Memory Makers at Gobo Upstairs, Traders Hotel KL

Back in October, the lovely Theresa Goh of Traders Hotel invited me for a feedback session on their MEMORY MAKERS menu, but alas, I was traipsing around Nepal, so could not make it. So I was grateful they still invited me nonetheless to sample the final product that is now already available to the public.  Somehow the term Memory Makers conjures images of 70s and 80s music.

Anyway, suffice to say, after the meal, I had to jog my Memory... or rather, jog off my Memory Makers...I was so stuffed,

To start, a clear and cleansing Mushroom Tea, served in a bodum teapot, reminiscent of a Japanese Dobin Mushi soup, ...The aroma of the variety of mushrooms wafted to the olfactories, immediately imparting a sense of wellness and comfort.

Accompanied with salted tempura oyster mushrooms on the side, gotta love the presentation. RM35 nett

What is a Memory  without a menage a trois?  The 3some meat platter, which is for two very hungry eaters, or I'd say 3-4 moderate eaters, consist of a medley of grilled chicken, artichoke and coriander pesto, Lamb with rosemary and bordelaise sauce, Tenderloin with pumpkin puree and sides. RM250 nett

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The chicken is rather sizeable, half a small chicken, I'd say, cos there is a choice of thigh or breast.  I enjoyed the tender thigh, I can never fathom how people can eat breast.  The presentation is most unique, served in the wrappings of a corn cob.

Tenderloin, moist and tender and cooked to perfection. My medium was a medium, ..

The rack of lamb was aromatic, and did not reek of that lamby flavour that I have become averse to in my old age.

Finally, their piece de resistance, and who'd have thought, the humble Nasi Lemak with a makeover.  Steamed wtih the waters of a hawaiian coconut, and coconut milk, the amazing aroma of the rice itself makes this dish a star.  Labelled Nasi Lemak 2.0 (RM30 nett), the rice alone would make me happy.

Served with prawn sambal, ayam berempah or rendang, and the requisite hard boiled egg with nuts and anchovies.

The aroma of that rice still lingers in my residual memory till this day.

Le Bon Vivant Ice Kepal - for those of you young enough to remember the ice ball....life was so uncomplicated then, a 10 sen ice ball could bring such joy...of course, this glamourized version is certainly not 10 sen, but it does have something probably most people in the 70s here have never seen, summer berries....

And lest you think you're being slaughtered like ice on the shaving block by the cendol man, ...and paying RM20 for ice, and berries, well, there is a scoop of ice cream at the bottom to gentrify the entire dessert.  I can't say I liked this particularly...the ice was a bit too coarse for me, and the berries, gentrified as they may be, gave it a totally foreign feel, unlike the nasi lemak.

Great food with great company, #soveryblessed....

The finale, the Cherry BOMMM, a block of white chocolate that resembled a cricket ball, with hot dark chocolate ganache poured over which eventually pierces thru the ball, ....much like another phenomena of nature where those swimming flowy things penetrate an egg....

The visuals of this dessert are truly stunning, and that alone almost makes the RM30 nett worthwhile, but fortunately, the dessert is as yummy as it looks.

They also have their signature cocktails, the SKY 33, RM35 nett, ,,,cubes of vodka kiwi jelly make it rather unique, in a blend of kiwi and vodka on ice.  The Selangor Sling , quite potent because of a perilous dash of absinthe, that drink that makes you see green fairies...with hibiscus syrup, Tanqueray in, and a roselle flower.

The live duo at Gobo Upstairs is really good too...

Address: Kuala Lumpur City Centre, 50088 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Phone:+60 3-2332 9888

Gobo Upstairs, Traders Hotel

When that woman Lyrical Lemongrass popped up on my MSN and asked me if I was keen to try out the MIGF menus..... alarm bells rang in my head the way a bank alarm goes off after a robbery. The disappearance of a lot of cash usually accompanies these kinds of adventures. Very promptly cutting and pasting the relevant links, the prices were quite staggering at some places, be still my heart.....this is all very well for HER, she who just came back from a British tour, with a newly bough canggih manggih camera from husband. I alas have no husband to bring me on trips or to buy me cameras....and a RM160++ per head dinner times 2, well, its kinda almost the months salary for the maid.

Anyway, we agreed on Pacifica Grill because it was only RM120++ and there was a possibility of a 10% discount with my MPO subscriber card. Yeah, beneath this pork seller veneer, I try to be a bit kultured la, and every now and then pop into the Dewan Philharmonik for a musical nap. I digress. So yar, it was like planning for the 70th birthday of the Queen, the amount of dinging donging that went on. And suddenly, the venue changed to GOBO, in Traders Hotel, at RM160++. Alarm bells again. ANd this is without plonk. I contemplated a hip flask, but I think I didnt want to corrupt the youth of today with whom I knew I would be dining.

I was quite excited, as I was a Traders Virgin, as in never stepped into the hotel before. Was supposed to have gone for drinks at SKYBAR last Saturday, but it rained, AND, the Skybar has no roof.

Expecting everyone to be late, I look my leisurely time, and got there at about 7.45pm....but I FORGET, these are food bloggers who take their food seriously. Apologies to LL, Precious Pea, Nipple Joe and Henry for the tardiness, which is actually very unMe, normally.

Parking was easy, as it shares the HUGE carpark of the KL Convention Centre. ANd the lift brought us straight to the place, without having to interimly wander like a lost soul in some cold lobby. They were already there, all of them, waiting like starved tigers.

The bread was yummy, freshly baked, and with bits of olives and dried herbs, coupled with the latest thing, TRUFFLE BUTTER. Does this mean that olive oil and balsamic vinegar has become yesterday? YAY, what IS with that anyway. God made butter to be eaten with bread, and vice versa. Olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It's like force feeding oat bran down a person's throat.

Lemongrass was ill, and sniffing like a dog on heat. I'm bracing myself for the onslaught of the germs, as I was within contagious distance. As a result, she wanted hearty soup and fish....which apparently is not on the MGIF menu. Once I knew that MGIF menu wasn't compulsory, I immediately grabbed the a la carte menu, which actually was VERY reasonably priced. Anyway, here's what we ate:




Henry went for the MGIF menu, so had a fancy smancy starter, some tomato kek lapis thingie, a shot glass of something, and another something. (I hope the editors of Vogue Travel and Living aren't perusing my very descriptive commentary of the food).



Nipples had the prawns something something. The prawn looked nice and plump and fresh. Oh, its listed as prawn cocktail in the docket. Not very descriptive are they. Prawn cocktail @ RM29.



Lobster bisque soup for RM26. Lovely, creamy lobsterish stock, with no sign of any lobster meat. Maybe a small booger size morsel on the island of sushi that floated in the middle. But the taste was excellent. Nice shrimpy prawny strong flavour.




Hokkaido Scallops for starter. Since it was wife's, I managed to try half a scallop. It was fresh and firm, as scallops should be.

For the mains, I had a silver dollar mushroom as a sidedish. They aren't big on their garnishing veggies, so you have to order sidedishes of greens and what nots.








Henry's MGIF Tenderloin looked divine. It was getting quite tiresome trying to photograph these things under natural light so at some point, flash it was, hence the different shades of colour.




Wife's lambshank, at RM38, is fantastic value, considering its a 5 star hotel. Very tender, and very flavoursome.



The baby beef short ribs in merlot sauce, is FANTASTIC value for money. At RM38, it beats ANY restaurant in town hands down. Seriously, for this quality meat, tender and falling off the bone, .... makes other restaurants sound like a slaughterhouse. Oooh so tender, and the sauce, all merloty, (mer lowy), with large bone for your dog if you have one. Yummy. Thumbs up all the way.



Nipples pumpkin risotto. Me not risotto fan.



Pasta in squid ink, for the MGIF menu. Gotta check Henry's blog for taste review.

Lemongrass opted for the cod, for IN COD SHE TRUSTS, but my picture of the cod was so pathetic, I can't even picasa it back to life.

Desserts, yummy. Wife and I shared a bitter almond chocolate torta. I asked the waitress if it was bitter almond, or bitter chocolate, she looked bemused.



Torta was nica, but not orgasmic. Not enough vanilla icecream to go with it, and also, the vanilla ice cream wasn't creamy enough.



Nipples dessert, chocolate fondant with ice cream.







And the MIGF dessert. Cross check Henry's blog.

Overall a very pleasant experience and reasonably priced. Parking after validation is free as well, which in itself was a RM30 saving between us. Lemongrass's parking would have been RM17 if she had to pay. Yeah, definitely worth checking out, and the views from the SKYBAR, makes you proud to be Malaysian.