Lunch at Nobu KL

If you're into Hollywood celebrity gossip, you would've known that Nobu is a restaurant that they frequently dine at. Nobu opened in KL, specifically at Tower 3 KLCC, sometime in late 2014. With 33 restaurants all over the world, KL's foodies were excited for the opening and so many blogs reviewed on their food.  

Naturally, being a celebrity foodie kepochi that i am, i've been wanting to go and try their signature dishes since day one. But of course, as a mere rakyat marhaen i always wondered "Mampu ke nak makan kat Nobu?" i ain't no Marion Caunter, you know.

At last, bertemankan Amal (seorang kawan yang juga Hollywood kepochi), i got to dine at Nobu today at lunch. Amal made a reservation yesterday (Nobu is so cool that you have to book ONLINE), and at 12pm sharp, we're in the (dedicated) lift, making our way up to the restaurant which is located on level 56, Tower 3, KLCC.

For appetizer, we ordered two of Chef  Matsuhisa's signature dishes, which were claimed as the dishes that changed his career as a chef; New-Style Salmon Sashimi and Rock Shrimp Tempura. And they didn't disappoint. The salmon sashimi is made of fresh salmon sashimi that is poured on with a sizzling hot sauce of what taste like sesame oil mixed with soy sauce, some ginger and garlic.The Rock Shrimp Tempura is basically shrimp tempura coated with a creamy sauce that taste like mayo-chili sauce.

New Style Salmon Sashimi, RM65

Rock Shrimp Tempura with Creamy Sauce, RM60

For main course, we decided to order Bento 56, to share. This bento consists of Salmon Sashimi Salad, Spicy Tuna Cut Roll, Assorted Tempura with Ponzu Sauce, and Beef Kushiyaki with Teriyaki Sauce. After our delicious appetizers, we're a bit disappointed with this bento. No doubt, ingredients taste fresher than your average casual Japanese restaurants but taste-wise, there's nothing to shout about. The bento is served with miso soup which came after we've finished all our food and ready for bill and it taste no better than the miso soup i always make at home with miso paste bought at Isetan.

Bento 56, RM125

We also ordered a tuna dished called Toro something. We asked the waitress because we're unsure of the exact name but we did mention a Toro in small bowl. We were served with this instead:

Chu Toro, RM70

Basically a tuna belly cut. Not what we expected because the picture we saw online is different. Again, the fish tasted fresher than the ones i always have at Sushi Zanmai but at the end of the day, it's still just freshly cut tuna.

Overall, we had a good time at Nobu. If you know what to order, you'll end up with explosion of taste in your mouth, like we had with the sashimi and shrimp tempura. Our two other dishes were rather plain. Still, no regret whatsoever. The prices are a bit steep but it is expected at a fine-dining restaurant. i'd go again, tho not too soon (probably in a year time).

i look fat here but i swear i'm not actually that fat.
*memang ayat in denial*

Makan-Makan: Sweetree Korean Restaurant

My sister-in-law is a huge HUGE K-Pop fan. When we asked where she wants us to treat her for her birthday, Korean food is the natural answer.

This time, we went to Sweetree.

Sweetree is the only JAKIM-certified halal Korean restaurant in Malaysia. It's located in Ampang (i call the area 'Little Korea') so it's very convenient for us to get there from Wangsa Maju. 

The shop is 2-storey and the interior is very quirky, giving a cute-Korean ambiance. We were greeted in Korean by the friendly staff, i feel like i'm in Seoul already. There were not that many people when we arrived but at around 8.15pm, the place is packed with people, mostly Muslims. Wow Korean food really is the in thing right now eh? Even with the restaurant almost full, service was fast. We only had to wait 5-10 minutes for our drinks and foods to arrive.

We were served with a bowl of plain porridge with a little bit of what I assumed as kimchi sauce and various condiments. The porridge is rather plain and bland (which is suitable for babies and kids) but eating it with condiments were yums!

Farah's Jjangmyun was not my cup of tea. It tastes a bit like mee hailam with teochew. I love the Dolsot Bi Bimbap but be careful when adding in the spicy sauce. Pedas! Nasib baik tuang sikit-sikit. I ordered Gal Bi Jim which is short ribs braised in soy sauce (basically rusuk masak kicap versi kering la ni). The ribs are soft and tender. I just wish it's a bit soupy. Takde la kering je makan ngan nasik. The Korean pancake is marvelous, I'd recommend!

If you're not a fan of Korean food, there are also Malaysian dishes in the menu. We ordered Mihoon Goreng for Wan and Mihoon Tomyam for Makngah.

Complimentary Appetizer: plain porridge with condiments

Condiments for the porridge

 Farah's Jjajangmyun

Noodles in black bean sauce with minced chicken and cucumber.

Mangkok tu legend. Besar macam pasu bunga!

 Birthday girl!

 Spring onion pancake with prawn and squid

My Gal Bi Jim

Beef short ribs braised in soy sauce gravy served with rice

Mr. Chenta's Dolsot Bibimbap

Warm rice topped with cooked veges, beef, eggs and served in hot stone bowl. It stays hot til the dish is all finished.

  

 One of the many decoration on the first floor.

Posing with the pretty noona!

All in all, I'd recommend Sweetree if you're looking for an authentic Halal Korean food. Friendly staff, prompt service, delicious food all checked! If only they have a small children play area i'd be ever so happy.. 

#parentsproblem

Nah ni details Sweetree Restaurant:

Baru Dapat Kaki

This past one week is interesting coz after bertatih and cruising and jalan-10-tapak-pastu-berpaut for so long, Afif can now walk independently and confidently. He's 16 months now. Yayy Alhamdulillah!

It's just too cute seeing him terkedek-kedek ke sana ke mari walking and exploring excitedly. He likes to show off, this fella. On his second walking day, he started to walk while dancing and clapping his hands like he owns the world (-___-)

Punya lah dia happy dapat kaki smpai dah 2 malam bangon kol 3 pagi and demanded to walk. 3am! Tuhan je tau betapa kami laki bini kemengantukan layan pe'el budak ni. Bed time pon dah berubah. Selalunya dia kol 9pm dah lights out dan tido. Sekarang dah lights out pon dia takmo tido. Kene la layan dia berjalan dan naik turun tangga. Kol 11pm lebih baru tido.

Yesterday we went to the Curve with my brother and his fiancee (as usual, Mr. Chenta was working). At first Afif ok je dok dalam stroller. Makan kat Sakae Sushi biasa la lasak dia. His first time eating Japanese. Fed him chawanmushi and rice with salmon teriyaki. He likes them! Sushi tak berani aku bagi sebab mentah2 ni..

Anyways, lepas makan aku gi beli kopi jap kat Coffea Coffee. Pastu cari diorang. Dari jauh aku nampak ada sorang budak berjalan sambil joget gelak2 kat tengah orang ramai. I was like "wehhh tu anak aku!" Jerit dalam hati je la mampu. Jakun sebenarnya. Faizal tengah gelak2 tengok dia berjoget gitu. 

He saw me and terkedek walked to me. Kemain la budak ni. Dah takmo dok dalam stroller rupanya. So the whole time, terpaksa la kasi dia berjalan sambil kejar sambil cuba untuk pegang tangan dia. While wearing a pair of 5-inch wedges. Fuhhh.. Sumpah penat. I swear i feel my hips dislocating. I learnt my lesson. From this point onward, no heels for me on outings with Afif. Yup, mommy shoes on.

Afif & Uncle Aqil.
Tua 2 tahun je uncle awak ni. Pasni boleh la join uncle lari-lari. Mama tau awak dah lama teringin.

 

 

That's the story of my lil' walker :)

Celebrations Wiwiwi

Tak sah la kalo dah meningkat usia di hari jadi, takda celebration kan? Being celebrated, no matter how small, is enough to make a person happy. i am no exception.

On Tuesday, 24.12.13 (my birthday) i went to work like usual. Takda maknanya aku nak amek cuti semata-mata kerana birthday. Hubby plak keje syif malam the night before, apa lah maknanya aku cuti kalo dia melepek tido je nanti.

Cam bese lah, orang wish birthday kat Facebook and Whatsapp. Tersengih-sengih aku baca. 

At around 11am, aku kuar dari toilet, tetiba As ajak gi pantry. Aku dah macam "Huh?" Tak suspect langsung seprais ke hape sebab pompuan ni tak sentimental langsung orangnya. Rupanya ada a bunch of my friends nyanyi happy birthday siap dengan cupcakes 6 ketul dan lilin. Terkejut aku siap cakap "korangggg! Benci tauuu!". Malu sebenarnya. Aaaa terharu. Makan-makan potong kek sampai kenyang. Thanks Zarith, As, Yu He, Maz, and Dalilah! First time jugak aku jumpa orang same birthday ngan aku iaitu Nadia (officemate jugak tp tak brapa rapat sebab dia baru transfer masuk setahun yg lepas)

Pastu Chuna plak ajak lunch. Sempena birthday katanya. Awww.. Aku kenyang lagi makan cupcake tadi, maka kitorang melantak kat Wafflemeister je. Thanks babe!

Our waffles with dark chocolate drizzle and chocolate peanut ice cream (Chuna's) and hazelnut ice cream (mine)

Both Capricorners. Both are mothers, coffee and chocolate  lovers.

After lunch aku rasa sebu and muak gila makan cupcake and waffle dari pagi. Gila engko semua manis. Kol 3 camtu lapa nasik dan lapa benda masin. Linda plak ajak birthday treat. Weehuhu. Dia ajak makan Japanese kat Yuzu. This is HUGE for me because before this, ko jangan harap lah Linda makan Japanese.  Geli katanya. Ntah apahal dah berubah dia suka plak. Tepat kol 5pm, kitorang turun.

Fusion Sushi, Seafood Hot Platter something and Crispy Soft Shell Crab. Miso sup dan nasik tiada dalam gambar. Boleh plak aku lupa bergambar dengan Linda.

Thanks babe. i love you so much!

Petang tu balik umah cam bese lah. Aku dah call Mr. Chenta mintak amek anak kol 6pm sebab aku lambat tapi bila smpai je LRT (kakak amek aku), dia kata laki aku tak amek anak lagi. Time tu kol 7.15pm dah. Sabar je la. Maka aku pon amek Afif.

Birthday girl kan, good mood, idok ler aku sentap ngan laki aku. Balik tu makan cam bese pastu main ngan Afif. Tetiba pintu umah terbukak pastu Kakak, Faizal and Redha datang bawak kek ada banyak lilin nyanyi Happy Birthday. Sumpah terkejut weh. Awwwww sangat. Potong kek gitu-gitu je lah. Rupanya Mr. Chenta suh diorang gi beli kek. Muahaha sejak bler ntah pandai surprise-surprise ni.

Typo. Sebenarnya 2nd anniversary hokayyy! 

Time ni la kek tu hancur sebab Afif geram. Kasi chance dia potong kek sebab birthday dia aritu tak potong kek ponnn..

The next day tu Christmas day. Public holiday. Memang allocate hari ni untuk dating ngan Hubby Baby. Kol 1pm camtu bila Afif tengah afternoon nap dia, kitorang keluar. Nak gi Pavi sebab aku dah lama gila tak menjejakkan kaki ke sana. Wrong move coz the traffic was so bad hamagaddd. Sejam baru smpai Pavi from Wangsa Maju.

Sampai-sampai memang lapa gila weh. Cadangnya nak tengok The Hobbit tapi full house la. Terus serbu Tony Roma's. Tried their lamb ribs sedap hamagaddd! Hubby Baby order pasta tapi so-so je lah.

Lamb ribs, onion loaf and chicken alfredo pasta.

Tengah jalan pon jadi lah.

A while back Hubby Baby tanya aku nak birthday present apa. Aku cakap takmo pape. Simpan duit coz we need to save up. Tapi pastu aku tarik balik kenyataan itu dan kata aku nak jewelry. Wiwiwiwi.. Maka after lunch aritu kami ke Pandora. Pilih yang basic je tak sampai hati ketuk berlebihan kang next year dia takmo kasi hadiah pulak. Baahaha.

First Pandora evah!

That's the story of my 28th birthday. Though small and far from glamorous, these celebrations made me realized that i'm surrounded by good people, the ones that i love who love me back. Thanks korang!

To my Hubby Baby, happy second anniversary. You made me the luckiest girl alive when you made me your wife. i pray that our love strengthen with every passing day, through thick and thin till Jannah. In shaa Allah. Amin.

Iftar with Besties

Nowadays it's almost impossible to go out and socialize. i can't barely go on a date with my husband, let alone go out with friends. Being a mother tend to do that to your social life but i ain't complaining.

i have not seen my girfriends in a while. Whatsapp diorang pon kadang-kadang tak terbalas sebab busy dengan kerja, suami dan anak. Gotta admit i feel a little left out but it's my fault la jugak. So when the day comes that i can finally go out for a night of girly time, of course i'm ultra excited! Shaq came to pick me up at 6pm and we went straight to BSC. Had iftar at House + Co coz Shaf was craving for their caramalised prawn.

Our iftar at House + Co:

Stuffed mushroom

Verdict: i expected it'll be like the yummy ones at Italiannies but was left disappointed. Just mushroom with cream cheese and partly wrapped in turkey slice.

 Assam pedas ikan senangin

Verdict: Nothing wow. The one at Cozy Corner, Great Eastern Mall is way better.

Egg tofu

Verdict: Yummy!

Caramalised Prawn

Verdict: Yummy but too sweet for my liking. Makan seekor dah cukup.

Then of course we cam-whored like crazy! Dalam toilet lah mana lagi nak jadi vain.

We then went to Haagen Dazs Solaris for dessert because i wanted their ice cream with warm waffle (yum!). Imagine my disappoinment when the staff said mesin buat waffle rosak! Uwaaa.. i settled for flower cone with ice cream je lah.

Dalam kol 10.30pm baru gerak balik. Melepak berborak catching up sampai lupa kejap anak dan suami di rumah padahal janji nak balik by 10pm hewhewhew. On the way balik tu Mr. Chenta call anak meragam katanya. Hamagad rasa bersalah. Sampai rumah tengok diorang elok je lepak tapi nampak la mata Afif kuyu nak tido. When he saw me he was so excited melonjak lonjak sambil membebel bebel suara sedih macam mengadu "Mama tau tak Afif lost sangat. Mama ni kenapa tinggal Afif.. Sedih tau tak nak tido takde nenen!". Hubby said he refused to sleep. Hai lah anak manja. Sejak lahir tak pernah tido tanpa mamanya.. Rasa bersalah pula balik lambat. Sorry ye sayang..

i had fun with my girls. i seriously miss them, miss talking about boys and miss going out but that's life. You were a student, then a worker. You were young and single but then grow older, found The One and have a family. i'm just glad that i have an understanding husband who knows the importance of girl's time and have no problem looking after our child so i can have my time off.

Til next girlfriends outing!

Buka Puasa Buffet at Marche, The Curve

Last Sunday was Raya cleaning for us at home.

If you've been INSIDE my house, you'll know how messy it it. Try having 6 twenty-sumthing people under one roof, then you'll understand. 4 of them recently finished uni/college, 1 of them is a permanent resident, another one is crazy for shoes+clothes. So the house is full of stuff. Books and notes in the kitchen cabinets, countless shoes under the stairs, even the family space upstairs have been transformed into an attic coz we don't have enough space for our junks. Tak campur lagi dengan Wan yang super hoarder. Tsk tsk.

So on Sunday we threw out some shoes, rearrange the 'attic', clean up our backyard, threw out some furniture, polish the vases, sweep, mop the floor, polish the furniture, threw out two mattresses.. The list goes on and on. Sudah la puasa. And i'm super allergic to dust. Sepanjang masa hingus meleleh dan bersin-bersin.  Demi Raya, tabah kan jugak hati.

To reward myself yang gagah melawan alergy dan gagah berpuasa, Mr. Chenta and i went to Marche for our Iftar date.

Yeay! Marche!

Iftar at Marche is our annual thing. We've been going for three years now (thanks to Linda yang promote kat aku). This year, it's kinda special for us coz it's our first iftar date. And mungkin kah ini our last iftar date as a couple? Tahun depan as hubby and wifey pulak kah? Hehe InsyaAllah.

The price has increased AGAIN this year (surprise, surprise!). In 2009, the price was RM45/pax. Time ni sumpah rasa murah gilaaaa. Ye lah, buffet at RM45, murah kan? Then last year it increased to RM58/pax. Still okay. But this year, harga sudah mencecah RM65 lah. Haiyooo. Itu buffet makanan aja. Drinks tak campur lagi ye. Tapi sebab terkenangkan makanan dia yang sedap-sedap belaka, tutup mata ajaa.. Name pon setahun sekali kan?

 On our way there on DUKE Highway.

Weather was nice. The sun shone after a heavy rain.

 Our first round.

 Mushroom soup Marche yang menjadi pojaan hatiku.. Dia adalah pekat, creamy and full of flavor!

Muka tak sabar nak berbuka.

 Okay boleh buka.
Ini bukan lakonannnnn!

My obsession ;)

Our reserved table <3

 Our second round and more. Tak larat makan, tak larat amek gambar dah!

All in all, Marche's Buka Puasa Buffet was good. More selection compared to last year. My favorites are the crepe, mushroom soups, all the desserts, pizzas, sauteed mushroom, rosti, and the grilled lamb. Yang lain-lain tu biasa je. For buka puasa, it's advisable to make a reservation as Marche's always packed. Request for a table inside the rooms (for example Locanda) as it's more comfortable.

Last year we came for iftar with Linda and Butet. This year tak sempat nak janji-janji for double date. Kami pergi berdua je. Masa on the way gi The Curve, Mr. Chenta kata "Haaaa.. Ntah-ntah terserampak ngan Linda jap lagi.." Guess what? Memang masin mulut Mr. Chenta. Linda was there with Butet and anak buahnya, Kimi! Gaaahahaha.. Mr. Chenta and i couldn't stop laughing over it.

Great tummies think alike. That's why we chose to go to Marche at the same time UNPLANNED!

Dah nak kawen dah diorang ni. So happy for them! 

*wipe tears*

Dah abes makan, Mr. Chenta and i jalan-jalan kat Ikea pulak. Needed to buy a few things for Raya deco. Strangely i was in a cam whoring mood that night. Ini adalah jarang berlaku bila saya berusia 25 tahun ye. Agak pelik di situ.

 Kerusi ni selesa gila. i was gonna buy it for Wan tapi pengsan bila tengok harga. RM969 (if i'm not mistaken). Tak jadi beli. Sorry Wan. Lenkali ye..

The couple with weird faces.

My dream walk-in wardrobe. i don't ask for much. i only want a wardrobe like this..

*Mr. Chenta terdiam lalu buat-buat tak dengar*

That's the story of our iftar date.

That night, i came home happy. Little did i know that i'm gonna have a baddddd fever. 

Monday morning i woke up to a pounding head, my left ear is throbbing and body temperature was high. Went to the doctor. Rupanya my sinus worsen (thanks to the habuk masa mengemas rumah). Throat and ears are infected as well. My left eardrum has swollen! i was given two days worth of rest and 6 types of medicine to finish. i'm never gonna mengemas rumah ever again!! *diva mode*

 Sicko's medicine.

Ok before i sign off, one more self-absorbed, camera-crazy photo:

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Hehe.

Ok bye.