Out & About: Eating Adventures

It all started with a request by mum to drive her to IJN to pick up a new batch of her medications. Rather unfortunately (or fortunate if you are one of those glass half-full types!), we were done as soon as we arrived. Man, those IJN staffers are brilliant and speedy too. And so, we did the only thing we could, rush to Taman Desa and kidnap my sister for an afternoon of culinary pursuits.

My sis suggested we hit Midvalley for a quick brekky and some gallivanting. God must have pitied our hungry selves because we quickly found a parking spot (after losing one to an arse-wipe of a woman who suddenly gunned past my car into the very slot I was driving towards). Minutes later, our hungry bellies were happily digesting the offerings we threw at it (which were - A large bowl of Yong Tau Foo for Mum and Sis, a bowl of Oyster Mee Suah for me and the stuff pictured below).

Glazed Hazelnut Danish. Sticky, Sweet and oh so good.

Chocolate Eclair isnt exactly B'fast food, but what the heck.

We window shopped and traipsed and perused. Jusco, Metro, MPH, GSC (I attempted rather unsuccessfully to get tickets to Clash of The Titans, there was boatload of people already in a queue) and even managed to squeeze in a jaunt to Ace Hardware for some good ole DIY fun (in my head of course, I am absolutely rubbish with tools).

Of course all this walking around quickly resulted in another case of the munchies. We walked over to the Gardens for lunch at Alexis. It has been yonks since I last ate at Alexis and my interest was piqued. Sis ordered the Laksa Sarawak and mum took the signature Alexis Rice Platter.

A small crowd had already formed there, suggesting this outlet is just as good as the one in Bangsar.

Monster plate of herbed plain rice with side dish of Fiddlehead Fern Kerabu, crispy Fish Crackers, Brinjals in Sweet Chilli, Beef Rendang and the oh-so-homely Ikan Jeket Sambal!

I love little touches like this - notice the Calamansi lime has No blemish whatsoever? Now that is attention to detail!

A friggin huge bowl of Laksa Sarawak. Oodles of noodles in spicy chilli seafood broth, with blanched jumbo prawns, shreds of chicken breast and fish fillets, as well as lots of cilantro and sliced chilli.

Oddly, I didn’t order anything as at the very last moment, I suddenly had the hankering for plain cold soba, which Alexis did not have (they did have a modern soba dish though, but it wasn’t my thing). Darn. Besides, my mood also had shifted due to the fact that I bought some reads from Borders upstairs and was like raring to read it.

A few chapters of my new graphic novel later, they were done and they accompanied me to Jusco's supermarket. My fickle belly was by now demanding for some sacrifice and I reckoned some sushi would be great. I bought some Salmon Handrolls and 4 sticks of Teriyaki Cuttlefish Heads. Simple, clean flavours. 

It is amazing what fresh ingredients actually taste like. Salmon is best eaten raw to sample the sweet, yielding mouthfeel and that hint of oiliness of the flesh. The Japanese are masters at interplaying the texture and the flavour of their ingredients and this humble handroll to me is the posterboy of how great their cuisine is.

Teriyaki Cuttlefish Heads! Wonderful this!

Of course a good meal is not complete without dessert! We rushed over to this Cafe called Sweet Chat (don't ask!) at the other end of Midvalley and ordered some goodies with a pot of Earl Grey to share.

Mum had this, warm Bubur Cha Cha, with a slight twist where sago pearls are pressed into a cake! The result is an additional bite to the dessert. Nice!

Tong Yuen magic. Spheres of Glutinous Rice dough stuffed with Black Sesame paste in mildly sweet almond soup

And I had the Thai dessert of Jackfruit and Water Chestnut Jewels on Shaved Ice and Coconut Milk. Yum yum yum

Looking back, we certainly feasted today, and to soothe our now overworked tummies, we skipped dinner that night. One has got to keep healthy right? Hehe!