BMW Did It The French Way

For you Beemer fanatics out there, don't jump the bandwagon just yet. BMW is still all-things Bavarian and Motor.

Was at the launch of the all-new sixth-generation 5 Series at KLCC. Working as ushers there meant that we got to see the new model first-hand! And best part is, I got to steal a peek at their gastronomical menu!

Ooohh..it's gonna be French! A 5-course meal specially concocted by chef Chris Bauer of Frangipani Restaurant & Bar. This should be very interesting.

Tables set up in amazingly long rows.....breathtaking!

With the French flair for delicate details and their secret touch of making everything look/hear/sound/taste OH-SO-ROMANTIC, I was very excited to see how sexy the dishes will look.....and of course, how tantalizing it'll be on the tongue..... Mmmm...

Freshly Chucked Oysters with Caviar, Lemon Pearls &
Pickled Japanese Cucumbers

Told ya' they're gonna be sexy. First dish and it's an aphrodisiac. Every dish is served with a different wine and for this dish, it was served with Cape Mentelle Sauvignon Semillon 2008.

Oysters were fresh but the temperature was a bit off. Would have liked it a tad bit more chilled. Liked how the Lemon Pearls would just burst in the mouth, causing a mini explosion of citrus-tangyness. Definitely lent a helping hand in neutralizing the extreme creaminess of the oyster.

Tea-smoked Salmon with Echire Creme Fraiche,
Confit Potatoes & Salmon Roe

Salmon's texture was slightly chewy on the top half and the bottom half which was slightly more cooked, falls off nicely. Potatoes were really tasty and though its shape still remained, it was soft enough to just melt-in-the-mouth. This dish was served with Cloudy Bay Chardonnay 2007.

Black Rice Risotto with Grilled Prawns,
Baby Squid & Black Mussel

I liked the sound of Baby Squid (try spotting the teeny weeny baby squid in the pic). All food with the word 'baby' in it or has association with babies (means they're young) sounds extra delicious, extra tender and extra juicy, no?

You're just in self-denial if you said 'No'.

This dish was my favorite for the night (not just because there's BABY squids in them ok!). It was really, really tasty. The risotto was a greedy monster and absorbed all the flavor from the broth it was cooked in and still, managed to take in the sweetness and saltiness from its seafood friends. However, I must say that the prawn was slightly over-grilled and was a bit tough. This dish was served with Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir 2007.

Grilled Betel Leaf Wrapped Tenderloin with
Savoy Cabbage & Indonesian Black Nut Sauce

Didn't enjoy this AT ALL. I think if I had to eat something from this plate, I would have eaten the cabbage. Tenderloin was much too tough and the betel leaf gave a distinct, unpleasant taste to the meat. Not sure if it was the cooking method that made the betel leaf infused that kinda odor or it was the betel leaf itself, but it just didn't go. Heard quite a number of guests complaining about this dish on their way out as well.

That black thing which looks like a Shitake mushroom is actually the shell of the Indonesian Black Nut. Nothing much to comment on the sauce as there was nothing fancy about the taste. Just slightly salty and an earthy aroma to it. This dish was served with Cape Mentelle Zinfandel 2006.

Chocolate Terrine with Pistachio Mousse;
White Chocolate Cheesecake with Dark Chocolate Sauce;
French Toast with Roast Apple & Dulce de Leche Sauce

Mmmm...dessert was relatively good. The cheesecake was not too sweet and the dark chocolate overcoat helped take the intense richness away cos' of its slight bitterness. Loved the tangy raspberry puree! The pistachio mousse was creamy and a bit too sweet for my liking.



Dessert was served with Hennessy XO.

The launch of the new BMW F10 was rather spectacular. There were revolving thingymajiggies on stage, waiters at hand, excellent service and hospitality and of course, beautiful cars. Well, expectations are high. It's BMW after all.

Maybe it was because of the whole setup and ambiance that got my expectations really high for the food. I wouldn't say it was bad, but it was nothing to shout about as well.

Can't comment much on the selection of wines as me is no wine expert. Will need to brush up in that area. My excuse to drink more! HAH!

The Bread Shop

That was a much needed break. Now, time to share the gluttony L.O.V.E again.

Chelle brought the all-girls troop to this bread joint. As usual, she was a hopeless GPS and we lost our way during the drive. Perhaps it was the trail of delicious baking bread that our nose tracked and we got there eventually (HALLELUJAH!).



It was an intense pleasure to be greeted by freshly-baked bread and it made the stomach do a jungle dance.

Gotta love the loaf...

We is lovin' those industrial lights...

Loved the concept, loved the deco. So raw and industrial that it's surprising to see the workers clad in normal clothes and not their blue jumpsuits.

We had:

Tomato & Basil Dip

Tomatoes were nicely done. Not too mushy and still had a bit of structure to it. Tasted slightly tangy and the basil gave a nice earthy touch. Was a really good first dish to make us hopeful for the others. The portion is rather tiny though and seeing we have to share it between the 4 of us while waiting for the other orders, we were RAVENOUS by the time.

Not a nice feeling at all. Boo!

Curry Chicken Dip

Not one of our favorites for that day. Curry was too watery, not spicy and it didn't taste like curry at all! A bit disappointed with this. However, Chelle said she tried this dish another day and it was much better. A lil' inconsistency here, ey?




This was the week's special- Breakfast Danish. A choice of beef pastrami or smoked chicken and poached egg on a crispy danish with tomato relish on the side.

It looks really interesting and I was totally excited to try this! The verdict? Mmm..not bad.. but expected better.

We chose the beef pastrami and it was a bit tough. Took a bit of skill to cut it through. The danish was nothing to shout about as well. tomato relish was yummy but tastes suspiciously very much like the Tomato & Basil Dip.

Roast Beef Ciabatta

Once again, bread was good but beef was tough.

And after all that, we finally had their famous scones...

THE Famous Scones

Oooohhh...!! The scones were DEE-LEE-SIOS! Buttery, creamy, warm and soft with good ol' raspberry jam and fresh cream...it was lovely... (mmm..reminiscing that very moment when I took the first bite).

Though it was quite a mouthful for me even with just half a scone, was greedy and ate the other half. Definitely not a good idea as the richness of ONE FULL SCONE made me insanely full and I felt like gagging after that.

It was good though. I LOVE SCONES (been missing those scones in Cameron Highlands).

All in all, The Bread Shop is worth a visit. The minimalist concept is definitely eye-catching and unlike any other cafes here in KL. They bake crazy good bread and even crazier better scones. The main courses are so-so only but it's a nice place to take a chill-pill and grab that evil cup of latte!

The Pong sisters lovin' the place...

The Bread Shop
11, Jalan Setiakasih 5,
Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03- 2093 8734

Opening Hours: Monday-Friday (8am-7.30pm), Saturday (8am-5pm). Closed on Sundays.

SS2 Roadside Yong Tau Foo

Have always been extremely curious about this tiny stall by the roadside. Situated by the side of one of the main roads at SS2, very small, but ALWAYS PACKED!

Was rounding round and round and couldn't decide what to eat for dinner. Passed by this stall and was thinking, "Ok...why not tonight?" Finally. Was quite excited actually!

Self-service- Take your pick!

Kangkung in a bucket. Nothing like some greens to
freshen up the place.....and plate.


My picks- Kangkung, Chee Cheong Fun, Fresh Beancurd, Fried
Beancurd Skin, Pork Balls & Fried Beancurd Skin Stuffed with Minced Pork

Honestly, there were not that many choices to choose from. The taste? Not bad...

Had higher expectations cos the place was so packed all the time. After 10 minutes of sitting down, the place started filling up with people!

Many, many people!

Curry Laksa

The Curry Laksa was quite bland. Curry was not thick and aromatic enough. The sambal (chili paste)- as seen on the spoon, was watery and rather tasteless. The only thing that was nice in the whole bowl was the cockles which were half raw and juicy.

But seriously, what is up with this place? I mean, I'm just amazed! The food is only A-ok but the crowd the stall pulls in is quite unbelievable.

'X' factor? Maybe, maybe.... or perhaps Malaysians just love having their food served with a whiff of 'longkang' (drain) aroma...

Think about it. Most popular food sites here are by the drains or sewage systems..... and no one is complaining!

* No exact address but if you ask around the regulars of SS2, they'll be able to tell you the exact location.

Whooopsss!

OK. So I headed to Las Vacas again today for lunch.......and it was one-hell-of-an EXPERIENCE!! Don't know if it's a good one or a bad one, but once my friend and I got into the car, we burst out laughing.....at our stupidity that is...

I mentioned that the Grass Fed Sirloin Steak I had the other day was RM15. Actually, more like RM15 per 100gm!

Can totally justify this though.

Cos the last time I was there, the bill was not very expensive and of course, looking at this I did not check the items on the bill. Thus, not knowing how much that slab actually cost, all the while thinking it must have been RM15.

Today was a whole different matter. My friend ordered the Grain Fed Ribeye Angus and I ordered the Grain Fed Ribeye Premium.

Printed price- Angus= RM28, Premium=RM18.

So, we ordered not knowing the price was PER 100GM and when the slabs came, we girls were ecstatic! Such a BIG piece and only so cheap.....?? Ooooohhhh...we were happy....VERY VERY happy.......

Till we went to the cashier and the bill was RM143!! We were like "wattttt...wrong bill wrong bill...must be wrong bill".... But it was not.

As the girl who took our orders DID NOT tell us that she was going to serve us a 300+ gm of slab and that the printed price was actually per 100gm, we were totally GOBSMACKED-PUNCH-IN-THE-FACE shocked!

We didn't make a big hoo-hah though. Just played it cool till we reached the car and burst out laughing. Like, what the hell was that all about? Should we be angry or annoyed at our own stupidity and ignorance?

Looking at the bright side, it was a very memorable experience though fairly expensive...(My steak= RM50+ , friend's steak= RM80+ !) And all this just for lunch!

However, the food was still really good. Just that next time I'm there, I'll remember about that '100gm' thing. You should too!

For the love of Meat...

Beefed-up Lovin' at Las Vacas

A burger fanatic friend introduced us to this place. He was giving us the non-stop raving bout' Las Vacas and their burgers and well, being human after all, we could only take so much of that endless promoting. To put an end to it, a couple of us decided to finally check it out and really, it was utterly F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C.

A little deli slash kitchen. I love how the whole place is just so tiny and intimate, so darn cosy. There were only probably 5 small tables in the place itself. The deco is simple with red-painted walls and white-and-red checked table cloths. Everything is simply unpretentious; no extravagance or exaggeration and I love it like that.


No frills, just you and your steak.



It feels like as though you were invited for dinner at someone's kitchen and you can just predict a hearty recipe being concocted in the boiling pot.



The menu is rather minimal, and in cases like these, it's either the food is really good or, really darn bad. But I had FAITH and it proved to be fruitful.

Las Vacas Beef Burger

The picture so doesn't do justifications to the actual thing. Real life, it's 'GINORMOUS'! All burgers come with a choice of lamb/beef, bacon/no bacon and 150gm/250gm patty. Though I still managed to lick the plate clean, his 150gm patty was a little bit big for me. For you monstrous boys, try the 250gm patty.




This, my friends, is the 250gm beef patty with bacon. It is a 100% pure meat and a 100% HUGE! The patty was tasty and succulent but the bacon strips were a bit dry. Presentation was a WOW-ing factor cos' of its size.

Sirloin Grass Fed

I've never had such a good piece of steak in a long, long time. Always liked my steak to be done medium-rare and the chef did this perfectly. Succulent, juicy, tasty and sweet. Such a wonderful experience.

There's all the cuts to choose from and you can also select your 'moo-moo' that was grass-fed or grain-fed. Owner, Freddy recommended the grass-fed sirloin as the meet is sweeter and it has my favorite layer of fats. I was a happy customer!

Mini Meat Tarts

Instead of your standard 'minced' meat pies/tarts, this tart-lings have chunky bite-sized beef cooked in brown sauce. A rather tasty quick bite, cheap too!

Chocolate Mousse

Tried the mousse for dessert. Not too bad, not too great either. Will definitely try the apple strudel next time.

The price? ABSOLUTELY CRAZY PRICE RANGE! The steak only costs RM15!! The burgers range from Rm12-RM18 depending on the size and choice of meat. The mini meat tarts were only RM2 each and the chocolate mousse was around RM7-9?

Enough to get you going?



Las Vacas
23, Jalan SS5A/11,
47301. Kelana Jaya,
Selangor. Malaysia.

03-78740711

Opening Hours: 8.30am-8pm daily (kitchen closed on Wednesday & Saturday)