Citrus, Bangsar Village

During a recent outing to Bangsar Village, we stumbled upon a relatively new food outlet at Village II. It was called simply Citrus, located on the second floor, next to the Apple retail agent, Smack - how appropriate - and right opposite Borders bookstore.

As during the outing, Isma, our maid came along, and the boys just spent nearly a couple of hours at a play gym, we decided have something light, with an Asian option. Citrus provided that.

My chicken lasagna with rocketCreme brule

The restaurant was pretty simple, with only around 10 tables inside, and half a dozen more along the mall walkway. We had a seat in the inside of the restaurant, with sofa for the children. The menu was diverse. There was a separate breakfast menu, catering for both Asian and Western options. They serve nasi goreng, pasta, pizza, lamb chops etc for lunch. I had chicken lasagna with rocket salad, while Anita had soto ayam. We ordered nasi goring for the maid. Idlan had pizza and Irfan had macaroni. So, there were items for everyone, which was very handy indeed when you bring a troop out like we did. I also had creme brule for dessert.

The setting were children-friendly, although the restaurant did not provide a washroom - a very clean public toilet was just a few steps away. He service was prompt, and they understood us when we asked them to serve the children first. as for the food, it was pretty OK. As the menu was so varied, it was very difficult to ascertain what were their strength and weaknesses. To conclude, I did not think that Asian dishes were their strong point, as Anita's soto was pretty plain - she needed three helpings of the salt shaker to put some taste. The pizza, lasagna and macaroni were nice however. Maybe Italian were their stronger items. The creme brule was nice however.

When I checked in into FourSquare, I was left a tip that I should order the red velvet cake. Unfortunately, they ran out of it that day. I would try that one day.

Will I return? I don't really mind actually, although I would probably go for snacks there rather than a heavy meal. In terms of price, I thought it was slightly cheaper than the usual outlet we frequented at Village II such as delicious, or even Smokehouse next door to the mall. Given a choice - meaning if we did not have the entourage with us, I would probably have gone for La Bodega instead.

Sri Ayutthaya, Wangsa Maju

I felt a bit better today. I managed to head to Kelang in the morning, before returning to UMMC for a spot of the tutorial later in the afternoon. Since my brother-in-law, Razak was due to return to Turkmenistan tomorrow, the whole family was taken for dinner. He wanted a bit of Thai food, and we decided to give Sri Ayutthaya in Wangsa Maju a try. The place is not exactly that far from where we live, but it took us a while to reach there due to traffic. The restaurant was located right next to a local branch of Carrefour, but at least they have their own parking space.

Sri Ayutthaya is actually a chain of Thai restaurant and we were more used to its branch in Bangsar. I’ve never been to this branch before, but Puan Anita has. The branch in Bangsar was slightly smaller than this one, that was more of a converted shoplot compared to this which was a dedicated bungalow.  The decorations both interior and the outside work exquisitely Thai. It was filled with fresh flowers, nice lightings and the settee outside was very comfortable indeed, if one wanted to have some fresh air. Since we arrived the early, there hardly any crowd. They have selection of a la carte as well as set menu. Since we were not really sure what to go for we went for the set menu in the hope that the order would arrive early.

Unfortunately, since I did not bring my SLR, the pictures here does not do justice to how good the place look. One have a feeling that they were taken to another place when you step into the restaurant. But more about where I was taken to later. The set menu had starters, a five course meal as well as desert. You have to order separately for drinks. The starter we had was some fresh oysters - which I’m not that big a fan of. Razak enjoyed that. For the mains, we had buttered prawns, softshell crab, some fresh vegetables and of course Tom Yum soup. We also had an steamed siakap. As for dessert we had water chestnut.

As mentioned, the decor was very nice indeed. There were a plenty of elements from Thailand as well as fresh flowers scattered around the place. The lighting was very dimmed, perfect for a romantic dinner. The restroom was also very clean and modern. You can tell from the cutleries that the place strived for fine dining. Unfortunately I was rather disappointed with the food. I think the main problem was actually the rice, I did not think that it was steamed properly - it was too hard and raw. However, the Tom Yum soup was exquisite, that prawn was very nice and according to Razak, the oysters were fresh. They overdid it on the garlic and ginger on the steamed finish. The water chestnut was also …. average. The mango juice I had was freshly prepared, rather than a pre-packed drink.

Now let’s talk about where we were transferred to when you step into the place. One would hope that one were in Thailand. Unfortunately it was more Nepal or Bangladesh because that was where all the waiters were from. This created a problem when we were putting across our orders as they did not understand what we ask for exactly. The manager - an Chinese gentleman had to clarify them with us. They also make the mistake of bringing all the food at the same time causing us to have to wait for everything to be prepared before we start the meal. They could have at least offered us the Tom Yum first. By the time the food arrived, the boys were already restless. Idlan managed to finish three rounds of Plants vs Zombies on my iPhone by the time his nasi goreng was served. I remembered the branch in Bangsar was mainly served by friendly Thai ladies.

Was I impressed with the place? Well not exactly, but I was willing to give the place another chance since I really liked their Bangsar branch. Maybe I was there on a bad night. Would I recommend it to anyone else? I would, but I will ask them to go for the Bangsar branch instead. They also have a branch in USJ.

Sri Ayutthaya, 2, Jalan Wangsa Delima, Section 5 Wangsa Maju. Tel - 03 41436883.

Paya Serai

So, after the long wall in the showroom with the boys already getting grumpy, we needed to stop for lunch. Happy after booking her new Peugeot, my mum-in-law wanted to have lunch at PH Hilton, a once of the and I might argue still, the best hotel in PJ. The Japanese outlet serves a grand lunch buffet during weekends, and for today, we decided to try out its main cafe, Paya Serai.

The buffet was over. Even the chocolate fountain has been switched off.We were rather too late to join the buffet lunch. Going a la carte wasn't that bad either. They had nice selection there on the menu. I had some salad followed by chicken tikka masala for the mains. The boys ordered some fried rice and chicken nugget. What compelled me to write this entry was the great service I enjoyed there. The waiters - all local - made us welcomed, sat the boys down, dealt with all our quirks. They got our order attended to straight away despite being busy clearly out the afternoon buffet. When Idlan's order came a bit late, they got the boys some ice-cream on the house, without us even needed to day anything. They came over to talk to the boys and were generally great company. I can tell that they enjoyed serving there, a rare trait.

The table setting .... elegant Avocado and buffalo mozzarella saladMy main, chicken tikka masalaNow lets talk about the food. They were nice. Nothing extra special but not too shabby either. I can't comment about the buffet though. I have to confess that Latest Recipe at Le Meridien may be a touch better but you don't get the personal attention as you do here except maybe if you were a foreigner. That's Malaysia for you. My tikka masala was rather 'pasty' - reminding me of the pre-prepared sauce I used to use to cook chicken with when I was in the UK. The salad was great though. The fried rice that Idlan had was good as well, but nothing out of the ordinary here. Will I recommend this joint to others? Of course I will but it may be a touch expensive for casual dining. For a special occasion, maybe. For me, I still prefer the Japanese buffet for lunch .....

Old Victoria Station

In the years gone by, we had always regarded that Victoria Station serve the best steak in town. However, we started to spot some worrying trend in the last couple of years. The steak had become less succulent. The seasoning was not as nice and even the quality of the vegetables had deteriorated. Basically , the management lost focus and stopped realising what the had developed over the years and taken it for granted. I used to go there very couple of months for the spare ribs, but lately I was not even bothered.

Right after the concert, my Mum-in-law wanted to swing by to have lunch. She wanted some lobster for some reason and the boys, still excited form the concert wanted some fish and chips. The new place has recently had a facelift and what possibly was a change in management - if not in terms of member, at least in style. The menu was slightly different with a few new items added on, but the price has also gone up. None of the steak were less than RM50 now. My spare ribs was RM57 plus tax. 

But for the price, the old taste were back. The spare ribs was very well prepared, with the gravy just nice, and was at just the right potion. The vegetables were fresh like it used to be. The mango and shrimp cocktail were very nice, and the juice were freshly prepared, although I suspected that they put in too much syrup as it was way too sweet despite the ice cubes. And the boys enjoyed their chips with mushroom sauce.

It seems that the place had returned to its roots, based on the quality of the meals. The service, as usual was decent, although I missed the Pilipino waiters who used to take care of us very well. I remember having had the same waiter attending to us for a few visits. Both him and his wife have since left for the Philippines. The waiters were now from the sound of it, local. I don’t really mind that. What I don’t like was foreign waiters who can’t even talk in English or Malay properly. That really got me going!

Station Ampang - 243, Jalan Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur - Tel: 03-4257-3388. For more information, please click here.

Heading Home via Tasik Raban

It was only a short break. We had to leave this morning for home with school and work coming tomorrow. We did not want to leave too late. I didn’t want the boys to end up too cranky the next morning. I stayed back with the boys while Anita and her mum went to the market. They certainly bought plenty of stuff to bring back to KL, fresh fish and all. We also had some relatives coming over to visit. They were the ones looking after the house while we were away. My Mum wanted to leave some money for them and asked them to do some other odd jobs. We had some problem with the main stairs being too steep. Maybe, it needed to be redone.

Reached the destinationAs the sign said, it was about 30km off Kuala KangsarAnyhow, we left the house by 11, and headed to Lenggong for lunch. There is a restaurant there whose specialty were fresh water fish. I have to confess that I am no fresh water fish fan. I don’t mind them being raw, but they have to come from the sea - that’s my rule! Apparently the place was quite famous, located along the Gerik-Kuala Kangsar road, an alternative route to get to KL from Kota Bharu should you chose to take the East-West Highway rather than via Karak. A favourite joint among convoys.

Tucking inSome ulamTempoyak - not for the faint-heartedThe place was located at Tasik Raban, just after the junction to MRSM Lenggong if you are coming from Kuala Kangsar towards Gerik. It should be on the right side of the road if you were coming in that way, around half an hour from Kuala Kangsar. We quickly settled in and ordered. Since I didn’t know much, my wife did the ordering. The best food there I must say was the pekasam - a kind of heavily salted and marinated fish. It was gorgeous. They also did drinks by the jug, which was different. Certainly with the hot weather, that hit the spot. Most of the fish there were grilled, but since I was not much of a fan, I did not really appreciate the true taste, hence I better not make a fool of myself by trying to describe them. They have the usual selection of fresh water fish - patin, keli etc. 

The convoy have arrivedBefore we left, there were a convoy of 15 bikes pulling over. Certainly looked fun in their overall and all. I took out my camera and took some snaps of the restaurant. Just in case if anyone was interested, the details of the place can be seen on the banner above.

We travelled on and reached KL by 5 pm, unpacked and unwind. The boys were already asleep by 8pm. I was feeling tired to but had to do some reading and writing. It was raining outside. I didn’t reckon I can stay up too long ……

Slideshow of this trip can be found here.