Have a cup of tea at TWG @ Pavilion KL

Sorry for the long spell of silence as I was so lazy to log on to my blog to write for the past one week due to hectic schedule and Xmas holidays with so many parties! Here's to wishing everyone a beautiful Xmas and Happy Boxing Day!

I should have written about this much earlier as the visit to TWG Tea Salon & Boutique at Pavilion KL was the day Nanang came to KL and we had our dinner at Pressroom. This place used to be occupied by Cafe Stelle by Raffles and now it has been replaced with a beautiful & posh TWG. If you have been to Singapore often enough, you'll see that the TWG tea salon is very popular and it's always full with people having a cup of tea or even meals there. 

TWG stands for "The Wellness Group" and it was established in Singapore and its luxurious concept of Tea Salon & Boutique aims to share the passions of tea with all tea lovers.

The chairs here are really comfy. Seriously.

And I didn't realise great minds share the same wardrobe style.

The varieties of Tea here is so extensive, a noob like me would just close my eyes and pick one. Afterall, what are the chances that I'll get a tea that tastes like whisky?

TWG claims that they have over 800 single estate fine harvest teas and exclusive blends, as well as tea patisseries and other tea infused delicacies and the KL outlet offers 450 varieties. It's evident in their tea menu. For a while there I thought I was reading an inventory report. A pot of tea starts from RM18 to a hefty RM73 for some Darjeeling varieties from India. Wow, it's like drinking a glass of expensive wine with that price.

One can also buy loose tea, tea bags, patisseries and also tea acessories here at their tea boutique. I like the deco as it's colourful and classy. I would like one of those oversized tea cans too!

I like their golden tea pots and delicate white tea cups. 

Cha King Tea (RM23)

 

 I had the Orange Wood Tea (RM18) which is a perfect tea for the evenings. It has a slight dark wood colour and a hint of orange peel. Felt so ladylike when I hold that dainty tea cup!

We had also some desserts such as the green tea mouse and scones. You should really try their scones served with TWG tea jelly and whipped cream. Prices starts from RM18.

You can walk up to their dessert chiller and have your pick.

Their macarons here looked tempting too.

Even Nanang could not resist taking a picture with the scones!

The next time I'm here again, I would love to try their food menu. They have quite an interesting menu such as Wagyu Beef Burger (RM43), Tenderloin with Polo Tea Sauce (RM55) and pan-seared foie gras (RM43). Such a great place for chit chat and tea and more....

TWG Tea Salon & Boutique
Pavilion Kuala Lumpur
Level 2, Lot P2.16.00 & 2.34.01
168, Jalan Bukit Bintang
55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: +603 2142 9922

Opening Hours: Monday-Sunday (10am-10pm)
Website: http://www.twgtea.com/

Grandeur Gallery Cafe @ Kota Kemuning

This new cafe in Kota Kemuning reminds me alot about the Gallery Cafe in Colombo except that they don't have a garden terrace. Both of these cafes are not only serving food and coffee, they are actually art galleries. You can eat and marvel at the art pieces all in one seating and it's a nice change of dining ambiance.

It's a simple cafe with easy going set-up which includes a bar counter for single diners or someone who wants to grab a quick cuppa. The main dining area seats about 20 people while there's also a family table right at the end of the room surrounded by pieces of painting. Who knows someday a diner might just decide to grab that painting right after a meal here?

This place serves an "all day brunch" with 5 selection of set breakfasts with egg. The set brunch comes with a tea/coffee and you can pay an additional amount to change it to a latte or cappucino. As for lunch, they only have 1 or 2 dishes a day and it changes everyday.

Miss Sunshine (RM13.90)

Egg on toast, potatoes, salad and yogurt.

Scramble Rumble (RM12.90)

Wholemeal toast with scramble eggs, potatoes, salad and yogurt.

Golden Wrap (RM13.90)

Bacon wrapped egg with toast, potatoes, yogurt and salad.

Omelette Delight (RM13.90)

Omelette with toast, potatoes, salad and yogurt.

Cappuccino

If I can still remember, they are actually using single origin Sumatra coffee beans here. Very robust coffee and though I'm no coffee connoisseur, this cappuccino here passes the test.

We found that the Red Velvet Cake was a little dry. Feedback given.

I think they should improve on the portion sizes of the breakfast. In my opinion, the serving size is too small and if I were them, I would add another slice of toast for that price. I wouldn't say that the breakfast here is superb but at least it's something new and I would love to see them surviving the competition from the surrounding cafes and to improve on their food offerings.

Golden Rose gummies made from mangoes. Very pretty and gorgeous in the bottle ready to be given out as Xmas gifts. Price ranges from RM17-20 and RM1 from the sales will go to the orphanage.

*cash only*

 

Grandeur Gallery Cafe

 22-2, 1st floor, Jalan Anggerik Vanilla BE31/BE,

Kota Kemuning,

40460 Shah Alam.

Tel: +603-5525 5568

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	From 1st exit into Kota Kemuning from KESAS, take the right turn at the 1st roundabout and head straight until you see the white shophouses on the left after the lake. This shop is located at the row behind the Chatime row of shophouses.

Royce for Xmas

No I don't mean a Rolls Royce (though secretly I wished Santa was real and he'll send me a new car!). Back to my dreams....

Look what I've received for Xmas!

 See how nicely they wrapped the chocolates up for me?

1st criteria for fine chocolates - quality packaging but of course not all chocolates with a nice packaging equals to quality.

 

 Royce Coffee Bean Chocolates

This is a new product from Royce. I had been buying Royce since a few years ago and it's good to see that they have expanded their chocolate range. These coffee bean chocolates are actually whole roasted blend of Dominican Republic and Arabica coffee beans and enrobed with smooth milk chocolate. Coffee Bean chocolates are not new in the market but what makes a good combination is the quality of the coffee beans used and the chocolate that was coating it. This one here makes a nice bite due to the milky taste of chocolate that takes off a bit of the bitter taste of the coffee beans. They come in 5 X 34g packs in a box which makes it convenient to snack.

The bread and butter of Royce is its Nama Chocolates (RM45). And this is also one of my favourite chocolate when I want a sinful indulgence.

"Nama" means fresh and it describes one of the main ingredients in making these Royce so delicious is due to its fresh Hokkaido cream. This is not your typical chocolate. These Nama chocolates are actually called ganache due to the ingredients that make up its recipe. In layman terms, it can be called a "soft chocolate" because of the cream that is added to make this chocolate so silky-smooth that it melts in your mouth. I like the BITTER variant compared to the other 7 variants that are available for this range. It's less sweet, with hints of cognac and a slight bitter finish.

It's also nice to see Royce has opened more outlets here in KL as compared to years ago when I can only get them from KLCC. For more info, click on this link.

Have a Royce Xmas! (as I was writing this, I just popped a few of them in my mouth)

Ten on Changkat @ Changkat Bukit Bintang KL

As interesting as the name sounds, food and drinks here are available at RM10! This is another place under Werner Kuhn's empire on Changkat Bukit Bintang which is managed by Andreas Konig and he invited us for a tasting after dinner at Dining in The Dark which is just upstairs.

Sleek, white bar with multi-colour lighting that bringa out the mood.

One of the drink selection from the "highballs" where the list consists of 20 drinks resembling light cocktails. There's also shooters and fizzes priced at RM10. Premium drinks are priced at RM20, half pint of Carlsberg & Asahi are at RM10 and RM20 for a full pint.

The food consists of light food, pizzas and tapas are all priced at RM10 as well. How interesting right?!! We tried some of the selection that night - Crabcakes with Mint Yogurt sauce, charcoal grilled chicken wings, chicken croquette, and fettucine pasta with caramelised onion and beef.

Panna Cotta Three Ways for dessert!

If you spend RM100, you'll be given a RM10 chip as a token for your next visit. Every RM100 spending here is rewarded with a RM10 chip. It's really like a real casino chip and this is quite creative!

The ambiance is nice, the food is acceptable and reasonably priced and the ultimate reason why I should come here again is the service and you can just eat around the world at RM10 for their tapas & drinks!

That will stretch your money baby...

Ten on Changkat

46 Changkat Bukit Bintang,

50200 Kuala Lumpur,

Malaysia.

Tel: +6012-248 5797

Mon - Sun: 4:00 pm - 3:00 am

http://www.facebook.com/tenonchangkat

Dining in the Dark @ Changkat Bukit Bintang

This is the much talked about dining experience in town right now. If you have no idea what it is all about, the best is to head down to Changkat Bukit Bintang and experience it for yourself.

This is Werner Kuhn's latest concept restaurant on Changkat Bukit Bintang, located on the 1st floor of Werner's on Changkat corner outlet which is just 2 doors away from The Whisky Bar. Actually I have heard about him wanting to realise such a concept restaurant months ago and it was until a week ago he finally get this place running. I asked Hue Gee to come along and be my "blind date" for the night.

Anything with light or glowing watches have to be kept in a locker before entering the dining area.

The experience that you will get for RM88++

Drinks are not included.

For drinks, there's red and white wine available by the glass for RM20/glass, Carlsberg by the bottle at RM14, fresh juices and soft drink at RM10. Water is not provided as well but you can request for a bottle of Mineral water for RM5.50.

After the pre-dinner aperitif, you will be escorted into the dining area whenever you are ready. We were led into the dinner table by a visually-impaired waitress and we walked hand in hand just in case someone got lost in the dark. You can't imagine how dark it was. I really can't see anything at all!!!

This is what you see in the restaurant. I guess this is the easiest food review ever with no pictures needed for the food that we ate.

The experience

Darius, the waiter responsible for our table briefed us about the orientation of the cutlery and glasses on the table. There's only a fork and a spoon laid on the right side of the table, no knives were needed probably for safety concerns. Joining me and Hue Gee were Meena (from A Whiff of Lemongrass) and her friend. While anticipating our entree, we had so much fun talking in the dark. Gee told Darius that his voice resembles Big Bird from Sesame Street so we asked him how does he looked like out of curiosity. He told us he looked like Harry Potter. Now imagine Harry Potter with a voice like Big Bird...

Did you realise that whenever we go out for a dinner, most of the time we would be busy with the phone instead of having a quality conversation without undivided attention to our friends and family? What happened to those days without handphones? But seriously, we really had a great time laughing and making jokes at the dinner table, most of the time with my eyes closed because it doesn't matter if you open or close your eyes. You will still see NOTHING.

The Food

The entree plate consists of 3 different compartments. Don't read this if you want the dinner to be a surprise. Or maybe I shouldn't even blog about the food! 

Ok. I shall not spoil the surprise. Just enjoy the food and try to figure out what you have just eaten. It's quite fun. At some point of time, some of us started using our fingers to eat. Who cares?!! Nobody can see a thing in there and you probably can smudge your face and no one knows. A word of caution - better don't wear white. 

The food will not be piping hot due to safety reasons which I can understand. In my opinion, the food was fine but don't expect something out of this world. It is the experience of dining in the dark that is unique and trying to guess all the types of desserts on the plate is really fun!

Conclusion

We really had so much fun in a pitch dark restaurant. However, this is not for everyone as some people might not be able to take such an experience. After our dessert, we felt that we need to see the light again and we got Darius to lead us out of the dining area. When we can finally "see" again, we were surprise to see him and he certainly doesn't look like someone with such a voice. See, the interesting thing about dining in the dark is that it lets your imagination run wild. It also eliminates "bias views" about the other person due to their physical appearance. Werner told us that he will be planning some "blind dating" dinners here and I think it would be very fun. So stay tuned....

Dining in the Dark

46 1st Floor, Changkat Bukit Bintang,

50200 Kuala Lumpur,

Malaysia.

Tel: +603-2143 2268

www.dininginthedarkkl.com

Winner for RM100 Tesco Voucher

Good news, bad news. There can only be one winner for this contest. And the winner is...

Lydia (capricornlydia@yahoo.com)

Congratulations Lydia! I like the 3 words you wrote and I definitely have a great passion for the things I like. Enjoy the vouchers. I will be sending you an email soon to let you know how you can redeem the vouchers. Have a good weekend!

Xmas shopping all done!

Can you just feel the air of Christmas around you? I've always like Christmas for the wrong reasons. It's an excuse for me to shop and splurge on something I don't get to own because I'm obviously buying them as gifts for friends! It's the time of giving and a celebration of the year coming to an end and a new one would begin. It's a time of reflections but also a time to give thanks especially to those who have been important to my life.

Wain or wine, there's no whine about that!

Wine is probably one of the best Xmas gifts. There's bottles waiting to be popped in every christmas celebration and be it red or white, you'll never go wrong with bringing a bottle. If you're unsure what to pick, buying a bottle of Australian wine such as Carbernet Sauvignon (red) is always the safest choice. You can't go wrong with a Sauvignon Blanc (white) from New Zealand too! If the receiver likes something sweeter, pick a Riesling!

This is of course my favourite section during Xmas. As not everyone might know how to appreciate wines, you should also pick some beers too as Tesco carries a wide variety of imported beer as well such as the Erdinger in this picture.

 

If you're buying for someone who doesn't drink, a bottle of olive oil would also be nice. It's not the best gift in terms of "flashiness" but it's thoughtful and practical if he or she likes to cook. You can even use it in the salad platters or to be dipped with bread during the Xmas parties at home.

 For a good selection of Olive Oil, Tesco do have a few labels under their own flagship brand. I bought a bottle of Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil from there. I wonder who's the lucky receiver of this gift. heheh....

And if you're throwing a party at home, you'll need desserts! Don't fret about thinking what to bake. Just get to the chiller section of Tesco and pick a few tubs of ice-cream. For something really different, how about chocolates that comes in an ice-cream form?!! Snickers, Mars and Bounty are all in that chiller waiting to be brought home!The Snickers ice-cream is really something that get your guests going nuts rounds after rounds. Yummy...

Ok, so what happens if you're on a tight budget but would love to get something practical and useful?!!

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tadaa....

Get this artsy-fartsy tissue box from Kleenex. It's not cheap ok?!! It costs a freaking RM8.90 for this beautiful box of tissues. Who says beauty comes cheap? It'll be the centre of attention on that coffee table I tell you and this might just be one of the best tight-budget-Xmas-gift!

Warning: Gift at own risk.

It's amazing how you can actually pick up Xmas presents at a hypermarket. And Tesco Extra at Mutiara Damansara seems to be the perfect place to shop this Christmas season. After a hard's day shopping and pushing the trolley around, why don't you just stop by and have a meal at one of the many eating outlets in there too? All under one roof, isn't that just perfect?

I am giving away Tesco voucher worth RM100 to the one reader who can answer these 3 questions in the best way possible.

1. Which ice-cream did I recommend in this post?
2. Which Tesco did I mention in this post?
3. And compliment me in 3 words. (Best question ever!)

Just post your answers in the comment section with your email address or you can also email me at eilingblog@gmail.com and I'll announce the winner here after 48 hours from the posting date.

Fire away!

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WALK FOR LIFE

Tesco Malaysia, in its efforts to Help Children with Leukaemia recently launched Walk for Life 2012 which will be held on 9 December 2012 at Bukit Jalil Park in support of underprivileged children suffering from leukaemia. 

Do your part for leukaemia children.

For more info, please log on to www.tesco.com.my

Pressroom @ Pavilion KL

Well, it was a surprise that my dear friend from Jakarta was in town and we decided to meet up for dinner at Pavilion KL. Since it was raining, Pavilion seemed to be the perfect choice of destination except for the less perfect traffic flow. It was a havoc in the parking area and I had to circled the basement for more than 20 minutes before getting one.

 Beautiful Xmas deco at the concourse area of Pavilion KL

There's even a mini train going around the area.

 As usual, I will be the one left with the responsibility of deciding where to eat. Sigh... I seriously would love someone who tells me what to eat and where to eat for a change. Hmm... I'll just make sure my future partner would be the one making these decisions. There's just too many choices in food life. I chose the Pressroom which is located on the 3rd floor of the alfresco area of Pavilion where Coffee bean is located. I can't remember which outlet did Pressroom overtook but it's quite a nice location.

It's such a coincidence that the 3 of us ordered the Melon Blizz Smoothie (RM15) which is a blend of watermelon and berries. The drink comes in a very nice red shade with a heavy watermelon taste and hints of berries. A cool drink for the evening but that night it was freezing due to rainy weather.

 

 Salad Landaise (RM24)

Nanang ordered a salad that came with 3 slices of baguette topped with duck rillettes (which is actually a spread similar to pâté). The salad consists of greens, cherry tomatoes, smoked duck breast and gesiers (slices of duck gizzards). It's a well-executed salad dish with some pretty interesting ingredients. Don't you think so?

 Everyone gets to order a dish so that we will not push all the responsibility of ordering (which is really heavy one) to one person. The menu at Pressroom is quite limited and I didn't find anything I fancy that very night and decided to just order a Roast Beef Sandwich. This is like a tummy filler but lucky the roast beef was done right with its tenderness and juiciness intact.

 We also ordered a Salmon (RM40) which is done in a oven style that is served with herb oil and a mash. It looked rather simple but I was glad that the salmon turned out to be really good. It has a crispy skin on top and it tastes like it has been pan-seared while retaining the moisture of the fish in the inside. Love it.

Nanang, Me & Hue Gee

It was really nice to catch up with my dear friends on the weekend. And did you know that he has his own fashion label in Jakarta specialising in batik called Lina and Lim.H? After dinner guess where we went for dessert?!! Saving it for the next post. Stay tuned!

The Press Room Bistro @ Pavilion KL
Lot C3.10.02 Level 3, Connection, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur
168 Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel No.: +603 2148 8098
Fax No.: +603 2143 1089
Email: info@pressroom.com.my

Opening Hours :
Monday - Sunday & Public Holidays: 9.00am to 2.00am