Me'nate Steak House / Hub @ Ampang

We first got to know of this shop from a friend. At that time, we were discussing the topic of "Where is the best wagyu beef you've tasted".. Not because we are avid fans of wagyu beef, sincerely the only ones we've tasted before was both from Tony Romas: Wagyu beef burger (RM50+/-) and Wagyu steak (RM120+/-). Being a prime/expensive type of steak (which recently became famous over the past year) we only had a few 'opportunity' to taste it.. Specifically speaking, Mrs Foodpacker's monthly get-salary-treat-bf meals! haha XD and this is one of those meals.. at the "House of Wagyu", Me'nate Steak House!

A Western speciality restaurant (steaks nonetheless!) run by Malay. Odd indeed, but let's see how they fair up ;) Operational hours: to 10.30pm

The open aired inside seatings. From hard wood chairs to plastics. A simple concept which makes you feel like you'll be dining fresh meat straight from the farm!

One of the best properties if this restaurant.. free flow drinks! The hot Milo is absolutely delicious after a heavy meal..

Freezers which store all the fresh meat! Here is where you can survey the types of meat that you want they have. Not all parts of meat seen in the menu is necessarily in stock for you (subject to availability) thus it is best to choose you meat first before you even sit down to take a look at the menu. Specify how you'd like them to be cooked or you can ask the staff for the recommended level of cooking for each type/part of meat.

Another reason NOT to go through their menu first before you survey their freezer is because.. the prices stated in the menu are per 100grams, slightly giving you the illusion and hope that your steak's going to cost cheap! Imagine how Mr Foodpacker's face was when they slammed this RM179.40 piece of meat on the table! HAHA (this particular meat was Wagyu beef which in the menu ranges around RM20-RM65 max per 100 grams depending on parts)
**Queue in sad song for Mrs Foodpacker's purse**

Wagyu tenderloin (bottom) striploin (top). Ranges from  RM100 to RM200 for striploin and RM130 to RM200 for tenderloin. The best Wagyu comes from tenderloin, hence the price. Pricing from most expensive to least: Tenderloin>Ribeye>Striploin>Sub-primal>Non-primal

Angus ribeye. Ranges from RM70 to RM100. They said that the tenderloin is normally not available for Angus.Pricing from most expensive to least: Tenderloin>Ribeye>Striploin>Sub-primal>Non-primal

Grass fed ribeye. Ranges from RM40 to RM60. Pricing from most expensive to least (grain fed): Tenderloin>RIbeye>Striploin>T-Bone>O.P.Ribs>Sub-primal>Non-primal

Grain fed ribeye (not in picture) ranges from RM40 to RM70.Pricing from most expensive to least (grass fed): Tenderloin>Ribeye>Striploin

Lamb rack and lamb loin. Ranges from RM30 to RM70. Pricing from most expensive to least: Rack>Leg>Loin>Shoulder>Ribs>Shank>Neck

These were what we chose out of the many. Though they might be a dime in a dozen, they are still a dime each ;)
Angus ribeye. RM70.20
Wagyu tenderloin. RM133.90
Lamb rack. RM49.90

The degree of cooking provided by the shop. Injecting a bit sense of humour into the menu. Reff: Well Done. We're guessing they are not  such big fans (which is exactly how most Malaysian like it =P)

Mashed potatoes. FOC. Comes with the dish. 1 steak = 2 scoops of mashed potatoes. If you ordered a big platter (all steaks served on a single plate) this is the amount of mashed you get! Yummy indeed, cute small scoops of potatoes that go effortlessly into your mouth. First item that we instantly finished on the table!

Beef Aglio Olio. RM18.80. Not your ordinary aglio olio pasta.. It is a VERY BEEFY pasta. We immediately wanted to order another one of this after we finished it! (But we decided not to as to save space for the other meals =P) If you are looking  for an authentic olio pasta that sticks close to the Italian roots, this is not the one. But if you are looking for something that suits more to the Malaysian tongue.. this is definitely an excellent fusion! Minced meat was used instead of bacon in this one.

Lamb rack (left): Medium well
Angus ribeye (middle/top): Medium
Wagyu tenderloin (right): Medium
All cooking degrees were chosen based on staff recommendation.
They should know best how to cook their own meat!

Wagyu tenderloin. RM133.90. 

Angus ribeye. RM70.20.

Lamb rack. RM49.90.
Probably not the best part of lamb to order. This one had many small and long inedible tendons.

Some black pepper gravy to go with the steak.. served warm on goes well with any steak. 

A cut from Wagyu tenderloin. You thought that the more expensive meat has the better taste? haha this one had a better texture than Angus. Which is what wagyu is known for anyway, high quality soft meat. Taste wise?

A cut from Angus ribeye. Simply tasted better than Wagyu! but lacking in texture. The heavily covered marinade might be the source of flavour.
NOTE: Based on our visit, and their style of cooking. It is safe to say, MEDIUM WELL is the best way to go on any steak. Trust us.. unless you are an steak eating expert, medium well is the most optimal level of softness and hardness inside out (that is edible, with no traces of blood)

And just in case if you ever think of running away from the shop without paying    

Dishing it out: At this restaurant you can eat every part of a meat on every type of meat you can possibly think of! But it is best to only stick to their steaks as we found their lamb to be quite normal. Service is fast, meals arrived only in 5-10 minutes after ordering! Which left us wondering the type of technology they have back in the kitchen that can cook a steak that fast! Though for the price we are paying for, the management should put in more effort to provide the customers with a better eating environment (we hardly think they can't afford it) This restaurant also serves as a grocey where one can buy meat at 30% the displayed price (minus cooking labour) Aside from steaks and ribs, they also sells sausages, bacon and much more.

On the downside, we would say that the dishes in this shop are HEAVILY priced. Which is pretty weird considering the fact that all the meat comes from their own farm and that should have been enough to bring down the cost to a considerable amount. Always pays to bring a big bag of cash when you dine here, because you can never expect how high the prices can fly up to. Or you can always opt for Tony Romas, a world renowned franchise which sells Wagyu steak at only RM120 =P


Coming back for more value: MAYBE for Beef aglio olio
Crowd: NO
Cleanliness: CLEAN
Service: GOOD
Category: HALAL/PORK-FREE

GPS Coordinates: N3.160795,E101.758692


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If you'd like to know the COMPLETE ADDRESS of the restaurant, please click on the "Location" tab below. (After Facebook comments and right before Blogger comments, its in between!)

Tel: 03 4251 3460

..and that's our "DISH" of the day!!!!!

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Al-Amar @ Pavilion KL

Pavilion KL is not only know for its glam, fashion and expensive cars.. (most ideal place to apply for a jockey position) but it is also the home to many exclusive known or unknown local and international delights. On the highest floor of this mall exists some of the rarest and most exclusive restaurants one could find. Most of the names you've never even heard of, but are incredibly famous if you look up online. This particular post is about the consecutive winner of Malaysia's best restaurant and multi-award winning Lebanese restaurant, Al-Amar.

Located quite strategically at the centre of the most top floor of Pavilion. With a lot of room to roam around infront of the restaurant, it is pretty hard to miss. Operational hours: 10am to 2am daily.

The classy inside seatings. The restaurant is well themed with red coloured Lebanese decorations (from lights to furnitures) You can tell that most items are imported overseas. There are many types of seatings, so survey around before you choose your table ;)

The outside seatings. Would definitely opt to sit outside if we came at night.. for the view and the breeze of KL town. It is also facing down towards the main outdoor compound of Pavilion. If there are any concerts going on down below, this would be a good place to take a peek and avoid all the dangerous human traffic below. OR if you simply want to enjoy the Shisha service provided by the house.

The head chef (in black) is the one who actually made this restaurant famous. He frequently participates himself in MIGF (Malaysian International Gourmet Festival) and won quite a number of awards such as 'Best signature dish' for Hommos, Mixed grill and Fattoush. KL Timeout has also awarded Al-Amar as 2009 and 2010's Best middle eastern restaurant in Malaysia. Not only that, it is also one of Malaysia's Best restaurants of 2009. Simply head to the wall and check out how many individual awards and restaurant awards they have won (pretty sure they have a few trophies hidden too =P)

Hommos. RM16. Mashed chick peas with sesame seed paste and dash of lemon juice, topped with olive oil. One of the restaurant's award winning signature dish! It completely deserves the title as this one stands above the rest compared to all the hommos we've tasted elsewhere before. For those who are not familiar with this dish, it might taste a little weird at first but easier said, it tastes a little bit like cheese. Good thick texture and goes very well with the bread. A+ for presentation and a must try dish!

Pita bread. Complimentary. This is the bread you eat together with the Hommos. Very soft and plain, yet after a few bites mixed with the Hommos, you will beg for more..

Chicken chawarma sandwich. RM18. They have been called many names chawarma/shawarma but to us Malaysian, it is simply known as kebab (which to them 'kebab' is skewered meat :P) The kebab is quite dry but there are pickels and an unidentifiable object which tasted like french fries to add to the flavour. The bread itself is fluffy and easy to chew.

 If you are a heavily sedated (no pun intended) lebanese kebab fans such as us, you would know how to eat them in the best way possible.. with GARLIC CREAM SAUCE!!!!! The kebab gets 10x better with this little beauty right here. FYI garlic sauce is a very common condiment to go with any dish in a lebanese cuisine. (Like chilli sauce to Malaysians) You could even eat it with your rice! This is the one thing we always ask for at every middle eastern restaurant we go to =)

Fish kebbeh. RM18. Fried fish bowls stuffed with glazed onions and pine seeds served on a bed of tajin. Nothing says 'exotic food' like a bunch of weird ingredients cooked together to form a meal. The shell was salty and the onion filling was sour. Eaten together with the gravy, it makes for a pretty balanced and okay appetizer. It was worth the try, but not for a repeat order.

Lamb kabbseh. RM44. Steamed marinated lamb with basmati rice cooked with tomato and spices accompanied with  their specially made sauce. This here was a dish worth to eat! It had A LOT of thick and big lamb chunks that were amazingly soft and delicious! The rice was good enough to eat all by itself and sometimes we got a surprise sweet flavour from its raisins. A delightful dish indeed and our personal favourite from the shop!

Chicken kebbeh. RM38.  Kabbseh or khabsa or kabbsa generally means a meal served with rice. This one is good as well for those who can't eat lamb. A succulent quarter chicken that is well marinated and goes fantastic with the rice. But IMHO it simply cannot top the taste of the lamb ;)

Standard mixed grill. RM58. One lahem mechwe skewer (beef cubes), one chic taouk skewer (chicken breasts cubes) and two kafta skewers (hollowed lamb meat). This shop is well known for another type of mixed grill, which we were not able to afford during that visit. It is twice (or more) the price of this standard mixed grill. This meal is good for those who enjoy a little creativity in preparing their own meal. You can basically eat it any way you want! Roll together with the bread and mixed with fresh onions and tomatoes inside and finish it off with a dip of garlic sauce or just eat them one by one. 

Lamb cutlets. RM49. Marinated in 7 spices and olive oil sauce. Not the optimal quantity of food we would like to be spending that much amount of money on. But as far as fine dining dishes are priced, this tasted magnificent due to its marinade. Tasted similar to the marinade found at Seremban 2 Seafood Steamboat and BBQ's lamb if you ask me.

Half grilled chicken. RM27. A wholesome plate for big eaters. It was a normal dish.

Achtalieh. RM15. A cream cheese pudding bathed in traditional sugar syrup and decorated with chopped pistachio nuts, almonds and pine nuts. IMHO, this dessert tasted rather plain.

Baklawa. RM12. These are traditional Lebanese sweets. A top recommendation from the restaurant's staff. Clearly much better than the one above as it had more taste (sweet) and a crispy outside texture. A joy to eat =)

Dishing it out: If the environment does not give you enough reason to visit this restaurant, maybe dining to the food prepared by a highly qualified gourmet chef would! This is Middle Eastern / Lebanese cuisine fine dining at its best! Prepare to be amazed by the level of culinary artistry on some of his gourmet dishes ;)
If you'd like to skip all the exclusivity and just grab 1 or 2 items from their menu, you can do so by visiting their Al-Amar Express which is located across the street from Pavilion at Farenheit 88.

P/S: If it is your first time visiting this restaurant, we can imagine it would be pretty hard to go through the menu. It took us a while too, eventhough we've been to many non-exclusive yet still expensive middle eastern restaurants =P hopefully this post will help you to get a glimpse of what is good to order.



Coming back for more value: MAYBE for their signature mixed grill and other gourmet dishes.
Crowd: YES
Cleanliness: CLEAN
Service: VERY GOOD efficient staff (mostly foreign), fast service, food served in a flash! (till we had trouble catching up to take pictures of each)
Category: HALAL/PORK-FREE

GPS Coordinates: N3.148237,E101.713413


View Al-Amar in a larger map

If you'd like to know the COMPLETE ADDRESS of the restaurant, please click on the "Location" tab below. (After Facebook comments and right before Blogger comments, its in between!)

Tel: 03 2166 1011

 ..and that's our "DISH" of the day!!!!!

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