Bondi Beach Grill & Bar @ The Curve

This post takes us back to the CNY week (procrastination is something I do best) . Just 5 days after getting to know Mr Sixthseal.com in person. To be honest, I was quite an avid reader of his blog in those days, where I just love to read his posts on food (experiments and reviews) but it never did cross my mind that I will have the chance to do a food review with THE man himself.

We decided to try out a place we both have not been to before at The Curve and Bondi Beach crossed our minds, reason being it's new and I read somewhere that the set lunch is really worth it! FYI, Bondi Beach Bar & Grill is named and inspired by the Australian beach and offers Australian styled cuisines.



It was a quiet Friday afternoon, most people are either working or still enjoying the CNY holidays. The Set Lunch menu is only offered on weekdays from 12-3pm. Typical set lunch times but quite a pity that I don't work at The Curve area or else I'll be here every alternate days or on days when I need some 'happy meals' that won't burn a hole in my pocket.


Seafood Salad


Prawn Pinwheels

For starters, there's a choice of either the Seafood Salad, Chicken Yakitori or Prawn Pinwheels. HB had the Seafood Salad while I chose the Prawn Pinwheels. When the starters arrived, I actually had a shock! In a positive way though. The food were so well presented, with all the minor details (ie. sprinkling of herbs and perfect food arrangements). For a person who generally dislikes salad, HB's starter changed my mind completely. The seafood were generous and the vege was crisp. The Prawn Pinwheels did not disappoint either, it was fresh and came in 2 sticks with grilled prawns alternating between grilled onions, capsicums and tomato.


Creamy Seafood Pasta


Char-grilled Minute Steak w Fried Mini Rosti

For our mains, HB had the Creamy Seafood Pasta while I chose the Char-grilled Minute Steak w Fried Mini Rosti. I did my 'homework' before going for the review, so I know what I want to order. Moreover, it was a good thing that I did my 'homework' as I was 45 mins late for the lunch and HB gave me a good lecture on punctuality -_- but we're on a clean slate now! HB's pasta was in a good sizeable potion, creamy and generous portion of mussels, prawns and squids. I didn't think much of the it as I am not a fan of cream-based pasta, as how HB didn't think much of my dish as well. Which is good, because it means more for him and more for me!

:DDDDD

Contrary to what HB thinks of my dish, I found my minute steak to be okay. For the price I am paying, it's not surprising the steak is small but it fed me well. The sauce has a bit of black pepper taste and complemented the steak well. The fried rosti was good too, I like thick cut chips sometimes.


Fresh Fruit Salad Topped w Vanilla Ice Cream

For desserts, there wasn't a choice so it was Fresh Fruit Salad Topped w Vanilla Ice Cream as written in the menu. Again, the chefs at Bondi Beach has done a wonderful job by giving its customers a fine dining experience for the price of normal cafes. I love how the food is presented, even if it's just a simple dessert. Cubes of watermelon, papaya and honeydew drizzled with caramel sauce and topped with vanilla ice cream in a martini glass as desserts made the whole set lunch experience very well worth it.


Watermelon Juice

HB had the watermelon juice which is an ala carte item. Opt for the plain water if you must (if you only want to spend no more than RM14.90 though it's not tax inclusive yet) and the best thing is it comes refillable. I like eateries that provide the free plain water and refillable option.

Bondi Beach is one place I would strongly recommend for a wholesome yet affordable lunch at RM14.90.

Read HB's review here.



Bondi Beach Grill & Bar
Lot 146, Level 1,
The Curve.
(Next to Bubba Shrimp & Co.)

[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.]

So Near Yet So Far

Remember my previous post on the ingenius ang pao idea by Pernod Ricard? Well, I was very excited about the results. Who wouldn't as the ticket may have a chance of striking the jackpot righttttt...?

The number's 9392, 9392, 9392... repeat and remember that.

Let's check the results.



It came out 3rd prize- 9293!! Well because I am not well versed with how the game goes, I thought I might have some chances in getting some money because my number has 9, 2, 9, and 3 numbers, but only reversed. A quick check with Khian and HB, I was left disappointed :( Apparently I can only consider 'winning' if I have all the combinations.

Sighs, why..... I think the 'so near yet so far' feeling is worst than not striking any number at all!

p/s: HB said if I could have won RM500 if I had all the combinations or my ticket no. was 9293.

Pernod Ricard CNY Dinner @ Ming Cuisine

The thing with working for a company that has dealings with liquor is the awesome invitations to dinners and functions with guaranteed goodies and free flow liquor. Sounds like a dreamjob, yes, no? Being a Buyer for the liquor category certainly has its perks ;)

I regretted not bringing my camera along the previous CNY Lunch organized by Bacardi Martini, which was quite interesting, both the dishes and the people. So I told myself I need to bring my camera this time around! After all, these are blogging materials what.



This year's dinner was held at Ming Cuisine, Section 19 PJ. It is a relatively new place that houses a chinese restaurant and nightclub... hmmm. Anyway, we were greeted by a lion dance at the entrance. Kinda 'extravagant' since it's after CNY and there's a lion dance!



Another reason why I said it's 'extravagant'. Look at the number of tables! From my guess, there should be at least 30 tables. Pernod Ricard literally booked the whole restaurant for the night's dinner. I told Iryna, my boss,"This looks like a wedding dinner!" True enough, it does seem like one with all the "Yammmmmmmmm SENGs!" and the VIPs hopping from table to table to shake hands and cheers. The only missing element is the karaoke session, haha!





Oh, yes. Before I forget about the big roasted pig at the restaurant entrance. The 'butcher' was chopping up plates after plates of delicious looking roasted pork belly for every table. Quite a pity that I didn't get to try it as this plate was taken from the VIP's table and I am not seated there :( When I went over to settle down at my own table, the whole plate is polished off already. Must be some really good roasted pork belly, eh.



Did I mention it was free flow of Chivas 12Yrs, Martell Cordon Bleu and some red wine and bubbly?



The dinner finally started and the obligatory Yee Sang was served. What makes this Yee Sang more special besides having one after CNY is the additional soft shell crab on top of the obligatory salmon slices. Oh and btw, the salmon slices were in thick cuts too. You know it's good when I have second servings! Ok, I had second servings.



Lou, lou, lou! Not low, low, low ok? Lou to good health! Lou to good wealth! Lou to wishes coming true! Lou to better economy, steady jobs, promotions, strike lottery, boss good mood, etcetera etcetera etcetera.



Instead of the usual sharks fin soup, we were each treated to a mini pot of Fatt Tiu Cheong, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall instead. Quite a lovely surprise I'll say. What's even better was when the 'uncle' seated next to me started adding 2 spoonfuls of Martell CB to everyone's pot claiming it tastes better that way! I was bit skeptical at first, not knowing if alcohol being added to hot soup will result to explosion or will speed the drunken process but ok it does tastes better :/

And then the fish, vegetarian dish and prawns came...







Followed by the must have CNY dish, glutinous rice with waxed meat...



And desserts! No, the free flow liquor isn't considered a dessert.





I love the desserts! It has been such a long time I had fried yam with nian gao!! And remember about my blog post on CNY Set Meals where I complained that restaurants don't serve memorable desserts anymore? Well thank god PR had Tong Yuen as the dessert. It was so good and comforting.

PR was very generous with the flow of liquor, I even saw people carrying cases of liquor to the makeshift bar as supplies were running low. And what's better is this miniature bottles of Martell CB and Chivas 12Yrs. They have the normal sized ones as well but we were more fascinated with the mini versions. I took 2 empty Martell CB and half a bottle of Chivas 12Yrs and subsequently gave a bottle of CB and Chivas to my boss as she loves Chivas. The way to buy (my) boss's heart is through whisky, yes Iryna? *wink wink*


Now you see a full bottle...


And now you don't!

Seriously, nolah it was my token of appreciation to her for bringing me to the dinner. Really wan!



The picture above has got to be my favourite shot of the night. Hardcore pimping for Martell not intended!

Last but not least, pictures with people!



Pernod Ricard's Managing Director, CK Tan a.k.a. Ze Big Boss addressing the crowd before chowing down!



Some of the powerful men and women in the industry. Not too sure about the guy in blue but the other guy next to him is Ze Owner of your favourite clubbing joints- Passion, Poppy and Rum Jungle. Should have asked for a No-Cover-Charge card from him haha. The lady next to him is his wife of course. My lady boss, Iryna hereafter known as Ze Boss is the one in red cheongsam.



Ze Boss seen here with Pernod Ricard's Ze Big Boss's wife.



Ze Boss with the guy with Iphone and cool cigarette case. Sorry mate, donch know your name!



And lastly, my own picture taken with my camera. Seen here with some of the Table 7 members and my supplier, Maria.

Thanks for the dinner Pernod Ricard, Maria for the invitation and Iryna for bringing me there, if you're reading this ;) I certainly had fun!



And this is PR's style of giving the Ang Pao. Either you strike alot or you got nothing in the end. I find this ang pao idea pretty ingenius. To married people, no you cannot do that next year, I still want my ang pao to be in cold hard cash tqverymuch.

Oh yeah the draw is on Sunday, tomorrow. Lookout for the winning numbers for me!

Happy Valentine's Day, peeps!

Qing Zhao Xiao Cai @ Kota Kinabalu

I am back from what I can say to be my final trip to Kota Kinabalu. A place that would hold many fond memories for me. While I have never set foot at the East side of Malaysia before joining the company, I can now proudly say that I have been to Kota Kinabalu 5 times within 8 months! Even more than I have been back to Ipoh for the year!



Forgive me if I misspelt the name of this little shop sandwiched between many other shops in the quaint little town of Kota Kinabalu. I was told it is in Beverly Hills, no not the US of A's Beverly Hills, this is the KK's version of Beverly Hills. If not mistaken, it's somewhere near Jalan Bundusan-Jalan Penampang. Special thanks to Eric (my Lady Boss's business partner, Angie's old friend) who brought us there.





What brought us back here again is the craving for the comfort food served here- porridge. And in the case of Qing Zhao Xiao Cai, it is not just plain porridge but the Sweet Potato Porridge and the other various side dishes. The dishes have a very homely feel and taste, something different from the usual seafood we have while we were in KK. The simple meal of porridge with century egg/ stir fried string beans/ fried omelette/ minced pork patty w salted egg/ etc. is the epitome of comfort food, especially when you're far away from home, after a hard day's work.......







If you would have expected service to be slow for a small simple set up like this, then you are wrong. Food arrived very quickly, almost like it was fast food, Chinese style. The good news is, the food quality was not compromised. Perhaps part of the reason why we came back for more (I had this during my first trip to KK, such a coincidence that I am having it for my final trip as well- starts with a bang, ends with a bang?) is because of the awesome red snapper fillet. It was smooth and fresh, with the right taste of soy sauce and a little bit of garlic, we would all agree if they name this Ze Fish.



The Star Number 2 was the century eggs. Take a look at it and you should know why it should be called Ze Century Egg as well.



I enjoyed myself very much for the 2 nights' dinners. The first night, Eric took us to Dowish Restaurant, a seafood place at Penampang Road and we had the most awesomest seafood dinner, even better than Ocean Seafood Village. My only regret is not taking the camera with me... now I don't have pictures to show you guys how awesome it was :(

Thanks Angie, Iryna and Eric for sharing these delicious meals with me, now I wish that wasn't my last trip to KK with you guys for I will truly miss the laughs and silly jokes.

Stupidity is ME

Hello everyone,

As you're still snoring and cuddling your bolsters, I'm now sitting at the Departure Lounge @ LCCT, KL. Let me tell you how unbelievably stupid I am this morning. And by 'morning' I mean really early morning... Like 4am?

I woke up at 4am+ (albeit only sleeping for 2hrs plus due to a night out w alcohol involved) looking like a reluctant zombie w a flight to catch. I had earlier called Taxi Uncle to pick me up at 5am. 5 mins before 5am I realized my flight is at 6.20am. Normally it takes at least 40mins from my home to get to the airport, so it suddenly hit me that I was gonna be late!

Especially for flights to KK, the check-in q is always v long, so it's better to check in 45mins ahead. To cut the long story short, I told Taxi Uncle to speed ahead... He was kind enough to oblige and sped at 150kmph. Until we missed the important turning and had to 'gostan'. Luckily it's early morning and there's not much cars.

I reached airport still in one piece at 5.35am. But my colleague was nowhere to be seen. I thought I was late but she's even later??! After waiting for 15mins, I went to check the flight details and realized I got the timing wrong.

The flight was at 6.50am, which means I had an hour plus to spare.

Ok gotta go! Tata!

Jin Xuan Hong Kong Dim Sum

This will be my final post under http://to-eat-or-to-live.blogspot.com. From Thursday (12/02), I will be changing the domain name to http://yilinglim.blogspot.com. So, to those who have linked me, please do remember to update your links :) Thanks!

*****

Affordable dim sum places are hard to come by especially in KL. Most of the good places are either in hotels or places like King Crab or really too expensive until unheard of. I was introduced to Jin Xuan Hong Kong Dim Sum by E awhile back.



I reckon it's gaining popularity among the people from Damansara as for both times I was there, the place was crowded and people were lining up to get a table! I wonder if it has affect the business of Hong Kee which is also situated in the near vicinity.























The variety of dishes is commendable, I saw plates of cheese baked crabs and was so tempted to get one but E stopped me :( Tastewise, JXHK's dim sum fared a little above average, better than those el cheapo dim sums you get at coffeeshops and even better than Hong Kee's, but IMHO, King Crab still has one of the better tasting dim sums around Klang Valley. Price wise it is affordable, not too sure about the prices per single item though.



Related Post:
Eiling's In Dim Sum Heaven

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I will be in KK from Monday-Wednesday! I know! It's Public Holiday tomorrow, but I have to work :( Ok, update more when I get back! Cheerios :)


Jin Xuan Hong Kong Dim Sum
59, 61 & 63 Jalan SS21/19,
Damansara Jaya,
47300 PJ.
Tel: 03-7729 6866

[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.]