Thursday 15 October 2015

Of Pastas and Salads


After my so-so lunch at The Salad Bar last year, I decided to visit again after my partner passed their flyer to me. Apparently he was walking past the cafe when the lady boss and her staff were distributing the leaflets.


I noted that they have revamped the menu. And now they even have quarter servings for the salads. Nice!



My partner let me in on a little tip. If you want a main meal salad, opt for half size and not full size. Because the portion difference is minimal but the price difference is significant.


The counter. Place your orders and pay first before you are seated.
I was there one day for an early lunch. 


The salad counter with bottles of toppings all lined up.

Since it was early (around 11:30am), I had the whole place to myself. I decided to try a different salad. So I chose the Squares and Rounds. Interesting name, right? I ordered the quarter portion.



This salad is made up of buckwheat, millet, chickpeas, olives, tomatoes, cucumber and lettuce. It is tossed with a miso dressing.


Uiks! Two spoons!
I had the miso dressing before and I remembered it was very salty. But not this time. This salad is rather good. The miso dressing was mild and not as salty as before.



It is very different from salads that I am used to. I think I will order this again.

If you are wondering if PH will be satisfied with a quarter helping of salad, of course the answer is no. hah..hah.. I also ordered a Spicy Chicken Pasta.



It was as good as I remembered! This is Thai inspired and I could taste fish sauce. There's also basil for the added fragrance. But no cili padi :( It was very good.



So this was my lunch that day.



And then two days later, I was craving for pasta and salad again. So I made my way to The Salad Bar. This time for the Red and Tomato Pasta.



The Red salad is chicken sausage (I don't like this), red peppers, tomatoes, carrots and grapes tossed in a Russian dressing. It is sweet and tangy. Very nice except for the chicken sausage.



I think it would be nicer with roasted chicken. To me, this type of chicken sausage is in the same category as crabsticks.



Nope, they did not have Tomato Pasta that day. The kitchen announced that they ran out of pasta sauce after I had placed my order and paid. I had no choice but to opt for something else.



I chose the Zesty Aglio which is spaghetti cooked with chili flakes and chicken ham. It is slightly more expensive than the Tomato Pasta but the cashier decided not to make any adjustments to make up for their oversight.



The pasta was quite good though the spaghetti was kind of clumpy. But I am not complaining as it was very tasty.  Very garlicky. And fiery too. I like! And as I was enjoying my pasta, I noticed an uninvited lunch companion. This guy.



See Mr Fly? The fly was also present on my first visit but it was more active then and I couldn't get a proper shot.


It looked like it was on stage under the spotlight, ready to break into song.
Well, that was a good lunch! I am still hankering for the Tomato Pasta, so I will be back. On my way back to office, I had to struggle with this.



There's a beautification program going on in my area.



It makes the whole place look so ugly and creates traffic congestion. I suppose you have to get ugly first before you become beautiful. Just like those ladies who go for facials and have stuff pasted on their face.



Darn! How am I going to cross the road? Luckily I don't wear stiletto heels. Sure koyak.

But I was in a good mood. Carbs make me happy!



Want to know another food that makes me happy? Indian food! Maybe one day I'll drop by here with my brother.

40 comments:

  1. Me got eat Indian foods, but not into it, hehe...

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    1. Oh? I am very much into Indian food. So delicious!

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  2. Without meat and steak, I cannot, hehe.. Eh, but your buckwheat salad looks interesting, never seen that before.. Looks like barley when I zoom closer.. Salad, I can eat, as long as got hard boiled eggs or potatoes or grilled chicken inside.. But leh, I think I am willing to try the Red salad than the buckwheat salad.. Oh, sausage not good? Ya la, those frozen ones, from the packet, just defrost, rendam dalam air panas sekejap and cut into strips kot.. Ooooo, Indian food! Banana leaf rice ! Oh yes, I want to see a post on that, yummzzz..

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    1. Louiz, I remember that you don't like vegetables hah..hah... I also prefer salads with meat or eggs. It taste better and more wholesome. Banana leaf rice is my favorite. The last time I had it, eat until so sedap and forgot to take picture haiz!

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  3. I like the salads and pastas and I too do not like sausages very much. Its funny the way you compare the road works to a woman's beautification process. So true that we get all ugly to be beautiful! Looking forward to your Indian food post. I love curries!

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    1. Nancy, I only like those premium sausages that taste much better. But I guess the shop needs to cut cost as good sausages are expensive.

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  4. Thanks for the tip on the size to order for the salad! :)

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  5. Very satisfying looking pasta and salads..the salad is different from the usual green vegetable servings.

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    1. Agnes, they have a good variety of salads there. It's just a matter of whether we like the combination and dressing.

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  6. oooh, salad and pasta!! these two are things i love.. and i supposed you love them too, because you had them so-so last year, and yet you are giving them a second chance.. and after the second chance, you actually are giving them your second visit!! hmmm, needless to say, they have revamped the menu and most probably changed owner/ chef already.. that's a nice move, you have another place for lunch now.. :)

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    1. What I can tell is that they have made some improvements. Perhaps they got customer feedback or realised that not many are coming back. I hope they keep up and that business will improve and be as good as before.

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  7. i would choose the Red Salad and also the Zesty Aglio Pasta you had.. and photo #10 (hehehe, you know which one i am referring to?? since you don't label your photos, i'll let you count like i counted them, hahaha) actually looks like the mamak mee goreng to me, hahaha.. anyway, just like you, i also DO NOT like the sauages on the red salad, errr, why that ah?? like so not match kan?? better give me a few pieces of crispy bacon lah, do you agree with me?? and the Zesty Aglio, i read the word zesty, not a trace of some citrus in that, but it's fiery?? aiyoh, like that i don't like anymore, haha~~ :D

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    1. The sausage is not nice at all! Better don't put hah..hah... Bacon would be nice but chicken sausage is more neutral. In fact beef bacon is also not bad but some people can't take beef. Now that you mentioned it, why they call it zesty? Perhaps not referring to lime or lemon zest but maybe it means full of energy.

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  8. eih.. look at the name of the restaurant in the last photo.. SK Maju, hahaha!! feel like the boss is wishing me all the best huh?? hihihi ^^

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    1. dream on la.... muhahahaha

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    2. hah..hah...When I saw the name SK, I said to myself "TM will sure say that this is his thambi's shop"!

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    3. Spot On! I saw so many SK shops & signs in town from trucks to mobile portable toilets. Wakakakakakakaka.....

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    4. That shop's boss must be Sherman Khan.

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  9. How nice ... you have the entire restaurant by yourself ! That's the advantage of going for early lunch, I always did that but come 4pm, I will feel hungry and need a snack and kopi..hahaha
    I guess they have improved on their food or maybe a change of chef ... I love the Aglio Olio but prefers not spicy, I can't take it. hahaha... The salad seems very different from those found outside! Miso... must be a Japanese type of salad!

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    1. Yes, much improved and that's why I went there twice hah..hah...The pasta is quite good, I mean, suit my taste lah.

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  10. This Salad Bar is in Uptown ah? Walking distance from your office? So convenient for you. You are right, I agree with you that chicken sausage is in the same category as crabsticks - very much processed food. Salad bar is supposed to be healthy food, right? So what is the chicken sausage doing in there?

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    1. Mun, yeah it is in Uptown. I think chicken sausage is cheap, that's why they use it. Not nice at all!

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  11. The chicken sausage indeed does not look very well

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    1. Ola, I wish that they served with roasted or grilled chicken instead.

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  12. Yes, I agree some grilled chicken instead of those processed sausages would have been better. And again, why chicken ham in your pasta dish since this is supposed to be a healthy salad place?

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    1. I guess they are cutting cost by using these relatively cheaper ingredients. Besides, chicken ham is much easier for their kitchen to handle instead of having the grill/roast fresh chicken.

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  13. Ekkkkkkkk!!!!! A fly!!!! Brings to mind the eateries at LCCT, infested with the insects. So disgusting!

    I wonder what miso dressing tastes like. I like the potato salad at our regular Japanese joint here, dunno what dressing...but it's a creamy one. Very nice. I would pass on those supermarket sausages too - no, thanks!

    Ahhhhhh!!!! Indian! I like!!!!

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    1. The Japanese potato salad uses mayonnaise - Japanese mayonnaise, the Kewpie brand.

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  14. I agree, that chicken sausage totally ruined the salad! Here you have a salad which is supposed to be healthy, with all those veggies and cherry tomatoes and all those healthy stuff... and then f**king processed food! WTF?!

    And ah... is that SK Thambee's new business venture??

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    1. Yup, that chicken sausage does not belong in the salad!

      hah..hah... I was quite amused with the restaurant name and straight away I thought of TM's thambee!

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    2. Thambee Oh Thambee... you are everywhere!
      It was a bitter sweet story online where we used to bash each other up with words but enjoyed ourselves. We clicked and the rest is history.

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  15. I would like to have the spicy chicken pasta, slurps

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    1. Good choice, Libby! This one is very good.

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  16. It seems a little strange to pair healthy salad with that chicken sausage. Haha better to just leave it out or serve chicken breast right for the healthy theme to follow on.

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  17. SO nice to be back on your blog again!!! I love carbs, too, and your lunches look yummy (I'm not so sure about that chicken sausage, either!). Hope you're having a nice weekend!!!

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    1. Hi Lizzy! Thanks for stopping by. I love my carbs a little too much :D I'm having a great weekend, thanks!

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  18. Muahahahahaha!!!

    How could you compare ladies and the road beautification! I wish I could share with you the whole nice picture when finished. I have seen the plans and visuals, remember?

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    1. I do hope it turns out as beautiful as the plans, though I have not had the privilege of seeing those. Too early to judge because right now I don't really like those raised pavements.

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