Dinner at Fullhouse

On one of the evening we were at Sunway, we had dinner at Fullhouse, a rather unique boutique cafe with branches all over town. The flagship was the spectacular converted bungalow at Jalan Yap Kwan Seng. For the past year, we had been wondering what the place was all about and since there was a branch here, we decided to give it a go.

The menu was in the form of a magazineThe drinks came in these large trinkets

The interior was very cosy, and the seating - especially the sofa was very nice. The boys enjoyed it, by the food was not so. The menu was eclectic, in the true sense of East meets West. The spaghetti had green "chili paid" in them for extra zing. My beef tenderloin had fruit bits as part of the gravy. The children menu was a bit more conservative however. The drinks came in large trinkets. All those small unique touches.

There was some cili padi in that mushroom speghettiAnita's croque monsier, with pineapplesSome raisins in the gravy. Not my kind of gravy unfortunately.

Unfortunately, we were left disappointed with the food. The past was not bad, but my steak was not great, to put in mildly. If this restaurant was a book, the cover was much better than the actual chapters if you catch my drift. However, I was sure it was a great place to catch a drink or snacks. But for a heavy meal, maybe one should look for an alternative.

Happy Birthday Old Boy

It was a hectic afternoon yesterday with stops in the ward, followed by a visit to my friend's birthday barbecue and picking up my sister at the airport on her return from Disneyland Hong Kong.

The birthday boy was Syahril, my roommate from Sheffield. Currently, he is a Neurosurgeon in UKM Medical Center. He was away in England on his last birthday and today, he invited us over for his barbecue. But since I was heading to airports straight after, I had to come alone.

No. He did not have wagyu beef for the barbecue. But the dessert was expertly prepared by his wife. A couple of items - cream caramel and Oreo cheesecake. Heaven!

Yuzu Japanese Restaurant, KLCC

The original plan was to look for dinner. Some Thai food, tom yam soup and steamed fish to be exact. We went to five stalls and two restaurants, and all of them were closed. Aidil Adha is a bigger deal in Kelantan than anywhere else in Malaysia. And as the majority of the Thai food stores were run by Kelantanese, most of them would be back home up north.

Since it was just me and Anita, we pressed on to our other destination, KLCC. After the errands were done, it was time for dinner. We have been eyeing the new Japanese restaurant on the top floor of Suria, Yuzu. It was certainly well made up, taking the place of what was previously a Sundanese food outlet, right next to Little Penang Cafe.

The ambiance was relaxingOur drinks, Apple Mohito and Shirley Temple.The setting was modern, but the ambiance was authentic. The waitresses were even in Kimonos. We ordered from the oversized menu. For started, we went for salmon sashimi platter and mango and soft shell crab rolls. For the mains, I had my usual pick, salmon don and saba (mackerel) teriyaki. Anita had some wagyu beef. As for drinks, we had a couple of mocktails, I had apple mohito and Anita had Shirley Temple.

The food was actually very good. The sashimi and mackerel were fresh. The wagyu beef was exquisite. Even the mocktails were gorgeous. The rice on my salmon don was a disappointment however. I was expecting a more starchy rice, but the one we had were rather plain. A minor complaint really in the scheme of things.

The salmon sashimi platter for starterThe mango and soft shell crab rollMy salmon donAnd also my mackerel - saba - teriyakiAnita's wagyu beef. Now you see it .....Now you don't. All done inside 5 minutes.Another thing we noticed was that the service could have been better in term of speed. The pace was, should I say pedestrian. We waited for quite some time for our drinks, and our starters took longer than expected. Be prepared to wait if you asked for the wagyu beef. And mind you, the restaurant were hardly full, and we entered before Maghrib, before the supposed peak hour.

Would we come back? Of course. I would avoid ordering don (rice) however. And I believe that the gozen set might be faster to prepare, so go for that. The restaurant is located on the top - fourth - floor of Suria, near the middle of the mall. Also, be prepared for a tight squeeze as the table arrangement was not conducive for children and prams. More information on the restaurant can be found here.

Bad Experience at Ben's

We finally had the chance to sit down for lunch at Ben's General Food Store. I was meaning to do this after the visit when I accompanied Idlan for some pizza. Today, I sampled some food, and the service there first hand.

On the previous visit, the restaurant was only half full, and I commented on how good the staffs were. It was packed today, with queue outside, and the service definitely eroded. Not only that some of our orders were messed, the waiters had the cheeks to come over and explained what we did wrong. Apparently, since we ordered mains which included salad, the starter salad we ordered would come together. But the problem was, the orders for starters and accompanying salad were completely different, and still the waiter insisted that we ordered wrong.

Playing spot the foreigners ....The food preparation area ....Anita was hungry at the time, and was rather mad at the waiter, and we had to explain again what we ordered and how we insisted our orders to be prepared. It was finally rectified when the shift manager came to speak to us.

The pizza for Irfan was fine, but apparently, we had to pay for the the extra parmesan - something we did not have to do three weeks ago. Hmm! Odd. Maybe in three weeks time, we should be forewarned to bring along an oxygen tank just in case we would be charged for the air we breath. You never know!

Irfan went hyper after all the fizzy drinks ...The pizza has arrived ....Told you I was not into green peas .....I think, the problem was not so much the food, but the "we know best" attitude of the staffs there. Anita thought it was more to do with the fact the majority of the patron that afternoon were foreigners, and hence we were treated as second-rate customers. To be honest, I kind of agree with her. Unfortunately, this was still true in many of the more affluent areas and hotels in the capital. I guess, all of us have the urge to please the foreigners more than our own people ……

As a result, I had to reduce the rating for this outlet, and warn that it may be best not to visit it during busy hours ….. unless that you are a foreigner ….

Chinoz, Bangsar Shopping Center

On a recent visit to Mid Valley Gardens, we noticed that the Chinoz Cafe in the middle of one of the main foyer had been closed. That was curious considering the demography of the visitors at that neck of the woods. We were more familiar with their branch at KLCC.

The last time we were at Bangsar Shopping Center, we decided to give the Chinoz branch there a visit. We had light lunch and as usual, the boys wanted pizza.

The seating was outdoors, right by the main entranceA nice place for people watching and chill outIrfan enjoying his fruit punchThe menu was similar to the KLCC branch, with pizza, sushi and the usual choices of salad and drinks. They even offer Sunday Roast, just like at KLCC.

We sat at the outdoor bar area, very cosy and suitable for people watching. Seats were very comfortable. The boys selected the sofas. The waiters were very attentive, and took our order very efficiently without even taking notes. Service was very prompt.

I had rocket salad, and a Japanese rice and salmon set for the mains. The boys had their pizza and Anita ordered smoked salmon and avocado salad. Anita's salad was amazing. The menu was also very clear about which food used alcohol in their preparation. No problems there.

My iced coffeeAnita's gorgeous salmon and avocado salad. Highly recommended.Idlan's hot chocolate in a nice little mug.My rocket saladThe boys, with what else, but pizza.Last but not least, my main, which was sushi rice with salmon and miso. Very nice.

My salad and mains were very well-prepared. I really couldn't complain about the food quality. The service was prompt. I would definitely be returning, not just for the food and service, but for the ambiance as well. Highly recommended, although I suspect the place would be packed in the evening.