Sherry Berry's Infamous 21

One fine weekend, we assembled at Changkat for Sherry's infamous 21 birthday. Infamous due to the scandals.. ho ho ho, and the fact that we went bar-hopping that night. Started with a surprise at naomi's place, unfortunately I couldn't attend or it would have been a blast. lol. Then met up with them at Werner's. Initially we were supposed to be at 21 coz' it's her 21 but they didn't allow the two Jays in coz' they were wearing shorts. Since when Malaysia followed the rules?



Werner's ain't that bad either, they placed us on the open-air terrace overlooking the streets below and part of the KL skyline. While waiting for the rest to finish their dinner at Ciccio, the four early birds managed to spend some quality time celebrating Da' Bimbo's birthday.




All to ourselves




Tapas, champagne, martinis and beers to complete the evening




Then came the crowd

Next, an extremely small group of us decided to adjourn to Qba at the KL Westin for some Latin music. First time there but definitely the first of many to come. Concept was great, like a Gothic maison grooving with salsa tunes. They even had live singers and performers. 90% of the crowd were Caucasians, which really made us feel like we were in a Latin country. One drawback though, prices of beverages here are astronomical!




Qba interior

Not wanting to end the night so early, our dear birthday girl wanted to go for a Playboy themed party in Hilton. And so we went there, snapped a few pictures, watched some performances and some girls in bunny ears as usual. Pretty much about that considering the party was ending when we arrived there. Seems like we did nothing intellectual that night but heck, it was fun.

Bartending Made Easy

Being an ex-bartender definitely has its pros and cons. The good thing is, you get to learn how to make your own favourite cocktails and enjoy them minus the hefty price tag.


F.B.I. or more fondly known as Frozen Black Irish

Requires 3 different types of liquor and liqueur namely Vodka, Irish Cream and Coffee Liqueur.


Vodka


Bailey's Irish Cream


Kahlua is the best coffee liqueur but it can be replaced with Tia Maria.


Concoctions are simple.. 1-1-1.


Pour everything into a working blender, add vanilla Ice Cream


and ice cubes for the crunchy feel.
Optional though, I only add it because I like to chew on ice.
Blend it well but not too long of the ice cream will turn watery.


Pour into a highball and garnish with a maraschino cherry if available.


Pina Colada (this recipe is dedicated to those Pictionary lovers and Roxanne!)

This is my all time favourite especially when I'm on a beach, on a tropical getaway. The best part of it is that it's freaking cheap. All you need is White Rum (preferably from the Carribean), Pineapple Juice and Coconut Cream. How simple is that?


Ok, I didn't have any rum and since I planned on using vanilla ice cream, I decided on Malibu instead. (It's a coconut flavoured rum)


Pineapple juice. Shake it before use, the tasty sediments are always at the bottom of the can.


Pour everything into the blender,


add the vanilla ice cream and blend for a couple of seconds coz' you want to secure the creamy texture of the cocktail.


pour into a highball or hurricane,


and Garnish with a pineapple wedge or a lime in my case.



Sit back, relax and enjoy the tropical cocktail while picturing yourself on a tropical island.. bliss!

Black Mushroom Bruschetta

With ample of time and inspired by Wernie's bruschettas, I decided to make my own Monday lunch. All ingredients used are what I found in my kitchen, which explains the lack of elaborateness. Ingredients are pretty simple and basic, consisting of tomatoes, dried black mushrooms, onions, cheese, bread, some herbs and spices as wells as sauces.


Tomatoes and dried black mushrooms


parsley


Firstly, soak the mushrooms in water for about an hour. While doing so, dice the tomatoes


Once the mushrooms have absorbed the water and expanded, gently slice it and boil it in water with a little salt.


you'll know the mushrooms are cooked when there ain't any white spots in the middle of the mushrooms.


In the meantime, dice some yellow onions or red onions if you like things hot and spicy.


Mix the onions, mushrooms and tomatoes in a mixing bowl


Then comes the flavouring part.
Worcestershire sauce, olive oil, Tabasco, pepper and herbs.


drizzle some olive oil


followed by the L&P


then white pepper which gives it the spicy flavour


and black pepper for the peppery flavour. Mix them well and spoon them onto the bread


Well, the best type of bread is baguette or focaccia but there was just none of these in my house at that moment. You would want to make sure that it is evenly spread across the bread so you won't have any pieces falling down then u lift the bruschettas.


garnish with cheese, in this case, I only had Cheddar. Best option would be Mozzarella.


Arrange them nicely on the toasting tray and bake it till the cheese melts and bind the ingredients.


Once toasted, top it with sweet relish,


mustard sauce


and garnish with parsley.


To complete the meal, a glass of medium-bodied red wine, such as Merlot will be a perfect match. Simple ain't it?

Cina-Greek Salad

Lg had this final gathering at his house and it's a pot luck. I had the whole idea of making a bruschetta as it was hassle-free and easy but he pushed me aside coz' Wernie wanted to make them too. Evil. lol. At least LG's mom was on my side. =P
So, I had 3 hours to plan a menu and purchase the items as well as prepare them. Since I've prepared some out-of the-menu questions for upselling, I thought it would have been a great opportunity to try them out. I came out with Greek Salad by the way. Minus the feta cheese and the olives, replaced with squid, thus the name Cina-Greek. No it's not China but plain cinapek.
I'm condemning myself. lol. Well, the ingredients are simple..


Red Cabbage, no butter no savoy but RED.


Diced Tomatoes and Cucumber


Sliced celery and yeah, slice the cabbage into strips. Not to forget the squid which I forgotten to take picture of. Basically, remove the bone (the plastic thingy in the the squid), intestines, and peel the skin and then slice it into rings. Blanch it for a minute and remove.


For the dressing, red wine vinegar, which can be replaced with plain vinegar and red wine, and olive oil. Virgin is always the best but pure olive oil ain't that bad too.


Chopped parsley leaves, exclude the stems


What we're trying to do here is extremely similar to a vinaigrette, just that we have the extra ingredients apart from vinegar and oil. Firstly, mix the red wine vinegar with the olive oil. Portion is 1-3. When you see the mixture 'sizzling', you know it's time to move on.


add some diced onions for flavour,


followed by the parsley chopped earlier


and mix it all till you get something like this. Season with a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce as well as some salt and pepper.


Finally, slice some rings of onions, throw in the squid and all the diced and sliced ingredients, mix with well and drizzle the dressing over like it's a scene from AFC. Bon Apetite!


Voila la salade a la cina-greek