Excitement at EightLido

Creative welcome on mushroom soup at EightLido

Great start, a gormandizing middle with a grand finale – that’s how I will describe the food tasting event at EightLido.  “If any one of you is on a diet – you can forget about it tonight!” declared the affable Allan Fernandez, one of the event’s hosts, as more platters of food were served after the main course.  I was glad I brought my appetite along and wisely paced myself from the start of the evening so that I can better appreciate the meal.

A small crowd was already there when I arrived and a young man was distributing little sticker nametags.  He passed me my name tag and kindly offered to help peel off the sticker backing before I could paste it on my blouse.  By this time, I spotted his nametag and that read “Euginn” with a tagline below his name printed as, “DUDE.” 

I turned to Allan, amused to read that his tagline was aptly, “THE MAN” and realized that guests were each given a tagline.  Since my nametag was already fastened, I couldn’t quite read it upside-down and as I was struggling to figure it out, Euginn told me that mine reads as, “JB STORYTELLER.”  It took me a moment to grasp it and then it struck me that this clever moniker was derived from the name of my blog, “My Johor Stories”! 

As I was mulling over how witty this was, it occurred to me that whoever created those nametags must be a reader of My Johor Stories.  Over pre-dinner drinks and savouring morsels of delectable tapas, I discovered that there were many bloggers among the guests.  The table was covered by food and drinks but I saw that the custom-made dining table in this private dining room was nicely made to Allan’s design in a figure “8” 

Met Euginn Lim [Right] of WGOIJB

I met Belinda Loh and learnt that she recently read my Kulai “Wow pau!” story and Euginn is crazy for their amazing tau-sah pau ever since he introduced it to her.  It was funny how it suddenly dawned on me that Euginn Lim is the blogger of “What’s going on in Johor Bahru?” or www.wgoijb.com fame! [Only last Monday, it was brought to my attention that WGOIJB had directed a query for pau to my Kulai pau story!] 

When I spoke to Euginn about this, I found out that he easily connected with My Johor Stories as he was re-discovering Johor (he’s been away for studies), even finding some answers to his million dollar question, “What’s going on in Johor Bahru?”  With a shared passion in the quest for interesting happenings in Johor, we should be talking again soon, maybe over coffee one of these days.

All this excitement was working up quite an appetite and I was so ready when dinner was announced, held downstairs in the non-smoking dining section.  The first course of piping hot mushroom soup was a welcome stomach-warmer on that cool, rain-washed evening.  I thought the chef added a very nice touch by turning the creamy swirl topping on the soup into the figure “8” to echo the identity and charm of 8Lido.  

Belinda helping to carve the braised lamb shank

The main course was a tantalizing twin serving of fish – salmon – with a juicy rack of lamb.  Belinda said she was not fond of fish but found that she liked the salmon.  As the empty plates were cleared away, more platters were being served and I privately heaved a sigh of relieve when I saw that these were mains for sharing.  Belinda, the self-confessed meat person, did not hesitate to help us carve the meat into bite sizes.

The braised NZ lamb shank was so tender that the meat easily parted from the bone.  The NZ beef tenderloin steak was grilled not quite Black and Blue but delightfully medium rare for everyone to enjoy.  I took time to savour each meaty mouthful and since I’m partial to lamb, I thought the lamb shank compared favourably to the steak.  The lamb was served with a side of mashed potato and Allan encouraged me to taste a forkful of the buttery mash topped with a sprinkle of sun-dried tomato pesto.  My eyes widened with a tasty explosion of flavours in my mouth and he smugly said, “It was my idea to add this topping!”

If everyone was groaning with satisfaction, muttering that they were already “full,” I didn’t know where all that meat went because it was a mystery how we managed to polish off those two plates!  

I suppressed a pang of guilt because I had downed more than one of those irresistible lamb meatballs with figs in brandy sauce – Albondegas ‘Saint Climent’ – from the tapas tray earlier on…

As we anticipated dessert Allan quipped, “When it comes to dessert, I’m like a cow with an extra stomach for dessert.”  I agreed completely because I too always keep some space for dessert.  I wondered how the chef was going to impress us and I was not disappointed.

Aidah Abd Rahman [Left] of Thistle JB and I at 8Lido

The trio of dessert was not only a luscious indulgence but also a visual treat of colour and textures.  I almost begged for more vanilla sauce to drizzle on my bread and butter pudding but I resisted the temptation.  The Catalan style crème brulee set in a pretty star-shaped dish, had the perfect balance of cream against the crunchy caramelized top layer, and last but never the least, was the smooth and piquant taste of the Sangria fruit pudding.  

I thought it was quite shameless, how I managed to finish the trio but when I looked around and saw other empty dishes, I was reassured that I was not alone in this feat!

When I said, “Thank you” to Allan, his reply was: “It was our honour to host you, Peggy!  Glad you enjoyed your meal – look forward to feeding you again soon!”  He doesn’t know it yet but I will certainly take him up on that kind offer to taste other items on their menu. Yum!

Located at No. 8 Jalan Skudai, Straits View, EightLido commands a panoramic view of the Johor Straits.  For enquiries and reservations, Tel: 607 – 2227 808, 2227 807 or Fax: 607 – 2227 806.  Visit website: http://www.eightlido.com/

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