Mama Mia Salmon @ El Fresco, Empire Subang

Empire Shopping Centre has recently became our new favourite hang-out place. I think not only because it has less people (yea cos it's also smaller), but also the entire feel and atmosphere is totally different. You feel like you are walking in probably Bangsar Shopping Centre or something in there. I totally love some of the restaurants there, some unique brands and even recently we fell in love with a cool kitchen and hardware shop there we spent almost an hour in there! The restaurant and the poster telling you how the whole thing works!
One of our recent findings is of course El Fresco, a little cafe inside Jaya Grocer. It is next to Hikari and has the same concept, only this one, in the Italian way!
So Deardo and I, trying to be healthy, skipped the steaks, chose two pieces of salmon from the fishmonger, priced at RM12 plus and RM14 plus each. Took them to the cafe, paid for them and ask them to cook for us for no extra charges! Well of course, you need to pay an extra six bucks if you want a side from choices of pasta, grilled vege or green salad. My man paying for our dinner! Yee haaa...
Then we have this number and waited for our food to be served.
Honestly speaking, all the staff we saw at the cafe don't look very appetizing. I'm sure you know what I mean, so I didn't really have high hopes lar, just wanted to try-out new things. But seriously, the salmon turned out to be surprisingly superb! First thing first, the salmon was sooooooo bloody fresh and juicy! And it was very well-cooked, not too raw, not overcooked as well. Taste wise also just nice! With some olive oil and the vegetables, the dish does look very simple, but man it took my heart away! Oh no, both our hearts! Yummy salmon at a freaking reasonable price! :)
I mean, RM30 plus for two pieces of salmon is actually very cheap! And to have them so fresh (yeah fresh from the fishmonger, duh!) and yummy just made it so worth it! Honestly, we are both very impressed. And... I think I kinda like dining in a supermarket with loads of fresh vegetables and fruits and imported food products around me. Ha! :p
They also serve some other dishes like pizza and pasta which I cannot assure you of the taste!

Al Fresco Cafe @ Jaya Grocer
Lot 6, LG-G1
Empire Shopping Gallery
Jalan SS 16/1
47500 Subang Jaya
Selangor

Mediterranean Beans Salad Recipe

I was at El Fresco the other night for light dinner and gave the salad bar a try when I fell insanely in love with the Mediterranean Beans Salad. As I nomed my way finishing the salad, I started thinking about how easy it can be to make this at home!

My light but yummy dinner at El Fresco.

So I did a little research on-line, mix and match from all different recipes I found, choosing those ingredients that I prefer to make my very own homemade Mediterranean Beans Salad!

What you need:
1 can of chicpeas, 1 can of kidney beans, 1 can of corn kernels, 1/2 medium size onion chopped, half tomato chopped, half green capsicum chopped. fresh parsley chopped (I used dried one cos no parsley was available at the supermarket that day), olive oil, 1/2-1 lemon, salt, pepper

What to do:
1) Rinse chickpeas, kidney beans and corn kernels and drain.

2) Chop onion, tomato and green capsicum finely and put into a mixing bowl.

3) Add in the chickpeas, kidney beans and corn kernels.
4) Add in one-11/2 tablespoon of olive oil.

5) Squeeze lemon juice onto the ingredients.

6) Now add in the chopped parsley/dried parsley, then salt and pepper to taste. 

7) Stir everything up and the super easy salad is ready to be served! :)

My salad turned out to be really really delicious! Of course, if there is a second time, I would use fresh parsley in stead because the dried parsley just doesn't give the real aroma the salad needed. Deardo and I enjoyed the salad with some homemade Nando's oven-baked drumsticks for a healthier dinner. We have some leftover which I kept in the fridge and finished up the next night!

Mediterranean Beans Salad + Nando's Chicken = pretty perfect isn't it? 

To me personally, the salad is not only a great side, but also great to be eaten just as a main. It is indeed tummy-filling, tastes really good, low fat and pretty nutritious too! Of course if you could use fresh ingredients it would be even better, but that really defeats the purpose of making a quick and easy salad, isn't it?
If you are thinking of making your own Mediterranean Beans Salad, here's my advice: do not need to follow all the ingredients I use! If you dislike tomato, replace it with red capsicum; if you dislike capsicums, replace it with celery! Just make sure that you follow the only rule: make it colourful! :)

Pricey Afternoon Tea @ New Shanghai, Pavilion

I fell in love with this cafe/restaurant at first sight! I love the entire design and deco, and even their paper bags! Man they are so cool I wish that one day I can go back and just simply takeaway something just for that bloody cool bag!!! Seriously, all restaurants and cafes owners should invest in the design of their shops! Bloggers and photographers love chic restaurants and cafes!!!Check out their wall papers man!!!
So we went for afternoon tea one day. We were shocked looking at the menu! A pot of Chinese Tea for RM18!!! ==||| So anywayz, we decided to go ahead since we were already there. So here we go...From left clockwise: Shrimp Beancurd Roll (RM3.80), Chess & Potato Roll (RM3.80), egg tart (RM1.50) and BBQ Chicken & Pineapple Puff (RM3.50).
Shrimp Dumpling or Har Gao (RM8.80).
Red Bean Cake (RM6).
Notice I basically listed out all the prices of the food? That's because I think they are really pricey!!! Having say that, I must admit I definitely enjoyed the Har Gao and Cheese & Potato Puff, but then again I can't decide whether or not they are worth that price. I like their tea too, I can feel that it is off good quality lar... Duh... RM18 for a pot, you better serve me well man! *Slap on table~*That's me and Deardo's mum with our very expensive tea.
Well I think on average, the food was pretty nice. So if you don't mind paying extra for some quality food, New Shanghai is good for you to go. And if you love the concept and the deco, I'm pretty sure you should go at least once just to get the feel of it! Or at least, snaps some pictures there.

New Shanghai
Lot 1.02.00 Pavilion KL
(Opposite Mercato)
168, Jalan Bukit Bintang
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2142 2833

Oh by the way, remember El Fresco? Well we managed to go there again to try new stuff before Empire Subang sort of exploded...Fresh prawns with spaghetti.
Mushrooms and ham pizza... Yumzz...
The prawns can be good if they are fresh. Ours were not all fresh, so yea it's based on luck I guess. I love the pizza simply because of its thin crust and generous amount of mushrooms! :)
Man this make me miss Empire a lot! I'm not even sure if people dare to go there when they re-open... :S