Let's Eat Bogota!

Was assigned to this part of the world at the last minute. Had less than five days to prepare and that includes working hours, a trip to see the doctor in KLCC for the yellow fever jab, packing and buying whatever that is needed. That is why I ended up leaving behind some important toiletries like my regular facial wash and shampoo. 

Anyhow, I had some interesting food in Bogota. First of all, ordering food in Bogota is not an easy feat for non-spanish speaking individuals. Barbequed meat is pretty popular namely beef and chicken. It is a little harder to find seafood here. 

Parilla Carne

Tamales is a very traditional Colombian food. It is made from mashed corn glue with small pieces of chicken and some peas. There is another version of Tamales but it is wrapped in corn husk. Taste wise varies as it depends on how good it is. Had it a few times in another hotel but it was not really good but tried it at another place, I like it.

Tamales

Morcilla or blood sausage or sometimes known as black pudding was terrible tasting (this comes from someone who does not like congealed pork blood found in curry noodles in Malaysia). This version of blood pudding have rice as a filler.

Morcilla

Had typical Colombian lunch which was kinda of like set lunch of the day. It comes with a soup (a choice oc cream or traditional soup), a salad, rice with meat, a side of vegetables, plantain or potatoes and a drink. Plantain is deep fried bananas and the variety of banana is large and not sweet.

Sopas

Salada

Typical Colombian Lunch

Brevas or figs was served during one of those lunch meals and also during breakfast to be topped in the cereal. It is figs cooked in a sugarcane (panela) syrup. Taste wise it was just slightly sweet maybe a little weird. 

Brevas

I had arepas a few times and didn't liked it. Told my colleagues how I felt about arepas and they insist that arepas are good. Finally we went to a more proper arepa stall and ordered one with stuffed champinones and it comes with one single boiled quail's egg. However, I still don't really like arepa even after trying this :p However, the mushroom filling is very good as I am a fan of mushrooms :)

Arepas

Empanadas are really delicious. Basically, it is similar to Malaysia's curry puff concept except that the outer skin is made from mashed potatoes and the filling is made from stir fried minced beef. They are really delicious. It is a popular snack as I see it being sold quite often in shops.

Empanadas

The Innards of Empanadas

Sopas or soup is pretty popular eaten by its own with some rice and more often than not, a slice of avocado. The most popular sopas is Ajiaco pronounced as A-hee-a-co (silent J). Basically, the soup contains potatoes, corn and bit and pieces of meat. It also contains a piece of corn on the cob in the soup. I forgot to take picture of it. Instead, I have a picture of Sopa de Mute which is also sopas with an assortment of beans. This is also eaten with rice, a slice of avocado and a delicious pieces of sweet cheese bread. 

Sopa de Mute

My colleague also recommended this beer called Redd's which he mentioned is a ladies' beer which is really good. As light as Hoegaarden but sweeter.

They have special bottled sauces called picante and they come in various flavours.

Picante

Tried their really traditional alcoholic beverage called Aguardiente which literally means Fire Water. Bought a small bottle to try and boy, it really is strong. Before I even sip it, I could smell just how strong it is. Just managed a sip and it feels hot on the throat. The warm feeling is alright for me but not the taste.

Aguadiente

Obleas is a popular sweet snack and who can choose different flavours. I had mine with arequipe which is also known as dulce de leche, mora and crushed nuts sandwiched between two very thin disc of wafer. It was a delicious treat. Sweet from the arequipe and a little sour from the mora. The nuts lends a nutty bite to it.

Obleas with Arequipe, Mora and Crushed Nuts

Paper Thin

Aromatica is a type of fruit tea and not some aromatherapy stuff. I had it from a number of different places but the one that stood out was at the Sopas place near the place where I stayed. It was delicious as it had some fresh fruit like strawberries in it. Another plus point is that, it looked so pretty :)

Aromatica

After a visit to the Gold Museum in download, we hunted for lunch but instead hung out at the cafe. Ordered something that was displayed on menu with the word Desayunos on it. It came with a huge hot choclate, a portion of cheese and two pieces of bread. The portion was B-I-G. Later I found out the bread is actually Pandebono which was cheesy and desayunos is actually breakfast! Below you can compare the size of a coin and the hot chocolate. 

Food in Colombia was indeed an eye opener for me as it is very different from the part of the world where I stay. Even the rice is cooked a little different with a little bit of salt. 

Tanjung Sepat Road Trip

A good friend recently took me to Tanjung Sepat just to have some seafood and explore the area to celebrate my birthday. Always loved the idea of exploring new places as each and every place has its own unique characteristics. It proved to be an enjoyable trip even if there were only two of us as there were many things to look at. 

Along the Way

Cows Grazing Grass

 Finally we reached Tanjung Sepat after about an hour and half drive from Petaling Jaya. We could tell that we are near the seaside when we started seeing some empty blue spaces in the sky, with nothing blocking the view.

After looking at some of the restaurants, we decided on Ocen Seafood restaurant which sits by the shore so you can enjoy the ocean view and eat. The food was indeed excellent especially the Oyster Omelette. Although the oysters in it are a little small but they compensate in terms of quantity and freshness. The seafood here is cheap and delicious. The total price for three dishes is less than RM40!

Oyster Omelette

Steamed Clams

Our Feast

Tiny crabs are abundant here.

Inhabitants

Footprints of the Waves

There were some living creatures in the muck. Mud skippers!

Mudskippers

The wooden jetty is always a charming piece in any fishing village. The rough wooden planks placed together, well worn, faded with the rain, sun and saltwater, the wear and tear of shuffling feet carrying baskets of sea harvests onto the land and most of all, it is always almost never, perfect. Some planks may go missing, some a little broken and some may even give you a feel of a see saw when you walk on them.

Jetty

Fishing boats by the jetty. My friend was really curious with how the fishermen actually get down to their boats as the platform of the jetty is well over about 8-10 feet above the fishing boats. So happened that one of the fishermen was checking out on his boat and curiosity finally got into my friend and asked. 

Moored Fishing Boats

The fishermen has to climb down using those large logs (made from coconut tree trunks) and slide down. I was definitely impressed on their agility as it was a little high and any fall, you would end up in the water!

Fishing Tools

We saw two brown dogs when we were there. They definitely look healthier than a lot of domestic dogs as there are plenty of space for them to exercise and explore. One was really having fun, chasing mud skippers and running  in the water. He looked so happy :)

Playful Dog

Splashing Fun Time

There was this famous shop that sells Mui Choy Pau (preserved mustard greens buns). We had to wait nearly an hour for it and the customer before us bought over RM300 worth of paus.

Busy Making Paus

On our way back, there was event going on or rather, it was ending. A sailing competition! Interesting to see so many sails with younger participants with much smaller sails towing their sail boats onto land and washing them.

Sails

And More Sails!

After driving a little further down, we saw some dead mangrove trees and it looks so picturesque. So we stopped the car and got down. Some traps were laid in the water and saw a trapped snake.

Trapped Snake

Beautiful View

Tanjung Sepat is indeed an idyllic town with great and affordable seafood. Once again, thanks for planning this :)

New York New York @ One Utama

Avoided New York New York for quite some time due to some not so good feedback about the place and finally, one fine day, it was decided that we should go there for some light lunch. It is located near Cold Storage and Guardian at the New Wing of One Utama.

The American Coleslaw (RM5.50) was too heavy on the mayonnaise. The nice touch about this is that they actually include sultanas in this salad. If only the mayo was much lesser this would have been good.

American Coleslaw

The Calamari Rings (RM10.90) were nicely fried and thankfully, it did not taste like rubber band. Had a bad experience once at a Thai Restaurant in the Curve. The batter was not too thick and coats just nicely around the squid rings.

Deep Fried Calamari Rings

Freedom Fries (RM10.50) was topped with cheese was really nice albeit sinful and added to it, is some ranch dressing. They were really really generous with the portions and this is a really rich snack.

Freedom Fries with Melted Cheese

The Beef Eater (RM14.90) had very generous slices of beef and if not mistaken, they are the type of cuts used for shabu shabu. The dressing is light which was good and topped with a slice of cheese, caramelised onions and plenty of vegetables. Simple and delicious!

Beef Eater

A Closer Look

The portions are big as we could not finish the food among the three of us and overall it is good. Probably should come here with an empty stomach to try out more of their mains. 

Address:

LG311, 1 Utama Shopping Center 1,

Bandar Utama,

47800 Petaling Jaya

Selangor

Kita No Zen @ One Utama Shopping Center

Another new comer in the Japanese food scene in One Utama, Kita No Zen (yea, it took me a long time to recall the name) is situated on the Lower Ground Floor of One Utama Shopping Center. It is located near the Bisou cupcake kiosk. The place looks great and a little like fine dining. We were ushered to a table that provides us with a some privacy as it has dividers from one table to another. Thus, making this a pleasant experience. The menu offered is alright and does not really differ from other Japanese restaurants.

I am a fan of Chirashi Don as I like my fish fresh and raw, and it's wholely low fat :p The ones served here is pretty good as the seafood was really fresh. The portion of raw seafood was just alright. Five slices of raw salmon, two fatty pieces scallops and fish roe.

Chirashi Don

The Beef Sukiyaki set comes with a pot of Sukiyaki beef, chawan mushi (steamed egg custard), miso soup, pickles, a serving of fruit and rice. They really generous in its portion of beef slices in the Sukiyaki hot pot as well as very soft and silky tofu. It feels like comfort food would be great during a cold rainy day.

Beef Sukiyaki Set

Kita No Zen serves the normal Japanese fare that we usually find other Japanese restaurants in Malaysia but they do it well. The food served is fresh and delicious.