What will you do when you are in Osaka which is just a few kilometres away from the world famous beef producing city Kobe? Of course we will go there and try out their infamous Kobe beef.

A deer with the backdrop of the gate entrance of Todaiji Temple in Nara.
We were travelling to the deer city of Nara on the second day of our trip to Kansai Japan and we decided to have our dinner in Kobe. This was our first time traveling in Japan and we were on our own. We relied on the information we researched from the Internet and the station names to travel around within Kansai.

For the best and cheapest way to travel around in Kansai, we recommend the Kansai Thru Pass or also known as Kansai Surutto Pass. A three day pass cost only 5,000 Yen (RM 200 / US$ 67) and you can travel to most places in Kansai with most busses, trains and subways except JR trains. Please do ask the availability of the usage of the pass before you travel around. For our traveling experiences in Kobe, Kyoto, Nara and Osaka, we had no problem using unlimited train, subway and bus rides.

Changing trains or subway trains are common for travelers in Kansai Japan.
For our crazy idea to have Kobe beef for dinner, we travelled from Nara to Kobe via train with two stops (we will blog in details later on tips to take train from Nara to Kobe) with a journey of one and half hour. We got our route information via the Tourist Information Center at Nara (Kintetsu) Train Station.

To make our journey more interesting, our trip to Kobe was unplanned so we had no idea where to get the best Kobe beef. With the help of a few restaurants and bars, we were recommended to go to大井肉店.

It was 8pm and the temperature was around 5 degree Celsius and we were cold and hungry. We managed to find the restaurant based on the indications (he tried to explain in English but we didn’t understand what he was saying) by the bar owner.

The 大井肉店 restaurant, please check out the map below or print it out with you want to go there.

We went to the fourth floor where they served the best steak in city and probably in the world. The restaurant owns the whole building but only the fourth and fifth floors used as restaurants.

The interior looks like a classic Western-like restaurant with teppanyaki grill on each table.

Menu at 大井肉店
We were given the menu to order and it was not cheap. A 200 gram of Kobe Beef cost around 15,000 Yen ( RM 600 / US$ 200) per set.  We ordered two sets of 200 gram of Kobe Beef and they were not that pleasant when we wanted to share it among ourselves, there were four of us.

Check out the marble-like texture of the meat.
We were introduced to our chef as he showed us the 400 gram sirloin Kobe Beef before he cooked it. You can see the details of the marbling texture of the meat. Only Kobe beef and Wagyu beef have such texture on their meat. On the other note, we managed to start a conversation with him and he told us that he was humbled to have us as his guests when I told him that we are Malaysians.

He apologized to us as he had to share the set for us as I think we broke their tradition of no food sharing in this restaurant. He told us that 大井肉店 was established in 1871 as a beef seller. The restaurant has now a history of 141 years and counting!

He started off with toasting the bread. We thought it was the appetizer but it was not. The bread was lightly toasted with butter and served onto our plate but the chef told us to wait.

The appetizer was a small piece of beef quiche.

Next was a fresh bowl of salad. The greens were interestingly topped with sesame seed and sesame oil. The sesame oil can be easily purchased in Japanese supermarket such as Isetan or Jusco in Malaysia.

Then we have the pan fried vegetables of pumpkin, mushroom, red pepper, radish and konnyaku (light green).


Konnyaku is a healthy Japanese food with jelly-like texture. We were surprised that they pan fried the konnyaku, this was our first time having a pan fried konnyaku.

Finally, the chef brought out the beef again to cook. The chef asked us how we wanted our beef cooked. We all agreed for medium rare. Look at how the meat sizzles!

Firstly, he cut off the fats of the beef and he put it aside.

Then, he cut the beef to a few strips and he pan fried it (teppanyaki style).

The chef slowly awaits the beef to be cooked.

He let it cooked for a few minutes and to our amazement, he cut it to cube sizes and served it to us.

The beef was cooked up to our expectation.

He served the cube-size beef on top of the toasted bread.

That was our first time having beef with a toasted bread!

That wasn’t over. The excessive beef fats he cut earlier on was then used to cook with bean sprout (taugeh) and spring onion.

Like the usual teppanyaki, he pan fried the bean sprout and the beef together and served it thin slices of fried garlic.

After the long wait, I wanted to eat the toasted bread first but the chef said the bread must be eaten last! Slowly, we put the beef into our mouth. The meat melts in the mouth and the taste warmth my heart. We ate the beef without any seasoning to enjoy the juiciness of the meat.  Legend says that the taste of having Kobe beef is similar of flying. Hence, we roughly understand the meaning of the flying. The meat was so soft and tender and it melted in the mouth. The proper word for the experience should be “heavenly”. They served a small glass of red wine to pair it with the beef but we ordered additional Asahi beef for the evening.

The beef teppanyaki with bean sprout was also a class of its own. The bean sprout pan fried to perfection and coated with the fragrant beef oil. However we do prefer our own Malaysian Ipoh’s bean sprout as the Japanese bean sprout was softer and smaller in size.

For the toasted bread, they brought us a very light cream cheese. As we tasted the bread, we can taste hints of butter, the cream cheese and the taste of the Kobe beef. The chef purposely put the beef on top of the bread to let additional beef oil sunk into the bread. That was really smart.

There will be no happy ending without a cup of aromatic hot coffee.

We travelled one and half hour from Nara to Kobe for the best beef in the world and we accomplished it. Although it was expensive but the experience and the taste of it will remained in our heart and memory forever. This trip was all about experiencing Japan and we enjoyed it!

大井肉店 Address, Map and Contact:

No. 2, No. 5, 7-chome, Chuo-ku Kobe, Hyogo 元町通 〒 650-0022

Kobe, 7-2-5 TEL078 元町通 〒 650-0022-351-1011 / FAX078-351-5494 (Japanese)

Tel: 078-351-1011

http://www.oi-nikuten.co.jp (Japanese)

How to get to大井肉店:

5 minutes walk from Hanshin Kobe Nishimoto,  1 minute walk from  JR Station (Motomachi Shopping Street directions)

View 大井肉店 Famous Kobe Beef in a larger map

If you are looking for an authentic Shanghai food in Vancouver, this restaurant will be the right place for you. Located in Richmond, a Chinese populated area of Vancouver, Shanghai Wonderful restaurant lived up to its name.

Like many popular Chinese restaurants, the restaurant was often packed.

Even for a table of four, we waited for almost 45 min.

For those who didn’t know, Shangfai food has lots of variant cold served food. That was something that we are not really used to it.

The hot food like the prawns was good.

We felt the skin of the xiao long bau was slightly thicker.

Overall, the cold dishes were new to us and it was foreign to our taste palettes. However, it didn’t mean the food is bad or horrible.  Thus, the food prices were slightly over average.

Verdict: 3/5 for Shanghai Wonderful Restaurant

Shanghai Wonderful Restaurant Address and Contact:

8380 Lansdowne Rd Map

Richmond, BC V6X

(604) 278-8829

http://www.yelp.ca/biz/shanghai-wonderful-restaurant-richmond

San Francisco Steakhouse is best known for its outstanding charbroiled prime steaks, juicy burgers, fresh seafood and other Western delights in a warm and cosy ambience. Find full-flavoured top-notched steaks at this cosy restaurant.  Steak aficionados will be thrilled to know that San Francisco Steakhouse uses 100% imported beef-selected from the highest grade of farm-bred, corn fed cattle. Last year, San Francisco Steakhouse celebrates Christmas with the launch of its new menu for 2012, especially in celebration of the festivities ahead in Malaysia! The star of the menu is San Francisco’s new signature dish with the Steak Master XXL where 700gm of succulent juicy Australian rib-eye steak awaits your tasting.

EXECUTIVE CHEF SHOUN SHONG showed us how the dishes were prepared with his cooking demo!

Celebrity Radio DJ guests present: DJ ANSON, DJ MAY, DJ YING YING, DJ YI HUI FROM RADIO 988FM and DJ JACK YAP, DJ JANE NG, DJ WAYNE THONG, DJ KYAN LIM and DJ MAX LIM from ONE FM.

Steakmaster XXL, RM139.90

That was the new signature dish by San Francisco Steakhouse, 700g of Australian rib eye. It was humongous like XXL.

Seafood Platter, RM 49.90

The platter made up with a 200g fish fillet, 6 pieces of shrimps and 3 pieces of mussels deep fried till golden brown, serve with fries, coleslaw and tartar sauce.

 

Triple Treat, RM33.90

You don’t call triple treat for nothing, there were 6 pieces of chicken wings, 4 pieces of potato skin and fried mushroom serve with cucumber sticks, sour cream, honey mustard dressing and Thai mayonnaise.

 

Ribs Combo with half spring chicken, RM59.90

The combo was 3 pieces of hearty ribs with a rich beef flavor, glazed with BBQ apple sauce.

Mini dessert of the day, RM6.90 each

Order 3 and get 1 free, RM20.70 It is available in 7 different flavors

Come and experience culinary goodies from San Francisco Steakhouse’s new menu. With the best steaks and lobsters in town, you will come to simply love the new menu comprising hearty appetizers, mouth-watering ribs and steaks, delicious combos of sorts from chicken to finger-licking tasty lobsters to other mouth-watering seafood varieties, such as salmon, for sharing with friends and family.

San Francisco Steakhouse Tropicana City Mall Address and Contact:

Ground Floor, G-41/42/43

TROPICANA CITY MALL

No. 3, Jln SS 20/27, 47400 Petaling Jaya. Selangor

Tel: 03-7728 8010

This month Neroteca will having NEROTECA’S “MEATILICOUS” JANUARY OFFERS A SELECTION OFITALY’S BEST MEATS & WINES for Chinese New Year and the Year of Dragon.

In celebration of Chinese New Year and the 2012 auspicious Year of the Dragon, Neroteca is offering a range of Italian meat delights, with authentic flavors of lamb, pork and beef based cuisines.

We visited Neroteca once in 2008. We celebrated a friend’s birthday there and we enjoyed our dinner. After three years, we revisited Neroteca for their Neroteca Meatilicous Chinese New Year 2012 menu.

Gorgeous Rachel Lai giving the welcome speech
So what do we expect for this menu? It will be a savoury 7-course meal aims to please meat enthusiasts, where each dish is creatively designed and paired with selective prosecco and wine. Taste the innovative creations of Chef Lorenso who has mastered the art of rustic Italian cooking from the best chefs from Italy.

Chef Lorenso giving his speech and demo on steak tartare
From handmade pasta to the fresh bread baked daily, his quest for excellence in food preparation demands perfection and authenticity in Italian culinary offerings.

We started with the Starter with Selection of cold cuts which include Prosciutto di Parma, San Danielle, calabra piccente and mortadella.

The Prosciutto di Parma was memorable as I had lots of them when I was traveling in Patagonia Argentina two years ago. This was equally tasty and good.

Steak Tartare using the Marinated Angus steak was next. Steak tartare is a meat dish made from finely chopped or minced raw marinated Angus beef combined with a combination of ingredients. Not many people enjoy Steak Tartare because it taste bad but just that it did not suit your taste palette. I enjoyed it.

Prosecco di prosecco Conte Neri

For the Entrée, we had Pappardelle Neroteca which was the Pappardelle pasta with wild boar ragout. The handmade Pappardelle pasta was a great combination for the wild boar ragout and it tasted so heavenly. This is high recommended.

Valpolicella DOC Corte Giara goes very well with the suckling pig

Stozzapretti Nduja, the Handmade curl pasta cooked with rare salami was equally good but I preferred the Pappardelle pasta with wild boar ragout.

For the Main Course, we had Porchetta which was the Deboned suckling pig stuffed with sausage and capsicum.

Sirloin Tagliata was the Grilled sliced beef sirloin top with sautéed spinach and potatoes. The beef was well cooked and you can spot from the colour of it.

Lastly, we had the Grilled Lamb Rack which they used the New Zealand lamb Rack served with garden salad and Balsamic reduction sauce. This was juicy and grilled to perfection.

Costa di Nugola Syrah Toscana

Neroteca is a cosy Italian restaurant serving up rustic and authentic style Italian food that is truly close to home-cooked wholesome food.

Located at Bukit Ceylon, Neroteca simply exudes a truly Italian dining experience with a deli that makes you feel like you are dining somewhere in Italy! Everyone who dines at Neroteca will just love its ambiance for its truly captivating charm which evokes the authentic feel of Italy.

Neroteca’s dining experience just spells great home-style Italian cuisine that leaves you wanting for more.  A lot of attention and detail is given to food preparation and to the choosing of the freshest of products, combining rustic, home-made dishes with the modern cuisine accomplishments.

All the sumptuous recipes are the wonderfully innovative creations of Sous Chef Lorenso who has learnt from the best. From hand – made pasta to the fresh bread baked daily, this quest for excellence in food preparation demands perfection and authenticity in Italian culinary offerings.

If you are looking forward for a different and unique Chinese New Year feast, you can try this. The menu is unabashedly traditional yet refreshingly distinctive without the artifices of ‘fusion’. Through its authentic dishes and warm welcoming ambiance, Neroteca provides a very unique Italian cultural dining experience.

About Neroteca

Serving up the best in rustic and authentic home-cooked Italian food, Neroteca is a non-halal rustic restaurant specialising in authentic Italian dishes with pork. A long, tall, narrow glass box, bright lights, wall-to-wall wine, pasta and sauces, with hanging salamis and hams, it hosts a unique friendly atmosphere with a quaint ambiance. Neroteca packs in people, energy and great flavours. There is nowhere like Neroteca anywhere in the city.

Outside Catering & Private Parties

Nerotecais able to provide outside catering for parties and functions of up to 200 people. You can experience Nero class in the comfort of your own home, with chef’s brilliant cooking up of sumptuous cuisine to thrill your intimate dinner party.

Please contact alex@neroteca.com if you would like to hire all or part of Neroteca for a private occasion.

Neroteca Restaurant Address and Contact:

Ground Floor, The Somerset,

8Lorong Ceylon,50250 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-20700530/ Fax: 03-20702530.

Email: info@neroteca.com

Opening hours:

11.30am to 11.30pm (Daily)

ABOUT THE NERO GROUP

The Nero Group has grown into one of the most recognised and well respected restaurant groups in Malaysia, known for professionalism, high standards and exceptional quality. The group currently consists of three restaurants. Nerovivo is perhaps the best known, celebrating its sixth anniversary this year. Neroteca is our non-halal restaurant, specialising in Italian dishes with pork, importing meats and cheeses from Italy every week. Nerofico in Damansara Heights, combines trademark Nero Italian food with music – it is now one of the city’s best live jazz venues.

Towards the end of 2010, management of the Nero Group was moved to The Island Group Hospitality Ltd., a Hong Kong-based hospitality management company with extensive experience in restaurant and hospitality leadership.

The Nero Group continues to thrive, and with its passion for excellent food and wine and dedication to providing a remarkable dining experience, remains a dynamic force on the KL restaurant scene.

Earlier this month, we ventured to Bandar Menjalara for a shabu-shabu buffet. We dine at Shabuland with a group of blogger friends. Many compare shabu-shabu with steamboat but due to hygiene, we prefer shabu-shabu. Shabu-shabu is a Japanese style hot pot where everyone has their own hot pot.

Shabuland offers shabu-shabu buffet or eat all you can style food for a very reasonable price. They offered a variety of food such as seafood (clams, crabs, scallops, fish noodles, etc), meat (thin slices of beef, pork, lamb), vegetables, noodles and fried food.

Hence, the buffet also inclusive deserts such as variety of King’s ice cream and the popular Yoyo Ice.

The food was served in small plates on a moving kaiten (conveyor belt) which often used in sushi restaurants.

Small portion of food serving in small plates mean we can have more variety of food without wasting any food.

There are three different types of soups available, ABC soup, Herbal Chicken soup or Tom Yam soup. I preferred the ABC soup.

You prefer to spice up your food, there is a sauce section near the ice cream area that offers a variety of sauces.

We enjoy having plates of thin slices of pork and beef. Just dipped into the soup for a few seconds and it is ready to eat. Try eating it by itself to enjoy the freshness of the meat.

We share the food so we can try more variety of food. The small portions really help. We had at least 20-30 plates of the meat, we loved them!

It was a night of stories and laughter and it ended with scoops of Yoyo Ice cream. We enjoyed the buffet dinner and now they are running promotions for an adult for only RM 29.90 nett (inclusive of everything, no hidden cost). See below for the promotion details.

Shabuland Restaurant Promotions:

Adult – RM29.90nett

Child – RM14.90nett (height between 111cm-140cm, FREE for child’s height below 110cm)

Promotion: Buy 10 Free 1 head charge. Get the stamp card and collect 1 stamp for each person’s charge to get a free head charge after 10 stamps.

Shabuland Restaurant Address and Contact:

60, Jalan 8/62A, Bandar Menjalara,

Kepong, 52200 Kuala Lumpur,

Malaysia

Tel No: +6012-360 0550

Opening Hours: Mon – Sun (5:30 pm – 11:00 pm)

Vancouver downtown (for the most part) is widely influenced by Japanese food culture. However, there wasn’t any ramen place in Yaletown often due to expensive rent. So I was delighted Jinya Ramen finally opened a shop in Yaletown on Robson street.

It is actually a chain that started in LA, Studio City. Unlike of all of those fake Japanese restaurants that are run by Korean or Chinese, this is actually owned and operated by Japanese.

Personal favorite: Shio Tonkotsu Ramen with HAKATA Pork Premium rich broth ($9.55).

This personal favourite ramen is limited to 20 servings a day!

Verdict: 5/5 for Shio Tonkotsu Ramen

Ramen Jinya Vancouver Address, Map and Contact:

270 Robson St., Vancouver, BC, Canada

Tel: +604-568-9711

Opening Hours:

Sunday – Thursday 11:00～22:00

Friday – Saturday 11:00～24:00

Open: 7days a week

View Larger Map

http://www.jinya-la.com/ramen

For those who know me well, I was heavily influenced by JPOP (Japanese POP Culture) during my childhood. I am also in love with Japanese food and my first love with Asahi Super Dry was seven years ago when I went for a road trip to Southern Thailand and I bought my first Asahi Super Dry. It was a 2 liter Asahi Super Dry can and I kept the huge can up to today. (I had problem bringing the can back because it exceeded the 1 liter limit for alcohol at the Malaysian Custom). I still enjoy Asahi Super Dry from time to time even though some prefer the regular brands.

Sakura Season at Double Tree Hotel Kuala Lumpur
Recently I was invited by Milk PR and Carlsberg Malaysia to attend the launch of the Asahi Super Dry Draught in Double Tree Hotel. Asahi Super Dry will be brewed locally by Carlsberg Malaysia at its brewery in Shah Alam, and to be made available on tap at selected trendy bars, concept restaurants and high-end eateries nationwide. It was a remarkable deal between Asahi Group Holdings Ltd and Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd.

Asahi Super Dry Launch at Double Tree Hotel, picture credits to MikeYip.com
At the event, Mr. Soren Ravn, Managing Director of Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd said that “Malaysian’s can now enjoy Asahi Super Dry using Karakuchi, a secretly guarded Japanese brewing style, that has not only captured the taste buds of premium beer drinkers the world over but that has also set the gold standard in Japanese brewing.”

Next, Mr. Toshido Kodato, Director, Corporate Officer, of Asahi Group Holdings Ltd commented “Carlsberg Malaysia is the second brewery after Balkita Breweries (Carlsberg Russia) that was awarded the rights to manufacture this high quality beer.”

Harujuku Model dancing during the event.
Hence with this alliance, Carlsberg Malaysia now adds the No. 1 Japanese beer brand to its long list of no. 1s which includes the Kronenbourg 1664 & Blanc (No. 1 of France), Corona (No. 1 of Mexico), Budweiser (No. 1 of USA), Foster (No. 1 Australian beer in the world), Becks (No. 1 German beer in the world), and Hoegaarden (No. 1 Belgian Wheat beer in the world). Thus, Carlsberg Malaysia aimed to have a bigger market share in beer segment in Malaysia.

Asahi Super Dry Draught, sorry for the bad quality picture.

The taste of the beer was refreshing! Trust me I had heaps of Asahi Super Dry at the event.

Me and Malaysia Hottest Bloggers Naomi and Isabella.
I enjoyed myself during the event and met with the usual whose who such as friends, media and blogger friends. We were also entertained by DJ Faith and a troupe of Harajuku dancers, Dennis Lau, Shawn Lee, Nadhira and rapper Vandal.

Thank you Milk Pr and Calsberg Malaysia for the invitation, as usual I enjoyed Asahi Super Dry!

Remember Yan Can Cook from the 80s? We watched him with his signature phrase something like “Yan Can Cook so do you”. He is still around but with his name “Martin Yan” instead of “Yan can cook”.

A short video of “Yan Can Cook” we found on Youtube. Remember him now?

Last month I was invited to meet Martin Yan in person at Mandarin Oriental Hotel. This was our third time meeting him. We met him first at two years ago in a private event you can read our experience http://www.placesandfoods.com/2009/11/exclusive-international-celebrity-chef-martin-yan-live-cooking-in-malaysia-yan-can-cook.html.

Then we met him earlier this year in a cooking class, you read about his recipe http://www.placesandfoods.com/2011/03/martinyanrecipe1.html.

When a dinner is held at Mandarin Oriental Hotel or MO in short, you know it will be an extraordinary dinner. The dinner was a Chinese Food pairing with Jacob Creek Wine Pairing. There were lots of familiar faces, friends from Tourism Australia, media and blogger friends.

I had a few glasses of Jacob Creek wine before the dinner started. Although I am not a wine drinker, I had Jacob Creek wine before when I was studying in Australia and even now I bought them for special occasions.

We were ready for an amazing wine pairing dining experience with Martin Yan and Jacob Creek.

The first dish was Chilled Scallop with Jellyfish and Marinated Cherry Tomatoes (Prepared by MO KL Chef Ricky Thein).

Chef Ricky Thein is a resident Chinese chef of Mandarin Oriental Hotel Kuala Lumpur. He is also an award winning chef who was the recipient of Gold Medallist at the 5th World Golden Chef Competition for Chinese Cuisine in 2005 and was also awarded the Silver and Gold Awards for the Excellent Service Award by SPRING Singapore in 2005 and 2006 respectively.

There is only one word to describe this dish, REFRESHING. Many would grill the scallop but chilled scallop with jellyfish was refreshing and it best to eat and pair it with Jacob’s Creek Steingarten Riesling.

Oven Baked Sea Treasure Broth Served in Coconut with Puff Pastry

I had coconut cooked soup in many occasions but with puff pastry, it was my first.

Oven Baked Sea Treasure Broth Served in Coconut with Puff Pastry (Prepared by MO KL Chef Ricky Thein)

When I opened the puff pastry, it was the sea treasure. Dried scallops, sea cucumber and most notable a large size abalone in the broth and oven baked in the coconut. The broth was flavourful with fragrant of the coconut juice. This is as close as a “Buddha Jump over the Wall” broth but with the usage of coconut and without the shark fins. This remarkable creation was by no other than Chef Ricky Thein. This was one of the best broths I had for some time.

This was best paired with Jacob’s Creek Reeves Point Chardonnay

Cantonese Style Steamed Cod Fish with Superior Soya Sauce and Baby Cabbage (Prepared by MO KL Chef Ricky Thein)

Sometimes a simple dish can taste so good. This is how I would rate this fish. I always enjoyed cod fish and even at times I would buy and cook it at home. This was a simple and typical Cantonese style steamed cod fish and sank in to the light superior soya sauce. I enjoyed the freshness and actual taste of this juicy cod fish, beautiful.

This went well with Jacob’s Creek Reeves Point Chardonnay

At this time, Chef Martin Yan finally made his appearance on stage. He was then entertained us with his trademark cooking styles and jokes. He prepared and cooked two dishes for the evening.

The first was the Peking Sweet and Sour Prawns (Prepared by Chef Martin Yan). Large size prawns were deep fried and topped with Peking sweet and sour sauce.

Simple and nice and it was best paired with Jacob’s Creek Steingarten Riesling

Australian Lamb Cutlets in 3 Chili sauces with Jasmine Fried Rice (Prepared by Chef Martin Yan)

This was an Asian Western fusion dish by Chef Martin Yan featuring Australian lamb cutlets in 3 chili sauces with jasmine fried rice.

This dish is best paired with Jacob’s Creek Centenary Hill Shiraz

Sweet Temptations of Chocolate and Mango and Lychee Jelly and Raspberry Coulis (Prepared by MO KL Chef Holger Deh)

Lastly, we had a lovely dessert prepared by Chef Holger Deh to end the lovely entertaining evening. It was a night of good food and laughter.

Thanks to Ktalyst PR and Pernod Ricard Malaysia for the invitation and Mandarin Oriental KL for the dining experience. It was lovely…

Last week we were invited to a special Frescobaldi wine dinner pairing session with Erika Ribaldi at Nerofico. It was our first time having Frescobaldi wine, meeting Erika Ribaldi and dining at Nerofico.

Many might have mistaken Nerofico as Neroteca or Nerovivo. Located at the ground floor of Wisma Perintis Jalan Dungun, Nerofico is KL’s newest jazz venue showcasing the best local, regional and international musical talent every Friday and Saturday nights (first set starts at 1000pm). Thus, the restaurant also offered a cozy dining experience in the middle of the busy commercial district of Damansara Heights.

Let us elaborate more on the Frescobaldi wine. For those who didn’t know, Frescobaldi wine came from the Frescobaldi family in Italy. The Frescobaldi family began producing Tuscan wine in 1308 and soon developed a notable client base. With more than 700 years of wine making Frescobaldi wine is considered as one of the best wines in Italy and it has strong presence in Malaysia for many years.

Who is Erika Ribaldi? Originated from a small provincial capital of Northern Italia, famous for its Middle Age “grandeur”, she joined Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi with the role of Area Manager Asia-Pacific, reporting to the Export Director Giuseppe A. Pariani. Based in Bangkok, she is now the proud representative in Asia for this historical house, and she will put her passion and knowledge at the service of our wide customer basis.

Even before the dinner, we have two Italians on the stage explaining the history of Frescobaldi wine. Michele is from Nerofico.

For the starter, we had tuna tartar served with oyster shot. It was our first time having tuna tartar with the fresh oyster.

It was best paired with Albizzia Chardonnay di Toscana IGT 2009

For the Entrée, we had Paccheri with lobster ragout and king prawn pop corn. It was the right portion for the entrée, interesting combination of Paccheri with fried king prawn pop corn.

For the Mains Course, we have Seared spring chicken with roasted pumpkin and honey and apricot sauce. The seared spring chicken was well marinated and it was tender. It went well with the sweetness of the roasted pumpkin and honey and apricot sauce.

What was the perfect wine to go with this? The Remole Toscana IGT 2009. Remole Toscana IGT 2009 is the “Britney Spears” according Erika, a wilder taste just like the actress.

We sat with Erika and she entertained us with stories of Italy and her life experiences in Thailand and Cambodia. Hence, she also showered us with the stories of the great Italian food. We can imagine it since we watched the movie, “Eat, Pray, Love”. Hence, we were also told about the great vineyards of Italy.

Interesting enough, we had Sorbet Interval of Mango sorbet with currant vodka. Rachel thought the Mango sorbet was punchy but I wouldn’t mind the extra currant vodka.

Next, we had Grilled lamb chop in crust of pistachios, grilled tomato & onion red wine sauce. As the spring chicken gave us the “awe”, the grilled lamb chop was equally good. The lamb chop was grilled to perfection, a slight pink on the inner area and it was still juicy. It was topped with onion red wine sauce.

It went well with Frescobaldi Tenuta di Castiglioni IGT 2008. Frescobaldi Tenuta di Castiglioni IGT 2008 is the “Sophie Marceau” according Erika, a smoother and beautiful taste.

For Dessert, we had Millesfoglie serve with caramelized banana. It has been a while since we had a good Millesfoglie. Millesfoglie is also known as mille-feuille which means “thousand sheets”. The puff pastry was thin and crispy so you have to be delicate to eat this.  It was too beautiful to be eaten.

It is always good to end the dinner with a coffee. We had coffee and it was the liquor coffee, Illyquore. It was slightly bitter but fragrant with the coffee scent and strong with alcohol.

Great food, great company, great wine and great stories, we couldn’t ask for more. Our first time dining at Nerofico gave us a very lasting impression.  We heard so much about Italy lately, from Erika and even from our friends. These great stories of Italy made us wonder if we could really go there in the near future.

Nerofico Restaurant Address and Contact:

Ground Floor Wisma Perintis,
47 Jalan Dungun,
Damansara Heights,
50490 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-20895312
Fax: 03-20110156
Email: info@nerofico.com

Nerofico Opening hours:

8am to 11pm (week days)
5.45pm to 11pm (Sunday)

http://www.nerofico.com/

This is one of the first few food posts for this week. We have attended quite a number of food reviews this month. Next week, we will be featuring our top hotel /resort stays for the year and of course a few new travel stories.

It is coming to year end and there are reasons to celebrate it. If you are looking for an Italian restaurant in Bangsar, you should try Garibaldi Italian Restaurant in Bangsar Village Shopping Center located at Ground Floor.

Please do not mistaken Garibar (which is located on Lower Ground Floor) as Garibaldi even though both restaurants are under the same management. Garibar is a stylish bar and serves lighter food such as pizza and finger food.

Let me share with you a short introduction of Garibaldi.

Garibaldi is one of Singapore’s most popular and respected Italian restaurant landmarks and now it has arrived in Malaysia.

Thus Garibaldi provides a fine example of a stylish Italian eatery –modern, elegant yet friendly and dynamic. The contemporary and hip atmosphere has helped to make “Garibaldi” a classic Malaysia social gathering place.

We mingled around with the rest and nothing is better off to start with small bites like the focaccia.

Ostarica, Irish Oyster with Poached Quail Egg & Caviar, the fresh oyster was topped with poached quail egg and caviar. It could be a mouthful but the intensity of the taste was unexpectedly balanced.

*Thank you BangsarBabe.com for this picture, we lost ours somehow.*

Cappasanta, Sea Scallop with Saffron Crispy Cauliflower and Tarragon Sauce, the beautifully cooked scallop was topped with crispy cauliflower and hints of the scent of the saffron.

Vitello Tonnato, Italian Cold Cuts Veal in Traditional Piedmont Recipe with Tuna and Caper’s Creamy Sauce, personally would prefer more of the creamy sauce.

Brodo Ristretto, Clarified Beef Broth with Egg Yolk and Truffle Bigne was interesting. The beef broth was cooked with egg white for the clarity. The question was what is the best way to drink the broth, to drink broth first without spoiling the egg yolf or to have the egg yolk first? The chef told us it is up to us. Thus, the broth was delicious and the truffle bigne was crispy.

Fagottino, Black Ink Squid Ravioli with Crab Meat and Sweet Dried Tomato on Potato Emulsion was another interesting dish. This was our first time having black ink squid ravioli. Cutting through the ravioli revealed fresh crab meat and sweet dried tomato.

Orata, Pan Seared Line Catch Sea Bream Fillet with Apple Black Rice Puree and Whitebait Omelette was next. The sea bream fillet was perfectly pan seared and it went well with the apple black rice puree and the omelette.

We went on with Agnello, the Roasted Tobacco Smoked Lamb Rack with Purple Potatoes, Celeriac Mash and Berries Sauce. We thought we read wrongly, roasted tobacco smoked lamb rack? Lamb was well cooked, meat was tender and the purple potatoes were sweet. Two pieces of the lamb was not enough.

Meringata, the Crispy Italian Meringue with Chocolate Chip Parfait & Dark Cherry. If you fancy crispy Italian meringue, this is the one you can go for. This is one of the best we had so far.

Sorbetti, the Passion Fruit Sorbet.

The dining experience was good. Rachel thought that we have so much to learn on Italian food. I can’t agree more with her. The eight course Italian dinner was rather new to us and we have to dine more Italian food in the near future to learn more about it.

Chef Giuliano Berta prepared the food for us. This young Italian chef has more than 10 years of experience and he has worked in various countries before he joined Garibaldi. He and another Italian sous chef created interesting Italian dishes for Garibaldi.

If you are fancy of bringing someone for this festive season or for a good Italian dining experience in Bangsar, this is the place to be. Thank you, Leonard for the invite and Bangsar Babe, Meena and KampungBoyCityGal for the company.  Great friends with good food = Great dining experience.

Garibaldi Italian Restaurant Address and Contact:

Lot. 10 & G22, Bangsar Village

Jalan Telawi 1

59100 Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

Tel: 03-2282 3456/57