Birthday Lunch @ Serai, Empire Shopping Gallery

After more than a year, I finally met up with Aimi, a good friend I've known since we were 13.

Got a surprising news from her, and it actually made me tear a little.

So many things can happen in a span of 1 year, and I felt bad for not meeting up with her more often, despite her being one of my best friends.

Met up for lunch at Serai, Empire Shopping Gallery, since I didn't know where to go and I kept seeing my primary schoolmate tweeting about how she craved and craved for its pavlova, so I thought "why not?"

Since I myself have not tried pavlova.

Hee.


Serai is lemongrass in Malay. One might think that it serves only local food, but it serves a variety such as nasi ambang (which originates from Jawa), some Western dishes like pasta and even fusion i.e. rendang beef penne! :O and not forgetting desserts! :P

I like the restaurant's deco - simple, it's a bit like delicious.

table deco which I kept fearing I would end up knocking off the table LOL
part of the menu. you can check out the whole menu at their website
Spaghetti Carbonara
Aimi ordered the Spaghetti Carbonara, but I forgot to ask her how was it/try it, so sorry #foodbloggerfail

Serai Platter
Wanted to try everything (especially the beef rendang penne!) but ended up ordering the Serai Platter, which is rice (nasi minyak) with fried chicken, sweet squids, acar (pickled vegetables) and oxtail.

The chicken and acar were normal for me while the squids were tad too sweet. I like the texture and all, but I wish the dish was less sweet, then it would be perfect. What I like the most is the oxtail! The flesh was just so soft, melts in your mouth, while the gravy tasted so good with the rice! I would be just happy with the rice and more oxtails! Hohohoho

Serai Iced Tea = iced tea + lemon sorbet + a stalk of lemongrass which I was so tempted to chew I have no idea why and I kept mistaken it as a straw but it also functioned as a stirrer so that was fine + mint leaves?
Refreshing companion to your food? I'm not sure if there are other places serving this, but a new way to enjoy iced tea I guess. Special? I'm not sure. Haha. #foodbloggerfail part 2

Minted Calamansi Soda
Something I ordered for my second slice of pavlova. Calamansi is also known as limau kasturi in Malay.

Okay. By now you might have realised that I ordered two slices of the berry pavlova.

YES, I ordered it after finishing the first slice because I like it so much.

Not sure if it meant I like Serai's pavlova or I like pavlova generally because I have yet to try pavlova at other places.

Berry Pavlova
I like the fact that the meringue is not overly sweet. The whipped cream was tasteless - which was a good thing, if not I would have passed out of excessive sweetness.

I like the fruits used - strawberries, blueberries, grapes. They went well with the meringue. The fruits were not sweet themselves, so it basically balanced out everything.

I like pavlova.

Must. Try. At. Other. Places. Or. Try. Baking.

Will go and try out some other food at Serai I guess. But I must say, the prices are a bit steep for their portions. Hmm.

Maybe it's just me and my belly's opinions.

:P

Happy Birthday, my dear! I wish you all the happiness in the world! 2012 will be a different year for you right? I hope everything goes well. :) *hugs and kisses*