Simple, Great Tasting Party Food @ Home

I had quite an eventful weekend. On Saturday, I was on OneFM with DJ Yve Vonne at noon as a guest for being a gourmand and also for the passion of chocolates. It was indeed an experience! My 1st live on radio experience post will be coming, so stay tuned!

Don't know why but I have been trying some new recipes and baking recently. I came up with some party food the one can come up with in the shortest time and still taste great! And thus, I was inspired to do a "Slow Roast Tomato Bruschetta" using the ingredients I have at home.



First, the ingredients are really simple.

• Baguette
  
• 3 medium-sized tomatoes
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 tablespoon of Balsamic Vinegar
• 1/2 tablespoon of Mixed Herbs (or Basil)
• A dash of salt & pepper

The steps are even easier. The garlics have to be chopped finely and tomatoes are diced according to your preference. I like them to be in bigger chunks so I don't cut them up too small.

Then, toss the chopped garlic and diced tomatoes on a baking pan, drizzle a tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil over the tomatoes. For this, I used my prized "Ornellaia" Olio Extra Vergine Di Oliva which the olives are grown in the same estate as the famous Tenuta Dell' Ornellaia wines. It is obtained by pressing the olives from about 2000 trees, which many of them are over 100 years old. Didn't I tell you I'm a snob too when it comes to ingredients for my cooking?!! Haha...

One can truly see the difference as the olive oil has a very nice golden colour with some hints of green. On the nose, you can smell the ripe fruit and the grassiness of the oil. It's a spicy-bitter olive oil with sweet almond finish.

After the olive oil, I added a tablespoon of Balsamic vinegar into the mixture. For this, instead of the normal balsamic, I used the Condiment à base de vinaigre de Balsamique Arôme Truffe which I bought in Paris during my last trip. This is actually Balsamic with Truffles which would give my tomatoes an added flavour.

The last step would be mixing all the ingredients well together with the salt, pepper and mixed herbs. Preheat the oven at 180°C and then slowly roast the tomatoes and herbs at the same temperature for 35-40 minutes.


When the tomatoes are about to get ready, you can now toast the baguette which I've cut them into 2 cm thick slices and all buttered up. Put them into the oven toaster and toast it to a crispy finish.



Ta daa.... and the tomatoes are ready! Although it might seemed a bit dry on the outside, it's actually not. The results are better than what I've expected. The roasted tomatoes with herbs, olive oil and balsamic vinegar compliments each other very well. The toasted baguette topped with the tomatoes are just perfect for a party snack! Basically it's just 15 minutes preparation time and you just have to wait for it to slowly cook. This recipe can make 7 pieces of bruschetta.

And to go with the Bruschetta, I prepared a cocktail to match the taste of the slow roast tomatoes. I prefer something light, fresh and citrusy and thus I used the Absolut Citron as the base of my cocktail.

Absolutly Tango Jango

All you need is just - a shot of Absolut Citron, half a shot of lemon juice, 2 shots of orange juice and top up with 7up. And I decide to name this concoction of mine as Absolutly Tango Jango, hahah... whatever that means...

And my weekend has come to an end. Time to cook dinner now. Adios!

Tenuta Dell Ornellaia Dinner @ Prego Westin KL

Did a friend a favour and he bought me a meal at Prego at Westin KL during the Tenuta Dell Ornellaia wine dinner. Wohoo! Honestly, I'm looking forward to dining at Prego as I've heard that it serves good Italian and moreover, it's going to be Ornellaia that we're drinking. How bad could it be?

This is my 2nd Ornelllaia wine dinner and I was there early with the rest of the gang where we were served with an endless flow of Primo Fraco Valdobbiadene Prosecco which is an apertivo for us before dinner. A lovely bubbly to start the evening is always welcomed! This is a light straw coloured sparkling with a palate of crisp apple and refreshing bubblies that will definitely help to fizz up the dinner.



The obligatory hors-d’oeuvre was a simple Bruschetta with Micro leaves that is served with a dose of Ornellaia Extra Virgin Olive Oil that replaces the normal "butter". I was very greedy and I sipped the virgin before allowing the bruschetta to be lubricated. Ooh... did I used the wrong description for this?

It's almost impossible to buy this Olive Oil as it is grown upon the grounds of the Estate and of course the production is limited. The oil has a very nice golden colour with a tinge of green. You can even taste some grasiness in the oil with some sweet almonds and spicy notes. Hmm... a perfect olive oil for salads too!



Together with the Natural Mussel Bisque with Smoked Herring Roe, we were served a glass of the Le Volte 2009 which is the starter of the meal. For a start, the bisque was not warm enough and I wasn't impressed with Le Volte 2009 as expected. I've tried the 2008 before but this 2009 wasn't exactly what I expected. It lacked the finish and to me it's still a very young wine need to be cellared for a couple of years more.



Then, we moved on to Le Serre Nouve 2006, 2007 & 2008. These are the "second vin" of Ornellaia produced from the younger vineyards. I have written about the tasting notes here and to make it simple, I don't know why but this 2nd time around when I tasted these wines, I somehow felt something was lacking. I liked the 2006 more than the rest due to more matured tannins.



For this vertical tastings of Le Serre Nouve, we were served King Crab Legs, Toasted Pannetone with smoked butter - browned and caper sauce. The dish comes in bits and I didn't find it particularly outstanding. After that, we had the Diver Scallop and Squid, paired with Spinach puree, grain mustard and truffle aioli. This dish came a bit cold as I would like my pan seared scallop to be a little warm. They did overcooked the scallop a little too.



So the dinner did not go too well and we were all waiting for the highlights of the night - Ornellaia 2006 & 2007. The wines were paired with Salmon confit, creamed white asparagus, Vincotto and Blackbean, Seared belly with pepper spray. Again the dish wasn't dressed to impress as I felt that the sauce didn't jive well with the salmon. The other main dish was the angus beef short rib which is braised and grilled and served with mushroom risotto and that too was cold. I didn't finish my rib.

The Ornellaia 2006 as I've mentioned before was made in a year filled with unusual quirks that may spell disaster but then it managed to pass my palate. It is complex, intense and has a lively tannin as compared to 2007 which has a glossy and velvety smooth tannin. I like the 2007 when compared side by side.

However, the hype and excitement for this 2nd round of Ornellaia tasting did disappoint me a little. I found that the wines didn't tickle me the right way anymore. There were so much of high expectations on this italian producer of Super Tuscan wine in the DOC of Bolgheri in Toscana. But now this Italy's top Bordeaux-style wine pales in comparison to some of the lower priced Bordeaux wines in my humble opinion.



Perhaps the more interesting highlight of the night was the showcase of a large collection of Riedel decanters. I've never seen so many shapes and designs of decanters in one sitting and that night was definitely an eye opener. I really like the Riedel "Eve" decanter which has a design like a snake and the way the wine was poured is indeed a conversation piece! If you rub pour it the wrong way, the wine ain't gonna flow, baby! However, the problem with this decanter is the storage. Where the hell I'm going to have such a tall cabinet for it?!! Beautiful but not practical.



Like the Top Chefs said, it ain't complete if there's no ending to a meal. The dessert of the night is the Ornellaia Olive Oil and Botrytis Riesling Cake with Roast pears. The cake was a bit too sweet for my liking but the pears were ok. And with it, I downed a shot of Ornellaia Grappa which wasn't my cup of tea.

Well, I'm glad I've finally gave Prego a go and the wines a 2nd try. Overall, I am quite disappointed with the wine dinner as it didn't live up to the grand style of this Italian label. But having said all these, I learnt one thing - it's not all about the price!

XPLAY is back!

Yeap, that's right. XPLAY - the party that brings the best performers to rock your world is back and it's going to be BIGGER & BETTER this year! Remember the party last year featuring some of the famous DJs that grooved you on the turn tables, and the line up of artists such as Mizz Nina, DJ Monkey, DJ Fuzz and Lap Sap?!!

Well, I heard that this year, the party is going to be MASSIVE. There will be both popular and undiscovered talents rocking their way to the event of the year.

Featuring:
Funky Kopral (Indonesia)
Estranged (Malaysia)
Project Pistol
Wicked Aura (Singapore)
Matt Affords & MC Vibe

and....

UOX Battle '11 Finale
where top 5 bands will battle it out for the Grand Prize of CASH + RECORDING contract

Date: 30th July 2011
Time: 7pm till late
Venue: Opera, Sunway Pyramid

I'm sure you won't want to miss out on a XPLAY event and thus mark your calendars people!

Want Free PASSES?

The best thing about these awesome events – entrance is absolutely FREE! All you have to do is go to the XPAX FB Page, “Like” the page, and register your details to get FREE passes!

It’s so easy to win your way into the hottest event in Malaysia’s social calendar!

1. LIKE our Xpax Facebook Fan Page @ www.facebook.com/xpaxfb

2. Check out the XPLAY app in the page

3. Register your details to get 1 FREE pass!

4. Print & show your e-mail confirmation at the entrance!

You can also:

1. Reload RM50 to get 2 VIP passes (to redeem free flow drinks during the event). You’ll also be in the running to win a VIP table for you + 5 friends! (Valid from 22-28 July 2011)

Just follow these simple steps:

a. Send XPLAY to 28881

b. You will get a Successful Registration SMS. After that, reload min RM50 to get your mobile voucher within 24hours after reloading

c. Flash the mobile voucher at XPLAY entrance on the event day to redeem 2 VIP passes (while stocks last, first come first serve)

2. Be the 1^st 100 Kolony members at the door to receive a FREE drink voucher for the event! You can also stand a chance to win a Blackberry Curve 8520 smartphone! To join KOLONY. Malaysia’s largest mobile social network now, send KOLONY to 25333.

For more info, log on to www.xpax.com.my

Tonkatsu @ Pavilion KL

Tonkatsu @ Pavilion KL

I was out shopping with Ervin at Pavilion KL and when I asked what he wants for lunch, he wanted Japanese food which is of course a good choice because I really wanted to try this restaurant ever since I read about this on Eat Drink KL. It was either Ben's or this and since he wanted Japanese, Tonkatsu was the choice.

This restaurant took over the previous Italian On Six outlet. There were some changes on the 6th floor of Pavilion as I guess business wasn't doing so well on the top floor. Named after the dish "breaded & deep fried pork cutlets" in Japan, this place does serve a variety of pork Katsu dishes! This is really the place to satisfy one's porcine cravings.



There were a few signature Katsu dishes to choose from. There are breaded deep fried pork loins, pork cutlet, prawns and chicken which are available in set menu that comes with a miso soup, rice and cold tofu. Prices range from RM20+ to RM30+ a set.

In order to try a little of everything, Ervin suggests that I should try the Chicken Katsu + Hire Katsu + Rosu Katsu Zen (RM32) which consists of breaded and deep fried chicken, pork fillet and pork loin served with thinly sliced cabbage. I am very impressed with the dish as the meat was tender and juicy. No excessive chewing is needed as the meat were not overcooked. The cabbage was a good combination as it compliments the fried dishes well. I suggest you drizzle some salad dressing on the cabbage.

I find the miso soup a plus factor to visit this place. The miso soup was filled with carrot slices, meat, mushrooms and also the Japanese seaweed jelly which made the soup sweet and flavourful but not too overpowering.

He had the Buta Shogayaki Zen (RM26) which is slices of pork belly with ginger. The pork belly was tender with the right amount of fat layers which is really good. The best thing was the ginger wasn't too overpowering as I hate ginger! Eating these dishes with rice is a must!

Japanese Green Tea

I am very happy with my lunch and would definitely make a return trip here soon. It does serve very good quality of pork but of course the finest of all Tonkatsu in my opinion would be the one using the Kurobuta (black pig) from Japan.

Tonkatsu

Lot 6.12, Level 6, Pavilion KL
Jalan Bukit Bintang
Kuala Lumpur, 50480
Tel: +603-2144 2292

Ageing young... am I?

Honestly I hate it when people tell me that I looked older than real age. The conversation always start with this "Hey Eiling, tell me, how old are you?" and I'll usually say "Why don't you take a guess?"

And the replies I always get are - "Let me guess, you're 28 this year?" when I'm actually 25 years old (two years ago-lah). Grrr... It's even worse when one of them tells me that I looked 30!!! Do I, do I?!! Well, I sometimes ask myself this question and often I would look back at my pictures taken a few years ago and start comparing if my skin is starting to show signs of ageing?!! I'm not that extremely-vain-pot kinda girl but you do have to know that each lady's main concern is really about ageing.


Although I'm in my 20's, I've started to feel the effects due to our hot and humid weather and constant exposure to UV rays from the sun and also the dusty environment. Maybe it's also due to the things we eat. As you know, I'm not exactly the healthiest woman around who eats bunny food. I still love my alcohol and pork lard.

I've been reading some articles lately and there was a survey carried out and 61% of the Asian women believed that in general, a woman's skin begins to age at 30. However in reality, by the age of 24, 65% of the women have begin to notice at least one change in their skin condition which leads to the sign of ageing.



There's also a scientific study that shows that women in the 20's experience a significant increase in permanent lines and wrinkles formation and when they are in their 30's, the increase is even more! Surprisingly, 2 out of 5 Asian women do not know how to treat the multiple skin concerns they face. And that includes me. Honestly, I don't really have a proper beauty regime and I am also not tackling the ageing process with any anti-ageing skincare.

I used to think that anti-ageing skincare are meant for older women. That's because I do not see it as a need to treat the skin ageing concerns now which falls under the category of the 56% of Asian women whom are delaying the use of the anti-ageing skincare in their 20's.


And interestingly, many women, including myself would sometimes use whitening products without the anti-ageing benefits. I could provide a reason for that - I'm still young mah and what for spend so much on anti-ageing products. Wait until I'm 40 or so lah... However, the survey did say that 65% of Asian women believe youthful skin is an important component of ideal standard for beautiful skin. Yet, 1/3 of women in their 20s who have seen signs of skin ageing are only using whitening skincare! Why is everyone so obsessed about whitening only? There's more to just having fairer skin you know?!!

As I continue to read the studies and research done on the women in their 20's, I begin to worry. I know I shouldn't as it'll just add a few more wrinkles.

So what I'm going to do is to embark on a journey to search for a good anti ageing whitening skincare to try! And hopefully I can freeze or reverse my aging skin and look as youthful as I was 25?!! In search of my lost youthful skin! Haha... stay tuned!

(pics are all taken way back in 2008 and now I'm ageing... boo hoo...)

1st Growths of Bordeaux by the Glass only at Millesime

None other places would do this. You can turn the whole KL city upside down and you can never find a restaurant like Millesime, so original, so bold and so audacious. Besides being a restaurant with no menu as Chef max calls the shot, it is also afterall going to be the 1st restaurant in the region to serve all the legendary 1st growths of Bordeaux by the GLASS. Yes, you read me right, you just buy a glass, sip your wine, and leave the place in high spirits.

I was lucky, maybe darn lucky to be invited for a tasting and launching of these 1st growths of Bordeaux wines to be served by the glass. Maybe no restaurantier in their right mind would do it. It's not going to be a fast selling wine, but for those who are wine lovers, or even curious customers can now sample a glass without having to buy these wines by bottles.

The bottles that were opened for indulgence that evening includes a Chateau Haut-Brion, Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Chateau Margaux, Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Chateau Latour and Chateau d'Yquem all of which are of the 2001 vintage. We were given an introduction by Lionel Lau, co-owner of Millesime whom has been in the wine industry for many years.



“All the wines are from either the 2000 or the 2001 vintage, which we believe are drinking perfectly right now,” said Max Chin, chef and co-owner of Millesime. “We have a temperature controlled wine room and a Le Verre du Vin preservation system from Europe and this allows us to offer our customers this unique experience".

Chateau Lafite Rothschild 2001

This bottle of Chateau Lafite Rothschild 2001, more commonly know as just "Lafite" is definitely one bottle that all wine drinkers would have heard of and it's considered the most sought after wine in the world, all thanks to the Chinese. It's by far one of the easiest French names to pronounce and thus the popularity boom in China. Oh well, Robert Parker gave the 2001 vintage a 94 pointer and this is a very elegant wine with a medium-body, rich on the palate and well balanced tannins. No wonder Ciki only likes this out of the 5 other bottles that we tasted. *You can also read Ciki's post on Millesime here.

You shall not disturb the wine snob!

Well, as far as I'm concerned, the other 4 labels are also my favourite. I love the Chateau Margaux 2001 for its elegance, complexity and a wonderful nose of floral notes. I felt that the wine is drinking well as we are speaking now. The Mouton Rothschild 2001 has an austere tanin in the finish which wasn't to my liking but I'm sure if you can afford a year 2000 bottle of the same label, you'll be mesmerized! Chateau Haut-Brion 2001 is a complex wine with notes of sweet and sour cherries, blackcurrants, licorice and it's smoky. I love the bottle shape. The Chateau Latour 2001 has interesting nose of blackcurrants, vanilla and hints of truffles and oak. This is also another much sought after wine with fabulous texture and is full-bodied.

My lucky sister who tagged along & Ciki

After making you drool over the wines, I'll reveal the prices here. Some might get a heart attack reading it and thus this is not for the faint hearted!



Ok, if your pockets are feeling deep, just hop over and have a glass of your wine of choice. Chef Max did a good job by feeding us with some of his tasty creations. Some of these are actually finger food that will be served during the Happy Hours @ Millesime which is from 5.00pm to 7.00pm from Mon to Sat. Here, they don't serve you crappy food like french fries and onion rings ok?!!



Clockwise from top left : Beef cheeks with Grain Mustard Sauce, Smoke Duck with Truffle Mayo, Haloumi Cheese with Balsamic Reduction and Pithivier of Goose Foie Dras, Duck Liver Terrine & Duck Breast with Black Truffle Sauce (not available for Happy Hours). The food is really impeccable and I wanted to just sit there and kept eating and sip the night away!

One of the highlights for me that evening is the chance to taste the undisputed king of sweet wines, Chateau d'Yquem 2001, famed for gracing the tables of royalty. It was my dream to try this sweet wine of Sauternes since 3 years ago and finally my dream has been fulfilled because I have tried the other 5 1st growths of 2004 vintage sometime ago (here) but certainly not this one!

Chateau d'Yquem, my dream come true!

Eventhough this is not the best vintage I heard but it's still a 100 pointer from Robert Parker. It offers a honeyed tropical fruit, orange marmalade, pineapple, sweet creme brulee abd buttered-nut scents. It's like drinking ice wine, a dessert wine because it's very sweet. But this is more refined, full-bodied with refreshing acidity as well. I was also told that the best food to go with this is none other than my favourite roasted pork belly!

Now I can really die happy.

Millesime
(it's outside of the building on the extreme right corner)

G1-01-3, Level G1
Menara Kencana Petroleum, Solaris Dutamas
No. 1, Jalan Dutamas 1, 50480 Kuala Lumpur

Operation hours are from 12pm-12am

Tel: +603- 6211 0648

Other Millesime posts here.

Liverpool & Hoofed @ TTDI

It all started with an email from a colleague asking me if I would like to watch Liverpool Vs Malaysia and I agreed. It has been 2 years since I went for a football match and it was Chelsea Vs Malaysia at that time. Oh well, no harm going even if I'm not a staunch supporter of Liverpool like some of my colleagues who seemed to know every player and even memorised the Liverpool song. I wonder if they can still remember how to sing Negaraku?!!

We agreed to assemble at Sid's Pub at 2pm for a drink before going to Bukit Jalil Stadium and we planned to start our journey at 2.30pm in order to get some good seats. But then, the plan didn't go well because someone was late, terribly late. At 2pm, one of the friends was still having lunch with the in-laws and we suggested why not meet at the stadium?!! But he refused. So we ended up leaving only at 3.40pm and by the time we arrived, it's almost 5pm! The traffic was horrendous and the parking is so limited. We had to resort to parking beside the main road, about a kilometer walk away!


The whole journey, my friends kept on blaming the guy who came late. Yeah, put all the blame on him! After all, never irritate a football fan. They can get very violent especially if they missed the game!!! Hmmm... something I learnt that day.



The stadium is quite full by the time we arrived. I guess there were easily 80,000 people as the stadium was almost full - full of the red shirt fans! Well, it depends who is the person doing the counting. If it's our govt, maybe there's only 8000 people at the stadium. woo hoo... I think there's only a few thousand wearing the blue or yellow supporting our national football team. It's not that we don't have the "semangat patriotik" but our football team really has nothing to shout about unless they proved themselves well internationally and not only in friendly games!!



Although the Malaysian team lost to Liverpool at 3-6, I think they have played pretty well and had at least given the Liverpool players some tough time when striker Indonesian-based Safee Sali scored 2 goals and then a free-kick blasted in by Safiq Rahim. Then on Liverpool's side, Charlie Adam took the penalty and scored, followed by substitute David Ngog and then Maxi Rodriguez made it 4-1 for the Reds in the 75th minute. And finally Dirk Kuyt scored to seal the English club victory.




It was a good game and the second half was definitely more exciting. The crowd had a fun time cheering and so do I. I am there to support Malaysia because I have a bet with my friend for a beer tower. He gave me a 3 goals lead but we both ended up with no free beers :(

After the match, we felt so thirsty for some beers! I suggested that we go to Hoofed at TTDI as I have not been to that outlet, or any of the other watering holes there which has been mushrooming for the past year. I heard Hoofed serves good porcine delights and thus it's a good choice.



Since downstairs is pretty packed, we adjourned to the 1st floor where it's less noisy and crowded. I think the 1st floor is more for wine drinkers. After a glass of Carlsberg, I ordered a bottle of wine for those who wanted to drink wine instead of beer. The bottle that we drank that night wasn't too bad. It's an Italian label called Cesari Principe Chianti 2008 for RM165. The other label that I was quite shocked to see was a bottle of Yellow Tail retailing for over a RM1++ for it! It's indeed expensive here.

The roasted pork belly (RM17) was not bad although not as good as the ones from Vintry. The Lam Yee Fried Belly (RM21) is another dish worth trying. These are more like the finger food that goes well with beer and wine.


Maybe we were too hungry that the 8 of us gobbled up 5 bowls of Bacon Fried Rice (RM19.60). It was fragrant, not too dry and the bacon makes the rice so appetizing. Very good if you're feeling extremely hungry - especially after a football match. Ok lah, I'm just watching and not playing.



If rice is not your thing, do try the Devil's hair pasta (RM19.80). It comes with roasted BBQ pork with honey and fried pork lard that is so crispy and addictive. We had a feeling that eating this dish is like having a plate of wantan mee!



While we were busy savouring our food, the bartender walks to our table and offered me a cocktail called "Whisky Nut" and he asked me to guess what was used in the concoction. I couldn't tell because honestly, I have no idea at all about cocktails. It turns out that it was a mix of Singleton Single Malt whisky with Hazelnut. Wow... I didn't know that they can make creative whisky cocktails! I was shocked that he told me that he knew that I liked whisky and all my friends were surprised too. He turned out to be one of my contacts in my FB that I haven't met before! Haha.. what a small world and what a pleasure to meet this way!

The night ended up in a good way for sure!

Hoofed
No 18A, Lorong Rahim Kajai 14,
TTDI 60000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-7728-8567
(just beside Boathouse & The Pier)

Mooncake too soon?!!

Actually when I received this box of mooncake 3 weeks ago from a friend, I got the shock of my life. Since when these people started selling mooncakes so early?!! Certainly not 3 months in advance?!! He then told me that the mooncakes had just been released the day before he bought it and why not have it early so that you get the cream of the crop?!! Hmm.. now that's a thought!

First of all, I'm really impressed with the box and the packaging. The outer box is made of hard card board covered with a layer of faux-leather material with gold hotstamping of the hotel name and then attached on it was what looked like a piece of jade (of course it's not real jade!). The whole package really stand to impress.



The inner box consists of 4 carefully folded individual boxes containing the mooncakes which are also flow-wrapped for hygiene purposes and also to lock moisture out. I love the whole black and red colours as it's very oriental yet classy.


Every individual mooncake is made with care and attention to details as I can see that the pattern on the mooncake knocked out from the mould is deep and almost perfect. It makes the whole savouring experience better with such a pretty look. Don't you think so.


And lastly, I must applaud my friend for getting the right mooncakes as I love my mooncakes with salted egg yolk, preferably double yolks! And all these are double yolks with lotus paste! Wohooo... I don't know why but I don't fancy the new and bold styles of mooncake nowadays but I would still prefer a good ol' recipe of lotus and salted egg yolk. In my own opinion, the salted egg yolk was very good but the lotus paste still need some aging time as I find it "too fresh" to be eaten now. It's not the best mooncake so far but this is worth savouring.

I don't know if they have increased the prices from last year's as it used to be RM17.50 - RM22.50. Can't believe mooncake has become such an expensive delicacy. Well, I believe the bulk of the cost went to the packaging and the brand.

Best served with Pu-er chinese tea. Nom nom nom....

My Obsession with Fries @ Everything with Fries

Be it Belgian or French fries, I really love all sorts of fries. Actually I'm a sucker for everything potato, the real carbo! I can eat so much potato that I guarantee I'll weigh 180 pounds in just a short period. If you asked me would I have chosen pasta/rice or fries to go with my dish, fries would win hands down, anytime!

And that night after some evening drinks at The Cliff in Sentosa Resort & Spa, we ended up at Holland Village and sadly, this is my 1st time checking out this place. I've heard about the number of watering holes and restaurants here but I've never explored this part of the world. When asked what I wanted to try, Everything with Fries caught my eye, heart and soul. Fries and so be it!




I'm impressed with the names that people can come up with for restaurant nowadays. Gone are the days when you'll just called it "Tom's Western Delights" or "Harry's Kitchen". Haha... Certainly this restaurant has caught my eye and it'll be sinful not to give me a dose of carbs.

The Menu is really simple. There are 11 mains and as its name suggests, all the dishes come with fries and a mesculan salad. Even for the Spaghetti Bolognese ($10.90) ?!! I doubt so... Some really interesting dishes that is on the menu includes the Tandori Chicken Sandwich ($11.90) and the Char Grilled Char Siew ($15.90) which consists of a hand-rolled pork belly roulade which I wanted to try but wasn't available that night.




The staff that night strongly recommended that we start with an One Egg Soup ($4.90). He went on and on telling us how wonderful the soup was and I have no choice but to order it. Well, it's actually a creamy chicken soup with a fried egg white in it. The egg yolk is then used to make the soup as well. Very flavourful, a little salty and the fried egg was crispy which it went well with the creamy chicken soup.


For mains, we had the Char Grilled Shortrib Baguette ($21.90) which is the most expensive item on the menu. It's made with US Prime beef shortrib, braised till tender and then char-grilled. Served with truffle oil fries. To be honest, it didn't tickle my palate as I find the taste of the beef not to my liking and I hate it when every restaurant uses Truffle oil in their food when the fact is that I can't taste the truffle! It's just a term to bring up its prices?


I had the Grilled Pork Chop ($13.90) as I would prefer pork over beef anytime! As you can see, I choose to have straight cut fries (thick cut) and it looks rather plain from the picture but it's seasoned with salt & vinegar. The pork is tender as what I expected but I felt that the Miso sauce totally killed this dish. I would have prefered mushroom sauce or plain grilled pork.



There are 2 different cuts of fries that you can choose from - shoestring or straight cut. And there were 4 different type of seasonings - Original, Curry, Salt & Vinegar, Sour Cream & Onion and Garlic & Herbs. If you want to order this as a side, it'll cost you $4.90 per serving.

As for desserts, there's a Nutella Tart on the menu, mille crepe, warm apple crumble, peanut butter crumble and mostly all comes with ice-cream. I think these desserts are worth trying as you can hardly find them in some restaurants.

Yeah, I did have my fix of fries but I was rather disappointed with the dishes. I felt that the fries were not exactly the best out there and the food was rather salty if you're not an excessive-sodium-fan. The prices are affordable but the deco is really of a minimalist. However, we were lucky that we were served by a staff whom was full of enthusiam and had just started work there. He was really making sure that we had a good time.

Everything with Fries

Holland Village
40 Lorong Mambong
277695 Singapore

Telephone: +65 6463 3741

Transport
Nearby Stations: Buona Vista
Bus Lines: 7, 61, 75, 77, 95, 165, 970, 5N

Joo Chiat
458 Joo Chiat Road
427671 Singapore

Telephone: +65 6345 5034

Transport
Nearby Stations: Paya Lebar
Bus Lines: 16, 10, 12, 14, 32, 40, 10E, 14E

Opening Hours
Holland Village Sun, Tue-Thu noon-11pm; Fri & Sat noon-1am
Joo Chiat Road Tue-Sun noon-10pm