Assalamualaikum Readers,
After numerous times of procrastinating and rescheduling for the past years, FINALLY, my best friend in kindergarten Tadika Fatima, Jalan Ampang, Zahia Aqilah aka Iqi & I managed to meet up after so long! And thanks to her departure to Colombia which made the do or just don't point for us to rendezvous.
I offered to treat her for lunch and we promised to meet at Pavilion KL and will decide where to eat later. After so long of not meeting in person, just catching up via Facebook, it was truly amazing and comforting to know that we still communicate the same way. You know how most people when they haven't met for a long time, there is the inevitable feeling of insecurity thinking of "How is this friend going to act or react?" or "Before she shows off, it's better for me to present myself as having the more impressive kind of life." You know that kind. An movie example would be Adam Sandler's Grown Ups, where one of them totally lied about his accomplishments after meeting his old friends when the truth was his whole life was in the middle of numerous terrible crisis. Nevertheless, for me, if you are a true friend, no matter when you meet again, or how amazing your career track record has been, a friend should always remain as a friend. Not to impress, not to show off, or not to have the need of becoming the superior or better one in life. You accept your friend for who they are, and you be true for who you really are.
So yes, both of us confessed how relieve we are to know we still accept each other the same way, and how much we both miss each other. *pause for AwwwwW~ =D* Both of us were nervous that either of us could have changed. =D
Yes actually Iqi was leaving for Colombia since now she is employed by Schlumberger (woot woot!) and initially she was told to be based in China, but due to certain turn of events, she was directed to the land of Drug Lords (yikes!). Iqi now is learning Spanish for her future conveniece and since she never tried Spanish food before though she learnt the names of the dishes, thus she chose La Bodega for our lunch.
Personally, I never tried La Bodega though I have seen some of my friends tried their food especially at the first branch in Bangsar. Apparently La Bodega @ Pavilion KL is their largest outlet to date but still it is designed with a healthy respect for the traditional warm and cosy "La Bodega" ambience that thousands of KL-ites have come to know and love.
There are enough zones to accommodate parties, both large and small whilst still being able to provide that warm, welcoming, informal service to which their legion of regular customers have become accustomed to. The music program has also been updated to feature a whole new repertoire of Mediterranean, Cuban and South American vibes to complement regular live performances at weekends featuring the best of local and international funky Latin jazz, salsa and samba artists.
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| Zahia Aqilah the Engineer =) Now let's talk about food! |
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| Both of us ordered their Healthy Power Smoothies. Each at RM 18. In the menu the nutrients of each smoothie are explained. |
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| Mine was Peach Melba (Calorie Buster). RM 18. Banana. Peach and Orange. This juice helps lower cholesterol and high blood pressure aiming at achieving optimum health. The potassium and magnesium count in bananas contribute to reduce high blood pressure , while oranges are full of bioflavonoids and carotenoids, which fight off cancer and other heart diseases. Peaches are ideal for weight loss. It is so obvious why I ordered this right? It is so obvious I will fall over anything right? =D But why not since we will consume quite a hearty meal, so a yummy, tangy supposed to bust calorie smoothie will not harm anyone right? =D |
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| Iqi's was the Melon-Berry Crush. RM 18 This pretty, summery drink is refreshing and rehydrating. Strawberries are thought to have calming properties. It is refreshing indeed but I prefer mine. |
We ordered two dishes so let's check out our starters first. We chose from the Tapas Y Raciones Calientes which means Hot Tapas & Raciones. All this while I thought Tapas is actually a name of their food, but actually it simply means Small. While Raciones means Large. They both simply refer to the portions of serving. Duhhh~ Anyways they have a long list of Tapas Y Raciones which consist of mainly seafood and some are made from chicken.
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| Gambas "Paco Alcalde". RM 24. Prawns in an 'Andalusian style' spicy garlic and tomato sauce. Served with fresh, warm bread. |
Squeezed the lemon a bit to add more zest, and we enjoyed the bread dipped in the delicious prawn sauce. The size of the prawns are fine and they were succulent, and the tomato gravy somehow some way, I know it was tomato but it reminded me of our Malay dish of Sambal Tumis Udang only it was less spicier because no chili was involved. Glad to order this.
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| La Prawn hehe. |
Now moving on to the main dish.
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| Paella Valenciana Mixta (Serves 2 People). RM 60. Spanish Rice cooked with prawns, chicken, mussels, and clams in a paella with saffron, peppers and peas. |
At first I had doubts looking at the huge platter filled with wet rice. I was nervous of how it would taste like I chewed slowly when I first consumed it. Pronounced as Pa-e-ya, I see it as the Spanish version of Fried Rice because that's what it reminded me only wetter and less spicier. However my anxiety was not for long since the wetness seeped through the heat and eventually you can actually see the form of the rice. Oh yes as for the chicken chunks, I did not consume them because I had doubts of its halal status so I just put those on the side.
Iqi and I were delighted of the amount of prawns, mussles and clams I mean come on it should be it was 60 bucks for a dish. Well actually though it says it serves for two, we had our extra servings more than twice and still it was not finished, obviously for Asian tummies, it serves for four. I even asked Iqi to take away the left over or else it would be such a waste. Oh yes interesting part that the name is Valenciana, actually most non-Spaniards see Paella as a Spanish national dish whereas Spaniards commonly see it as a regional Valenciana dish. You know it is like to see Nasi Dagang or Kepok Lekor as Malaysia's national dishes when us Malaysians see it as the IT dishes of Terengganu. Ok yes you got it you got it. =D
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| Before I say goodbye, here is a tiny souvenir from La Bodega, which I added to Ummi's tens of years collection of match boxes. =) See you again in the next entry insha Allah, thank you for reading! =) XOXO, Sue |
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