Farewell Lunch

Yesterday was somewhat a bitterweet day, I can't really get into it as there are some P&C matter related to it. Let's just say because of this matter, we decided we would do something nice for the team. Everyone chipped in and the total amount was used for the ingredients that I needed to cook up some pasta for 20 persons.

My manager and I agreed on a simple bolognese pasta and we originally wanted to do beef bolognese but we changed it to chicken as some of them don't eat beef. 

I'm quite please that they actually enjoyed the food. Some even went for seconds and thirds. One of them said "Sedap sial" not knowing that others overheard her. She was basically talking to herself which made all of us cracked up cause she didn't notice we heard what she said.

I cooked the dish on the day itself as I was on afternoon shift, bought a few ingredients the night before after I finish work around 10pm and I can only go to either Tesco or Giant as they close at 1am, so I went to Tesco thinking that they would have more choices but boy was I wrong. They have limited ingredients unless you're cooking local food then sure, they have lots. I managed to buy only a few ingredients, which means I have to get up early the next day to go to Village Grocer. I was so relieved that they open quite early (8.30am!) and I didn't know that, I've always thought their operation hours is from 10am onwards.

As expected, Village Grocer had everything that I needed. I reached home before 9.30am and started preparing my ingredients. I'd love to write down the recipe accurately but I honestly could not remember how much I used per ingredient (I'll note down the ones I can recall) and also, I tend to just follow my instinct and the taste would vary depending on the size of the pan I'm using, how much I'm cooking, etc. I can tell you what I used though, and yes it really is my own recipe. From what I know, I used the basic ingredients for Bolognese sauce and I added a few other things that I personally think would make the sauce more.. me.

Ingredients:

For the Sauce

2 x 300 grams Minced Chicken

Butter & Olive Oil

2 cups of grated Celery

2 cups of grated Carrot

1 big Onion, finely diced

7 cloves of Garlic, fine grated using microplane

2 cans of Tomato Paste (I don't remember how many grams but it's the small one)

1 can of diced Tomato

1/2 cup of Chicken Broth

2 Bay Leaves

Milk

Balsamic Vinegar

Salt and pepper

Fresh Oregano

Fresh Thyme

Chili Flakes

Few tablespoons of Lemon Juice (from Fresh Lemon)

Pasta Bake

2 x 500 grams Pasta Shells

Butter cubes

Olive Oil

Salt

Cherry Tomatoes

Parmesan Cheese

Mozzarella Cheese

Basil Leaves

Phew. I think that's pretty much it. The ones that has no measurements means I don't remember how much I used. LOL. I'm such a horrible recipe writer.

I'll summarized the methods I used as best as I can. 

For the sauce:

1. Heat the pot on low heat and put in a little bit of butter and olive oil, just enough to coat the pan. 
2. (I don't saute the onions and the vegetables) Sweat the onions, carrots and celeries on low heat for a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure none of them gets browned. 
3. Once it's perfectly sweat through, make a well in the center of the pot and toss the minced chicken in and let it sit for a minute and then mix it thoroughly. 
4. After stirring every few minutes, pour in the tomato paste and diced tomato. Mix well. 
5. Add on the chicken broth. Drop in the bay leaves. 
6. Let it cook slowly, making sure to stir every few minutes. After 15 minutes, pour in the milk - only a little bit. Maybe.. 1/4 cup? 
7. Add in the oregano and thyme, How much? I can't remember. Trust your instinct on this one.
8. Pour in the Balsamic Vinegar, if I had to guess maybe 1/4 cup or less, continued by the lemon juice, salt and pepper and chili flakes. 
9. Let it slowly cook - about 30 minutes. Remember to stir occasionally so that everything in that pot is cooked thoroughly. To know when the sauce is done, for me.. it's when there's not much liquid in the pot left but I don't want it to be completely dry though as I have to put it in the pan foil and get them baked for few minutes.

For the pasta:

1. While waiting for the sauce, boil salted water for the pasta. Drop the pasta in when the water is boiling like maddddddd and drizzle olive oil. Follow the time on the packaging, or follow your heart, up to you hehee. 
2. Once it's cooked, strain the pasta and toss butter cubes and parmesan cheese and mix well. I used a big bowl when doing this. 
3. Once that is mixed well, pour in the sauce and mix mix mix mix! Work that arms. 

Throw everything in the foil pan or whatever dish you're using to bake it in the oven. (Please take note, the pasta is tasty enough by this stage to eat on its own. The baking part is just to make it more fun to eat them).

Halve the cherry tomatoes and sprinkle them over the pasta. Place a few basil leaves on top as well. Then sprinke lots and lotssssssssssssssssssssss of mozzarella cheese.

Bake for 3 minutes.

Voila! it's done. Dig in.

Westin, Kuala Lumpur

After what felt like a long tiring year, I was dying for a much needed break. One night in Westin, KL was my birthday present. I actually had other plans for my birthday present, which was 5 days Bali getaway but unfortunately, my holiday had to be canceled due to unforeseen circumstances at work.

I've stayed in Westin once when I was in Bali, and that experience was truly amazing that until today, Westin is my all-time favourite Hotel/Resort. Their bed is heavenly. It's as if once you're on the bed you do not want to leave it at all. You want the bed to follow you wherever you go. I'm obsessed with the bed, it might be ridiculous.

I stayed in the Executive Club Room as I wanted to do sort of a "research" on their Club Lounge. Hotels tend to have a different take when it comes to their Club Lounge and I'm interested in finding out which Hotel has the best one. (I know, it's somewhat a weird thing to have interests on but if you know me, you would understand why). The rooms consists of the basics, a bed, a sofa, a flat screen TV, mini bar and etc. I personally like the coat rack though because I have so many accessories and the coat rack has this one small space just for that. As I've said before, the bed is amazing! Layers and layers of the softest sheets and the big fulffy pillows. Ahh just amazing, really.

Marbled bathroom are just simply beautiful, no? It was spacious, it has a separate shower with glass doors and also a glass door that separates where you poo-pee. If you know what I mean.

Now off to the Club Lounge!

Please excuse how awkward I am, I tried my best to look as natural as possible.

(Obviously it didn't work) The Club Lounge is huge, and I'm not exaggerating.

Went to Pavilion to do some shopping and send my necklace for polishing? Is that what you call it? I don't know. It's great that Pavilion is literally a walking distance away. You basically just have to cross the road!

Evening Cocktail is served from 5.30pm until 7.30pm. They serve a wide range of cocktail appetizers, salads, cold cuts, cheese, desserts, salads and etc (They also refer their food selections as SuperFoods). I'm assuming it changes on a daily or weekly basis? I'm not sure as I stayed only for a night. The food are well executed, simple yet delicious and tasty. It's not too much and it's not too little. I really enjoyed the food at the Club Lounge, though the service staff could have been more welcoming and friendly but despite that, everything was excellent!

   

Of course, after stuffing myself with glorious food. In need of some deep relaxation. It's bathtub time! It has been ages since I've had a bath and it put me in such a zen state. Hot water with bubbles, puuuurrrfect!

For breakfast, we had a look at the Club Lounge's first but I prefer to have breakfast at The Living Room as they have more selections and hot stations available compared to the Club Lounge. So I went to The Living Room instead. A decision I did not regret!

The American Breakfast section. The food was not hot, didn't really like that but the sausages was. I'm not sure what they call that thing is, but it's cute. It rolls the sausages up and down. They had the egg station of course, it was delicious. I had the omelette. I was too hungry that I forgot to take a picture of it, my bad.

The Asian section. I had their noodle soup, it was yummy. Hot and filling. I didn't try the porridge as I've eaten too much by then. It looks good though. There was an indian section where they cook murtabak, roti telur and roti canai but that was not good at all. The rotis were cold and hard. Erk.

I took too much of the Chicken cold cuts with the cheese cause it was just so darn good. Couldn't get enough. Just thinking about it makes me want to go to the supermarket and buy some. 

My favourite part of the breakfast was their pastry section! Oh I was in heaven. Truly. Trulyyyyy pastryyyy. They basically have their own freshly baked pastry shop. Wide variety of choices! I was too shy to take pictures of it all as they were Chefs standing by the counter lol. They mistaken me for a foreigner, how about that huh. 

Just look at the amazing honeycomb. Seriously? Mind blown.

I can't wait to stay here again. I just hope the next time I visit Westin KL again, their service is better than what I experienced. 

Baked Salmon Wrapped With Fresh Basil

Anyone else excited that I'm back, or is it just me? Probably just me.

I couldn't quite remember the last time I set foot in my kitchen to cook a meal from scratch. It has been instant noodles and take-away food for god knows how long. I tend to take more initiative to cook at home during the fasting month but it's kind of hard to find the energy to cook a full meal when you have a full time job but yesterday, I somehow felt motivated to whip up something new and something that would make me look forward to buka puasa.

I went to the grocery store with my mum after work and initially I fancied something more on the meaty-chickeny side but my mum was craving for fish, so I suggested whether she'd like to have salmon and she looooves salmon so the chances of her saying no is almost impossible.

I was making pasta too, but it didn't work out as I would have liked it too so I will post about that once I've perfected the recipe. For now, it's more on trial and error.

I did not have a recipe in mind when I prepared the salmon. I just went with my gut. At first, I wanted to set the lemon slices on top of the salmon but due to the lemon size being ridiculously huge or the salmon being slightly more on the smaller side (whichever you prefer) I had to put the lemon slices at the bottom. Then, I decided to use basil leaves because it's one of my favourite herbs - I honestly can't explain how much Sweet Basil adds joy to my soul. I actually just laid down the leaves on top of the salmon in the beginning but then I felt as though the salmon won't be as fragrant as I would want it to be so I took a couple more of the basil leaves and started wrapping the salmon and made it stay together by using a toothpick. I did not poke the salmon, had to be as delicate as I can be because the leaves are quite fine (no pun intended).

I added 2 cloves of smashed garlic to give it a nice aroma and flavour to the salmon. The thing about salmon is, you don't have to do much because salmon on its own has a very distinct flavour that many of us love so you don't want to mess with the taste too much (unless that's what you fancy then by all means, go ahead)

Of course, not to forget. Always sprinkle some salt and pepper to taste.

I baked in the oven at 200 C (450 degrees F) for 13 - 15 minutes. I use a convection oven so naturally you'd have to minus 25 after converting 450 F to celcius. The time it takes for a salmon to be cooked through depends on the the thickness/size of the salmon itself, if it's bigger.. then it would take longer for it to be done. Whenever you're not sure whether it's cooked, have a peek at the thickest part of the fish by using a fork or anything that wouldn't break the flesh of the salmon too much. If it's flaky, means it's cooked. If it's still raw, the flesh is shiny and squishy if that makes any sense.

After it's done baked in the oven, I served it on a vintage plate (I don't have a picture of this because it was already night and the lighting was bleahh) and voila! It's time to put 'em in my mouth. It tasted delicious and gave me such a delight, I'm being biased here since well, I cooked it but if any of you ever try this recipe, do let me know whether you had happiness bursting in your tummy.

RECIPE:
2 salmon fillet of your choice
8-10 large basil leaves
2 garlic cloves, smashed
4 slices of lemon
Few toothpicks
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

1. Pre-heat the oven at 450 degrees F. 
2. Season salmon with salt and pepper, squeeze some lemon juice on the salmon and put aside.
3. Place lemon slices on a baking pan lined with aluminium foil and lay the salmon on the lemon slices. Take the basil leaves and wrap the salmon carefully, and secure with a toothpick. Drizzle olive oil on salmon and place the smashed garlic in between the lemon slices.
4. Bake at 450 degrees F for 10-15 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Ben's, Publika

I was at Ben's the other day for breaking fast, with my other girl friend. I love this place, the atmosphere, the people. I just find that their service could be improved, other than that this is a place to go to!


Spaghettini Carbonara

Just perfect. Not too creamy, just perfect really.

Beef Lasagna

This was so good as well but it's very filling. The first few bites will taste heavenly but when you've eaten half, it needs some work - it'll feel like you have to force yourself. You probably have to be realllllyyy hungry in order to finish it. Better idea, pretend this meal is for two - so next time you're with your friend just share it and split the bill. (no wastage and you get to save money for desserts!)

Seoul Garden, One Utama

Different marinades of chicken and beef, a variety of vegetables and seafood

I went there with one of my girlfriends for break fast (iftar). We reached exactly at 7.30pm, we were worried that we would end up being late and they'd release our table - we pretty much did a little victory dance because we managed to be there on time.

Upon entering the restaurant, we had to pay and choose which soup we wanted. They have 4 different types and we opted for the Kimchi Jigae soup.

I was really really hungry so everything tasted good to me. We took to much though, didn't finish the food (oops, someone was greedy).

I enjoy going to Seoul Garden because I love the concept of cooking the food ourselves. Which is why Korean BBQ food is my all-time favourite.

I find the price of the buffet is reasonable given the large variety of meats, seafood, vegetables, sauces, ice creams, appetizers, noodles that they provide.

Tony Romas, E@Curve

I went to Tony Romas with my colleague during our lunch break. I don't have any high expectations when I set my foot in Tony Romas, they're food are sub-par and no matter which outlet you go to they're always lacking in service. I personally think if you want to have a good meal at Tony Romas, I'd say only go there if you're planning to have the ribs.



BBQ 1/2 Chicken

I'll just let the picture speaks for itself. I'll just add the chicken was overcooked.

Chicken Caprese Pasta

The pasta was mediocre, nothing to shout about.

The Bee, Publika

I went to The Bee just before the fasting month during lunch time or maybe we went slightly later, I can't recall but never mind, that's not important!

Chili Cheese Fries

First up! It's their Chili Beef Fries. I was disappointed because the dish is called Chili Cheese Fries, but the amount of chili and cheese they gave were hardly enough for half the fries. I personally think they should either lessen the amount of fries or double up the chili and cheese. I prefer their old serving of Chili Cheese Fries which was quite a few years ago, the fries was smothered with Chili Beef and that's how it should have been, not like how they're doing it now. Very, very disappointed.


Teriyaki Sandwich

Meor had this sandwich. The thing about him is, he's not a fussy eater like how I am so he doesn't complain unless the food is really really really bad. He was eating quietly as usual, then I asked if I could have a bite of the sandwich. I was again, disappointed. They gave so little amount of the teriyaki chicken that if you wanted to taste it, it's better if you don't eat it with the bread and doesn't that defeats the purpose of calling it a sandwich? I'm really not a fan of burgers or sandwiches or anything that is served with bread and the amount of filling that they give is lesser than the size of the bread. (Hmm okay, I didn't explain that in a way that's easy to understand. Oh well) Basically, I didn't like this sandwich.

Caesar Salad with Cajun Chicken

One of my favourite salads is Caesar Salad, so I've had my fair amount of Caesar Salads - it's fair to say that I know whether it's been done well. The Bee's Caesar Salad did not disappoint, the only thing that I'd like to bring up here was the time taken preparing this dish - it was the last dish to be served. I'm pretty sure if I didn't ask the waiter about it, the salad would have not appeared before me. I really liked the salad though, I've no negative comments for this dish! :)


Apple Crumble with Vanilla Ice Cream

This dessert made up for all the wrong things that happened. It was so delicious. It's the best I've ever had - I haven't had that many Apple Crumbles before so I'm not sure if I can be trusted. It really is good, though. Mouth-watering. Heavenly. It was just so good. Arghh I want some now.