Groupon value meal dinner@Aria Italian Restaurant, Damansara Heights

Demona : This was my first groupon purchase. Being a foodie person, the voucher was makanmakan related. The offer was for a seafood platter appetizer and 2 pastas for RM 65 at Aria Italian Restaurant in Plaza Damansara, quietly tucked in this posh neighbourhood of Damansara Heights.

Being a skeptic, I did google up this restaurant to see if it was worth my investment. Not much reviews on it, and whatever found on the web were also old reviews. I did ponder for a while, and finally I clicked on the "purchase" button and bid farewell to my RM 65.

On one fine hungry night, I decided to use up this voucher. The place wasn't difficult to locate and good thing that it was near home for me. Very few people were there at the restaurant, which also caused me to wonder if the groupon vouchers were intended to boost its popularity.

Bread as starter was served, with a really really delicious dip, made of chopped mushrooms and olives. The dip finished almost instantly and the waiter was nice enough to give a refill. BURPS.

Demona: When the seafood platter appetizer came, I could only say.. "HUAH". The only thing I regretted not doing was to starve myself for the day in order to finish this up. Based on the menu, this is priced at RM 68. Fried calamari and brinjal slices, grilled vegetables, beef and salmon carpaccio with non-authentic parmigiano-reggiano cheese, a GIGANTIC sauteed portobello mushroom, bruchetta with different toppings, risotto balls. The platter is enough as a main for 2 persons.

The best stuffs served were: GIANT juicy portobello mushroom, the carpaccios, and bruchetta.
Best carpaccio still goes to OSO Italian Restaurant at Tanjong Pagah, Singapore.

BURPS OUT LOUD.


Demona: The two pastas came after the appetizer. I stared at them, while burping and shaking my head NO NO NO. The zipper on my pants was crying out to me to release it. I looked at the clock and realised it took only 20 minutes to finish the appetizer and I was too embarrassed to ask the waiter to pack up these two freshly served pastas as take-away.

To shy away from embarrassment, we ate them too. The clam pasta may seem plain and boring looking, but it was pretty flavourful and I was glad em' pasta were home made. The seafood ink pasta was better, home made too. That was about the only thing delicious from the second pasta. The ingredients in it: prawns were really not fresh at all. The prawn meat were soggy. The scallops were average too.

Based on the menu, each pasta cost RM 28.

Well, RM 65 for these 3 was definitely worth the money. If it wasn't the generous seafood platter appetizer, I would have thought otherwise.

So.. will this experience make me come all the way to Aria for another Italian meal? Hmmmm....
at this point, I'm still sitting on the fence.

We shall see...

Hidden curry mee stall gem@heart of KL (tip: near HKL)

One of the best curry mee i had in a longgggg longgggggg time. The gravy ain't typical orangish lemak like you mostly get these days. Very strong taste of curry powder with fragrant siew yoke!

The toast bread was a real  .. Ooh lala. Better than kota bahru's white house speciality toast bread. The toast was so buttery fragrant coupled with sweet home made kaya.

Best part about this place is that it is hidden in plain sight, i would not have ever stepped foot on this stall if my foodie sifu colleague hadn't brought us good-food-deprived souls (most of the time we suffer with crappy food from office)

He did say his favourite food hide out will be exposed since i will blog about it, thus my mouth is sealed for this time.

Whoever is really interested to try this place out, drop me a mail:)

BTW: what is even more peculiar, their main income was not the curry mee and toast but from................

fighting fish breeding!!

Behind the stall, were stacks of tiny glass aquariums, each with a beautiful yet fierce lil' fella swimming inside. Apparently very good and expensive breeds, minimum cost of one is approx. Rm300.

They even have Rotweillers and German Sherperds to guard these fiesty fishes.

Now isn't this a jaw dropping wow?

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Hakka noodle at Hakka Kopitiam Klang

Its pretty rare to see a kopitiam with all stalls specializes in Hakka food.
This shop is located near 888 hawker center in klang


I tried the homemade hakka noodle which were slurpilicious, and loaded up side dishes of vinegar pork knuckles, curry chicken and yongtaofu. They even sell the fried yam balls ( suan pan zi)


CJ, Ong

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Aftermath stress release meal@Rakuzen, G Hotel

A full day of presenting our business plan for 2013 to the GM.

My teammates and I were exhausted from the workload, mental stress, lack of sleep, peers, bosses etc. We made a pact on the night before to have a good stress release meal once this BIG day was over.

And it finally did. Bruised, battled, worn out.. but victorious.

Time for some tension release with some sushi wushi! Both physical and mental stress.
My first time eating salmon roe chawan mushi. FUH

Scot's @jaya1

Sneak in for a happy hour whiskey shot at Scot's... And I earned a free whiskey from the bartender..

Dowmore 12 years: honeyed toffee nose. Smooth on the palate. With some fullness on the palate.very Good quality. Above chivas, glenfiddich 18 years. And many more. 15 bucks

Whyte and Mackay 13 years: not too bad. Simple but smooth. Light and blended whiskey. Free.

CJ, Ong

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Korean Strawberry

Bought a bucket of korean strawberry at Oryudong, Seoul.
Sweetish strawberries that stufffed 5 of us to the point of suffocation.

The cost? RM15 per bucket

CJ, Ong

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McD Incheon Airport,Seoul

Had a Bigmac in Incheon Airport recently.
In comparison to our Malaysia version, the beef patty is a tad juicer and beefier. Other than that,its still a McD
CJ, Ong

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BullDog Nachos

This gotta be the best Nachos in KL, served in Bull Dog in Desa Sri Hartamas. The toppings were insanely generous and you could easily feed 3 on it. However, like most KL pub, I believe Bulldog uses Chachos nachos chips for the nachos, which dampen the mexican spirit alittle.

Each serving is only about 32bucks ++
CJ, Ong

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Home cooked chicken mushroom stew

One of those days where I seek therapeutic cooking :)

I love the allrecipes Iphone app. allows you to mix and match your choice of ingredients and search for recipes that fit them all.

I cooked this chicken mushroom stew based on one of the recipes found on this app.

It turned out quite delicious, and I was really proud of it. The chicken might have tested even better if I let it stew longer. The above stew was a result of a 30 min simmer.

I've added along tomato paste, tomatoes, mushroom slices.

This pot of stew could last one hungry soul for 2 days :2 lunches, 2 dinners. cost saving!

WOW Chicken @Hartamas

I just got back from Seoul lately and was literally hooked to korean style restobar where they served fried chicken, fruit platter ( weird combi I know) and limitless korean popcorn and pickled radish.

It was such a pleasant surprise when I went to WOW Chicken @ Hartamas. It served the whole package of korean beer food with lemon and cucumber soju.

We ordered the set D that comes with spicy fried chicken, normal chicken, chicken breast salad, coke, radish, peanut, that really stuffed us..
The korean was very nice to us as well and remember, they serve free foood on thursday nite.

Splendid. A must visit
CJ, Ong

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The final home cooked meal of 2010 before crossing over to 2011

Foodventura is back on track!

Months and months of missed out foodie picts. Looking back at them, made me realise how blessed I was to have been able to fill my tummy with all these good food.

This was my home cooked breakfast on the final day of 2010. I woke up early, prayed and read the Redemptive Series book and gave thanks for a fullfilling year.

Then.... off to make a hearty breakfast with a hot cuppa brewed coffee :)

This was by far my best-est ever caramelized onions. I was extremely proud with the brightly purplish softened sweet onions. Scrambled eggs mixed with cheese and milk.

Every bite was a bliss.

One sip of hot brewed lavazza coffee.

A perfect way to end the year.. with prayers, and a perfectly done breakfast meal.

DIY meh-hi-co meal@Home

Tadah! Hungry scavenging eyes proved themselves useful this time around. With palates fit for kings and queens.. but with pockets fit for paupers, the "Reduce to clear" corner sometimes bring tiny blissful joy :) And today is one of those tiny blissful joy days!

Quesadillas from RM 24.99 to ....RM 0.99! 3 days to expiry. No ploh-blemmmm, they can be finished in 1 - 2 days. In the sack it goes.

Some kiasu indian apek saw and kiasu-ly wiped out the last 2 boxes. Grr...



The quesadillas also came along with salsa seasoning, perfect to enhance the minced pork purchased from the grocery store. With a little help from grated aged cheddar.. SALUTE! to a great effort of a DIY meh-hi-co meal!
Saucy spicy salsa pork stuffed quesadillas won't be perfect without an icey cold beer with a chilled mug. A perfect pint, ala Franck Evers?

Saturday nite

President brie and oleary walker pinotnoir that was bought at14 bucks at cold storage wine fair

Boss's birthday lunch@porto romano doubletree hilton

We celebrated our lady boss's birthday just below our office block@ porto romano doubletree hilton.

Ive had a meal twice at the branch in mont kiara, and the lambshank never failed to disappoint.

I took the liberty to test its QC at the newly opened branch here, as i noticed they were desperate for patrons. I suspect it could be due to the location of the restaurant, right smack at the foodcourt area.

Too expensive for a normal lunch, and muslims may also shy away from the area due to the display of the bar area lined up with bottles of alcohol goodness.

The lambshank was tender and juicy too, but size did seem a bit tiny.

The calamari was surprisingly delicious. Thinking it was a cold dish from its outer appearance, it was warm and the calamaris were cooked just nice. Slightly chewy and soaked with a nice olive dressing.

The bruchetta, nothing to shout about. Something we can easily make at home.

Price wise is compatible with the many western restaurants today, ranging from 20-40rm.

A few of my colleagues ordered the pasta, which frankly was huge in portion. If i had finished that up.. My next half day at work would be spiritually sleeping while physically having my eyes opened.

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Boss's birthday lunch@porto romano doubletree hilton

Hearty lunch@Sekmechoy

Be warned... There's big difficulty getting parking over here. Definitely not a place for a quick lunch if you aren't working nearby.

To my surprise, this is one rather memorable lunch.

Rice served is cooked with vege seasonings.

Their best seller vinegar pork was sold out by the time we reached. They are also famous for their durian puffs, but hey...we were still heading back to office... Hence, we declined the tempting offer.

All dishes were tasty, especially the yolk long beans. Crunchy, salty, sinful.

The bakuteh portion was generous, and honestly speaking... It really tasted herbalicious and yet not sickly oily.

The fluffy fish paste omelette looked peculiar but mmmmm... One word to describe it. FLUFFY LO!

Definitely a place id like to revisit.

4 pax meal inclusive of drinks and rice, rm57. What a deal!

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Hearty lunch@Sekmechoy

Strawberry Shortcake by Patisserie Rui

Light, fluffy, yet delicious. Crystal's best seller. You can definitely take one more slice at a go. Tho' her best cake to me is the red velvet cake!

What is inspiring is that she started from scratch and she's only 26!

My dream...

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Strawberry shortcake by Patisserie Rui

Ipoh Funny Mountain Taufufa

We recently visited the famous Funny mountain Taufufa in Ipoh. The tff is silky and smooth. However, a ladyboy who dressed ala Lady Gaga stole the show that day.
Hey, the tff must be damn good rite if the lady boy willing to queue under the hot sun for it
CJ, Ong

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Petaling street Hokkian Mee

Recently I tried the famous Petaling Street Hokkien mee.
the dish is quite oily and the ingredients doesn't seem to gel together. Most importantly, the wok hei was seriously lacking.
Thumbs down
CJ, Ong

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A good Friday nite

What's better to spend a Friday night with a Cuban cigar and a italian Chianti?

The wine is Bolla's Valpolicella.. Pretty simple on the nose with sour red fruit. Almost void of any complexities thou. Drink and forget
CJ, Ong

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The day Malaysia awaken: Bersih 2.0

CJ, Ong

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Local oyster from Perak

Recently my family visited a friend who farmed oyster in Perak. It appears that they are able to farm huge oyster in Malaysia now.
No wonder I am seeing tons of restaurant in kl offering oysters now.

Taste wise is still similar, but the flesh is a tad less sweet and thinner.

CJ, Ong

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Lignier Morey St Denis 2002

Very tight still but on the nose a lovely alluring mix of wood, cherry and red fruits.

On the palate it is clean and light weight. Wait 5 years!
CJ, Ong

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