Merienda de Eva

This is Part 1.

Since they opened sometime in August/September, I've been frequenting this place at least every fortnight for their cakes and/or set lunches.

This post has been in my draft for months now, and it's best I get it out of the way this instant!

My first visit was with a colleague in September.

She ordered a slice of Rocky Road Mocha something(RM8.00) for lunch. =)
She enjoyed it a lot. I must admit I can't recall much about it as I was saving space for my lunch.

She ordered a side of macaroni salad for RM5.50. It was pretty good and we both agreed that we'd come back for more of it. =)

Recently, they revised the price to RM6.00 per serving.

I had the set lunch of grilled chicken with two side dishes for RM11.90.

As they were still learning the ropes, most of their customers had to wait a while for their food to arrive. They even got some orders mixed up, which annoyed the starving customers!

I waited for almost 30mins for my food to arrive and man, I was starving.

I'd say that the buttered rice was a bit bland to my liking, so I was thankful that the macaroni salad was good. It has a tinge of sweetness (from relish, i think) and a hint of celery.

~
The following week after my first visit, I paid them another visit for some cake.

I tried the Moist Chocolate Cake (RM8.00) and it was heavenly. Ooooh all these years it has been hard for me to find the right kind of 'moist' chocolate cake in KL!

When I was younger, my mum's friend would always give us a whole Moist Chocolate Cake for Chinese New Year and my sisters and I would just devour it as much as we could, so that mum wouldn't give half the cake away to her colleagues. We didn't want to share!

~
The next time my colleague and I were there, we decided to share a meal.

We opted for chicken lasagna (or beef, I can't remember) for RM12.90 (if it's chicken, it's RM11.90) which came with 2 slices of bread.

We found the pairing strange as there was nothing to complement the bread with, no balsamic vinegar and olive oil on the side. Hence, it was rather dry.

The mashed potato (RM6.00) was the bomb. Awesome!

The entire meal was filling enough for the both of us ladies to share. =)

I ordered the ... uhm ... (crap, i forgot! it's been too long!!) ... it looks like cappucino ... (or was it cafe latte?) which was good enough for me. (I was just reminded that it was Flat White.)

WHY I WOULD GO THERE AGAIN:
1. The variety of cakes changes every now and then.
2. There is NO service charge for takeaway.
3. My favourites: lasagna, macaroni salad, potato salad and mash potato.

~
Other review: Eat Drink KL

Sudu at KL Hilton

So the other sister was in town for work over the weekend and not really knowing where to go, I suggested to try Sudu at KL Hilton. The last time I was there was many years ago *thinks* ... abouve 5-6 years ago.

Google for images of the restaurant because honestly, I was more interested in devouring the food after taking part in the Charity Nature Run.

Except for the ceiling near the entrance of the restaurant. =)

Salmon cocktail, anyone? I don't know what's it called! I just ate it, because my sister took it for me. =)

Ooh, what a lovely scallop!

I just HAD to, y'know? I miss eating fresh scallops!

I zoomed in on the oysters and filled up a plate. This plate was for sharing, - i ate the ones with tabasco sauce.
(But I probably devoured 4, as my sisters wanted to theirs on their own plates. rolls eyes*)

Next up for me was some smoked salmon, smoked duck and scallop again. I remember I didn't quite like the texture of the smoked duck.

I didn't try the smoked chicken, though. They still had loads on display.

What I didn't know was that they didn't replenish the spoons of scallops so my youngest sister was a bit upset when she only managed to have one.

I had 3. =P

Tried the hash browns, a small piece of herb infused lamb loin, cod in tomato something something ... and more oysters!

You can ignore the slices of smoked turkey which tasted like ... hypermarket's own home brand budget products.

We also tried their tomato based pasta and cream based pasta. The tomato based one was bland, so please don't bother! The cream based one was OK, it had mushrooms in it. =)

But then again, both my sister and i were rather clueless. All we did was, "uhhh one tomato based pasta and one cream based pasta. Uhmmm, spirals for cream based and spaghetti for the tomato based one, uhh ... ok." and went back to our table.

I also took a piece of duck wrapped with pancake (?) which i presume was trying to mimic the Crispy Peking Duck Pancake. It wasn't crispy so it was rather forgettable for me.

On to the desserts.

Do NOT try the Chocolate Mudcake as it was dry. The mango pudding thingy was OK.

That chocolate mousse + stuff in a glass was decent. No, the strawberry thingy next to the mango pudding slice was not good.

Nor was the cream caramel.

It's true what the reviews say - the desserts suck bolls to the max.

It looks pretty but doesn't score too high in the taste department.

Overall, I sure hope I ate my money's worth of oysters and smoked salmon and everything else. Sunday's Brunch is RM148++ per pax for non-Hilton members with free flow of juice. If you want free flow of champagne/wine, it will be RM258++ per pax.

Yes, it was very painful on the wallet so I would suggest you go for it's lunch semi-buffet on Mondays to Saturdays for RM99++, RM119++ or RM129++. (Not too sure of this! I just know that I got the raw end of the deal with RM148++ on a Sunday! *phhhbbbtt*)

Christmas is a month away!!

YB and i headed down to town that night to visit a cousin-in-law for dinner. After ten minutes of deliberation, we settled for Celadon Royal Thai Cuisine on the 6th floor.

We ordered the Pad Thai and Thai Pineapple Fried Rice.

Only the lobster's head impressed me in terms of presentation. The noodles were sticky and you couldn't pick up a mouthful with your fork without picking up the entire blob of noodles!

Taste wise, just ok.

The fried rice looked pale and looked unappetising. OK, perhaps the colour was due to pineapple juice or something. Taste wise, I would say that the cashew nuts was its saving grace.

Honeydew and sago for dessert. It was refreshing enough to appease me. =)

After dinner, we headed on to the Rainforest Sports Bar to catch the Asian Games badminton finals between Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei. It was a shame to LCW lose the third game oh so badly!

BUT, I must say that I enjoy watching Lin Dan play as somehow, he just looks so graceful as he moves around the court and his smashes are just powerful! *swoon* Not forgetting his *cough* body ...

Charity Nature Run 2010

Saturday, 20th November.

Joined a supposedly 'easy' run at Desa Park City and i was quite apprehensive about it. I mean, how easy would it be, running with a super duper fab runner?

It turned out that he obliged us with a slower pace of 5.3 km/min which must have been terribly boring for him.

It was, to my relief, easy when we stopped after 40mins. I didn't want to get too tired for the actual run on Sunday!

Yes. To be an elite runner, you should be THAT lean and mean.
It'll probably take me gazillion years to be that light and fast!
We headed to FRIM after breakfast to pick up our bibs for the Charity Nature Run 2010 organised by students of ALC.

We got excited when we saw the banner, as it probably brought us back to university days. Handwritten signs! =))

There were some Elite runners queuing up as well ...
*LOL* i know i'm being mean, but we were curious as to why they were there. Maybe they were waiting for the students to wrap up, or maybe they were hanging around to show some support ... i dunno! =)

Sunday, 21st November. Race Day.
Arrived as early as 755am. Hung around. Warmed up. Met new people. Was informed that the 8km route could be shorter than expected. Ears perked up, ooooh, and mentally adjusted my target pace.

Tweeted some time after the race.

That we won top 3 for 3 categories. =)

girly pic with the girls! =)

I got third place in the Women's Open. Yin yin and her mum got first and third place respectively for the Women's Veteran Open. Well done to the both of them!!
Our prize? A 3-week pass with 1 personal trainer session at Celebrity Fitness.

Dutamas Runners' group pic.

The most important thing for us that day was our group pic. An event like this is not complete without fellow runners and friends who encourage and cajole each other to keep running.
KYK won first place for the Men's Open and the rest of the fellows got their medals, too! It was initially limited to ten medals per category, but a few weeks ago, the organiser announced that it was increased to 40.

our imaginary podium finish. =)

Nope, the winners did not get a chance to get up on stage, nor were their names announced. A strange way to end an event, i must say!
Instead, the organiser's focus was somehow on the Lucky Draw, where its winners received more fortune and fame, literally! =P

We look like a teenage couple at a school event, hehe.

I didn't expect such a nice medal, honestly.
And it was 9km+, not 8km as informed. =P

~
I can't think of any random tips for beginners at the moment, except this: Always be supportive. Never stop telling someone that they "can do it", because they can. It's just a matter of how and how long. =)
Always tell them a job well done after a run. Because that's what others will say to you!*
*And if they don't, well, they're just jealous.

Food and More Food

Yep, clearly with all the food intake despite the exercising, it's no wonder i'm not losing weight fast enough!

Last Tuesday after interval training with some DR guys, I went to KTZ Kepong with the two usual suspects a.k.a bottomless pits (seriously, I so envy them!!) after a simple dinner.

i only had a sea coconut drink. honest.

so I had to refrain from drooling over their desserts of mango and honey dew thingy ...

Then on Wednesday, YB and I decided to try Izakaya Tamako, an unassuming Japanese restaurant tucked away in Plaza Damas.

A definite must for me is sashimi and since YB had been away to a porkless country, he ordered stewed pork and garlic fried rice.

It was ok, and I wasn't 100% satisfied and contented, not too sure why. We left the place smelling of grease. Ugh.

oops! a pic of them preparing my sandwich at Subway's on Thursday.

Friday night was date night. We managed to get a table at DELIcious before our 915pm movie.

I tried the Napolicious, a creamy tomato based spaghetti with bacon bits. I didn't enjoy it as I felt that something was missing, taste wise. Fine, it was BLAND.

YB played safe by ordering the Nasi Kerabu.

Saturday afternoon was spent at the Big Bad Wolf sale at South City Plaza, where we spent RM170 on about 20 books and a few magazines!

Looking at the traffic that evening, we decided to cross the road to SK Food Court for dinner. No way did we wanted to brave the traffic with our soon hungry tummies!

It was a while since we had claypot chicken rice ... and it was yummy!!

You'd think that we were starving runners-to-be with our crazy food intake, eh?

It didn't stop on Saturday. On Sunday, when I finally got out of bed (oh my goodness, my legs were so tired after practising the Malakoff route on Saturday!!), I felt like having dim sum.

We headed to A Little Dim Sum Place in Desa Sri Hartamas for brunch, and stuffed ourselves silly.

chee cheong fun was not bad. the siew mai wasn't great.

sesame balls and sunshine buns.
sesame balls ... i'd always assume it would have lotus paste filling.

but it turned out to be custard/salted egg ... which was a lovely combination with the sesame seeds. =)

i was pretty full by the time the egg tarts came. hmmm...

~~
i'm now craving for some good Char Koay Teow!

The Big Bad Wolf is Back!

From November 12 to November 17.
at South City Plaza.

http://www.bigbadwolfbooks.com/

Dammit!
Not too sure if i should step foot into the area just to take a peek, because i know i'll end up buying "some" books ... and then wonder in dismay where to keep them in my already full bookshelves.

and side tables.
and coffee table.
and tv console.
dining table.
on the floor.
in the loo.



*sigh*

I might just go anyway ...

The Long Run, The Second Time.

7th Nov, Sunday - Pacesetters had its 2nd LSD series where there were 2 water/isotonic drink stations along the route.

Did you notice the influx of runners along Runners' Route that morning? It sure did look like an official event was going on!

To be honest, i was unsure whether we would be able to go for our run as it was drizzling when i drove to Bukit Aman that morning. However, i was surprised by the huge turnout when i reached the carpark. It was almost full!

I stood outside my car in the drizzle, unsure of what to do. I was tempted to drive back home to sleep, fearing that the drizzle would continue on, yet i didn't want to be judged by the runners - although i doubt they'd care if i drove off! (i didn't see anyone i know.)

Azri was there, and he said we gotta do it. Uhmm, okay. He was kind enough to accompany me the first 8km, until the sky was light enough to leave me on my own. I must have slowed him down, since we took about an hour to hit 8km! *shy* He kept insisting it was fine, so thanks anyway, for the company and support, A! =)

Oh, the rain stopped after 5mins into our run.

I saw so many familiar faces (Adam, Jessica, Melvin, Wong ...), and friendly ones, too (they'd wave or give you a huge smile and greet you with an enthuisiastic "Morning!" or "Hi!" so that was great!).

There were also familiar serious ones who didn't really bother grunting a reply to my smile or timid hi. One couple even looked rather murderous! (i hope it was because they were trudging uphill and not because i was blocking their path =D)

Anyway, the stations ran out of isotonic drinks very quickly this time round. Thank goodness i brought along my super small water bottle, anyway.

The final 5km run back got a bit dull for me. My legs felt lazier and my tummy was beginning to rumble.

A lady ran past me but only to stop in front for a drink from her water bottle. As i ran up the slope and towards her, i said, "your drink looks really good!" because i was trying to figure out whether it was ribena or watermelon juice or ... i dunno, something good for one's parched throat?

She just smiled in reply. (I was secretly hoping she would offer me some. hehehe.)

Hang on, i hope she didn't wrongly hear me say, "You look soooo good!"?

*secretly panics*

FINALLY, oh, finally, i stopped at the traffic lights which marks the end of the distance and stopped my watch. i walked back to see Azri at the carpark, and he asked me how did it go.

It was great, to be honest. It was fantastic! =)

Come to think of it, I should have ran another 3km just to see if i'd still feel that way.

I didn't realise it was so late (9am, by the time i checked my watch) and had to rush back to shower and to pick up the two fellas for our BKT appointment.

They ran out of pai kuat!

It was RM57+ for 3 person.
I think i prefer it to Ah Sang's.

~~
Anyway,

Random Runspiration Tips #3 For Beginners:
3. Find a running buddy to share the same motivation or goal. For example, to keep fit or lose weight or sign a 10km run. You will have each other to train together and give each other the support and encouragement needed. As your training progresses, one of you may be better than the other and will run at different pace. It doesn't matter, because at the end of the training or a run, you or your friend will be there to tell each other that you did a great job, anyway!

The Deepavali Weekend.

Friday itself consisted of an early morning trial run of 2 loops along the Malakoff route. We gathered outside 7-11 of Plaza Damansara in the dark (625am). We also had an audience from the first mamak shop and the chinese kopitiam while we waited for everyone to arrive, snapped pictures, stretched and warmed up.

The girls whispered among themselves and giggled,"Eh, warm up 1 round? Does it count to our mileage?", "This is called a warm up? It's like a run proper!", "Tired already how to run!", "Must we really do this striding warm up?", "Do lah, do lah! Just try only!"

It felt like P.E. class all over again, where the girls are reluctant to do certain things. ;)

The route is indeed a tough one, with slopes to conquer without stopping to walk or catch your breath. The first time round was an eye opener as some are unfamiliar with the route and you'd be wary. But come the second round, you will be more prepared for it and know what to expect, so it was easier to pace yourself.

Throughout the run, i was thinking to myself, "OMG, what have i signed up for?? I'm not going to hit my target time, CRAP!!!" *grumble grumble*

Feeling somewhat responsible towards the girls (as i invited them to join the Dutamas Runners for this particular run), i felt obliged to make sure they were ok. Blah. i know i shouldn't have been a 'mother hen' but yah, i couldn't help it, honestly. Hope they didn't feel suffocated by me!

Next time, i'll let them be. hehe.

(I must admit it was hard to play the role of 'Assistant Coach', so i think i shouldn't try anymore ...)

The obligatory group pic after the run. The serious face just cracks me up!!

It was then breakfast at Bestari @ Solaris Dutamas.

Run Verdict: Good workout for the bum and thighs. Woke up on Saturday morning with tired legs. Must definitely do the route again!

Come afternoon, i made my way to Old Town Kopitiam @ Cheras for some board games session. FINALLY! It has been a while and man, i'm still bad at strategising!

I was introduced to You're Bluffing, Agricola and Railways to England & Wales. I also requested a quick game of Puerto Rico for old times' sake. =)

thanks, CK, for all the bad photos of me, haha!

~
Saturday was girly time with Dot & Steph, and my sister.

We met for lunch at 11am at Sushi Zanmai, Gardens to beat the crowd. We ordered loads but couldn't really finish everything up. Had loads of laugh and catching up with everyone. =)

can't really trust waiters with cameras, i'm afraid. it was a rather blur photo of us! but notice how thin my arm looks ... =P

this is good! it was my first time trying it. =)

this looked ridiculously healthy! but thank goodness for the sesame dressing.

the caterpillar roll, salmon sashimi, tempura on rice ...

Thereafter we proceeded to San Terri's for coffee and desserts, which turned out to be an uncomfy open place. hmmm. The slice of Opera was bad, perhaps it wasn't fresh ...

left to right: Opera, Footy & Chantily

my cup of cappucino. =)

Didn't managed to get a lot of shopping done as i had to rush back to pick up my sis to check out the Times bookstore warehouse sale at BSC.

It wasn't great, to be honest. I only managed to pick up Enid Blyton's The Faraway Tree Collection and we then headed to Amcorp Mall instead.

Thereafter, we headed towards BookXcess at Amcorp Mall instead. When we arrived, the first thing my sis said to me was,"WHY didn't i know about this place earlier!!!!"

We spent RM100 for 6 books between us. Oooooooh more books to accumulate my poor bookshelves.

And now i have a pile of books by my beside, all of which i've read a few pages here and there. i can't decide which one i should finish up first!

i was almost done with Imperium until i misplaced it somewhere ... and yeah, The Faraway Tree Collection is just there for show. ;)