Sunday, April 25, 2010

Breakfast at Jarrod & Rawlins

Short Sunday Update - The darling and I managed to tear ourselves away from watching The Big Bang Theory long enough to go catch a late breakfast at one of our favorite lepak joints - Jarrod & Rawlins.


We decide to share a Full Works (MYR34.00) - this is a huge platter of grilled bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms, yummy sausages, eggs and hash browns, with baked beans, 2 large slices of toast, coffee/tea and orange juice. The pork sausages are especially awesome. Unless you're a big eater, it's plenty enough for two.


We decide to also go for a slice of Death by Chocolate (MYR13.50). Chocolate cake and chocolate mousse topped off with a thick layer of ... chocolate. We love that the cake isn't very sweet - which can be a bit of a turn off. This one though, is chocolatey goodness all the way (with a hint of rum in the mousse). A little sinful, perhaps, but as Salsa class is next on the itinerary, it's OK lah ^_^


If the menu doesn't appeal to you, there's plenty of choices of sausages, bacon, meats, pies, hams & etc at the deli - take your pick, and it's a MYR12.00 charge (with a choice of side dish) for it to be grilled perfectly for you.


Great ambience and a nice place to hang out on a late morning/afternoon - Jarrod & Rawlins serves their breakfast all day long. We went to the Damansara Heights branch, but they also have outlets in Sri Hartamas, Cap Square and Ampwalk.

No. 6, Lorong Dungun
Damansara Heights
50480 Kuala Lumpur


Saturday, April 24, 2010

Betty's Midwest Kitchen - Aman Suria Damansara

Apologies for my muslim friends reading this, but it's going to be yet another non-halal post. Been reading a lot about Betty's Midwest Kitchen so headed there on Friday night for dinner.


Reaching at 9.20pm, we needed to queue for about 10 minutes before getting a table. The place itself isn't very big. Decorations are nice and the dining area is bright and cheerful - I like! Dim places can be a bit gloomy at times :)


We start off with Dog Food (MYR7.50). These are fries drenched with gravy, smothered with cheese and then baked. The concept sounded cool on the menu, but in execution, perhaps not as awesome - the fries soak up the gravy and get soggy, and the cheese was a bit on the burnt side.


The darling had (ok, it was my choice) Country Fried Chicken ($13.00), which in hindsight was perhaps not the best of choices. The chicken was well battered and juicy without being oily (like some fast food places tend to be). A tad on the salty side, though. Comes with sides of peas and a generous serving of mashed potatoes, and the whole dish is smothered with gravy. Nothing particularly special, though.


I go for the Classic Meatloaf (MYR15.00). In case you were wondering, this is a pork meatloaf. The loaf is juicy and quite tasty, and the finely-minced pork (and other things) breaks apart nicely in the mouth. Also comes with a small cup of chili-like sauce that brings out the rather unique flavors.

We go for Lemonade (MYR2.50) and Root Beer (MYR5.50) for drinks.

All in all, I'm a bit underwhelmed by the food. It's unique and probably not available anywhere else in Malaysia, but other than that there's nothing particularly special. And I don't get the deja vu feeling either, having spent 99% of my U.S.A. time in the North East :) Prices are very reasonable though!

Betty's Midwest Kitchen
A-G-40, Jalan PJU 1/43,
Aman Suria Damansara,
47301 Petaling Jaya, Malaysia


Sunday, April 18, 2010

Angus House at Pavilion KL

Saturday night dinner & movie! Went to Angus House at Pavilion for some meaty steaky goodness!


For such a fairly upper class restaurant, the decoration is pretty plain. White tiled floor and non-descript furniture. The waiters/waitresses were polite and friendly, but the darling commented on a lack of skill when actually serving our food. Nevertheless, the steaks are grilled in full view of the dining area which is nice :D


We start off with Consommé a la Angus House (MYR14.00). The clear broth with bits of tomato and brocolli was, in my opinion, rather plain and unremarkable, but the darling assures me that the soup was in fact, "pretty good." Quick search on Wikipedia reveals that "consommé has maintained its place as one of the most highly regarded and appreciated soups in the world" so I'll put it down as just me having limited experience in the world of fine dining :)


Moving on to what I do know how to appreciate, is a 300gm Charcoal Grill Rib-Eye ($97.00). I have mine Medium-Rare; the darling has her 200gm rib-eye Medium (MYR75.00). This was an awesome steak; no fancy sauces necessary and just the perfect flavor and juices of a great slab of meat. Definitely miles above the $20 black pepper steaks you get in normal restaurants, and in my opinion worth every ringgit.


Surprisingly, Angus House turned out to be much better value for money than I expected, especially when you consider that adding $20+ to your steak buys you a "set meal" of starter, soup, salad, bread and dessert. Would definitely come back again - we're eyeing the Master Kobe Wagyu Sirloin. Needs to be a special occasion though, 200gm of that is MYR280.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Delicious at One Utama

Wasn't feeling particularly hungry on Sunday night (no small thanks to a 'teatime' drink of a large A&W Root Beer), so decided to pop down to Delicious in One Utama.


Started off with the Garden Greens with House Dressing for MYR12.90. It's hard to justify paying almost $15 (after taxes) for what is essentially a pack of mixed lettuce that you can buy at a Supermarket for a quarter of the price, but I wanted some greens. House dressing wasn't anything special either.


The darling and I shared Mama's Beef Bolognese (MYR19.90). This is my favorite Delicious dish, and one of the best tomato-sauce based pasta I've ever tasted. The sauce is thick and meaty, and the generous slices of Parmesan cheese make it an extremely rich and siok affair.


Another thing I love about Delicious are the desserts - no stomach for it this time, sadly, but I will return to conquer a brownie ... or two ... another day!

Thursday, April 8, 2010

EuroDeli Shop in Damansara Kim

It's amazing how often we learn new things. Last weekend, I learned that there are two Jalan 20/7's in PJ area. Was hunting for a famous char siu shop in the Jalan 20/7 near Jaya, but Google Maps helpfully directed us to Jalan SS 20/7 in Damansara Kim.

Having thus failed miserably in locating anything resembling char siu, we did the next closest thing - Pork at EuroDeli Shop!

The interior is minimalist with a plain black ceiling and unremarkable furnishings. What's different is a fridge on the left side of the restaurant selling deli sausages, ham, bacon, etc. Genius really. Come for lunch, enjoy the food, and buy even more meat to take home.


I had the Rolled Stuffed Pork Belly for MYR28.00. The different cuts of pork meat all rolled up was juicy and tender. However the skin was tough rather than crispy, and the entire dish was overpowered by excessive gravy. I'm a believer that gravy should complement a dish and not be the main taste.


The darling had the Roasted Pork Knuckles, also for MYR28.00. The serving was big, but again the skin was tougher than it was crispy, and this dish too suffered from the gravy taking centre stage taste-wise.


I have to thus conclude that although the taste of both dishes was nothing more than slightly above average, the servings are big and are very value for money. Between the two of us we managed only to finish off the Pork Belly and less than half the knuckle. Would I come again if I was in the area? Yes. Would I drive all the way here from home to satisfy a pork craving? Mmmmmmm ... probably not, there are other better places.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Vietnamese Beef Noodle at Pho Hoa

Went for a Saturday night dinner at Pho Hoa Noodle Soup in Tropicana City Mall. According to their website it seems to be a restaurant chain originating from the US, so I can't vouch for the authenticity of the taste (incidentally, I've only set foot in Vietnam about zero times in my life.


The menu understandably focuses on Beef Noodle Soup. The soup and the noodles are all the same - instead, we're given choices of combinations of steak, flank, beef balls, brisket and a few more other more exotic cuts of meat. I play it safe and go for the beef balls and brisket.

The soup is fragrant and not overpowering, if a tad bit salty. Also, for MYR14.95 I do think they could've been a bit more generous with the serving of meat.


The darling had Dry Vermicelli with Chicken and Vietnamese Rolls (possibly not exact name) for MYR13.95. Combination of the Vermicelli, Chicken, Nuts and assorted Veges go very well together!


Overall, quite a decent place to go to for some quick and cheap Vietnamese fare. Just a side note that the Mines Wonderland branch which I frequent is about MYR2-MYR3 cheaper per bowl (go figure).