Thursday, August 25, 2011

Sage

this was way back dated
but i wanted to blog it no matter what. so bare with me
it was for my bday..so i guess u know how long it have been 
nevermind that. eating at Sage was fun when you have two companions with two very different palate
we had their tasting menu and also a la carte
Sage need no further introduction, so lets chuck in

Fresh Pacific Oyster Potage with Scented White Truffle Oil, Watercress
the big fat plump juicy oysters was yummy!!!! i love oyster especially when they are fresh
i'm not a big fan of green soup but this was alright, very mild flavor of watercress and of course the aroma from the truffle oil..lovely for a starter!!

Hiramasa Kingfish with Smoked Avruga Caviar Cream
love this dish a lot.. the kingfish was so fresh until my companion that heart sashimi so much find it too 'raw'.
one bite into it, it felt so solid and firm, not much needed to be done to the fish especially when you have caviar cream. the slight saltiness of the caviar just balance the mildness taste of the fish. this dish to me is to die for. no wonder, its KINGfish!!

Homemade Tagliolini with Fresh Water Prawn, Mozarella Cheese
my darling's appetizer, it do looks like a plate of normal pasta but the flavor of the fresh water prawn was so so strong, if you love those flavor of prawn broth and crab roe, u will fell in love with this. it was so flavorful and the tagliolini just fully absorbed the aroma. we were joking, if they could give us a bigger portion coz i was eyeing at the plate all time..

Slow cooked of threadfin fish with seared sea scallop and saffron broth
another awesome dish, see the name 'threadfin' and it proves the name as it was really silky smooth. it was my first slow cooked fish, and nevertheless it was a perfect one, done just right..scallop was seared nicely and compliment well with the saffron broth. a comfort dish, it would be awesome if its on the a la carte

Glazed Atlantic seabass with Cataifi Prawn, Crustacean Oil
at the first mouth, i thought the waitress made a mistake cause it taste exactly like cod even the texture of the skin. but she say this is a Atlantic seabass..felt so 'sua ku'. but nevermind, my palate learn new things everyday. it was not a thick glaze like those teriyaki glaze you have at those Japanese chain restaurant, the glazed was lovely. my companion said the kataifi prawn was really fresh. but the crustacean oil don't seem to make an impact..hmmmm

Two ways preparation of duck with Rougie Foir Gras, braised daikon
ducky ducky, wanted to order this for myself but decided to give it up because i quit foie gras though who doesn't know Sage is famous for their foie gras dish. nevermind that either. he mention the duck breast was well cooked, the proportion of fat was just nice and not too tough and the duck confit was awesome especially paired with the fat foie gras. they are not stingy on the foie gras and he loves it.
one after another it was pretty filling, but i just can't miss out on dessert right
and they have souffle!!!!  souffle was really a difficult dessert to tackle although the ingredients seems so easy.
and since i do a perfect one why not just order one

Praline souffle with Varlhona Bitter Sweet Chocolate Sorbet
tada!!!erm i prefer the sorbet than the souffle..although it was a bit coarse but Varlhona make it feels better..haha. souffle was just alright for me, or maybe after i taken the photo, it started deflatting. nothing much to shout for. a pleasant one at the least better than the........

Apple Tart tartin
the apple tart tartin, this was for sure not made the traditional way. the apple slices was not fully caramelized and i prefer my tart tartin to have more apple. aiks..what a sad one even with the beautifully done quenelle

a good meal overall, i shall come back for their degustation menu

thanks to all

sinny

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Marquise Patisserie, BSC

it was a day well spent with my beloved Vic,
and we decided to have tea break together
i had pass by this patisserie a few times and i felt today is the right day to try as lileng has a sweet mouth too


they do custom cakes order and they have wide array of display at their glass cabinet
custom made fondant cake has been a hit in the market besides macaron of course
but how many of the cakes tasted fabulous with all the figurines. i'm always amazed with the details work and structure of fondant cake but not much when it comes to taste. the one that i fond of will be from Delectable by Su..the cake was lovely and the fondant aren't that sweet..good fondant i guess.i wonder how Marquise fondant cake taste like
we decided to go for the hi-tea set as the picture on the banner look tempting

each of us has a pot of tea. but it takes them really long to serve us. i don't remember the brand of tea. but the tea was good after letting it sit for while. i opted for the raspberry and vanilla infusion while she opted for blackberries. the sourness from both tea just balanced up the food that we consume. however, the flavor of vanilla is barely detected as the flavor of raspberry had overpowered it. 

this is the hi-tea set. remembering this holder from the Stella Maris hi-tea i had months back with my roomie
i felt a bit disappointed when the set arrive. it was different from the picture displayed
none of the cakes in the chiller display were there.aiks
the macarons were so sweet and tasted so artificial (thinking of Nathalie's now)
the madeline is not nice, not to say i taste a lot of madeline, but this is soggy and i don't see the bulge
the tart was nothing to be shout for. we did not finish the cookies either..
the things we gave our compliment on is

this tiny piece of chocolate cake that is shared by both of us.
if i could, i rather replace the madeline with the cake, the appearance certainly don't look tempting but it was soft, and not too sweet with the creaminess of the filling
Vic adores their egg sandwich too which is to me not too bad


maybe next time when i was there i should just stick to their pastry in the chiller as i heard a lot of raving about that. and they sell gourmet chocolates too..next time then.
overall, its a pretty disappointing hi-tea to me
but the companion was really a good one
it was a great day to meet her again

miss u Vic

Sinny

Marquise Patisserie
Bangsar Shopping Centre
59000 Kuala Lumpur
03-20957017

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Full of Beans, Straits Quay

another coffee place mushroom at Straits Quay proclaiming handcrafted coffee
everything are done manually there starting from grinding
and Penang coffee aficionados can get your quick fix here, or coffee bean supply or even coffee accessories

they have variety of coffee
and since we had syphon coffee at another coffee place
we decided to try their ice drip coffee
this was my first ice drip coffee and barely knew anything about it

there is only limited seating at the place
and you can actually sit at this long table to have a close look at the process of brewing and have some interaction with the barista..i guess the maximum number they can only fix 20 pax at their place though

the top carafe is filled with ice cube
and the total time of processing takes around 8 hours
its certainly long enough to get a cup of cold coffee
and the caffeine of ice drip coffee is 4 times more than the normal coffee brew
this is enough to make me drunk in the sea of coffee

of course its cold but totally different from those ice coffee where you filled with ice cubes to make it cold
at the first sip, it was really bitter enough for me
we decided to add some syrup into it
and one things that pop out of our mine is wine
i guess its due to the long dripping just like fermenting wine
it was a pretty strong coffee and smooth to just go down the throat though it didn't linger very long in my palate
and yes we shared the coffee, i'm practically almost overdose that day

they had macaron on sale too and i saw hisako ogita macaron book which i have been ranting to my friend but i didn't pick it up.not on that day i guess
the owner say, the macaron baker is a self learner in making all the macaron.and since its the macaron craze nowadays, i'm not surprise they decided to put in on the menu
however, taste wise..the macaroon was on the soggy side and the filling for the lemon macaron tasted artificial to me.chocolate was also so so..no comment on the berries since my partners wallop up everything..
i guess ill just stick to the coffee for now

do you need coffee ambassaddor??

and this is definitely the professional look when tasting coffee
my teacher cum barista from Coffee Connection
really impress on the amount of coffee she can consume in a day without getting drunk,nausea or tummy upset

more coffee hunting next
and yes this trip is meant for coffee sipping at one of my fav place; Penang

sinny

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Il Lido, Jalan Mayang

 it was a night of celebration and to start it off, lets PARTAY!!!!
start it off with some bubbly...Blended strawberry with Processco
the sourish of the strawberry pairing with the champagne was lovely
don' mind having another few glass but sad to say my partner don't drink..aiksssss


complimentary from the chef: cherry tomato stuffed with mozarella cheese, saffron sauce and top with shiso
if only the amuse bouche is in the menu so i can have extra

we were serve with the black olive bread but its a let down though
the bread is tad too oily for me but its okay..forgiven by the next course

tada...pan roast scallop with roast garlic cream
scallop was cook perfectly, mildly season as the crunchy bacon is pretty salty
they are match made in heaven that night..did i make it sounds like i'm describing a pair of lover??
and not forgetting, the rustic garlic cream..they all paired well to a great start..

beef carpaccio with bed of arugula..two thumbs up for this..although the greens seems to be a bit too much
but extras are always good right..
a slice of beef + the greens + shaved parmesan + TRUFFLE = satisfaction
yes..i capsized the word TRUFFLE..i love truffle and they are certainly generous with truffle

its like as though im having truffle feast because its porcini mushroom cream with truffle oil
its the first time i had porcini cream and the aroma of porcini was just subtle
the creaminess and the hint of truffle oil just linger in your palate..i wish i don't have to share this..
but people always say; sharing is love..okay, for this time then..

next was my main course, prime beef tenderloin with truffle potatoes
the beef was cooked well although i would prefer it to be slightly less cook..and i do ask for more sauce
typical Malaysian i guess..but that's also because i love their sauce..good excuse huh
and i wouldn't push away more truffle, could i..nom nom nom..yum yum yum..

pan roasted atlantic cod..the fish was cooked just nice, flaky and juicy..
skin was crispy but quite salty..wonder did the chef have a heavy hand that day..
but i don't remember the foam as i only have my eye on the saffron sauce that paired well with the fish..still continue to nom nom nom...

so i thought the meal will be ending perfectly with of course, dessert..
we ordered two dessert being greedy even we are already full

the usual found dessert, the molten lava with vanilla ice cream..nothing to be shout for though.as it was a pretty decent one..
but the next one was just disappointing though

the brulee four ways..besides the classic brulee, the remaining three was just disappointment
the strawberry brulee was watery..the taste of the pistachio brulee is just so not my type..and the coffee brulee was practically rough..should have just make other choices..its ok..its ok...

ahh.. a complimentary cheesecake..taste better than the brulee though..haha....i felt bad saying this though..

but nevertheless it was a great night..
thanks to the chef and the service crew..

till then

sinny

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Matcha Sable

i have wanted to make Parmesan sable after taking the recipe from Aden..he knows how much i love it coz i'm always munching it every time they bake back in the academy. and last weekend was the right time to bake..i got all my ingredients ready except for the major one, the CHEESE..that's how careless i am.. and i being a lazy bum just couldn't move my ass out of the house..

and since we have the macha powder sitting at the corner of my drawer, why not?? just grab and bake..cheese sable can always come later right..muahahaha....sable is just one of the simplest French cookies to be made..pop one in your mouth and you will get addicted..maybe not for all people but to my dad, yes!!!

the sable dough coated with sugar before cutting and baking..should have roll it more round though


cutting into rounds before baking..love the greens before baking

Cut Cut Cut

Bake Bake Bake

tada!!!! the sable that had been cooled down..but i guess temperature is slightly too high though..there are some cracked..shall improvised on that for the next sable..

does it look tempting to you?? i'm not a big fan of green tea products but i love the luscious green of it and the aroma of the green tea was pretty strong..some might find it overpowering like momo but dad said its just nice because he said a lot of green tea product doesn't have green tea taste..guess dd is just being supportive..thanks!!!

of coz time for some decorative packaging!!!

i always felt that packaging helps make the food look more interesting..just lace with ribbons and felt flowers..as easy as that..and you bring simplicity at a different look..this container here ended up as a birthday gift for a friend..hope she like it!!!

i know it sounds ridiculous nowadays when i tell people i hate doing pastries last time..its easier to say i like baking now..haha

more to come

sinny