One Sweet One Night @ Solaris Dutamas

The name does not sound promising. One Sweet One Night sounds more like a shop specializing in dessert and any main course on the menu is suspect. But at only RM11.80 for a set of 1 spaghetti dish, 1 set baked scallops, 1 French style cream pumpkin soup and 1 chrysanthemum tea with jelly, it's too good a bargain to pass.


At that price, our expectations weren't high. Even though the deal clearly spelt out that the set was worth RM56, and RM11.80 was a 79% discount promotion. 


While waiting for our orders to be served, we looked around the little setup. It's a cozy little cafe with live music at night, and the menu is in an iPad. You surf the menu on the iPad and place the order yourselves. The order gets transmitted to the kitchen. We looked around to see if elderly customers would have difficulty placing their orders, and saw that a couple, in their late 50s had to depend on their son to order for them.

They had an interesting version of Mona Lisa on their wall. I must admit I prefer this tubby Mona Lisa to the original skinny one.  :)

The French style cream pumpkin soup had a hint of curry powder in it. Hmmm....if I hadn't known better, I'd have thought it's Malaysian style cream pumpkin soup. I didn't know the French add curry powder to their cream soup?? It made me wonder if this is the current fad, as it's not the first time I had pumpkin soup with curry flavour in it. Perhaps it's part and parcel of fusion food.....

I wasn't too taken with the baked scallops. It would have tasted better without the onions, in my opinion.

The soft shell crab spaghetti was superb. The crab was crunchy on the outside and soft and sweet on the inside. Simply wonderful. The pasta came in a carbonara sauce, hmm....a rather ordinary sauce for me. But I just loved the soft shell crab. 

We were glad that we ordered the seafood spaghetti rather than the salmon spaghetti cream sauce. After looking at the pictures on the iPad menu, we felt certain that a tomato-based spaghetti would better complement a cream-based soft shell crab spaghetti (we like to share the dishes instead of having one to ourselves). And we were right. The piquant tomato sauce gave a 'variety' to our tastebuds that would not have been there had we gone with the salmon spaghetti cream sauce. 

The chrysanthemum tea with jelly was just a long fun (glass jelly) drink. No chrysanthemum taste was detectable.


Will we return for a regular-priced meal? Hmm....I don't think so. But if there's another promotion deal like this, we will. 


Address:
One Sweet One Night
A2-G2-3A, Solaris Dutamas
No. 1 Jalan Dutamas 1
Kuala Lumpur

T.G.I.Friday's @ Hartamas Shopping Centre

Ever since hubby had to go on a special diet, meat has not featured in our menu for a while. We used to go for steak or burgers every now and then, and I miss burgers so much. I know, it's junk food, but I do so love burgers. 


Not able to stand the craving for some real burgers, I managed to persuade hubby to go to T.G.I.Friday's for some burgers for lunch during the long Raya break. I only like those thick patties served at Friday's, American Chillies or Tony Roma's. Those patties at Carl's Junior, Burger King and McDonald's (especially McDonald's) are so thin, so pathetic, they ought not to be called burgers.


However, when we got there, I changed my mind and opted for tacos instead. Tacos is another thing I missed having. 

The sliced barbecued beef tacos were stuffed into two tortillas with melted cheese, deep-fried onions and a tangy creamy sauce. It was a huge serving, and I left the chips untouched. I couldn't eat another mouthful, I was that full. RM26.90 (price included for the benefit of friends who asked).

We ordered the Eggplant Rollatini to share. They were grilled eggplant rolls stuffed with ricotta, Parmesan cheese and basil, and topped with bruschetta marinara and melted Parmesan cheese. It's one of the new "Small Plates for RM10.90 each" on the menu. Super yummy.

We found something hubby could eat, cedar seared salmon pasta. The salmon fillets were pan-seared and coated with cedar smoke seasoning and served over zucchinis and fettuccine. The sauce is a blend of creamy Alfredo, bruschetta marinara and lemon. Really nice. If I hadn't been craving for beef, I would have ordered this, too. RM27.90


One thing I have to say about American portions - I didn't need any tea time break, and up to 8pm, I was still not hungry for dinner.

Room Eighteen

Room Eighteen, one of the Tai Thong Group of Restaurants, first opened in April 2009 at Tropicana Mall. The restaurant offers Hong Kong style cuisine.


Last Saturday, not feeling well, I was in no mood to explore the myriad of restaurants at Hartamas Shopping Centre. I wanted only porridge and Room Eighteen seems like as good an option as any.

The crispy lotus root with salted egg yolk caught my attention right away. I love anything deep-fried in salted egg and I knew I had to try it. No regrets ordering this dish. The thin slices of lotus root coated in mashed salted egg yolk was unique and crispy. Truly delicious.

The deep-fried brinjal was not bad either, although I found it to be a tad salty and not so unique. 

The fish and duck meat congee was superb. The fish fillet was thick and chunky and the congee was cooked in that perfect, smooth texture that Hong Kong chefs are famous for.

Hubby ordered the egg and beef congee....he loved it. 

Michelle ordered the Thai soup rice or something.....sorry, I can't recall the name of the dish as I forgot to take the receipt...blame it on my unwell condition. Michelle was a bit disappointed with this, said it was not authentic. Hmm....well, it's not a Thai restaurant, it's a Hong Kong style restaurant, so I suppose they do not know how to prepare a Thai dish. :)

Simon ordered the spicy brinjal rice. I tried a spoonful and found it to be spicy.

Simon had the sweetened sago with mango for dessert. He was the only one who still had room for dessert that night. It looked good. They had some interesting desserts that I would have tried had I been feeling better. As it is, I could not finish my porridge even though it was good.


I would like to try their other dishes, especially their signature menu, when I am feeling better and could really eat.


Address:
Room Eighteen,
Hartamas Shopping Centre,
Lot G18 & G19, Ground Floor,
Plaza Damas,
Sri Hartamas

Victoria Rossa English Tea Room

Tucked away in a suburban mall, Hartamas Shopping Centre, is a little 'secret' that makes me ecstatic as well as invokes memories of my time in the UK.  It's none other than Victoria Rossa English Tea Room, very appropriately named for its white Victorian furniture.


Victoria Rossa English Tea Room boasts of two traditional English fare --- its scones and toad-in-a-hole. No, there is no toad, at least not yet. It is merely a Yorkshire pudding with sausages peeking out. And for those who do not know, Yorkshire pudding is NOT a pudding either. It's made of savoury batter. Don't ask me why those unusual names....the English are known for their eccentricity.

Toad-in-a-hole is traditionally a pub fare, and is served with gravy. At Victoria Rossa, however, it's served plain. But still tastes great! Hubby, who tried it upon my recommendation, was pleased with the flavour. RM9.90 for 4 pieces.

Those who have been following my blog from day one when it was known as blackie007 would know that for scones, I'd travel hundreds of kilometers for a good quality scone. A good quality scone is defined as one with a slight crust on the surface, and soft and fluffy on the inside. A bad quality scone is one that is crumbly or crusty on the inside. 


Victoria Rossa passed the test. I do not have to travel to Cameronian Inn, Cameron Highlands, for its scones anymore. The scone is RM6 each, and the clotted cream is an additional RM1 each. Being the gluttons that we are, we ordered one each.


Other varieties are available too: chocolate scones, walnut scones, almond scones, etc, but I still like mine the old-fashioned way -- plain.

We shared an Old English Cottage sandwich between us. The sandwich was just an ordinary, cottage cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, ham and cheddar cheese on rye bread. Not quite worth the RM16.90 for it, I think.

We ordered a pot of Mazie's tea to share. It is a blend of hibiscus, orange peel, cinnamon bark, rose hip, lemongrass, mango and passion fruit. A very exquisite blend, at RM9 a pot.

Even their bill has character!

Address:
Victoria Rossa English Tea Room
Level 1 (opposite a Korean safe shop)
Hartamas Shopping Centre
Sri Hartamas