Yarra Yering No 1

Had this in Bali.
Complex, old world nose of cedar, leather and cigarbox.
Nicely aged, lacking abit in finesse
Finished was abit short.
Good aussie wine that could possible match up with some french.

La Temeraire Blanche Burgundy beer

Got this rare burgundy beer from my favourite wine supplier recently in singapore.

Brewed in Burgundy and added with some cassis liquar in it.
slight similar with fruity belgium beer but with more acidity and body.

Interesting, and the label practically sold itself.

Apgujeong revisit@Solaris Mont Kiara

 Having truly enjoyed the first dining experience in Apgujeong, the crave to eat quickly came back. Within 2 weeks, we said hello to Apgujeong. We were served with a slightly different choice of side dishes this time. I really liked the raw thinly sliced beef with salty spicy marinate. Yums!

 They serve several mushroom side dishes which are quite delicious! I personally loved the fried anchovies with nuts.

One thing that I absolutely love about Apgujeong is how well our pork were grilled. You could see each piece was nicely charred, burnt brownish colour and they were nicely marinated too. The pork complemented really well wrapped with lettuce leaves.

Needless to say, second round of galbitang! The freshness of the soup with the dates and leeks. Delicious, delicious!

Magnum, Stroopwaffles and all things Ben@Home&Solaris Dutamas, Publika

 

Seriously, Eva Longoria's advert really makes you crave for a Magnum. Despite its costly price of a tiny stick for RM 4, I do have the urge to splurge myself with this luxurious ice cream every now and then. Today, is one of those days. Sometimes, the urge comes along with the level of stress I faced for the day. 

This new chocolate truffle flavour is lacking complexity and character. Just another normal chocolate ice cream. I recommend sticking to the original flavour. I tried the hazelnut flavour once, also disappointing.

 Now, moving on! To.....

 

 

WOW WEE!!! A gigantic stroopwaffle from Starbucks Indonesia, courtesy of Dogma. Half of the waffle was dipped with chocolate sauce. The size was big enough to let it sit on top of my hot cuppa home brewed coffee, allowing the steam from the fragrant aroma Maxwell coffee to seep into the caramelized layers of deliciousness.

WOW WEE!!! I really can't wait for June to arrive for stroopwaffle stock replenishment!

 

 

One of those working Saturdays again. Came over after working out in the gym. A rainy stormy Saturday, coupled with a hot cuppa cappucino, served with a slice of biscotti. Nicely prep-ed coffee but taste wise was average.RM 6 for a small cuppa. Mai hiam la.

This was the almond banana cake. RM 11. So so la.

Tasted like an expensive version of the sliced banana cakes we get from high school or university cafeterias.(The sliced ones came from those really long block of banana cake by suppliers. I'm sure many of you know what I mean). I've yet to taste a good cake from BEN's with the exception of the macadamia brownie.

These desserts play an important role on a working Saturday. Else, working gear can't start running!

Tapao Worknights@WOW Chicken, Hartamas

Some nights became work nights. We are often misjudged by others thinking we lack work to do, but in fact, I spent many nights working. The comfort I get from taking my resting time to serve jail, is from the dine-ins!

WOW Chicken, is located in Desa Sri Hartamas. They have delivery service also. We ordered a pack of fried chicken for our working night!

 Siu Kai Yek! Ngo Zhi Sai Zhong Yi Sek!

Fried chicken ala Korean style. Do not be dismayed by the colour, in fact the chicken was very, very juicy. Truly enjoyable to chew, munch, bite. Half a chicken, RM 30plus. A little steep, considering the fact that you could eat a lot more for RM 30 with the finger-licking goodness KFC. However, the fried chicken in WOW really tastes different. Crunchy and juicy. Yumss...

 Wine, goes well with taking away the pressure from work.

A cheap Sauv Blanc, this time from Aussie. A slight deviation away from my NZ Sauv Blanc escapades. Peachy, and a little heavy on the palate. Luckily we had fried chicken to go with the wine. Nonetheless, only RM 30 over.. sometimes the tastebud's got to take the hit during economic downturn.

 

My dear friend bought me a pack of stroopwaffles at her pitstop at Amsterdam, coming from Prague. Wheeeeeee! One of my happiest work days. Next stroopwaffles eating session, June! Can't wait to eat you again, my darling stroopwaffle.

Ngarm, ngarm, ngarm, ngarm.

 

Morton's Shanghai

At RM300 per steak, this is as good as steak can ever get.
Cut thru like a butter, with nice pinkish center...the aged aussie ribeye was YoYoYo.

Awesome

Bachelet Ramonet 1er Cru 2001 Chassagne Montrachet

Open up with white floral, buttery nose...
And a good weighty palate.. Finish was medium...
Good complexity on the nose and silky smooth gliding down your palate.
Got it during a blind tasting competition at Conferie Burgundy in Singapore

Good morning,saturday!@starbucks, Gardens Midvalley

On the 6th day, manna was gathered twice as much. I should keep to this statute. Covenant of the torch, very important message delivered: deu 32:7.

Spiritual and physical blessing.

The new cocoa cappucino, rm12, n apple grain muffin, rm5.90. Both average.

The must-say-never food of starbucks are their pie range. Bought a chicken pie, rm 8, with 80% crust n 10% chicken 10% potatoes. Rip off!

The starbucks card is a pretty cool idea tho, to lure loyalists.

Mamma's home cooked food@Taiping

My aging doggy always shows his excitement whenever any of us come home. He was all smiles here, while I tickled him. Haha. Crazy fella. I love him to bits.

Only during CNY time! Will we see this actively sold/ cooked. Mom sliced the 'kuih bakul' slices and dipped them in beaten eggs, before sending them into the deep fryer. Yummmss....

Father truly bless me with a great family. Mom always cooks the dishes we loved most whenever any of us are home. She knows I love to eat fish. Sweet and sour spicy fish. Better than so many restaurants here in KL.

This is what we call a real prawn fritter! Many restaurants serve real crappy small sized prawns, or fried with overly used oil. "Someone" always steals my fritters whenever I get fresh stocks from home!

A view from Maxwell Hill at midpoint. Even for someone like me who exercises quite often, I was panting hard and sweating all over hiking up hill using the hiker's way rather than the tar road. My heart was pumping real hard and all I could think of was to reach the end point asap. 30 minute hike.

Dinner with the airhead@Plan B, Bangsar Village

I just realised, man.. I've been visiting BEN's too much lately. So many foodie picts from there. Phew.

I had dinner with my friend, to catch up and also 'pirate' some movies and series from his precious 1terrabyte HDD. He is a soup man. A must-have dish in almost all meals, if soup is available. He ordered the mushroom soup. RM10.

This was the creamiest, thickest mushroom soup I've ever tasted. You could chew chunks of mushrooms and after few spoonfuls, you feel full already. We both could not finish this. Definitely a mail meal on its own.
Quite a worthy deal.

The carbonara. Sliced ham, mushrooms.. and creamy again. Phew. I felt my coronary arteries flagging out distress signals. Nonetheless, it was quite tasty too. Portion was just nice for one hungry tummy.

I ordered my usual duck confit ciabatta, just for the sake of eating the duck confit. I really like BEN's duck confit, especially the one served with pasta in his sister restaurant, BEN's grocer. Save half a piece for my next day lunch meal :)

This was my first time eating the macadamia brownie with vanilla ice cream. My colleagues raved so highly on this dessert and despite being full, I convinced my fellow friend here to stuff our full tummies with this brownie. RM 11.

Yes, it was as sinful as it looked. Drizzled with chocolate sauce ( I believe it came from Hershey's as it tasted like it). The brownie was very soft, and dense. The baker probably used very little flour in his/her recipe. The macadamia chunks laid on the bottom.

To me, vanilla ice cream goes well with almost all desserts, especially warm ones. Obviously, this one did not fail to complement the brownie well.

We finished our dinner with very strong urges to change into the loose, oversize comfy sleeping clothes. Just a meal like this alone made our work clothes suddenly tight!

Saturday brunch@Plan B, Publika, Solaris Dutamas

If I do not work on weeknights, they pile over and I have to sacrifice some Saturdays. The top flers would tell me to improve my priorities, time management, yadayadayada. If only they truly know the things we need to do. At least I do not outwardly show my 'hardworking'ness just for the sake of scoring praises.

Back to the foodie...:)

Another working Saturday. I ordered a egg sandwich. RM 10 only! Okay, yes, the ingredients were just smashed eggs, but hey the portion was quite big and it was served with some salads and chips. I thought it is quite a steal deal. Any time better than Subway.

 

My colleagues know me well. I brew my own coffee every morning and would be cranky if I start the day with lousy coffee/ no coffee at all. Pulls hair.

Dis cuppa cappucino. So so only. For RM 6. I ain't complaining much. 

Ben addict@BEN's, Publika, Solaris Dutamas

Grilled chicken salad. Quite hearty and healthy. Chicken strips were nicely grilled, super peppery. Mixed with chopped almonds, avocado, baby tomatoes and lettuce leaves. Portion was quite big too. Those always watching their diets could opt for this tasty meal.

My all time fav duck confit pasta. Quite enjoyable but the best I've tasted was still the one in BEN's KLCC. The chef there must have super cooking skills!

Shanghai part 2

Xiao Yang Sheng Jian Pao
- a pretty famous local chain selling fried pork bun + beef blood soup. Ohh so tasty..

Spicy lobster
- we had this again during the lobster off season. It was extremely pricey this time.
For 1.5kilo + 3 hairy crabs it cost a whopping rm150

BBQ supper
- this is good. Similar to lok lok but the food are all barbequed.
My first attempt resulted in charred rubbish.
On my second visit, the owner bbq for me and it was oh so delicious. She load it up with cumin, spices, chilli and salt when bbq-ing. Each stick cost between rm1 to rm2, and washing it down with rm3 beer. This is awesome

Shanghai March 2012 part 1

The weather was exceptionally cold in shanghai this early spring, with tempearature hovering between 6 to 7celcius.
Brrrrrr.

Everything is expensive in Shanghai.
Except some food.
The xiaolong bao was 3.50ringgit for 6biji at a nearby restaurant.

Coffee is generally overpriced. Starbucks charges close to rm20 for a latte venti.
How ever, I was lucky to get a 50cents espresso@Ritazza Pudong Airport...

Sunday brunch after Sunday service@Plan B, Publika, Solaris Dutamas

 After a great sermon from Sr Pastor, receiving much spiritual blessings, time to receive physical blessings too.. to me tummy of course! Pit stopped at Plan B for lunch. Plan B's big breakfast proved to be quite a worthy meal. I'm served with a cuppa orange juice and coffee. The coffee was a little too sour and rough for my liking.

When the breakfast set first arrived, I thought, "Hmm... not so BIG a breakfast after all." Little did I know, I struggled to finish it. I believed it could be due to the potatoes and also almost every item was fried. I liked the ham and sausages. Super meaty! The mushrooms and baby tomatoes were generously served too. Hidden under the eggs was a slice of overly oiled up toasted bread.

If I was really hungry (maybe after a workout at the gym) I might have enjoyed this meal even more. Quite a worthy try for RM 24 meal. Not a cheap brunch where people like me can eat everyday, but Ben's chefs are kind enough to serve at least averagely sizable portions.

Antipodean's version is quite huge also. I struggled to finish too, but the variety of dishes served were less than Plan B's, and it does not come with coffee and juice also.

I have yet to find the ultimate Big Breakfast in KL. Any recommendations?

2012 CNY dinner@Oriental Pavillion, Jaya33

The time for CNY gathering among us colleagues + ex-colleagues is here again. We aim to maintain this tradition every CNY. Last year it was held at Jaya Palace (the food sucked, service was horrible).

The commonly ordered CNY dish, claypot rice with salty chinese sausages, smoked duck and pork. I never got accustomed to enjoy the lardy taste of "lapcheong"s, hence I retire for this dish whilst my friends continued whalloping the porky pork slices.

Rice was so so. Nothing much to shout about.

Lou sang! My second and final one for the year. We warned one another not to jinx the lousang wishes. Last year, just before officiating the lousang action, my friend voiced out some negativity about our sales targets. We missed our target last year = no bonus = low salary. This year, we were reminded not to mention negative things before lousang-ing. What superstition! haha.

Glazed BBQ grilled pork rib. Each person was given a plate of pork rib the length of an average 15 cm ruler. THIS WAS EXTREMELY GOOD. I was in luck to be served with a lean pork rib. There was one extra rib left, and my greedy self wanted to grab the next rib but too shy!

Presentation seemed unattractive. Taste was also unattractive. Plain jane cooked prawns. No recollection of its taste either.

Tofu with vegs and mushrooms. Quite delicious but the best rendition of this tofu goes to Duck King if its deliciousness is maintained. I haven't eaten in Duck King for quite a while, there is a possibility that the standard might have dropped. The sad and true reality of good restaurants in KL. Many were good when initially opened, as it gets popular, the quality starts to drop.

Seared pear with hasma. I was running with a temperature (which ruined my appetite a little already) and my friends advised that this dessert would be the best for someone who has a bad sore throat. The hasma dessert, was average. Nothing unique about it to make it stand from others served elsewhere.

Total damage per pax from 9 diners = RM 90. @_@. Wowwww... quite, steep. Not sure which was ex, but the only thing that I would pay for is the pork ribs. The rest are... so so, just slightly above average.

Apgujeong Restaurant@Solaris Mont Kiara

 Apgujeong proves to be a really good Korean foodie place in this Korean/Jap expat filled area. This restaurant just recently opened its door to patrons. We were greeted with a generous serving of side dishes, boy oh boy... they all tasted really yummy. Especially the fried vermicelli, slurpssss.

 Star dish! We ordered the galbi-tang, and the owner was truly kind. We did not want to waste the rice uneaten and intially told the waiter to skip serving the rice to us. The owner then added more beef for us to make up for the lack of rice. The broth was one good broth. Strong beefy taste, yet sweet and herbalicious too. Meat was tender, showed great stewing skills.

I was excited to receive a square shaped Korean pancake. It is usually served round shaped, and sliced into pizza slice portions. This is the first in squares. I liked it as a lot of leeks, spring onions and squids were added. The other dogma, however did not enjoy it. Awh c'on, RM 25 for such a huge piece. Steal deal!

The leftovers became my next day's lunch meal. Muahahaha.