Chilling Out At Uncle Chilli's, PJ Hilton

Even as far back as 1993 or 94, when most food bloggers were still in pre-school, or primary at best, I was already hanging out in Uncle Chilli's in PJ Hilton, mainly because there weren't as many establishments to hang out in, unlike these days. The youth of today have it good. And back then, the drinks at Uncle Chilli's were EXORBITANTLY priced. I think a Graveyard or AK47 costed 1/10th of our average salary, so yeah, it was quite easy to drink yourself dry....literally.

Fast forward.... [its quite shocking, kids these days don't know what a cassette is!]....17 years later. My waist has increased, hairline decreased, eyesight going, cholesterol rising, ....and 4 kids later, I revisit Uncle Chilli's on the invite of Fratmustard and the Qguides. Well, I have to say the place does NOT look the same. They must have refurbished it many times over. I was almost the latest to arrive, but 550ml Jar Of Faith, the FFK queen, was even later. Heck, she didnt even show. Can't blame the poor lass la, she had meeting and couldn't escape. Clients from Hades.

Actually, I was expecting just finger food with cocktails. I know when Frat issues an invite, there will be booze, so I knew tonight's gonna be a good night. Despite having to break my WEEKDAY VOW OF TEMPERANCE.









Has everyone met Frat? He lives in Illy.



Caesar Salad. Contrary to popular belief, it is not named after Julius (Caesar), but after some chef called Caesar Cardini. Go and check the internet la, if you don't believe me. But yeah, the salad was good, and really, no complaints here. Would've preferred a poached egg instead of a hardboiled one. And would've preferred another kind of bacon, instead of turkey, but given the restrictions, I'd say it was palatable.



Nothing intoxicates more like the glorious fragrance of a single malt whiskey. In this case, Glenfiddich 12 Years.


Crab bisque. Very nice, easily my favourite dish for the night. Very prawny, without being fishy or marine, ("sang" in cantonese), though I would have preferred it less salty. I realise my saltiness index is lower than most people. Our soups at home are usually salt free or if at all, just a dash. A lovely hearty soup, which I could have regularly.

For the mains, we were given a choice of Burger, Black Cod or Lamb Shank.


The burger came with a fried egg. I LOVE burgers with fried egg. However, sadly, or happily actually, that wasn't my dish. Alexandra of Fried Chillies had that as her mains. Unfortunately, the patty was overcooked. We have informed the chef.


My black cod was good. Usually not a cod fan, I find that as I get older, one gets closer and closer to Cod. Loved the scented saffron broth that came along with it.



Another mains with a fried egg for embellishment.


Braised lamb shank. The meat was tender, and actually, the runny yolk did make the shank more delectable.


Another burger for sampling. This one is a chicken burger.


Ah, the runny yolk flowing down the crevices of the lamb shank like lava down Mt Vesuvius.



Warm chocolate and amarulla pudding, with Macadamia Nut ice cream and penaut butter crunch.

No complaints here either. Loved the ice cream.

I have never really thought of Uncle Chilli's as a food place. The pricing is SURPRISINGLY reasonable for a hotel, with the burgers hovering around the RM20 range, and I think most mains are in the RM30 range. It's good to know though, that you can probably have a reasonably priced steak here.

Thanks Frat and Lisa of Qguides for the invite, and to the PJ Hilton gals for their hospitality.

Mezze On Kasah

A lazy Sunday afternoon, spent overeating, and overeating..... how decadent is that. Ooops, that was the opening line of my previous post as well, except that was Saturday.

A quick check on the net told me that Mezze is not an English word, but is a mixture of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern to mean "selection of appetizers or small dishes often served with beverage, like anise-flavored liqueurs such as arak, ouzo, raki or different wines, similar to the tapas of Spain or finger food." (Wikipedia)

Fratmustard very graciously invited Thamby and Me to a Bellini Brunch at Mezze on a fine Sunday morning. He broached the question by a very serious msn, "err, would you skip church on sunday for a food review?".... and I replied, "what do YOU think?". Anyway, the rest is history. Actually, I don't mean to sound flippant, but I had intended to go for the earlier service, and not skip church altogether. Ah well, good intentions remain good intentions.

So, it was with delight that I found myself at Mezze on Sunday morning, greeted by the vivacious owners, Perin and Shantini Petrus (who are apparently no less that related to the famous Nigel Skelchy), and promptly started with a glass of delightful bellini. (Bubbly with peach puree). Happy happy.



Come To Ah Pa, you sexy thang.


Mezze has a comprehensive breakfast, lunch and dinner menu. On separate sheets. Like brainless bimbos, we left the ordering to the hosts, with our minds completely switched off.


French Toast with Maple Syrup. Lovely crusty baguettes turned into french toast. I wouldn't have minded a bit more eggy flavour, and butter. But, it was a good start.





Home made muesli, comprising oats, cream, (there goes the healthy star), yoghurt, fruit. Actually apart from the cream, it was rather healthy, and apparently a lot like Fratmustard's normal breakfast. Lucky him. I have a glass of bitter gourd juice and a cup of plain oat bran in the morning.





Doesn't that look like a smiley face to you? Bright eyes and all. The Mezze Benedict. I wonder if eggs benedict came from the benedictine monks, who also invented Dom Benedict. With crispy bits of bacon, and a side salad, it seems like a rather complete meal. Carbs, Protein and Fibre. Very good for breakfast. I like the hollandaise sauce which wasn't too sour, as some can be.





The Spanish Tartin, which is kind of like a slim fritata. Basically an omelette, with bits of potato, bacon, and again, that salubrious salad at the side. I could easily eat this.








English Breakfast from three different angles. I think I am getting a bit tired of the prime lens of the DSLR, and the blurry effects....very hard to photograph multi faceted dishes in one go. The baked beans are not from a can, and are made by the chef himself. Scrambled eggs (I prefer mine runnier), sausage, bacon, portobello mushroom, tomato. With a bellini. How fabulous is that! And mingling with good friends.


English Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding. Hmm, the cow must've have just jogged and forgotten to rehydrate, as the roast was a tad dry. But I think the owners knew, and apparently its usually rather juicy. Well, we must return again and check it out.


Blueberry Pancakes With Maple Syrup. I'm not really a pancake person, especially when there are so many other goodies out there. In fact, I can't remember if I had any. Very naughty of me, considering I am supposed to blog about it.



Their best selling sticky toffee date pudding, which uses molasses and treacle and other fancy stuff. Lovely texture, served warm with a dollop of ice cream.



Brownies, which were very moist, but a bit too sweet for my palate.



I finally got to meet the FAMOUS FAY KHOO, WOO HOO, and what a bundle of energy she is!!!! The chef is from Britain, no less.

So, Mezze is located on Jalan Kasah, next to Vintry. Would love to try the dinner menu one of these days. The Bellini's are available at RM20++ for Sunday brunch. Yummy stuff. Left the place with quite a buzz. Thanks Fratmustard for the invite.

Wow, Mrs Frat Can Bake Really Well! Macarons Mama!

I was pleasantly surprised when Fratmustard dropped by to collect his order of cakes today, and gave me THESE babies, made by his wife, who incidentally is a mother of twins. How a mother of twins can find time to bake time consuming things like macarons is really one of those mysteries, like how do Pygmy seahorses make babies.....




Texture is fabulous, almost if not on par with the french lady's, Natalie Arberfuille, who's class I attended.

Mrs Frat, can sub-contract mac orders to you ah? ;)

Thanks muchly...... my waist line thanks you too.

Fraternizing With Frat

I never thought I'd see the day when I'd be hanging out with a doll. And I don't mean a doll as in a hot chick....(I never thought I'd see those days either, and still havent have), .... I have to say it's quite an experience.

So, when I heard there was going to be a Changkat Bukit Bintang Pub Crawl, with the famous Fratmustard, I couldn't say no. Plus the fact that thamby, boolicious, babekl etc were going to be there. Since I had blown my meal budget for the week, after having lunch with Sean and Ciki (and the rest) at WIP, I decided to join them later, only for drinks. Starting point was Twenty One; just as well I skipped dinner, as according to Superwilson's post, it sounded rather pricey. Nice to meet you, Superwilson.

So, yeah, Frat is quite short, and has to be propped up to reach the tip of the glass.

Why not plunge headlong into dessert?

Frat is a civic conscious Malaysian Citizen, and takes pains to highlight to the masses the dangers of smoking.

The chicks love Frat, and admire his frontals.

We continue with Frat's adventure. Skin Diving in a vat of beer is not an olympic sport.

Frat perks up at the sight of the Virgin Cocktail

Look me in the eye, (yes, just the one eye), you hot virgin.

Frat and Friends..... ooops, I mean Frat and Fries...
Side note: The fries at Magnificent Fish & Chips Bar are really superb. Melt in the mouth, quality potatoes.

Our next stop (and the final stop for me)...


Where's Frat gone?? Anyway, the mojitos looked damn good. And healthy too. So much chlorophyll.

Anyway, thanks Frat for organising a fun night. And thanks for the two jugs (of beer) at MFC. Owe you one.

Note : [plagiarised from A Whiff of Lemongrass]
For more about Frat Mustard, check out his website HERE. Frat Mustard is also the face for TheQguides, an online restaurant booking site.