Pufferfish a hit in Japan, despite the risks


Favorites List (7.6.12)

Hi friends, I was slow pulling this one together (apologies!), hopefully you'll find it worth the wait. There are some real gems down below, and some must-reads/watch links. xo -h

- Herb-infused clara con limn

- Wilder Quarterly

- Dream listing

- To Watch: The Upsetter

- Boon Boxes

- The Baker in the Rye

- G + D + S: Fly Better Tips

- The Herriott Grace film

- Just the right amount of scary for a 3 1/2 year old.

- A recipe is not always the place to begin.

- To make. (via hizKNITS)

- Especially the coyote.

- Secrets of Great Chefs

- Inappropriate Test Responses

- The first image.

- Samin's Exuberant Berkeley Kitchen

- Sidewalk chalk paint

- Dip-dyed Canvas

- Reinventing The Egg Cream (thx Kami!)

- Zoo Crew

Lead photo: A snapshot taken in my kitchen with one of my old Polaroids.

Continue reading Favorites List (7.6.12)...


Red Spice Road @ Melbourne CBD

Much has been talked about Chin Chin and I will get to write about it when I upload the horrible grainy pictures I took that night but this post is all about Red Spice Road.

Opened back in 2008, the menu is South East Asian inspired and the decor is hip and modern. If you would like, RSR is like the middle child with Longrain as the elder brother and Chin Chin as the younger brother. Essentially all of them serve similar cuisine in hip and cool settings but there are little bits and pieces that differentiate who they are.

For one, RSR does an early bird special where if you order before 6 and vacate by 7 (only valid between Monday - Friday), you can order a 3 / 5 course banquet menu for $25 / $30 per head (although the 5 course banquet requires a table of 6 and above). To put that into perspective, dinner at Longrain was 60 bucks a head and Chin Chin was 50 bucks a head. If you think well, I got to eat at 6, you should also know to eat at Chin Chin, you got to eat by 6 too (unless you patiently queue).

Two, this is on the Bourke / Elizabeth St side of town vs. the east side of town where Longrain and Chin Chin is.

Three, go figure yourself because I realise I can't be bothered thinking about the third.

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So on to the food. If there is one thing you should order, it is the sticky pork belly. Deep fried, sweet and a little spicy, it is worth the calories. Worthy of being a signature dish of this restaurant. However coming in a party of 6, we realised the portion was only ! good for 1 piece per person. In true Malaysian blood, the comment around the table was "where got enough!?"

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As part of the early dinner set menu, there was a chicken and herb salad to start the meal. To those who don't like bean sprouts and chicken breast, this might not be your thing but for me, it works as a lunch salad rather than a dinner salad, furthermore one that you eat with rice.

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Battered barramundi pieces tossed with a watermelon and cucumber salad / dressing. While some on the table looked at it wondering what was so South East Asian about this dish, I appreciated it for one reason, it wasn't spicy and it was kind of refreshing to eat alongside some of the curries we had below.

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With most South East Asians, dinner requires a plate of vegetables or two, especially if one is ordering dishes to share. This seemed to be that vegetable dish for us that night. I vaguely remember pumpkin (yes, that's right, you can see it in the picture) and the curry was good to have along with rice.


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The Massaman Curry was good but not as good as the one we had at Longrain. That being said, who can really say no to melt in your mouth beef chunks and potatoes?


Overall, generous portions (with the exception of the pork belly because everyone wanted to have seconds) but the fixed choices and the cheaper prices in the early bird menu means no flexibility and some people not liking some dishes. I said this before but the pork belly is a somewhat must order.


For those who have the Entertainment Card, its another 25% discount for you (one time only and subject to a cap). Another difference between RSR and Longrain and Chin Chin!


Address and contact details:

Red Spice Road on Urbanspoon

Verdict: 4 stars out of 5 stars. Not many restaurants will feed you $30 per person with all these dishes in a hip and cool setting even if that means having to eat at 6 and leave at 7. Although RSR is not just all about value, delivering good flavours too.

Marutama Ramen @ Empire Shopping Gallery, Subang

Children are creatures of habit. It's so true especially when it come to food. If they love eating a certain dish, they would always request for it, even if it means eating it 3x a week.. or maybe more.

Both my children love noodles(just like mummy), and ramen is one of their favourite kinds. We took them to Marutama Ramen while we were staying at Empire Hotel Subang.

Oodles of noodles


Since we opted for an early dinner, the restaurant was practically empty. Service was efficient, we got served our food within 5 minutes of ordering (or maybe less). We actually took way longer to decide what we wanted. LOL.



Marutama Ramen is the pioneer for chicken soup ramen in Japan. The soup is made daily and takes 5 hours over high heat to make. One chicken is used for 2 bowls of soup, no added MSG or additives. You can choose either the spicy or non spicy soup. Since Hubby picked the non-spicy to share with the kids, I went for the spicy version.

For a chicken soup version, I found Marutama's soup pretty good. My personal favourite is still Hokkaido Santouka Ramen,I still haven't found another which does the broth better than that. I tasted some of Hubby's non-spicy version, and they both actually taste quite different from one another. Out of the two, I prefer the spicy one as it has a little more kick to it.

I had the Kakuni Negi Tamago Ramen (RM28) which came with a slice of roast pork (cha siu), two pieces of pork belly, seaweed, spring onion, and seasoned egg. I didn't care much for the pork, however the addition of lots of greens was actually quite nice. Hubby had the Char Siu Tamago Ramen (RM26) which came with 4 slices of roast pork (cha siu), seaweed, spring onion and seasoned egg.


Kakuni Negi Tamago Ramen


The noodles are cooked al dente, they are quite thin, resembling our Malaysian maggi mee but with a more springy texture. Both the kids enjoyed it very much, especially Baby D who had two bowls (the small kids bowl). They also like the soup. Since Hubby shared his noodles with the kids, he ordered an extra portion of noodles for RM3. It is quite a big portion and definitely worth adding if you are a big eater.


Char Siu Tamago Ramen



The star of the meal was definitely the Ajitsuke Tamago (RM2 each). Our noodles came with a seasoned egg each, but since we enjoyed it so much, we ordered an extra one. The yolk was wonderfully runny. I wonder if I could visit the shop and just order 5 of these eggs for lunch?



He loves ramen :)



Cute Care Bears fair at Empire Shopping Gallery


A big bear hug




Non-halal.

Service: Friendly.

Price: Total bill was RM69.30.

Location: Marutama Ramen, LG26, Lower Floor, Empire Shopping Gallery, Jalan SS16/1, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.

Tel: 03-5621 0073

GPS Coordinates: 3.082033, 101.583200

Japanese Lunch at HALF PRICE! Shokudo Armada Hotel, PJ

Apparently I have been missing out on this fabulous promotion for 2 years!

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This July & August 2012, Armada Petaling Jaya will be bringing back its much awaited YATTA! promotion, once again. EVERYTHING on the menu from its Japanese outlet Shokudo ishalf the price without compromising on quality and portion.

Take your pick from fresh sashimi to hot pot to teppanyaki.

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EVERY ITEM is50% off, Mon- Sat, 12 -2.30 pm.

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Imagine paying RM64 (50% off RM128) for this Mixed Sashimi Boat, comprising of thickly sliced salmon, butterfish, tuna, tako and more!

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The Shabu Shabu was only RM38++ for 2 pax. Now its RM19++ for the same set. Choose from Beef, Chicken or Salmon set.

Shokudo

This is the amount of salmon (for the salmon set) that you can expect from each set for 2. This and the whole platter of vegetables you see below.

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All for RM19++! What a deal!

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The stock was sweet and flavourful, and as expected from a hot pot, these flavours developed further after all the ingredients were thrown in!

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The Gyoza was one of my favourite for lunch; plump with chicken meat and infused with ginger. Only RM7.50 (after 50% off RM15.00) for this plate.

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The sushi were adequatelyprepared as well and if there were any improvement required, I hope the Chef could make the vinegared rice softer and moist. Im not sure if it was due to the prolonged duration of picture taking, but my sushi wasnt as sticky as I would have preferred it.

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I had no complains on the quality of ingredients as the level of freshness and portions were of an acceptable standard for the price.
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ThisGindara Shio (Grilled Cod Fish) at RM14.00++ was a tad overcooked for my liking but not entirely inedible.

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The Tori Karaage (RM7.50++) is best eaten piping hot and I thoroughly approved of the Chefs frying skill; the chicken cubes still retained its moisture within and the batter was crispy minus any lingering grease. Addictively tasty, this is one snack I wouldnt mind munching on while writing! :)

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Im a huge fan of don (rice bowl) and the Tori Katsu Don (RM7.50++) was pretty decent.

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This Ageshi Tofu is only RM5.00 ++.

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This promotion is valid from July and August 2012 and only available during lunch.
Shokudo,
Level 1, Hotel Armada Petaling Jaya.

For such a fabulous deal, prior reservation is wise.Call +603 7954 6888 ext 4547.

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So whos planning to go? :)


Sheraton Social Hour Launch in KL, Malaysia

On 28th June 2012, Sheraton Social Hour was launched in Malaysia atSheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur, a first-of-its-kind, brand-wide premium wine program developed by Sheraton Hotels & Resorts.

The new program, created by todays premier wine experts and the brands global food and beverage team, offers guests a specially curated menu of premium wines and weekly tasting events at more than 240 participating Sheraton hotels around the world.

The global program was launched at the Pavilions Lounge, by Vincent Ong, Director, Brand Management, Sheraton Hotels & Resorts and Westin Hotels & Resorts, Asia Pacific; Martin Jones, Vice President Food & Beverage Asia Pacific, Starwood Asia Pacific Hotels & Resorts and Chuck Abbott, Managing Director of the Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur Hotel and Regional Vice President of Starwood Hotels & Resorts in South East Asia.

At the launch, guests had the opportunity to sample three wines from the hotel groups Wines of the World menu. On hand to introduce the wines were Guillaume Blanchard, wine principal from Castello Banfi and Eddy Lau, wine sommelier from Asiaeuro Wines & Spirits.

In addition to the wines, guests enjoyed a spread of culinary delights from each of the hotels 5 F&B venues i.e Villa Danieli Italian Restaurant, Celestial Court Chinese Restaurant, Essence Restaurant, Toastina Caf & Bar and Pavilions Lounge.

3 highly rated wines for the night



Chuck Abbott, Chef Rajesh Kanna, Guillaume Blanchard





Martin B. Jones, Vincent Ong and Chuck Abbott launching the Sheraton Social Hour in KL


Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur will host evening Social Hour tasting events atPavilions LoungeonMonday, Wednesday and Friday from 5pm to 8pmfeaturing three pours of 50ml of premium wines from the Wines of the World menu atRM40++. Each glass is served in Stolzle stemware to artfully enhance the wines flavour and aroma.


Location: Pavilions Lounge, Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur Hotel, Jalan Sultan Ismail, 50250 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03 -2717 9900

GPS Coordinates: 3.158813, 101.700203

Rollerblading in Subang Hotwheels and Ice Skating in Sunway Pyramid

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Always imagine ice skating and rolleblading are very cool, too bad my balancing skill are bad and generally feels hard to balance. Above is Subang Hotwheels pricing. Member pays RM15(Non member pay RM20) for 3 hours roller blade

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disco lighting

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toilet next to the ring

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even an area which sells snacks if i remember correctly

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seating area on one end

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Went to ice-skating in Sunway Pyramid as well, RM20 for whole day. Had a terrible time balancing

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