Most Expensive Tea

One of our college friends had just returned from Sri Lanka, and try had brought a few things back from there. They decided to hate with us a treat. What was it?

It was claimed to e the most expensive tea in the world, packed in silver-lined packing, and tucked away inside a wooden case. The leaves were hand picked and brewing them only took 4 minutes. It was claimed to be an aphrodisiac. Even the cover was shall we say, suggestive .....

I had a couple of cups. Refreshing. But unfortunately, I was more of a coffee drinker.

Nice Cuppa

Nothing beats a nice cup of tea after a long day at work. Well, that was what Puan Anita prepared for me this afternoon when I got home. At the apartment, it was easier for her to prepare all this. At the Gombak place which we shared with her parents, it was kinda difficult.

And that's why I preferred it at the apartment.

Starhill Tea Salon

I have to admit that I'm more of a coffee drinker, but the rest of the family, Puan Anta and the two boys are tea people. Wierd! But my boys sure love their tea, but yesterday, it was just me and Puan Anita, and we sampled the tea salon at Starhill. Not just any tea salon, but THE Starhill Tea Salon.

We went there late afternoon - after we were done with Ampang Park. It was a spur of the moment thing when we decided to head for Bukit Bintang. The place was packed as usual for a Sunday afternoon, but that did not deter us. I had to buy some print inks anyway.

The utensils being lined upI didn't bother with the tea. I had mint lemonade instead .... cheat!After the hustle and bustle, it was time for an afternoon drink. Then we remembered about the tea salon which we saw before but did not have time to check the place out. It was full - at least the best seats, so we decided to wait. After about 5 minutes, we got the seat which we wanted. It was buffet high tea on Sundays, but they mainly served dessert. We decided to order a la carte.

And that was a mistake since Puan Anita's pasta took a good half an hour to be ready. Luckily the drinks came first. Anita had some Assam Tea. I chickened out and had some minty lemonade - good for a hot Sunday afternoon.

The place was fantastic in terms of ambiance, and the staff there knew their tea. We actually had a conversation about which tea to order, and the taste was described pretty well. They had a separate smoking and non-smoking area, which was always a plus.

Everything about the presentation was quality and I was sure the patrons there would not have tolerated otherwise. The teapot was sturdy and the brew was perfect, at least to my untrained palate. Puan Anita approved of it as well.

The assam tea is finally brewed!We would definitely be back there in the future, but we would probably avoid Sunday. Why? Because they do not have a set tea with scones on Sunday. They had the buffet instead. How expensive was it. The tea, my mint drink, Puan Anita's pasta as well as my snack put me back around RM 150. Not cheap .......

If you were interested, the salon is located on the Ground Floor, straight through the lobby of Marriott, or through the entrance at the back of Sephora if you were coming from Pavilion or Bukit Bintang.

Breakfast at Harrod's

My brother-in-law just left for Turkmenistan again on Sunday morning, the day before Ramadhan started. It was not a disaster though as he should be back for Hari Raya, but it was sad nome the less. Therefore on Saturday morning, he took us and her parents put for breakfast. But this was not any ordinary breakfast. It was over at KLCC, at Harrod's.

I did not know that Harrod's do breakfast until I was told last week. They ha limited menu though - 7 items on my count between 10 to 11, and an even more limited selection between 8.30 to 10, mainly catering for Peteonas executives coming for power breakfast during weekdays.

My boys were grumpy, firstly since they were forced to get up and was hauled into the van - they were still on holidays. But, woke up they dis and try were initially in a merry mood in the van. But that would soon change after they learn that their usual order at Harrod's were missing. They loved their roast beef, Yorkshire pudding and fruit punch there. But at 10 in the morning, those were off the menu. And they were proper grumpy especially Idlan pulling a strop! That did not stop the rest of us though.

The grumpy boys grudgingly went up the escalatorsIdlan in a stropFinally agreed to play ball

So, what were the 7 items? Nope, no nasi lemak or roti canai. We had omelet, croissant, poached salmon and of course hot baguette. The usual British breakfast with sausages and eggs of course. Not to mention the glorious morning tea and coffee. The limited item meant that service was swift and as usual, the waitresses were very accommodating, especially with my boys in a strop.

The food was good, but personally, I prefer La Bodega, partly with it wider selection and lower prices, but also dare I say it, better food offering. The egg Benedict at La Bodega was bordering on "to die for", especially with a strip of smoked salmon on top. Here, even the omelet was surprisingly dry and bland. It was too British I supposed. The most disappointing was the sautéed mushroom. They could have done a lot better.

Some toast to start things offAnita's choiceMine was the omeletFinally content with his English Breakfast TeaThey were also offering special Ramadhan buffet - roast beef on Wednesdays ....

To be honest, I probably give the breakfast here a miss in the future. I definitely prefer the roti canai near my house, of should I feel adventurous, either La Bodega or Delicious. But for lunch and dinner, I would definitely return.

Thank you and see you next week

As I mentioned earlier, next week will be exam week in Kelang and with the Xmas break coming up, it was understandable that once the exam was done, everybody would start to shut down. Some have even made plans to return to Mum and Dad - the one from Cameron Highlands, you know who you are! Since I will not be taking any formal classes next week, the students asked me to join them for some afternoon tea. We did so at the nearby Pizza Hut - apparently at the only shopping mall in Kelang as they admitted so grudgingly.

I left my wallet at home, so I was not able to fork out any park of the bill. I did offer to clean the plates and mop the floor however. It was nice to chat with them in matters outside medicine for a change. They tried hard however to pry out any clues from next week exam, but I managed to resist it. So, to all of you, good luck and please calm down and not get too excited during the clinical short case. If you just follow the steps, all of you will be fine. I shall see you next week!