Get cosy & comfortable @ Upstairs Cafe, Subang SS12

After some pestering, I bowed to the pressure and joined my new housemates for some Friday tea. The weather was perfect with the sun failing to pierce the clouds but providing just enough brightness.

The time called for something comfortable. Somewhere you can just sit and watch the world pass by. Come upstairs then, because Upstairs Cafe is a more than ideal place to relax and unwind with your friends.

Located opposite Subang Jaya Medical Center (SJMC), Upstairs Cafe is supposedly run by the son of the owner of the establishment downstairs; Kafe Bawang Merah which according to a lot of reviews, serves one of the best home-cooked Malay cuisine in town! Then I guess I have to try that one of these days ;)







Back upstairs, Upstairs Cafe offers great ambiance and comfort inside and also 3 tables on its balcony for those who prefer the fresh air and outside view. If I had to compare it to something more known, Upstairs would be like Secret Recipe dining meet Starbucks interior design.












Upstairs serves a variety of items to munch on including fruit and nut cakes, cheese cakes, pies, and pastries. To go with them; a selection of coffees, teas, hot and cold beverages with most of them unique and not the standard brands you see at other coffee shops. Cakes, pies and pastries range anywhere between RM3 and RM8. Not the cheapest, but definitely taste good and authentic.

Fluffy Carrot Cake with assortment of fresh and crunchy nuts

Moist traditional-styled Chicken Pie

This was basically what we had for tea. But during lunch and dinner, you may order from the chef's personal range of pasta dishes which are priced very reasonably.

Kafe Bawang and Upstairs Cafe are a unique father-son business establishment which seems to be striking silver. Traditional Malay cuisine meets modern contemporary cafe.

Upstairs Cafe

1st Flr, 12A, Jalan SS12/18

Subang Jaya, Selangor

Opening Hours: 3:00pm-11:00pm, Mon-Sat

Closed: Sun

Tel: 03-5611 9171

Pizza Hut's Hoax!

Man oh man, why did you all have to do this?

Did you think I could not differentiate between  bread sticks and chopped up garlic bread?

You judge for yourself. If you don't have bread sticks, then say so. Don't chop up garlic bread and try to trick me! Is this what franchises have resorted to? Trickery? Bad enough their marketing is full of illustrations meant to deceive the general public, now they turn to making customers feel dumb? Pizza Hut, you should be ashamed of yourselves..


Look at this personal super supreme pizza. Notice that the dough barely crosses the halfway thickness of the pan and the huge gap between the crust and the pan? You guys are good with your shrink rays now I see!

We all know times are hard. But when a customer pays well for food, one deserves to have a certain level of quality maintained. Not this. Just look at those pathetic pieces of capsicum? How much you think those tiny pieces cost? Pizza Hut's quantity of toppings is a disgrace to pizza itself!

Service and quality at Pizza Hut has dropped dramatically since the days we were kids. Stop wasting time coming up with new dishes, crazy toppings, and flashy advertisements and just concentrate on making good quality pizza.

For those in search of good quality and authentic pizza here in Malaysia, I recommend Canadian Pizza, Yellow Cab Pizza and a host of good Italian restaurants all around the country. There's even a few Italian dinners opening with their very own wood fire oven, capable of cooking delicious pizzas in a matter of minutes :)

At the time of this posting, I also lodged a complain at Pizza Hut's online feedback system. The next morning they gave me a call concerning my complain. It seems the old bread stick was coated with cheese but this is now replaced with garlic bread sticks. Upon hearing this, I asked ever was this to save cost? He said yes!

I rather them increase the price than serving below par food items. Why not just remove the pathetic garlic bread sticks and serve their traditional garlic bread which we all love?

Soph's Birthday @ Pavillion & Paradize Poolside Coffee House

It was Sophia's 23rd birthday, and the gang had something in store for her. First of all, Happy 23rd Birthday to you again Soph :)

Most of you are already aware of the variety of food available at Pavilion KL's Food Republic. You see visit my previous visit here. After luring Soph to the western corner of Food Republic, we delved into their wide array of dishes immediately as we were all starving as hell. Sorry Soph, I didn't get to take a picture of your "maggi mee" tom yam soup :p

From the western corner (clockwise); we ordered fettucine carbonara, lemon dill fish, pizza (forgot which flavor), and beef & mushroom fettucine. The western and Italian-themed dishes here are relatively cheap but tasty at the same time. This is one food court you must not underestimate. Perhaps because this chain is from Singapore ;p 

After satisfying our stomachs, we took a short drive over the corner to Paradize Poolside Coffee House, located in the compound of the KL Lodge Hotel. Paradize is nicely set up with a small pool outside surrounded with wooden chairs and tables, and a fair amount of greenery.

Venture inside and its time to shake your body with some latin music! Every Fridays at Paradize is Latin Night! Dance Bachata, Merengue, and Salsa to their latin beats on a very nice and open dancing space. Expect a lot of good and seasonal dancers here. Do not be overwhelmed by your inexperience as there are also beginners around including myself :p

Entry is charged based on your choice of beverage; RM10 for a mineral water, RM15 for a Tiger, or RM20 for a Corona. Ironically Paradize Coffee House is known for their Teo Chew Porridge, but perhaps another time when we're not dancing :)

Overall it was a good night; good dancing and good sweating.. The most fun way to loose weight.. Dancing..

Paradize Poolside Coffee House

KL Lodge Hotel

2 Jalan Tengah
Corner Jalan Raja Chulan & Sultan Ismail
50250 Kuala Lumpur

Ikea Meatballs + Italiannies 2 Course Meal

This is one of my late 2009 backlogs; before watching the premier of New Moon, SS, Soph and I decided to fill our stomachs up a bit, starting with a bit of Ikea delight. We came here to try its much talked about meatballs. Other dishes on offer include roasted chicken, pasta, and desserts to name a few.

Their Swedish dishes look inviting on appearance but are a bit small on serving size. So its best eaten in between meals if you find yourself hungry.

I can't remember whats its full name but what you get is 10 meatballs coated with a mushroom sauce and served with fries and raspberry puree. Or was it blackberry? Need to check back on that. Nether less,  it was actually a not too bad of a combo. For a price of about RM10, this is an ideal meal to be shared between 2 or 3 people as an appetizer. And yes, it tastes as good as it looks :) Bottomless cappuccino or coffee goes for RM2 a cup.

Next stop was Italiannies to try their latest 2 course meal offer, modeled after TGIF's.

This way, customers will be able to try multiple dishes on the cheaper side or share them among friends. On the downside, dishes here may be altered in terms of ingredients used to lower cost. For example, the Spaghetti Carbonara is served with with chicken sausage cuts instead of bacon strips. I would have preferred if they maintained the bacon strips but decreased the serving size to justify the lower pricing. That way, its taste and quality is maintained.

Your complimentary warm bread served with olive oil and balsamic vinegar; never gets old.

For the appetizer, we ordered the Pizza Caprese; a medium sized crispy and thin bread dough served with onions, sliced tomatoes, herbs, and cuts of Parmesan cheese. This dish has seriously nothing to shout about, a third of the bread will have to be forced down your throat due to the inadequate toppings.

You could try the Toasted Bruschetta if you prefer a wetter taste to your bread.

Here you have the Spaghetti Carbonara lacking the all-important bacon strips that made this dish a household Italiannies name. Credit-wise, it was still a decent meal. And a filling one at that :)

Awaiting the premier..

I like Edward Cullen's eyes and also wolves. So where do I stand? Team Edward or Team Jacob? The answer is.. neither :)

Italiannies

The Curve, Mutiara Damansara

Petaling Jaya, Selangor

03-77281715

Mother's Day ~ Italiannies @ The Gardens

When I say that my mum is hard to please, I mean it. Think family and you think 'Italiannies'. There's no other place that I know that combines ambiance, family-sized Italian cooking, hospitality in a warm and cozy setting. Welcome to Italiannies!

Calamari Caesar Salad ~ 10/10
RM25.90

Me and my family loved it! Authentic, fresh, and delicious! Tomatoes, olives, fresh salad leaves, artichokes, perfect deep fried squids, bread sticks, and an awesome tasting dressing!

Classic Cabonara (Non-Beef) ~ 6/10
RM29.90

Never order a Classic Cabonara without beef bacon. Although the dish is packed with creamy sauce and Parmesan cheese, its tasteless. The beef bacon was replaced with chicken stripes and Portobello mushrooms. Even so, it could not replace the taste and flavor the beef bacon offers.

Italiannies should consider lowering or standardizing the price of their Seafood Cioppino which has slowly risen from sub RM30 to RM38 now.

Since Italiannies were having their Mother's Day promotion by which the mother's main dish shall be discounted by her age, I planned to get her the famous Grilled Salmon Oreganetto. To my disappointment, they were all sold out. And it was only 7.30pm. Sob sob..

And so its replacement,

Chicken Milanese ~ 8/10
RM26.90

A perfectly grilled boneless chicken paired with a cream based sauce and topped with a Tomato Capper relish. A truly colorful and eye-popping dish.

The meat taste good even on its own because of how gently it was grilled. Tender and juicy with a lightly charred skin.

Tiramisu ~ 10/10
RM16.90

To top it all off; Tiramisu. First things first, this dish is outrageous! One bite sends you into delirium! In no particular order; chocolate syrup, vanilla sponge cake, brandy/rum liquor, and topped with chocolate powder.

This dessert can make your day no matter what. Reserve them, as it always runs out. Thankfully I did :)

All in all, everyone enjoyed a satisfying and colorful dinner. Hopefully mum did as well. Happy Mother's Day!

Credit to Italiannies for a good kitchen performance and friendly table service for the day. Even after so many visits to this franchise, it doesn't bore me to pay them another visit. I love Italian food and service, and Italiannies does not disappoint on that account.

Italiannies Pasta Pizza & Vino 

The Gardens

S209 Lingkaran Syed Putra
59200 Kuala Lumpur

Get Directions

03-22833675

Italiannies @ 1 Utama

Joined Pearl and her family for a post-graduation dinner for Pearl's sister-in-law. Destination? Italiannies! I haven't been to Italiannies before. So its a good time for a sneak peek :p


Since I was dining with people who were not aware of my food blogging, I kept my camera low key. So I kinda missed out on taking a picture for one of the dishes not mentioned in this post :p


I must say the ambiance here is true to its name. Wooding chairs, tables, window panels, and wine compartment to name a few.



Like the phrase says, lets get down to the eating!!


First up, Caesar Salad! I've heard so much about this particular type of salad, and I must say it was gorgeous! Has every chance of converting someone into a vegetarian :p


Okay I forgot the name of this dish, but it went something like Gilopino Pasta? (found it out! its Seafood Cioppino!) Haha.. Anyways, it was a classic seafood pasta. Rich tomato paste, laden with prawns and clams and topped with with Parmesan cheese. Excellent!


Next was a salmon dish served with grilled potatoes and tossed vegetables under that huge piece of meat. This tasted more like an Asian dish actually, but it was not too bad. The grilled potatoes in this dish and a few other dishes are to die for. Crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside.


Last is the Smoked Salmon Pizza. Haha, remembered the name for this one. Well for me, a great pizza is one that is classic in one way or the other, be it an Italian styled thin crust tomato pizza or a New York styled pepperoni pizza. Although it was not a complete letdown, salmon on pizza doesn't make me say great..


The interior decor and ambiance was nice. The food was good although more on the pricey side. Overall its a good place to go once in a while. But I prefer a dimmer and more low key setting for my Italian escapade ;-)

Italiannies
F355/356/357, 1st Floor Rainforest
1 Utama Shopping Centre
Bandar Utama,
47800 Petaling Jaya
03-77271399‎

IZZI Lifestyle March Promotion

Came across this outlet, IZZI Lifestyle; which specializes in Italian cuisines.

They are currently having a promotion. And a mega promotion it is! Its supposedly March Menu Madness = 50% off everything except drinks and pastries.

From their website at

http://www.izzikl.com

the menu looks good although a bit over-colorful. But a bit hard to believe eh, 50%?

I haven't been to this place before, but guess what, this place really knows how to make a name for itself. On its website is a list of food bloggers who have reviewed its place. Now thats advertisement! the cheapest and most effective way possible!

Check it out at

http://www.izzikl.com/Izziblog.html

As usual KampungboyCitygal has one of the best reviews on it at

http://kampungboycitygal.blogspot.com/2007/08/izzi-pizza-pasta-and-coffee-jalan.html

From the looks of it, the pizzas and pastas looks awesome!

I'd probably check it out if I pass it during this month =)