My Portobello woes...

Recently, I've been trying out various organic restaurants. Frankly, there are only a handful in KL since most of them do not seem to be able to sustain in business long enough to see the returns. Organic food is hard to grow, as the absence of chemicals means a larger mortality rates among the crops and livestock, hence the big price tag on it.

But when it comes to good healthy fresh food, even with my meager salary, that is one thing i will not singe on. I believe in that wholesome food, is worth every extra penny. After all, you are what you eat. Nevertheless, being an enthusiastic cook myself, I am convinced that healthy food does not always have to take a back seat when it comes to taste and quality. Organic food does not mean, lesser tasty food. If I can do it at the privacy of my own kitchen, and have my guests rave about my food, I expect a certain deliverance of quality when I pay the extra buck at a reputable restaurant with trained chefs as the brain child behind the menu.

After reading reviews of the Yogi Tree in Gardens Midvalley, I decided to give it a go. With all the good reviews, they had to have something to offer. Sadly, I was grossly disappointed. Note, grossly...I had my first meal at the Yogi Tree 2 weeks ago and it was far from a pleasant adventure. Ambiance, check. Presentation, check. The rest, cross cross cross! And here is why I only decided to write about it now, and not right after my disastrous meal.

I went to the Yogi Tree with two other friends. After much coaxing and a recitation of supporting facts of the amazing reviews, they decided to give this place a chance. I ordered the Pesto Portobello pasta. When it arrived, we laughed so hard i think the waiter was taken aback with offence. See, anyone who knows what a Portobello mushroom is, knows that it is the size of a person's palm. Instead, I had a miniscule mushroom, ONE miniscule mushroom on top of my mountain of pasta. My "portobello" was the size of a 50 cent coin. I still gave it the benefit of doubt since it was organically grown, and I assumed it was smaller due to the absence of chemicals and pesticides. One taste however, revealed that my portobello tasted more like a button mushroom. I eat ALOT of portobello and I'm fully aware of what a Portobello mushroom is supposed to taste like. My pasta was lightly coated with what I assume was pesto since the dish was called "pesto Portobello", since i could hardly taste the basil. Bland and boring, I was disappointed. RM 22

B* ordered the Hainanese chicken rice. The chicken was bland with no taste of sesame oil. The rice, oily but tasteless, no taste of being cooked in chicken stock. The soup! Santa Maria, tasted like water. He couldn't finish a third of it without gagging, and swapped it with my equally bland Pesto Portobello Pasta. He reckoned that bland tasting pasta was better than eating chicken that tasted as if it was still clucking of the plate (not in a good way). RM18

Y* ordered the Full English Vegetarian Breakfast. Hers was the best of all, since you can hardly go wrong with canned baked beans and roasted tomatoes and mushrooms. Her scrambled eggs however, were soggy and pepper deficient.  Over all, nothing to shout about. RM 22.

Many people raved about the Yogi Tree's desserts. Since I did not order any, due to my deflated vigor of wanting to try any more of their food, I cannot comment.

So here's why I decided to blog about this today. The Yogi Tree had a full spread article today on The Star. Yes, it had good reviews again. But i was scandalized when I saw a picture of the very same Pesto Portobello Pasta which i ordered. The Portobello, was a huge succulent mushroom sitting on top of the bed of very green pesto tossed pasta.

I felt ripped off. My mushroom, was quarter the size of THIS one,

So here is what i don't get. How could a restaurant be commended for their food when they obviously served larger, better tasting portions to journalists and food reviewers? It doesn't take much skill to make food taste good. More often, it is just that restaurateurs cut back on raw materials to profit more. Bland food doesn't always mean its healthier. I didn't need the extra salt to make my food taste better. I am ranting because I was short changed, as a paying customer.

Maybe the chef was feeling a little under the weather that day. Maybe there was a huge mess up in the kitchen the very same fateful day I decided to give it a go...

Regardless, what baffles me most is whether Malaysians are becoming so Yuppie-fied these days that they rate any place with good ambiance positively, or is it just that Malaysians have developed very low expectations in terms of taste buds?