Bondi Beach Grill & Bar Set Lunch

bondi beach

Bondi Beach Grill & Bar is located at The Curve. I went to catch Inkheart just now with Yiling and decided to check out the latest eating establishment at The Curve at the same time. Yiling was so appallingly late we practically had to scoff down lunch to make it to the movie on time but we shall leave her tardiness for another post. :p

bondi beach interior

Bondi Beach Grill & Bar is named after the popular beach in Australia and I have it on good authority (I was there for four years) that it’s pronounced BOND-eye instead of BOND-ee. The interior is adorned with surfboards and other surfer memorabilia that recreates a pretty authentic feel of a laid back beach restaurant. There is even an al fresco dining area shaped like a hut and shaded from the sun.

bondi beach set lunch

Bondi Beach Grill & Bar has a Set Lunch menu for RM 14.90 with the following options:
Soup of the Day or Chicken Yakitori or Prawn Pinwheels or Seafood Salad
with
Char-Grilled Fillet of Dory with Lemon Butter Sauce & Steamed Rice or Creamy Seafood Pasta or Char-Grilled Minute Steak with Pepper Sauce & Fried Mini Rosti
and
Fresh Fruit Salad Topped with Vanilla Ice Cream

bondi watermelon

Hallelujah! I can finally take photos like these with my dSLR. 😉
This would be the freshly squeezed watermelon juice (RM 14), which I thought was appropriate for the setting. The set lunch does not come with drinks although iced water is complimentary.

bondi prawn pinwheels

Yiling went with the Prawn Pinwheels for starters. The presentation of Bondi Beach Grill & Bar is impeccable – I love the attention to detail, it shows true passion in the chef. It’s the little things like the sprinkling of oregano that makes the dish casual yet elegant. The Prawn Pinwheels are grilled to perfection and comes out juicy and crispy, another excellent contrast.

bondi seafood salad

I opted for the healthier sounding Seafood Salad for the appetizer. Bondi Beach is generous with the seafood – there is squid, shrimp and mussels on top of a bed of lettuce and cherry tomatoes. The dressing uses a lot of herbs that blends well with the light nature of the dish, yet imparting enough zest to jolt my jaded taste buds.

bondi minute steak

Yiling called dibs on the Char-Grilled Minute Steak with Pepper Sauce & Fried Mini Rosti for the main. She had already decided last night that she was going to order this and the plan was to order different items so we could try out different dishes. The Minute Steak, as the name suggests, is about 1/3 the size of a regular steak. I didn’t think much of it though, it was too well done for my tastes.

bondi seafood pasta

I wanted to order the dory fish but the waitress recommended the Creamy Seafood Pasta instead. I wasn’t disappointed. It’s absolutely fabulous! The Seafood Pasta is linguine cooked in a very creamy alfredo sauce served with generous portions of shrimp, squid and mussels. The creaminess of the pasta goes very well with the seafood – I’ve run out of superlatives to describe this dish, it’s simply delicious! It’s hands down the best pasta I’ve had this year.

bondi yiling

Yiling agrees, and she’s not even a fan of alfredo and other cream based sauces!

bondi dessert

The Fresh Fruit Salad Topped with Vanilla Ice Cream for dessert is presented well, with a hint of caramel sauce and just the right amount of ice cream. The fruits are chilled before serving, making this the perfect light and refreshing end to the meal.

bondi scoff

Unfortunately, we had to scoff it down coz we were late for the movie.

bondi beach us

The bill came up to RM 50.60 for two but that’s largely due to the watermelon juice that I ordered. The Bondi Beach Grill & Bar Set Lunch is RM 14.90 each. I have yet to check out their dinner menu, but if their set lunch is anything to go by, it would not disappoint. I highly recommend the Creamy Seafood Pasta.

Bon appetit!

Madagascar Move It! 2 the Curve

mcd roadshow

Madagascar Return 2 Africa
fever is running high and McDonald’s upped the thermostat with a great road show at the Curve last Sunday when I was at Cineleisure to catch the movie.

move it dance

The promotional booths had games with themes like “one minute to hit it”, “one minute to throw it” and others along that line but it was the Move It Dance Competition that drew the crowd in droves.

This is the crème de la crème – it’s a group of small children doing a dance routine. It’s choreographed, but the age of the performers makes the choreography all the more remarkable. It received high accolades from both the judges and the crowd, and it was one of the first performances – certainly setting the bar high for the other teams, this one.

madagascar meal

The Madagascar Return 2 Africa promotion by McDonald’s has three components (at least for the edible aspects, and I urge pedophiles to refrain from commenting on the dance competition with the word “edibility” in the same sentence) – the Move It Breakfast Meal (RM 11.90), the Move It Milo McFlurry (RM 5.90) and the Move It Meal (RM 14.90).

move it breakfast

I had the Move It Breakfast Meal at the LCC-T.

move it mcflurry

I had the Move It Milo McFlurry in the McDonald’s in Kelana Jaya.

move it meal poster

However, for the Madagascar Move It meal, I wanted them to Move It (TM) over to my condo so I called 1300-13-1300. 😉

move it charge

McDonald’s McDelivery certainly Move(d) It…and charged me RM 3 for it. Hmph.

move it meal

The Madagascar Escape 2 Africa Move It meal comprises of a Double McChicken, Move It McShaker Fries, and a Green McFizz. The best part is the Move It McShaker Fries, which are flavored fries and tastes great!

monkey fries

If you haven’t watched the movie, you should. It’s better than the original in many ways. I particularly liked the giraffe dying hole. Oh, that had me laughing out loud. It nearly gave me a laughing fit. Morbid humor. Heh!

I want maternity leave!

La Gourmet House @ the Curve

la gourmet house

La Gourmet House is a Mediterranean restaurant located at the Curve. I was actually planning to go elsewhere but there was a heavy shower (not the golden type, the kind that rains on your parade) so we took refuge at the place. I haven’t heard of the establishment before but I reckon the “Buy 4 bottles of Tiger and get 1 free” promotion was quite alluring, so we decided to sit down for lunch.

la gourmet house montage

La Gourmet House claims European, Mediterranean and Spanish influences in the cuisine, creating a homely fusion of sorts. The interior seating arrangements are adorned with various Turkish (to my untrained and uncultured eye) fixtures and some of the tables have intricate designs. The al fresco dining area is thankfully protected from Mother Nature by a canopy system and is plumed with throw rugs.

la gourmet house beer

The beer is not the cheapest at the Curve (some places offer RM 32++ jugs) but it’s a pretty good deal at RM 48 for 5 bottles of local beer. The other beer they serve sounds German in origin and it’s priced at RM 22 per bottle, so I assume it’s an import. The ambiance of the place is great, very laid back and casual, with excellent service to boot.

anthonys sausage and pasta

I had their signature dish – Anthony’s Sausage and Pasta (RM 25.80). It’s a pasta dish with your choice of two (2) sausages, tossed with balsamic and olive oil, mozzarella cheese and walnut pesto. I chose Chorizo (a Spanish sausage) and the German bratwurst. The dish is served with sauce on the side – a mixture of mustard and something else my unrefined palate couldn’t identify.

anthony sausage and pasta

The pasta is done al dente and it absolutely delicious! Unfortunately, it was a little of the cold side when it got to our table. I wouldn’t discount the weather (it was raining) as a factor for the rapid cooling of the dish but it just didn’t taste as good as it would have, had it came out piping hot. The sausages are flavorful though, and I like the fact that you get to choose the types of sausage you want.

gourmet value meal

My girlfriend opted for their set lunch, dubbed “Gourmet Value Meals” at La Gourmet House. She had the Baked Seafood (RM 15.80), which comes with either juice or tea. The Baked Seafood dish is served on a bed of steamed rice (!), which I thought was quite unusual. We expected the entire dish to be baked e.g. topped with cheese before being baked in an oven.

baked seafood

There were a few premium ingredients in the dish – mussels, prawns, fish and other miscellaneous marine life, enough to justify the price…but it just didn’t taste quite right with steamed rice.

stuffed bell pepper

I also ordered an appetizer – the Stuffed Bell Pepper (RM 23.80) that is marked with a little chef’s hat indicating a house specialty. The starter further intrigued me by the “Subject to availability” tag line appended to it. It’s filled with aromatic chicken mortadella and served with the chef’s special sauce. There are two peppers – one red and one green, each sliced in half and stuffed.

bell peppers stuffed

Unfortunately, this appetizer (dessert?) came only after we finished our meal, and it was cold when it came to the table. I didn’t quite understand this, as we were the only ones there besides another family that just got seated. I imagine it might have tasted better had it been warm at least, but in its current condition; it just didn’t do the dish justice.

la gourmet house us

La Gourmet House at the Curve has a lot of potential, but it seems to be plagued by kitchen logistical glitches that manifests by cold dishes arriving at your table. The 4+1 beer promotion is also supposed to come with free tapas, which we didn’t get, and I didn’t realize until I looked at the bill today. I can’t attribute that to bad service (it was good, and quite attentive) so I really don’t know what’s going on there. I will go again for a second review a couple of months down the road and see how it goes. Cheers!

Total damage: RM 124.74 for two @ The House of Meals & Memories.

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