Rak Thai @ The Gardens Mid Valley

I love Thai! Love their culture (always polite with a smile!), love their people (ever friendly), love their country (with so many beautiful places to go) and most importantly... love their food! I'd say this before but I don't mind saying it again... after Chinese, my next fav is Thai food!! Just can't get enough of them :)

One of my favourite places to eat Thai food is Rak Thai located in The Garden Mid Valley. Rak Thai literally means "Love Thai" in English. After a few trips to The Land of Smiles, I could speak a few basic Thai words. Of course, I would never ever compare to those of Unkaleong or Paranoid Android who speak almost fluent Thai. The 2 guys spent a few years in Thailand!! Me??? Just went to Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Krabi for holiday so far :P

Back to the topic... Rak Thai is actually located somewhere in the middle of LG level of Mid Valley and The Garden itself. The first time we went there, The Garden has not officially opened for business yet. I remember having kickass som tam here and that was it.

Back for the second time, I noticed that business was brisk for this restaurant but not to the extent that we had to wait for table. The place was spacious and service was rather fast. Some of the workers are actually Thai and were more than happy to serve me when I spoke basic Thai with them :)

Some of the local Thai produce such as chilly paste and fish paste were sold there. To those who love to cook Thai food, they offer variety of products to choose from.

A dedicated place to make the delectable som tam.

And also mango sticky rice. The sight of those sweet mango proved too much to resist.

Since it was lunch time, we ordered their Set Lunch for 2 which was priced at RM39.60++. For the price, these are what you will get:

1) Rak Thai platter (2 pcs each) - grilled squid on skewer, pandan chicken and Thai spring roll. Note: the squid and chicken were quite oily but still within acceptable level. Delightful starter!

2) Thai pineapple fried rice - decent dish but appetising enough for me (don't forget that I'm not a fussy eater!)

3) Phad Ki Mau - Thai style of fried kuey teow plus basil leaves, and did I mention rather spicy?

4) Mango sticky rice - sinful dish but it made sure that our lunch ended in sweet note :)

5) 2 iced lemongrass drink - my favourite drink so no complain.

Leo's verdict - plus point is that Rak Thai is located in a shopping mall which made it easier for me to dine whenever I go shopping. With a family, I couldn't be too adventurous these days. Most of the time, I would take Jenn and Sher Ryn out shopping because it's cooler compared going outside. This time I didn't manage to eat the som tam but there will always be next time!

Pan Mee @ Oasis Food Court, Mid Valley

After closed for quite a long time, the Oasis food court is opened to the public. It was used to be located at the new IT section on the 2nd Floor of Mid Valley, but they had swapped places instead. I remembered that it was usually packed during lunch time, as the office crowds came here due to its slightly cheaper food as compared to other places.

The whole place has become brighter and not as stuffy as it used to be... Green colour is used to provide a calm feeling while having meals here.

While everything has changed and improved, there is still one thing that do not change... the human traffic!

I only eat one dish here... pan mee!!! Served in a very big bowl, I had to say that the pan mee is not that outstanding. But it was OK for me... generous amount of anchovies, minced meat, sweet potato leaves and black fungus were given and normally it would fill my stomach.

Leo's verdict - for RM5.50 per bowl, it is value for money... given the huge amount of pan mee and its ingredients. Apart from pan mee, Jenn always raved about the Portugese grilled fish stall too... so if you happen to look for quick fix for lunch, do drop by Oasis Food Court.

P.S: For those who watched Axian's show every Sunday, I had actually gone to Malacca a few days ago to try the Teo Chew porridge that was introduced on 5th July... a lot of new blogs coming soon featuring the places that I'd gone to during my 3-days business trip (what??? you think everything is about works only?? Still have to eat la...)

The Zun Express @ The Garden Mid Valley

For most of you whom may not know this... Zun Express is part of Eu Yan Sang foray into F&B industry. Jenn was the first one who introduced me to this place when she was still working in Mid Valley. Back then I always looked for time to have lunch with her. Back to Mid Valley this time for shopping purpose, both of us decided to check out this place once again as she was craving for soup.

It was almost lunch time and the crowd started to pour in, yet we managed to find ourselves a table. The whole place is designed with oriental concept, as they are involved mainly in traditional Chinese medicine.

What attracted Jenn to come in at the first place was wordings on the menu "Nourishing Soups". She just loved everything that has soup in it :) and I was addicted to soup not long after.

I had their Signature Stir Fried Sang Mee - two thumbs up!! Enough wok hei, prawns were fresh, not too oily, not too dry nor wet, crispy lettuce on top... what more can I ask for??? A must try when coming to this place..

Jenn ordered their herbal chicken soup that came with a free bowl of rice. Full of flavour, the herbs, peanuts and chicken meat were packed inside a slightly larger than fist-size bowl. Nothing can ever go wrong with that... and no additional side orders needed, as Jenn could finish the rice with just the soup and the chicken meat.

Boiled chrysanthemum tea - to cool down what I'd eaten!

Leo's verdict - soup lovers will definitely love this place. Their other dishes are also worth to be given a try. For me, I will always come back whenever I'm craving for soups :)

The Yogitree @ The Garden Mid Valley

"Eat - Drink - Breath" I saw this on their menu... of course we have to breath la, otherwise how are we going to live??? Sorry, bad joke :) Mid Valley is our favourite place to hangout, and since Jenn & I always go to Isetan, I wonder why in the world that we'd never stepped inside this place before until recently. One particular Saturday morning, we arrived here shortly after 10am, and the whole place was empty. We were the first customers of the day!!!

TOKL and NST had come here to review their food & drink before... they even placed the menu outside for potential customers to browse through...

At Yogitree, everything's organic (well, almost) as they strive to promote well-being and awareness of the food whilst maintaining a sensible balance. Their cooking manifesto is simple:
1) freshest ingredient possible,
2) bring out natural taste,
3) use slow cooking method (no short cuts), and
4) serve

They have a section that sells merchandise for yoga practitioners.

They used Natural and Earthy colour as theme for the restaurants...

Jenn was very hungry and therefore she went for Full English Breakfast @ RM28 - bacon, chicken sausage, organis eggs, organic homemade baked beans, mushrooms, toasts, fresh juice, coffee or tea... since she can't take beef, they gave an extra sausage instead. To her dismay though, was that the baked beans were very hard and her sunny side up eggs came with cooked yolk... The sausages and grilled button mushrooms were good though.

I had their Turkey Ham & Cheese BLT on toasted granary with beef bacon, tomato and lettuce @ RM22 - I love the crispy-ness of the toast coupled with melted cheese on top of the turkey ham...

Since she had the fruit juice... I took her free coffee instead :)

Leo's verdict - Organic food normally warrant for higher price compared to their non-organic counterparts. The portion of the food does not justify the price, and so I guess it's the price I have to pay to be healthy. Yogitree always come up with special menu once in a while so you would be tempted to come back again and again and again.

The Spread @ The Gardens Hotel & Residence, Mid Valley City

Not many people know about this newly opened restaurant located inside The Gardens Hotel & Residence. My friend, Pat, walked pass by one day and was informed by the management that they were having promotion for early lunch. Paying only RM68 nett... we decided to check out on the offers. Otherwise we would have to pay RM80++ for normal price once the promotion is over.

The whole place looked deserted when we arrived, making us felt nervous if the food & drinks were not up to the standard. But everything looked just fine (^_^) - new, cosy, cool, contemporary.

I started taking photos around before we sat down to eat... starting with the fruits section. Yes they were all real and they would cut fresh on the spot for you. What you gotta do is just ask for the fruits that you want. Your wish is their command!!!

One of my favourite sections... always the first section that I took my food (^_^) fresh seafood...

Oysters... well, it was not big but fresh! All I need is lemon and Tabasco sauce... and it's good to go.

Sashimi anyone??

Tuna and abalone slices...

Salmon and seabass...

Butterfish and octopus...

Assortment of breads with 3 different butters... plain, garlic and herbs.

Cold dish... such as salad, pickled fruits, etc.

Assorted canapes...

For cheese lovers...

Local sauces... cencaluk, sambal belacan, sambal kicap, etc...

Local dishes...

Delicacies... yummy! My stomach started to groan...

See the sign??? LOL!!!!

Satays... the peanut sauce was not bad!

Make your own waffles...

One of my favourite Indian food... Chicken Tandoori!

With various types of curries...

Finally, dessert sections... looked promising!

And these too...

The reception counter..
For display only...

Actually I ate a lot of food.. but I don't wanna put too many pictures here... maybe a few!


Jenn wanted pasta... aglio olio style... the cook whipped it out for me...

This was how it looked like but it was plain and we didn't like it!

The ice cream was good... tried the black sesame and kiwi & I love it!

Leo's verdict - The Spread gave me a good first impression due to its overall soft colour for its interior. In fact, the special discount was only given for 4 diners and above. But Jenn wasn't feeling well that day, so there were only 3 of us. Still the manager gave us the discounted price. The food was OK in general... at least for me. For buffet lovers... this place is worth given a try...