An Evening Affair at Bora Asmara...

Well, another quiet period for over a month.....life must have been bored, dull or hectic/bogged down by work again heh??? Anyway, the 1st post for the year 2008 comes after another makan2 session among colleagues and ex-colleagues....an overdued farewell meal to a colleague who left in December 2007! Finally we managed to make this last minute arrangement to have dinner after work on Tue since Wed is a Public Hol (Thaipusam) for all of us......the place of choice?? Bora Asmara in Kg Sg. Penchala.....

Have read a mixture of good and bad comments, reviews on the internet about this place, the food...the service..etc. But, we decided to give it a try since it is nearer for most of us (working in PJ) to travel after working hour to beat the traffics instead of going all the way to Bora Ombak in Ampang.

The Surrounding:

Rata2 semua kata ambience bagus (balinese style).....It is very impressive, I do agree to this....so since we were the earliest to arrive....while waiting for the others we took the opportunity snap2 la cikit:

Malu...malu...pic snapped from my colleague's Sony Album-T :)

The Dining Area:
You have options to go indoor (air-conditioned) or at the lounge area, outdoor dining under open air of reserve you private pondok :)

pic snapped from my colleague's Sony Album-T

pic snapped from my colleague's Sony Album-T

pic snapped from my colleague's Sony Album-T

Nampak macam best....but since some ladies in their blouse.....so makan dok bersila a bit tough lor. Glad that we changed to indoor dining....though situated inside a kampung....still not far away from the major busy highway, dust still a problem. With the little construction at back portion of the restaurant to extend/add more dining area going on....hmm. Definitely, not our choice to "smell the dust" or "bite the dust". All we wanted was good food and great time. I wonder if they do "clean" or mopped" the pondok area before the patrons arrive.

The food:

Have not been to Bora Ombak...so cannot compare the food served between these 2 outlets. Dishes we have ordered....

a) Spicy mixed tomyam

b) Thai seafood otak

c) Steam Siakap

d) Thai Pandan Chicken (RM15.90 for 4 pathetic small pieces)

e) Sexy Basil Beef (err.....cukup makan ke?)

f) Fried Kailan with salted fish (tak lak gambar sebab biaser je)

g) Singkong tofu (tak lak gambar sebab biaser je)

Other than the 1st 3 dishes which I would rate above average....yang lain tu semua rasa biasa jer....a bit of let down actually.....serving portion is really "small" (stingy like others been pointed out)....above all, most of us think they are really over priced for that standard and we need to order double serving for most of the dishes to satisfy our hunger!

The Drinks:

Most of us go for air kelapa duda...some go for jeruk kelapa...I opted the lemongrass chiller. Serai bukan untuk masak je ke?? Boleh wak minuman jugak ye? :) BTW, they don't serve plain water or iced water. You have to purchase the small bottled mineral water at RM2 each.

The Dessert:

a) ABC (besaq siot!!! manis siot!!!)

b) Chendol (the vanilla ice cream really spoilt the overall taste of the chendol!)

c) Goreng Pisang Bali with Aiskrim

d) Love Story (strawberry, those you get in McD sundae with strawberry ice cream, light cream with flakes of colorful chips plus 2 cucuk strawberry love letter!), gula free ke?? For kids kot....

My verdict...except for the goreng pisang bali...unless you nak kena penyakit kencing manis or you seriously need an overdose of sugar....else, you might just want to skip dessert.

The Live Band:

Yeah....was told by the waitress there will be live band performing from 9pm onwards....from table to table. By the time we decided to make a move a 9.15pm. No sign of the band was spotted yet. Apparently, few members of the band not turn up yet.

The Bill:

Coming to RM290.00 for 7 pax. Yeah....one must be thinking plenty of choices/options for better food with that price we paid.

Value for Money:

Food wise: so so jer, overall below expectation.

Food plus ambience wise: tolerable la.

Food plus ambience plus occassion: boleh la. Still a nice place to hang out with friends. When we have good accompany and having great time we tend to forgive on the food :)

What would be the 1st thing that comes into my mind (perhaps the most important driving force to sustain a food business) that would bring me back to the same place for dining?? My answer would definitely be the quality of the food served.

Still.....if one willing to pay more, Tamarind Spring (though in different league) in Ampang still one of the best i have been to. The ambience is much decent, quiet, classy, clean and less "dusty" feel. They do serve much better Thai and variety of Indo-China foods.

I know it is hard to please everyone as each of us has differrent taste preference. I might be a bit picky and above is only my own personal experience and taste preference and this may vary from others. By all means....checkout the place :)