Usually we have Father's Day dinner with my in-laws and my mom but this year they decided they didn't want to bear the crowded restaurants so just the three of us went to Sailors, above Baba Nyonya Restaurant at Millennium behind Rainfield Court apartments. I was very impressed the first time I was there, for lunch, in early April. Portions were BIG, prices very reasonable and the food was good. I had the Thai beef salad while Yi had the lamb chops. Sailors closed for expansion renovation in April and still hasn't settled down so the restaurant won't open for lunch until August when they will have a bigger menu.
The decor is a little bit much for me--a cutesy corner for books and cards, a shelf of high tea trays, a doorway of painted rocks, paintings that remind me of cross stitch in the 80s and busy walls of cheap art. Wey said it looked like the inside of many homes which can be either good or bad when you think about it. I enjoyed the What-A-Wonderful-World kind of music, he hated it. Music for old people, he said.
We didn't have reservations and on such an occasion, restaurants were all full and Sailors was no exception. We were lucky to be ushered to a reserved table and the food started to arrive after only 10 minutes' wait.
What a difference a renovation makes. Thai beef salad is no longer on the menu so I opted for the Cajun chicken salad (RM9++/USD3++). As you can see, the portion was small, salad was all lettuce and the few bits of chicken--about a tablespoonful--didn't taste Cajun.
We each had a bowl of mushroom soup (RM5++/USD1.60++), the only soup available. It was good with lots of shiitake mushrooms.
Wey somehow ordered a bacon and cheese omelette for dinner. Omelettes are omelettes, nice but not exceptional. I can't remember how much this cost.
A growing boy needs to eat like one. Wey has this strange habit of checking out fish and chips (RM15++/USD5++) in new restaurants even though he avoids eating fish most of the time. He wasn't impressed with this and neither was I .
The decor is a little bit much for me--a cutesy corner for books and cards, a shelf of high tea trays, a doorway of painted rocks, paintings that remind me of cross stitch in the 80s and busy walls of cheap art. Wey said it looked like the inside of many homes which can be either good or bad when you think about it. I enjoyed the What-A-Wonderful-World kind of music, he hated it. Music for old people, he said.
We didn't have reservations and on such an occasion, restaurants were all full and Sailors was no exception. We were lucky to be ushered to a reserved table and the food started to arrive after only 10 minutes' wait.
What a difference a renovation makes. Thai beef salad is no longer on the menu so I opted for the Cajun chicken salad (RM9++/USD3++). As you can see, the portion was small, salad was all lettuce and the few bits of chicken--about a tablespoonful--didn't taste Cajun.
We each had a bowl of mushroom soup (RM5++/USD1.60++), the only soup available. It was good with lots of shiitake mushrooms.
Wey somehow ordered a bacon and cheese omelette for dinner. Omelettes are omelettes, nice but not exceptional. I can't remember how much this cost.
A growing boy needs to eat like one. Wey has this strange habit of checking out fish and chips (RM15++/USD5++) in new restaurants even though he avoids eating fish most of the time. He wasn't impressed with this and neither was I .
My rack of lamb (RM39++/USD13++) came overcooked. I assumed that lamb would come slightly underdone and the waitress didn't ask.
Hub's sirloin looked good, done just nice and taste was okay but surprisingly was dry inside--sign of a frozen steak. RM47++/USD15.50++.
Wey ordered another soup and garlic bread (feeding one growing child is a lot cheaper than 3, I just realized) but it didn't come after a long wait so we left. Desserts on the other tables didn't look appealing, mostly ice creams of vibrant colors which I've learnt from my Italian holidays are just that, colors.
Overall, the food tonight could've been better but because the prices are very reasonable compared to most other similar western restaurants in town, I'd still come back. Since the portions have shrunk, I'd go for the RM15/USD5 deals such as lamb chops, house burgers, grilled chicken, chicken fritters, fajitas and rice dishes.
1 comment:
when i worked the restaurants in the US 2 of the busiest days of the year were mother's day and father's day. i understand why, especially mother's day.
it is very hard for any venue to prepare for such an onslaught, and its best to simply seek the enjoyment of your family and friends, and relish in the fact that you have no cooking or cleaning to do. any other expectations are simply that, expectations.
seems the menu at Sailors is populated with a selection of traditional international dishes. there are so many menus offering these dishes around the globe, in so many incarnations, that it becomes difficult for anyone to know what is the correct or authentic preparation, and which ones (authentic or not) are worth eating.
the only dish that you were served that sounds like it even came close to the mark was the soup. i myself am a big fan of mushroom soup, either creamed or clear. i have to admit that even to this day one of my favorite comfort foods is a tin of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup made with milk, not water.
accompanied by either a simple ham and cheese or peanut butter and jelly sandwich, i am immediately transported back to my mother's kitchen on a rainy afternoon, and i think she went back even further to my grandmother's stove side.
but when it comes to a cream of mushroom soup that is fit for restaurant service the one i make now includes shiitake mushrooms like the one you have pictured above.
regardless of what veggies i may use, or what other kinds of fresh mushrooms i may add, i have found that the best way to boost the flavor is to soak dry mushrooms in a good quantity of water the day before. then i use this infusion in place of, or along with the stock i may use.
the european varieties are great, as well as the asian ones, but i find mixing them does not work out so well.
another popular mushroom soup i developed is a clear one that is similar to french onion. i make the soup exactly as i make french onion using a hearty and robust beef stock, lots of mushrooms (instead of the onions), leeks, too much sherry and brandy and marjoram and sage instead of thyme.
note: marjoram and sage pack a lot of flavor so go easy with them
the trick is LOTS of shrooms thinly sliced and incorporating the soaking water from some euro-style shrooms - cepes, chanterelle and porcinis are all great for this.
if you want, do not add the dry mushrooms, but save them for a sauce to serve with another dish. dried mushrooms can be pricy, this is a way to "amortize" that cost and the flavors.
(ps - looooooots of sherry and brandy.)
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