Escape into the City | Naj & Belle, Pam Centre, Bangsar

Here here!

Let it be known that this introvert here was daring enough to take a step out of her comfort zone and did something different for once. (;

Though to be honest, it is not like I went cliff diving or anything like that so it isn't that big of an achievement. I mean, yes, I finally took a day off work and it is not because I am super sick which requires me to stay home to rest.

There are no words that can express just how much this day was needed.... Though it took quite a bit of courage from me to take a day off from work and I am glad that I did. And once I had the idea in my head, I just could not stop thinking about it.

Luckily for me, Leena had the day free to work from anywhere she chose and Reubs had no class as he was studying for exams. What better company than these two to go on a mini-adventure with me on a Friday afternoon.

Technically it was supposed to start out as a nice brunch session with Leena first and Reubs will meet us after his errands were done. But it comes as no surprise that I woke up later than was intended because I so smartly slept super late the night before - stayed up late to catch up on my reading.

So our brunch date ended up being a lunch date though by Malaysian's timing standard, I wasn't all that late. Even though I did make Leena wait for me a little longer than I was comfortable with. ;-; Plus, by the time I arrived and found a parking, Reubs arrived no more than ten minutes after me. I guess in a way..... It was perfect timing?

Image Credit: VMO Rocks

Naj & Belle is located at Pam Centre, Bangsar. Not going to lie, I find this place very unique building and I personally love the architecture of it. So it is no surprise that Naj & Belle has made itself home in such a unique place.

I really love the interior decoration. Simple and minimalistic with a touch of class with marble table-tops which honestly could never go wrong. There is also a slight industrial feel to the atmosphere which I believes comes hand-in-hand with Pam Centre's exterior design.

I wish I took more pictures of the place but I did not and..... My camera died after taking no more than 3 pictures of our food because I had not realised the night before that the battery was next to empty. So it blacked out and was rendered useless after.

Thus, a lesson was learned - always check camera battery the night before an adventure.

Feeling like indulging that very day..... I decided to order the Sirloin Steak Sandwich with a sunny side up egg and a side of fries and was somewhat disappointed. Although the portion was larger than what I'm used to seeing, I honestly would not repeat my order if I ever to drop by Naj & Belle again. Though to be fair, I do like the roasted capsicum jam as a condiment to the hot shoestring fries even if everything else was lackluster.

And because I have not had my caffeine fix yet at that point, I had to order a Cappuccino or risk falling asleep mid-conversation with my friends. It's pretty good though not the best that I've had. But when you are desperate, anything goes.

Leena ordered Benny the Bull and let me tell you, this was much better than what I had for sure. Braised beef cheeks served over Brioche toast with Hollandaise sauce with crisp battered onions topped with arugula. Once again the portion was larger than usual and when the dish arrived, we were pleasantly surprised by it's presentation.

The beef was so perfectly tender and the sauce that it was braised in was so so so so good. Putting every ingredient plus both sauces into a single mouthful is a great way to start your brunch. Definitely would give this an A+ for presentation and mainly the flavours.

Reubs made the best decision of the day by ordering this dish - New Moussaka. This is probably the best dish out of the three that we ordered from the menu. The sauce that the meat has been cooked in was super flavourful from all the herbs used in it, meat was tender and the bechamel sauce added another layer of indulgence to the dish.

There's definitely a twist to the traditional version of Mediterranean Moussaka dish executed perfectly well by the chef at Naj & Belle. It was everything indulgent in the food world put together to form a super beautiful dish that left you hungry for more. I am salivating just thinking about this dish again. It is that good.

And I think it was at this point where my camera made a very sad beeping sound before it's screen turned black. I knew that the battery was completely drained even though I have taken all of four pictures since our arrival.

So all pictures from here on out are taken via iPhone 6 and some aren't even taken with my phone but rather from Leena or Reuben's phone. And truth be told, an iPhone takes pretty good pictures if not the best. There is nothing a little Photoshop colour touch-up can't fix in my opinion.

But you know...... Beggars can't be choosers and just like in life, you have to make do with what you've got to work with. Rather than bitch complain about things you can't change, move on from it and learn your lesson.

And that is Amanda's two cents for this post. Rest assured I'm gonna be including sarcastic advices every now & then. I wonder if anyone can catch it from time to time.

Our spread from a vantage point that is obviously not mine. 

I always have a dang good time hanging out with these two. Then by the end of the day, despite the amount of yummy food we have eaten, I go home with stomach abs just from laughing.

The best thing about our....... Eight years friendship? Is that even though we can go months without meeting and/or talking, every time we do meet, it feels like nothing has changed since college days. Even though we are each busy with our own lives - because work & university can suck up all your time, we still remain as we are.

This makes me look forward to more adventures into the city, exploring new gastronomy places with these two. Hopefully these kind of outings would get me out of my shell more often and I won't be as frustrated with everything that is not going right in my life.

And we call ourselves - Pretty Brunch Gang. 

Of course once our food was gone, sitting comfortably in our filled bellies, and the lunch crowd started filling the restaurant making it harder to have a good chat, we all made a move. The sudden increase in numbers of patrons was

But that was not the end of our day because these two are bringing me over to the new and pretty APW - the place that is full of hype ever since Breakfast Thieves made their home there. Which believe it or not, I have not even visited ever since it had started.

So these two decided to bring me on an adventure there while I am still out. But that will be continued in another post or else this one will have gone on for far too long and plus, there are just too many photos taken from our next destination to possibly fit here without seeming like a crazy person.

Well the quality of my sanity is often times debatable but I will not subject anyone to a discussion on it. Thus I'm ending this post with a pretty (IMO at least) picture of myself.

Pic Credit: Leena

❝I don't need an inspirational quote. I need COFFEE.❞ 

- Found on Pinterest

Onto the next adventure then... (;