Behold the Bathwater, at Dubrovnik, Solaris Mont Kiara

Come crunch time, we tend to forget the things that mattered or meant something just yesterday. Like neglecting your parents when you're deeply lodged in some silly emotional tribulation. Or how the routine session with friends gave you a new lease on life when you were relentlessly fixed on wallowing in despair.

An apt case in point: a late-night conversation with a friend recently discounted a relationship which had been intensely intimate to obliteration, simply because he couldn't deal with it in, granted, his galling circumstances. "(It) wasn't even a real relationship, I don't know what it was!" he stammered, when confronted with how he had abruptly upended it.

Similarly, it's easy for us to mark down the good-tasting dishes delivered in the wake of the bad at an eatery. Such is a reminder I would like to enlist for Dubrovnik, which delivered more than it failed this one despondent weekend.

Fish in the midst - I ordered a new entrant to the menu, Riba Romesco, baked seabass with breadcrumbs served with a mountain of potatoes. This was commendable - the fish fresh and cooked to a tender quiet, the accompaniment sufficiently light yet ample. Like nights in with a loved one requiring no charades.

Ciki had asked for Lamb Chops even before she arrived so this couldn't have failed. Pretty much like the promise of a smile that releases persecution of all that's perverse.

PA made a stand with Palacinke, crepes filled with -egg and dairy, a requiem to a dream. Ahh, this is stuff that sordid sex is made of. You cannot get enough of it, even when it gets too cloying and convoluted.

The Kozice, a dish featuring fresh water prawns with Mediterranean rice, was akin to the collapse of the Kingdom of Croatia. The prawns were overdone and the rice was a sad, flavourless mass. Not too different from the arguments and the disagreements that persist in any accord. Do we dare compromise?

We gave desserts a shot and the Apple Pita (Pie) reinstated our faith in the gentleness of flour, cinnamon, fruit and sugar. Same ingredients of a winning concoction to intimacy, really.

The Mille Foglie received lacklustre affection. The pastry sandwiching light vanilla custard failed to provoke the passion so palpable in its predecessor.

No matter how convenient, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. No giving up on Dubrovnik yet, until it proves itself to be a certain undoing.

Dubrovnik Restaurant
KLJ-0G-14
Solaris Mont Kiara
No. 2 Jalan Solaris, Mont Kiara
50480 Kuala Lumpur

Better with Age, La Risata, Medan Damansara

I remember my last meal at La Risata like it was yesterday, even though it must have been a good 6 or 7 years ago, when I could still touch my toes with my fingers standing straight. Aging can be such a pain in the ass.

But it is also aging 's derivate and friendlier concept of birthdays that provides us reason for us to pay La Risata a visit on the occasion of Hui's birthday, a day after her ceremonious touch-down from her soul-searching sojourn in India.

La Risata remains as humble and as laid back as ever, though I don't remember the neighbourhood being this lively. Birthday girl far right and Yolande rocks the straight hair.

While the early participants wait for Hui and the rest of the party, we gorge on warm crusty bread served with a zesty olive tapenade...

...and opened the first bottle of the gorgeous Borgo Tesis Pinot Grigio, highly recommended by the affable waitress Edna, who remained very accommodating throughout the evening.

The salads are a treat here. Niz & Fiz get their green fix with the Insalata Risata, starring ham, egg and black olives.

Birthday girl & Riz shares Insalata Di Rucola E Zucca, featuring roasted pumpkin & ricotta. Both give it the thumbs up.

La Parmigiana E Melanzane, cheesy baked aubergine concoction also gets the nod.

Fiza has the Brodetto Di Cozze E Vongole, clam and mussel tomato soup. She proclaims it Good. I press her for more adjectives and she says Very Good. I press some more and Niz cuts in with F***ing Good. Age has obviously not done wonders for HIS language. Nuff said.

Their Pizza Romano arrives early. Minimal toppings done good. Mozza, parmesan & anchovies never struck harmony like this.

Benji has the Fettucine Mare E Monti, scallop & mushrooms in cream sauce. He downs it quick, so it must have been agreeable. But he might also have been just really hungry from the run prior to dinner.

I have the Arragosta and ask to substitute Spaghetti with Penne. The lobster, garlic & chilli medley is delightful, at just the right notch of spice. The serving is huge and I am happy.

Mei Shean's Capellini Al Nero Con Frutti Di Mare, angel hair with plump prawns & squid and pasta al dente dressed with squid ink, steals the show.

Yolande's Pollo Farcito, however doesn't fare so well. The chicken breast is tough, the accompanying brown sauce is too salty, and the ricotta and spinach stuffing doesn't live up to its promise.

Late arrival Kat goes for the Flourless Dark Chocolate Cake with ice-cream. Not quite what it could've been.

After an extended farewell, a few of us proceed to Solace a few doors away for a nightcap. It's a perfectly serviceable pub and features a porky menu, which we will return to sample.

South Australian Oxford Landing's Sauvignon Blanc. Not quite as pleasant as the Pinot Grigio at La Risata, but the mood is set sensibly to merry so no one complains.

We kick back and smoke some Beedhis, Hui's little indigenous souvenir from India, along with some hilarious accounts of Delhi cab drivers and late-night narcotic mayhem. The pub starts closing a little before midnight, on account of the neighbourhood, and we make it home to bed at a decent hour, reinforcing the learning that moderation really is the key to happiness!

Welcome back Hui! May this be the start of another year of discoveries only possible with Age!

Healthy redefined, by very liberal Yogi

So, it appears that organic food does not offer any significant benefits over ordinary food, as reported here. What remains in question is whether the true benefit of organic food is not what additional nutrients it has over ordinary food, but what it doesn't have, i.e. preservatives, chemicals and other such nasties.

It was oddly coincidental timing that we decided dinner would be at Yogi Tree, on the same day this story came out, and on the same day that dear Hui, who is presently traipsing in India, was released from the ashram, where she had undergone an ascetic, remote, yogi-fying spell, and been fed spartan meals of beans and bread.

Yogi Tree's extensive menu plus the changing daily specials, couldn't be further from what the yogis eat. Some of the items sounded so indulgent they couldn't possibly be healthy!

Janice had the Tagine of roast monkfish and seafood, a hearty tomato-based stew that came served with rouille (an olive-oil based sauce, we found out) and bread. I should have gone for this myself...

...but I went with safe - Seafood Aglio Olio with garlic and chilli. Plenty of spice, and the seafood was fresh & plentiful, but the penne was severely undercooked. A lot of chewing and gnawing involved so I'd suggest going with the other types of pasta available if that's not your thing.

Both Shanice & Nico went with pasta in Tomato Basil with Grilled vegetables & chicken.

Tiramisu Trifle with black cherries in Kirsch. I didn't try this but the others felt it was too way too sweet. Hmmmm....sugar much, Yogis?

They also serve alcohol, and on their menu, expound on the lesser-known benefits of the various nectarous offerings, when consumed in moderation. Yes!!! I could get used to being healthy after all!

Sardines to the rescue, on a scorching Penang afternoon!

While I maintain my conviction that mackerel or kembung is the secret to real Penang Assam Laksa, I was pleasantly surprised by my encounter with laksa using the OTHER much-maligned type of fish one peckish, HOT afternoon in Penang.

Parked under a majestic tree on the corner of Weld Quay and Gat Lebuh Acheh are a couple of crowd-pullers.

Filled to the brim with surely one of the fishiest broth there is! Yes, the sardine speaks the lingo here, folks; somehow, it works.

My Sardine Hate era is officially over. One bowl, laced with plenty of shrimp paste and bird's eye chilli isn't quite enough heat, even if it's 3PM and it feels like 45 degrees celcius.

Finish off with neighbouring stall's Ai Yu Ping, the most delighfully citrusy dessert in this temperature!

Nearby we spy Tua Pui Curry Mee and I recall reading this over at Lingzie's and Allie's whipping up some very fiery looking bowls of noodles but unfortunately, heatstroke is settling in and we hurry out of there for some reprieve from the crazy mid-year sun.

No surprises please, we're old, Alexis, The Gardens

Niz had just turned the grand old age of... say, somewhere in the early-30s vicinity. The older we get, the less receptive we are to surprises, so it was decided we would congregate somewhere fuss-free, with a tried-and-tested menu where everyone knew what they would get, at Alexis at the Gardens.

Can't go wrong with Alexis' pizzas... particularly enjoy the Gambretto with rocket! This time however, I watched the others order. That evening, I was on...a liquid diet of some sort. First up... the Pizza Pollo. Meal owner was kind and spared me a slice, and even when cold, it was yummy and made me secretly hanker for more!

Others had the equally dependable Sarawak Laksa, swimming in rich, coconutty gravy. What a mega portion!

Beef Noodles arrived lukewarm. Fiz tsk-tsk'ed and sent it back to be heated thoroughly. We like our soup scalding hot, thank you very much!

Club sandwich - Cheese, chicken, avocado, beef bacon, egg and the usual garnishing. But why oh why the shoestring fries? Shoestrings spell to me skint, ungenerous, emaciated, McDs! I like mine fat and substantial!

Baby spinach and chickpea salad - a very nice filling salad, I picked off all the olives! Ish nicsh with wine

The classically bashful, but bitingly bitchy birthday boy

The sweet-toothed cried in unison at the end of the meal, so away they went. No introductions or elaboration necessary here, so I'll just post these up and siesta...

Pavlova

Tiramisu

Nuff said! :-) Hope it was a happy one Niz!

Meals at Sheraton Langkawi Beach Resort

Having been previously less than impressed with dining options around Langkawi, we didn't hesitate to sign up for the Sheraton Beach Resort package with two meals provided daily, even if it meant we'd be eating hotel food for most of our trip.

While the food wasn't exactly mind-blowing, the breakfast & dinner spreads were extremely generous and when paired with copious amount of duty-free alcohol, there was no other way to go but overindulge.

We dined at Spice Traders the first night, perched above the water offering gorgeous views of dusk and an extremely rich, hearty Indian & Middle-Eastern themed buffet.

Our table for the night, where we gorged on foul madamas (bean dip), eridish chermoula prawn in Moroccan pesto, Machili curry fish, subz kalamirchi (vegetable stew), a very excellent tabbouleh, assorted grilled items including very fresh fish, lamb, chicken, felafels and plenty others. I took pics of our individual plates but decided that they simply do not look good enough to do the buffet justice.

I did get a shot of these delightful ice cream flavours - Spice and Rose Petal.

The Spice flavour (top) was light and refreshing, almost a sorbet, with hints of cinnamon, cardamom and ginger. The Rose Petal was a richer and milkier dessert; the rose petal flavour was interesting, but I found the milk a tad overpowering.

Breakfasts at Feast, the coffee house, were equally lavish affairs and we frequently found ourselves unable to stomach lunch.

Eggs any way you want them! Really enjoyed the fluffy, puffy omelettes!

Fresh loaves of bread

Smoked fish - they alternated between mackerel and tuna. Both equally satisfying with fresh bread and Lurpak butter.

Tabbouleh & Hummus also made an appearance. Didn't think they went down well at breakfast but they WERE good!

Pancakes & waffles hot off the griddle...

...and all the condiments you can think of

The token Jap section... we didn't go near this though.

Action Station #2 fired up the grill for breakfast lamb chops, sausages, beef bacon; also dished up an addictive porridge with condiments galore.


Cakes, pastries, muffins... MEH!

The hot items changed daily - on the day I brought my camera, they had these plum grilled tomatoes

a passable roesti and many other favourites like baked beans, meatballs, fried rice. There were also fixed stations for nasi lemak section with curries and DIY noodle soup.

I think we maxed out on our annual buffet quotas in those 4 days alone. The resort is somewhat dated and certain parts could do with a spruce-up (the pool area in particular) but service was for most parts quick and affable and the meal package stuffed us silly! It's a little out of the way so you'll definitely need to hire transport but makes for a nice change in scenery from the drab Cenang strip.