New Menu @ The Barn, 1 Mont Kiara , KL

The Barn has recently revamped their menu so we went back this week to check it out. On the current menu, you will find tapas + small plates, appetizers, cold cuts, sausages, burgers, meats, from the sea, pizza, pasta and even Asian favorites such bak kut teh and braised pork trotters. 

To start, we ordered the Tapas Combo Platter (RM68), which features their best-selling tapas items such as the crispy pork belly and pork satay with peanut sauce, as well as fried chicken wings, luncheon fries, deep fried button mushrooms and potato wedges. My favorite was the crispy pork belly, which was tender and flavorful with crunchy pork crackling. Other components of this platter was also nicely done - super sinful!

We were quite surprised to see Hokkien Mee (RM27) on the menu, to be honest. However, we certainly did not regret ordering this - they did a good job and it tasted pretty authentic. We could clearly see that the customers loved it too, as we saw plates after plates of Hokkien mee being served during lunch hour while we were there. The Hokkien mee here is cooked with "famous Petaling Street black sauce", with generous amount of pork lard, king prawns and squid.

One of the appetizers we tried here is the oven-baked Portobello mushroom (RM29) which was topped with bacon, tomato and oozy mozzarella cheese. Hubby liked this a lot. I saw another interesting appetizer on the menu which we didn't try this time - Kentucky Fried Frog.

We had the signature pork ribs the last time we were here, and enjoyed it. We were told that this oven-roasted baby back pork ribs (RM59) is an improved recipe. Our waiter arrives with our ribs and flambes it with some brandy before placing it on a wooden board before us. The ribs were tender and falling off the bone, however we felt that it could use a little bit more sauce. So, we requested for some extra bbq sauce and they happily obliged. The ribs are now served with roasted potatoes and vegetables as well as coleslaw.

For dessert, we had the creme brulee (RM25) served with a scoop of ice cream.The custard base was rich and creamy, however it was lacking the layer of hard caramel. Still good, though.

Latte (RM11)

You can check out my previous post here. You can also find The Barn in Gurney Plaza, Penang now .

Opening times: 12.00 noon to 12.00 midnight.


Location: The Barn, G-2, G-3 & G-26, Ground Floor, 1 Mont Kiara, No.1, Jalan Kiara, Mont Kiara 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (opposite H&M) Parking rate at 1 Mont Kiara RM2 per hour on weekdays.

Tel: +603 6211 5620

Website: http://www.thebarn.com.my/

GPS Coordinates: 3.165476, 101.652477

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Afternoon Tea @ The Lounge, Hilton KL

I've always loved afternoon teas, and when I found out I was going to have a baby girl, I told Hubby that I hope someday when my daughter is older, we could go for mother-daughter afternoon tea sessions together. And the dream is now a reality.

We enjoyed a lovely afternoon tea at The Lounge during our stay at Hilton Kuala Lumpur. The afternoon tea offerings regularly change, and during our visit, we had the "Go Green" Afternoon Tea, specially created with the recent Earth Hour in mind. Priced at RM80 nett per person, guests will enjoy a three-tier "bird cage" set, featuring delicate and beautifully made pastries, savouries as well as scones, along with a selection of TWG tea. Many of the food items were also green in colour to match the theme.

I had the Rose Garden tea, while Hubby went for the Caramel Rooibos, both which paired well with the desserts. I was very impressed with the Sweet tier; not only did these dainty morsels look beautiful, they were all pretty unique and tasted great. Some of the items were lime and cheese fusion in chocolate cup, pandan layer with a modern twist, pisctachio raspberry mille feuille and green apple tart. Chloe's favorite is the chocolate cremeux with mint panna cotta served in a cocktail glass.

The scones were also good, particularly the green tea scones, served with clotted cream and apricot jam.

From the Savoury tier, there was marinated Japanese cucumber with herb-feta spread on charcoal bread, marinated chicken verde in tortilla wrap, egg sandwich, and coriander gravlax salmon on pesto bread.

Definitely one of the best afternoon teas in KL, great tea and food paired with a relaxing ambiance.


The Afternoon Tea is available at The Lounge from 3-6pm daily.

Location: The Lounge, Lobby Level, Hilton Kuala Lumpur, 3, Jalan Stesen Sentral, Kuala Lumpur Sentral, 50470 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: +603 2264 2596

Website: www.life.hiltonkl.com

GPS Coordinates: 3.135685, 101.686524


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Dim Sum @ Chynna, Hilton KL

As we stepped into Chynna, we were greeted by their friendly staff and ushered to our table. The resident Tea Master appeared and acrobatically pours each of us a specially brewed 8-Treasure Welcome Tea through a metre-long spout from his kettle. The kids were amazed, and I dare say us parents were too although this is not our first time encountering this agile gentleman.

Open dim sum kitchen

The menu here at Chynna is a mix of Cantonese and Shanghainese cuisine with a focus on healthy eating. We decided to have dim sum, and it turned out to be a fantastic meal, filled with delicate, delicious dim sum.

We started off with the obligatory har gao and siew mai. The steamed crystal shrimp dumplings (RM21) aka har gao had beautiful translucent skin, and was filled with plump, juicy prawns and water chestnuts for a little crunch. It is often said that a good har gao is the mark for a good dim sum restaurant, in that case, top marks for Chynna.

As Chynna is pork-free, the siew mai is made with chicken and prawns, and topped with scallop and flying fish roe (RM21). This was good, and our kids requested for a second basket. I also loved the steamed Australian scallop and shrimp dumplings (RM19) - a winner in both the looks and taste department.

The Canadian cod fish topped with chopped ginger and garlic (RM33) was fresh, flaky and nicely steamed. The chopped ginger was pretty pungent and spicy, but I liked it.

We tried three fried items from the menu; the deep fried shrimp dumplings with homemade mayo, crispy rice paper rolls filled with fresh mango and shrimps and deep fried bean curd rolls with Cheddar cheese and shrimps. I like how everything was nice and crispy, without being oily and with great choice of fillings, especially the mango and shrimps combination (sweet and salty).

For desserts, our kids zeroed in on the steamed charcoal buns with salted egg yolk custard (RM17). With a touch of gold, these buns were just the way our kids liked them - with oozy, liquid salted egg yolk custard. We also had the oven-baked egg tartlets filled with custard cream (RM14) as well as the blended mango pur�e topped with vanilla ice-cream, freshly peeled pomelo and sago pearls (RM20) from the a la carte menu, which was absolutely sublime. Perfect end to the meal!

Verdict: For those looking for an exquisite dim sum experience, you should definitely check Chynna out. Everything was prepared with care and we enjoyed every morsel. 


Pork-free.

Opening times: Lunch : Mon to Fri - 12.00noon to 2.30pm; Sat & Sun - 11.00am to 2.30 pm;
Dinner : Mon to Sun - 6.30pm to 10.30pm.

Location: Chynna, Level 5, Hilton Kuala Lumpur, 3, Jalan Stesen Sentral, Kuala Lumpur Sentral, 50470 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: +603 2264 2596

Website: www.life.hiltonkl.com

GPS Coordinates: 3.135685, 101.686524


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Hotel Review: Pullman Putrajaya Lakeside (One-Bedroom Apartment)

After attending the Epic Brunch at The Village in Pullman Putrajaya Lakeside, we checked in into the 1-bedroom apartment for a night's stay with the kids. The room layout is similar to the 2-bedroom apartment that we stayed in a few years back, and comes with 1 king-sized bed, spacious bathroom, a kitchenette as well as a seating area. Room sizes range from 52-66sqm and are equipped with two LCD TVs, free internet access, 15" safe deposit box, tea and coffee making facilities, microwave oven, electric stove, and utensils.

It was a hot afternoon and we couldn't resist taking a dip n the swimming pool.Our kids sure had a great time splashing in the pool while us parents relaxed in one of the gazebos.

They also have a kids swimming pool for the younger ones

During our last visit, our kids enjoyed their time at the Kid's Club very much. Since they are much older now, we decided to check out the Games Room which had various fun games such as table football, congkak, pool tables as well as Wii games. We spent a few hours here in the evening, and returned again in the afternoon the following day as the kids enjoyed the Wii games very much. Great family bonding time, for sure:)

You can read my previous detailed review of Pullman Putrajaya Lakeside here.




Location: Pullman Putrajaya Lakeside Hotel, 2 Jalan P5/5, Presint 5, 62200 Putrajaya, Malaysia. (25 minutes drive from KL)

Tel: 03-8890 0000

GPS Coordinates: 2.900053, 101.67031

Website: http://www.pullmanputrajaya.com/



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Classic & Royal Malaysian Cuisine by Chef Wan @ Mosaic, Mandarin Oriental KL

After meeting Chef Wan in person last week as well as sampling three of his dishes at the cooking demo at Mandarin Oriental KL, we were very excited to check out his promotion this week at Mosaic. From 3 to 9 April 2016, guests will be able to sample Chef Wan's dishes, featuring Classic and Royal Malaysian cuisine for both lunch and dinner at Mosaic. There will be two rotating menus showcased during this week-long promotion.

Recognised as Tourism Malaysia's culinary ambassador and armed with an extensive knowledge on Malaysian cuisine, guests can expect a myriad of delicious dishes. We started our evening at the kerabu counter, sampling all eight kerabus on offer there. They were really good, and my favorites were the Kerabu Mee Hoon Udang Nyonya (Nyonya rice noodles and prawn salad), Nasi Ulam di Raja (Royal rice herbs salad), Paceri Nenas (pineapple chutney), as well as the Urap Nangka, Tempeh & Nenas (young jackfruit, tempeh and fresh pineapple salad) that we tried during his cooking demo.The flavours were well-balanced and everything was fresh-tasting and delicious.

Kerabu Mee Hoon Udang Nyonya

Nasi Ulam di Raja 

Kerabu Mangga, Daging Salai & Pudina (Grilled beef salad with green mango and fresh mint)

Paceri Nenas

Originating from Johor, the Nasi Bukhari Udang (Bukhari rice pilaf with prawns) was an impressive looking dish, laden with ingredients such as prawns, almonds, quail's eggs, raisins as well as various herbs and spices.

One of my favorite rice dishes of the evening was this nasi kerabu (herbed rice salad) which you can have with ayam percik (grilled spiced coconut chicken). Chef Wan's tells us that he adds in grated pineapple and mango in lieu of sugar to give sweetness to the dish.  So tasty, I had two helpings of this.

Royal Kelantan Cuisine - Ayam Percik

Another dish I couldn't get enough of was the Nasi Pulut Kuning (royal glutinous rice), a Royal Malaysian dish from the State of Selangor. The rice balls were sticky and soft, and delicious eaten with the daging putri manis. Other Royal Malaysian mains you can expect in the coming days are Kedah's Gulai Daging Kawah, Terengganu's Nasi Telor. Perak's Rendang Udang Galah, Pahang's Gulai Lemak Siput Sedut and many more.

Don't miss the mee rebus; Chef Wan proudly tells us that the recipe for his mee rebus comes from his mother, who sold this for over 30 years. The yellow noodles were served with a rich, thick gravy, along with fried shallots, beansprouts, tofu, coriander, boiled egg and chillies.

Sup Ekor Chef Wan

Feast on the various meat and seafood dishes such as the Rendang Ayam Minangkabau from Negeri Sembilan, Gulai Daging Siam, Ikan Masak Taucheo, Nyonya Gulai Udang Nenas, Udang Galah Goreng Minang and many more.

Rendang Ayam Minangkabau, with the right amount of spiciness

Gulai Pucuk Ubi Tempoyak

Nyonya Gulai Udang Nenas

For desserts, indulge in a selection of Royal desserts such as Terengganu's Nekbat (rice flour sponge soaked in jasmine syrup), Kelantan's Bauhulu di Raja and Lompat Tikam, Johor's Putri Mandi, Hasidah and Pengat Pisang, Pahang's Pudding di Raha, Kueh Telur Kancil, Kacau Keledek and Serikaya Nangka.

Hasidah - the fried shallots gave this dessert a lovely savoriness

Pudding di Raja, a dessert made with sweet bananas

Lunch is priced at RM128 nett while dinner is RM158 nett per person. For more information and dining reservations, please call 03-2179 8881 or email mokul-fb@mohg.com


Opening times: 12pm - 2.30pm (lunch) and 6.30pm - 10.30pm (dinner).

Location: Mosaic, Lobby Level, Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur City Centre, 50088 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-2179 8881

GPS Coordinates: 3.15568, 101.7120

Website: http://www.mandarinoriental.com/kualalumpur/dining/restaurants/mosaic/

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