cheap thrills... no frills #1

this will be the first episode of my "cheap thrills... no frills" series... whereby i will cook! and absolutely no need to use any money cos all the ingredients are rummaged from the fridge, the cupboards, the shelves... just about any places where food are stored at home!! yes, there's still free breakfast/lunch/dinner when you're still a student living with and under parents' expenses!

sick of instant noodles, i cooked my own 4 course dinner + a drink. i aint a very good cook, but i dont think i will die lah if stranded at home. a week has past since i had this dinner and im still alive and kicking! heh, so i dont think my cooking was anything harmful or poisonous. lol.

p/s: please try not to laugh at the simplicity of my meals. remember, i aint a good cook ;-)

oh harro! welcome to my 'restaurant'...

the menu

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*starters*

soup of the day- cream of mushroom

as easy as abc right??

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*appetizers*

ham golden mushroom maki

step 1: prepare a few slices of ham (had to makedo with ham cos i dont have bacon) and some enoki (golden mushroom)

step 2: roll 'em up. tie with spring onion or just poke through using toothpick

step 3: heat some oil (not too much, else too oily)

step 4: pan fry the rolls until ham and mushrooms are lightly brown

step 5: serve!

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*mains*

cheezy golden treasure omelet

step 1: prepare ingredients. alil' bit of anything you can find. mine- fishballs, fishcakes, enoki, ham, chopped onions, spring onions

step 2: heat abit of oil

step 3: stir fry till cooked and golden brown

step 4: dish up and leave aside

step 5: beat up an egg, add a pinch of salt and pepper

step 6: pour beaten egg in pan and allow it to set

step 7: put a slice of cheddar
(initially i wanted to use mozarella but couldnt find in the fridge)

step 8: throw in the cooked ingredients, wait for omelet to be fully cooked

step 9: dish up

step 10: add some black pepper for flavouring
(mcdonald's black pepper always come in handy, request for more to keep next time you buy your mcdonalds!)

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*desserts*

cherries and chocolate cupcake

ask mom/sis to make and have it for dessert!
(sorry i dont have the recipe)

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*beverage*

BOH's hot golden blend tea


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my own 4 course dinner!

now you see it...

... now you dont! *burps*

food foundry

food foundry needs no introduction among food bloggers but it is a hidden gem still unbeknown to many who rarely venture into neighborhood areas like section 17, pj.

food foundry, your neighbourhood food provider
a little gem tucked in a corner somewhere...

in fact it wasnt my first visit to this place, thanks to mom's friend who brought us here somewhere this time last year. yes it took me a year to build up the curiosity and eagerness to finally find out where this little gem is hidden.

the famous mille crepe

food foundry offers an array of western cuisines but its unique selling points are their prices are affordable yet delicious in taste. oh, they also come in big portions too. just the right place to go for a good meal when you're hungry and not feeling too rich. somewhat similar to secret recipe as it offers both meals and is famous for its mille crepe cakes BUT definitely not the same as IMHO, the latter is too overrated and common. i think thats what keeps people coming back for more.

this time around, i only went with param as *coughcough* the rest ffk *coughcough*. when we reached, there was already a huge lunch crowd but we got seated pretty soon after.

menu

food foundry offers an array of tapas, sandwiches, soups, from the wok, from the tray, pastas, sides, desserts and beverages (p/s: i saw they use illy coffee beans). and these are what the two of us ordered (extremely hungry like starved pigs).

sautéed button mushroom- rm6.90
button mushroom lightly cooked in butter sauce

chicken cordon bleu- rm14.90
boneless chicken breast rolled with ham and cheddar cheese, topped with creamy mushroom sauce, mashed potatoes and salad as sides

seafood marinara- rm14.90
pasta in rich tomato sauce with mussels, prawns and clams

basket of potato wedges- rm5.00

strawberry and cream mille crepe- rm9.00

chocolate orange mille crepe- rm9.00

orange juice- rm7.00

ice lemon tea- rm3.00

table for two

vanilla mille crepe- rm8.00
packed a slice for ms koh to try, nice box eh?

tastewise, everything was good, just how they should taste like-lah. i took a bite of param's chicken cordon bleu and found it to be nice, although i thought it could be a little more tender. the mashed potatoes was nice! as for my seafood marinara, i was surprised that it came in such large servings for the kind of price it charges. anywhere outside would have easily cost at least rm20. there were two LARGE juicy and fresh mussels, prawns and clams (clams were alittle tiny though).

funny thing about food foundry is that its starters are served much after the mains... i've read some comments from some floggers about this as well.

but anyway, we enjoyed the sautéed button mushroom and nice when the sauce is dipped with the bread. somewhat like the itallianies bread dipped with olive oil vinegar. we also had a basket of potato wedges, served piping hot so we know its freshly fried. for rm5, it comes in many pieces. really worth the money.

drinks were alright too. my orange juice tasted authentic with orange sacs and all.

the ever famous mille crepe with 20 thin layers of French crepe layered smoothly with fresh custards. well, what can i say... its good! at rm8 a slice for vanilla and rm9 for other flavours, its not exactly cheap but i guess having it once in awhile to reward yourself is ok-lah. heh.

total bill- rm73.71

price-wise... two words sums it up: affordable and reasonable *thumbs up!*
the only pricey items are the cakes if you ask me.

location... not too difficult to find. if you wanna know how to go but cannot understand the map given (i cant too), drop me a comment and i'll give you the directions. oh yeah, it has AMPLE FREE parking :)

ambience... cosy little place tucked away from the hustle and bustle of pj.

service... excellent, very attentive waiters.

highly recommended and will certainly come back for more!!

SCORECARD
taste- 4.4
ambience- 4.0
location- 3.95
service- 4.0
price- 4.0



food foundry
bg-8, happy mansion,
jalan 17/13,
46400 pj.
03-79553885

*now at bangsar!*
food foundry petit
ground floor,
no. 1, lorong kurau,
59100, bangsar.
03-22822822


[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.]

of cupcakes and potluck

during the makan trip, the idea of having a potluck party popped up. and so it was decided that we WILL have a potluck party on wednesday at kenneth's place, everyone is to bring a dish and an empty stomach. i asked my sis and mom to help me bake their bestest most deliciousest cupcakes.

pretty pretty colorful decorations~!!

knowing how hopeless i am at baking and cooking, i was responsible for decorations!

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there were 19 of us and these were the dishes of the night (which most claimed that they cooked it themselves). it was our first potluck party and probably the first to many more to come. we are even considering making this a monthly get-together-all-you-can-eat.

param's fettucine with chicken and eggplant toppings/sauce

fries contributed by kenneth
nuggets from chu xuan
hotdogs from i dunno who

(clockwise top left) fried noodles and rice from jia hui, jade, kuan kit (??) and rong jiang

the awesome nasi lemak by atikah

konyaku jellies contributed by kenneth

my pretty chocolate cupcakes

juicy watermelon by kenneth

"heavenly" potato egg salad by jill
hehe, inside joke ;-)

all-you-can-eat buffet

we were surprised that all the food tasted good (albeit some *coughcough* burnt nuggets *coughcough*) and that everyone did bring a dish/drinks/snacks. we ended the night with some games and a round of twister.

so when should we have our second potluck?

foodnote: will be going back to my beloved land of good food hometown, ipoh tomorrow!! i miss ipoh food...

:(