Magnum Designer Ice-cream @ IOI City Mall, Putrajaya

Kids are so spoiled for choices these days when it comes to ice-cream and special treats, so much so it's no longer special when they're given a treat. Enter Magnum cafe in IOI City Mall, Putrajaya. An upmarket ice-cream cafe with so many frills that thrills one's tummy.

The Trifle was the day's undertaking. I had two free vouchers to savour this delight and was going to pass it up because it looked so sinful. Thankfully I had my mom and sister with me to share the burden of consuming this monstrosity. Behold! Not one, but two Magnum Trifles!

"Cashew Meringue, Mascarpone Cream, Honey Balsamic Cream, White Chocolate Dipped Vanilla Magnum, Freeze Dried Raspberries and Strawberries."

Whoever conceptualized the menu must have had a lots of fun doing it. Heaping spoonfuls of sweet nothings onto an already caloric dessert by itself. Flipping through the menu (and ignoring the price), you can begin to understand why Hansel & Gratel from the Brothers Grimm fell for the witch's evil trickery to lure them into her lair.

If you compare this with the picture in the menu, it is pretty much WYSIWYG, except for the smaller strawberries which no one really gives a damn about :P We loved everything about it and were scrapping hopelessly at the corners of the jar to get the last lickylicky noms out (the the point of contemplating dipping our fingers in to help the kitchen crew clean the jars).

It was indeed a remarkable pleasure, and definitely for sharing.

Hershey chocolate kisses shaped lamps in the Magnum cafe.

Magnum, GE-3, IOI City Mall.

The Red BeanBag @ Publika, Solaris Dutamas

Feeling in the mood for some atas breakfast, my sis and I made our way to Publika, Solaris Dutamas for a food expedition. We had decided on the Red Beanbag after an extensive research online. Thanks to the gushing reviews of the food there, expectations were high. Indeed, there was a 15 minute queue when we arrived, which to me was A Good Sign (in my theory, the longer the line, the better the food).

*Atas: Malay word for "upper-crust", "high class" or more accurately, "anything pricey".Back home, an interrogation of sorts ensued:

"How much was the food?"

"RM 22 for two eggs."

"Wah, so expensive. Ostrich eggs ah?"

"No, chicken eggs. From atas chicken."

"You could have had 22 eggs."The Atlantic RM 22. 

Poached eggs on french toast with smoked salmon, fried mushrooms and Australian spinach topped with hollandaise sauce and salmon roe. The magic was in the buttery french toast.Baked eggs RM 18. 

A hearty mixture of whole runny eggs with Italian sausages, tomato puree, potatoes and Mozzarella cheese. A piping hot affair served with a side of bread, just the right thing for a half-starved, undernourished girl on a rainy Saturday.

Said girl playing with her food. See her smile of pure joy for not having to eat salads. Again.Salted caramel cheesecake RM 14. 

Surprisingly light and fluffly, with a hint of peanut butter in the caramel sauce.Cappuccino RM 9. 

A frothy end to a very satisfying brunch.

Picollo Latte RM 9 

Mine was an extra potent brew which kept yours truly edgy the entire day. And this was after multiple attempts at diluting it with water.

The interior. Service was fast despite the place being packed to the seams. Our waiter was efficient and friendly. I liked that each table had its own bottle of water we could help ourselves to. It was overall a nice experience for a yuppie breakfast instead of the usual roadside wanton mee.

The Red BeanBag Cafe

A-4-1-08, Solaris Dutamas, 1 Jalan Dutamas 1, 

50480 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia.

Opening hours: Tue – Fri 10am – 10pm; Sat – Sun 9.30am – 10pm, Closed on Mondays.

Miraku Japanese Restaurant @ Paradigm Mall

Miraku is a lesser known Japanese Restaurant that has been opened for a year in Paradigm Mall, Kalana Jaya. The waiter told me that they've never really promoted their restaurant before and that business had been really slow. Well, Paradigm mall wasn't that easy for me to get to (having to pass through 2 tolls). So the lack of business from me is understandable!

This nomout at Miraku Japanese Restaurant was to take advantage of the RM 28 for RM 50 voucher deal as seen on Groupon. I learnt that deal sites gets 50% commission of whatever is sold through Groupon. In which case, restaurants should just slash their prices and pass on the discount to customers directly. It makes more sense that way, doesn't it? Perhaps one needs to leverage Groupon or LivingSocial or whatever for the marketing platform it provides. But really, for customers, we just see it as cheaper noms compared to having to pay the full price. Like, who wouldn't want that?

For this case, RM 28 for RM 50 means the restaurant is really only getting RM 14 for each deal bought on Groupon. Which got me thinking, if there was a free platform popular enough among netizens for restaurants to slash prices and offer deals directly to customers, would it actaully take off?

Anyway, Miraku is pretty decent in my opinion. Though without the deal discount, it would be on the pricier spectrum of Japanese noms.

Free appetizer consisting of salted radish, carrots, and stewed chicken.

Sake sashimi (RM 26 - RM 15 with deal).

Six gorgeous thick slices of salmon that have travelled from the oceans of Chile.

Yes! By far the most generous serving of salmon I've had - 3 inches in length! I have long fingers, and really appreciate the extra protein and Omega-3 fatty oils

Saikoro Steak - Grilled Beef in Cube Cut Style (RM 24 - RM 14 with deal).

Local beef, grilled to perfection in japanese soy sauce. I use this overused cliche - 'grilled to perfection' because I couldn't think of any other way of describing it. Juicy, tender and so savoury with the sticky garlic flakes with each cube-sized bite. Waiter, can I please have more? The portion was barely enough for me.

Yaki Yaki - Grilled Oysters with Mayonaise (RM 26 - RM 15 with deal).

What a sight to behold! 2 large oysters burried in golden yellow mayo. I could smell the oysters when they were grilling it which heightened my anticipation for this dish.

Not a fan of the mayo (too salty), but loved the oysters!

And the dessert that got me here :) Wasabi ice-cream (RM 10 - RM 5.6 with deal).

It was torture, and pleasure, and then torture, and pleasure ... you get the drift. Very interesting and unconventional mix of vanilla, cream, wasabi and green peas. A quarter of this serving was more than enough for a good round of brain buzzing!

I <3 a nice cuppa green tea.

What can I say, with this deal, it was trully worth it.

Bulgogi Brothers @ Mid valley Megamall

Located in the newly renovated corner of Mid Valley and looking rather posh, Bulgogi Brothers finally opened up in Mid Valley! Pets Wonderland has been moved to this corner as well, and one will find I Need House tucked away on the 4th floor, with no signage leading to that shop for obvious reasons.

I've been wanting to try Bulgogi Brothers ever since reading about them in the local newspaper - Beautiful Bulgogi. Touted as the top 2 South Korean dining chains in South Korea, their simple menu intensifies one's craving for BBQ Beef.

 

Bulgogi Brothers in Mid Valley

So the first thing noticeable about Bulgogi Brothers is the casual Korean interior. All furnitures have been imported from South Korea to give patrons an authentic Bulgogi Brothers Korean BBQ feel.

 

Korean Wallpaper.

Free tea of the day

I love how at Korean BBQ Restaurants, you only need to pick one or two BBQ dishes off the menu and you will be served a variety of refillable side dishes (Ban Chan). Picking out 6 different sidedishes is not easy for indecisive people and the good news is, korean restaurants happily do it for you!

 

Corn on the cob was fantastic! Easily the juiciest corn on the cob I've nommed

I am not a fan of corn on the cob because I hate digging corn out from between my teeth, but at Bulgogi Brothers, they were superbly juicy, sweet and worth digging out from between teeth. There were also green peas, yellow potato, and the usual mash potatoes, vegetables, Kim Chi (very crunchy and above average size), and other assortment of pickles.

 

The usual suspects

Raw carrots, Kim Chi and other greens.

Complimentary Korean Pumpkin Porridge soup

Bulgogi Brothers uses induction cooker which reduces the amount of heat when your meat is being cooked. There is still a fair amount of smoke which is when one will notice the lack of a cooker hood above the table.

 

Our final spread

Our waiter Kimi was camera shy, but I finally managed to get him to ignore me and continue cooking :-) It was also a relief to find out that there is no minimum order required at Bulgogi Brothers for them to fire up the induction cooker, unlike many other Malaysian Korean Restaurants, which can be overkill for a table of two nommers.

 

Leave it to the pros :)

The Seaoulsik Bulgogi did not look like an exact replica of what is shown on the menu (surprise surprise) but it was good none the less. Costing RM 52.90, the special bulgogi sauce of apple and pear was excellent. These fruity tenderizers made the beef sweet, saucy, and nomworthy! My only complaint is that I could have nom'ed it all of it by myself which is what I might do the next time! The quality of the beef was excellent, as was the service. Newly opened restaurants are usually that way though.

 

Seoulsik Bulgogi - picked because it looked like the healthiest option!

Since Bulgogi Brothers were offering free noodles, we decided to redeem the offer. Janchi Guksu - wheat flour noodles in vegetable broth, eaten traditionally on special occasions like wedding feasts and birthday parties.

 

The free Janchi Guksu noodles deal floating around facebook (RM 17.90) - Noodles enough for two, but overpriced.

We scooped the noodles up from the vegetable soup base and ate it with the delicious bulgogi juices leftover from the Seoulsik Bulgogi instead.

 

Delicious beef juices leftover in the pot

Finally, we were given plum juice to wash all that food down :-)

 

Complimentary Plum Juice

Be prepared to overnom at Bulgogi Brothers as I did, and walk away with a big contented smile. I was also delighted to receive a free Pinch of Salt loyalty card. I will definitely be coming back here when I'm in Mid Valley the next time.

Website : Bulgogi Brothers
Visited on the 23rd of February, 2013.

Brotzeit Midvalley - The Ultimate Pork Feast

Weary of food deals? Don't be! This is a review of Brotzeit's Ultimate Pork Feast on LivingSocial :

Ultimate Pork Feast (4-5 Pax) + 4 Paulaner Beer Mixes @ Brotzeit German Bier Bar & Restaurant (Mid Valley & Sunway Pyramid)

Where you spend RM 198 to save RM 280.
Oh yes, I love how these deals make you spend money to save more money. Guilt free expenditure on experiences one wouldn't normally splurge on. Afterall mother always says, little drops make an ocean. With RM 280 saved, I'm well on my way to buying my own private jet plane and an airstrip field in every continent. Goodbye 3-hours-to-45-minutes-annoying-airport-check-ins, hello destination anywhere & anytime at my convenience! As with all things, there are usually gotchas to such awesome deals on groupon / livingsocial / dealmates / milkadeal etc.

Funny pork ad (... and if you can't pork the one you love, pork the one you're with)

Reservations

Honouring a deal like the above means restaurants need to make sure they can accommodate anyone who walks into their establishment. If you've watched an episode of Hell's kitchen, preparation for dinner begins as early as 10am with the chopping, grinding, peeling, and marinating. Having a rough estimate of how many pork knuckles need roasting helps a lot with pre-dinner preparations.

But that also means planning is required on your part before your party can enjoy the deal. In case of unforseable circumstances like the flu, the tsunami, or a drunken night out where you threw up after drinking 7 pints of beer and 7 shots of tequila in record 3 minutes time (an exaggeration but true story nontheless), you would still need to show up and try to eat pork cooked in 7 different ways.

For really popular deals, reservations for the "hot slot" (which is the weekend slot) can require up to 1 month booking ahead. This can be gauged by checking the deal's "Total Purchased" count.

Quality

It is said that God created man in his own image. With 7 billion poeple on earth and amongst them, psycopaths, serial killers, paedophiles, rapists, child-molesting-priests, corrupt politicians, terrorists etc. - mass production is clearly not one of God's strong suits.

Quality is always inversely proportional to quantity. At Brotzeit, my Pork Knuckle wasn't piping hot when I took a bite - either the result of pre-cooked, heated back pork knuckle, or food photography that went on for too long.

My only other complaint : the flies. I'd hope a place like this would have no-fly zones in the entire restaurant. Unfortunately that was not the case.

More Pork!

Expectations

What you see is what you will get, right down to the position of the little brown Brotzeit toothpick flag poked into the Pork Knuckle. This work of art was worth the price, and a great opportunity to sample 7 of the many different types of pork dishes available at Brotzeit. Leftovers from this feast is still sitting in my freezer.

With so many choices of pork, everyone will have a favourite. We nomed:
Pork Knuckle (Schweinshaxn) - Yummy
Grilled Pork Sausages (Nürnberger Würstchen) - Ok
Garlic Pork Sausages (Knoblauchwurst) - Very Yummy
Smoked Pork Sausages (Bockwurst) - Very Yummy
Gipsy Pork Belly (Bauchspeck "Zigeuner Art")
Meat Loaf (Leberkäse) - Very Yummy
Pork Roast (Schweinebraten)

The Ultimate Pork Feast!

Dessert

For dessert, worth mentioning is the Schokoladen Mousse - White chocolate mousse with forest berry sauce. Melts in your mouth but not before you have savoured the fluffy, light, smooth, creaminess of the mousse. (RM 19) Apfelstrudel / Apple Strudel - Traditional homemade Apple Strudel filled with sliced apples, chopped walnuts, rum and raisins, flavoured with cinnamon & lemon, served with vanilla ice cream. There were too many things in this strudel ... (RM 22). Tasted like some variation of fruit cake, and I do not like fruit cakes. Visited on 11 August, 2012.