Friday, April 24, 2009

The Young and the Rested, Frames, TTDI Plaza

We were celebrating youth, or the process of departure from youth anyway. Young Jonathan was turning a year older, and Frames in TTDI Plaza was where we would solemnly observe this occasion.

The interior was standard cafe - clean, sleek, fuss-free, with an inordinate number of Ikea photo frames, either blank or filled with random pictures of anything at all. I think they could do a lot more thought with the stuff that goes into the frames. Rather than pretty stock pictures that don't actually mean anything at all, they could choose to make a statement about picture frames and what compels one to frame a memory, a visual.

Janice's Mushroom Mascarpone, one of the novel pasta dishes on the menu. She found the inclusion of whole walnuts a tad askew. I had a taste, and I'd be keen to try it again, with a different kind of pasta (the staff informed me that they also do penne or ribbons).



A few ordered the recommended Pasta Diablo, a spicy seafood & olive oil sort of mash up. Probably a safe choice, because really, how hard would it be to get this right?


My Mushroom soup came was just the right balance of stodge, the amount of cream comfortably scraping my ceiling tolerance of dairy. The three slices of paper thin garlic bread that were served with it made sure my resistance of carbs stayed on the right side of half-hearted.

I also had the Balsamic Chicken salad another of Frames' recommended highlights. It was robust although I did find the balsamic somewhat overpowering towards the end, and could have definitely done with more leaves.

The eyecatching Mushroom Parmigiana, not quite your ordinary sandwich. The hefty amount of cheese heaped on top of the grilled mushrooms sealed the deal, and the bulk of the concoction requires critical decision-making on how to attack and savour it in its entirety.

AUMMMM....!!!!

Meal-owner whined a little about the bottom part of the sandwich not being toasted on both sides, rendering it soggy from the weight of the filling. But other than that, it appeared to have fulfilled his masculine meal quota!

Sick member of the party settled for Oxtail Soup. Have no idea how it tasted, I didn't ask because he was quite huffy about this whole photo-taking of food business.

Jon knew the owner, and by association, we got free lekor on the house! Fresh from my neighbourhood lekor sojoun, I dug in, and wasn't disappointed by the crunchy thin version served here.
The ever-youthful birthday boy shared a tender, inspiring personal nugget on young love. I can't speak for the rest but I can only dream of being as patient and as unadulterated when it comes the mighty affairs of the heart. The boy may be young but has a soul that's curiously cultivated.

Hope it was a grand one, Jon!

14 comments:

allie said...

Lekor at the end of a western meal? Not a scoop of ice cream or cake? Hehe.. anyway the lekor looks crispy lol!

backStreetGluttons said...

A fine introspection on love , food ,misframes and youthful looks & as we know it they may never stay constant nor could continue as pleasantly as the desired intensity as our ever-fluctuating moods , but hey

Lets Eat ( again )!

Rebecca Saw said...

ehhh..mana birthday cake??

Sean said...

aiyo, your friend is nowhere near the departure from youth la. he's not even bought the ticket to leave. talk to me about lost youth when you get to my age (33). sigh.
it's interesting that you mentioned the photos were pretty but meaningless. i remember that when we visited this place, i thought it was such an interesting concept and looked through the photos like going through an art gallery. but now i can't recall any of the photos specifically.
overall i liked the ambience (compared to other outlets at TTDI Plaza that shatter your eardrums) and thought the service was very friendly, but the food seemed OK only, not memorable and original. actually delicious does a mushroom mascarpone spaghettini, but without walnuts ... ok sorry for rambling. :D

HairyBerry said...

there's WALNUT in the pasta?? how interesting is that! *dish framed in my wishlist already*

choi yen said...

The mushroom soup is the type i like, with lots of mushroom!!!

Bangsar-bAbE said...

Drooling....at the Mushroom Parmigiana! You just made me hungry!! =S

ck lam said...

The texture of the mushroom soup looks good...also unusual served in a squarish bowl rather than the common round ones.

PureGlutton said...

Tats a monster of a mushroom sandwich! Looks yummy though and the keropok lekor lends a nice touch to the end of a meal, im sure!

cariso said...

The oxtail soup set looks like a flight meal?! :)

Little Inbox said...

Mushroom soup looks great!

minchow said...

Allie, yes in hindsight, we really could've used some kind of cake or ice cream! Lekor was on the house though, so it was very much appreciated!

BSG, eating is common denominator across all age groups! From infants to grandfathers!

The Nomad Gourmand, tsk tsk, nobody picked up the cake! But we really should've, a celebration of not just the birthday but the reminder of staying young at heart!

Sean, don't say that about 33! I'm not very far off from there, and I happen to think the 30s the best decade yet!

Nic, yes I can imagine the texture them walnuts lends to the dish. The rest of the pasta reminded me somewhat of the mushroom soup though... pretty sure they were from the same tureen!

Mimid3vils, yes, I really enjoyed the soup too! Just nice, not too cloying and not too diluted.

Bangsar Babe, haha, why did I guess you'd instantly gravitate the most sinful meal of the evening?

minchow said...

CK Lam, ooh that's the idea, I think outlets are paying more attention to tableware. Square bowls, I think I'll pick some up, so the soup I make at home will appear to taste better too!:-)

Pure Glutton, by the time the lekor arrived, we'd out-talked ourselves so it was really good to dive in! If you order the mushroom sandwich, make sure you get them to toast both sides of the bread!

Cariso, wahhhhh, what premium flight have you been on?! I also want, if that's what they're serving! My inflight meals always look like a mess I can't tell which is what!

Little Inbox, great and comforting indeed! Perfect to wind down to at the end of the day!

Anonymous said...

Hello! =) Wow, small world.. You know Jon too! Hehe! Was browsing around to check out reviews for an assignment of mine. Would you mind if I quote from your blog? Hope to hear from you soon! =D

Christina @ xtina_lyn@hotmail.com