Our Malaysian Vacation...In our minds!

This past Saturday, Jason and I took off to our normal downtown Greenville to have a nice dinner and see a movie. I checked the movie times and decided Riddick at 8:10 would be our best bet! We had already made plans to go to Yap!, a Malaysian style bistro for our Cheat Day dinner. This particular place is right on Main Street in Downtown. Such a beautiful place to dine. Many of the restaurants in downtown have outside dining, which is really nice especially as the Fall weather starts to roll in! We rounded the corner, walked across the crosswalk and ended up seeing some old friends also enjoying the beautiful night in downtown. They were dining out with their two little pretties and enjoying the Mexican style restaurant that is located off Main Street as well! We made our pleasantries and then headed next door for dinner, we were both famished! Jason especially had a rough day at the lake. He enjoys tournament fishing and due to some unfortunate circumstances was unable to get out on the lake that day! Just 411, that doesn't make for a very happy man! So, a good meal is just what the doctor ordered. 

We walked in and had already decided to inform the restaurant that we were bloggers and that we would be featuring them on our blog. We had actually searched for food blog etiquette on our way down to the restaurant and found out its always a good idea to let the restaurants know you are going to feature them. This gives the restaurant the opportunity to enjoy the review of there pride and joy!

So, we informed the staff and they were extremely open to us and inviting! We even received a great little sampler of their #1 dish, how nice! Mr Yap, owns the restaurant and specializes in Malaysian dishes. Those who are not as adventurous don't fear because the menu is split in two, an American side and a Malaysian side. Well, Jason and I are up for any adventure so we definitely ordered from the Malaysian side! We were not disappointed! 

On the Menu:

For starters we ordered the Duxelles Strudel, which includes spinach, bacon, sautéed mushroom and goat cheese all wrapped up in phyllo crust drizzled with a balsamic reduction. Anything to do with phyllo, goat cheese and balsamic reduction has me at hello!! This was fabulous. The first bite was marvelous, just the right amount of crunch on the outside with the creaminess of the goat cheese and pop of the balsamic you just can't get much better. I'm a serious texture person and this texture was the perfect blend!

Jason had the Kuala Lumputz Ribs. Of course, I had to have a bite! These had to be some of the best ribs I have tasted. I am a huge fan of anything with a tropical background and I am pretty sure Southeast Asia fits the bill! The meat was so tender and juicy it literally fell off the bone and just to see the beautiful presentation made you think it was too lovely to be food! The ribs are braised in a savory black bean sauce and served with a cucumber salad and coconut rice. The rice is phenomenal, you can really taste the coconut that is infused into the rice, which is presented as a mound of white, fluffiness reminiscent of the white foam that washes up on beautiful white powdery beaches. Jason enjoyed every last bite! 

I had the Malay Sweet and Sour Chicken. Again, this had the tropical take on a classic dish. Featuring pineapples, peppers and chile sauce, this was the perfect meal to have sitting in a hammock between two palm trees by a South China Sea beach! The marinated chicken was also paired with that sultry, sweet rice!! I've been practicing with my chopsticks and have gotten pretty good, let's face it rice isn't the easiest dish to eat with the sticks, but I DID IT!! So proud, I feel like I have graduated some sort of food utensil education course!

As mentioned above, we were given a sample of the Chicken Satay, which is their #1 dish. Jason and I could definitely understand why! Dark meat served in an in-house roasted peanut butter sauce that's spiced just right with curry and sweetened with Coconut Milk, Chicken Satay was absolutely perfect. This dish was served with sliced cucumbers and onion on the side, to which we promptly ate dipped in the leftover sauce. It was a perfect ending to a great meal! 

After leaving Yap! as friends of Travis, a great concierge of sorts that welcomed us with open arms, we headed down the street to grab some Poppington's Kettle Corn, our favorite. Yes, we smuggle our own popcorn….GASP!!! We are just too in love with homemade kettle corn to not have it with our M&M's and movie! Unfortunately, our best made plans did not pan out, we arrived at the movie to only find out we had chosen a movie time that was wrong! Oh well, at least not all was lost, we had a fabulous time and filled our stomachs with the flavors of the Asian tropics! 

Does this make you want a Malaysian Vacation? Well, visit Yap! and you just might be transported to an island oasis!

For more information check out:

www.yapgreenville.com

www.poppingtons.com

Love and Cheat Days,

J & A

A Glance at our Cheat Days

Ok, fellow food addicts we are going to try to give you a quick glance at the great food we eat every weekend. Here is the first installment. Stay tuned for the full scoop on these fantastic eats. Let us know if you like these post and we will keep them coming.

      

 

Sea Island Escape

Jason and I love to travel, and the great thing about my career is that I get to visit different places, see different cultures and indulge in various cuisines. I am a hairstylist, however, I am not an ordinary hairstylist. I work for an amazing company called Redken 5th Ave. NYC! I love my career and all of the aspects of the beauty industry! For Redken, I educate other salon professionals and I am provided with great opportunities to travel, hone my craft and excel far beyond ordinary expectations. I am so very thankful for the chance to succeed. I remember from high school, a quote that one of my teachers lived by and that was, "If I ever walk through those doors and it feels like work or just a job, I'll walk out and never come back." That's how Jason and I both carry on our lives and we both are blessed to have careers that we love. 

This particular blog will be the first of many travel/food specials. As I said, I travel a lot and Jason thankfully gets to travel with me when his schedule permits. This specific trip was to Sea Island, GA to share the Redken message at the Sea Island Spa. If you aren't aware of this special spot definitely check out their website and plan a trip! 

We reached our destination around 3:30-4:00 in the day. We checked in at the hotel and asked the very knowledgeable front desk staff member to offer up a few suggestions on some local cuisine. We were given several suggestions on some great spots, everything from Mediterranean to American style food. We chose a nice seafood spot called Coastal Kitchen. The beautiful location right on the water created a soothing ambiance. 

On the Menu:

To start, a wonderful little bread basket was brought out with some creamy butter to spread on the warm, soft sweet rolls. We also ordered the lobster nachos as an appetizer. Perfectly proportioned lobster to nachos along with a creamy cheese sauce and buttery guacamole, what could be a better beginning?!

Following that up was a scrumptious salad and our delicious entrees. Jason had the Blackened Redfish which was served with crawfish, Cajun sausage and peppers, Monterrey jack and cheddar grits with an almond brown butter sauce. The fish was unfailingly flaky and the butter sauce added the correct amount of juiciness. Grits are a southern delicacy, usually prepared with cheese and butter, of course! These were no different and Jason loved them. Apparently, I'm strange I don't care for butter and cheese in my grits, I'd rather have sugar! Jason says I am disgusting!! 

I am a true pasta lover, so I chose the house made lobster and crab ravioli, which featured blue crab, lobster, tomato basil cream, sauteed spinach and shredded Parmesan cheese.  The cream sauce was divine! The pasta pockets themselves were perfectly cooked, just enough bite to be al dente and filled with the crab and lobster. I truly enjoyed every last bit! 

To round things out we shared the homemade honey and butter pecan ice cream. So Delicious! 

The next afternoon, on our way out from Sea Island, we stopped at a recommended pizza place called Sal's. Sal, "The Pie Guy" formerly a professional boxer from New Jersey, decided to open up a pizzeria, with the idea of it becoming the neighborhood hotspot. So after helping the Cafe Portofino in NYC become popular, he and his wife decided to move down south to St Simons Island, GA and create their dream! 

Jason had to be at work the next day so we had an early dinner of the signature Margherita pizza, which has mozzarella, ricotta, tomatoes, basil and extra virgin olive oil on it. We also decided to be fancy and add sliced meatballs, green peppers, onions and black olives. For anyone living in the South Carolina area is probably use to the normal pizza places around here, which menus include typically a meat lovers, a supreme, maybe a Hawaiian style pizza, but in NYC and Jersey pizza is typically called Margherita with the same basic principles and then added to with toppings. At Sal's they also offer a Deluxe and Neapolitan, along with a calzone renamed the "Salzone." After filling our tummies with the yummy, we headed back to Spartanburg. It was only a short stay over, but gave us the opportunity to enjoy each other, gave me the pleasure of meeting new salon professionals and visiting a beautiful establishment and allowed us some great new foodie experiences!! 

Does this make you want to see Sea Island?! If you do head out to the spa tell the girls Redken Artist Audra Worthy sent you! Along the way stop in for some great seafood and a pizza or two!

For more information visit these websites:

www.seaisland.com

www.coastalkitchenandrawbar.com

www.salsneighborhoodpizzeria.com

No, Really! Eat those Brussel Sprouts!

To keep our sanity, every Saturday that Jason has off from the Fire Dept., we take off and go to Downtown Greenville. In one of our previous posts, we discussed 21 East, an awesome eatery off of East Washington in downtown. Well, today we want to talk about West Washington's off-the-beaten path eatery. The Trappe Door is an awesome place to take in a great pub meal with the added bonus of a true handcrafted Belgian beer. The Trappe Door is that pub you'd think of if you were in Belgium off the side of a dirt road somewhere in the country land, but keeps it classy with gourmet dishes, atmosphere and decor!

On the menu:

We shared a superb appetizer of Seafood Stuffed Tomatoes. Roma Tomatoes are stuffed with The Trappe Door's homemade mayonnaise based seafood salad. Every morsel had that fresh, crisp juicy bite. Perfect firm tomatoes with a sweet, fruity taste stuffed with a refreshing filling that definitely pleased the palate.

Jason had the Seafood Waterzooi. If you are looking for a lighter dish this is it, a completely traditional Belgian stew that includes poached seafood including scallops, shrimp, mussels and fish in a gloriously, creamy broth served with vegetables and great crusty bread for dipping, or in our neck of the woods that is called sopping! Ok, so Jason and I don't sop for manners sake,  but that is definitely what the bread is for! He really enjoyed his dish, noting the lightness of it. Jason tends to want more hearty dishes, but this tapas style portion packed in all the needed flavor. Perfect for a dinner followed up with a cone of gelato! You have to save room for dessert!

I enjoyed the Carbonades Flamandes, that's a mouthful! This traditional Flemish beef stew cooked in Belgian beer and served with a side salad and Belgian frites was definitely not your average beef stew! The meat was so tender it literally just fell off my fork, enough to switch to a spoon! The broth in this dish was so hearty and seasoned beautifully! It really coated my tummy with such warmth! I plan to order this again in the fall, when the leaves are orange and red and hot chocolate is plentiful, along with a cool, crisp breeze in the air. I really love fall weather! I have come to realize that frites are my favorite type of fry! They tend to be a pretty slim fry, which I love, I dipped these in The Trappe Door's homemade mayo choices. I chose Chipotle sweet chili and BBQ Bourbon, which were fabulous. My favorite was the sweet chili! 

Our Drink Selections

The decor of the hideaway, sets up an intense atmosphere. You think of big, burly, beer-bellied men sauntering up to the bar pounding their fists, all while giving a great, big toothy grin, asking for another round. It's exciting and quite a friendly place. Servers are able to reflect a brother/sister style atmosphere. Medieval style architecture, with wood beams and a masterfully, crafted bar area, this place deserves to be named one of the best atmospheres in Greenville. Welcoming and Exciting, this eatery is a must stop in the Greenville, SC area!

Check out The Trappe Door's Website, for a history on creating the name, atmosphere and their awesome menu! Have you been to a Belgian style restaurant before? Does this make you want to check it out? We hope so!

For more information and a cool story, check out:

www.trappedoor.com

Love and Cheat Days,

J and A