Maximise Lunch @ Max! Kitchen & Wines

I still remember having this lunch with Nic and Xiu Long Bao (it's been a year! Hahaha...) and that's how long I've not been to Max! The floggers have had several different gatherings here, always enjoying the food and the hospitality of Max himself. Looking at these photos, I'm reminded to drop by Max! especially for the great lunch deals if I ever have the luxury of time to go downtown during lunch hour and also the extra time needed so that I can slowly savour Max's food! I would also like to check out what's new on the menu after a year. Not sure if these dishes are still available :p

Anyway, the three of us checked out Max! for lunch and had the set meals - A choice of a starter, main & ice lemon tea for just RM22! I have always enjoyed eating at Max! as I not only find the food very satisfying but a great visual treat too (and with lovely aroma! If only there were Scratch n' Sniff stickers of Max's food! Hahahah...). Not much words are needed....enjoy the pics! :o)

The usual bread that we totally ate up, dipping
into the olive oil and balsamic vinegar!

Smoked salmon served with mesclun greens,
capsicum salsa and balsamic reduction.

Nic opted for something out of the set menu -
the Seared Tuna Loin with Baby Octopus, a beauty!

Chargrilled Chicken Breast with Wild Mushrooms, the gravy hit the spot &
my love for mushrooms was definitely reciprocated in this dish! Hahaha....

XLB's Whole Market Fish, pan seared laced with fresh tomatoes, garlic
and caper berries. She found this rather disappointing (as she usually
does with most of her food!) and said that the dish was rather normal.

If one orders the set, there's an option to add the White Chocolate Tart,
served with marinated fresh fruits & ice cream for an additional RM10.



Max! Kitchen & Wines
27, Tengkat Tong Shin
50200 Kuala Lumpur
Tel : 03-21418115
(Do call and check operating hours - closed on Sundays)

There are four basic food groups: milk chocolate, dark chocolate,
white chocolate, and chocolate truffles -Anonymous

Weekend Music Videos - Slumdog Millionaire Soundtrack

I'm so in love with this song at the moment...what a ballad!

From "Slumdog Millionaire" - Dreams On Fire

And the other song also on repeat play from the same movie,

Jai Ho - Pussycat Dolls
Nicole can totally pass off as an Indian starlet!




Have A Great Sunday!

P.S. By the way, Susan Boyle has gone for a makeover...click HERE to see the latest look of this Scottish sensation!

Cha-Cha Pan Mee Original @ Aman Suria Petaling Jaya

It used to be just a stall in Taman Mayang dishing out tasty Pan Mee (Flat Flour Noodles) and as Euro was telling me, she was sad when she went to the usual coffeeshop and found that they were no longer there.

However, I brought a smile back to Euro's face when I brought her to Cha-Cha Pan Mee Restaurant in Aman Suria as it turned out that she can still get to eat her favourite Pan Mee. As for myself, I have to thank my ex VHC aka Tiger for bringing me here.

They have just shifted to the new and bigger location about 3 months ago and looks like the news has already gotten round to their regulars. You see the staff greeting the customers in a way you know that they are regular patrons :o). This place is usually packed during peak hours but the wait for your order is bearable...I think 15 minutes at most. Pan Mee here is available is several varieties - Dry, Soup, Curry to name some of them but my favourite has got to be the Original Cha-Cha Pan Mee Soup (I've been ordering that without fail each time I'm here!).

At RM4.50 for a small bowl (which is rather large actually), there's an increase of RM0.50 which is reasonable I find since the place is air-conditioned as compared to the previous operation. Now, what I find good about Cha-Cha Original Pan Mee is that the noodles are smooth and thin (would have prefer it to be a tad thicker for even more oomph) but what I love the most is the soup! The soup is super yummy - not as in MSG yummy but the sweetness from the sweet beans that is used for the soup base, so good that I will normally drink it up to the very last drop! As for the other ingredients, there are some minced pork, pork ball, mushrooms, foo chuk (beancurd sheet), sweet potato leaves and my fave of all the toppings - bits of crispy lard!

The other crispy thing that I like munching on too is this : -

Crispy anchovies that are served on the side rather than submerged in the soupy bowl of noodles. Best eaten with noodles though as it's salty on its own. You can ask for more if you want to. Too bad their chilli sauce is just average though, or they would have totally nailed it!

With the heatwave that we have been experiencing....this Pineapple Juice with honey (RM3.50) was simply heavenly and thirst quenching. Gosh....this weather is almost killing me!

Pardon me....but I'm off to cool myself down now. As JC said, North Pole anyone???



Restoran Cha-Cha Pan Mee Original
K-G-1 & K-G-3, Jalan PJU 1/43
Aman Suria
47301 Petaling Jaya

They are opened for breakfast from 7.30 am till 4pm and dinner from 5.30 - 9pm daily (closed on alternate Wednesdays). Nasi Lemak and Economy Noodles are sold in the morning till afternoon with the usual side dishes. Fried pan mee, fried rice and certain specialties that changes daily are available during dinner time I was told.

Read about other Pan Mee reviews : -

Hoi Kee Jalan Segambut

Lorong Haji Taib 5

Kin Kin Off T.A.R. Road

Sure Pizza's Desserts @ Hartamas Shopping Centre Kuala Lumpur

I just came back from dinner and had a lovely dessert. Sitting here and thinking where else would I go to if I wanted desserts (notice the plural word here! Hahaha), I thought of Sure Pizza in Hartamas Shopping Centre. While as the name suggests, I never had the pizza here...but however, I have been here for desserts only on three occasions whenever I'm in the mood for something sweet and happen to be in this area. However, the last time I was here was around late last year and these photos were taken on my first trip there a long time ago (yeah, going through my archives again!).

Anyway, I can't say much about the pizza as I've not tried it before...but if you ever want some great desserts to end the night (or start the day!), hop in and give yourself a real "pick-me-up" with the Tiramisu here...

With two options...with or without alcohol, the one that we usually order is of course the one WITH! Hehehe....Look at the generous topping of cocoa powder! A sizeable portion is served (I think it's about RM20plus), not those that are served in a tiny sexy glass, so it can be shared. It's really one of those Tiramisu that falls into my category of "things that make you go Mmmmmm......" :P



The Creme Brulee is not too bad too, a tad sweet for me ....but it's the Tiramisu that I keep coming back for.

Maybe I should make it a point to try the pizzas here too....but one thing's for sure, whenever I step into Sure Pizza, Tiramisu with the "works" is definitely a must order for me! ..... *hic* :o)


Sure Pizza
Lot P37, Plaza Ground Floor
Hartamas Shopping Centre
60 Jalan Sri Hartamas 1
50480 Kuala Lumpur

Tel : 03-6201 6014
(10 am - 10 pm daily)

I love anything Italian, especially the men and desserts! - wmw

Susan Boyle - Wake Up Call

By now, if you're not one of the 12 million plus who have viewed Susan Boyle's performance on YouTube, it's still not too late to be part of the ever growing number! I have forwarded the link to my friends and thought that I should put it up here too. Susan Boyle suddenly became an overnight sensation when she auditioned on Britain's Got Talent. Why is that?

Because of the way she looked? Because of the fact that she's 47 years old? Because no one believed in her? Because people didn't take her seriously when she said she wanted to emulate Elaine Page? It makes us all think about how we treat or judge others .... a wake up call indeed.




Well, when Susan Boyle started to sing....Boy! Did she SING!!!!!!!!! I put together some screen capture of her video here...capturing especially the change in the judges' expresssion (only Amanda was not shown being skeptical at first, but pleasantly surprised when Susan started singing). The guilty judges were Piers Morgan and Simon Cowell!

To enjoy the actual video (sorry, embedding is disabled by YouTube), click HERE and be part of millions who have gotten the Susan Boyle Experience!

UPDATED! A 1999 recording of Cry Me A River performed by Susan Boyle has been unearthed (apparently discovered by the Scottish newspaper, The Daily Record). Click on it for a listen (AUDIO only).

ENJOY! It's Friday!

Kokopelli, Sec 14 Petaling Jaya & Just Heavenly

(HALAL)

I have been looking forward to visiting the new Kokopelli after they had to relocate the restaurant. It has been about 10 months since they ceased operation back in June 2008 and started scouting for a new place then and I'm glad to say that Kokopelli is NOW BACK with a new address and a different look. They have been operating at the new location (Section 14) for some months now and things are looking good.

I finally got round to taking photos of the new place when The Betts came back for a holiday and the group decided to do a lunch meet up at Kokopelli. Though I've been to the place before prior to this gathering, it was only now that I really took a "tour" of the place through my camera lens.

I had previously blogged on Kokopelli's food (when it was in the old location) and this time round was glad to note that the food quality had improved, well, at least for the ones I tried.

Chicken Rissoles (RM8.90) - I enjoyed munching on this together with the sambal tomato that was served along with it. Generous filling and the pastry thickness was just nice, coated with breadcrumbs and fried.

A. Bett had this and it looked simple and yummy ! I didn't try this, wouldn't want to "rob" a kid of his pizza. Hahaha....

SS and WF shared a Moussaka - yes, not for the faint-hearted and health conscious folks. The Moussaka came in a cute clay skillet and laden with goodies (minced lamb and eggplant) beneath the lovely golden brown baked layer of white sauce. I tried some and the piping hot filling was extremely yummy. Rich, Hot and Tasty!

Of course most of us ordered one of Kokopelli's signature dish, the Fried Kway Teow - RM10.90 (Flat Rice Noodles). I had mine without cockles and with extra beansprouts! It was great! It had the right level of spiciness and most importantly it was dry and not as wet (compared to the last time) as when I had it back at the old place.

And to top it off (or shall I say, end the outing on a sweet note) ...dear sweet Karen got us Just Heavenly's Desserts...the deadly pleasure of sinking our teeth into the Choc Durian, Choc Cheese, Raspberry Madeira and Butter Buttercup (for the kids who aren't fans of our King of Fruit).

The outing didn't end there just yet. I ended up taking photos of the two families present. It was an honour especially when it came to taking a family portrait shot of Soraya's as she's a well known photographer herself.

and of course one for The Betts, as part of a memory of the wonderful outing we had that day in Kokopelli. Linda, it was great to catch up with you again with the rest of the group and also to have finally met your boys and hubby in person.

Here's to more reunions (thanks to Facebook!) Hahaha....

Kokopelli Travellers Bistro
(opposite Jaya 32 Square)
4, Section 14/46
Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Lunch 12 noon - 3 pm
Last table booking 2.45pm
Dinner 6 pm - 11 pm
Last table booking - 10.20pm
Closed on Mondays
Reservations : 03 79567505

Yes'm, old friends is always best, 'less you can catch a new one that's fit to make an old one out of.
~Sarah Orne Jewett

Easter Weekend!

I had a pleasant surprise yesterday - around 6 plus evening Precious Pea called to see if I was at home. Why? 'Cos she bought some Hot Cross Buns from Just Heavenly Pleasures and wanted to pass them to me!

When she gave me the bag, she told me that when she bought the Hot Cross Buns, they were really hot indeed and steamed up the whole plastic bag making the buns slightly damp. Well, damp or not - I appreciated the fact that Precious Pea made sure I kept he tradition of eating some Hot Cross Buns on Good Friday! Thanks sista!

Just Heavenly's Hot Cross Buns

What a better way to celebrate Good Friday than with Just Heavenly's Hot Cross Buns? Whether these buns have a religious significance to you or not, they are definitely yummy. Most importantly, it's already a day after Good Friday and tomorrow will be Easter and to us Christians, Easter's a day that we are truly thankful for.

Happy Easter to all my fellow Christians!

Robson Heights Seafood Restaurant, Kuala Lumpur

(NON-HALAL)

It has been awhile since I last did dinner with The Flogger Sistas and when I eventually met up with them, it was a night of great company and of course glorious food! Precious Pea picked me up and drove to Robson Heights - thanks for always driving me around at night as you fear for my life (and yours should I be driving you instead!) due to my history of loss vision from the retina detachment episode I had :o).

After taking a wrong turn (sorry, I wasn't of much help since I'm hopeless with road directions and I had only been here once before and that was eons ago!), we manage to find our way after making several calls to Boo_licious and it turns out that it was rather easy to find as Robson Heights Seafood Restaurant is located quite near to the main road. Arriving there, Lyrical Lemongrass , Paprika and Boo were already there. After complimenting one another on how great we look with our recent new hairstyles (hehe...our girlie talk - it's been quite awhile) we proceeded to order. How did we go about that? Simple....just go with whatever is printed on their wet towel packet!

Errr....we couldn't have possibly ordered everything that was printed (there were 6 of us - Paprika's cousin arrived shortly after the food was served) and we chose a few. We were hungry and excited, anticipating the arrival of the goodies till we suddenly realised that we didn't order any vege dish and decided to leave it as that as we had definitely ordered enough. Whether we chose well and good or not, read on...I would like to point out that the photos are not too clear or taken at a bad angle as I shot them in a hurry - we were hungry and we didn't want to eat cold food as there were four of us taking pics and I couldn't take my time as usual!

First to arrive were the Baked Spare Ribs in Honey Sauce. It was a wonderful start - the meat fell off the bones and almost melted in the mouth. Highly recommended - just make sure you ask for not so lean ones as the lean ones will tend to have you chew on it more :o)

The Stir Fried Intestines with Dried Prawns and Chilli Padi came next - I'm not particularly fond of intestines unless it's the really crispy ones (the ones I usually eat with porridge, yumz!) and tried just a bit of this. While the dish wasn't really to my liking, I did like munching on the dried prawns, very flavourful. I even added this to my bowl for more oomph when I ate the next dish.

THEY CAME FROM BENEATH! :p
Claypot Glass Noodles with Water Prawns - We had 3 prawns, split into half. The prawns were huge, fresh and firm and the glass noodles were simply delicious as the soup tasted prawnylicious! Hahaha.... The soup was sweet and fragrant and we not only cleared the prawns and glass noodles but drank every drop of the soup (well, that and also the fact that the glass noodles soaked up some too). Oh, it was then we concluded that we DID have vegetables that night - the garnishing! Hahaha....

Then we had the steamed crabs - of which I had one helping only as I prefer this style the least. Most seafood lovers would say this is the best way but since I have an aversion to fishy tasting food, I rather have my seafood any other way except steamed! The rest of them said that this was okay and we all pronounce the next dish as THE star of the night...

The Salted Egg Yolk Crabs! Definitely a "Shiok" experience (so much so, even the alphabet "S" appeared on the shell!). The last time I had a taste of such a dish was in Lukut but Robson Heights' is better and the place is definitely nearer. The crabs were also very fresh and firm and the salted egg yolk bits filled almost every nook and cranny of the crabs. It was yummylicious albeit a tad sweet in my opinion ... almost perfect if not for that.

I took this shot of the restaurant from the car as we were leaving. We had forgotten to do so as we were so engrossed with the food and conversation! Hee hee...

The Flogger Sistas will be going again this week and sadly, I am unable to join them. Their mission this time around is to try the rest of the stuff from the "menu". Ahhh...I can only sit back and look at this blog post while they partake in another round of glorious food - with great company to boot! Well, I'm sure when it comes to Robson Heights Seafood Restaurant, there will always be a next time - a time when I can make it! Happy eating, Sistas!

Robson Heights Seafood Restaurant
108 Jalan Permai
Off Jalan Syed Putra
Kuala Lumpur

Tel : 03-2274 6216

"Why does Sea World have a seafood restaurant?? I’m halfway through my fish burger and I realize, Oh my God....I could be eating a slow learner.”
Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973)
Former president of the U.S.

Sweet Weekend - Stroopwafels !

The weekend is here again...Saturday was good, it started with me getting some exercise that started from 9am till 11.30 am and more exercise from 1pm - 2pm. Food came next and the night ended with more food of course. :o). I'm feeling a bit peckish right now and I came across some pics in my archives that didn't help me out one bit but only made me more hungry!

What's this???

This tin contains one of my favourite snacks in the whole wide world. I first discovered these when I was in London back in 2000.

Presenting to you....Stroopwafels! Stroopwafels originate from Netherlands and each waffle is made from two thin layers of batter with caramel like syrup filling in the middle.When I first bit into one of these stroopwafels back then, I thought that it was going to be all I ever needed in life. It's really one of those "savouring with closed eyes" moments and they are really addictive. Err...but of course, along came other goodies and I realise woman shall not live by stroopwafels alone, hahaha! Anyhow, they still are one of my all time favourite. I have not come across any places selling this in Malaysia, anybody out there knows?

Best with a cup of coffee....ahhhhh, one of the best discovery I made in the millennium year (many others with a sweet tooth would love these too.). I haven't had the chance to try out fresh ones made on the spot which are sold on the streets. However, popping one of these into the microwave for a few seconds makes them even yummier! So, I would like to thank you, Pat for getting me these Van der Breggen Stroopwafels from Holland - you really know how to make my day, love yah!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND, EVERYONE!

Kushi Q, Tropicana City Mall

(HALAL)


With the opening of the new Tropicana City Mall that's located just at the back of my home, I made a trip to see what's "cooking" in there. There are still quite a number of lots not opened for business yet, however there was this place that caught my eye, Kushi Q - a little Japanese grill restaurant. Googling for the definition of "Kushi", I found out that it meant skewers used in Japanese cuisine such as yakitori. Yakitori is traditionally grill chicken but nowadays other types of meat are also used. Oh, I also found out that there is a chain of Kushi Q overseas and wonder if this is from the same chain.

The yummy food on display - Chicken wings, prawns, lidako (octopus) to name a few.

An automated rotation grilling machine is used to deliver that perfect grill

1) Staff would slather the skewered meat with the teriyaki sauce and place it on the metal clip
2) The clipped skewered meat then goes around and is slowly lowered in an "assembly line" fashion
3) The skewered meat goes in between two hot surfaces; it will go 2 rounds (moving along slowly on a oval shape conveyor belt) if it's to cook from a raw state or just 1 if it's to reheat.
4) At the end of the cycle the metal clip automatically releases the skewered sticks which will then drop into a metal container below and wallah....Food is served!

The skewered meat starts from RM2 to RM2.50 a stick and Bento Sets are also available with Rice or Salad served with either 3, 4, or 5 skewers combination. Glorious Jade and I decided to go for the 5 stick Bento Set (RM12.90/USD4), comprising of shisamo, scallop, chicken thigh with leek, prawns and beef with pineapple.

The shisamo, scallop and prawn. I found the prawn a bit on the chewy side as it might have been overcooked. I prefer it to be grilled with the shell and all, as I find that it just makes it taste more aromatic while retaining more moisture . I was told that the next batch of prawn would be grilled with shell (some customers had earlier said that it was troublesome to eat the prawn that way) still intact and they will make a slit so that customers can peel the shell off easily.


Glorious Jade was delighted to find fish eggs in the shisamo and thoroughly enjoyed it. Then we had the one and only premium grill item available for the time being; Unagi and sesame seed priced at RM5/USD1.50. We also tried the Aroma Spice Chicken (spices with fine chilli flakes and black pepper seed.

From left : - Chicken Thigh with Leek, Beef with Pineapple and Chicken Breast with Wasabi.

My fave would be the Beef - I tried eating it with the pineapple and found it somewhat normal, just like the chicken breast meat. However, when I ate the beef on its own (without the pineapple), it was simply lovely, so full of flavour! All the meats were succulent and moist. The chicken thigh was marinated well and was also good whereas I found the chicken breast meat (served with a mild wasabi mayonnaise) a bit plain - not marinated well enough?

This pic almost shows the actual size of the scallop served (put your hand against the hand in the pic and you'll know what I mean), more than decent size at just RM2.50/USD0.70. It was once again, succulent and moist. Another great item.

All Bento Sets comes with a choice of rice or salad (which you can order on its own at RM2/USD0.60 each). So for those who need to upload carbo (and ruin an otherwise healthy meal), you can choose the rice and for a healthier alternative; the salad. The rice came steaming hot with a bit of sauce made from chicken stock but it was a bit too wet for my liking. I left the rice aside for awhile and it tasted a lot better when the rice had cooled down and had less moisture.

Kushi Q is a great place for a light meal and for those who are watching their weight (!) since grilling is a healthier cooking method. We enjoyed our light and simple meal - will definitely be going back. By the way, they also do delivery to Damansara Intan offices from 11am to 7pm.

Kushi Q
Lot LG 20,Lower Ground Floor
Tropicana City Mall
3, Jalan SS20/27
47400 Petaling Jaya
Tel : 03-77283613/012-709 8668/012-2889506

There's lots of people in this world who spend so much time watching their health that they haven't the time to enjoy it.
~Josh Billings