Loaf-ing @ Loaf, K-Avenue

Club Sandwich

The need to find other food outlet brought me to "The Loaf" after much persuasion and coaxing from my lunch buddy, SMY. The hindering factor was that I have to walk from "KLCC area" through the LRT tunnel to the other side of Jalan Ampang to K-Avenue, and that will be another 200+ extra steps to and another 200+ extra steps fro. But then again, we were nearly exhausted all eating outlets in KLCC. To my surprise the 200 steps was a breeze and the new ambience were a welcoming change. First stop upon exiting the tunnel is The Loaf restaurant, welcoming us with it's aromatic bread aroma. 

SMY passed me the bulletin like menu, and as usual I played safe in ordering it's club sandwich with chicken slice, beef strips with eggs and green and fries. The chicken slice was thick and juicy and the beef strips were crisp and tender, while the greens were fresh and crunchy on a well toasted wholemeal bread. SMY on the other hand ordered her favourite Grilled Portobello, marinade portobello with balsamic, asparagus and gruyere. Frankly, I just do not understand why she like it so much.

Griled Portobello

Lasagne

On another occasion, I had the Lasagne. An all time classic favourite with generous amount of cheese, beef bolognaise layer upon layer of thinly soft pasta, white sauce and salad on the side. SMY ventured into having the Siamese Laksa in a special thick and rich gravy with fresh condiments. The gravy was not too spicy, less sour-ish and I ended up finishing it for SMY instead!.

Siamese Laksa

The Loaf has a nice ambience though a bit noisy during lunch hour, but the service is very fast and efficient. The pricing is on the high end specially their beverages though the food is really value for money. The portion is just nice not super sizing them. All the food that I've ordered deserve a respectable 8 on Acepaizah's scale, but not the grilled portobello. Take note, I do not really like the "huge mushroom" and eggplant sitting atop the toasted bread. One must really acquired the liking for these veggies to appreciate it.

wrap and roll
my tea time favourite

seafood aglio olio

Loafing Loaf
~Acepaizah~

Vintage Classic Wedding Reception @ Felda Perdana Grand Ballroom, Kuala Lumpur

white, blue n gold
sweet, true and bold
wedding dais

Last weekend I attended a beautiful vintage classic wedding reception with choice of colors and flowers were sweet white, blue and gold. The entrance concept was well planned with high lengthy curtain over flowing to the floor welcoming the Pengantin (bride n groom) into the grand ballroom of Felda Perdana, Kuala Lumpur. The Pengantin came in a gleaming vintage Mercedes car of maroonish and cream to complete the vintage classic wedding theme.

the classic vintage Merc

The dishes were deliciously tasty exactly to my taste bud, with a tinge of sweet and sour; spicy and savoury. The rice, famously Nasi Minyak which is synonmyn to a wedding reception accompanied the rest of the dishes such as Ayam Masak Merah (Chicken), Daging Masak Hitam (Beef), Ikan Harum Wangi Bunga Kantan (Fish), Acar Rampai Jelatah (Mixed Salad) and Dalca Sayuran (Veggies in gravy). The plating  and garnishes of the dishes enhances their aesthetic appeal and brought the brightest colors of each dishes.  My favourite was Daging Masak Hitam. The beef pieces were cut into nice chewable pieces, well done with a dash of lingering sweetness.

fr 12 o'clock: Beef; Fish; Salad; Veggies; Chicken
Nasi Minyak 

We, the Glam Buddies were seated in front of the stage / wedding dais and had a clear unobstructed view of the whole proceeding. Thank you, mother of the bride, Puan Rohani Ahmad. It was a lovely wedding reception, all went smoothly and everyone was happy. In short, we enjoyed ourselves and topped with good food, good ambience and great company, hence some buddies went berserk!.Such a lovely occasion where buddies were in full attendance. The ambience and food garnered a respectable 9 on Acepaizah's scale and the companion a perfect 10!

timeless door gift

sweet bride n handsome groom
wt adorable n cute best man/bride maid

timeless classic

~Acepaizah~ 

17/8/2014

Soupy Leafy Foodie Adventure in Turkey - 3

Basketful of wholesome fresh fruits @
Colossae Thermal Hotel, Pamukkalle

Pamukalle "A" soup @
Colossae Thermal Hotel, Pamukkalle

The last thing I expected to eat in Turkey was Chinese food. Yet we were served Chinese food for lunch on our very first day in a restaurant just a walking distant from Topkapi Palace. Welcome to the land of east meet west! Thick tofu soup with some pieces of tofu and corns. Not as expected, a bit bland of no particular taste or significant. I had few spoon. Period.

Tofu soup @
Chang Cheng Chinese Restaurant, Istanbul

 Lentil/Tomato soup @
Taksim Gonen, Istanbul

Spinach soup @
Tatlises Hotel, Kusadasi

Dinner at the Taksim Gonen Hotel with a hearty thick lentil/tomato soup with its natural accompanying thick bread is a welcoming to my earlier shock. Indeed, it must be a real Turkish style, complete with the spicy aromatic smell to boost! In Kusadasi, we were greeted with spinach soup with a strong aroma of "photosynthesis" process! Very transgressing to my senses, taste and smell, notwithstanding that I love spinach, especially stir fried. 

In Silene Cave Restaurant in Cappodocia, where the fruits and overall serving were nominal, even the taste and texture of the soup were negligible! But the soup serving in my "hometown" of Pamukkalle were scrumptious, a bit savory, pleasurable to my palate with generous amount of floating spaghetti. Of course, I went for seconds. 

Silene minimal soup

XXL size green chillies

colorful raw veggies

glistening olives

 The Turkish and the middle eastern countries I think eat their greens raw. At all buffet table or ala carte setting, their green salad, shoots and leaves adorn on both side of the long buffet counter. And across the green salad counter will be bowl upon bowl of preserved, pickled or fresh olives along with bottles of various kind of virgin olive oil. Not to mention different kinds of yogurt, honey and cheese. Blessed the country which situated on two continents. Overall the soup story is Pamukkalle is deserved a nice 9 on Acepaizah's scale, while Chang Cheng's slipped of the scale altogether. Fullstop.

soupy greeny foodie encounter

~Acepaizah~ 

after thought salad @
sardined packed belly dancing restaurant!

Meatballs Lunch in Asian Continent / Bursa, Turkey- Foodie Adventure 2

crossing the Bosphorus
wt seagulls accompanying our journey

We left the European continent of Istanbul crossing the Bosphorus sea on a ferry to Kusadasi and stopping at Bursa visiting the Green Mosque, again it is not green. The colors apparently referred to the colors of tiles used decorating the tiles IN the Mosques! 

a plate of meatballs

We stopped for lunch at on of the restaurant which specialises in meat balls, kofteci in Turkish. Interestingly the meat balls were not round like a ball but flat rounded meat balls. Our look were full of bewilderment to say the least upon the meat balls revelation before our eyes. It was a pleasant rarity, unexpected but jolting to the mind at the same time. The meat balls were tender, moist and succulent, grilled to perfection with just the right taste and aroma sans the accompanying sauces. In was so appetizing with its very own distinctive taste that without much thought I willingly helped my other travelling companions' meat balls!

all were mine, mine n mine!

Coming next to the table were the same amazement and we marvel at the loadful of carbohydrates upon carbohydrates in the form of crispy warm freshly made bread, thick slices of fries and a small plate of white rice, all for individually plated for each of us! 

 

The fresh crunchy salad is another post by itself! I mean, they eat their veggies raw in the form of salads and their salad counters can stretch as long as the serving hall! The meatballs itself deserve an excellent eight on Acepaizah's scale.

Pickled chillies, chillies paste a
and other accompanying condiments

Meaty meat luscious meatballs 

~Acepaizah~

yogurt drink shared by 4 persons

Yusuf- house of kofteci-meatballs

Breakfast in Europe Continent (Istanbul, Turkiye @ Taksim Gonen Hotel) -1

cheese, cheese n more cheese

After about 10 hours of flight from Kuala Lumpur, arriving in Istanbul in the early hours and starts the tour to the Blue Mosque which is actually not blue, visiting the Aya Sophia Museum which was built as a Church turn into a Mosque turn into a museum the off to the lovely and mesmerising Topkapi Palace blooming with tulips of unthinkable colours, a good night sleep and waking up hungry like a wolf, I was astounded by the array of the breakfast buffet.

Cheese of various sizes and shapes; different taste and texture which really teased my cheesy appetite. Without much thought of the rest of the fares, I practically scooped each and every one of them into my serving plate without any hesitation or thought. The cheese were really finger licking good and out of the world.

bread n pastry

Next were the baskets of breads of all kinds, shape and texture. Some were extra ordinary hard, some were reasonably soft. Another rows of baskets right on top were baskets of sweets pastry, and I mean really sweet pastry. Next were the salad bar with thick cut tomatoes and cucumber along with other leafy salad with big bowls of sweet sauce and condiments, yogurt and honey adorned the long salad bar counter.

salad honey yogurt n more cheese

olive story
honeycomb rack far left

And of course various shape, size and colours of fresh crunchy olive, to my delight but not in the morning of course. And there was also honey comb (above picture on the left) where we can break a small piece and mixed it with yogurt, which was heavenly delicious!

And last but not least, when in Turkey, we must taste at least once their famous Apple Tea. Overall my first day breakfast in Istanbul is tipping a fine nine on Acepaizah's scale.

reddish Apple Tea
wt assorted cheese n friends

 Cheesy Istanbul
~Acepaizah~

fresh n crunchy whole fruits 

Western Lunch at Melur & Thyme, Suria KLCC

Grilled Herb Chicken

Continuing my foodie adventure with Melur & Thyme best western comfort food with their sips and toss, sipping their mushroom soup, aromatic creamy soup served with garlic. My companion RA's choice, which she offered me a sipping sample. The soup is thick and creamy and full of crunchy mushroom pieces and to my palate craving. 

Mushroom soup

Next Tapas-Thyme main dish - RA's Salmon Crockets, that is rolled mashed potatoes and salmon served with bread crumbs and fried till crisp and served with sour cream on the side. I had a bite but not to my fondness. Too much potatoes which essentially depreciate the salmon's taste, texture and aroma.

Salmon Crockets

My personal all time favourite from Tapas-Thyme is Grilled Herb Chicken. A very fresh well grilled boneless and skinless chicken breast marinated with thyme and spices to perfection and served with plenty of veggies , mash potatoes, cilantro garlic oil and thyme sauce.

Grilled Chicken Chop Chop

And my all time makan buddy's choice is Grilled Chicken Chop Chop, the name itself is very teasing in nature and the presentation was superb! It is loaded with lightly saute veggies and the accompanying thyme sauce has a distinctive taste belongs to Melur & Thyme.

And we drown the goodness and scrumptious meals with a piping hot latte brewed to perfection! Save for the salmon Crockets, all the dishes were exquisitely appetizing which deserves an 8 on Acepaizah! It is value for money at KLCC's standard, fast and friendly smiling servers.

all round Latte

tapas-y tyme

~Acepaizah~

Tea Time @ Melur & Thyme, Suria KLCC

beautiful latte

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and somehow, I missed my lunch. Searching for a decent meal I found enticing my companion Id to one of my latest makan place in KLCC, Melur & Thyme Restaurant on the Ground floor facing the park. I accidentally stumbled upon in on a Christmas day last year, having afternoon at the Harolds cafe. 

Melur & Thme served a mixture of local and western delights, both finger foods and full ala carte cuisine. Their coffee latte is one of the best and I never failed to order them on every occasion. Melur & Thyme's latte had the distinctive taste and aroma that word failed me right now, and of course, I also like their artistic foam drawings. And what a great way to nibble their spring rolls- fried popiah stuffed with cuttlefish and mixed vegetables served with thick sweet chilli sauce. A good starter for me while waiting for my dish in a day that I called a carbo celebration day! The mixed veggies were fresh and crunchy and the popiah skin were crispy.

spring rolls

I've frequented Melur & Thyme a few times, and on all occasion I was supposedly on a 'no carbs diet', thus the only option were some kind of proteins dishes (that I will post in the near future). Hence, on this fateful Saturday afternoon around 3pm, I ordered my dream plater, Nasi Goreng Bunga Kantan with Crispy Chicken. Basically, stirred fried rice with flower torch, long beans and lemon grass served with eggs, lots of crackers and their so called special ayan kampung (spring chicken) with of course sambal on the side!

RM24.00 Fried Rice

We also ordered Penang Char Koay Teow, stir fried koay teow (flat rice noodles) with cockles, chives, beans sprouts and tiger prawns with cut chillies in soy sauce on the side. I am not really a Char Koay Teow fan, so, I reckon the Char Koay Teow is so so. The taste is there with generous add ons. We finished it to the last bit, and it must be good. 

Char Koay Teow

The ambience is fantastic, the serving is fast and friendly and the waiters were very attentive not withstanding that we were seating at the outer side of the restaurant. The food itself were fantastic, wholesome, tasty and no cutting corners in term of ingredients. A plate of Fried Rice at RM24.00 it was a bomb, but this is Suria KLCC restaurant outlet where the rental is a bomb too, I say, it is value for money and a unique dining experience where we can mix, match or contrast our dining choices. Acepaizah's overall rating is 9 for this rather expensive dining extravaganza!

celebrations of carbs

~Acepaizah~

Western Dinner at Water Rationing Zone @ Fiske Steak House

mixed grill 

I was introduced to this makan place called Fiske Steak House at Medan Selera AU2, Keramat, Kuala Lumpur by my IIUM coursemate, NF. According to NF this place served delicious Western dishes at a reasonable price. This place itself is a kind of street air conditioned "kiosk" with plenty of seating capacity outside the elongated kiosk. The place was pack when we arrived, so we sat along the long corridor instead.

We place our orders, with me having the mixed grill of lamb, chicken and beef. Since I am not a lamb eating person, I politely inquire whether it could be change to two chicken grill instead. The waitress obliged and the less than 15 minutes my mixed grill arrive! My oh my. The mixed grill were place on top of each other and practically swimming in the glistening black pepper sauce and topped with some baked beans accompanied by some coleslaw and mushy mashed potatoes. The mixed grill were tender and cooked or rather grilled to perfection.

roasted chicken
with creamy cheesy cheese

NF ordered roasted chicken which was covered with melted cheese and more cheese sprinkled atop it. Accompanying dishes were coleslaw and mushy mashed potatoes and creamy cheesy pasta. 

I was very impressed  with this new found makan place that I invited other IIUM's coursemate about a week later. As usual, the place was packed but we managed to get a table in side the long kiosk, so we dine in the comfort temperature of about 29*. Unfortunately, on that Friday, the area was on the water zone rationing day and all dishes were served in take away plastic containers! But this do not dampens our eating spirit the least though SaR was a bit annoyed. Nevertheless, the fork and spoon were all stainless steel as usual.

I ordered Arab Rice together with grilled chicken which was a tad too dry and green chilli's paste and some potatoes on the side. The rice itself was very aromatic. I improvised the cover as my plate!

Arab Rice
@ RM15.00

KW had Special Chicken Chop with potatoes and spaghetti and coleslaw while her sister YW had roasted chicken which is at RM14.00 is really value for money.

Special Chicken Chop
very special indeed, served in plastic ware! 

roasted chicken
on the go!!!

My other two companion, SaR and HW both ordered the mixed grill which apparently too much for them, and SaR do not fancy lamb grill. Over all the dishes were delicious and they maintain the food quality in the circumstances. Oh, we also had mushroom and chicken soups and it was really heavenly mouth watering delicious. And it is only RM3.90 and come with a thick garlic bread.

thick creamy meaty chicken soup

The price is reasonable and value for money. The ambience or rather atmosphere is good, if we are seated in the air conditioned dining area, clean and very fast service. And I believe they have a good working attitude towards whatever situation, and when the universe give them lemons, they make lemonade instead of growling and complaining (about the water rationing!). I give Fiske Steak House an over all 8 on Acepaizah scale, and this is STREET Fair!

mixed grill

no hot beverages
canned and juices only

improvised eating condition

 creamy cheesy affairs
~Acepaizah~