I had the good fortune to attend a Foodbuzz Featured Publishers dinner at Spice Market “recently” (October 18, if you must know! – I’m catching up!).  Stacy graciously put together the event, and I had a wonderful time sampling everything that was proffered.

When we sat down, a menu was at each of our place settings.  I was surprised when we weren’t asked what we wanted, but instead brought each dish for the tables to share (multiple servings for our large group), which was a great way to try everything on the above menu.  Nice!  I also made it a point not to sit next to my usual partner-in-eating, StB (click for her thoughts of the night), so I could properly mingle and make new friends.  I wound up sitting next to Nichelle of Cupcakes Take the Cake (whom I’ve met a few times and is lovely!), Shoshi of Kosher Soul Food, Ewen from Comestiblog, and Adriana from What I Made for Dinner, and we had lovely if meandering conversations about all sorts of topics, including all the big no-no’s like politics and religion! 

Before I get to the food and my thoughts (I lost my notes – this is what I get for scrawling it on my copy of the menu, which I now cannot find, doh!), here’s a list of who went and what they wrote about the event:

Stacey, our lovely hostess
StB, my buddy
Ewen
Christo
Adriana
(Did I miss anyone?  Please speak up if I did, I’ll add your link here!) 

It was great hanging out and talking about food!

They started us off with pappadums and a spicy tomato-chutney.  I couldn’t eat too much of the spicy sauce, but the cracked pepper crisps were lovely.

We were told that included in our set menus was a cocktail a piece; while the menu had a number of delicious sounding mixtures, I was unfortunately feeling a bit under the weather and decided to avoid most alcohol (I admit to having a glass of wine later!) and instead ordered this non-alcoholic concoction: cherry yuzu lemonade.  And oh my gosh, this was really quite fantastic; I tried to make StB try a sip but thankfully she remembered that I was feeling a bit sick so she declined.  But my stars it was GOOD.  I had to remember to pace myself!

The first appetizer to arrive: the chili rubbed beef skewers.  I have had a lot of beef skewers in my lifetime.  I like beef and I like satay; the chewiness of the beef with the usual peanut sauce… yum!  But these – these were a whole other level.  I mean, I put one in my mouth and immediately I was blown away by how tender and soft these were – similar to kofte, the Turkish meatballs I often talk about because they were so soft and unlike most skewered and grilled meat.  I mean, wow!  The cilantro (I think) dipping sauce was a nice complement as well - I uhhh, wound up having 3 of these skewers.  (In my defense: we had a lot of extra food because a LOT of RUDE (no advance notice that they were bailing!) people didn’t show up, and it was offered to me.  I made sure no one else wanted the last one! 

Hey, this was already looking promising, although I was trying to curb my enthusiasm at this point lest I bias the rest of the meal (in a bad way: first dish so good, and everything else a big let down).

Next came the shrimp tod mon pla, served with what tasted suspiciously like “fish sauce” from Vietnamese cuisine.  A few fellow foodies commented that these tasted salty; I tend to like salty or savory items, so they tasted okay to me.  Aside from that, if memory serves, I thought the dish was alright, but not mind blowing.  Of course, a bit later, thinking back on this meal, I likened it to the fish cakes at Sripraphai, and of course, they couldn’t hold a candle.  Overseasoned, too much going on in each little cake, when really, the star of the dish should have been the shrimp – let the freshness and sweetness of the shrimp shine through!  Pass!

Spiced chicken samosas - I know quite a few of the other food bloggers loved this dish, but I was very much lukewarm on it.  There wasn’t anything special or unique about it, and while the flavor popped, I just didn’t find it intriguing.  It was very… ordinary.  (I’ll refrain from using the ‘p’ word for this dish.)

Mango salad, cherry tomatoes and crystallized tamarind – not very memorable.  I know I tried to eat some of this but found the plate being whisked away time and time again, so I imagine it was really quite lovely   I’m sure it didn’t hurt that this was our only non-meat based appetizer, and while I’m a meat-fiend and will take it in any form – in fact, I rarely can have an entirely vegetarian meal without feeling a bit off – I find that a lot of fellow foodies are borderline vegetarians, eating meat in less-than-moderation.  Oops, one more way that I’m so not a “real foodie” teehee. 

Pork satay with pickled vegetables - I somehow missed out on the vegetables, which I heard were delicious, and I don’t really remember much about the satay itself, which means it probably wasn’t anything special either. 

Cod with Malaysian Chili Sauce, Thai Basil – this dish was a lesson in being nice/eating with others/why my family says I’m too meek.  (Hehe, me!  MEEK?!)  We passed the dish around and I believe I was second to take; I took a small piece, thinking if I liked it, I’d take another piece.  Except the last person to take decided to take the rest of it, seeing that everyone had taken some.  I don’t blame the person who did it – it’s my fault for not taking a bigger piece – but it wasn’t a big deal, as once again, I didn’t find this dish to be particularly special.  It was very typical of many fish dishes found in Asian fusion restaurants – tasty but nothing exciting or new.

Char grilled chicken, kumquat lemongrass dressing – I do, however, remember this dish very well.  The first thing I tasted when I put a piece in my mouth was carcinogens.  I like grilled foods as much as the next person, but the outside of my piece was a bit overwhelmingly charred.  Otherwise, everything wasn’t bad – the dressing was pleasant to dip my chicken in, and the meat was tender and succulent.  Just ease up on the charring there, kk? 

Red curried duck – now, obviously, the name clearly tells you that it’s based on a Thai dish, red curry.  Of course, I dipped in anyway, and immediately two things put me off: it was too spicy for me (yes, I’m a wimp!), and it was clearly made with coconut.  No coconut for this allergic girl, so I quickly stopped eating that dish.  Everyone else seemed to like it, though.

Snap peas with waterchestnuts and Shiitake mushrooms – how can you mess this dish up?  You can’t.  Yum, but I wish the portion had been larger.  I would have eaten a lot more – I love snap peas.

Chili-garlic egg noodles, seared shrimp and star anise - I had some of this and found it really yummy, but then I had another small scoop and my mouth lit on fire.  I don’t know what it was; maybe I got a bit too much chili in that 2nd scoop?  I don’t know!  But I had to stop eating.  Before the fire was lit, though, I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Ovaltine kulfi, caramelized banana and spiced milk chocolate sauce - this dessert was shunned by my sharing partner, who deemed it too rich or too sweet.  I really loved the banana, and mixed with a bit of the ovaltine kulfi was really good.  The textures were nicely played on each other as well; though I can’t imagine eating the whole thing (I ate between 1/4 to 1/3 of it myself), I could see splitting this with a few girlfriends and having a grand time doing it.

We also received “assorted cookies” in individual bags, which led to some confusion, as we received enough for everyone at the table but one.  Yes, I was the one left out (MEEK!) but Ewen kindly requested another for me.  The waiter said “Oh, those are just for sharing,” but then told us he’d go get us another bag anyway.  Which he did, squee!  When I got around to eating these cookies, the first two were awesome – dense, chewy, delicious, one oatmeal raisin and one chocolate chip.  The third cookie, which had the same texture make up - dense, chewy, perfect – was unfortunately a crystallized ginger cookie.  I detest ginger and found this one to be overwhelmingly ginger-y, with little bits of ginger getting stuck between my teeth, and the spicy flavor coating my mouth and throat.  BAHHH.  But the first two were delicious, and I suspect if you like ginger, you’d like the spicy cookie as well. 

Yvo says: Overall, it was a wonderful event, organized and attended by lovely people.  I had a fantastic time, eating and drinking to our hearts’ content, and everything was lovely.  While I can’t truly attest to the restaurant overall since this was an event hosted by Foodbuzz (ie, paid for by them as well), I can tell you that our service was impeccable – we were constantly swarmed by so many waiters, I lost count after a while – and they were nothing but courteous and helpful, describing each dish as it came and bringing us drinks as we needed.  Awesome.  I could see going back but mostly for drinks and appetizers – definitely not for entrees as nothing was really standout for me, and I’d prefer to have a wide array of stuff versus one or two mediocre dishes!
recommended for drinks and appetizers

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Post tags: Chelsea, Chinese

Since my first time at Bali Nusa Indah back in July, I’ve been back two more times, both times introducing the cuisine to two other people who’d never had it.  These are the pictures of the food, with brief descriptions and yay or nay. 

Second time:

crispy wings // nan canai

salad with peanut dressing // traditional indonesian soup

$13.95 nasi rames platters… exact details can be found here on menupages

Since this was still only my 2nd time, I suggested to my friend we either order the $17.95 platter I’d gotten last time, or these other special platters.  We opted for these and were pleased with all of the food, although my friend, being allergic to seafood, had a hard time with some of the items that included seafood.  (I don’t recall why we would order that if we knew it was in the dish.  That strikes me as odd.)  I really enjoyed the curry and the satay (skewers).  We also opted for two appetizers, being piggy (this was back in August but as it’s the same person I went to Soba-ya with, I have to point out I’m coming to the conclusion he’s a piggy and encourages me to be one, too!), the crispy wings which were really crispy and not too oily, with a great, slightly spicy dipping sauce.  We also got the nan/roti canai, which we were familiar with from our Malaysian eating days, though this was much more nan-like in that the bread was super thick, which wasn’t my preference, though the curry they provide to dip it in was very good. 

Third time:

crispy wings again // beef satay // chicken curry

Finally feeling comfortable enough to order straight from the menu, though it was my b.’s first time with Indonesian, I chose to order our entire meal.  We shared the crispy wings, which I knew he’d enjoy, and they came out piping hot and just as crispy as the last time, so yummy.  The beef satay was super soft, with just the right amount of sauces and a yummy salad portion with the vinegary sauce I so love. 

The curry, as you can see from my first review, was deliciously mellow and tasty.  My b. really enjoyed it, which let me tell you, he’s pretty picky and I wasn’t sure how curry would go over with him.  One thing I didn’t like was the lack of any vegetables whatsoever in the curry.  It was all chicken.  The chicken was good, although the larger pieces of white meat (white meat? I was also a little disappointed that it was all white meat) tended on the drier side.  Still yum though, we easily finished that.  Next time I know better: one curry dish between us two isn’t enough, so perhaps next time I will opt for one chicken curry and one vegetable curry, so that I can mix and get my fill of veggies. 

Yvo says: Seriously, if you haven’t gone here yet, what are you waiting for?  Yes, it’s a bit more expensive than certain other Asian cuisines (namely Chinese and Vietnamese), but it’s not expensive, and it’s truly yummy and worth it.  Your belly will leave happy, full, and happy- what more could you ask for?!

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2006. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cheap Eats

New to Indonesian food, I was happy to discover the last page of the menu had a special: for $17.50, you could get an appetizer (salad or an Indonesian broth), a bunch of small servings of main courses (vegetable curry; fragrant beef tenderloin; grilled eggplant; and chicken satay) and a bowl of jasmine rice, dessert (many layer cinnamon something cake with ice cream), and your choice of beer, wine, or a soda. This would prove an inexpensive means to getting acquainted with the flavorings of Indonesia, without randomly pointing to new dishes that may or may not be good.
The chicken broth was extremely sweet and cleansing of the palate. I was definitely happy with it. As for the main courses, as I’m not a fan of spicy foods, the eggplant was just a shade too spicy for my taste- and I’m not a huge fan of eggplant anyway- but the beef tenderloin was wonderfully soft and flavorful (with a bit of a kick but not enough to scare me away). The chicken satay was alright, but I’m not a huge fan of chicken satay either, much preferring beef, but it wasn’t awful either.
But the real star of the meal was the vegetable curry. Very creamy and coconutty, this went deliciously with the rice, and was plentiful with the vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots). It had the slightest touch of spiciness, and really was delightful on the tongue. We all agreed that our introduction to Indonesian food was complete, and that we would all be ordering the curry next time for a full helping of the dish.
The dessert was interesting, though, as I was beginning to realize, I’m not a huge fan of many of the flavorings from Indonesia, as it was cinnamon laced. It was moist and nicely presented, but just not my cup of tea.
Yvo says: Definitely go here if you like trying new things. It was authentic (according to the one girl who’d had Indonesian previously- in Indonesia) and inexpensive. The dishes looked to be around the $10-15 range. Although technically our choice of the special pushed our total paid to about $22 each, it really should be in the category “Cheap Eats”, so I put it there.

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Post tags: Cheap Eats