Italiannies @ The Gardens

The last time hubs and I  visited Italiannies was during our university days. We were there with a group of our close friends. Fast forward 8 years later, we're here at Italiannies The Gardens with my mom and sister.

For starters, we had the Quattro Platter; consisted of  deep-fried risotto balls, calamari, fried lemon cheesy balls and zucchini strings served with Marinara sauce and Alfredo sauce. In my honest opinion, the entire combination was too oily. I know it's deep fried and all, but the zucchini strings were kinda greasy. The calamari was okay, while the risotto balls was tasteless. If it was meant to be tasteless, then they should serve more dipping sauce. The lemon cheesy balls was real cheesy, not bad but we did not taste any hint of lemon.

Quattro Platter (RM 38.90)

The Sicilian Chicken salad was quite good. The blend of romaine lettuce with red grapes, mangoes and chicken breast in lemon-djon dressing was simply refreshing.

Sicilian Chicken Salad (RM 33.90)

The Lasagna A La Ravina (we chose beef instead of chicken) was okay, however Eve and I agreed that the one from Pizza Hut tasted better. Funny right?

Lasagna A La Ravina (RM 35.90)

Last but not least, we had their Napoli Bianco pizza. By now we were so full to the brim, that we each had one slice and had the rest take-away. The pizza was simple yet tasted really good. Love the colour combination of the pepperoni and the arugula leaves.

Napoli Bianco Pizza (RM 43.90)

Gangnam 88 @ Solaris Mont Kiara

We headed over to Gangnam 88 at Mont Kiara for dinner, after hearing good reviews about this restaurant.

You can opt to take the elevator up or walk up the stairs.

We ordered the large Jeyuk-Bokkeum (Korean Spicy Pork Stir Fry). The onions and thinly sliced carrots accompanied the well-marinated pork. Absolutely delicious!

Jeyuk-Bokkeum (RM 49)

 The Kimchi Jiggae came with 6 banchan (side dishes) which are refillable. Not the best we've ever tasted but enough to satisfy our hungry tummies.

Kimchi Jiggae (RM 20)

We ordered 2 extra rice (RM 5/each) , 2 green tea (RM 5.40/cup), 1 lemon-honey tea (RM 6.80) and 1 cup Americano coffee (RM 6).The total bill came up to RM 112.85, including 10% service charge.

Don't we look alike?

Dip 'n Dip @ Bangsar

If you love chocolates and desserts, you've come to the right place.

Dip 'n Dip, located at Bangsar was packed with young and old alike when we arrived last Saturday evening.

We didn't order much as we were saving our tummies for dinner.

'After Eight' Hot Chocolate is a lovely chocolaty drink with minty taste. Absolutely delightful:)

After Eight (RM 16)

Eve ordered their Mocha Frappe (RM 14). I didn't manage to get a good shot of the frappe.

The Fondant was good. Warm Belgium chocolate filling served with ice cream, what else can you ask for?

Chocolate Fondant (RM 13.50)

Us in Red

Sukhotai Noodle House @ Gurney Paragon

After work yesterday, a bunch of us met up for dinner at Sukhothai Restaurant.
This restaurant apparently has been around for some time but was located at Burmah Road before moving to the present venue at the 5th floor of Gurney Paragon.

From what I gather from people around, this place is famous for its beef noodles. I'll make a mental note to come back for this one day.
Last night however, we came for their Thai food. We ordered 6 dishes. Bear in mind that the portion is very small, so you may need to order more dishes to actually fill you up.

The mango salad had a balanced sour-sweet taste. Not too bad, but not the best I've had.

Mango Salad (RM 13.90)

The tom yam looked awesome, but when I've tasted it...I couldn't express my disappointment.

It was too sour for my liking, lack in spiciness and aroma. It's as though the sourness has sucked up the taste of the other ingredients. I think they should add a little more of galangal (lengkuas).

Tom Yam Seafood (RM 35.90)

The Chicken Massaman Curry tasted far different from what I've tasted in Koh Lipe. I've personally cooked Massaman curry and I know that this dish should contain roasted peanuts/cashew nuts in it. However, I did not see and taste them at all here.

Chicken Massaman Curry (RM 17.90)

The fried fish cakes were really good. They went very well with the tangy sauce. Thumbs up!

                                                 Fried Fish Cakes (can't find the price on the receipt)

The morning glory (kangkung) was nice too. I can definitely finish the whole thing myself.

                                                               Morning Glory (RM 13.90)

This fried chicken with sweet-sour sauce was appetizing. I enjoyed every bite of it.

                                                 Fried Chicken in sweet-sour sauce (RM 33.80)

Next, the Acacia Omelette. Nothing fancy, but it went well with the sambal.

                                                                                Acacia Omelette (RM 16.90)

For dessert, we ordered Sukhothai's mango sticky rice. Not bad, but the rice should be slightly more creamy, just my opinion.

                                                              Mango sticky rice (RM 9.90)

My first time trying out Miang Kham. I'm never a fan of these...

                                                             Miang Kham (RM 15.90)

The last dessert we had was Pistachio and Peanut butter ice cream.

                                                           Ice cream (RM 3.90/scoop)

The total bill came up to about RM 335+ for the 11 of us.

Couldn't resist a group photo:)

Kiam Chye Duck (Salted vegetable soup with duck meat)

It's a month plus since I last written anything. Nothing interesting has happened although there were some work issues. Oh well, let's leave that behind shall we?

Today, I shall share with you a comforting yet appetizing soup. There are several variations of this recipe online but it's really up to you how elaborated you want your soup to be.

The Ingredients (Serves 2):

Salted (preserved) vegetables - Soak in slightly salted water for 30 minutes and then chopped into pieces.
Duck meat - 200 g (I'm estimating since I got them from my mother). You can use a whole bird or half it's up to you.
1 tomato - cut into wedges
1/2 onion - cut to strips
1/2 knob ginger - slice
Tamarind juice

Do not forget one of the most important spice, peppercorns. Some people prefer to add in a dash of pepper but in my opinion, nothing beats pounding peppercorns. They really give the soup a kick!

Steps:

1. Boil a pot of water (500-600 ml)
2. When the water starts to boil, add in duck meat. Remove the 'scum'.
3. Add in the salted vegetables, ginger and onions.
4. Let the soup boil for 10 minutes and then add tomatoes and peppercorns.
5. When the soup starts to boil, taste the soup. Add in tamarind juice accordingly depending on how sour you want the soup to be.
6. Let the soup simmer for another 30 minutes.