That Yearly Event

Every Ramadan, the Cellsafe Group would have a Berbuka with the staff and this year it was right at the end of Ramadan. This year it was at InterContinental, a hotel used to be known as Niko before.

In fact this was the only time Anita and I had the berbuka at a hotel, something that we loathe to do. But being the end of Ramadan, it was not as crowded as before. There was no real jostling for food and there was plenty to go about in the end.

The selection was OK, but I remembered that it was a better spot during the Niko days when the tables were lined up up to the main lobby.

None the less, it was great company and nice food. But it didn’t change my mind about having Berbuka at a hotel just yet. It was just too much hassle still ....

First Ramadan

So, the boys completed their fasting for the first Ramadan. Since it was a Saturday, they were at home and Idlan got up well past noon.

We had our berbuka at my in-law's in Gombak, after taking out some food from Al-Rawsha. The original plan was to hit the Pasar Ramadan at Melawati but it was raining heavily when we were driving there. We ended up topping up some food from Taman Melati instead.

But the boys were still hungry by the time we finished eating. Idlan wanted some sushi and we ended up at Burger & Sushi for some extra food on our way home.

For the second day, we plan to head to Kajang and have our berbuka there with my Mum. Hopefully the children would be OK with the food later. Otherwise we had to be creative again ...

Family Outing

It was a full day today. Anita wasn’t very pleased when she learned that I had to make a quick trip to the ward despite being on leave. She decided however to. Follow me for breakfast. This was followed by a quick trip to Sunway Pyramid, where she managed to get some shopping done.

We then went back to fetch the boys for lunch, and we went to Burger and Sushi before learning that Nana was having a cough and needed nebulisers. Enough excuse to head over to Kajang.

We started with a sushi lunchWhile I murdered some steakThe boys helping with some groceriesThat went on until dinner when my parents joined us as well. We had some really nice Thai food in Kajang town. Nana was better and would be travelling back to Kedah tomorrow back to her hostel. It was close to midnight when we finally settled back home. At least I could look forward to the prospect of not having to do the Weekly Sunday Morning Ward Round (tm)!

Hot Pot is now Zenith Cafe

One of out favourite restaurant in town from a few years back was the Hot Pot, located at Damansara Damai. It was introduced to us by our friend Malis and Adri who lived around the area during one of our visits to their condo. We frequented there for a number of months until word got out that they were moving. I loved their masak lemak daging salai.

After a number of months, I heard the owners Dino and Fazah opened a joint in town, near a mosque. But since they were musicians, it was kinda tricky opening a restaurant without a live band. So, earlier this year, they moved again, and this time in Puncak Alam which was about 45 minutes drive from out place in Bangsar. The name of their outlet had also changed to Zenith Cafe.

Reserved ....Simple but cozy Instruments were out but nobody playingWhat's on the menu ....

Last weekend, Adri again asked us if we wanted to go. And since I was free - and our maid is away - we decided to go. We made an order upfront as the daging salai was no longer standard in their menu and last Saturday evening, we packed everyone in our MPV - four children and four adults - for a night out. It was a good 30 minutes drive from Damansara Damai but it was worth it.

Dino wasn't in since it was the KL Bike Week that weekend. Kak Fazah was around and we got our fix. The new place did have space to jam, but the house band was away that evening. So, no live music. I got my daging salai - with the same zing as before. Had a really nice time, and the decoration of the restaurant was really great.

The ambiance was cosy with plenty of English feel to it. The breeze outside was really fresh.

Kak Fazah doing the cookingThe daging salai was readyNeatHomelyIt was getting dark outsideThe boys tucking inThe restaurant was located in the new township of Puncak Alam, and there were not that many shops opened at the area yet. Parking was never an issue and I was sure nobody would bother them even if they jam till the morning.

The boys enjoyed each other company and we set down for a chat with Kak Fazah before leaving. They also have grills on certain weekend - which Adri recommended. All in all a wonderful night out. We wished that there was live music though ... so maybe I had to come again soon ....

I guess the best way to get around to the cafe would be through their Facebook page.

Taste and Testing

We had been frequenting China Treasures at Some Darby Convention Centre quite a lot in the last few years. They made some of the best Halal dim sum in town, and being affiliated to Some Darby, I was entitled to some discount every time I dine there.

I even know the manager and the staffs pretty well by now and during our lunch last Monday, the Manager, Eric asked if we could come for a food tasting dinner for the upcoming Chinese New Year buffet. The dinner was held next door to the restaurant in the main ballroom at the convention centre and I must say there were a lot more people than I expected.

In the end, it was a seven course affair and the dessert was only served close to 9 pm. We got more than we bargained for.

They opened more than 40 tables, enough to fill the whole of the hall. I was seated with a colleague from SJMC and a banker with his wife. We actually enjoyed the company despite the fact that I had to disappear for an hour during the dinner to attend to a patient at the hospital.

It started off with yee sang and soup - which Anita had to leave for me as I was still at the hospital - then the main courses - which were garoupa and prawns - followed by rice in the end. I enjoyed the company more than the food however, but it was different with Anita as she was starving at the start of dinner.

The yee sang was made in house, and you could taste how fresh and well-preserved the ingredients were. It came with thinly sliced raw salmon. The highlight I must say was the back chicken double-boiled soup. It was delicious. The garoupa was fine but I was full by then.

The dessert was yam in a sack of pastry, deep fried to look like a money pouch. Very sweet and really cleansed the palate at the end of the meal. They had an early bird promotion for a table of 10, and based on the price, it was well worth it. No din sum though …..