Reunion Bake Brew Bite

Stumbled onto Reunion Bake Brew Bite on the web while searching for new places to go to, and I was there in a heart beat!

Reason being they offer a small selection of Malaysian food.

Their menu is eclectic — there are Malaysian dishes such as nasi lamak, beef rending, laksa and Heinan chicken; then there are BBQ smoke meats.

On the side, there are waffles with different topping, sandwiches, bake items in the case, and a huge line-up of coffee drinks.

To my surprise, lots of ingredients in the store are organic, including the chicken and the milk.

I had to have the nasi lamak with chicken.

The rice was good — soft, flavorful with spicy peanuts, crisp shrimp chips and little dried fish, and a side of hard-boiled egg.

Chicken was very tender, albeit too salty.

Laksa was a little disappointing, coconuty spicy soup with nice mix of 2 kinds of noodles (rice and egg), topped with boiled egg, egg tofu and seafood.

Now, to be fair, this laksa was about the same as what I can get in the Seattle area such as Malay Satay Hut or Teapot vegetarian.

I was just having such a high hope that it would be like the laksa I had in Malaysia, and this wasn’t it.

It was not bad, perhaps my expectation was unreal here.

There was a pot of self-serve plain chicken soup that came with any lunch set, and that was good.

Nice, subtle, soothing flavors of just chicken and ginger, it was awesome!

Even though there were many other dishes I wanted try, I was saving space for waffle with kaya.

Kaya is the quintessential Malaysian spread made of coconut and pandang plant: sweet, coconuty and with a brilliant green color that cannot be missed.

The kaya was good; the waffle was ok and not very fluffy.

Lastly, down to the coffee offering.

I had the wonderful RS&T espresso ice cubes which was totally superb, and the theatrics of it was very fun.

Four to five cubes of espresso ice cubes in a cup, and warm steamed milk was poured into the cup, slowly melting the espresso ice cubes.

The coffee flavor was roasty but not overpowering, allowing the floral and fruity characters to come out.

I was amazed even with the amount of milk, the coffee characters were still very bold.

The warm milk imparted sweetness and creaminess, it was a wonderful drink to savor.

My friend had the nitro latte, and it was definitely an interesting experience!

Cold latte with great espresso flavor and small fizzy bubbles on the palate, the drinks present itself as acidic.

Reunion also offers many single origin coffees in their “slow bar” where the coffee is hand-brewed; and I have not even tried the Malaysian hand-pulled teh Tarik (milk tea) or kopi Tarik (coffee with milk) yet.

Food is good not wow, but then there is no wow Malaysian food around either; drinks alone are worth the trip.

bottle and bull

Bottle and Bull in Kirkland looked really good on resume.

Head chef is Bryan Casey, whose experience includes working at Michelin Star restaurant in California, plus several famous restaurant including our local gem Canlis.

Bottle and Bull is on the main business street near the waterfront — just a stone throw away from Isarn Thai Soul Kitchen, it has a casual, loud, bar-like vibe with plenty of libation to choose from.

Serving dinner on the weekdays, with the additional brunch on the weekend, I describe the menu as step-up casual with offerings such as truffle fries, corn bisque with Dungeness crab and duck confit flatbread.

The starters and small plate were calling me, so making them into a meal was in full order.

Corn bisque was my first.

It was sweet, creamy and thick; and the addition of Dungeness crab was a fantastic marriage between land and sea.

The soup was very hearty, and there was an interesting tomato salsa with the crab meat, which had the same flavor profile as the black vinegar that Shanghainese use to eat hairy crabs’ with.

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Volterra

What a good deal!

Volterra in Kirkland offers a four-course dinner for $45.

They were generous for us to share the four-course dinner if the second person ordered an entrée (inclusive of pasta).

It was very quiet when we first arrived on a Monday night, diners did show up later and the place was nearly full.

With many of us in the party, it was a perfect opportunity to sample many dishes.

My favorite was the special sausage, pork jowl and bacon risotto.

I was intrigued by the dish, but at the same time skeptical about it because it had the potential to be completely heavy and greasy.

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Ariana

Afghanistan — we hear about this land-lock country often in the past 10 years due to the war.

Founded in 1747, with current population roughly 31 million people, Afghanistan is steeped in culture and history with many kingdoms and powers changing hands.

Afghan food is mostly seen as a fusion of foods of its neighboring countries, with heavy influence from India distilling into curry dishes such as korma and breads like naans.

Most popular dishes are rice dish called pulao with meat or stew.

My first experience with Afghan food was from Seattle’s Kabul; I remembered it being a delicious meal albeit salty.

Since then, I had come across Bolani from Costco and absolutely fell in love with this simple, healthy and filling food.

When I heard about Ariana in Kirkland, I know I must make my way there.

Occupying an old steak house, Ariana is on the main business street near the lovely water front Marina Park.

Our party sat at the booth, remanent from the steak house and started studying the menu.

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Eating in Kirkland

There are very few specialty stores on the eastside, and I was excited to find Lady Yum.

Macarons made with local ingredients are their specialty; teas, coffees, and libations are offered to accompany them.

The vibrantly colored macarons were beautifully laid out when we were in, and their pamphlet indicated that they made many more different flavors (41 in total) than displayed.

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