Thursday 10 May 2012

Introduction

Welcome to our Russian Jellybean's blog. Wonder how the name of this blog was created? All credits given to two of our beloved members: Alena, who is from Russia and Jesslyn, who generously distribute a box of jellybeans among our classmates daily. Hence, the name Russian Jellybean was born! The other members consist of Cheryl, Eve Lyne, Karlyn, Umme and Priscilla. This blog was created after we were given a food review assignment in our Business Communication class by Ms. Zurina.

We decided to have a theme for each review that we were suppose to do. Firstly, a unique food outlet(T-bowl). Secondly, Malaysian cuisine(Simply Penang) and lastly, dessert(Delicious). Despite setting up this blog for the initial purpose of the Business Communication assignment, we sincerely had a great time reviewing each food outlets, posting them up on this blog and also filling up our hungry stomachs!

Tuesday 24 April 2012

T.Bowl



T. Bowl is one of many concept restaurants opening up around the world that tries unique designs and concepts to differentiate itself from other businesses and to draw crowds who proclaim to be the adventurous, the curious, and the brave.

At least, that's what we - the entire team consisting of Cheryl, Alyona, Jesslyn, Umme, Priscilla and I - called ourselves as we walked into T.Bowl at Sunway Pyramid that features ... you guessed it: A Toilet Concept!
Excited over our first look at food shaped like "poop"!


We stared in awe at the interior deco;
Poop shaped designs, showerheads as lights, sinks as desk and toilet bowls as seats!
That decorations was jawdrop no. 1#
Jawdrop no. 2# came when we sat down and opened our menus and dived straight into the strange and slightly gruesome world of toilet cuisine.




T. Bowl boasted a variety of cuisine, from Western to Hong Kong and Taiwan to fusion. Their food is also VERY affordable; ranging from the cheapest RM 3.90 (desserts) to most expensive RM 16.90 (Western Combo). 
Clockwise from top left: There's a toothbrush stuck on top of the menu;
They have take away option for their more popular desserts;
Western and Japanese Teppanyaki on same page - diversity!;
Write down your own orders

Jawdrop no. 3# was when the food finally arrived! The food were served in decorative dishes that followed the toilet concept humorously. 


Look at the miniature toilet bowl dish!
The Cheese Baked Rice is a typical dish served in Hong Kong style restuarants (Kim Gary, Wong Kok). It is a dish where the rice is baked entirely with cheese and a meat of your choice. 


Chery with her Chicken Chop Cheese Baked Rice (RM12.90)
When it was first served, we stared at it with a healthy dose of skeptism as it did not look appetizing, but the Chicken Chop Curry Cheese Baked Rice was surprisingly good! The curry chicken was aromatic and the rice was softened with cheese.


T. Bowl can easily compete with other more "better" established restaurants, and T. Bowl's baked rice is cheaper!
Eggplant with Pork Belly Steam Rice (RM10.90)
The second dish - Eggplant with Pork Belly Steam Rice - was served in a cute little bathtub looking bowl. As you can see from the picture below, T. Bowl is very generous with their foods as this dish was practically overflowing! Aesthetically, this looked a lot better than the Cheese Baked Rice, but the taste was nothing to shout about. 


A friendly warning; be sure you know what exactly you're ordering. Priscilla (who ordered this dish) is allergic to prawns, however, the menu doesn't list what each particular dish consists of so to her dissapointment, Eggplant with Pork Belly was served with dry shrimps. 


The rest of us, not being able to stomach the idea of eating a proper meal (even though we came during lunch time) ordered T. Bowl's more well known desserts instead; like the ice-cream!


Starting from left: Mix Fruit Delight (Recommended Dish),
Coco Vanilla Delight and Donut Delight (RM 7.90 each) 

Consistently following its own unique concept, they served their ice-cream in the shape of well ... poop. 


Whilst this idea in theory draws hordes of curious crowds to try out T.Bowl (it was one of the main reasons we decided to choose this venue too!), in reality once the ice-creams are placed infront of you, mixed reactions occur. 


The more daring, and adventurous of us are raring to try it! 


Alyona doesn't even want to use a spoon to start eating hers!


And once we do, we realize exactly why their ice-cream is so popular! The portion is quite large for one thing, and putting aside the poop shaped aesthetics, T. Bowl decorates their ice-cream with flourish and appeal.


The fruits are fresh, and it doesn't melt too quickly either, and especially in hot days like the ones we have in Kuala Lumpur constantly, their ice-cream are refreshing and delicious at the same time! Definitely recommend this!


However, there are others who beg to differ. In this particular case, Umme - the one most turned off by the toilet concept - insisted all throughout the eating of her ice-cream that her one tasted "funny" (even though we're all eating the same ice-cream flavor).


Umme and her DELICIOUS Donut Delight 

T. Bowl also boasts a variety of other desserts. The Matcha Toast (below) is a Recommended Dish. It's basically toast with a thin powder of green tea. I thought this dish was rather bland. There was too much bread and not enough spread. 


Matcha Toast (RM 4.90) 


The last dessert - Ice-Cream Thick Toast - was ordered by Jesslyn. She said that it was a forgettable dish. There was too much bread and not enough of anything else, although the ice-cream did manage to salvage what would have been a terrible dish. 


Ice - Cream Thick Toast (RM 4.90) 

All in all, we had a pretty good time in T.Bowl. There was no rush to leave and just the right amount of noise that filled up the space, but not too loud to distract us from our own conversations. 


There weren't a lot of other people in the restaurant with us, even though we stayed during peak lunch hours (12 pm to 2 pm). The people that mostly came in were the youths, maybe one or two families, or mostly young working adults adventurous enough to try this unconventional restaurant.

Picture credits to My SpAce
The waiters were efficient (maybe because there weren't a lot of people). They were also very accommodating. They were willing to open separate bills for all 7 of us which is something that not a lot of restaurants will do for you. 


Out of 7, 6 of us would come back again to try something new. I would definitely come again, just to eat the ice-cream! 
T. Bowl is a place where you should bring your friends, if not for the food then just to see the horror expressed on their faces when their food arrives! You need a strong stomach and an open mind to be able to sit on a toilet bowl over a sink and eat and enjoy your food at the same time! 






T-Bowl Concept Restaurant (Sunway Pyramid)
Lot 1F-96-97, First Floor,
Sunway Pyramid Shopping Mall,
No. 3, Jalan PJS 11/15,
Bandar Sunway
46150 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. 


Tel: 016-8086661

Monday 23 April 2012

Simply Penang

The second restaurant we went to was Simply Penang. It is located at the Ground floor in Sunway Pyramid, near Sushi King and the lift.When we stepped into the restaurant, we liked the ambience. 


There were pretty decorations and lighting was neither too dim nor bright. The restaurant is clean and table settings are well arranged. There were many customers during lunch time. Most of them are working adults, families and students.
Neat tables and chairs arrangement.
Peaceful ambience in the reataurant.


The menu has a variety of Malaysian’s favourite selections and the pricing is fair. Some of the main dishes are Nyonya Rice, Nasi Lemak, noodles, fried rice, and many more.

You can order these dishes according to your preferences. Deserts like ABC, Pulut Hitam, and ice cream are also available. There are many types of drinks that you could choose from as well. It’s a Halal restaurant.


Nyonya rice with fried chicken wing.

Priscilla ordered Nyonya Rice with Fried Chicken Wing. It is one of the recommended dish on the menu. The price is RM8.90 (tax excluded from the price). When she saw her plate of food, she realized that the chicken wing is too small. The portion is too small and it is not worth the money.


Looking at the curry chicken drumstick.
Nasi Lemak with curry chicken.




I ordered Nasi Lemak with Curry Chicken. The dish turned out to be a huge portion. The curry is really savory. Price of the dish is RM8.90 (tax excluded from the price), which I think is quite worth it.


Penang Famous Assam Laksa.
On the other hand, Cheryl had the Penang Famous Assam Laksa. It does not taste really good but the bowl looked huge. The price of the dish is RM8.90 (tax excluded from the price).


Karlyn can't wait to taste her food.
Penang Famous Curry Noodle








Karlyn had the Penang Famous Curry Noodles. She commented that it does not taste really good. The price is RM8.90 (tax excluded from the price).


Alena ordered the Penang Famous Fish Noodle. It was served in a unique way, which is in a mini wok. She said that it tasted delicious. The pricing is slightly higher than our dishes, which is RM9.90 (tax excluded from the price).


The last dish is fried chicken wings with fries, ordered by Umme. It took a really long time for her dish to come. We were about to finish our meal but her order has not come. When we informed the waiter about it, he spoke to us in a really lazy tone. Then he walked back to us with the dish in his hands, in a very slow pace. 



P/S: The waiter is very slow and does not serve with a smile. His English pronunciation is inaccurate too.We do not like the service as it was slow. We will not come to this restaurant again in the future. We might not recommend the restaurant to others as well.

SIMPLY PENANG
LG1.41
SUNWAY PYRAMID
BANDAR SUNWAY

Delicious


Delicious started as a cosy tearoom in 1 Utama Shopping Centre with just a few items on its menu in 2004. Even though its location was not prominent, news of its delicious wholesome food spread like wildfire through word-of-mouth. Soon, the thriving café was packed to the seams with families and young professionals looking for the comfort of homemade food served up.
Soon, a second outlet sprouted up in Bangsar Village and now there are five Delicious cafes in the Klang Valley. ( Referred to the official website of Delicious http://www.thedeliciousgroup.com/ )

A variety of food from starters to desserts

 Its menu has blossomed into a veritable treasure house of western and local favourites and satisfies the palates of its diners from breakfast till late supper. Delicious has now become a place where families come to spend some quality time with each other, and young adults or working adults come to just chill and hang out. Referred to the official website of Delicious http://www.thedeliciousgroup.com/ )


Families and young adults ready to have their lunch
As we entered the cafe, the first thing that caught our attention was the wide array of desserts - ranging from Macaroons and Black Forest in a glass, to Tiramisu in a glass, Lemon Meringue Pie and lots more.

The different types of desserts on display
Eve Lyne sleeping
Complimenting the cosy ambiance of the place were the bright blue and white plush sofas and cushions. Eve Lyne decided to take advantage of the comfort and took a short nap while waiting for the food to arrive.

Classic Chocolate Cake with vanilla ice cream ( RM 12.90)
The first dessert we tried was absolutely mouth-watering. The Classic Chocolate Cake had a smooth texture, the kind which would melt in your mouth. The cake was served with warm chocolate sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The sauce and ice cream were a perfect compliment to the cake, making it the perfect dessert for the chocoholic that I (Umme Hani) am.

 Berrilicious Chocolate Pavlova ( RM 13.90)
Next on the list was the Pavlova, decked with juicy strawberries and chocolate shavings ordered by Eve Lyne. Pavlova's are suppose to be one of the most elegant desserts. From the sweet creaminess of the custard, to the fruitiness of the berries, to the crispiness of the meringue. It's also suppose to be light, delicious, spirited, flavourful and sweet. Unfortunately when we tasted it, the Pavlova tasted nothing like what I just described on top. It was actually quite hard and did not taste nice. We were very disappointed.

Strawberry Cheesecake with berry coulis ( RM 14.90)
Carrying on the strawberry dessert trend from the pavlova, Alena ordered the Strawberry Cheesecake. The cake had a very rustic cheese flavour to it and the berry coulis added a nice touch to the cake. The only complaint we had, however, was that the cheesecake was too dry.

Chocolate Brownie with Chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream ( Rm 12.90)
 The Chocolate Brownie is quite similar to the Classic Chocolate Cake, with a single scoop of vanilla ice cream and warm chocolate sauce poured on top of it. It was just as mouth-watering as the Classic Chocolate Cake. The only difference between these two desserts was that the Chocolate Brownie was chewier compared to the soft and smooth texture of the Classic Chocolate Cake. Each bite of the Chocolate Brownie was like a burst of flavours in the mouth.
Bread Butter Pudding (RM 11.90)
Cheryl opted for the simple yet traditional Bread Pudding with vanilla sauce. Despite being visually appealing, the pudding was not sweet enough for Cheryl's palate and she would have preferred if it had been heated up before being served, and not merely served straight from the refrigerated display case.


Blackberry Apple Crumble with vanilla ice cream( RM11.90) 
 Deciding to divert from the trend of cakes that we had already tried, I (Jesslyn) ordered The Blackberry Apple Crumble with Vanilla Ice Cream. To our disappointment, the crumble was not crumbly enough and it had a funny smell. At the end, I ended up eating only the ice cream as the flavours and texture of the Blackberry Apple Crumble did not live up to my expectation. To some, the Blackberry Apple Crumble tasted sour and to others, it was nice just the way it was.

Beef Lasagna (RM 20.90)
Famished and preferring something savory, Karlyn and Priscilla decided to share the Beef Lasagna. According to Karlyn, the lasagna was quite tasty and had the right balance of flavours to it. On the other hand, Priscilla thought it was too beefy and as such, did not have as much praise for it compared to Karlyn's review of the lasagna.

The waiters were very friendly and patient with us, as we were taking our own sweet time in ordering our food. They were also kind enough to help us take a picture just before we left. Overall, 4 of us would come back again because we just enjoyed the food there but the other 3 wouldn't want to come back because it's too expensive and they did not enjoy the food as it did not live up to their expectations.

A group picture, from the left : Cheryl, Umme, Priscilla, Karlyn, Jesslyn, Eve Lyne, Alena


LG2.55 & LG2.55A, Lower Ground Two,
Sunway Pyramid Shopping Mall, No. 3, Jalan PJS11/15,
Bandar Sunway, 46150 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Telephone: 603 5631 8181  
Business hours: MON-SUN: 10.00am - 10.00pm

 http://www.thedeliciousgroup.com/