Simply Mel's, The Sphere Bangsar South: Eating at My Table

Our table is brimming with good things to eat. Some might say that it is over-spilling as we over-indulge (once again) in Aunty Melbas cooking. The Panda and I have really grown to like the food here. Keluak Sambal, Chincalok Omelette, Papa Vincents Fish Cutlets, Crispy Belachan Wings and Salt Fish Pickle almost always make it to our table. Along with weekend specials like Pineapple Prawn Malay Curry, Sambal Petai with Prawns and perennial favourites like Crab Stuffing, Lemongrass Chicken, Beef Tongue Semur and Pongteh Chicken. Although we hardly say No to any recommendations from the house, we realized we have yet to try half the menu, even after many a weekend dinners over at Simply Mels.



Its hard to label the kind of food that is served here. Initially, I thought they specialized in Malaccan Portuguese cuisine which means a whole lot of Devils Curry and spicy baked fish. But it soon dawn on me that it isnt the case. Perhaps, its easier to call it Eurasian home cooking because at the heart of it all, thats what it is.



Dont come with the expectations of savouring on the most authentic dishes from Melaka, because youll be deeply disappointed. So brace yourself as Mels cooking is cultivated from the memories of her childhood and is w! hat she would serve to her family at home, as did her mother - Simple, honest, and from the heart.



Such family oriented food should never be eaten alone. After all, as the great American food writer M.F.K Fisher once wrote, Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly. Every weekend, we bring a small and new group of friends to join us at our table - most of who have traveled far and wide and returned for a taste of home. Oh, what a treat this is to see their smiley and satisfied faces.



Our dinners here are never complete without stuffing ourselves further with delicious helpings of butterfly pea flower-tinted glutinous rice slathered with heaps of Mels own traditional coconut jam (Kaya; which is going to be bottled up for sale from September onwards), Sago Gula Melaka, Pulut Hitam with dried Longan, and washed down with a cup of Illy Cucumber Latte. On several occasions, the Salted Gula Melaka and Durian ice cream from The Last Polka has also managed to creep onto our table. I really have no idea how they got there seeing how stuffed we are.



Now you can see why we are often ushered to the biggest table at Simply Mels despite being a small party of four. And if you ever want to eat l! ike a mo nkey here, ask for my table. Dont be surprise to find a plaque with my name on it one day!

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Simply Mel's
Unit 1-1A, 1st Floor, The Sphere,
No. 1, Avenue 1, Bangsar South,
No. 8 Jalan Kerinchi
59200 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: +6 03 224 14525
GPS: 3.11142,101.66748
Business Hours: 7-days a week, 10am - 1030pm

The Treasure Box

Its that time of the year again. When the moon is at its roundest, children light lanterns and families devour mooncakes that symbolizes reunion. This year, Tai Thong introduces 5 new mooncake flavours that become an instant hit in the market.

Tai Thong mooncakes comes with four collectible boxes based on four seasons of a year Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter. The aluminum box makes a great treasure box and Im going to stuff it with my knick-knacks and priced possession.

I absolutely adore my autumn themed box simply because nothing is more synonymous with the mid autumn festival than the mooncakes.

A two-piece mooncake box is also available. Corporate box is available with 6 assorted mooncake flavours and 3 bottles of instant birds nest drink.

From top left: Golden Honey Grapefruit with Pineapple for Summer, Snowy White Lotus with Sesame & Custard for Winter, Wholesome Wheatgrass with Single Yolk for Spring, Savoury White Lotus with Shrimp Sambal for Autumn.

Tai Thong Mooncake is one of the oldest mooncake brands around in Malaysia but Group Executive Chef Yiu Wing Keung never fails to come out with all the innovative mooncake flavours. Im truly amazed!

These mooncakes makes great gifts to friends and families of all races because they have been certified HALAL by JAKIM.

The Wholesome Wheatgrass with Single Yolk is one of my favourite; it has a refreshing hint of wheatgrass and makes a perfect combination with the egg yolk. A health aficionado would love the Golden Honey Grapefruit with Pineapple; it is fruity, citrusy and not too sweet. Another favourite of mine being the Snowy White Lotus with Sesame & Custard. The Savoury White Lotus with Shrimp Sambal is a very brave and bold combination. Shrimp sambal replaces traditional egg yolk as the centre filing, which gives you a sweet and (slightly) spicy sensation. Youll either love it or hate it.

For more information on Tai Thongs mooncake, check out www.facebook.com/taithong and click LIKE to access more information. Participate in The Sweetest Snapshot Contest to win great prices such as dining vouchers, Ipad2s and Iphone4s.

The contest runs from 11th July 4th September 2011 (8 weeks in total). For Weeks 1-7, fans are to take a photo of ANY of the new mooncake boxes, post it on the Facebook contest app together with a caption I love Tai Thong Mooncakes because in less than 25 words. 5 posts with the most votes in that week will go on to the next round where internal judges will select the most creative photo and caption as winner. For Week 8, the same rules apply with the exception of photo requirement: fans are to take a photo of ALL of the new mooncake boxes.

Easy peasy right? Enjoy Tai Thong mooncake and win your way to exciting prizes now!

Fish Lovers @ Rosalie, Brisbane

While sipping coffee and flipping through the newspapers one Saturday morning, we came across the article "Brisbane best Fish n Chips". What can I say, the words "Fish" and "Chips" must have hit the belly button and I knew exactly what we were going to have for lunch. Alas, without remembering the name of the shop and roughly remembering the address as a number on Baroona Road, I drove right to the main row of shop lots and saw "Fish Lovers". Well, Baroona Road and Fish n Chips, this must be it, I proclaimed.


However a couple of days later, I guessed I read wrong, it was The Fishery that the newspaper was referring to.


Despite not trying the "best", Fish Lovers is not as bad as it looked.

The place was clean and a variety of fish were on display, for sale as is or cooked to order. Cod and chips bought me back to the days of London and I ordered some, hoping to find a taste of the holiday, four years ago.

It came out looking the part. The fish looked golden brown, perfectly battered and fried. The chips were all thick and chunky, again fried without any signs of sloppiness. Alas, it was lacking in the flavour department. Some bits of the fish was overcooked and it all tasted rather bland, despite all the specks of salt you see on the plate. A rare occasion that I actually didn't finish u! p all th e chips. However being a fan of calamari, I can assure you those rings were gone in no time.

Despite the battered fish not being as good as expected and I was no where near experiencing flash backs of London, I saw effort taken to present this; no burnt bits, neatly presented, so hopefully the next time I visit, a simple grilled fish with a salad might fare better.

Address and contact details:

Verdict: 3 stars out of 5 stars. A decent place for some fish but unfortunately not what I was looking for. Another weekend of fish and chips, maybe?

Small Sushi Bar, Big Menu @ Sazae Sushi Bar, Bangkok

I was in Bangkok for several days and during our first night Dee took me to one of his favorite Sushi Bar called Sazae. The place was really small and catered mainly to single working Japanese Expats but the menu was extensive serving dishes bigger and more established chains did not have like Nankotsuage (Chicken Soft Bones).



Pickled Radish and Carrots



Natto



Popai Salad



Gyutataki Salad



Sushi Moriawase



Sashimi Moriawase



Uni and Ikura Sushi



Maguro Tataki



Buri Kama Shioyaki



Hamachi Kama Shioyaki



Tempura Moriawase



Shishamo Yaki



Kinoko Oven Yaki



Nankotsuage



Katsu Don



Waffle Ice Cream


We ordered a ridiculous amount of food for 4 people but we probably only covered a third of the menu. The quality was not the best but the price came up to around THB 5,852.90 including tips and taxes which was cheap considering the type and amount of food we ordered!

Food: 3/5
Service: 4/5
Ambiance: 3/5
Price: $$ (Approximately USD $25 per person)


Contact Information
Address: 593/27 Soi Sukhumvit 33/1 Sukhumvit Rd. Klongtoey Nua Wattana, Prompong, Bangkok 10110, Thailand
Tel: +66 2 260 3615
Map:

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Grand Palace Restaurant, Pavilion

It was friday, time to unwind and a few of us decided to meet at Pavillion for dinner and drinks.

We cracked our heads for a right place for dinner- WM had some teething issues and her gums were swollen.

Though we were assured repeatedly by WM that she'll be able to find food no matter where we decide, we felt that Grand Palace should be a good bet with some 'soft' food?

The captain, a very considerate staff, immediately started recommending suitable dishes when she found out about our 'requirements'..hehe

So, we had some soup with scallops, melon and shark bone (RM18 per single serve bowl)

Velvety smooth soup, did great things to warm our bellies on a cold, rainy day. It was a satisfying soup, the essence of the ingredients encapsulated in the silky broth.

The perfect dish for WM to go with her rice...

Silken smooth taufoo with crab meat and prawns (RM28)..

Light, yet still tasty, WM was very happy with this since it's a big leap from her 1 week of soup and mushy bread.

For the rest of us, we would still require some solids..hehehe

And we ordered the steamed kampung chicken (RM30)

Large portion but I find the chicken over steamed- some of the meat were too dry.

Some veggies to balance out all the heavy duty protein..

But RM16, the portion was measly.

Another recommendation from the captain, Mongolian style pork trotters (RM28)..

A dis! h that W M can have bits of, the melting fats from the knuckles dont require chewing..hehe

I find the dish average, the sauce was sweet and sour which would not be my fave choice for braised pork trotters.

Yet, the accompanying pastry bread (RM8) for dipping was simply lip smacking- it was so aromatic with the fried sesame and once soaked with the sauce, it was so divine.

Overall, it was a mix of good and average dishes, but we wont mind returning as it's spacious and gave customers ample privacy from other customers.

Grand Palace Restaurant is located at Lot 6.39, Level 6, Pavilion, KL.