And so does the other 20+odd bloggers, judging by the happy grins & noise we made that night.

Honesty, direct, peppered with bits of wit, the Kitchen Creatures menu tells you as it is. You get what you pay for, you know exactly how much you gonna have to fork out for it & you will be served FRESHLy prepared & MSG-free food. What a marvelous concept!

Try as I might, I couldn’t resist ordering the burger. Described on the menu as Monstrosity, yet priced at RM11, it was an excellent value for money choice considering the layers of cheese, full sized ham & bacon, EGG, fresh vegetables, pickles, tomatoes & THICK patty of chicken or beef snuggled between a lightly toasted quality bun.

Favola it is not, but their repertoire of pasta is still a pleasure to eat. Fresh paste, bountiful bouncy seafood with a good balance of flavours (not too creamy nor too salty or sweet) had all of us agreeing that Kitchen Creatures’ claim of “all our food is carefully prepared to meet the highest standards set by George Creatures (the chef)…only fresh ingredients with no MSG” is no hoax.

Marinara, RM13. Spicy Aglio Olio with Shrimp, RM12. Seafood garlic cream sauce, RM13.

Other than the food, there is good eye-candy for us gals. Or gays.
Fresh off their gym workouts, muscles stretching against their shirts, crew cut hunks congregate here for the Sizzling ribeye steak, RM19; a chunky portion of red meat, done to your preference & arrives at your table smoking. My my, I can see the gym doctor nodding approvingly.

We had more of course.

Monster Platter, RM15 - Fried shrimp, calamari rings, mushrooms, mini wings & nachos.
Grilled Chicken, RM13 – Charbroiled boneless chop with sauteed onions, baked beans & fries.
Chicken ala King, RM11 – Sauteed with mushrooms in light sour cream gravy, served with buttered rice.
Sirloin Steak, with a choice of 2 sides at RM16.

I can’t sing much praises for the Monster Platter, but I find the grilled chicken & sirloin steak decent for its price.

The pies @RM2.80 each were CUTE & although small in size, was bursting at the crust with its delicious stuffing, be it tuna or chicken & egg.
A bit dry on its own, yes, but a good order for those who prefers something savoury yet light in size.
Btw, it came with a side of mash too. We ordered a set of TWO pies for RM7.

Their pizza crust tasted generic but I reminded myself that this is after all, RM12 per pizza.
The pizza dough is made specially for them by their supplier. All the sauces & gravy however, is made in house & fresh upon order, assured Chef JJ, one half of the brothers duo who runs this place.
Each pizza is 10 inches in diameter & we stapled the Seafood pizza with Thousand Island – RM12, The Magherita, which is mozzarealla, cheddar with spinach, special pizza sauce & the Pizza Carbonara which consisted of mozzarella, cheddar, parmesan with chicken & beef bacon, also RM12.

The much raved about stuffed mushrooms (RM7.30 for 6) was a few sizes shrunken but made up for it in taste.

Meanwhile, the Garlic bread are as crisp & buttery as it should be.

Some of the drinks we ordered; Ice Cream Soda float RM7, Ice Lemon Tea RM6, Limey George (Ribenna, Sprite & Lemon) RM7.

There is a lot more on the menu than what we tried that night & we were really spoilt for choices, both for food & for drinks.

Parking is FREE after 630pm & there is WIFI.
Food is affordable & FRESHLY prepared, portions are big, there is a medley of choices available, bill is tax free, environment is clean & comfortable…WOW.. Kitchen Creatures is probably the next BEST thing to happen for the BU area!

Well, I thought wryly, if I can’t siesta like the Spanish, at least I will dine like one.
And the latter fact holds true if one dines at the warm, welcoming alcove of El Meson.

With Chef Fernando helming the kitchen, a Spanish import to boot, my meals at El Meson (one of which I have blogged about; you can read about my indulgent dinner here ) had been pricey but never entirely disappointing, & had therefore, deservingly amassed more hits than misses in my book.

Their Ultimate Pork Burger – with mushrooms, bacon, cheese & caramelized onions, RM26 was my goal this time round, since it is part of their lunch menu which I haven’t had past opportunity to sample.

I’m sure discerning diners appreciate efforts by F&B outlets in attention to details, & I for one, would always have praises for a chef who doesn’t take shortcuts in the preparation of the sides that comes with a main course.
The freshly fried potatoes were fluffy & lightly seasoned; & thus was the perfect accompaniment to the burger.

Out of the series of Tapas we had, the terrine is a clear winner; an ingenious mish-mash of bacon, pork, apricot, pistachio and balsamic reduction.
The Calamares Rellenos stuffed with squid, Serrano ham, tomato (RM16) & Stuffed Tomatoes with prawns & squids topped with cheese and breadcrumbs (RM16) were divine & I was glad the mains followed quickly after, for all that actually made me hungry for more.

El Meson has upped their desserts offerings & we were given complimentary ones to share. (Thanks Ek! ;p )
My favourite was the Trifle, and here (though it may look un-photogenic) they scope it out from a big bowl and this is actually one portion. The custard layer was lovely, the jello addictive & the copious amount of fruits deceivingly assured us that this is a waist-friendly dessert

Then the molten choc cake stole the show. It was heavenly. The flow of chocolate lava doesn’t seem to stop oozing out! The outer layer was lightly crisp, and it’s warm & moist chocolate sponge was absolutely to die for!
Last was the flourless, sugarless chocolate cake; which though out-shined by it’s mate The Molten Lava, was still a worthy- to- order dessert.

The Spanish creme catalana (picture not here since I forgot to take any) came in small cazuela molds, just like how they made it in Spain. Aesthetically, it was easy to pass it off as Creme Brulee but according to Ek, i’ts preparation is different. Anyhow, think creme brulee but flavoured with cinnamon & lime zest instead.

I like El Meson for its innovative preparations & uncommon ingredients used in its dishes.
My advice for those who wants to try this place is to get a min group of 5, since the dishes ain’t exactly your typical dinners prices, & there is so much worth stapling here!

The bill came up to RM45 per pax & there were 8 of us that day. For the amount of food we had, I thought it was a steal!

Go ahead, flash your menacing claws at us

Or plead and debate for your life

But you know we are coming for you…

We want you slathered, smothered & drowned in rich creamy butter..

Or fried coated in salted egg yolks…

And we know where’s the BEST place to get your crabby fix…FOR FREE!

For each of their Ramadan buka puasa sets that comes with 9 signature dishes, Bangsar Seafood throws in ONE KG of crabs at no extra charge, cooked in your chosen choice of style.

Yups, this place is HALAL and after personally trying a few disappointing Ramadan buffets priced at RM75++ and above, I honestly think this would be a better deal if you have a group of 10 pax and above.

RM 498+: Appetizer, Shark’s Fin Soup, Chicken with Ginger, Spicy Fried Fish, Lychee Prawns, Signature Beancurd, ‘Kampung’ fried rice, Custard Buns, Dessert

RM 598+: Appetizer, Sharks Fin Soup, Chicken with Plum Sauce, Pomfret with Bean Sauce, Prawns with Sweet Corn Sauce, Steamed “Sang Gan”, Tom Yam Noodles, Banana with “Gula Melaka”, Dessert

RM 698+: Appetizer, Double boiled soup, Roast chicken, Red snapper, Otak Otak Fried Prawns, Braised Sea Cucumber, Oyster Fried Rice, Chinese Pastries, Dessert

RM 898+: Homemade appetizers, Sharks Fin Soup with Pumpkin, Boneless Duck, Curried Garoupa, Braised Seafood, Mango Prawns, Garlic Fried Rice, Banana & ‘Gula Melaka’, Dessert

Recently a mob of us stapled some of their dishes and generally, the food left a good impression on us hard core foodies.

And of course, desserts must not be neglected..

Delicious pureed Mango Sago for dessert..

Not a drop wasted.

And since the food had already been described to death.. here, help yourself to their reviews below ;p

A Whiff of Lemongrass
Lots of Cravings
Kampung Kayell
Superwilson
Bangsar Babe
Babe In The City
Paranoid Android
Memoirs Of A Chocoholic
Eat Drink KL
FBB

Of course, it won’t have been possible without our fantastic hosts… so to Allan and Nigel, Thank you so much!!

And since we were fed by foodies who knows where’s the best grub there is in KL, a baker who has his very own fan club & some very accomplished cooks… the food department certainly wasn’t lacking in taste, texture and colour!!

Feast your eyes……and eat your heart out!!! ;p

I totally dig the luscious Charsiew from Paramount Gardens by Ciki & Alilfatmonkey…

And we got pampered by Su of Delectable, who came lugging boxes of savoury pastries..

FBB and Bee sugarcoated us with the Pear & Ginger Upside Down cake and the mind-blowing BRANDY-soaked Spencer…as well as the Hummingbird cupcakes..and 3 pieces of Red Velvet..which disappeared so fast there wasn’t any pics! ;p

Not to fret though, these are order-able HERE!!

Pey Pey @Msiagirl – Her very own handmade (LITERALLY) dark chocolates !!

And more…

Clockwise from top..
Allan & Nigel – Home cooked Asian Pesto Spaghetti
Hairyberry – Moussaka, Lagsana & Pizza from Porta Romana
La Couple Toy – Bouncy Meatballs
Bangsar Babe – Potato & Egg Salad
Lemongrass and Bald Eagle – Ah Fatt fried chicken at Jln 14/48, Section 14, Petaling Jaya (opposite end of Ah Wah hokkien mee shop).

Jun chan, the Cordon Bleu chef- sublime kobe-equivalent porky Siu Yoke (Roasted Pork) fr Wong Kee, Pudu, Jalan Nyonya.

Jonas & Hua – Really superb home-cooked Ma Poh Tofu & Cold Szechuan Chicken (sigh…really we really lucky or what??)

Unkaleong & myself ta-paued the famous Loong Foong Roast Duck from PJ.. Sorry la..moi don’t cook and Unka is too lazy ;p

Paprika of ravenousrabbit.blogspot.com & Hunky with their marvellous rendition of Thai Pomelo Salad with Chicken & Prawns. Get the recipe HERE!!

ps: FBB’s fav. I think he chomped half the bowl

And the people who made the night possible!!

Many thanks goes to The Devil Wears Prada for his Honey Sparkling Sea Coconut with Lime Mocktail!
A life saver since I don’t do alcohol. Most refreshing concoction!!

Kat, (Girl from Abu Dhabi) bought charsiew as well. By then I was too busy eating to bother with the camera. Chian Tyng also fed us delicious siu yoke.

For more on this fanta-balous night; blog hop to Ciki’s!

Such quaint interior and cosy cottage charm! Traditional artsy craft work and memorabilias dotted the walls, giving one a flitting glimpse into the cultural facade of Bulgaria, a country not much known by the world.

The mural on the wall by our table took my breath away. So beautiful and in such vivid gay colours too!

Bulgaria is a country of 110,993 sq km, which is apprx 1/3 of Malaysia & boasted of the population number of 7.5mil.
Located in the Balkan Peninsular, it borders Romania which is at its north, Serbia and Montenegro and Macedonia to the west and Greece and Turkey at the south.

Here, in our little Penang island, the owner’s efforts to recreate and revive the bucolic feel of a cosy Bulgarian home back in her home country is deeply reflected in the outlet.

The woodwork, the bricks, the layout and the setting is painstakingly designed and leaves one in no doubt of the authenticity of the place. You do feel as if you have been teleported into a cosy Bulgarian home back in time and in Bulgaria itself.

Rustic style interior rekindling the feel and vibes of an old Bulgarian home.

Bulgarians, alike its European counterparts, customarily indulge in wine with their meals. Here in Vintage Bulgaria, a wide selection of wine is stocked in their wine cellar for your drinking pleasure.
Have your wine with your meal, or opt for a relaxing time sitting at the bar either upstairs or downstairs (they got two!) if you are here just for a drink. Your choice.

Geographically, Bulgaria has large mountainous areas, fertile valleys, plains and a coastline of the Black Sea.
However, in a short conversation with the owner, my initial self-formed opinion that seafood would feature dominantly in Bulgarian cuisine was corrected. The sea, Silviya Georgieva explained, is too cold to provide much produce.
Their climate includes mild summers and cold, snowy winters. Its temperate climate provides the right growth conditions for a variety of vegetables, herbs and fruits.

Its cuisine, is eastern European with Mediterrenean influence, and salads are predominant. Every meal customarily starts with greens. As it is a cuisine influenced with the Greek & Mediterranean, their salads consists of typical key ingredients of tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, feta cheese and light dressings.

Meats are mostly roasted, grilled or oven baked. Their starch is provided for by the sides of potatoes & bread.

So one fine evening, we lucky group of Penang foodies congregate here for a night of gluttony, fun and comradeship.

Our 4th Penang Food Bloggers Gathering spurred into momentum with the first course of the most decadent seafood soup. (Not that the mushroom version were any less stellar, mind you)

An interesting mix of flaky fish meat and creamy based stock, it was very fresh and tasted of the sea. A must order, as it’s totally different from the common seafood bisque dished out at literally all western joints here!
If there’s a better seafood soup in our vicinity, I haven’t heard about it.

Their cream of mushroom is no wilt flower either.
Robust & wholesome, the chunky bits of mixed funghi with its smooth blend of well ratio-ed cream and stock was marvelous with the signature crusty ‘Vintage’ bread.

Almost 70% of us gluttons zeroed in on the Pork Knuckle (Bulgarian Pork Djolan) as our choice of main.
Rightfully so too, for the roasted arm was huge, with the mandatory gelatinous layer of fat, tender meat and crispy skin. What’s not to like??
One small vibe though, I personally felt that the flavour of the marination lacked full permeation into the inner parts of the meat & the accompanying gravy too sweet.
Nevertheless, I’m hard to please, so do ignore me

This is how we foodies eat. Watch and learn.

BEFORE.

The meat ball was huge. Grinded not too finely, it packs the satisfaction of sinking one’s teeth into real meat, & promptly be rewarded with rich meat juices oozing into your mouth.
The 2 sausages was just as good, both different in taste, low in sodium and hearty with spices & herbs.
The boiled potatoes that came with the platter was deceivingly spicy (it sure didnt look it right?) and a fellow blogger claims his tongue felt numb after a bite! Hehe..

For the hell of me, I can’t fathom the reason I ordered chicken that night.
Anyhow, my Chicken Stroganov wasn’t as bad as it looks (hey, after the knuckle and the ribs, you would have second thoughts too ok!).

Boneless chicken drumstick cut into strips, cooked with mushrooms, wine, cream, herb and spices, this is a good choice for light dining. Not too creamy, the smooth and tasty sauce, fused very well with the chicken.
And from the picture above, you can see that I have given the side of mash potato utmost attention. That’s simply cos it was divine!
Smoky roasted potato, mashed with its jacket and blended with gravy.
So delicious!

Plovdiv Ribs.
Not unlike our local tai chow BBQ ribs, these marvellous ladders of sweet, caramelized outers and tender inners was nicely done.

Each of the sides for the mains deserves mention too. The ubiquitous steam broccoli, carrot and cauliflower was done right, soft (not overcooked) and buttery.

I noticed there were 2 different mash of potato, one which is moist, but minus any gravy, with rich buttery aroma and another (which I preferred) mashed with onions and gravy, with its jacket on, providing me the satisfaction of nibbling on roast-y potato skin.

The piquant side of chutney-like mix of cucumber, carrot and onions plus a small serving of sourish coleslaw with corn provides the palate a refreshing diversion from the savoury meats.

Of course, a break in between course are a must and I couldn’t help taking a picture of the doors to the wash area ;p

Fancy adding some Bulgarian words to your vocab??

We bloggers are a lucky lot.

Courtesy of Dennie Yeap, of Winter Butterfly Homemade Cakes, we polished off a Strawberry Mousse Cheesecake, which was sublime with its moist cheesy sponge and fresh cream,

an Oreo cheesecake which was REALLY rich and a Chocolate Brownie which I find to be a bit dry in texture but made up for its shortcoming with its decadent top layer of dark chocolate fudge.

And yes, I repeat, we bloggers are a lucky lot.

Courtesy of Gelatissimo, we licked clean 5 tubs of gelato even before our desserts were served.
Thank you Mr Hong! The matcha gelato was fabulous!

Bottom right pic above: Clockwise: Rum and Raisin, Matcha, Chocolate, Strawberry Cheesecake and Mango Sorbet.

After all that, our desserts were finally served.

Chocolate Soup.
This, to me was alike gourmet chocolate drink with ice cream. Think premier “milo” , as in richer, creamier and full bodied chocolate. Deliciously chilled & smooth.
My my my..even as a non-choc lover, I could have slurped up every drop of this!

I ordered the Chocolate Creme Brulee, since I was curious .. “eggs and chocolate??”

The crackly caramelized surface hides the smooth and sublime eggy custard underneath.
I’m glad to report that this surpassed my expectations. It’s got the ideal ratio of eggs to chocolate where the taste of eggs and cream remains prominent to ascertain that it is indeed a creme brulee and yet with the flavour of chocolate still intact.
Scrumptious stuff!

And then there were camwhoring sessions..

The guy bloggers.

Whose pics were taken by the girls photographers.

We girls bloggers, had our pic then taken by the guys of course. But sorry no pic for now. (Ok, could any of you guys forward me a pic of us gals please??? )

The cool and quiet Silviya Georgieva and her friendly outlet Manager of Vintage Bulgaria.

Hats off to the kitchen that night for the preparation of the food. More often than not, during such events, I get my food served lukewarm or cold, mainly due to the meals being mass produced and re-heated just before serving.
That night, service was a tad slow yes, but I do appreciate that the food served didn’t taste like it was prepared hours ago!

What we had above was a set dinner created especially for that night. At RM40/pax, it was a steal for such superb food.
But of course, this is NOT all that they have!
Vintage Bulgaria does an expansive menu, with some interesting dishes that includes “parts” eg, livers and onion, gizzards in butter and veal tripe with mushrooms.
Barbitarians rejoice!!

As with most European influenced meals, cheese, cream, wine, mushrooms, herbs are prominent in the preparation of the dishes here.

Location:
Vintage Bulgaria Restaurant & Bar
(next to Ingolf’s Kneipe German Restaurant)
1-E, Jalan Sg Kelian
Tanjung Bungah
Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +60-4-8981890

Business Hour : 12 pm to 12 midnight (last order at 10pm)

GPS Coordinates : N05 2753.9 E100 1732.8

Definitely worth a visit if you are in Penang..once you are done gorging yourself silly on Char Kuey Teow, Laksa and Chendol (& for some, Chee Cheong Fun) of course! ;p
I love the concept and the place is gorgeous!

So on that faithful night, 30 of us turned up and gorged on a pre-set menu by Limon. Not knowing what to expect, as Thai-Spanish fusion is uncommon; almost unheard of rather, I was pretty excited and had my expectations set a wee high. After all, I’m in Singapore, famed for its mid to high end dining options.
I was darn sure that it would be a feast both to the palate and senses.

The opening course of soup, set on my table in a shooter glass & aptly named A Shot of Gazpacho con Vino Blanco did not manage to begin the night on a good note.
The traditional Spanish cold soup with a mild white wine twist had a funny raw aftertaste and the group of us struggled to make out whether it was carrot or pumpkin. However, we definitely detected white wine in it.
Perhaps I didn’t know how to appreciate such creation, I shrugged, & waited patiently for the next course to be served.

The free flow beverages that night were the Limon’s House special Sangria or Lemongrass mocktail, of which I chose the later since I don’t do alcohol.

* * *
After a sip, I asked for plain H2O. Ermm..do I still need to describe the drink for ya?

Ah, I guess not.

The Combo Tapas came next.
Champinones con ajo: Sauteed garlic mushrooms with lemon sauce
Chorizo con curry verde: Spanish Bibao (Sausage) in Thai green curry sauce
Moo Curry: Pork & potato cubes pan-fried with red curry sauce, tomato sauce & red peppers

The Moo Curry ended up to be chicken instead of pork as stated on the menu. (by the way, isn’t ‘moo’ supposed to be a cow??)
It was a very normal red curry dish, subpar even to our Malaysian hawker/food court versions.

I swore there was nary a drop of lemon zest in the mushroom and it is basically sauteed only in olive oil and garlic. The Spanish bibao (sausage/chorizo) with green curry is a match not meant to be made, cos simply put, it does not match!

Moving on, The Soup.
Tom Kha Gay, uhh.. I meant Guy: Classic Thai sour & mildly spiced coconut soup with chicken meat.

Almost faintish from hunger by now since I could barely stomach the earlier cold soup and also cos the tapas was in such cute-sy portions, I was relieved to find that the soup was actually pretty appetizing.
The chicken cuts that came with it was another story all together. Just think hot soup and chunking the chicken pieces minus any seasoning into it for a few minutes and then serve. None of the soup’s robust flavour was in any way permeated into the meat. I strongly recommend that the chef to be sent for another crash course on cooking.

The mains took a while to be served.

Bacalao: Pan-fried blue cod fillet dressed in olive oil, black pepper, chopped red & green peppers & white wine tomato base sauce. Accompanied with boiled asparagus & mashed potatoes with sides of Gambas al ajillo de moda thai: King Prawns cooked with olive oil, lemongrass, garlic, black pepper, nameko mushroom, broccoli & basil leaf garnish, Som Tum: Mango and papaya strips in sour and spicy sauce, and Garlic fried spaghetti.

The prawn passed. Fresh, crunchy and juicy.
The spaghetti was edible.
The mango salad was left untouched since I can’t take sour dishes.

The cod…what can I say.. Hmm…

For one, it was very bland. Which was surprising, for I have expected the natural sweetness of the cod to come forth from its moist oily flesh.
Instead, it was alike eating plain boiled fish, devoid of any taste. The white wine tomato base sauce lacked body, and couldn’t elevate the dish. The texture of the fish was slightly rubbery too.

Tom Yum Paella (4 persons to 1).

I admit this was the dish that I was counting on to salvage the dinner that night. After all, a bit of tom yam paste can often work wonders. The spices, the tamarind, the robust flavour. Could render any dish, especially a rice based one from boring to appealing.
Think Tom Yam fried rice or tom yam fried noodles, whether it is thin like vermicelli or wide like rice sheets (hor fun), one can’t mess up with tom yam paste… … or can you?

Well, yes you can. As per the dish here. Simply by not adding enough of it!
Or maybe, it is supposed to be so? Just a hint of tom yam? But but…it was so tasteless! Paella are meant to be flavourful aren’t they? With all the sea briny goodness taste no?

Even the seafood was ‘carelessly’ laid on top. I said ‘laid’ cos it was definitely not cooked together. They tasted like they were boiled and then piled on top of the rice after it was done.
It’s only saving grace?
The crispy, caramelized, toasted/charred bottom (like our local claypot chicken) rice bits & the seafood (mussels, salmon, squid, scallop and prawn) was fresh.

Dessert Combo:
Crema Catalana con frescas
Flourless Almond Lemon Cake
Lemongrass Jello Shot

The almond essence was overpowering in the cake, which can be a real put off especially if you are not a fan of almond.
The Crema Catalana tasted like creme brule and the mushy lemongrass jello was very strong and tasted weird to me.

The above set menu is at $32nett per person. Everything is done in sampling portions so that we got to try a variety of dishes.

Limon Restaurant
7 Purvis street #01-01
Tel: 02- 6333 9004

To get there: Alight at City Hall MRT station. Come out and walk towards Raffles Hotel. It’s two streets after Raffles.

Perhaps I had psyche myself up too much, having anticipating it to be more distinctive, as I thought the idea of marrying Spanish & Thai influence really innovative and with me being in Singapore and all, I had expected the food to excite my bored appetite and thrill my jaded tastebuds.

Too bad it wasn’t so. But nevertheless, it was a fun outing..as with all foodies gatherings and I hope to be back in Sg soon to discover more of what its legions of cafes and restaurants has to offer!

HISTORY..
When I was in Thailand, I’d notice a portrait of a man in many of the Restaurants I frequented. Being the inquisitive little tyke that I am, I asked my Thai colleagues who he was and why it was that his portrait could be found in restaurants. Turns out the picture was that of His Royal Highness, King Chulalangkorn – Rama V. Legend has it that he had a penchant for good food and would go around disguised as a commoner to sample a restaurants food. Hence, it’s considered good luck by Thai’s to adorn their eateries with a potrait of Rama V. On a separate note, King Rama V is also the grandfather of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej – Rama IX, the current king of Thailand.

Enough with the history lesson, on to the food

THE RESTAURANT..
Rama V is also the name of a restaurant in KL which has been around for close to 15 years.

It prides itself in serving authentic yet innovative Thai cuisine and when I first arrived at the Restaurant, I knew that my Thai honed taste buds would be in for a treat! Tucked away in a bungalow along Jalan U Thant, stepping into the restaurant itself transported me back to Thailand.

Greeted with a Lotus pond.

And what a treat it was! Our affable hosts, Andre and Danny had arranged for the Chef’s Degustation menu for us to sample that night. I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

THE INDULGENCE..
Mieng Kam, started our gastronomical juices flowing. Nothing like a little DIY to start a meal. Using Daun Kadok as the base, an assortment of condiments ranging from Phrik Kee Noo (Cili Padi), Peanuts, onions, lime, ginger and dried shrimp all held together with a palm sugar based sauce. Mix and match the ingredients to your liking. I started of with a single cili padi and by the 4th leaf, I was loading it with 4 of em spicy buggers. Nips and I were perspiring by our second leaf. This simple yet lovely dish, set the tone for a night of indulgence

Crispy Rice crackers served with a Minced Chicken sauce (Kao Tan Na Tang) which reminded me of green curry chicken.

Shrimp Cakes served with Sweet & Sour Sauce. Nice!

Chor Ladda, a lovely flower shaped dumpling stuffed with Minced Chicken and Peanut.
Trust me on this one, it really tastes as good as it looks.

Thai Pomelo Salad with Australian Abalone and Shrimp (Yum Som Oh). Just the right blend of spicy, sour and sweet. The abalone used in the dish went well with the Pomelo. To me, one of the stars of the night. Hmmm… I wonder if they serve Yum Woon Sen, my favourite thai dish?

Marinated Raw Prawn Served with Chilli and Ginger Sauce (Goong dten ~ Lit.Dancing Prawns) Rumour has it that the prawns have to be so fresh that they do a dance in your mouth when eaten. Hence the dishes name. Excellent!

Soon Hock steamed in lemon and chili sauce. (Pla Bu Neung Manau), The spicy and sour soup and the freshness of the Soon Hock really hit the spot. According to Danny, the fish was still swimming minutes before it was prepared. The fish was steamed to perfection, retaining it’s juicy moistness.

Tom Yam Scotland Clam a.k.a Tom Yum Hoi Scotland.
I Kid, I made the name up. Hahaha. The ubiquitous Thai Dish. The standard by which most Thai eateries are judged. Served in a young coconut, it had just the right amount of spice to me and the crunchiness of the shells (hoi) which are from Scotland lends an interesting twist to this traditional thai soup. Two thumbs up.

Sauteed Live Spider Crab in Thai Chilli Paste. The crab was huge!

The sweetness of the crab and the richness of the coconut married well with the thai chilli paste that was used to cook this curry. A scissors was provided for us to cut through the shell. “Could you pass me the scissors?” was the catch phrase of the night The Live Spider crab is not available on their normal menu, but can be arranged for your dining pleasure should you book a week in advance. An alternative and more economical replacement to Spider crab would be Goong Maenam (river prawns) which, in my mind would go very well with the sinfully thick and really rich curry gravy. I swear, the gravy had a life of its own. I had to control myself from asking for more rice!

Stir fried asparagus with Sea Snails and Oyster Sauce. The sea snails packed an interesting crunch to the asparagus.

Red Curry with Roasted Duck and Lychee (Gaeng Lam Yai Bpet Yang) Can’t complain. Always love a good duck dish.

Sautéed Lamb with Young Pepper and Basil. In a dish where beef or chicken is normally used, I was pleasantly surprised to find that lamb would go well with this combination as well. The lamb wasn’t gamey at all.

Always save room for dessert. At Rama V they have a huge spread. Don’t believe me? Check out the picture below.

We ordered Mango Sticky Rice (Khao Neow Ma Muang ). Red Ruby Crystals (Tab Tim Krob), Cendol, Pumpkin Custard (Sang Kaya Fak Thong ), Steamed Tapioca served with coconut milk sauce. I don’t really have a sweet tooth and the Tum Tim Krob suited me just fine. It wasn’t overly sweet.

*hic* What’s Thai food without Singha.

Excellent food, the usual suspects and alcohol. The Holy Trinity if I could say so myself.

Thanks again for having us again Danny and Andre.

Rama V. A feast to the eyes and palate. Food fit for a King. Shall be back soon

“Unplanned” dinner at Pik Wah,

…& a celebration of a 42km achievement plus a birthday.

I haven’t known this place to exist.
And it wasn’t exactly easy to find either. While I thought it was housed in a “funny” location & unpopular, I later realized that it is apparently; quite an institution by itself.
Not much blogged about, other than by the Queens of Food Bloggers, A Whiff of Lemongrass and Boo of Masak Masak, who has probably visited every restaurant there is in town, the food here has definitely not been given its due credit. Do read of FBB‘s account of his recent visit.

Back to that night, we were all famished by the time we were seated, no thanks to someone’s superb planning , so we quickly went down to the business of ordering.
Very apprehensive at first, as I have not heard about this place before & certainly didn’t want to be fed horrid food that night (or any other night for that matter), I was swiftly assured when Boo said her family are frequent patrons and FBB started reminiscing about how he used to visit the old branch in Jaya, PJ & how he enjoyed the food back then. Even Unka said that the restaurant has been around a long long time.
Ahh..if they know the place & it’s been around for so long, the food can’t be too disastrous; I consoled myself.

Now, if you fancy having Chinese with reasonable pricing but in a freezing air- con atmosphere, then this place should top your list.
With the interior exactly like the old Chinese restaurants that host those typical 8 course Chinese weddings dinners, which is normally followed by extreme toasts of “yaaammmmmmmmmm sennggggggg” towards the end, (of which I’m sure anyone above 20 years of age today would have attended at some point) this place was indeed a striking reminder of an earlier era & the word “nostalgic” comes to mind.

Soft braised pork, RM25.

Our first reaction was, “So small?? Enough ah??”, followed by “Order, order another dish..” & thus the subsequent frantic waving at the nearest waitress to place the additional order of marmite chicken.

Though this wasn’t my favourite of the night, for I find the sauce a bit sweet, there wasn’t really much to complain about it otherwise. The customary deep fried man taus (bread) served was just the ideal partner.

We had their recommended fish done in the sweet and sour lemon-y style. RM46.
The tilapia, deep fried to a crispy crunch on the skin, yet retaining the moistness of the flesh inside, was simple and satisfying.

The Marmite Chicken, RM15 was a surprise. While it is a common method of preparation available in most Chinese tai chows, I love the version here in Pik Wah, where it was saucy, much like the soy sauce chicken I used to eat as a kid, NOT the deep fried and dry version with honey glazing and all.

Our vegetable dish for the night, Braised Tofu and Sweet Gourd . RM15. I love this dish and their tofu here is really good, of which I found out later that it is actually made in house, hence the silken but firm texture which beats those market bought ones anytime.

And finally, the carbs. I can’t, for the hell of me, tell the difference from one type of noodle to another, unless it is the common ones like bee hoon (vermicelli), kuay teow, hor fun, maggi mee, etc.
Any noodles in this form is to me, wan tan mee, but I think it has a proper name no? Yee mee?
Anyhow, I forgot my “no-carbs at night” rule after the first bite. Darn springy noodles and super tasty accompanying stock-like gravy. RM18.

The total damage was RM154, for 5 of us, with 5% service and 5% government tax.
Chinese tea was charged at RM2.50 per head and if you can do without the appetizer of nuts (one stewed and another the crunchy type) which cost RM4.50 per small plate, do inform them beforehand so it won’t be added into your bill.

Restoran Pik Wah (MABA House) Sdn Bhd
MABA House, Basement Level Stadium Block
6, Jalan Hang Jebat
50150 KL.
Tel: 03 – 2072 3668

The party continues after dinner as we head to Max’s at iHaus to join the rest for drinks and cakes.
Happy birthday to the Bald Eagle, who was having his well deserved dinner with his wife, AWOL after completing a major milestone of a full marathon (42km is no joke ok!).

The amazing Red Velvet cake was courtesy of FBB, with generous layers of cream cheese and velvet-y moist cake sponge. Order at FBB cakes.

Mission:
1. Kung Fu Ban Mee, Taman Sri Sentosa & Yang Kee Beef Noodles, OUG market.
2. To makan-makan with Precious Pea before her migration to Aussie-Land.

We started off our gluttony adventure with the Taman Sri Sentosa Pan Mee.
With such a rowdy group, ordering was simplified by a show of hands, not unlike the back to school days.
The waitress: “Soup pan mee?” ..”Dry?”.. Cincau?… Loh Han koh? Hot.. cold?
Just shoot your hands up in the air when your preferred dish/drink is called out.

Overall it was a delicious bowl of pan mee, with fresh ingredients to boot; though nothing exceptional.
At RM5.00 for a regular portion, I personally felt that it was a tad overpriced. But of course, we are comparing this to other Pan Mee proprietors who does the noodles using the machine, so I supposed the price is justified.
Well, at least the chilli was good.

We added orders of Pandan Chicken at RM4.50/pc. Yup, RM4.50 for ONE PIECE.

Our next stop was this.

It was surprising that we passed this shop so many times during my previous OUG food hunt and the week after but failed to take note of this shop.

Unka and I shared this, the minced beef with noodle and a bowl of Stewed Brisket with Radish.

It came with a bowl of soup. This was ok..but..

..the beef noodles was horrific, to say the least.
The minced beef was very salty & overly-heavily msg-ed. I barely finished my quarter -shared serving and was literally panting for water after that.
The noodles was a disappointment as well, flat and lacked any springy-ness whatsoever.

At least the beef & radish was infused with the taste of the gravy, and the meat soft and gelatinous. Boo remarked that it is Indian beef and probably cooked in a pressure pot to achieve the tenderness it had.

Some of the floggers find that the kuay teow and loh shi fun (rat’s tails) versions fared better, so that might be the wiser choice if one decides to dine here.

Myself? Not likely to step in here for a long long time.

Given that we are in the vicinity, we trotted over to the OUG butter cake van
En route, Boo bought some potato balls and donuts. Since my previous experience wasn’t too memorable, I skipped it this time round….and changed my mind and went back for more after I nicked a bite from someone who took one from her bag.

I must admit, today’s was GREAT.
It was sweet enough, soft on the inside with a crispy outer layer and chewy with bits of potatoes. Guess the other day was an off-day for the aunty??

Kung Fu Ban Mee (it was spelled as such on their bunting)
Jalan Seri Sentosa 9A
Taman Seri Sentosa
Off Old Klang Road Kuala Lumpur
Tel No: 016 – 288 3911
Closed on Monday

Yang Kee
Jalan Hujan Rahmat 2 (same row as Steven’s Corner)
Taman OUG
Jalan Klang Lama, Kuala Lumpur
Breakfast – Lunch (closed on Monday).

Overall, it was really FUN, FUN, FUN to have met the rest of the floggers & thank you Pea for organising this!
Here’s to more gluttony adventures!!

Mission accomplished!!

We met & we ate…
Precious Pea
Simon Seow
food-cookies.dwaynefoong.com
wmw of UGWUG
sc of food-4-thot.blogspot.com
J2Kfm
kampungboycitygal
HairyBerry
ipohwav
boolicious of masak-masak
tankiasu
Meng Keat
UnkaLeong
thenomadGourmand

So we meet ..

We bitch.. ;p

We eat & we drink..

All in all, WE CELEBRATE LIFE & FRIENDS..

So you think you can party like us?

Then 4^th July 2009 is the day.

The Place: The Daily Grind, Bangsar Village I.

The Time: 3pm.

Why: FBB Fan Club meet.

Join the FBB Fan Club here.

And to order his cakes; hop over here.