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)

Food on the Boat

So, I had to do this restaurant review assignment for work the other day and I was thinking, 'Heck! I might as well kill two birds with one stone!" Since all the food were being displayed so nicely (extra nicely-cos it'll come in print right) and we get to try the food after that, PERFECT timing.



Walking in to Boathouse Restaurant really gives one an aura of under-the-sea cozy comfort. A big bar with an aquarium counter-top to boast right at the front of the entrance and red-and-white checked table cloths sprawled across wooden tables, Boathouse is definitely sticking closely to its name.

Lovin' the aquarium counter-top. Check it out!

With FISHES swimming inside...How cool is that!

When I was there 'working' (won't actually call that working cos I really enjoyed myself?), chef & co-owner, Law Yen-Ni and Adelyn Lim brought me on a very enjoyable journey through their menu. Going through it, I realized that Boathouse is not just your average everyday neighborhood bar which serves the standard popcorn chicken, BLT's and fries. I was surprised that their menu actually features some really exquisite ingredients in very interesting-sounding dishes.

Maybe it was their casual ambiance that fooled me but this place really knows how to whip up a good-looking menu! So, while my fellow photographer colleague was busy taking pictures for work, I too work my way snip-snip-snapping!

First up,

1/2 dozen Oysters served with Lumpfish Caviar
Fresh oysters with a luscious amount of lumpfish caviar
incorporated with scallion & caperbud served with lemon wedge on the rocks

Mmm....great starter to have. You know how sometimes fresh oysters give you this metallic tang taste in your mouth? I must say, pairing the oysters with lumpfish caviar (salty), capers (sour & slightly sweet) and a few drops of lemon juice (sour with a tinge of citrus) is a truly wonderful combination. You have all the elements of taste in that gulp of oyster.

Better still, it'll get you eating more. Just cos it's an Aphrodisiac...

So damn sexy.....

Next up, a dish which made quite a dramatic entrance. What with the BIG flames and all.


BIG BIG FIRE!

The meat is lightly grilled with some good ol' butter. Then, a dash of brandy is poured and WHOOOOSHHH the big flames magically appear, engulfing the meat in even more flammable goodness.

The result...


Steak Au Poivre a la Gueridon
300gm prime fillet steak with blackpepper grilled to doneness,
flamed with brandy at your table & served with a wicked Hennessy
sauce up close & flammable

Love the color. A subtle graduation from dark brown to pink and then red. Expect a very slight crisp at the seared outer layer and a juicy texture in the middle. The meat is so flavorful just by itself...but of course, I wouldn't complain 'bout the Hennessy sauce that came with it. That was really good too.

The last recommended dish was a dessert. When it was slowly making its way to the table and I could only see glimpses of it, I already knew it was gonna be a sight to behold. True enough, it was.


Black Forest Single Malt Chocolate Mousse
A fiesta of dark cherries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries,
banana & pear poached in red wine in a 1707 cup of single
malt chocolate mousse topped with vanilla cream

A good play of texture here. The various berries, fruits, bits of chocolate cake, ice-cream and berry jam all lend a helping hand in giving its own distinctive taste to what makes this dessert so good.



Sourness from the berries, sweetness from the bananas, chocolate-y taste by the cake bits, a lil' crunch by tiny cubes of granny smiths, vanilla ice-cream for that touch of 'cold' effect, a tinge of malt whiskey for that caramel taste and lastly, berry jam to stick it all together for the sweetest closing-your-eyes-while-savoring moment. Mm Mmmm!!

Boathouse really took me by surprise. A good surprise nonetheless. Didn't expect it to serve such fine food cos' all this while most people thought it was just another drinking pub along that row of shophouses (sid's pub and deutches gasthaus is just a few doors away).

I thought their food was totally well fitted-in with their motto: Serving simple, honest, unpretentious food. Fine food without all that fuss of eating fine food (different cutlery, wine bla bla bla).

OOoohhh! Some exciting news! Boathouse is gonna launch their new upstairs lounge on Dec 11, 2009. Called Upperdeck, the new area is gonna be a chill-out lounge where people can just mingle around, sit in nice big comfy sofas and sip their dainty martinis. There will also be a different menu for Upperdeck, serving mostly snacks and finger-food. So do check it out once it's launched!



Boathouse Restaurant

16, Lorong Rahim Kajai 14
Taman Tun Dr Ismail
60000 Kuala Lumpur.

03-77274426

Opening Hours: Mon-Sat: 11am-3pm, 5pm - 2am (Closed on Sundays).