Tasting Room @ Jalan Bangkung, Bangsar

What would you do if you have the opportunity to be free for a day or two???

Yeah I know... too short for holiday or vacation elsewhere. But a weekend getaway won't hurt :) that's what Jenn & I did when her mother agreed to look after Sher Ryn for the weekend. Both of us had not gone out for a romantic dinner ever since Sher Ryn came into our lives. The feisty little princess really had us restless most of the times.

Off to KL we went... wanted to go somewhere quiet and romantic for dinner, we opted for Tasting Room in Bangsar. Located above Wine Cellar, this place was indeed very quiet and perfect for both of us to chat the night away :)

Once we were seated and orders were taken, this was given to us... I like the crispy-ness of the nachos-like crepe, and the tangy-ness of the sauce. Both of us were so darn hungry that night and so the plate was literally licked clean in seconds!!

Creamy seafood chowder with seafood and diced vegetables @ RM15 - two hot from the oven toasts were given to dip into the soup. Both of us loved the creamy and cheesy soup with lots of seafood bits inside. Breads were fresh too!

For main order, Jenn had the Pan Seared New Zealand Lamb Tenderloin @ RM48 - served with shimiji mushroom , rosemary sauce and sauteed creamy potato gnocchi with herbs and spices. For someone who doesn't eat lamb (me!), I tried to have a bite and found it to be tender when it was done medium-well. Still... it had the smell of lamb which I didn't like. But then, I finished almost half of the potato gnocchi... simply a delight!

I had the Smoked Duck @ Chicken Thigh @ RM38 - baked in oven with onion compote and roasted vegetable. I really love the tenderness of the smoked duck meat. I'd not tasted anything better than this compared to our Chinese style roasted duck. The chicken was good as well but I prefer the duck.

As for dessert, we settled for Chocolate Cosmos @ RM19 - another hit with both of us. It was not overly sweet with ice cream on top... and chocolate + strawberry sauce to complement it.

Our romantic outing is definitely not complete without a bottle of red wine. We had this... Treehouse Pinot Noir 2006. Jenn always like wine which is fruity and not too strong. Costing us RM82, it was a perfect ending to our dinner... maybe both of us had not tasted wine for a long time as we were quite tipsy at the end of the night.

Leo's verdict - to keep it simple, we love this place and will be back!!!

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...)

Restoran Jin Yuan Hong Kong @ Damansara Jaya SS22

I would never notice this particular dim sum restaurant if I didn't read FBB's a few months back. I normally stick to Hung Kee Dim Sum which is located nearby but I had to say, their dim sum's quality had dropped. So Jenn & I decided to try this place, as dim sum is one of our favourite food to have for breakfast... while sipping Chinese tea. We arrived early Saturday morning and managed to find a parking spot in the normally chaotic area.

As we entered, you could see all the kitchen staff busy preparing dim sum while the waiter or waitress passed the order to them.

There is a corner for takeaways where customers can choose from a variety of dim sum available.

As there were only 2 of us, we couldn't possibly order all the dim sum that were offered. That is why we stick to our usual dishes... just to see if they fared better compared to Hung Kee.

Loh mai kai - I like the smoothness and softness of the glutonious rice. On top of that, there were waxed meat, chicken meat and mushroom.

This honey glazed pork ribs was my least favourite dish of the day. I found the flavour to be artificial and the dish was already cold when it was served.

Chee cheong fun - I ticked for the mixture of BBQ pork (char siew) and prawns... they were not stingy on the meat and prawns.

Salad prawns - the crust was crispy and the prawn meat was fresh... that's all that I asked for.

Char Siew Bao - the filling was generous and not overly sweet...

Har gao - thumbs up!!

Leo's verdict - as soon as we finished our breakfast here, we have already found a new haunt for our dim sum craving. Apart from the parking which can be very hard to find, service was quite fast. And upon chatting with one of the staffs, I realised that Jin Yuan used to be called Kam Hin in the past, as a matter of fact there is still an outlet called Kam Hin in Kuchai Lama. I recalled frequenting their outlets in Puchong Jaya and Bandar Puteri before they were closed (I didn't ask why though). Now that their Uptown outlet has opened, it's more convenient for me...

You've come a long way...

Another week and it's 4 months since you were born into this world... into OUR world (your dad's and mom's... that is). I've gotta say... it's not an easy task being a dad.


Look at the picture when you were born... who would know that this innocent looking baby would turn out to be such a feisty little princess??? One who is so demanding, playful and often grumpy if your expectations are not met... especially when you felt the slightest of hunger and your dad was slow in preparing your milk, or when you wanted me to hold you up instead of leaving you to play on your own in your cot, or when you were sleepy but for some reasons you didn't want to sleep, or... too many to list out :)

Oh yes... this grueling period has taken its toll on me. I barely get 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep everyday (mostly 4.5 hours) and less than 7 hours in total. As a result, the number of pimples on my face has quadrupled in just 3 months++!!! Let's not forget to mention the sleepless nights when you had fever. Your mom and I were so worried that we took your temperature every half hour (sometimes every 10 min) just to make sure that the fever had subsided.

Yet, it is my responsibility as a dad to make sure that you are well fed, sleep well and healthy all the time. All the efforts are worthwhile... and you turn out just fine!!! The more you grow, the more you look like me (^_^) and you were so chatty that you would smile the moment you saw us when you woke up...

All that just for a glimpse of your smiling face.

Your eyes look more and more like your mommy... captivating!

And now you have learned to roll over and support your neck on your own... without any help from your parents, far cry from 2 months ago when your head kept falling on my chest everytime you tried to lift it up... To me, it's a rare feat and an achievement. I know a few babies who are still not that strong enough at your age.

Obviously, you have grown up a lot... you even know how to write BIG in chinese. Look at this picture carefully.. lol!!!

I can't hardly wait until you learn to crawl, sit, stand and eventually walk... let's not forget the magic word "Papa"

Pantai Seafood @ Kg. Sungai Kayu Ara, PJ

Despite reading numerous blogs raving about the food here in Pantai Seafood, I gotta admit that I have never stepped into this restaurant before. So when Pat asked me to have dinner here, I immediately nodded my head as it has been a long time since I laid my hands on seafood.

I only live nearby and my car is being serviced in the same area, so getting there is not a problem at all. I turned into the small road from Sprint Highway. Rapid development is taking place in this area... it seems that those hungry developers are snapping up every available land in Klang Valley.

For the moment, this place is still untouched and maintained its kampung feel. What I hate is that the road is filled with potholes and bumpy.

It was still early when we arrived and therefore, parking was a breeze. Even though we had no prior reservation, there was still table available. The first thing that you would probably notice as you walk-in is the glass tanks that contain all kind of seafood... crab, prawns, fish, lobster, abalone, geoduck, clams... you name it, they probably have it!

I managed to snap some pictures of the exotic seafood...
African abalone

Australian Lobster

Canadian Osyter

With Patrick's daughter Kaylie :) so cute and adorable

We started off with fresh Canadian osyter as appetiser! They were very huge, coz I took 2 gulps instead of one which normally I did. Just drip some lemon juice, tabasco sauce and their special sauce and they are good to go!

African abalone came next... even though its was about the size of a golf ball, I can't complain much as it cost only RM25.80 per piece. The gravy was very good to go with the abalone.

Next dish - claypot pork belly with salted fish (ham yu fa lam pou)... although not the best that I had, it was commendable as the gravy had enough taste of salted fish and delicious enough to go with rice. However, the meat had fair share of fat and lean meat. I prefer more lean meat due to health reasons.

Steamed red snapper teo chew style came shortly after... the fish meat was fresh and sweet while the gravy was not overly sour! Just right for me :)

Kailan in 2 Style - poached stems and deep fried kailan leaves... it seems that everybody had jumped into the same bandwagon these days. I could see this dish everywhere I go.

Last but not least, how could I ever miss the delectable meat crab here??? We asked for 1kg crab prepared salted egg style. Sinful as it seems but I could never resist licking the salted egg yolk from its shell before devouring the meat... lol! I think that I really have to take note of my bad cholesterol level, as the last time I did checkup (which was last year), the doctor warned me of the slightly high level in the cholesterol. Hmmmm...

Part 2 - Pantai Seafood with my brother and sisters

Back to Pantai Seafood again before my first post is up... Haven't seen them for a while as I was so busy looking after my baby daughter, so I took this opportunity to ask them out. Plus my mother-in-law agreed to take care of her for a night while we went out for dinner.

"Nai yau" crab - as sinful as the salted egg crab, but finger-lickin-good nonetheless. 3 of them loved this dish so much that they walloped most of it... together with man taos.

The culprits??? These 2 girls...

And the fatso in red... I couldn't make it to his birthday celebration and so the dinner was to make it up to him. Happy birthday my little brother!!! If you read this...

Claypot taufu with assorted seafood - the taufu was smooth while the seafood (fish chunk, prawns, squid) was fresh!

Steamed red snapper - the fish was stripped down to the bone in a matter of minutes. Fresh out of the tank, the meat texture was firm and sweet!!

Cheese baked oyster - the same huge Canadian oyster topped with cheese! Thumbs up!

Crispy pork knuckle - I should have asked them not to dissect the knuckle first. Anyway, it was marinated and deep fried to perfection. My only complain is that the amount fat layer inside.

Marmite prawns - this dish was so good that I literally licked the marmite off the prawns' shell before going for its meat after that. Sweet (^_^)

Stir fried veggie - no meal is complete without greens...

Leo's verdict - perfect venue for family outings and to have seafood if you are feeling lazy to drive all the way down to Klang for seafood. Luckily we had booked a table earlier as this place was packed to the brim by 8.30pm. Those who didn't make any reservation had to wait until there was table available. All of us had so much fun chatting through the night while sipping red wine. I do have a small complain though... the situation can be chaotic once the restaurant is packed, and it took ages for the waiters to attend to us. Most of the time, they tend to ignore us which made me quite angry that I had to stand up, walked up to them and told them what I wanted.