November 30, 2016

Meatology Restaurant & Bar @ TTDI


Meat-ing Expectations



You know you can always count on certain restaurants for a great dining experience. Meatology is one of them. Revamp from the previous Boathouse, Chef Yenni Law never fails to deliver a delightful menu filled with great Asian and Western cuisines.

We have dined a few times at Boathouse and have always enjoyed the affordable and scrumptious menu Chef Yenni offers. After her successful launch of her cookbook Meatology, a compilation of her signature dishes collected from her years of culinary passage from helping her mom in the kitchen to her travels and culinary stints in Europe, Chef Yenni has renamed her restaurant to Meatology in conjunction with her book.


The restaurant has always exuded a warm and comfy atmosphere. When we walked in again recently a few weeks ago, we were greeted by the familiar settings, now jazzed up with some new enhancement, like the handmade bottle lightings made by the chef herself.



The bar remains at its usual spot while a long panel of mirrors are added to create more space and comfort for the dining area parallel to the bar. Meatology is a great place to hang on after a day’s work for drinks, food and to catch some sport actions as well on the tv available by the bar.


For a quieter dining, head on back to the main dining area where a large chalkboard displays specials of the day. We have always love the charm this restaurant radiates and the menu it has.

A large wine display features the lovely list of wines available at Meatology.


If you’re looking more just to hang out casually, head on up to Myth, just above the restaurant. The lounge is pretty cool with a glowy dim lite area for drinks and maybe some games.



We are here as Chef Yenni has revamp her menu and added new dishes to the list of her previous favorites. Kicking off the evening, we lock in our usual giggle juices, opting to try out Meatology’s latest cocktails. Whether you’re sipping White Lady (RM26) or Slippery Martini (RM26), both are delicious giggle juices to pave the evening for more yumminess to come. Order three of their special cocktails for RM68.


For wine lovers, there is a promotion on Wine Flight of four glasses of wines (white, rose, red and ice wine) for RM119.

Left to right: Château de Cathalogne Bordeaux, Château de Fesles Anjou Rosé (Loire Valley), La Closerie des Lys Rouge (Languedoc Rousillon) and Pilliteri Vidal Ice Wine (Niagara-on-the-Lake).



Chef Yenni’s repertoire is vast and versatile and her menu consists of classic fine dining dishes to her own creations of comfort food. Rest assured, there’s also plenty of swine for more shiokness to swine fans like me.


Leading the list is French Escargot (RM13), succulent morsels of escargot cooked with cream and spinach served in its own shells. A different sauce than the usual garlic butter and beautifully luscious on the palate.


Another premium ingredient on the list that one may not expect from Meatology is Foie Gras (RM49). Chef Yenni’s skill is really shown here as her foie gras, gorgeously and perfectly seared, is served with spiked peach wedges and a sticky balsamic sauce. The sweetness of the fruity peach goes so well with the sinful and creamy goose liver and brandy laced balsamic sauce.


After that two fine dishes, we get thrown back down to earth with a rustic bar snack of Gizzard Frito (RM13). Not that I enjoy chicken gizzard but once I tasted these crispy little nuggets of crunchy battered gizzard, I surprisingly went back for another two bits. Hand me a beer please…


Mains arrive and the first one had our palate all fired up! Fiery Ribs (RM45), listed on the menu with secret spicy sauce looked damn good at sight. The three giant pork ribs are literally smothered in a thick and lightly chunky fiery looking sauce, served on mashed and veggies.


The ribs are tender and yet offers a good firm bite on the meat. The sauce is not for the faint hearted and packed enough heat to titillate the taste bud to savor more. It is also robust enough with savory and sweet flavors, making this dish a bit hit on our table that evening, especially with me.


We went ducky over the hunky slab of sliced Duck Breast Confit (RM43). Smoked in-house, the plump duck breast is tender and moist with a smoky aroma. Served with a citrus trinity sauce made from orange, passionfruit and berries, the savory duck breast flavors are balanced with the tangy and fruity sweet sauce.

Most restaurants don’t choose to serve tableside finished dishes anymore but we are glad that Meatology still offers some flambé actions. Nothing like a kitchen action to enhance the dining experience right?


Our Swine Neck Steak Flambé (RM59) certainly went up in flames!


A generous piece of pork neck is beautifully seasoned and finished in brandy and served with a peppery brown sauce. Pork neck is well-known for tenderness and flavors and so the dish is often a favorite these days with many. Albeit a little dry but this is easily remedied with that delicious rich and peppery sauce that comes with the dish.


Meatology Ribs (RM45) won many hearts or should I say stomachs that night? Haha…



Another generous hunk of pork ribs basted in Chef Yenni’s hush hush secret BBQ sauce is also set aflame at our tableside with brandy. The ribs are superb in texture and flavors. Tender and yet firm, it’s the marinade and sauce that took the ribs to sensational heights of flavors.



Simply a must-order for rib-loving fans, the sublime hush hush BBQ sauce has such a harmonious balance of sweet, savory, smoky and umami note. Damn awesome if you ask me….


And just when we thought the flaming actions were over, we got another flaming action with our Steak On Fire (RM50). 200gm of Australian tenderloin, cooked to medium rare and flamed up with VSOP brandy is served with a creamy and pepper sauce with mashed and veggies.



The tenderloin is so gorgeous on bite and I enjoyed that luscious peppery mustard sauce very much. For foie gras lovers, you can even add a slice of foie gras to this dish for an additional RM30.



Chef Yenni has certainly got a way with meat. Cleverly taking a tougher cut of meat and turning it to a tasty one is showed in her Smoked Lamb Muscle 3 Sauces (RM43). The leg of lamb muscle is deboned, tied up and smoked for flavor and aroma. Cooked slowly till tender, the lamb is served with three sauces of mint sauce, fiery spicy sauce and horseradish with mustard sauce. Love the sauces as it gives the lamb different levels of flavors…



Besides meat, Chef Yenni also does a beautiful Blue Fin Tuna (RM69) for seafood fans. Sashimi grade tuna is just nicely seared and left raw in the middle. Thickly sliced and fan out like pretty petals of pinkness, the tuna goes well with the sweet and sticky citrus ponzu sauce. Delightful and not overly heavy, the tuna makes a lovely meal if you are not into meat.


Now who would have thought that one can do wonders with marmite besides slapping it on bread? Spaghetti Marvelous Mite (RM29), a creative concoction of pasta with a marmite based sauce is crowned with salty and luscious slices of Parma ham and rocket leaves. Its umami and savory marmite flavors are quite prevalent so if you enjoy marmite, you’ll certainly enjoy this pasta.


We never fail to leave room for desserts and this round, we had four creative desserts. Sinful Soufflé (RM22), a dark and bittersweet chocolatey sensation, had my palate floating on cloud nine. The freshly baked soufflé is worth every minute of waiting with its fluffiest cloud of cake set with a dark runny chocolate center filled with dark cherries cooked in booze. What more can a girl ask for…



I don’t care for dates but I do enjoy date puddings. Meatology’s Date Pudding (RM18) is another dessert worth every calories it has. It looked pretty light and plain but once you tasted the moist and dense date pudding with boozed up brandy butterscotch sauce and vanilla ice cream, you be awarded with a caramelized and sinful, sweet and sticky goodness. Super rich and super yum!


Cutely coined as Reggae Pudding (RM17), dig into freshly baked custardy bread pudding studded with bananas and raisins and crumbly sweet sugar crust. Sweet, creamy, eggy and heavily laced with rum, the pudding even comes with vanilla ice cream for a hot and cold sensation.


Though stuffed to max by now, after a look at the flaming Nasty Alaska (RM23), I even tried this small bite of the classic angelic dessert made naughty with peanut butter and lots of alcohol. The light fluffy meringue is just nice without being overly sweet and the combination of ice creams, peanut butter, cake, plump boozed soaked dried fruit and crumbly crust is naughty and nice for this coming festive season.



There’s so much more at Meatology’s menu that warrants a visit with more people so one can share all the delicious dishes. I would go back for other dishes such as Jack & Chic, Pork & Roll, Pig’s Balls, Poison Pork, Claypot Wild Boar Curry with Corn Chips, Wagyu Skirt Steak, Beer Breast, Meatology Smoked Belly, Octopussy Risotto and more.


MEATOLOGY RESTAURANT & BAR
16, Lorong Rahim Kajai 14,
Taman Tun Dr Ismail,
6000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-7727 4426


Business Hours:
Mon to Sat   4pm to 2am
Closed on Sunday

November 27, 2016

The Daily Grind Brunch Menu @ Bangsar Village


Nine Enticing Brunch Pleasers



Touted to be one of the few best burger joints in the city, The Daily Grind has been serving gourmet burgers at Bangsar Village for years. The diner makes everything from scratch from grinding their own meat for patty to all the condiments such as sauces, pickles and more. I have yet to make a visit for their burgers but my foodie friends have been raving about the burgers here.


One fine Saturday, I was invited to The Daily Grind to catch a sneak preview of the new brunch menu. I love brunch. The thoughts of the word brunch usually means some lovely indulgence since I am going to combine my breakfast and lunch into a meal. I also love surprises because brunch menu is pretty creative and always involves eggs, bacon, waffles and other goodies.



The Daily Grind’s brunch menu is available weekends from 9am till 2pm. The diner offers nine brunch dishes, plenty of choices for everyone. Enjoy hearty comfort dishes from eggs, bacon, pancake, waffle and burger to healthy and fruity treats.


Latte and fresh Apple Juice to kick start the day!


If I have to pick a favorite on the brunch menu, it would have to be the Smokin’ Seaside Scones (RM28). The dish takes the much beloved eggs benedict version and jazzed it up to such a scrumptious and creative dish. Featuring two house made crumbly and moist onion scones served with perfectly two poached eggs, smoked tuna, smoked snowfish, rocket leaves and finished with a generous lashing of hollandaise sauce.

What I really enjoy the most is the onion scones with the egg and hollandaise sauce. The flavors just worked so harmoniously. The smoked tuna and snowfish is a bit unusual but pretty good and makes a nice change from the usual smoked salmon. I like how the rocket leaves and crisp radish lighten up the dish.


Napolean & Churchill (RM25) may sound to be the odd pairing but savory crepes with house made chicken sausages turned out to be a great duo. The soft thin crepe with cheese is made savory with the juicy sausages. The sausages has a surprisingly solid bite and the flavors goes well with the lightly sweet and creamy romesco sauce. Again the dish is balanced up with dressed rocket leaves, crisp apple slices and radishes.


Burgers are their specialty and without a doubt, there is a burger option for brunch too. Burger Me Breakfast (RM27) has a thick and juicy beef patty, beef bacon and poached egg with hollandaise sauce and tomato jam served on toasted brioche bun.


It seemed to be healthier burger version with the delectable oozing poached egg instead of the usual fried ones. The luscious hollandaise is nicely balanced by the tangy and sweet tomato jam. It’s breakfast on a bun!


More savory brunch dish and this one happens to be the one I would order at a glance. It’s been a while since I have had Waffle & Chicken (RM22) and I couldn’t be any happier to know that now I can get my waffle and chicken fix at The Daily Grind. The fried boneless chicken thighs are so crispy and moist as well as tender and tasty. The savory flavours goes well with the aromatic eggy waffles and sweet maple syrup. While some may think its odd on adding maple syrup, I love the sweet and savory combination of flavours. Beef bacon and tomato jam are also added for more oomph.


Herb Brioche Pudding (RM29) is another showcase of sweet and savory. The fact that the younger generation seemed to enjoy sweet and savory together, this dish will certainly do well on the menu. A warm and egg brioche pudding is served with salty air fried beef, generous drizzle of salted caramel and rum (yes, alcohol for breakfast, how lucky can we get!), finished with rocket leaves, sultanas and walnuts. The dish is really rich and sublime so sharing it may be a good idea too. I enjoyed the decadent savory and sweet flavors a lot, especially that salted caramel with rum sauce!



When I saw my next diner’s stacked Pancake Souffle (RM23), I thought it was such a pretty dish of pancakes. Although the pancake was thick, it was one of the lightest pancake I have ever had. The soufflé pancakes are served with lemon cream, crunchy honeycombs, berries, nuts and chocolate bits. Quite the unusual pancake but it’s delicious with its medley of flavors and textures.


Captain Morgan’s French Toast (RM23) ain’t no ordinary toast! Thick eggy toast sandwiching luscious cream cheese of sort before being crowned with caramelized bananas, rum & raisin ice cream and finished with pistachio nuts, blueberries and maple syrup. How sinful can one get for brunch…


If the earlier bunch proved to be too sinful for you, then opt for the pretty and healthy Goddess Bowl (RM22). House made yoghurt packed with textural goodness of pumpkin seeds, goji berries, crunchy oat, coconut flakes, fresh mango and berries and berry coulis sounds too good to be true but is beautifully delicious and perfect for a weekend treat.


Last but not least, we are left with The Mockery (RM18). A full English breakfast may not be what it seems on this plate but nevertheless, who can resist this adorably disguised breakfast dish. I don’t think I want to disclose what The Mockery offers so you’ll just have to order this to enjoy it. Hint… it’s sweet and not savory!

The Daily Grind may not have started their brunch early like others but I don’t think it’s too late to join the brunch wave. We enjoyed the generous portions and creative nuances of their brunch menu tremendously. The brunch menu offers something different and delicious so it definitely warrants a few visits to try them all.

The Daily Grind’s brunch menu is available weekends from 9am till 2pm

Psst… I heard that The Daily Grind Gourmet Burgers is opening a second outlet in Jalan Ampang soon… stay tune!



THE DAILY GRIND
LG 8 Lower Ground, Bangsar Village
1 Jalan Telawi 1, Bangsar Baru 59100
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: +60 3 2287 6708
Fax: +60 3 2287 6707
Email: burgers@thedailygrind.com.my


Open: Everyday 11:00am-11:00pm