I Just Wanna Get Along at Blue Cow Cafe, Plaza Damas

When I was thinking for an opening hook for this post, I thought only and only of this one song.

"We were rich once
Before your head exploded"


The Roast Pork served with a huge dollop of coleslaw and mash on that Saturday morning was handsome and induced happiness.

"Imagine doing what just the Big Bang did"

The Applesauce that came served in a separate jar was tart and tight, elevating the Roast Pork to new possibilities.

"The whole world knew it was loaded

Wave bye bye cause it ain't ever coming down now"

The Grilled Pork Loin, a little less profuse in flavour and tenderness, simmered and sulked, demanding for more attention and praise. The tougher material was challenging to work with but we gave it all we had and placated the raging victim within. Just for a short while though.

"I just wanna get along" Jeng-Jeng!

I returned to the crisp comfort of the Roast Pork and surrendered with a sigh.

"I look up

The heads fly over

I see a boy I know

His hair's on fire"

The pilgrimage of pork that sussed out this and that happened at:

Blue Cow Cafe

N-1-4, Plaza Damas

60, Jalan Sri Hartamas

Tel: 03-62013206

"The whole world I discovered

If you're so special why aren't you dead"

The tune's "I Just Wanna Get Along" by the Breeders. Listen here. Pretty awesome eh?

Sunday Relief at Bulldog Pub, Hartamas

I've always enjoyed Sunday as a day designed purely for the pursuit of recovery of the body, soul and mind. After a highly eventful Friday and Saturday, I was looking forward to some reprieve come lunchtime Sunday, when we made our way to enjoy what the Bulldog pub in Hartamas would offer.

We started with a pint each - Strongbow cider and good ol' Tiger.

We waited for a while for our food, approximately half an hour, even though the tables were barely filling up the whole time we were there.

I ordered the Roast Pork, because I'd been stealthily eating healthy all week and I'm quite frankly, sick of it! It arrived an arrangement of pork slices, apple compote, with roast spuds and buttered vegetables (even though I had specifically requested for that to be replaced with fresh vegetables). They served the brown onion sauce on the side, which was appreciated - you decide how heavily and at what pace you want to douse the meat. I didn't send back the buttered vegies either because I was quite ravenous at that point.

While the pork was well roasted, it didn't pack a whole lot of flavour beyond the gamey pork, and I felt it was too tough to warrant much praise. The apple compote nicely accompanied the pork slices, but the brown sauce was a tad too salty.

He went with the Toad in the Hole, which I'd remembered from Bangsar-Babe. He was happy with it, particulary with the Yorkshire pudding crust in a savoury context. The pork sausages were again too salty which betrayed its store-bought origin.

Personally, I loved the glorious mess of the salty sausages drenched in the brown onion sauce, accompanied with the soggy pudding pastry. What's not to like??

The kitchen does need to work faster as I can't imagine how they could deal with the pace when the heat is on. The meal at Bulldog sent me into sluggish mode for the rest of Sunday, but if that's not what recovery is about, then I don't know what is!

Cheapskates and Cheap Sake at Kin San Kichi, Desa Sri Hartamas

Kin San Kichi used to be THE place for a good cheap Japanese feed, kinda like the Hokano of yesteryears. I remember coming here when they still permitted smoking indoors, the place permeating a wonderful mix of odours from the BBQ tables and the open-air kitchen inside. It was often brimming with in-and-out diners, queues forming in the early evenings. Most of all, I remember how we'd constantly end up being pleasantly surprised by the tab at the end of the meal.

We were looking for a quick bite in the area before proceeding with the evening elsewhere and stumbled in here. Not much had changed after a number of years. The restaurant manager (now possibly part-owner), whom I remembered as a very friendly and efficient young lady, was still around, looking significantly wiser and more matronly. The menu's looking slightly spiffier, no longer those clumsy clear plastic folders but the prices remain pretty hard to beat.

Our orders were generic that evening but suffice to say, there are plenty of other goodies available on the menu, including a very affordable BBQ set, value-for-money sashimi sets and they do a decent version of my favourite grease trap, tonkatsu curry rice.

The customary Saba Set (RM16), generous enough to feed the unusually ravenous Hui.

Riz got the Ten Don (RM14). I forgot to get his take on it but there can't be much wrong with it, nor much great either, I suspect.

Kimuchi Ramen (RM18) - a steal with 2 x medium prawns, fresh fish, 3 x meaty chashu in a spicy broth. It was a tad salty I felt, and made me very thirsty. Also, the requisite bite from the ramen quickly deteriorated when left to sit in the broth a touch longer, a note of its quality.

Sake on the cheap! Left: My Ozeki Hana Awaka (Sparkling Sake) and Riz's Hakutsuru Nama. Ben's order of Shochu by the glass as well as Hui's Asahi were both a very moderate RM10++ each.

We probably didn't order the right things to truly render this a worthy revisit of Kin San Kichi but it's heartening to see the key cornerstones of this humble little restaurant remain solidly grounded. I should be back to give that nostalgic curry rice a go!

Kin San Kichi
16, Jalan 27/70A
Desa Sri Hartamas
50480 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2300 3889

It's sandwiched between Aoyama and Cavells, diagonally opposite the open air carpark behind KK mini-mart, on the other end of the same row as Finnegan's.

One Ballad too many, Decanter Too, Desa Sri Hartamas

Following the string of posts about Decanter Too at Desa Sri Hartamas such as here and here, we visited to see if it lived up to the earlier Decanters' reputation for serving to generations cheap, comforting food & drinks.

Located on the same row as Fong Lye, street parking is relatively easy IF and only if you get here before 6PM. After that, it's best to just head straight to the open-air paid parking lot behind the KK mini-mart across the road. Decanter Too also neighbours the entrance to the pole-dancing studio on the first floor, so on evenings where we sat at one of the two tables outside, it was only a matter of time before the traffic of fit and fabulous pole-dancing class attendees made us somewhat conscious and sheepish of the boozy feast on our table.

Hainanese Chicken Chop - unrestrained portions and reassuring, but the batter could've been somewhat lighter. Also, this introduced me to my first and recurrent grouse to the food here - too healthy dosing of MSG!

Hui's Stir Fried Fish with Shallots & Spring Onion confirmed the MSG irritant, for she reacted immediately to it with a dull ache at the back of her neck.

Deals like 3 jugs of beer for the price of RM100 nett are too alluring so despite the parched throat in the middle of the night after that meal, I returned the same week.

One of the recommended whites by the bottle - Domaine Sur Lie (RM99++). This was too dry for my liking, should've gone for the other recommendation.

Chicken & Mushroom Pie (RM8) - Somewhat routine, but served its purpose of a light pairing with the wine.

Mel's Steak Pie (RM8) - good with her beer, generous chunks of meat a nod to Decanter's rep for offering value for money.

Cantonese Fried Noodle (RM9) - Meal owner N proclaimed it OK-lah, not the best he's had but certainly agreeable at that kind of price.

Oh, one more gripe - when we arrived at a little past six, the music playing was a Scorpions' greatest hits on repeat at a discomforting, piercing volume. The third time we heard the ominous whistling in the opening bar of Winds of Change, we requested for a change in music, only to be replaced by yet another equally nauseating greatest hits compilation. No music snub intended, but Scorpions at a dining outlet like Decanter's is akin to playing opera at a night club. Or K-pop at a cocktail reception. Or Wu Tang Clan at a wedding solemnization. Oh wait, that could work. Anyway, point is, given the cosy ambience, they ought to give the kind of music they play some thought.

I'm indifferent to the food, but the pricing's reasonable, drinks cheap, the service fast and attentive ('cept for the music, y'all), an outlet that I wouldn't mind coming back to.

Mr Ho's (Small) Big Breakfast & Mr. Pieman, Hartamas Shopping Centre

How great is this three-day weekend? I actually feel rested for the first time over a weekend in a long while. When will we ever see the four-day working week materialise??

Finally made it to brunch with Dianne after months and months of planning, navigating weekends away, work schedules and whatnot. We agreed on Plaza Damas with Fogal's protein extravagance in mind, but then detour to Mr. Ho's Fine Foods, one of the latest F&B entrant at Hartamas Shopping Centre.

Adena, aged 7, a bundle of precocious energy. I remember her vividly as an infant, then a sassy toddler like it was just yesterday!

All three of us get the Big Breakfast which comes with coffee or tea. Mr. Ho's brews Avanti - this is good, a strong and robust kickstart right before midday.

If you think there's nothing Big about this, you are spot on. Mr. Ho's serves its Big Breakfast in two sizes and in an attempt to exercise some balance on account of having missed my morning swim because of an accidental hangover, I go for the Small size. Two triangles of very thin wholemeal toast, a tablespoon of baked beans, one pork sausage, a SHRED of bacon and one egg, sunny-side up does not make for a very filling breakfast - it's almost like a tasting platter. The other Large size is apparently twice the portion of this, which would be about right. However, at a mere RM9.90 nett for the Small with good coffee, I'll admit that we get what we pay for.

With obviously room for more, I keep my eyes open as we walk around the mall a bit and spy Mr. Pieman, a kiosk in front of Mercato supermarket.

Mr. Pieman has four pie flavours - Rotorua Chicken, Waikato Beef, Tauranga Vegetable and Kaipaki Apple. I find the obvious NZ reference curious and a quick poke around the website reveals that the founder picked up pie-making from the Kiwis. The kiosk also sells a Potato Top version, in beef and chicken.

Rotorua Chicken (Small). I love that the pastry isn't puff and offers a lot more substance (and less mess!) when you bite into it. Also, the filling is generous - plenty of chicken in a peppery white sauce. While it tastes fine on its own, I do find that a little bit of Heinz ketchup went a long way with this. RM2 per piece or get 5+1 for RM10.

Potato Top - the potato crust is baked to a crumbly texture and melded well with the filling. I'd expected the filling to be different from the pie's, on account of its name but as both were very small servings, I don't find it too much and they filled me up very nicely.

The verdict? Mr. Pieman is certainly an interesting addition to Hartamas Shopping Centre and the general deficiency of good pies in KL; I would definitely venture back to try its other flavours.

In pursuit of healthier living, starting at Bagel N Coffee Station

Sunday AM: In need of greasy, fry-up breakfast to counter effects of last night's pinot grigio. At 9.15AM, Jarrod & Rawlins still shows no sign of life so we proceed to try our luck at Hartamas Shopping Centre.

Fry-ups elusive here too. Does F&B retail mean you start no earlier than the regular mall o'clock of ten to ten? Thankfully, Bagel 'N' Coffee station stands open, bright, cheery and welcoming. Bagels were probably the last thing we had in mind this morning but we decide it'll have to do and step right in. Bagels can't be choosers, right? HA HA HA! Sorry, Sundays are lamecheck-o-meter's days off.

The interior is standard contemporary cafe - liberal use of the warm colour palette, cosy lighting. Air conditioning could do with a service though.

We struggle initially with the menu as the guy who served us basically shoved us the Combo deal menu they had without letting on that there was another menu listing the various fillings that made up either a Super, Deluxe or Premium bagel.

The coffee arrives within minutes, two big steaming mugs. The quaintest thing - coffee comes with a handful of peanuts (salted) and a piece Dairy Milk. We think it's a little strange but we're charmed nevertheless. Biscottis in bulk probably aren't cutting the budget sheets these days.

MS' glorious ode to dairy - Parmesan bagel. Cream cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, pesto and parmesan. I wouldn't touch it, but can understand how lactose nuts would quiver in ecstasy at the sight of this.

MS says it's good, very very good.

I go for the more predictable Classic New York - hold the cream cheese, double up on the horseradish, smoked salmon, cucumber, lettuce, tomatoes and onion.

I am very impressed. Bagels are tricky things - they have to be harder in consistency, but they can't afford to be too hard. This one is lightly toasted with generous, fresh and crisp fillings. A far cry from bacon and eggs but this really puts the whole new health regimen I keep putting off into plausible perspective. That's it, I start tomorrow! Whee!

Bagels here also come with a side of coleslaw each - I love it when I start off the day judiciously ticking off my 3+2 quota! My insides are thanking me profusely for not having found the fry-up.

You can also enjoy a short video about the bagel's origins looped on a TV screen propped up in one corner. I didn't pay it any attention until I finished my bagel and found it quite informative and amusing!

I really hope this place sticks around. It's tough going with the choices available in KL and at this type of pricing (each combo set of Deluxe bagel + coffee is about RM19.90), it's hard to not think about what else you could feed on elsewhere.

Thanks for shouting brekkie, MS! Hope you had fun at the races!