Motormouth From Ipoh – A Malaysian Food Blog

Singapore Pasta is but one of the 10 pastas from “10 Countries” – Wacky fusions that may sound weird on the menu, but somehow might just be their make-or-break creations.

Pasta House opened in Medan Ipoh Baru few weeks ago, on 3rd of July 2010 to be exact. Still in its infantile age, the restaurant prides on their pasta creations; a whopping 33 in all. Separated into different categories, namely Cream Sauce Paste, Tomato Sauce Paste, Tomato-Cream Mix Sauce, Specially Fried Pasta, and 10 Country.

Read on to find out about my experience at Pasta House and the prices as well as varieties of pasta dishes there …. CONTINUE READING THE REST OF THIS ENTRY »

Ristorante Italia Mia in Sunway City of Ipoh is one of the few decent fine dining establishments in Ipoh. You can’t find Italian restaurants in Ipoh that easy like say, in the Klang Valley or even Penang. Heck, I think even folks in JB (Johor Bahru) or Melaka have better luck at slurping on pastas, chomping on their slices of pizzas, and licking their fingers clean from the mascarpone cheese pumped into their tiramisu.

Envious? Yes. If you wanna know more about Italian food in Ipoh, you can read about my first Italia Mia experience back in 2008, funky versions of pastas at Spaghetti Sweet Tea Cafe, and of course, the latest addition to Ipoh’s F&B scene; Michelangelo’s Pizzeria that serves fantastic woodfire pizzas, but resembles more of an American style pizzeria than an Italian restaurant.

(*But of course, if you wanna take into account the Pizza Hut’s and the Shakey’s …. by all means, yeah. Ipoh’s LOADED with “Italian Food” outlets!)

Spaghetti Fresh Seafood (RM39.40/USD12.30) – With Sauteed Fresh Prawns, Calamari, Clams, Garlic, White Wine and Parsley

The menu remains unchanged, since the last time we dined here. But they have SPECIALS of the day, written in chalk on the blackboard on the outside of the restaurant. So do sneak a peek before you waltz in, in case you have grown weary of the same old selections; of about 12 types of Pasta, 9 types of Carne (Meat) dishes, and 4 types of Pesce (Fish) items. But seriously, we don’t need another menu with 100 or more items, each being a variant of another. Confusing to the customers, and the cooks as well … CONTINUE READING THE REST OF THIS ENTRY »

And it’s Christmas, New Year and another particularly important date came late, when I finally popped over to Michelangelo’s Pizzeria for some Fresh, Hot Pizza made on the spot. If you have no idea on what or where Michelangelo’s is, do read my previous post first, for clarification. After all, I doubt many Ipohans can grasp the idea of freshly tossed/stretched pizza dough, then literally strewn with Michael’s pick of fresh ingredients (bear in mind it’s all so spontaneous, sometimes he adds/omits whatever he likes), and baked in a most unconventional brick oven fuelled by firewood (unconventional in the sense that it’s almost unheard of here in Ipoh). Up to a blistering 750 degrees, and within minutes your pizza would be served on your table!

For the past week, it was almost an onslaught of a whirlwind of events for Michelangelo’s. Business was brisk ever since they started operations on Christmas day – People waited for seats, then for the pizzas, and some even claimed to have stood for a good 40 minutes or more in search for an empty seat! Yes, the place may not be able to cater to a HUGE crowd for the time being, resembling your casual, small-scale neighbourhood cafe more than anything. Michael claimed that it’s most regrettable to turn customers away, and he’s doing the best he could to handle the crowd. Which made me contemplating on yet another post on Michelangelo’s Pizzeria, to limit publicity for the time being, so to speak.

Psst, so if you’re reading this, and the urge for a visit is ever stronger than before, pray don’t tell on me ….

Say you heard about this place from somewhere else. Or from words of mouth. Or you stumbled upon the outlet.

CONTINUE READING THE REST OF THIS ENTRY »

Here’s more on my KL excursion of sorts …. from the past weekend. Damn I’m still reeling from all the travelling … yet missing every second of it. Sadistic?

Vivo American Pizza and Panini – Now open for business in Times Square

Cafe Latte (RM6.80)

Iced Mocha (RM7.50)

Oriental Baked Rice (RM10.90)

Smoked BBQ Chicken Pizza (RM18.90)

For a wholesome lunch, but slightly more expensive than the fast food counterparts.

The meal costed RM48 for both of us, a taxing lunch, but rather filling. Will probably return for the pizzas, as they’re definitely better than Pizza Hut’s. But that’s just me.

Location : VIVO TIMES SQUARE @ LG68, Lower Ground Floor, Berjaya Times Square, 1, Jalan Imbi, 55100 Kuala Lumpur. Tel No : 603-2148 9799.

So …. done with lunch, then off to our destination. The REAL one … No more side trips. =(

Tranquil surrounding eh?

Guess what’s the ‘Welcoming Shock of a Door Gift’ ?!

Guess the Gadget

Now this …. is….. LIFE.

Cool-looking chairs …. bound to give that back an aching after a few shots!

You know the dreary feeling of returning to work after a long break? When your brain’s still accustomed to the carefree mornings, aka waking up and rollin’ in bed, anticipating/planning the day’s breakfast (or brunch), and treasuring every minute, every second of the day.

Without the hassle of dragging my carcass to the office and face the pc for 8 hours. Like now.

Near-zero occupancy on a Friday’s noon. Hmm ….

The complimentary house bread dipped into balsamic vinegar and olive oil

Circling around Jaya One, we were stumped on where for lunch. Service MUST be quick as I was rushing off for some ‘important‘ assignment after lunch.

Of course, our lunch on Fridays = 2.5 hours of pleasure dining. =P The perks of working with the government. (No rotten tomatoes, plz …)

Carpaccio and Rucola Salad Pizza (RM18.90)

And somehow I picked Santini, a brightly-coloured, rather chic outlet serving mostly Italian cuisine. With a lounge and bar, I’d assume people will throng this place for a drink at night. But I could be wrong, as Jaya One is practically ‘infested’ with restaurants, bars and cafes, it’ll be near impossible for an outlet to be packed to the brim. Unless it’s the over-rated (and over-crowded) Old Town White Coffee outlet, the favourite Chinese restaurant Ducking (which I’ve yet to find enough ‘kakis’ to dine with), or the perennial favourite of most coffee-junkies, Starbucks.

A slice of 8″ pizza with toppings of rucola greens, beef carpaccio, and mozzarella cheese

You see, after the damn long introduction, I’ve yet to touch on the food. Blame it on my pent-up emotions … ahem, I meant words. Ok, ok … here’s my take on the food @ Santini.

They serve a variety of pizzas and pastas, and some rather mind-boggling choices. I picked the beef carpaccio and rucola salad version, which can either come in 8″ or 12″ portions.

Half-expecting the beef to be raw and tasteless, the carpaccio was surprisingly good, slightly smoky, thinly-sliced and a tad briny in flavour. Of course, eating them with the overpowering taste of the rucola (rocket) leaves somehow tampered the sweetness of the beef, plus the strong flavour of the mozzarella cheese-flakes (not entirely melted) may put off non-cheese lovers. But not me. Fortunately, the pizza dough was good enough, with thin crust and light as pizzas should be.

Chicken … Set. (RM14.90) + Iced Lemon Tea

Overlooking the pathway of Bintang Walk, in between KL Plaza and Lot 10 Shopping Centre, Ristorante L’Opera has gone through a major facelift a year ago

Sporting new looks and a dazzling one at that, Ristorante L’Opera is an Italian fine dining restaurant, situated in the heart of the city. With an adjacent lounge bar, perfect for a drink or two, the restaurant seemed a tad intimidating, had it not for the CIMB Credit Card’s Buy-One-Free-Promotion, which ironically, ended on the 31st of October 2008.

Sorry, my posts are all delayed. =P

Beef Involtini (RM60)

Bariguole Slipper Lobster (RM60)

All in all, a satisfying lunch, sans the dismaying service and the non-attentiveness of the staff. But let’s not go there. I’ll stop the rants and ramblings now. Still nursing a sore throat and overwhelmed by fever. Damn the weather … Whoops.