KAMPUNGBOYCITYGAL A MALAYSIAN FOOD & TRAVEL BLOG

After hearing SO MUCH of good things about Sage, TWO failed attempts in securing a table for two, and getting rejected for walk-in ONCE, we were here finally (drum roll please).

We took a lift next to Isetan Departmental Store and my heart jumps, thinking that we were just a few steps away from Sage – the talk of the town. Initially, we were rather surprised to see that The Sage is tucked away at a secluded corner next to the parking lot. Once I shoved through the heavy glass door, a young lady greeted us at the door with a welcoming smile and a jovial presence. We were promptly seated near to the open kitchen where Chef Takashi and crews were busy creating superb rendition of dishes. The ambiance is perfect – classy, lush but not intimidating, with the occasional melody of glass clinging, soft whispering and sizzling at the background.

We were taking our own sweet time in reading through the one page menu. Read aloud some of the names in the menu and you’ll be condemned to a near eternity of grueling tongue twisters (Is it just me?). We settled for Sage Dinner at RM 140 nett because it offers more value for money than ala carte pricea as such: Starters at rm58, main course at RM78 and desserta at RM30. Do the math. One can opt for an additional course (Chef Special )at RM160 nett or the degustation menu at RM240 nett where advance booking is required.

Complimentary Bread. The breads were all good; crusty, warm and soft.

For starter, I chose the Feuillete of Anago with Foie Gras and Duxelles, loosely translated as puff pastry with salt-water eel, foie gras and mixture of finely chopped mushrooms, shallots and herbs. The dish offers a myriad of flavor and texture! Think crispy layers of sweet and caramelized puff pastry, soft fatty salt-water eel and velvety smooth foie gras that leaves a trail of bovine juice in your mouth. Mmmmm…

Carpaccio of Wagyu with Sesame Vinaigrette and Asparagus. He had the wafer-thin slices of raw wagyu beef served cold, seasoned with sesame vinaigrette. The wagyu slices melts on your palate like the most sublime foie gras, and leaves a rich flavor behind.

What a great start to our meal!

My choice of main is the Lightly Salted Cod with Foie Gras, Roasted in Wood Paper (not foie gras again?). The cod and foie gras are impeccably fresh, with chock full of fragrant juices. Sauces are subtle, accentuating the natural flavor of the lightly salted cod and pan seared foie gras.

Rump Steak with Carrot Puree and Anchovy Sauce goes to KampungBoy, who is a steak person. The rounder pieces of steak with pink centre are actually the medallions, a cut of from the wagyu beef type. It is succulent, tender and very very tasty. On the side, we were given the braised ox shank topped with carrot puree. It is pleasingly tender and not at all gamey.

I was not entirely blown away by the Roasted Kougyoku Apples with Vanilla Ice Cream. Immediately, my face was contorting into a frown and later found out that Kougyoku apple is a kind of very sour apple from Japan. Sorry, I’m just not a fan of all things sour.

He made a smart choice by ordering the Ricotta Souffle served with Espresso Sherbet. Light, fluffy and airy, with a barely perceptible brown crust on top, the souffle is a perfect sweet ending.

The End – Coffee/Tea ?

What can I say? It was a very satisfactory dinner, the starters and mains were beyond excellence while we think that we are going to give it a pass to the desserts the next time (wrong choices maybe, as other floggers raved about the desserts).We will definitely be going back and would highly recommend this restaurant to everyone. Ooo yes, Sage is perfect for Valentine’s Day celebration and to impress your dates as well. Reservation is a must, unless you want to try your luck and get turn down.

Sage Restaurant & Wine Bar

The Residences Level 6

The Gardens, Mid Valley City,

Lingkaran Syed Putra,

59200 KL.

Tel: 03-22681328

Email: sagekul@gardenshtlres.com

We were so glad that IT was over. The last week or so we have been cramming like crazy so to reward ourselves, we had a little dinner celebration at Pick n Brew. We were so lucky that busy buzzy Jackson was around the other day, so upon his recommendation, we opt for the Christmas All Day Special Set (RM 28++) that comes with a soup of the day, a main course and a drink.

Eggnog Latte (RM 15). A festive drink in US and Canada, it is a perfect blend of sweet eggy caffeinated goodness with some mild hint of brandy.

Christmas Carol & Minty Christmas

Flavorful, rich and aromatic, the pumpkin soup was very comforting despite being a little runny.

Grilled red mullet on stewed assorted beans
Drenched in delicious gravy, the fish fillet is no doubt, fresh and succulent. While being a big fan of beans in all form, I polished the plate clean.

Oven baked stuffed chicken with soft mushroom polenta and sautéed vegetables.
A medley of fresh herbs infuses the stuffing for the roasted chicken breasts, resulting in a very flavorful dish. Polenta is course Italian corn meal and the subtle flavor of it goes very well with any gravy. I can’t help but to keep digging in!

Pan fried breaded lamb on fondant potatoes and braised red cabbages
A delicious, tender and the lean cut of lamb with nutty crust is pan fried to perfection. Baked to a rich golden color, the fondant potato is rich and creamy while the sweet and sour red cabbage gave a very refreshing touch.

Beef escalope and lobster tail with sautéed mushroom and grilled potato
A lean cut of beef escalope with caramelized onion topping make a winning combination in this fabulous, flavorsome main. The delectable lobster tail is sure to delight any seafood lover too.

Sweet Ending – chocolate log cake, multi grain cookies with mocha pot coffee. Although feeling rather stuffed, I can’t stop munching on the light and chewy multi grain cookies!

With reasonable pricing and attentive services, we thought that Pick n Brew is the place to go for a relaxing afternoon or casual get together. The Christmas all day set has given us a mood of festivity; which reminds me that I’m not done with my Christmas shopping. Ops!

Most PJ folks must have noticed this place, a huge three storey themed restaurant that offers “24 hours couple dining and drinking”. The outside of The Cave looked so forbidding, so rocky and brassy, that I could never allow myself to walk past it without having a peep inside. Yes, despite all the negative reviews that we have heard about the food here, with an adventurous heart, we dropped by one night.

With rock-like formations covering the ceiling and walls, the exotic restaurant is pretty enticing. Upon entrance, we walked through a tunnel and were greeted by the sight of huge dingy cave room with bar and lounges that offer places for chilling out. The stairs will lead us up to more individual cave rooms for couples and small groups while third floor is an open cave area that can accommodates 70 pax. We were then led into our own cave room. The seating is pretty tight where couples have to sit side by side. Dim lights resembling flame torches adorn the cave walls in our little private room so you can hardly read the menu. The menu is pretty extensive, from lamb shank, pasta, steak to soba, smooth egg noodles and sweet sour chicken rice. You name it, they have it. KampungBoy thinks that it’s weird to have “Dai Chou” stuff at such a nice place, so we settled for the set dinner at RM 39++.

Tea

Roma Tomato and Orange Soup with Parmiagiano Stock. The tomato orange soup has an artificial tang to it. It’s more like slurping on extremely sour thinned-out ketchup. To make thing worst, I had mouth ulcer and the sour soup actually aggravate it further. Even KampungBoy is not willing to have another spoonful of it because the sourness is just repellant.

For main we had the Baked Dory Fillet with Tangy Lemon Juice. A tiny slab of dory fillet is served on a bed of greens and mashed. The fish fillet was OK but the gravy was bland.

The saving grace, mix berries crumble with vanilla ice cream comes last. Guess you can’t go wrong with crumbles and vanilla ice cream?

Paid so much. Die die must cam-whore! All in all, I love the cave-theme interior but the menu has failed in keeping with the theme. Imagine having CKT at such a nice place. The food was rather disappointing too; I can’t be so mean because they are still fairly new and probably need some time to ‘settle down’. It would be a great place for chilling out and drinks, but if you ask what about a proper meal? All I can say is let’s just see how thing goes then.

The Cave Couple Cafe & Restaurant Sdn Bhd
No 42, Mezzanine Floor,
Jalan SS2/61,
47300 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

03-78739888/9698
(Opens from 11a.m. to 1a.m. daily, apparently they are not operating 24 hours YET)

He once asked me, “What does your dream house look like?”
I told him…

My dream house has a secret garden like how Frances Hodgson Burnett put it, minus the air of intrigue and gloominess and lit up by myriads of colors. On a lazy Sunday evening, surrounded by blooming scent-ational flowers, I’ll sit with a glass of wine, do some readings on the same wooden bench where that hairy chest guy brushed his leg against the married woman under the last time they were here. (Any similarity to any real person is merely coincidental)

When slopping down keg beer out of plastic cups is not my kind of thing anymore, I need a home bar stocked with “sophisticated booze” 24/7. What’s better than the best timing to sweet talk the husband into buying me that Gucci bag that I’ve been eyeing when he’s sipping on his glass of tequila sunrise?

I love all things random in a home that is uniquely mine. I’ll put behind my head of matching sofas, matching carpet, matching wall colors, matching furniture and matching home décor pieces. There are no clear décor rules & policies to raid my home. I’ll have walls after walls of random graphics, paired with mismatched accessories that I managed to dig through from the Sunday lapsap (junkyard) sales and pieces that bring good memories.

Cappuccino Crush(RM 9)

Firefly (RM 13)

Sunset Cooler (RM13)

Mushroom Cappuccino – Mushroom Soup Topped with Foam Milk(RM10)

Shrimp & Avocado Salad (RM18)

Chicken Lollipops with Roasted Chili Mayo (RM10)

Fish n Chips – Tempura Fried Dory Fish with Potato and Yam Chips (RM19)

Lamb Chop with Garlic Black Bean Sauce Served with Pumpkin Mash and Frued Yam Wool (RM43)

Toasted Carrot Cake Served with Cream Cheese Frosting and Strawberry Basil Mint Coulis (RM12)

Ginger Crème Brulee Served with Almond Biscotti (RM12)

I woke up to some faint voices in the background, a small group of tai tais are talking about petrol price hikes and inflations over their cuppa. I’ll just stick to my old house where everything is in place and is small enough to fit in a trash can. How convenient!

This would be my last eating out of the month (after the second last, the third last, the fourth last just few days ago), I remind myself on my resolution to tighten my belt and work harder.

Palate Palette Restaurant & Bar
21 Jalan Mesui, Off Jalan Nagasari,
50200 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-21422148
Fax: 03-21432148
www.palatepalette.com
p/s: 5/5 ratings for the ambiance, service and food, set lunch are also a/v at RM 20++

Invitation from FoodStreet

Fill in the blanks

Sorry for the lack of updates as I’m going to Kuala Terengganu during the _________ for a short __________. I’m in lazy mode currently, so let me present to you Pasta Zanmai @ One Utama that need no further introductions (and elaborations).

Heart throb loves sipping on hot ___________.

Soup Tori Pasta(RM 22) is a soupy version of _______ with tender juicy teriyaki chicken.

Unagi Kabayaki Set (RM 20) comes with thick slab of sexily glazing __________, rice, salad and miso soup.

Sansu Morin (RM 12) with Black Sesame _________, Green Tea Ice Cream with _________ and Chocolate ________ Wafer. Total _____ comes to RM 65 which is quite ________, considering the significant serving size that we get. As the name of _______ Zanmai suggest, it is better to stick to their pasta as the unagi kabayaki set that KampungBoy ordered is not that great.

G210B, Ground Flood Promenade
1 Utama Shopping Centre
1 Lebuh Bandar Utama
Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Contact: 03-7728 1210
Business hours:
10am to 10pm (Sunday to Thursday)
10am to 10.30pm (Friday and Saturday)