Cuisine Studio

Recently, our Queen of the DSLR, soon to be Queen of the P&S, was featured in the recent issue of FLAVOURS, (if you're a celebrity, I guess its normal to appear everywhere), at a queue leenary (culinary) class at Cuisine Studio. Where she goes, I must follow, as the humble acolyte. So, I was rather delighted when group of old friends, comprising those from the Carrington-Colby era, and the spinoffs, decided to buy me birthday dinner at Cuisine Studio, Tropicana.

I've always been meaning to come try it out, but somehow never made it. From the sketchy details from memory, the place is run by the same people who run HTC, (the french culinary school) in IMC building, and also the gourmet supplies people, Gourmandines. Hence, chefs Jean Michel, Bruno, etc are all involved. They also hold cooking classes here.

Exceedingly stressed, from attempting to make a wedding cake, (will post this in a separate post), I arrived slightly late, but not the latest. Bottles of wines were already flowing. This group still loves their reds, ....me, personally, more a white drinker these days. But then again, they all more high class la. One couple had just returned from Barcelona. The other from Perth. Yet another from Whistler. And another was on the way to Dubai, and Iran. If I got all the frequent flyer points from trips from that table alone in the last one month, I can probably reach Uranus.

We started off with a variety of entrees to whet the palate. Lovely pates, salads, and duck sausage and "waxed duck" to begin with....


Pate Platter





Duck Sampler


Then I decided, heck, I am not gonna share THIS, the pan seared foie gras on caramelized apple. A bit pricy, at RM69, but oh soooooo gooooodddddddd. Seared to perfection, the blend of subtle sauces, (balsamic reductions I think) and the lovely caramelized apple....oooooooh....salivating.


While the idea of eating a diseased liver of a force fed duck may be grounds for boycotting this dish, I personally, [hiding from all the animal lovers out there], am of the opinion, if its not endangered, it should be eaten. Hmmm, what animal wont I eat? Okay, the thought of eating cat (CAT, not Pussy), is repulsive. Crow, vultures, ravens, and other predatorial birds....also somehow seem rather no no. But a duck, awwwwww, that's just calling out for the chopping board.



The duck confit cassoulet. More like a duck stew. The duck meat was falling off the bone, but a bit too soft for my liking. It was basically, err...stewed. I remember having the duck confit during one of the culinary classes, and it seemed different then.


Lamb Shank Confit With Rosemary, Olive Oil and Lemon Confit. Tender lamb meat, falling off the bone, tender enough to be eaten without a knife.


Alce nero organic pasta with basil and escargots. This seemed to be a hit, and we even ordered an extra plate for sharing. Which in the end, was a bit overkill, coz it wasn't finished.


I think this was the Beef Bourgignon. A lovely beefy stew, rendering the beef wonderfully tender, but still flavourful. Real comfort food this one. Wouldn't mind eating this with a bowl of rice. Being the perennial chinaman that I am.





Finally, we decided to celebrate the birthdays of all those born in the plus minus 30 days or so of the dinner, incldg the november and december born. Judging by the percentage, I'd say there is definitely some trend, ....perhaps it was Chinese New Year, that gave people more time to procreate.

My first attempt at a yule log, which I am practising for a very important function. Of course someone commented it looked like turd. Show me a turd in that shape, and I'll show you a strand of Marilyn Monroe's armpit hair.





Thank you dear friends for the very lavish dinner. Love you all very very much.

Now, Cuisine Studio is by no means cheap, nor even bordering on "reasonable" by our average standards. However, they do give a good gourmet spread, in a nice casual laid back atmosphere. Nestled in the affluent Tropicana neighbourhood, and located in the Tropicana club itself, I guess it must have its own share of regular wealthy clientele. They also sell a range of gourmet stuff. Can't wait to try my cherry jam. (RM15).

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.

Jarrod And Rawlins, Redux, Renewed

A lazy Saturday afternoon, spent overeating, and overeating..... how decadent is that.

Actually, it wasn't so lazy, as we had to kinda "work for our supper", so to speak, as we were invited to the Jarrod and Rawlins new test menu sampling. By we, I do not presume to use the royal "WE" but really, some other food bloggers, like the famous pair, KgBoy&Citygal, and The Nomad Gourmand. The other young bloggers present, who should be calling me Uncle, I was not familiar with. Elaine, that PYT from G2, the PR agency, was young enough to be my daughter. She brought her dad in tow actually, who is a hobbyist photographer, and had all his canggih equipment to take pics of the food.



Here I sit, lonely hearted, couldn't sh**, only far***.


What a happy looking salad. Colorful, attractive, contains smokedDUCK breasts, has pine nuts, I could eat this kind of salad on a regular basis I tell ya. Sometimes, some ducks feel like they've been working out at the duck gym. They're tough as hell. But this particular drake, or duckess, had the requisite tenderness for it to be served with the salad. RM26


Smoked Salmon With Avocado and A Panini that I felt was a bit too ....what's the word? Dry? Stale? I might have been wrong, since some people seemed to love the bread. Smoked salmon and avocado however is like Romeo and Juliet. Meant to be together. RM24



MMMM, delicious serrano ham with salami and ciabatta. This bread was much better, soft, and moist. Well, not MOIST MOIST, but you know, not dry. Gawd, Anton Ego will roll in his grave if he read my descriptions and abject lack of culinary adjectives.


Calamari Salad, with rocket and alfalfa sprouts. Alfalfa is like durian. You either like it, or you don't. I've been told its terribly healthy though. Me, I think I like it. RM18.








Absolutely decadent chicken liver pate. Mmmm, I could eat dollops of this stuff. Really good. No livery taste, but yet, livery in a rich sort of way. You know what I'm saying? I mean, it doesnt taste like the liver adults force feed the kids with saying, EAT THIS, ITS GOOD FOR YOU....Oh, the clincher was that it contains Sherry AND Cognac. Yummay. RM19.50


Their signature Siu Yoke. Taste wise, good, but it was cold, and it wasn't coz of the floggers chilling it with the photography.


The cumberland sausages and Dynamite sausage. I know what must be going through everyone's mind when they first see that twirly whirly sausage. But the sausage was good. I prefer the straight sausage than the curly one. It has a kick of chilli in it. Hence the moniker, Dynamite. RM by weight.


Pan Seared Alaskan Sea Bass. Which we thought was Cod. However, the sea bass was fresh, and the texture firm. I am always very wary about ordering fish dishes, coz seafood here (in this country) can be as inconsistent as our politicians and their policies.
RM 16 /100gm


Erm, a T bone steak, if I am not mistaken. I think when one goes to the arctic, one should eat ice. Likewise, when one goes to J&R, one should eat pork. It is afterall one of the pioneer Porcine Cathedrals in KL, after Mr Ho's and Eurodeli.


Another house specialty, the Serrano Ham & Bacon Pasta with Dried Chili & Olive Oil. By this time, we were up to our noses with food, so I probably only had a strand of the pasta for taste. So I can't remember what it tastes like.


Their Hickory Baby-Back Ribs. Yummy. See, this is what I mean, stick to the pork dishes. It really is their forte. Succulent and tender. Looking at it as I blog, despite the lousy pic, makes me salivate like a hungry puppy. Albeit a fat one. RM12/ 100 gm


Finally, our cheese platter. Actually, not finally, there were cakes as well, but I couldn't stay. Stilton, old amsterdam, a lovely smoked cheese, etc.

As with all testing menus, there will be hits and misses, but more hits than misses. I've never really taken J&R as a serious "food place", more a place to chill, while munching over porcine delights, but looks like I have to reconsider my original assumption. It does have stuff for a proper dinner.

This particular branch is the one located at Lorong Dungun, next to Aliyah.

Thanks to Elaine of G2, for inviting me, and thanks to Sean of Eat Drink KL for giving my name to Elaine.

I Feel Loved, In Daikanyama

Every year, I go through this minor drama with my friends. Ever since I hit the big FOUR OH in 2006, I have been disinclined to celebrate the day my mother's Labour Day, and its a genuine err....denial, or whatever you call it. However, my dear friends, and God Bless them all, somehow INSIST on wanting to celebrate with me. The different groups will ask me to commit to a date with them so they can buy me dinner, and it always appears that I am playing "hard to get" but in actual fact, I dont want people wasting money on me in this manner.

This year was no exception, and Thamby, aka the Queen, has been pestering me for nearly a month for a date. Little did I know, she used my Achilles Heel Du Jour, Fratmustard, to con me into committing to a date. Like two footballers strategizing towards the goal, passing the ball in perfect choreography, they perform their best.

On two separate MSN chats: (reproduced as far as I can recall)
Thamby: so, give us a date
FBB: No need la
T: 3rd December?
FBB: Aiya, NOOO NEED LA.

On another MSN:
Frat: eh, you free 3rd Dec?
FBB: Hmm, very fishy, thamby just asked me the same thing. Why?
Frat: oh, food review at Exotic
FBB: I can't say no to Thamby and accept your invite.
Frat: Screw Thamby la.
FBB: You are sooo dead....
Frat: Don't care. So you on?
FBB: Ya, okay.

Back to Thamby:
FBB: I not free la, on 3rd Dec.
Thamby: Cis, how come?
FBB: Got food review.

This must have been where I got caught hook line and sinker.

Fast forward, the Monday before the event. I totally forgot about the food review, and accepted dinner with Dr Jimmy, an old friend. I tell wife I am having dinner with Dr Jimmy, and she who is in cahoots with the surprise team, thinks I am pulling her leg. The con-team panics, and Frat quickly reminds me about the food review. I go, ARRRRRGH, I TOTALLY FORGOT. Luckily, Dr Jimmy was quite understanding, and allowed me to postpone our dinner.

Frat offers to pick me up on the night of the party. Wife says, "oh well, since you're going out, I'm also going out with the girls. (since it was a group of old friends, I didn't quite suspect). He rambles on about how the QGuides had managed to secure two new contracts with err... Cava, and Daikanyama, and since we were at Changkat BB (which should be renamed Changkat Babi, due to the many Porcine Shrines), he said he'd stop by at Daikanyama to pick up the contract.

And THEN I SAW IT!!!! GASP!!!!



What was HE doing outside Daikanyama, in full size some more!!!!! YIKESSSSSSSSSSSS!

Gathered there, friends from Standard 3, and friends who weren't even born when we were in Standard 3, bloggers and non bloggers, all shouting SURPRISE. Which it really was. HATS off to Thamby and Judas Frat Iscariot Mustard for such brilliant execution.

Thanks to Thamby, Bald Eagle, Ahboy (for that CUTE CUTE STANDEE), Fratmustard aka Judas, Masak Masak, Paprika, Unkaleong, Thenomadgourmand, Nipple Joe, Cumi & Ciki, Memoirs of Chocoholic, ToyCouple, Logan & Karen, dear Leon Lai, (Favourite Diva Instructor), The Just Heavenly Master Bakers (also for the lovely cheesecake), Cheng Ying, the dashing Andre of Rama V, the ever so bubbly Cheryl, cousin of Paprika and Barricuda and Edwin of Daikanyama. Special thanks to my old and dear friends, The Deaf One, Khaw Tai Tai, and my oldest oldest friend, Encik AAA.
You guys made it a night to remember. Copious amounts of Sake later....




Anyway, two weeks before this, Thamby had invited me, courtesy of Barri, and Edwin, to Daikanyama for a food tasting session. I instantly fell in love with the food, and the place, and mulled over the idea of hosting dinner there for my old friends.

This is what we had for that original food tasting night.


A lovely fish jerky kinda starter. Absolutely tasty and chewy, with a delicious mayonnaise.


Apparently Daikanyama is the name of a train stop. For me, Daikanyama will now and forever mean, "I AM LOVED BY MY FRIENDS".


A lettuce parcel, with lots of yummy bits inside.


Special sushi rolls, with sashimi salmon with a twist. I love this interpretative Japanese cuisine thingies.


My favourite. Pork and garlic yakitoris. What could be more blissful.


Oh dear, I can't remember what this was. I think it was cheese baked scallops. Must have been good, coz everything was good that night.


Another porky dish, kinda like an eggroll wrapped around pork. Eggs and pork, again, what a blissful partnership.


I LOVE THIS DISH. It's those mushrooms with the really fat stems. Dunno what they're called, but it taste like vegetarian scallops. Sauteed lightly in butter, it was fantastic texture and taste.


Mini pizzas...which were a bit out of place in the menu, I felt





Pan Seared Maguro Tuna, with a scintillating sauce, that really enhanced the flavour.


Squid Ink Pasta, with garlic flakes, that were moving from the steam, and looked alive. Fascinating effects. And the squid ink pasta was superb. Al dente, and not fishy at all.


More sushi. I felt like a duck reared for its foie gras! Eat eat eat.


Pork Fried Rice. Enough wok hei, and fluffy grainy rice that made for a perfect fried rice.






I have to thank Thamby again, for inviting me, and for Barri for hosting. Twas a lovely dinner, and despite having been there twice now, I can't wait to go again!

Location: It's along Changkat Bt Bintang, more or less opposite El Cerdo.