Pietro Ristorante Italiano, Damansara Heights

What a year 2011 has been! And in a blink of an eye, we are in 2012 now!

Fantastic how time flies without us noticing it....

Well, I had a good wrap up year end, spending good time and fine meal with a group of entertaining friends..hehe

Mr Chardonnay arranged for us to meet at Pietro, a restaurant the opened its doors not too long ago, to try out it's italian fare.

We read some mixed reviews on this place, but decided to try nonetheless, who knows, we might just like it..

Started off our meal with some Warm Asparagus salad (RM30)

Though this looks simple but it was delish- the warm, young asparagus and the lightly melted shaved parmesan was a great pairing.

The Caprese Salad (RM28) was a more popular dish among my friends..

Fresh, sweet tomatoes neatly arranged with thick cuts of bufallo mozarella, a sprinkling of chopped basil and kalamata olives. A good combination that I cant complain.

The Salmone Pasta (RM32) did not take that long to reach..

Creamy al-dente pasta with generous amount of smoke salmon and a dollop of lumpfish caviar. This was scrumptious, I was glad the sauce was not too thick and enveloped the fettucine perfectly.

The D'antara Pasta (RM33) was not so popular..

Though the penne was cooked al-dente, the sauce was a mixed of tomatoes yet sligthly sweetish, which some find it a mismatch with the slightly salty smoked duck breast slices.  

The Lamb Shank (Rm52)

This had a better reception..hahaha..the lambshank was fork tender, served with creamy mash and sides of carrots and cucumbers. It was a decent dish.
But the Quattro Formaggio pizza (RM32) got my crown for deliciousness for that night..

The cheeses was so aromatic (or some may call it pungent :p) that i was salivating just by smelling it. And yes, it did not disappoint at all. The crust was thin, crisp at the edges and the cheese! oh need i say more...the mildly burnt top, the great melting flavours of 4 cheeses (parmesan, mozzarela and i cant recall the other 2 :p) was simply divine!

And the restaurant was sweet to prepare something for my BD..tee hee 

Yummy, fudgy chocolate brownie. Thanks Pietro..
We wanted to have other desserts, hence the classic Tiramisu (RM20)

I was glad that it's not too sweet, this dessert was satisfying with the cream cheese and the slight kick from coffee liquer.
Chardonnay loves the Panna Cotta (RM16)..

Smooth, velvety, melt in mouth.. 
Overall I had a great time dining there, a wonderful was to end 2011 :)


Bangunan ECM Libra, Jalan Damansara Endah, Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur.

Peter Hoe, Jalan Hang Lekir

I first heard of Peter Hoe when my colleague went there. And all I heard was it's expensive, the food was not worth it...

Obviously, I didn't have any urge to go there, until recently, when another colleague convinced me to try it.

Peter Hoe mainly is a shop that sells house decors. And tucked at the corner of the shop, was a few tables, which I assume was the 'restaurant'.

The menu was simple, some daily specials on the board (sans the price) and some cakes and quiches at the counter.

There were some choices of pastas, salads and noodles, but my eyes was set on the quiche.

The quiche looks fresh, thick and yummy. There were a few types to choose from..

SL has the Tomato and Chinese Mushroom quiche with salad (RM25)

While I had the Brocolli and carrot quiche (RM25)

So it may seem pricey, but the quiche was  huge, thick, yet fluffy in texture and extremely creamy. Both tasted fantastic, mine was filled with lots of shredded carrots, balancing the eggy cheesy filling perfectly. The crust was mostly soft, with bits of crisp at the edges, which I was fine with.

SL's mushroom, tomato quiche was equally delish, velvety egg filling and aromatic cheese makes this such a rich meal. Luckily the salad was light and fresh, wonderful pairing with the quiche.

I wanted something hot, so I ordered a bowl of mushroom soup (RM16)

It's not the thick, filled with cream types, this was more diluted but had loads of chopped fresh mushroom in it. It was quite tasty I must say, but I found it slightly oily.
I didnt have that bad of an experience actually. In fact, I rather enjoyed my meal there.
So, yes, I would return :).
One word of caution though, do ask for the price of your meal before confirming on the order. 


Peter Hoe is located at 2, Jalan Hang Lekir, 50000 KL. It's located above Popular Bookstore, use the side entrance.

Happy Meal, Jalan Tun H S Lee

I'm always a savoury person...

:-)

What I meant was, when it comes to a person's palate preference, I simply divide the group to 2 kinds- a sweet or a savoury person.

Though I enjoy sweet delicacies, but if I had to choose say, something to snack on, my first  choice would always be a savoury one.

Yet recently, I've been treated to sweets that I do admit, it's hard to resist :)

One such gem can be found at Happy Meal.

No, not Ronald's sundae, but a small bakery located at Jalan Tun H S Lee...

Though they serve many kinds of cakes, tarts etc, only One caught my eye..

The durian cream puffs (RM3)..

The cream puff that was filled to almost bursting point with velvety, creamy durian delight..

Each bite was such sinful pleasure, the cream was not too sweet, the aromatic durian flavour burst in my mouth the moment I popped one. You can still taste bit of durian fibre in the cream. Come to mama my baby! :D aherm..

Ah, I see durian cream puffs and me will be fast friends, for many years to come...
If you are around Petaling Street area, do remind to look for this Happy Meal!


Happy Meal is located at 143 (right at cross junction), Jalan Tun H S Lee, KL.

Coconut Grove, Bandar Utama

How's your Raya break so far?

Hope it's been good :)

Weather's been sweltering recently, makes one yearn for a cool drink or dessert, don't you think?

I stumbled upon a dessert place whilst out and about- it was just so hot that we needed a "chilled" break.

No surprise on what they serve here- coconut jelly.

You can have it plain or with toppings suggested in their menu.

There's coconut jelly with green tea jelly (RM5.50)..

The ultra smooth coconut jelly went well with well chilled green tea jelly. The green tea gave a nice aroma and a light bitter after taste which we enjoyed..

For double cooling action (and perhaps smoother skin?), we tried the Coconut jelly with Aloe Vera (RM5.50)..

The jelly was drizzled with gula melaka and a generous amount of Aloe Vera. The match was surprising tasty. Very nice indeed.

For a bit more texture, Coconut Jelly with Q-Jelly might be a better choice (RM5.50)

The Q jelly had a nice springy texture, a good contrast with the melt-in-mouth jelly..

Coconut Grove also serves other basic thong sui and kuihs.

Coconut Grove is located at Oasis Business Centre, Bandar Utama, PJU 6.

Ben's, Suria KLCC and Pavillion

I reckon I should blog about Ben's before it got too stale- the photos have been sitting in my album for some time now :p

The first time I noticed Ben's was at KLCC- it took over CPK and refurbished to a 'darkish' corner. Somehow, it didn't pique my interest at all, until Diha told me to check it out- she had a good time there.

And so I did went to have a look.

Went there for dinner (heard lunch's ultra pack), Ben's at KLCC has a relaxed ambiance and jazzy tunes in the background to sooth a hectic day at work. The spacing between diners was at a comfortable distance, compared to Ben's at Pavillion, which had a cosy, cheery concept, diners sitting rather closely to be able to hear next table's gossip..hehe..

I digress, lets get back to the food instead, shall we?

Some mocktails to start...

Muddled Mary and Berry Freeze..

Mary's too spicy to my liking, berry was ok..

We had the soft shell crab salad (RM20.90)..

A lighter version of somtum, they were generous with the soft shell crabs and papaya. Not too sour nor spicy, the salad had a good crunch and eating it with the piping hot crabs does give a nice oomph to this dish.

I always have a soft spot for duck and I zoomed in straight for the Duck Confit Spaghetinni (RM22.90)..

And yes, in case you're wondering why the dish looks so familiar, Ben's owned by the same people who started Delicious. Alas, similar in look does not translate in taste- this was ultra greasy and salty.

The Portobello Mushroom Sandwich (RM22.90) fared much better..

The mushroom was juicy, filled with smoky, woody flavour. The accompanying side kicks were commendable too- the grilled capsicums was juicy, the rocket fresh and nutty and oozing melted cheese completes the picture. Yup, this is a vegetarian dish.

Ben's at Pavi had something that KLCC didn't...

Think it's perfect if you are in the company of introverts and shy people..haha

And the desserts- hits and misses..

The chocolate banana cake

Compact, dry, fudgy. I feel like I was eating Winnie the Pooh, and not in a nice way. Dont like it at all.

Blackforest was way better..

Dark chocolate mousse was fantastic with the moist cake, the meringue bits gave a bit of excitement to the else melting cake.

Not a cake person? Maybe you should try the Banofee Sundae..

Lots of bananas, vanilla ice cream, butterscotch, choc fudge, short cake with chocolate and roasted almond slivers. A delicious combination, what can I say?

I feel that Ben's food was not the main attraction (it's pretty decent, dont get me wrong), but it's the ambiance, target market crowd that draws in the like minded.

There are a few branches around town- Ben's KLCC, Ben's Pavillion and Ben's Bangsar Village 1. I heard that the menu differs slightly between these three branches.

Ice Room @ The Strand

We were having dinner at Kota Damansara, when my sweet tooth kicked in.

The dessert selection was almost non existence in the restaurant we were dining in, hence we popped by Ice Room for a quick fix.

Ice Room, as it's names suggested, serves snow ice desserts. If that's not your cup of tea, there's still a range of desserts, mains and snacks to choose from.

Both of us wanted snow ice..

There's the Tropical Mix Snow Ice (RM9.90)

Topped with a mixture of local fruits (and some non local ones), the vanilla based snow ice was drizzled with pureed fruit and syrup. The combination of the tangy puree, sweet fruits and chill from the fine ice makes each mouthful enjoyable.

The Durian Snow Ice (RM8.90) was a surprise..

I expected durian flavoured snow ice, but the real durian fruit pureed smothering this dessert catapulted it's aroma many notches up. The basil seeds added a slight crunch to this tasty treat. Yums.

Ice Room is located at 27, Jalan PJU 5/20E, PJU5, The Strand, Kota Damansara, 47810 PJ, Selangor.

Fat Spoon, Damansara Utama

What's new? Let's go somewhere new.

WF requested after our yoga class.

I was bushed, hungry and cant wait too long for my lunch. Too lazy to think of somewhere far to try exotic food, I thought of Damansara Utama, just a stone's throw away from my place and plenty of eateries that I can bet WF have never tried yet.

I chose Fat Spoon, and I hit jackpot, she didn't even realised it's existence..

Fat Spoon's entrance was easy to miss- the rustic look makes it hidden amongst the loud coloured counterparts.

The interior was an even interesting, slightly quintessential with different pieces of furniture that somehow fit well together.

We were warped back to 70s, but comfortably so.

Our menu was presented in the form of children books, which I thought was cute, but WF beg to differ. She'd rather look at the large board for the menu instead. Oh well.

Fat Spoon serves a selection of local dishes, with a mix of nyonya dishes and western snacks too. It was easy peasy choice for me- I went straight for Ulam Fried rice (RM11.90).

And I am glad I did. The rice was simply aromatic with the fresh herbs, rice was fluffy and encased with wok hei. I felt that the fried kunyit chicken was rather unnecessary (which incidentally was rather bland), the rice itself (and the sambal) was sufficient to satisfy me.

WF, who wanted noodles and something soupy, opted for Fat Spoon Noodles (RM8.90)

Not exactly the way we envisioned it to be, but WF enjoyed it nonetheless. The flat noodles were smooth, the broth sweet and it's generously laden with mince meat and prawns. Though she liked this dish, we both felt that the Ulam fried rice was nicer :p

Ended lunch with red velvet cake (RM9.90)

The cake was moist, the cream cheese was silky smooth- I wished there was more of those cheese frosting! Wonderful way to end the meal :)

Feeling smug that I managed to solve lunch in such a short and sweet way, WF brought me back to reality with " Where's next week's lunch? ". darn.

Fat Spoon is located at 73, Jalan SS21/1A, Damansara Utama, 47400 Petaling Jaya.

Durian Layer Cake, Golden Bake

During a recent department makan session, Diha brought durian layer cake.

When she mentioned it a few days before, all of us had doubts.

What if the cake tasted of artificial flavouring instead?

Well, when we saw the durian layer cake (RM52, 1kg), it does looked plain...

Sorry that I didnt have the picture of the cake before it was cut..my colleagues were way too excited and cut it immediately..before we managed to take a look at it's pristine stage. :p

The durian cake was surprisingly good, much to our delight.

Akin to pandan or yam layer cake, the eggy sponge cake was layered with thick durian paste- not durian flesh type- but the same texture as pandan layer cake. Nonetheless, the durian fragrance and the creamy smoothness was still distinct. Obviously, this cake was a hit among those who enjoys the king of fruits. Have it really chilled- it's like having durian ice cream. Lip smacking :)

Golden Bake is located at 31, Jalan SS2/67, 47300 Petaling Jaya. Tel 03-78766417. You'll need to call 1 day in advance to order this durian layer cake..

Simple Peach Crumble recipe

A simple peach crumble recipe I'll like to share :)

Very easy to bake- preparation just takes 5 minutes and baking takes only 25 mins...

You'll need:

1 canned peach halves (in syrup)

75g plain flour

50g brown sugar

50g ground almond

60g butter (chopped)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder

1. Drain the syrup from the peaches and cut the peaches into medium thick slices. Place the sliced peaches at the base of the baking dish (mine is a 6 inch round dish).

2. Preheat the oven to 190 Celsius.

3. Mix the flour, sugar, almonds and cinnamon powder in a bowl. Rub the butter into the flour mixture with your fingers.

4. Sprinkle the topping over the sliced peaches.

5. Bake for 25 mins (slightly longer if you prefer a crisp top). I had mine hot off the oven with vanilla ice cream :). Serves 2.

Happy Beans Cafe, UEP Subang Jaya

Andrew brought us to Happy Beans when we wanted something sweet for tea time.

There's some interesting stuff here.. can try la

Yes, interesting indeed...

Happy Beans speciality is handmade yu yuan (yam balls) that you can have it served with a few ways..

Andrew ordered the yu yuan special..

His bowl consists of yam balls, sweet potato balls, cubes of yam and pearl balls. Served in piping hot ginger brown sugar soup, it reminds me of eating tong yun and bubur cacar condiments at the same time. The yu yuan has an interesting texture- it's very QQ-bouncy, compact yet does not stick to the teeth. Andrew and WF really enjoyed it.

WF order something cold, it's cincau with her selected condiments..

With yu yuan and a few types of beans. It was served with a small cup of vanilla creamer, but WF who does not enjoy milky stuff did not add it in. I actually thought it tasted pretty good with the milky stuff :p

As for me, I'm not a fan of doughy flour stuff (with no filling :p) so I decided to have their dou hua with beans.

Their version of dou hua (bean curd) was silky smooth with distinct soy bean taste. It was pleasant to eat the non sweeten dou hua with the sweetened beans and slightly ginger spicy soup. The only bean type I didnt like in this was the kidney beans. A tad hard and rather tasteless.

Happy Beans have a range of shaved ice with fruits, which looks much better than those served in KTZ. Shall pop by to try that one day.hehe..

Happy Beans Cafe is located at 46, Jalan USJ 10/1E, 47600 UEP Subang Jaya, Selangor.

Kane Mochi, Siam Square, Bangkok

We stumbled upon Kane Mochi when we were on our way for some claypot vermicelli fresh water prawns.

My original plan was to have lunch and later for some cakes and pastries for tea. Most unfortunately, shopping twarted my plans :p and we decided to stop by Kane Mochi instead.

A japanese franchise, Kane Mochi serves mochi ice cream. Yup, just that- have it plain or with toppings/ sauces.

The courteous staff were nice and gave us some samples..we decided order some in the end :)

Quite a number of flavours to choose from...

We finally settled for Strawberry, Blueberry, Green Tea and Coffee (RM8.90)

I was pleasantly surprise from this very lovely dessert. The mochi (skin) was soft and melts quickly with the ice cream. As for the ice cream- it was not too creamy, but the flavours were nice..I like the green tea flavour the best; it was slightly bitter and had azuki aftertaste.

Definitely a place to pop by to hide from the sweltering heat and a quick reprieve for those tired legs :)

Kane Mochi is loated at Soi 3, Siam Square, Bangkok, Thailand.

Back from pilgrimage..

Well, not really pilgrimage, but my annual trip to food and shopping paradise :)

It was also Dragon girl's second trip to Bangkok- her first trip being mostly for massage, sightseeing and relaxation; hence, this time around, the trip would be on shopping and loads of food.

Food was planned along with shopping location, to make things easier for us ladies :p

There were some repeats on our eats such as the grilled fish and som tum place at Chatujak market.

Most unfortunately, the grilled fish was no longer that nice; it was only luke warm when served..

Luckily the som tum place was still nice, though the serving's a tad smaller..

Other repeats include the juicy, tender samurai pork burger at McD's..

And we tried their newly launched chocolate pie..

The filling was more like chocolate custard; it was not too sweet, pretty ok.

Was looking for Amaltery ice cream at Siam Paragon, but it was no longer in operation, so we went back to our usual mango dessert place- Mango Tango..

Had the usual...

Glad to say that the mango ice cream has improved (compared to last year), the new addition of glutinous rice was decent too. The mangoes were ultra sweet and dripping with loads of juices. Yummy!

The second dessert was yummy too.. The crunchy corn flakes gave a nice crunch to the texture; the bottom was filled with mango chunks, mango ice cream and mango puree..

What else did we ate during our time in Bangkok?

Well, guess that will be in the next few posts....

YogurBerry, Giant Kota Damansara

Was at nearby Kota Damansara when Bollywood Queen suggested to pop over to Giant, she wanted to check out some 'stuff'..

We were at Giant KD in a jiffy, it was not that crowded..guess it was relatively new.

YogurBerry caught my eye, and we made a detour for some cooling treats :p

You can have plain frozen yoghurt or like us, frozen yoghurt with our choice of toppings (there were quite a wide range of toppings to choose from).

Bollywood Queen order frozen yoghurt with cornflakes, oreo, mango cubes and chocolate sauce (RM6.50)..

The combo was ok, just not really what I'd fancy on my frozen yoghurt. BQ seems to enjoy it nonetheless.

I had my frozen yoghurt with mangoes, kiwi, banana and topped with blueberry sauce (RM6.50).

The combo's fabulous, the slightly sourish frozen yoghurt goes very well with the sweet fruits. And mixing the blueberry sauce sort of makes my frozen yoghurt tastes like vitagen.

It's a lovely dessert, I believe it's also healthier, frozen yoghurt's very light in texture and low in sugar. My only little gripe would be the thickness of the frozen yoghurt; Yogurberry's version melts rather fast; I've tried other frozen yoghurt which was firmer and thicker in texture.

YogurBerry is located at Lot G-19, Giant Hypermarket, No 16, Jalan PJU5/1, PJU5, Kota Damansara, PJ. Other outlets are here..