Saturday, October 25, 2008

Bread Pudding's Birthday Surprise






Eastern delights here

The well-polished plates

(Sigh..) the golf wheelings & dealings never end..

The oddball couple....may they be wacky forever..





FOR years, the bread pudding served at the Royal Lake Club in Taman Tasik Perdana had no peers. It was so heavenly that each mouthful was a delight, to be savoured ever so slowly to heighten the pleasure.

Pak Abu and I, being consummate lovers of this delectable English teatime treat - bread pudding aficionados if you will - would go the extra mile to sample this mouth-watering treat anywhere, only to return time and again to the one served at the Royal Lake Club, anointing it as THE one to beat.

Then some time back the Club changed caterers, and the bread pudding standard plummeted. Its fall from grace was total, nose-diving from its prime perch to somewhere at the bottom of the heap. It was that bad.

This new caterer's offering of leathery exterior gave an indication of what to expect and it didn't disappoint. The pudding was consistently hard, its smooth creaminess gone, its custard sauce sickly yellow and lumpy to boot.

I sang a sorrowful dirge and penned my requiem in the memory of the Royal Lake Club bread pudding, lamenting its untimely demise.

This afternoon I was the recipient of a special treat by dear Pak Abu - it being my 54th birthday today - a scrumptious lunch for two at the Sri Angkasa revolving restaurant atop Menara Kuala Lumpur (KL Tower).

I have to add here that I had never step foot inside KL Tower before, despite it having been around for more than a decade (it was officially opened by the then Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir, in 1996).

I had been making the right proper noises at Pak Abu, though, about wanting to visit KL Tower just to find out what the fuss was all about, and of course, to capture an overview of the city.

Well, he decided to give me a lunch treat at KL Tower for my birthday and I must say the experience was well worth the jam; we got stuck for a while at the Bank Negara roundabout.

It totally escaped us that, it being Saturday, city folks would come out in droves for pre-Deepavali shopping at the nearby Jalan Mesjid India.

We arrived 30 minutes after booking time and was fortunate to still have our reservations. There were quite a number of tourists, Caucasians mostly, having their lunch.

Pak Abu and I were intrigued to see some Mat Salleh young men in kain pelikat walking about nonchalantly to and from the food stations, until we were told that bermudas were not allowed in the restaurant and those clad in one would be issued kain pelikat to cover up. What a lovely gesture!

Lunch was buffet, spread over three stations - eastern and western cuisine, and desserts. It was simply delicious. The music (piped-in and 'live') too was commendable, the staff courteous, and to top it all, the bird's eye view of Kuala Lumpur was stunning.

But it was something else that made today's occasion truly a memorable one. We had just discovered a bread pudding to rival even the Royal Lake Club's previously unbeatable offering.

The first mouthful blew me away. It was THAT good. The consistency was just right. The taste, yummylicious! The silky smooth, sunshine-hued sauce draped the raisin-studded pudding like a golden coat.

Now, if bread pudding is your scene, the KL Tower revolving restaurant is the place to be. As the proverb goes; the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Nothing could be more literal that that!

25 comments:

mamasita said...

Happy Bithday!Wish you and your Pak Abu loads of good health and everlasting happiness!One day a movie should be made adopted from your colourful life.Macam cerita Jepun yang banyak siri tu..'Oshin'.Siang dapat pudding treat.Malam?Takde osom2 malam ni!Pak Abu kena massage you pulak!haha

Kama At-Tarawis said...

hahahahaha..tulang udah semput, maunyer!

Anonymous said...

Alahaiiiii..
~~~~~ Happy birthday ~~~~~~
Nah kek tiga tingkat..hehehehe
(^^^^^^)
(^^^^^^^^^^)
(^^^^^^^^^^^^)
Semoga:-
Panjang umoq
Murah rezeki
Dapat naik haji
Dapat menantu
Boleh timang cucu

Unknown said...

wah...wah...wacky love birds indeed! perched high up on the revolving eating place....
Please permit me to wish you...
"Happy 54th birthday!"

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday and Best Wishes to both of you.
I get what you mean. The former main kitchen caterer, Edward, who lost the contract (over the last two years) is back to handle the Buttery outlet. Do expect a return of his weekly signature bread pudding servings which has been dubbed as the best there is east of Madras.
Catch you and Pak Labu in the Karaoke session soon.

JA

NorAiniJ said...

Salam perkenalan Puan Puteri Kama,

My first time leaving trail although it's not my first time dropping by.

Have to confess that I've not been to Menara KL, didn't really have the urge to. But after reading your kinda romantic getaway coupled with the story of the bread pudding, makes me wanna go there now.

NJ

Bergen said...

Looking good together! The couple from the sky - I mean kayangan, I mean tower. I mean bread pudding.

Kama At-Tarawis said...

CN - tq tq cikgu - plse pray harder so that tabung haji luluskan our appeal to go earlier. we were given 2018, cikgu! as for the menantu and cucu, I dono what to say oredi lah :(

Tq JA for the good wishes. about Edward, is that so? this is indeed good news. I hv always liked LC's ambiance and would prefer to makan there anytime than anywhere else.

NJ - tq kerana bertandang. oh you must give the restaurant a try, NJ! sedap buffet spread dia. and if you do go and try the bread pudding, come back and give your rating..I tunggu..:)

Bergen - sesekali it's nice to have a date with the better half. btw, the kids dub us the wacky couple. I think it is very apt. what else can we say..:)

Kama At-Tarawis said...

PP - tq tq.. your turn coming next.. I tunggu with bated breath how you gonna fete 'da lady' :)

Anonymous said...

Komen Pak Malim, kucing ray yg alim.

Selamat Hari Jadi
Kata burung kedidi
Semoga panjang umur dan sihat selalu
Kata ulat bulu

Kak Teh said...

kak teh terlambat sikit nak bagi ucapan sebab merayau sana ini cari makan, kata kak teh yang belum sarapan.
Dah ramai ucap itu ini, kak teh garu kepala apa nak kata dari sini.

Pi Bani said...

Alamak, terlambat sampai nak wish birthday girl, kata Pi Bani sambil pakai bangle...

Iron Butterfly said...

Happy BIrthday auntie.. u made me wanna walk from my office at Jalan Sultan Ismail to KL tower to have lunch.. haish..

Kama At-Tarawis said...

jones - orang tranu kata senyum kemewek :)

rAY, kak teh, pi - trimakasih sajalah kata kama, sambil pegang ikan gelama,tetiba aja kena selsema, tengok ulat bulu ray jadi rerama..

iron B - pi jangan tak pi, u takkan nyesal punya, sedap food dia.

Anonymous said...

Ma, Happy Belated Birthday.. hope to see u in kl..I'm coming...Fie

D said...

a bit late, i am but happy birthday nonetheless. aah... i have made bread pudding of all variations perhaps too many times and am now attempting to make it super duper delicious. u think the chef up in KL tower will be nice to me? *wink*

Kama At-Tarawis said...

Fie - that would be nice, gal. call or sms me when u get here and we shall organise something with uncle bing and some fellow chatters living nearby.

d - don't know about da chef up in KL Tower, but I would be nice to you ten times..just to lay my hands on those bread puddings of yours! "wink" "wink"

Kama At-Tarawis said...

* oops, typo..
... ten times over..

Anonymous said...

OK ma.. will give u a call later.. Fie

MrsNordin said...

Happy Birthday Puteri!! Sorry, this comes a bit late coz baru today dapat read your blog properly. Hope you've had a good one!

kay_leeda said...

Dear Kak Puteri,

Alah...terlambat sudah!! But better late than never kan.

Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday!!! God bless, moga panjang umur, sehat and ceria-ceria with Pak Abu selalu.

Bread pudding in the sky??? Ummppp.. a romantic celebration indeed.

Kama At-Tarawis said...

Mrs N & Kay - at my age, the word terlambat holds no meaning dah. kawin (semula) pun LAMBAT! tq tq for the well wishes..:)

JLKM Page said...

Tengok Pak Abu, tengok rambut sendiri. Tengok pak Abu, tengok rambut sendiri..
Sama naik nooo rambut putih kita:)
Nak tanya maCage. Betoi ka depa dok kata, "bila ada uban, nampak lagi maneh"?

Kama At-Tarawis said...

jlkm - macage punya answer "BETUI!" men yg rambut putih terserlah ni ada tarikan tersendiri.. hehehe..

Royalshoppingarcade said...

salam,
I've been reading and laughing like mad at Pak Malim alim and your reply to him.Kak teh's and Pi Bani's too.he is indeed too funny.
Anyway, dah lama read your blog off and on tapi baru now nak leave a belated birthday wish.My husband is also a libran.21 oct.Moga panjang umur.