We-feel-like-italians-day meals@Tosca, Doubletree Hilton

Today, we dine as italians.

Today, we want all things carb.



A wide array of freshly toasted bread as appetizers. Mini ciabattas, breadsticks, crispbread all warmly served. Seriously, we could eat this and skip the mains. I was tempted for the second piece but painfully resisted.

Pizza was hugeeeeee. Might i say. The toppings were a little insincere but its light yet fluffy thin dough layer made up for its overall taste. Though it looked huge, we all agreed if we were starving we might just be able to finish the entire pizza, ALONE. This chicken pizza total damage: RM 34. Advisable to share for smaller eaters.

Pasta: for one who constantly cooks, sometimes i can't tell why pastas cost so much. Ive yet to crave any pasta, except the duck confit pasta from Ben's. This pasta was a very simple pasta, nothing much to shout about. I think it was tagged around rm30.

Nice view though, by the pool and the hotel was nicely structured which allowed this open space to have breeze blowing in constantly. It would be nice to have a romantic dinner here.

Guibbe Rosse@Piazza Della Republica, Florence

 Florence is a beautiful place. Love the scenery, the people, the ambience, the atmosphere. It was a slightly gloomy day in Florence, little drizzles and showers throughout making walking around slightly difficult. As it was our final night in Italy, we decided to splurge on a good meal. When we found some free wifi, we did a quicksearch and it seemed that this was a good place for a good meal.

 Home brewed beer. EURO 4. Very, good, fizzy, floral, yeasty beer. One of the better beers I drank in Italy. BUT.....

 Check out the size. This was their 1/2 pint. SO TINY. Unlike the other EURO 3/4 worth pint beers i drank which was at least 330 c. Pricey, phew. Lucky it was good.

 The only thing I dislike about the appetizer bread served in Italy. Besides charging you for the bread (unlike in Msia, all bread free flow) about EURO 2, they are usually cold and hard, and no olive oil and balsamic vinegar is served unless asked. With such hardened and cold bread, its unlikely to swallow it down without any dipping sauce. The only place which we had lightly toasted appetizer bread was in Siena, and boy we were so happy!

 This pizza.... WOO LALA. Was oh so good. Extremely authentic, and the salami i must say, very flavourful and spicy. They were very generous with the cheese toppings. Every slice we pulled out, had the 'Pizza Hut commercial" stringy cheese effect (when you order a real pizza from PH, chances are you will not get that stringy effect). Thin crunchy crusted. Yums. EURO 9.

 My colleague, a "Fan Thung" (Rice Barrel, literal translation) has to eat rice at least once a day. He ate a risotto meal almost everyday. Needless to say, this dinner is not excluded from his rice obsession. It was soooooo creamy. Only guys can eat those, ladies will flee when they see this. Carbs, and fats. EURO 9.

We could not finish the pizza. Ala Msian style, TAPAO! Was pleasantly surprised how pretty the take-away box was. It became our lunch food on the train next day, heading back to Rome.

Delightful Moosey Dinner@De Svarta Faren, Gamla Stan

We were in luck to have the ever helpful concierge to give a couple o' calls to well reviewed restaurants and have a table booked for us during dinner. With an estimated 20,000 participants to this congress, needless to say, almost all popular eateries and hotels in Stockholm were fully booked.

Lucky for us, we managed to squeeze in a booking at this cozy italian restaurant hidden in the heart of Gamla Stan, De Svarta Faren. And boy oh boy, we nailed a good target.

The place was so cozy, dimmed yellow lights, with old paintings and rustic walls. Felt really good being in such a warm and comfy place amidst the cold chilly weather outside.

This restaurant gave me an opportunity to try the moose carpaccio.

The method of serving was pretty similar to the usual beef/salmon carpaccio, covered with rocket leaves. However, its thinly sliced bright red meat stood out. Very very flavourful... salty, some herbs. Texture was extremely different too. The meat was so chewy, but still tender.. nicely leveled to prevent anyone from choking.

The place was so cozy, dimmed yellow lights, with old paintings and rustic walls. Felt really good being in such a warm and comfy place amidst the cold chilly weather outside.

The portions were huge, HUGE, HUGE. HUGGEEEEEEEEE.

I'm guessing the concept is similar in each animal. They say the texture of the meat from free range fish and chicken are usually more tender, and bouncy and more lean. Similar here too, with the MOOOSEEEE burger. The meat was unusually red but very tender and chewy. Some might not like it, as it did have a pretty strong meaty smell. Like the smell you'd sometimes get in mutton or lamb.

The tiramisu was by far the best I've ever tried. Light and fluffy, and alcohol just enough to get you a slight kick. Check out the oozing chocolate. Mmmmmm...

The chocolate mousse, was only so so though.

For those who ever come by to Gamla Stan, this is one restaurant you must try. At the lower ground, there's a tiny secluded area for private functions and it is situated next to the restaurant's age old cellar. Really beautiful.

Estimated cost per pax with all the foodies that we have: starters, wine, main, dessert is about SEK 250-400. 30-40 Euroes. 120 - 160RM. Aih.. sedih, everytime talking about Malaysian currency versus what's outside.

Kinda cool also to see patrons enjoying the pretty cold weather outside the restaurant, sipping wine and having a great time with friends, with their legs cozily hidden under the restaurants' thick wool quilts.

Simple and delicious meal@Trattoria Fonta Guista@Siena

Our concierge suggested this place: affordable price yet pretty good food, nearby our hotel.

As soon as we entered, we were faced with a really warm, dimly lit, cozy place packed with locals and tourists.

I had enough of pizzas, and opted for pork chop. Euro 5.90, for a slice two palms size! It was impossible for me to finish it alone. The pork was nicely grilled and very flavourful. It was fresh meat, as there was no funky meaty smell that you get sometimes when your meat ain't fresh kill.

My friend ordered the risotta, being the typical i-must-eat-rice-everyday man. Super creamy, and nicely cooked till soft enough but not too watery. You could taste the strong ricotta from the rice. Good thumbs up! Euro 8.90.

Personally, i think the bread they serve before our meals should at least be slightly toasted. Almost all meals, the bread taste really bland and hard. Hard to swallow down without dipping into olive oil and balsamic. And yeah, it is not free unlike italian restaurants in Malaysia. Each basket cost Euro 2, and we usually just eat a slice or two max.

Sadly my friend isn't an alcohol enthusiast. The 1/2 litre housewine (euro 4.50, cheap!) went well with my meat but too much for me to drink alone.

All in all, good meal here... I strongly recommend those who visit beautiful siena to give this place a try, especially malaysians on a tight budget.

Here's a picture of beautiful hily siena! I would love to be here again.. :)

Home made gelato@Palazzo Nomena

With the little time we have to walk around Rome city, we scurried around as much as we could with the help of an experienced Rome traveller, YK (who had been here once and raved how well he knew Rome already).

We came to the artsy fartsy part of Rome, with street musicians playing really cool music, talented artists selling their bestwork, mimes (no picts taken as we would be charged), street magicians etc. One really fun place to be with. Reminded me of Camden.


Saw this little girl quietly sitting down to have her portrait drawn. After looking at her face, and looking at the drawing.. I really do not know if I would want to pay him to draw me, like that.

Demona: The 'Rome' traveller told us to hold our thirsty tongues as we walked past, many of the many, many, many ice cream shops until we were wondering if he knew which ice cream we should try.

Until we stumbled upon this shop, which had an extra word that said " Fatto de casa", apparently meant "Home Made".

I had the vanilla and nutella gelato, the rest ordered pistachio and chocolate. Vanilla was really good, but the best flavour went to the chocolate. So so rich, chocolatey yet not too sweet.
Our fingers were freezing holding the cold cup. But yeah, it was truly a nice experience taking small bites of ice cream, while walking around with some romantic music playing on the background. Would be perfect if there is a partner with you taking a stroll.

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...

Putanesca Pizza@Sure PIzza, Plaza Damas

Demona: Sure Pizza was one of the few pizza places which Dogma and I frequent since it's just opposite my place and the pizzas are pretty good. You could really get the cozy, homely comfort feel when you step into the restaurant. The owner, who's an Italian is usually at the restaurant, either busy making culinary magic behind the kitchen bar or at the table entertaining his regular patrons.

We wanted a meaty and cheesy dinner snack, and decided to pop by Sure Pizza after a workout. This time, I chose the Putanesca: salami, cheese, onions firewood baked till it's golden brown.

Our past pizza experiences were pretty fantastic, fiery too! (their side home made sauces can truly burn.. even chilli-resistant Malaysian tongues!). However, this time around, the experience was a little disappointing.

The toppings seemed much less this time around. By the 2nd piece, my mood ran out and Dogma's mood ran out too after his 3rd piece. We had to "tapao" for the first time ever.

Maybe after this incident, it may be awhile before we catch back the feeling of eating there again.

Post Dinner Coffee@Le Passion Cafe, Hartamas Shopping Centre

Demona: Wondering where the crunchy, sugary macadamia nut biscotti soaked in frothy, milky foam deliciousness floating above a hot, fragrant cuppa cappucino came from?

Demona: And where could you spot such a peculiar, funky looking coffee machine?

Demona: None other than Le Passione Cafe! Located on the top floor of the Hartamas Shopping Centre, this cozy petite looking cafe offers some serious good ass coffee, alright.

Demona: At some days, you'll see the two Italian bosses themselves, behind the counter preparing some quality coffee for you. They pay close attention towards presentation, which does make you feel rather appreaciated being served in such a manner. Of course, presentation is just the fore play. After taking a sip, the first thing that hit my mind was, "Mmmmm. you've got style and character." And the subsequent sips were pleasure all the way. :)

This is definitely one coffee place I'd go on weekends when I want some quiet me-alone time, accompanied by some reading materials.

Pasta Brava with the Czar

We had a "Casual Dinner" ( by the Czar's standard) at Pasta Brava recently to replace the normal Thirsty Thursday at the burrow. Even thou the banking industry is bleeding now but my banking executives friends are clearly not affect by the bloodshed! SPEND SPEND SPEND!

Picture above shows dishes of appetiser that we ordered. The parma ham and rockmelon was good. Mozzarella and tomatoes was quite a let down. However, the king of the appetisers were the sauteed mushroom.ULTRA excellent with smoky flavours and saltish bacon..They wiped the dishes clean before i managed to take my camera out.

Braised Lamb Rack with Green Peas in Redwine sauce: I'd ordered this and the meaty was very juicy and sweet. The red wine sauce wasn't very loud but rather pretty subtle and harmonios with the lamb meat. Good effort but costly at 38sgd.

Chicken in mushroom cream sauce: Ordered by Demona, i was surprised that she did not ordered anything ultra MEATY as she is our in house T-REX monster. NGARM NGARM NGARM. Only... MEAT.....willl make her happy. The chicken was normal and nothing to shout about but i wiped the baked potatoes clean from her plate.. Pretty yummy, tender and filled iwth charred aroma. I like!
Tiramisu: It was so so and slightly on the sweeter side. Not my cup of tea. I believe OSO made a better rendition of Tiramisu, thou without the addition of alcohol thou ( the true original version, according to the Corleone)
The Czar sponsored the wines for the night. Villero Barolo Riserva 1998.
Did not have much impression except this wine was very clean and lean on the palate, with raspberry/cherry note on the nose. Some oak appear on teh nose as well. Elegant but not too complex.Siro Pacenti Vendemmia 2001 Sangiovese:
This wine is highly rated by Robert Parker with the score above 94pt if i'm not wrong. Good complexity on the nose, of dark flowers, berrys, leather. Some evolution on the palate, with licorice, tar to black tea. Very enjoyable but still has alot of potential.

We shared the wines with the owner and he was impressed with it.
Overall, Pasta Brava has an excellent ambiance, but the price, a tad high for minnows like me.
:(

Horrifying Italiannies@The Curve

Demona: One of my best girlfriends, LY was going to turn a quarter century old in a few days time. We came to Italiannies to celebrate this joyous (LY, is it?) occasion. A joyous occasion quickly turned sour due to the terribly horrifying experience in this restaurant.



Demona: These were the usual bread slices that they offered as appetizers, along with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and some herbs. The bread was a bit too hard but we were extremely hungry by then, thus anything would taste good.



Demona: N ordered an Aglio Oglio pasta. The portion was undeniably huge, but she barely ate a mouthful out of the monstrous plate. There was barely an inch of Aglio Oglio taste in it. It was as if, a 5 year old kid cooked it, and learned it from a ABC book. She was furious, and you don't want to mess with N, especially when her hunger mode was switched on. Using her pre-learnt law school methods, she debated her way through and demanded that this meal was taken off the receipt.

And.. she made a peculiar remark to the chef itself.

N : I'm sorry. Your Aglio Oglio is not glistening at all. It doesn't even look like one. (Glistening?)




Demona: I ordered a Hawaiian chicken pizza, to share with Princess G. The crusts on the side were so dry and hard that I left all of them aside. The toppings were pretty average, tomato paste with chicken meat, some capsicum slices and pineapple chunks. N ended up eating pizza as well because of the rejected un-glistened pasta.



Demona: This was the birthday girl's dish. I can't recall the exact name of it, but it was something like, grilled fish with capers and lemon. From the look of the dish, you could clearly tell that... *blegh* this was going down hill all the way. The fish tasted so wierd that when all of us tried it, we just couldn't put any words to describe its taste.



Demona: This was EV's dish. I think it was the chicken parmigianna. All of us agreed that her dish was the safest among all because it was basically deep fried bread crumbs coated boneless chicken and tomato paste based spaghetti. I think any of us can easily make this in their home's humble kitchen.

Verdict: It cost each of us nearly RM40 for this ... I can't even call it a meal myself because to be honest, we left most of the food behind. A truly traumatic experience, I do not think any from the 6 of us will want to spend a penny more at this restaurant. The quality has gone with the winds.

Baronda Pizza (Artz Pizza)

There are numerous write ups on the Baronda Pizza which is situated by the East Coast Beach. Demona and I paid a visit to catch some post Church bite before sending her off to catch the coach back to KL.

We ordered their signature Onion Ham Pizza and was duly disappointed. The ham was soggy and without much flavour while the pizza was overwhelmed by soggy onions.

Disappointment.

The pizza cost 20 bucks plus and I dun think we will be visiting them soon.

Home Cook@clementi

Dogma likes to cook.
He especially likes to cook after 7 months honing his culinary skills and exchanging recipe with a bunch of Europeans students in Poptahof Noord, Delft.

Last weekend he did his usual pasta dish: Salmon Pasta ala Subprimed ( best suited for tight budget folks in view of the recent subprime crisis)

Ingredients:
Salmon skins and bits ($2 from Cold Storage/NTUC)
Bottle of tomato puree/paste ( $3 dollars for 500ml, perfect for 6 or more servings)
Pinch of Sarawakian Black Pepper ( FOC from colleagues)
Pinch of Malaysian Chilli Powder ( $3 use for 3 years)
Dash of Olive oil ( $18/1litre for 6months)
Pasta ( San Remo/Barrelli @ $1.90 during discount)

Voila!!!!

Here is your fishy wishy Subprimed Salmon Pasta: Same joy, Same flavour, half the price!