After our sore experience at the latest breakfast joint, Red Bean Bag, I still think that Augustdiners breakfast club serves the best breakfast in town- because it’s made with love. *laughs*
One pregnant lady craves, and my chance to have a chill Sunday brunch session brought us to another episode of our breakfast club, but what not expected is me waking up with some awful hangover from the previous night out, so I was strongly contemplating on cancelling our brunch dates, but boy am I glad I went through with it, because a good breakfast is all it need to cure those aching headaches of mine
Refer to our other breakfast cookout 30/11, 19/01, 1/10
This time round, we did something quite simple, homemade potato hash, light salad dressed with Dijon mustard, honey and olive oil, some sauté mushrooms with onions and spinach, ham slices, and some poached eggs . We forego hollandaise sauce this time, because we were lazy and underprepared.

Ingredients with plenty of eggs, yums!


Freshly baked Sourdough

Toasted

I'm normally not happy with healthy eating, but this salad is worth the stomach spaces

Potato Hash

More greens


Hash Brown in the making


The messy wonders

More Messiness, and those Eggs! yum yum yum!



Random Shots

Happy Pregnant Woman who's satisfied with her breakfast cravings


We’re heading towards end of 2011; time passes by with a blink of an eye it seems!! Augustdiners would like to wish everyone a Merry X’mas! Enjoy your holidays (or work) and have a safe one! Thank you for your continuous support despite us being in the slacking department this year
On a side note, if you are interested in Whole Roast Turkey Takeaways for this festive season, Silver Spoon Trattoria is selling them at RM188++, pre-booking required!! =)

Perched over the hill of Jalan Raja Chulan, La Vie En Rose (LVER) resides in a bungalow and is located directly next to Shell Station, it’s easily missed so do look up to your left upon passing by Shell station because you’ll need to do a sharp LEFT on a small laneway. I’m being specific because my friend got lost despite through my detailed instructions. New babies to owners of Cuisine Studio (no longer operated in both Tropicana and Sierramas), these people have history behind French cuisines and we were already anticipating a good dining experience with them.
I do have a soft spot for bungalow turn restaurants; I’ll always take my sight on the surroundings, first before settling myself in a comfortable spot. The special thing about LVER is that they’ve opened up the constructed wall facing the main road creating a semi-indoor and alfresco dining. In another word, one eye sees all; it’s quite a refreshing ambience, although the interior does seem a bit under-dressed. Also alfresco is their bar, which serves very simple liquer at the moment.

LVER menu is at the upper end pricing in town. You are looking at RM30+ for starters, RM70+ for main courses. We felt barely filled that night after damage to wallet of RM150 each (without desserts and alcohol too!! Read on...)

Our Amuse Bouche – Salmon Pate topped with peppers, red berries & champagne jelly


I’ve been hankering for some good truffle dishes and somehow have the misperception that they serve plenty here. I suppose I should have just stick to Garibaldi for that.

Instead we settle with their Cepes mushroom soup, grilled duck ham & truffled whipped cream, which I’ve heard is one mean little soup, so I’m all for it, but unfortunately turns out slightly too watery to my liking, though faint truffle taste is present. Perhaps if the soup thickens slightly with cream would uplift my opinion of this dish

The Petuna trout belly gravlax on green tea blini & Anise whipped cream was ordered after second thoughts. Sounds good on context but probably the least memorable dish- at this point, 3 days later, I wasn’t able to recall how this dish taste like except that the green tea blini definitely needs improvement for being too soft, and much to my dismay, it was a pretty tasteless overall dish

Just as I was second guessing my decisions on dining here, came the savior. Escargot puff with garlic and anise cream sauce plays well to my palate. An almost perfect executed dish, we were rewarded with lovely crunch to its puff pastries and those snails was done with sheer tenderness with a nice bite to it, Critically, it was the absences of those “garden” taste in the snails that make me dup this dish one of my favourite of the night. (most restaurant just can’t get them right!!)
But notice how I said “almost perfect”? Now if only they’ve gone a little bit more heavy on those seasoning.

Pan fried foie gras, caramelized apples & aged balsamic vinegar cost a whooping RM68, and worth every cent of it. One of the better ones in town with two generous pieces, both perfectly seared. They’ve went easy with the sauces so not to overpower the taste of the foie gras.

The 3 musketeer salad was as decent as salad goes: flavorsome, fresh and crispy greens. What I enjoyed about this dish was that they used all my favourite ingredients: duck confit, smoked duck bacon, and plenty of sautéed mushroom. Now, we can’t complain much with that, right?

We then progress into our mains, we were utterly incapable to walk away from this when we saw it on the menu, and waste no hesitation ordering it- Tournedos Rossini; medium done beef tenderloin topped with pan seared foie gras, served with port and truffle sauce, side with truffle mash. Slicing the steak through reveals a blushing center (which was good), however the texture of the meat left us in disappointment with its chewy consistency instead of a tender cut. The sauce compliments well but again truffle scent was absent.
Facts check: “Tournedos Rossini is a French steak dish, created for composer Gioachino Rossini, this original dish comprises of beef, pan fried with butter, served on crouton and topped with slice of foie gras” Wikipedia.org

Decent recipe but a dish that did not impress us is the Grouper fillet bouillabaisse style, with garlic crouton & saffron mayonnaise, mainly due to the coarse flaky texture of the fish, and the weak broth
Aside from their fixed menu, LVER does offer some chef's special which will change from time to time- take for example this Grilled King Prawns.

We skipped dessert (which is super rare!) but we weren’t too keen on that since we’ve had our share of disappointment that night. That being said, I believe LVER still has its potential, their menu does have some interesting items, just hoping the recipes will be improved in time.




Ratings:

Food: 5.5/10

Service: 5.5/10
(not quite attentive, though polite)

Ambience: 7/10

Presentation of food: 6.5/10

Overall Ratings: 6/10

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

La Vie En Rose

39, Jalan Raja Chulan,
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-20783883

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!

I just came back from Acme Bar and Cafe (ABC) feeling lightweighted, not because of alcohol, but on knowing that KL have brought on a new shining light to the F&B Scene, and by that i was referring to ABC. Definitely a welcome addition, and a swanky cool place at that.
I jokingly told my friends im skipping our after dinner drinks session in the comfort of my bed and i will complete my entry by today. Nevermind its 1am now, nevermind i have to wake up for work at 7am. I'm quite so determine *yawn*... or maybe not.. Let's just see how this goes.
Located on the Ground Floor of new high end residential development, Troika. ABC occupies two levels, accessible through the main building entrance and is one of the pioneer restaurants in this building; we were told that there are 5 more in planning which would occupy a large area of 18,000sf on the 24th floor. Definitely something to look forward to





Walking into the restaurant brings me back to my study days in Melbourne, the cosiness, and friendly ambience so frequently found in the cafes in Melbourne gives me a familiarity that immediately capture my liking to ABC. With one of the partners who's background in architecture probably would explains the clever designs of high volume ceiling, with a void on its mezzanine floor, uncluttered spaces, plush cushioned seat on one side, and casual loose chairs on the other, communer tables in the center with the service bar sits handsomely in one corner, several cake selection were already in displayed. We also enjoyed the ambience on 1st floor, a more chilled and relax area with different sofa settings and playful odd corners creating privacy perfect for celebrations and special occasions.



It was ABC's first week of operation, and it is a very successful one at that, the restaurant was already bustling with diners and cheerful laughter and noises uplift the ambience of the overall restaurant.

They are still not operating on a full menu, but one with solid starting point with promises of more to come (ohhh! the tease!!), ABC will also be launching their Sunday Brunch Menu and Set Lunch menu soon, and do expect much more interesting offering from executive chef who was hailed from Luxemburg, and head chef being a Malaysian, which probably explains why their menu offering is a bit of a twist, not so much fusion but a mix of everything western, italian, and asians. You'll be glad to know that the pricing is affordable too, 3-course can set you to RM150 with wine.

Definitely voted one of the favourite starter of the night is the Crab and Grilled Watermelon Salad. (RM39) with poached crab meat, mirin soy sauce and toasted almonds. Have you ever tried grilling your own watermelon at home? you should, I’ve done it before and its delicious when heated as it enhance those wonderful sweet arom, drip in a little vinegar and voila it’s good to indulge. With this salad, the dressings were definitely the winner, lightly tossed over the crunchy greens; the flavors meld nicely together and is incredibly light


Salted Egg Yolk Fried Strips (RM15) caught our attention, nicely covered chicken pieces with the salted egg mixture; this would be friendly tidbits to alcohol.

Grilled Zucchini, oregano, and ricotta (RM13) served over homemade tomato sauce which was rich and robust in flavours. No doubt to be popular with the vegetarians.

One order worthy dish is the Grilled Bacon Wrapped Snails (RM17), a modern twist to the usual snails recipe find elsewhere in town, served with coco beans and parsley garlic sauce. The bacon did something extra that added the oomph to this dish. Way cheap considering there is more than half a dozen in that pan.



Proceeding to main course, it was a mixture of hits and misses. While I could not stop slattering from my Roast Sting Ray (RM27), nice perfect flaky texture, that blends so good with the artichokes, fried lettuce, capers, confit lemons and butter, it was the Moroccon Lamb Stew (RM27- No pic) that left us stranded, the flesh tasted bland, result of lack of spices and I’m thinking longer cooking hours needed?

There’s a saying that it takes skills to deliver simple dish with divine taste, and this unfortunately did not apply to the Black Crack Pepper & Parmesan Spaghetti (RM27), which was less than memorable. No doubt the dish was served with wallop of shredded cheese, but the taste did not blend together with the Spaghetti resulting in an almost tasteless dish.

Credits should be given to their grilled grass fed ribeye steak (RM57), top notch considering the price and with perfect execution. The steak is well marinated and it’s good to eat just by its own. Served with hand cut fries, rocket, tomato, and artichokes. The salsa verde by the side is also an excellent complementing sauce.
Their selection of dessert, although limited in item now, should not go unnoticed, especially when the combinations are out of the book. Think Cempedak with pistachio, apple with black olives, and pina colada cake. Interesting, no? Our favourite goes to their Cempedak with pistachio cake, a light sponged cake with luscious cempedak flavoured cream (All cakes are RM15 per slice) We heard of the Papaya Ice Cream too, which unfortunately was not ready to be served yet, but loving the thoughts of it already.





Coffee is below our standards, however I believe they will improve in due time, especially since they are only less than one week old and still in midst of training their barristas. My comments? Over frothing, and lack of aroma.

Service is impeccable; food was delivered timely, Kudos to the servers whom were attentive throughout the night, with warm smiles on their faces that shows that they too, enjoy themselves working there.
Be it high powered corporate luncheon, or gatherings with friends, parties, and functions. ABC is filled with endless possibilities, and definitely will be the hottest talk in town in the coming weeks.









Our bill came out to RM150+ per pax with wine.
Parking of 3.5 hours set us off to RM9

Ratings:

Food: 6.5/10
(enjoy the twist to the originality)

Ambience: 9/10

Service: 8/10

Presentation of food: 7.5/10

Overall ratings: 8/10

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Acme Bar & Coffee (ABC)
Ground Floor @ Troika
19 Persiaran, KLCC
50450 KL

Tel: 03-21622288



The Rothchilds has been associated as one of the finest wine makers of the world. Recently i got my hands on these babies. =)



(L) Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1999
Tasting note: Quote Wine spectator "Complex aromas of Blackberries, Tobacco, Spices and Black licorice are alluring in this full bodied claret, with solid core of fruit and silky tannins. Long, Caressing finish, Superfine, well structured." 

(R) Mouton Rothschild 1986
Tasting Note: Quote Stephen Tanzer "Good medium ruby. Currant, currant leaf, cedar and dusty oak on the nose. Tightly wound and classic, with favulous acids contributing to its powerful spine. Wonderfully pure and intense, with great verve and grip"

Normally i'll ignore those tasting notes, because its sounded too foreign to me. I preferred the Mouton over Lafite, but this probably has to do with the year it was produce, i was told that the year 1986 Mouton should best be drank during year 2012, it's too bad i could not wait.

Happy camper of the day.

Its always pleasant to discover new places to chill out, and PH Pastry house provides the perfect ambience for a casual hangout with friends and family.Opened no less than 2 weeks ago, PH Pastry house primarily focuses on pastries (duh). We were able to relate the similarities with Levain Patisserie in their menu, with a small selections of simple breakfast items such as scrambled eggs and french toast, salads, pastas and pies. Coincidentally, both cafes are situated within walking distances.

I was immediately captivated by the facade and interiors of the cafe, a minimalist concept, with beautiful alfresco settings, both upon entrance and behind the cafe, its interior focus primarily on black, white them and bricks, surrounded by glass which enhances the brightness of the cafe creating a cheerful and casual dining mood.


Alfresco area








RM3.90 per macaroons












Since we've only tried the desserts this visit, i'll leave you guys to explore on the rest. It was unfortunate the desserts here did not flair too well, with many rooms for improvement- im referring mainly to their dry sponge base, which has ac oarse texture that requires some pressure forking through. Fortunately, the coffee is pretty good. Using Bristol coffee beans, my cappucino has a good fragrance, and the foaming was smooth and lovely.

Affogato


Cappucino

I love the concept of this place very much! Looking forward for some more dining experiences in PH Pastry House

PH Pastry House
54 Jalan Utara,
55100 KL
03-21411228
Open Daily 7am-9pm
Facebook page for more info:

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