Cubes @ Jaya One
Two Fridays ago, I got an invitation from Eiling to do a food review/free dinner at Cubes @ Jaya One. I have read about Cubes before, at least having knowledge that it is a Chinese restaurant and not blindly go there and ask for a medium rare steak :p
KY arrived just moments before me and we spent about 20 mins flipping the menu waiting for our host.
Eiling & Mr Ang
Our host arrived, pictured here with the owner of the restaurant, Mr Ang. He was a very hospitable, friendly and nice chap. I know the one question everyone is curious and dying to ask is, "Why CUBES?" According to Mr Ang, the name "CUBES" came about as he didn't want his restaurant to sound typically Chinese (ie. Garden, Imperial, Palace etc) so "CUBES" popped in his mind and it was no turning back since.
Dalmore 21 & Glenmorangie Lasanta
Eiling was being generous, she pulled out 2 bottles of Single Malt whiskies for the dinner but only I drank with Mr Ang. KY claimed he had his quota of alcohol the night before and Eiling was suffering from a mysterious allergy. We polished the Dalmore off. Have yet to try the Glenmorangie Lasanta... Will curi some from the alcohol corner at home teeheehee.
Aromatic duck
First dish to arrive was, I quote, "Probably the best aromatic duck....." This is their signature appetizer dish. The duck thigh was brought out and flossed right infront of us. It is served with thin crepes, similar to popiah skin, jullienned cucumbers, spring onion, and the special sauce.
Eat it the same way as you would with peking duck skin :) The aromatic duck roll is quite good, at least compared to the one I had in The Social. We polished up both wraps and meat.
Double boiled Scallops with Tung Sum Soup
After an amazing appetizer, out came the special soup to help cleanse the palate. We were served a bowl of Double boiled Scallops with Tung Sum Soup. The soup taste herbalish (I like) as it has ingredients such as wolfberries and Tung Sum (a type of ginseng lookalike herb). The taste is further enhanced with the use of ingredients such as pork ribs and sweet succulent scallops. Eiling claimed that this is her favourite soup here and I don't see why not.
Tiger Prawn with Rice Crisps
Next in line to enter our mouths was this Tiger Prawn with Rice Crisps. Before you ask, "What? Rice crisps??" Well believe me, never judge a book by its cover! This may look abit weird but it tastes fantastic. The prawns are huge, fresh and succulent and according to Mr Ang, the rice crisps are intended to neutralize your taste buds. Very amazing chemistry I must say!
Honey Glazed Spare Ribs
The Honey Glazed Spare Ribs await us while we finished the last gulp of the soup and licked clean the prawns' shell. This is another signature dish at Cubes which the owner is very proud off. It is not hard to see why he is so proud of the ribs.
So tender
They're juicy, bursting with flavour and tender! The meat just falls out from the bone at the poke of the fork. I usually shiver at the sight of pork fats but this one just melts in your mouth and the form of reaction my body sent me was a message to the brain saying, "This is oh too good, can I have another piece pleaseeeeee?"
Homemade beancurd with spinach and mushroom
Fans of beancurd will rejoice for this is a piece of heaven. The beancurd is soft, and the gravy complements well the usually bland beancurd. There is also a layer of spinach which I have mistaken it for seaweed on top of the perfectly golden brown beancurd.
Deep fried & stir fried lotus with celery
The last dish of the dinner was this healthy mix of vegies consisting deep fried and stir fried lotus with celery. I particularly love the deep fried lotus and have had my first deep fried lotus during CNY 2 years ago. It serves as a very delicious and addictive snack (fattening too but who cares!).
A very healthy vege drink
But of course, when you have the owner at the table with you, the dinner don't stop here. He instructed the kitchen to blend a very special healthy vege drink for Eiling who claimed she can't have alcohol for 5 days. Can't really remember what combination of vege was used but I remember there was Kai Lan and Celery in it. Surprisingly, it tastes really good!
Fruit enzymes- Dragonfruit & Starfruit
Fruit enzyme- Apple & Ginger
He also generously brought forth his special not-in-menu fruit enzymes, brewed by himself and brought out on special occassions and requests to entertain guests like us. The fruit enzymes were amazingly drinkable (*grins) and I almost couldn't tell what I was drinking as it does not really have very strong taste of ie. ginger.
Almond cream with black sesame glutinous balls
I thought there wasn't any space for desserts but I went on to have a bowl of Almond Cream with Black Sesame Glutinous Balls. To be honest, this dessert will require more than just a love for nuts, it is only for the acquired taste! If you think almond on its own taste bad, I can just say almond cream tastes _________. There's no word to describe it but in my humble opinion, I dislike almond cream. The black sesame glutinous balls were yummy though :D
To wrap the dinner affair up, we were served rock melon and papaya. These are the very same rock melons used by Italian restaurants to complement the parma/air dried ham. They're very sweet, you can almost become diabetic if you're overdosed with this fruit!
KY and his awesome flash
Pardon me for the inconsistencies in my pictures (some with flash, some without). I am looking forward to see KY's pictures as he takes really good food photos IMHO and his awesome flash is just too awesome.
Overall, it was a great dinner and I left with a bloated stomach but not a single cent poorer (except for parking) and a new friend found (who owns Cubes haha). I will recommend this place to my colleagues for and we can drop by for lunch.... great food at less than a kilometer away!
p/s: As the concept of Cubes is Chinese fine dining, do expect the prices to be alittle steeper than your usual dai chow corners. But if you don't mind paying a bomb for typical Chinese restaurants, then do give Cubes a try!
Read related review-
The Star
Cubes
18-1, Block L1-1,
Palm Square Jaya One,
No. 72A, Jalan Universiti,
Petaling Jaya.
Tel: 03-7958 6616
[disclaimer: the opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. please dont sue me, i dont have money. kthxbye.]
