Il Lido, Kuala Lumpur

"To achieve happiness, it is not to have what we want, but rather to want and appreciate what we already have" - The Dalai Lama

In this rat race of a life plagued with materialistic distractions, it's easy to forget what we already have, be it given, blessed with, or chanced upon. So we chase after our desires, one after the other, thinking it would bring about happiness when we get there. Often times so engrossed in the process that we inevitably forget to take a step back to fully appreciate what we already have.

What do I already have? Plenty! But why do I always want more?

Take for instance, a lovely exquisite meal at Il Lido : six finely crafted dishes from the Degustation Menu, but fell slightly short of the first fine dining experience my sister and I had before at Millesime, Solaris Dutamas (first times are more special and makes the biggest impression). It left me wanting more, like :

1. Some butter to go with the bread would have been great
2. Almost having to pay RM 18 for an additional bottle of water which we did not order ... Folks, always check the bill!
3. Water was RM 18. Waiter, can we just have tap water please?
4. Service level was a notch down compared to Milleseme (ie: I had breadcrumbs all over the table, and the maitre'd at Milleseme cleaned it with a silver table comb!)

But it's not a fair comparison because Millesime is so much pricier. Despite these gripes, my sister and I still walked away happy, contented, and we actually felt quite full. Bonus points must also be given to Il Lido for having decaf coffee. Anyway, I hope my sister enjoyed her Il Lido birthday present (partially sponsored by Groupon's vouchers).

Happy Birthday to my beautiful sister :)

As for cake, I am really impressed with this petite Chocolate Elegance cake from King's Confectionary. Nomming the chocolate mousse cake and having the dense, frothy chocolate texture implode then melt in my mouth was like heaven, sweet dreams and orgasms all rolled into one. I loved it and attacked it like a cake monster I never knew existed within me.

Chocolate Elegance cake from King's Confectionary

Now, presenting Il Lido's "Degustation Set Menu" with these nomworthy photos, mostly shot by my sister because she is the one with artistic talent among the two of us.

Bread that was a bit hard.

The massive carbo serving helped fill us up.

Amuse Bouche

To be honest, we have no idea what this was, because the Waiter just introduced it as the Amuse Bouche. There is so much room for improvement in that area for Il Lido. It's not that they were busy either - we were the first to Il Lido and when this was served, there were just two to three tables occupied. So this was probably tuna with a mysteriously light and healthy tasting cream coloured sauce, might be chinese turnip or white carrot, I will never know.

Hokkaido Scallops with Celeriac & Truffle Cream

The menu said Hokkaido Scallops, but there was only one scallop. Sweet and nutty taste with generous portions of funky, earthy truffle cream drizzled over it.

Roasted Goose Liver with Duck Bacon and Lentils

Buttery, rich, creamy ... Goose Liver is so delicious but so wrong. If I were buddhist I'd probably be re-incarnated as a Goose in my next life as punishment. The Duck bacon was amazing too - crunchy in texture but giving and fragile. Unlike beef or pork bacon - it crumbled immediately at the tip of my tongue and the subtle gamey flavour of bacon bits tasted so fine I wanted more.

Chitarrugi with Lobster and Smoked Paprika

The Chitarrugi - which we were told was home made Spaghetti common in Northern Italy - whereas in the Southern, they make Chitarra, was interesting - firm, little bit coarse in texture, and springy. It was like having chinese Pan Mee and tasted very different from the Spaghetti we were used to having.

The spiciness from the smoked paprika tingled our tastebuds, laying the groundwork for the lobster to calm and please us with it's sweet, succulent meat.

Wagyu Beef Cheek with Caramelized Root Vegetables

It tasted like beef stew and my sister kept insisting this dish was lamb. I've yet to nom Wagyu Beef that wowed me so I shouldn't be disappointed that I wasn't wowed by this - I just wasn't expecting braised beef because I do not like my beef cooked any other way than seared, pan fried, or barbequed. Nevertheless, the meat was tender and juicy.

Caramelized Root Vegables

The root vegetables were done perfectly: soft, juicy and sweet.

Molten Lava Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Ice-cream

To top everything off, this dessert was quite a treat - raspberrries, deep brown rich melty chocolate, creamy vanilla ice-cream and some crunchy waffles.

Molten Lava

If I had a bottomless bank account, I would definitely go back to Il Lido (and Milleseme for that matter) to try the other items on their menu. Couldn't help but notice the multitude of luxury cars parked at Il Lido's when we were leaving. I wonder what the Dalai Lama would say about that, or to this joke about money and happiness.

"Money can't buy me happiness, but I'd rather cry in my Ferrari."

"Il Lido was shortlisted in the Best New Restaurant category of the Time Out KL Food Awards 2010. The restaurant was also shortlisted for Best Italian Restaurant in 2011 and 2012. Our food awards are 100% voted for by the people of KL." - TimeoutKL

Visited on 13th April, 2013

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.

Sensory Overload @ Millesime, Solaris Dutamas

Fine dining is easily one of the most expensive type of restaurant one can go to. As the name suggests, everything has to be fine. You're paying for the finest food, atmosphere, and service for that rare special occasion being celebrated. Places like these are great for anniversaries, engagement proposals, and successful romancing!

For our case, my sister and I were there to celebrate life. It's good to do something out of the ordinary and be spoiled rotten once in a while. We really wanted to go to Sage @ The Gardens but that place is always fully booked. Who knew fancy eating places were so popular in KL?

Wine and Dine!

Very romantic and relaxing lighting

A cozy and lovely place for dinner.

Located at the Sapura Kenchana Petroleum building next to Solaris Dutamas, Millesime is an eatery where you eat what the chef chooses. This is great when you don't know half of the ingredients mentioned on the menu, which is something very common at these kind of places! The only decision that needs to be made is whether to have a 3, 4 or 5 course dinner, priced as below :

Petite Menu (3 Course) – RM200++
Menu Gourmet (4 Course) – RM220++
Menu Degustation (5 Course) – RM250++
Since we were already there, we opted for the 5 course menu because it made more sense to go all out and pay a bit more for everything. It was well worth the money because the food at Millesime was glorious and made for an unforgettable evening.

The visual cues prepared our tastebuds for a richness that could only spoil us. Every dish from Millesime's kitchen was a work of art, portions of food delicately arranged to be visually stimulating, with each swirl of dressing drawing focus onto the food being presented, beckoning to be savoured.

The visual sensory was the perfect precursor to the degustation of each course. The flavours were sensational. Slowly we nom'ed to our hearts content, and licked away every visible remnant of sauce, grain and granule off Millesime's very unique, massive & heavy plates, which I think contributed to each dish looking like fine art.

The Foie Gras was the best I've ever tasted and melted away in my mouth. The raspberry flavour and sweet sweet sauce that went with it was terrific and simply delicious. The whole affair left me wanting for more foie gras, no matter how cruel and wrong it is.

At the end of the day my sister said she was still hungry so the kitchen brought out leftover pastries for her. How lovely and thoughtful of them!

Overall, it was a nomgasmic evening. I will marry a chef one day, and have regular nomgasms without burning a hole in my pocket.

Complimentary bread & butter

Amuse Bouche or "Mouth Amuser" - which emphasizes bite sized, intensely flavoured offerings to showcase a chef's artistry, showmanship, and ideas in small bites (according to wikipedia).

Yellowfin tuna appetizer

I love prawns!

Complimentary mango popsicles, refreshing and fun

My choice of main course - wagyu beef

My sister's choice of main, which she really enjoyed

Chocolate Souffle, berrylicious fruits, and ice-cream. Yum!

It's not enough to make good dessert these days, they have to be be perfectly aligned too!

Compliments from the kitchen

Millesime's Foie Gras

Picture credits go to my sister. Visited in June 2012.

Sam Hadramawt Groupon Review - 5-Course Authentic Arabian Meal

This is a review of the Groupon deal for Sam Hadramawt's 5-course Authentic Arabian Meal in Kelana Jaya, at RM 16 per pax, inclusive of bottomless blackcurrant drinks.

[Up to 75% Off] 5-Course Authentic Arabian Meal + Free Flow of Drinks at Sam Hadramawt for 2 (RM32) / 4 (RM58) People. From RM14.50 per person. Halal.

Where you spend RM 32 to save RM 50!

I wanted middle eastern food but was almost broke. And you can't beat RM 16 per pax for a 5 course meal. It's equivalent to the price of 3 large meals at a hawker centre, except everything is middle-eastern!

Hummus

One should always order hummus when eating in a middle-eastern restaurant. It's something that's quite different and unique to middle eastern cuisine. Sam Hadramawt's hummus had an overpowering olive/sesame oil taste which I didn't quite like, but was still good nonetheless.

Hummus - blend of chick peas with tahini sauce (RM 16 of value)

Naan to go with the hummus.

Vegetables

Would have gladly traded in the watery concoction of Salad and Mixed Vegetables for more hummus. I think both vegetable dishes were made from the same ingredients, except that one was put into a blender.

Mixed Salad of Japanese Cucumbers, Parsley, and Tomatoes (RM 16 of value)

Mixed Vegetables (RM 12 of value) - the dry chunky version of the above watery version.

Main Course

I dig Sam Hadramawt's rice. I nom'ed 1/3 of my rice without any sides just to savour the fragrant spices in each spoonful of rice. Lightly coloured, soft and fluffy, middle eastern rice is awesome as usual. Why do we eat plain unflavoured white rice when there are much better alternatives out there, like nasi briyani, saffron rice, middle-eastern rice, nasi lemak and chicken rice?
Although oily, the lamb was much better than the chicken, which was just meh. I too can make chicken that looks meh and tastes totally meh, so I probably don't want meh chicken at a middle-eastern restaurant.

Would have liked my chicken on a skewer, ala Kebab style that is boneless and easier to eat compared to a winged drumstick, but the waiter skipped the Kebab option from the Main Course choices.

In my opinion, if a Groupon deal says you have a choice of lamb or chicken meat in Kebab, Haneeth or Mandy style, then you should be asked if you want lamb or chicken in Kebab, Haneeth or Mandy style. We ended up with 1 chicken and 1 lamb, which I'm still not sure prepared in what way. However all is forgiven since were given a RM 10 voucher afterwards.

Dessert

I did not expect dessert to be served in a plastic container. This custard tasted like a close cousin of instant jelly, masquerading as custard. Can you believe it is supposed to be RM 10 of value? I can't. Creme brulee, a slice of cheese cake, an ice-cream chocolate brownie, or a souffle can be RM 10 of value. This doesn't even make the RM 5 cut. Being a big fan of dessert in general, I was disappointed with the effort put into making the dessert.

Custard with milk and blackcurrant toppings (RM 10 of value)

Overall verdict : If you can afford it, I'd recommend that you pay full price to have a proper main course meal and the hummus, then skip the rest. Your tummy will be full by the time you're halfway through nomming the main course anyway, especially with middle-eastern serving portions. But if you're almost broke like I was (and still am), don't pass up the opportunity to eat a meal with this much variety at such a price. Despite my nitpicks, it was a steal.

Visited on 25th November, 2012.

Eat insects, save the world - Locusts @ Highway 4

Locusts are pests that harm crops. A restaurant in Vietnam, Highway 4, has gotten it right by putting them on the restaurant's menu and serving them, roasted, to patrons.

Crunchy roasted locusts.

Locusts are really grasshoppers that have decided to misbehave. They become destructive by congregating into migratory, voracious, ravenous swarms with out-of-control breeding, while feeding on our crops. These invertebrates are grasshoppers mobbed together, and morphed into locusts. Even among insects, mob mentality is as dangerous as shoppers on boxing day.

Woman removing the thorny legs from locusts in Hanoi's wet market.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization runs a comprehensive Locust Watch site to give updates of the whereabouts of locust swarms. Losses in agriculture caused by locust plagues can amount to billions per year if left uncontrolled. Which is why we should nom down hard on locusts - as their population needs to be controlled.

Locusts in Hanoi, Vietnam

As with most insects, a locust not contaminated with pesticide is high in protein, and low in fat. There are also adequate amounts of iodine, phosphorus, ion, thiamin, calcium, magnesium and selenium.

Getting ready to eat my roasted locusts.

These crunchy, delectable insects are roasted with lemon leaves, onions, pork lard and served with vietnamese dipping sauce. Making every bite and crunch a memorable experience . And not forgetting all those times they stole my food and gave me sores. (Price : 65k Dong / USD 3.10 / RM 10).

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.