A Chocolatey-Rich Finale & A Delicious Beginning .... (Theobroma Chocolate Lounge & Delicious)

My last meal (more like desserts ....) for 2008 and my (un)officially first meal to appease that sweet tooth for 2009 (sans that lacklustre TENJI experience!) ....

THEOBROMA CHOCOLATE LOUNGE @ PAVILION

Food of the GODS?!!! Wow .... I worship thee, oh chocolatey goddess!!!

Dark Chocolate Frappe (or something along the line ...) RM12.90

Chocolate Souffle de Paris (RM14.90)

Theobroma Chocolate Lounge has been on the blogosphere since last year, when the pioneer outlet opened in 1Utama. Since then they've opened another outlet in Pavilion, and has been gaining steam. Sort of.

The strawberries drizzled with luscious, milky and thick chocolate sauce

Of course, with a name like Theobroma CHOCOLATE Lounge, it doesn't take a genius to figure out what type of food they serve. Mostly desserts, with some savoury options, if you're not a fan of the cocoa, or something sweet, stay away.

The souffle was a disappointment. I was expecting the soft, crumbly type of souffle, but instead the chocolate souffle resembled a chocolate muffin at most. Yup, a little dry, though the dark chocolate was sweeter than I'd imagined. Fortunately, the chocolate sauce drizzled onto the strawberries was luscious, though left us hanging; Chocolate cravings un-satiated.

Thankfully, the Dark Chocolate Frappe saved the day. With a tinge of bitterness amidst the sweet concoction, with just enough whipped cream to not overwhelm the flavour, the beverage was rather filling. Had it been a tad thicker, with extra chocolatey-oomph, it'd be a perfect chocolate drink.

Fast Forward 2 days .... into 2009 !!!!

DELICIOUS CAFE @ 1UTAMA

Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream


Blueberry and Apple Crumble

Where else for satisfying desserts, and a chatter under the shining spotlights, than at Delicious? The sinful chocolate cake still had me singing praises (click HERE for the virginal experience), and this time around, the sweetness was slightly toned down (thank goodness!), but still managed to evoke that sense of guilt+satisfaction, the instant the warm chocolate cake paired with the cold, creamy vanilla ice-cream entered your mouth.

Since most items on the menu were not available that evening, we had to rely on the waitress' recommendation for a blueberry and apple crumble. Still prefer the peach and apple version, as the tartness of the blueberries, contrasting to the sweet vanilla ice-cream, and the warm crumbles may not bode well with some.

Here's to a DELICIOUS 2009 !!! =)

Location : Theobroma Chocolate Lounge @ Lot C4.05.02, Level 4, Pavilion KL. Tel No : 603-2143 4149.

Location : Delicious Cafe @ Lot G316, Ground Floor,1 Utama Phase 2 (New Wing), Bandar Utama. Tel : 603-77241086

I Ain't Craving Much ... (Oriental Cravings @ One Utama)

Sometimes searching for a good restaurant in a shopping centre can be tedious. Cheap food does NOT equal good food on most instances. And yet, a pricier option does NOT translate to great food. You get my drift? .... Oh well.

Oriental Cravings @ 1 Utama Shopping Centre

Situated next to Jarrod & Rawlins, THE supposedly one of the maestro of everything porky, Oriental Cravings has her own following, usually crowded during dinner hours, enticing passer-bys for a visit. All this while I've flicked off this particular outlet, keeping in mind another run-of-the-mill, mediocre Kopitiam wannabe. Yet what I failed to notice was that Oriental Cravings serve mostly Chinese cuisine.

The place was brightly lit, exuding a clean and yet rustic charm, reminiscing of traditional Chinese restaurants of yesteryears

You can either sit inside, soothed by the comforting air-cond and minus the smoke and hot air if you choose to dine al fresco. Unless you want to smoke, I don't see a reason for picking the latter option. The fans btw, are merely decorative.

Starting with a hot (or rather, warm) cup of coffee, the beverage was passable, roasted well without the hint of burnt beans, and glided down the throat perfectly. The other glass contained apple & aloe vera juice, courtesy of Fruitree can drinks. Need I say more?

8 Treasure Fried Rice ( RM11.90)

Ahem. From the menu for individual servings, the options looked and sounded tempting. From Bah Kut Teh meal for one (RM15.90) to Sweet & Sour Pork Rice (RM12.90), and various noodles being served. I picked the 8 Treasure Fried Rice, for the sheer number of ingredients thrown in sounded too good to be true. Chinese sausage, roast pork, BBQ pork, prawn, chinese mushroom, peas, carrot, corn, and topped with omelette. Wow .... I was expecting a gargantuan serving of a juggernaut of a fried rice.

But take a look at my serving of fried rice above, and you'll understand my exact emotion that moment. Mouth wide open, with a gaping hole and empty brains. =O

Nobody said anything about extra-finely chopped ingredients, and 2/3 measly shrimps?! Though credits must be given to the nicely fried rice, fluffy and not sticky, yet with mild 'wok hei' but paying RM12 for a plate of fried rice seems ..... absurd.

The sambal belacan which saved my plate of fried rice

Roast Pork Curry Laksa (RM13.90)

Fortunately, redemption arrived in the form of a gigantic bowl of curry laksa, brimming with roast pork, pork meatballs, tauhu puff, long beans and brinjal. And typical Nyonya laksa, with lots of coconut milk (santan, to you and me) in the curry. I completely forgot what noodles they gave though. But the portion was so huge, my dining companion was having trouble finishing the portion. I dumped my plate of 8 Treasure (ahem) Fried Rice and digged in, gladly.

Had the gravy been less oily, the bowl of laksa would've scored higher marks in my book. After a few scoopfuls of the curry, I've to surrender, picking on the ingredients instead. A little too much,at one sitting. But still heaven and earth compared to the fried rice.

The next table's order of Sweet and Sour Pork was soooo drool-licious! I was stopping myself from crossing over and picked a piece. But a serving at nearly RM20, I think.

Location : ORIENTAL CRAVINGS @ G359, Phase 2, One Utama. Tel : 03-7727 2581.

Pick & Brew @ 1Utama

I'm now alternating between the backlog stash of KL posts, and Ipoh ones. Slowly but surely, I'm losing my memory of not only the taste of the food I've eaten, the price, and general dining experience, but also the passion to blog about everything I've stuffed myself with.

Hmm ... But it could my inner self doing the thinking, as coughing my lungs out for the past week might have some minor (or major) effect on my intellectually challenged-brain.

Notice the number of youngsters Jackson attracted? hehe ...

Anyway, this mini lunch was right after the Char Siew Pig-out Session at Famous Seremban Favourites. Yeah, good ol' wmw dropped me at 1Utama, (TQ!!!) and all I could think of was Pick & Brew. Yeah, no shopping, no walking, no sight-seeing, but only food on my mind.

The April Promo Set B (RM10)

The place was pretty tricky to locate, as it is above Soho, at the One World hotel side, therefore most shoppers may not notice this newly opened outlet. Luckily there was a signboard (not sure if it's permanent though) somewhere outside of Jusco's supermarket, else I would've walked all over before succumbing to fatigue and stuffed myself with something else. =P

During the whole month of April 2008 (which was aeons ago, sorry this could not come at a timely manner), they were serving chef's special introductory sets, at ONLY RM10 per set, where you can sample THREE items, and there were 2 sets to pick from.

Symphony (Colombia + Indonesia) RM10

Of course, Pick & Brew's main selling point IS their coffee after all, hence the name, therefore I asked for recommendation. They divide their coffee brew selection to 3 main categories, Vibrant - mild coffee, Inspirational - stronger coffee, and Passionate -strongest. Rule of the thumb for those uninitiated, like me, is to choose accordingly to meals of the day, breakfast paired with the mildest (or strongest? haha ...see? my brain overworked, again), lunch with Inspirational, and dinner with Passionate. I seek assistance when ordering, and the kind lady suggested Symphony for its buttery aroma.

The coffee came in their trademark Moka Pot (refer picture above) and one pot can brew 2+ cups. Not too strong, but not too mild, the coffee was very aromatic, and reminded me of strong black coffee, without the milk. Should've ordered something from Passionate range, to appease the coffee beast in me. :)

Roasted Lamb Rack with Onion Marmalade

The lamb was nicely roasted, but slightly chewy, and cutting them on the small plate was a chore, as I kept risking flinging the piece to the adjacent table. =P The onion marmalade was sour, and sweet, perfectly complementing the piece of lamb.

Oven Baked Potato Skin

This was a tad too dry, though I like the potato skin, but the topping of tuna & cheese (? .. sorry forgot jot down, hehe) was not moist enough. Or could be I was too busy snapping away, amidst the heavily air-conditioned seating area.

Salmon on Spinach

The salmon on spinach was the best among the three in my opinion, a generous dollop of creamy butter on top kept the flesh moist, and the salmon was sweet.

Jackson came out and said Hi, as earlier I enquired on his whereabout(yeah nosy me). He was clearly expecting a familiar face, but was shocked to find a stranger dining on his own, claiming to know him. Only when I introduced myself, or rather my blog, and mentioned Jason, wmw, teckiee etc etc did he loosen up. Nice to know you! ;)

Location : F233, First Floor Promenade, 1 Utama Shopping Centre. Specifically, it is located right above Soho, which you can see from the highway (LDP, right?). It is at the One World Hotel part. Same floor with Seoul Garden as well.

Those who HAVE picked, and brewed : Jason, Simon, KampungboyCitygal, Ai Wei & a whole lot more ...

Delicious by Ms. Read @ 1Utama, KL

After the meal at Italiannie's, we walked a few rounds, before my sweet tooth started aching (no, not aching cz of the dessert, but rather, aching for attention ... haha). We reached Bakerzin, but as much as I would like to step in and try their desserts, they seemed a bit too petite la. One gobble and all gone. Hehe ... 'Hey, what's that a few doors away?' Haha, The 1st time i came for desserts, this shop did not disappoint. Erm, the food didn't, but the service surely did.

So, we stepped in, could not get the sofas this time, (aiya, old already, back aching ma) so were seated somewhere at a corner. Realized the lighting was cool, spotlight effect, but BAD for photography. Plus, I use my camera phone only, cz no $$$ to buy camera. Oh whatever ... these pics will have to make do. No need to browse the menu, straight go last page, haha. Actually, made up my mind on what to order, as the previous time we had the Pavlova and Crumble (blog next time la =P), and did not get to satisfy our lust for chocolate. Pavlova was chocolate alright, with chocolate shavings, but it was different. So, guess what i ordered? Haha .. a no-brainer for sure ...

Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream

Wow, look at THAT! Lots of chocolate sauce, and warm chocolate cake underneath the cold vanilla ice cream! All melting away .... aaahhh .... my heart as well. Hehe. Might be a little bit too sweet for some, plus the ice cream was quite cold, sure to tingle the nerves of your tooth. =P But reli reli sinfully rich, and perfect for those sweet cravings. At RM11.90, consider a worthy contender of favourite dessert joint!

Italiannie's @ 1Utama, KL

Searching high and low for some good grubs, we could not decide on which outlet to choose. I wanted Delicious by Ms Read, as I've read pretty rave reviews of their main dishes aside from their desserts. But as we were passing by Italiannie's, we could not help ourselves from entering this cozy, well-decorated, Italian food joint. The first time we tried Italiannie's was at The Curve. It was a sumptuous dinner, leaving no space for desserts. I vowed to try their creme brulee or tiramisu someday. And guess what? The day has come... :)

Olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper

Fresh bread (white & grain variety) served with olive oil and balsamic vinegar

The outlet was half empty (or half filled, depends on how you look at it), as it was not even lunch hour yet. As usual, they serve the appetizer of fresh bread, and to savour this, we are recommended to dip them, slightly, not sogging the whole thing, into olive oil mixed with some balsamic vinegar. Yummy! The bread here is WAY better than the one at The Curve, possible cz we arrived early, and the freshness really was obvious. Soft, fragrant bread ... Oh... I absolutely dig these! Hehe ...

Pepperoni Pizza

After browsing the menu for years, we finally decided to order only one main dish, and one dessert, as we would like to save some space for further culinary adventure. Anyway, the food here is meant to be shared, hence their tagline, "So Much, So Good, So Share". We learnt this the HARD way at The Curve, ordering 4 dishes for 4 pax, and could not bring ourselves to order desserts then. As I've tried their salad, and pasta, I thought 'Let's give their pizzas a try!' They have a variety of pizzas, but the recommended choice (in the menu) is Beef Pepperoni Pizza (RM30.90). Well, pepperoni and cheese can't go wrong. And it was true. Served on a plate, rather than a pan, it resembles the true nature of REAL Italian pizza, thin, light, and fluffy, and unlike the fast food joint version which contains more flour than fillings.

Yummy, yummy cheesy pizza

The pepperoni, though a bit salty, is absolutely delicious. Brimming with flavours, matched with the generous amount of mozzarella cheese, and onions, this pizza definitely got the thumbs up from us! Great for beef lovers. Quite filling as well, but we were thankful we did not order another main dish. This way, there is enough vacuum in our little (hehe) stomachs for .....

Creme Brulee

DESSERTS!! Or rather, dessert, as we were not sure how large the portion is, so we skipped the tiramisu for the time being. But heard that it's REAL good. The creme brulee (RM10.90) arrived in a bowl, big enough to be shared among 2 pax. The layer of caramelized sugar is not thick, which is good, and lent a crisp, sweetish zing to the egg custard underneath. The egg was SMOOTH, and very very milky/eggy/nice. Compared to the version i tried at Italia Mia (an Italian restaurant in Ipoh, which i may blog in the future), which was rather disappointing with the sugar layer burnt, and bitter-ish taste.

All in all, another satisfying outing at Italiannie's. If i manage to finish my blog for this 2nd Food Tour, might blog bout the 1st experience at The Curve. Hehe, funny doing things in reverse, huh?