The Morning After, Pavilion

The deal: RM30 for RM60 cash voucher for food and drinks at The Morning After

What we got:

In contrast with TMA's other outlets in Jaya One and Ativo Plaza, the one in Pavilion, KL wasn't a proper restaurant per se, but rather a counter-cum-kitchen with tables surrounding it. Perhaps it was because of there was no proper cooking area, that the food did not turn out as good as expected.

Wild mushroom soup (RM9.90)

TMA's wild mushroom soup supposedly came with 'hints of truffle oil', but we didn't taste any, not in the slightest. In fact, the soup came really bland, lacking even the basic taste of regular mushrooms. 

Pumpkin soup (RM9.90)

Although the taste of pumpkin in the pumpkin soup was more discernible than mushroom in the mushroom soup, it still wasn't one of the better ones we've tried (my favourite is still the one from Opika).

The American Dream (RM19.90)

The American Dream a.k.a. the big breakfast, with your typical egg, beef bacon, lamb sausage, roasted cubed potatoes, cherry tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms and buttered sammie, i.e. TMA's version of a bagel. The lamb sausage, potatoes, cherry tomatoes and mushroom were good, but the bacon was rather dry. The egg, too, was overly cooked, and so came out dry and, for lack of a better word, flaky.

Mexican Baked Eggs (RM17.90)

The Mexican baked eggs came topped with baked beans, with a filling of cherry tomatoes, peppers and chicken chunks. These eggs also lacked flavour and seasoning, and the one-dimensional taste of overly-done eggs and cheese resulted in us not finishing this dish. As with every dish so far (yes, including the soups), this came with buttered sammie. We found the texture rather tough, and while it tasted all right, our mouth got tired after a while.

All in all, we were not impressed by the food at TMA's Pavilion outlet. It could be that food at its other outlets (with a proper kitchen?) may fare better, but based on this experience, we are not likely to revisit.

Tax: Service charge of 10%

How much we paid: RM32.25

Muugu, Jalan Jati

The deal: RM55 for RM100 cash voucher for food and drinks at Muugu

What we got:

Muugu is one heck of a place to find. We spent a good 10 to 15 minutes circling the Jalan Jati / Jalan Delima / Jalan Inai area before finally giving up and gave the restaurant a call. A good landmark is Villa Inai; take a left turn right before the condo block and you should be able to see it.

Complimentary bread

Twisty tomato (RM13.95)

Described as 'classic tomato - with a flying kick', Muugu's rendition of tomato soup does indeed have that extra zing to it - we suspect, with an addition of chilli, but just the right amount as not to overwhelm the natural flavours of the tomato fruit.

Truffle fries (RM11.95)

Ahhh, truffle fries. Although Wiki tells us that most truffle oil is actually not made of real truffles, that doesn't change the fact that the bowl of fries we had were wonderfully aromatic and absolutely addictive. So good we paid scant attention to the dipping sauce that came with it.

New York strip (RM39.95)

Muugu called it steaks 'award-winning', so how could we not order them to try? We got the 220g New York strip, which came with sides of ratatouille and mashed potato, and our choice of sauce (we opted for the red wine). We wouldn't necessarily call it the best we've had, but pretty decent as far as steaks go. The mashed potato was a little bland, but we loved the ratatouille. Yums!

Mixed seafood fettucine (RM27.95)

Our other main was the mixed seafood pasta - choose between the penne, fettucine, linguini or spaghetti, tossed with prawns, squid and mussel in a tomato base. Again, a fairly well-executed dish.

What we liked at Muugu, besides the service, was the rather affordable price tag relative to the location. For a restaurant housed in a bungalow a stone's throw away from the Golden Triangle, we expected prices to be on the higher side, where soups would cost somewhere in the mid-twenties and mains probably somewhere near forty (steaks would be in a different price bracket, of course). We really wouldn't mind revisiting.

As was the case with our Black Market vouchers, we got free RM25 credit, so we ended up only paying RM30 for RM100 deal value. 

Tax: Service charge of 10%

How much we paid: RM33.20

Mr Dakgalbi, Bukit Bintang

The deal: RM10 for RM20 cash voucher for food and drinks at Mr Dakgalbi / RM20 for RM40 cash voucher for food and drinks at Mr Dakgalbi

What we got:

Banchan

Starting off with the appetisers: the banchan consisted of the customary kimchi, slices of radish and a salad reminiscent of coleslaw. The kimchi was more sour than spicy, but it was addictive enough that we asked for a refill. The dressing for the salad was rather unusual--I couldn't quite place the taste but I knew I wasn't a fan. The radish was, well, pretty average.

Mr Dakgalbi (2 servings) 

We got the set meal for 2, which consisted of 2 servings of Mr Dakgalbi (chicken, potato, onion and rice cakes) + ramen + rice + cheese. To avoid over-stuffing ourselves with carb, we asked if we could switch the ramen + cheese (RM6 each) to octopus (RM12), to which they politely obliged. 

Taste-wise, my partner and I thought Mr Dakgalbi's dak galbi proved to be slightly tastier than the other place we visited, although our experience at Ayami will always be remembered fondly for its lovely service crew. 

Tax: Service charge of 10%

How much we paid: RM30