Hello!

 

*checks last blog post date : ‘29 August 2010’*

 

That’s 3 months ago, which means I post an average of 4 blog posts per year. A quick mathematical check shows that because I pay about RM120 / year for blog hosting..

 

…1 blog post costs me RM 120 / 4 = RM 30. LMAO.

 

I now declare myself the worst blogger in the world

 

Anyway, it’s been quite a while since my last food review so when Marcus invited me to Starbucks last Saturday for their ‘new Xmas food menu’ review, I couldn’t say no. Marcus is ma brudder ma. And Xmas is ma favorite season yeah.

 

  Somehow this always happens. The obligatory Paintball pose T__T

 

Psychkin was my official photographer for the day, and omg this is terrible… I forgot to take a pic with her… @.@

 

Soooooo………moving on to the food……

Starbucks hasn’t always been the place for a proper meal. And that hasn’t changed with the new menu. As far as I remember, the old ones were the: Croissant, Bagel Sandwich, Chicken Pie, Muffins and Scones.

 

A new selection of pastries however, was a breath of fresh air from the regular ones.

 

Up first, we were presented with…

Blueberry Cheese Cake

– Mouthwatering. It used to come with Blueberry jam on the top, now it’s been replaced with
actual blueberries. Maybe some people like the feeling of squirting juice in their mouths.

 

Clockwise from Top:

1. Chocolate Eclair-something : I found it rather normal..Tastes like…chocolate eclair.                                           
2. Jazzy Lemon Cheesecake : Refreshing stuff. There’s a light and zesty burst of lemon in it. I likes this.                    
3. Peanut Butter Creme Brulee : I adore peanut butter! If this had just a bit more peanut butter, I would LOVE this.
4. Expresso Tiramisu : I reached this too late…it was gone before I tried it! @.@ So it Probably is good                    

 

 

 

Chicken Pasta Stack:

- Barely there. It’s basically Lasagna, but I tasted more flour than anything else.

 

 

Special Grilled FAT Arm…

 

… from the Shaz Mukhtar Prime Cut.

(pose some more la, I kutuk now )

 

If you must have a warm meal in Starbucks, you can’t miss either one of these. Or grab all 3 for a full meal. Ummmmm <3

L to R:

1.  Shepherd’s Pie : A must-have. The outer ring : crisp pastry, the inside: grilled chicken bits, and the filling? Potato Mash. yuuuuum.
2.  Kapitan Chicken Pie : Tastes somewhat familiar. Ah! A bit like the old Chicken Pie. Pastry is flaky and crispy.                                             
3.  Chic o Cheese : Ohh, the formidable combination of chicken sausage & cheese…with flaky pastry. Super.                                         

 

 

And since you’re already on the Xmas food menu, you’d best try the Peppermint Mocha Frappucino, which is a delightful icy change from the regular Mocha Frapp.

The other drink on the menu is the Toffee Nut Latte/Frappucino. Avoid unless you love Sugar…LOTS of it. The drink was harder to drink than those bitter Chinese Herbal drinks.

 

L to R : The awesome Sui Kar, Amanda, @Meiyingt, Daphne, @Jenkinyat, @Spinzer, @Justinspeaks, @Selena_ong, Evo, @Seraphsam, @wackybecky, Edwin, @marcustes (thanks for the invite bro), @shazfx.

 

 

So there ya have it. Now go on and give Starbucks’ new menu a run for your money..you could be pleasantly surprised!

 

Cheers!
EVo

Fuh, there…that wasn’t so bad eh? Should try to update more often

I was invited for the Club Launch at the Desire at the Manor last Thursday.

It’s really unusual of me to hang out at events on a Thursday night, because as some may know, my salsa class falls on a Thursday.

Due to unfaltering attempts by someone who always invites me out (for some strange reason, always on a Thursday night), I finally relented and decided to call off my class, just to layan her.

@Meiyingt, thanks for the invite. For me skipping my class, you owe me only 1000 dances when you actually start salsa-ing.

Desire at the Manor has three rooms: Desire, O Walk and The Terrace.

One side of the dining area is made up of tables…

….the other side is made up of an entire row of plush mattresses and pillows.

It’s really quite perfect if you’ve had enough of the formal tables and chairs..and if you choose to get a little less formal..and cosy up a little. Yeah baby. *ahemmarcky*

The manager of the joint was pretty accommodating and we were asked to order anything we wanted off the menu. Now THAT’s how a food review should be like!

Note or warning : The snacks you will see from this point are enticing. If it’s just before lunch time, I don’t really suggest reading on

#1 Cajun Chicken Wings

These 4 wings were fried to almost perfection, with the skin golden crisp, and the meat well marinated. Totally irresistible. The reason why you see only 3 pieces is because Marc_ky stole one of it before I could take a picture..this fella ah!

#2 For the life of me I can’t remember the name of this salad that Marc_ky ordered, but he claims that the mushrooms were intensely flavorful and left an awesome aftertaste.

I guess if you wanna order this at the Manor, you’ll have to show the waiter this photo. I really don’t know the name. Fail.

#3  Seafood Pesto

My main dish was rather disappointing, as all I could taste was bland cream sauce. It’s supposed to consist of prawns, mussels, squids and eggplant, but the squid pieces were as big as a ‘kacang putih’ ; I had to dig around to find it under a large pile of noodles.

And the prawns were inconsistently sized. Might as well call this dish ‘Scrap Seafood Pesto’.

I also ‘recorded’ @BangsarBabe’s comments on my pasta via facial expression. LOL.

1. 2. 3.

Haha.

#4 My dessert : Warm Chocolate Cake.

I completely loved this bit of pastry, as it melted in my mouth like it was made from pure chocolate without flour, yet it wasn’t. Sabrina, Kogi, Marcky and me finished this up really fast, with only light brown stains left on the plate when we were done.

I was mostly satisfied when dinner was over, but the best was yet to come. I came very close to what I would describe as ‘The Longest Pair of Legs I’ve ever seen in My Life, or ever in the Near Future’.

Seriously. I’m convinced that she could have auditioned for a Giraffe or Ostrich role in the zoo. I would’ve looked like a friggin Hobbit next to her.

I also met Celine Yap there after a long long long time!

One of Celine’s model friends, Natacha. So very hawt that she sizzled in my arms.

Overall I had a great time in the Manor, but they definitely need more work in the mains dishes. They can’t expect people to order snacks and desserts all the time! Marcky’s continuous rendition of Shakira’s ‘Waka waka’ kept us entertained throughout the night.

In a nutshell, this picture pretty much sums up my experience that night.

Desire at the Manor is:

60,62,64 Jalan Doraisamy, Kuala Lumpur

The Manor – man·or. Defined as the main house on the estate by virtue of its privilege position.
Manor has now 3 rooms.
Desire, O Walk and The Terrace.
Open 6 nights a week, serving the best happy hours from 5pm – 9pm.

Click here for the facebook page.

Cheers!
EVo

This is waaay overdue, but it’s something I gota share with y’all before the first week of May comes our way!

(Which incidentally, my company’s declared Monday off *celebrates*. Yes, Labour Day is sacred. Even Saturday cannot escape! And therefore I’m off tomorrow..just because I brought it up during last Friday’s meeting…ow!)

Craft Brews is probably no stranger to most of the people in the blog world. It’s been blogged, tweeted, photographed, reviewed, retweeted to its last piece of malt.

In other words, I’m one of the slowest people to be invited for a review lah. Haha. Jen @Serpentinegal, thanks for being so sexy to extend me the invite last week..much appreciated

Now this is a very typical picture that you will find on ALL blog reviews that it feels almost impossible to not have been planned beforehand.

Four Beers of four colours lined up in a row. You’ll find this same thing on BangsarBabe’s blog, Rebecca Saw’s blog, ChrisTock’s blog. And a whole lot more I assure you. It’s almost like a signature photo of Craft Brews lol.

If you’re like me, or most of us, the first thing that will come to mind is : ‘That green beer can drink one meh??’ We’re ignorant, that’s for sure!

A very accommodating Ben Chong, the man in charge of Craft Brews food reviews, explains patiently that Craft Brews is brought here from Red Dot of Singapore, and goes on in great detail on how these Brews are Crafted (hence the name), with careful attention given to the taste and ‘body’ of the beer. Contrary to popular belief, the best taste of beer comes when it’s NOT ice-cold so that its flavour can actually be appreciated. So when other brands say that beers should be ice-cold, don’t buy that. Unless you drink it just cos you wana get high.

Ben & Psychkin.

Now, I suck at describing taste, and I won’t deny it. If someone hands me an Abalone, I will usually describe it in one of these two ways:

1. Nais abalone.

2. Not nais abalone.

What lah, I’m not a food blogger ma. HAHAHAHAHAHA. I get lost in Wonderland when someone talks about how ‘tangy’, ‘full body’, ‘acrid’, ‘astringent’, ‘toothsome’, ‘zesty’ a piece of food can be. The only extra word I know (and overly used) is ‘Orgasmic’, but I can’t quite agree…orgasms are incomparable to food wei.

And so, I shall take an excerpt from Bangsar Babe’s post for the beers description. She takes the words right out of my mouth

Bangsar Babe verdict : ‘The Monster Green Lager’s green comes from the addition of spirulina in the brewing process. This is a mild beer with grassy notes; very easy to drink.’

My verdict : Nais beer.

Bangsar Babe’s verdict : ‘The English Ale was more of my kind of beer — full bodied and faintly spicy with a smooth and bitter aftertaste.’

My verdict : This one Okay lah. A bit Kao.

Bangsar Babe has no verdict on this, but I personally (faintly) remember it being ‘between the kao-ness of Carlsberg and Monster Green Lager..erm..tasty?’

Similarly, Bangsar Babe has no comment on this, so I shall try : ‘Medium-bodied, fruity, easy to go down’. Che che che.

My date for the night. Apparently, hot dates and hot beers don’t mix that well. Doesn’t mean I said ‘not ice cold’ that you should let your beer sit out too long and warm up..

Dinner starts with a complimentary chef’s soup, that’s a cross between Tomato and Minestrone. Great to start off your appetite, with a slightly sour aftertaste. I believe Craft Brews is still working on a name for it :3

Caramelized Roast Pork (about RM 16) is close to charsiew, but thicker, chunkier, and the sauce tastes fuller, and spicy. Just make sure you don’t mistake the Chili Padi for a piece of pork. It is Power.

The Spiced Sausages in bacon skin was….’Nais’! haha. Although I felt that the bacon was a little burnt, the juicy sausages helped to balance that out..it was well packed with nicely seasoned meat.

(Fuh. Blogging about food is tiring. I’m running out of food words already. Let’s just go layman, ok?)

Bacon and Batter : Nais, crunchy, fun.

The Pork Burger : Delightful, home-made patty, of a combination of minced pork & mushroom. It’s layered with a pineapple slice, cheese, egg and tomatoes. Umm ummmm.

This is one of the most highly anticipated dishes : The Tex-Mex Hickory BBQ Back Ribs and Honey Mustard Back Ribs. 

These baby back ribs are juicy, succulent, smoky. The Tex Mex BBQ leaves a nice spicy taste, while the Honey Mustard gives it a sweet and tangy character. Very palatable.

I’ll admit : This was the most I’ve ever been served during a food review.. Craft Brews excels at customer’s happiness compared to another pork restaurant whose name sounds like ‘verygood’ *coughs*

Craft Brews employs a classy, comfy interior with gentle, not overly dim lighting. And high ceilings are always welcome.

Also brought in along with the 4 brews above are the Flying Dog and Rogue range of young, funky beers of which some go pretty well with some of the served dishes.

The beauty about Craft Brews is that new beers are constantly brought in, and new dishes are constantly concocted to whet our appetites. Thanks for the invite CB, am looking forward to the next session!

And by then, I hope I would have learnt more fancy food-talk. ‘Nais’, ‘Not nais’ and ‘Orgasmic’ cannot make it for food reviews. @.@

Credit to http://bangsar-babe.blogspot.com for her writeups and pics

Find Craft Brews here:

G3 Podium, Ground Floor, Menara Batu Kawan,
No.1 Jalan PJU 7/6,
Mutiara Damansara, 47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Tel : 03-77223000

Cheers!
EVo