Le Midi

Wanted to try someplace new, so we made reservations for Le Midi in BSC, Bangsar. The food was wonderfully delicious. I'm just surprised i've never heard of it earlier!

Squid ink tagliolini with scallop, cherry tomato, parsley bread crumbs, carrot orange sauce, topped with bottarga
Tagliolini with Boston lobster, cherry tomato and fresh thymeDuck confit flambed with brandy, accompanied with potato gratin, ratatouilleIlly coffee affagato
Definitely a must try. Make reservations for the window table with the magnificent view of KLCC. (+603 2094 1318)

^8 Cee

Cuisine Gourmet by Nathalie

Cuisine Gourmet by Nathalie was quite empty when we were there during lunch - maybe because it was a weekday. The food and service was good and it is a quiet getaway and really a nice treat once in a while. We ordered a set menu each just to taste a bit of everything. I think the menu changes every month so be sure to check the website to see if it interests you.

Welcoming set dish

Nathalie's selection of three finger foods - not so good at remembering what each dish was called, but there was soup, pistachios, maguro, wasabi and cream.
Presentation was good but these finger foods did not match the 'oomph' of the presentation.

Appetizer 1

Foie Gras and Marinated Tuna in Layers
not overpowering, just yum :)
Mizuna sorbet
Herb Salad

Appetizer 2
Celeriac and Truffle Puree
Salmon Tataki
Salmon Roe
Tomato Oil
good combo!

Main 1
Tomato and Rosemary emulsion
Goat Cheese Ravioles
Roasted Lamb Loin
Eggplant Puree
love the powerful goat cheese combo with lamb loin
Main 2
Risotto like a paella
Paella Espuma
King prawn
One of the best paella's i've ever had!
Dessert 1
Caramel ice cream
Apple Tatin tart
Loved the crisp waffles
Dessert 2
Rum baba revised
Apricot Sorbet
Orange Espuma
Refreshing dessert
Finished with Nathalie's signature macaroons :)

Located in the city in Menara Taipan, off Jalan P Ramlee.
03-2072 4452

^8 Cee

Melbourne: Things to Do

1) Watch a footy game
The footy culture in Australia is amazing. Its Australia's family bonding time and you'll see herds of Australian families squeezing into the train headed towards the Etihad stadium dressed in their team's colour. Its so easy to get there, all you have to do is take a train to Southern Cross Station and the stadium is walkable from there (public transport in Melb is so organised and easy). For AUD25 per match, you'll get pretty decent seats - close enough to enjoy the game *cough*muscles*cough*. Its also a good excuse to pig out on fries and wedges :p2) Throw a BBQ party
We got thrown a BBQ party and it was so gooooood. Meat in Australia is just fat and juicy! My cousin, the head chef, topped it off by throwing the party on his huge ass balcony that has an AMAZING 270 degrees view of the city. What would be perfect is a little fire-camp with burnt marshmallows and blankies.3) Join a Winery tour
I never knew this, but Australia falls under the ideal Southern Hemisphere latitude for wines (similar to Chile). We paid $110 each and that includes pick up from the city centre, a super yummmmm lunch and winery tour in 4 wineries around the Yarra Valley - Yerring Station, Rochford, Yerring Farm and Chandon. Fresh air and greenery views were just added bonus. Super value :) You can also buy good bottles for cheap, ranging from $10-$25. Check it out!4) Immerse yourself in the coffee culture
Other countries might serve you good coffee but nowhere else is there such an awesome coffee culture like Melbourne. My favourite coffee joint is Babba Brother Budan for its Mocha, but really any alleyways would serve you good coffee. Thats the beauty, its the alleyways packed with chairs and people sipping coffee that gives the awesome melting pot for tourist and locals alike. If not, head over to the country where the produce are fresh and coffee even better. One place in mind is Daylesford for its coffee and scones (too bad i didnt have the time this time around)5) Victoria Market
Fresh nuts, fresh fruits and fresh seafood. Opened since 1878, I frequent here for their ridiculously cheap oysters. Buy a dozen for $10 and pack away the cholesterols for cheap. Prawns and fishes are so fresh that it makes me look like a ridiculously awesome masterchef. Lookout for the churros stand at the end of the market.
^8 Cee

Melbourne: Places to Chill

I was in between jobs and decided to spend my time in Melbourne. Its the first time I've been back since I left in Jan 2009 and it feels good to be back :)

Instead of blogging about what i did, i think the best way to capture the short 9 days experience is by listing/ recommending place to visit (based on places I managed to visit)! So I'm starting the list with 'Places to Chill in Melbourne'.

(In alphabetical order)

1) Cookie Bar and Rooftop Bar, Swanston Street
I would not recommend dining in Cookie, it is overpriced for the food and service that you get. But I would recommend to visit Cookie for a drink or two. My all time favourite is the Traditional Champagne Cocktail - the one with the sugar cube inside :) its yummy and potent!A couple of floors up is the Rooftop bar. I am still so in love with this place. Its quite a hike up (you have no choice but to climb 7 flights of stairs!!) but its well worth it. This place has fake grass for carpets, fresh air, bean bags and slushiesssss (with rummmm-favorite drink at Rooftop)..!!! and best of all, a rooftop cinema for FOC. They were screening Clueless the night that we went.2) Brother Baba Budan by Seven Seeds, Little Bourke Street
I never knew the existence of this place till I went there this time around. It must have opened in my absence ;p The coffee is soo sooo good, that i dare say its the best in Melbourne! Best mocha for sure! Its a small shop with a big common table for seating. Most people order the coffee to go, but if you're a tourist like us, you would stay and enjoy every sip. If you have trouble finding the store, just look out for the coffee shop with the hanging chairs on Lil Bourke! Apparently they also just opened up a block away from Melb Uni's Commerce Centre. 3) KoKo Black, Lygon Street
Nowhere else can you find a perfect cinnamon and chilli hot chocolate blend - Its not on the menu, but if you ask nicely enough, they will conjure it up for you :) Weird to some, but a comforting taste to accompany me throughout winter. This hot choc is exactly the kind of exotic drink i'd imagined in Juliette Binoche's and Johnny Depp's movie Chocolat.4) Josie Bones, Fitzroy
I am no beer connoisseur, but if you are, head over to Josie Bones. Its been awarded Australia's Best Specialty Beer Venue for 2011 and its no surprise with its 250+ local and international craft beer. Its got a simple decor and a weird picture piece (as can be seen in the picture below) and a very meaty smell to the place, the guys may like it, but i'm no big fan.5) Passionflower, Bourke St
Great for pictures, but not so great to eat. Lol, would only recommend it it you feel the urge of taking some nice dessert pics.6) The Local Taphouse, St Kilda
This place has got an urban, almost homey feel to it - a pretty cool rooftop bar with a chillout lounge at the bottom. The waiters are friendly and they serve microbrew beers. They were featuring beers from a Belgium brewhouse on taps when we were there and you can try out a sample of 5 through their interesting platter concept. I personally prefer this to Josie Bones.^8 Cee

Blitz Velvet

Go to Pacific Place and Go watch a movie!
Enjoy luxurious sofa bed with fluffy pillows and warm comfy blanket.
Blitz Cinema Velvet class:

(Priced at Rp250,000 a bed)

^8 Cee

Merchants of Bollywood

The play is shorter than a Bollywood movie and its filled with dance dance dance. LOVED it!! Their rhythm, passion and energy for dancing is Electrifying. Its craaaazy FUN! some.....no no, a lot of people got up to dance at the end. lol serious! aaaand the dancers' physique---->

Imagine this times 10 of em. It'd make a an army of '300'

Anyway, this play is a must watch if you are a Bollywood fanatic or Dance fanatic or Frkn Adrenaline fanatic or ALL of the above! Watch watch watch! Playing till the 26th of July. For more details click!


p.s: dont expect a great storyline

Find you.Love you.Marry you.

The movie plays so beautifully... The sequence, the setting, the story.

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Dearest Cecilia, the story can resume. The one I had been planning on that evening walk. I can become again the man who once crossed the surrey park at dusk, in my best suit, swaggering on the promise of life. The man who, with the clarity of passion, made love to you in the library. The story can resume. I will return. Find you, love you, marry you and live without shame.


And on a some what related note:
Oh how I hate wars... So many lives, so many dreams, so many promises goes unfulfilled...and all because of the greed of a few.

^8

The Good Body

Last Thursday my aunt declared ladies night. She got tickets for all us ladies to the play 'The Good Body'. Its a play written by Eve Ensler and is staged for the first time here in Malaysia.The preface:
In the midst of a war in Iraq, in a time of escalating global terrorism, when civil liberties are disappearing as fast as the ozone layer, when one out of three women in the world will be beaten or raped in her life time, why write a play about my stomach?

Maybe because my stomach is one thing I feel I have control over, or maybe because I have hoped that my stomach is something I could get control over. Maybe because I see how my stomach has cometo occupy my attention, I see how other women’s stomachs or butts or thighs or hair or skin have cometo occupy their attention, so that we have very little left for the war in Iraq—or much else, for that matter.

I sat right up after that. Hey, sometimes a breakout on the face does seem like the biggest problem in the world... and now that its being compared to a war in Iraq, I am rather shameful of it. But then the play goes on and on about how obsessed some women get and I suppose it must relate to most women in the audience because they were truly moved by it (It didnt help that I was pretty much possibly the only woman there from my generation). But I shouldnt think it too silly too soon... two decades down the road and with gravity working its magic, I may as well think ahead.

The play goes on for about 90 minutes making a point of women's obsession. It forces us to look at ourselves who may be in denial....Alas, exhausted by all the self-body hatred I was left to draw only one conclusion: love the imperfections of yourself and only then will it be hidden; either that or take those imperfections as those things that defines you.

At the end of the play, there were some short monologues of women who actually loved their body as it is. They were not the 'ideal' beauty but their self-loving ways and their confidence and optimism made them very beautiful. So you see, anyone with the right mindset and attitude can be beautiful. Very beautiful indeed ;)

The play runs till the 28th of June. Click for info.

^8