Dreams of Cloud 9

Uh oh. Still not a food post....

When I was younger, I used to look up into the sky and dream - I'd look at those beautiful, fluffy white puffs of clouds, in all their shapes and sizes.... and imagine how wonderful it must be up there...

How nice it would be to lay on those pure white clouds as fluffy as cotton, my back cushioned by its softness, with the vivid blue sky above me, and then a beautiful flickering canvas of stars at night when the sun has gone to sleep...

To be there floating along peacefully above the hustle and bustle and craziness on earth - no troubles, no worries,... just calm, just bliss.

.. and then when I grew up I learnt that it is just an illusion. That clouds are nothing but masses of condensation, filled with drops of water in a state of flux, waiting to rain down on your parade.

"Could it be true?", I thought to myself, slightly distraught... but when I looked out of the airplane on my first flight, there was no denying the reality.

Sometimes I still dream of floating on clouds though, as silly as it may be... but I can feel the gristly earth beneath my feet, firmly stuck to the ground... and I know may never get to live my dream.


Overly influenced by The Care Bears?,
J

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

Apologies

Not quite back into the regular flow of things....

I know I said I would start updating "properly" this week but between work and personal stuff (some of which morphed into corny, cryptic poem type posts) - I've had a lot on my mind.

It's gotten bad enough that it managed to whittle my usual love/ lust for food down to about zero **....
(** Not much appetite except for *er-hem* CERTAIN beverages, feeling REALLY lazy to go out to eat, food just tastes kinda bleh and writing/ stringing words together seems unnaturally hard and also, possibly unfair to the restaurants)

Hope you can be patient with me. I'll try to snap out of it soon - it's just that the wave of emo is upon me... and I can't seem to stop it right now.


Love,
J

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

Prayers Unanswered

Continuation....

A sincere but rare prayer,
Woefully unanswered.

Leaving scars that will recover,
Hopefully sooner rather than later.


Love,
J

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

Gimme a Kiss(aten)

Revisiting a yummy place for pork burgers....

It's not easy opening (and sustaining) a restaurant in Malaysia, I think....

Quite a lot of places open and disappear within a few months whether or not the food is yummy, due to many reasons - bad marketing, bad location, etc.

Anyway, I remember when I first went to the newly opened Kissaten in 2008... and lo and behold, 2+ years later they are still open and doing well in Jaya 1. :)
(Which in itself is a very good sign/ indication of quality, don't you think?)

- Appetizer: Salt Grilled Chicken Wings (RM 9.90++)
Delicious chicken wings....
Fairly moist flesh with a nice (although slight) smokey fragrance... It may be too salty for some though, but not me. I especially liked it with a dash of the lemon squeezed on...
(I like salty/ sour food!)

- Main 1: Teriyaki Pork Burger (RM 10.90++)
Big, juicy, SEXY burger - finger licking good even :)....
Awesome stack of juicy pork patty, grilled to perfection, egg, veggies and a slather of sweet teriyaki sauce.
(Messy to eat but it's a crowd pleaser and really great value for money)

- Main 2: Mushroom Burger Steak (RM 18.90++):
Slightly less sinful? Maybe....
For slightly less guilt (since the burger patty is "naked" - without the bun), loved how the patty was juicy and succulent, but with some bite/ crunch from the bits of (I think?) cartilege that they grind into the patty.
(The sauce tastes adequately creamy, buttery and mushroom-y - complementing the meat patty very well)

- Main 3: Tomato Cheese Burger Steak (RM 18.90++):
Another option if you are anti-carbs....
If you prefer tomato based sauces with cheese then this is the better choice - similarly yummy pork patty, and comes with moist, smokey pieces of eggplant too.
<3 <3 <3

Here's a look at a cross section of the meat patty:
Tasty bites....
(Don't underestimate the portion btw - it's really filling! Enough to be shared between 2 small eaters for sure)

We didn't have any dessert that night (as the desserts there generally don't excite me anyway) but what a fun time chatting and laughing after a good gym session.
(Can't wait till the next round - that's what gymming is for, isn't it? So that you can enjoy a good meal with friends later and not feel guilty? *grin*)

So it's: Casual yet stylish restaurant with good selection of interesting selection of fusion Japanese-Western dishes (and some Asian food) for reasonable prices BUT nothing much to complain about - it's amazing they have kept their standards after all this time :).....

PS/ HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! *hugs*

Restaurant Review
Summary Sheet:

Kissaten @ Jaya 1, PJ
L-12A-1-1, Palm Square Jaya One, 72A, Jalan Universiti, 46200 PJ

Taste: 7
Ambience : 6
Service : 6
Price** : RM 37++ per person
Parking: OK

** Approximation - 3 course meal, excluding drinks
Telephone No.: 03-7954 1990
Opening Hours: 11am to 12 midnight

(BTW, they also have a "stall" in Lot 10's Hutong food court)

NOT HALAL

MAP:


OTHER REVIEWS:
- My review from 2008
- A Whiff of Lemongrass
- My Favourite Taste
- Cooking Momster
- Xiang Cool
- Nava-k

TAGS: Food, Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, Restaurant Review, Kissaten, Jaya One, Jaya 1, PJ, Japanese, KL, Kuala Lumpur

Prayers & Wishes

A dedication to you, my friends in RL *hugs*....

Prayers for the future,
For the past, and tears you shed,

A wish that all your sadness,
Be replaced with joy instead.


Love,
J

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

Haute Food @ Plaza Damas, KL

Yummy sandwiches in Plaza Damas :) ....

I had heard a lot about Haute Food but never noticed it, as it is tucked away in a little "alleyway" in Block H of Plaza Damas (sort of around the corner from the mamak/ 7-11 outlet?):
Just outside Haute....
Whether you prefer to sit al fresco (which can be a bit warm) or inside (small, simple but cosy), Haute Food is very popular and is usually packed during peak hours:
Inside Haute....
Nothing on the constantly changing Daily Special menu sparked my interest that day, so I went for the Roast beef sandwich (RM 13.50) which is on their normal menu:
(The normal menu has a selection of lighter options - interesting sounding sandwiches and breakfast items)
Delicious....
YUM.
There's nothing about this sandwich that I didn't like:
- Generous slices of moist roast beef,
- slathered with tender, fragrant slices of caremelised onions, and
- crisp fresh greens,
- nestled in between two thick slices of perfectly toasted crusty bread.
:D :D :D
Hello, gorgeous....
Since we were there quite late on Saturday, we were just in time for the Tea time special - Cake and tea/ cofee for RM 16 (3pm to 5pm):
(Its not a bad deal, but not exactly super worth it - considering that most of the cakes are priced around RM 12 a slice and coffee around RM 8 a cup)

Moving on to dessert:
To be completely fair, I have heard a lot of good things about the cakes there... but the 2 that we tried didn't wow me.
:(
(Nothing really wrong with the cakes actually, they are above average - Just not super nice, as I expected)

- Chocolate cake:
Slab of cake....
Overall, fairly moist and fairly chocolatey.
(What a giant slice though!)

- Bread and butter pudding:
Our platter of pudding....
Nice textural mix from the ice cream, crunchy almonds and "bread", but the bread was not quite moist enough and wasn't particularly fragrant.
(OK lah)

As much as I am a rice person, I do get cravings for a really good sandwich sometimes... and now I know where to go when I do!
:)

So it's: Casual ambience, decent range of light eats and cakes (with a rotating selection of daily specials), reasonable pricing (considering serving size and that it's in Mont Kiara) BUT nothing bad really - just that the service can be a bit slow when it gets packed and (so far) not all the cakes are fantabulous. :).....

Restaurant Review
Summary Sheet:

Haute Food @ Plaza Damas, KL
H-0-2, Block H, Plaza Damas, 60, Jalan Sri Hartamas 1, Kuala Lumpur

Taste: 6
Ambience : 7
Service : 5
Price** : RM 40 per person
Parking: OK

** Approximation - 3 course meal, excluding drinks
Telephone No.: 03-6201 3168
Opening Hours: 10am to 6pm (Closed on Tuesdays)

NO PORK SERVED

MAP:


OTHER REVIEWS:
- thenomadGourmand
- masak-masak
- Eat While The Sunrays Beam
- Cumi Dan Ciki
- Coffee & Bread


TAGS: Food, Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, Restaurant Review, Haute Food, Plaza Damas, Hartamas Shopping Centre, Sri Hartamas, PJ, Mont Kiara, Cafe, KL, Kuala Lumpur

Belly Good @ Sunway Mentari, PJ

Well priced porky food in the Sunway Mentari area :) ....

A friend brought me to one of his favourite porky places (which I think was formerly known as Wendy's Bistro), located in the Sunway Mentari area - a bustling shoplot area just opposite Sunway Pyramid, filled with food places:
(There are quite a lot of popular/"famous" all you can eat Steamboat restaurants in this vicinity)
Just outside Belly Good....
Inside, it's a simple set up but fairly comfortable. It is also very very popular with families and people living in the area and is full on most nights, so please do book a table or risk being turned away:
(We saw at least 3 sets of people being turned away that night)
Inside the restaurant....
Scanning the menu, I saw the Portabello Bacon Cheese (RM 16.80++) and just had to have it:
Inside the restaurant....
I found it just a bit oily but otherwise, I enjoyed this dish - the mushroom was pretty sizeable and meaty with an evident earthy aroma that was not overpowering, complemented well by the savoury cheese and bacon bits.

For our mains we had the Pork Bolognese (RM 25.80++):
Porky pasta....
The pasta didn't taste authentically Italian but was pretty yummy anyway, in a wholesome homecooked way - the chunky savoury sauce went well with the spaghetti, especially with some parmesan sprinkled on top.

We also shared the Pork Belly (RM 27.90++) which is considered to be one of the specialties:
Our platter of pork....
The meat was tender enough (although not quite "melt in mouth") and fairly well marinated. Still, I thought it tasted good considering the price - very worth it for < 30 bucks:
Cross section of the pork....
To end the night we had the Chocolate Brownie (RM 12.90++):
Chocolate dessert....
I really liked that it wasn't too sweet and had a nice light but moist texture,... just would have liked it to be a bit more chocolatey. Still, it went well with the vanilla ice cream and felt like a pretty guilt free way to end the night so I enjoyed it. :)

Overall, I have to admit that I didn't exactly get my socks knocked off but I thought that it tasted nice considering the very reasonable prices - wouldn't mind going back to try out the sausages and pork burger which I hear are yummy.

So it's: Simple ambience, friendly service, decent range of porky food at reasonable prices BUT nothing bad really - just that the service can be a biiiittttt slow when it gets packed. :).....

Restaurant Review
Summary Sheet:

Belly Good @ Sunway Mentari, PJ
20, Jalan PJS 8/18, Sunway Mentari, 46150 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

Taste: 6
Ambience : 6
Service : 6
Price** : RM 50/++ per person
Parking: OK

** Approximation - 3 course meal, excluding drinks
Telephone No.: 03-5630 1699
Opening Hours: 11am to 11pm (Closed on Mondays)

NON HALAL

MAP:

View Larger Map

OTHER REVIEWS:
- Tracy Chef's Wife
- Lots Of Cravings
- Places and Foods.com
- Fondue of Life
- omoshiroi.org

TAGS: Food, Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, Restaurant Review, Belly Good, Sunway Mentari, Sunway Pyramid, PJ, Petaling Jaya, Pork, KL, Kuala Lumpur

Happy CNY! :)

Gong xi fatt chai!....

Sorry everyone.... I will not updating my blog this week....

Bear with me, ok? I've been REALLY busy (at work, and spring cleaning at home)... and well, I am in a bit of a "holiday mood".
*guilty grin*
Random photo of a yummy cupcake....
Anyway:
I hope you all have a WONDERFUL Chinese New Year celebration this week, blessed with lots of prosperity (ang pows? lol), happiness and yummy food!
(May the Year of the Rabbit bring you and your loved ones immeasurably immense quantities of joy....)


*HUGS*,
J


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