deconstructing royce'

i am not a chocolate lover but the raves for royce's nama got my curiosity.

the other variants of royce chocolates can be stored at room temperature except for the nama which needs to be maintained at a certain temperature.

when i found myself at suriaklcc i immediately thought of getting the nama at isetan which is relatively cheaper compared to getting it in manila.

the chocolate is wrapped in a thermal bag with an ice pack to keep it cool for 4 hours at the most to maintain it's consistency and form.

the nama is wrapped like a gift, the colors determine the flavor. i got me self the mild cacao variant.

after removing the paper wrapping, you'd find yourself a box that looks like the wrapping. talk about spending a lot on packaging.

when you open the box, you'd see a plastic container with the precious nama inside.

the nama is a block of chocolate that is cut into smaller squares with powdered cocoa. you also get a small plastic that helps you cut through the square to pick one.

i was able to try the white and milk chocolate variants but i opted for the mild cacao. i liked it because it's not too sweet and find it less bitter than milk chocolate which i found weird since i'd expect the opposite. the nama has a smooth and velvety texture that simply melts in your mouth. for choco lovers, this is a must try.

isetan
suriaklcc, kuala lumpur

manila:
konbini store
connecticut st. greenhills

SG: food republic

there's a food republic at wisma atria, which is basically a food court. i forgot the actual stall where i got my fast food version of steam boat. i simply got lured with the display.

you choose your food items from the display, an assortment of shabu shabu/steam boat ingredients and then they'll cook it for you. you can choose from a variety of noodles if you wish to have them added. i opted for spinach for my veggie (veggies are free...i think), each food item costs 70 cents (fresh fish ball, pork with tofu, egg tofu, pork stuffed tofu, etc.). the noodles has an additional charge as well as the soup. yup, even the clear soup that comes with it. this bowl costs around 7 SGD (now that i made the conversion, it's pretty pricey). a filling and satiating meal.

food republic

4th level, wisma atria

orchard road, sg

SG: toastbox

needed to get a quick fix and decided to get a laksa from toastbox. wanted to compare manila's version. it was perfect except for one thing. it has no salt. as such, the dish was simply bland. imagine slurping a rich hot coconut milk soup base that is spicy with no hint of salt. having a dose of fish sauce would have heighten the flavors of this dish. really disappointed with this one.

toastbox

food republic

suntec city

KL: little penang cafe

i always end up at suria klcc after a tiring day so i don't have any option but eat at resto's there. i've learned about little penang cafe so we gave it a shot.

we got two types of set meals both costing 13.50 RM. the first one is with a five spice chicken and sambal prawns with a choice of side dish (juhu char).

i got the kari hantu set which has penang beef curry, so hot but pleasing to my palate. it comes with lobak, chicken wrapped in soybean think kikiam but instead of unrecognizable ingredients you get chunks of chicken instead. also opted for juhu char as a side dish which is turnip cooked with prawns and dried cuttlefish. has the same texture and looks like lumpia stuffing made of green papaya but has this fishy taste which probably comes from the cuttlefish.

for dessert, we had ice kacang (4.80 RM) a traditional malay dessert. their version of halo halo. it has ice, milk, bananas, black gulaman, something that seems to be a light colored raisin, beans, sweet corn, a red syrup and peanuts on top. very appealing on a hot summer day but i'll probably still opt for the pinoy version.

here's the malay version of coke.

i'd have to say that it was the pangs of hunger that compelled us to finish our meals. maybe it was the choice of food items but i'd have to say that it wasn't as delectable or satiating as i expected. if you want to try it, it's at the fourth level of suriaklcc. cheaper than madam kwan's and it's busy too, so locals like it here as well. you might wanna try the specials instead.

little penang cafe

4th level suriaklcc

KL: mcdo

whenever i am out of the country, i make it a point to eat at mcdonald's. it's a long story on why i do this, but surprisingly i discovered a friend who does the same thing hehe.

for a quick snack, i got the banana pie. this one ain't available in manila so it was an obvious choice. it actually tastes good, would have been better if it was piping hot with a more flaky crust.

took a photo of their ketchup container too, it looks like a mini platito...sounds redundant since platito is already a small plate but think of a smaller platito in plastic form. the vessel is shallow thus containing a smaller amount of ketchup.

and look at this ad....they have onion rings? too bad they only serve breakfast when we got there.

mcdonald's

bukit bintang, kl

KL: madam kwan's

i've read about madam kwan's and its good reviews plus a disclaimer of being relatively more expensive compared to hawker food/other malaysian restaurants. however, its accessibility made it a viable option for me.

it has great interiors, a posh way to try malaysian cuisine. i got the ever famous nasi lemak. i didn't want to be disappointed with this dish so i opted to get it here. it was all good...spicy which i like. the chicken curry was just right, the coconut flavor of the rice was not over powering, the dilis (anchovies) was spicy which made a nice contrast of flavors with the bland hard boiled egg.

my friends got nasi bojari which is a huge set meal. the meal has beef rendang, fried chicken, boiled egg and assam prawns. a good meal for someone with a huge appetite or someone who has not eaten lunch by 5pm hehe.

here's an ala carte shot of the beef rendang. shredded beef cooked in a spicy red sauce. hot hot hot...perfect with lots of rice.

dehydrated with all the walking, i simply opted for water and they only serve evian. pricey but atleast i got it with a slice of lemon ;).

here's shot of their menu items.

madam kwan's

4th level

suria klcc

KL: roti fix

we found ourselves hungry at batu caves. however, we weren't able to find any decent food establishment since they all offer vegetarian cuisine only. we found an establishment that offers roti. since i love roti, i convinced my friends to give it a try.

had roti planta which is roti with butter. has a great combination of sugar and butter that made it oh so sinful and the warm crisp texture made it delectable.

also got roti canai, it was soft and much better than the ones i've had here in manila. but since roti canai is plain roti and the dip they gave wasn't pleasing to our palates this ended up as a none favorite.

each roti costs 2RM, around 26PHP which is not bad if you ask me.

roti shop

foot of the steps to batu caves

left side if you are facing the stairs

KL: the chicken rice shop

with time to spare at the KL Sentral station, we decided to get a morning snack. we found the chicken rice shop and tried out one of their breakfast meals.

the meal consists of plain noodles with wonton and some brocolli. it was a decent set of noodles but not tasty enough. the red chilli condiment that comes with fish sauce does not complement the dish well.

for drinks we had the teh tarik. it's malaysia's traditional milk tea. the foam on top is generated from how they pour the tea from the kettle to the mug/cup.

the chicken rice shop

kl sentral train station

KL: nando's take two

wasn't impressed with my first nando's outing but i was curious to find out whether the asian/malaysian version will be better. unfortunately, it was not, chicken tasted the same. i had chicken pita this time but it was unimpressive still.

my friends had the chicken with mediterranean rice which is not available in the uk.

the price is relatively steep and i'd recommend eating somewhere else. maybe secret recipe will give you a better value for your money.

nando's

midvalley megamall

hotel food…to die for or not

with the fame of hotel buffets in recent years and the reputation of hotel restos, you’d expect the same kind of food at any hotel function. surprisingly that is not the case in most occasions.

got a chance to attend a two day event at the edsa shangri-la hotel and as usual food was as bland as they could be.

appetizers

(grilled thyme marinated vegetables with balsamic and crispy onions)

liked this dish, i love roasted veggies with a bit of balsamic, the blue cheese gave it a nice kick.

(caesar salad with foccacia croutons, bacon and parmesan petals)

the dressing was watery. nothing extraordinary about the salad…other restos serve a much better caesar.

entrees

(basil crusted snapper with creamed leek mashed potato and asparagus and chili green pea paste)

i liked the uniqueness of the dish but none of the flavors mentioned were evident and it was simply bland.

(maple glazed chicken breast with steamed rice, roast capsicum relish, steamed snow pea julienne peppercorn creamed mushroom reduction)

whew! what a long name/description. again, no hints of maple, the bell pepper was not made into a relish, the peppercorn sauce was like a instant mix gravy. bland food remedied with loads of pepper and salt.

dessert

(lime cheesecake with pineapple five spice compote)

i love cheesecakes so i enjoyed this even though i didn’t taste the lime and the five spices were probably forgotten by the person who made the compote ;).

(raspberry crème brulee)

it tasted like medicine. i am very particular about certain flavors, like chemical tasting fresh milk which sometimes comes out in milk chocolate too. and this time it was the raspberry flavoring that tasted like medicine of some sort and the texture was more like pudding.

i had two days that were gastronomically frustrating that i was craving for a mcdo burger at the end of it ;).

trying out classic cuisine

seen and read about C2 but didn’t get interested because i don’t fancy eating filipino cuisine whenever i’m out (except for sentro which i love). but b was raving about it recently that when i found myself at the shang, i decided to give it a shot.

we all wanted a cholesterol overload that we just got everything someone with heart problems should not eat.

got pinakbet with bagnet (PHP 220). i was disappointed with this, it seemed like a dish whipped out from someone’s kitchen and definitely not mine.


also got lechon kawali with bagoong (PHP 265), overcooked fried pork pieces is how i will describe it.


i love pork humba and b recommended this so it was on my list. the pork was tender…the pork was tender…tender…did i mention that already? gheez it was too salty and i actually couldn’t figure out how it became humba.



as if the fat intensive dishes weren’t enough, we got aligue rice (PHP 105). verdict? so so. well i guess that’s it, nothing more to say.





C2
the ledge, shangri-la mall

i want some claws, daddy!

had dinner at clawdaddy and got some freebie broiled corn.

was craving for seafood so we got the crab and seafood boil (PHP 1000 ++) for two. the meal includes a pitcher of iced tea/lemonade, clam chowder, a platter of seafoods and a big wedge of watermelon.

the chowder was good, flavorful with lots of bacon bits and clam pieces and potato.

the seafood platter is huge, could probably feed 2-4 people, it has 2 lobsters, a small crab, clams, mussels, shrimps, fresh water prawns (ulang) and a huge sausage (hungarian I think) and more corn!

definitely a filling meal and as far as i’m concerned it’s great value for your money.

clawdaddy

shangri-la mall

bonifacio high street