Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Food Foundry

I always believe changes are for the better.....

The old Nic was an uninitiated lazy a** who loves reading about food while binging on those hazardous, cancerous potato chips but was never keen on really tasting what he read. He could go on and on about interesting eateries but when asked whether he had been to the particular place, the answer was always no. One event led to another and before he could finish testing all the flavours of those crisps, he started flogging and became an active food enthusiast. He even bought a KL street directory which cost a whopping RM45!

Yupe, he changed. For good. And for real. Take the Food Foundry experience for example.

He read about it in so many magazines. He knew the mille crepe was to-die-for. But when the location was out of his comfort zone, he just sighed and read the next food review, hoping it's just next to his couch. After attending the very retro flogger Christmas party, he finally knew where Food Foundry was. Now, that was not too difficult to find, he told himself. Who said it was, lazy a**??

Ok, let's talk about the food in this "neighbourhood food provider".

The Seafood Marinara (RM14.90) came in a huge portion and looked rather appetising with that luscious red tomato sauce dressing the spaghetti. Seafood was aplenty too. But he was deceived. The first bite revealed a rather overwhelmingly acidic taste. Perhaps the tomato paste was too dense. The seafood, oh his God, the seafood! The prawns were mouldy while the mussels tasted rather "chemicalised". Only the clams were fresh. Was it a reject or did he say something wrong to deserve this? An utter disappointment.

The Slow Braised Lamb Shank With Honey and Spice Sauce (RM24.90) was supposed to be a signature dish. He loves his lamb shanks but he's sorry to say that there was not one single reason for him to even like this version. The shank itself was rather hard (and it was supposedly slowly braised??). So, there went the flaking-the-meat fun part. The heavy "lamb" smell was prevalent too. As for the sauce, sweet was the only adjective he could use to describe it. The mash potato was too chunky and hard. Even if the direction was to provide texture to the mash, the cubes shouldn't have been so largely cut. Let’s not even talk about creaminess. Sad.

Criticism wears him out easily but the review has to go on. The Nasi Lemak with Chicken Rendang (RM7.90) was generic at best. A complete nasi lemak set with a sambal that was neither flavourful nor spicy. So far, best of the worst.

He left the table…….
To choose his desserts.
As demoralized as he was, he hoped the desserts would be as good as what he read.

Mille Crepe (RM8) was what he ordered. It was all he wanted to order. 20 thin layers of French crepe layered smoothly with fresh custards was the description. It was soft. It was delicate. It was sweet. It was moist. It was heaven. He loved the custard which actually tasted as rich as mascarpone. Strike while it’s still cold, really. He licked the plate dry.

He convinced himself to another piece. This time, it was the Cheese Cake (RM8). Yes, the cheese cake was good too. It was cheesy, subtly tangy and optimally sweet. If only the mains were quarter as good as the desserts.

He will be back for the obvious. He knows how to get there now.
But he’s still very disappointed with the mains. Mouldy prawns? Disastrous.

So, Nic really did change. And for that, he wants to thank you.
Yes, YOU!

Food Foundry
BG-8, Happy Mansion
Jalan 17/13, 46400 PJ.
Tel: (+603) 79553885
Website: http://www.foodfoundry.us/index.htm

20 comments:

Xiu Long Bao said...

gotcha, mouldy prawn...cus u swallowed it too fast mar.

2day i need food that can replenish my blood, kena sucked one whole tube during medical checkup *faint*

Tummythoz said...

Can get me Sing apples??? TQ TQ but me shy-ler.
Turns out I'll b d only one yet to bite into that mille crepe. Real sad to hear about the bad mains.

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

yeah the mains were sad when i went too..the cream used in the crepe was kinda sour too!!!..havent popped by ever since..and prob never will..

ekeng said...

love their Mille Crepe a lot..I love Vanila and Chocolate flavor..Yummy :)

LianneK said...

I totally agree. The last time I ate there, their main were totally off the mark where else, dessert were consistently good.

JOjo said...

haha,tummythoz, u are not the only one la...Me oso ma =p
The look of the spaghetti,as what you mention, it's deceiving. Cos it looks so good~ Haiz...
Never try mille crepe b4.BUt i bet it's good. Flour+butter+sugar+milk=delicious!

ai wei said...

dah know where it located after the very retro party. haha, thanks to the organizers for such great party which expose me to more eateries.

sigh. have yet to try thier mille crepe. i m so out-dated lar!

ling239 said...

i had the marinara the other time and ended up with a mouthful of sand... XD

the nasi lemak... did i see lots of oil there ? @_@

wmw said...

The food used to be quite yummy but that all changed sometime towards end 2006. They decided to take out some good food from the menu, replace them with new ones and hiked up all the prices. Sad, but Food Foundry was never the same again albeit the Mille Crepe is still okay.

fatboybakes said...

a mouldy prawn? now that's quite a feat. maybe it was truffle infused?

HairyBerry said...

xlb: cant help it…hungry mah…

wah, after they suck out so much blood from you, you can still tahan until late night for dinner y’day…not bad ar..haha! btw, what to eat ar, tonight?? Haha!

tummythoz: no need shy lar…hehe! You mean fuji apples from Singapore, isit? Email me the details lar… :) they have giant kiwis last time…too bad now no more :<

joe: I wonder what went wrong in the kitchen…I thought cafes are the easiest to manage compared to tai chow restaurants…standard ingredients and recipes…sigh, too bad lar.

hong kie boy ;) : yupe, I like the vanilla flavour…perhaps it was the original design, that’s why the taste is rather “right”…haven’t tried the choco and strawberry flavours, though…

lianne: i’m sure there are lots of ppl who complained about the mains…dunno whether the management is concerned with the feedback or not…it would have been perfect if the mains were good…I give face to the “mille crepe” lar…haha!

jojo: yeah, when I took my first shot of the spaghetti, I thought it looked kinda appetizing…but too bad lar…wonder where I can get mille crepe in Singapore…hhhmmm….

ai wei: bring Christine along for the mille crepe..then, u gals can try out all the different flavours…1 piece per person is quite a lot…very filling…and “jelak” also…aiyah, me also out dated lar…busy mah..haha!

ling239: wah! Sand??? I think it’s from the clams lar…they gave so much of seafood but too bad the taste was bad…sigh…nope, the liquid was from the rendang curry chicken. Another boring dish, in my opinion.

wmw: you so lucky lar! I mean, to have tried food foundry in their glorious days…hehe…hike up the price somemore! I wont
mind paying more if the food is good lor…but not for a plate of spaghetti with mouldy prawns…*takut takut*..

fatboybakes: how I wish! haha! I agree there’s a slight sh#$ness taste in truffles that made it so delicious (like belacan) but it was really mouldy lar, bro. it was soft, limp and tasted rather rotten…and marinara sauce wouldnt go well with truffles also, right? I prefer the streetfood from your post lar.. :-)

Hazza said...

I have heard so much about this place and its only a few mins drive from my parents house. Was the pasta usually this bad or are they just having an of day? My son loves seafood pasta.

backStreetGluttons said...

but of course !

da namesake said it all , afterall its a foundry...

....got snow ? omg

Celine said...

Go for dessert only for the next time's visit, hehe...

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

I had exactly the same experience as you at the bangsar outlet. But the cakes are pretty good. :-)

LiquidShaDow said...

Despite the angle of the shot, the nasi lemak actually looks more appealing than the pasta or the lamb.

Big Boys Oven said...

Oh my my . . . . . thanks for such a value information. I think I willstop my next time!

HairyBerry said...

hazza: from what I know, the standard has dropped. Perhaps there was a change in management or in the kitchen. Kids just love tomato sauce, don’t they? :)

team bsg: I should have thought about that. Afterall, the name did say it all. Well, the mille crepe turned out well. Guess some of the quality dept. people are doing their job in the foundry.

celine: yupe, definitely. From what I heard, even the desserts are selectively good. Well, as long as the mille crepe is there, I’ll be there…hehe…the take-away box is kinda cute too!

lyrical lemongrass: just found out about their bangsar outlet yesterday…just wont be visiting anytime soon cos there are so many more places to explore. Haven’t even tried the hokkien mee at reunion…hehe…

liquidshadow: hey, long time no see! too bad I cant make it this Friday. the nasi lemak was quite boring but was definitely better than the shank and the spaghetti. Thumbs up to the mille crepe though.

big boys oven: i think you should try their mille crepe...love the richness of the custard. a very delicate dessert. just dun order the mains that i ordered before..hehe...

Jun said...

portions aren't too outstanding, but try the strawberry mille crepes next time. it's nice :)

HairyBerry said...

jun: ok, got it! will give it a try next time...just for the desserts, maybe...hehe