Bijan, Kuala Lumpur

I love the first night out on holidays. Whilst it's true that it generally takes me a good 48 hours to wind down and relax, being somewhere tropical means that tends to happen a little faster. I love the heat and I also love any type of Asian cuisine.

After much online research, I made a dinner reservation for our first night in Kuala Lumpur at Bijan. The website states:

Bijan opened its doors in September 2003 to offer a unique dining experience to discerning palates. The Bijan experience is modern in presentation yet wholesome in flavour. Traditional Malay cuisine is taken out of hawker stalls and buffet lines, and served against a lush backdrop. Modern in its surroundings with distinctive Asian accents, Bijan is warm, yet chic; intimate yet spacious.

We enjoyed a slow walk to the restaurant from our hotel, through the night markets and hawker stalls which made us even more hungry by the time we arrived.

As much as I'm completely in love with Asian food, often it looks ugly in photographs! I mean a whole fish with a red sauce heaped over it or chunks of beef (tender though they might be) served in a mound just don't look pretty.

We loved Bijan. The decor was Malay in style and simple but there were canldes on the tables and clean white tablecloths as well as a good variety of wine glasses.

Did I mention just how fresh, authentic, delicious and CHEAP everything was? My plain rice was less than $1 and whole fish for main course one of the most expensive items on the menu at around $18.70

We shared a couple of entrees and the one below was completely unlike anything we had ever tasted before. We both marvelled at the lightness yet intensity of flavour and I would have happily ordered another but held myself back.

Daging Bungkus Kukus
 Delicate parcel of steamed minced meat & herbs wrapped within a layer of pancake & coconut gravy

For main course we ordered a dish each, a vegetable side and a couple of serves of rice - Nasi Putih
(Steamed white rice) and Nasi Lemak (Rice cooked in coconut milk & served with deep fried anchovies, peanuts and sambal). By the noises Sean was making from across the table, I knew his lamb had amazing flavour and tenderness. My fish was fresh and firm but was served with a lot more sauce than I had envisaged which was perhaps a little overpowering for my clean and simple tastes. The green vegetables were spicy and crisp and a great accompanyment.

Kangkung Goreng Belacan
Water spinach stir-fried with belacan sauce & dried shrimp

Rendang Kambing
Chunks of lamb shoulder cooked in an aromatic infusion of spices & coconut milk
over a slow fire

Ikan Bawal Serkam
Black pomfret grilled in banana leaf with a spicy & tangy topping of fresh herbs &
chillies

Bijan gave us the spicy and traditional dinner we had hoped for. For me, the entree was the standout and I'm on the search to find something similar at a restaurant back home.....

We dined on 22 November 2011

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The Fireplace, The Hyatt, Sanctuary Cove

After days of splashing around the pool with our two daughters and eating our meals in a rush due to early their bedtime, Sean and I were looking forward to a relaxing evening out. 

We dropped the girls at 'Camp Hyatt' and proceed to the Regency Club. The canapes and drinks on offer were standard fare (couple of dips, carrot sticks, stodgy sushi, salami and cold quiche squares) but we still ate enough so that main course only was required.

The Hyatt website states:

With cherry wood wine cabinets, classic rustic décor and signature wood-fired oven provide the perfect stage for our chefs to create delicious contemporary grill and provincial style cuisine. 

That could have been written last week or last decade..., the decor description still applies. It's simple and kind of out of context with the beach resort feel but there is that 'colonial' aspect which I suppose is where the design originates. The table settings consisted of a single clear glass tealight holder and that was about it. Nothing amazing there. The feature of the room is the wood-fired oven and I couldn't see much that wasn't plated up right on the bench in front of us all except for the desserts.

The menu was simple in layout and dish descriptions.

I ordered the Queensland snapper with cherry tomatoes and asparagus. That was exactly what arrived. All mains come served with roasted chat potatoes (in a plain white bowl, no garnish) and The Fireplace house salad (served in same plain white bowl and consisting of what I suspect was tinned corn, cucumber, capsicum and assorted greens). Whilst all the flavours and presentation were simple and perhaps a little uninspired, the crispy skin of the snapper and smokiness from the wood oven were sensational. When food is of high quality there really isn't much you need to do to it to make the meal memorable.

Sean was all set to order steak but was disappointed the largest serving on offer was only 250g of fillet. So instead he went for the Frenched lamb rack with crsip white polenta and spring vegetables. The lamb looked sensational - served medium rare and a very generous portion. Here I found the presentation and "provincial" aspect mentioned in the description to be a little more apparent.

The only other accompanyments were wood oven warmed white ciabatta and bearnaise sauce.

Whilst on first glance the prices seemed high, the side dishes were included in the price and we were dining at a major international hotel which generally means add 10%.

The service was ok but they only just squeezed our meal out before we had to collect our girls from Camp Hyatt. Mind you, they wouldn't have cared if we had stayed out another hour or two......

We dined on 8 November 2011

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press* food & wine, Adelaide

Ballsy. That's how Sean described it. "If they can sustain the quality and therefore the high levels of current patronage they will do well."

It's certainly a big restaurant by Adelaide standards and maybe that's why it also feels a little "Eastern States". The decor is warehouse cool and a bit masculine. Downstairs it's more relaxed and communal while upstairs there are white tablecloths and separate tables.., even booths if you choose.

Menu wise, this was the perfect choice for dinner to celebrate Sean's 40th birthday. The range of meat on offer is diverse and plentiful from a variety of steaks to offal and even a whole Berkshire pig if you give the restaurant enough notice.

We weren't sure how many of the 'Small' plates to order for entree but our efficient waitress suggested three would be a good number and she was right. Given it was Sean's birthday I let him choose and he went for Pork and Prune Terrine, Duck and Cumquat Boudin with Toast and Beetroot, Red Onion, Cabbage and Creme Fraiche (ok, I insisted on the salad).

Our selection of 'Small' Starters

The salad was excellent - really crunchy. The duck tasty and the cumquat's really strong in flavour. The terrine surprisingly light. We agreed that whilst it is excellent presentation to use bread boards, having three on our table at once (the bread was also served on the same board which is out of the shot above) was perhaps a bit much. Having said that, it was nice to have a variety of plates used throughout the meal in place of standard white round ones.

For main course I can never go past fresh barramundi which was the fish of the day listed under the 'Wood-grilled Seafood' section on the menu. It was served with dill mayo (which I didn't have) and Ngeringa Leaves which was a simple salad all supplied from the Ngeringa farm the restaurant owns in the Adelaide Hills. Nice.

Of course it's personal, but I always prefer my fish served with the flesh side up rather than ugly looking skin?

Sean had chosen his main course within two minutes of receiving the menu. Six hour braised brisket with macaroni and cheese. He couldn't stop raving about the brisket and made me taste some.

Not what you would call a beautiful looking dish..., unless you love meat and carbs ;)

Our waitress was excellent, particularly when it came to selecting appropriate glasses of wine for us to match our food. She was very fast and chatty without being over-bearing. I think it was the confidence in the food and wine she was serving that shone through. The restaurant was very busy but she never appearing flustered or under pressure. Certainly she was experienced.

We can't wait to go back to press* in a few months to see how things are going. There were lots more items on the menu we'd like to try and it's really nice to know there's a place like this in Adelaide - taking risks, making bold choices, and buzzing.

Finally, I love a restaurant that has Aesop products in the bathroom. press* even provides Aesop handcream which gets a big (moisturised) thumbs up from me.

We dined on 29 October 2011

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Il Ristorante, Bvlgari Hotel, Italy

One night at the Bvlgari was not enough. Firstly because we didn't get a chance to explore restaurants outside our hotel and second because we didn't have a chance to treat our hotel room as more than a dumping ground for shopping bags and dirty laundry.

So, as suspected dining at Il Ristorante was the perfect choice after a hard day of shopping the golden triangle. The bar was dark and moody and full of fabulous looking people wearing (largely) black. I've enjoyed a few Italian pre-dinner drink treats of nibbles in my time but never have a seen anything near the quality or quantity of that served at the bar at the Bvlgari. No sooner had we sat down at the bar before vegetables, dip, roasted almonds, green olives and crisps were served en masse followed by individual servings of salmon sashimi, crab meatballs, vegetable pasta salad and parma ham croissants. All delicious and when I rejected the parma ham croissant and requested a second serve of salmon sashimi instead, my wish was almost instantly granted without attitude.

Then we moved through to the restaurant, agreeing that only two courses would be required after such a substantial starter.

The simple yet luxurious space of the Bulgari Hotel Milan restaurant is the ideal backdrop for a voluptuous gastronomic journey into the aromas and flavors of Chef Andrea Ferrero’s cuisine: a creative reinterpretation of the Italian tradition, characterized by harmonies and contrasts, aesthetic research of colours and volumes. The wine list vaunts more than 500 cases of the most carefully selected vintages, as well as a fine selection of champagnes and sparkling wines. Connoisseurs of fine spirits will also find much to choose from.

Vibe
As the website states above, it's a luxurious space that somehow feels quiet and intimate whilst still open and attached to the bar area. It is relatively sparse and minimalist - I think a bit more "softness" might help but it is in keeping with the overall aesthetic and brand. 100% linen napery in beige and chocolate tones with simple white crockery and green succulent for table setting.

Menu
I probably did the restaurant a dis-service by reading and ordering a combination of meals off both the bar and restaurant menu. The restaurant menu was well presented and succinct.

Food
I felt like prosciutto and figs and simple flavours. For entree I ordered the duck salad which was presented as below. Probably too much meat and too little salad for me but the duck was tender and perfectly cooked.

Sean ordered a much more traditional entree of ravioli with meat jus and shaved parmesan. Instead of the usual high ratio of pasta dough with little filling, this was full of meat filling with light pasta casing. Delicious.

After my entree not feeling high enough on the salad and vegetables, I ordered a main course salad with side of parma ham and rockmelon. As you can see from the photo, the parma ham quantity was substantial! The salad was perhaps a little "simple" but bear in mind that it was meant to be a side, not a main meal. I requested some shaved parmesan to bulk things up and appreciated that they presented my salad dressing on the side as requested. Eaten together with the fresh bread basket, the combination of dishes worked well.

True to form, Sean selected slow cooked roast pork belly with crunchy quinoa and chantarelle mushrooms. It was interesting, not what he was expecting but good.

 

Wine

The first bottle of white presented by the sommelier was too fruity but the second a huge improvement and there was no fuss about rejecting the original pour. After dinner (but before the post dinner sweets) we moved to the garden area for a glass of red wine to finish the dining experience. I love a place that presents a variety of environments to explore.., the Bvlgari Hotel offered that in abundance.., including the lolly bar I discovered on the way back to our room.

We dined on 22 September 2011

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