I am so glad to finally complete my outstanding posts - yay!
Will head for Japan tomorrow night for a week.... back for Chinese New Year (more food!) and then, it's Valentine's Day! and then..... stay tuned!
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Vietnam Kitchen - USJ 9
Elsa, Beth and myself haven't hung out for awhile - the last we did was just before Christmas when they hosted a surprise engagement dinner for Barry and me.
It was a fantastic Italian-themed dinner : boncoccini, tomatoes, basil appetiser, bread and dip, roasted vegetables, seafood risotto (yum!), Italian wedding soup (yum yum!). It was such a delicious dinner and out tummies were very happy. We were given a HUGE card - it was really BIG (bigger than A4). On top of it, we were treated to a gift certificate at Ozmosis Spa for a couple steam bath and aromatherapy massage. We were truly spoilt by them.
So, we decided to catch up over lunch, a plan made while Beth and I met briefly at the condo's convenience store. This time we decided to give Vietnamese a go (I am no expert at Vietnamese food, having only the experience of Du Viet at Sunway Pyramid and if I am not mistaken, in Richmond, BC).
As we ordered a bowl each of the special beef pho, we did not order too many appetisers as the pho was huge.
It was a fantastic Italian-themed dinner : boncoccini, tomatoes, basil appetiser, bread and dip, roasted vegetables, seafood risotto (yum!), Italian wedding soup (yum yum!). It was such a delicious dinner and out tummies were very happy. We were given a HUGE card - it was really BIG (bigger than A4). On top of it, we were treated to a gift certificate at Ozmosis Spa for a couple steam bath and aromatherapy massage. We were truly spoilt by them.
So, we decided to catch up over lunch, a plan made while Beth and I met briefly at the condo's convenience store. This time we decided to give Vietnamese a go (I am no expert at Vietnamese food, having only the experience of Du Viet at Sunway Pyramid and if I am not mistaken, in Richmond, BC).
As we ordered a bowl each of the special beef pho, we did not order too many appetisers as the pho was huge.
Vietnamese Cupcake - delicious with loads of cili padi in fish sauce - 3 pcs for RM5.50. You will like this if you like dried shrimps (the red powder seems to be powdered dried shrimps) - a bit on the salty side even without fish sauce.
Banana Mango Roll - 2pcs for RM6.90
Beef pho - RM11.90 each; can't fault this as I love soups (hehe) - should have asked for cili padi to go with it.
For drinks, we had Mango Milkshake, Water chestnut drink, Vietnamese coffee.
I thought it was pretty good and value-for-money : RM74.06 (10% service charge included).
And of course, it was great to catch up!!
Vietnam Kitchen
39, 41 & 43 Jalan USJ 9/55
Subang Business Centre UEP, Subang Jaya
Phone: +603-8024 8475
Spring 2008 - Pre-Chinese New Year Company Lunch
The whole office went out for pre-CNY dinner last Friday - Lo hei is a must for us!
Salmon yee sang
Shrimps in some kind of gravy - fresh, plump big prawns. If you are a gravy over, you will likely like this.
Some kind of veggies stirfried with garlic - with new cross-bred, modified vegs in the market, I find it harder and harder to recognise vegs especially leafy ones. This was delicious.
Claypot pork ribs with Chinese arrowroot (ngah ku) - surprisingly, meat was soft and tender though they do not look so... I can't say I like these arrowroots - prefer the fried version.
Claypot garoupa with beancurd and snow fungus.
Bill came to about RM45/person with Chinese tea and steamed peanuts included.
Restoran Extra Super Tanker Cuisine Seafood Delights
Tel : +603-77267768 / +603-77267769
Address : 48 Jalan SS20/10
Damansara Kim
Salmon yee sang Shrimps in some kind of gravy - fresh, plump big prawns. If you are a gravy over, you will likely like this.
Some kind of veggies stirfried with garlic - with new cross-bred, modified vegs in the market, I find it harder and harder to recognise vegs especially leafy ones. This was delicious.
Claypot pork ribs with Chinese arrowroot (ngah ku) - surprisingly, meat was soft and tender though they do not look so... I can't say I like these arrowroots - prefer the fried version.
Claypot garoupa with beancurd and snow fungus.Bill came to about RM45/person with Chinese tea and steamed peanuts included.
Restoran Extra Super Tanker Cuisine Seafood Delights
Tel : +603-77267768 / +603-77267769
Address : 48 Jalan SS20/10
Damansara Kim
47400 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
Monday - Sunday :
12PM-3PM & 6PM-11PM
Selangor
Monday - Sunday :
12PM-3PM & 6PM-11PM
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Langkawi - January 2008
We have just returned from a weekend getaway from Langkawi 2 weeks' ago. Apart from spending time with 11 friends, we managed to squeeze in some time to look at venues for our wedding (more about that once things are more firmed). I know, I know... was supposed to set up a website just for wedding preparation but I simply have not much time to document every detail.
Me - Back to Tg. Rhu beach where Barry proposed exactly 4 months ago.
Me, my fiance Barry (hehe) and Marc-Andre at the little resto on Tg. Rhu beach. Seriously, this little shack at Tg. Rhu beach (just about 200m from Tg. Rhu resort) has one of the nicest fried squids I have ever had.... and only at RM4.00/100gms. We didn't have them the last time we were there in September since Barry booked an all-inclusive all-you-can-eat package at Tg. Rhu Resort.
Sorry, pictures are tiny - mooched them of a friend's Facebook album.
For one of our dinners this time, we went to Kantan Restaurant; a traditional Malay home turned into a restaurant. It looked better in person than in the pictures below.
Red-faced me... got too much sun while playing beach volleyball - I put sunblock all over myself but I forgot my face... not a smart move...
The doorway at Kantan...
The group...
The ceiling at Kantan....
Fried popiah (spring roll) - they were humongous; like half a foot each before they were cut into 2 - RM8 for the whole platter...
Laura's order of Kantan Salad - again, superbig...
Our beef rendang - we asked for white rice; they offer nasi kunyit turmeric rice too... very tender beef.... Langkawi style, not spicy enough for my taste... RM18/plate
Fried squid with chilli sauce - I love fried squids! RM9.00/100gms and we ordered the minimum 150gms.
Fried kailan with dried shrimps - RM15
Opening HoursFrom 3pm to 11pm daily.
Me - Back to Tg. Rhu beach where Barry proposed exactly 4 months ago.
Me, my fiance Barry (hehe) and Marc-Andre at the little resto on Tg. Rhu beach. Seriously, this little shack at Tg. Rhu beach (just about 200m from Tg. Rhu resort) has one of the nicest fried squids I have ever had.... and only at RM4.00/100gms. We didn't have them the last time we were there in September since Barry booked an all-inclusive all-you-can-eat package at Tg. Rhu Resort.Sorry, pictures are tiny - mooched them of a friend's Facebook album.
For one of our dinners this time, we went to Kantan Restaurant; a traditional Malay home turned into a restaurant. It looked better in person than in the pictures below.
Red-faced me... got too much sun while playing beach volleyball - I put sunblock all over myself but I forgot my face... not a smart move...
The doorway at Kantan...
The group...
The ceiling at Kantan....
Fried popiah (spring roll) - they were humongous; like half a foot each before they were cut into 2 - RM8 for the whole platter...
Laura's order of Kantan Salad - again, superbig...
Our beef rendang - we asked for white rice; they offer nasi kunyit turmeric rice too... very tender beef.... Langkawi style, not spicy enough for my taste... RM18/plate
Fried squid with chilli sauce - I love fried squids! RM9.00/100gms and we ordered the minimum 150gms.
Fried kailan with dried shrimps - RM15It wasn't cheap for local food but again, it's about paying for the ambience.
I have to say that service was not too good; slow, haphazard - maybe we were a big group and some of our friends had their beef rendang arrived well before their rice (and wrong type of rice was delivered, causing extra waiting time to exchange). So, rendang went cold when the right rice finally came. However, they did not charge for the rendang which was nice of them.
Great if you want to have an insight into a Malay house and to try some local speciaties (though they do offer burgers and such, I would not recommend the burgers - they say "homemade" but Leon and Laura ordered them - looked and tasted like Ramly frozen burger patties). Understandably, since one wouldn't order a steak at a Chinese or Indian restaurant, for example.
Great if you want to have an insight into a Malay house and to try some local speciaties (though they do offer burgers and such, I would not recommend the burgers - they say "homemade" but Leon and Laura ordered them - looked and tasted like Ramly frozen burger patties). Understandably, since one wouldn't order a steak at a Chinese or Indian restaurant, for example.
Kantan Restaurant
PT78, Pantai Tengah, Mukim Kedawang, 07000 Langkawi.
Email : kantanlangkawi@gmail.com
Opening HoursFrom 3pm to 11pm daily.
Bangkok 2008 - Regional Meeting
Regional meetings are always intense - preparation for possible questions, lots of numbers to churn out before the meeting, presentations to be made on market situation, performance, action plans, strategies, objectives, goals etc etc... But, time is also set aside for everyone to mingle and have some tete-a-tete.
This time, we had our 2.5-day meeting at Hyatt Erawan Bangkok and as usual, lunch is always at the hotel for obvious practical reasons. However, we headed out for our dinners (though most of us did have our pre-meeting dinner at the hotel since we arrived late in the evening).
The first night, we went to Moon Bar for a drink followed by dinner at Banyan Tree rooftop restaurant, Vertigo.
My friend who is working in Bangkok suggested Blue Elephant the next time....
This time, we had our 2.5-day meeting at Hyatt Erawan Bangkok and as usual, lunch is always at the hotel for obvious practical reasons. However, we headed out for our dinners (though most of us did have our pre-meeting dinner at the hotel since we arrived late in the evening).
The first night, we went to Moon Bar for a drink followed by dinner at Banyan Tree rooftop restaurant, Vertigo.
View from Moon Bar
Amuse bouche of smoked salmon
Roast Duck Salad
Pumpkin Soup
Palate Cleanser - tangy citrus sorbet - super tart!
Beef Steak - all of us who ordered steak wanted medium but got well-done and nothing was done about it.
Vanilla ice-cream with apples - too sweet
All in all, we thought food wasn't good and prices were high - I guess we were paying for the view and ambience more than the food.
The following night, we went to Baan Khanitha - food was good and since I had been there nearly every time I went to Bangkok, no food pics. I did take pics of with the wine consumed though... some serious Grand Crus...
My friend who is working in Bangkok suggested Blue Elephant the next time.... Christmas 2007 Dinner at Oosh, Singapore
My appetiser : 3 Sea Sampler $16- Tiger Prawn wrapped Parma Ham
- Salmon Tataki
- Crispy Tuna Avocado Paste
Pumpkin Soup (soup of the day) - I wanted lobster bisque (Chef's special) but they ran out of it....
My 2nd appetiser : Pan-seared foie gras
Classic Caesar Salad, Quail Egg, Garlic $8Crouton, Crispy Bacon & Parmesan Cheese
Alaskan Crab Leg & Sea Scallop with Citrus $38Butter Sauce
Sashimi Platter
Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Mushroom Gratin, $38Lobster Idaho Mashed & Shiraz Glaze
My main : Half-roasted lobster
Trio of Crème Brulee $12- Chai Tea
- Grand Mariner
- Chocolate
(Seriously, I do not know what came over me that night to order trio of creme brulee - the warm chocolate torte with its molten chocolate centre was definitely better.)
Warm Varlhona Chocolate Torte with Haagen Daz $13Vanilla Ice-Cream
I liked some of the items like foie gras and chocolate torte but the rest were jut not memorable - staff were panicky probably due to the busi-ness of Christmas season.
Oosh Pte Ltd
22 Dempsey Road
Singapore 249679
Email: info@oosh.com.sg
Tel : +65 64750002
Opening hours -
Lunch :12pm-2:30pm (Mon-Sun)
Dinner : 6pm-1am (Sun-Thurs)/6pm-2am (Fri & Sat)
Soup Restaurant (DFS@Orchard)
Another restaurant which I was supposed to write last year....
This place is for days when I do not have much appetite - they serve a lot of my comfort foods.
There were 3 of us and we all started with and individual bowl of steamed cheicken soup (I think my love affair with soup started when I was still in liquid).
Samsui chicken - Smooth and tender steamed chicken served with garlic/ginger dip which intensified the sweet flavour of the chicken and cucumber slices - portion is huge though (probably enough for 4 person - there were 3 of us and we couldn't finish it)
Kao yuk (pork belly) with fried mantou - beautiful presentation - meat thinly sliced without breaking and re-rolled - so, what you see is a square-ish roll. The fat makes the meat tender - shiok! Great for lard lovers.
Stir-fried fan shu yu (sweet potato leaves) - a bit on the oily side though (maybe even more so after having the kao yuk).
Soup Restaurant
25 Scotts Road
#02-01, DFS Scottswalk
Singapore 228220
Telephone: (65) 6333-8033
This place is for days when I do not have much appetite - they serve a lot of my comfort foods.
There were 3 of us and we all started with and individual bowl of steamed cheicken soup (I think my love affair with soup started when I was still in liquid).
Samsui chicken - Smooth and tender steamed chicken served with garlic/ginger dip which intensified the sweet flavour of the chicken and cucumber slices - portion is huge though (probably enough for 4 person - there were 3 of us and we couldn't finish it)
Kao yuk (pork belly) with fried mantou - beautiful presentation - meat thinly sliced without breaking and re-rolled - so, what you see is a square-ish roll. The fat makes the meat tender - shiok! Great for lard lovers.
Stir-fried fan shu yu (sweet potato leaves) - a bit on the oily side though (maybe even more so after having the kao yuk).Soup Restaurant
25 Scotts Road
#02-01, DFS Scottswalk
Singapore 228220
Telephone: (65) 6333-8033
Banquet, Bangsar Village II
I have dined at Banquet so many times but have not the time to blog about it until now. I guess there is no rush as many food bloggers have been writing about Banquet at BV2.
Now, I have a problem - poor memory - For those times that I didn't take pics, I can't really recall what I have had before - I know there was a nasi lemak and some kind of a noodle soup and some salads and ALWAYS with Orangina....
For the time that I managed to get the pics, I did brng back the menu as well but we have since thrown it out as we really dislike clutter in the house. Anyway, I present you :
Pan-seared foie gras.
Prawn and avocado salad.
Wagyu beef cheek (heavenly....).
Mee goreng.
Food is generaly good but pricey esp. since the times I had been there were for lunch.
Now, I have a problem - poor memory - For those times that I didn't take pics, I can't really recall what I have had before - I know there was a nasi lemak and some kind of a noodle soup and some salads and ALWAYS with Orangina....
For the time that I managed to get the pics, I did brng back the menu as well but we have since thrown it out as we really dislike clutter in the house. Anyway, I present you :
Pan-seared foie gras.
Prawn and avocado salad.
Wagyu beef cheek (heavenly....).
Mee goreng.Food is generaly good but pricey esp. since the times I had been there were for lunch.
Spring 2008 - Chinese New Year - Pineapple Cookies
Pineapples cookies and tarts are my favourite new year goodies among a few others.Barry and I were just walking around Sunway Pyramid mall after dinner last night when we scouted these lovelies - the tin packaging with illustration of girls in kebayas and a cute red paperbag makes it perfect as a gift for the festive season.
No worries about freshness as these little jewels are nestled comfortably in a ziplock plastic within the tin. And pineapple cookies being top of our list of favourites, they definitely will be gone in no time.Now, the taste? Soft, melt-in-the mouth pastry that wrapped around REAL pineapple jam. We bought the Pineapple Carnival Cookies. There is another version of pineapple cookies with cheese. Thanks to the samples generously provided fo customers for tasting, we picked the traditional version without cheese. They are sold at RM26.80/tin (can't find the weight listed on the tin).
They also have a host of other cookies like macadamia nut and almond cookies etc etc.. Their cookies are made dainty and cute, just pop a piece in your mouth at one go - less crumbs on the floor! Go to http://www.yongsheng.com.my/. Check them out!
IF you are keen to get your hands all flour-y, try baking them yourselves - Flavours magazine Jan-Feb 2008 Ed. has a huge write-up on pineapple tarts (recipes included) : Taiwanese Pineapple Tarts, Nyonya Pineapple Tarts, Portuguese Pineapple Tarts, Indonesian Pienapple Tarts, Pineapple Shaped Tarts - take your pick!
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