The Pressroom, BSC

I am such a lousy blogger compared to MY PARTNER in CRIME (click!), Until the point she pestered me to update my blog (I-couldn't-find-time-to-update-my-blog!). I claimed that I do not have much readers compared to her, maybe I should just settle down to be her blog manager and pray hard she got us famous one day by the number of hits and clicks she generate every month. Not tat I do much in being her blog manager, just directing her like this "Eh, where's update in your blog!!!" 

See, I am so visionary :D

So, today I actually found some time. Half a year of 2012 had passed by and you can ask me half a year later again for me to conclude 2012 in some words.

I had just turned a year older recently. My birthday was full of surprises and I will treasure the moments very much. Will blog about it very soon! Prefer my blog to be in chronological order. So here's a recap of me and Skipper's anniversary dinner in May.

Since most of the previous anniversary celebration, Skipper insisted to buy us dinner. This time around, I wanted to buy Skipper dinner instead. Was torn of places to go, wanted somewhere new and special and of different flavours, finally after rounds of indecisiveness, I settled for The Pressroom, BSC.

Anglo-French cuisine? Voted The Best New Restaurant by TimeOut KL in 2010? Sounds like a plan! 

Indeed, the dinner was a memorable one in setting, thanks to the restaurants crews which was very accommodative because they got to know it was our anniversary dinner.

Bread and Butter

Marinated Salmon with Watercress

Black Cod with Pea Sprouts

Whole Roasted Spring Chicken with Potato Cake and Anchovy Rosemary Butter

I personally thought the roasted spring chicken was quite dry, but love the potato cake stacked below the chicken. The black cod slab was perfect, but not sure why pea sprouts was part of the dish. Anyway, it is still personal preference, may differ from individuals to individuals. Living up to the French theme, where everything is fancy, neat and small.

Eton Mess

Had been trying to had Eton Mess since I saw one of the participants made it Australia Junior Masterchef series. It is a traditional English dessert consisting of a mixture of strawberries, broken pieces of meringue and cream. The Pressroom presented it in an ice kacang bowl setting instead. Like the taste, no qualms about it.

Chocolate Volcano-Happy Anniversary to us!

Chocolate Volcano was a surprise gift to us. We was both shocked because it was totally a sweeeeeet gesture by the restaurant crews. We thought we have enough of sugary counts from the Eton Mess, but coupled with this, they just brought sweetness to another level. My bad for not remembering the name of the waiter that was so attentive to us that night! But thank you very much.:)

The Pressroom,

Lot G110 Ground Floor, 
Bangsar Shopping Centre, 
Jalan Maarof  59100 Bangsar, 
Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur

03-2095-2098

Sea Urchin-nized at Rakuzen, Hartamas Shopping Center

*Playing Christmas tunes over and over again*

How fast time passes by and we will soon be ushering in 2012! Definitely the best time of the year where everyone is in holiday mode, and gearing up for the new year. :D

Celebrated Winter Solstice with my dear Skipper at Rakuzen, Hartamas Shopping Center. Although missing a bowl of "Tang Yuan" but nothing beats having a good dinner with my loved one. And the best part of the dinner, my wishlist came true- Savoring sea urchin for the first time!:D

I was so damn excited okay!:P

Dinner was exceptionally delicious and my Skipper definitely spoiled me. I kiddingly told him,"Omg, omg, we have to come here more often..No more Sushi Zanmai after this ok ok"..

Luckily Skipper nodded willingly!:D

Poor Skipper was down with terrible food poisoning, where we reckoned tonnes of bacterias are having feast in his bowel, and we couldn't order much but enough to keep us satiated.

First to arrive, Unagi Kabayaki! Grilled eel, perfectly executed.

Unagi Kabayaki (RM 28)

Appetizing greens, laden with lip-smacking sauce with properly thawed sashimi will be on our list anytime. Sushiya Salad, served with chef's special sauce is another of our favorite now beside our regular must have "Sashimi Salad with Sesame Dressing" at Sushi Zanmai.

 

Sushiya Salad  (RM 18)

Uni Sushi (RM 20)

Uni, also known as sea urchin roe, is a well-known delicacy worldwide, especially in this eastern side of the world. Price is expensive considering the amount of effort it takes to collect them and and the amount of edible material you actually receive from extracting the roes.

The taste takes a little time for me to digest and conclude it. It was creamy, silky and sweet, tasted like all the sashimis blended together into a sticky puree...

This is how the  actual extraction is done.

Looks like I will only be heading for my next uni experience when I receive a bigger bonus!
 

Sakura Chirashi Don served with Miso Soup (RM 32)

What I really like about Japanese food? Simplicity and freshness! This particular Sakura Chirashi Don was served with Miso Soup, with abundant sashimi that are fresh, juicy and tasty, enough to make any japanese dinner satisfying!:)

Dig a layer below and discover roes scattered all over, with popping bursting flavor in every spoonful!

Thank you Skipper for the truly satisfying meal!:D

Halal

Lot P17 Plaza Ground Floor, Hartamas Shopping Centre,
60 Jalan Sri Hartamas 1, Sri Hartamas, 50480 Kuala Lumpur.

(03) 6201 2060

Opening Hours: Mon - Thu 11.30am - 3.00pm & 6.00pm - 11.00pm

Fri-Sun 12pm to 11 pm

Poisonous Nut Curry at Simply Mel's, Bangsar South

Buah Keluak, The Poisonous Nuts

Shiver yet? 

I kid you not, buah keluak is a lethal nut, whereby it contains hydrogen cyanide and is deadly poisonous if consumed without proper cleansing. I didn’t know about this dark side until the gracious and pretty restaurant manager told us when we are almost done with the meal. I gulped initially, but it was such an interesting experience.

Dubbed the “Asian Truffle”, these nuts can only be found in the mangrove swamps across South East Asia. We managed to sample the nuts cooked in curry together with chicken meat, which is one of Malacca Portuguese’s (Cristang) delicacy. Simply Mel’s sourced the nuts from Indonesia to Malacca, and made it way to the restaurant which is strategically located here in The Sphere, Bangsar South.

The Sphere, Bangsar South. Vibrantly-litted

Keluak Chicken Curry (RM18.90 for Regular)

Tender pieces of chicken simmered in a sourish curry. The buah keluak had an acquired nutty flavour. You need to dig the richly creamy black contents which are like soft tar through the opening of the cooked nuts with a chopstick. Mash it together with the fluffy white rice, that is how you enjoy the unique nuts.

Rich creamy black content of the nut

Brinjal in Soya Sauce (RM9.90 for Regular)

Despite looking like heavily bathed in soya sauce, the sauce was less than salty. Not being MSG-laden too, flavour was adequate and the brinjal was moist and tender. As simple as it sounds, a good brinjal dish is achieved by a good cooking timing. Under cooking will give you a hard texture and over cooking it caused it to be too soft and less pleasurable. 

Papa Vincent’s Fish Cutlets (RM9.90)

The fish cutlets were crumby-licious! I love how it was dense with fish flakes, which made every bite a simple comforting pleasure. The tartness and spicyness of the sambal goes well with the fried cutlets.

Condiments (RM 1.50)

 

Simply Mel had definitely a variety to offer and I would love to come back to try the other unique dishes such as Devil’s Curry, Malacca Laksa, Black Sotong Sambal and Nasi Lemak with ‘Tambrinhyu’ Sambal. High in my list would definitely be the Keluak Sambal, which the nuts was unshelled readily and mash together with sambal.

Halal

Simply Mel’s

Unit 1-1A, 1st Floor, The Sphere,
No. 1, Avenue 1, Bangsar South,
No. 8 Jalan Kerinchi 59200 Kuala Lumpur

03 224 14525

Open 7-days a week, 10am – 1030pm

Awesome Banana Leaf Rice at Devi's Corner, Bangsar

Name me the best banana leaf in town? Most of you would probably list down the following:

.

- Raju's, Jalan Gasing, Petaling Jaya

.
- Nirwana Maju, Jalan Telawi, Bangsar 

.

- Sri Paandi, Jalan Universiti, Petaling Jaya

.

- Kanna's Curry House, Section 17, Petaling Jaya
.

I had personally tried all of them and I dare say that I have found the best banana leaf yet, taste-wise in the region of KL and Selangor. It is at Devi's Corner at Bangsar Telawi. It is tucked at the first floor of the restaurant, often overshadowed by the bustling ground floor that serves the typical mamak food.

Nonetheless, the first floor is still packed with patrons for a hearty banana leaf lunch.

Price is cheaper than some competitors, food is definitely commendable but service needs a little bit more of nip and tuck. Service was rather slow. We only managed to order our drinks halfway into our meal. We only get our rasam when we are almost done. Rasam is a type of South Indian soup where preparation involves tamarind juice as base in addition to tomato, chilli pepper and other spices as seasonings and meant to whet your appetite at the beginning of the meal.

Rasam

 

Forget about the not-so-impeccable service but the highlight would definitely be the food!

A Palate of Messy Sinful South Indian Goodness! The messier it is, the more awesome it is!

Where most banana leaf restaurant normally served you up to 3 types of vegetables dishes along with papadum (crispy Indian cracker), here you have 8 types!! Spinach puree, sweet pumpkin, deep fried cauliflowe, stir fry mix vegetable, cucumber salad and two more. Together with the mountain of rice, the meal is definitely full of glutton's approval. All this for RM 6. Who says dining in Bangsar is expensive?

Banana leaf was intended to be a vegetarian's dish, but you would always had the option to up chicken, squid, mutton, fish, prawns, either deep-fried, masala or curry version to your choice. My companions, Fu Shen and Christina reckoned we would just share two top-on and we are glad that we made the right decision because the serving was so huge. The picture does not justify but in fact, the plate is as big as my two palms combined together! 

Mutton Curry (RM 8), we got the lean part so it was all good. Flavoursome as it looks here.

Deep Fried Squid (RM 10), such crispy and fragrant perfection but reminded us that we need to exercise harder tomorrow!

All the food plus drinks for three cost us RM40.60. Definitely a must-go place for delicious banana leaf! There are tonnes of expatriates enjoying their banana leaf here too! And before I forgot, the restaurant is air-conditioned and well-ventilated, so no more worries of ending up sweaty!

Halal

Devi's Corner,

69, Jalan Telawi 2,

Bangsar Baru,

Kuala Lumpur.

Open for breakfast till supper.