Magenta @ Publika

Magenta

Dinner at Magenta was a unplanned visit - we wanted to eat somewhere else as we've bought the voucher but the redemption period has not started. Magenta was popped into mind as 'the place with a cool coffee machine displayed, let's try it'. 

Magenta was running a dinner promotion for RM99.90, you get a starter, 2 mains and 2 drinks. We were attracted by the choice of mains: the Tuna Steak and Grilled Ribeye Steak as a peek into the ala carte menu revealed that both mains costs almost RM45 - 50 each, so the RM99.90 deal should be pretty worth it.

Grilled escargots

It's been awhile feasting on this French appetizer. My taste buds calls for more garlic but otherwise it's not too creamy and perfect for bread-gravy-licking.


Tuna steak

Tuna steaks are not common in restaurants' menu, so it was a rare discovery that Magenta has Tuna Steak in its menu. The outcome of the big and generous piece of Tuna was a tad too cook as we would prefer to have it in Medium Rare but the waitress told us that it is only done in Medium Well. Some parts of it still spots pinkyness but not the pink middle that remains red and rare that we were expecting, like a tuna tataki. Generosity in portion is applauded though.


Grilled ribeye steak


Done medium rare

The meat counterpart to the tuna steak would of course be the real deal, real meat - the Ribeye. Requested to be done in Medium Rare, it was the opposite of the tuna steak. Some parts looked too red and rare but in actual fact consumable and was a satisfying piece of meat. The mains are handsome on the sides too - thick cut fries, sauteed mushrooms and salad.


Pink guava and lemonade

And a nice cold refreshing glass of fruit juice to wash all the protein down.



Magenta
Lot G2-42,
Publika Shopping Gallery,
Jalan Dutamas 1,
50480 Kuala Lumpur.
Business hours: 11am - 11pm
Tel: 03-62111663


* Visuals by iPhone 4

[Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. Please don't sue me, I don't have money. Kthxbye.]

Ante Kitchen & Bar @ Publika

Dine like a sir

I had the opportunity to dine at Ante, courtesy of my sis who decided to buy me dinner for my birthday last month. Ante is run by a few 20-somethings young men who are good friends and decided to start something together (makes things easier when at least one's a chef) and two of them are coincidentally my sis's friends. I wish I have friends who want to start a Bed & Breakfast with me, until then it becomes a lifelong dream :(

Who and what inspires the name? I managed to have a quick chat with one of the partners, and questioned him the same. He told me that ANTE refers to 'a poker stake usually put up before the deal to build the pot'. I hope you'll be able to figure out by now what Ante means to these young 20-somethings, cos I think it's a great and meaningful name.


Chunky mushroom soup - RM12



Caramelized garlic olio (there's bacon in it too!) - RM23



Char-grilled pork steak - RM40+

For those who's never dined with me, my first choice of soup will always be the mushroom soup if it's on the menu. My first impression towards any eateries will be the first spoonful of mushroom soup that I taste. It's not easy to make a good bowl of mushroom soup that isn't too creamy and bursting with shroom flavours. In essence, a good bowl of mushroom soup can warm the cockles of my heart. Ante's version though not the best (since I found the best at Milk and Butter), it passes the acid test.

The mains that we had was a garlic olio, though I think they should rename it with the word 'bacon' in it to attract orders. Nicely done and portion is just right too. I had the honor to order one of the most expensive dish within the mains. There was an option to choose the type of pork slab... and I was given the green light to pig out (expensively), so bring on the expensive pork! Served with a side of baked apple, mash and greens with glorious berry cream sauce. The pork steak was 1/4 fat, 3/4 meat. and honestly a heavy porky dish for me to handle - hence, I'll recommend sharing this. I like the baked apple though!

Be sure to check out Ante when you're in Publika - maybe spotting a mustache like a sirrrr could score you a free beer! (heh)



Ante Kitchen & Bar
A2-G1-09,
Publika, Solaris Dutamas,
Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-62063364
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ante.kl?group_id=0



* Visuals by iPhone 4

[Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. Please don't sue me, I don't have money. Kthxbye.]

S.Wine @ B.I.G. Independent Food Store, Publika

Parma ham, arugula and peach salad - RM19.90

The BIG Group needs no further introduction to the F&B scene in Kuala Lumpur. In the recent couple of years, the BIG Group has launched and opened so many new eateries - some repeated but located in different venues (i.e. Plan B, Ben's General Foodstore, T-Forty Two), but many concepts still remain independent (The Estates, Hit & Mrs, S.Wine, Botanical, Canoodling, Barn BBQ, Ricetaurant, B'wiched), you can almost be assured they have no plans of stopping! Every new eatery that pops out is sure to be checked if it's by The BIG Group - but if you notice, most BIG outlets have some sort of similarities, the deco props and the type of chairs (prove me wrong, or right?). Sans the fixtures, some of the items in the menu are similar too -- compare Ben's to Ben's General Foodstore and Plan B (maybe the coffee too).

Whatever the similarities or differences, one thing's for sure... there's a Ben-outlet in every corner of the town.


BBQ chorizo cheeseburger with bacon - RM24.90

The people behind The BIG Group are in fact genius - setup your own high end supermarket and bring in all your F&B outlets within the supermarket. That way, you don't have to pay rental twice, economies of scale in getting ingredients but at the same time the brand presence is loud and clear.

S.Wine was introduced when B.I.G. opened doors as (in my opinion) part of leveraging on the supermarket's purchasing power in getting the freshest and bestest quality of ingredients as the deli was already importing poultry (midstream?), why not have the downstream covered too? The menu is strictly focused on (duh!) swine so ditch that diet away when you're here.


Momofuku-inspired pork buns - RM16.90

As always, we'll pick an entree to share, either a soup or a salad. The parma ham caught our eye, and Parma ham, arugula and peach salad it was. The salad as I remember, was okay - the price tag has to justify the fancy ingredients anyway. The BBQ chorizo cheeseburger with bacon was nothing less than amazing. This is one burger that you'll be thankful you're not a vegan. The Momofuku-inspired pork buns was comfort food. (A little foodnote: Google-search tells me that Momofuku is the famous restaurant in New York City that first 'created' this dish). As Chinese, we grew up with eating Tung Po pork and steamed mantou, so this should be nothing foreign to us. Although it's delicious, it's a bit pricey for just 2 pieces of these pork sandwich.


Assam refresher - RM9.90
Assam boi, lime, cucumber and soda

If you have additional RM10 to spare, give this assam refresher a shot (the assam is frozen within the ice!)... do I think it's worth RM10? No. Will I pay for creativity? Maybe.... sometimes yes.


Latte and Piccolo at Plan B

After a heavy lunch at S.Wine, some grocery shopping at B.I.G., what better way to cap it all up with a cuppa at Plan B. Don't you see the it's ingenious?



S.Wine
Ben's Independent Grocer,
Publika, Solaris Dutamas,
Kuala Lumpur.
Facebook:


* Visuals by iPhone 4

[Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. Please don't sue me, I don't have money. Kthxbye.]

The Pink Sage Diner & Pantry @ Solaris Dutamas

Food for Brunch- Linguini and Meatballs Pasta (RM19); Big Breakfast (RM27.50); Eggs and Spinach Florentine (RM10.50)

A couple of weeks back, we met up with Jen and David and 2 other friends for a lazy Sunday brunch. Jen suggested The Pink Sage Diner & Pantry as it offers All Day Breakfast. Not very familiar with Mont Kiara areas, it took us quite a while to finally locate this place. Solaris Dutamas has quite a cosy setting, still fairly new as the occupancy rate is still low but already booming with few popular dining outlets and Pink Sage is one of them.


Classic Nachos with Guacamole (RM18.50); Greasy Breakfast (RM14.50); Classic Cheeseburger (RM18)

Overall verdict is the food's pretty much on the classic diner menu- cheeseburgers, pasta, salads, breakfast... but the food is nothing to shout about in my humble opinion. Ambience is great for meetups, chit chats or just spending your lazy weekend there. I was especially disappointed as they claimed to have out of stock for smoked salmon which is my favourite when I intended to have the Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon.

Better luck next time, I guess.


The Pink Sage Diner & Pantry
A4-UG-01 Solaris Dutamas,
1, Jalan Dutamas 1,
50480 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 016-205 2023
www.thepinksage.com

[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.]

Dubrovnik, Pearl of The Mediterranean

Dubrovnik
Pearl of The Meditteranean

Dubrovnik is a Croatian city and is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. One of the benefits of globalization is the array of international cuisines you can find on our local shore. Put your passports and boarding pass aside, let me take you to Croatia!

p/s: I had initially thought Dubrovnik is a Russian restaurant.


Bread with Ajvar

I guess it's becoming a SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) for all these international cuisines restaurants ie. French and Italian to serve bread and most commonly balsamic vinegar, but in this case, Dubrovnik offers it with ajvar (a type of Croation vegetable salsa-like dip). The bread is served warm and the ajvar dipping is different from the usual balsamic vinegar.


Due Colori Soup- RM16
Perfectly divided plate of creamy leek-spinach with asparagus and cauliflower soup

I am not a big fan of vege blended things, I like my veg to be whole and cooked. So I was a bit skeptical on a vege soup... until it arrived and I had a spoonful of it, oh how wrong I was! The soup was great, especially the green part. The cauliflower part tasted a tad bland but when paired with the leek-spinach and asparagus portion, my skepticism towards vege soups was temporarily removed. This is a Must Order from the appetizer section.


Strukli- RM15
Fresh cheese dumplings, pan fried with bread crumbs, served with sour cream

The waiter attended to us recommended Strukli as an appetizer. Cheese has never been on top of my appetizer list but we decided to give it a shot since it was a Chef's Recommendation. When the dish arrived, it looked nothing like dumplings, or at least the Chinese type (in my mind, dumplings = wanton/sui gao/woh tip). Now I know what Croation 'dumplings' look like! Not a recommended dish for those watching their weight or lactose intolerant. After a piece of Strukli, I felt like my dinner was done.


Flambeed Steak Korcula- RM58
Prime beef loin marinated with spices and Dijon then pan-fried on butter with special mushroom sauce and cognac

I usually have my steak in a piece, not in pieces, so this was quite a change from the usual steak dish. The main is accompanied with some fried onion rings, some blanched vege, and some fried potato-like balls . The steak is nice and tender and has quite a distinct taste but in my humble opinion, a little too oily.


Lamb Peka- RM50
Traditional Croatian way of preparing meat or seafood, under and iron bell for 3 hours in the wood burning oven

The Lamb Peka was another recommended dish. It was stated that the dish needs booking in advance but on that day it was readily available. Hmmm, not too sure on the contradiction but I guess it's a lucky night for us. I'm not usually a fan of ordering lambs but my makan partner in crime was craving for some lamb... the comment on this dish is that it wasn't flavourful enough, at least for the price to pay. We found out that they stuffed some garlic in the lamb, so that was a bit of consolation as the garlicky part has a bit more substantial taste. The dish is served with saffron rice and some vege.



In my humble opinion, I like the service, ambience and the decorations- perfect for a good dine out with your loved one and/or friends/family. However, for the price to pay, the food were not as good as I hoped to be. Then again, this is the Malaysian tastebud talking, perhaps the dishes were meant to taste like that- the Croatian way. The soup was a clear winner that night and we'd love to return again to try out some other dishes to prove ourselves wrong.


Dubrovnik
J-OG-14, Solaris Mont Kiara,
No. 2, Jalan Solaris, Mont Kiara,
Kuala Lumpur.

[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.]

The TENJI Experience

[Warning: Too many photos of delicious food!]



Tenji was having a lunch promotion a month back where the lunch buffet will only cost RM49.90++ max instead of RM77++ with RM29.90++ as the starting price and every subsequent 1hr an additional RM10 while the max is till RM49.90++. Still a pretty good deal, compared to Jogoya which cost RM100++ per pax!



Many said Tenji is set to give Jogoya a run for its money. I don't see why not. In terms of food variation, Tenji is said to be as good as Jogoya's. I cannot compare as I have not been to Jogoya. While I am not going to comment much on the food (basically everything is edible), here are pictures to satisfy your cravings and curiousity for those who have been trying to get a table there.



Just like Jogoya's mini coconuts. Love this to bits! Had 4 to myself!





Oysters the size of a palm! Our favourite... We had about 8 of these monsters!










Selection of assorted sushis. Not much selection but you know what they always tell you about Japanese buffets? "Never eat the sushis first! Leave space for other better things!"









Grilled saba, mackeral, yakitori etc. I felt bad for the tiny fish on skewers...



Feta chesse wrapped in smoked salmon. Smoked salmon! Yumm!



Sliced abalone with ikura. Do I need to show you my expression when I see, "Abalone"?



Some grilled prawns or something.



It's not Japanese Buffet if there's no tempura!



Baby octopus. I was too starved to have this. But now I can only drool...



Escargots in kam heong style. Foreground is kerabu squid salad.



Soba noodles in paper thingy. These paper thingy are so hebat!



Pasta with hints of spicyness, assorted bell pepper and squids!



Made to order pan fried salmon fillet. Even made to order items are nice in presentation :)



Miss your dim sum? Fear not, there are dim sums available too.





A plate of greens (Emperor's Vege) and herbal soup to balance the glutton's diet.







Assorted plate of goodies.

Last but not least,



Happiness is free flow of Haagen Dazs ice cream! :DDDDDD



Pastries and fruits for chocolate fondue.



Assorted desserts in glasses. This one is Tiramisu, very strong coffee.



Assorted mochies and variety of teas to neutralize the palate.



In total, we paid about RM80++ for what seem to be like 4 hrs of eating spree. Ambience wise, I think it's very nice as you can choose to be seated outside (but may be abit troublesome having to go in and out to take food). Service is good too, can't say the same when it's crowded though.

Eh, your saliva dropping on keyboard already leh... ;)


Operation Hours & Pricing

Weekday
Lunch 11.30am-4.00pm RM77++
Dinner 5.30pm-9.30pm RM88++
Supper 10.00pm-2.30am RM88++

Weekend & Public Holiday
Lunch 11.00am-4.00pm RM77++
Dinner 5.30pm-9.30pm RM88++
Supper 10.00pm-2.30am RM88++


[p/s: Due to the ridiculous amount of photos of food and such took, I cannot post all of them here. So please visit my flickr set to view the photos in full. Tq.]


UPDATE:
Received a text message few days ago from TENJI. It reads,

"TENJI: March Weekday Lunch Promotion for only RM49.90++ (normal price RM77++) For reservation, pls call 1700-80-1818 www.tenji.com.my"

Looks like this promotion thing will last quite awhile. I think their strategy is to have a promotion every now and then so people keep flocking there thinking it's a good deal. But it's all good for us consumers as this allow us to indulge in some jap food and/or buffet without having to burn a hole in our bank accounts!


Tenji Japanese Buffet Restaurant
Lot L-01-01, SohoKL, Solaris Mont Kiara,
No.2, Jalan Solaris, 50480 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 1700-80-1818
Email: info@tenji.com.my

[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.]