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 …..

Mak's Birthday Dinner

We had a couple of dinners for my Mum's birthday since for the first one, my sister and her daughter couldn't make it. Nana was in Kedah at school and would be flying back to Kajang only during the weekend. That basically opened up an excuse to have another dinner during the weekend.

I let Julia book the venue and she picked one in Bangi, nearer her place. It was a new Western joint called Don's Diner. Unfortunately on the same afternoon, Nana developed cough and it was soon found out that she had a lung infection and had to be admitted into the ward.

Julia had selected a spread before we came inA big tray came to join usLet's tuck inSo, after all that she still had to miss the dinner and we all went to visit her after our meal.

The meal itself what quite good and we ordered the set meal. The portion turned out to be bigger than we thought and we had to packed up some of the left-overs home. The desserts especially were excellent. And Mum got her cake as well.

Dada's turn to help himselfTime for cakesHappy Birthday DadiThe diner mainly served western food, mixed of grills and Italians. They had pasta aplenty and the steaks came with my favourite salad - rocket. The setting was neat and the whole place was still new. It was full by the time we left and the spot appeared to be becoming a local favourite.

Idlan couldn't wait to get into the dessertsHe's in!Irfan and SuraiyaWe then congregated at KPJ Kajang to visit Nana. She was coughing away but her fever was much improved. She should be in for at least a couple of nights and had to change the plans to fly back to Kedah the next morning.

Evening Talk

After a long day at the office - with morning and afternoon clinics - I spent the evening listening to a talk in town. I listened to the speaker before and I knew the talk was going to be good.

And he delivered.

A great talk and a great company at dinner later. Shame that the turnout wasn't as good as planned.

The Week After

A lot of people was asking me about the dinner I had with Anita on our Anniversary. It wasn't much about what we did, but more on the venue which got plenty of people excited.

The view was not bad ...Getting to our tableThe venue was Thirty8 at Grand Hyatt, a restaurant at the top of the hotel, overlooking the Petronas Twin Towers. The view was spectacular and the fact that we started the dinner at 6.30 meant that we were able to enjoy the whole sunset.

Getting there was straight forward and that being a Sunday meant that traffic was light. We reached the car park at the basement, took a lift to the ground floor before getting into another which took us straight to another lobby on the top floor. You would then take another set of stairs up to the restaurant who also served as the breakfast venue and the bar.

Looking down towards the Pokemon Go players at KLCC ParkLooking down towards the lobby which was a floor belowThe starters are hereAnd one of the sous chef came along to complete the presentation We were treated very well indeed and the food was fusion of Western and Chinese. After some salad, I had some steak while Anita had some roast chicken. I must say that the food was great. The chef was a French gentleman and one of his assistant actually came to my table asking me how the wagyu beef were to be cooked. And lastly came the dessert which topped the evening out for us.

Since I mentioned that it was to be our Anniversary Dinner during the booking, the table was specially prepared and hence the great view that we had.

And the sun was coming down ...The gorgeous chunk of wagyu beef for the mainsSome asparagus on the side for meAnd the dessert to share to finish things off ...I would definitely recommend the place for those interested. Yes, it was on the costly side but it was not excessively so.