La Bodega @ Pavilion KL

Jenn & I enjoy our breakfast.. A LOT! Frankly, I was not a morning person in the past (pre-Jenn days). Being a party animal, I could sleep until the sun ray literally shone on my butt and then it was already time for lunch (or was it brunch?). Jenn was also a regular clubber during her college days but hey, we were very young back then and we could afford to stay up late until wee hours the next day. When she completed her degree and obtained her CLP, she stopped going out and instead focusing on her career. At the same time, she worked her magic again and made me sleep earlier (and went out clubbing lesser)... woman! Aren't they smart?

Breakfast was one of our favourite things to enjoy together and La Bodega is one of her favourite brekkie places. Given the opportunity, she would drag me to Bangsar Telawi area while most of us are still in dreamland. I'm not complaining though because I have to admit that the breakfast was awesome. After a while, I would wake up automatically at 7am.. latest by 8am! And now I have Sher Ryn as my alarm clock as she would wake me up at 7am to prepare her milk.

Back to the topic - I felt like a hungry tiger after my morning swimming session at The Westin. We didn't really feel like eating hotel's breakfast so we just crossed Jalan Bukit Bintang to Pavilion KL. It was quite early in the morning and therefore not many people.

English Breakfast @ RM27 - Jenn's choice of 2 poached farm fresh eggs together with chicken sausage and sauteed mushroom.

Served with a slice of homemade toast, fresh orange juice and a cup of steaming hot cappucino... her breakfast just could not get any better than this.

I had to say that the egg was poached perfectly :) as Jenn's face was brimming with delight!

My order of Omelette with sauteed mushroom & smoked chicken ham (RM15) was equally delicious. The mushroom and chicken ham were wrapped inside the omelette and as I used knife to cut open the egg, the aroma was too good for me to resist.

Leo's verdict - After so many years, La Bodega still maintain their food's standard. I have yet to come here for dinner which Jenn claimed was very lively and happening. Oh well! Maybe I'd wait until the children to get older and manageable :) for the meantime, breakfast is enough to keep me coming back again and again!

La Bodega
Lot No. : C3.06.00, Level 3
Tel. : 03-2148 8018
Website : www.bodega.com.my

Disclaimer:
1) I'm not paid to promote/endorse any particular event, restaurant or person in this blog. ALL are based on my unbiased personal opinion.
2) My reviews are based on my personal taste and preference and therefore may vary for others.

Cafe Stelle by Raffles @ Pavilion KL

Jenn & I are pretty much traditional Chinese, but with a modern mindset of course. We basically have meals 3 times a day - breakfast, lunch and dinner! Pretty much like everyone else I guess :P with the exception of supper which I have stopped for the longest time ever since my waist breached the 35" barrier! Well, once in a blue moon I would actually break the rule.. read my words "once in a blue moon"!!!

Then there's high tea! This term to me, my friend, used to be reserved to those rich tai tai who don't have to work coz their husbands are filthy rich enough. So their only activity is shopping, shopping and shopping. And once they are done shopping with many bags in their hands, it's time to go for high tea session to show off their stuff. Or maybe I watch Hong Kong series too much when I was small??? LOL... when I came to KL, I only realised that even families can have high tea together, provided that their pocket is deep enough. A high tea session in hotel can set you back at RM68-RM88++ per person. So do the math for a family of four (parents with 2 grown up children) :P get the idea?

So when I heard from my friend that a new cafe in Pavilion KL is doing high tea for RM25 nett per person, it piqued my interest. Jenn couldn't believe when I told her for the first time too. So both of us had late breakfast one Saturday and went to Cafe Stelle.

Café Stelle occupies a long, elevated podium and features a runway, mirroring the café’s stylish environs.

For the price that we were paying, we got Bruschetta, smoked salmon, scones, strawberry dipped in chocolate, muffins, carrot cake, etc. All of them were served using a display-like tray.

Condiments - strawberry mousse, butter and marmalade!

Our choice of tea - the waiter actually brought out a case of tea selections for us to choose. In the end, we settled for Chamomile & grand wedding tea.

Leo's verdict - Overall, it is a nice place to relax and unwind after shopping around Pavilion. However, there are choices are fixed compared to what you would normally get in hotel. I can't complain much since I only pay RM50 for two of us. I wanted to take more pictures of the cafe but the supervisor actually came up to me and told me of their no photography rule. Oh well, at least I got to snap a few without their knowledge :P by the way, the high tea is only from 3pm to 6pm.

Grandmama's @ Pavilion KL

P.S: I am trying to clear all the back logs as soon as possible... as there are too many pictures in my thumb drive and they are driving me crazy!

I think the first time that I ever heard about Grandmama was through Sean's blog (don't ask me when because it was so long already). Intriqued by his raving on the sang har hor fun... I'd made plan to have lunch here with my family, of course which would be on weekends. Planning a trip to downtown KL has never been easy as Sher Ryn could only stay awake for 4 hours top before she got grumpy and started crying (which broke my heart to see her like this). Therefore, we changed her and chucked her into the car immediately when she woke up from morning nap. And when we arrive there, we still had the luxury to shop for a while before it was time to feed her. Yes, her priority is the highest!

Back to Grandmama's - I had actually gone there twice before I posted this up :P on both occasion I actually forgot to bring my trusted camera and therefore, I only used iPhone (forgive me for the not-so-clear pictures). Related to Madam Kwan, I had high hope on their food. From the look outside, I had a good feeling on Grandmama's already

The restaurant is huge, everything looked clean and tidy... most importantly, not too cramped!

Loved the soft lightings!

Sang har hor fun cost RM10 less compared to the RM29 price-tag for sang har meen (deep fried crispy noodle) which made me wonder why the difference was so extreme. Anyway, the hor fun was silky smooth (thank god) and the broth was laden with richness & sweetness of prawn roe.. simply a bliss! The succulent and big freshwater prawn was cut into two to make it easier to devour the firm meat. Boy I felt like ordering the second bowl of this dish!

Their curry mee was commendable as well!! The curry broth was not too thick nor thin and burst with flavour. With fresh ingredients used, there can be no mistake here.

Their fried rice had enough wok hei and the accompanying fresh & crispy lettuce was just as good!

Another dish that got thumbs up from us was the wat tan hor... the eggy gravy that was poured on top of the flat noodles was lip-smackingly delicious. Fresh choy sam, prawns and chicken slices complete the whole dish!

Leo's verdict - Jenn & I felt comfortable dining at Grandmama's. Best of all, Sher Ryn seemed to like this place too :) the next time I'm in Pavilion and feeling hungry, this place will definitely top my list.

The C. Club @ Pavilion KL

I had received a lot of feedback from fellow floggers regarding my previous post. When I went home yesterday evening, I had a long talk with my wife and she really slapped some sense into me. I have to admit, she's more rationale and more capable in handling this kind of situation than I do. Bottom line is... let bygone be bygone!!! Blogging should be a happy affair... and the fact that I am just giving my honest opinion will sometimes be met with criticism and wrath from other people. Oh well... life goes on!

Good opportunities are rare and when they do come by... be an opportunist and grab them :) this principle was taught by my ex-boss while I was still working with Thule. I have been applying in my daily work, investment approach and now on FOOD!!! So when I got to know that Citibank is offering 50% Off Meal Deal in conjunction with its 50th Year Celebration, I wait no longer... they are offering Buy 1 Free 1 for their soups, salads, main courses and desserts.

The C.Club is The Carat Club's foray into F&B industry... and those who love jewelery would know that they are specialised in high end diamonds and other type of jewelery. Judging from my descriptions, one must have guessed that this is a high-end dining place??? You bet it is... the design of the outlet is so elegant yet simple. The waiters are all smartly-dressed and professionally trained to serve you better. Let's not forget to mention about their ultra-exclusive designer chairs...

The chandeliers that extend down to a level below (where they sell the jewellery) add some extra elegant feeling to the outlet.

Their menu is combined with the Glitterati magazine by The Carat Club.

After our orders were taken, they served the complimentary whole grain bread immediately, similar to what those Italian restaurants serve you. Breads were fresh too :) Just dip it into the olive oil + vinegar and soon we were appetised :)

Their special lemongrass drink at RM13++... I just could not resist lemongrass even though I planned to drink just plain water!

The lobster bisque that I ordered was full of flavour with a piece of soft shell crab meat inside... Jenn loved it so much that she immediately switched her Mushroom soup with mine... GRrrrrrr!!!!

The mushroom soup was equally good but I prefer my lobster bisque :( a lot of mushroom chunks inside & a few pieces of bread crumbs were given. FYI... every bite was full of mushrooms inside!

My lobster pasta was great!!! I love this dish which was slightly spicy with fresh lobster meat and springy spaghetti...

I forgot the name of this risotto dish but it was a bit salty to my liking but Jenn thought that it was nicely done!

Leo's verdict - The total bill came for about RM160 after service charge and government tax... it would have cost me more than RM200 if not for the Citibank promotion. Good food, fast service and most importantly... great bargain for such a high end dining place. If there's time, I will definitely make way for second visit here. To those who have Citibank credit card, the promotion ends 15th August 2009...

Breakfast at La Bodega @ Pavilion KL

Having breakfast in a hotel is always a costly affair, unless they throw in free breakfast while you are staying with the hotel. As I got a cheap rate for staying in The Westin, no free breakfast :( and since Jenn & I already had lunch at the Living Room yesterday, both of us decided not to dine in for the second time. Instead, we walked across the street to this place, The Pavilion KL. The whole place looked deserted in the morning, as most outlets had not opened for business... YET!

Walking further in and we'd come to one of Jenn's favourite places for breakfast, La Bodega!

Joining us were her sister, Erynn and her husband, Erick... not to forget Jenn's favourite niece, Jenning!!! Look how happy the father and daughter was :)

I took some time to take some pictures of the interiors... it was still early so we were the only diners sitting inside.

The bar... I'd forgotten on how long that I have not gone out to have a night out with my friends for drinks...

Some of the old pictures hanging on the wall.

I'm feeling hungry and that's why I opted for their English Breakfast @ RM27. For this price, I got 2 scrambled eggs, chicken sausages, hash browns, slice of homemade toast, fresh fruit juice (I asked for orange juice) & a cup of latte in the end... yummy!!! I managed to finish all in record time, yay!!!

Jenn had Omelettes (3 fresh farm eggs) @ RM7, sauteed mushrooms @ RM4, smoked chicken ham @ RM4 and homemade wholemeal toast @ RM5

Leo's verdict - breakfast at La Bodega has always been a satisfying experience for us. As high as the prices seem to be, it actually cost us half of what I had in The Westin itself. My stomach was very full by the time I finished... hahahah!!!

The Loaf @ Pavilion KL

Rumour has it that this upmarket bakery cum fine dining restaurant is partly owned by our very own Tun Mahathir (ex-PM). As far as I concern, the other branch is in Langkawi... in fact, there are 2 levels - lower level where they sell confectionaries while the upper floor is the fine dining area.

Once we were seated, appetisers were quickly served once orders were placed - 3 pcs of different types of small bun with butter.

Once we were seated and I started to take some pictures, I noticed a familiar famous face in Malaysian Art industry... Tan Sri Lim Kok Weng!!! Look carefully...

I saw my favourite drink - Lemongrass!!! Something to cure my thirst and turn on my appetite.

Initially we were planning to go for their high tea set before I spotted one of their buntings which showed a rather interesting concept - fusion between Malaysian & Japanese food. The name??? Ojyu Special! They priced it at RM40, RM70 and RM100 for one, two and three sets respectively.

1) Tsubaki - smoked salmon quiche, crispy chicken with curry mayonnaise, mushroom soup, asparagus soup & avocado chawan mushi
2) Sumire - edamame, prawn fritter with spicy miso mayonnaise, salmon & tuna tartare with quail egg
3) Murasaki - clam with chilly coriander dressing, tempura pollack fish fillet & otak-otak rolled with nori seaweed, tomato & olive bruschetta.

Jenn & I ordered Set 1 & 3... I love how they prepare the food!!! They even served all the dishes in bento boxes. The portion was quite small though... but it's the dining experience that matters here.

The chawan mushi were served after a short while, as they took some time to prepare it fresh... and it certainly tasted great despite its small portion.

Leo's verdict - Clever usage of hidden lights, mirror and white colour on tables + sofa + chairs to create extravagant feeling.


The sets are enough to fill both our stomachs... and since the whole dining atmosphere in The Loaf is great... there's always one happy customer... he he he
If you are feeling romantic, this place is quite good. Service is rather fast and attentive... but the price is a bit on the high side due to its fine dining status.