Grand Palace Restaurant, Pavilion

It was friday, time to unwind and a few of us decided to meet at Pavillion for dinner and drinks.

We cracked our heads for a right place for dinner- WM had some teething issues and her gums were swollen.

Though we were assured repeatedly by WM that she'll be able to find food no matter where we decide, we felt that Grand Palace should be a good bet with some 'soft' food?

The captain, a very considerate staff, immediately started recommending suitable dishes when she found out about our 'requirements'..hehe

So, we had some soup with scallops, melon and shark bone (RM18 per single serve bowl)

Velvety smooth soup, did great things to warm our bellies on a cold, rainy day. It was a satisfying soup, the essence of the ingredients encapsulated in the silky broth.

The perfect dish for WM to go with her rice...

Silken smooth taufoo with crab meat and prawns (RM28)..

Light, yet still tasty, WM was very happy with this since it's a big leap from her 1 week of soup and mushy bread.

For the rest of us, we would still require some solids..hehehe

And we ordered the steamed kampung chicken (RM30)

Large portion but I find the chicken over steamed- some of the meat were too dry.

Some veggies to balance out all the heavy duty protein..

But RM16, the portion was measly.

Another recommendation from the captain, Mongolian style pork trotters (RM28)..

A dish that WM can have bits of, the melting fats from the knuckles dont require chewing..hehe

I find the dish average, the sauce was sweet and sour which would not be my fave choice for braised pork trotters.

Yet, the accompanying pastry bread (RM8) for dipping was simply lip smacking- it was so aromatic with the fried sesame and once soaked with the sauce, it was so divine.

Overall, it was a mix of good and average dishes, but we wont mind returning as it's spacious and gave customers ample privacy from other customers.

Grand Palace Restaurant is located at Lot 6.39, Level 6, Pavilion, KL.

Craft Brews, Mutiara Damansara

It was a belated BD dinner for Alicia- since it's for her, I asked her to suggest a dinner place instead.

She was missing calamari rings served in a certain restaurant in Mutiara Damansara, so we agreed that should be our dinner venue.

At the beginning, I didn't know where was dinner.

She recalled it's near somewhere-somewhere- yet she could not recall the name of the restaurant. Luck was on our side, we took some turns and Alicia excitedly exclaimed, "This is the place!!".

I see, it's Craft Brews.

Unabashedly direct, the restaurant main draw is, well you guessed it, brews. There's a large variety of ales, beers to choose from, to satiate most drinkers.

The menu was sufficient to please most diners- a good range of snacks and appetizers to pair with the beers and mains for those who are hungry.

Since it's only 2 of us, we cant order too much :(

Complimentary soup which tasted like minestrone..

They've got some cute paper placemat though :)

Alicia's favourite at Craft Brews..

You should see the glint in her eyes when this was served. But it's calamari rings (RM18), what's so special? Well, it was crunchy, the squid rings was springy, and this was tossed with bird's eye chilli, garlic, salt and pepper. Really addictive and went well with beer. It's salty though if you're just snacking on this without beer.

She was craving for the pork burger (RM26) and she got her wish..

No too thick pattie sandwiched between 2 pineapple rings, topped with cheese, fried egg, slices tomatoes and lettuce. Nicely buttered sesame buns complete the picture. I must admit, it's quite tasty, the porkiness was not overly heavy, just nice. Thought it was rather steep in the price though. Alicia did complained that the corn was way too dry.

The Honey Mustard ribs (RM35)

Quite a generous portion, there were 4 pieces of meaty ribs thickly coated with pungent mustard and honey. I rather enjoyed this, for those who never like mustard, please stay away from this! I find it slightly rich meal for 1 person to finish this plate of ribs, better to share. The wedges, though they used the wonderful powdery potato types, had a very salty batter. Again, guess it's to go with beer.

Overall ok meal here, as long as your beverage is beer. Else, I do find it a tad salty.

Craft Brews is located at G3 Podium Ground Floor, Menara Batu Kawan, 1 Jalan PJU 7/6, Mutiara Damansara, 47810 PJ, Selangor.

Durians!

Have you satiated your durian cravings recently?

We are reaching the tail end of durian season, so if you have not enjoyed the sumptuous king of fruits yet, maybe you should do it soon!

Here's some of the durians I've had this season..just to share :p

(we went to a stall where the owner advised we eat in accordance to his arrangement, in order to savour different types of durians)

X.O (Durian susu)

The name of this durian implies that it gives an 'alcohol' after effect to the taste buds. In cantonese, we'd say it's "fu kam"- a rich bitter but fragrant after taste. This was creamy and very bitter, all of us enjoyed it. Why durian susu then? I was told that if it was described as X.O, some muslim friends wont eat it.

Hong Har (Red Prawn)

The obvious reason for it's name- the red tinge on the durian flesh. The flavour is a mixed of sweet and bitter while the texture is smooth and creamy.

Bamboo ( Jook Giok)

Was purportedly under the 'bitter' category of durians, however, this one was sweetish. Texture wise, it's slightly wet. Think we didnt get a good version of this.

Musang King (Mau San Wong)

One of the most popular range, also one of the costlier. Was told there's different grades of Musang, the one we had here was "A" grade.

What's the difference? This was almost peanut butter thick in texture, so creamy thick that you feel full after eating just one piece. And the seeds are all tiny, the size of 20 sen coins. As for the taste, I didnt find it as captivating as X.O nor Red Prawn. Worth the "A" grade price I paid? Nope.

What's my fave amongst these few? I like the Red Prawn :)

Bumbu Desa, Mid Valley

I first came across Bumbu Desa when it was first opened at KLCC.

I wanted to try the food, but the queue and wait was long, I was hungry and so I left...

But Bumbu Desa opened it's doors at Mid Valley, and maybe it's still unknown to many, getting a seat was a breeze.

So what's the fuzz with Bumbu Desa?

First thought- no, it's not the same establishment as Ole Ole/ Bumbu Bali/ Waterlily.

Bumbu Desa is purportedly a leading restaurant chain in Indonesia which has finally decided to make it's debut in Malaysia.

Bumbu serves "masakan Sunda", a good variety of Indonesian dishes was either ordered (per menu) or we can choose the dishes directly from the counter.

We had Gado Gado to start the meal..

Fresh crisp vegetables smothered with peanut sauce and generous amount of crunchy emping. Good way to start our meal.

Gepuk (fried beef) was next..

Very small pieces for the portion we order..It was crunchy, yet luckily, the beef was not chewy nor hard. I kinda liked it, but BL said it was tasteless. hmmm.

A fiery looking terung sambal (spicy brinjal)

The soft brinjal paired well with the hot sambal paste- wonderful with white rice.

Cumi Bakar was a disappointment though..

3 tiny squids (maybe 2 inches in length) for RM16. Rubbery and not worth your RM. Try something else.

The Ayam Bakar fared better..

Tender chicken meat with smokey flavour and nice charred bits. The sauce was a tad sweet for my liking though.

Our vote for the best dish of the night was the Gurami Goreng..

Served piping hot, the fish was fresh, crunchy and addictive to bite into. Eat it with the spicy sweet soy sauce, this was absolutely scrumptious.

We had all the dishes with white rice and nasi liwek..

Yes, I ordered wondering what it was. It came in a 'steamed' packet- almost like nasi lemak, with anchovies and the rice had the coconut milk aroma.

Total bill was RM72 for 4 pax (we had 20% discount), which I must admit, was pretty reasonable.

Bumbu Desa is located at Mid Valley Megamall. Same area as Madam Kwan's, just a floor above it. The first branch is located at KLCC, highest floor.