Author Archives: chuletz

Restaurant La Potinière, Chamonix (France)

24 Friday Aug 2012

Posted by in France, Gastronomy, Oversea Restaurants, Travel

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After making our way down from Mont Blanc, we decided to stop for lunch somewhere close by. Our friend brought us to this little café-like restaurant in the Chamonix town. The weather was very nice and cooling, so, we opt to dine outside.

Here, they serve the local specialties like Raclettes, Fondues and Braserades. Since our friend made these for dinner last night at his place, we decided to skip ordering these and have something else.

He recommended that we try the frog legs. (Not sure if he was trying to shock us or not when he propose that…but, when we told him we eat frog legs quite often in Malaysia too, he was surprise. Hehehe…) The legs were served in creamy cheese-like sauce on rice. I like the sauce. But, don’t like it goes very well with the legs. (In my opinion, nothing beats steam frog legs in mince garlic ginger on soya sauce)

We also had charcuterie and grill steak. It’s not bad. Normal-I guess. But, the environment and comfort during dining is definitely great. Since it’s so close to the Mont Blanc, I suspect this café would be a frequent joint for many skiers during the winter seasons. And of course, dessert for me. (wink wink)

Restaurant La Potinière
Address: 38 Place Balmat, Chamonix, 74400 FRANCE
Tél. : 04 50 53 02 84

HCE sink filter

23 Thursday Aug 2012

Posted by in Kitchen wares, Shopping

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The HCE sink comes with 2 filter stages. The first one has slits of 5mm by 50mm. The second stage is slightly smaller (maybe about 2mm by 40mm). The second stage also acts as a plug when you need to fill it up. Unfortunately, it has a tendency to plug itself when you pour high content of water into the sink. (The water weight pushes it down).

Anyway, if you are as picky as me about filtering things from going straight into the pipe, you will find the HCE sink filter to be failing to do a good job. The slits are just too huge and it worries me to have so many pieces of stuff going down the sink. I know there’s a pipe trap and if anything happen, we can always open that up. But, I prefer to avoid the need to do that.

Hence, begins my quest to find a solution for this. And I found it in Daiso! It’s like a mini mesh bag which you usually see the bigger version used to pack onions, potatoes or fruits in the supermarket.

 

I wrap the mesh filter around the first stage HCE sink filter and viola; I have a filter with smaller gaps!

I have been using this method for the last few weeks and found that it is quite good. And, I only need to change the mesh filter every 1-2 weeks (depending on how heavy I cook). One pack comes with 40pcs (which is about RM 0.125/pcs). So, I just throw the whole mesh filter away when it gets full. Easier to clean also.

Yay ! Problem solved. (Give myself a pat on the head… hehehe). Sorry for the bright photo, but, it is the only way you can see the mesh bag clearly.

 

 

Isetan Eat Paradise – Menya Musashi

14 Tuesday Aug 2012

Posted by in Gastronomy, Local Restaurants

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I heard about the Isetan Eat Paradise @ One Utama Shopping Centre and was really curious about it.

So, few weeks back, I went to check it out. There were actually 2 Ramen shops there… After hearing a lot of good and raving remarks for Menya Musashi (tokyo style ramen) and I was hooked. The other one is Gantetsu (Hokkaido style).

We got there slightly early, and the little shop looks rather empty. We placed our order over the cash counter and pick a seat. The green tea was served in a really tall mug (I love it!!! – I hate it when they serve you in small cups and then it takes ages for them to fill up). But, because of the big cup, they don’t refill for you. (Fair enough I guess)

Our ramen was served quickly and it smell amazing. The greedy me ordered the biggest pork portion on their menu (I know hub will steal some of mine later anyway). I ordered their onion flavored soup version. Hub ordered the dry version.

Overall opinion? It was ok. But, we were not very impressed, as the soups (wet or dry style) were a little too thick with flavors. I also find it a tad bit oily. Both of us still prefer Santouka’s shio Raman. But, if you like really strong flavors, then, Menya is the one for you.

BTW, It’s also a bit too noisy for me. They kept shouting out greetings and thank yous. On top of that, the kitchen chefs were also shouting out motivational chants almost non-stop !!! (we were sitting really close to the kitchen too). Maybe choose a seat further away if you don’t like the noise. I don’t mind some noise. But, they were really shouting !!! hahaha…