Lovely ambience but food-wise...not so wise...

I couldn't believe that I was not aware of this place in 1U until I heard it from my good friend.
Well, guess I seldom walk through these alleys or it's been a while since I have done my shopping in 1U?
Either way, I was awed by the LOVELY, and I mean really lovely/awesome/wonderful/serene, etc...all the adjectives I could use to describe the settings of this little restaurant tucked away in the corner of the new wing on the ground floor.


It feels like a homely garden and to a certain extent, it even reminds me of the gardens in Babylon..LOL!



Even the lighting is just so soft and it all makes the ambience LOVELY! (this must be the highest number of times I have used the word Lovely in one article =P )

If you are interested in their designs/ensemble, you can choose to purchase their flowers, pots, vases, etc.

However, they don't come cheap...or at least to me =)

On the table where I was seated, there is lovely pot of lavenders


All the lovely atmosphere makes me go awwwww so much that I almost forgot about the food and anyway, the food along with the ambience, should make this a memorable meal, right?

The prices of their set lunches are reasonable; estimated around RM14.90++ onwards and each comes with a drink (choice of Iced Lemon tea or Coffee/Tea) and a soup.

The Iced Lemon tea came in a unique little jug like this. I thought it was something like the Fruit cocktail served in Winter Warmers when I saw these being served to other tables earlier.


The soup of the day was tomato broth

It was really diluted; even for a non-soup fan like myself and I find myself wondering, is this really tomato-based?

Next comes the food...
My classmate ordered the Black Pepper Chicken cutlet

It looks pretty good although the portion is just not proportionate to the size of the plate.
Taste-wise, I think he said it was on the average

As for my other classmate and me, we both ordered the Butter Lemon Fish which was basically dory fish fillets as expected
What we didn't expect was this...

We both asked for the sauce to be served separately and erm....this definitely does not look appetizing to me at all, nice ambience or not!
No amount of soft lighting is going to hide the fact that this looks like chunks of stuffs being served to your pet!



Needless to say, I was totally disappointed in the quality of the food served here...and even though the ambience is really nice, I doubt I will really go back for the food.
What say you?

Fried snacks, desserts and a short story - Finale for Tenji

(Continued from previous post...)

Finally, the last part of the Tenji Japanese buffet spread (I had to separate them into several posts so that the pictures can load nicely and there will be no complaints of slow loading of the blog post =P )

After a wholesome meal (and a very cholesterol-filled one too), Tenji also graces the buffet spread with an array of tempting light snacks and of course, (not-so) sinful desserts

Some fried anchovies with sesame seeds and groundnuts (I think)

The fried stuffs section

(The lighting at this area was kinda annoying to the eyes; not to mention the camera!)

A unique variant of the fried Mochi



Japanese just can't seem to get enough of fish ya!! (I am so with them on this =)



There's even Pie Tee...tee hee hee! =)


To the (western) desserts counter, where you will be spoilt for choices by the colorful variety on display


Feast your eyes on this; the lovely cakes and even konnyaku jellies!! =)








I didn't get to taste every single one of them of course; I was stuffed by then.
Furthermore, I was annoyed with the couple sitting next to my table (remember how I mentioned that our tables were placed so closely to each other that it makes me feel uncomfortable and stripped off my deserving privacy?)

Well, to make matters worse, I was sat next to such an annoying couple!
First of all, the lady was initially speaking in Mandarin to her boyfriend and then she kept stealing glances over at my table whenever we come back with food or whenever there is any new plate or stuffs placed on our table.
Then, the most annoying part, she would pass comments like we weren't there.
She even eavesdrop on our conversation and when she heard us speaking in English to each other, she started switching to English to speak to her boyfriend.

I guess the bf seems lost because he kept switching back to Mandarin with her *rolls eyes*

She even fakes a high-pitched voice (acting cute I guess) when she talks.
Each time a plate or new food is placed on our table, she would make no effort in hiding the fact that she is peering (or PORING) over our food and then she would say to her boyfriend in a not-so-low-tone,
"Oh, dear, how come we didn't go and order the steamed fish ya?" (when our steamed fish arrives)
"Did we forget to get fruit juices? I am not sure whether I want some or not..." (when our fresh juices are placed)
"Oooh, we missed the tong sui ar?" (when we have the small bowl of tong sui on the table; imagine, she could see into the bowl and know that it was tong sui and not boiled soup or soba, now you tell me she isn't poring?)
And the list goes on, I think you get the idea....
Don't you think that is just plain ANNOYING after a while? It's like someone is checking on you ALL the time...and imagine, how could I enjoy my meal in peace when she kept talking like that? UGHS!
SOME PEOPLE just have no idea how irritating they are...

The climax of the whole thing came...when my partner took this

Undeniably, it was a huge claw from the crab and he was tempted to try it.
Unfortunately, the poor guy did not manage to find a tool to crack the claw and gently used his fork/knife to knock against it slightly to try to crack the claw

Now, you wanna take a wild guess what our 'lovely neighbors' did?
The boyfriend passed us a hammer/tool to crack the claw and he sort of shook his head in front of us.
Then the girlfriend gave us a kind of look when I tried to smile to thank their kindness!
It was like, "These people are just so stupid" on their minds and they definitely make no effort to hide it!

WHOA...now that was definitely MEAN and uncalled for...
I totally lost my mood and appetite after that (anyway I was full too~)
It was seriously so degrading to be treated this way like we were way below them....and they think they are so great is it?

Well, thank goodness we were almost done and after a light round of sampling the desserts, we left.

That's why I seriously think that Tenji should consider improving on the placement of their tables/seats to prioritize customer's comfort and privacy.

Forget about that incident, probably I was just unlucky and brushing it aside, the buffet was quite enjoyable nevertheless


They even have private function rooms which can accommodate about 15-25 people, I think?

How I wish they had private function rooms for 2 people too...LOL!~

Eastern & Western goodies @ Tenji Japanese buffet

(Continued from previous post...)

For seafood lovers, be prepared for a feast as there are more varieties of seafood and the styles of cooking


You can choose the fish from the selection of talapia, pomfret and cod fish




You can choose to steam, fry, etc


I prefer steamed fish; and do not expect a really huge fish as it's also reasonable since you couldn't possibly stuff a big fish at a buffet (you will not be disappointed with the quality too~)





There's even a mini DIY steamboat section

They have the instructions ready for you to follow through the line

Just grab one of the little pots and dump the vegetables or any ingredients into the pot and they will help you to fill the soup into the pot







Moving towards more Oriental goodies offered are Chinese steamed dim sum



Double boiled herbal soups


There are also more varieties for the drinks besides the fruit juices and cordial drinks; you will be amazed!
Help yourself to a cup of hot tea; with the different tea to choose from



Cordial drinks and beverages



Although this is a Japanese buffet, you will also enjoy a selection of Western delights





To be continued with last part....light fried snacks and desserts...