my day at kimpura

this was my first time in kimpura could you believe it? i can't either. of course we got the teppanyaki. i only ordered two sets of ribeye with fish and prawn and had an extra order of scallops. also just had an extra serving of rice and miso soup since there is 3 of us.

food was really good, you know that they use only high grade ingredients. it was a very happy meal and we were so stuffed we didn't finish all of this, had the leftovers to go.

kimpura
trinoma mall, qc

my birthday brekkie

oh yes, you read it right! this was my birthday brekkie that's why it was tagged #itsmorefuninthephilippines since i celebrated my birthday in manila for the first time since i moved to kl.

i don't like the singaporean chilli crab recipe or the sweet and sour type of crabs. for me this is perfect, the way i want my chilli garlic crabs. butter, garlic, crabs, tomato sauce, salt, sugar and tabasco.

urbn bar and kitchen

i've read so many reviews on urbn, well most of them were sponsored posts but the food seems legit and it has become one of my friends' favorite spots so during my last visit it was a must.

well i wasn't really blown out of my mind with the dishes we tried, they were ok but not extraordinarily good.

manchego cheese souffle - it was light and the crispy prosciutto made it more interesting and provided a contrast of textures.

rack of lamb - wanted to try the dry aged steak but they didn't have it tsk tsk. we ordered medium but this one seems to be too rare for us. we had it sent back to the kitchen for further cooking.

mac and choreese - nothing special just mac and cheese, i didn't even taste any distinct flavors from the chorizo.

kurobota pork belly - seriously? this was just like fried pork belly. there's something wrong with the slaw it was just not right and they are better off using regular pork because the way this dish was cooked didn't highlight the quality of the pork.

white chocolate lava cake

my friends love their chocolate lava cake but they didn't know there's white chocolate lava cake so when we found out we opted to order this. this one is more like yema flavored cake and not white chocolate it was still good though. 

overall, they served decent food but nothing to rave about. there was a miss on my singapore sling by the way. they served me a drink that tasted like cough syrup so we eventually complained and they replaced it with something that is what a singapore sling should look like (well it was my first singapore sling so i was apprehensive on complaining but from my recollection a singapore sling shouldn't really look like a mcfizz).

urban bar and kitchen

fort pointe building, bgc

best ramen ever!

ok, i'm not really a fan of ramen. i loved instant ramen though (haven't eaten instant noodles for 9 months now, i'm trying to be healthy). before, i already mentioned that i'm very particular with ramen. i have this certain construct on what a good ramen noodle should be.

so the much raved about ippudo ramen has come to the malaysian shores. somehow i was drawn to this particular brand. santouka has been here for a while and it never piqued my interest, but ippudo did.

akamaru shinaji, their famous tonkotsu broth with miso paste and garlic oil, was so fragrant. there are several versions of this ramen based on toppings. this was the everything on it, me thinks. it has egg, chashu and seaweed which i'm currently addicted to. the pork slices are so tender, the broth is so rich and i like the spiciness and the garlicky goodness the oil imparts. you can still add freshly ground sesame and fresh garlic if the flavors are still not enough.

the first time i tried it, i had medium firmness and it was alright and then the succeeding one the medium firm noodles were a bit soggy. so either we had the very firm noodles before or they screwed up our order the second time around. i love their noodles, not the traditional ramen type noodle, theirs is similar to a hongkong noodle - round, thin but whiter and very springy. 

after perusing the menu online, i suddenly remembered oh tokyo! it's a show on sky cable which features places in tokyo. there was this episode wherein they showed the ramen museum. and it's more like a food gallery of all the ramen in japan. the host, ellen (if i remember correctly) ate aka ramen which is similar to this ramen aka means red - it was served in a red bowl and she said among the ramen she has tasted this was closest to the pinoy mami because of the garlic oil. i now wonder whether this is the same ramen she had then, but i digress.

they serve other food items too. opted for the avocado and shrimp with wasabi mayo. it's a welcome break from the ramen which could be cloying.

curry cheese haru maki is a unique dish. it's good and if you like japanese curry and/or cheese you'll love this dish. however, fried + cheese does not fare well with an ultra rich ramen broth.

ippudo's ramen is something that i crave for or dream about, it's seriously that good. it has ruined ramen for me, it's like i can only eat ippudo ramen and nothing else. but ikkoryu fukouka ramen seems to have a similar type of noodle as ippudo so there's a chance it can match my ippudo fanaticism.

ippudo

pavilion mall, kl

http://www.ippudo.com.my/

lusso

finally tried margarita fores' much raved about greenbelt 5 resto.

complimentary grissini

truffle potato chips to whet our appetite

d's cannelloni

i wanted the demi pound burger but they said they ran out of the bun and would be served with plain bread...meaning tasty!!! that was a major turn off for me. the service was good but seriously? serving your famous burger in white bread was just appalling. anyway, the spinach taglerini had great reviews and it was good. the pasta for me was a bit overcooked but the balance of the flavors were just right.

fresh calamansi juice because my throat was a bit scratchy hehe...love paper straws btw :).

lusso

greenbelt 5

makati city

pj: myburgerlab

so finally, i was able to try the infamous myburgerlab. i got a set which comes with fries and bottomless drink. my burger was a+ which has cheddar, caramelized onions and enoki mushrooms. but i received the a++ which has a parmesan crisp. i didn't complain anymore, the place was packed and the extra parmesan crisp wouldn't really matter.

the beef patty was bland. bland meaning there's no beefiness in the patty. i really don't know how to describe it but let' just say a quarter pounder is more beefy than their patty. and then i remembered how pale colored their patty was like as if it was 50% fat and 50% beef. maybe that was the reason, more fat makes it more "tender" and should add flavor but nothing beats the beefy goodness of meat. i tried the chicken version as well and i think it fared much better because you get a chicken breast fillet.

the fries, during the first visit was soggy and too cloying. they've put too much italian seasoning. the second visit, the fries were much better but still not crisp enough and the seasoning was a little less.

the portobello fries are good, better than the potato fries but i hope they don't go crazy on the seasoning as well. and for the dip, i think it needs more fine tuning. i actually couldn't figure out what flavors it tries to impart it's just a creamy sauce that's spicy. i like it because the spiciness cuts the cloying taste of the deeply fried foods but it ends there. probably better with just a spicy ketchup.

myburgerlab
14, jalan 21/22
seapark, petaling jaya

trader joe's is love

it was in 2007 when i first learned about trader joe's. i was in san francisco and my friend p told me i would love the place. unfortunately, time did not permit me to visit any store.

years later i finally got the chance to check it out. my first visit was in nyc, i was heading for some retail therapy and passed by the 6th ave location. popped in and bought some luna and larabars and then i saw kale chips and knew i had to get them.

(luna and larabars are health bars supposedly made without flour and mostly with fruits and nuts. i find the larabars much better less sweet and more healthy compared to the cloyingly sweet luna bar)

kale is a bitter green and this one is nacho flavored which is apt for the slightly bitter leaf. i wasn't an ultimate fan because it wasn't as crispy as i want it to be and the nacho flavoring were thick coating of seasonings that are not evenly distributed. i brought it back to malaysia even after being opened for God knows how long (it's resealable) they didn't survive the travel and became bits instead of chips, i topped them on soups and it was delish :D.

here are some of the stuff i got. the lentil chips and peach salsa were locally procured thanks to tastecentral. the mini cheese crackers were a bit salty for me but i think it's just right for others. the rest are all good especially the peach salsa. and no, i haven't tried the famous cookie butter, it's so difficult to get one and i am already happy with biscoff which everyone says is much better =).

i love healthy stuff, i am a fan of healthy options, i scream at the sight of turkey patties and frozen organic berries. having a trader joe's nearby is a dream. i'd probably eat much healthier with the wide array of food items to choose from. 

pj: multi-colored xiao long bao

this is a super late post! this was during the chinese new year. i love xiao long bao and what could be more exciting than 8 flavors of xiao long bao.

paradise dynasty is the only place i know that offers several flavors of xiao long bao, they even give you a guide on which flavor to start with so that you'll be able to savor all of them, otherwise eating a more strong flavored xiao long bao will ruin the others for you.

here they are up close. i was not impressed, the skin is thick but not pillowy (the only reason why i could appreciate thick skinned xiao long bao).  din tai fung's crab and truffle flavored xia long bao are still the best. the garlic flavor was so strong it was bordering dismal. best eaten piping hot otherwise they'll taste bleh.

here's my favorite CNY dish, yee sang. this has salmon, shredded veggies like cucumber and carrots, pomelo, crispy crackers among many other things and a sweet tangy sauce which i deem is plum based. it's a prosperous dish for the cny which you need to toss as high as you can.

paradise dynasty

paradigm mall

kelana jaya, petaling jaya