KL Sedap 2014 Part 6: Dip N Dip

So this place was recommended by a good friend of my Darling Wife who says we simply had to visit here if we were in KL.

The place is situated in Bangsar so it was a little out of the way from where we were staying (Berjaya Times Square) but we happened to go nearby for a little shopping one rainy afternoon and the opportunity was ripe for us to finally drop by!

Dip N Dip is primarily a dessert place so you can expect plenty of sweet treats here.
Prepare yourself... for the... Chocolate Overdose!

Brownies Crepe (RM28.50)

Yeah it is pretty nice to look at right? Wait til you eat it!

The Brownies Crepe is not to be trifled with I can tell you that! This crepe is completely bathed in chocolate so all you choco-holics must be jumping for joy right about now. And it's not just covered in just one type but THREE types of chocolate! Milk chocolate, Dark Chocolate and White Chocolate make up this fantastic treat.

Errrr.... but why do they call it Brownies Crepe? Where's the brownie???

Ask and ye shall receive! The brownie lies within!!
Oh yeah. That means the entire size of the crepe actually has a carpet of brownies inside. Yes. Literally a carpet of brownies as you can see from that picture.

Tell me that's not enough chocolate for you!!
To be honest with you, this thing is enough to share between 2-3 people. Seriously.
But hey everyone really enjoyed this!

Plus, depending on who's the artist, your design might be different!
We had a 2nd masterpiece!

By the way, they've also got other crepes like the Dip N Dip Crepe (fruits), Cinnamon Crepe (Apples, Banana and Cheese), Tripple Chocolate Crepe, Cookies Crepe and Mallow Crepe to name a few.
Well, more than a few anyways.

Chocolate Waffle (RM17.00)

Well, if crepes are not your thing then maybe you might consider the waffles!

They have the type with fruits and stuff but chocolate lovers will surely go for the Chocolate Crepe.
It's pretty straightforward. It's a waffle and it's drowning in chocolate. LOL
And comparing to the crepe, I guess this was a much simpler presentation to prepare.

Pain Perdu (RM17.00)

So here are are having all the typical desserts so we thought we would try something a bit different and we had never heard of Pain Perdu before so we ordered it.

So the Pain Perdu is basically a slice of thick toast which has been soaked in milk and then they pile on goodies on top. And by goodies, I mean a scoop of ice-cream and then they drizzle chocolate all over the thing!! You could also choose caramel and cinnamon by the way (but I think you all will still chocolate right!!!)

If you leave it long enough, the ice-cream will melt so feel free to use a straw if you must LOL

To be honest the whole idea sounds so tempting. I mean, milk-soaked toast already sounds so spectacular but in the end, everything is pretty much going to be overpowered by the chocolate.

Dip N Dip Eclair Pyramid (RM34.00)

Okay this is what I ordered as well because the idea sounds really promising.
We've got 11 mini-eclairs and then you top it up with (LIKE DUH) CHOCOLATE!!

So here's something where you can get involved in the creation of the dish. You can choose to dip the 'eclairs' into the chocolate or, like us, shower some chocolate love all over. Sounds kinda wrong but tastes kinda right LOL

BUT.....
Firstly, I consider these more as cream puff than eclairs. I mean, yeah, Choux pastry but this is just what I get when I see these little nippers.

Secondly, I do have an issue with the filling...

Yeah some of the 'mini-eclairs' came up empty. Literally.
I'm not sure if this was done on purpose or not but I expected every single one to have some filling.
To be honest, the pastry on its own was actually very dry and kinda hard too as opposed to the nice and fluffy texture you'd expect.

Full marks to the staff though. When he was clearing the dishes, he actually asked me why I didn't finish my dish and if anything was wrong. I explained to him and I saw him bring the dish to the managed behind the counter and he was explaining what I had just told him. I didn't stick around after that but I was quite happy that the staff was so proactive.

Anyways, it's quite obvious that the star of this dish (and pretty much all the dishes here) was the...

Strawberry Milkshake (RM14.00)

Guess what? The Strawberry Milkshake tasted like Chocolate too!!
Just kidding...

It was good! Thick and creamy and a nice change from all the chocolate we'd had that meal.
They've also got Banana, Oreo, Vanilla, Coffee, After Eight and also.. Chocolate. LOL

Adam's Verdict:
Dip N Dip Eclair Pyramid 1.5/5 -- Pain Perdu 2.5/5 -- Strawberry Milkshake 4/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Pain Perdu 2.5/5 --  Brownies Crepe 3/5

Razali's Verdict:
Brownies Crepe 5/5

Fateha's Verdict:
Chocolate Waffle 4/5

Azim's Verdict:
Brownies Crepe 3/5

Pak Busu's Verdict:
Brownies Crepe 4/5

This was a nice place to visit although it's more of a cafe than anything. A great dessert place especially if you're looking for chocolate and more chocolate. In the end, it proved to be too much chocolate for us so be sure to order sparingly.... Try and share if you can... Unless you're really the chocolate monster.

Dip N Dip

Bangsar 5900 Jalan Telawi 3,
Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

Tel: +60 3-2201 5052
www.dipndip.ca

Operating Hours:
11:00am - 1:00am Daily

The Manhattan FISH MARKET: New and Bolder!

I'm sure you have all seen the teasers we have been leaving for you on our Facebook and Instagram pages right? Well, they have all been leading up to this!!

The Manhattan FISH MARKET launches 43 New and Bolder Sea-lections (see what they did there?) which means more tasty makan for us and a wider selection to choose from so that everyone can find something they'll like!

Yes. You read right. That's 43! FOUR-THREE!! Power right!!
The Halal Food Blog Team was honoured to be invited to take a sneak peak at the goodies that are in store for us! Let's take a look at some of them!!

Oyster Roulette ($7.95)

Image courtesy of The Manhattan FISH MARKET

In the appetizers department, all your oyster lovers are in for a treat!
They have a new appetizer called Oyster Roulette and the concept is interesting!

You guys know about Roulette right? Where it's a game of chance to see who's the 'lucky' one?
Well, you're served with 4 poached oyster shooters in a bed of ice. These poached oysters are bathing in a spicy chilli concoction. The catch - 3 of them are mild but 1 of them is the super spicy one!

Besides a great idea to spice up your dining experience with friends and family, the oysters are amazingly fresh too and the chilli 'sambal' here is pretty tasty too!

But for all you 'hantu chilli', not to worry. You can ask them to make all 4 the spicy type if you'd like or vice-versa if you don't feel like burning your mouth off. LOL

Onion Glory ($7.95)

One of my personal favourites of all the dished we tried that evening was something they called 'Onion Glory'. Seriously so good!

It's a big onion which has been individually peeled off slice by slice and then coated in a special crispy batter and then it achieves full deep-fried glory!

The outer coating is super crispy and tasty with some special seasoning! Maybe it's just me but I'm a sucker for this kind of thing but I'm sure all you onion lovers are gonna love this too. And don't worry about having 'onion breath' later this is a good quality white onion so you can enjoy the flavour without too much problems later on!

It's served with kind of like a ranch dip which goes perfectly with the deep-fried onion slices!
I could honestly finish off a serving all to myself!

Ocean Gems ($5.95)

If you're the type that likes to start with a salad before the big dishes arrive, then maybe you'll like the Ocean Gems which gives you a salad with a little bit of extra bite to get your meal started.

Nice crisp lettuce, cucumber, carrots, bell peppers and this is all mixed in with some prawns and also some plump and juicy scallops! The seasoning is on the tangy side which gets your tastebuds up and going and the fresh seafood give you a nice texture with the fresh veggies.

Okay? Ready for the mains? Here we go!

Curry Hill Seafood ($16.95)

So this is a curry dish inspired by Murray Hill (in Manhattan, New York) which apparently is the place to go to for Indian cuisine in that area.

You've got a slipper lobster, some fish slices and also some succulent mussels all cooked together in a curry which is sure to get some of you going for more and more. The curry is expectedly a fish curry since it IS a seafood dish and it has quite a zing to it too!

Oh they also have a Tiger Prawn version ($14.95) if you're a prawn person!

Served with some battered vegetable (kinda like a tempura style) and also some baguette for you to soak up all that curry!!

Ocean Perfect Perch ($15.95)

All you Sambal Fish lovers (like me) are gonna jump for joy with this dish.
One of the dishes I absolutely LOVE to order when I visit The Manhattan FISH MARKET is the Crispy Whole Barramundi which is a whole fish deep-fried and smothered with fiery spicy sambal.

Well, if you're not into digging into your fish and dodging the bones and such, this is a perfect choice for you because the Perch is already filleted and just just have to enjoy!

Served with some rice and some veggies to give you a perfect plate or rather a Perfect Perch!
PS yes the sambal has a spicy kick to it!!

Fishy Chicky Bang Bang ($13.95)

Okay now let me tell you about Fishy Chicky Bang Bang (which also happens to be my fave dish that evening by the way).

So after hearing the name, you're probably thinking "Is it Fish or is is Chicken?" and when I tell you it's actually BOTH FISH AND CHICKEN you're gonna go "No lah cannot be!!" right right?

Top layer Chicken, Bottom Layer Fish

So the top layer is actually a fried chicken fillet which was sheer perfection I tell you. The batter was crispy just the way we like it and the chicken meat so succulent! The bottom layer is dory fillet and these two are joined together in holy gastronomy by melted Cheddar cheese!!

Now if that doesn't get you I don't know what will because this was THE BOMB!!

And as if I wasn't impressed enough, they added this beautiful sunny side up egg resting in a nest of fried spaghetti! Talk about showing off some skill!

The final main we have here features one of the signature trademarks of The Manhattan FISH MARKET and I'm taking about something that's sure to 'light' things up geddit geddit?
(Yeah I know I know enough of the lame jokes right? Okay let's go!)

Flaming Cheesy Baked Rice ($15.95)

All you baked rice lovers are gonna have a field day with this one.
Imagine a fresh Dory fillet that rests atop a bed of herb rice. And then imagine some cheese added to the mix there. And then we torch the bugger!!

The result is fantastic!! (Or as they say in these parts - FIN-tastic!)

Dig into a great steaming dish of deliciousness. Great flavours and you're gonna love this if you love cheese. And we can see it takes great skill to handle that torch okay one wrong move and it's toast but they obviously have the professionals over here because this was perfect!

So right about now you're probably thinking about dessert am I right?

Strawberry Flamin-go ($4.95)

Here's a dessert they actually use the torch on (for the marshmallows on top!)
You've got a chocolate sauce right at the bottom which you have to dig through some mango pudding for. You've got some fresh mangoes and strawberries in there too!

And of course, finish off with some marshmallows for a sweet finish!
And at that super price, this is a steal!!

Super Fruit Crumble ($4.95)

I actually quite preferred this one. Maybe I'm a sucker for ice-cream!

This is, to put it simply, an Apple Pie in a glass!
It's got the yummy crumble right at the bottom which like the apple pie crust and then you've got tasty apple sauce (with apples) all topped off with some cool Vanilla ice-cream.

Don't even let me start on how tasty this was. Apple pie and Vanilla ice-cream is one of the best combos ever and now you can have it all in this nifty little glass!

Lemongrass Cooler ($6.00)

I love Lemongrass aka Serai and absolutely don't mind it in a drink at all.
This is a refreshing beverage that gives you the great flavour of lemongrass infused with lychee, Camomile tea and even some Aloe vera in there too.

Super refreshing and a great beverage to go along with the food you're gonna enjoy.

To be honest, I had a hard time choosing which drink I was gonna have but this one won! In a close 2nd place was the delicious-sounding 'Melon Breeze' which is a strawberry, watermelon and lemon mocktail! Sounds good right?

Well, besides the dishes we have covered here, there are also some other items on the menu that are definitely interesting and tasty enough to have a mention.

Icy Hot Fish Bananas ($7.95)

You wanna talk interesting then you've gotta mention the Icy Hot Fish Bananas.
Oh yeah it's bananas coated with fish paste  and deep fried to perfection. Top that off with some Vanilla ice-cream and strawberries!

Definitely one that we're gonna try when we head back to The Manhattan FISH MARKET soon!

Volcano Island ($40.95)

We know how much you guys love your platters and here's one to reckon with!

The Volcano Island includes a serving of Curry Hill Seafood (choose from Slipper Lobster or Tiger Prawns), fried scallops, spicy poached Dory nuggets and Volcano Mussles served with Garlic Herb Rice and also some baguette too!

Great for sharing1 Especially if you were planning on trying the Curry Hill Seafood so now there's something for everyone at great value too!

Well, not only have they updated their menu, The Manhattan FISH MARKET has in fact added 43 new dishes to their menu which mean 43 new flavours for you to check out. We've only covered a few here and we're already counting the days til we visit again!

The new menu launches TODAY 12 November 2014 so makes plans and head down to The Manhattan FISH MARKET ASAP to enjoy their new delectable offerings!

A special shout-out to new friends we met while dining at !The Manhattan FISH MARKET!!
Big up to Swee Geok from Make Your Calories Count and Meiling from Universal Scribbles! Check out their blogs by clicking on their names there okay!!

The Manhattan FISH MARKET

16 outlets islandwide
www.manhattanfishmarket.com

Operating Hours:
Varies with different outlets

1 Market by Chef Wan

I remember when 1 Market by Chef Wan opened to much fanfare about a year or two ago at Plaza Singapura. A big name celebrity chef like Chef Wan was opening a buffet restaurant! Exciting right?

Well, obviously a lot of people definitely thought so! It was SUPER DIFFICULT to secure a table when they first opened!! If you tried calling, you'd be lucky if they even pick up the phone. If you emailed, best not to wait for an instant reply. And leaving a message or comment on their FB page merely served as an outlet to vent rather than secure a reservation!

Were you one those affected back then? Yep. That's how popular 1 Market was!!
And yes, we admit, we were among those who tried our luck albeit unsuccessfully to try and see what the big fuss was all about. And then we gave up! LOL

But here we are finally making our way down. And even though it does not generate as much buzz as it did when they first opened, 1 Market definitely still looks like a very popular choice judging by the crowd there when we visited.

Okay so as always, we're gonna run this buffet style with all the food you might enjoy when you visit.
Ready? Ok go!!!

Let's start with what we would consider Starters or Appetizers...

Baked Salmon

Let start by apologizing for not getting a shot of the Cold Seafood spread. The reason is very simple.. It was always gone! Even this Baked Salmon also I was so lucky to catch a glimpse of it so faster snap a photo (with my phone some more! Not even camera!!)

Anyways, please note that the Baked Salmon is served COLD!!
But they do have Oysters though!

Oysters

Glass Noodles with Mango

Pasta Salad

Lamb Salad

They even have fried goodies like Keropok and Popiah for munchies. Complete with dipping chilli sauce! Oh Yeah!

Assorted Keropok

Fried Popiah

Dipping Sambal

1 Market also does have a special section set aside for Japanese cuisine.
You can find quite a few favourites like Sushi, Sashimi and even some Udon too.

Udon

Grilled Salmon Head

Assorted Sashimi

Salmon Sashimi

Chawanmushi

Assorted Sushi

To be very honest, we had quite a bad experience with the Sashimi.
I saw them store most of it in a chiller but for some reason, it was room temperature when we tucked in to our serving. Errr... don't think room temperature Sashimi is a good thing... Kinda gave me the impression that the fish was not fresh...

But on the other hand they do have quite a wide variety for their Japanese spread!
Seldom would you find Grilled Salmon Head on a buffet line am I right?

And on to the mains! Which are mostly Asian-inspired dishes but there are some Western influences as well mind you.

Grilled Squid Skewer

Grilled King Prawn Skewer

The King Prawns were excellent by the way! Fresh and had a nice seasoning to it.
Great with rice or noodles or even just on its own.

Mackerel Tandoori

Assorted Naan

Condiments

Chicken Satay

#1 - That's a great photo right???
#2 - They also have Beef and Mutton Satay
#3 - Mutton was the best
#4 - Have I mentioned what a great photo that is???
#5 - Yes it's freshly grilled on-site

And another great photo!!

Bryani Rice

Hot and Sour Mackerel aka Asam Pedas Tenggiri

Egg Foo Yong

Chicken Picotta with Tomato Sauce

Mutton Masala

Black Pepper Crabs

Braised Ee Fu Noodles

Just a note on the Braised Ee Fu Noodles... I took it when they were fresh out (as in like the photo literally) and because it's braised, the noodles are very very very soggy. Just saying.

Another part you might enjoy at 1 Market are the Live Stations.
This is literally a fresh serving of whatever specialty dishes they might be serving when you visit.

Siam Laksa Live Station

The Noodles for the evening when we visited was Siam Laksa which we unfortunately did not try.
But if noodles are not your thing, then maybe some meat might interest you?

Roast Leg of Lamb and Chargrilled Sirloin Beef

Charcoal Grilled Whole Chicken

Grilled Pumpkin with Mint Chilli Dressing

All I'm gonna say is - watch out for that Mint Chilli Dressing.
Oh and the meats have a Belado sauce to go along by the way.

And don't worry they have a few vegetarian-friendly dishes too.

Buttered Vegetables

Vegetable Lasagna

Stir-Fried Mixed Vegetables

DIY Rojak Station

I quite enjoyed the DIY Rojak station actually. Put as much or as little as you want!
Just take note the chilli is already mixed in with the petis so it's a tad on the spicy side!

And last but not least... it's time fo dessert!!

My darling wife found the Cream Puffs a bit too light in terms of the cream filling but I didn't mind at all actually. Guess I'm a sucker for creamy things LOL but she does have a point though... it was a very light and fluffy cream that I guess we wouldn't expect to be in a puff.

Well besides the usual Western desserts, you've got to expect that a restaurant from Chef Wan has got to have some Asian desserts as well right? In fact, I've heard a lot about the Malay Kuih-Muih to be found at 1Market!

Well, I'd say there was quite a fair selection to be found but somehow I was quite disappointed. Maybe I expected else? I'm not sure why but I was just put off... For example, the Putri Salat. Just one look in the picture and I think some of you might agree that it doesn't look like a Putri Salat you'd wanna pick up and try am I right? Or maybe I'm just being too fussy...

But if Kuih is not your thing, fret not! There are other goodies awaiting you!

Errr... no idea why the sign says "Ask me for Ice Cream"... because it's actually "Ask me for Ice"..
Anyways they did change the sign to correct one later on... But Ice for what you ask?

CENDOL!!!

Goreng Pisang

Oh yeah that Ice Kachang looks good right?!?! Yeah you ask "Ask them for Ice" for this too! LOL

I guess actually the desserts are not too bad. Just go for the ones you really like because you'll probably too stuffed to go for everything. This is after all, a buffet. Oh and by the way when the Goreng Pisang runs out, they change it to Keledek so go for the Goreng Pisang while you can to take full advantage of the Gula Melaka syrup!

Wash it all down with a nice variety of drinks! Quite impressed with the number of choices!
By the way the Bandung was tawar giila when we went but the Barley is highly recommended!

CHILD FRIENDLY FACTOR
The restaurant space is actually quite big in most areas actually so you should have no problems with a stroller if you're gonna be somewhere in the corner. They also have baby chairs for you if you need.
But it does get quite noisy if you're seated near the washing area and also when the staff goes around ringing the bell for the last call of the evening.

Overall we'd say the Child Friendly Rating is about 3/5.

Adam's Verdict:
Overall 3/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Overall 2/5

Pak Busu Zul's Verdict:
Overall 1/5

Razali's Verdict:
Overall 1.5/5

Fateha's Verdict:
Overall 1.5/5

Pak Busu Zul has been here a few times and he commented that with every visit, the quality of food seems to be dropping. I guess maybe the stories I've heard from people who visited a few times might be true in that case?

No doubt the variety is there. There is plenty to choose from and from a wide variety of cuisines too but maybe that's the reason why the quality is dropping? I guess the question will remain - which is more important for a buffet? Better for a large number of dishes but the quality might be compromised? Or lesser dishes but able to concentrate on quality? Hmmm... a dilemma indeed.

Well, I'm sure that with a big name like Chef Wan, a quick refresh will set things right as rain and we're sure people will still flock to 1 Market because it is still a nice place to visit especially if you're going with a big group.

PS we visited on a Friday night for dinner :)

Prices for the buffet are as follows;

Buffet Lunch
Mondays to Thursdays - $26.80++ per Adult / $13.80++ per Child
Fridays to Sundays, Eve of PH and PH - $32.80++ per Adult / $18.80++ per Child

Buffet Dinner
Mondays to Thursdays - $38.80++ per Adult / $17.80++ per Child
Fridays to Sundays, Eve of PH and PH - $42.80++ per Adult / $20.80++ per Child

1 Market by Chef Wan

Plaza Singapura
68 Orchard Road #04-45 to 49

Tel: 6341 9159
www.facebook.com/1marketbychefwan

Operating Hours:
11.30am to 2.30pm for Lunch
6pm til 10pm for Dinner