Foodventuras upgrade!

Finally... the site is taking a new and bigger step in its foodie venture life!

Im transferring all my posts and moving them all to...

http://www.foodventuras.com

See you all there ! :)

Good Vibes Fest's grab-a-bite@Sepang circuit

Sunnies, check.

Comfy clothes, check.

The day had finally come. Smashing pumpkins! PULLS HAIR. SCREAMS OBSESSIVELY.

After coming to a near 20 year wait, SP finally made its way to Malaysia. Although James Iha, Darcy, Jimmy were no longer present, having Billy at frontline jammin' to all the songs which inspired me to pick up playing guitar just seemed unbelievable.

Until today I remember ,"1979". First song I learned from the 6 string acoustic.

The weather was also great that day, sunny yet windy and good to know the crowd as not too big till you feel suffocated. Whee! Having them to end the fest with a non-stop 1.5 hours of wicked electronica music, billy's bad ass performance on stage, and the drummer's adrenaline rush hits on the drum set made every penny paid for worth my while.

The event was rather well organized, I was expecting more mess actually. The temporary toilets were aplenty and clean and ample food for sale.

I bought the sandwich for RM 15 from Yay, Sammich!. Being a spicy lover, I thought my sandwich was spicy sauce chicken sandwich which turned out to be kimchi chicken instead. Bread was too hard to chew and fillings were much less than how it looked outwardly. Oh well... my expectations were not high to begin with when it comes to food served at a music fest.

P/S: an uninformed shot of my friend, Joe, my rock buddy, who was stressing out while eating his free Artisan popsicle, when two sexy chics came over to sell him ciggies. DARN FUNNY sight! Relax... bro relaxx....lol

Second dimsum visit@Imperial Pot, Publika Solaris Dutamas

I was filled with excitement while driving to Publika. It is Imperial Pot second visit day! The objective was to try the other dimsums they have to offer and see how they can impress me further.

The yellow skin wrapped meat dumplings were steamed with soy sauce and ginger slices. The meat tasted really fresh and the hint of ginger gave a kick at the end of the palate. Although it looked differently outwardly, somehow rather it resembled the taste of a xiao lang bao. Good effort!

The scallop topped "har-kau"s did not really impress me. Somehow the taste of the scallops weren't obvious if I closed my eyes and ate them I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the two.

The black inked skin wrapped "har kau"s were not impressive either. The skins were hardened yet chewy and taste wise did not differ from the original ones too. Other than these points, the prawns of course, were fresh. Thankfully.

The prawn wrapped with fried thread-thin rice noodles and pink chee cheong fun was yummy! Put aside the fact that it was an oily dish considering all items were fried. The great thing was that they were freshly fried hence the crunchy crumbly bits falling off upon each bite. Bad for the arteries! But good for miss foodventuras!

All in all.. I still had a great time having my dim sum brunch here at Imperial Pot mostly thanks to these steal deal pan fried paos with meat fillings, coated with deep fried shallots and oil for only RM 6. Onions are my weakness and deep fried burnt onions.....my legs turn wobbly. Yums!

Third visit..coming right up!

Baked cheese cake@Komugi, Paradigm Mall

The recent rave and dessert craze in Klang Valley, Komugi bakery, Jap origin.

I must say the decor of the bakery, the signages, and the display of their daily bakes do make you want to try every single item, I refrained from listening to my evil gluttony voice and decided to try out their signature seller, the baked hanjuku cheese cake.

From the enlarged displayed image on the poster to holding this wrapped piece of cake on my hand.... wow. Major difference.

Each piece cost RM 3.50.

Gone in 2 controlled mouthfuls. @_@ (could have gone in 1!)

I gotta say the cheesecake was definitely much smoother and softer than most cheesecakes in town, but after eating the cake in Cheesecake factory, that became the benchmark.

Will get the rest of their bestsellers a try on my next visit here.

P/S: I found them being really thoughtful to give tiny pamphlets that teach you how to heat up your tapao-ed bread properly to enjoy them optimally.

Late supper/post mortem@Gastro Sentral, Le Meridian Kuala Lumpur

This cfter a long and hard day at work, i can finally rest my mind and tummy for a late meal. Lucky for me Gastro's kitchen closes late so I was able to grab my dinner there (1045 pm). Surprisingly, the place was packed with patrons, mostly executives, having drinks. Being hypoglycaemic, all I could think of was something sweet. 

Hence, the chocolate brownie order! RM 20. The portion was big, the size of an average pal share with 3-4 dessert lovers. Brownie was rather soft and gooey, with huge chunks of macadamia. Pretty good I must say, but I'd still prefer my brownies brown. Somehow it lacks the ooomph and kick when it is white chocolate instead.

The hot chocolate was yums! Thickened and not too sweet..with a hint of bitterness at the end palate. I could taste that they did melt the chocolate rather than fully powdered form. A good choice for a late meal with the intention to crash in bed later. RM 20.

This crunchy sandwich had the Gastro logo stamped next to it signifying its popularity. I decided to give it a try and boy oh boy, the portion was huge. But huge in the sense the bread was very thick but the ham portion was average. The bread was abit too thick for my liking as it was actually difficult to eat like a real sandwich and instead i only ate half the sandwich slice which was also difficult as the bread was rather hard. Average for my liking. RM 25.

Alas, the live music and decor does make the whole place a great one to hang out with friends and colleagues. I was infatuated by the colourful light bulbs placed on each table. So pwettyyyyyyy. 

I'm not sure when will it be my next visit here, probably in a LONG LONG while and I hope by then perhaps the food will impress me more :)

Sashimi till I drop (literally)@Caribu, Seoul

I've been told that Korea is known for steal deal sushis and sashimis, but I was always skeptical of this statement until I experienced it myself at Caribu, a local sashimi joint nearby Diana Hotel, in Gyungmyeong.

It was rather obvious that I looked like a "mountain pig" unsure of how to order, blindly staring at the a picture less menu filled with Korean wording hung on the wall. Lucky Dogma was around to do some amateur translation and we ended up ordering some sashimis at 25000won/pax. (RM75). At first, only 10 pieces were placed on this gigantic plate. Strangely, the locals love their sashimis slightly frozen, thus hard. Not accustomed to this style of eating, I left mine on the bowl for a while to thaw and soften them before eating. Within minutes, the 10 pieces were almost gone and I was left feeling cheated, thinking this cost RM 75. I must confess I was quick to complain in Mandarin, forgetting that many locals here can also speak Chinese. Urks.. Only then I had slight suspicions that the chef might be able to understand me. Just when I was about to pack up, all of a sudden, the chef took out his sharp knife and started adding more slides on the iced bowl. Like ALOT of slices. From different parts of the body. The image above was the 2nd serving. Oops. I was too quick to judge.

I was further surprised when the chef started cutting the tuna meat again, this time giving us, the eyes, cheeks, tongue, neck parts. WOAH ! And to add the wow factor even more, the chef covered the meat with some gold dust. Who says gold accessories can only be used on humans? Fishes too! My favorite part was the eye. So, so, so, so tender. Beyond description.

Based on my observation, the two distinct methods of sashimi eating between the Koreans and the Japanese are: 1) fish slices are served slightly frozen and hardened versus just nicely defrosted and soft 2) the sashimis are wrapped in seaweed for the Koreans

The other distinct difference was also the side dishes serving, I didn't expect that the prawn sashimis and rolls would be complimentary. What a generous gesture! And the other side dish given was fried ginkgo and garlic on served on the hot plate. I have never eaten ginkgo in such a manner before, and it was delish! The oil brought out the nutty flavor and soaked with garlic fragrance making them truly enjoyable just munching them as they were. We had to reject their third serving of side dish which was beef slices with foochuk. It is madness the amount of food given ! I regretted speaking so harshly right from the beginning condemning the overpriced RM 75 10 sashimi slices, only to know I was about to embark on a long educational dining experience on the tuna. We were so full that we had to tell the chef, "no more....no more sashimi please... Stop ..." I'm sure no one has ever declined the chef from serving sashimis before, it is definitely my first, for someone who loves sashimis and any worthy steal deals! If I were to dine like this in Malaysia, I must be prepared to spend at least RM 300-RM 500, like the price in Gaon, Sri Hartamas. I am very, very, very glad I had this surprisingly pleasant and educational dining experience in Caribu! Looking forward for another year of fruitful foodie venture on my next Korea church retreat trip.

Best cheesecake Ive ever had@New York Cheesecake Factory, Seoul

We were aimlessly walking around the Gyungmyeong area after arriving back at Seoul from Yeojoo. This summer retreat was truly blessed, heartfelt with tearful prayers and humbling for me.

Before I left, this shop was still under renovation. Amazingly after 5 days the shop is now opened.

The beautifully displayed cakes decorated with such refined and delicate touches, I could not resist trying the cake, despite the pricey tag (one slice is 5500 won, 15 RM!)

And I was glad I followed my hunch.

By far the best cheesecake I ever had.

The cheese was so soft every mouthful of it just melted into my mouth. The biscuit base layer was also just nice, soft and evenly ground. Definitely the proportion of butter and biscuits was perfection.

One of my friends, a japanese, says the best cheesecake in Malaysia still goes to Secret Recipe's and I overpromised him that this slice was 100 times better.

The verdict given by him was not 100 haha..but 80 at least! Victory!

Syok!@Mcdonalds, Gyeungamyong area, Seoul

An early morning walk around Diana hotel area where I am staying. Scouting for a coffee fix and decided to go with a budget breakfast at McDs since they have non-halal options of mcmuffin sets!

The ham, egg and cheese mcmuffin was yummylicious! The cheese really nicely melted onto the egg and muffins unlike lousy ones we get back home.

The muffin n coffee cost 2500 won (about RM7-8)

As I realised locals love to drink and even more so on a Friday night. This dude slept on the pavement since who knows when. If it was in Malaysia I am certain he would have been robbed and stripped naked based on our nation's 'low' level of crime as claimed by our 'respected' politicians.

Coffee break@Coffeesmith, Seoul

Finally the long awaited trip is here!

Despite the sticky sweaty hot summer, it didn't stop me from foodie exploring in Seoul.

I am at Apgujeong area, people watching and coffee chilling. Fascinated by the local fashion trends and facial plastic surgery trends (urks).

A break away from the hectic work life. Feels great!

Apparently Coffeesmith is a popular coffee joint among locals as 'cool people' hang out here.

Coffee wise..only soso. But environment wise does feel rather cozy here.

Next stop, lunch!

Teriyaki chicken fate@Pasta Zanmai, Tropicana City Mall

I guess great minds do think alike. Even up to 4 minds!

A last minute lunch gathering for a friend to break some solemn news and I almost had to slit my wrist to swear and prove my trust and secrecy lol.

Coincidentally, all the chitchatters diverted our attention away from the food ordering and only when each dish was served on our table, only then I realised they were all teriyaki chicken dishes served in 4 different styles.

1) teriyaki chicken garlic fried rice (that's mine)
2) teriyaki chicken pasta + seafood pizza
3) teriyaki chicken bento set
4) teriyaki chicken served with rice + seafood pasta

I told my friend that this is definitely a sign of the right trust and secrecy haha.

Ok back to the food. I must admit I was caught by surprise on the generous portion of the food which was not how I remembered it as durinf a dinner meal 1 year ago.

The chicken slices were freshly grilled too, rather tender also. For the double serving portions at the price range between rm25-30 was definitely worth it. You can share the meal with another person and would be guaranteed full by the end of the meal.

It was a fun filled teriyaki lunch! A day worth remembering!

First mamak supper meal in years@Kayu, SS2

It has been years! Since I have mamak supper (long gone college days). 

After a tiring week had passed, a massage treat in ss2 was very much needed to recuperate the exhaustion. After the massage, the tummy got disobedient and starting calling out for food.... at 11.30 pm. Oh man....

Kayu ...here we go!

As expected, the restaurant was packed with college kids in skimpy clothings, old folks in t shirts and shorts, kids in pyjamas, men in sarongs etc. What a cozy feeling!

They have upgraded the place, much cleaner with better air-conditioning and multiple big screen TVs to make your eyes go kaleidoscope!

Food was still good. The famous maggi mee goreng did not disappoint with the wok hei locked in and the roti telur was freshly made too. Having them at 12 am made me think of my college days.... ahhh...good times.

By 1230 I was done with my meal and yawning greatly. Guess my stay-up-late stamina has spiraled downhill. 

Nostalgic mamak supper moment! And I dont know when will be my next...

Feast of the first fruits@The Lord's Covenant Church

By God's grace, The Lord's Covenant Church is now 1 year old. Much has changed and through His guidance and blessing we are here today.

It is also the day of the feast of the first fruits. A reminder of the time of the exodus in the past and to anticipate what lies ahead in future. The Word is amazing!

Our church friend baked an awesome cake for the occasion and the little kids made sandwiches as thanksgiving to their parents!

Good new find for dimsum@Imperial Pot, Publika, Solaris Dutamas

Imperial Pot may be a little difficult to get to if one is unfamiliar with the layout of Solaris Dutamas.

Just ask around on how to get to the korean restaurant Sa Nang Duel, the boxing gym, the sports shop, Yamaha music school, they are all ar the same level as Imperial Pot.

The price of the dimsums are similar to the level of Ming Room, Imperial Treasure etc but decor wise is more simplistic.

I was pleasantly surprised to see how properly prepared the dimsums were. Presentation of all dimsums were clear winners.

The cheong fun wrapped with crunchy freshly deep fried yao char kuey was delicious. Cleared the plate clean within minutes.

Nowadays, siew mais are such must-order-norms that the quality just gets thrown out of the window because of the bulk production and high demand. Sometimes the roes on top of them were just steamed along and over cooked. This was the first time I noticed the roes were freshly placed just before serving. The bright orange coloured roes stood out, glistening. Good effort guys!

It was also my first time seeing the fried carrot cake served this way too. At first from a quick glance, it does seem as if the portion was rathr small but when I really dug in, I was proven wrong. Hidden are thick slices of chinese sausages, chunks of fried eggs holding the square carrot cakes together. Full of wok hei too!

The only rather norm item was sadly my favourite dimsum, char siew paos were average. There weren't bad but ain't spectacular.

Total bill was RM38. And I did leave the restaurant feeling satisfied and worth my hard earned penny paying for this meal experience.

I'm game to return for round 2, Imperial Pot, see you soon!

Overpriced ice cream@Haagan Daz, Solaris Mont Kiara

I am never a fan of Häagen Daz but this was the only ice cream joint along the way from dinner to home.. hence we decided to splurge for the old folks.

This flower bliss theme comes with a waffle cup, 6 really tiny scoops of ice cream and 4 really tiny squeezes of whipped cream.

While the quality of the ice cream is expected to fare greater than average ice cream parlours however, the tiny scoops and RM 40 price tag ain't worth it.

Id rather buy a tub of good quality ice cream than spending it on this beautifully crafted display.

And it only does justice when one gets full, sickly sweet but happy high from ice cream. That is the effect I love from ice cream when I have my guilt-out-of-the-door days.

First foodieblogger dinner@Mediteca, Fraser Place

A dinner invite to Foodventuras, for the launch of the pork menu at Mediteca. These sort of invitations may mean nothing much to established, famous food bloggers but for a teeny weeny food blogger like myself, I am truly honoured!

                                            

I must say, it was a rather big effort going downtown at 7 pm on a working week. The traffic within the KLCC area was horrendous. I really wonder sometimes, is it worth living in such gorgeous looking condos with great view of skyscrapers and lightings, when going out and coming back home takes so much effort, trouble and time.*shakes head*

After getting stuck for nearly an hour in the KL city centre, I finally arrived... at the building behind Fraser place. Thank God. If there was none, I would have to queue another 1 hour just to make a U-turn into the road leading to Fraser place.

Being a 'sua gu' (mountain cow, literal translation in Hokkien), which means green bean/newbie/freshie/katak bawah tempurung, I didn't know what to expect when I arrived at the restaurant. I was ranked the lowest in the list of foodiebloggers, but that didn't matter to me. I was excited to find out what will we be served for this 'launch menu'.

                                        

The first view was the cold cut of cured meat and cheese station. The chef, suited in white, was dripping in sweat trying to slice the meat as quickly as possible, explaining the different types of parma, jamon, and cheese to the long queue of guests lining up to have a taste of them. The jamon was likely the most expensive item at the station which explains why guests still waited for the chef to slice and place the jamon though their plates were already full.

It would help if the meat served had some tags/ labels to explain to guests what they were and where they originated from, because in the end, the dining experience also comes with learning how the taste and looks of the food differ in different regions. 

                                         

The meat reminded me of my pleasant trip to the meat market in Florence and Barcelona. The spicy salami was awesome, but the first in place was definitely the jamon. Bloody, smokey, salty and went well with the wine. Among all the condiments, the caramelized onions were the BEST. Hence, it ran out real quick and no more replacements were seen at the station.

                                         

                                         

Although this was my first time ever attending such an event so the rights for me to compare is zilch, but the vibes I get after being here for a good 15 minutes was that the crowd seemed lost, and disengaged, not what I would expect of from a foodie menu launch. The various finger food came in tiny bowls, or spoonfuls, served sporadically, almost felt like there was no story behind the entire launch. 

The upside of it was that the finger food served was good. I really enjoyed the sliced sausages, full of porky punch and flavour. Though again, the waiting period of the sporadic serving really did bring down the foodie mood. I overheard some patrons complaining too, that food was unevenly served, some got more, some got less, not enough plates and culteries etc. 

I guess the crowd was too big to accommodate the way of serving they intended as after a while, it seemed like the hungry patrons were ever ready to pound upon each fresh servings the waiters brought from the kitchen. That included me as well. 

I saw some eating the bacon wrapped chicken and wanted to try that too, and when the waitress finally brought a fresh batch, she stopped me from taking it because that batch was meant only for patrons eating on the 1st floor. Well, a big "UMMM....." came out of my mouth. Fine then. I finally got hold of it after another good 10 15 minutes wait.

Again, the dish was good of course. It never goes wrong when you cook a dish wrapped with bacon. This went well with the pint of Asahi.

Second serving of this was needed, since I didn't have enough spoonfuls of the rest. This round, two types of cheese were added to the display. Since there was a crowd again, I didn't get much chance to find out what and where the cheese was from. One was hard, salty, I'm guessing aged cheddar. The other was soft, pungent yeasty, smell like bleu. Both yums! 

I would have missed an opportunity of trying this if I was not conveniently standing next to it by the bar. The chef passed by, and suddenly decided to use the gigantic blade/knife to scrap some cheese for us sitting nearby. Again, sporadic serving, not sure why or what purpose. Could not hear him properly, but its not parmigiano-reggiano, maybe grano padano. Anyway, I'm glad I got a chance to try it, this block of goodie milky cheese probably cost thousands.

The second "UMMMM..." came when I had to cough out an extra RM10, because the price of the Asahi on menu placed in front of me, was an incorrect price, and the explanation by the bartender was that, the correct  menu was at the other far corner of the bar. It was not about the price, but the whole customer satisfaction aspect just went downhill. 

No offense, the food served in general was really good, and of quality too, but the planning and arrangements on the other hand, "UMMM....".

I am in no position to comment much on since cost is always a factor in such events, but I would say if the target crowd intended was over a hundred, perhaps buffet/builk servings and a complimentary drink per person may be a better option if manpower is a constraint. After all, a foodie party in my perspective should be fun, educational, happy, and also gives opportunities to make new friends and when we leave, it is with a full and filling experience. Frankly, I don't think I achieved those points I expected to before I came here. 

Perhaps after this post,  I may not get any more invites for dinner parties but I have to write what I truly felt from my dining experience.

A girlfriend asked me would I come back to this place for a meal? 

If a big group was involved.....maybe. Food is good, no doubt.

UMMMM..........

Seafood craving@Sweet Inn Restaurant, Damansara Kim

 The one common thing Malaysians have is the passion and love for food. Just a simple opening line of "Where is good for crabs?" can get strangers talking like old friends.

After a sweaty session of tennis, we usually cool down at the swimming pool and dip ourselves in the jacuzzi and rest our adrenaline-rushed bodies.

Here, we met an elderly man who apparently swims 5 km each day. Hence, a rather tanned and toned body, not common for a man his age. He overheard our foodieventure conversation on searching for a nice restaurant for crabs and started sharing his foodieventures.

He introduced to us Sweet Inn, in Damansara Kim, and said that we will not regret dining here. We believed his conviction and decided to listen to this wise elderly man.

When we arrived, believe it or not, we had no place to sit, and the restaurant was packed with patrons, and empty tables available were under reservation. The lady owner was gracious enough to remove one reserved table for us since we there were only 3 of us. She probably guessed we would eat and leave quickly based on our hungry faces.

We ordered a bowl of fish maw soup to share. Thankfully, we decided to share and not order a portion for 3, else we would have left the restaurant with our fly unzipped. It may not seem impressive from the picture, but the soup was really good. The maw was fresh too. In general, I am not a fan of this dish, but this deserves a thumbs up. In fact, the soup was very thick and viscous, I wouldn't really consider it as a soup. RM 20+/bowl if I recalled correctly.

We wanted to have an appetizer, while waiting for our seafood dishes, and the restaurant serves 3 or 6 dish appetizer. We opted for the 3 dish appetizer, but surprised to know that this one plate was for 1 pax. The waitress brought 3 plates, but my eye caught a creepy crawly insect on the 3rd plate and shrieked, thinking it was a cockroach. The waitress did a super kungfu stunt, by quickly swooshing the plate away from sight and walked away from our table. The other two did not see anything but worried for a while before eating the food from ones placed on our table.

We cancelled the 3rd plate, as it was just too much food. I guess the creepy crawly insect earned us a free cancellation.

RM 18/plate. Rather pricey :/

Since J has an immense craving for crab, we ordered 1 crab to share. Well, we were surprised that the crab was rather big when served to us. The crab dish was actually, just average. Covered by the sweet, sour, spicy sauce. We all agreed we've ate better crab dishes else where. The plus point was the unique looking mantao, which looked like a baguette when served to us but inside the bread, had rolled stick-like layers, soft and fluffy. Yummy when soaked with the crab sauce. 

The crab was RM 80. Our eyes popped when the bill came.

Finally, the long awaited trademark dish of Sweet Inn came. The sang har mee, for 2 pax portion (3 to share). This was really, really good. The noodles were freshly fried, and able to maintain the crunchiness for a long while. Though the sang hars were not the biggest I've seen served on this dish, but the freshness of the prawns made up for the size. 

Our eyes popped, our jaws dropped too when the price for this sang har mee dish for 2 portion was RM 120. @_@. 

The total bill came up to over RM 300.

After the munching, chomping, slurping, chewing session had passed, when our senses kicked in, the image of the elderly man came into our minds. The word of caution that he gave to us before we left the pool which we conveniently forgot when we were excitedly ordering our dishes....."It may be a pinch to your pockets".

The sayings of a old and wise man.