It was Fatty’s birthday last week and I’ve been anticipating for this day to come.
I was feeling all excited. So excited that Fatty asked me why do I look so happy when it’s his birthday and not mine.

This shows how much I love him. LOLOL!
Jokes aside.

All the while it was Fatty who chooses which restaurant we should go to when it comes to occasions like this.
This time round, I decided to be the decision maker.
I did not disclose where I will be bringing him, keeping it secretive and all.

I asked him to drive us to Dua Residency and for a moment he thought that I was bringing him to Delicious for his birthday dinner.
I guess he was about to cry in his heart, hahaha.

Knowing him so well, of course I wouldn’t pick a place like Delicious.

Not Delicious, but Dish which is under the same group.

DISH – Delicious Ingredients Steak House at Dua Residency.
‘A most unorthodox fine dining establishment that is luxe in spirit but casual in practice. Foodies know that dressing up is not a prerequisite for dining well and at DISH diners can relax as they dig into their perfectly prepared prime cuts of beef.’

Plenty of wine to choose from for wine lovers.

My birthday boy. :)

And the ‘secretive’ girlfriend.

Complimentary Eggplant Fritters with studded black sesame. No, not banana fritters but some real warm and crunchy eggplant fritters.

Complimentary bread with rosemary herb butter. It’s a little hard to resist the bread especially when it is served with rosemary herb butter but try to anyhow. You need to make space for better food that is coming your way.

I decided on what to order since I was the decision maker for the night.
I ordered a set of ‘A Taste of Dish’ (Rm135) for us to share. In addition to that I add on pumpkin soup and salt baked cod fish.

Amuse Bouche, watermelon with feta cheese, pine nuts and balsamic vinegar.
I didn’t know such combination could go so well together. Watermelon, feta cheese and balsamic vinegar could easily be the perfect combination. The first bite was sweet and juicy, then comes the second bite which is so flavorful thanks to the feta cheese.
When the balsamic vinegar seeps in for the third bite, it creates a heavenly taste. I am so amaze by this!

Pumpkin soup with mushroom, parmesan and truffle – Rm22.
This soup is so worth the price. Not to mention that this pumpkin soup is thick and rich, there’s even mushroom, parmesan, and truffle to go with it.
Definitely warms my tummy and my soul. I adore pumpkin soup and this is one of the best I’ve tried so far.

Foie Gras and smoked duck ballotine with spiced pineapple.
The more common way of preparing foie gras would be pan seared in most of the restaurants here in KL and that day was my first time tasting a non-pan-seared-foie-gras. Very rich in flavour and when spread it on the toasted bread that came along with it turns out to be a great pair.

I myself wasn’t feeling too well on that day so I gave my share to Fatty.
The taste was too strong for my weak body. :(

Seared and marinated tuna with pickled radish and crispy quail eggs.
Oh I love this dish!  Quail egg was really crispy on the outside and on the inside it has runny yolks.
Tuna was real good too, I wish they had given us more. Sweet, juicy, and tasty!

.

Sauteed scallop with cauliflower puree, turkey bacon and almonds.
I dislike eating cauliflower but cauliflower puree is a different story all together. I definitely love their cauliflower puree. As for the scallops, it was good but somehow it did not take me by surprise.

Wagyu striploin with truffled potato puree and tarragon poached vegetables.
This dish is easily one of my favourite too. I was already so full when this dish was served but at the same time I feel like I cant stop eating. So tender, juicy, and well cooked.
Raw enough for my liking, absolutely digging this dish. Just look at that red piece of meat!

Salt baked cod with red pepper and lemon sauce – Rm69.
It was served on a wooden block, wrapped by a layer of salted pastries.

Cooked for 40 minutes, this piece of cod fish is absolutely worth the wait.
The cod fish is fresh and sweet, it taste good even on its own.
It was placed on a plate of roasted vegetables and red pepper puree with a tinge of sourness.
I would prefer cauliflower puree.  I don’t quite like pairing such fresh fish with a rather sour puree.
Then again, the fish itself could make up for that.

Petit four.

Caramel chocolate delice with raspberries and lime ice-cream.
A great combination of very rich chocolate balanced out by sweet and sour lime ice-cream.
And of course the raspberries. Fatty kept pestering me to try the raspberries, telling me that they’re real sweet. Good lord, you can imagine my expression when I took the first bite. It was sour as hell.

What attracted me to pick Dish in the first place was Chef Steve Allen.
He worked for more than 10 years in Gordon Ramsay’s kitchen.
This fact alone is enough.  And there, the one standing is him.

♥

Outfit of the day accompanied by a very full tummy.

The bill came up to about Rm325++, with a glass of red wine (Rm35)  and a bottle of con-people-mineral-water (Rm18).
Fatty felt that the cod fish is a little expensive which I do agree on.
However, ‘A Taste of Dish’ is definitely worth the price. All the dishes above are included except for pumpkin soup and cod fish.

We did not head for another round after the dinner.
Both of us are dead tired by then, all we wanted to do was to go back home and rest.
He knew there was another surprise waiting for him but what I did was sleeping on his bed while he watched his very-nice-Fringe-drama.
I wanted to surprise him when the clock strikes 12 but unfortunately his dad was watching TV in the living room so I figured I better wait for his dad to go to bed first.
Ended up I am the one falling asleep on Fatty’s bed but I woke up every 20 minutes or so asking, ‘Your dad still watching TV ah?’.

Falling asleep then waking up. Falling asleep then waking up.
Torturous much.

So here it is, the surprise. He thought I bought him a cake. No I didn’t.
I just prepared a no-bake-cake. A watermelon cake! He laughed when he saw this. Hah!
Isn’t it cute? And we both were thirsty so we gobbled down the watermelon balls.

I got the idea from Martha Stewart. She’s the queen of housewives, really.

Ingredients

1 seedless watermelon (about 14 pounds)
Directions

Cut top and bottom thirds off 1 seedless watermelon (about 14 pounds); reserve. Cut middle third of watermelon into wedges. Scoop flesh from ends into balls using a melon baller. Arrange balls on top of wedges.

I bought half a watermelon but I wish the one I bought was bigger so that I can scooped more watermelon balls.
Also, do buy mint leaves and put it in the middle. It sure does look better.
Or you can even chopped mint leaves into fine mint leaves and sprinkle on top of those watermelon balls. Sure does look better. :)

Try this if you want to bake a cake but do not have an oven at home, just like me.
Simple, sweet, cute, refreshing and healthy. Why not? Heh.

I hope Fatty had a great night that day and I hope he will like my simple watermelon cake.
That’s not all for his birthday.

Dish by Delicious Group,
Dua Annexe,
213 Jalan Tun Razak,
Kuala Lumpur,
Tel: +603-2164 1286