Eat: Carnaval Churrascaria

I have discovered this one Brazilian restaurant in Damansara Utama called Carnaval Churrascaria, where you can have an all-you-can-eat meat or veggie-only dinner, when my boss appointed me to organize our team lunch/dinner.

Danny Trejo's job before going to Hollywood as Machete

At first, I was worried if the food is good. Apparently, it is great! My first slice of garlic bread set the bar a notch up. And as each of the meat is served, it goes even higher. All of the meat that I had were delicious and cooked perfectly to my liking, especially that Garlic Beef and Lamb Shoulder. Delicioso!

minted meat

By the way, the restaurant is Halal (though not certified), as they do not serve pork. They only skewer beef, lamb, chicken, and fish. There are prawns at times.

meat twinnie..

The manner that they serve the food is different from what we’re used to in buffets. Here, they bring all the meat to your table, skewered and all heated up. All you’ve got to do is nod or decline, and grab the piece of meat, using the provided tongs, as they are sliced on the spot. I guess this is how buffets work in Brazil, I wouldn’t know…yet… Rio with the BBS! Looking forward to it!

sad me...

Anyways… A buffet table, on the other hand, is still present, having all the veggies and other dishes, which are also notably good. So, you can never go wrong on a RM48++ buffet at this place. By the way, drinks are sold separately.

veggies anyone?

gimme that lamb!

honey-glazed pineapple, FTW!

After being “Full”-ly satisfied the first time, we returned to the “carnaval” for a second gluttonous dinner. This time with: Tonette, Jules, and Doan. Sadly, it was for Jules’ send-off. Nevertheless, good stories and laughs came with the good food, stories that we will just keep amongst ourselves.

satisfied lambs... err... sheeps

And as usual, sumptuous dinner will not be complete without a bottle of wine.

chilling the red

see you down under Jules!

masarap mabuhay!

Welcome 2012!

First of all, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! A blessed and prosperous 2012 to all of us! Cheers!

Happy New Year from Pats and Tots!

All the way from Kuala Lumpur!

It’s the end of another blessed and challenging year, and the start of an unpredictable one. I’ve had ups and downs, challenges and decisions to make. In the end, all is well. Thank God!

I’ve spent the previous New Year’s Eve celebrations with my family, in or out of the country. This time though, I was not able to fly back to the Philippines. It’s rather sad – because I do miss them, but liberating at the same time because I’ve welcomed it differently.

welcoming 2012 at Luna Bar *tsug* *tsug* *tsug* *tsug*

Pats, Doan, and I checked-in at Lanson’s Place at Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur. It’s a few minutes away from the Petronas Towers. Unfortunately, all rooms with the view of the twin towers are all booked. Nevertheless, it’s quite near the city center. So, wherever we go to celebrate, it’s easy to get home.

2012, make us fruitful, and keep us full! :p

We’ve spent the countdown at the Luna Bar – a couple of minutes away from our hotel, where we had a good view of the Petronas Towers and the fireworks. We arrived there at around 11 PM and, as expected, the place was already packed. We initially planned to go to Sky Bar but it was damn expensive.

Here are some photos that I took for the rest of the night:

with Fitim and his wife, a lovely couple from Belgium

Fitim performing his magic act

crowds' ready for the fireworks

Distansya Amigo! Benjamin and Andreas (?.. forgot your names, sorry) from Germany

delayed fireworks!

celebration's not yet over

The morning after, we had our brunch at a nearby cafe called Haven Cafe, where they serve dishes made up of organic ingredients. Their dishes were a bit expensive, but delicious. The Pesto Pasta that I’ve ordered was specially good. Special since it’s a bit different from the usual pesto that I had before.

Hot Cappuccino by RAW Coffee

My delicious Pesto Pasta

now, for a closer look

Mac and Cheese, simply delicious!

a lighter alternative

breakfast on a garden setting, nice...

the cozy garden setting

Again, a Happy and Prosperous New Year to all of us! Cheers!

Eat: Goku Roku Ramen

Yesterday afternoon, Pats and I have decided to drop by MidValley Megamall to kill time and window shop. And, with every mall-strolls come great hunger.

At first, we agreed to eat at Pasta Zanmai – a Japanese Fusion restaurant, which we like because of their Hotate Pizza. However, skimming through their menu, our appetites weren’t teased enough. So, we’ve decided to leave and try this fairly new restaurant called Goku Roku Ramen.

As you may have guessed, it’s another Japanese restaurant. Well, more of a Ramen house, but not on the cheap side. Expensive as it may sound, the serving, I think, is quite generous. If I remember correctly, cheapest bowl of ramen is around RM15++, which is enough to fill a hungry tummy.

And because it is the holidays, they have a good-for-two set menu, comprising of: a bowl of Miso Tonkatsu Ramen, two servings of Kobuta Meshi (beef with rice), 5 pieces of Gyoza, 2 pieces of Pork Skewers, 2 servings of Annin Tofu (almond jelly), a few side dishes (Chuka Iidako, Edamame, Char Siew Pork, some cucumber, and hard-boiled eggs), and 2 bottomless cups of Green Tea. All of these for RM49.90 (RM57.90 plus taxes).

who would not get full from these???

As I’ve said, this set is good for two, and it’s well worth it.

The ramen tastes good, especially during when it’s still hot. By the way, there is an option for a dry ramen (no soup). But we opted for this one since ramen, for us, is not ramen without the soup.

Miso Tonkatsu Ramen, sluuuuurp!

Kobuta Meshi is delicious as well. It’s a stir-fried beef with a sweet sauce of some sort, served on top of hot white rice. It was so good that Pats finished her share. If you’re not aware, she doesn’t normally eat rice for dinner, shares with me if she does. It’s that good. :p

Kobuta Meshi, delightful!

Their Gyoza is also satisfying. It’s saltiness is just enough and won’t make you go: bleeekk!

Gyoza, appetizing-ly good

Another dish worth mentioning is their Pork Skewers. It tastes just like how it does back in Japan, when Pats and I tried it on a local pub at Ueno. Makes me want to order Asahi..

Pork Skewer, close to authentic!

But! The most notable of them all: the Annin Tofu, more known as Almond Jelly. It may sound as if it’s just an almond jelly in Nihonggo. But alas! Our already full tummies made room, by itself, for it! That rich, well-balanced cream and almond taste that melts in your mouth… Ahhhh!!! I love it!

Annin Tofu (Almond Jelly) - the best almond jelly i have had, so far

Summing up all of these dishes, when ordered individually, will really be quite expensive. But of course, the servings will be more compared to what we had for this set. Nonetheless, I can say, the cost was well-worth it!

Octopus..it.. One of the good side-dishes.

the satisfied customer

20.11.2011

When everyone was making a fuss about 11.11.11, I was patiently waiting for my own digits to come – 20.11.2011. Nothing really special though. These are just plain numbers. But then again, I was hoping for a better day, since 11.11.11 gave me high-fever.

You may not know yet why I was looking forward to it. But basically, it’s my birthday. And with all sincerity and appreciation, I would say that it’s the best I had, so far.

Note: More videos and photos to come. Need time to edit the videos… :p

Halloween Party at Souled Out

It’s my birthday month once again. Yey! But before that, the usual spooky and eeky mood is back in view of the Catholics’ All-Saint’s / Soul’s Day.

Papi Jack O' Lantern :p