Tony Roma’s, Pavilion KL

What do you think about this? Should I be posting anime download links on my blog?

This is quite a late entry. In fact, I should be posting this entry 3 weeks ago. Yeah, more unfinished stuff about KL. Not that I am very obsessive about KL or anything. I mean, I do love KL but I don’t actually go crazy about it. The real thing that I want to share with you guys is my gourmet experience in KL. If not for the shopping, KL is also best known for its exquisite dining with many international restaurants and high-impacting food label such as Starbucks, Carl’s Jr and Wendy’s. As we all know, Pavilion KL is the place to be in KL for both shopping and dining. But take heed, you would need to stretch your wallet for such a feat. Also there was one particular dining place that my KL (technically it’s PJ) friend had been talking about (the other being Carl’s Jr), which is Tony Roma’s. Who doesn’t know about Tony Roma’s anyway? When I first heard the news about that franchise’s arrival to Malaysia, I know that I was in for a deal for the best rib steaks you can get your hands on.

 Inside Tony Roma’s.

Oh yes, the best rib steak is here in KL. In Pavilion KL. It’s Tony Roma’s right in front of my eyes. I took a seat. Gave my order and guess what I had for lunch (yup, lunch). Tony Roma’s burger. Yes, the best rib steak in the house but I got myself burger instead. I know that it’s utterly stupid but here are my reasonings. First, it was lunch time. I have no intention to get anything heavy for lunch. Second, I wanted something quick as I was on a rush at that time. So I needed something fast for my lunch although in the end, I waited half an hour to get my burger on my table. Third, I would not prefer to have meat for lunch. I mean, a plate of a load of meat. Burger is something just right for me. And fourth, well, there is no fourth. Having said that, I don’t indicate that the burger is horrible. In fact, it’s one of the best burger I’ve ever had. The best being Carl’s Jr though I haven’t tried Wendy’s yet, so I can’t give my verdict just yet.

The burger.

If there is one thing that I really, really like about Roma’s burger is the patty. Basically it’s a steak on a burger. The meat was done medium rare as what I had requested. And boy, the meat was tender and juicy. If there is a burger heaven, this burger would make it there without a doubt. Yes, Carl’s Jr is good. No denying on that. But Roma’s won it out by its great tasting patty. The ingredients were fresh as well. And of course, the size was humungous. A little larger than what I had in Carl’s Jr before. Even the size of the patty was huge. However the excitement stopped there. If there is one thing that I don’t enjoy to have with my meal, it’s gonna be onions. I won’t mind if the amount is considerably small or if they are cooked with some sauce or whatever. But Roma’s burger came with a huge, raw onion ring around it and I found that finishing the burger was quite daunting. In the end, I had to remove the onion so that I can finish the rest of the food. Well, barely. I couldn’t finish the fries because the meal set was large. Very large. To the extent that my belly nearly burst (just a figure of speech, aye?). I don’t like onions. I don’t like how onions can leave a stinky breath to your mouth. And usually, I can have stomach upsets when I have a little too much onion. Call it onion intolerance.

The extras. Yeah, this picture is meaningless really.

Besides Pavilion KL, you can find Tony Roma’s in Sunway Pyramid, Cineleisure Damansara, and soon at The Gardens Midvalley. And yes, I’ll remind myself to get rib steaks next time. 

Gundam 00 (Episode 20)

As response the increased brutality of Celestial Being’s intervention to eradicate warfare, Union, AEU and HRL formed a military alliance to fight against the Gundams. My bet is they have found their new weapon. As a result of this, the United Nations Army begins to take shape.

The Union-HRL-AEU military alliance is formed.

Dragonaut: The Resonance (Episode 19)

Despite of escaping to the countryside, Jin and the rest managed got hunted down by the new ISDA team and their Agathions and this forced them to fled to somewhere they least expected – Tokyo. Kou justified his decision that it’s better hide among the crowds in Tokyo. In addition, they are going to take refuge at the single place where they are immune from ISDA.

 
Not Amadeus. This is Alfred Baumgarde, Sieglinde’s grandpa.

Gundam 00 (Episode 19)

Continuing from the previous, Exia engaged with the Thrones. The Trinitys are surprised by Setsuna’s move, believing that they are allies but Setsuna does not acknowledge them as Gundam Meisters. Eventually Virtue joins Exia to fight against the Thrones and their fighting came to Ptolemaios’ knowledge. Though Lockon asked for his course of action from Sumeragi, Allelujah remained as he intended to stay and protect Ptolemaios.

 
All three Thrones are ready for battle.

And the only opponent there is Exia.

Dragonaut: The Resonance (Episode 18)

One year after the Mars incident, Sieglinde and Amadeus were chased down by a group of Agathions that are apparently owned by the ISDA. From far, another person in an armored suit who appears to be controlling the Agathion, oversee the operation. Finally Amadeus was captured though Sieglinde managed to escape. It turns out that it was Sakaki who is in charge of the operation and gave a standby order to that armored unit.

 
Amadeus and Sieglinde on the run.

I wonder who is person behind this mask.

Gundam 00 (Episode 18)

The Trinity siblings are on a non-stop rampage in their effort to cripple all military forces of the world superpowers. Though they perceived themselves as justice, the fact is the world is seeing them as a global threat. World leaders can only voice their concern about their possible disarmament as their only option. Meanwhile Alejandro told Liu-Mei that he does not have a clue about the new Gundam, other than what his access to Veda is allowed.

 
Gundam from hell.

The Gardens at Midvalley

Yes, I’m blogging again despite of me saying on the previous post that I was busy. But that’s the truth and here’s another truth. This is a backlog. Not a real time post update. As for my reviews on Gundam and Dragonaut; those have to wait for some other day.

It is exactly two weeks since my trip to KL. Nothing extravagant there, really. I happened to have had attended at concert in KL that day, so I took some time to shop around KL. Otherwise I’ll home which I have not intended to do at that time, or stuck here alone in Kelantan. Last year, I first went to Pavilion KL when it had recently opened then, there was a strong appeal to the mall that gives it the wow-factor. I thought to myself, Pavilion KL has to be the most astonishing mall ever in Malaysia. That aside, Pavilion KL is also playground for the rich and overly pampered. I’m saying this because of the fact that this mall is the most “expensive” mall in Malaysia to date, with their lavish offerings of high-end (expensive) and fashionable (expensive) items for Malaysia’s rich bastards opulent consumers. Opulent, as for filthy rich. Nonetheless I still enjoy Pavilion KL as much as many other shopping malls in KL, partly because of its amazing shopping experience (and of course, Paul Frank and J.Co Donuts). However Pavilion KL is not the only player in that field. Introducing The Gardens at Midvalley.

The Gardens is an extension of the already-big Midvalley mall and this is no ordinary extension. Specifically chartered for the rich and those with exquisite taste, The Gardens offers something totally different from the common shopping scene in Malaysia. From my standpoint, The Gardens made a huge effort to bring art and also pampering to the shopping experience. From the exterior, the design of the mall is different than other typically misshapen shopping malls. I must say, the architecture works for Pavilion KL is good but nothing can compare to the artistic architecture of The Gardens. If the exterior impresses certain some, the interior will blow everyone way. The moment I stepped inside The Gardens, I was wowed. Rather than feeling impressed, I felt great appreciation to the works of the interior designer to come up with something different than any other malls. Besides the design, The Gardens also offers a wide range of specialty stores for many kind of interests, including Singapore’s first overseas outlet of Robinsons. There is also Malaysia’s first ever Cafe Baskin-Robbins.

The design at The Gardens is inspired by the structure of a sail boat.

Chinese New Year decorated lounge.

This particular span looks nothing like Malaysia. What do you think?

The linking bridge to Midvalley Megamall.

What I really like about The Gardens is the shopping experience. I’m not saying that Pavilion KL is any worse than The Gardens. Both are equally good in their own way. In Pavilion KL, space is the theme design of the mall. The key is that space offers comfort and comfort is what the customers experience. In The Gardens on the other hand, there is a feast for the eyes for the amazing interior designs and also comfortable cushioned couches for the customers to relax. Over there, the customers are pampered. The Gardens is definitely an experience like no other.

Carl’s Jr, One Utama

How to finish a 30-page review report in 2 days? Then what if you have another mid-term exam paper on the next day of the report’s dateline? Well I did just that and as for that 30-page report, I managed to wrap it up in just about 36 hours. The worst part of this is there are more exam papers, presentation, and assignments meeting its due date in the coming two weeks. By the way, happy Valentine!

After missing out from the fast food scene in Malaysia, Carl’s Jr is back after its withdrawal from the Malaysian market in 1998. Opened its first branch in One Utama, Carl’s Jr had opened its second outlet at Midvalley and the recent one at Pavilion KL. The actual thing is that I have never tried Carl’s Jr humungous burgers; comparatively larger than most of the burgers from their local competitors. This is America’s best for the Malaysian palate. So I ventured out to One Utama with my dear friend to take me to Carl’s Jr, a promise which he kept since last year when the restaurant opened. I was very aware that serving size at Carl’s Jr is pretty much the standard serving size in any common fast food chain in the States. Americans love everything huge, including their burgers though they lost to the Europeans when it comes to airplanes.

Carl’s Jr – a welcoming sight.

After asking for the recommended menu from the food server at the counter, I’ve decided to try one of Carl’s Jr signature charbroiled burgers, Super Star with cheese. I’m a little appalled by the fact that I did not receive my burger right after I made my purchase, so I had to wait for a little while. Then finally, it came. The largest burger I have ever seen. So far. It’s huge, definitely huge. I also like the way they wrapped their burgers in the packaging. Handling was surprising easy as well. I was worried that the burger was too big to fit in my mouth but it did. Well eating the burger can be quite a challenge. Messy stains are expected. You can’t possibly finish the burger without leaving any single trace to your hand. At least I think I did a good job to minimize that. But don’t fret, there is the sink for your own convenience and moreover, an automated hand dryer is also available for use.

Size comparison.

The real deal.

Now for the tasting. The burger is by far, the best burger I have ever tried. The ingredients for the burger were all fresh, right down to the lettuce and tomato slices. They were very generous to fit in many fresh dressings into my burger. And also the patty. The patty was not only fresh, it was also tender. Not exactly the best patty I’ve ever ate but it was good. Honestly speaking, you cannot compared Carl’s Jr burgers standard with all other burgers from KFC and McDonald’s. It deserves a class of its own. KFC and McDonald’s are not done with the insults yet. The fries served in Carl’s Jr were also superb. Definitely better than what we have in KFC and McDonald’s. The potatoes used for their fries seems fresh, though I can’t really tell the difference. Again, not exactly the best french fries I’ve ever had but I can reserve my compliments to its large size and fresh appearance.

Specially ordered fries. Forgot the name though.

Prices for the meal vary from the ala-carte and set menu. For certain, the set meals would more than RM 10 per se. Sorry that I can’t find any contact details of all their chain restaurants in Malaysia but what I can tell is Carl’s Jr restaurants are located at One Utama, Midvally and Pavilion KL. Will update this once I get my hands on the information.