Marche @ The Curve

Went to Marche yesterday. It has the European marketplace concept combined with a buffet. Well, sort of. Basically, the restaurant consists of mostly fresh food items put out on display and you may order the food from their list. They will cook it on the spot for you and you can collect it 10 minutes later.

Some snap shots of the interior of the restaurant. 

I ordered the Honey Glazed Chicken Crepe (RM24.90) at the Savoury Crepe counter. As you can see, there are three other different types of savoury crepes to choose from.

The Honey Glazed Chicken Crepe was pretty good as a whole and rather filling too. I enjoyed the variety of flavour that went in each bite. Cheesy (mozarella cheese), sweet (apples and onions), savoury (chicken), spicy (sauce) even! And everything seemed to complement each other so well. Pretty amazing! 

CC ordered the Sirloin Steak. It was pretty juicy as a whole though some parts were a little drier than other parts.

He also ordered a plate of sauteed mushrooms. These exceeded my expectations. For any mushroom lover, you might want to give this a try. It has a very strong mushroom smell and what I enjoyed most from this dish was its fragrant buttery flavour that went along with the mushrooms.

So, everything you ordered will be chopped on this list. And when you exit, the cashier will charge you accordingly. 

Special mention to CC for taking me here. :)

This is the place to go if..

You appreciate fresh food. 

Marche Restaurant

Lot G87, Ground Floor, 

The Curve,

Mutiara Damansara,

47800 Petaling Jaya,

Selangor Darul Ehsan.

03-77278461

Open from 11am to 11pm

Nasi Lemak Bumbung @ Seapark

Once again, havent been blogging for a while. Been up to my head with assignments.

CC dropped by my house today and we somehow ended up at Seapark for supper. He was hungry, it was evening, and I knew a lovely mamak place that opens from 7pm.

Presenting to you.. Nasi Lemak Bumbung of Seapark. You get the basic nasi lemak with a side portion of fried chicken. The attraction of this meal is not actually the nasi lemak but rather the fried chicken. Very well fried, and marinated with special spices, the fried chicken is on its own league. The next best thing that I enjoyed about the nasi lemak was the fried egg. Fried perfectly to be sunny side up, but not too runny. CC enjoyed the sambal, though I felt that was old school. For RM4.50, I guess this is a fair meal to try if you happen to be around the area.

AS for location, just look out for Maybank. Their tables are lined along the pathway of Maybank as well.

This is the place to go if..

You love fried chicken. And you are looking for supper. (Place only opens from 7pm onwards)

Bumbung Nasi Lemak 

Jalan 21/11b, 

SEA Park

46300 Petaling Jaya,

Selangor Darul Ehsan. 

Padi House @ Sri Petaling

Back here a little more than one year later. And everything really has not changed much. Really.

Was here with YT, JP and YW the last time and this time, it's still with YT and JP but an addition of AZ.

What I really like about this place is the ambiance that comes with the price of the food as well as its varied choices of cakes. All in one package.

This is the Chocolate Moist Cake (RM7.90). Light spongy cake with chocolate buttercream in between. Not bad, the chocolate cream was silky to the taste.

Grean Tea Mousse (RM7.90) was just okay for me. Didnt really stand out to me, especially after I ate the Wild Blueberry Cheesecake. AZ, the self-professed anti green tea person, did enjoy it though. So perhaps there is some goodness to it. But for me, it was just a lot of slippery cream. Needed something more firm. But sponge is as light as it looks. (y)

This, is THE Wild Blueberry Cheesecake (RM6.90). It is even cheaper than the above two, but tastes soo much better, I swear! The bottom crust has a crunch to it, which complements the tartness of the wild blueberry and cream cheese pretty well. Compared to the previous two cakes, this cheesecake was on a class of its own.

I had the Padi House Chicken Chop Rice (RM9.90) which came with one full bowl of rice, chicken chop, salad and two pieces of fried spring rolls. The chicken tastes very good and this meal is worth all of its RM9.90. The rice was not too wet nor dry. And it had the egg to go with it. But what I enjoyed most about this dish was the chicken chop. Excuse me for the blur picture. Perhaps I was too excited from seeing it? Lol. The chicken chop is drizzled with some sauce which complements it very well. Not entirely black pepper, it had a kind of mustard sourish flavour but it was savoury enough to be comfortable and satisfying. Definitely one of Padi House's trademark dishes. 

And of course, this is the company. Had such a great time with all of you. 

This is the place to go if..

You want to go on a date, or have a meet-up with old friends. A working lunch suits well in a place like this too. The service is pretty alright and you dont get the vibe of needing to leave after your meal. Cakes are pretty good and some are bordering amazing. Food is fairly priced as well. 

This is the sort of place I will always come back to. 

Padi House,

29 Jalan Radin Bagus 3, 

Sri Petaling, 

57000 Kuala Lumpur. 

Tel: 603-90544024

Fresca Mexican Kitchen & Bar @ The Gardens

My last paper was over yesterday so my normal life shall resume from now on. Well I would like to think of it that way. After all, I still have a project paper which is due next month and I have not touched on it a single bit yet. The impending doom.. oh yes.

Had a 'celebratory' dinner with HF yesterday. We were walking around The Gardens and we saw The Delectable (near Cold Storage). We gravitated to the cake counter and HF ended up buying the 7 Sins of Chocolate and wanted to give it to me?! (After I told her I have a very bad flu and if we share, she will get sick too! hehe. Now you know the secret to getting goodies for yourself. *psst.. secret.)

Seven Sins of Chocolate from The Delectable (RM12). Presentation wise, looks pretty classic and elegant. They gave it in a nice brown paper bag with all the 'sins' stored in the box above. It's basically many different layers of chocolate indulgences. The bottom most layer was definitely chocolate cake , and then there was a light cream layer, caramel layer, chocolate chip layer as well as a dusting of cocoa on the top. If I missed any other layers, blame it on my flu. :( Honestly, it really did not meet up to my expectation because I tried one of their cakes before and it was pretty good. So I expected quite a bit from this. But what turned out to be the Seven Sins of Chocolate was a lot of light cream. There was quite a bit of cake layer and light cream layer. But nothing much of the other layers. The caramel layer was not too well distributed and my half had very little of the caramel though I noted that if there was more, it would have been better. The light cream was too light and almost tasteless. Expected a more denser, more indulgent type of dessert from this.. but I was wrong. Oh well.. presentation made up for it!

We strolled around a little more and ended up at Fresca Mexican kitchen & Bar. HF wanted to try this place out and since it was just after exams, why not. Service was pretty good, their waiter has a mexican accent when he speaks and the entire ambiance of the place was pretty conducive for long chit-chats. (Like the one we had).

I had the Chicken Enchilladas Rojas (RM28). The meal wasnt too bad, a simple Mexican fair. Clockwise from right, the red mushy thing is refried beans. The texture and flavour reminded me a lot of mashed potatoes. Good stuff! Rice was pretty alright too. As for the main highlight of the dish, the enchilladas rojas was not really what I expected. Basically, it's tortilla wrapped with chicken and special marinade and this is covered with melted cheese and red chilli sauce. It did look very tasty but the chicken inside was too meaty for my liking. I enjoyed the red chilli sauce though... VERY SPICY.

HF ordered this. Cant remember the specific name but it was Pa... ... .... (RM29). It's sizzling plate of chicken with marinade sauce served with green rice. The good thing about this dish was the chicken and its marinade. The chicken pieces contrary to how it looks, it actually very juicy and flavourful. 

Overall, the place was satisfactory. We picked a little corner of the restaurant and was talking the entire of our time there from before 6pm until 9.30pm. The place gets more busy around 7pm plus. Overall, it was a nice time hanging out with that girl. We just had so many stories to share.. hehe.  

This is the place to go if..

You are looking for a simple (Mexican) fare to dine. The food isnt really fancy but I guess they are serving what Mexicans actually eat and we cant expect fancy food on a daily routine, even if we are Mexicans right? HF liked this place because of the authenticity of the food, something about having no MSG in the food. hmm. 

Fresca Mexican Kitchen & Bar

Lot G-242A, Ground Floor

The Gardens

Midvalley City 

Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-22012893

Open from 11am to 11pm.

myBurgerLab @ Seapark

I have been eating all sorts of burgers lately, except McDonalds of course. ;) But today, I will be blogging about a burger joint that I have been hearing of a lot - myBurgerLab.

Beautiful Mess (RM18) Fried Portobello, sunny side up, swiss cheese.

Kick In The Face (RM16.50) Horseradish sauce, sharp cheddar, onion&mustard grilled patty, jalapeno.

Burgers asides, I would like to start off with saying how much I admire the three bosses for setting up a place  like this. I think there is something to learn from every single thing they do - right from how they had tasting sessions to improvise their burgers months before the place was opened up right to the way they show how much they love their customers. I like the concept of producing tasty yet genuine-tasting, wholesome burgers in a fast-food kind of way. I like how they reward their loyal customers in the most quirky of manners. I respect that they spend half the day baking charcoal buns and grinding grass-fed beef just so that they can provide their customers with the freshest of burgers in the evening. And even more so, I enjoy their burgers so very much.

Thus far I have tasted three of their burgers:
1. Kick In The Face (RM16.50)
As seen in the description of the picture above, the Kick In The Face is a burger with wasabi infused sauce. Imagine the typical burger but the difference is that the mayonnaise tastes like wasabi. Dont worry, the wasabi strength is tolerable, not too much that it makes you cry. Wouldnt highly recommend it, but if you are looking for a burger that gives a kick, you need not look no more. The beef patty is juicy and the portions are generous. (This last sentence applies to all the other burgers too).
Rating: 3/5

2. Hangover Burger (RM16)
This is my first love. The Hangover I had consisted of one beef patty topped with one hashbrown and drizzled with maple syrup. I know, it sounds weird to have syrup in burgers but honestly, this burger is amazing. It wasnt just the maple syrup and hashbrown that made it good. There was some sauce added to it that really complemented the maple syrup. And the crispiness of the hashbrown makes this burger alllll the better!
Rating: 4/5

3.  Beautiful Mess (RM18)
is really a beautiful MESS. I never really understood why this burger could be in any way messier than the other burgers but when I finally watched them prepare my Beautiful Mess, I could understand why. Beef patty stacked with three wedges of fried portobello topped with one sunny side-up, I think it is more likely you would wonder how this can ever be a tidy affair. What I loved most about this burger was (i) the fried portobello which were so crispy, yet juicy (AND BIG), (ii) the runny yolk from the sunny side-up flowing everywhere, (iii) and the cheesiness that melted and infused itself with the egg. Oh my god! This must be the ultimate creation of the God of all burgers.
Rating: 4.5/5

The next time I come here, I will be trying their A+ burger which I have also heard, is pretty darn good. Also, try their fries which are lightly salted with herbs. They are fried just perfect - not too soft and soggy but neither is it too crunchy. And their Red House (I call it cheese dip) goes so well with the fries.

With all honesty, I love this place. Not just for their food, but also for their concept and the sincerity they have in serving the burgers. But their business has just begun and there is still a long road ahead. I really hope they will continue to make burgers with this attitude, because it isnt just the burgers itself that makes them so delicious but also the people behind them that contributes to the final taste.


This is the place to go if..
You are a cool trendy person looking for dinner. This is still the place to go if you are uncool and boring. Just try their burger and you will know what I am talking about.




myBurgerLab
No. 14, Jalan 21/22,
Seapark, Petaling Jaya,
Selangor Darul Ehsan.

Open from 5.00pm to 10.30pm.
Closed on Mondays only.

Levain Boulangerie Patisserie @ Jalan Delima

 

Virtual macarons for anyone who can guess the place without looking at the title of this post!  *=*

Mid-semester break has just begun and though it is a one-week break for us all, I think we still have many things to settle. Not much time for fun. Hopefully still can find time to experiment with some new recipes though. 

Today, I went to Levain with M, HF, and PL for breakfast. This is a place that I have heard lots about but always never had the opportunity to visit, mainly because it is in KL and I really am anti-driving KL roads. It isnt really convenient taking the public transport here either, so driving was my one and only option. Ended up getting lost driving all over KL. So for anyone who intends on coming here, some advice for you: Look for Jalan Imbi first, then Jalan Delima. The place is hidden from the main roads of KL though it is in the heart of KL. 

Place-wise, it is the classic cottage house kind of beauty complete with the veins and wooden doors. The cashier counter greets you at the entrance and on your left is the wide array of breads and pastries. Walk a little ahead and there is a cake and macaron counter. My eyes roamed crazily everywhere when I first stepped into the place. There were just so many breads, cakes, pastries and whatnot delicacies to see! 

This is the cake and macaron counter. Look at all those colourful macarons. Such pretty colours. 

Cakes were very tempting too.

A row of breads and pastries. 

I finally settled on the Strawberry Yoghurt (RM8.90, picture below) which was from the cake counter. There were too many breads to choose from that I decided not to choose from any of them! But the Strawberry Yoghurt turned out pretty so-so for its price. It's actually a globe of strawberry and yoghurt mousse plopped on top of some cake. And the cake was not very good; it was pretty dry and compact. Perhaps they needed a more compact kind of cake that could carry the weight of the globe on top of it.. but nevertheless felt that the 'thing' as a whole could have been improved. 

HF took the Mushroom Baguette (cant really recall the name and price). On the appearance, it looked pretty ordinary, not that it tasted extraordinary. But there were loads of shiitake mushromms piled on the bread with cheese. It was a tad too salty. A very savoury bread. 

PL bought the Chocolate French Toast (RM4.80). It looks and tastes gloriously (picture above and below). It has a very light texture of bread and each bite has just enough of a chocolate-y flavour. This is something I will buy again if I come back here.   

Above picture is the Mango Souffle. The bread/cake is very fluffy and light and there is mango cream in the middle (with chunks of not-very-ripe-mango).

And then there were tens of breads and other delicacies I couldnt resist snapping a picture of. M bought the Mango Cheese Tart (RM4.30) but I did not have the chance to snap a picture of it. The consistency tasted a lot like mango yoghurt.

I bought a few selection of breads for my family to try (picture above). Durian Melon Bun (RM3.80), Macha Bean Bun (RM3.50) and Choco Crunch (RM3.30), beginning from top following clock-wise. 

The Durian Melon Bun might be appreciated for its generous durian filling. It's like a polo bun with durian filling inside. Really creamy and durian-like. 

Macha Bean Bun was not  exceptional. Maybe a good choice for the health conscious. It's just some green bean filling in a green coated bun. 

Choco Crunch might be a child's favourite. Bought this with my brother in mind. It's charcoal bread with lots of chocolate crushed crumbs coating the bun. The crumbs ARE crunchy, but what I liked was the fluffiness of the bun. 

And when we were done with the breads, we tried some macarons. Choices were varied but finally choose LeDurian (RM3.90 per piece), Macchiato Coffee (RM3.60 per piece), and Triple Chocolate (RM3.60 per piece), following anti-clockwise from the green.

Le Durian was a little too sweet for my liking but the durian cream filling was very lustrous and satisfying.
As for the Macchiato Coffee, the first bite exuded a strong (almost bitter) coffee taste which was very quickly compensated with the sweetness of the ganache. Triple Chocolate would seal the deal for all chocolate lovers.

All in all, it is a nice place to hangout with a wide assortment of breads to choose from. Unfortunately, getting here is such trouble that it would deter me from coming back here again. *Never driving here again, never!*


This is the place to go if.. 
Bread and pastries are your thing. Very nice environment but parking can be quite a hassle.


Levain Boulangerie Pattierie
No. 7, Jalan Delima,
Off Jalan Imbi,
55100 Kuala Lumpur.

7.30am - 9.00pm
03-21426611

Fat Spoon Cafe @ Damansara Utama

A food review for yet another popular hangout. 

The first picture (below) says it all, with the trademark design of Fat Spoon Cafe. 

Fat Spoon Cafe is pretty popular among foodie bloggers. If it isnt for their soul food which reminds one so much of home, it would be their quaint interior design or one-of-a-kind menu (which is in the form of kiddie books). They are also very popular for their desserts and their hot chocolate which I shall further comment later in this entry. 

What's not to love? 

Thus far, I have tried two meals off their menu. The first would be their Spicy Beef Macaroni Soup (RM8.90). Macaroni with soup. You get the idea. With a few slivers of beef slices to go with it, and lots of coriander. To be honest, I expected MUCH more from this dish. It was not even spicy. A better name for this dish would be Comforting-Beef-Macaroni-Soup-on-a-Cold-Day. 

Next contender is the Ulam Fried Rice (RM11.90) which is wok-fried rice with sambal and herbs accompanied with long beans, fried chicken and pappadum. This was a teeny-weeny bit of disappointment to me too, simply because I expected the sambal to be a lot more spicy and mean. Instead, their version of sambal was my version of blended chillis. I also found the rice to be average (in comparison to how deliciously it was described). So that is the down part of this dish. That asides, the chicken was good - juicy, savoury, with crispy skin. 

So obviously, I have a 'spicy' issue with Fat Spoon. If you cant tolerate spicy food, maybe Fat Spoon is just the perfect restaurant for you. But for me, I get a little sad when a menu represents itself to serve 'spicy' food only to have it fall far below my spicy level. To sum up their main meals, the choices are reasonably varied with a number of rice and noodle dishes, all at a fair price for its portion. Especially for their rice dishes, most consists of home-cooked food types like curry chicken, salted egg, long beans, fried chicken, steamed rice etc. 

Dessert, on the other hand, is much better! Cempedak spring rolls with vanilla ice-cream (RM9.90) screams creativity. So does their Passion fruit Crisps (also RM9.90). Cempedak spring rolls with vanilla ice-cream is served in a pan. Thumbs-up for the quaint presentation! 

And last but not least, their ever-so-famous Fat Hot Chocolate (RM9.90). Beautifully presented, it tastes just as beautiful, and sinful, if i shall add. The consistency isnt too thin/watery but neither is it too thick. The smoothness of the drink rolls on your tongue before it goes down your throat. 

This is the place to go if..

You are looking for a cuppa hot chocolate. Or home-cooked food.   

P.S. Their desserts are pretty attractive too. Think chocolate cake with ice cream, red velvets, bubur cha cha, sago pudding, or The Last Polka ice-cream. 

Fat Spoon Cafe
73 Jalan SS21/1A, 

Damansara Utama, 
Petaling Jaya, 

Selangor Darul Ehsan.

03-7728 3323

11.30am - 3pm, 6pm - 10pm (Tuesday to Thursdays)

11.30am - 10.00pm (Friday - Sunday)

Closed on Mondays. 

Curry Wan Tan Mee @ Seapark

I am extracting out this food review from my crazy trip with friends about a week ago. We went to this place in Seapark in the wee hours of the morning just to have curry wan tan mee. You dont want to (or rather, you shouldnt) know what we did after that. lol. 

Basically this stall sells curry wan tan mee from 4am to 6am in the morning near the wet market in Seapark. My eyes almost popped out when I saw the number of people EATING at the stall at 4.30am when I arrived! *I thought my friends and I were the only crazy ones!* 

So anyways, they have two sizes - big (RM5.00) or small (RM4.80). We all settled for small but even then, the meal was pretty filling and satisfactory. 

What the stall looks like, with a snapshot of some of the customers eating at 4.30am. 

Imagine a combination of wan tan mee and curry laksa (with the strips of chicken meat, tau foo pok, fishcakes, and fishballs). Darn, it's making me hungry as I write. Maybe a little overrated to the extent that we can only eat it from 4 to 6 in the morning (sometimes it even gets sold off by 5.30am!) But I think the serving is pretty generous and it has that feel-good factor to the noodles, somehow.

This is the place to go if..
You are a student who has just completed a group assignment with friends at 4am and looking for a place to have supper/breakfast. Alternatively, this can also be the place to have a meal in the early hours of the day before setting off for a hike.


Curry wan tan mee stall
Jalan 21/22,
Seapark,
46300 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor Darul Ehsan.

4am-6am

Taman Sari Brasserie @ Hotel Istana

Well the past few weeks have been tiring, it has been a long marathon that has tested my stamina and still is. I started this semester thinking that I will be free-er than before but I am almost on the verge of a burn out right now. Well doesnt matter, everything will sort itself out in good time. 

Went for a International Buffet Dinner at Taman Sari in Hotel Istana, Kuala Lumpur. I have finally completed one term of Vice Editor of VOX Magazine. But seriously, credit should be given to N, not me. 

Heard that each person costs RM91.50. But then again, the choices of food was pretty extensive and service was very warm. There was a salad counter, bread counter, rice and staples (which included ravioli!), desserts, ice-kacang, lassi, and.. and a whole wide range of rotis and meat cooked Malay style. There was also some BBQ food outside - the sausage was very nice, big and juicy.. It is my regret that I did not take the pictures of more desserts up close nor did I take that many pictures at all..  

Bread counter. Really tempted to try the various types of bread but was pretty full. 

The various sorts of rotis. Delicious!

Look at all that fish curry.. And those are the rotis in the background.

Desserts.. always my favourite. Cupcakes are pretty but flavour wise not that great. Tiramisu was satisying. Cant really expect five star desserts in a buffet. But looks-wise, it can be a winner. 

Wont rank the food here as the best but the scenery of the garden outside is quite nice and the service is heartwarming. There was this waiter that kept checking up on our needs to made sure we were all well-fed and happy. 

A snapshot of the outside. Pity it was raining. 

All in all, buffets are always fun. Hope the best for the new Editorial team.. 

Now, if only I could get a quick rest before resuming my endless work! 

This is the place to go if..

You have a bottomless stomach that particularly enjoys Malay and Asian food. They had 10 different condiments for the ice-kacang! 

Taman Sari Brasserie

Hotel Istana

73 Jalan Raja Chulan

50200 Kuala Lumpur

03-21419988

Alexis @ Bangsar Shopping Complex

I have only been to Alexis a few times in my life. The first, would be for a casual dinner with a friend in which I have described my dining experience here. But it was always at The Gardens, and never at BSC. This time round, my buddies and I dropped by BSC's Alexis for a place to hang out and chit chat, while waiting for dinner time to arrive. J ordered three slices of cake for everyone of us to try. 

Well, there is no need for an introduction to Alexis' ever famous Tiramisu cake (with cognac!) as well as the Mixed-fruit meringue which I introduced in my previous entry on Alexis. The environment and cakes in BSC was pretty much the same as The Gardens. But I noted that the cakes did not taste its best - it would have tasted better if they were better chilled. 

The Tiramisu (RM15) tasted as great as before with the slight alcohol flavour in the cream part of the cake. HL was crazy about the nuts. 

Mixed Fruit meringue (RM15). Another popular choice. If I have not mentioned it before, I must mention it now.. I would pick the mixed fruit meringue over the pavlova any day! Meringues, by nature are very sweet and chewy. Alexis' Pavlova therefore, have a very very sweet and crusty bottom but bland top. The Mixed-fruit meringue, however, is the perfect remedy for their Pavlova. Using almost the same meringue and ingredients, they split the 'pavlova' into two so that the sweetness of the crusty meringue is evenly distributed from top to bottom. (I hope my description gets the message across!) So while the mixed-fruit meringue is sweet, it is well balanced with the smooth cream and sour berries with each bite, whether you choose to attack this beauty of a cake from top or bottom. I love this creation.. though I would only advise it for people who can take both extremes of sweet (meringue) and sour (berries).

Then, J ordered another slice of cake - the Zuccotto Dome (RM12.50). It had a very curious design.. dome-shaped with chopped nuts sprinkled on top. The cake is fluffy and there is chocolate mousse with chocolate cream chip at the heart of the cake. I think this cake is special for its unique shape, so you may try it for something a little more fancy. 

So we had these three slices of cake that day. Each with a distinct personality. 

Tiramisu for classical and sophisticated. It is a simple cake with depth and topped with a beautiful topping of caramelised crushed nuts. Any one who loves a little tinge of alcohol in their cake would love this.

Mixed-fruit meringue is for the sweet tooth. But of course, you will have to accept the extremely sour berries that come along with it!

And finally the Zuccotto Dome which is for any one who is attracted to its special design. Can just give it a try. Taste isnt too shabby either! :)

This is the place to go if..

As mentioned in my previous review, I maintain my stand that Alexis is the perfect place for teatime. Lovely cakes, and lovely tea sets. This time, I ordered Ginger Lemongrass tea (RM15) which came with a small pot of honey. 

Alexis 

Lot 15A 1st Floor

Bangsar Shopping Centre

Bukit Bandaraya

59100 Kuala Lumpur

03-22871388