Food: La Cafe Memoire @ Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI)

So, it's not that rare to find such beautifully and uniquely decorated cafes nowadays, with more and more cafes mushrooming at literally any space available. Then, what makes La Cafe Memoire @ TTDI so special? Well, they have put all their stakes on their yummy, delicious food. This little hideout located upstairs is the brainchild of Brian Liew, the owner who is passionate about his food.

Here, you can get ready to try variations of your favourite dishes as Brian always tries to add a twist to all the items on the menu.

The interior of the shop which is so neat and I liked how they recycle the crates as furnitures. Pretty cute concept.

Some of the selection of cakes and pastries available.

Here are some of the drinks we had that night.

Smoked Duck Salad (RM 9)

This salad was so good, maybe because it came with slices of pan fried smoked duck. Here, they make their signature dressing from apples, garlic and chillies and drizzled with some olive oil as well as Balsamico vinegar.

Creamy Bacon Pasta (RM 14)

This pasta certainly looks like carbonara, however don't be mistaken, it's not. The cream sauce is made fresh and some seasoning of salt, pepper and parsley is added. Bear in mind that no egg yolk goes into this which differentiates it from your traditional carbonara. Their fettucine is the main highlight here though, as they handmade it with all purpose flour, eggs and egg yolks.

Seafood Aglio Olio (Spaghetti- RM 15, Fettucine- RM 18)

Yums! Although this was a bit dry, I think it wasn't that bad especially since their seafood is quite a lot.

Japanese Curry Pasta (Spaghetti- RM 14.50, Fettucine- RM 17.50)

A different twist from your normal Japanese curry. This is a drier version which is not so spicy. And, guess what, they used brandy here instead of red wine as that will produce a fruity taste instead.

Pork Chop (RM 25)

This pork chop is cooked with Mongolian seasoning powder which is pretty close to five spiced powder. Look at the thick, juicy pork chops. They even weigh their pork chops and it is 200-220 g per serving. 

Mussels and Fries (RM 30)

My favourite seafood of all time are mussels so, this was my favourite of the night. The mussels were sauteed in white wine and the sauce is made using brandy, butter, onions, salt, pepper and lemon juice. The mild alcohol taste and sweetness of the sauce definitely went well with the mussels. 

Tiramisu Cake (RM 9)

 Mango Coconut Tart (RM 10)

Nutty Bacon Sundae (RM 11)

This is definitely not your ordinary dessert. I'd never thought that bacon could go so well with ice cream. Well, a lot of effort goes into making this. First the bacon is pan grilled then baked in the oven. The vanilla ice cream and calamansi sorbet really compliments the salty, crispy bacon. This had basically all the tastes you can imagine; salty, sour, sweet. 

La Cafe Memoire

7A, Lorong Rahim Kajai 13,

Taman Tun Dr Ismail.

Phone Number: 03-7731 7574

Food: Interlude @ Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI)

The real meaning behind the term interlude is the period between a few episodes. So, when I got invited for a food review at Interlude, TTDI last weekend, I was curious as to what was in store for me. They are the first International Tapas Bar in Malaysia and for those uninitiated, tapas refers to appetizers or snacks before your main dish.

So, you're probably wondering, is the food enough for a meal? Well, that you've got to read on to find out :) Interlude is founded by Mr Rabin who is absolutely passionate about food and the science that goes into preparing every dish. Together with Chef Loges, they are proud to present to you what they have created and experimented on with various ingredients.

Ambience wise, it is a perfect place to unwind after a busy week or to catch up with friends on a Friday night. There is a bar for you to drink all your sorrows and bad days away too!

Grilled Chicken Breast with Mash & Chicken Jus

This is a must try! The chicken breast was confit (a term which literally means using fat or grease to cook meat). Well, it is a rather unusual way to prepare chicken because they tend to make duck confit more often. However, this tastes amazing and flavorful as they prepared this by wrapping it in foil and using low heat to keep the meat tender & juicy. Before serving, the meat is placed in the oven for that crisp and colour. The mash potatoes which were prepared from heavy cream and butter is sinful but so worth every single exercise you will need to do to burn off those calories.

BBQ Pork Ribs with Guinness BBQ Sauce

The pork ribs are finger lickin' good to the bones. Braised with cinnamon, five spice and pork stock for a hefty 2 hours and drizzled with in house made Guinness BBQ sauce, this dish is sure to be a favourite for those who love pork. So much passion in one dish to provide patrons with a certain type of depth of flavour which will definitely leave them with an unforgettable experience. The serving is rather large so it is recommended to share with friends or family.

Crispy Pork Belly with Kilkenny Glaze

This pork belly was heavenly with the meat so juicy while the skin is crispy and crunchy with every bite. Baked with a salt blanket, where it is then removed and baked once again, the whole process takes approximately 2 hours. The Kilkenny glaze which was light and savoury complimented the pork belly, working well to enhance its flavour.

Pork Burger

Look at the thick patty, definitely worth every single cent you're going to spend on this burger. So, if you're feeling like a carnivore, try this. I love the bacon they added in this as well as the fries which were sprinkled with oregano and paprika :)

Citrus Chicken Salad

This bowl of goodness is refreshing as they added herbs like mint leaves and Italian parsley to enhance the taste. The lemon vinaigrette dressing is a perfect match for this salad and some fried shallots were sprinkled over before serving. Such a pretty sight, almost too good to be eaten!

Carrot Parpadelle (RM 16.00)

You're probably fooled if you think this is pasta. Truth is, its made up of carrots, well long strips of carrots. A vegan dish served with carrot and orange puree, this is probably the most interesting vegetarian dish ever. The carrots are grated and tossed in pan with oregano, cumin, mint leaves and butter for that unique, one of its kind taste that will surely tantalize your tastebuds.

17 hours Slow Cooked Pork Belly (RM 35.00)

This version of pork belly is prepared sous viede (cooked under pressure) or its easier to understand it as the modern version of confit. The pork belly is placed in a vacuum sealed bag and cooked in temperature less than 100°C, so if you imagine it, the pork is having s mini relaxing 'spa' so that its meat is just the right texture. They even have a thermal circulator to ensure that the temperature is set right. I love the gribiche inspired sauce made out of grated egg white, cram, chicken stock, gherkin and taragon herb to give you that rich, green colour.

Nantua Spaghetti with Seafood (RM 30.00)

This was the highlight of the night, pasta tossed in a bisque and tomato based sauce which was creamy yet light at the same time. This is recommended for seafood lovers like myself because you will definitely love the strong fragrant prawn flavour in this.  You can find some mussels and squids in this too!

Red Snapper

Inspired by Thai style, this John Snapper fillet is cooked in a tomyam and miso broth. The idea to use miso is because of its unique 'yumami' which provides full flavour to food yet keeping them savoury at the same time. The fillet is also baked in the oven for approximately 10 minutes before serving with some corn and rice too.

Rainbow Shots

I'm not into alcohol as you guys know but this drink is too cute! The bartender makes this and I'm sure you will be as amazed as I was when you see him pouring and making this rainbow shots.

Interlude

50, Lorong Rahim Kajai 14,

Taman Tun Dr. Ismail 

Kuala Lumpur

Business hours:

Tue - Sun: 4:00 pm - 2:00 am 

Closed on Monday

More details: Click here!

   Promotion:

      Wednesday – Ladies Night (Free Flow Alcohol)

      Friday – Live Band from 9pm to 11pm (every Friday) 

Daily: Fractional CO2 Laser @ Premier Clinic, TTDI (First Part)

It has always been every girl’s dream to have smooth, silky, flawless, pimple-free complexion and I’m no different than those girls. I’ve heard about Premier Clinic in TTDI previously from friends and family, and well, they do have only good comments about this aesthetic centre. Any form of injectables aesthetic procedures such as fillers or Botox could be done here. Lasers or acne treatment can also be performed at this place but bear in mind, they are minimally invasive treatments which differs from plastic surgery. So, I headed over last weekend to see how they could help me to achieve a good, generally flawless face. The staffs were pleasant and were very helpful. I liked the ambience of the clinic because it has this calming and cosy feeling to it.

So, before I get into more details, my skin type is normal (but oily at T-zone area) but I do experience occasional dry skin depending on the humidity and weather these days. Well, my pores are pretty large and I have these annoying blackheads on my nose. No matter how much I exfoliate, they don’t seem to go away. Oh, and my face is always red and it gets worse when I’m hot or sweating. So, basically I have listed my major complains. 

Here’s a ‘before’ picture of me! I know my asymmetrical face is obvious here and by the way, I have no makeup on so, this is my bare face.

I consulted Dr Aarthi and she was the most knowledgeable, friendly and definitely the kindest doctor I’ve ever met. At the beginning, I was a little uncomfortable as I told her my skin concerns but she explained to me everything I needed to know which made the situation less tense for me. She mentioned to me that my problem was common as I had too much oil in my dermis and the redness was due to my blood vessels having lack of fluid and nutrients. To address these problems, she told me it was pretty simple and all I needed was Fractional CO2 laser in a low dose. There will be redness for 4 to 6 hours with the skin feeling hot but it was bearable according to her.  

I was happily listening to the ‘lecture’ .

I was concerned about my asymmetrical face too and I got her opinion on this. I’ve always thought that I could only fix it through jaw reconstructive surgery but now, Dr Aarthi told me that there was an alternative which is pretty simple. All she needed to do was to inject Botox on my left masseter muscle (chewing muscle) to reduce its size and achieve a more balance face symmetry. Botox will act to shrink that muscle and give me a more V-shaped face as well. These days, I noticed my eye bags have increased in size too and they were quite obvious because of the stress I’ve been encountering lately. The best solution to my problem was fillers which will be injected right below my eyes. However, right now, my major concern is my skin condition so I decided to start with the Fractional CO2 laser. I have heard from other bloggers previously and their results were great! According to Dr Aarthi, I will require about 5 sessions every 3 weeks.

Spot my paper! Dr Aarthi explaining to me in detail and even helping by drawing things out so I could comprehend it clearly

That’s all this time, check out my blog post next week on my treatment!