00.008+08:00

Chanced upon Herrick's post on Nadeje and can't get the heavenly descriptions of their Mille Crêpe off my head!

My hubby was at Malacca and I was so touched that he brought back 2 slices of these delicate babies, all the way, just for me to indulge~~ *sweetness overloading*

Compared to Humble Beginnings, I definitely agree with Herrick's statement of "若我不曾吃过Nadeje，我会一口咬定它是好吃的。然而，相较之下，个人觉得它明显逊色了。" The translation of that would be : If I never tried Nadeje before, I would unarguably claim that it is tasty. However, in comparison of the 2 (Humble Beginnings and Nadeje), I personally think it (Humble Beginnings) definitely paled compared to Nadeje.

Nadeje's creations were elegant, just like works of art - each of the pieces were intricately wrapped in the foils to ensure they don't stick to each other when placed inside the boxes; customers can easily take the cakes out for enjoyment - how thoughtful! Next came the handicraft of the Mille Crêpe itself - the layers were very clear and detailed, each layer was flavorful, they did not fall apart easily and was just sheer pleasure to indulge! (YES - all that after more than 6 hours of road journey!)

Hubby's favorite Rum & Raisin Flavor

Another of his favorite Green Tea Flavor

I would really want to visit their HQ - Nadeje Patisserie at Plaza Mahkota.... anybody wanna offer me a return trip there?

Marché Movenpick @ The Curve

2011-07-04T22:47:00.012+08:00

It's been a while since I came back here and had a late lunch with hubby back in April.

It was pretty deserted by the time we came so the 'stalls' did not have any queues basically *whee* they were basically there to serve us :)

Very quickly, we ordered these and they filled us up pretty quickly! (that's the whole point of it since we were pretty food-deprived by 3pm!)

Sauteed Mushrooms

Both of us loved this! Hubby made a good choice even he didn't know what this was lol! The mushrooms were tasty and wasn't overly cooked.

Mixed Grill - Chicken, Lamb, Beef

This was not as superb as we hoped for it to be. The beef was especially rare and we had to request it to be re-grilled (if there ever was such a word). All the meat were plainly grilled and was not very tasty, maybe not well-marinated I suppose? The mashed potato side was delicious though

Bread and Butter Pudding

This favorite dessert of ours turn out to fare pretty well - last time, they used to let us drizzle our own custard sauce on it but nowadays they do it for us instead. I was afraid the staff might be stingy on this but it turned out that she was very generous (or maybe my eyes betrayed my craving) and literally flooded the pudding with the custard sauce! :D

Yeah you can't really make out what's beneath the sauce can you? Maybe this picture can help you?

..... Or, maybe not :P

Hubby had his O.J. (background) while I ordered my fave Banana and Strawberry Smoothie - Super nice smoothie indeed! Damn thick, just the way I like it~

In all, great concept but some of the food items may need some improving.

Fruuze @ Straits Quay

2011-06-07T21:37:00.005+08:00

Checked out this new yogurt outlet for a couple of times now and...... it's just another yogurt outlet apart from the likes of Tutti Frutti, J.Co, Frogurt, etc :)

However, they have something else the others don't - it's called Parfait which I had a chance of tasting back in Dallas

Parfait

Mango flavored Yogurt with 3 toppings

Village Park Restaurant @ Damansara Utama

2011-06-06T22:10:00.006+08:00

We drive past here a lot and always see lots of people patronising this place, with tables and chairs hogging all the car park lots in front of their outlet:-

Hubby said this place serves good nasi lemak hence we checked it out.

Both of us ordered Nasi Lemak with Fried Chicken and we had a side of bendi (ladies finger) and I wanted to have a telur mata to go with mine too :)

Nasi Lemak Ayam Goreng (RM 7.70)

The looks did not quite cut it, did it? But the rice was very fragrant, at the right texture; the ayam goreng was well-marinated and deep-fried to perfection; the sambal was spicy.

What a perfect brunch to be accompanied by ladies finger and sunny side egg sides :)

The Apartment Downtown @ KLCC

2011-06-06T21:28:00.006+08:00

Before I came back from KL, we had a late lunch at The Apartment after shopping in KLCC.

We only shared 2 dishes, namely...

Chilli Tomato Clams

Having tried this dish at The Curve before, we decided to order this again. Don't be fooled by the redness of the gravy, it was not really spicy at all. The clams were fresh, not overly cooked, and were juicy. Both the clams and the gravy sort of complemented each others' presence. The gravy was very flavorful - owing to the sweetness of the clams as well as its own ingredients, herbs and spices.

Bread that is served with the clams - it goes perfectly well to be dipped within the ample flavorful chilli tomato gravy of the clams.

Cod Fish with Aioli

This was an oven-baked fillet of cod with marinade of chilli, oregano & coriander, served with dill mash, snow peas & aioli. The slab of cod was real beefy indeed and well-marinated. The skin was still crunchy even though the cod meat was still succulent and smooth. The mash was smooth and not over-buttery, and is best consumed along with the snow peas.

Chicago Rib House @ Gurney Plaza

2011-06-06T20:38:00.010+08:00

Thanks to Tze Ling and Sean for jom-ing a table, Kel and myself had a pretty value-for-money meal here.

It was Chicago Rib House's Anniversary promotion where certain beer and meals were on 50% off and the half rack of pork ribs definitely was what brought us here.

Fried Mushroom (RM 10.90)

This was a unique appetizer indeed. But we couldn't really tell there were mushrooms within. They were light and crunchy though.

Black Catch of the day (RM 18.90)

At 50% off, this was at RM 9.45 only. The fish meat itself was not black, only the marinated herbs and spices and the way it was prepared made the whole fish looked black. It was flavorful and grilled well but pretty salty to our liking.

St Louis Pork Ribs - Half Rack (RM30.90)

At 50% off, these only cost us RM 15.45 each, and boy it was one value for money rib indeed! The ribs which were coated with original BBQ sauce were barbecue-d to perfection, with the surface crispy yet the meat within succulent and tender. The meat fell off the bone oh so easily and made it a sheer pleasure enjoying this dish!

Kel and I shared half of the ribs and fish so here's our combo meal :)

Tze Ling ordered a dessert to be shared with us too....

Brownie with Ice Cream (RM6.90)

The brownie was warm and fairly rich in texture, and the ice cream was cold and melted immediately. This was not bad of a dessert at all, though the brownie can make do with much more chocolaty taste!

Overall I'd give a thumbs up to Chicago Rib House for their job well done, simply because the staff still strive to give good and attentive service despite the massive crowd build up owing to their tempting anniversary promotion. They even let patrons make table reservations and the quality of food were not compromised too! The staff still came over and asked how was the food eventhough the whole restaurant was packed with people.

Charlie Brown Cafe @ Straits Quay

2011-06-06T18:01:00.016+08:00

Visited Charlie Brown's Cafe twice since its debut in Straits Quay - the first in Malaysia and I was very excited to check the place out and experience myself what the hype is all about.

The whole deco and fittings were one-of-its-kind to cater for a themed restaurant setting, with all the Charlie Brown characters adorning not only the walls, the ceilings, the lightings, pillars, window panes, and there were statues of different sizes deliberately located in between the tables - just so that the people are constantly surrounded by the characters!

My favourite character in Charlie Brown is Linus Van Pelt:-

His signature was none other than a "security blanket" which he drags along wherever he goes. But of course iIlike him because "despite his age, he can put life into perspective while sucking his thumb". Something I'm still not capable of doing, perhaps? ;-)

Anyway, back to the food.

During my first visit, we sampled a few drinks and 2 dishes, namely:-

Orange Juice / Dragon Fruit Juice / Chocolate Milkshake

Juices are at RM 10 if not mistaken, and my chocolate milkshake definitely cost more than that. The juices were just mediocre, and my milkshake was a sheer disappointment. It was very runny, did not have any chocolate aroma to it, and tasted just like diluted HL chocolate milk.

Creamy Seafood Pasta (RM 15.80)

When this landed on our table, our eye brows were already raised because it did not look delicious. The terrible taste of the whole spaghetti really made finishing it an extremely difficult task - we just wanted to clear it for the sake of paying for it. Just how bad was this spaghetti? Imagine dry spaghetti noodles on the plate, with some starchy tasteless sauce with frozen prawns and squid; mushroom and few strips of red and green bell pepper poured on top of it. Worst spaghetti I had so far. Anyone could make spaghetti way better than this one. I don't think this even qualifies to be called spaghetti - it should be called tasteless Italian-noodle wannabe.

Charlie Brown 8" Chicken Pizza (RM 15.80)

Another very suspecting-looking dish. And I don't see how it measures up to 8" either. The crust was hard and dry, the tomato puree base paste tasted as though it came straight out of the can; and the ingredients that we managed to taste out were strips of bell pepper, diced pineapple, mushroom, and perhaps limited chicken strips? I can assure you that the taste was horrible! On top of that, the pizza was cold when it was served. Worst pizza I had in my life so far.

So there you go - 2 worst food recorded in my first visit to Charlie Brown Cafe - not bad at all.

We had a dessert and 2 drinks during my second visit with Kel and Yuet but I don't even want to start talking about it, coz the drinks and food are definitely overpriced. Pictures just for reference...

Caffee Mocha 12 oz. (RM 11)

Crepe + Ice Cream (RM 10.80)

Not sure why they left a huge empty area on the right......

..........so Kellin drew a Snoopy for us! :)

I certainly won't be back - well, unless I wake up one day and missed Linus.

Delicious @ Straits Quay

2011-06-03T21:56:00.008+08:00

After much hype and anticipation, Delicious finally opens its doors in Penang at Straits Quay, and this outlet is a subsidiary of E&O Berhad.

It took only 2 visits to conclude that this is a place we won't consider coming back anytime soon.

First encounter: Went and had a late light lunch with hubby on a Thursday afternoon, so we only had a soup, a sandwich and a cake.

The refined-looking menu

My Hot Honey Lemon (RM 5.90)

What can go wrong with this simple drink? Apparently quite a bit here. 2 huge pieces of lemon is way too much for the amount of water, it made the whole drink super sour to the point where no amount of honey can overcome it. The cookies that came with the drink did not really match either and was not nice to munch upon.

Hubby's Mushroom Soup (RM 13.90)

The mushroom soup tasted slightly peppery but the overall taste was not bad. The accompanying garlic bread was crunchy but lacking in flavor.

My Ham & Cheese Sandwich (RM 16.90)

The salad portion was no doubt generous, but that is merely meeting up to the expectation given the price tag. The ham and cheese sandwich was made up of pieces of toasted bread containing standard ham with melted cheese in between. It was so bland that I had to eat it with with chili sauce. Anyone can make this at home.

Strawberry Cheesecake with Berry Coulis (RM 12.90)
.

The cheesecake was grainy, not smooth enough and the sauce was just too drenched and over sweet.

When we asked for the bill, we were told that their printing device has broke down and they apologized. But after waiting for another 5-10 minutes, no signs of our bill yet. So I asked for a manual bill instead. After what seemed like forever, the guy came back with a piece of bill with just the total of RM 57.55 written on it. No breakdown of any sort visible. I then asked the guy to write down the items we had, and to my surprise, his question to me was "You mean you want me to write down everything, including the service charge and tax?" What a great question it was. Of course I would love to know what I had, how much it cost me and yes, how bloody much I paid for your service and to the government. After another forever, the guy came back with all the breakdown. So much for the service.

Not to mention that the total bill of RM 57.55 for just a light lunch was freaking OUTRAGEOUS.

We saw a lot of customers leaving with a doggie bag and immediately thought that the desserts are really that good that they take-away for their family or friends to enjoy. In the end, we ourselves had to ask for take-away as we couldn't finish the cheese cake.

This is a great strategy having such over-sized doggie bags - it gives people a false impression that their desserts are that good that most customers are getting take-aways; when the actual fact is that they could not finish the huge portion.

Second encounter: Because of the cosy atmosphere and the fact that this was a new place, I decided to give it another chance and suggested this place for a gathering with my close friends, and off we went on a Sunday evening at 6:30pm.

When we arrived, I asked for a table of 7 persons with a child, and the guy asked if we're having dinner so I said yes. He then took my name and asked that we have a seat first.

Looking around, we could still see a few tables empty so here goes our conversation with the guy:-

Me : Roughly how long will the wait time be?

Delicious guy : It depends, maybe 20 minutes, maybe longer.

Me : Can we have those tables empty over there?

Delicious guy : No, those are for desserts only, e.g. cakes, tea, etc.

Me : Why can't we take the tables to have dinner?

Delicious guy : Because it is our procedure.

My friend : We are going to order a lot of desserts later, can we sit there?

Delicious guy : NO you cannot.

My friend : Why not?

Delicious guy : Because it is our procedure.

My friend : So how long more do we need to wait for a table to have dinner?

Delicious guy : It may take up to half an hour, 1 hour, not sure.

What a turn-off! Service provider giving not one, but multiple rejections to the customer needs. Needless to say, we were out of there right after the conversation ended.

So these are the renowned tables they were referring to -

DESSERTS-ONLY TABLES - they must be super fragile

In conclusion - sheer disappointments, even after giving it a second chance.

Miraku @ G Hotel

2011-06-03T12:05:00.021+08:00

Went for dinner with hubby at Miraku on a Saturday night.

The staff recommended the drinks which are on promotion for the month so we tried them out...

Left : Miraku Matcha Latte (RM 7.90)

Right : Cold Honey Lemon Tea (RM 6.00)

Appetizer : Not sure what this was. Did not taste good

Salmon Sashimi (RM 26)

The 6 pieces of salmon was just normal. The portions given were not impressive at all.

Cawan Mushi (RM 8)

For the price charged, this was a very mediocre Japanese steamed egg. It was not flavorful and the texture tasted diluted.

Soft Shell Crab Temaki (RM 9)

Hubby's all-time favorite - this soft shell crab was light and crunchy. Other than that, nothing to shout about

Garlic Rice (RM 18)

Garlic rice that hubby ordered - for a freaking RM 18, this is one expensive rice! And I expected expensive taste too, but it was a MAJOR let down. The rice was not flavorful, the garlic taste was barely there, and the rice came across as though it was fried very casually. Honestly, this did not impress us at all as other Japanese restaurants can do a far better job than this.

Grilled Cod Fish with Teriyaki Sauce (RM 28)

The cod fish was super small in portion and had quite a number of bones. Never fails to turn me off when bones come sticking out from my mouth when I'm enjoying a nice piece of cod.

When I have more spare money available, I may come back to try out some of their more 'exquisite' dishes. But I do feel that being a premium Japanese restaurant, the least that they could do was to make sure the quality of the most normal dishes are up to par. With the total bill at RM 119.35, we could have definitely had far value for money cuisines at other Japanese restaurants, or even elsewhere, to say the least.

Weissbräu German Bar & Bistro's new menu launch

2011-05-31T20:25:00.020+08:00

Hubby and I had the honor being on the list of invitees to attend Weissbräu's new menu launch on 20th May.

I was a bit wary at first, credited to the fact that there was a smart casual dress code and we were informed that there would be 2 groups attending the event - bloggers and press media. But the event turned out exactly how Weissbräu's owner Wayne wanted it to be - a casual hang out setting while we sample the arrays of marvelous creations in their new menu, accompanied by top-notch entertainment.

The night turned out to be a high energy one as the Mad Sally band from KL brought the atmosphere to its heights with their all-men 'mat salleh' line up (not to mention they're good-looking too! *whistle*), delivering great tunes one after another, including Leehom's infamous 唯一爱的就是你

Check out Weissbräu's new menu which is packed with informative pictures and easy to navigate too:-

Great entertainment aside - the main highlight of the night was none other than the hearty new menu line up created by the Executive Chef Pascal Schnyder as a buffet spread for the enjoyment of the guests, which really is a plus point in creating a laid back atmosphere.

Showdown of the array of culinary delights for the night, which comprised of items from the new menu:-

Appetizer:-
Mixed Salad

Porcini Mushroom Soup (My pic of the soup was too blur hence unable to showcase it here)

Main courses:-
Right : Bavarian Bacon & Cheese Burger; Swiss Mushroom and Cheese Burger; Frankfurt Meister Burger
Left : Caprese Schnitzel

BBQ Pork Ribs (top) & Country Style Rosemary Pork Ribs (bottom)

Mixed Sausages

Crispy German Pork Knuckle

Desserts:-
Apple Strudel

Chocolate Mousse; Merry Pear

Franziskaner

I finally found a serious problem at Weissbräu... that is the fact that there are no food which are not good that night! I kid you not... The Porcini Mushroom Soup was thick and with visible mushroom chunks, though served in a huge pot and kept being refilled, it was still hot; the salad were all giving us different flavors with the freshest of ingredients; all the mains were flawless! The desserts were so refined in its presentation like pieces of art that are pleasant to the mouth at the same time. The apple strudel lived up to its promise of being warm and melted immediately in my mouth!

I would anticipate the food to be cold and probably quality compromised since they were made in bulk to satisfy the crowd, some of its tastes to run off because of the wind and being out there for a long time... but none of the above symptoms even crept up a little. Just because some of the dishes were prepared a day before and only cooked prior to the event to ensure every bit of its food preserves its quality. This is really a feat that not many can achieve, given the fact of the complexity and the time required to prepare the dishes.

Kudos to everyone at Weissbräu for the great food, great service!

As anyone can tell, I had a blast! :D

Thanks to Wayne, Jason and Gill once again...

great hearty food to warm our stomach, great performance to feast our eyes and ears, and definitely great company to fill our hearts

The Cinnamon @ Hotel Penaga

2011-05-31T18:54:00.003+08:00

Out of curiosity, went and took a big chance to try out The Cinnamon within the new Hotel Penaga at the Corner of Jalan Hutton and Lebuh Clarke.

Peter already commented that this could well be just another 'hotel-food' type of establishment but I still insisted of giving it a shot.

When we arrived there were only 2 tables occupied and no one seen at the 'Please wait to be seated' signage, so we walked right inside.

Greeted with dry-looking supposedly fresh flower

After seated at the table overlooking the lap pool,

we settled down with...

Drinks | Fresh Honeydew Juice (RM 12)

This was super diluted, did not come with the basic expectation of adding milk (they did not ask if I wanted or not), it was not sweet at all (poor quality honeydew), and came with plenty of ice. With a hefty price tag of RM 12, I definitely expected plenty of honeydew of the best breed with minimal ice. Any honeydew juice beats this one - including those of kopi tiams'.

Complimentary Garlic Bread

The garlic bread was charred on the surface and I was tricked by Peter into spreading the whole piece of bread with the butter provided, which made the bread super salty (-_-)" Though the bread was at the right level of crunchiness, there was no excuse of over charring, given the fact that we were the only table of customer left at that point of time.

Appetizer | Marinated Salmon with Asian Spices (RM 26)

The salmon tasted like smoked salmon and they came with 2 tiny pieces of salad within. Utter rip-off! On a side note, I clearly recalled this appetizer being priced at RM 18 on the menu as we kept thinking how outrageous the prices were - RM 6 for the 3, but with a price tag of RM 26, this makes each of them about RM 8!

Main | Grilled Rib Eye Steak - medium well (RM 44)

Peter was most fascinated with the presence of wolfberry (枸杞子) on the steak, an ingredient that is commonly used in chinese herbal soups. This was one very Chinese-y steak indeed. The steak tasted mediocre and came with a sauce that tastes just like a normal Western Food mushroom sauce.

Main | Lamb Rack with Herb Crust (RM 48)

The lamb rack meat was soft and juicy but lacking in flavor. Shockingly, I discovered that the sauce that came with my lamb rack was exactly the same as the steak's - just minus the wolfberry substance. It had 2 very common types of mushroom, one of which was straight out of the can - button mushroom.

Out of the 1.5 pages of main course menu, the chef couldn't have come up with a more unique sauce for these 2 distinctly different cuisines? What a let down!

The bill came up to a not-surprisingly whopping total of RM 150.80.

We were given a small feedback card and without hesitating a bit, penned down a firm NO to the question "Would you return to visit The Cinnamon again?". That about sums everything up.

And just when we thought we'd seen it all, we went and took a peek at its lobby and I went to the ladies while Peter went and kepo-ed the room rates for this 6-star heritage hotel.

When I came out, I was shown a corner of a brochure which had THIS on it:-

"Kindly bring this cut-off to enjoy 15% discount at The Cinnamon."

W - T - H !!!!

I felt a bit upset and felt cheated. This is a new heritage hotel, wanting to gain good publicity and positive word-of-mouth effect and it is doing the exact opposite. It would take absolutely nothing to have me coming back to this rip-off place, coz it ain't gonna happen - period.

Not forgetting to mention some creepy deco within the ladies....

And I couldn't really comprehend the 'meaning' of these mirrors in the context of this heritage hotel....

Invited Review : Weissbräu German Bistro & Bar @ Straits Quay

2011-04-24T20:06:00.066+08:00

Having the privilege to be invited by RoundU through Jason & Gill to attend this invited review, I was given a proper chance to sample all the gourmet offerings at this German bar & restaurant. I must say that of all the invited reviews I've attended thus far, this tops as one of those which I truly felt the sincerity of the owner and those preparing the culinary creations. We were first introduced to Wayne (Left) who is the owner of Weissbräu, he is a warm and humorous bloke indeed! We also got to know Denver (Right) - a somewhat shy but very attentive and informative restaurant manager.

Let's get to the good food!

San Pellegrino - Acqua Panna 1000ml [RM 24]

We were served with Acqua Panna to quench our thirst with and start off the afternoon. Being a natural mineral water from Italy, Acqua Panna takes its name from the famous Villa Panna in the hills of Tuscany, where the water was first discovered. I think this is by far the most expensive minteral water I ever tried and it is indeed refreshing with hints of sweetness in it. Good water :)

German Sour Bread

The bread is freshly made in the kitchen on a daily basis to ensure that they are of top quality for the enjoyment of customers. The sour bread had a nice and aromatic crust yet a chewy inner texture.

Mussel Seaman [RM 28]

This is a hearty pot with pure mussel which was prepared with white wine, garlic, shallots and vegetables in Hot Pot. I first tried the broth in the hot pot and was immediately hooked onto the sweetness from the mussel paired with a good touch of white wine. Next I noticed how huge of a size these mussels were! And Denver further explained that these are New Zealand mussels which are famous for its quality and rich taste. Now bearing in mind that I was never a mussel lover, I have a lot of reservation towards this dish but for the sake of reviewing it, I had to taste one. I normally put a mussel into my mouth, quickly chew it and swallow it. But I took my time with this one and bit half of the huge mussel first and slowly tasted it in my mouth.... And I must say that I was pleasantly surprised with how nice the mussel tasted! There were no smell to it, the mussel was super fresh and had all the goodness from the broth it was prepared in. And I clearly remembered helping myself with another one of these babies as they were that good! Must bring hubby to try this out for sure - Recommended!

Honey Baked Ham Sandwich [RM 21] served with Cream of Pumpkin [RM 16.80]

I am a hardcore ham fan and finds a lot of pleasure chancing upon good ham. The sandwiches here at Weissbräu comes with a variety of bread choices to the customers' taste buds, namely Croissant, French Baquette, Italian Ciabatta, White or Wholemeal Bread. We were served with German Laugen Bread for our sandwich and I enjoyed every bite of the bread. Check out the overflowing ham on the sides of the bread! We were informed that these are high quality honey baked ham and I can second that as the ham were light, non flaky, had good proportions of meat vs. fat and had really solid ham taste to it. Simply put - they were just heaven-like!

All the soups here are prepared the traditional way - with fresh ingredients and no MSG added. The cream of pumpkin comes highly recommended especially by Denver. Just one spoonful, I can almost taste the sweetness of the pumpkin and not just another diluted pumpkin-like taste served by other restaurants.

Honey Baked Ham Sandwich [RM 21] served with Tomato Soup with Basil [RM 16.80]

Compared to pumpkin soup, I personally love the tomato soup slightly a bit more. Simply for the reasons that tomato soup opens up our appetites and the version served here had just the right amount of basil giving an edge to the supposedly sour-based soup. It was perfectly blended at the right thickness which I find sheer delight in enjoying. Highly recommended!

Spaetzli with Ham and Cheese [RM 24]

Spaetzli is a homemade German egg noodle tossed in butter and it comes with a variety of choices such as ham, cheese, mushroom, ham&cheese, carbonara or plain.

Having tried the plain version in my previous visit before, the ham and cheese version offered a somewhat multi-layering in terms of the taste of egg, ham and cheese which my tastebud. The lightweight texture of the homemade noodle is something one can look forward to for a light meal.

Emmentaler [RM 38]

Emmentaler is a pork sausage dish which comes in a lightly crisped skin filled with Emmental cheese - a type of aged cheese used together with herbs in the preparation of the sausage. Undoubtedly, the taste of the emmentaler was unique - chewy and had hints of the aromatic aged cheese within.

The dish comes with 2 sides and ours was served with buttered market vegetables and potato salad. The buttered market vegetables were not too greasy and the potato salad was special as there were traces of pickles within. I didn't like pickles but it did not overpower the potato salad any bit but in turn complemented it.

Other side dishes that one can order to go with this dish are Spaetzli, Roesti, Sauerkraut.

Side dishes - Spaetzli - Plain & Mashed Potato

For those who prefer lighter version of Spaetzli, this plain version is just right. I love how the mashed potato was so light in texture yet so full in flavor - must try for mashed lovers.

All additional orders of side dishes are charged at RM 9 but I reckon that the portions of the side dishes served here can easily fill 2 instead of 1 stomach :)

Crispy German Pork Knuckle [RM 48]

We are now getting more and more accustomed to the many versions of pork knuckles served by restaurants here in Penang and I have to say, my first encounter of the pork knuckle here was not a good one. After listening to what Wayne and Denver was sharing as to how the knuckle was prepared, I had a whole new insight and knew how to appreciate this particular dish so much more.

The pork knuckle here is prepared using their secret recipe made up of herbs to cut down the fat as well as minimizing the pork smell. These were prepared over many hours and in the end deep fried to perfection. Indeed, the knuckle served here is not as oily as the ones served in other restaurants and the skin was deep fried to perfection and was uber crispy! I loved every bite of the crispy skin. The meat portion was not as tender but I rather give this up to enjoy a less oily affair of a good ol' pork knuckle. I can really taste the flavor of herbs present in the knuckle itself from its skin down to the meat.

The side dishes that came with our pork knuckle was Sauerkraut and Roesti. As Wayne aptly puts it, Sauerkraut is the German version of Kim chi :) as no German meal is complete without a helping of this signature sourish vegetable. Roesti is a potato version of hash brown as it is made up of potato, prepared in a criss-cross mashed net manner. It's a well-prepared side dish indeed as I can definitely foresee this being something which can be easily over-cooked.

Flammküchen (Pizza)

There are 2 types of pizzas offered here at Weissbräu - original German which is made up of sour cream and onion base; and Italian Touch which is the version we are all very familiar with - tomato paste, sour cream and mozzarella cheese.

In my previous 2 visits, I have sampled both the original German (seafood) and the Italian Touch (Salmon) and I did not like the original German version a bit.

Flammküchen with Lightly Curried Chicken - Original German [RM 24]

Flammküchen with Lightly Curried Chicken - Italian Touch [RM 28]

But this round, I have to give it to the original German version which was prepared with lightly curried chicken way much more than the Italian! I was puzzled with my own preference at first too but the more I gave thoughts to it, the more it made sense as the chicken itself had a stronger taste and naturally complemented better with the original sour cream and onion base. The Italian touch, on the other hand goes better with ingredients which are not too strong in flavour e.g. Salmon :)

As we thought we were about to end the day with the German beer and dessert, we were surprised to be served a handful of 2 types of homemade sausages!

Smoked Pork Sausage - Chilli / Herb [RM 34]

These sausages are not in their menu but we can definitely order this the next time we visit Weissbräu. By the glance of it, it did not look impressive and we couldn't really tell them apart. But once we sank our teeth into these sausages which were prepared using sheep casing, we could almost tell these sausages are made with the best quality meat with generous herbs and spices. The chilli sausage was one eye-opener for me as it was pretty spicy! I think this is by Wayne's request since Koreans basically love their spiciness :) The herb sausage did not pale in comparison with the chilli version as it offered us a much toned down enjoyment of the German meat pleasure.

Chocolate Mousse topped with Pear [RM 14.80]

This is a new item on their dessert menu and I was saving a tiny spot in my stomach to fit this in and boy, was I not disappointed at all. From the picture this looked normal but it only took one tiny sample for me to immediately fall in love with the mousse. Paired with the pear which is not too sweet, this was a match made in heaven. I am a huge lover of ice cream, gelato, and mousse tops my list anytime. The texture of this chocolate mousse is not as light as normal mousse, but is more towards those of a gelato. Trust me, it's not a bad thing at all as the more you indulge in it, the deeper you get sucked into the richness of the chocolate. Just as I was wondering what made the chocolate so velvety thick, Denver shared with us that it is made with Belgian chocolate and with VSOP! Where on earth can we get a chocolate mousse this luxurious without having to go to fine dining establishments? Here! I told Wayne I'd definitely be making come back just solely based on this dessert itself, being on top of the list of all the other great food.
Uber highly recommended!

Erdinger Weissbier [RM 17 for 300ml & RM 29 for 500ml]

As I'm not familiar with beer, I can only say that this tasted much better in comparison to what we can normally get off-the-shelf in major stores :)

In all, I'd give a good thumbs up for the effort, food quality, preparation, presentation, service and ambiance. We definitely need more establishments as such to add flavor and passion in offering genuine good food which is lacking in our times. Please, don't take my word for it, do hop on to Weissbräu and experience it yourself - I'm pretty certain you will not be disappointed.

***** Know more about German cuisine.

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Coffee Lane @ King Street

2011-03-20T21:27:00.011+08:00

disclaimer : yet another backdated post - Jan 2010 :P

DC did some homework and saw an article on this new place and brought me here for afternoon tea.

Being a coffee lover as she is, this place is definitely one that offers a variety of coffee. Upon chatting with the friendly owner Terry who did some recommendations, we finally settled down with 2 coffee drinks and 2 snacks.

Besides coffee, Coffee Lane serves some mains too and according to Terry, some of the dishes are office ladies' favorites as well...

From where we were seated, we could see Terry busy using all sorts of coffee brewing apparatus to brew our coffee fresh on the spot - the experience way surpasses any experience at Starbucks or Coffee Bean :)

DC's Ice Coffee with Milk (RM 8.00)

DC commented this is really 'keng' (superb in Cantonese)!

My Ice Cream Coffee (RM 8.50)

Terry said this is best enjoyed without using a straw, but erm I asked for one anyway coz it's just too bitter for me :P and yes, that's after adding in sugar syrup. But being an ice cream lover, this is definitely a first for me and it was not bad at all.

Garlic Bread (RM 3.00)

Garlic bread was a bit plain for the both of us - maybe it could use a bit of toasting to give it the ooomph!

Ti Ah Kuoi (RM 3.00) (甜仔粿)

When this arrived our table, I could almost instantly tell it will be a nice version of ti ah kuoi just looking at the accompanying gula melaka :D and the taste did not disappoint at all - the ti ah kuoi was at the right texture of chewiness and it's so unique when complemented with a thick gula melaka paste - it has become my favourite Ti Ah Kuoi now!

I went back to this place after shopping with my mom recently and the place had become much busier than my first visit - which is a good sign that people have acknowledged its presence. Terry was still busy behind the counter churning out the Coffee Lane brews. But I was so disappointed to learn that ti ah kuoi had sold out at that time :'(

I'd recommend this place to coffee lovers as they should be able to appreciate Coffee Lane better than me :)

Coffee Lane
10-B, King Street, Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia

That Little Wine Bar @ Chow Thye Road

2011-03-17T21:16:00.029+08:00

disclaimer : this is a backdated post circa Apr 2010 :P

Had dinner on a rainy night with Peter and since he asked me to think where to eat, I told him I'll be bringing him to somewhere new that he never been before.

So we reached this place called That Little Wine Bar.

The ambiance, deco and lighting gave me a very nice feeling and I love how cosy the set up is.

After we were seated, a pretty good-looking amoh named James came and started to introduce himself and the array of wines available. Since we were not into wine, we asked him what's nice to have around here and was given a pretty elaborate run down of the soups, tapas and mains available, which were also scribbled on a very cute blackboard on the wall near our table!

Our conservative drink choices of Orange Juice and Coke:-

Table setting:-

In the end, we ordered a soup, a tapas and 2 mains.

Wild Mushroom Soup (RM 25)

As stated on the blackboard, this is made up of 5 different types of mushroom, added with chili, lemon zest, Parmesan and thyme, served at the table where the 250ml of soup is poured into an artistic serving bowl.

Taste? With a clear broth soup as such that tasted zesty with a sourish note, I didn't really know how to appreciate the taste :-|

Next up was Chicken Pate (RM 18) which I ordered off the Tapas list, not really registering on my mind what Pate meant

When it landed on our table we even asked James was this what we ordered and his reply was affirmative, and we proceeded to ask what it was made of. And so our 'nightmare' began when James casually responded that it is made of chicken liver and other ingredients minced into a spreadable paste! :-O

I could instantly feel how terrible it tasted when Peter tried it out with the baguette - coz his expression looked horrible (yeah I got a picture of that) but I can't post it here else I'll definitely get chopped!

The chicken pate tasted like..... liver! (read what it's made of again few lines on top) I can't say I'm doing injustice to the pate by saying it tasted horrible because I never tasted any form of pate before so I didn't see the taste coming at all to be honest. But I'd imagine those who love pate will actually like this as the texture was creamy smooth.

Peter actually had to order another Coke for himself as that was the only solution to finishing half of the pate so that we don't waste it totally - I SALUTE him!

And honestly we had a terribly good laugh over the chicken pate as both of us were clueless with regards to what it was and its 'exotic' taste!

After the very 'unique' soup and pate, we were not having much hope on the mains really.

Peter's Mushroom Quiche (RM 25) arrived and it looked normal.

So he braved himself and had a go - by the look of his face I could tell this was definitely better than the pate lol~ and he actually nodded and commented that this tasted very nice actually, and way better than whatever we had earlier on.

Then came my Red Snapper (RM 28) with some sauce - sorry as I've forgotten the name.

I didn't know what to expect when it landed on my table but I was pleasantly surprised by the uniqueness of the sauce infusing the fish. The red snapper fillets were definitely fresh and grilled to near perfection with the skin being crispy and meat still tender. And just when I thought the accompanying balls on the dish were potatoes - I was proven wrong as they were honeydew balls! Surprise surprise indeed, and it complemented the sauce which had a sweet note to it.

I was very curious of this place and wanted to check out how its upstairs looked like, and after the meal we were actually given a tour of upstairs which turned out to be a perfect setting for private parties - both Oriental and Western settings available!

Check them out~

Peter gladly cam-whoring with the available decor

Our odd pic at the washroom upstairs lol.... What was he looking at?

This unique lighting

Of course, how can a wine bar tour be complete without a peek at the wine cellar?

In all, I like this place and would love to make a come back soon - but no more mushroom soup and pate :P

Pearl Hill Cafe @ Tanjung Bungah

2011-03-16T22:13:00.014+08:00

I just gotta get this off my chest!

Had a worst ever Saturday night dinner at a normal 'choo char' which by right can never go wrong!

I wanted to have dinner at Home Style Restaurant (Permai 32) but all the tables had 'reserved' signs on them and it had started to rain - so I said let's go to the seafood place hubby had wanted to take me last time - Pearl Hill Cafe

BIG mistake.

Reached there and the so-called car park was none other than land with cleared bushes. There were rubbish lurking everywhere within the areas with short bushes where we parked.

After glancing through the menu, hubby ordered his favourite mantis prawn (meat) with Nestum and 2 other dishes that the lady recommended - spicy sour curry fish meat and Guinness Stout Chicken.

We wanted to order their Cheese Pork Rib at first but the lady said "we got cheese and pork meat but not pork ribs"

After quite a loong wait considering there was only 1 other table before us, the Nestum Mantis Prawn (RM 8) came.

It looked horrendous - more like minced meat with nestum more than mantis prawn. Where are the mantis prawns? All shredded beyond recognition. It took us so long to dish out the bits and pieces of the mantis prawn meat and mind you there were not a lot to start with!

Next came the Spicy Sour Curry Fish (RM 25).

This at least had a decent 'look'. So I tasted its curry - spicy, I like! But my happiness was short-lived. Soon after I found out that the supposedly bone-less fish meat had plenty of bones in them! I can understand that whoever doing the de-boning may have missed out one or two bones but all the tiny pieces of fish had at least 4-5 bones in them at least! And the lady kept promoting that they have fish meat pieces to go with the curry - which means they should be deboned (-_-)"

And that's not all - the ladyfingers were all older than my grandma - felt like chewing wood. The curry had a layer of oil surfacing not long later too.

Just when we thought we'd seen the worst of it, last came the Guinness Stout Chicken (RM 8).

Check out the huge chunks of chicken wings... hubby said it looked like the folks there just bought these chicken wings off the wet market and cook them that's all - they did not even bother to chop them down into smaller pieces. And the chicken did not taste fresh at all and we really felt that these were fried or cooked previously and may be leftovers then further 'processed' to be Guinness Stout Chicken - since not many people could tell from the black black sauce anyway - WRONG! We can!

Before we asked for the bill - I told hubby that the price better be in the low to reasonable range to be matching with such low quality food but the bill came to an outrageous RM45.60!

When we paid hubby complained to the guy that there were no mantis prawn at all, the guy said got, just scrambled up with the nestum - but we insisted that there were not many and couldn't find a proper piece! And I also complained on the fish bones but he just walked away with our money, then when he came back with our change he just said "I just counted half of the price for the mantis prawns dish" and gave us the price chit and our balance. So the mantis prawn costed RM 4 instead of RM 8.

But still - we left as upset customers coz 1. we did not get to complain all the dishes; 2. clearly he was not apologetic at all and was not happy giving us the discount.

Do you think we're going to go back?

NO WAY.

Geylang Lor 9 Frog Porridge @ PJ SS2

2011-03-03T19:36:00.011+08:00

I got sick by the time I reached KL during my last trip to Singapore so we had porridge instead for lunch, so honey brought me to this specialized restaurant serving frog porridge.

We ordered ...

Kung Pau Frog Claypot

This is by far one of the best Kung Pau frog we had to date - the dried chillies were definitely not for show and had their spiciness infused within the sauce itself. And the sauce in turn gave the frog its flavorful taste - making it a sheer pleasure to consume. The flesh were fresh and springy yet not overcooked - Marvelous!

Vegetables - Bok Choi

This was the neutral factor in our meal - to tone down the spiciness as well as balancing out our diet :)

Plain Porridge

The porridge is so soft, smooth and simply wonderful - perfectly complementing the strong taste of the kung pou frog

Ko Hyang Korean Country Delights @ The Gardens

2011-03-03T18:36:00.011+08:00

Honey brought me to this humble establishment serving no frills Korean food recently and I was surprised that it wasn't too bad at all.

We had 2 dishes only but I'm keen to try more of their other dishes as I saw many others ordering their Bibimbap (Korean mixed rice) and Tteokbokki (spicy cylinder rice cakes).

They served Ban Chan (Side Dishes) and complimentary Soup too along with any dishes you order

While I was somehow co-erced into ordering Bi Bim Kuk Su - Korean sweet and spicy noodles (RM 12.50)

These were meant to be cold noodles but that's what I did not like (yeah I know that's my problem) but I did not fancy the taste of the noodles either as it was kind of too sweet. No complaints on the vegetables that came with the noodles though. This is something unique for me.

Honey had Sun du bu ji kye (Spicy Seafood Stew)

This was a much 'lighter' version of the stew compared to those at Korean Restaurants - as we can see from the colour of the stew; but nonetheless this did not compromise the taste. I ended up whalloping honey's soup much more than I finished my noodles :P

I had its warm Sik Hye which is a Korean barley drink and it tasted nice! Cooling after a Korean meal.

Will definitely be making come-backs!

Ko Hyang Korean Country Delights
LG-K05,
The Gardens, Mid Valley City
Kuala Lumpur

Bavarian Bierhaus @ The Curve

2011-03-03T17:46:00.007+08:00

Had a late Valentine's Dinner here a little after 9pm and the place was still pretty much packed, so much so that we had to make do with a spot at the bar "-_-

Just look at my face - mixture of hunger, tired, disappointment all jumbled up

Why? Coz this was our so-called 'table'!

But the supervisor was attentive enough to usher us to another decent table outside where a couple just left

There wasn't much need for thinking of what to eat for the night since they've got it all figured out with their Vday Dinner Set comprising of an Appetizer, a Soup, Main Course shared by 2 and a dessert.

And so my face turned to a nicer shade when the main course that we were anticipating settled down at our table...

The appetizer which was something small but I've forgotten what it was :-S so certainly not something which made an impression.

This was the soup we had - super diluted Campbell-like Mushroom Soup

Main....

You would've figured out by now that it's made up of none other than their famous Pork Knuckle, put together with other goodies making up a platter. This was definitely a much better version of Pork Knuckle (not to mention a much more decent sized one!) compared to the one at Weissbräu. The skin was crispy, the meat tender. 'nuff said. I liked the sausages but didn't fancy the ham that much though. The bacon definitely tops the list after the knuckle.

Hubby excited to do the opening ceremony for the knuckle!

We were filled to our necks by the time we were done with the huge MAIN, but managed to stuff a bit of dessert down just for a taste.

The dessert looked like a layer cake of sorts but its texture was sponge-cake like. It was too sweet hence I only finished the Vanilla ice cream.

The Vday dinner set cost us about RM 123++ if my memory did not fail me. But of course, we ordered drinks so that brought the total way higher than that.

I still love its version of Pork Knuckle though I'd say the one at Vintage Bulgaria is neck-to-neck with this one.

Keong Kei Pou Pan 强记补品 @ Off Jalan Pudu

2011-03-02T21:12:00.010+08:00

Hubby introduced me to this place opposite Shaw Parade after Philip brought him here once and we have been coming back pretty often. It's a hawker stall by the roadside but there are lots and lots of patrons thronging in as early as 5:30pm to have dinner.

Normally we'd come here before 7pm too as one of its signature soup runs out pretty fast if we don't

We almost always order the same dishes:-

Signature Soup - Coconut Chicken Soup 椰子鸡

Ginseng roots are added into this concoction hence hubby does not fancy the bitter taste at all. But I'm ok with it and I feel this is a very nourishing soup.

Old Cucumber Soup 老黄瓜炖汤

This is the soup that hubby always orders as it does not have overpowering bitter taste. I normally take the old cucumber slices since hubby doesn't eat a lot of them

Lotus Root Soup 莲藕汤

I ordered this soup when I had period and I didn't want to take the coconut soup. Loved the soup and even the spare ribs that were used to braise the soup in

Curry Wild Boar Meat 咖喱山猪肉

I like the version here a lot - simply because the wild boar meat is tender whereas the curry is rich and tasty. There was once where they were generously giving us potatoes to go with the curry too! I just can't get enough of the curry

Mushroom Chicken Feet 冬菇鸡脚

The chicken feet here are simmered until soft, the gravy thick yet not salty, and most importantly, the mushrooms were the killers as they were kickass huge and tender! Love 'em

Address : Jln Changkat Tambi Dollah Off Jln Pudu
Business Hour : 4.00pm onwards

Tin Pan Kor Kor (甜品哥哥) @ SS2 Square

2011-03-02T20:26:00.010+08:00

Hubby brought me to this new thong sui (sweet dessert) establishment that is similar to its existing rival nearby - KTZ.

Been there twice already so far and these are what we sampled:-

顺徳双皮奶 - Double Milk Pudding (RM 5.50)

This is supposedly a very enriching dessert but I can't really tell if it's good stuff compared to those authentic ones in Hong Kong since it's my first time trying it out. It tasted alright to me though - smooth and rich

绿豆沙汤圆 - Green bean soup + sweet rice balls (RM 5.50)

This was just normal

Black Sesame Soup

This was below expectations, simply because I had expected it to be thick and aromatic. Maybe the ones we had in Macau and Hong Kong have way surpassed those we get around here :P

Peanut Soup with Sweet Rice Balls

The peanut soup itself is not bad but I would've preferred if it was even warmer than it already was. One thing I liked were the sweet rice balls which had runny black sesame paste fillings just like the ones KTZ has.

Durian Cake

Last but not least, we ordered this since Durian was in season recently and to our surprise, this was ecstatically yummy! Of course being durian lovers help a lot on that. The durian flesh was ample and complemented perfectly with the rest of the fillings. The wrapping skin looked hard and chewy but it was in fact very soft! The only thing we liked the most was Durian Pancake haha!

Bella Marino @ Straits Quay

2011-02-28T20:07:00.008+08:00

Had a good catch up dinner with Suchi & Andy - I was the one who recommended to check this place out since MC said all the dishes he tried to far were good.

Table setting & menu

My Mixed Fruit Punch & Andy's Apple Juice

Refreshing - I liked my fruit punch

Suchi's Mango Smoothie

We ordered 3 dishes for sharing:-

Fettucine Carbonara

I liked this a lot - Carbonara sauce was not too runny yet not too thick; fettucine cooked to the right softness. It was a pleasure to indulge.

Pizza Con Pollo (RM26.90)

As per described in its menu, the Pizza has roasted chicken meat, turkey ham and pineapple as topping. This was just okay for me since I don't fancy breast meat :P

Seafood Risotto

This was below expectation - the risotto was too wet, the seafood had an overpowering seafood smell and the whole taste was just odd in a bad way. The sauce tasted as if it had been cooked with undiluted water. If I were to make a return I'd definitely be checking out its steak since MC said that it's one of the best he had in the whole of Penang - what a statement!

Huck's Cafe - Private Kitchen Dining Experience

2011-02-27T21:54:00.017+08:00

Chanced upon a blog post on this unique private kitchen and decided to give it a go based upon its sumptuous spread and varieties of cuisines on its menu.

We've visited Huck's Cafe twice so far and found it to be a cosy place serving warm yet one-of-a-kind dishes :)

Nice ambience and surroundings...

First visit : end Dec 2010

Drinks:-
Basil Seed Mint Soda & Ambarellar Sour Plum

Wild Mushroom Soup

Huck's Lemon Roasted Chicken

The Classic Creme Brulee

Hot Chocolate Brownies with Ice Cream

Second visit : Pre-Valentine's Day Dinner

Appetizer : Daun Kedok Coconut

This is made up of Daun Kedok, peanut, dried prawn, kantang flower, coconut, chili sauce, shallots

French Onion Soup

Wild Mushroom Soup

Twin Tender Steak

Cottage Lamb Stew Pie

Chocolate Mud Pie Ice Cream

The Classic Creme Brulee

The man behind this place - who is also the Master Chef - Huck Seng - thanks for such marvelous food! We'll definitely be coming back for more ^,^

Royce Nama Chocolate

2011-01-26T21:48:00.022+08:00

Generous Lesley treat hubby and myself some really delicious and super refined chocolate when we were in Singapore and we immediately fell in love with it!

This luxury chocolate comes all the way from Japan and you have to try it to know why it's such a mesmerizing experience :)

Now I know what made these so special!

We purposely got a box of Royce for ourselves @ ION Orchard - Nama Chocolate Champagne - Pierre Mignon (SGD 15)

Check out the elaborate packaging.......

.... comes with its very own cooling bag....

and a bag of dry ice pack too! All to keep this delicacy nice and cold for our enjoyment

(above picture taken from http://sparklette.net/food/royce/)

Finally, the gems...

20 Chocolate bricks coated in cocoa powder

(pardon the spotting on the chocolate blocks as we were in Genting Highlands when we finally unveiled this)

The chocolates simply melt in your mouth coz they're so velvety smooth... What a heavenly treat! Feel so pampered whenever we eat this.... *dreamy*

Am craving for it right now! :(

Red Mango Frozen Yogurt @ Dallas Airport

2011-01-25T23:01:00.008+08:00

Red Mango is a frozen yogurt and smoothie brand known for its all-natural frozen yogurt, fresh fruit smoothies, yogurt parfaits, and probiotic iced teas

We couldn't resist them while in transit at Dallas Airport :P

L - R : Kellin's Mixed Berry Parfait and my plain non fat frozen yogurt :)

Although I was still down with cough at that point of time, I still enjoyed every bit of the yogurt and some of Kel's Parfait hehehehe

Wang Chao Chinese Cuisine @ Pekaka Square

2011-01-25T21:52:00.021+08:00

The team had the honor to dine like Kings and Queens @ Wang Chao..... where we had.....

Hai Wong (Cantonese for Crab King)

This is a dish consisting of vegetables and Tofu drenched in crab meat and crab roe... superb!

Four Heavenly Kings (Vegetable)

Made up of 4 types of vegetables stir-fried with sambal, this brings an appetizing tone to our luxury dinner

Whole Fish ala Assam Laksa

Not sure what this dish is exactly called, but the soup is definitely sour and spicy - just like Assam Laksa's soup. I personally did not fancy this as the soup was a bit too thick to my liking

Yun Thai (Pork) served with Man Thou

This is a sinfully tasty dish as the pork contained fatty portions but the taste is really good and perfectly matched with the warm and soft man thous!

Last but not least, this was the dish that we have all been waiting for - the Star of the night - Poon Choy!

We had the privilege of tasting this precious Poon Choy made up of all seafood and vegetables... check out all the goodies inside!

Prawns, Scallops, Broccoli, Vegetables, Sea Cucumber, Shark's Fin, Black Moss, Mushroom, etc etc...

The Poon Choy claypot seemed to be bottomless as our very own 'bottomless' Eng Soon was also unable to finish everything!

This was my first visit to Wang Chao but the food is pretty good and worth a second visit

For the album!

Sri Malaya @ Rope Walk, Georgetown

2011-01-25T21:13:00.012+08:00

Celebrated belated birthday for dear God Sis recently and brought her to this fairly new heritage restaurant - she was delighted when she saw the word "heritage" :)

Sri Malaya's surroundings...

There's an outdoor dining area which is airy:-

We had Orange Juice (RM 6) and Mango Smoothie (RM 8)

Too bad I forgot to take pictures of the drinks, but both of us loved the smoothie! It's not overly chilling yet refreshing, it tasted fresh with the right amount of fresh mango blended in and we couldn't get enough of it!

The 2 mains that we shared.....

Sarawak Laksa (RM 12)

The laksa was lemak laksa type and the taste of spices were not too overwhelming yet well infused. As they ran out of Mee, the whole bowl consisted of Bihun; nevertheless it tasted nice and we liked their version.

Carbonara Fettuccine with Smoked Salmon (RM 22)

As we caught up on our chats over dinner, this quickly turned cold and thickened hence did not taste well but it would have done well had we tucked in quick enough.

One of the attendant was really kind and warm to give us a tour of what's upstairs - a private dining area which can cater for about 10-12 pax and they can even customize a fine dining style menu for RM 120 per pax. The rest of the rooms were supposed to be Guest rooms but this concept is still in the making.

Sri Malaya Heritage Restaurant
No. 1 Rope Walk
10100 George Town
Pulau Pinang

Tel : 04 2613763