THE PINNACLE OF H-ARTISTRY @ MIECC

The grand finale of the H-Artistry series this year happened early this month. Alas, I was only able to make it there at around 11pm because I need to attend the wedding dinner of my flogger friends, Christine & Chris. I made it in time to see Alexandra Burke elevating on to the stage.

I missed seeing Block B from Korea perform. I think I bumped into them in the hotel elevator earlier in the afternoon. Oh, well, friends told me I didn't miss much.

I am more interested to see another Korean group, Evol perform =P Not too bad, can dance and sing a bit. Of course there are still room for improvement.

I of course, need to get a glass of Hennessy Mix to start warming up for the next act. I asked for extra strong one.

The next act is Havana Brown. Oh, she is good with her DJ mix. She will also interact with the party revelers there too. The music she played is the kind of music I like to dance to.

Look at the crowd that night. I read that were 4000 strong of party revelers there.

Last but not least, it's Starkillers' turn to wow the crowd. Too bad he only get to wow us for 30 minutes before we end the night with a bang. I was almost KOed by that time. As, I practice to drink responsibly, I've booked a room in Mines Wellness Hotel, which is just opposite MIECC. Walking back to the hotel is no problem for me.

H-Artistry at MIECC was a night of true musical artistry, mixed with a sensational experience befitting of the amazing culmination for the H-Artistry Trilogy of 2012. H-Artistry events are by-invite-only, and are open to non-Muslims aged 18 above. Keep it locked on www.h-artistry.com.my for updates on future H-Artistry events slated for 2013.

Kronenbourg 1664 Pre-Party of MIFW2011

Last week I went to Zeta Bar, Hilton KL for the Kronenbourg 1664 Pre-Party of MIFW2011. One of my favourite French beer. I tried the Blanc and found it a bit to citrus-sy. So, I stick with the original. By the way, MIFW2011 is on going now from 21-27 November.

Met some my my hot blogger friends there.

Everyone says hi to:

Mynn

Louise

Esther

Evelyn

Oh, the finalists for Miss Universe Malaysia 2011 were there too. I managed to take picture with some of them. ;)

These are the models from Amber Chia Academy. I heard they are competing in a contest during MIFW2011.

Of course the principal of Amber Chia Academy was there too that night. She's as friendly as every.

It was a fun filled night and lots of good beer. Even Esther and Louise agreed with me =P

Grimbergen Tasting at Brussels Beer Cafe, Menara Hap Seng

I was invited to a beer tasting session at Brussels Beer Cafe, Menara Hap Seng last Tuesday. It will be my first time drinking the premium full-body beer from Belgium. Grimbergen has been in production since 1128, that is about 883 years. Older than any beer that I've known.

I prefer brunette. Lame joke, I know.

It first started being brewed by monks in a Grimbergen Abbey just North of Brussels. So, where better to have this tasting session other than Brussels Beer Cafe? The recipe of the beer brewing was handed down by the monk until now that it's into commercialisation that the quality of the beer still being monitored by the monks in Grimbergen Abbey.

Carlsberg came to own Grimbergen after they bought Kronenbourg (a French beer that is not bad too) that at that time already bought Grimbergen. Thanks to that, we can have a chance to get Grimbergen here because of Carlsberg global presents.

The colour of the premium full-body beer is of clear brownish gold. At the moment, Carlsberg only bringing it in in bottle form. I am not sure whether there's barrel form or not for Grimbergen. Even in bottle, the taste is very nice for me already.

Smelling the beer gave me a bit of fruity fragrant thanks to the premium hop that was used to brew the beer. A sip of the beer, it taste rich and refreshing, even with 6.5% of alcohol it's quite easy to drink as compared to a 5% alcohol lager. Taking another sip but this time I suck in the air while drinking it, so that to allow it to mix with the air. It gives a slightly sourish, fruity and oakish flavour. The after taste is in the middle, it will be there for a few minutes. Finally, I just swallow a big gulp of the beer and it's very refreshing indeed.

As the norm, a beer tasting session always goes in pair with food that is suitable for the taste of the beer. Master Chef from Germany specially created this dish, "Baked Mussels with Grimbergen Infused Cream & Cheese Sauce Topped with Shredded Bacon" for that night. So, you won't be able to find it in the menu of Brussels Beer Cafe yet.

Baked Mussels with Grimbergen Infused Cream & Cheese Sauce Topped with Shredded Bacon

The baked mussels is really good, the cream & cheese sauce infused with Grimbergen has a creamy cheesy yet bitter taste of a beer and cheddar cheese. The savouriness will come from the shredded bacon, without the bacon the sauce and the mussel will be quite bland. It's better to eat it while it's warm because I tried eating a cold one and the salt in the bacon has been solidfy, making it very salty.

Unlike other beer, the master chef that created the Baked Mussels with Grimbergen Infused Cream & Cheese Sauce Topped with Shredded Bacon told us that Grimbergen goes very well with cheese, even better that red wine.

Of course it doesn't end there, food that follows are Brussels Beer Cafe's very own roasted pork with balsimic vinegar salad as the side and another dish is a platter of pork sausage, meat balls in cameralized onion sauce, calamari rings and chips. The roasted pork is really good, with the layer of skin, fat and meat nicely portioned. The skin is crispy. What surprised me is that I like the salad very much, especially the feta cheese that is used.

Roasted pork with Greece Salad?

I like that size of the chips which let you get the texture of the potato, of course the dipping that comes with it goes very well with it. I like the fact that the pork sausage still can feel chunky meat texture rather than some over processed sausage that feel too smooth to be call meat.

Pork sausage, meat balls in cameralized onion sauce, calamari rings and chips platter.

Great beer, good food. What more can I asked for? Well, how about a company of beautiful ladies?

Hot DJ Mynn from RED FM

Gorgeous DJ Linora from RED FM

Too bad both of them have to leave early because they have to go ON AIR at 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. every Sunday till Friday for their radio programme Late Night Love Songs. Catch them during that time by tuning in to 104.9 FM.

Esther looking good as ever.

Jessy whom I think can eat more food :p. I now love and hate the CMOS backlighting of my Nikon Coolpix S8100.

Not the forget the guys, Joshua, Jason and Henry.

People not in the pictures are Marcky, Ah Bok and Ken.

Master Chef done a wonderful job with the mussels.

The Carlsberg Malaysia Managing Director advised us to finished of the beer tasting with a lager. Of course, the lager must be Carlsberg.

And Marcky really finished off the Carlsberg in 2 seconds.

Nagomi Valentine Lover's Bento, Nagomi Shabu-shabu

Okay, Chinese New Year is two weeks away and 10 days after that will be Valentine's Day. If you are doing some early planning on celebrating Valentine's Day with your love one then I have one good recommendation. The place for superb shabu-shabu, Nagomi Shabu-shabu will be having Nagomi Lover's Bento promotion from 11th Feb - 14th Feb 2011. Three days because 14th is a Monday, so expecting most people to be celebrating earlier.

I had have the chance to taste Nagomi Lover's Bento on New Year with lovely foodies Lex & WeiZhi, Ivy, Wen Ching and Chris & Christine.

While waiting for the preparation of the Nagomi Lover's Bento we were served with Nagomi Potato Salad as appetizer. Not bad.

After seeing the presentation of the Nagomi Lover's Bento only we know why it took quite a while to prepare it. It's so beautiful.

The bento consists of Soba Soft Shell Crab Salada (Soft Shell Crab Salada serve with Buckwheat Noodle).

The soft shell crab is deep fried to crispiness and yet it's still soft and juicy inside. Biting into the soft shell and came exploding is the crab roe. It's extra tasty when dip into the Nagomi own made salad sauce that came with it.

While the Buckweat Noodle is cooked quite springy I ate it by dipping into the special soya sauce with Nagomi's spicy plum radish grating.

Soba Soft Shell Crab Salada (Soft Shell Crab Salada serve with Buckwheat Noodle).

Nagomi's Salad Sauce.

Sashimi lover will love the Rose Shape Sashimi (Combination of Salmon & Tuna Sashimi topping with Tobiko). Never have I eaten sahimi with raw salmon and tuna lice rolled together. Each of the meat compliment each other. Quite a surprising combination. The tobiko added the extra texture into the combination. Try to eat it as a whole and you'll experience a few different layer of taste and texture.

Rose Shape Sashimi (Combination of Salmon & Tuna Sashimi topping with Tobiko).

I can eat the Suzuki Senbei (Home-made Seabass Crispy Cracker) as a snack alone. The texture is a bit like soft satay fish without the overwhelming taste. I like the fact that when bitten into it you can still fill the flosses of fish meat. Eaten with the special soya sauce with Nagomi's spicy plum radish grating, a perfect match.

It will not be Valentine's Day without some Love Sushi Roll (Love Shape Sushi with Strawberry & Avocado). I didn't expect at combination of strawberry, avocado and cheese rolled in a sushi rice will be this good. While strawberry offers the sweetness & sourness, avocado offers the buttery taste and cheese offers a bit of saltiness and milkiness. It's like experiencing different level of courtship, except there's no bitterness here but who wants bitterness during Valentine's Day :p

Love Sushi Roll (Love Shape Sushi with Strawberry & Avocado).

I felt like I was back in Tanjung Tualang when I bite into the King Prawn with White Sauce(Grilled King Prawn with White Sauce). Altbough it can't compare with the freshness of Tanjung Tualang fresh river prawns but still it's a near match. Not easy to find in Klang Valley. The prawn is grilled to perfection, not overcooked or undercooked. The prawn meat in tender yet still able to feel the springiness when bitten into. The special white sauce is able to bring out the taste of the prawn. I even had Wen Ching's prawn when she can't finish it.

King Prawn with White Sauce(Grilled King Prawn with White Sauce)

For a perfect ending of the Lover's Bento, it's of course some sweet sweet love of Chocolate Cheese Brownie. Now this is a first for me to taste chocolate cheese brownie. I tasted chocolate brownie and cheesecake before but this is quite something. It's not too weird as I thought actually. A nice ending to a beautiful Nagomi Lover's Bento.

Nagomi Valentine Lover's Bento RM99++/bento. Available from 11th Feb - 14th Feb 2011. My advise is for a couple to share a bento and order one or two a la carte dish (maybe their sashimi yee sang) because the bento is quite filling. Wen Ching only able to finish half of it and I was very full after finishing it.

Rating: 4.5/5

Oh by the way, Nagomi will also be having sashimi yee sang promotion during Chinese New Year from 18th January – 20th February. 4 kinds of Sashimi ( Salmon. Tuna, Amberjack & Sea bass), I never tried before yee sang like that. I think I should drop by again. RM 48++ for 2 pax and RM 88++ for 6 pax, not too bad right. Check it out here.

Lovers.

Lovers.

Lovers???

BFF.

This is one very nice choice when celebrating Valentine's Day. Try it out. Valentine's Day dinner don't always have to be candle light dinner.





Address:

Nagomi @ Jaya33
PG-02B, Ground Floor, Jaya33
3, Jalan Semangat, Section 13
46200 Petaling Jaya
Selangor, Malaysia
T/ +603 7956 2330
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Nagomi @ Menara Hap Seng
Suite 1-19, 1st Floor, The Podium
Menara Hap Seng (Formerly Mui Plaza)
Jalan P. Ramlee
50250 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
T/ +603 2141 6332
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