Dim sum and more dim sum!

While browsing through my daily dose of food websites, I stumbled upon an article in the Star's food section (kuali.com) about an ongoing dim sum (ala carte) buffet promotion at Zuan Yuan, One World Hotel. The review was good. The price? That's what caught my attention.

Normally a dim sum meal at a five star hotel would not be cheap, but the price for the buffet was pretty darn reasonable at RM38++. So off I went one Saturday morning to try it out. Yes, I even booked a table...for one...lol! You know, just in case, it being the school holidays and all...

Lunch begins at 12 noon (until 2.30), but frequent visitors to 1-U would be familiar with the nightmare of finding a parking lot during peak hours. So I went early...and took some pictures.

Ongoing movie fair at 1-U...SPEED RACCCCEERRRR!!!

Hey look there's a new X-Files movie coming!
(Actually I had no idea there was a new movie...)

This used to be Genki Sushi...oh noes...

The signboard at the entrance

I think this is supposed to be a rice container of some sort

Chandelier

Classy interior no?

Everything nicely laid out

It's time to order!

Surprise! You get cashew nuts instead of peanuts as an appetizer!

Seafood dumpling with superior stock and shark fin

Yes, that's real shark fin right there

'Water Prawn' noodle (their version of 'sang har meen')

Steamed scallop dumplings

The scallops were tasty, but don't expect large portions

Steamed prawn dumplings ('har kau')

You can't see it clearly here but there's actually two prawns per dumpling!

Siew mai with flying fish roe

Glutinous rice siew mai

Steamed minced squid ball with dried octopus and crab stick

Deep fried prawn dumpling with salad dressing (on the side)

Cheese tart and egg tart (all mini size)

Hong Kong style chee cheong fun with char siew filling

Chilled aloe vera infused with lemon grass

The verdict? Good food, great (really really attentive and friendly) service at a price that's right. Overall quality of the dim sum was noticeably higher than the ones you get at the usual dim sum places (hotels and classy Chinese restaurants not included), but variety is lacking. No fish balls (yee mai) at all? What the...

In the steamed dim sum section, notable mentions include the prawn and scallop dumplings and the squid balls. Very very yummy! Thumbs up all around here!

Oh yes, the HK chee cheong fun however deserves special mention here. Although the chee cheong fun was oh-so-smooth, the amount of char siew (grilled pork) inside was...almost non-existant. In fact I think I only counted 3 puny pieces of char siew...which for such a swanky restaurant like this is an almost unforgivable mistake. I get more char siew in the HK chee cheong fun served at SS2 food court for goodness sake...

For the fried/baked stuff, the (mini) cheese and egg tarts were ok. Nice flaky pastry shells with reasonable amounts of filling. Don't expect an orgasmic experience here though. And what baffles me was that the description for the egg tarts actually said "oven baked mini egg tarts with caramel and cinnamon". I certainly did not taste any caramel or cinnamon here...

Oh yes, the soup and noodles are both one time orders only. No complaints here as both were great. I can see why they are both one time orders only...the ingredients are expensive...heh!

Lastly, dessert. The double boiled crystal pear with fresh ginseng was packed with ginseng flavour but a bit on the sweet side. I neither liked nor disliked it though. As for their chilled aloe vera, what can I say? I had three bowls. Simply superb!

Overall for RM38++ per person, I would say it's worth checking out if you are a big eater. After all it's not too expensive at all considering the fact that you are dining in a classy restaurant. Oh yes, before I forget there are actually two different sets (Emperor and Empress) with minor differences between them (mainly the soups). So take your time to browse before deciding.

Just stay away from the HK chee cheong fun unless you like hunting for char siew pieces...lol!

Check out that Lego Milipede!!!

Much ado over Momo

May is the time for Mother's Day celebrations and to celebrate I normally take my parents out for a good meal. Having heard good things about this Japanese restaurant we decided to give it a shot. Actually we were there for the ala carte menu but it turns out that they do not serve ala carte during weekends, only buffet. Since we were already there...might as well indulge!

The entrance

Very Zen no?

Since we arrived so early (we were their first customer in fact...LOL) we managed to secure seats easily and then it was time to eat!

Salmon, butter fish and tuna sashimi

Oysters

No complaints here. The sashimi were fresh and up to the usual standard you'd expect from a Japanese buffet. Oysters were silky smooth and were pretty large so expect to do some chewing.

Sukiyaki

I've always enjoyed swishing beef slices around to make sukiyaki. The soup was flavorful and I couldn't detect any MSG (didn't feel thirsty after downing two bowls). Coupled with tender beef slices, tofu and assorted vegetables it was a winner. I could probably spend the whole buffet here creating my own sukiyaki mixtures but then that's not the point of a buffet now is it? Bear in mind that the beef slices cook quickly so take care not to overcook them.

Yakitori

The grill offered a choice of whole fish (not sure what type though), squid, chicken and prawns. The chicken was a little bit on the tough side but the tasty marinade helped somewhat. I found the squid to be pretty good, crunchy and not overdone. The highlight has got to be the prawns though. Fresh prawns grilled to perfection with just a dash of salt to bring out the flavour. It was so good that you have to compete with other customers just to grab a couple.

Chawanmushi

You just gotta try this chawanmushi! Although it's not stuffed full of ingredients like say at Sushi King or Sakae Sushi the texture of the chawanmushi served here beats them all flat. The best chawanmushi I've had so far to be honest.

Teppanyaki

As for the teppanyaki section you get to choose between mixed vegetables, spring onion wrapped in beef, squid (more squid!) and beef cubes. Everything was just average around here but the exception was the beef cubes. Simple tender and full of beefy goodness!

Tempura

Can't really recall what was being offered at the tempura section since I always go for the prawns only. But I do recall various vegetables...and yeah, they definately have prawns. Normally I would load up on tempura prawns but since the grilled ones were much better I didn't take too many. Not to say that the tempura was all that bad...just average.

Shaved ice mixture (ABC)

Ice cream! In a cone!

All that food left little room for dessert but I still managed to stuff in some. Momo has a counter where you can create your own customised ABC. The ice shaver however produces pretty course ice...maybe they need to sharpen the blades or something. Ice cream consists of the usual flavours but they have cones! I know that ice cream cones are pretty cheap stuff but how often do you see buffets which provide this option? Mmmmmhmmm...munching on a crispy cone...makes me feel like a kid again...

If you're tired of always going to Shogun perhaps you can give this place a try. After all it isn't too far from 1-Utama. Prices are RM43.90 for Saturday and Sunday dinner and RM39.90 for Sunday lunch. All nett, so hey not too expensive at all. They also do shabu shabu buffet from Monday to Friday for dinner, so I'll be back to try that one out.

For precise directions (full address and all) and another review...check out KY's post!

Bangkok Trip - Day 4 (May 1st 2008)

Labour Day. A public holiday for most countries in the world. Also our last day in Bangkok. OH NOES! All good vacations must eventually come to an end...

After enjoying the breakfast we packed our bags in preparation for our checkout at 4 p.m. To my surprise my luggage bag was filled to the brim. And I didn't even buy a lot of stuff! Gotta get a new (and bigger) bag for my next trip.

Since we had time to spare, we had a leisurely lunch at Macdonalds at Ploenchit Centre and then explored a nearby mall (can't recall the name). The couple managed to do some last minute shopping even then...SALUTE!!!

After checking out we headed straight for the airport.

On approach to Survanabhumi Airport

Huge sculpture at the centre of the airport

Loads of shops for you to finish up your remaining baht

After checking our luggage in we decided to do some window shopping before settling for dinner at Mango Tree. Pretty authentic Thai food I guess, and they even have a branch in Kuching!

And that was that, goodbye Bangkok...see you again in 2009! Oh yeah, just for fun I'll list down the haul I got from Bangkok...

1. 1/18 scale Chevy Camaro Concept (Bumblebee colour scheme)
2. A couple of t-shirts
3. A pair of sandals
4. A very comfy pair of shorts
5. An Airasia plane model
6. Loads of fond memories

The End

Bangkok Trip - Day 3 (April 30th 2008)

Time flies really fast when you're having fun doesn't it? The third day of our vacation arrived in a blink of an eye. How did we occupy our second last day? More shopping of course...

Warning! This is a picture heavy post! =D

Our first stop of the day (after getting delayed for around 30 minutes due to some MRT technical issues) was the famous Chatuchak Weekend Market. Now if you were paying attention you would have noticed that we didn't exactly go on a weekend. Fret not, some parts of the market remain open all week long, especially the flora section. Of course for the complete experience you'd have to go during the weekends. I guess there's an excuse to come back to Bangkok again right there! LOL!

Exit from Kampheang Phet MRT station

Closed...

But this section's open!

Water lilies! Pretty aren't they?

More plants!

Our staple drink in Bangkok, besides green tea that is...

A note about the drink above. It's made some kind of mandarin orange and it's available almost everywhere in Bangkok (especially in areas where one tends to get dehydrated from walking around too much). Why do we love it? Coz it's cheap and good!

Flowers...

More flowers...

And even more flowers!

Nice heart shaped wreaths

Lotus pods

So that's how they transport the plants...

Another type of water lily...pretty no?

Busy bee

Some of the pet accessory stalls are open too!

Grilled pork, another staple food!

Hot grill action! =P

Grilled pork (and other meats) on sticks are also widely found around Bangkok. In fact our very first meal in Bangkok consisted of a stick of grilled pork...LOL! In Chatuchak itself there were several stalls. Besides the grilled stuff one can find roasted pork and various other edibles. During the weekends one could probably spend the entire day here without the need to step out to grab a bite. Good news for shopaholics! =P

Next stop...Pratunam Market!

Pantip Plaza...the Low Yat Plaza of Bangkok!
We passed by here on the way to Pratunam Market

Pratunam Market is known for its cheap clothes, textiles and fabrics. The concept is similar to Suan Lum where they have both street side stalls and proper retail shops. Bargaining seems to be a little bit difficult here, maybe because their prices are already low. Still this is the place to go to for clothes if you missed out on the whole weekend Chatuchak experience.

Check out the amount of clothes!

Check out the amount of people!

Inside Pratunam City Complex...a mall located within Pratunam Market

By this time us guys were exhausted but there was still one more mall on the 'must go' list. Luckily Platinum Fashion Mall is just across the street...and it was just about time for lunch! But not before the lady did more shopping...

The interior of Platinum Fashion Mall

Lunch at the food court was pretty good. Can't get enough of them beef balls! OH YEAH!

Beef balls! We want more beef balls!

Tasty takoyaki!

Chicken satay, Thai version...just average

Roast duck, grilled pork and roast pork

The roast pork was the best of the lot...real crispy crackling!

We did not skip dessert

With all the shopping finally done (at least for me) we took a cab from Pantip Plaza all the way back to our hotel. Too exhausted to use the BTS and MRT...LOL!

Farewell Poseidon!
(picture courtesy of Tracy)

Since we had a pretty late lunch, I decided to skip dinner and head straight to Poseidon for one last massage session. Then it was back to the hotel to wait for the married couple who were spending their last amounts of THB at Suan Lum (yes they were there three nights in a row).

Where did we go for supper then? Yes we paid Aunty another visit!

The abundant vegetables in my spicy seafood noodles

The tom yum looks spicy but it's not

The tom yum was the only 'disappointment' this time around as it was just average. Not much different from the ones that we can get in Malaysia. Maybe we should have ordered the tom yum goong instead...but hey the noodles were still great!

We then headed to what is apparently the best burger stall in all of Bangkok, at least to the tourists. It's located at the entrance of Nana Plaza and there's a never ending stream of customers waiting to sink their teeth into a hot, dripping, tasty...burger. =P

Check out the size of that patty!

The basic beefburger (meaning just the patty and condiments) costs THB70. Yeah that's RM7. Before you complain hey I can get a Ramly Double Special Cheese (which means two patties, an egg and a slice of cheese for the uninformed; Ramly refers to the commonly used patty by almost all burger stalls in Malaysia & Singapore) for that price, let me just say the patty used here beats Ramly flat in size, texture and taste.

You can add on egg, cheese and a bacon strip for THB10 each. We went for everything...thus we got ourselves a THB100 (RM10) burger. Was it worth it? Oh yeah...in fact in hindsight maybe I should have gotten two...

Tasty? Tasty!
I know the picture doesn't do the burger justice...LOL!

With our tummies filled, we all settled in for a good night's sleep. Not without some tinge of sadness though as tomorrow we'll be leaving this fine city and returning to our mundane lives in Malaysia.

One more day...