Family Dinner

As usual, when it came to birthday dinner, I would have to split my outings into 2. Sharing my birthday with my father-in-law meant that one of the celebration had to be a joint one. This time around, we had some Japanese food at a hotel. And Idlan certainly ate a lot more than we expected.

The last time I had a meal at Komura restaurant at Corus Hotel must have been more than 15 years ago. Their specialty was teppanyaki but that was not my favourite Japanese cooking. We ordered some bento from the menu instead and yes, though some of the items looked expensive, some of the selections were reasonable and the sashimi were certainly fresh.

Getting there was a pain though ...The only drawback was for a table of 6, we did not have a choice but to use one of the traditional Japanese tables where you sit on the floor with the table forming an island. It was tricky for my father-in-law to manoeuvre in and out.

But the food was fine and Idlan was telling his grandfather the tales of his trip to Bintan. He just couldn't stop talking. Maybe I would try the bento selection the next time I come here ...

Irfan's Dinner

Irfan's turning 9 next week but I would be on call in the day. Instead, we had dinner on Saturday and a party on Sunday.

The dinner was an annual one, usually coinciding with a bit of lou sang for Chinese New Year. And as with every year, it was the same venue. Corus Hotel.

This time, Irfan wanted an ice cream cake, from Baskin Robbins. And we soon realized that the container used to carry it had dry ice in them. Which brought some ideas to Uncle Razak for party tricks.

It had been a while since we moved over to Bangsar, and this was the first time we got together for dinner. Their grandparents really missed the boys.

Food was great as usual and then came the cake cutting. And of course Uncle's party tricks. Dry ice, mixed in water in a cup. Walla!

The boys were fascinated by the steam coming out from it. And then a spot of finger hockey with the dry ice on the smooth glass tabletop. Great fun!

Another Birthday Do

On the evening of her birthday, Anita had another treat. So, in the end she had three dinners. This time around, it was with her parents and brother. Her Mum wanted a Chinese dinner, so we went to Ming Palace at Corus Hotel.

Nice place of course, but the food was a far cry from Lala Chong in terms of freshness and cooking. And the price, that was a different matter completely. Thank God I did not have to foot the bill!

Idlan putting his points acrossWhich Irfan found hilarious Let's drink up ...The cake came next None the less, we enjoyed the dinner. It was topped up with another cake after the dessert. That can't be healthy.

Mother's Days

Noticed the plural at the title. I'm blessed to have both set of parents still around, and for the weekend, that meant a couple of dinners. Friday, I took my Mum to Rebung in Bangsar. My Mum prefer Malay food. And earlier tonight - Saturday - we went to Corus Hotel. My Mum-in-law preferred Chinese food.

On both nights, we were caught in the rain. And the traffic was pretty bad as well.

The dinner at Rebung was nice, and the surprise was it was quite empty on the evening we went. As a result, the service was great. Food was pretty consistent as expected. Nothing special.

The dinner at Corus however was not that great. Not what I would call value for money. Luckily I wasn't the one picking up the tab. My brother-in-law did the honour.

Yee Sang Dinner

It was now a tradition that we have a yee sang dinner near the Chinese New Year, every year. This time it was last evening at Ming Palace, Chorus Hotel. This was the restaurant that Anita had been coming for the close to 30 years. Of course, the hotel was used to be called Ming Court back then, hence the name.

The food there was nice, but expensive. At least the quality was predictable. My boys were used so used to the place coming here since they were babies that even the waiters knew them already. And the boys certainly knew what to order from the menu.

It would be the Year of the Snake this new year. Wishing all my Chinese friends and colleagues a happy and prosperous year ahead.