Author Archives: epicuriousgirl

goodbye. for now.

i have been thinking for this for a while now. and finally I’m ready to face the truth. i need more time in a day! so with so much happening on the home front, and work getting busier, i guess it’s time to stop blogging. many heartfelt thanks to those who have kept reading or left comments somewhere along the line. but fret not, i’ll still be eating (and eating, lol) and documenting it. so feel free to check it out here . Continue reading

Posted in Adsense, Ae, Amp, Asam, Australia, Backgr, Bar, Blog, Blogging, bm, cake, Canon, chill, Chilli, Chillies, Cik, Clear, cooking, Dessert, Discovery, Eating Out, Eel, event, Events, festive, food, foodie, Fri, Ginger, goodbye, Gor, halal, Har, Heck, Ipoh, japan, Kampung, KL, Lai, lissie, Liver, location, Lol, Lor, Lot, Malay, malaysia, Map, Media, Motormouth, Nam, new, Non Halal, Norm, October 2010, Oxo, PJ, Pot, Pub, Rasa, recipe, Recipes, Senses, Singapore, Snack, Snacks, Tam, Thai, Thumb, travel, United Kingdom, wi-fi! | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Putien, One Utama PJ

One Utama’s old wing is undergoing a facelift and recently, we see quite exciting new establishments opening up. Putien may serve Heng Hwa cuisine but first opened in Singapore. An ex colleague suggested to meet here for dinner and it was a 30 min wait before we got a table. I must admit the crowd gave me high hopes for the dinner I was about to have… I like the decor of the restaurant. Bright and light, it exudes a very clean and contemporary feel. I only realised how big the restaurant was as we walked further in to our table. The menu had so many beautiful pictures that we wanted to order almost everything! The one thing I really wanted to try, i.e. the deep friend yam & duck was sold out. Ah, just my luck. The accompanying chilli sauce is worth a mention though. Has quite the zing to it! We started off with the cold starter of Pork Belly with Garlic ???? (RM11.90). I wasn’t really wowed by this and for those sensitive to strong “porky taste”, this dish you should definitely steer clear of. The garlicky sauce was probably the saving grace. The Seaweed with mini shrimp ?????(RM8.90) was nice albeit being a tad too salty and briney. Deep Fried Chicken with Garlic ????? was golden and crisp-skinned. The meat was tender and juicy and I am glad it was low on sodium. Mee Sua is kinda like my comfort food so naturally Putien Mee Sua ???? was one of my choices. Their version has a lot going on with the prawns, clams, egg, peanuts, deep fried seaweed etc. In fact there was so much ingredients I could barely see the noodles itself. It’s very different from what I am used to, but the seafood stock does do wonders for the taste. The Claypot Fish Soup ???? was also a winning dish with us. Tummy warming and tasty. Brimming with the sweetness of the fish and wolfberries, we enjoyed drinking this. I felt that the Spinach with Salted Egg & Century Eggs in premium stock ????(RM16.90) was somewhat average. The gravy was so thick that there wasn’t enough to go around with the pile of greens. The Iced Abalone ?????? (RM19.90) was plump and juicy but I probably won’t order it a second time as this was so delicate tasting. I prefer it flavoured from braising. As an opening promotion, the Heng Hwa Bee Hoon ???? was complimentary. As it’s somewhat the signature dish and so many praises have been sung about it, I was rather disappointed with what we were served. It was clumpy and lacked seasoning. I couldn’t taste the stock it was supposedly to have been soaked in. I wonder if a second chance should be given on a return visit. Overall, I think there are some hits and misses in the menu. Still, there are quite a few items we would like to try, so I reckon some return visits are in order. We had no problems with service and our dishes were served quite promptly but the table next to ours kicked up quite the fuss when one of their dishes was left out. But since they were there earlier I could understand their frustration. Putien ??( www / fb ) G213A Ground Floor, Promenade, 1 Utama Shopping Centre (Old Wing), Bandar Utama, 47800 Petaling Jaya Tel : Other reviews; – eatdrinkkl – the nomad gourmand – pureglutton Continue reading

Posted in 1 Utama, Adsense, Ae, Amp, Asam, Australia, Backgr, Bar, Blog, bm, cake, Canon, chill, Chilli, Chilli Sauce, Chillies, Cik, Claypot, Clear, Comfort Food, cooking, Deep Fried Chicken, Dessert, dinner, Discovery, Dishes, Eating Out, Eel, Egg, event, Events, festive, Fish Soup, flavour, food, foodie, Fri, Fried Chicken, Garlic, Ginger, Gold, Gor, Gravy, halal, Har, Heck, High Hopes, Ingr, Ingredients, Ipoh, japan, Kampung, KL, Lai, lissie, Liver, location, Lor, Lot, Malay, malaysia, Media, Mee, Motormouth, Nam, new, Non Halal, Noodle, Noodles, Norm, October 2010, Oxo, Petaling Jaya, PJ, Pork, Pork Belly, Pot, Prawn, Prawns, promotion, Pub, Rasa, Recent, recipe, Recipes, Restaurant, Rm1, Rm8, Salted Egg, Sauc, Seafood, Seaso, Senses, shopping, Signature Dish, Singapore, Snack, Snacks, Soup, Spinach, Stock, Sweetness, Tam, Thai, Thumb, travel, United Kingdom, wi-fi!, Wolfberries, Zing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Group Therapy, Singapore.

Happy New Year all! 2011 was a year of changes for me but the one I embraced most of all is going away for short getaways over weekends whenever I could. Even the last weekend of the year was no different. Made the drive down south and was pleasantly surprised to find the roads clear to and fro. Had our first brunch of the new year at Group Therapy, an upstairs cafe along Duxton Road. I was quite happy we found the place as the ambience and mood of the cafe is what I enjoy. Cozy, intimate and full of character. Being there with company I enjoy, great coffee and unpretentious food was group therapy indeed. As it was New Year’s they did offer a champagne brunch set but we still ended up ordering ala carte. I read later that their menu changes from time to time. First sign that greets you on your way up is “ Fresh Hot Coffee ” and that’s exactly the caffeine kick I was looking for that morning. Beautifully made Latte ($5.50) & Mocha with Lindt dark chocolate buttons ($6.50) were our choices. I found the Mocha a tad lighter than I hoped for. It seemed to lack a certain punch. Maybe I should have gone for a double shot latte instead. But still, frothy and milky. My choice was the Scrambled eggs with parmesan, mushroom and bratwurst ($18). The scrambled eggs were a wetter than I usually like them, but sandwiched in between the crisp, buttered toasts, it was still comfort food. The grilled Panini with Ham & Mozzarella Cheese ($16) was served with couscous and potato chips. I liked how the couscous was prepared with both fresh and sundried tomatoes and bits of red cabbage which gave the sweetness to the side dish. To make the Croque Monsieur even more decadent, the grilled ham & cheese sandwich is topped off with an egg, usually a sunny side up to make a Croque Madame (S17) (apparently due its shape looking like a hat). But my friend wanted scrambled ones on hers instead. Garnished with Kaiware sprouts, this was deliciously cheesy. To end the meal on a sweet note, we chose the seasonal Caramel Apple Crumble ($8). Very cinnamon-y and chock a block full of apple dices. One thing though, this is served chilled. Must say, the laidback vibe of the place has won me over. Great place to catch up and hang out with friends. Only question now is, when ah to go back Singapore? Group Therapy ( www / fb ) 49 Duxton Road, #02-01, Singapore 089513 Opening Hours: Tue-Thu: 11:00-18:00 Fri-Sat: 11:00-23:00 Sun: 09:00-18:00 Closed Mondays. other reviews; – ladyironchef – the food nomads – the food chapter Continue reading

Posted in Adsense, Ae, Ala Carte, Ambience, Amp, Apple Crumble, Asam, Australia, Backgr, Bar, Blog, bm, Bratwurst, brunch, Caf, Cafe, cake, Canon, Champagne Brunch, cheese, Chef, chill, Chilli, Chillies, chocolate, Cik, Clear, Coffee, Comfort Food, cooking, Dark Chocolate, Dessert, Discovery, Eating Out, Eel, Egg, event, Events, festive, food, foodie, Fri, Ginger, Gor, Grill, halal, Happy New Year, Har, Heck, Hot Coffee, Ipoh, japan, Kampung, KL, Lai, lissie, Liver, location, Lol, Lor, Lot, Malay, malaysia, Map, Media, Menu Changes, Motormouth, Mozzarella, Mushroom, Nam, new, New Year, Non Halal, Norm, October 2010, Oxo, Pot, Pub, Rasa, recipe, Recipes, S Cafe, sandwich, Scrambled Egg, Seaso, Senses, Side Dish, Singapore, Snack, Snacks, Sout, Sundried Tomatoes, Sweetness, Thai, Thumb, toast, travel, United Kingdom, wi-fi! | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Restoran Ka Lok, Sekinchan

Since the last time I wrote about heading down to Sekinchan , I have made a couple of trips there as it’s still an ideal escape from the hustle and bustle of city life. And now, with the new Latar highway , getting there is even easier! But prepared for the RM12(!) toll charges to and fro…so it’s either saving money and spending more time on the road or whizzing there and paying for it. Haha. Utilising another long weekend, 5 of us made a trip there to see if we could be lucky to snap some golden fields. Well, we were a tad early as it was still mostly green with some golden grains. But despite the current rainy season, the sun smiled down on us and gave us gorgeous weather. So when in Sekinchan, eat like the locals do? Check. My friend wanted me to try this really fresh steamed fish head, she said. But she didn’t mention a single word about the size and when we got there and this hulk of a fish head was placed on our table, everyone fell silent for a bit before nervous laughter ensued. Trust me, it was gigantic! Don’t let the pile of sliced onions fool you. But the fish was very fresh and succulent. Despite our earlier doubts, it was soon polished off. Lucky we had a fella who truly knew how to enjoy the fish head, doing it justice by almost licking the bones clean. Price was based on weight and this portion was at RM75.20. We also had Steamed Lala at RM12. The shellfish by itself was very fresh though I thought some of it were a tad overcooked as it was a bit tougher to bite. As per the norm of shark meat dishes here in Sekinchan, the stir fried shark meat(RM15) was cooked in a heavy black bean sauce along with ginger shreds and onion. The meat itself was tender and flavourful and perfect with a bowl of steaming, hot rice. I have had shark meat in my hometown on many occasions but mostly there were rather coarse in texture and just as I wondered earlier about the smoothness of the shark meat dishes here, was told that baby sharks were used…ouch. But the locals reassure me that these baby sharks are bred and farmed for this purpose and not those caught from the wild which I guess sits better on the conscience just a tad. Other ways to have the shark meat in Sekinchan is to either to have it in soup or porridge. Restoran Ka Lok ????? 372, Site B, Lorong 6, 45400 Sekinchan, Selangor. Tel : 012-6867173 Opening Hours : 6:30am – 3 pm daily other reviews; – onionhead – liar of love – visit Sekinchan (In mandarin) Continue reading

Posted in Adsense, Ae, Around M’sia beyond KL, Asam, Australia, Backgr, Bar, Black Bean Sauce, Blog, bm, BTS, Bustle, Caf, Cafe, cake, Canon, chill, Chilli, Chillies, Cik, Clear, cooking, Day Trip, Dessert, Discovery, Dishes, Eating Out, Eel, event, Events, festive, Fish Head, flavour, food, foodie, Fri, Ginger, Gold, Gor, halal, Har, Heck, Ipoh, japan, Kampung, KL, Ku, Lai, lissie, Liver, Locals, location, Lor, Lot, Malay, malaysia, Meat Dish, Meat Dishes, Media, Motormouth, Nam, new, Ngor, Non Halal, Norm, October 2010, Oxo, Porridge, Pot, Pub, R2, R5, Rasa, recipe, Recipes, Rm1, Rm7, Sauc, Seafood, Seaso, Selangor, Senses, Singapore, Snack, Snacks, Soup, Steam, Textur, Texture, Thai, Thumb, travel, United Kingdom, wi-fi!, Zing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment