augustdinersfoodblog

Ms. Jazz Travels Guilin: Part 2- Bamboo Rafting and Culture Tour

2012-01-12T11:18:00.003+08:00

Guilin is not only known for their beautiful landscapes; it has also a rich ethnic cultures with 28 ethnic groups such as Zhuang, Dong, Miao, and Yao People. You’ll get to experience how to sing their folk songs, throwing of embroidered ball, and for some-even getting married.

Folk songs 山歌are simple and plain in rhythm, particularly popular in countryside where female and male sings to express their interest for each other. These are instant creation, and singing could be anywhere anytime i.e. gathering firewood, working in the field etc. The rhythm can get pretty repetitive and it does stick in my head for the rest of the day.

We went to one Yao Village 3 hours of drive away from the city centre for some cultural experiences.

Time to warm ourselves on such chilly day

We were served some oil tea that symbolize "friendship", chopsticks are passed around and if you take a pair of chopsticks instead of single stick, it means that you wish to stay with the yao family.

Yao people are distinctive by their colourful national dresses and often the women have extremely long hair coiled up on top of their head. The way they tied their hair also signifies their status, if they have a bun sticking out of their headpiece, it means that the women are married. Non-married women hide their buns inside the cloth. We were told that women uses rice stock ash and fermented washing rice water as their “special shampoo” to keep their hair smooth and black.

Yao Woman showing off her long hair. You many attempt to try their "special" shampoo at home but bewarn of the smell =P

We just married off two of our handsome men to the yao women =) Them performing the marriage ritual.

In our Malaysia culture often woman is to be married into the men’s family, however in the case of YAO’s Culture, it is the other way around. Men will be brought into the village upon marriage.

Arent those babies adorable? Aww.. :)

For lunch we went to experience the long feast table, and possibly one of the best meals we’ve had on the trip, not because it was anything special, but hotpot in this weather is the best, especially when the vegetables were so fresh and sweet. If there's anything you should eat in Guilin, it's their fruits and veges. It's absolutely delicious

River Fish, nicely deepfried and addictive

Ahhh! the lovely pot of Belly pork braised with potatoes, simple pleasures but so delicious we've order 2 extra portions.

Fighting cock was hilarious. Traditionally they will have a blade tied to their leg as opponent tries to slash each other.

nice picture captured of my sis catching the embroidered balls

Yulong River is a beautiful river by the countryside of Yang Shuo. “It winds its way in a picturesque valley sided by stunning limestone hills” If you love photography, this is another to-go spot. Bamboo Rafting is the excellent way to relax as you take in the amazing view of the Yu Long River. The drift is very slow as you follow gently down the course of river while sipping some warm tea, and intake fresh fragrance of the paddy field.

Dad Tried to maneuver the bamboo raft, it takes extreme effort, not as easy as it seems especially during the low tide season.

You will get to witness the Traditional Cormorant Fishing, which was purposely set up to “show” us tourist. However, traditional practices still remain for some fishermen more for leisure, although less common since fishing was replaced with modern methods,. After given signal by the fishermen, the well train cormorants will dive into the water to search for fish. Once they caught the fish, they will submerge and show it to the fishermen. A band is fastened around the bird’s neck so that the fish cannot be swallowed. A well trained Cormorant can worth thousands.

Women washing her clothes by the riverside

Off off , here we go!

Lastly, me and my water chestnut. *teehee*

Part 3(final): Food + Shopping in Guilin

Ms. Ms. Jazz Touring Guilin: Li River + Impression Sanjie Liu

2012-01-11T11:50:00.002+08:00

In Guilin China, there is a popular saying “Guilin Shan Shui Jia Tian Xia” 桂林山水假天下 which means that Guilin’s mountain and water scenery is the best under heaven. That is indeed true, the air is fresh and earthy, and water clear and beautiful. It was good to get away from work, stress, pollution over the holidays to enjoy this picturesque scenery that money cannot buy. We were told that residents of Guilin generally live a longer life in the world.

This is one of those holidays which involve plenty of sightseeing, and walking. It may once be boring to me with thoughts of lack of food travels and shopping, however at a point of my life, I came to enjoy and appreciate these nature wonders. (am i getting old, am i am i?) We were there for 6 days touring around Gui Lin and another popular tourist spot call “Yang Shuo” In my opinion, 6 days is a way too long to explore these areas, ended up our travel schedule was a very relaxing one with plenty of free and easy time to ourselves. My say is 4-5 days is more than enough otherwise it’ll get draggy with them bringing you to unnecessary places.

Most popular tourist destination of Guilin includes the tranquil Li River, for it was listed as one of the World’s top ten Watery wonders by National Geographic Magazine. With landscape decorated with caves, hills, farming villages and water so serene that it creates a perfect reflection much like an artist masterpiece. Enough said, pictures should tell a thousand words

"take a deep breath, you'll feel your worries of life lessen by the dozen" =)

The weather was perfect, starting of winter season varies from 5-10 degrees Celsius on average. It was a low tide season, so you’ll see many rivers being unable to access due to lack of water, as a result our river cruise were cut short. God must have been with us during the trip as there were no rains until the day we left Guilin.

My little devils, too cute!!

Just look at those reflections, picture of wonders, no?

Generally, people are Guilin lives a very simple life. They depend greatly on Tourists, and in fact there are so many tour guide that a stone throw on the street, very possibly you might just hit one. They work very relaxing hours with travel agencies opens at 11pm and end work at 4-5pm. That being said, it was mentioned that these tour guides are very professional and well-trained and we were very happy with ours. P/s they practically earn peanuts, i.e. only commissions and no basic! L That's why you'll find tours bringing you to many "tourist" shopping spots- the boys got a bit annoyed but maybe it's the mentally of "must shopping and spend foreign money" because at the end of day, the women still came back with full loads of unnecessary things. *hehe*

Shopping places in the city closes pretty late, very similar to our Malaysia stores on average 11pm. So plenty of times to shop around though you might not want to since there are not many brands in sight, however their winter jackets are definitely worth a buy.

The duration of our trip, we've only shifted to two hotels (thank goodness), In Guilin we stayed in one of the best hotels in the area called the Lijiang Waterfall Hotel, strategically located and very closeby to major local attractions, behind the hotel is a pedestrian walk which includes some bars and restaurants, and shops. It is also where we spent out x'mas eve "countdown" (more about this later). The hotel shows an impressive artificial waterfall everyday at 8pm which was listed in the Guiness Book record for being one of the biggest of 45M heights.

At night, we headed to watch Impression Sanjie Liu, which is the most famous outdoor night show in YangShuo. Directed by Yimou Zhuong which was the one whom directed the 2008 Olympic opening ceremony. We were lucky to catch the last show of the winter season, as the actors are required to rest as the weather get too unbearably cold. 600 over actors are involved in creating this successful show on a natural stage formed by the Li River and mountain backdrops. (Including real fishermen part-timers) Everything was done on the Li River waters, I was very impress on the creativity and the explosive effect created by so many people.

Everything from lighting and sounds effect were amazing. And to reflect on those natural hills were a magnificient scene. I can sit here for hours just watching nature beauty.

Actual Minority Ethnic group which was recruited from their village came to perform

real fishermen by day and part-time fishermen performer by night. They earn about 20 yuan per show.

It was lucky we've got a pretty good seating right in the middle and not far from the front, =)

And the number just gets bigger

Finally here comes Liu San Jie and her Lover

Part 2: Our adventure with Bamboo Rafting, Culture experiences such as learning Folk Songs, keep tuned

Bye 2011! Oh HELLO, 2012!

2012-01-02T23:39:00.001+08:00

Hello hello!! I know we're a little fashionably late, but Augustdiners wishes our readers the best of YEAR 2012! May you be blessed with great success, happiness, and good health!
Thank you for your support for the past years, although we haven't exactly been too active in food blogging of late. However, nothing too late for a new year resolution right? That is.. we vow to blog more often this year *fingers crossed*

Whilst i dont entirely call Augustdiners a very good food blogger (there i admit it!), in fact we admire those passionate bloggers whom writes marvelously, frequently and take such beautiful pictures, and often we hope to do the same, somehow, but we never quite meet the mark, our writing is very elaborated, long-essay writings that people tend to scroll for only the pictures (admit it readers!), our pictures is never the most appealing, thanks to my non-reliable old lumix camera (yes... always blame the camera and not the skills) =P
But given all those flaws in us, we are very happy to receive the tiniest comments, encouragements, and feedbacks... once in a bluer moon, i get people who tells me they read my blog, or their friends of friends of friends read our blog, we felt the tiny bit of satisfaction, so i could only imagine how those famous food bloggers out there must have felt with all those recognition.

And it's not always all good. We are known to give the downright honest feedback on places, if the place sucks, i waste no hesitation to said otherwise. Sometimes, we did get negative feedbacks from readers (thank god not often) whom always seem to have a common name call "Anonymous", we embrace all comments with an open heart. We have big heart like that. hehe!..

OK i lied. I didnt exactly have an open heart, more like staring at the comments on screen for a good seconds and thinking all sorts of good comeback that i could have written to rebut them.
But at the end, i always relent and ignore them. Because i figure silence is the best medicine and females are really good that doing that. =)

So, year 2011 we've only manage to achieve 50 over posts, some i'm even shy to call it a post hehe! It just wasnt as exciting adventure as the previous year, and we've encounter many restaurants which we did not end up writing because it wasnt remotely good.

What's in store for Augustdiners in 2012? Crazieapple has just started working and is back in Malaysia for good, she did explore many restaurant frequently due to her change of "status" however she is uberly lazy to write about it at most times, so lets see whether i can change her mind on that.
As for myself, i'm looking forward to a brand new year of writing and exploring. I hope to expand my knowledge on all food types, i hope to probably change a new blog layout (r u sick of ours already?), and we really need to expand our photo storage, currently we've already burst it!
I also wish to travel more this year to explore food-of-the-world, lastly also to improve my culinary skills (or the lackof it) =P We'll definitely be doing more Augustdiners Breakfast Club because if there's anything im excessively passionate about, its breakfast, eggs, and coffee- so keep tuned.

Once again, thank you for reading our blog!!! We love y'all to bits!

Sincerely,

auGustdiners

xoxo

Augustdiners Breakfast Club: (PT 3)- Made With Drunken Love

2011-12-19T13:08:00.000+08:00

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!! =)

Ms. Jazz reviews: La Vie En Rose @ Jalan Raja Chulan

2011-12-10T10:13:00.000+08:00

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

Ms. Jazz reviews: Acme Bar & Cafe (ABC) @ Jalan Binjai

2011-12-03T11:20:00.000+08:00

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

http://www.acmebarcoffee.com/

Augustdiners In Love with...

2011-11-14T15:19:00.000+08:00

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.

Ms. Jazz reviews: PH Pastry House

2011-11-13T19:38:00.002+08:00

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:

www.facebook.com/pastryhousekl

Ms. Jazz Reveals: The Hill newest signature cocktail menu

2011-10-25T15:53:00.000+08:00

The Hill, damansara heights in collaboration with experienced world standard mixologist, has cook up some delicious concoctions. With the passion of one of the bosses, whom himself flew down-under to train at one of the most elite restaurant in Sydney, came back with a new found knowledge and skills to further improve their cocktail menu- which by the way is one of the most creative in town. But if you think watermelon slush, milo ais, love potion and weed killer is enough to impress, wait till you try their newest signature cocktail menus. Launched yesterday by Barry, a well known Scottish mixologist, whom happily shows us around the rope on how it’s being done, his buoyant and dedicated attitude towards the cocktails is indeed infectious, followed by a team of enthusiast bartenders of the hill, the mood of the lounge was quickly up-lifted.

Oh hello barry =)

Our new cocktail sifu, Roen hard at work with the meringue

With most of the new cocktail list leaning towards the sweet side, it is no doubt going to be a female pleaser. I can easily imagine myself with my bunch of girlfriends, sitting down the cosy air conditioned lounge, with music to boot, sipping these delicious drinks, eyeing some human candies or two. We can’t complain much, really. It’s good that I’ve almost tried everything in the list, because I’m glad to recommend the FISH BOWL, and Florida’s KEYLIME PIE as my favourite of the night. Both are absolutely delish!! Slurps!

FISH BOWL (RM60) resembles our spanish sangria, and instead of our usual red wine, this cocktail uses white wine (and from what I’ve been told, they’ve put a good half a bottle of wine so do expect a good doze of alcohol inside although you might not feel it since It is quite fruity) mixed with blackthorn cider and with a tinge of spice, this recipe is a winner and is good for sharing between 2-3 pax.

FLORIDA KEYLIME PIE (RM30) is definitely original. I particularly enjoyed the part where they burned the fresh meringue to be slightly harden on the top, and this blends perfectly well with the Smirnoff Lime Vodka and lime mixture. You’ve got to drink them together to get the maximum flavours, now now, dip your mouth in and don’t be shy, you can always wipe off those cream stain on your lips later.

Another of my likes, which I have been ordering before they even put this on the menu, is the Skittles bomb (RM20). Very very simple ingredients but it does give you that lovely “kick” after awhile- with Redbull, Cointreau and Soda, another one of those ladies drink.

I really shouldn’t reveal all their new drinks, but I just couldn’t resist. For some elegant drinking- you can definitely opted for the Tea for Two (RM50) with Gin, Organic Strawberry Jam, Strawberry Yoghurt infused tea, served chill. This is actually served with a delicate porcelain cup, pls bear with my kopi-o cup for now :P

While I had mixed feelings about the Malacca Loda (RM25), purely because it is more of an acquired taste, that you’ll either love it or not. But hey, this is award winning in Malaysia so it’s got to mean something right? My guy friend did seemed to enjoy this. I’ve observed some premium alcohol used in some of their new cocktails such as Angustura rum in the Malacca Loda, also interestingly in this recipe includes fresh coconut water, and kaya. Worth trying? Aye, definitely.

I couldn’t resist ordering the Clear Bloody Mary (RM25), even though I was forewarn that I’ll only enjoy it if I like bloody Mary. But the presentation captured my attention, so I ordered it anyway even though I don’t fancy Bloody Mary. Probably the strongest concoctions thus far! Mixed with Smirnoff Citrus Vodka, infused with fresh herbs, chilli, lemongrass and zesty fruit.

Hawaii 5-0 aka Mesha (RM40) consist of Smirnoff Apple vodka, Frangelico, Organic Raspberry Jam & Fresh Pineapple. Don’t ask me about the name, I as clueless as you. Served in a pineapple with the umbrella and the whole works, the only thing I need now is a beach and some sun, and this cocktail will fit perfectly in.
I do prefer this than the usual pina colada, mostly because they don’t use coconut cream in this one, yay!
no picture for this sorry.

Love the illustration

Apart from the mention above, I’ve yet to try UFO and NUTELLA martini, both sounded equally appealing so I’ll definitely drop by soon. Can The Hill be the next place to be for cocktails? I have high hopes for their further cocktails expansion as I am pretty impress so far.

Happy me for the night

It's been awhile! and i do miss blogging!! sorry for the ill quality photos once again, i did not do the lovely cocktail presentation justice im afraid.

Wordless Tuesday

2011-10-04T00:46:00.000+08:00

I wish there was more i can say about Makan Kitchen @ Doubletree hilton, Intermark

I was never a fan of buffets, and only visit here by chance for a friend's birthday

To be fair, we were given a fair selection of 3 main cultures of Malaysia,

by that i meant Malay, Indian, and Chinese food.

But the taste just didnt hit well with my tastebud

overall a dissapointment.

Wordless Monday

2011-10-03T09:00:00.010+08:00

If you ever swing by taiwan, do be accustom to their breakfast culture in one of their soya shops. Filled with luscious choices, our particular favourite orders is egg wrapped with "you tiao" or "yau zha gwai" as we call it here. Gulp down those semi- sweet soya bean, and it'll put smiles to your face early in the morning. Trust me.

洪记豆浆大王

中山区

吉林路252-1号

Wordless Sunday

2011-10-02T15:08:00.000+08:00

Absolutely feeling sassy with those bossa novas on a sunday afternoon

Pangkor :)

Wordless Saturday

2011-10-01T19:16:00.001+08:00

What what, i cant have a wordless saturday too? hehe...
One of our favourite breakfast joint in melbourne with gorgeous poached eggs

LAS CHICAS

203, Carlisle St

Balaclava, Melbourne

Wordless Friday

2011-09-30T17:20:00.001+08:00

Starting a category on Augustdiners call the "wordless friday"
Perfect for lazy bummers like me to fill empty spaces.

Augustdiners Party Guide

2011-09-25T19:56:00.000+08:00

It was such a short decision to organize this birthday party, the process was a little hectic since I’m the sole planner this round nevertheless fun altogether and I wished to share it with everyone.
Before I bombared you with endless pictures, I’d like to share some tipper for a good party in Augustdiners context:

1. ALCOHOL

Don’t be surprise this is rank number one priority for us, I think in all our parties held, we’ve never had one without alcohol. Alcohol makes your guests happy (faster), and this in turn makes the hostess happy. You win both ways so make sure you have plenty of those.

2. THEME/OCCASION

We always have a theme to a party, either house party or party outside, it’ll be good to know what kind of mood you want to set. It can be an elegant party where everyone is dress in pretty cocktail dresses, or a fun party, where the hostess can have the pleasure to instruct guests to wear a certain something (how about a bikini/pyjamas/Disney dream party?), prepare appropriate music to suit your party theme.

3. FOOD

The way through a guy’s heart is through their tummy, is what the old sayings say. But this rule really applies to all humans, so of course you’ve gotta feed your guest well, or semi-well to prevent them to be alcohol influenced too easily (you don’t want the party to end early, do you?). Your food choices need to tie back to your party theme! I’m often most excited planning this part.

If you’re not too passionate about cooking your own food, you can choose the easy way out, e.g. POTLUCK where everyone bring their share of food, hotpot where you just need to buy all the ingredients, or lok lok (just hail lok lok van and let your guest enjoy themselves with the skewers)

4. CROWD

Whenever there’s a human involve, it tend to complicate things, because we are complicated. (Admit it people!)

So, in drafting out your guest list, you’ll want to know the capacity of your party venue, whether guest actually know each other, whether they’ll click with each other. Sometimes it’s good to include some fresh faces because people are often love to know new friends (but not too diverse that you’ll spend most of your times running few ways making sure your friends are having fun equally and miss out on enjoying your own hardwork)

5. ENTERTAINMENT

Something to keep guest occupied is necessary. E.g. poloraid cameras for plenty of camwhoring, board games, karaokes, dices etc. I’ve kept a set of games for the just in case situations- but mostly alcohol often does the job. Hence it being ranked no. 1. HEHE

For this party, I’ve decided to do a bit of cocktail party style, hence plenty of finger food, not too messy albeit one that people can finished in one bite. Bear in mind my guests are coming after work at 9pm, they’ll be starved, so I’ve also prepared some customary carbo food. The night started off with a little hiccups, all because of my last-minute personality that believe I have time to do everything last minute. HAHAHA! My party starts at 8.30pm and I am still out grocery shopping at 7.30pm! Worst thing is one of my guests arrived early and stranded outside my house for one hour waiting for me to go home.

So with one hour left till the party starts, and no food on the tables, how bad can it turn out?

Luckily a lot of my finger food has been prepared by my Chefs, so all I had to do was the plating! Which is NOT as easy as it looks, because…. I haven’t got out all the plates from my storage area yet. *roll eyes*

OK lets start with the food shall we?

Tomato Bruschetta, Creamy mushroom bruschetta

Cold Smoked Duck Risotto

Spicy tuna on cucumber boat, creamy chicken on celery stick

Prawn Cocktail

Crab Salad

Down to Carbs Carbs Carbs! Pizzas!

Tomyam Meehoon

Nachos with fresh guocamole, tomato salsa, sour cream and japelenos

Now now lets move on to the drinks shall we?

I got home a keg of STELLA ARTOIS draught complete with the whole engineering works, Oxygen tank, ice box and all. Curious how the internal looks like?

The cooler instantly chill the beer that run through from the keg.

Ahhhh it was absolutely fresh.

One barrel can tap close to 90 pints

KK helping himself

There was my customary welcome drinks- red pussy its called

My guest was having fun with the cocktails

Strawberry daiquiri

Blue margarita was yums

Zhong seems to know what he's doing, cuz his concotions are absolutely delish!

The guests mingle and tingle

Then there was desserts! My usual Tiramisu and isnt this absolutely adorable??!?!?!

Bride and Groom strawberries!

Sorry, a bit melted at this point

Looking handsome indeed!

How cute do they look together?

How about some dice games in between?

My guests that make everything possible, including getting the inbeatable Ms. Jazz drunk,

it wasnt a pretty sight, im afraid.

So here's some photos before i stop caring whats going on and being in my own little world. *laughs*

Whisky neat. haha! Such a good sport =)

We were born on the same day! *loves*

Yup im officialyy one year older! (:

Ms. Jazz Reviews: Cuisine Gourmet by Nathalie

2011-09-12T12:07:00.001+08:00

I love having a bunch of friends that see eye-to-eye with me on the enjoyment of food, not necessary fine but all kinds, although admittedly all of us are quite weak in the hawker food department. Our so call ideal place to meet for Malaysian food is “wong ah wah @ Jalan Alor”. FIGURES…

On suggestion by Jon to do dinner- he chose Cuisine Gourmet by Nathalie and has been gushing about this place. Since opening he has went there every month to try the menu of the month. Now, no way I’m doubting a person who goes out fine dining with a vengeance.

However, since I have my reservations with Nathalie Gourmet Studio in Solaris (sister outlet), having to go back there to try a few times, and having to conclude that their main course always fail to impress while their desserts always divine, I told myself that I’m going to go to Cuisine Gourmet with an open heart.

While Nathalie Gourmet Studio in Solaris takes a more casual approach and predominantly focuses on cooking classes and macarons, this new outlet at Menara Taipan leans towards fine dining and has overtook previous seafood fine dine outlet, High Tide. Because Nathalie takes her food VERY seriously (according to crazieapple, she has to be the one doing all the plating), you can find her at Solaris during daytime, and Menara Taipan during the evening.

The setting of the restaurant is simple yet elegant. Atmosphere is not at all uptight; you can enjoy your meal and talk beyond whisper here.

The menu itself is worth celebration. Again, true to Nathalie’s style, you’ll be spoilt with choices as their menu changes every month, no reason not to come back again, and again right? There is the usual ala carte menu with starters that ranges from RM30-RM50, main course RM40- RM80, and Desserts around RM20s.

Otherwise, you may also opt for her Set Menu, which brilliantly has 2 choices, one for seafood lovers and another for the carnivores (that’s me by the way).

Their seafood menu (RM130) and Nathalie’s Selection (RM145) comes with 5 courses, and by calculations it does seem to be more value-for-money, and the best thing is you can sample everything at a comfortable portion.

Nathalie also came out with a degustation menu (RM200) which comprises of 7 courses of tinier but equally filling portions.

Some of the items which I manage to capture off my friend’s ala carte, degustation. or seafood menu for your viewing pleasure.

French rock fish soup in Ala Carte menu (RM35)

Open Ravioli with Blue Lobster, Vanilla Sauce

Oxtail beef squid, Jerusalem artichoke puree and mesclun, short juice sauce in degustation menu

Salmon confit in duck fat, asian mushrooms in sweet and sour broth, buttered savoy cabbage

in Seafood Menu

Duck a l'Orange in degustation menu. Had a bite of this, it was yummy!

Most of us opt for the Nathalie’s selection. (RM145++ for 5 courses)

Started off with Nathalie’s selection of three finger food, we have a chilled cucumber soup with prawn, salmon blini, and mushroom ragout (correct me if I’m wrong, I tried so hard to recall what the servers had told me), all delightfully light as we wait in anticipation for our starters.

Pan Fried Duck Liver in a Brioche, roasted apple, and apple juice sauce. I love the 2 pieces of petite yet plump duck liver sandwich between a delightful light brioche, combine with the apple which eludes some sweet tangy flavors, it was a classic combination yet something that a lot of restaurant get it wrong. Nathalie’s would prove to be some strong comparison. The presentation has also added extra cookie point to this dish. If there’s anything I like about Nathalie’s, it is that their presentation was always done so beautifully.

Beef tenderloin, Porcini Sauce, Potato and Porchinis Mille Feuille with duck liver jelly is hitting all the right notes. We loved the tenderness of the beef, perfect doneness according to our preference, and the flavor of the combination of sauces and complements were just explosive. There’s really just all praises for this dish. We swiped up every single bit on the plate.

I love Red Meat! *Rawr*

Vanilla Mille Feuille, Vanilla Caramel Sauce, and Vanilla Ice Cream. I have mix feeling about this. While the flavours were there albeit slightly sweet for me, the Mille Feuille kind of left us stranded, we weren’t too impress with the hard dense pastry (but not doubting it could be its original intention) however, since I prefer my mille feuille slightly airy and light, this dessert was not too memorable for me

There's no such thing as Macaron overdose in Augustdiners context.

We were delighted with the selection of macarons. As with all macarons, there was hit and misses in their flavours, yet it is still one of the best in town! Do try their salted caramel, i can go crazy over 'em!

Poppy and Strawberry Big Mac, Strawberry Mousse and Basil Sorbet

My dear friends

Nathalie has definitely impressed us with this new outlet here and has taken her culinary skills to a new height. I know by fact that if i'm ever craving for french food, Cuisine Gourmet by Nathalie would definitely comes to mind. Let's just hope that the September menu would be good! Time for revisit?

P/S As this was a way overdue post, please be noted that the items above is from the August Menu, you can check their monthly menu here.

Ratings:

Food: 7.5/10

(Most flavours hit the right notes with more hits than misses, yay!)

Ambience: 7/10

(suitable for work dinners, and celebrations with friends and family)

Service: 6/10

(decent, could be more attentive)

Presentation of food: 8/10

(never failed to please with those wonderful emulsions and good portioning)

Overall: 7.5/10

Updated: very dissapointed with my 2nd and 3rd visit! Sigh! Unfortunately, we've experienced overly salty dishes for most of the MIGF courses.

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

Cuisine Gourmet by Nathalie

Menara Taipan,

Jalan Punchak

Off Jalan P.Ramlee, KL

Tel: 03-2024452

CRAVINGS FOR "A Slice of Heaven" By Just Heavenly

2011-08-24T11:36:00.000+08:00

I must be developing a sweet tooth because one fine Monday morning, all I could think about when waking up is those glorious sinfully good cupcakes that was sitting at the counter among the array of sweet bites, haunting me, calling my name and teasing me relentlessly.

How I wish someone could understand the urge sometimes... to really go all the way out there just to get what they want. I swear it wasn’t the Monday blues, neither do I think I was pregnant with sudden special cravings, (although my bloated tummy can sometimes be deceiving, but I swear it was just the beers!) This, my dear friends, is some serious business and to be bugging Crazieapple since the wee morning just shows how far I would go to get what I want, I think the conversation precisely goes like this:-

9.30am on BBM to Crazieapple: “morning!! im craving for cupcakes!!!!”

11.30am on BBM to Crazieapple: “Can you be a sweetheart and help me go tapao some cupcake from slice of heaven pretty please? I’ll be your BFF!! Thanks, Hearts and Kisses!”

3.00pm on BBM to Crazieapple: “Do you think I should go to BSC later after work? I really need those cupcakes….”

5.00pm on BBM to Crazieapple: “Feipoooo, what’s the plan tonight? Cupcake or what??”

6.00pm on BBM to Crazieapple: “I’m OTW home~! Woohoo!! Cupcake awaits!! I need it DESPERATELY”

~At Home~

6.30pm to Crazieapple: “ So what time should we head over to BSC???”

6.40pm to Crazieapple: “I want… I want… I want….” (Merajuk at this point, because Crazieapple was waiting for Mr. W to finish work to go with us)

7.00pm to Crazieapple: “What if the Slice of heaven closes and I cannot satisfy my cravings today???? I’ll DIE” (I was beyond worry at this point)

~8.00pm calls up slice of heaven BSC branch, cannot get through… called Jaya One branch to ask for the outlet to confirm the Opening hours~ Thankfully BSC’s closes at 10pm..”

8.30pm – Finally made it to BSC, with butterflies in my stomach, I walk towards the “Slice of HEAVEN….”

**Note that I carefully wiped out all Crazieapple’s replies, because I detected hints of annoyance and frustrations and some of the replies weren’t very pretty nor polite either…** *Laughs*

So, after one whole day of whining, I’ve got my hands on these babies! Wooooo!

Whilst the coffee cupcake and cherry cheesecake kind of fell short in flavors, with a slightly course texture on the icing for the chocolate cupcake and the overall sour cherry toppings on the cheesecakes, it was the RED VELVET and Sticky Butterscotch that took the spotlight. Wonderfully moist with those to-die-for butter cream. Both choices is my absolute favourite and a must order each and every time.

Then there was also the chocolate durian cake, densely packed with those durian flesh, and minimal sponge coated with sinful chocolate that will make you wish you had burned more calories at the gym before you leave home

Whiny or not, this trip was worth it. Surely they deliver what they preaches, for these desserts tasted “Just Heavenly”

SINFUL Much?

Never say "Never" with these red babies!

Angry Bird Cupcakes!! RM18/piece

Coffee Cupcake RM7.40/piece

Cherry Cheese Cake RM9.90/piece

Sticky Butterscotch RM9.90/piece *Recommended*

Red Velvet Cupcake RM8.40 *Recommended*

Chocolate Durian Cake RM11.90 *Recommended*

Cravings definitely Satisfied! Let's screw calories for one day, shall we?

Indulge these sweet eats with Vineria's Cappuccino which surprisingly packs some good flavours!

A bit weak with their latte, so do consider double espresso shot in them!

Thank you Crazieapple! You're my new BFF (For now!) *smoochies*

Ms. Jazz Reviews: LuxBite @ South Yarra

2011-08-22T10:05:00.001+08:00

There's just something magical about these colourful petite French darlings. The craze for macarons seems to carry from europe down to south east asia and futher down under back to Augustdiners households.

Luxbite i've heard, was opened by Malaysians (So Proud!!). The brainchild of both experienced pastry chefs (Bernard and Yen), this dessert haven certainly has its fair shares of publicity both in the aussie culinary world as well as foodies like us. People with sweet tooth like us definitely should give this cafe a lookover. From what i've heard, aside from some delishness macarons, eye-popping desserts, this cafe serves some pretty mean breakfast too, care to comment?

Check out the display of these eye candy *slurps*

The thing about macarons is- people are starting to be innovative with their flavors and that’s what I always looked forward to. Take Luxbite for example, they offer 16 mind blowing flavours, many you would have spotted in Nathalie’s but I do yearn for their kaya toast, peanut butter and jelly, and salted caramel again. Now… now… if only these were not many miles away and out of my reach. It’s easier to indulge in this pretty little thing, but when it comes to making them- hmmmm… let’s just say it takes a while to perfect the art of making the perfect macarons shell (i.e. no cracks, and with happy feet! Crazieapple would be nodding her head away in agreement by now)

Thankfully, the ones in Luxbite were light with a slight chewy bite, although we would welcome a little bit more chewy consistency! You’d also have to be careful of some of the choices, as certain flavors can get too unrelenting sweet and you’ll actually cringe. I didn’t quite like the rose and lychee one which tasted a little bit too much with fragrant and the lychee garnache resemble a very sweet paste. *cringe again at the thought*

Apart from their macarons, I’ve heard plenty of good things about their desserts. It is apparently better than their macarons, unfortunately I didn’t have enough space to stomach it during the day but would definitely make a mental note to visit their desserts soon!

Endless Love- Jumbo Heart Shaped Rose Macaroons with raspberry and lychee, so pretty!

Love the teabags!

The cafes has a simple layout with predominantly white furnishing, clean cut and comfortable for weekend shoppers to indulge over a cup of coffee while watching toorak’s passer-bys. Needless to say, after this sinful indulgement, we headed over to our favourite shopping street at Chapel for some much more intensive workout (at the shops and credit cards!) *laughs*

Ending with a pic of me and my babygal, i LOVE bringing her everywhere *hearts!!* <3

Luxbite

38, Toorak Road

South Yarra

Tel: 9867 5888

Ms. Jazz Reviews: Levain Patisserie @ Jalan Delima

2011-08-16T16:56:00.000+08:00

I can gush about Levain patisserie for about the longest time. The café scene in KL till now has been not particularly strong, much to my dismay- but I am seeing some improvements in the recent years with several decent cafes developing around towns, Antipodean, Ginza café, just to name a few.

What makes levain patisserie stands out among the rest is their interior and overall café façade. The gorgeous ambiance of French settings with European scenery paintings, flowery sheers, and colorful flowers uplifted the already vibrant atmosphere. The careful use of wood colors and down tones for furnitures make this café warm and friendly, all suited better for both family hangouts and friends gatherings.

Stir to left upon entrance, and you’ll find yourself engulf amongst the freshly baked goodies. Already people were busying themselves with heaping varieties of breads, tarts onto their tray (yes everything is self service here). By the stove oven, an open display of the production of bakeries can be seen and the pastry chefs were happy and quick to assist to recommend their freshly baked items.

Bread aside, there is also a wonderful selections of desserts to indulge in. Cheesecakes, fruit tarts, and macaroons displayed delicately making it hard to resist.

The weather was breezy that afternoon with mild rain drizzles; it was naturally perfect for me to settle myself comfortably at a table by the outside garden. Crazieapple is in charge of the orders, and I gave her free hand to order whatever she wants. It comes to no surprise her pick comes with 5 choices of macarons (what’s with her recent macaron craze and all), mango and passion fruit tart, chocolate truffle cake, mentaiko bun, cheese croissant, and turkey mushroom pizza. I was going to order 4 more desserts on top of this but was restraint by Crazieapple as we were going to head to a Ramadan Bazaar after this. But the desserts were so sinfully good. AUGUSTDINERS WORDS. Go try them.
Chocolate Truffle cake was a delight to eat. The taste was rich and semi-sweet, with what we suspect to be some grounded coffee beans hidden inside. I love it, love it, and love it!

Mango and passion fruit tart was equally visually appealing. The fruits were mildly sour (in a good way), and I like how the tart is slightly dense but easily forked though at the same time. I’m not much of a fan of flaky, crumbly tarts.

What frustrates me, however is their coffee. It took forever to arrive, I think It was 20-30 minutes and by then my chocolate truffle cake has melted and the texture became gooey. (I always save my desserts to pair it with coffee as I enjoy the bittersweet taste of mixing both together). It was unfortunate that the coffee did not flair as well as i'd have liked, the temperature was too hot, and lacks aromatic flavours.

Cappucino- nice foaming though

Have u ever been served Latte in such a huge Glass- 3/4 filled? It's just wrong!

Macaroons- the context of augustdiners household this month. We talk macaroons, buy macaroons as gifts, learn to make macaroons, and planning to sell macaroons for charity later! Hahaha, talk about being obsessive. Definitely we were anxious to try the ones in Levain and compare. Unfortunately the ones in Levain did not flair as well as Nathalie's. The macaroon shells were too soft, the garnish within is too unrelenting sweet. Definitely a NO-GO with the macaroons here, we didn’t even finish it.
All the bakeries picked were satisfactory with no complaints.

P/S: For those doggie lovers looking for a place on doggie day out- i believe Levain is a dog friendly place (outdoor)!

Such a pleasant day out and Levain has definitely been listed as Augustdiners regular haunt.

WE LOVE IT!

Our total bill came up to RM50+, very reasonable pricing

Ratings:

Food: 7.5/10

(breads and desserts only)

Ambiance: 8.5/10

(perfect for a lazy weekend hangout)

Service: 3/10

(poor- requested to clear plates, took them 10 minutes?)

Presentation of food: 6/10

Overall ratings: 6.5/10

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

LEVAIN BOULANGERIE PATISSERIE

No. 7, Jalan Delima

55100 Kuala Lumpur

03-21426611

Open hours: Tues- Sun (8am-8pm)

Crazieapple talks: Macarons class experience

2011-08-15T10:05:00.001+08:00

There's a new wave in KL (if not, the world) that we are not unfamiliar with- that is the macarons craze!!! Not like you don't already know.. There's just something about this tiny bits of colourful "toys" that make me sacrifice my "girlish" figure. Heck it, size 6 (AUS size la.. not USA)!! hehe

The Parisian Macarons, as most of us know them, are said to have been invented at Ladurée, and they claim to sell 12,000 of them daily. Well, Nathalie at the NGS claimed that some of her customers told her that her macarons were better than Laduree's. Some one needs to justify this as i'm not fortunate enough to get my hands on those babies.. Anyone care to tapau for me pleaseeeeeee??

Being the professional bummer I am, i took the effort to attend Nathalie Gourmet Studio's macarons class last Thursday at 9am, ready to share some love for those around me.. My plan is to earn 3 ringgit each from my own friends and saving them the RM1.40!! hehe

Most of the "students" are housewives who have nothing better to do than attending baking class at 9am. i'm one of them.. haha The class only takes in 10 students at one time for quality control, making sure that everyone has a chance for a hands on experience.. It normally fills up really quickly so if anyone wants to sign up, it's better to do it the moment the monthly class timetables are out!!

My master sifu, Nathalie. She's humorous but definitely takes her food very seriously when it comes to its quality. No shortcuts no easyway out!!

Raspeberry macarons shells with perfect feet.

"A good Macaron has a perfect round shiny dome with “feet” around the base"

Leaving for cooling.. Can't wait!! The other flavours we did were Salted Caramel and Chocolate.

My proud baby!!

So how? Pass ah??

If i were to sell them for charity purposes, anyone willing to buy them?? =)

Making a perfect macaron takes up real effort and time.. There's nothing more rewarding that the mere approval from your loved ones. You'll then know it's all worth it ♥♥♥

http://www.nathaliegourmetstudio.com/

Ms. Jazz Reviews: Dish @ Dua Annexe

2011-08-11T19:49:00.000+08:00

Refer to our previous post here

It was our baby Abs’ birthday, DISH was not our initial choice of celebration, but we were glad we made it. You’ll probably be familiar with her pretty face by now- and yes she is one of my fine dining companions, we’ve been through a lot of exploring together didn’t we? Thank you babe for being there for me whenever my fine food craving hits, for not questioning my choice of restaurants- simply adventurous enough to go with the flow, and to not complain when it was one dinner that went bad. I know I can count on you. *laughs*

Roasted Bone Marrow (RM44)

There isn’t many restaurant in town that served this dish, hence do not drop by DISH without trying their famous Roasted Bone Marrow. Popular in their own rights, The rich and delicious tasting plate consist of 3 bone marrows served with some salsa and toasted bread. Scoop out those gooey liquid- on toast or by itself. It was DIVINE

Pan Fried Foie Gras served with sweet muscat sauce and grapes (RM56)

Always a safe dish to go about. Still good as how I remembered, with a hinge of sweet flavors. The only problem was, the sizes were barely two thumb-sized. If you read about our experience with foie gras at home here, you'll know why we find this PUNY! :)

Scallops (RM56)

Pumpkin Soup (RM21)

Decent, but quite unmemorable.

Lamb Shank Pasta (RM56)

The Lamb Shank Pasta here should not go unnoticed. A hearty portion filled with rich and robust lamb shank stew, and generous meat shreds made this dish a winner. The penne was cooked slightly softer than al dente

Australian Wagyu Marble 8 Rib-eye Steak

IS our RM1000++ Wagyu Marble Grade 8 Steak @ DISH really worth what we paid for it?

We’ve ordered the Wagyu Rib-eye which cost RM138++/100g. It wasn’t too cheap, I know... but who can put a value into a good piece of steak. (Especially not in KL) Being shared among 3 girls, we figured 700+grams would be a safe portion. The steak has good marbling with the right balance of fats and lean meat. Now, here’s the issue, we have a different preference of level of doneness. I liked mine slightly leaning towards medium, while my friends, rare and medium rare. But fortunately, the steak came out just right, and by that I mean the perfect pinkness and tender almost melt in your mouth texture. The seasoning was to the minimal, which suits me just fine (with selected sauce on the side). While I miss my Gu Yue Tien’s Kobe beef, this steak would definitely satisfy my carnivorous cravings for awhile.

Our bill came up to RM360/person with wine (RM170).

De Bday Girl

US <3

Ginza Cafe @ Pavillion

2011-08-04T00:09:00.000+08:00

Tokyo street has finally opened on 29th July! We were so looking forward to Santouka Ramen, which is my absolute favourite ramen in Singapore. But since they don't serve the full menu yet (especially no pork cheek) i dont see the point of writing about it just yet. P/S i didnt think it was as nice as the ones in SG!

What i want to share today however, is GINZA CAFE. A JV Project that involves Asian Reknown F&B group named En Group (whom focuses on japanese cuisine with establishment all over the asean countries, and with strong presence especially in Hong Kong). This time, they are trying something different, GINZA cafe focuses predominantly on bakeries yummies, which i would love to try some day. But what i really want to talk about today is their COFFEE. Brewed fresh from Lavazza coffee beans, this is some serious good coffee, and im loving it. But what really caught our attention was this! THE COFFEE ART

Hello Kitty Cappucino!!!

We girls were so amazed on the sheer detailed that the barista manage to potrait

Got so excited we started being a bit playful

Thank you Raymond (owner +director of en group) for being so accomodating! Apparently his barrista was hailed from JAPAN, a very cute japanese at that.. hahaha. whats better to have a cutie making you cute coffee right?

So apparently Raymond says his barrista can make any cartoon character we want, so we tested him out with this....

DONALD DUCK!!!

HK famous piggie- MAK DAO...

hahaha think he has some difficulty with this because we requested for HOT chocolate, which is probably harder to work on.

Aside from being good to look at, i'm glad to say that this coffee would be loved by those passionate about coffee

P/S, those coffee art is not guaranteed, and should not be expected on normal coffee orders, but no harm requesting!! :)

GINZA CAFE

Level 6, Tokyo Street

Pavillion

Tel: 03-21480369

ms. jazz ultimate melaka guide- Part 2

2011-07-26T00:46:00.002+08:00

Refer to our Melaka Food Guide (Part 1) here.

Previously for part 1, we've covered quite a surprising number of eateries for a weekend trip including:
~ Hing Loong Taiwanese Noodles (Beef Noodles)
~ Seafood @ Portugese Settlement
~ Jonker 88
~ High Tea @ Majestic Hotel

~ Pak Putra for the tandoori chicken

~ Orang Belanda Cafe

~ Donald & Lily
~ Nadeje Pattisserie

This trip round, it was a shorter trip of barely one day, but i'm quite satisfied with what we've had, and there were repeats for those i love from my previous trip. P/S, if you realise, a lot of these places are more localised and differs from your usual tourist congested places. I've got some good guidance from someone who claimed herself to be local after being there for seemingly few months. =)

What We Ate...

TA CHI NYONYA HOUSE
No. 1, Jalan Tun Sri Lanang,
Melaka
Tel: +06 2813777
Opening hours: Mon- Sun 9.30am-10.30pmhttp://www.tachihouse.com/
With its forte being nyonya baba cuisine, you can assure to find the usual nyonya delicacies here from chicken pongteh, rendang, house special seafood- such as the nyonya assam pedas fish, to veges like pucuk paku sambal belacan. This is more of a localised area, hence you don't see many people around with cameras. True to its traditions, Ta chi nyonya delicacies is slightly spicier compare to other nyonya restaurant we've visited. Fear not, you are welcome to drone your burned tongue in a good selection of coffee, which turns out pretty decent too! At least malaccans seems to be able to get their coffee right.

Clean and simple settings allows you to enjoy your meal comfortably

Their bestseller- Nyonya Lemak Laksa (RM8.90)

Sambal Petai Squid- RM12.90

Lemak Pineapple Prawn RM12.90 came with measly 5 pieces of prawns

Durian Cendol RM4.80- Decent. Will be better if the durian ice cream is creamier.

Freezer rose marie mocha RM9.90

Overall Rating: 6.5/10

Revisit? Maybe

KLEBANG COCONUT SHAKE
Roadside stall beside Caltex (along jalan klebang besar)
GPS coordinates: N2 12.920 E102 12.365
Opening hours: Sunday-Thurs: 12.30pm- 6.30pm, on Fridays and because TGIF (thank god its friday), they work shorter hours, 2pm- 6.30pm

I remembered asking a colleague of mine who frequent Melaka for food what would be his ultimum recommendation, he waste no time on hesitation and firmly said "Klebang coconut shake", and i was forewarn on the possible queue for it was so famous that people flocks there to buy drinks in bulks.
This was in my itenary for my previous trip unfortunately my princess here refuse to lined up under the scorching sun, so this time round, after my whining, and my promise that i would line up to tapao and she can sit and wait inside her air-conditioned car, she reluctantly agreed.

The coconut shake basically consist of ingredients such as coconut flesh, coconut juice, ice, and scoops of walts' vanilla ice cream, blended together. . It's that simple and hardly rocket science but the crowd was just ridiculous. Lucky for us, the service was very efficient and fast, they produce the shakes in bulks hence although the line was long, we've gotten our drinks within 25 minutes.

Evil strategy at that, letting us queue and physically heated for a good 20 mins or so, hence the coconut shake taste much better! =D j/k

RM1.80 for normal, and RM2.30 for special (which gives you an additional scoop of ice cream)

Little unrelenting rich and slightly too sweet for me on the specials, but good enough to quench my thirst

I like how there is still bits and pieces of flesh to bite with, rather than a thorough blended coconut shake,

bite me if im wrong, but apart from the whole refreshing-thirst quenching effect, this- to me is just one of those shake easily imitated at home.

I'll try making some and shall name it JESSICA coconut shake, and u come try, sounds good? haha =P

Poor me, left alone to brace the scorching sun!

Overall rating: 7/10

Revisit? Maybe

OLE SAYANG

198-199, Taman Melaka Raya

75000 Melaka

Tel: 06-2831966

Opening hours: 11.30am-2.30pm, 6.00pm-9.30pm (closed on Wed)

Ole sayang really should deserve more recognition on their simple home-cooked style nyonya cuisines, and most importantly- they have the BEST cendol i've had in Melaka so far. There i said it.

Forget the Big Clock Tower Cendol, or even JONKER 88 (which their cendol does not catch my fancy), the ones served in OLE Sayang came in a small portion due to intention of being just an after meal dessert. But the combination was precise and their gula melaka seemed to add an extra oomph to a simple shaved ice dessert. What was also note-worthy was their cendol- plump and short with a nice bite to it. Speaking of which, i'm already craving for it again. *slurps*

Overall rating: 7/10

Cendol rating: 8.5/10

Revisit? Yes.

KINGTU SATAY CELUP
9, Jalan CU, Jalan Cheng
Melaka
Tel: 012-6068805
GPS: N"2 15.674 E102" 13" 428'
Opening hours: 7pm- 12am closed on Monday and Tuesday

Now Now, if you can just forget about CAPITOL satay celup for one moment and divert your attention to Kingtu @ Jalan Cheng, you will find yourself in luck, because this my dear friends, this is one satay celup that is BETTER than Capitol or even Ban Lee Xiang (according to my source which i'll have to trust since i havent tried BLX). I reckon those two just has better marketing (i.e. food bloggers) but this particular restaurant is still relatively unknown to the non-locals, and here i am, sharing it with you :) Their underlying secret is definitely their hot piping oh so delicious spicy peanut sauce, it's so addictive and we can't stop eating sticks after sticks without feeling too overwhelmed by the thicken sauce which the owner thoughtfully came to stir for us from time to time.
It was definitely a thumbs up place for us, and the best thing is? you don't need to line up in those ridiculous queue.

P/S: it is located in some pretty hidden housing area, it was some drive away from the town (towards jalan cheng), so it’s best to flip out your GPS and put it to good use.

The only shop that operates in that area within the whole stretch, it's actually quite dodgy

Kingtu charges RM0.60 per stick, not as much varieties as the famous ones, but good enough to satisfy the cravings. Look at those gorgeous satay sauce. In a typical lok lok style, just dip those sticks in and as soon as it's boiling, it's ready to indulge!

Overall rating: 7.5/10

Revisit: YES

LAO QIAN ICE CAFE on JONKER ST
33, Lorong hang lebat,
Tel: 06- 2828381
GPS coordinates: N2 11.705 E102 14.902
Opening hours: 10am to 10pm daily

This is what i would call another "TOURIST TRAP". Despite reading so much about their Ice White Coffee, it was much to our dissapointment, too tooo too tooooo sweet. Given credit on the strong aroma of coffee but overall, it was nothing to shout about. Their durian cendol was a joke too.

Icy white coffee

packed with tourist

Overall rating: 4/10

Revisit: No

FAMOSA CHICKEN RICE BALL (GU CHENG)
No. 28-30, Jalan Hang Kasturi,

Off Jonker Street,
75200 Melaka
Tel: 06-286 0120
GPS coordinates: N02 11.815, E102 14.921

Opening hours: 9.30am- 9.30pm

Not in my itenary- with good reason (i was aiming for Chung Wah) but unfortunately, the queue was at its usual length, and we had no intention to stand under the sun for it, we opted for gu cheng down the road which seemed to have available tables. So it was my first time experiencing chicken rice balls, having piping curiosity on what's all these hoo-hah's all about. So we ordered 6 chicken rice balls to share along with 1/4 of roasted chicken and 1/4 of roasted duck. I personally did not find those chicken rice balls amusing, and it certainly did not taste good- AT ALL. The rice was dense, and the texture was sticky and grainy. We ate half a ball each and left it aside. The chicken was also unfortunately a letdown. Dare i say, stick to the original chicken rice, will you?

Overall rating: 4/10
Revisit? NO

NADEJE MILLECREPE
Details refer to my melaka guide-part 1

I've been getting my regular supply of NADEJE lately directly from Melaka as my sister tend to travel back to and forth to KL almost every week, and i'll just order it off her. (refer to my previous post, NADEJE is famous for their mille crepe). So far, i'm still not getting sick of it, so i dragged my eating partners again to this ever-congested place. Minus the crowd, the dine-in area is actually pretty relaxing and if time is not your concern, a suggestion to indulge your mille crepe in the shop itself as it serve pretty good illy coffee that goes REALLY well with the dessert.
On a side note, you see that boutique shop that occupied 2 shop lots opposite Nadeje? Go check it out as sometimes they have pretty decent clothes with reasonable price! Madamoseille it’s called.

litche iced tea

Original millecrepe & Yuzu ice soda

The drinks which are quite sweet doesnt go well with the cake, so i opted for an illy cappucinno which was PERFECT compliment to the creamy lusciousness cake. The coffee foaming and temperature was done just right, no complains there.

Revisit? Yes

BUNGA RAYA POPIAH
on jalan bunga raya
GPS coordinates: N2°11.975 E102°15.084
Opening hours: 1.30pm- 5.30pm

Operate near the Madam King Emporium Mall, this small stall popiah was named by some as the best popiah in town. Now that's a big claim which i will neither defend nor offend, as i wasn't given much to compare. But what really motivates me to try it out was when the word "pork lard" was came into the conversation. Now everyone knows how loyal i am to my pork lards. =) With combinations of eggs, bean sprouts, jicama, and PORK LARD, rolled in a thin layer of popiah skin, the smell of pork lard was intoxicating, it was too bad there was a sitting area to indulge this hence we brought it home. If i had to complain, i'd say there wasnt enough of those sinful lards, taste wise- pretty decent but perhaps a little dry.

Overall Ratings: 6/10

Revisit: Maybe

DONALD & LILY
Refer to my melaka guide-part 1

DONALD & LILY

It’s back on my list! Because I simply could not get enough of their nyonya laksa! So, not too bad considering the limited time, to summarize, these are our visited areas for this trip

Revisit? Yes

That is all for now, hope you enjoy this simple guide!

Augustdiners Cooks (NOT!): Gourmet Dinner @ Home

2011-07-22T10:20:00.000+08:00

We're grateful knowing that you are still keeping it up with us and our post, here's another one to share with you, i mean two post within a week could be our new record, that's super frequent for Augustdiners style whom seem not be able to cope with one entry per month.

We’ve recently got our hands on some gourmet ingredients- the larger than palm sized foie gras, few kilos of Spanish ribs, and the o-so-tempting pork loin. We’ve also given some really good imported Spanish pork belly which I’m probably going to make char siew later (any good recipes to share?)
So Crazieapple was heading the kitchen that night because she’s still living the life of a jobless bummer. Whilst I came whizzing in after work to assist her with the dirty work, i.e. cutting and shredding vegetables =P

1/Crazieapple preparing to baked her ribs

2/ Foie gras- yums!

3/ *loves*

4/ Pork loin in the making

5/ Almost there

6/ I claimed the biggest piece!

We started our family off with some dips and crackers- 4 types including smoked salmon, caviar, tzatziki, and cream & chives. The dip goes really well with Tucker’s natural crackers, you’ve got to try it! It’s so addictive.

Our menu of the night was pan-seared foie gras with caramelized apple, which had a wonderful combination of flavours. It was an easy done dish, and with Crazieapple doing re-runs on how to properly dissect the foie gras on youtube more than 10 times, it’s safe to say she’s a pro in the area already.

Then there was the Jack Daniel’s spare ribs, which we ran into minor hiccups, but in the end it just turns out so beautifully that I was eating while licking my fingers at the same time. Mr. KFC would approve because it’s so finger lickin’ good. *laughs*

Then the pork loin was expertly wrapped with bacon and stuffing, the presentation was enticing as the bacon was baked to a sexy brown tan, the downside however was that the pork loin was slightly over-cooked for my liking. I enjoyed mine with some slight pinkness to the flesh. But again, she’s hit jackpot with the flavours

Some Roasted Veges on the side: butternut squash, capsicums, and tomatoes.

Also on the side is the rosemary flavored mashed potatoes.

For dessert. =)

Check out the mess we made =)

P/S Just a little excitement to share. Whilst we were pan-searing our foie gras outdoors with the portable gas stove (2 of them), the gas leaked and our whole pan caught major fire, whereby we were all rushing to find water or ways to diffuse the fire (only to find it inflamed bigger), in the end, we manage to kill the flame by throwing two big bucket of water from the swimming pool. But, what is really noteworthy is how all of us re-acted to the situation.

~The ever so smart Chyn puts her hand into the fire to attempt to turn off the gas

~ PK was nowhere in sight….

~ Mom, being the one who always know what to do, ran all the way to the sink area (which is super far away) to get a bucket

~SY gave dad half a glass of water from our dining table as if she thinks that the mere glass of water can save the situation

~ Lil Twin sisters screams “mommy… mommy….!”

And what was Augustdiners reaction?

Ms. Jazz: “It’s GONNA EXPLODE, GET AWAY FROM THAT PLACE”*whilst hiding in the dining room as far away from the fire as possible”- Damn Dramatic OK…hehe

Crazieapple, on the other hand was the classic one…..

“SAVE THE FOOD, SAVE THE FOOD!!” she screams- whilst flapping her hands up and down.

Lucky for us, dad manage to push most of the food away from harm before the mom’s buckets of chlorine filled water came splashing down. But unfortunately, 5 pieces of foie gras had died in vain.

So all excitement aside, the dinner was thoroughly enjoyable. If I knew Crazieapple can deliver a meal so well, I would be willing for myself to sit back with my knife whilst she graces the wok for our next cooking project.

Ms. Jazz Reviews: PLOY @ Clearwater

2011-07-21T01:47:00.003+08:00

Bangsar/Damansara has one of the wider ranges of cuisine offered in Klang Valley and too often you’ll see new eateries sprouting here and there as developers enhanced their luxury developments with the value added input like new F&B outlets- not that we’re complaining- for PLOY was indeed a welcome addition to the Clearwater development and the brainchild of Jared Lim. The restaurant is located in the WORK@ Clearwater tower.

Seemingly undiscovered yet due to being open for operation only a week ago, PLOY (“gem” in thai) offers modern asian cuisine and you’ll find yourself spoilt between choices of sashimis from their raw bar section & a fair selection of sushis, to their varieties of thai-japanese influenced dishes. Also try their specialities like the mentaiko spaghetti, which by the way is the beautiful Dian’s favourite dish.The good news is, it is quite a budget friend menu- with their starters being in the range of RM10-RM20, and mains in the RM20s region.

The building has easy accessibility as I often tease my friend that they can practically ROLL home from my favourite hangout- The hill. (Having one drink too many) =P

We started off with some tidbits while waiting for the rest to arrive- Lotus Roots Chip(RM6) was deep fried to crisp and crispy fried baby squid (RM9) was a delight to munch on whilst sipping their house specialty cocktails with quirky names like pardon my pandan (RM25) and tomyamtini (RM24) (uh-huh, you heard right, either you like it or you don’t as it has a unique taste of its own)

Lotus Roots

Crispy baby Squid

Pardon my pandan

Tomyamtini

Ploy’s Pomelo Salad (RM16) came in a puny portion – mixed with roasted duck shred and a spicy touch of chopped chillis.

My friend liked the Avocado Salad (RM11), saying it was refreshing with the mildly citrusy dressings. Personally not much of a fan, but you all know I’m a carnivorous.

Pink lady Sushi comes with a choice of 4pcs (RM16)/8pcs.

Obviously we were waiting in glee for our linguini mentaiko (RM21), “mentaiko” being marinated roe of a Pollock. (But unfortunately, my dear vegetarian friend decided to opt for a vegetarian version, which was filled with mushrooms, and what do you know? NO mentaiko… so really- no comment for this) do try it and let us know

We thought the Ploy’s Black Fried Rice (RM25) was quite the visual charmer, raw egg presented on top was use to combine with the squid ink rice. A good marriage of flavours with hinge of spicy touch

For mains, it was the crispy salmon (RM29) and duck confit (RM27), both slightly bothering the sweet side, but fairly well executed.

Give them some time to work out minor hiccups here and there, but overall it was a pleasant dining experience.

Our bill came up to about RM60 each with cocktails

My girls- i look so jumbo size right? This picture is so corporate profile materials haha

PLOY @ Clearwater

Jalan Changkat Semantan

Damansara heights

Tel: 03-20950999

Augustdiners Explore: Ultimate Guide to Taipei (Part 1)

2011-07-12T23:05:00.002+08:00

SAY WHAT? 19 RESTAURANTS IN 3 DAYS??? SHOPPING FRENZY?? BORING OLD TEMPLES AND DULL BUILDINGS??

That’s exactly what we’ve achieved in our recent Taipei trip- and speaking of 19 restaurants, street eats were not inclusive yet! It was a fulfilling trip, and it helps that the eateries in Taipei is relatively cheap too! Now I can come home and cry to mommy because of those few extra pounds around my waist and blame no one.
I’ve been meaning to share the ultimate Taipei guide with our readers-but by the rate I’m going, always distracted with other things during mid-sentence, I seriously has doubt that this can be completed within a short span of time. But I’m in a good mood today, and I am also a very determine woman today, finally setting out a 2-hrs uninterrupted solitude in order to concentrate writing this post.

So here’s our two cents on all things Taipei (which will be split into different entries) I hope you enjoy reading them! And if you know better places to go, please let us know! There are several items in our itenary which we didn’t manage to achieve due to the lack of time, but we’ll share it with you anyways, because sharing is caring.

TRANSPORTATION- PRETTY CONVENIENT

Because there is no MTR line from the international airport that leads to the city center, your options will be 1) Taxi – which should cost you around NT$1000- 1200 (equivalent to approx RM100-120). Exchange rate is currently approx RM1- NT$10. Alternatively, there are several 2) airport bus companies which will stop by at most major hotels or MRT station in the city. Walk to the nearest bus ticketing counter and tell them your destination to be advised the best bus services to take. Most would cost around NT$120- NT150. The international airport would be an estimate 45 minutes ride to the city center.

First thing when you settle yourself in TAIPEI is get a MRT route map. This will be your bible for the next few days. To start off with, you will need a MRT card which similar to HONGKONG’s, can be used in taxis, and convenient stores as well. We started off with NT$500, which sets you up with NT$400 credit for your usage (NT$100 being deposit and refundable when card is returned). MTR here is cheaper than hongkong, single journey to most location would only cost around NT$12- NT$20 depends on the distance. But if you travel with 3-4 friends, you can also consider taxi travelling as their starting fee is only NT$70, with NT$20 premium for night time (if not mistaken).
There are several MRT routes that lead you to all parts of TAIPEI, but if you’re up for just exploring within the Taipei center and immediate surroundings, you’ll find yourself using more of blue and red line.

For this purpose, we will segregate our guide by MRT Route, just because we are nice and all that.

PART 1- 板南线 (BANNAN LINE)- leads to popular station 忠孝新生，忠孝复兴，忠孝敦化，国父纪念馆，市政府

頂好哨子麵

This form of LA MEIN is originated from YUNNAN, China. Noodles being made with ingredients such as onions and radish , and improvised with thick broth using tomato, minced meat, eggs and mushrooms, it has been a popular eatery in Taiwan, and you'll see many locals dining here during lunch time.

What's nice about this noodle is it has a nice springy texture/ or as taiwanese known as being very "Q" texture. The thick broth is filled with earthy flavours.

WHERE?

台北市大安路1 段73 号

MRT 忠孝复兴UNDERGROUND STREET EXIT 14

REVISIT?? MAYBE

度小月担仔面

Do not miss out this famous taiwan eatery. No matter how full you are at the end of the day, you wont regret that you've save some tummy space for "DU XIAO YUE", for they are famous for their 担仔面

(Disclaimer: Do not bother ordering other dishes if you're on the roam for more food exploring- because we thought it tasted rather normal)

P/S: we preferred the dry versions to the soup ones!

WHERE?

台北市忠孝东路4段216巷8弄12号

(Pretty close to Ding Tai Fung)

MRT Exit at Zhong Xiao Dun hua station, by foot 5 minutes walk

REVISIT? YES, just for their Dan Zai Noodles!

HELLO KITTY SWEETS

Taiwanese are crazy about their Hello Kitty. I mean, which other airport would actually have a sitting area dedicated to this character but taipei? If you are as crazy as us on HELLO KITTY, do visit this hello kitty concept cafe which is dressed with lovely pink inteior. It's as if you've stepped into a dreamland. OH, and how cute does those desserts look, all delicately designed with more than 30 varieties to choose from.

Where?

台北市大安区大安路1段90号

REVISIT? YES because we love hello kitty!

CAFE KITCHEN 创意咖啡洋食馆

If you're tired, and needed rest for the in between shoppings, Cafe Kitchen would be ideal. As the drawl of this place is their classy posh inteior, award winning barristas, and the extensive list of innovative coffee drinks.

Beautiful settings

Coffee with Rum

Green Tea Coffee

HAVANA SECRET *thumbs up*

WHERE? 台北市忠孝东路3段300号7楼

INSIDE SOGO (Fuxing Branch)

If not mistaken, near the menswear section

REVISIT? MAYBE

葱花来了

Being one of the restaurant under the 欣葉小廚 group, whom has diverse from themed taiwanese restaurant to japanese restaurant, each has its own specialty/ unique concept, this particular restaurant aims to introduce taiwanese cuisine to the younger generation. With their neo light display, and casual seating booth- it creates a sorta fun atmosphere. Their name of dishes also implies some playfulness with names such as "wolfmen's omelette eggs" 狼人菜脯蛋 or "teacher im sorry" 老师对不起 or "you're my baby" 心肝宝贝

Be prepared to wait to be seated as the place tends to fill up easily, especially on a weekend, but luckily service was pretty efficient.

Where? 台北市忠孝东路四段201号2F

MRT exit ZHONG XIAO DUNHUA exit no. 2

http://www.shinyehtable.com/ for their other taiwanese cuisine restaurants

REVISIT? Maybe

Other Possible Visit Around this area:

1. 豚屋PORKCHOP (Their pork chop looks yums!)

2 MR。 J 意法餐厅 (Jay Chou's italian restaurant) Just because it's by Jay Chou hah

3。忠将葱抓饼

4. 东区茶街忠孝东路4段 181 巷7弄is Taipei's famous Tea Street. Experience Taiwan's Bubble Milk Tea, light bites and supper here. Apparently young crowd loves gathering here till wee hours.

饶河夜市 (RAOHE NIGHT MARKET) VS. SHILIN NIGHT MARKET VS. 市大SHIDA NIGHT MARKET? Want to know which one we prefer most? Stay tuned to our next entry (which hopefully won't drag on to weeks to write! *fingers crossed*

P/S if you are having trouble with the chinese street names, please let us know, we're happy to translate! :):)

Our Father's day celebration

2011-06-20T18:30:00.001+08:00

Just a quick one before i buried my head back into work.

How did you celebrate your father's day?
It is not often we get to do something special for our dad, so every year, we scratches our heads thinking hard on what to do for the only special guy in my life (ok, that sounds so wrong)

As daddy always go out for entertainment most days of the week, we thought it'll be good to have him relax at the confinement of his own home, but we arent really keen on doing much cooking, so my sister came up with the fussy-free idea of HOTPOT.

Here are some photos to share:- (again apologies for the bad quality photos, you'll have to get used to it until i figure out the settings hahaha)

Yum yum, we had a choice of szechuan soup base, and clear soup base. No prize for guessing right which one i opted for

Then there was the customary dipping sauces

The absolute necessities: beef slices, and lamb slices

Vast amount of food that can feed the whole kampung, according to my mom

Oh well, better over prepared then under prepared right? =)

Our Alcohol bites: Yung Kee HK's Century egg is the bestest!!

Desserts is no other than chocolates from PATCHI, *licks*

Last but not least- drinks!! We're a bit more adventurous on this special day

Did couple of shots of china's Bai Jiu, and Sake

Then proceed to my favourite PATRON's Coffee Tequila

Ended with some Glenmorangie Single Malt Whiskey

Last but not least, my gift to daddy dear.

LOVE YOU MUCHIE DAD!!

Ms. Jazz Reviews: Bistro A Table, PJ Section 17

2011-06-17T11:43:00.001+08:00

A meal in Bistro-A-Table is easily enjoyed. I’ve heard nothing but praises for this 11-days old French bistro tucked away in a quiet row of shops of PJ Section 17, directly behind Decanter.
I confess I’m a little bit of a Francophile – I like all things French-I love French for their fashion, for their food, and for their wine. Oh yes, I love French guys in particular.

Headed by the young and attractive Private Chef Isadora, (what a nice name, I’m naming my kid Isadora- regardless of its gender) , Bistro A Table interior was minimalist, with uses of light curtains which enhances diners privacy, suspended light bulb hanging loosely above the head allow a dimly lighted space and soaring French music uplifted the mood of the place.

Their menu choices are somewhat limited, but there are some very tempting items like caesar salad soup, and deconstructive tiramisu that had me waiting in anticipation. I was told that these menus are not a fixture and will be reviewed from time to time in a short span of a week or two. Chef Isodora mentioned that she has all these crazy dishes going through her mind and she can’t wait to present it to her diners. Ah, I can’t wait.

Aside from the regular bistro menu, you can also look out for their degustation menu that will be available every first Monday of the Month. With an extravagant 12 courses to devour and dwell on, it is no wonder that their July Degustation reservations have been fully booked. The fact that the degustation cost RM500 per pax did not to deter people from making reservation well ahead of time.

My much anticipated Caesar Salad Soup (RM18)-is beautiful in presentation- a soft-boiled egg hidden shyly within the confine of a crisp toast, on top of a bed of green (soup). I looked left and right then, hoping my counterparts know how to drink this in a proper manner, do we break the eggs and toast to be toss & devour with the lightly puree salad soup? After slight deliberation, we gave up all pretenses and jumbled everything together. Turns out to be a good marriage in flavors and definitely try worthy

Then there was the Duck Parfait (RM19) that didn’t leave a lasting impression to me. But that’s just personal preference as my friend happily woofed down chunks of the creamy content with the thinly baked toast.

I like the simplicity of the coddled egg with maple syrup (RM16) that’s served with crouton dust and asparagus spear. With a little crouton dust, Spoon out the glorious runny eggyolks that was sweeten by the syrup. Mmm.. Mmm.. It reminded me of a dish I had once in Melbourne’s Bistro Vue.

Down to the main course, we went with three finalist: Traditional duck cassoulet (RM48) instead of the beans on the side, ours was served with lentils. Slipper lobster and sea urchin linguine (RM132) which cost as slippery as the lobster and Seafood Bouillabaisse (RM58) which I believe is not what the actual dish is called, but too bad I have no reference in other food blogs for this dish to copied from. Oops, trust me not to do my homework, let’s just call it seafood stew shall we?

Duck Cassoulet (RM48) was done in a perfect succession. The slow cooked duck flesh has an almost fall off the bone texture, come with a crispy skin, and robust sauce which twinge of sweetness.

My slipper lobster linguine (RM132) is one of its kinds. While I questioned whether the price is justifiable, it was to no doubt that I was smidgen with this dish. On first bite, I thought it was a regular tomato based linguine which was slightly sourish. But as I find my way through this dish, I became addicted to the subtle flavours of sea urchin which blends really well with the fresh tomato paste, and there was no skimming with the lobster pieces as I enjoyed the succulent large bite-size pieces

The Seafood Stew was O-K. A seafood lover’s delight using variety of fresh seafood pieces on a light garlicky soup base.

Desserts. Desserts. Desserts. Now I’m really geared up to write! As I’m always overly excited for dessert more than anything else (except for French men that is) They always tend to bring me to a stage of childlike bliss, and thankfully, Bistro A Table desserts are ones that are noteworthy.

One glance through, and the first that caught my eye was the terribly alcoholic tiramisu. (RM29) which indeed live up to its name, and I shall declare it the most “GAO aka strong” tiramisu in town. While we thought the Kaffir lime and lemon tart was decent (RM15), we would recommend you the chocolate fondant (RM18) which was sinfully good. Just think of those oozing dark chocolate made me want to go back for more.

Terribly Alcoholic Tiramisu

Kaffir Lime and Lemon Tart

Chocolate Fondant

To pair with an enjoyable night is a Chilean medium bodied wine Terramater Merlot (RM140).

Our meal comes out to approx RM185 per person. Sorry for the ill quality food pictures, I tried in vain to get the settings right under the dim lighting, but u know me and my noobness with all things electronics…sigh! it was then during my main course that I remember another camera that was stashed in my car, thank god for user-friendly lumix!

Ratings:

Food: 7.5/10

Ambience: 7/10

Service: 5.5/10

Presentation of food: 6.5/10

Overall: 6.5/10

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

Bistro a Table

6, Jalan 17/54

Tel: 03-7931 2831
(reservation recommended, open only during dinners and closed on monday)

Augustdiners explores Yarra Valley, Melbourne

2011-06-09T18:37:00.000+08:00

I.am.now.typing.this.in.silverspoon. *hiccup*

Allow me to be emotional a little, as i indulge alone overlooking the restaurant with a Dunkel Weihenstephaner on my hand. *hiccup* I was thinking, how lovely it would be if there's a new awesomeness restaurant miraculously pop out of no-where. Ever since coming back from my non-too-long-holiday, i have not seen sparkles in my eyes when restaurant is mentioned. And when ask what to have for dinner, it would be "whatever suits u best" which.is.like.totally.not.ME. I DO NOT do whatever. I always have at the back of my mind what to eat before i was even asked.

So today.. just because i feel like writing something *hiccup* i would like to share with you my recent trip to Yarra Valley, Melbourne. Given the constant gloomy weather of melbourne, we were hoping with fingers and toes crossed hard for a good weather.
God must be feeling in a breezy mood that day, because we did have our good weather, albeit one that was slightly chilly, but with a couple of wine down my throat, im already feeling warm and fuzzy allover =)

For more information on Yarra Valley wineries, you can refer to their visitor website

Before i head into too much details, i'd like to apologise from our long lost absence. Mainly because of Crazieapple being busy with l**e, and Crusader bz with something that starts with a C, ends with a C, and has a C in the middle. Go figure. For me, which neither has l**e nor CCC, still manage to occupy my time with W**K. 9 hours a day is barely enough.

So back to the topic. I enjoyed myself immensely in Yarra Valley. We woke up late that day and only made our journey there at 2-ish, which means we barely had time to visit all the wineries, so we picked a few. Yering Station, Yarrawood, and Tarra Warra.
Who says theres nothing free in this world. In yarra valley, there is plenty of FREE wine tasting. You can just stand by their wine tasting area whole day and try all the wines they have to offer. We often started with the whites that leads to the dessert wines, then red light bodied, to the full bodied, and by the end of the testing, your palate is so mixed up that you forgot which is good and end up buying the whole lot. This is their strategy me thinks, EVIL! It doesnt help that the wines are so deliciously cheap, we end up buying a few bottles at every stop we made.
We drank a couple of bottles and brought back a few to further continue our night as most wineries closes at 5pm. Needless to say, i was happily drunk that night.

Among all the wineries, we enjoyed ourselves at Tarra Warra the best, perhaps it was because we manage to catch the sunset which was breathtaking, and perhaps it was our last stop of the day, and we've already got ourselves filled with some loving sexy wines, and you know.. feeling warm and fuzzy all over. =)

Without further ado, here are some of our camwhore pictures (few of the many that we took on our trip)

Love this pic!

Cheers to good health!!!

Too many pictures to absorb in one entry, isn't it!?

Ms. Jazz Reviews: Der Raum, Melbourne

2011-05-14T10:51:00.000+08:00

*waves* Has it been so long since my last entry?! Time passes by too quickly. It doesnt help that the entry i took 1 week to write with much effort did not autosaved itself and end up wiping out all my effort (and my time)

Prior to my Melbourne Trip last week, i've tried to explore more eateries, bars, clubs so my activities of the week evolved around eat, drink, drunk, hangover, eat .. u'd get my drift :)

One of the particular bar with a cutting edge that inspired me is Der Raum @ Richmond. Voted Cocktail bar of the year at the Australia Bartender Awards, No. 12 in the world's 50 best bars by Drinks International, and Austrlia's 10 most influential bar by Australian Bartender Magazine in 2010, Der Raum's ("The room" in german) credentials are endless and indeed impressive.

What differs this bar among the rest is their emphasis on quality drinks. To ensure their commitment in quality, Der Raum adopted a closed door policy with priority access provided by their membership holders. Don't expect seeing big signages at the door. It's not a place where you can walk by and discover, and this just further elevated the exclusivity of the bar.

Der Raum doesnt occupy a very large area, the room was dimly lit with not many sitting tables. Might as well, as the real showcase occupies the centerstage of the room, where spirit bottles were hanged above the bartender's head with bungy cords. It was definitely visually attractive watching the bartenders utilizing those liquors to make those innovative cocktails. (almost like an artform). Their cocktails are bound to please even the pickiest drinkers.

And if you think degustation menu only applies for food, think again. Der Raum provides an interesting 5 course menu (drinks that is) for those who couldn't make up their minds. "Tourist Route" its called, and with AUD80, this degustation will set to bring you through a collection of their popular drinks, from Arrival, Pharmacy, Teachers Tripple, Captain Blackbeer, and Departure. And For those who wishes a more hardcore journey, you should opted for the "Tour De Force" (AUD140) comprising of 8 course expansive cocktail selection.

1/ Spirits hanging above bartender's head with bungy cords

2/ Fancy some "zombie"? Rum, fresh tropical fruit, and flaming caramelized passionfruit

Bartender making our drinks with sheer concentration

Pharmacy - Pear and Roasted Capsicum Gin with Sweet Italian Bitters. The brilliant part? Citrus pill, to pop into your mouth after all the "medicine". A light concotion that's a women pleaser

Our drinks waiting to be served *rubs hand in glee*

Fuck the Surpreme: Der Raum Kummel, Cognac, Citrus, and Champagne.

One should stay abid to the law, because if you dont, u'd get this- a nasty mixture

El Moroccan Blazer, Hennessy VS Cognac, Sweet Port, Flamed Lime & Pineapple. Yummay!

Death in the Afternoon, Spiced Absinthe, Champagne, Rosemary

Sayer au Champagne, Champagne, Grand Marnier, Maraschino, Vanilla

El Pozolero- Mezcal, Italian Vermouth, Citrus, Mole Bitters, and Maple Stewed plum

Bees Knees: Tanquerey Gin, Pressed lemon and Nitro honey nest. Another pleasing drink for the ladies

Ms Jazz n Crazieapple <3

If you can only visit one bar when you're in Melbourne, Look no further than DER RAUM.

Der Raum

438, Church St,

Richmond, (corner of Chuch n Swan St)

Melbourne, Australia

Open at 5pm-10pm daily

03-94280055

http://www.derraum.com.au/ for more information.

Crazieapple talks: Coffee

2011-05-10T16:30:00.006+08:00

The Augustdiners love our coffee like how we love our clothes (and bags and shoes) ♥♥♥ *grin*

Coffee is like the petrol in my body, it keeps me running and doing my daily routines. It's like my daily dosage to keep me out and about. But a BAD coffee gives me a bad head start for the day, it makes me upset that i can't even enjoy a cup of good coffee and i'll feel demotivated for the rest of the day.

Everyone's expectations of a "good" coffee are pretty subjective as individual coffee drinkers have different preferences in flavor and body and type of coffee.

Personally, i like my coffee to have a rich aroma, carrying slight bitterness, heavy, full-bodied mouth feel that lingers in your mouth after drinking it, silky foam to top my latte, of course, pretty coffee art adds on more brownie points!! Often, i like to sprinkle some sugar as a habit. Somehow i feel that it kinda brings out the coffee aroma better. Well, that's just my two cents.

They even invented a machine to draw latte art!! Can someone scream "COOL"??

I've decided to put together some coffee knowledge to share with all you coffee lovers out there.. It's about time that we be educated more on what we love!! =)

The different types of coffee (and many more):

Single: single shot of espresso usually served in a demitasse.

Double: double shot of espresso usually served in a demitasse.

Quad-shot: four shots of espresso in a small mug, bigger than a demitasse.

Affogato: Espresso served over gelato. Traditionally served over vanilla gelato.

Allongé: similar to an Americano, except that hot water is not added to already made espresso, instead, more water is put through the ground beans as the shot is made. This results in a more complex and stronger drink.

Café Latte: espresso + hot milk - equal parts. Milk is poured over the espresso and preserving the order of the espresso going into the cup first is very important.

Café Mocha: café latte + chocolate - equal parts.

Cappuccino: espresso + hot milk + milk foam - equal parts.(topped with cocoa powder or non-traditional cinnamon).

Chai Latte - chai tea + hot milk (no espresso involved)! Chai in the U.S., is traditionally a blend of black tea, honey, vanilla, and spices usually to be served with milk (hot or cold). The word chai means tea in Hindi.

Corretto: coffee with a shot of liquor, usually grappa or brandy.

Flat White: (Australia and New Zealand) One-third espresso and two-thirds steamed milk.

Kennedy: a cup of coffee with three shots of espresso in it.

Lungo: more water (about double) is let through the ground coffee, yielding a weaker taste.

Macchiatto: espresso + milk foam - equal parts.

Latte Macchiato: Essentially an inverted cafè latte, with the espresso poured on top of the milk.

Caramel Latte Macchiato: The milk is vanilla flavored and caramel is drizzled over the top of the foam. This is the form of macchiato popularized by the U.S. specialty and boutique coffee shops.

Mochaccino: cappuccino + chocolate syrup - equal parts.

Flavour
A high quality coffee has high acidity giving it pronounced flavors often described as nutty, spicy, fruity, mellow, chocolaty, caramel, wine, floral, tangy or smoky, depending on the bean and roast. Lower quality coffees have less desirable flavors, often described as watery, chemically, muddy, rubbery or tasting like medicine. Low quality coffee often lack acidity, giving it an overall flat taste.

Milk
I have a friend who used to work as a barista commented on how a lot of other baristas always get it wrong when it comes to heating up the milk, they tend to overdo it. Burnt milk can really detract the coffee's quality and it's the most common mistakes that many baristas make. Texture of the milk has to be dense, silky and full-bodied. Common mistakes are overheating the milk, over or under aerating it and not grooming it enough. (Grooming is fine-tuning it to remove excess air and bubbles before it’s poured).
We always complain that "the coffee is not hot enough", truth is, a good cup of coffees is NOT meant to be mouth-burning hot.

My voted Best coffee for the moment is: Skinny Latte at Las Chicas

Best take-away coffee- convenient + good: is from Seven Seeds

SO, how do you like your coffee and where do you get it from? =)