O’Briens @ The Curve & cuppacakes® by + wondermilk

Had a quiet evening out at The Curve (yes, I seem to be there a lot!). Decided to have something quick and light, so I headed over to O’Briens Irish Sandwich Bar and ordered a “wrappo” and a drink.

They now have three different types of wrappos — plain, wholemeal and spinach. I decided to try the last option since I’ve never had it before. A wrappo is basically a glorified popiah. I had a Hummus Wrappo (RM 11.00), and well, it is a glorified price for a simple snack, isn’t it?

Somehow, they weren’t as generous with the fillings as they usually are at O’Briens. Today’s wrappo was a little under-stuffed and they skimped on the potato chips too! The green-coloured tortilla tasted like a regular tortilla — nothing spinachy about it. It was wrapped around some lettuce, bell pepper, sun-dried tomatoes, and a very, very thin smattering of hummus (pureed chickpea, also spelled houmous). There was so little hummus that I didn’t actually taste it till my third bite!

Stingy portions aside, it was a light dinner that went down well — simple flavours to keep the palate happy. And I thoroughly enjoyed the freshly-prepared concoction of Apple, Carrot and Ginger, which the people at O’Briens call a “detox” drink. The ginger gave a nice zing to the natural sweetness of the apple and carrot juices. Very refreshing!

 

Decided to give myself a little treat for dessert, so I dropped by The Apartment on the way back and picked up some cuppacakes®. Yes, more cupcakes! These were slightly smaller than those from the other cupcake place I visited earlier this week and slightly cheaper (RM 4.00 each). The cake is also denser — think homemade buttercake. The cake base is essentially the same (with the addition of chocolate chips for some flavours). Only the frostings and toppings change.

Tried the Royal Vanilla©, Orange Choc Chip, Mint Choc Chip and Strawberry Dream©. The frosting was a lot less sweet than the other cupcake place. I enjoyed the dense buttercake — both with and without the choc chips. The orange choc chip is my current personal favourite because I’m a sucker for anything that combines chocolate with orange! Plus, they were very generous with the yummy chocolate frosting on the orange choc chip — it was about 1cm thick!

Only complaints … There wasn’t much strawberry flavour in the strawberry frosting and a little too much mint essence in the mint frosting. Besides that, I think it’s safe to say that I’m well on my way to becoming a cuppacakes® fan. Won’t you join me? Ha ha!

O’Briens Irish Sandwich Bar
Lot G79, Ground Floor, The Curve
Mutiara Damansara, Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Tel: 03-7727 2181
Open: Mon-Thu 8am-11pm, Fri-Sun 8am-1am

cuppacakes® by + wondermilk
Tel: 019-387 4107 or 019-369 9102
Open: Mon-Fri 10am-6pm
Visit:  cuppacakes.blogspot.com

Delicious @ Bangsar Village II

NOTE: This posting dated 20 August 2007 was moved from my previous blog (makanminusmeat.blogspot.com).

After finding our originally choice of cafe closed for the day, we proceeded to have supper at Delicious instead. It was past 10.30pm and pretty crowded on a Friday night, but we managed to get a table at the back (next to the smoking section).

In order to save room for dessert, main course was a light selection — Grilled Vegetable Sandwich (RM 14.90++). One look at the “sandwich” and you’ll be asking, “Where’s the bread?!”

If you look closely at the pic, it’s there, under all those veggies … A single slice of foccacia piled high with a chilled (yes, refrigerator cold!) combination of sauteed oyster mushrooms, zucchini, bell pepper and asparagus, topped with a dollop of pesto.

Great for those on a low-carb diet. Not so great for a carb-fiend like me — I ran out of bread before I could finish the veggies! The foccacia was also a lil’ over-done (perhaps someone forgot to take it off the grill in time?)

On the plus side, I enjoyed the tangy dressing that came with the side salad — a very light vinaigrette with a hint of garlic.

After polishing off the sandwich, I turned my attention to dessert — Delicious’ signature Chocolate Brownie (RM 10.90++) with lashings of chocolate sauce. It’s usually served ala mode, but I asked for the ice cream to be served separately.

Dark, bittersweet and sinfully rich (am I describing the ideal man or dessert?), the brownie did not disappoint. It took a lot of self-control to keep from licking the plate clean. Ha ha!

The cosy ambience and our friendly waitress made for an enjoyable night out … Am looking forward to my next visit!

Delicious
Lot GF-1, Ground Floor, Bangsar Village II
Jalan Telawi, Bangsar Baru, Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-2287 1554
Open: Sun-Thu (9am-12am), Fri & Sat (9am-1am)
(Kitchen closes at 11pm)

Colonial Times @ The Curve

NOTE: This posting dated 15 August 2007 was moved from my previous blog (makanminusmeat.blogspot.com).

Had a quick meal at Colonial Times a few weeks ago. From my sporadic visits to this outlet, it’s safe to say that the food is quite consistent.

It was late afternoon on a weekday, so we had the whole place to ourselves. Service was attentive, but a tad slow, probably because it was their break time — that lull before the dinner crowd starts coming in.

Ordered my usual Vegetable Biryani (or briyani, whichever way you choose to spell it) (RM20++ for a serving large enough to share between two small eaters). It was served in a pretty clay dish along with a bowl of creamy onion and tomato raita.

The biryani was packed with fragrant spices and chunks of fresh carrots, broccoli and French beans. In one word: DELISH!

It also had something I have yet to encounter in biryanis elsewhere — cili padi! Yup, the biryani is HOT, in more ways than one. And this is probably what makes it so appetizing in the first place. Ha ha!

Also had a serving of Aloo Ghobi (RM16++), which is a spicy North Indian cauliflower and potato dish. It was tasty, with just the right amount of salt and spices … But even this had cili padi in it! Spice overkill? Hardly. Hey, that’s what the raita is for.

The only thing missing at this meal was the ubiquitious pappadum. They do serve it here, but at an extra charge, unlike some other establishments where the crispy cracker comes with your biryani. Oh well, can’t have our pappadum and eat it, now can we? Ha ha!

A hearty meal for when you get the craving for something exotic. They also serve a credible banana leaf lunch that’s a lot more affordable than the somewhat pricey ala carte menu.

Colonial Times
Lot 146 & 233, The Curve
Mutiara Damansara
Tel: 03-7729 2441
Open: 10am-1am daily

Relish @ Bangsar Baru

NOTE: This posting dated 08 July 2007 was moved from my previous blog (makanminusmeat.blogspot.com).

Been wanting to check out Relish ever since I heard about their vegetarian burgers (4 types to choose from), but the thought of having to drive all the way down to town …

Well, now I don’t have an excuse anymore since Relish has opened a new branch right next to the Brabus showroom in Bangsar Baru (opposite Bangsar Village 1). It’s a bright and breezy place where you can grab a bite while ogling the sleek luxury cars parked in the showroom next door.

 

Tried the Veggie Burger (RM18++ for a medium serving), which is actually half a pita pocket stuffed with lightly sauteed bell peppers, mini portobello mushrooms, eggplant and lollo rossa lettuce, topped with carmelised onions and home made pesto. Two slices of fresh tomato on the side complete the dish.

The carmelised onions were nice and sweet, contrasting well with the savoury veggies. My only complaint is that there wasn’t enough pita bread to go with all that stuffing. Although not a “real” burger, this is a deliciously light meatless option that leaves ample room for dessert.

And it was a good thing too, because the slice of Apple Pie (RM18++) that arrived was huge! Served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, the pie’s cinnamon-laced chunky apple and raisin filling was dry, unlike most other apple pie fillings that have a slightly runny consistency. It was a yummy treat, but the shortcrust pastry was a bit too sweet for my liking.

Service was very friendly, discreet and prompt — just the way it should be.

Would I go back? Definitely!

Relish

61, Jalan Ara, Bangsar Baru

59100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-2283 3321

Open: Tue-Sun 10am-10pm (Closed on Mondays)