Ri-Yakitori Bar at The Gardens Hotel, Mid Valley City

I don't usually blog about any restaurant specifically unless I really enjoy the food. Ri-Yakitori Bar really deserves its own post.

The prices published below is per one (1) skewer basis. I have no idea why the prices are so weird. I copied them from the bill. I remember it wasn't like that in their menu. Lol!

 

Smoking section (left) and non-smoking section (bottom right)

Soft Bone (RM6.38), Chicken Wing (RM11.60), Wagyu Beef (RM33.64), Chicken Breast (RM9.28), Eggplant (RM13.92)

Chicken Skin (RM6.38), Salted Squid (RM17.40), Japanese Tofu (RM13.92), Enoki (RM6.38)

Chicken Knee Soft Bone (RM11.60), Chicken Meatball (RM11.60), Taimen (RM40.60), Curry Udon (RM20.88)

Everything was good. The chicken skin was my favourite. I didn't really like the salty squid though. It's really salty and chewy. Curry udon was just average. The texture of the curry was a little too thick.

What I liked most is the cold sake and its special sake dispenser. I was told that the boss imported this dispenser from Japan and it cost about RM1K for one dispenser. Really? This dispenser is really cool. It keeps your sake chilled like a beer tower. You can use this for wine as well if you like.

Kubota Senjyu 72 (RM255.20)

Address:
Ri-Yakitori Bar, Level 7, The Gardens Hotel, Mid Valley City, Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200 Kuala Lumpur

Operating Hours:
Mon-Fri 5pm-1am
Sat 12noon-1am
Sun 12noon-8pm

Bestie's Birthday @ Somerset Ampang Kuala Lumpur

So it was my bestie's birthday last weekend. We booked a 3-bedroom residence at Somerset Ampang Kuala Lumpur to celebrate the occasion. It's at Jalan Ampang and part of Menara HSC where Souled Out is.

 

Dining and Living Room

 

Living Room

 

Kitchen and Dining

Second bedroom comes with 2 single bed

Master bedroom comes with a king size bed and ensuite bathroom

Master bedroom's bathroom

The gym, jacuzzi and pool area at the rooftop (Level 22)

For dinner, we ordered Thai food delivery from Ginger Thai Restaurant via RoomServiceDeliveries.com. I must say that their service is quite good. Also, they have a nice range of restaurants to choose from.

So the other guests started coming in around 10pm and that was when the party started.

3 groups - The living room, the dining and the 3rd bedroom (LOL!)

More guests

That was me cooking edamame we bought from Isetan KLCC earlier (it's also an excuse not to drink some more and sober up)

Funny pictures. I have no recollection whatsoever regarding these pictures. Jess and I must be talking about something really funny.

Happy Birthday babe! Love you always...

Monjayaki and Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki (known as Japanese pancake) batter is made of flour, eggs and shredded cabbage.

This is Okonomiyaki

Monjayaki is a Kanto region specialty that is similar to okonomiyaki, however, the dough used is much more liquid than the okonomiyaki dough.

Monjayaki - Before and After

This is something I've not seen in KL yet. Well, I'm glad Marina took me to this monjayaki place in Tokyo. Watch Marina make monjayaki in the video below.

Vertigo Club and Calvin Harris

It was Chap Goh Meh (the last day of CNY) and it was also a long weekend holiday. After that, we won't be having public holidays like that for a long time. It was a Monday. Ryan and I went to Seremban for dinner with his parents. We were listening to MOS Annual 2012 in the car. CD1 and CD2 of the album wasn't good at all. CD3 is the best! The music got me so hyped up that it made me invited my friends to go to a club that night. So, we ended up in Vertigo. No, it's not my favourite club. The music wasn't good that night. In fact, I've been there twice before that and the music was bad too. Bad deejay. The club is just convenient because we all live nearby.

The party wasn't good for me because my blardy UTI decided to attack me just minutes before I head out. In case you didn't know what that is, UTI stands for Urinary Tract Infection. It is an infection that can happen anywhere along the urinary tract. Women are more likely to get it.

So Calvin Harris was in town last week. In Vertigo again. No, I didn't go but Ryan did. I'm so jealous because he said the music was good. I know. I heard his music before. Anyway, it was a Wednesday. I had to work so no late night outings for me on week nights. So here's one of my favourite song by Calvin Harris featuring Kelis.

Tiesto Live @ Heneiken Thirst, Sepang International Circuit

I went to this sold out #heneiken #thirst2011 event featuring #Tiesto last weekend. It was AWESOME! The fun started at Jess's house all the way to the event.

- Alvin came to my place
- Ryan then drove us to Jess's house in Kota Kemuning
- Sean arrived shortly after
- Jess took us to a restaurant nearby (cheap and tasty)
- Went back to Jess's place
- Did her makeup and damn proud of my work
- Started drinking and singing at her karaoke room
- Nicholas arrived at 10pm
- Drank quite a bit
- Packed more beers in a cooler box and took it with us in the Vellfire to Sepang
- The journey on the way was AWESOME
- Parked somewhere really far
- Walked quite a distance but it didn't feel that far probably because I was having fun
- Met up with the rest of us
- We went in
- I bumped into my brother's bestfriend Daniel Yap
- We proceeded to follow Poh Seng to the front, squeezing and pushing through the crowd. It was horrible. It was packed like sardine.
- Suddenly Nicholas said that we're gonna stand there in the middle of the crowd. I couldn't take it so I told him we are gonna go back to the open area by the corner.
- Pushed our way to the open area.
- Found a nice spot to sit, chill and party.
- It was great and I really felt like 22 again! LOL

To be honest, I've been to Tiesto's gig twice before this and I never really like his music. Trance is really not my cup of tea. I'm more into house music or something funky. However, Tiesto was different that night. The music was really good. I like!

Ryan made a phodeo below:

Birthday Lunch @ Bumbu Bali, Bandar Puteri Puchong

I've been craving for some Balinese food (especially Sate Lilit). So I finally satisfy that craving one afternoon.

The last time I dine here was years ago. Nevertheless, I had a yummy birthday lunch with the colleagues at Bumbu Bali Puchong.


Top: Siap Bumbu (RM28) , Left: Bali Trio (RM45), Right: Nasi Campur (RM35)

My Birthday @ Club Neverland KL

Never in my life I have celebrated my birthday in a club. So since this year is my last 20s, I decided to celebrate in a club. Also because someone said that I should celebrate in Old Town Kopitiam next year onwards. ... -.-

Neverland KL is a new club in town and since none of us has been there, we chose that venue.


Jess, I curi your photo. Thanks Babe!

I have to thank Jess for organizing this and Ryan for footing the bill. Also not forgetting my brother Colin, for buying a bottle as well. I really had a blast with all my friends that night.

So, 19 people turned up, 7 bottles of Chivas (thanks to Ryan and Colin), 12 shots of tequila (thanks to Sean), 1 graveyard and waterfall (thanks to Nicholas) -- Anything else? Because I don't quite remember. I don't have a clear memory of the last quarter of that night. Lol.


Thank you baby for the cake and for taking care of me


Thank you baby for the present

October Events

I don't club a lot now unless I have to. Just so happen that I seem to club a lot in October.

Vertigo @ Gardens Midvalley
Jess got invites to the launching of this new club called Vertigo at Gardens Midvalley (Level 6). So, the usual suspects were invited. Free flow of Henessy and beer all night up until 11pm. Boy, we had so much fun on a Thursday night! I guess with the right company, you'll definitely have fun no matter where you are.




Bedroom @ Pavilion
This wasn't planned at all. Ryan and I went to an art festival in Publika at Solaris Dutamas. After the event, we went to Pavilion to meet Jess and Lu. Lu wanted to dance (that reminded me of Lena Lee), so we all went to Bedroom at Level 6. Hmm...Level 6 again? Must be a good number.

The DJ was playing house music which I liked and the place was not too crowded. A lot of angmoh though. Tourists or expats, maybe?

We definitely had fun that night. It's more like a girls' night out. Pity Ryan had to tag along. Lol.


The DJ console at Bedroom Pavilion


Library @ Midvalley
Okay, it's not a club but it was somebody's birthday and that involved large intake of beer.




Neverland KL @ Jalan Kia Peng
That was where I celebrated my birthday. I will blog about this later.

Alive KL
I did not take any pictures here. Well, to be honest, I don't quite like it here because it's too crowded for me. Ah, I'm getting too old for this. The band is good though and the guys and the girls are quite pretty.

Ryan's Birthday @ Prime, Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur

On September 21st, I celebrated Ryan's birthday at Prime, Le Meridien Hotel Kuala Lumpur. I've heard so much about this place and it was also voted Best Steak House in Time Out KL Food Awards 2010, so I decided to give this restaurant a try.

I made my reservation online and on the same day, a lady called me to reconfirm (she mispronounced my name though *click here*).

What I liked from my dining experience at Prime:

• The bread and the 3 different kinds of butter.
• Lobster Bisque - we ordered 1 to share and they split it into 2 bowls for us.
• The steak - Sorry I forgot what I ordered but it was good. Better than Ryan's wagyu.
• Red wine - Sorry again, I forgot which wine I ordered.
• They actually took note that I was celebrating Ryan's birthday that night and they surprised him with a slice of cake with a candle lighted up toward the end of our dinner. I was surprised. The cake was yummy too.

What I didn't like:

• Service was slow although the waiters/waitresses were running around. It was hard for us to call them. Understaffed?
• We waited for almost an hour for our main course. Luckily our main was not a disappointment or else, I'mma kill them! Lol.

The old boy with his yummy birthday cake

It wasn't the best fine-dining experience for me but most importantly, Ryan's happy.

Total damage was MYR518.50.

Singapore

A few weeks ago, Ryan and I went on a 6D 5N cruise on Superstar Virgo that departs from Singapore. So, we spent one night in Singapore before and after the cruise. Some highlights and lowlights of our stay in Singapore as follow:

Hard Rock Hotel, Singapore (Sentosa Island)
We stayed here for one night before the cruise. We bought a 2D 1N package for MYR1300 that includes:

• One night stay in Hard Rock Hotel
  
• Breakfast for two
  
• Two one-day adult passes to Universal Studios Singapore
• Complimentary welcome drinks for two

I don't know why we were given a smoking room but I guess maybe that's because I did not specifically request for a non-smoking room. Note to self - always remember to request for a non-smoking room. What happened was, the moment we opened our room door, we were greeted with a very strong smell of cigarette. I felt like we walked into an ashtray. The air in the room was very stale. The worst part was that there's no window in the room. So we couldn't really let fresh air in.

I was so tired that night but I couldn't sleep well. I kept waking up because of our noisy neighbour. They must be a bunch of college kids playing cards and drinking in the room and they laughed so loud on and off it drove me crazy. The hotel room wall must be really thin. Nevertheless, the furnishings and the layout of the room is quite tasteful. The only thing is they should provide a rack for the guests to place their shampoo, body shower and etc in the shower.


Our smelly room


A bokeh picture I took with Ryan's camera

Tanjong Beach Club, Sentosa
We met up with Denny and Stephanie in Tanjung Beach Club. Tanjong Beach Club is a bar and cafe located along Tanjong Beach in Sentosa Island. It's supposed to be a nice place from all the pictures of the bar I googled but the weather was horrible that day. It was drizzling. I hate going to a beach bar in that kind of weather.

Catching up with Denny and Stephanie was good. The last time we met was during our Beijing reunion in Bali in December 2010.


With Denny & Stephanie

Universal Studios Singapore
We went to USS the next day. We had a full-day pass but we had to check-in to our cruise by 4pm. So we left at 2pm. Well, USS was fun! We reconnected with our inner child in there.


Universal Studio
(Picture taken with my iPhone)


I'm going to far far away


That's my castle
(Picture taken with my iPhone)


And I found my Shrek


Ooooh roller coasters!
(Picture taken with my iPhone)

Shopping
We went shopping at this new mall called Ion in Orchard. We weren't aimlessly shopping though. My mission was to go to Muji Store and knocked myself out. When is Muji coming to KL?! Can't believe they have it in Indonesia and Singapore but not KL. Grrr!

Also, went to Isetan next to Takashimaya to get Fancl products for Jess. I bought myself something nice too. Sweet!

We wanted to check out H&M but OH MY LORD...the QUEUE was so long we dropped that idea. But really...SERIOUSLY? People actually queue like that for H&M? Hehehe.

Sands SkyPark @ Marina Bay Sands
The reason we were here because we haven't been here before and Ryan wanted to take pictures. Ku De Ta Singapore is located here. I still prefer the Ku De Ta in Bali. Oh, just thinking about it made me want to go back to Bali. I think Bali is the place I really don't mind visiting again and again.


The view from Sands SkyPark

Hooters @ Clarke Quay
I actually like the food here. Can't remember what we had for our main but the following is the appetizers:


Fresh oysters


Snow crab legs


Clarke Quay

V Hotel Lavender, Singapore
This is the hotel we stayed for one night after our cruise. Apart from the hotel conveniently located directly above Lavender MRT Station, everything else was bad. I had a very bad night here.

First of all, the room is small but that's okay as we only needed a place to sleep for one night. The shower drain wasn't draining water fast enough and that flooded the dry area of the toilet. The AC was blowing out warm air instead of cool air. After complaining, a technician came to our room to adjust the temperature. He set the temperature to the lowest but only a very slight improvement. I couldn't sleep well throughout the night because I was sweating and the room was stuffy. So, no more V Hotel Lavender for me.


***All photos are photographed by Ryan Chew unless stated otherwise.

Jarrod & Rawlins Fried Breakfast

I woke up really late one day because of excessive partying the night before during the holidays last week. I was craving for a hearty "breakfast" and so Ryan and I went to Sri Hartamas to hunt for food. We were thinking of Japanese or Korean but, by the time we got there around 2.30PM, all the restaurants were closed.

So we ended up in Jarrod & Rawlins. I think they're awesome because they serve breakfast all day long so you don't have to drag your ass out of bed early in the morning. Well, obviously I ordered their fried breakfast set.

J&R's fried breakfast consists of two eggs, one sausage, bacon, grilled tomato, hash brown, toast bread, orange juice and coffee or tea. I just love it! I always love American breakfast and now I know where to have a good one whenever I'm lazy to cook one.


Jarrod & Rawlins Fried Breakfast - RM28

Can you spot something funny in this picture?

Raya Merdeka

It was a quiet Merdeka this year because of Hari Raya. No fireworks and no road closure. The traffic to the city was a breeze. I like!

Jess wanted to do something so, a bunch of us went to The View Rooftop Bar at G Tower to chill. There were eight of us. I brought Ryan and my cousin, Edmund. Ryan asked his friend, Alvin, to join us as well. Jess came with Sean and her two ex-colleagues, Pei Yuen and Fiona.

We bought a Merdeka package at RM688++. The package includes 12 test tube punch, 1 bottle of Mumm Champagne, 1 bottle of Absolute Vodka Blue and 4 tapas snack. We didn't have enough so we bought another 2 more bottles of JD Whiskey. We did not finish the last one because everyone was so high towards the end of the night. We had loads of fun nevertheless. Happy times!

Time Out KL Mixology Workshop @ The View Rooftop Bar, G Tower

I have won a cocktail workshop for 2 from @TimeOutKL. It was held at The View Rooftop Bar at G Tower. So, I brought Ryan along and we had a great time. The venue was awesome. It's definitely a nice place to chill.


Waiting for the workshop to start

The workshop started at 3pm. As we walked in, there was a strong smell of alcohol in the room. For those who can't take alcohol, I can assure you he/she will definitely faint from breathing in those fumes. =D

This workshop taught us how to make 4 kinds of cocktail with tequila. It's fantastic because I like tequila. The tequila that we used is 1800 Anejo which was aged in French Oak barrels for 3 years. 1800 Tequila is a brand of tequila owned by the Beckmann Family, who also own the Jose Cuervo brand. 1800 Tequila is a 100% Blue Agave Tequila and bottled in Jalisco, Mexico.


Our working area


Squeeze the lime


Ben, the one who conducted the workshop


Margarita


El Diablo - This won us a prize for being the best tasting


Mexican Julep


Sangrita - We did not make this but the recipe was given to us
If you like Bloody Mary, you'll love this


Our prizes

As you know, this was a cocktail workshop, definitely there was a lot of drinking during the process. I think most of us came out tipsy after the workshop. Haha! Well, I had fun.