Isaki @ Sri Hartamas, KL

New non-Halal Japanese place in the Sri Hartamas area......

Yay - more options for us KL/ PJ ppl. :)
There's a new non-Halal Japanese restaurant in Sri Hartamas - on the corner, just a few doors down from Auntie Nat's:
Isaki at night...
A small army of Fortune Cats greet you inside the restaurant. I like the casual Japanese style interior, but the ventilation is a little bad (cool aircond, comfortable surroundings but the smell of bbq/ fried meat wafting in the air)... So, we chose to venture outside:
MEEEEEOWWWWWW.......
The outside seating is open air but it was a nice cool night:
Nice open air seating......
Some of the dishes there are pretty much like tapas/ dim sum size (meaning: small portions) so we ordered quite a few to share.

1) First up, the Pork Stirfried with Cabbage (Bacon Hakusai Itame)(RM 10 nett):
Plate of pork round 1...
Simple dish but nice - fresh, crunchy cabbage fried with small but juicy pieces of bacon... light flavor, with nice zing from coursely ground granules of pepper.

2) Next, Pork Stirfried with Chilies (Buta Shishilo Itame)(RM 12 nett):
Plate of pork round 2...
Another simple but nice dish - tasty slices of 3 layer pork fried with Japanese chilies (not spicy at all, tasted more like capsicum actually).

3) Pork in Mayo Sauce (Buta Mayo Itame)(RM 12 nett):
Plate of pork round 3!...
This was my favourite but it was also the richest/ most sinful. :)
Slices of yummy pork fried with onions, and doused with a lovely savoury mayo sauce.
(Great with rice)

4) Deep Fried Chicken Skin (Torikawa)(RM 6 nett):
The bowl of crispy chicken skin....
Ok tasting but was not my favourite....
The slices of chicken skin were quite crispy but also a bit too salty.
(I'm guessing this would taste really nice with beer/ sake though)

5) Tonkatsu Ramen (RM 16 nett):
The Tonkatsu Ramen...
This soup had a very rich, almost laksa-like taste & consistency - sweet and a bit thick, and the noodles were a little limp (overcooked maybe?). Anyway, the other 3 really liked this but I didn't.
(Tastebuds do vary after all)

6) Sushi Platter (RM 48 nett):
The yummy sushi platter....
Yummy! A perfect platter with a bit of everything. I especially liked the Soft Shell Crab Maki, wrapped in perfectly fluffy and moist Japanese rice and sprinkled with Bonito flakes. :) :) :)

7) Unagi Salad (RM 25 nett):
The Unagi salad.....
We realised that our dinner was a bit sinful (too much meat! haha...) so we tried to balance it out with a salad. Overall, I wouldn't mind ordering this again - I really liked the dressing (vinegar+ginger+oil I think).

8) Mango & Orange Sorbet (RM 10 nett):
The delicious sorbet...
We ended our night with a refreshing sorbet, interestingly presented in the orange skin as a "bowl". :)
(I found the texture to be creamier than the usual sorbet but liked it anyway)

Overall I really enjoyed our dinner there - and definitely looking forward to the next time. :) It's still new though... and I just hope that it doesn't suffer from the usual "New Restaurant Syndrome" (Main symptoms include: food+service very nice at first but slowly get worse over time).


So it's: Casual dining, nice dining area outside, good selection of interesting Japanese food, friendly service and supposed to be dog friendly (call to confirm - these things can change) BUT slightly bad ventilation inside,... and nothing much to complain (except that parking in that area can be a pain during lunch time)... :)

Restaurant Review
Summary Sheet:

Isaki @ Sri Hartamas, KL
Taste: 7
Ambience : 7
Service : 6
Price** : RM40 per person
Parking: OK (... but can be a bit difficult on weekdays)

** Approximation - Per person, 3 course dinner without drinks

Telephone No.: 03-6203 5562
Opening Hours: 11am till late

NOT HALAL

OTHER REVIEWS:
- Eat Drink KL
- Malaysia Finance PHOTO THIEF!!! *** BOOOOOO.....!!! >:(

Drama has been concluded. :) *** I have told Sean @ EatDrinkKL about this photo stealer but he said he's not angry. Makes my blood boil though. Grrr. I tried leaving a comment on that person's blog about this but he/ she/ it has comment moderation so maybe he/ she/ it has just deleted it. :( :( Hmmmm,... I wonder whether I should report that blog to Blogger for objectionable content? "Borrowing" without asking first or even bothering to put a link back to the original source is plain stealing, no matter which way you cut it, right?


TAGS:Food, Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, Restaurant Review, Restaurant Reviews, Japanese, Isaki, Sri Hartamas, Kuala Lumpur, KL

With Friends Like These

Location: Loong Foong Restaurant, Paramount Gardens, PJ, Malaysia
Occasion: Mini-reunion of some high school friends/ Friend's birthday dinner

J's question to guy friends:
"Hey, how come you all constantly called me fat when we were younger? I had a look at my old photos - I was really skinny!" *ponders*
"... And how come nobody called me fat when I gained all that weight in 2007?? At that time I really was so friggin' chubby!"

Their answer:
1) "Haha. Oh, you believed us ah?"
(Erm, yeaaaah.... Not at first, but after 4 guys continued calling me fat and making fat jokes, I started to believe it around the 2nd/ 3rd year of consecutive teasing...)
2) "Oh, it's not funny to call a fat chick fat mah... That's just mean. "

(=_=) *face palm*... Thanks a lot, guys....


Ach mein Gott,
J

TAGS: Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, KL, Kuala Lumpur, Personal

Majestic Bar @ New Majestic Hotel, Chinatown, Singapore

Earth moving carbonara in Singapore! - I think I'm in love...

This will be a food review with no prices, as it was food I consumed during a good friend's birthday party in Singapore... Normally, I wouldn't put up a post on this but it was a wonderfully rare combination of good ambience + good food.

The Majestic Bar is located next to the beautifully quirky boutique hotel in Singapore's Chinatown area, The New Majestic Hotel:
Outside the hotel....
On the hotel's outer side facade, an eye catching 2-storey art piece greets you:
The giant says "Hello!"....
And inside?: Well, my photos do absolutely no justice to the beautiful interior... :(

Seriously, you have to be there to really appreciate it! - there are 3 separate floors, one in a forest theme with the walls covered with a layer of felt leaves (as pictured below) and the special upper floor (for private functions) with a gorgeous indoor starlit sky illumintating the room:
The forest floor....
That night, we had a pre-arranged selection of some highlights of the restaurant's brilliant fusion menu. I'e heard from my friend that the menu there changes constantly though, so I don't know whether these will still be available the next time I go to Singapore (I'm keeping my fingers crossed though!):
Our menu for the night....
First up, the Trio starter with Garlic Prawn, Teriyaki Chicken and Lamb Tenderloin:
The 3 small but mouthwatering morsels....
*dreamy look on J's face*
MMmmmmmm.................
I can say nothing bad about any of the 3:
- the prawn was fresh and juicy,
- the chicken was tender and tasty, and
- the lamb was simply to die for.
*drool*

Expectations at astronomical levels after tasting the starter, we were not let down by the main, the Creamy Angel's Hair Pasta with Hokaido Scallop:
The heavenly Angel Hair pasta....
Here's the thing: I usually NEVER order cream based pastas:
1) It's got a gazillion calories,
2) (and more importantly) It's SO hard to find a good one.

.... but thank God there was no choice when it came to the menu that night or I would have missed out on perfection.... PERFECTION!
(Can you tell that I really liked it? Haha...)
- the sauce was luxuriously creamy yet not too heavy (so, not jelak at all),
- balanced by the delicate strands of angel hair which were perfectly al dente, and
- the lightly grilled scallop, dreamily succulent and fresh (again, perfect!).

To be fair, the soup (home made miso soup) and the dessert (lemon sorbet with grass jelly aka. cincau) were only ok... but the starter and main were so good that we were raving about it (with our eyes glazed over and mouths drooling) for days. Haha....

Like I said before, I'm not sure if you can get this stuff on the menu usually... but if the quality of the normal menu items are anywhere close to this then I'm definitely going to be there happily stuffing my face the next time I'm in Singapore. :D

So, it's: WONDERFUL fusion food (yummyyummyyummy), unique ambience BUT apparently it's quite expensive (based on other online reviews)....

Summary Information:
Majestic Bar @ New Majestic Hotel, Bukit Pasoh Road, Singapore

Opening Hours: 11.30am - 3pm, 6.30pm - 11pm
Phone: +65 6511 4718
Address: 31 - 27, Bukit Pasoh Road, Singapore 089845
Map: CLICK HERE

NOT SURE WHETHER ANY PORK SERVED

OTHER REVIEWS:
(But it's mostly of the Majestic Restaurant, which is part of the same hotel)
- Various reviews @ Yum.Sg
- Chubby Hubby
- Food.recentrunes.com

TAGS: Food, Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, Restaurant Review, Restaurant Reviews, Chinatown, Bukit Pasoh Road, New Majestic Hotel, Fusion Cuisine, Majestic Bar And Restaurant, Singapore

Bayernhaus @ CapSquare, KL

Pork and beer - 2 times the fun...

This new beer + porky restaurant in CapSquare looks normal enough from the outside:
From the outside....
... but don't be fooled! This is not your normal beer joint.

I don't know whether it was a conscious effort to try to be different/ look more sophisticated but the patterned purple wall paper, shiny bejewelled curtain thingies on the wall and even more shiny purple sequined throw cushions kinda put me in a state of shock / bemusement:
Bling....
.... BLING
On the one hand, I was pleasantly surprised and happy that it didn't look like the typical beer place,... but on the other hand, I was in complete shock at the amount of garish bling there was all over the restaurant...
*lol*

Anyway, scanning the beer menu, there is a fairly good selection of German beers, mostly under the Paulaner brand. After much deliberation, I chose the Paulaner Salvator (RM19.80nett):
Hello there gorgeous....
It was pretty good - smooth but definitely heavier than most (strong, malty flavour).

As for the food, there was a fairly good selection of the usual German bierhaus style food (pork, pork and more pork) as well as a few Italian items (like tiramisu), which we found to be a funny mix.

We started off with the Beef Goulash (around RM12 for a small bowl, RM20 for large):
The hearty goulash - in sizes S and XL....
Advice: If you & a friend want to try this, go for the large and share instead of 2 small bowls (the size is so much bigger!).

Taste-wise? - Not bad.
It was a bit too salty and thick, but it went well with the crusty bread they served with it.

Next up, the Sausage Platter (RM58++) - a pretty big serving of about 6 different types of sausage and streaky bacon served with with mustard and sauerkraut:
A stack of sausages and some bacon....
Overall, this was ok:
- Some of the sausages were really nice and a few weren't, and
- the sauerkraut (german pickled vegetables) was almost shockingly sour (but I guess it helps balance out the sausages).

We also tried the Crispy Pork knuckle (RM 59++):
Porkyporkyporky :)....
Also not bad. The skin was suitably crispy, and the meat was fairly tender.

Lastly we tried the Tiramisu (around RM 15):
The tiramisu....
Hmmm,... somehow this didn't impress me - hard to pin down why exactly but I think it was a combination of a bit too much cream, not enough coffee taste and not enough alcohol.

So, it's: Interesting selection of German beers, friendly service, (slightly strange mix of) decent German and Italian food, it doesn't look like a typical beer joint BUT it looks like it was decorated by an Las Vegas showgirl (sequined throw cushions? Erm....) and some of the food's a little too salty.

Restaurant Review
Summary Sheet:

Bayernhaus Restaurant @ Capital Square Center, off Jalan Munshi Abdullah, KL

Taste: 6
Ambience : 6
Service : 7
Price** : RM 60/++ per person
Parking: OK (in CapSquare.. Traffic on working days can be bad tho)

** Approximation - 3 course meal, excluding drinks

Telephone No.: 03-2698 2891
Opening Hours: 11am - late

NOT HALAL

OTHER REVIEWS:
- Eat Drink KL
- 蔡's Paradise
- Mandy d Blurqueen
- My Words

TAGS: Food, Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, Restaurant Review, Restaurant Reviews, Jalan Munshi Abdullah, Bayernhaus, Paulaner, German Beer, Capital Square Commercial Center, CapSquare, Kuala Lumpur, KL

Life Is But A Dream

It seemed like just another normal night....

I walked into a restaurant with one of my closest friends, expecting the usual dinner meet up but instead, I had walked straight into a surprise birthday party. :)

I stood there, stunned, totally surprised and happy until.... I suddenly realised that one of the people at the table was my ex, sitting there right in front of me with his shiny bald head glinting in the flourescent light...

My heart immediately dropped with a mixed feeling of anger and confusion:
"Why is he here?"
"Why did she invite him?"
"I don't understand..... This can't be happening....."
"Kenapa.........?????", translation: "Why.........?????"
Luckily, turns out it was just a dream (or nightmare actually)....
*phew*
.. except that it was so vivid and intense that I didn't realise it was a dream until a couple of minutes after waking up.

Worse still in my half awake/ half asleep state, my one lingering thought was:
"How could you do this to me, Jo??? I thought you were my friend!!!! >_< " Haha...

So: Sorry Jo! *hugs*
(For being angry, albeit momentarily, with you over something you didn't do!)


LOLz,
J

TAGS: Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, KL, Kuala Lumpur, Personal

Apricots & Cream - Haagen Daz Fashion Show?

A completely new approach to launching a new ice cream flavour :).........

Key learning: I know now that I will never be able to be a fashion photographer because out of about 50 shots, more than half were completely out of focus. Haha...

Anyway, it's really nice when people try a refreshing different approach when it comes to new products, in this case, the pairing of fashion with ice cream. :)
Summer Swah-ray? Or something liddat (Pardon my England, well... It's actually a French word anyway).....
Haagen Daz, in conjunction with its 15th anniversary in Malaysia, invited 5 young Asian designers to come up with a collection based around their new flavour: Apricots & Cream. This culminated in a fashion show in Bangsar Village to showcase their creations, whilst giving us the chance to sample their new ice cream flavour.

The venue - a makeshift garden in the middle of Bangsar Village 2:
A walk in the park.....
Nice Waiter: "Ice cream for you. miss?"
J: "Yes please, thank you! :)"...
(There were waiters moving around serving the main star of the evening - the new Apricots & Cream ice cream):
Tray full of goodies.....
Not bad - the new flavour was pretty refreshing - fruity and light yet creamy (Given a choice, I still prefer the Belgian Chocolate though, but I am a chocoholic after all so I'm completely biased *lol*...):
Pre-nom.....
Daphe Iking, our gorgeous MC for the night:
What a body *jelez*... And she's a mum too!.....
The fashion show begins:
Leggy blonde in a cute cream coloured dress.....
Lots of pretty, playful dresses:
.....
There's something large growing out of the side of her head? Or maybe I just don't understand fashion... :)...:
Most of the dresses were not exactly ready to wear.....
Wah, if her legs get any longer I think she'll be able to touch the ceiling
(NO, I'm not jealous :P):
Height, either you have it or you don't.....
All the models, lined up at the end of the show....
(Which dress do you like best?):
As pretty as the dresses looked on the models, I suspect most would make the average height+weight girl look like a poufy parasol.....
YAY! I won some vouchers during the quiz session!
(Guess where I'll be a lot, pigging out on delicious ice cream? :D :D)
Look! I'm holding 20 hours of gym time in my hand!.....
Anyway, before I sign off:
A big thanks to Regina @ Pat-Lin for inviting me for yet another delicious Haagen Daz event. :) Btw: You looked ravishing in your green dress lah - why were you hiding behind your program booklet?? :P


Hugs,
J

So, it's: A refreshing new flavour added into a range of yummy ice cream :) BUT it's not cheap, is it?.....

TAGS: Food, Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, One Utama Shopping Center, Ice Cream, New Flavour, Haagen Daz, KL, Kuala Lumpur

Stuff Your Face Cafe @ BSC, KL

Delightfully whimsical cafe hidden in BSC new wing 4th floor...

Stumbled across this restaurant during a lunch date with my girl friends. :)

This quirkily named cafe is hidden up on the 4th floor of Bangsar Shopping Centre new wing - pretty much right next to the children's roller skating rink:
Simple table decorations, with black cats prancing around on the walls....
I loved the ambience there. :) It felt very comfortable, light and airy as there was loads of natural lighting flooding into the dining area:
Lots of natural lighting inside....
There is also a cosy al fresco dining area on the adjoining balcony:
Spacious balcony area outside....
There is a good selection of interesting fusion and Asian food on the menu. We tried quite a few things that day so I'll try to keep the descriptions short and sweet.

1) Pink Lemonade and Lime & Lemongrass Fizz (RM 8 each):
The fruity drinks....
Yum. Refreshing. :)
The Pink Lemonade had a dash of fresh strawberries - warning: It's a bit sour,... you may want to ask for some sugar water to add in. I liked it though.

As for the Lime & Lemongrass Fizz, it had some Ginger Beer in it, which made it a complex yet refreshing drink.
(Will definitely order this again)

2) Chicken Chop (RM 17):
Tender chicken chop....
A sort of tweaked Hainanese Chicken Chop - Nice. Wouldn't mind ordering this again if I feel like something meaty and savoury. :)
(Nina said it was a bit too salty though... but I guess everyone's palate is different)

3) Aglio Olio Soba with Grilled Prawns (RM 17):
Glutton's delight....
The Soba was kinda limp if you were to compare to al dente spaghetti... but it was an interesting change. The garlicky sauce, chili flakes and grilled prawns made it a tasty, appetising meal.

4) Healthy Fried Fish (RM 18):
Yummy crispy fish....
Nice! Pieces of juicy fish coated in a crispy cheesy batter.
(Hmmmm, am not sure if it's really so healthy tho. Haha...)

5) Lamb stew (RM 19):
Glutton's delight....
Not bad - Savoury stew with chunky (fairly tender) lamb and vegetables served with rice.

5) For dessert, we tried the Elvis Presley sandwich (RM 8):
Wonderful delicious SIN....
*drool*
*DROOOOOL*
Simple but nice - deep fried bread, sliced bananas and peanut butter, doused in chocolate sauce. :) :) :)

Actually, to be brutally honest, I found that the bread was got a little starchy... It was like sneaky starchy - Light and crispy at first then it got a bit goopy and sticky after a few chews....
(Still, I would definitely order this again)

6) Adorable white chocolate packs (RM6.50):
So cute....!
Saw these on the way out - didn't try it so I can't say if it tastes nice, but gosh! they are so adorable.... :)
(There was also a selection of freshly made cookies and other baked goodies for you to chose from)

So, it's: Wonderfully whimsical ambience (love it!), good selection of interesting fusion/ Asian food, friendly service, ok prices BUT strange opening hours (only 11am to 7pm - they do not open for dinner unless it's a special arrangement*)

* Feedback by the nice manager-ess/ boss lady is that not many people seem to know that they're up there next to the kid's skating rink (even after 7 months) so it's just too quiet and they cannot justify staying open for dinner - hopefully this will change in time.

Restaurant Review
Summary Sheet:

Stuff Your Face Cafe @ Bangsar Shopping Center (BSC), KL

Taste: 6
Ambience : 8
Service : 6
Price** : RM 35/++ per person
Parking: OK but Quite Pricey (It's BSC lah)

** Approximation - 3 course meal, excluding drinks
Telephone No.: 603 - 2287 3070
Opening Hours: 11am - 7pm

NO PORK SERVED

TAGS: Food, Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, Restaurant Review, Restaurant Reviews, BSC, Bangsar Shopping Center, Stuff Your Face Cafe, Fusion, Kuala Lumpur

Getting In On The Wrong Side Of The Car....

Thank you Mr Neighbour with your big 4wd truck.

Next time, please park exactly on the yellow line again so that I can only open my door about 3 inches. I LOVE crawling into my driver’s seat though the passenger side – it’s just so ladylike.

:P


Kinda amused*,
J

* Hey, ít's not often that I get to start my day with a climb through my car. :)

TAGS: Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, KL, Kuala Lumpur, Personal

Departure Lounge @ Solaris, Mont Kiara

Light food choices in a cosy, comforting ambience....

Wanted a light lunch so decided to try out Departure Lounge in Solaris. Had seen it a while back but always walked right past it in a beeline to Canton Fare for a more sinful porky meal... :D

Anyway, I loved the ambience the moment I walked through the door - crisp white walls but soft touches making it cosy, comforting, like arriving into your own living room (well, of my dream house anyway).

There was also a wall full of travel books so that you can research (or just fantasise) about your next holiday:
Restaurant interior...
There weren't many options on the Lunch Set but the Roma Chicken sandwich set (RM13.90) sounded interesting so I chose that:
(Conditions for the lunch set : (12 - 2pm, weekdays), ranging from RM10.90 to RM13.90 net - basically a sandwich served with Ice Lemon Tea)
The Roma Chicken Sandwich...
The sandwich is really simple - slices of chicken salami, tomato ragu and melted cheese on focaccia.... - but it works! :)

I also liked the chips served with salsa at the side... Ok, so the serving was really small but if it were any more than that, it wouldn't be a very healthy meal anymore, right?
(Wouldn't mind ordering this again... )

We also tried the Chicken Caesar sandwich (around rm12? - sorry, lost the receipt):
The Chicken Caesar sandwich...
Overall, the sandwich was nice - creamy and crunchy, with slices of chicken, egg, tomato and lettuce tossed in the ceaser style salad dressing served in a crunchy foccacia.

Unfortunately, the cake we had that day wasn't very nice. :(
I can't even remember what it was supposed to be (some sort of chocolate or nut based cake?) except that it tasted a little nutty and the texture was crumbly and dry:
Mystery Cake...
Anyway, all in all, I enjoyed the meal there.
Will definitely be back to try out some of the other options on the menu, chill out and browse the travel books, whilst dreaming about an exotic holiday somewhere in the world. :)

So it's: Lovely ambience - comfy & homey, simple (and relatively) healthy food options at ok prices (considering the location in Mont Kiara) BUT nothing bad noted, except that I wasn't impressed with the cake and parking in the outside area is becoming a nightmare (because it is free)****.

**** Please try parking inside the Solaris basement parking instead - it's not that expensive and at least the chances of you getting road rage is much lower.

Restaurant Review
Summary Sheet:

Departure Lounge @ Solaris, Mont Kiara

Taste: 6
Ambience : 7
Service : 5*
Price** : RM 25++ per person
Parking: Limited ***

* It's mostly self service. Staff are generally ok though.
** Approximation - 3 course meal, excluding drinks
*** Try parking inside the Solaris basement parking instead...

Telephone No.: 03-6203 0362
Opening Hours: 8am-7pm (Mon to Sat), 10am-5pm (Sunday & public holidays)

NO PORK SERVED

OTHER REVIEWS:
- A Whiff Of Lemongrass
- Jules Eating Guide To Malaysia
- Just Somethingz
- Live By Giving, Take By Forgiving
- Pillow Talk With Bangsar Babe


TAGS: Food, Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, Restaurant Review, Hartamas, Solaris, Mont Kiara, Departure Lounge, Western, KL, Kuala Lumpur