Best Eats and theQguides.com Launch Party

Date: 29 September 2009, Tuesday

Venue: TwentyOne Kitchen and Bar, Changkat Bukit Bintang
Occasion: Launch party for both Best Eats & theQguides.com




What is Best Eats
"The latest edition of Best Eats KL by Fay Khoo (http://www.faykhoo.com/) is now released into the market! So what is Best Eats? - A finger licking good journey through the belly of KL that offers an impartial, thorough insight into the best eateries for all budgets in the Klang Valley."

The jovial Fay Khoo
[Photo by Eric Cheong]

Best Eats - get a copy of it!
[Photo by Eric Cheong]
If anyone wants to purchase a copy of it, drop me a line or contact Fay herself ;)

Promotion of Best Eats during the launch
[Photo by Eric Cheong]

What is theQguides.com
"theQguides.com aims to be the biggest online restaurant booking service in Malaysia with access to thousands of restaurants and social venues in the Klang Valley (with other major cities soon to follow).

Offering more than just amazing dining deals, theQguides.com will also feature such foodie goodies as dining tips and advice by food critics like Fay Khoo and other celebrities, plus a strong community / user review system. This free-to-use service also rewards users with free meals for simply booking a table via the website!"

Frat Mustard of theQguides.com
[Photo by Eric Cheong]

Jek from theQguides.com introducing theQguides.com to all at the party

The introduction for Faye's compilation of the informative food guide, alongside the launch of the online booking service by theQguides.com was held at the TwentyOne Kitchen & Bar in the heart of KL city centre - at Changkat Bukit Bintang. Frankly speaking, I've never been to Changkat Bukit Bintang (didn't find a need to go through the massive city-centre jam), plus its surrouding areas. I could only recall being around Bukit Bintang area the most recent was a year ago, when my sister was still working with Federal Hotel International. The first & last food trip I had around that area was to Jalan Alor for some late night supper thingie with a friend, at least 4 years ago...hahaha...time flies...

TwentyOne Kitchen & Bar

Inside the dining area (downstairs)

Thanks to my colleague, JC, I had a GPS to help get me to that area. I'm truly a non-KLite. Even when I needed to get to KL, I will rather take the LRT/bus, but this time around, I had to drive from Cyberjaya, so I opted for the car instead. The roads were not very jammed by the time I got there, so it was quite good news for me :)

Attending such events alone felt strange. As usual, I was hoping to spot a familiar face or two among the sea-of-faces. The place was crowded & to even walk pass the crowd was a challenge. The dim lightings didn't help in easing my hunt for a friend either...lol. I met the group of bloggers, whom I'm not too familar with (aiyo...), but time helped in warming us up to each other. I met boo_licious, llemongrass, joe, unkaleong, becky, nigel, & my familiar friend, thamjiak :) We had a time of catching up & going on & on about food (like what else do foodies talk about? :P) before the launch actually took place.

My cocktail drink
Mixture of vodka, & some juices

Faye introduced her book, followed by Jek, who gave a brief introduction on theQguides.com. After that, it was back to more chats & drinking the night away! Yeah, it's just not my cuppa tea, but I was there for the launch just to support my friends & to have something different for a weekday night :)

Pretty Wine Glasses
[photo by Eric Cheong]

Free-flow of beer for the night
[photo by Eric Cheong]

Jek, Marion, & Alison of Red.fm
[Photo by Eric Cheong]

Lisa & Warren of theQguides.com
[Photo by Eric Cheong]

The Famous "Bloggers": Nigel (Just Heavenly) & Meena (A Whiff of Lemongrass)
[Photo by Eric Cheong]

Bloggers Unite: PerutBesi, boo_licious, Tham Jiak, & Joe
[Photo by Eric Cheong]

After an hour at TwentyOne, a few of us headed to a Japanese restaurant nearby for dinner. Lovely. I wouldn't have guessed that there's a decent food place at Changkat Bukit Bintang. The image in my mind is that this place just offers drinks & LOADS of it! :D

Venue: Daikanyama Japanese Restaurant, Changkat Bukit Bintang
Overall comment: Quite tasty food - worth eating, at reasonable prices :)
Halal: No (serves alcohol, so I reckon it's not classified as halal although no pork is served)


I find it really wonderful to just sit down with a small group of foodies over a simple meal :) I'm just drawn by warm fellowship of people with the same interest. It's amazing how food brought us together! Ah...to know that I actually ain't close to them, but could enjoy a meal together *smiles* It's almost similar to having dinner with a group of strangers, some whom you've met for the 1st time, but hey, foodies unite man! :D *happy*

Daikanyama Japanese Restaurant

Daikanyama's creative menu!
Check it out...it's like some train route map :D

Green Tea
After some servings of alcohol, green tea kinda soothes the body :)

Soft Shell Crabs Salad with Goma (Sesame Seed) Sauce (RM18.00/salad)
Nice :) A very light salad smothered with fragrant sesame seed sauce.

Bacon & Sausage Fusion Fried Rice (RM13.00/serving)
None of us expected such yummy fried rice to come out of a Japanese restaurant's kitchen *wink* Simple, yet filled with fried bacon & sausages bits kinda fried rice...oh boy, fried rice with these 2 ingredients surely makes one asks for more, & yes, we foodies ordered another plate of these to share!!

Mini Okonomi Yaki (RM15.00/serving)
"Japanese-style pancake with seafood/sausages." We ordered the seafood pancake. It was quite interesting as it's something different, but I didn't enjoy this as much as I did with the fried rice. Perhaps it's because of the fact that I'm a fried-rice fan! I lurve fried rice!! *lol*

Foodies at Daikanyama: boo_licious, PerutBesi, Meena, Joe, Thamjiak

Map to Daikanyama Japanese Restaurant

View PerutBesi in a larger map

I'm looking forward to the upcoming foodies get-together! Mid October it is ;)



Daikanyama Japanese Restaurant
42, Changkat Bukit Bintang
50200 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: (+603) 2141 0323


Ratings:
Presentation: * * * 1/2
Price: * * *
Environment: * * * 1/2
Taste: * * *
Service: * * *


Overall:

- Ruth

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Vote for PerutBesi!

The Blogger's Choice Awards 2009 is here!

Last year, PerutBesi was nominated for best food blog, but didn't get a chance to achieve top votes...hahaha...much to learn ;) This year, PerutBesi is going to try again!

Vote for PerutBesi under the Best Food Blog category!!

Click here to vote :D



Alternatively, you could follow the steps below:

1. Go to Google.


2. Type "perutbesi site: bloggerschoiceawards.com" & hit ENTER


3. Click on the 1st search result returned to navigate to the voting page for PerutBesi!

Thank you for voting PerutBesi!!

- Ruth

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Raya Break 2009

Dates: 21 - 22 September 2009, Monday - Tuesday
Venue: Sepang Goldcoast, Chilli's Grill & Bar @ 1 Utama, & Jin Xuan Hong Kong Restaurant @ DJ
Occasion: Raya break chill-out!


Raya Day 2
Aaron was down in KL for a few days, so I decided to show him our nearest-to-KL's West Coast beach i.e. Sepang Goldcoast. No doubt, Sepang Goldcoast is a far cry from the lovely Teluk Cempedak beach back in Kuantan where Aaron grew up. To him, TC, as what Teluk Cempedak is known to the locals, is the benchmark for all the beaches in Peninsular! *lol* I truly can't deny that TC is a beauty :)

We took a slow drive there after brunch (yeah, didn't wake up early just for a beach outing :P) & arrived at Sepang Goldcoast around lunch time. Surprisingly, there were many Chinese families on the beach! The previous time I was there, most of the families were Malays (perhaps the Chinese didn't really know about this place before it was popularized by the government) & the place wasn't really called Sepang Goldcoast yet - it was known as Bagan Lalang. Most Malay families would have "balik kampung" for the Hari Raya celebration as well & would only return to the city after Day 2 or 3 :)

There were loads of small crabs on the beach!

We just spent an hour plus walking on the extremely low-tide 'sea bed', which is more like a 'swamp-bed' since the sand was an entirely even (flat land) stretch, & sitting under the shade of trees at the somewhat crowded beach to enjoy the sea breeze...one could not do much at the beach apart from having a picnic, lazing, making sand castles & flying a kite :P

Aaron & I under the scorching sun at the so-called beach

I was fascinated by these - doggies at the beach! So cute!!

Chilling under the shade of trees

Home was calling out to us & rest was just very much needed after my past few days in S'pore & the few hours at the sunny beach. Dinner, as planned, was at Chilli's Grill & Bar @ 1 Utama Shopping Centre :D *yums* I haven't eaten at Chill's for a long time & it was high time that I dine there this time :) Aaron was looking forward to some good steak for his 1st dining experience at Chilli's (you can't find Chilli's in Kuantan yet...)! We had a nice dinner with Aaron's aunt at Chilli's, though we were quite surprised that the portion of food was rather small (but adequate to keep you full- just nice).

Kickin' Jack Nachos
"Our kicked-up nachos with beans and queso with a hint of seasoned beef with jalapeño Jack cheese and Margarita spice. Served with house-made pico de gallo and sour cream." This tasted a 'lil bit like a thin crust pizza. I found it very tasty :)

Lamb Shank
The lamb was surprisingly tender & doesn't have that strong smell of lamb (what Chinese will call as "sou"). The mash potatoes were quite nice, though it's not the best, & what makes this dish really good was the sauce :)

Honey-Barbecued Ribs
*drools* Tender, juicy ribs, smothered with fragrant BBQ sauce with a touch of honey sweetness. I thought that this was really good, except for the fact that the portion is rather small from what I have expected...

Raya Day 3
Aaron's aunt woke us up a 'lil before 8a.m. She nicely knocked at his room door to wake him up for a dim sum breakfast, but he told her to wake me up first just to check if I'm interested *sweat* I heard the knock on my room door, but thought that I was dreaming. The knock was heard yet another time & this time, I was certain that it wasn't a dream! *lol* With a "morning-look", I opened the door & his bubbly aunt exclaimed, "Let's go for dim sum breakfast!! Come come...wash up & go!"

Being awaken from a nice, slumber sleep was not a very nice feeling. However, to be greeted by a bubbly, much awake aunt makes it just too challenging to decline her offer. Hahahaha...I agreed to her enthusiasm, but went back for a short snooze, with the worry that she will wake me up again...*lol*

We went to http://perutbesi.blogspot.com/2009/02/good-dim-sum-at-damansara-jaya.html for a dim sum meal together with Mike, another friend of our's. The restaurant was as usual packed to the brim & we had to take a number to get our table. Thankfully, the wait wasn't too long :) We had a satisfying breakfast with a table of warm fellowship & laughter ;)

Note: Prices of dim sum that we ordered ranges from RM3.00/serving - RM8.00/serving

Deep-Fried Yam Balls with Shrimp
A rather interesting innovation from the humble yam ball ("wu kok" in Cantonese). One of the nicest dish from our selection of dim sum for the day :)

Steamed Beancurd ("Fu-Chok") Roll with Fish Paste

Steamed Prawn Dumpling ("Ha Kau")
Shrimps were very fresh & has a 'springy' feel!

Steamed Meat Dumplings ("Siu Mai")
Authentic meat & not a "ball of pork fats"

Deep-Fried Prawn Balls with Croutons
Yet another interesting innovation. It's nothing VERY wow in taste, but looks rather appetizing & "kid-friendly"

Fried Brinjal with Fish Paste
Aaron just can't resist brinjals :P

Steamed Fried Beancurd Pockets with Minced Pork & Fish Paste
I didn't eat this dim sum, so I've no idea how it actually tastes

Seaweed Rolls

Deep-Fried Prawn Dumpling/Wantan
It wasn't crispy enough :(

Fried Radish Cake
I'm not sure if the quality is always like this day's but I wouldn't want to order this another time. It was way too oily & the texture of the radish cake was way too soft (too much flour).

Steamed BBQ Pork Pau ("Char Siew Pau")
Quite nice - the pau wasn't too dry, & the char siew tasted just nice; not too sweet, not too salty, not too dry, nor too wet.

Steamed Fish Paste

Steamed 'Dragon Dumplings' ("Xiu Long Bao")
I didn't like this although I like xiu long bao. The skin was too thick, stuck to the corner of the small plate, tore, & out rushed the soup that's supposed to be contained within the thin layer of skin. Fail. Expensive & not nice. I had to eat the skin & the meat separately. *sigh* What a waste.

The Raya break chill-out was certainly a good one. After so many days out of office, I was just too reluctant to drive back to Cyberjaya again for work the next day. Hahaha. Life goes on, & so does its adventures! :D *woots!*


- Ruth

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Alexis Bistro & Wine Bar, Bangsar

Date: 16 September 2009, Wednesday
Venue: Alexis Bistro & Wine Bar, near Bangsar Village
Occasion: Farewell dinner for Jacjac
Overall comment: I was VERY surprised at the quality of Asian food at Alexis. Thumbs up man!
Halal: Yes

This is a long overdue post!! Hahaha...I've been running around getting other things done that I didn't get down to typing this post out :P Thousand apologies to my buddies for the delay... this dinner meet-up was truly a fantastic one!

Junie, Jacjac, EB, & I met up for a simple dinner with Jac before she left for the UK again. It's gonna be at least 2 years before we get to meet up as a gang again! *sob sob* Lovely dinner, awesome company, wonderful desserts to end the weekday night with a smile :)

Kerabu Fried Rice (RM20.00/set)
"Fried Rice with Deep-Fried Tumeric Chicken Leg, Green Mango Salad, Salted Fish, & Sambal Belacan, served with fish crackers." The fried rice was more fragrant than the kerabu rice we had at Delicious in Bangsar Village. We were rather surprised with the quality of the Asian food here :)

Bihari Lamb Kebab (RM25.00/set)
"Lamb kebab served with roti & mint yogurt." The serving was a little small, but Junie said the lamb kebab was decently tasty. The roti is actually roti canai, so there's nothing much to shout about since it's surely not the best roti canai...hahaha...

Nasi Istimewa Alexis (RM25.00/set)
"Kaffir lime & garlic flavoured rice with ikan bakar, beef rendang, kerabu pucuk paku, & eggplant sambal." This is a dish for the royalty!! The serving was freaky! I nearly fainted at the sight of the dish... I certainly did not expect anything this large & much, & was truly shocked by the size of the fish itself...it took up half my plate! I didn't know where to begin when the plate landed on my table...hahaha... the rice was fragrant by itself thanks to the kaffir lime leaves & deep fried chopped garlic; the fish was really tasty - they used ikan setongkol, quite an easy fish to eat since it only have a large middle bone to be removed; I love the kerabu pucuk paku (ferns) & wished they gave more, though I can't eat anymore already *lol* I felt the beef rendang was excellent as well ;) Tender beef in very fragrant mixture of rendang paste, chilli, & coconut shavings, the dish was really well done that I didn't even realize it was beef (no strong beef smell) & was enjoying every single bite of it...hahahaha...oh yes, the eggpplant was lovely as well... I can't help to think that Aaron would have loved this dish :P

Dark (Bitter-Sweet) Chocolate Cake (RM12.50/slice)
Very rich, but in my opinion it was too sweet for my liking. This is for all dark chocolate lovers! Moist cake with dark choc - what more could you ask for a Happy Meal? :D

Mixed Berries Meringue (RM15.00/slice)
My all-time favourite! I couldn't eat that much after an extremely heavy meal of the Nasi Istimewa Alexis, but I just had to have at least 1/3 of this meringue....yummy blueberries with sweet-sour strawberries on a light, yet creamy meringue...aahhh.... *drools*

All smiles :)
Jacjac, EB, me, & Junie

The ladies
Junie, me, & Jacjac

Map to Alexis Bangsar Baru

View PerutBesi in a larger map

Jacjac, if you're reading this, we want you to know that we miss you loads!!!


Alexis Bistro & Wine Bar
29 Jalan Telawi 3
Bangsar Baru
59100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: (+603) 2284 2880
Website: Click here


Ratings:
Presentation: * * * *
Price: * * *
Environment: * * * 1/2
Taste: * * * 1/2
Service: * * * 1/2


Overall:

- Ruth

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