Olfactory Memory. Second week at Cilantro.

from Paranoid Android

(no pork served)


For the life of me, don't ask me my address. I do remember my unit number. I don't write letters to myself and the only mode of public transportation I take is the train. Don't ask me for my postcode either, for I don't have an inkling of what it is. . Ditto my office number. Why would I give myself a call? I am totally dependent on my mobile devices. I can give you my 5 email addresses with ease, or my mobile device numbers.

Poached Lobster a la minute with Kyuri and Avruga. Perfection in a mini cocktail glass. A cold starter with some Japanese Cucumber Puree adding a new dimension of freshness to the beautifully poached lobster, drizzled with caviar.

Years ago, there was a French Philosopher and Mathematician by the name of Descartes (who by the way is the same brainy chap who invented Cartesian Points) who doubted his own existence and wrote a book titled Meditations on First Philosophy which contains 6 meditations. He tried to postulate his own existence and the existence of God logically. Descartes validated his own existence with his famous "Je penser, donc je suis". Or in Latin Cogito, Ergo Sum. I think, therefore I am. An updated version of Meditations on First Philosophy v 2.1.0 is I charge my Blackberry, therefore I am. My mobile devices are a sort of validation of my life. My entire life is in my mobile phones. Photos of people that mean a lot to me, my favourite tunes, contact information, encouraging emails from friends and of course, my own address. If I doubt i really exist, I can always call my friends up. The invention of Mobile telephones have negated the Cartesian dilemma of self.

30 minutes of separation from a working mobile network, I start showing separating anxiety. 2 hours without mobile internet service, I will fidget and sweat. Try going to Myanmar for 2 weeks. Upon arrival at Bangkok Airport after the trip, when my mobile showed connectivity to the AIS network, I kissed my phone and wept tears of joy. My happiness was short lived, as a deluge of emails and messages that needed replying left me with regret. I had been idle time at the Burmese capital while indulging in the fragrant yet diabetes inducing tea at the tea shops. I should have been punching my blackberry with vengeance as I was accustomed to if I had been in another country.

Parpadelle Pasta with Crispy Duck and Foie Gras. Very generous portion, and very rich. A very safe pairing of flavours and the Pasta was served in Red Wine Reduction.

There is something about Nations run by crazy despots that make them averse to mobile communications, mobile internet, and criticism. Ever tried data roaming in Burma or North Korea both countries run by self glorifying dictators before? It does not exist. Maybe our Government should take note of that before being too overzealous about internet censorship. But I digress.

We were talking about memory. The only memories that one can recall vividly, without any effort at all would be olfactory memory. Ever notice how certain smells trigger off certain emotions and how we can equate places and people with certain smells? I was asked to send a child to school last week, and when I was there I was hit by a blast of acrid earth, cut grass, stale socks, exercise books, wood and varnish. Unconsciously, the smell of school has been etched deeply into my brain, which the passage of time and space has left greatly intact. I inhaled deeply, and suddenly from the recesses of my mind, forgotten names and faces appeared, my old teachers and classmates whom I have relegated to the deepest part of my psyche refreshed itself without effort. It gave me a sense of calmness and well being plus a yearning to return to a period in my life when I was truly contented and happy.

Our nervous system is built on a series of cells known as neurons which communicate to one another by synapses, without any physical contact at all. One of the characteristics of the neuron is it's inability to regenerate. That is why neurological injuries seldom recover. Paraplegics and Stroke victims are left with permanent residual damage. The only exception to this is the olfactory epithelial cells. These group of neurons regenerates. An old man may lose the sense of sight and smell, but seldom complains of losing the sense of smell.

Sea Bream with Scallop and Zucchini Flower. Perfect for a lunch. The scallop was hidden inside the zucchini flower which was deep fried in batter. An innovative twist, and complimented the fish very well.

Our breathing apparatus directs air to the top of the nose, where our olfactory cells are located. Small tendril like projection of the cells travel up to the base of the brain via sieve like perforations and connect to the olfactory bulb. which connects to different parts of the brain. One of the more interesting connection is the close, two synapse relationship with the Amygdala.

The Amygdala the center of the brain which preforms the function of storing memories related to emotional event, stores long term memory (life long) and deep, primal emotional responses including sex. The confluence of smell, memory and emotion at the Amygdala explains why smell is often an intense trigger for distinct memories and potent emotions.

Slow Roasted Grain Fed Lamb, served with Delphinoise Potatoes and Summer Truffles. If you have to sink in carbs, let the potatoes be the weight. Rich and flavoured with Truffle, it almost overshadowed the beautifully roasted lamb. Cilantro has maintained it's standards so stringently that is ia very rare that you can order a dud item from it's menu.

Who can forget the sensations evoked by The First Kiss? Where desire is culminated by the sensation of warm lips meeting warm lips, with the sword fight of two moist tongues, the grating sensation of teeth sliding over the tongue, like a knife spreading truffle butter over bread. The sensation of warm air blowing out of the nostrils nearby intensifies the long, lingering kiss together with a steady throbbing of an elevated heartbeat....

The missing ingredient is the smell. Metallic, salty, paraffin from the lipstick, a slightly malodorous after note from the putrefaction of food particles stuck between teeth, spearmint from the chewing gum with a waft of musk, the smell of desire.

What was the smell of your first kiss?

The fact is, smell complements a lot of experiences. Try to eat with a blocked nose. Suddenly the food becomes tasteless. Even carnal pleasures are associated with smell. Describing it would render this blog x rated.

Warm Apple Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream. Their version of the classic. The pie was light as air and fluffy as down pillow.

A very clever perfumer by the name of Antoine Lie has created a perfume for Etat Libre de Orange has created sex in a bottle fragrance called "Secretions Magnifique". It is available on line or at Galleries Lafayette, Paris. It has the accord of blood, iris, coconut, sandalwood, adrenaline and smells like cum. Now, why would anybody like to smell as if he ejaculated all over himself in bloody cum defies reason, but if you are interested, you can order it here and read their description of the perfume.

I love perfumes. Fragrances complements certain memories that I kept stored inside my brains. Certain perfumes remind me of places. I don't know why, but Terre by Hermes always reminds me of Seville. Other perfumes remind me of people. Opium by YSL always reminds me of my late mother. And the perfume that reminds me of Cilantro is Comme des Garçons 2. An intriguing scent of Ink, Cedarwood, Cumin, Iris and Angelica Wood among others. A mixture of occidental and orient. A French-Japanese Fusion. Just like Cilantro is.

CDG 2. Unfortunately, unavailable in Malaysia. You might have to source it overseas.

And when you smell a rat all over town, don't worry. You are not alone. With the latest political developments, the smell is pervasive. Only rats cannot smell their own filth and continue to scrummage the last bits of filth from the garbage pile and hoard it. As we wait for a Pied Piper to lead the rats to drown, let us be cautious too, as the Piper might steal our children away.

Have a nice week ahead, folks! Will be away for a week. Ciao!

(all shots taken with my Canon 50mm f1.8 lens)

VIDEO Ana Consultancy MakeOver for Rebecca Saw

My have over event courtesy of Ana Consultancy.

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See Some Cool, Strange & Funny Stuffs

Green Olive Gnocchi

Have any of we ever done a salsa from green olives? Me either. Until now. we found myself with a vast container of pitted, herb-flecked green olives. And we meant a laaarge container. we do not know what we was thinking. we theory we bought them, intending to use them as partial of a cooking spread for friends. Then promptly forgot they existed. we found them a following morning hiding during a back of a container of feta. And so, olive season on Pierce Street begins. You can suppose my fad when, we came across a recipe I'd tagged many months ago in Maggie Beer's book, Maggie's Harvest. She makes green olive gnocchi, afterwards tosses it in a quirky, different easily tawny green olive sauce. The undiluted approach to put a hole in my olive supply.

Green Olive Gnocchi Recipe

Before we start, let me warn you, this isn't a quite tasteful sauce. And, I'm being kind here. But a salsa is noisy as well as deliciously distinctive. Here's a box where finishing a gnocchi with a few flavorful garnishes similar to boiled capers as well as chives done all a cultured difference in a world.

As distant as a specifics go - it's worth noting, we did a quick version of Maggie's recipe, reflected in a recipe below. we used store-bought gnocchi, as well as pan-fried it until it was deeply golden as well as crusted, instead of creation a gnocchi from scratch. You can skirt a gnocchi lightly, or some-more heavily, formed on your preference. The leftover green olive salsa kept easily in a refrigerator for a improved partial of a week, as well as was delicious on pasta, over brown rice, as well as alongside a bit of crumbled goat cheese in an omelette.

Green Olive G!  nocchi R ecipe

I goal a little of we give this a try. And now which I'm meditative about it, we consider we could deliver a little blanched broccoli if we similar to - a good approach to get a little green vegetables on a plate. Or even better, we might cut a florets extra small, as well as toss them in a pan with a gnocchi during a last notation to prepare which way.

Continue celebration of the mass Green Olive Gnocchi...


See Some Cool, Strange & Funny Stuffs

Mandarin Grill at Mandarin Oriental Hotel, KL

Mandarin Grill during Mandarin Oriental Hotel, KL.

The name Mandarin Grill conjures images of costly bills & perfect steaks.

Why, you ask?

Well, thats a impression which any reader of any of a reviews upon Mandarin Grill posted upon a net would get.

Mandarin Grill - Mandarin Oriental Hotel (2)

While a cost did (unfortunately) match a expectations set, a food fell next par.

Why; again you ask?

Hmmfor one, it could be which you didnt order their many appropriate beef upon a menu; a Grade 10 Kobe. And an additional reason was simply; being a cost-conscious person which you am, you had expected better bang for my buck.

Still, a hard not to fall in adore (especially if you have been a bread-lover similar to myself) when you have been presented with THIS:

Mandarin Grill - Mandarin Oriental Hotel (8)

A whole tray of comfortable gourmet breads! you must say, this is a only place which offers me such a terrific assortment of bread so far! Just from personal experience, Favola during Le Meridien serves excellent bread, Cilantro @ Micasa Hotel offers their mythological truffle butter, as good as Mandarin Grill takes a oven baked sweat bread for a perfect amount of choices alone.

I took about 4 sorts of bread, as good as widespread them easily with a olive butter provided.

Mandarin Grill - Mandarin Oriental Hotel (9)

Our entertain bouche was fresh tuna with wasabi lime, surfaced with french bean as good as yuzu ponzu jelly, as good as came seating upon tip of a bed of zangy chopped tomatoes salsa. Pretty typic! al dish for a place similar to Mandarin Grill as good as it didnt consequence any brownie points, yet it was generally a pleasant starter.

Mandarin Grill - Mandarin Oriental Hotel (10)

The Appetiser Platter pleased me though. Im a fool for small tasting portions; as good as having many different sorts all in one plate. The platter has exactly all that, yet many of them were again; flattering ordinary.

Appetiser Platter: Creamy Foie Gras au Torchon, Smoked salmon loin, Black olives, Green pea salad, Port wine jelly, twin of apple (spiced apple), Toasted brioche as good as Alaskan Crab Cake.

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An appealing item was a paper- thin chilli paper. Spicy as good as crackly, it paired good with a Alaskan crab cake, which was packed with sweet as good as juicy crab meat.

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The Pumpkin soup tasted funny during first, roughly of crab-bisque essence (I child you not, both of us felt a same way), though a mousse-like as good as frothy consistency is commendable. Anyhow, a ambience kind of grew upon me, as good as you ended up enjoying it, for after a while; a sweet & uninformed pumpkin ambience really shone.

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My date have had a dish too many of bovine, as good as hence ordered a COD in a restaurant famed for a grill. For RM105.00, he got an overly seasoned cod which was too salty for him to finish. you laughed during him. Wicked, you know.

Mandarin Grill - Mandarin Oriental Hotel (19)

At Mandarin Grill, diners gets to select 2 side dishes (one any from a preference of potatoes & vegetables) as good as one sort of sauce. He chose Steamed Broccolini & Roasted fingerlings with Rosemary. Both were acceptable enough. The little saucer you see next during a right was his preference of salsa a homemade ketchup. It was flattering bland.

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Naturally, my main is a steak. A whole 250g of it. And you get to confirm from a dozen preference of knives upon which you wish to use to crave my meat. Cool isnt it?? ;-)

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My 250g Tenderloin.

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My poke for a good beef shall go on a course. Tenderloin is a bad preference for someone who loves essence in her meat; as good as which equates to you need a fattier cut. Another thing is, you do not eat beef oven baked over medium, as good as this came roughly medium- done.

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My sides were a many appropriate of a lot, generally so for a tawny carbo-licious Gratin Dauphinois. Lovely & rich, a thin slices of potatoes layered with thickk thickk cream as good as surfaced with torched cheese had us relishing it so much which you ended up withdrawal many of a mains untouched. LOL.

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I remarkable which a sides were served in particular bowls, as good as which itself was estimable of mention in my books. The main image was kept interruption free for you to concentrate upon longing your mains. Separate servings additionally equates to there will be no overlapping of food/gravy or sauce.

Apparently Mandarin Grill is famed for a desserts. Hence you asked one of a chefs to recommend their BEST dessert & a prompt reply was Apple Pie. So apple cake it shall be to end a meal.

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It took a while to come, as good as it was good worth a wait. you was bowled over by a apple cake here. Divinely flaky puff pastry with thin slivers of apple fanning it around a top, it came oven baked -ala-minute. Topped with vanilla ice cream, this finished my Mandarin Grill experience.

My date had a lighter Mango Sherbet, since he said he could barely breath after his dinner.

Mandarin Grill - Mandarin Oriental Hotel (1)

My pineapple as good as celery juice RM22. Pricey, you know.

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Horn-shaped peppers as good as salt shaker. you just had to take a design of this; as good as then satisfied which many blogs features them as well. LOL. That says a lot of a centrepiece doesnt it?

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The dining area is lovely, with comfortable lights, though thankfully not entirely dim. Wel! l-spaced detached tables ensures comfort as good as privacy.

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Mandarin Grill - Mandarin Oriental Hotel (3)

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The page of a menu which matters a MEATs.

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Mandarin Grill & MO Bar

Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur City Centre
Tel: 03-21798960


Book Review & Writing Tips

Fried Chillies Love Your Street Food Winners 2010


O Mulia Satay


End of year beckons and its time to give out awards to everyone for their hard work. We initial had Time Out KL's Food Awards, now it is a travel food which gets their own pedestal.Over during Fried Chillies (where smashing people are super passionate about Malaysian travel food), a voteshave all beencast and tabulated. Here are a winners for 2010, for full details see their website, http://www.loveyourstreetfood.com/

Best Satay - O Mulia SatayNominees: Hj Samuri, Satay Malaysia


Best Crabs - Fatty Crab
Nominees: Nong & Jimmy Thai Seafood, King Crab


Best Nasi Lemak - Village Park
Nominees: Tanglin, Nasi Lemak Famous


Best Kopitiam - Yut Kee
Nominees: Sin Seng Nam, Chawan



fire


Best Maggi Goreng - Stevens Corner
Nominees: Nasi Kandar Bestari, Lotus Family Restaurant


Best Pisang Goreng - SS2 Goreng Pisang Stall
Nominees: Azmi Pisang Goreng, Mr. Chiam's Stall in Brickfields


Best Assam Laksa - O&S
Nominees: Mark's Assam Laksa, Alisan Laksa


Best Roti Canai - Valentine Roti
Raju's, Restoran Kayu Nasi Kandar


Best Chicken Rice - Restaurant Satellite Chicken Rice
Nominees: New Ipoh Chicken Rice, N! am Heong


Best Burger - OM Burger
Nominees: Burger TTDI, Jackson Burger


Best Char Kuey Teow - Aunty Gemuk FAM
Nominees: Restaurant Soon Leong, Restoran Seng Lee


Best Banana Leaf Rice - Kanna Curry House
Nominees: Restoran Sri Nirwarna Maju, Vishal Chettinad Mess



satay always
See Some Cool, Strange & Funny Stuffs