Garden Lifestyle Store & Cafe @ The Curve Mutiara Damansara

Once again, my food-enthusiast and fellow colleague, Veronica, has been generous enough to share with us yet another of her foodie escapades recently. This time, she and her BF as wellas a pair of newlyweds, Justin & Sacher, had a night out at Garden Lifestyle Store & Cafe The Curve. Wow! That's a mouthful!
According to Veronica, the place has a jungle ambience, with lots of greenery and flowers, as well as pots and vases that are actually for sale for those who have a green thumb.

But that's not all, theres' also a BIG-ASS white piano that pipes out romantic tunes all night long. Oh, it all sound so romantic, isn't it? I just wish the piano player is more properly attired, you know, with coats and all. That Ah Beng get-up clashed so violently with the piano that it's becoming more distracting than engaging...

Oh, and what's this? A tiered water fountain in a gigantic cage? Lovely...

Awww..the lovely couple, Veron and his BF, Kevin...

And here's the newly-weds....Justin and his wife, Sacher....They are practically glowing with happiness...awwwwww..

OK, on with the foods...

For starter, Mr Married Man Justin enjoyed a bowl of the Chef's Homemade Wild Mushroom Soup (RM 9.90) with a slice of garlic bread. Perfect to kick-start that appetite.

Mrs Married Woman, Sacher, ordered the Thai Green Chicken Curry (RM 12.90) with a tower of white rice. The gravy was tasty with the mix of spices, but it was not at all chilly-hot.

The green curry looks yummy..but what's with the rice tower?

Her hubby had the Spaghetti Marinara (RM 17.90) - a good portion and was tasty enough for the hungry man. The spaghetti in tomato and basil sauce had muscles (i mean, mussels), prawns and clams.

Well, the happy-as-clam look says it all....

Meanwhile, the other hungry man, Kevin, chose to have the Garden Black Pepper Chicken Chop (RM 17.90). There were two cuts of grilled chicken served with black pepper sauce, French beans and some potatoes. The portion was a bit small for him, and he wished he had ordered some white rice or fragrant nasi lemak rice to make it a more wholesome meal. 

Yeah, I'll say it's not enough for a man, let alone a hungry man. OOhh..look at those colorful umbrellas in the background...

And as for the hostess of the night, Veron, she originally ordered the Fish & Chips. But was later told that the fish was not fresh enough to be served and was asked to order something else. (I am truly grateful not to be served with stale fish, she said). Hence she chose to have Deep Fried Breaded Chicken Cutlet (RM 17.90). There were two cuts of crispy boneless chicken cutlets filled with cheese served with mushroom sauce, a salad and French fries. 

Her verdict? - YUMMY!

But wait..why there's no photo of you enjoying your meal, Veron?

Well, there you have it....Garden Lifestyle Store & Cafe at The Curve. I wonder why it's called the 'lifestyle store"? It sounds like a supermarket. 

Anyway, thank you so much Veron for sharing this with us. The foods truly look delicious...If I were with you guys, I would definitely opt for the green chicken curry, my favourite curry dish.

However, she did have one gripe about the place. According to her, "the open concept of the cafe resulted with many shopping mall patrons constantly walking through the dining area. Despite of the manager making an effort to relocate us to another table and trying to make us comfortable, people were still walking through the area from every corner. There was no sense of privacy and comfort for patrons of the cafe. I think the outdoor area of the cafe should be blocked off to non-diners."

Well, I totally understand how that could be annoying. I have one tip for you, Veron...next time, sprinkle some tacks around your table...That would stop people from coming close. :)

Beware!!! There's a New Daily Kopitiam in Town!!!

There's a new shopping mall that has recently opened its doors in KL, and it's called Farenheit. As if there aren't enough malls around the Jalan Bukit Bintang stretch already, we now have yet another place to hang out and dine. And dined I did one evening after work.

The place is called Daily Kopitiam. Zero point for originality and -3 points for creativity. I hereby implore all future restaurateurs to resist using the word 'Kopitiam' in the names of their establishments, because, let's be honest here, it's an overkill already. We have way too many 'kopitiam' this, 'kopitiam' that...it's sickening!

Now back to this place, Daily Kopitiam, which is located at the lower ground of the mall. I'm gonna be brutally honest here. This place is a mess....Not the physical kind of mess..but the overall experience of dining here is a mess. Allow me to elaborate...

First, their menu sucks! It offers the most basics of what an average kopitiam would offer, but even less. There are, I think, five to six types of meals you can choose from, and that's it!

I ordered the nasi lemak biasa, but was told that the meal is only available during breakfast time. Fine, the other option for me would be to order the so-called Nasi Lemak Special. And here is where I have the second problem. You see, looking at the menu, the only difference between the nasi lemak biasa and nasi lemak special, is that the latter comes with an extra serving of curry chicken and a fried egg. Now, my question is this - why can't they just remove those extras and serve me the nasi lemak biasa? And why is it nasi lemak biasa is ONLY available for breakfast, but the Special version is available throughout the day? Does this mean if I come during breakfast time, I can only have nasi lemak biasa, but NOT nasi lemak special? I just found this PERPLEXING!!!!

And it gets better....They actually forgotten my order after what seemed like 30 minutes of waiting. I have to remind them. And when the dish finally arrived, they give me two forks, instead of a fork and spoon. And the nasi lemak special ain't that special after all..unless you call that cheap china plate that they used to serve the nasi lemak is special. The sambal is cold and underwhelming...the veggies, soggy and bland, and the curry chicken is so oily, I can feel it coating my throat and pumping up my fat counter the moment i put the piece of chicken in my mouth. And yeah...if you noticed..there's no fried egg!! There's no frigging FRIED EGG!!! The price? RM 10.90

My fellow blogger, Ash, ordered their Penang Curry Mee (RM 9.90), which was as oily as the recent BP's oil spill disaster.

For drink, I ordered the oh-so-fancily-named Ovacano, priced at RM 6.90.

People...I'm telling you..NEVER had I been MORE DISAPPOINTED in my life, when I learned that Ovacano is nothing more than a glass of Iced Milo with spoonfuls of the cocoa powder sprinkled on top. Iced Milo? for RM 6.90? And oh..the taste is horrible too. I mean, really, how could anyone screw up a simple drink like iced milo??? Ovacano My ASS!

Meanwhile, Ash ordered the three-layer tea, also priced at RM 6.90. It doesn't look impressive at all.


And that's just the foods and drinks.....While we are eating, one of the lady staff actually started to mop the floor, something that no respectable restaurant should ever do during working hours when there are customers dining. The strong scent of the floor detergent really make the whole dining experience worse. Oh, and did I mention that there are two customers sitting next to our table who are, all the while,  busy swatting away at mosquitoes? Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you read it correctly, there are actually mosquitoes in an air-conditioned restaurant that is located INSIDE a mall!!! Unprecedented, really...Next thing you know, the flies would be coming in for a big party.

So, to wrap it up, here's what I thought: if you're a fan of bad foods and horrible drinks with misleading names, yes, then please visit this kopitiam. But if you're sane like me and most other people, then do yourself a favor and stay away....

Getting Hot and Spicy with Peri-Peri

Whenever you develop a craving for some hot chick with a spicy attitude, you know there's only place where you can go to satiate that need. I'm talking about the Peri-Peri Restaurant, which is fast becoming my favourite place to have a satisfying dinner with a hot chick, or two, depending my appetite :).
Conveniently for me, there's a Peri-Peri restaurant located in Pavilion KL, so getting there from my office is just a matter of 15 minutes' of walking (10 minutes if you scamper, 7 minutes if you run, and 2.3 seconds if you are Usain Bolt).

The whole restaurant is awashed in flaming red and orange colours, it makes me wanna jump up the table, take my clothes off and do the chicken dance. But the risk of causing a mass vomiting stop me from doing just that.

Here's a picture of me in soft light..and down there is a picture of wooden sticks. I don't know why I took these pictures. And I don't know why I feel the urge to post these pictures. How's that for total randomness?

Hot! Hot! HOTT!!!!!

I had their Chicken kebab with two side dishes of beans and baked potatoes (RM 15.50). I can guarantee you, if you eat this with their hot chilli sauce, you'll be breathing fire by the time you're done. But, boy oh boy, was it a good meal...

After getting all hot and bothered, what better way to douse the flame than with a big glass of iced chocolate beverage (RM 6.90)?

I have to be honest..two hours after consuming those spicy kebabs, the inside of my tummy still feel fiery...And the next day, I had a mini peri-peri pooping that burns...but it was all worth it, if you ask me. 

Who's up for a second helping?

 

A Round of Scrabble at Delifrance , Jusco Seremban 2

Delifrance is a good place to hang out with friends if you just want to have some tete-a-tete with your good friends...and that's what I did with Kaarol one fine evening at Jusco Seremban 2.

It's not that usual to find friends playing timeless game like Scrabble. But it is a bit unusual to see people playing Scrabble on an iPad. And that's what we're doing this particular evening. :)

But of course, we came here for the food as well..

For quenching out thirsts, we hve the mushroom soup, the hot tea and the iced mocha....

And for filling our grumbling tummies, we had the Spicy Carbonara Spaghetti and the stuffed croissant. You can't be more French than croissant, I must say. And the garlic bread that came with my spaghetti is heavenly.....

And by the time we finished our meals, we also concluded our round of Scrabble. And i won too. :)

Delifrance, mon ami? 

Oui, tres bien!!

Have A KimChi Good Time at Sil Ro Am

Recently, I have developed a taste for Korean foods, especially their lip-smacking Yuk Gae Jang (spicy beef and vegetable soup). So, I was really keen to try out this Korean restaurant that has opened up in my own hometown. The restaurant is called Sil Ro Am, and it is located in the Era Square hotspot, which is fats becoming a food haven for the locals. I had my lunch there one Saturday with my friend, Kaarol, who have never tried Korean foods before (gasp!).

Now, the place is actually run by a Korean family, so you can rest assured that the foods they served here are truly authentic Korean dishes. The moment you step into the restaurant, it does feels like being transported to Seoul...Heck, even the two TVs in there are constantly broadcasting Korean dramas and movies!

They have a rather simplifed menu though...You get to choose any of he pre-set lunch box deals, priced from RM 10 each, or noodle/ramen sets, with prices ranging from RM 10 to RM 15. There are no beverage menu, because they serve cold tea to everyone. BUT - if you're a fan of Korean liquors, there's a whole fridge in the place that is stacked with all sorts of beers and other alcoholic juices. So, yay!

I ordered their Chicken Lunch set, priced at RM 10....

The lunch set is a pure delight...The kimchi tastes really good...and the chicken is deeelicious!! Loving it! The veggies are great too...

Meanwhile, Kaarol ordered their noodle set, also priced at RM 10...

The noodles are really nice, especially the soup....it's a bit spicy and less oily. A truly Korean dish.

I am really happy with this place so far. It has a homely feel to it, and the foods are great. Perfect setting for a family dinner or with a group of close friends.....Definitely recommended.

Organically good!

Once in a while, it's good to just sit down and chow down some healthy foods. You know, foods that won't add to your caloric counter,  heart attack risk, make you obese or just give you some bad gas afterwards. In a world where McDonald's and KFC outlets are practically everywhere you look, it can be really tough to make that conscious decision to turn away and say "No, I'm not going to abuse my body by going into these places, and I don't care how good their fries taste or how delicious their fried chicken are!"

Well, there are places like WOODS Bio Marche where you can eat with a peace of mind, knowing that the stuff you put inside your mouth will be good for your body. This neat looking cafe is located at Wisma Bukit Bintang, KL, right smack in the golden triangle area.

The place is clean, pleasant and nicely-decorated. The moment you step into the restaurant, you can actually smell it...the air is somewhat differenthere ...they just feels cleaner here...or is it just me? :)

Anyway, a glimpse through their menu showed that they have quite a variety of foods here..They have organic noodles, organic grains, organic soups, organic appetizers as well as set lunches that differ from day to day. Not only that, in front of the cashier counter is a refrigerated section where you can buy fresh organic vegetables to cook on your own at home. How cool is that???
You want more? Ok,  they also have organic tea, organic coffee, organic unsweetened soy as well as organic ice blended enzymatic fruit juices. Everything here is purely organic, and therefore good for your body!


The set lunch I picked is called the Hikari Set, priced at RM 13.50.

The brown rice taste surprisingly good...and the veggies also tasted different..They are not oily at all, and you can actually feel the freshness and crunchiness with every bite. Loving it! And the meat-looking thing, I forgot what it's called, is also not bad, though a bit bland.

The organic tea and miso soup that come with the lunch set is also refreshingly good.

I think it's a good idea to eat organic food at least once a week, so that our body can benefit from the nutrients, vitamins and minerals that are otherwise lacking in our day-to-day greasy food choices. At WOODS Bio Marche, not only you get good foods and variety, but also affordability. I mean, really, the price you pay for one trip to this place just about equals a meal at Burger King....

So, start eating healthy today, and get organic baby!