The Roar Year 2010

@ OneUtama Shopping Mall

The Tiger does not take a back seat to the Dragon when it comes to being outrageous. It could be a spectacular year for this high flying duo. On the other hand Metal is unlucky for the Dragon and, therefore, you. There are thus likely to be a few times you will crash and burn. The key is not to get too caught up in the moment. Be thoughtful and avoid unnecessary risk. You can't beat the Tiger this year, but joining forces will pay off. If you can bring yourself to exhibit a little self control, the year 2010 could be a most rewarding one indeed. Regardless of the outcomes, you will no doubt have a most exciting time. So enjoy yourself and move out smartly during the nine favorable months, and tread lightly in the other three.

Believe it or not, I still have to continue living :)


Abalone transported all the way from oz

This year CNY was a tad different from every past year. Sister invited her friends over to feast the reunion lunch together and thus she prepared the food more than usual. It was also my first time in 21 years of living for not having a proper place to eat. All's well ends well, I was happy nevertheless!


11 course meal + Yee Sang


Lou lou lou lou lou~~~!


Obligatory Tea Ceremony

Being daddy's charming & beautiful youngest girl *coughcough* who was forced to study chinese and public primary school, I took this opportunity to brush up my mandarin. On the eve, I kidnapped my brother to teach me auspicious wishes although I may know a few. So the wishes were, "Gong xi fa cai, xin nian kwai le, nian nian you "yu"(fish), may you have prosperous year, be healthy & wealthy, high growth in business every year, may your wish come true,..etc!" And taddah, red envelope with muhnee on my hand!


Obligatory Family Portrait :)

Later, we adjourned to cousins' house for more angpao collecting! Fortunately, this year I was blessed with more incomes. On top of that, I received farewell angpao from grandma and my fellow aunties. Slrrrrppp~~


With cousins



To end this post, may this prosperous tiger year brings you blessings, wealth, health, career, love and happiness. Wishing you a great year ahead :) Gong xi fa cai!

ps: sorry for belated wishes. Well, better be late than never.

Neroteca @ Somerset, Lorong Ceylon

Are you ready for 100% authentic italian restaurant?


"There is nowhere like Neroteca anywhere in the city", quoted by Neroteca

Right! Absolutely right! Neroteca is not somewhere you think, "another italian restaurant that serves decent pasta"


Even its interior decor is nowhere like Neroteca in the city! Every wall-to-wall shelf is stocked with bottles of imported fine wine as well as hanging ham, salamis and copper pans over the deli counter.


Long Black - RM8


Warm & Pillow Soft bread


Bucatini amatriciana with onion and bacon - RM24

Amatriciana, a classic Italian pasta with a hint of mild spicy. Springy bucatini and diced tender meat cooked with amatriciana, magnifico!


Pappardelle 'Neroteca'- RM24
Wild boar ragout pasta

Wilboar pasta is the main reason why I was there. I would say it was entirely opposite from B&O . Minced wild boar meat and ragout both complement very well. A dish that I'll give a try again, and yes I will. This is nowhere like Neroteca, isn't it?

All in all, I truly fell in love with Neroteca and I wish there was a revisit during my return on June. Though it was just two plates of pasta, I'm pretty ascertain to try out the rest. The restaurant is rather small and it was almost packed by dinner time. Do make a reservation or else you'll end up a plate of disappointment. I love Neroteca and so does Lern. Thus, his upcoming birthday dinner at Neroteca will be feasible. HORRR??

Angus House Japanese Charcoal Steak @ Pavilion KL

When Chinese new year and valentine's day fall on the same day, it somehow resembles a question that would commonly be asked by girls, "me and your mom, who will you pick?" If I were asked this question, the answer definitely stands firmly on my feet. Like duh!

And since Lern and I will not be celebrating valentine's day this year, he made it two days earlier. It doesn't matter to celebrate before or after valentine's day; afterall everyday is valentine's day!


Angus House @ Pavilion KL



So it was angus, a name that sounds tremendously branded, lavish, posh and exquisite tickles me. I was curious, excited and immediately pestered Lern that it's a MUST to step into this restaurant. Although the interior and exterior give a hint of fine dining restaurant, what matters the most is the food must be awesomely good regardless of the price!


Complimentary warm and crunchy bread & butter


Hors d’œuvre or appertizer



The soup was creamy and rich. Unfortunately, I was confused with its taste, either carrot or mushroom soup without mushroom!


Foie Gras Speaciale - RM45

I had my first foie gras at Angus House and to be honest, I didn't quite like it. On the contrary, Lern loved it because it's foie gras thus it needs no further explanation.


Green salad with Japanese dressing


Tenderloin steak dinner course 250g - RM115

Lern opted medium-rare with a warm, succulent, and it was really good. Firm on the outside, juicy pink on the inside and I'd almost forgotten it was a medium-rare!




Tenderloin Steak 150g - RM70

I had it prepared well-done that was almost, indeed very much wasted for a tenderloin steak. It was charred on the outside, thoroughly brown and chewy on the inside. Cooking a good steak to this level of doneness is an ultimate challenge. It has to be done slowly on low heat, or else you'll end up with shoe leather. The special Japanese sauce was minimal but too much of sauce might overpower the original taste of beef. Though not a waygu or kobe, the tenderloin captured me well. The first bite has convinced me that I shouldn't penalize steak as it was luxurious. Yumz yumz! If only you remember this, I don't eat steak.


Dessert


Yours truly :)

Overall, the dinner ended very well and I wasn't feeling full nor hungry;it was on par which I always like it this way :) The extensive menu offers choices of dinner set that range from RM60++ (includes a 150g Hamburg steak) to RM300++ (for prime cuts) and covers hors d’oeuvres, soup, salad, rice or bread and dessert. Prices are slightly steep, but let's look at the prospective of good quality steak they serve. At some restaurants, you might end up paying high for a crappy steak! So, have a try when you're ready for high distinction steak!

Short Notice

I have officially returned to Sydney and I might need couple of days to get things done. Those are getting really complicated and hoping for the best is what I could ask for.

Stay tuned peeps! I can't wait to post up the food trip that I had recently as well as "outdated" food posts! Besides, I'm hoping I could post as much as food in Sydney to feed your tummy well! With that, I'm hitting Max Brenner, Arthur's Pizza & Lindt tomorrow!

Time to sleep :)

Riblee's @ Desa Sri Hartamas

If a restaurant could guarantee you an epicurean taste and scrumptious dinner, ask yourself, what if the service is bad? Being a customer ain't easy, especially waiting for something you want it so badly. Being a waiter isn't good either. Getting a harsh scolding by the customer definitely pushing yourself to a stage whereby you wish, and absolutely want to serve them a slap. I truly understand how does it feel cause I had once experienced it. Whatever it is, never forget two important rules.

Rule #1 : Customer is always RIGHT!
Rule #2: If the customer is ever wrong, reread rule 1!

Warning : Eat pork at your own risk!



Upon entering Riblee's, we were warmly greeted and led to a table for two. Despite being seated at a corner with less dim light, I requested a table for four with comfortable couch and bright dim light. No later than 5 minutes, the supervisor (I presume) actually preferred us to be seated at that particular corner. It questioned me immediately, "Are you literally asking us to get our ass off to that table AGAIN?" Indeed, they insisted and so we went back to initial table.


The real shandy

Honestly, this post wasn't meant to be a criticism on their services. If the foods are scrumptious to retain a picky customer like me, I mean, I would rather wait despite it's a long wait! I'm always skeptical about going to a new restaurant but by judging at the patrons on that day, I would say, the bad services kinda prove me wrong.


Smokey Rolls - RM18.80
Smoked streaky bacon wrapped around fresh tiger shrimps,cucumber,carrot sticks & celery

It took them 30 minutes to prepare, fried to crispy perfection and lastly served. I was really mad,uber MAD. Honestly, I had never eaten ferociously!


Classic American Babyback - RM39.90
The Classic American half slab of pure rib experience, served with fries & tidewater coleslaw

When we asked the supervisor for recommendation, he advised us on skipping roast wild boar ribs as it's quite stiff and tough hence we opted for classic american babyback. So we waited 30 minutes for starter and later we waited for another 30 minutes for main course. Look, do you get the whole picture? One particular disappointment is that riblee's babyback ribs has lost its originality as barbeque sauce had masked the classic flavour. It would be perfecto without needing any sauce.


Riblees Babyback Ribs - RM32.80
Charbroiled & Specially marinated babyback ribs,served with corn on the cob & pigtail fries



Riblee's babyback ribs was classified as signature dish and I do like it. The meat was coated with rich black pepper sauce on the outside, and soft and fork-tender on the inside. It was good and substantial but I still find Healy's Mac ribs is the best! The presentation was nicely done especially the pigtail fries, opps I meant curly fries!



Despite an hour waiting for the food, the supervisor compensated us a dessert. As such, vanilla ice cream with chunks of orea, drizzled with chocolate syrup was served no later than 10 minutes. And I reckon the supervisor has done a great a job in compensating us by serving ice-cream to cool down the fire burning in my body. I'm still mad nevertheless!

Believe it or not, the food managed to retain me and I'd say it's place I'd recommend, and hopefully with better service on your visit. Don't say I never warn you! The service proved to be polite, however, a tad inefficient. The waiter had to continually come back to our table to inform us that we have to wait several minutes as they were preparing the food. Few minutes later, they came back with same sentence too. Anyway, rest assured that you'll like the food!