The very first one @ Pacifica, Mandarin Oriental

Posted by CuriousCats / at 5:02 PM / / 0 comments

(Actual dining experience was on the 11th of June 2009) Well, here it is. We've been contemplating to have a blog for quite some time now, and finally, after picking up our lazy bums, we've finally decided now is the right time, to just jot down our experiences in this blog. We've been through so much, and there's so much more to go. This blog would have all our adventures in life, whether it be in love, food, travel adventures, fashion, or just anything to do with our life in general. Since this is the first post, we're gonna talk about our first dinner together, a new beginning for us.

It was a truly a great night to say the least, from beginning to the end. This was our first endeavour at trying out a true seafood fine dining experience. And it wasn't just any night, this was the night that everything began for us. From the minute we step shoes into the restaurant, we were amazed at how the ambiance of the restaurant managed to make us feel like we're underwater.

We were seated on a round marble-top dining table surrounded by white string curtains which could be closed for privacy and an intimate dining experience.

The waitress used a special torch to turn on the blue lamp on our table.. we were like totally amazed by it!

The menu was simple and uncomplicated which made it easier for us to decide what to order. Well, the first time we read about this restaurant was while we were browsing through this magazine that we read the other day. What truly amazed us was the restaurant's decoration, truly beautiful. That and the restaurant being the first fine-dining seafood restaurant here in Malaysia, that sold it to us.

My love

The mojito, which was quite lovely, as ordered by the graceful princess of the night. The face of delight can be seen here :

Well, the picture says it all I guess. Next, the complimentary bread were given. Another specialty of Pacifica, is that they offered this special type of butter, which is Echire, a butter that was made in France, and named after a town in the country. It was truly a different tasting butter, quite unlike any other butter we've ever tasted before. It has this smooth, and quite creamy taste to it, that is quite hard to describe, at certain points as it lingered through our mouths, it tasted a bit like cheese as well. Truly an intriguing treat. Of course, afterwards we asked for more bread, better not waste the butter, bukan selalu dapat butter from France.

The first dish that was given was a complimentary starter. It was tiger prawn with tomato ragout if I'm not mistaken. Next time, we'll be sure to note down our orders. The prawn was succulent and well cooked, and definitely fresh. Absolutely delicious!

Next were our starters that we ordered. I can't quite recall the real name of the dish, but it did consist of baby calamaris with risotto and pesto sauce (do correct me if I'm wrong). Again, a new experience for us as well. The baby calamaris were cute, and of course delicious. It had this special filling inside which we can't quite recognize. Nevertheless, the risotto complemented it well.

This was what my princess have been wanting for so long, the grilled Boston lobster américaine . She has been longing for this since forever, and I believe what other place would it be perfect to order this than here. Served with spinach, and also whta I believe was herbed rice and baby carrots. The lobster was just magnificent, delicious, succulent, and the sides complemented it well. She loved it, :)

This is what I ordered, a Halibut T-bone steak with Café de Paris butter sauce . Of course, great tasting fish, with a delicious sauce to accompany it. Another hit!

For desserts, we ordered the praline toffee sauce and hazelnut ice cream hot soufflé. This was heaven on earth to say the least. It was such a treat. The souffle was soft, and silky as expected, and more! Every bite we had, it took us to this state of bedazzlement. We would look at each other with amazement, and shook our heads, acknowledging of how delicious it was! The best way to eat this was to mix everything together. First, take the souffle, dip it into the toffee sauce, and then take a slice of the ice cream into the spoon, and enjoy the wonderful taste of it in your mouth. Ahhh...I can't wait to enjoy this again, soon...(boleh baby? Hehehe). First, a look at how my Hanan, taking the souffle where it truly belongs .... in her cute li'l tummy that is...:p

Next, in chronological order, how the taste really had an effect on our taste buds. First, it enters the mouth and starts to slowly melt :

Then, as it lingers on your tastebuds, you'll analyze the perfection that is there, and how can something such as this can be made :

Finally, the stage of acceptance. At this point of time, there is nothing left to think about other than the fact that I need to have more souffle. Ahhh, thank you Pacifica...

Well, as the day ended, we were given a set of complimentary dessert, which encompassed from chocolates to macarons.

We loved Pacifica as it not only brought us a whole new gastronomical experience for us, but it was also the place that gave us another chance. Thank you honeybee, for giving me that opportunity. I love you so much, you are my everything my love.

You looked so beautiful that night my princess! I love you, my one and only. Let's do this again, ya? Hehe..mmmuahhxx!

Oh ya! And we got an apron and a fresh baguette to bring home as well that night. So, bila nak guna the apron tu bee? *ahem*. :p

-S & H-

Pacifica, Ground Floor,

Mandarin Oriental Hotel,

Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-23808888

TWG Tea Salon & Boutique @ ION Orchard

Posted by CuriousCats / at 7:42 PM / / 0 comments

A few weeks back, we went for a 2 day trip to Singapore, with the intention of looking for new food to try and also to visit the zoo. It's been awhile since we visited Singapore zoo, and we weren't disappointed at all. One of the places that we were excited to visit as well was the TWG tea place at ION Orchard.

It was truly a beautiful place. They decorated it in a way that made it look so "kingly" and of such that we really felt as if we were royalty. As one would expect, this place has like thousands of choices of tea! We were at a stand still as to which tea that we should have. So, we kindly asked the waiter for his recommendations.

These were only a small collection of their teas. With a simple flick, there was more BEHIND!

A treasury of tea!

Considering which tea to choose

STILL contemplating on what to drink, ;)

Frustrated not knowing which tea to choose

The Tea list

Finally, we made our decision, we ordered two pots of tea, one being the white silk tea and Hanan ordered the Moroccan mint tea. They also had a selection of patisserie that we were keen on trying.

We ordered the macarons, and also the lemon tart. The macarons were ok to say the least, although we must say that the macarons at Canale is far superior. To each his own.

Their teas were soothing

Their macarons

My baby's lemon tart

Although the place looks great, we thought that it's quite small and crampy. For a drink to be relaxing, the environment should be as well, and that's where this place needs some improvement. The service needs some improvements as well. Apart from that, the teas were quite exquisite.

-S & H-

TWG Tea Salon & Boutique,

ION Shopping Mall

2 Orchard Turn, #02-21,

Singapore 238801

The Daily Grind

Posted by CuriousCats / at 7:57 AM / / 0 comments

We have always had times when we're craving for meaty burgers, and everytime those cravings linger in the mind, it's always Daily Grind's burgers that comes to mind. We've first discovered this place quite a while ago, when we heard talks of a burger joint that was totally handmade from scratch and served juicy meaty burgers. And they were all true. For this visit, we simply were starving and craving for meat, and since it's been quite some time that we've visited this place, we thought of having a go at it again.

My baby's excited with the deco

The decoration here is really cozy and brings an american diner flair to it (which Hanan loves).

Now, on to the burgers!! I can't quite remember what I actually ordered, but it had something to do with guacamole being the main attraction of this burger. Nothing much to say, just that it was a nice, and juicy burger. One that can fulfill my carnivorous cravings.

For Hanan, she ordered the "Lamberghini". With that kind of name, I'd order it anytime of the day. The ingredients in it was what gave the name. It was a fat, and juicy lamb burger with sliced aubergines. Man, I could smell the aroma coming from the meat a mile away! It was cooked perfectly for my baby, and it finished as soon as it arrived on the table. This burger is highly recommended to lamb lovers out there (not for lovers who look like lambs).

Delicious and juicy burgers for us. It made us happy.

-S & H-

The Daily Grind,

LG 8 Lower Ground, Bangsar Village.

A Beginning @ La Fite, Shangri-La

Posted by CuriousCats / at 10:48 PM / / 2 comments

It's been a while since I've posted something, well, I think this is the post where I'm going to update really frequently, being in the orthopaedic posting means that I've all the time in the world to do this (don't worry baby, nanti you'll be relaxing pulak and I'll suffer). Our visit to La Fite was a momentous occassion. It was a place I was really excited about and really wanted to bring Hanan, to have a new beginning in our relationship. And the whole night was made perfect by the excellent service by the staff there, they treated us like kings and queens of the night. But of course, the food was the main thing that made us excited. Great food, beautiful environment, and a beautiful and graceful soulmate next to me, it couldn't be anymore perfect than that. Well, we had this dinner on the 19th of August last year (remember that sayang!!), so it's been awhile. Nevertheless the memory of that night will always be so fresh in my mind.

My beautiful angel

Me trying to look suave for you, :p

Well, we decided that we would share some of the dishes. We're not heavy eaters exactly, so we just ordered what excited us the most. And looking at the menu, there were quite a few so it was hard to choose. We opted out of the Explorer's menu because we thought that it would be quite alot for us to handle, so we chose ala carte.

Of course, first the complimentary bread and butter. Amazing tasting bread, warm and the butter was just delicious but I just couldn't remember what it was (dammit).

For starters we ordered the Inside-out Pizza, the Tower Corn Soup, and also the foie gras dish which is called Foie Gras Volume 3. The pizza was truly mind-boggling, after reading from the food bloggers world out there trying this out, everyone loved it, and so did us. Using a candy floss machine to produce this dish, one just couldn't describe how it tasted. You just have to taste it for yourself. My baby loved this so much, and just can't wait to have it again (and we will!). This thing is so small and really flaky, it's just lovely to enjoy. If only we could just buy it for take-aways and eat it in the car.

With her corn soup

The other starter we had was the Tower Corn Soup. The dish came with a sort-of tower and as it was served to us, the waitress lifted the tower to reveal the soup. It was really interesting. From that on, we had one surprise after another. Another thing that La Fite is good at, is that it's such a fun experience to be there. The food is very unpredictable, in a good and delicious way!

Foie Gras Vol. 3

This was our first ever foie gras, I'm a huge fan of Gordon Ramsay and I've always wondered how it tasted of since Gordon seems to speak highly of it. Even with some hesitation (what with the cruelty to the animals, bla bla bla, hehehe, sorry baby ;D), we decided to order the foie gras dish. Without a shout of a doubt, the foie gras was delicious. It was served with apricot puree, hibiscus meringue, and also grapes. Crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. All the other ingredients complemented the dish beautifully, especially the hibiscus meringue, which had a very tangy flavour that was uncomparable with anything we've ever tasted. A wonderful dish. (Notice the cut in half savoury bun, since we were sharing, the chef cut it in half for us, how very thoughtful of him!)

We were given each a palette cleanser, which was an apple sorbet which was nice. They even put like a slice of apple in but it wasn't exactly an apple, hmmmm.

The princess of the night had the 58 Degrees Celsius Beef Short Ribs. Juicy, and so magnificently tender, what more could you ask for. (Sorry, picture a bit blurry, it was kinda dark)

For myself, I had the lamb shank. Which was done nicely, just the way I like it.

La Fite Choc Bar

Well, here comes the best part of the night. Earlier when we arrived, I approached one of the waiters there to do me a favour, so as to present something special to Hanan. And without much explanation, they made their arrangements and they surely did something special for us. With the message written, this is the one truly thing that I know in life, all I want to do is be with you, even with all the hardships we've been through, I just can't imagine a life without you. You are my everything sayang, I want you to be mine, for all eternity. Please be mine.

Next, we just had to try their Lemon Tree. It was presented to us on this beautiful slate of glass with a drawing of a tree with a huge lemon on it! And as we cut it open, inside was this delicious lemon mousse and some sort of raspberry filling. Delicious and just beautiful to look at. This is what I was trying to say, about the dishes being "fun".

To end this eventful night, they presented us with some complimentary chocolates (the gift wasn't). The box was for my beautiful sweetheart, just waiting for her to open it up.

Thank you baby, for a wonderful night. It'll always be in my heart and in my mind, all the time. And of course to La Fite, for making it a memorable night for us. Thank you so much! Let's do this again sayang, soon (or rather ASAP!). I love you babyku! Jom jom jom!!!

-S & H-

Lafite

Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 603-2074 3904