Thiptara @ Peninsula Bangkok

On our last night in Bangkok, both of us agreed that we would stay in the hotel and enjoyed a quiet dinner at one of their restaurants. We have read about rave reviews on their Chinese restaurant, Mei Jiang, but since we already had Chinese food in Chinatown.. we passed and opted for their Thiptara Thai restaurant instead. This time we didn't make any plans and the decision was kinda last minute so we didn't make any booking.

We showed up at the reception at 6.30pm to enquire on tables next to Chao Phraya river but were disapppointed when they told us that all the tables were booked for the night. That guy (forgot his name) might have sensed our disappointment and therefore looked at the booking sheet one more time. He then promptly informed us that he could arrange one table (yay!) for us but politely reminded us that we could only have the table until 8pm as the guests were expected to arrive at that time. Since we hardly took more than 1 hour for dinner, we said YES!

The sun had already set and therefore it was not that hot and it was not long until the night fell and all the buildings were lit up brightly. Can you apot Jenn in the picture?

Complimentary marinated cashew nuts

While waiting for our dishes to be served, we asked the waitress to take a picture of us.

As the night fell, all the buildings across the river were lit up... revealing a breathtaking night scene from where we sat. Settings - f22, 15sec, ISO100! The result?

Refreshing concoction of lime & mint leaves juice

Khao Phad Thiptara (360 baht) - essentially the fried Jasmine rice with chilly paste, shrimp and salty egg. Being a sucker for fried rice.. I found this dish full of wok hei and moderately spicy. With a dash of lime juice, every bite was heavenly (at least for me). Jenn shared the same sentinent as I was...

However she felt no "kick" in the fried rice and asked for all available sauces from our attending waitress - she gave us 4 of them!

Phad-Phak-Ka-Nah Moo Grob (280 baht) - seriously without Engligh translation at the bottom of every dish, I would be scratching my head figuring out what the heck the dish was... wok fried kale with crispy pork!

Tom Yum Goong Mai Nam (440 baht) hit the jackpot! As usual, the soup has what I was looking for - spicy and sourish, fresh river prawns and distinctive lemongrass flavour.

Clear winner of the night belonged to this particular dish - Gaeng Phed Ped Yang or roasted duck simmered in red curry & sweet basil! The curry was thick, creamy and packed with all the required flavours. We could have ordered second helping of rice just because of this dish!

By the time we finished our dinner, I looked at my watch and it was only 7.45pm. Charged the dinner to my room and went back straight to our room. Actually we could have gone to the bar next to Thiptara for a glass of wine or two. The reason??? To enjoy the breathtaking view of Bangkok city from our balcony - settings f22, 15sec, ISO100! We even bought two bottles of Singha beer and some snacks while chatting the night away. Romantic?? You bet it is :)

Next post - Peninsula Hotel Bangkok!

Disclaimer:
1) I'm not paid to promote/endorse any particular event, restaurant or person in this blog. ALL are based on my unbiased personal opinion.
2) My reviews are based on my personal taste and preference and therefore may vary for others.

Ramadan Buffet 2011 @ Citarasa Malaysia, Makan Kitchen, Doubletree by Hilton KL

We recently won some Makan Kitchen dining vouchers, as part of Doubletree Hilton KL's 1st Birthday Bash giveaway. We decided to use our vouchers immediately to indulge in the Citarasa Malaysia Ramadan buffet at Makan Kitchen. We have dined at the Makan Kitchen once before. We were most impressed with this Ramadan spread.

Citarasa Malaysia offers over 200 kampung and local delights in a bazaar-like ambience. The restaurant was very busy, however it was very well-staffed and service was excellent. Our glasses were always filled, plates cleared from our table efficiently and the kitchen staff still found time to explain dishes to us. Since the restaurant was so busy, we were sat at the Chinese kitchen with quite dim lighting, which gave the place a rather romantic feel but lousy for food photos.

Chinese Kitchen seatings

We started off with some of these colorful local drinks... choose from sirap bandung, teh tarik, lychee cordial, corn juice, sour plum drink or fruit punch.

Again, I would recommend that you take a tour of all 3 kitchens to soak in the sights, smell and sounds before digging in.

For us, the most impressive dish from this buffet is the roast lamb. It was well marinated, and beautifully roasted with utterly tender meat. We went back for seconds since our kids loved it too. I lik! ed the s ide servings of vegetables too, you can find grilled asparagus, mushrooms, brocolli, roasted potatoes which were all nicely cooked.

Roast lamb with a medley of grilled vegetables

Coming a close second is the Kambing Kuzi, braised lamb in coconut gravy with local spices. My mouth watered as soon as I saw this dish... it also smelt amazing! The meat was really tender and the gravy was just lovely. Unfortunately, they only served white rice in the Malay kitchen. I was slightly disappointed that they did not have lemang since I love eating that with curry / rendang. There was also a good version of bubur lambok daging here, rice porridge cooked with ground beef, herbs, spices and coconut milk. The satay (chicken and beef skewers) was as good as I remembered it. I also tried the gulai daging, some of the vegetable dishes, sotong masak kicap (squid), kari udang mamak, paru, and patin curry and they were all good. Overall, the food from the Malay kitchen was very good.

Kambing Kuzi

Malay kitchen

Bubur lambok daging

Ayam percik

Malay kitchen

Some fresh seafood such as flower crabs, oysters, prawns

Satay daging and ayam with ketupat and peanut sauce

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I quite like this shot taken by my daughter

The food from the Chinese kitchen was most suitable for our kids since they were a little less spicy. Our kids loved the tofu since it was soft and silky smooth. They also enjoyed the dim sums (steamed dumplings); perhaps we arrived early and they were not overcooked this time. Best of all was the roast duck... absolutely delicious! Still warm from the wood oven, the duck was well marinated with 5 spices and Chinese herbs. I would say that the Chinese kitchen exceeded my expectactions this time around.

Chinese Kitchen - hey I can see my kids through the gaps!

Wok Fried Prawn with Soy Sauce

Wok Fried Venison with Teo Chew Sauce

Deep fried dim sum fare

Juicy roast duck

The Indian Kitchen once again impressed us with their selection of food. We loved the fluffy lamb shank briyani, eaten with the many curries on offer. (Cant remember their names but they were all good!) There is also lamb kofta and tandoori chicken, as well as roti canai and roti bom.

After filling our stomachs with the delicious spread, we finished off with some desserts. You will find ais kacang, cendol, assorted kuih-muih, fresh fruit, ice-cream and cakes. Hubby had two servings of the cendol which he said was very good. We enjoyed the selection of kuih and cakes, in particular the mochi, baklava and marble cheesecake. We were hoping to get some local flavoured ice-cream this time, but again it was vanilla or strawberry flavours only. However, the vanilla ice-cream has been infused with some local Sarawak pepper, which was rather subtle.

Cendol

Assorted Malay and Nyonya kuih

More cakes

Fresh fruit counter

Kuihs (Round 1)

Kuihs (Round 2)

Vanilla with peppercorn and strawberry ice-cream

Panna cotta and chocolate ball

Fresh fruits such as watermelon, dragonfruit and nangka

Verdict: If you're looking for a comfortable place with a huge variety of local cuisines to break fast, try Makan Kitchen's Ramadan buffet. We thoroughly enjoyed it.

Click here to read my previous post on Makan Kitchen.

Opening times: 6.30pm-10.30pm for dinner. Also open from breakfast and lunch. Reservations recommended.

Service: Excellent.

Price: RM98++ (adult) and RM49++ for children under 12 for the Citarasa Malaysia Ramadan buffet.

Location: Makan Kitchen, Doubletree by Hilton, The Intermark, 182 Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel: 03-2172 7272

GPS Coordinates: 3.161620, 101.719670

Website: http://www.makan-kitchen.com

Join their Facebook page here.

Review: My dad's pre-birthday lunch @ Vue de Monde, Melbourne CBD

Vue de Monde used to be very exciting. I used to just want to go to Vue de Monde and no where else but over time, the dishes seemed to undergo a transformation towards a duller pasture, despite the attempts to excite. I really appreciate the effort but I cannot bring myself to lust after the taste. Those days where I would give Vue de Monde a 11 out of 10 for the wonderful things their dishes can do to my palette were unfortunately gone. (It used to be so good to the point I can dedicate poetry after poetry about every dish I ate) Even my parents, who had been there three (or was it four?) times did not really enjoy Vue de Monde that much now. Not that the food is bad. It is decent but you do not go to Vue de Monde just to end up having decent dishes.The same could be said about Sage or even the famous Caprice.

Anyway, this post is going to be just pictures. Enjoy.

Missing you guys. :)





Chips and sour cream


Yoghurt with Macadamia
Oysters and lemon
Pumpkin
Cured trout, pickled onion, oats crisp
Tarragon, potato, quail egg
Marron, brown butter emulsion, wagyu and sourdough sandwich
Breakfast anyone? "Fried duck egg, lamb sweetbreads, pickled onion"
Crushed herbs with frozen rye

Fizzling away...
Toss with cucumber sorbet
Blackmore wagyu beef cheek, apple, leek and bone marrow
Tiny bites
Flathead, Crisp Bread, Radish, Beach Herbs
Housemade lemonade
Apple toffee, popping candy
Souffle au chocolat
Lemon jujube
Lamingtons
Mini ice cream
Mint Marshmallow
Note: We secured a table at Rialto but because of renovation delays, we had a table at the CBD instead. I've checked the menu at their webpage. Some of the stuff we had were quite similar to the items in the new menu.

For more information: