NEW: Bubbles & Bites in Highlands Hotel, Genting

Remembered last week I posted that I was in Genting and I tried a total of 16 mooncakes flavours (click here to read), so after that we were brought to this new place names Bubbles & Bites. I heard of this place prior to this from JQ as she wanted to suggest this place for lunch when I met her up in Genting but end up we are at another place because I was too lazy to walk over. Ah so finally managed to try this new place! 

We were told that Bubbles & Bites was opened a while back in July 2012 and it is a casual continental cottage cuisine with a rustic concept that specialize in pizza and pastas.

Fresh salad bar at the counter! 

The fridge! Everyone surrounding it because it has really cool selection of miniature bottles of sparkling wines, alcoholic sodas, juices, soft drinks, beers and wines from all around the world & yay we get to pick what we want to drink! 

Bottled fruit juices, these are imported from New Zealand. Very healthy and delicious!

I picked up this cute bottle of Australian Bundaberg Root Beer to try, it is not as gassy as I thought it would be. 

Can't help but to pose with Darren from Nuffnang with this Root beer bottle that looked like hospital's medicine bottle to me

 And if you are not a big fan of juice & root beer there is alcoholic beverages served here. Some of them took the opportunity to try some of these.

And these!

Lemon & Orange cocktails

And that is Charmaine happily enjoying her drink before we all start to attack the food!

Here is what we have ...

 Caesar Salad - RM15

Our starter! It have garden fresh baby romaine lettuce, garlic croutons, egg, beef bacon with creamy house caesar dressing and topped with smoked salmon. 

Al Dente Spaghetti -RM19.00

Cooked with a wine, garlic, tomato & seafood. I love how the seafood was generously spread here & it tasted good.

 8 hour slow braised lamb shank - RM23

Honestly I'm not a lamb person so I didn't try but I was told that this was really good as only the bones left after picture was taken! For a 8 hour slow braised lamb shank , this is only RM23! 

Pizza Carbonara - RM21

This has creamy base with button mushrooms, chicken ham, spring onions, garlic and parmesan cheese.

 Home-style Macaroni & Cheese -RM15

This is one of our favourite because the cheese is literally flooding each & every macaroni! Very sinful I know but very smooth & rich in taste!  

 Isle of Capri - RM21

Has rich tomato base with sliced turkey ham, mushrooms, spanish red onion, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, grilled red capsicum and plump anchovies.

 Thai Red Curry Seafood -RM21.00

Thai red curry sauce base, tiger prawns, marinated calamari, mussels, mushrooms & lychees with mozzarella cheese. There is no secret that I love Thai food but I think this red curry flavour does not give enough kick!

Lam Lee Burger - RM20

Lam Lee and Ramlee sounds familiar? This is the signature classic Malaysian street burger that we all loved! 

This burger can feed 2 persons I think!  

 Peri Peri Chicken Wings - RM16 for 2 pairs of chicken wings

Of all things I tried, this is my favourite I must said! Must try , very appetizing.. can't go wrong with Peri Peri sauce! We actually re-ordered this because it's so delicious!

We also have some Desserts after that!

 Bread & Butter Pudding

 Cheese cake

 Tiramisu with purple cotton candy. 

Me & JQ 

After so much food must take picture with my sweet JQ. Finally she is back from Genting! Miss seeing her around in events when she was in Genting Highlands doing her internship! 

Last but not least a group picture of us saying Cheer! I like how this Bubbles & Bites has a private lounge area upstairs where we can chill & chat with our drinks after our heavy lunch! 

So if you want to find a quiet place to have some drink & chill in Genting , you might want to try out this new place! Details as follows :-

Bubbles & Bites! Bubbles & Bites (non-halal restaurant)

(Located at Level 2 in Highlands Hotel)

Opens from Monday to Thursday 11am – 12midnight 

Friday to Sunday, Eve of Public Holiday & Public Holiday 11am – 2am

Genting Mid-Autumn Festival : Mooncake tasting session

Just 2 weeks ago, I was invited by Nuffnang to join Mooncake Tasting Session in Resort World Genting (yes up there on the hill!!) This is in conjunction with this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival which would be falling end of this month ; 31 August 2012! Never in my life I have tried so much mooncake flavour at one go!

Looked how colourful & yummy are they !


Here are some of the mooncakes I have tried! 

Snow Skin Mango Paste - RM10.50+

I always fancy snow skin mooncake because it is like dessert to me. Best served when its chilled! Snow Skin Mango Paste because not only it smells good but it taste good. The skin is made from pure mango fruits and the filling is a mix of mango & lotus paste. A must have for Mango lover! And its no secret that this is my favourite!

Snow Skin with Kiwi Fruit Paste - RM10.50+ (NEW)

While this remains a favourite for a number for those who attended, I would prefer Mango over this one simply because it did not have the strong kiwi taste in the filling.

Lotus Sugar White Lotus Paste -RM11.00+

This is the most traditional mooncake without any fancy filling or colouring where lotus paste filling are the focus of it. I like how its low sugar because not only the older generation like our grandparents like it that way, I like it not too sweet when comes to moocakes. The skin is done perfectly where it is not too thick and powdery too!

Lotus Paste with Single Yolk - RM11.00+

If you are a fan of egg yolk, then this is one of the must try! 

Lotus Paste with Double Yolk - RM11.00+

If you are crazy about egg yolk, then this one give you the double oomph ! Although I'm not an egg yolk's fan, I know lot's of people are big fan of them because this is Genting's signature flavour which has very good sale!

Sweet Corn Paste with Chestnut -RM11.50+ (NEW)

This is newly introduced! The filling is made with sweet corn paste & chestnut is a sweet combination. And I like how the sweetness of chestnut filling melts in my mouth because I'm a big fan of chestnut myself, used to buy 1kg of chestnut and peel it by myself to enjoyyyy..

White Lotus Paste with Ginseng & Red Dates -RM11.50 (NEW)

This is another new flavour, as much as I like red dates taste here but I don't like any Chinese herbs like ginseng. Anyway I can't really taste the ginseng taste here . But these are good ingredients to improve health being!

Healthy White Lotus Paste with Spirulina Skin -RM11.50+

This is one of my favourite of all! Surprisingly the bitter taste of the skin (made from Spirulina) matched perfectly with the lotus paste sweetness. This is one really good one you should try especially when spirulina is always known to be good as nutritional supplement!

White Butter Skin with Pandan Sweet Corn Paste Yolk -RM11.00+

I still remembered how the pandan leave fragrance taste linger in my mouth with every bite and the sweet corn (custard) yolk filling make this an interesting flavour that I would buy!

Green Tea Lotus Paste -RM10.50+

As much as I love green tea, but this combination does not give me the kick. But I do enjoy the crunchiness  of sunflower seeds (or better known as kua chi in cantonese) in here!

Durian Lotus Paste -RM10.50+

Being someone who are came from a small town (i.e Segamat, Johor) that famous for Durian, Durian is one of my favourite filling to have when comes to mooncake and I have high expectation for it. Unfortunately this durian filling seems to have an artificial flavour rather than those real durian extract which I preferred.

Golden Jade with Single Egg Yolk -RM11.00+

This mooncake is called golden jade because the green colour filling which is made from pandan looked like jade colour! I learnt from my boyfriend's parents that they love this flavour the most because elderly like them like the filling to have the pandan leaves's fragrance as this is not as sweet as the plain lotus paste.

White Lotus Paste with Black Sesame Yolk -RM11.50+ (NEW)

This colour combination filling does looked appetizing right? This rich combination flavour which have lotus paste, black sesame, egg yolk & sunflower seed  is not too sweet and it's really appetizing one to have! 

Red Bean Paste -RM7.80+

Anyone of you are red bean lover? Then you should try this one. This has very rich red bean flavour! 

Assorted Nuts Ng Yan - RM11.00+

If you love nutty lover, then you should try this. This Assorted Nuts Ng Yan mooncake is made from 5 different nuts which are sesame, dried winter melon, olive, sunflower seed, almond & walnut. Although I like how it's crunchy at every bite but a little bit too sweet for my liking!

Money God Cookie

Instead of the traditional piggy biscuit or more famously know as 猪仔饼 (chu chai peng), Genting Master Chef came up with this Money God (in Cantonese known as Choi San Yeh) because it is said to bring luck! A great gift for friends and people who are going into casino right!  It's made of the mooncake skin (i.e flour & lotus paste), so basically it's meant to taste very plain and best to eat it with a cup of hot coffee!

Even Darren from Nuffnang who escorted us to Genting can't wait to pose like Choi San Yeh together with the Money God cookie! Darren has this signature million dollar smile you know, he also can be choi san yeh!

Even this cute Genting pr lady can't stop taking picture with the Money God Cookie also...to keep the luck in her phone I think!

Left is Dragon & on the right is Genting's logo as the mould

I love the dragon mold at the mooncake skin which is specially made in conjunction with this year Chinese calendar dragon year, very pretty! I learnt something during the tasting session that each mooncake mandarin name is craved on top of it and I didn't notice until the Master Chef told us to look at it properly.

Michelle, me & Daniel stuffing ourselves with a total of 16 varities of  mooncake #likeaboss! 

Although this is an enjoyable mooncake tasting session but I think I had more than 4 full size mooncakes (considering I took 1/4 from each flavours and there are total 16 of all) at ONE GO and it's like over my quota for this year! So it's a must have to have chinese tea like (pu er or better known as po lei in cantonese) when I'm having mooncakes because it washes away all the oil inside my mouth and it is known to lower down cholestrol after having this once a year indulgence! If you don't know yet this year 2012 Mid-Autumn Festival or Mooncake Festival falls on 30 September 2012. So another week from now, so don't forget to buy mooncakes for yourself, family or friends for this once a year indulgence ya!

Genting's mooncakes are available at Restaurant Genting Palace, Lao Di Fang Entrance, Good Friends Restaurant, Resort Hotel Lobby, Hainan Express @ TPH, Hainan Kitchen, Coach Cafe and One Hub in Wisma Genting KL. 

Early birds will enjoy 20% discount from 15 July to 15 August 2012. 

30% discount will be given for purchases of 50 boxes (of 4 nos) and above from 15 July to 30 September 2012.

For more info on Genting's moocakes promotion, pls visit 

http://www.rwgenting.com/en/fb/promotions/2012/mooncakes/index.htm

Review : Yamagoya Ramen from Kyushu (Japan) province in Solaris Dutamas

Hi people, how do spend your Sunday?

Shopping , food hunting,or just laze around at home?

Well let me greet you with some yummy food pictures!

Recently the newly opened Yamagoya Ramen (山小屋) invited me for a food tasting session and I asked Shannon along. They are located at Solaris Dutamas and this is their first outlet in Malaysia.

*Note : This is a non-halal food post*

A little background about Yamagoya Ramen, it is a franchaise food outlet that orginated from Kyushu, Japan that recently entered Malaysia. I was told the founder of Yamagoya is is Mr. Masatoshi Ogata came from Fukuoka, the most southwest part of Japan has earned the No.1 title of Tonkotsu Ramen in Fukuoka with 150 shops all over Japan and a few in Bangkok, Taipei, Shenzhen and Jakarta.

So here is it, Yamagoya Ramen claims that they are the 1st original kyushu pronvice ramen in Malaysia. Well it is my first time trying Kyushu province ramen, as this is the only island out of the four I have not visited at all during my last 2 visits in Japan.

Let's see what are the difference!

And there is no way for you to miss the sight of the Imported Ramen making machine which is in a see through room situated at the left hand side of the entrance. Here I can see how the staffs freshly make the ramen for the customers.

A look inside thee restaurant environment, it's small, neat and cosy.

History of Yamagoya on every table in Japanese

The owner Ms Akiyo Tomiie who is also from Fukuoka was there to welcome us and she was kind enough to share the histroy about Yamagoya and explains the different of ramens in Japan and apparently in different province (Kyushu, Hokkaido, Honshu and Shikoku) have different taste of the ramen). She explained that Kyushu province ramen are mainly made from tonkotsu (pork bone) broth and char siu is a must have in their ramen. And that their ramen are freshly made every single day!

The Yamagoya outlet manager Bosco recommended us the following to try.


Mugi Cha - RM2

You might mistake this for Chinese tea because it looked like one and taste a little like it but definitely after a few sip you can tell the difference because it has this fragrant burned smell that will linger in your mouth after every sip. This is not very common in Malaysia but back in Japan this is served for free in almost all restaurants.

Bosco are kind enough to show us what is Mugi cha made from . Mugi is made from Roasted barley tea and it must be served in cold because serving in hot will give the bitter taste. And finally I understand why cold Mugi Cha are served in cold back in Japan eventhough it is winter! And I remembered I boughtsome Mugi cha tea back in Japan too because I really think the taste is unique and soothing.

Mukashi Special Ramen -RM 24

I had their signature ramen that are recommended to try if this is your first visit here. The broth is milky and has which has wholesome of topping from bamboo shoots, wood fungus, bean sprouts, seaweed, spring onions, soy sauce seasoned egg and 2 piece of the must have homemade speacility char siu!

I really like their char siu (known as BBQ pork) it tasted sweet, chewy with little salty feeling at the end of every single bite. Bosco told us that they are very strict when comes to making char siu that he has to go to the pork supplier every morning to choose (by smelling ) the pork to make sure it is fresh and good to make char siu.

Not forgetting their ramen noodle which are homemade, the texture was great, it tasted fresh & chewy, just the right way the ramen should be which many franchise ramen restaurant fail to maintain this standard! It actually tasted and felt like those I have in Japan :) Thumb up for their ramen noodle! The thick broth taste just right and not too oily. Recommended to consume this while it is served hot or else you feel it is oily to eat it.

Miso Ramen, RM 24

Shannon on the other hand tried this and Miso Ramen taste is unique as it a slight spicy. The soup is thick and has toppings such as bamboo shoots, wood fungus, spring onions, bean sprouts and 2 their speacility char siu!

I would prefer this over the Mukashi Special Ramen because of my preference for the broth itself, milky with a tinge of spicyness is just right !

Yamagoya Soy Sauced Egg - RM 4

These eggs are marinated & boiled with soy sauce & with few other ingredients for few good hours and I like it because looked hard outside but soft inside. Bosco told us that they used "kampung chicken eggs" (those chicken that are breed loosely without any vitamin injections)

Fried Chicken - RM 11

When they served this I was wondering why are fried chicken are Japanese speacility. It is served with 5 pieces of chickens meat, a slice of lemon, cabbage & mayonise . I was told to squeeze some lemon juice over the crispy fried chicken and eat it without any sauce.

After my first bite I was like wow so tasty, cant wait for my second bite. It is crispy, very juicy, tender and chewy; the lemon juice is just the perfect combination. I asked Bosco how come the fried chicken taste so good, he said there is a secret in preparing fried chicken, they selected only the best Kampung Chicken and only the thigh of the chicken part is being used here because it is chewy. They have marinated it with their secret recipe for many good hours before frying it just before serving it right infront of us.

It is not secret I am not of a chicken meat fans, this might look normal but it tasted exceptionally good and I just can't get enough of it!

Goyza - RM11

The goyza taste is so so and nothing to shout about. I felt he filling is not that much to chew. For the same price, I would rather order another plate of fried chicken!

Apart from these, there some other dishes are offered in their menu. Kindly click & enlarge to read.

Main dish - Ramen

Side Dish

Drink Menu - alcoholic drink are available here as well

Note : Price in menu is subjected to 10% service charge

In my opinion, Yamagoya Ramen is worth trying because they specialised in Ramen and their Homemade Ramen is freshly made everyday to ensure the quality of the Ramen served are of top quality. The price are reasonable considering the big portion & location (i.e Publika - upper end area). I like how it is not those fancy restaurants that focuses on their quality of their food rather their decorations. Do check this out if you you are Ramen lover or pass by the area!

Yamagoya Ramen
A2-G2-8, Solaris Dutamas,
No.1, Jalan Dutamas 1,
50480 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel : 03- 6206 2220

Operation Hours:
Monday to Thursday 10am - 10pm
Friday to Sunday 10am - 11pm

Facebook: Yamagoya Ramen KL