Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur

We flew Air Asia from Avalon to Kuala Lumpur. We've flown Air Asia numerous times, and always had good experiences, but I must admit that I wasn't super keen to use them now that they fly from Avalon Airport in Geelong. I just assumed it would be way too much of a hassle! However, after much research, we realised that it would be legit cheaper (and only twenty minutes longer) to take a cab from the eastern suburbs to Avalon and fly Air Asia than it would have been to fly a full service carrier from Tullamarine airport. Go figure! There's also a SkyBus to Avalon, which would be even cheaper, and some of my colleagues who live on that side of town have actually said that travelling through Avalon would be far more convenient than Tullamarine.

Avalon is a lot smaller than Tullamarine, so another bonus is that the immigration procedures (leaving from and returning to Australia) are much quicker. There are only a couple of food options - a small cafe before check in, and a larger cafe and bar in the departure lounge. They're all fine, but obviously expensive as you're paying airport prices and there's not a lot of competition. If you're flying Air Asia and want a proper meal, I'd actually suggest buying food on the plane.

The Air Asia meals are really good, and are far cheaper than Australian airport prices. Sandra got an extremely spicy mapo tofu with rice, and I got a really flavourful and delicious nasi lemak with tender curry chicken (the meals were RM15/$5AUD each). I also got a hot milo for RM6/$2AUD because I decided that the holiday had officially started! Super sedap!

Air Asia Nasi Lemak and Milo

This reminds me of a funny story that I'm only now ready to share with you - a couple of years ago I received an invite from the Air Asia marketing team to the launch event for their new inflight menu at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2. It was quite short notice, so I assumed that they had mistakenly included me on a list of Malaysian food bloggers and didn't respond straight away... and only after the RSVP date had closed did I learn that they did indeed mean to invite little old Sarah Cooks from Melbourne, and that they wanted to fly me over for the event and put me up in a hotel. GAAAAAH what an idiot! Oh well, I've learned from that mistake to be a little more self confident, and these days I always double check! And I guess now I can say that I've tried the food as a regular paying customer and can vouch for it!

So, onto Kuala Lumpur! As it was such a quick visit, and we were there to catch up with friends, rather than to explore the food scene, we let them pick what we did. Jenbo are quite the fancy couple, which I guess you'll see from the places they chose!

Dinner was at Chocha Food Store (No 156, Jalan Petaling, Kuala Lumpur 50000), an upmarket restaurant serving modern fusion food based on local flavours. (There's also a speciality bar upstairs, Botak Liquor, which focuses on botanical drinks).

Chocha

Chocha

Jenbo had been here numerous times, so they were able to guide us through the menu. Here are some standouts!

Herb-stuffed chicken with black glutinous rice and local spinach - RM36

Curryflower - Crumbed cauliflower, salted egg, shallot, curry leaves, kesom - RM18

Next photo is slightly out of focus but I just had to share it with you because it was the highlight of the night! The mushroom frittata was incredibly light and fluffy and full of delicious shiitake and oyster mushrooms, potatoes and leek. Must order!

Mushroom Frittata Shiitake & oyster mushroom, potatoes, leek - RM22

After dinner we went for drinks at PS150 (150, Jalan Petaling, 50000 Kuala Lumpur), a "secret" bar a few doors down. Apparently secret and hidden bars are all the rage in Malaysia right now. We'd actually walked past it on the way to dinner, and I thought it was an actual toy store, d'oh! (I remember thinking to myself, "What kind of toy shop is filled with rambunctious yahoos and hot jazz music at one am?")

PS150 Bar - The best damn toy shop in town

Behind the toy shop is a very cool, chilled out bar, with an extensive cocktail list.

PS150 Bar

After all the travel, we could only manage one round (plus Jenni had work the next morning), but the cocktails were delicious and I really enjoyed this bar! Would recommend.

Cocktails!

The next morning, we had breakfast at Lisette's Cafe and Bakery (No. 8, 8A and 8B, Jalan Kemuja, Bangsar, 59000 Kuala Lumpur), a cute and totally Instagrammable cafe in trendy Bangsar. I liked the leafy courtyard...

Lisette's Cafe and Bakery

Pastries at Lisette's

Pastries at Lisette's

Sandra and I normally avoid Western-style cafes in Malaysia, preferring to save our limited time and stomach space for local food that we can't get back home, but when I saw that pastry display, I just couldn't resist. (The coffee was also a strong drawcard!) Jenni got her morning coffee here before she had to say bye and go to work (sob!) but the rest of us stayed for a sit-down breakfast. I had an excellent pandan coconut danish, and Sandra and Jimbo had a great blueberry crumble danish and a Chelsea bun.

Blueberry crumble danish, Chelsea Bun, Coconut and Pandan Danish

Instagram wall! Lisette's is Instagram-friendly without being made for Instagram, and the food is top notch.

Pandan and Coconut Danish, Lisette's

We then killed some time by getting massages at Thai Odyssey in nearby Bangsar Village shopping centre (3rd Floor, Bangsar Village II, Jalan Telawi 1, Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur). I've been here previously on a past trip and can recommend it. So relaxing!

Thai Odyssey

Ok, so I said this visit was more about catching up with friends than food, but we just had to, had to grab lunch at Devi's Corner (14, Jalan Telawi 4, Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur). Our local friend Su introduced us to Devi's on our last visit and we love it! (I couldn't visit KL without coming to Devi's at least once).

Devi's Corner

Roti Canai, Devi's Corner

Maggi Mee Goreng, Devi's Corner

... a thosai...

Thosai, Devi's Corner

...and a single piece of ayam goreng (fried chicken), why not! Ugggh all so good, I bloody love Devi's!

Fried Chicken, Devi's Corner

The Friday before my birthday, my buddy Jimbo took me out for drinks at Romeo Lane (1A Crossley St, Melbourne VIC 3000)...

Romeo Lane - Bellini; Dubonnet Fizz

...followed by dinner at Annam (56 Lt Bourke St, Melbourne VIC 3000). When we worked together we used to go to Chef Jerry Mai's Pho Nom for lunch all the time and loved it, so I was really keen to try her new, more upmarket offering. It was great! Their Vietnamese coffee espresso martinis were so delicious, and the young coconut jelly dessert, with grilled corn and coconut sorbet, was incredible!

Black and White Swordsman - Vodka, amaretto, Vietnamese coffee, chocolate bitters, coconut condensed milk. The Vietnamese espresso martini - $9 during happy hour

Young coconut jelly, grilled corn, coconut sorbet - $14

The highlight of the "Sarah birthday season" is, of course, my annual Slumber Party - a group of girlfriends, PJs, lots of delicious charcuterie, cheese, and wine. Such fun! In previous years I cooked or baked a lot for the party; this time I took it really easy, just doing a big shop at Prahran Market earlier that day. We bought sourdough baguette from Q Le Baker; charcuterie and olives from Chaso's Gourmet Deli; and ridiculously good cheeses from Maker and Monger. (I can def recommend buying cheese at Maker and Monger - we basically just went to the stall and asked for help choosing cheeses, and the person working there patiently talked us through loads of different options, and gave us heaps of tastings so we could put the perfect platter together).

Cheese and Charcuterie

FYI the cheese we ended up choosing were Brillat-Savarin, a gorgonzola dolce, Marcel petite comté & an Annie Baxter Shaw River buffalo pecorino, as well as some Meredith marinated feta that we already had at home.

I still baked my own birthday cake though! I made mini burnt butter carrot cakes with cream cheese icing. (Recipe adapted from Joy The Baker). They're gluten free too! They were awesome! I'll share the recipe shortly.

Burnt Butter Carrot Cakes with Cream Cheese Icing

The next morning, feeling a little worse for wear, I made the most epic toasties for breakfast from the leftovers of the charcuterie and cheese platters - sourdough baguette, jamon serrano, fresh fig, grated Shaw River buffalo pecorino and comté. I may have even fried the toasties in a little butter. Oops.

Epic toastie is epic

Later that day, Sandra took me for chicken and waffles at Belle's Hot Chicken (107 Swan St, Richmond VIC 3121). BEST.

Chicken and Waffles - $20

Ok, so my real birthday was a Monday, so it was a regular old work day. But I got my free birthday Nando's for lunch!

Free Birthday Nando's

And I had dinner with my family at Entrecôte (131-133 Domain Rd, South Yarra, VIC 3141). All the steak! All the frites!

Entrecôte Steak Frites

The week after my birthday, my friend An took us out for dinner as a birthday gift - the full degustation at Amaru (1121 High St, Armadale VIC 3143). It had been a long time since we'd done a high end degustation, and Amaru was an absolutely stunning experience! Full blogpost to come. Here is the beautiful Meredith Cheesecake dessert.

Meredith Cheesecake

I was also extremely lucky to receive lots of wonderful gifts for my birthday! (I mean, in addition to the lovely dinners).

Gifts

I am so excited to now own a copy of the Bravetart cookbook! Stella Parks is a legend and I can't wait to start baking from it. Also, can we take a moment to appreciate the gorgeous salted pretzel earrings? TOO CUTE.

Bravetart and PRETZEL EARRINGS

And that was my birthday! At milestones like these, it's always nice to take a little time to reflect, and I feel so fortunate to have such wonderful and kind friends and family. Hooray!

Do you like spreading out the birthday celebrations? Have you tried poppycock? Would you choose pretzel earrings or donut earrings?

As you may know, I prefer to do a few small events with different friends, rather than one big party - smaller groups are much easier and you get to talk to everyone properly. Let's take a look!

The week before my birthday, we took advantage of the Anzac Day public holiday to have some friends over for a lunch at home. We made a roast pork loin with crackling, The Food Lab's incredible hasselback potato gratin, and a green salad with pear and toasted walnuts.

Roast Pork Loin

Hasselback Potato Gratin

Dessert was a huge plate of cookies! David Lebovitz' salted butter choc chip cookies and Dorie Greenspan's world peace cookies. Plus some rich dark chocolate truffles to go with coffee.

Cookies and chocolate truffles

So yum, such fun! Yay!

Of course, I had to get my complimentary Nando's birthday meal! (FYI you only get a small chips with the free meal; I paid to upsize because chips are life!)

Nando's!

The Friday before my birthday, I had birthday drinks and dinner at Belleville (Globe Alley, Melbourne VIC 3000). I'd been there before (on an invite) and really liked it, and have popped in a few times since then for sneaky after-work cocktails and delicious poutine. It was a good choice! The food was tasty, and they were great with the group booking (10 people). They were able to accommodate a couple of number changes at late notice, and they kindly let us split the bill at the end of the night. Thanks guys!

Drinks and dinner at Belleville

The next night, we hosted my annual slumber party. You know the drill, a group of girlfriends, comfy clothes, lots of food and drinks. This year I went for an American comfort food theme - vegetarian chilli (Nigella's recipe from Feast), buffalo wings with blue cheese dressing and celery, baked potatoes and corn chips, with sides of salsa, guacamole, grated cheese, sour cream and chives. The recipes all worked really well, but I was surprised by how popular the buffalo wings were! (Assisted in no small part by our viewing of BD Wong's guide to eat chicken wings - he's so awesome). I hadn't made buffalo wings since the first time, six years ago, but I've already made them twice more since the party. Can't get enough! (Check out my buffalo wing recipe here).

Slumber Party!

And for dessert, I made that cocoa sour cream layer cake with chocolate cheesecake icing, and raspberry whipped cream that I told you about in my April Unblogged Files. I was so pleased with how the cake turned out, especially the super stable raspberry whipped cream. I'll share the recipe with you soon! (I also did a gluten-free lemon slice for my coeliac friend Jess - yum!)

Cocoa sour cream cake with chocolate cheesecake icing and raspberry whipped cream

My actual birthday was a Sunday. It was a super lazy, chill day! Perfect. I made some waffles for breakfast. They were the waffles from The Food Lab, which I served with more of that stable raspberry whipped cream, raspberries (both fresh and freeze dried), butter, maple syrup, icing sugar, and a big pot of coffee.

Birthday Breakfast

Waffles!

As is my family's usual tradition, we went out for a special birthday meal for dinner. This year it was at Entrecôte (131-133 Domain Rd, South Yarra VIC 3141), for a classic French meal of steak frites. I'd never been to the South Yarra branch, and I'm happy to say the service was great and the food was excellent! They do what they do very well. The escargots and profiteroles were also *mwah*. (Mimes kissing gesture).

Steak Frites - Entrecôte's signature dish of grilled pasture fed Cape Grim 250g Angus Porterhouse, frites, sauce Maison au beurre et aux herbes,with soft leaves salad, radish, walnuts, Dijon vinaigrette - $44.90

Profteroles de chocolat - our vanilla bean ice cream, sauce au chocolat chaud, cocoa nibs & pearls - $17.90

I sneakily stretched out the birthday celebrations a little further the next day, with my customary (second) breakfast of donut and coffee with my buddy James at Shortstop (12 Sutherland St, Melbourne VIC 3000). The simple cinnamon, cardamom and sugar is my favourite!

Shortstop coffee and donuts

And for lunch, my buddy Adam and I went to Tim Ho Wan (206 Bourke St, Melbourne VIC 3000). We'd tried to come here last year but the queues were too long for us to do in a lunch break. Luckily the queues seem to have calmed down since then, and we were able to walk in straight away! Woo-hoo! We ordered a bunch of things and were really impressed. Of course, the signature pork buns were excellent, but we also liked the century egg congee, the har gow (prawn dumplings) and the chee chong fan (prawn in rice noodle roll). Definitely want to go back!

Tim Ho Wan

And finally, I wanted to show you some of the gorgeous gifts I was lucky enough to receive. Flatlay skills! There were cute flamingo accessories, sparkling wine, flowers, cherry earrings, fragrance, a candle, goodies from Burt's Bees, Mecca vouchers, Lost Highway on DVD (scary!) and some gorgeous plates. Not pictured: tickets to a Good Beer Week dinner, a massage voucher (I used that one immediately), and a weekend away! Feeling very loved and lucky!

Birthday gifts

Are birthdays a big deal for you? Do you like to do one big celebration? Or drag it out as long as you can? Do you have any fun birthday traditions with your friends or family?

House of Crabs

If you know me, you know that I love seafood and I love cocktails. So when I received an invitation to check out House of Crabs, a new American-style crab joint and bar in St Kilda, I was all over it like... well... a case of crabs! (Heh). I also roped in my friend Alaina, Western New Yorker and general bon-vivant, to come along for a sneaky mid-week cocktail and crab fest.

House of Crabs