My Perfect Friday: Cupcakes from Marmalade

Itty bitty cupcakes from Marmalade.

Inspired by Honey Star's post, dear sweet Boo_licious purchased these gorgeous babies and brought them along when we had lunch together today.

Tiny, bite-sized pieces priced at RM2 for two cupcakes, they brought an instant smile to all our faces. The vanilla cupcakes, reminiscent of cakes of yore with sugar icing, were a blast from the past.

Aaaah. If only all Fridays would be like today. Have a wonderful weekend, dear readers!

Y

Gopala Vegetarian Restaurant, Brickfields

As an appreciator of good food, I am quite transparent in my expressions. It doesn't take a genius to figure me out. Savouring that perfect piece of siew yoke (roasted pork), I close my eyes and allow myself to enjoy that experience completely; a raise of the eyebrow signifies that I am astonished that food can taste so heavenly, the widening of my eyes follows the raised eyebrow (for the same reason, obviously), and finally....finally....reverent silence as my senses are enveloped in that one action of popping the siew yoke into my mouth. At the end, there is the last act of inhalation of breath as the aroma and taste intermingle.

And if I don't like what I eat? First, a feeling of uneasiness about why I am still mechanically putting the food into my mouth (because mum said I should never waste food, perhaps?). My face is contorted as I try to mask the pain that I endure as I shovel the food down my throat, and despite all that I do, I am unable to swallow the food. My mouth soon becomes filled with a mish-mash of different types of food, like a cow that constantly chews on grass, but digestion takes forever. My eyes water, as though pleading for the nightmare to stop, but no one is around to pinch me.

And then there are the times when everything is ho-hum, pretty ordinary, and nothing exceptional.

My lunch at Gopala Vegetarian Restaurant was somewhat like the final scenario. I was fully aware that the restaurant was a pure vegetarian restaurant, and so my expectations were tuned in to that radiowave. "No garlic and onion," I reminded myself. That was perhaps the most difficult thing for my brain and my tastebuds to reconcile. As I am not, and have never been, a vegetarian, it is hard for me to fully appreciate food that is not prepared with the two ingredients belonging to the allium family that are purportedly detrimental to health, meditation and devotion.

Having said that, my comment on the food at Gopala is more towards the variety and preparation as compared to the actual taste of the food, which I found overly intense in certain areas with one dominant flavour coming through as compared to the blending of several flavours. To put it briefly, the rasam (which is traditionally prepared with garlic as one of the main ingredients) was strangely very hot (as in spicy) but lacked the slightly sour taste which is normally associated with it, while certain vegetables tasted like the chef had a strong liking for chilli powder. It certainly appeared like the chef was attempting to compensate certain flavours by adding in others to a degree of intolerance (to me and my dining companion, at least), which consequently resulted in unpalatable dishes. Of course, I am fully aware that my tastebuds are different from others, and would be interested to know what you think of the food here.

Maybe I am a little upset about the taste of the food after all. :-)

As I was saying, I was more annoyed about the fact that there was a lack of variety. The vegetables, even though they were edible, appeared to be dishes that had been quickly prepared to meet the daily quota. There seemed to be a lack of thought about the combination of dishes for the day. My thali meal consisting of rice and several types of vegetables was very ordinary, to say the least.

We tried one of the mock meats - mock prawn sambal, which not only had the texture of overcooked prawns, but didn't taste very good either.

Sometimes, looks can be so deceiving.

For dessert, a bowl of payasam was included in the platter. The payasam was not milky at all; the gooey texture seemed to be contributed by the sago and possibly starch. It was also extremely sweet, and it was probably the only time that I was unable to finish my payasam.

And what was good? I liked the moru (diluted yoghurt drink) while the mango lassi was outstanding.

The basic thali meal, priced at RM5 per person was reasonable, but I got better value from the other vegetarian restaurant (although bear in mind that the other one isn't a pure vegetarian restaurant as they use alliums in their cooking). The prawn sambal was RM4.50 for a small serving.

Other reviews:-

masak-masak
The Gastronomic Diary


Gopala Vegetarian Restaurant
No. 59, Jalan Thambipillai, Brickfields, 50470 KL.

Tel: 03-2274 1959

Open 7 days. Business hours: 7.00am to 1.00am

How To Piss Off Your Husband In One Day....And How To Win Him Back

HOW TO PISS HIM OFF

1.
Wake up early on a Saturday morning and tell him you're going off for breakfast at Hong Kee Tim Sum Restaurant with Precious Pea, Allan Yap, Fatboybakes, Jackson, Teckiee and Kenny Mah....but without him.

2.
Tell him that he has to take care of the weekend housecleaner/maid while you're having fun with your blogger friends.

3.
Tell him that Fatboybakes brought delicious durian cheesecake for the breakfast group, and that there were a few extra pieces, but because you had stuff to do after breakfast and weren't able to go home immediately, you didn't pack any for him.





4.
Pack two packets of Sang Chau Loh Mai Fan (fried glutinous rice) from Hong Kee Tim Sum as a peace offering for him, but spend too much time at the hair salon after breakfast. As a result, you can't go home on time to deliver the rather cold Sang Chau Loh Mai Fan to your ravenous husband.

5.
Well, the hair salon isn't the only excuse. With fifteen minutes to spare between the hair salon and the next facial appointment, you squeeze in enough time to grab a quick lunch with Kenny Mah, but not enough time to send home the very cold packets of Sang Chau Loh Mai Fan.

6.
After the facial, you pop by at Just Heavenly to chitchat with the very yummy Allan Yap while he works on two GORGEOUS wedding cakes. The two packets of Sang Chau Loh Mai Fan are no longer cold, but change temperature to boiling point in the afternoon heat in the car while you spend a good hour and a half in Allan's very nice-smelling kitchen.

7.
On the way home at 5.45pm, you get hunger pangs and call your husband, asking him if he'll let you eat one packet of Sang Chau Loh Mai Fan.

8.
After feeding hubby with the remaining packet of Sang Chau Loh Mai Fan (considered a very late lunch) at 6.30pm, you tell him that you want to take a short nap because you're exhausted. You promise to cook him a nice dinner when you wake up in an hour. You end up waking up at 7.00am the next day, on time for church.

HOW TO REDEEM YOURSELF


1.
Treat him to a VERY EXPENSIVE BRUNCH at Jarrod & Rawlins in Damansara Heights. All of RM76.48 to be precise. DO NOT whine. DO NOT complain. Look HAPPY. And tell him how lucky you are to have a wonderful husband like him.

Y Y Y Y Y

The soulful strains of Nat King Cole welcomed us as we stepped foot into Jarrod & Rawlins this morning. I was hungry, having slept through dinner last night, and he just wanted an expensive breakfast from me. Jarrod & Rawlins satisfied both our needs.

We were both ambitious. I was hungry, so I chose the J & R's Special Fried Breakfast set consisting of two eggs, two sausage, bacon, grilled tomatoes, mushrooms, baked beans, fried bread, coffee and juice. All for RM34 (US$10) before taxes.

He chose the same breakfast because it was the most expensive.

The eggs, cooked sunny side up, were delicious. The yolks were slightly runny, just the way I like them. The pork bangers were great; the flavours of the minced pork and the seasoning were lovely and they were lightly grilled to allow the bangers to be sufficiently juicy. They can also be purchased at the counter at RM4.50 per 100gms. Similarly, the bacon was also grilled lightly to ensure that the meat was not overly dry. Sadly, the sliced mushrooms were sauteed in too much oil, and I spent quite a bit of time squeezing the oil out. I enjoyed eating the fried bread - such a simple thing, but fried so evenly, soaking in a bit of oil but still retaining it crispness.

Bald Eagle wolfed down everything. Unfortunately, I was overambitious and should have stuck to the normal Fried Breakfast menu (priced at RM28). I struggled to finish my breakfast and felt like the sausages and fried bread and sauteed mushrooms and all the excess oil were oozing out through my pores and nose and ears.

Jarrod & Rawlins
No. 6, Lorong Dungun
Damansara Heights, 50480 KL

Tel: 03-2093 0708

Also at:
No. 36 (Grd floor), Jalan 27/70A,
Desa Sri Hartamas, 50480 KL

Tel: 03-2300 0708


And.........

Bald Eagle is going to be pleasantly surprised when he sees what's waiting for him when he comes home tonight after the Liverpool-Chelsea match. Delicious vanilla and chocolate cupcakes by Boo_licious!! (Although I've already eaten half of them...yummy...thanks, Boo!! And congratulations on achieving 1 million hits!)

Yep, I think I've redeemed myself!! *wide grin*


Y

Sunday Brunch at Bisou

It promised to be a beautiful morning.


It was the kind of morning where it wasn't too hot and the skies were contemplating whether or not to shed tears, and to complete the picture, I had found a parking spot right in front of Bisou. For Bald Eagle, the icing on the cake was Liverpool's win over Aston Villa less than 12 hours earlier. :-D

We both had the Big Breakfast. At RM16(US$4.70), it came with 2 thick cut slices of toast, baked beans, a chicken sausage and two eggs (cooked to your liking). The chicken sausage wasn't the run o' the mill sausage sold in supermarket freezers in packs of 10 (and believe me, I have come across some, sold at premium prices, at restaurants); the herbs complemented the mild chicken flavour giving it a very pleasant bite. The sauteed mushrooms were exquisite - full of flavour although it was a little on the oily side. I thought the scrambled eggs were a little overcooked. I prefer my scrambled eggs slightly runny. But then again, it boils down to personal preference.


For an extra RM2 (US$0.60), we got a banana muffin. By this time, I was too full to enjoy anything else. I took one bite and passed the rest to Bald Eagle (who thankfully has a bottomless pit for a stomach and a high metabolic rate to burn the added calories quickly!).

I didn't get to try the gorgeous looking cupcakes as I was too stuffed by this time. I did try the lemon polenta though (2nd row, centre pic), when I spent a perfect Saturday afternoon the day before at Nigel & Allan's office being fed by the duo on noodles and the most delicious tempe (fermented soybeans), and Just Heavenly Pleasures' extremely addictive sticky date pudding and Bisou's lemon polenta cake. (This reminds me of the story of Hansel & Gretel where the evil witch fattened up children only to eat them up, but I'm quite sure that I am not their flavour of the month. ;-) The delectable Kenny Mah, who was also also hanging out with us, would have made a better dish.)

So...back to the lemon polenta. I loved the texture of the cake. It was sufficiently moist, yet not dripping in sauce, a little grainy due to the polenta (ground cornmeal) but the flavour of the rosemary sauce (drizzled on the surface of the cake) didn't come through. It was, nevertheless, a lovely cake and I enjoyed every bite of it.


Bisou started operations on 20 July 2007 (same owners as Bijou and Bianco) and it has become progressively more popular as the office crowd seeks out new places to eat. It has just introduced some new items on its lunch menu, including baked eggplant, shepherd's pie and bangers & mash.


Also check out:

So Much Food, So Little Stomach
Kampungkayell

Bisou
Asian Heritage Row
58 Jalan Doraisamy
50300 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-2697 0131

Click here for map.

Opening hours: 9.00am - 11.00pm (Sun to Thur. Mon closed)
9.00am - 2.00am (Fri to Sat)

South Indian Aiyer Restaurant - indian vegetarian

The rain poured in torrents as I pulled up near Palm Court in Brickfields. School buses lined up both sides of the road preventing me from finding a suitable parking lot.

I was desperate. I spied a parking lot reserved for school buses on the opposite side of the road. In one sweep that would have made Lewis Hamilton proud of me, I was safely parked in that lot with another car following close behind me thinking that I had found a way out of the hellhole. After much cursing, both on her part as well as mine, I managed to turn off my engine only to find that my umbrella refused to open.

The rain made my precious Hogan handbag look like a drenched puppy. Ah well, all in the pursuit of food...

It wasn't just any food. Located within the apartment premises with a rather dingy exterior was an indian vegetarian restaurant. I absolutely love indian vegetarian food. It is not so much for health reasons that I eat vegetarian food (because it is easy enough to pile on the carbohydrates with the unlimited serving of white rice), but more for the variety of vegetarian dishes that are offered. I am not an avid fan of mock meat (although the occasional serving is acceptable) simply because I am not a vegetarian and when I do eat vegetarian food, it is not because I am looking for a meat replacement. What I do look for are the creatively prepared vegetarian dishes and the use of a multitude of spices to flavour the dishes.

My lunch, served on a banana leaf, comprised white rice, pepper rice, six different types of vegetables, pickled lime, fried chilli, papadum, several types of curries, dhal and rasam, moru (yoghurt drink) and desert. I loved the deep fried bittergourd (above, bottom left) which was crispy and had the right amount of spiciness. The mashed pumpkin was rather interesting; it was naturally sweet and was spiced with something that tasted of cardamoms. However, it would have tasted better as a dessert (and maybe it was!) rather than as a condiment to be eaten with the rice.

The pepper rice (second picture from the top of the post) was fluffy and the taste of pepper was rather distinct. It was flavourful enough to be eaten on its own. My favourite for the day was, without a doubt, the yoghurt curry. When I first saw it, I thought it was another popular curry known as "sothi", essentially a thin curry made of coconut milk, tomatoes and turmeric. However, after tasting it, I found that it clearly tasted of yoghurt. The yoghurt made the curry extremely creamy while providing it with a naturally sour taste which went so well with the white rice. I must qualify this by saying that it may be an acquired taste for those who are not used to the tart taste of homemade yoghurt.

I washed down the food with a tumbler full of moru, a drink made by diluting yoghurt with water and adding a pinch of salt. It is refreshing and doesn't have the cloying feeling that fresh milk sometimes gives. At home, I would sometimes chop raw onions and chillies and throw them into the moru for some added crunchiness and flavour. The complimentary dessert was payasam, a drink with a thick, soupy consistency made of milk, cardamoms, cashewnuts and vermicelli.

All these, with unlimited servings of rice and vegetables, for just RM5 (US$1.50) per person!

Other sweetmeats are also available for sale, including ladoo (picture above) and pal kova.

South Indian Aiyer Restaurant
B1 Block B, Palm Courts Condo
Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad, Brickfields, 50470 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-2272 1009

Opens 6.30am to 12.30am daily.

Note: This restaurant uses alliums in the preparation of food.