Coffee Bean vs. Starbucks

I stopped into Coffee Bean the other day for lunch.  (Chicken Sandwich on Ciabatta btw, quite good!)  I ordered my typical noon-time small Iced Americano and was surprised that the price was RM7.05.  This is more expensive than Starbucks.  As I watched the Barista make the coffee, I was further surprised that it contained only a single shot of espresso.  Hmm… something is not right.  Sure enough, the Americano was watery and bland.  The young girl behind the machine was kind enough to slip an extra shot in for me but warned that next time I’ll have to pay RM1.00 extra.

I love coffee.  I love pure, black, rich coffee.  No cappuccino, no macchiato, just coffee.  So, I needed to investigate further and I went back a few days later to ordered the same small Iced Americano from Coffee Bean.  This time the store manage (assistant?) was working the register and you can imagine my surprise when the charge was RM8.20.  I mentioned the price difference and the manager suggested that last time they must have charged me for hot Americano and forgot that an Iced is RM1.00 more! O…K…  He further confirmed that a small coffee contains one shot of espresso, a medium two and a large three.

Wanting to compare apples and apples, I immediately went to the ground floor Starbucks and ordered a the same tall (small) Iced Americano.  I confirmed what I knew, that Starbucks uses two shots for their tall, three for grande and four for venti.  And, sure enough, the register rings up RM6.85.

So how do these two Americano’s stack up?  The SB clearly has more coffee, the cup is filled to the top and is noticeably darker than the CB.

The CB has been filled with less water which was smart of the manager, more water would water it down further.  My original Americano was in fact filled to the top with water.  The taste of the Coffee Bean was actually not bad, the espresso is clearly high quality and does have a nice bitter richness to it.  But the coffee is very watery, the mouthfeel is wet and the flavors do not linger at all.  In comparison, the Starbucks has a similar very dark rich flavor to it, but the coffee is much more interested.  The whole mouth experiences each drink unlike the CB which is swallowed and touches only the center of the tongue and disappears.  With the extra time in the mouth from the SB, you can start to pick up the nuance of the espresso.  I suppose that if you are looking for a lighter, perhaps more wet (refreshing?) choice, the CB may appeal.

An Americano is simply the espresso (one or two shots) mixed with water and in this case ice.  Clearly the water is an important factor in the end drink.  Starbucks uses a special spout to dispense the water.  I confirmed that all of the water is filtered by SB.  At CB, I noticed that my Americano was filled with water from the sink tap.  Now, their water may very well be filtered, I didn’t ask, but it is a bit of a turn off to see it filled from the tap.

Since I had two coffee’s to drink, made up of three shots of espresso, I had to take my time.  Another knock against Coffee Bean’s effort became apparent.  The ice in the CB Americano melted in no time and failed to keep the coffee cold.  The ice in the CB cup is pellet ice with a lot of air mixed in (not clear ice).  The SB ice is large clear cube ice.  Clear cube ice is very very cold and lasts.  See the pictures below

(The pellet ice from Coffee Bean)

(The cube ice from Starbucks)

All in all, the Starbucks coffee offered a much better experience.  The $1.35 price difference sinks Coffee Bean even further.  I’m not always a Starbucks fanboy, but they are consistent and do make good joe.  Maybe the Americano is not representative of Coffee Bean but its poor showing makes me wonder about the seriousness of this outlet.

What do you think?  Leave a comment and let me know!

Misc Roundup 1

I’ve been eating out a lot lately.  A little fast food here and there and a few new experiences.

I’ve been eating a lot of chicken lately it seems.  I had the 1/4 Chicken meal at Kenny Rogers’ Roasters at the airport.  Pretty disappointing, their crispy skin roasted chicken became soggy when topped with their gravy.  The gravy was not bad but was not mixed well and contain little jelly gravy lumps.  Ugh.  Nando’s is always a better choice.  At Queensbay I had their 1/4 Chicken set, hot peri-peri, and it was consistant as always.  Everyone seems to love the thigh over the breast any I understand why.  The breast meat I had was larger but definitely not as juicy and flavorful as the thigh.  Next time I’ll specify.

All Malaysian’s grew up eating at the Chicken Rice Shop.  I stopped into the Queensbay location the other day for my first experience.  Wow, what another disappointment.  Almost any chicken-rice hawker serves better chicken than this outlet.  Again, the so called crispy chicken was fatty and soggy.  I also had a chicken set at the relatively new BBQ Chicken restaurant at Gurney.  This shop is huge in Korea and usually advertises for its “Chicken and Beer”.  There was no beer here as the shop needs its Halal status!  I had the Jerk BBQ 1pc set and found the chicken disappointingly small.  The flavor was not bad, a bit sweet but passable.   But I don’t think I’ll return as I can go to Nandos for a much better deal.  Btw, BBQ Chicken advertises that they cook and fry all of their chicken in olive oil!  I always thought olive oil had too low of a smoke point for frying… a quick search on Google shows that olive oil smokes between ~350 and ~420F.  I guess you can fry chicken in olive oil if you keep the temperature in check.  But don’t be fooled, there is likely very little health benefit to oilive oil after it’s been heated to such temperatures.  Correct me if I’m wrong, I’m very curious.

I had some Japanese over the last couple of weeks as well.  I stopped into the new Nippon Yatai Mura (what a name!) Japanese restaurant at Queensbay.  I was really surprised by the size of this place.  Our table agreed that the food was pretty good and the prices reasonable and my Kimuchi Vegetable soup was very salty but quite good; no comparison of course to a proper Korean Kimchi Jiggae.  Also at Queensbay is the Japanese restaurant Japin,  hidden on the 2nd floor.  This little shop has great grilled pork and beef, though today I went with the Torikatsu Set (fried chicken cutlet).  The batter on the cutlet was not as light as you would find at a proper Japanese restaurant causing the dish to be quite oily.  But the flavor was not bad and the cabbage salad was quite alright as well.

Lastly, I stopped into Eighteen Wine & Dine over at Krystal Point for a pasta to go.  I had it delivered over to Frenz pub where I could sip on a Paulaner with dinner.  I ordered Linguine Arabbiata and when asked, of course I want it spicy.  When it came, I found the sauce to be a bit watery and the taste to be quite sweet.  After a few bites I realized that they chefs at Eighteen used off the shelf chili sauce to spice up the dish.  Dear God!  After half the dish, the back of my throat was coated with lingering syrupy sweet sugar.  Eighteen, you’re a decent little restaurant, I’ve had good meals with you in the past, but this… this is just too much!  Thank God for the Paulaner.

Lastly, lastly I should mention Dragon-I in Queensbay.  Known for their Shanghai style Chinese cooking, this restaurant never fails to please.  I tried the hand-chopped seafood mien this time which was somewhat bland but had tonnes of seafood.  I just love their Shanghai dumplings and may just order a whole set for myself next time!

I’m always looking for new restaurants… feel free to leave a comment with your favorites!

Tiffins (2008-08-02)

At long last, Tiffins.  I’ve been anxious to write about Tiffins, the Park Royal Hotel’s flagship restaurant.  Tiffins, is my favorite restaurant in town.  I have very little to complain about Tiffins and the quality of the food keeps me coming back.  I visited this time on a Saturday night, let see…

Let’s start at the beginning: the bread.  Tiffins serves a complementary selection of wonderful bread and rolls.  On this night, they didn’t have my favorite black olive ciabatta, but they did have the ciabatta crowned with shredded potato and I also selected the whole grain bread.  The breads are nice, but with the olive oil they are served with is heaven.  Tiffins provides the common combo of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  I’ve gotten in the habit of skipping the vinegar and adding salt and pepper to the my oil.  I like balsamic but this one is nothing special and I prefer the savory to the sweet.  The simple combination of the bread, olive oil and wine was such a great start.

The wine on this night was a bottle I brought from with me.  It was my first time to try the Vasse Felix 2003 Shiraz (Margaret River) and I was blown away.  The wine was amazing; it was deep Shiraz fruit but not the fakey-candy Shiraz that is so popular.  It was elegant and silky with perfect acid; just wonderful with food.  As mentioned, even with the olive oil it was an experience.

Preceding the appetizer was the complementary amuse bouche.  Tiffins’ always provides these little palate teasers and tonight we were given two!  The two spoonfuls were a duck breast with asparagus and mandarin orange and a salmon with tomato and dill.  Both were very nice though I found the duck a tad dry.

The first of the starters was a soup.  I love soup and I’ve been anxious to try this one for a few weeks.  I started with the Quail Consomme (RM27.00) with foie gras ravioli.  After the plain boring broth served at The 1885 I’ve been curious to try Tiffins’ take.  What a world of difference.  This soup was a deeply colored broth with complex wonderful flavors.  At a glance, one would think beef or oxtail before quail.  The foie gras was an amazing accompaniment, giving the soup a creamy mouthfeel and further depth.  I was completely surprised by this soup and highly highly recommend that you try it.

Next was another soup.  You guessed it, the Mushroom Soup (RM25.00).  On almost every post of a western restaurant I mention mushroom soup.  The reason I love it and the benchmark by which to measure all others is Tiffins’ mushroom soup.  This soup is the reigning champignon in town by far.  The flavor of this soup is never ending, clearly made with interesting mushrooms.  The mouthfeel is thick and rich, but not overly creamy.  It is made table-side starting with melted butter used to saute chopped button mushrooms and other aromatics.  Next comes the Hennesy VSOP, flambéed, giving the soup an added character.  The bulk of the soup comes from a deeply colored prepared gel of the soup base.  All of this is mixed with a touch of added cream.  The soup is garnished with crouton and fried basil and is a beautiful creation.  I love this soup so much, I couldn’t resist a picture:

After the soups, a complementary peach sorbet was served.  I always look forward to this palate-cleanser as it is never too sweet and often even a bit tart.  Today’s sorbet was lightly sweetened and peachy but carried a noticeable “dirty” taste.  These things are always hard to pinpoint but I think the sorbet might have picked up neighboring taste from the freezer/refrigerator.  Perhaps the sorbet was not stored in a quite air tight container and was spoiled by the air.

The mains’ tonight unfortunately had some faults.  I went with the Rack of Lamb (RM88.00) which is served as two chops (four ribs) with garlic mashed potato and steamed vegetables.  I opted for the recommended red wine sauce which I had drizzled on the side, around the lamb.  The lamb was wonderfully tender though as rack I expected more of a crust.  One of the chops was overcooked (from medium) which degraded from its tenderness slightly.  The dish was very good, but the meat didn’t blow me away.  The garlic mash was fine and the veg perfectly good as well.  Interestingly, this was my first visit to Tiffins where I was served Brussels sprouts that were not overcooked.  Finally, the chefs learned to split the Brussels sprouts allowing them the steam through.  Thank you!  This was a recurring complaint of mine.

My friend chose the Grilled Tuna Steak (RM50.00) which is also served with garlic mash, zucchini, baby carrot and asparagus.  The tuna was decorated with a butter and thick (sweet) soy sauce.  This was a very unique combination and the flavors worked very well together.  Unfortunately, the tuna was quite overcooked.  It was ordered medium, which should be quite tender but this was flaky and dry.  The dryness demanded more sauce and since that was butter based the dish ended up quite rich.  Tuna cannot be served overcooked; this was a definite mistake by the kitchen.

This night started perfectly, the bread and soups and amuse bouche all deserving a 100 point rating.  All was not perfect after that but on the whole the meal was very very good.  I find it interesting to see a certain level of inconsistency even in the top restaurants.  We saw that with The 1885 and I’ve seen that with Tiffins as well.  It goes to show how difficult it is to prepare a perfect meal and we cannot set our expectations so high for every bite.  It’s a shame, but none the less, Tiffins still retains its hold as the #1 restaurant in Penang in my humble opinion.

Rating: 97

The Eclectic (2008-07-26)

Another new restaurant for me and one that I’ve been anxious to try. I’ve been calling Hydro Majestic for months asking when the new 68 Kelawai would open. Eventually I found out that that deal fell through and The Eclectic has been open in Batu Ferringhi for several weeks! I should lose my foodie license for having missed that one.

My first impressions of the restaurant were of pure excitement to see the wonders of the design and décor of the room. See my description of the restaurants main page
but suffice it to say I love this room. Many familiar faces will be found at this new restaurant as well. Much of the staff of 68 Kelawai are here along with a few of the waitstaff from Thirty Two and Bagan.

I was bit apprehensive about the menu as I had a few problems with the selection at 68 Kelawai. I found the general structure of the choices to be very similar but upon closer inspection there were some new dishes. To start I went with the Vietnamese Rice Paper Spring Rolls (RM20.00); the rolls are stuffed with shredded vegetables and herbs along with a healthy piece of shrimp. They are served with a light garlic/chili sauce but not enough so you’ll likely be asking for more. A small salad is served with the rolls topped in a great torch-ginger, lime and chili dressing. That torch-ginger/laksa flavor is so distinctive and it was nice to see it well applied here.

You might guess what’s coming next… that’s right, the Three Jewel Mushroom Soup (RM13.00) (cream of mushroom soup). What’s there to say? The soup put in a solid effort, very mushroomy but definitely only one-dimension showing. Where are the two other jewels? Good mushroom soup is very easy to make (key: use good fresh mushrooms) but rarely do we see great mushroom soup. The differentiators are high quality broth, exotic mushrooms (think morel, porcini, chanterelle, etc.), and other herbs. A note to the restaurants out there: Enough with the same-old mushroom soup please. We are paying attention so put a little love in the pot.

For my main I went with the Oven Baked Garlic Oregano Salmon (RM40.00). Now, I’m a big fan of salmon and when this monster salmon-steak arrived on my table, I was grinning ear to ear. The salmon was oven baked with a touch of breading and served on mound of mash and topped with a dill mayo. The dish was rounded out by carrot and pea pods and garnished with onion and tomato. It was a very nice looking dish. The taste didn’t disappoint either; the texture of the fish was perfect, firm but tender. Everything on the plate played well together and I finished full but not heavy.

My dining partner went with a very interesting dish in the Lamb Shank Kurma (RM46.00). This is indeed an eclectic find on a fine dining menu and I’m thrilled to see these chances being taken. The shank was very large and smothered in a thick Indian Kurma curry/sauce. Is there a difference between Kurma and Korma by the way? The sauce was rich and well spiced with cinnamon and star anise being very forward. The meat I felt was a bit dry and overcooked. Sometimes an overcooked lamb shank when braised will turn to mush. In this case the meat was a slightly tough and dry suggesting it was roasted or perhaps braised without enough water/broth.

For wine I selected the Dustschke WillowBend (RM222.00) (2006 I believe).  This is a blend of Shiraz, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon, not a weak wine and I was hoping that the salmon would be able to stand up to it.  The salmon did fine and I found the ok, pretty good, not bad.  Everything about the wine was a bit muted.  I did read good things about this wine elsewhere so perhaps the bottle was so-so.  This would be in the $20 range in the U.S. so it’s always a bit hard to swallow paying three times retail.  I really need to get out of the habit of ordering wine with dinner.

All in all I left the meal satisfied and very happy to have another quality dining option available. The Eclectic is a definite improvement over 68 Kelawai. If the rest of the menu holds up as well as our first night’s choices then this restaurant will be a contender for a top five position.

Rating: 91

Olio (2008-07-26)

Olio, another restaurant that has been on my list for some time. When this place popped up in Batu Ferringhi, I was skeptical. Would this be just Yet Another Pasta Joint (YAPJ)? After all, show me a western restaurant in Penang and I’ll show you a restaurant with Pasta Olio on the menu. The menu is decidedly fusion; not the faux fusion that we’ve seen elsewhere; I mean honest to goodness fusion-fusion. The chef has made a serious attempt at a true East-West combination in several of the meals. When my eyes struck the words Duck Confit, I knew instantly where I was going tonight…

So, let’s get to it. On the appetizer list, the Roasted Vegetable Salad (RM12.00) pulled me in. With such a simple description this dish should show what kind of kitchen we’re dealing with. The dish came and impressed on first sight. I was presented with a tower of real roasted veg; red and green pepper, zucchini, and one other as I recall The plate was drizzled with balsamic and I couldn’t have been happier with the looks of the dish. I found the vegetables perfectly roasted, all maintaining a bit of bit of smoke. This is what makes Mediterranean cooking appeal; fresh, simple, healthy and delicious. The gripe I have with this dish (and there’s always a gripe isn’t there?) is the balsamic. The vinegar was very young and still sour. I found myself wishing the balsamic had been tempered by a bit of olive oil; vinaigrette would have been much easier on the tongue. Better yet, an aged, rich and sweet balsamic or even reduced balsamic would have been nice.

My dining companion chose what might be the star of the starters. The Spicy Seafood Wantan Soup (RM17.00) is a rich seafood tomato based broth with small minced seafood wantan. The soup is served in a black Dutch oven/bowl seated on a wooden platter. The soup is quite heavy and has a deep seafood flavor. The stock was clearly made with love resulting in a complexity that is comparable to a nice tomato based bouillabaisse. The wantan themselves are overshadowed by the broth and the other seafood (prawn, squid and mussels). The soup was very salty, especially by comparison with the simple roasted vegetable appetizer. I’m always suspicious of a too-salty soup; I feel like the kitchen may be trying to trick me into liking it. In this case the soup can stand on its own merit and does not need any such trickery.

As mentioned, I had to go with the Duck Confit in Thai Chili Sauce (RM34.00). There is no way I can pass up duck confit when I see it; when done right, the fatty duck is pure heaven. My duck was served as two full medium sized legs with thigh sitting in the Thai chili sauce. Also on the plate were more pan-roasted vegetables of carrot and <potato?>. I first tasted the chili sauce and knew right away that it was much too sweet for my taste. The sauce was simply a souped-up version of the ubiquitous Maggi chili sauce. This attempt at fusion was off to a rough start.

The duck at first glance looked beautiful though it was quickly clear that the meat was poorly cooked. Confit is a very laborious process of preserving and cooking meat (and other foods). It involves slowing cooking the meat with its fat until the fat fully renders and absorbs into the meat. The meat is then stored and preserved in its own fat for up to several months. After all of this, the meat is roasted with some of its fat until the skin is perfectly crisply leaving the meat very tender. The duck in my meal was grilled or roasted at a high temperature for a short time. This left the fat only partially rendered and remaining as a fatty-jelly layer under the soggy skin. Fat like this is very unappealing and I had to remove all of the skin and fat before I ate the meat. The meat had a pretty good flavor. Of course not the richness it should have as confit but still not bad. Much of the edge of the duck was extremely overcooked leaving the meat very tough and actually sharp on some corners. Interestingly, one of the legs was cooked and rendered better than the other. It was interesting to notice the huge difference in the taste of the meat.

After all of this, the duck confit was still much better than I had expected. The dish has real potential but the chili sauce has to go. The kitchen needs to take their time with the preparation, lower the heat and let the fat melt away. The hard part of confit can be done well in advance. When ordered, the meat can simply be roasted allowing the skin to crisp. There is no excuse for fatty confit.

For her main, my friend had the Tom Yum Beef Pasta (RM28.00), substituting lamb for the beef. My first thought was that this is a pretty standard Thai-Italian fusion which is done at many restaurants. In this case, I’m happy to report that Olio did a great job in putting the combination together. The lamb was cubed and cooked very tenderly. The sauce had great flavor, lemon grass and kaffir lime leave. No hint of the typical bland instant tom yum paste you’ll find at most places.

Although I was pretty disappointed in my main, I was very impressed by the overall quality of the food at Olio. There are obviously food lovers in the kitchen and I’ll be back to sample the rest of the menu.

Rating: 90

The Sire (2008-07-26)

Ok, so it hasn’t been all that long since my last visit to The Sire.  After leaving that visit disappointed but with hope for improvement, I jumped at the invitation to join a friend for lunch.  The place was hopping, most of the tables filled up while we were there.  People wandered around, enjoying the decor and examining the antiques.  I can imagine that this is exactly the scene the owners pictured before opening.  A success.

As I waited for my friend, I started out with a black Coffee (RM5.80).  The waiter didn’t know what an Americano was but I was assured that my coffee was espresso based when I heard the whirling of the monster machine in the front room.  The first impression of the coffee was that it was strong and rich, maybe a bit heavy.  Sure enough, after taking my time with it, it developed a sour note that was unfortunate.  I don’t know much about espresso preparation, perhaps someone can comment on what might make an Americano change as it cools?

After my friend and I looked over the menu, which is the same for lunch and dinner, we both decided on sandwiches as well as a soup for me and the Portobello Mushrooms (RM5.80) appetizer for her.  Her appetizer was consistent with my last report; very nice taste, perhaps a bit overcooked.  I couldn’t pass up the Mushroom Soup (RM12.80), which you may recognize is one of my favorites and serves as a baseline for comparison between restaurants.  The mushroom soup at The Sire had decent color and nice texture.  The flavor was at first not bad, definitely no exotic mushrooms here but passable.  But… there was something odd in the taste.  After several spoonfuls I became aware of a strange aftertaste left by the soup.  It was such an odd flavor; I couldn’t pinpoint it.  I had to ask my companion to try and she agreed.  My only guess is that it was perhaps a flavor developed by browning mushroom (slightly too old) or perhaps the fluid from a can of mushrooms.  Hopefully The Sire is not using canned mushrooms for their soup.  Any ideas?  In the end, I didn’t finish the bowl.

Next came our sandwiches.  I had selected the Chicken Sandwich (RM14.80) served on fresh baked loaf (roll).  I was surprised to see the sandwiches delivered with French fries, no mention on the menu as I recall.  I would have preferred their great side salad, but fries will do.  Unfortunately, the fries were waaaaaaaaay over fried.  They were left as vestigial remnants of what were once fries.  Each was essentially hollow with a very obvious frying-oil taste.  To complete the theme, we both found our sandwiches over toasted.  My had been layered with what I believe is cheese.  Honestly I’m not sure, it could have almost been a layer of phylo dough; it was very very crispy on the top layer and very creamy as it melted into the chicken.  The top layer was spotty brow suggesting to me that it was cooked more than planned.  Similarly, my companion found her Tuna Croissant (RM14.80) similarly over toasted.  Now normally you don’t see toasted croissants, especially tuna croissants.  There was no cheese, it’s not a tuna melt.  Just inexperience in the kitchen.  Anyway, back to the chicken.  After flaking off the mystery layer, the sandwich was otherwise quite good but nothing particularly special.  The chicken was tender and flavorful, the loaf was quite nice.  Just a couple of small mistakes from the kitchen spoiled the meal.

I had been hoping to tour the restaurant, I haven’t had a chance to check out the upstairs.  Again, I highly suggest visiting in the day time as the lighting is beautiful.  My friend I and spent too much time catching up that we had to go when the restaurant closed for break at 3pm.

Another disappointment at The Sire.  I feel the kitchen is very immature; they are making too many mistakes and just don’t seem to have the basics down (French fries?).  The restaurant has been open only a month so perhaps it needs more time to shake out the kinks.  I can only recommend The Sire for its beautiful interior.  Come and check out the restaurant in the early evening; have a bottle of wine and maybe an appetizer but I have to say, be leery of the kitchen.  If you stop by, let me know your experience.

Rating:  82

Thirty Two (2008-07-19)

Thirty Two, or 32, or Thirty Two, The Mansion, or The Mansion…

I’m always excited to visit Thirty Two.  I love restaurants that have live music and Thirty Two has the best in Penang.  Ruby, Wilson, and band play their jazz standards Friday and Saturday night so on this Saturday I knew at least the music would be good.

Well let’s get into it.  The menu has changed it seems.  Most notably is the addition of a small menu of specials.  As I recall, specials were only available as sets.  More choices at Thirty Two is a good thing.  To start I chose the Scallops with Caramelized Onion (RM38.00).  At this price, the delivery of four small scallops is a bit disappointed.  You’ll likely be disappointed by the portion of most of Thirty Two’s appetizers.  But on taste, these scallops were melt in your mouth delicious.  Each is topped with a garnish of caramelized onion and a gentle cream sauce.  The flavors are significant enough that you can eat the scallops a half at a time and convince yourself that there were eight.  If only.

For soup, I was very excited to try the Sicilian Soup (RM14.00).  I’d recently had another seafood soup and was interested in the comparison.  The soup here is broth/tomato based with that popular trio of seafood: prawn, mussel and squid.  Upon first bite of the tender meat made me immediately want to return to my review of The Sire and lambaste their effort much more firmly.  There is no comparison.  In this Sicilian soup, the broth maintains a delicious seafood structure but leaves the seafood perfectly tender.  In comparison, The Sire’s attempt had a nice flavor but left the seafood overcooked and chewy.  It is said that squid should only be cooked for a minute or an hour, not between.  This a lesson to be learned in the kitchen of The Sire: do not make your broth from the seafood that you serve.

Finally, to complete the meal, I had the vegetarian Penne Arabiatta (RM30.00).  This is pasta in tomato sauce with roasted vegetables.  The arabiatta in the name implies that the penne will be spicy.  Now there was nothing about this dish that I felt was spicy.  Expect perhaps the mound of black pepper that I added.  But I have a high spice tolerance and cannot blame the chefs for keeping it mild.  The dish was very good and satisfying.  The sauce and the vegetables were on par with my expectations but the pasta stood out.  So often pasta is pasta is pasta.  Dried, boiled, maybe salted, maybe buttered, Barilla if you’re lucky but all unremarkable.  This pasta was different.  The texture was chewy, firm, perfect al dente as they say.  I can’t say if the pasta was fresh, frozen or dried but the chefs at Thirty Two cared enough to do it right.  Kudos.  Other restaurants pay attention!

Thirty Two has been consistent for me and this meal was another example.

Rating: 96

Ratings System

Criticism and reviews and ratings are all inevitably controversial and subjective.  There is no doubt, but also no escape.  Everyone has their opinions and all see the world differently.  How to make judgment?  How to be consistent?

Reviews are one thing, but rating is another.  In looking for a way to add a bit more nuance to my reviews, I’ve decided to rate my experiences.  I’ve been using the one, two, three thumbs up/down system but would like to add some clarification and more nuance.  I think I’ll adopt the wine worlds 100 point system as well.  I know there is a lot of controversy about the 100 point system, it’s not perfect but it does provide another way to share opinion.

In the wine world, with the 100 point system, for some reason almost everything is ranked between 80 and 100 points.  Now this seems pretty silly but it’s the way things work.  Wine below 80 is simply considered undrinkable and there is little point in discussing the subtle differences between such bad wine.  I have used the 100 point system for wine and am comfortable and familiar with it.  For me, it is a natural extension to use the same system for food and restaurants.  That said, I plan to start rating based on the following system:

Ratings:
96-100 –

91-95 –

86-90 –

81-85 –

76-80 –

< 75 –

With this new rating system, I plan to go back and re-rate the existing reviews.  The ratings will be relative to the other restaurants reviewed.  Lets not try to compare a local restaurant rated 97 with a high-end French bistro in Paris!

The 1885 (2008-06-20)

Ah, a second visit to E&O’s The 1885 in one month; how lucky I am? As mentioned, I had a second “Member For a Day” voucher to use and this was the day. I joined three friends for dinner on a Friday night and still the restaurant was mostly empty. Friday night and a quiet restaurant is bad omen… choi choi choi.

After my last great experience at The 1885 I had high hopes for this visit. I’d been contemplating whether to join the member’s club which would provide continued 50% discounts for two at 1885. This meal was to help me decide whether it would be worth joining. I wanted to repeat some of the great tastes I had last time so jumped right in with the Seared Maguro Tuna (RM28.00) appetizer again.  This time, the experience could not have been more different from the previous.  Last time, the texture of the fish was transcendent silk, this time grainy.  Last time the taste was that of a meaty steak, this time that of a Sushi King special.  To say that this dish was disappointing is understatement.  A confirmation of the night’s omen…

Next up was the Smoked Salmon Caesar Salad (RM36.00).  Again, you’ll recall, on my last visit the salad made a solid impression and gave a good effort for a high-class Caesar.  The salad at The 1885 is made table-side by the waitstaff.  Inevitably there is some sight variation between servers but everyone should have down the basics.  In this effort, the server failed.  The key to the salad is the dressing of egg yolk and olive oil whipped to a creamy emulsion.  On this night, the dressing didn’t fully emulsify.  This caused the dressing to separate in the bowl into a soupy, soggy, oily mess.  I think this must be a somewhat common problem as I’ve had a similar experience once at Tiffins.  Another strike on this Friday night.

The soup course followed with the duo of Mushroom and Quail Consomme Soups (RM32.00).  Meeting my expectation the mushroom soup was good, similar to last time.  I still find it too creamy which you’ll hear often from me regarding this kind of soup.  The quail consomme I would recommend over the avocado soup that I had last time but it is very simplistic.  Consomme is essentially a very pure broth and the flavors should be complex yet subtle and nuanced.  This effort was good but I feel it lacked any real complexity.  I could have perhaps given the soup a bit more attention but with the rest of the activity at the table it failed to stand out.

Now onto the mains.  I just couldn’t resist.  With the 50% discount we were receiving, I had to order the 200g Baked Wagyu Beef Tenderloin (RM180).  Expensive yes, but with Wagyu, you get what you pay for.  The beef was recommended as medium-rare and came out cooked perfectly.  The first bite delivered the signature Wagyu/Kobe texture, tenderness beyond believe.  Also delivered in the first bite was the subtle but unmistakable smell.  Un-believable.  We’ve talked about this before with lamb, but here it was in my RM180.00 steak.  The gamy, blood-taste smell is less common in steak but it does happen.  Why?  I’m not 100% sure, but again I believe it simply comes down to freshness.  Good steak is often aged; dry aged preferably in a cold, dry environment or wet aged in chemicals by grocers on occasion.  Steak can manage to sit around a while without going bad; so what brings about the smell?  I believe that it results from the steak being stored under wraps (usually plastic wrap) sitting in its own blood.  The steak in these conditions starts to brown and I suspect the blood is starting to spoil.  Let me mention here that when I speak of the smell or gaminess, I don’t mean to refer to gaminess of real game meats (i.e. elk, venison, even often veal).  Gaminess in those meats is usually a positive quality though a somewhat acquired taste.  The smell on the other hand is almost always unpleasant and a sure sign that something has gone wrong.  In my dish this off flavor may not have been as noticeable had the steak been more cooked.  But this is no excuse.  Strike three and a damned shame.

Lastly, also ordered was a very interesting item that I failed to notice last time.  The Smoked Lamb Tortellini (RM48.00) was a very interesting dish.  The lamb is cubed and stuffed into tortellini and served with a delicious light cream sauce.  A bite into the tortellini was immediately delicious, but you know, there was a hint of something not quite right.  That’s right.  The smell.  I give up.

In the end a fascinating lesson in inconsistency.  What a difference a day makes?  Indeed, what a difference 13 days make.  My first meal was on a Sunday, this meal on Friday.  Different chefs?  Does the week’s supply of fresh foods arrive Sunday morning, leaving the following Friday to suffer?  I don’t know.  I’m not sure where to leave E&O’s The 1885, can I recommend it?  Yes, but with reservations.  I’ll give it some time but I’ll be back.  Though you can be sure that I’ll wait for the next voucher to come along.

Rating: 83

Miss Saigon (2008-07-19)

Another week, another visit to Miss Saigon…  I like to visit Miss Saigon for lunch; I go early before the crowds, before the noise is too much.  I like the light, I like the relaxed atmosphere.  A great weekend lunch spot.

When I arrived, only one other table was seated.  It was still early (11:30am) and the restaurant had not even turned over their “closed” sign.  Strange considering that they open at 11:00am.  The staff was still setting up, the AC wasn’t yet on and it was a bit warm.  The music had yet to play which made the feeling almost too quiet.  Ah well… before noon on a Saturday, I’ll give them a break.  Music please?  Thank you.

The music played at Miss Saigon, seems to be authentic Vietnamese which is yet another detail remembered.  I always find a mismatch of music awkward at an region themed restaurant.  The American 60’s pop at Spice and Rice is an exception.  For some reason American pop works at the colonial-Indian restaurant.

I’m still working my way through the menu at Miss Saigon, so of course I must try something different.  I went with the Grilled Chicken Thigh in Lemon Grass (RM14.80).  I’m a sucker for lemon grass making this an easy choice.  But first things first.  While waiting for the meal, I had time to appreciate the fragrant Drinking Water (RM0.80) again.  As mentioned last time, I thought the water was great.  This time however, the water was a bit off.  I couldn’t quite put my finger on it but it had a very vegital (raw vegetable) taste.  This was not the floral water I had last time.  I learned that the water was simply infused with pandon leaf.  Pandon water is not something I’d had previously so I was happy to learn what gives the water here its fragrance.  My second glass was much more mellow and fragrant.  I suspect that due to arriving early, the water didn’t have time to steep properly, leaving the off taste that I noticed.

The chicken thigh came presented beautifully as usual.  The thigh itself was butterflied (think chicken chop) and pressed with a thin tong made of bamboo.  The tong was tied at one end securely holding the chicken for use as a handle when grilling.  Wonderful.  The chicken was topped with a lemon grass-chili paste and fried kaffir lime leaves, and lay on a bed of shredded bamboo (dried lemongrass?).  The texture of the chicken was pure decadence as the fatty thigh should be.  The meat, with skin peeled, had a very nice mouth feel but only a subtle flavor.  However, when paired with the accompanying paste, the flavor was complex.  Now, let’s keep in mind that we’re not eating rendang spice bomb.  The flavors of this dish and in general at Vietnamese restaurants are complex and wide ranging.  Please, lets appreciate them for what they are without comparison to “local food”.

The rest of my dish was rounded out with a broccoli-pumpkin pair in garlic.  The vegetables were nice and very garlicky but a bit overcooked unfortunately.   The typical mound of brown rice was delicious as always.  Though I find the rice to be a very buttery; delicious of course but I would appreciate the rice to be more straight forward, especially with the fatty chicken.  Is this the French influence on Vietnamese cooking that I hear about?  Lastly, the dish was completed with a small salad of shredded beet, carrot and radish.  The radish in the salad today was exceptionally bitter.  I don’t know if this was a bad radish or if it just needed some tempering, but it took quite some time to get the taste out of my mouth.  Also, I’ll say that the salad could use a little simple dressing.  Even just some fish sauce would go a long way.

All in all, the meal today was good but could be improved upon with a couple of small enhancements.  The dish I selected was a bit heavy for me, especially so early in the day.  I’m starting to understand Vietnamese cuisine in a new light.  It is not all light rice paper spring rolls and pho noodles.

Rating: 87