The Apartment

It has been a long couple of days with the exams and after work this afternoon , I had to run some errands for Anita, preparing for Idlan’s birthday party next weekend. We headed initially to Damansara Perdana, to a newly renovated shopping complex called Perdana Shopping Centre - previously called the Tropics. We wanted to order the birthday cake, but unfortunately the shop was closed. Mama Min - the owner - was out for a couple of hours and we just missed her, which was a shame.

Next stop, the Curve for some afternoon tea and more shopping. I actually missed lunch and was therefore rather hungry. A few weeks ago, we wanted to try the Apartment restaurant there, but Idlan wanted to go to Marche instead. Since it was just me and Puan Anita this time, we thought why not.

The Apartment was best described as cozy. It was nearly empty when we arrived. We took our seat on the back room, on a sofa. There were three other tables taken up in the restaurant at the time, so we got our privacy and was attended by a Pilipino gentleman as our waiter. The menu was more extensive than I thought, and items containing alcohol were clearly marked. Therefore, the famous mussels they served there was out of the question.

I ordered three items - buffalo mozzarella salad as starter, seared salmon for main and for drinks, I ordered the tangerine cooler. Anita ordered prawn skewer from the tapas menu, shepherd’s pie and tea. The prawn skewer was really nice. We ordered a small tapas portion, and got ourselves only 4 succulently-baked tiger prawn, in a pineapple, peppery, nutty sauce, with hints of oregano. Difficult for me to describe the exact ingredients, but definitely something we will order again in the future. I was quite disappointed with my salad. The portion of cheese was small compared to the potatoes and shallot which made up the rest of the serving. The cheese was also too mild to contrast with the sour taste of the tomatoes, and the dressing did not do much to add to the flavour. I ended up leaving most of the tomatoes, and munch on Anita’s prawns instead.

My buffalo mozzarella salad Anita's prawnThe seared salmonThe seared salmon however saved the day. It was served with baby potatoes and puree sauce. Simple but nice. The salmon was very well poached, although I wished that the portion was bigger. Anita’s shepherd’s pie was not much to write about I was afraid. It was baked well, but was too dry in the end. I definitely prefer the chicken pie from Smokehouse over this.

My tangerine coolerI must say that the specialty of the Apartment was definitely the drinks. My tangerine cooler was definitely ……. cooling. It was lemonade with a hint of citrus, topped up with mint. Definitely will order that again should I drop by here in the future. Hit the spot in the hot sun. Shame that they don’t to drinks to take out …..

Will I come here again? Definitely with friends for a chat, but not for serious dining. I doubt that my parents would have appreciated the food. It was certainly more fusion than traditional - my parents were a bit more conservative when it comes to food. Cost? Medium, comparable to Marche and the likes. In short - grab a nice corner sofa, order the cooler and some tapas, and sit back. Didn’t check if they do free wifi here but I did see a few of the customers opening their laptops. For those on the rush, there was also an express lunch menu - very reasonably priced, but I was not sure if that was a regular fixture.

Lot 72, 73 & 74, 152, Ground and First Floor (next to TGI Fridays), Western Courtyard, The Curve Shopping Centre, Mutiara Damansara. Check out their neat website here.

Closed for the Weekend

I think Puan Anita got my virus from the other week. She has been having fever since Wednesday, which only subsided after she sneaked out for some antibiotics yesterday. She would not dare tell me since me being a doctor and she knows my feeling about antibiotics. This being a virus, antibiotics was a definite no-no! She felt better after the dose yesterday, but still having aches in her body, and so was Irfan.

A quick car rideFeeling better, she needed to pick some order up that she made some time ago from The Curve, so we went out there with Idlan for lunch. Idlan wanted to go to Marche, and without Irfan, he was really happy with all the attention. Today being Labour Day, the crowd was heavier than usual, but since we got there before noon, parking was easy. Idlan wanted to go straight for lunch. I had my usual well-done rib-eye steak, but unfortunately it was done too well. It was dry and almost black ….. Better remember not to ask it to left on the grill for too long!

My very well done steakAfter lunch was done, quick shop, then back home as Irfan did not want to eat. We ordered Domino’s for delivery when we got home for him, and some toys. I think we need to stay n this weekend, which was a shame since I was free for the couple of days and the weather was gorgeous. I will be at work next Sunday, and was working last Saturday. I might sneak out to check on the KL Design Week tomorrow, as a few of my KLickrs friends were involved in the exhibition over at CapSquare. Then it will be a nail-biter of an evening with Liverpool playing Chelski, followed by United at Sunderland. It the results did not go our way tomorrow, Chelski would be crowned Champions. Let’s hope not eh!

Garden @ The Curve

It was a barmy Sunday afternoon. I had to review a patient in the ward this morning, and by the time I got home, the boys were already settled in for their homework and was having lunch. Puan Anita asked if I can take her to The Curve. She was eyeing some dress last weekend and wanted to sneak out and buy it. Of course I said fine, so off we went.

The welcoming sign to the Sunday MarketThe stalls from the second floor of The Curve. Too warm for my liking!Waiting for Puan Anita to finish her shoppingBreakdance anyone?

Due to the heat, there were not that many punters doing the shopping. So at least navigating was simple. Even the vendors were finding it hard to cope choosing nearby shades rather than incubating in their tiny little stalls. While Puan Anita was doing her shopping, I went to browse around the shops in The Curve. There was a breakdance show at the main foyer courtesy of one of the local gym. Too 80s for me those dances. So I went over to IKANO. Nothing much going around either. But for Anita, she was having a blast. She did more shopping indoors after she was done with the market. At the end, to cool things off, we decided to try a new restaurant at the Curve, right at the end of the row towards cinemas, called the Gardens. We only noticed it a few week back and reckoned they must be new in town.

The menuThe elaborate ceiling decorations It was basically themed after the English Garden and the menu was pretty much fusion. Since we were still full, we decided to have snacks instead. I ordered Caesar Salads and iced coffee, while Anita had some sandwiches. To finish things off we ordered mango sorbet.

Our table - number 12 - Check please!Hail Caesar!The ambiance was really neat with pretty lightings and elaborate ceiling decorations, as you can see from the pictures. No, they were not live plants, although I wished they were. The restaurant was quite busy when we took our table, but the order zoomed in really fast. From what I can see, the chef during the shift was a tubby Malay guy who spoke in Perak dialect, which got Anita interested. The caesar was fresh with delightful dressing, although they overdid it a bit on the crouton and mozzarella side. Not much complaints really. Anita’s sandwich was really rich and tasty. It was so rich that she could not finish them off. The iced coffee was nice, and the sorbet was something else. The mango ice-cream was placed in an orange peel, topped with fresh cream. You can smell the orange while tasting the sweetness of the mango. It finished in double quick time!

Anita's sandwichesAnd finally the sorbetThe price was also really reasonable. The whole meal was under RM50, enough for the change to tip the waitress. She was nice and polite although a couple of male colleagues on duty were a bit much on the camp side …. If you know what I mean. I will certainly swing by again and apparently they also have a promotion going where kids eat free. I was not able to read the terms though. I will see what the deal was about next time I drop by. We chose a table indoors because of the warm weather, but the seats outside were just as welcoming. There was even a grand piano parked at the shade by the entrance. Shame that there was nobody playing then. Will I recommend the restaurant to friends? Definitely for snack as it would not be fair to say otherwise as I think I really need to come again to give a final verdict.

GARDEN LIFESTYLE STORE AND CAFE Lot G41, Ground Floor, The Curve, Mutiara Damansara

Marche!

It has been a while since we frequented Marche or even The Curve itself. We did it today and I took my parents along for lunch there. My sister and her children also went along and the children really had a good time, running around all day. Wondered when they would get tired. We initially settled in for lunch at Marche. Yes, the pizza was back! One of our cousin now works there and he prepared the Margarita for the boys. I had my steak, parents had their chicken cops, etc. Puan Anita did her shopping at the Sunday market there. We then walked over to the Croc shop at IKANO, but disappointingly, the sandal I wanted was out of stock. Bought a pair for my Dad as he wanted one, and then did some groceries. The children then had another session at the playground at IKANO.

Yums!My sister, JuliaPizza lovingly prepared by our cousin, ArifAlmost done!The market today was rather quiet compared to the ones before. Maybe it was the time of the year, it was Easter Sunday after all. The place was usually buzzing during festivities, as the management really made the effort to decorate the place. Nothing much going on today.

Idlan and Irfan, running around with their cousin, NanaMore runningAnd then the carWe finally left just after 4 pm, heading to Bukit Antarabangsa to join my parents.

Back at Bukit Abtarabangsa playing with YayaI was still sleepy when I got to my parents place. I stayed up to watch more football match even though the main one ended disappointingly with Manchester United getting beat by Chelski! I could vouch that it was all down to the linesman’s myopia. How could he missed the offside on Drogba’s goal? Scandalous! My Mum prepared the evening coffee while I settled down for Formula 1. Haha! Schumacher’s engine burst! Well done! Vettel finally won a race after deserving so in the last couple. We were lucky that the race was not spoilt by the evening rain again like last year.

Taking Mum to Lunch at The Curve

My Dad was pestering me for quite a while for some Western Food for lunch. He wanted some Roast Chicken. Since everybody was free last Sunday afternoon, I took both my parents out. Puan Anita wanted to buy some shirts for the boys as well at The Curve. We arrived rather later than usual and was caught with the heavy traffic on the way in. With the school holidays and end of year sales, the crowd was bigger than the usual Sunday.

Entering the main foyer at The CurveDon't touch!

After having our lunch at Marche, we decided to have a quick stroll around the place while Anita went about to do her shopping for the boys. The Xmas decorations were in full show, complete with carol singers, Santa and his helpers. Unfortunately Anita's flu was taking her down and after only half an hour, we decided to return home. She has been having fever for the last few days, and it was about time she saw a doctor. It all started earlier in the week when she took my maid to see a local GP after she complained of painful eyes. She had some infection there and was given some drops. While waiting to see the doctor, there were a few patients with heavy cold at the cramped room. She started having sore throat the same evening.

I was trying to figure out why this cute Santa helper was wearing a table round her waste?The main foyer was transformed with the decorations

We went to a clinic in Bukit Antarabangsa where my parents lived. she was given antibiotics and since then had been feeling much better. We spent the rest of the afternoon at my parents, just sitting around while Anita had some chicken soup.