Succumbing To Sinful Pleasures

      Taking advantage that tomorrow's a holiday for my school and hubby had a dinner appointment with his colleagues, I made a date with my partner in crime. We were enticed to succumb to a sinful meal at one of Ipoh's latest eateries...a restrobar with a name that conjures up scenes of immorality --- Opëam.
      Fans of Patisserie Boutique in Old Town will be lured to Opëam because they are both owned by Nicole Gan, who is also behind all the luscious dishes and desserts. Opëam operates from a corner lot house opposite DeGarden and lots of parking spaces are available behind the restrobar.
       Learning from a past experience, I made the reservation a week earlier. True enough, even though it was a weeknight, it was a full house. There were not many tables available but it was a cozy dining ambience. Service was fast and most importantly, the food was delicious. As I had such high expectations of Nicole's culinary skills, I was rather worried that I might leave disappointed. My worries were unfounded.
       My partner in crime had previously been to Opëam with her hubby. She must have enjoyed her choice that time around because she ordered the same dish again today --- Giant Scallops & Smoked Salmon Pasta (RM55). One may balk at the price but one look at the humongous scallops, one will know it's worth the price. 

Angeline's choice of Giant Scallops & Smoked Salmon Pasta

        I have always been partial to pesto sauce, so when I saw it being paired with sea tiger prawns (another love of mine), I was drawn to it. The pasta was cooked al-dente, the pesto sauce had the perfect consistency and was not too oily, they were generous with the sea tiger prawns and I adore the pine nuts that were tossed with the pasta. I would not hesitate to order this Sea Tiger Prawn Pesto (RM42) again.

My utterly scrumptious Sea Tiger Prawn Pesto

       Opëam does not have an extensive dessert selection but it's an interesting one. I was torn between the Salted Egg Croissant (RM16) and the Black Cherry Liquour Tiramisu (RM26). Finally, I decided on the latter as I was keen to compare it with my favourite tiramisu at Indulgence. It was definitely a much bigger slice than the one at Indulgence and the taste of liquour was unmistakable. But I prefer the texture of Indulgence's tiramisu, where there's more of the ladyfingers to sink your teeth in, as opposed to the mousse-like mascarpone cheese.

The very decadent Black Cherry Liquour Tiramisu

        Thoughts of the calories that I've packed in were fleeting as the dinner was most enjoyable, because of the company as well as the food. Hmm...perhaps I should work out at the gym for another hour tomorrow after my regular zumba session.