NEO-rotic

Minimalistic yet intricate, healthy yet yummy. What more could one ask for? NEO-living should be the new way of life, whether you're a fashionistic figure-watcher or the regular food lover. Neo-cuisine is the new era, at the advent of organics, macrobiotics, free-range and when 'green' is no longer just a color but a mindset. That's pretty NEO-rotic don't you think...?

Think about a better lifestyle, a better physique, far better health and a greater life. Well, start cutting out bad fats, make sensible food choices and kicking unhealthy eating habits. Afterall, you ARE what you eat. And life is short, so what are you waiting for?

Start now. Start by changing when you eat and how much you eat; start eating SMALLER MEALS, more often everyday. Satiate your hunger with high protein, high fibre and low carb food that'll fuel your body. Many don't realize that most times our energy levels are directly affected by the KINDS of food we feed our body. Highly processed food like wheat and sugar can cause your blood sugar to plunge, leading to sudden lethargy. So start making sensible food choices; choose wholegrain or multigrain bread over white bread; choose fresh fruit juice over canned drinks; choose sashimi over tempura. Combine with lots of greens like steamed broccoli, raw baby spinach and other mixed greens with fruits.


Indulge, you may of course...eat however, in MODERATION. Opt for one 'junk' day in a week when you allow yourself to eat what you want. But only after 2 weeks of 'eating right'. As the saying goes, too much of a good thing is not good either....

There's also much debate about the relationship between cancer and how food is cooked. Think twice before ordering anything WELL DONE as over-cooked meats are carcinogenic. So start indulging in raw or seared meats instead.

You CAN be a better you... if you put your mind to it. It takes self-control, lots of discipline and will power with realistic short-term diet goals, by throwing a consistent exercise regime into the mix for faster, more dramatic results. As beautifully put by Astrid Alauda, "Your body is a temple, but only if you treat it as one".

Another side of Maple

Another side of Maple
Story on our 'lady boss' Maple as restaurateur and her life as a personality in the Malaysian entertaining industry.
Featured in today's national paper The Star - in the Sunday Metro (8 Aug 2010).
Highlighting one of her favourite recipes - one of her restaurant's best-selling dishes Linguine with River Lobster (by Chef Zul of Il Tempio restaurant).
Thanks for reading!

Jungle-Luxe Bridal Fair

Tamarind Springs, IL Tempio and Mandi-Mandi provide a much coveted concept idea of a tropical wedding in Kuala Lumpur. Perfect wedding venues for small, intimate wedding receptions considering its unique layout, cosy ambience, lush natural surroundings and great food offered by each restaurant ranging from Indochinese to Italian and Thai.

Our venue has also become a desirable place for wedding photo shoots! So don't miss out on fabulous wedding packages we're willing to offer on this day to those planning to tie the knot jungle-style!Some of Malaysia's best professional wedding vendors are here to facilitate the fair, offering inspirational ideas to help plan your dream wedding. 4 different themed weddings will be showcased :

Contemporary Malay

Oriental Glam

Victorian Chic

Rustic-Luxe

Can't imagine how that's gonna look?Well, COME ON OVER!! Admission is FREE!


Our partner vendors who will be exhibiting their products and services include:
~ invitation card creators
~ florists
~ bridal shops
~ bakers/cake-makers
~ creative favours
~ wedding gown designers
~ men’s suit designer
~ custom-made designer shoes
~ jewellery designers
~ photographers
~ reception/ceremony decorators
~ musicians
~ wedding/party planners

And they are none other than :
~ Pretty In White
~ De Rain Atelier
~ Nicleesher
~ Bespoked
~ Riziman Ruzaini
~ Vogue Collection
~ Remy Ngan
~ Beauty Haven
~ The Peak Xperience
~ Floral etc
~ Nupts & Such
~ The Wedding Hub/Wedding Malaysia
~ Truly Scrumptuous
~ Chocolate Graphics
~ Kurma & Such
~ Creative Lines
~ Arada Design
~ La Flaire
~ Vintage Car (Zizi Lim)
~ Valerie Fan
~ Lewre
~ “I DO” Jewellery
~ The Wedding Card Shop
~ Violinist & Pianist (Joanna & Bernie),
~ Bobbi’s Pole Studio Malaysia (Hens Parties & Pole Shows)
~ Japamala Resort & Villa Samadhi (Honeymoon Destinations)

For the fun of it, there will be lucky draw sessions and YES someone gets to go home with a holiday at our own JapaMala Resort or our newest most exciting boutique property in KL, Villa Samadhi!
Lots more for the feast of your senses on this Sunday afternoon; fashion show, pole dance demo, gourmet sampling, make-up demo and goodie bags to be given away.

We're doing this event for those who are shopping for wedding ideas so be there!!!!!!

What : JUNGLE-LUXE BRIDAL FAIR

When : Sunday, July 25 2010 (11am-4pm)

Where : Tamarind Springs Restaurant

Why : Because you need to be inspired

NEO RESTAURANT & LUXE LOUNGE

Fresh Oysters for those yearning for a NEO-rotic feast in KL on Fridays and Saturdays! Fresh, fresh fresh Irish and Australian oysters, for oyster lovers. Now you know where to go:)

And Saturday nights are for the ladies too;) Our STILETTO SATURDAY promotion is a lure for the shoe fetish! If you're a NEO-lady then you must strut in killer heels.... and we reward you avant garde women by the inch :D

Call for more information 03-21483700

Where : 19, Jln Sultan Ismail (opposite Equatorial Hotel/next to Wisma KFC)

World Environment Day

Our company has a few unwritten rhetorics. One of them is our most-practised philosophy - we believe in respecting and preserving mother nature because we are inspired by it in every step of our way.

So Samadhi Retreats' 'activists' Tiffany, Cindy, Natalie, Chloe and Jojo (Ms.Khoo too who wasn't allowed out of office due to workload at HQ) were out on the field on this day to walk the talk:)

We were invited by HER WORLD to celebrate the environment on Friday at Taman Metropolitan Kepong. We believe it's that one day in the year that we should all do something hands-on in the name of nature. So we decided to take a half-day leave to go plant some trees in support of Her World's cause.

Daphne Iking was the host of the event with Tun Jean Abdullah as the guest of honor, plus other local celebs like Yasmin Yusuff, Jeslina Hashim and our own Maple Loo, who would gladly dig their nails into the ground for the better of the world.

We were all so thrilled to do our bit except we arrived late! We got lost along the way (well, Maple drove so it's her fault :D) and could not figure out where this place was exactly even though we had a map. Anyway, just as Maple decided to give up and was driving to get to an exit that'll take us back to town center, we found ourselves heading back towards FRIM where this taman is supposedly nearby.

And there. We saw the lake and there we were! On our way to where we had intended from the start! How that happened, it's a mystery..... we took it as a sign; our calling to fulfill this 'mission' :D

So we got there and Daphne Iking was giving her closing speech already. Trees were already planted. Maple was then asked to take a picture with Daphne planting one of the trees. The rest of us, sat down and makan! Hahhahaha.... hey it's the intention that counts right? Again, it's Maple's fault! :D

Official Opening of NEO with STYLE ROCKS!

FASHION MEETS GOURMET MEETS LIFE !

Style Rocks! Party, one of the most talked about parties in KL, was back. This year, The Melium Group celebrates Style Rocks! Party in full flavour by teaming up with The Malaysia International Gourmet Festival (MIGF) and KL’s new it-spot Neo Global Tapas Restaurant & Luxe Lounge.

The stairway leading up to NEO which sits on the slope, was lit with flickering candles. Society’s A-list added sparkle to the venue which included local celebrities like Datin Su Day, Dato Farah Khan, Rohaya Smurthwaite, Maple Loo, Ning Baizura, Camelia, Shireen Zainuddin Lowe Lina Teoh, Carmen Soo, Serena Choong, Sophie Kamaruddin and Jesrina Arshad. Elaine Daly, a familiar face in the scene, was the host for that evening.

Everyone arrived in style, mostly dressed in the latest fashion runway trend, Juicy Couture. Eight Juicy Couture muses were hand-picked by Dato’ Farah Khan herself.

Guests were also entertained by ‘Juice Couture’ girls who sashayed their way into the party in dazzling, colourful and definitely over-the-top (OTT) outfits to ignite the renowned fashion line.

They grazed the floor in outrageously-juicy character, danced with guests and took photographs with everybody.

They even ended up on the bartop! Another highlight of the night was NEO’s pole artiste who relived the MIGF moment at the gala launch. Exemplifying the art of pole expression, she certainly kept the crowd in the dining room enthused and enthralled.

This night also celebrated the official launch of Samadhi Retreats’ latest addition to their four other established restaurants, Neo Global Tapas Restaurant & Luxe Lounge. Located in the heart of Kl City along Jalan Sultan Ismail (next to Tamarind Hill), Neo is a stylish restaurant and bar with an uber-cool concept inspired by nature. The domain boasts a galactic bar – the longest one in the city – and rendered by professional Scandia-mixologists showcasing their creative cocktails of strangely delicious sorts. Samadhi’s own group Sommalier Yuhei Teraoka, a popular and well-reputed Japanese wine specialist in Malaysia who has close to 400 labels, and eventually 50 by the glass, to be enlisted for NEO as well as all the group’s restaurants. The star of the night was also NEO's multi-award winning Food Designer, Canadian-Thai Chef Thiti Thammanatr who prepared interesting, flavor-layered neo-cuisine that left everyone famished for more!

International DJ Tony Montana as well as DJ Haze (who is also NEO’s Resident DJ) kept the party rocking with their slick sounds of house, hip-lounge and chill-house groove till late night.

It was a special evening to celebrate fashion, haute gourmet and lifestyle, by bringing people with the same passion to a much coveted event by The Melium Group, MIGF and KL’s it-place NEO Global Tapas Restaurant and Luxe Lounge. There were just over 300 invited guests at Style Rocks!

MALAYSIA INTERNATIONAL GOURMET FESTIVAL 2009 (MIGF)

We won 4 awards and bagged another 3 for excellence!

The month-long Malaysia International Gourmet Festival 2009 has finally ended, with a big bang for Tamarind Hill and the newest & hippest restaurant & luxe lounge in KL, NEO – both owned and run by Samadhi Retreats. Having bagged four festival awards this year, the group has proven their decade-long success in the Malaysian dining scene. Reputed for exquisite ambiance, quality fare and stunning locations, the group has wowed diners with their outstanding chefs and sumptuous cuisine, design originality and great service standards.

This is the 7th year Samadhi Retreats participated in the MIGF. In previous years, Tamarind Springs had garnered a lot of interests being a festival restaurant and had won the Most Creative Restaurant Display for 2004, 2006 and 2007.

At the advent of Tamarind Hill’s re-opening in the city after 2 years of relocation plan, and the birth of NEO which is a conceptualized restaurant-lounge that fuses gourmet, cocktails and music, the group decided to use the MIGF as a platform to launch the two restaurants into the dining scene. One very prominent feature of the new restaurants is their Food Designer. Chef Thiti Thammanatr represents both Tamarind Hill Restaurant and NEO Global Tapas Restaurant & Luxe Lounge. “I see dining as an art which consists of a fair balance of 3 most important elements: good food presentation, great ambience and of course ultimately the good taste. Tamarind Hill & Neo offer just the perfect balance of all these 3 elements and it gives me great satisfaction to be working with them” said Chef Thiti Thammanatr while proudly holding on to his trophies.

Originally from Thailand, Chef Thiti Thammanatr, the multi-talented chef moved to Canada at the age of 18, and began a hard but rewarding journey working his way through some of Canada’s most esteemed establishments. He was one of the few Thai chefs in the world to practice five-star Japanese cuisine at the renowned Suntory Japanese restaurant, which he then followed up with working at the Canadian Pacific Hotel Waterfront Centre Hotel as their Chef de Partie.

NEO Most Innovative Cuisine Award

Every year at the MIGF finale gala dinner, the Chefs’ Charity Auction is a ritual. This year, Chef Thiti Thammanatr had successfully raised RM8,500 for Tamarind Hill and RM10,000 for NEO, which will be donated to Mercy Malaysia, an international non-governmental organisation that provides medical relief and sustainable health-related development for vulnerable communities.

These are the awards Tamarind Hill and NEO had won for 2009 :

Tamarind Hill - Most Outstanding Dining Ambience 2009

- Most Creative Restaurant Station 2009

Tamarind Hill Most Creative Restaurant Display Award

NEO - Most Innovative Cuisine 2009

- Most Creative Festival Menu 2009

NEO The Most Creative Festival Menu Award

NEO also received the Award of Excellence for the Most Creative Dining Experience, the Most Creative Restaurant Station at the Gala Launch and was nominated for the highlight-award of the evening, The Golden Cauldron award.

“Both Federico and I are so very proud of our team in Tamarind Hill and Neo who had worked so hard and smart to bring our restaurants to where we are today. What better reason to celebrate our 10 years in the industry! And I believe the sky is our limit. Gourmands out there, you really have got to journey with us on the ultimate 'fly & dine' experience. Be our Neo-Aerial Gourmand!" said the Creative & Marketing Director of Samadhi Retreats, Maple Asaro.