Dining with an Oriental Touch at Grand Harbour

(I apologize for the lack of updates in the month of August, things have just been crazy!)
Anyway, I am finally back with my posts....

Grand Harbour is a Chinese restaurant which I have tried a year ago, for the first time in their outlet in the heart of KL city. I was delighted to hear they have expanded to more outlets with one of them being in the ever busy and happening Mid Valley Megamall.



The restaurant's interior design revolves around the clean Oriental concept, focusing on brightly lit rooms and an open view of the cooking area, as diners could enjoy watching the chefs in action, preparing the food.



Typical of Chinese restaurants, round tables and bustling crowds along with their waiters amidst the cooking aroma are also synonymous with this one; a place famous for their wide Chinese varieties, ranging from dim sum, noodles, rice, home-styled dishes and even desserts and pastries.



The concept of the restaurant is centered on the Hongkie-style of offering; and it is interesting to note the eclectic mix on their menu. It is not odd to find simple fare typically found in an ordinary Hongkie coffee shop or stall; such as Milk Tea, polo (pineapple) buns, steamed buns, to the average and fancy dishes to entice the taste buds of their eager diners.

Iced Hong Kong Milk-Tea (MYR4.90) is ordinary with the light taste of the familiar combination for the Char Chan Teng (Hong Kong style of cafes - as commonly referred to among the local Hongkies) regular goers.

Crispy Shrimp Rice Roll (MYR9.30) is one of my personal favorites; with the unique rice roll (just like chee cheong fun with a slightly thicker texture) wrapping a mix of fresh shrimps and vegetables, layered with a thin crisp in between, this is a real winner and one of the unique, not to mention tantalizing treat I have tasted.


Lightly drizzled with soy sauce to add to the rounded taste of the dish, this is appetizing and delightful to start or to enjoy as a side.




Stir Fried Noodles with Fresh Water Prawns/Sang Har Meen (MYR28.80) is another enticing dish to enjoy and the portion is enough to serve two. While moderately sized, the quality of the dish is not compromised; in fact, it was even better with the retention of the freshness of the prawns which are succulent additions to the juicy vegetables, making them a perfect complement to the enjoyable crispy and intermittent soft texture of the fried noodles.
The gravy was kept to a light starchy texture, and just the way I like it (it would be a spoiler if it were to be thickened with the starch)






End the meal with a simple treat from their selection of many sweet temptations; which could lead one to an indecisive time, but I was all set to pick my very own choice.

Sweet Osmanthus Cake (MYR5.80) was true to its name; sweet tasting solidified jelly with the osmanthus flower bits in between bites, though the sweetness of the cake was definitely slightly heightened than usual, or at least to my personal liking.



Still, I have always had this fondness for osmanthus flowers; be it tea or this unique dessert, which can be quite a rare find, I would definitely set my eyes on it upon spotting it in any menu selection (since it is rather rare!). However, if the sweetness was slightly tuned to a more acceptable level, it would definitely be perfect for me :-)






These are just the few dishes I have tried on my visit, and I am looking forward to more on my next.
It would be best to make reservations on weekends or public holidays as the place tends to fill up with the bustling crowds, and the waiters could also speed up a little in terms to attending to their guests as well.

It's great to have another restaurant to add to the list to satisfy my occasional Hongkie food cravings, and with varieties like these, I am all in!

Next UP! Spicy Pomelo Salad

Malaysians are a spicy lot, and I mean it with a zest! If you have noticed, most of the local Malaysian cuisines have been heavily influenced with the use of spices and can range from mild to the type that can send one jumping off the chair; or shooting off to the skies (literally so).
It is also a blessing that our cuisines have assimilated into the variety of flavors borne from the intermarrying trends of the multi-racial culture we have in the country; yet at the same time uniquely distinguished to reflect each of their own identity.
That being said, it does not mean that all Malaysians are immune to the spicy tastes in the flavors of their food; there are always exceptions (like myself, humbly so), and it is only fair to say that hot and spicy is no longer an exotic trend in the country but rather, a norm infused with the everyday dishes served at the table.
Some, as I know, don't go by without one spicy food (at minimum) a day and some even proclaim that they breathe 'spicy food', such was the importance of these spicy food in the local cuisines here.

With such a huge population lusting after the spicy cuisines, it is not surprising to see many eateries popping up to serve their very own homemade dishes to tempt the cravings of the hungry patrons, and especially popular is the cuisine from our neighboring country; Thailand. It is really a familiar face to spot in our local eateries; Thai themed restaurants are just making their homes here, with the warm welcome from our fellow countrymen and it is no wonder too, with their tantalizingly tasty (and spicy) food which just warms our souls (oh ya, warm to the max!)

Spotted a side stall or a rather humble abode of this Thai restaurant; which was running more on a fast food mode of operation and just my kind of place for lunch with my parents while beating the crazy crowd at the ever busy Gardens mall on a typical weekend.






Tomyam noodles - choice of hor fun (smooth flat rice noodles)





Fiery colored and the hor fun was smooth; paired with the flavorful tastes from the tomyam soup and the generous servings of fresh shrimps, squids and oyster mushrooms, this was a delightful bowl of comfort - especially on rainy days.

Green curry with roasted chicken rice



Fried Fish cakes


The highlight of the post is this following dish which took me by surprise; as I was quite intrigued by the sound of it when I saw it on the menu.
While most Thai restaurants serve the signature mango salad and raw papaya salad, I was surprised that this outlet offers one more on the list; pomelo salad.



While it was rather pricey, the taste from this refreshing mix of the citrus fruit with fried shallots and grounded nuts with lime was just appetizing! Somehow I love the combination :-)
(Forgive the sudden appearance of the prawn; it was from the tomyam soup and it just ended up looking so forlorn there. It may have lost its way and ended up in the wrong place. Hey prawn, go back to your bowl of tomyam soup so you may swim, you're not supposed to be on land, let alone next to a hill!)

I would love to try to make this at home someday; while I can't really cook yet (yes, still), salads are still manageable - so share with me any good (and please make them easy) recipes for salads ;-)

This made me crave for pomelo, and sent me pomelo hunting for weeks!~
I have had my pomelo fix, thank goodness though I would never refuse a good share of pomelo fruit again if any!

Shakes, crushes and hot from the kitchen

A place for chilling out, with a good cuppa; be it tea or coffee or juices in a cosy and warm ambiance is all the rage is about these days for almost everyone of all ages.

This left little to wonder on the reasons behind the rising number of quaint little cafes popping up all over the country (or anywhere in the world) - to serve the very purpose to satisfy the cravings of the many leisure hunters or just the typical folks looking forward to a place to unwind and relax after a long day at work.

While many cafes are competing to outdo each other with their interior design, menus, privileges, etc, there are still those few evergreen cafes which withstood the test of time and trend and remains on the spot of the list of undying cafes in the midst of the rapid development. 

I have my list of my personal favorites, of course, which remains in my stash of local haunts and chains, which is always shared and revealed in my blogs *winks*

One such place, in my list, perfect for whole day dining and just hanging out, is this cafe which hailed from the Land of Down Under; Dome Cafe.

Originally from Perth, this was a cosy little place which opened their doors in our humble turf here in the tropical country in Malaysia way back in the year 1995; making it almost a decade since their first presence here in our region. Well, it was in Perth where I rekindled my love for this cafe for their gorgeous pastries were just too tasty and there is just something about the ambiance that makes me feel at home.

(Think, a good book with a good muffin and cup of tea or juice - since I don't do coffee, lol)

I have even sat in a quiet corner to finish up some work and had my late lunch at the same time; rather rare for me, as I never did like the idea of eating alone but that idea just did not bother me when I was here.

I am not sponsored by Dome's in any way, to write this post, and I am not going to continue to sing my praises in a form of advertisement on this post either or it is going to end up sounding so commercialized when I am supposed to share on the food, and oh well, a little of my personal sentiments and memories of this Australian cafe.

There's all-day breakfast menu if you are a big fan of big breakfasts; loaded with all ham, cheese, eggs, bacon and pancakes. Or there are also sandwiches to bite from; or a more filling option with their fillers.

If you are into usual treats from the kitchen, well, there are options from pasta to cutlets and even fusion served hot right from their kitchen; such as this,
Spicy Chicken and Mushroom Pasta

Medium-sized chunks of chicken tossed with sliced button mushrooms served with their, oh, mushroom sauce which was a tad bit spicy and you can opt for either linguine or spaghetti. In this case, it was obviously spaghetti. Quite a handful, I must say, of the portion.

If rice is more of your thing, there's a few options and the Catch of the Day, with the sight of creamy hollandaise sauce with prawns and the buttered rice, topped with sauteed vegetables and a fish fillet grilled then served with cajun spices might just do the trick to tempt your palates.



If food isn't really on your mind, then the drinks might be of your interest.
If you are a non-caffeine lover like us, then you can try the options from their juicy treats.

Apple Crush
One of my personal favorites whenever I am here; loved the icy taste with the sweetness from the red apples, not to mention the fragrant taste of the apples?



Or for a smooth and creamy health boost, the Banana Shake sounds interesting?
(It depends if you are really, a banana fan, for it is really all bananas in this drink... :-)


What is your idea of a simple and relaxing meal?
What is your favorite place to chill out?

Another Tong Pak Fu Dessert House

 I came to know of another Tong Pak Fu dessert house in Mid Valley Megamall, which sells Taiwanese ice desserts as well. However, though this Tong Pak Fu in Penang and the one I am about to blog in this post only share the same name and centered on Taiwanese desserts and the connection ends there.
They are not the same nor are their menu/desserts the same either.


After lunch at The Gardens in my previous post, we wandered around and stumbled upon this place or rather, I was introduced to this place which everyone wanted to try after our experience with the dessert house in Penang (read about my first visit here)
Flipping through the menu, I knew then that this is totally different from the one in Penang; as for one, most of their desserts revolve around the theme of mango, and even durians (good news for mango and durian lovers, sorry, durians just ain't for me).

It was really crowded at that time; well, almost everywhere is crowded in the metropolitan city on weekends anyway and for the second time that day, I had to wait to be seated.
Thankfully it was not that long of a wait, as we were quickly ushered to our table.

Simple and clean interior of the shop which is almost similar to an IKEA showroom :-P




We ordered our desserts from the menu, and it was a plus point that they mentioned the waiting time for some of the desserts (which probably required more time to prepare) to let the customers know ahead of time. There are many desserts, besides just mango-themed alone and they even have the traditional hot desserts and also double boiled nutritious desserts for the beauty-conscious :-)

There were many varieties and it seemed that they were also famous for their snow ice which kind of attracted my attention from the many orders at the other tables.

Mango Snow Ice (MYR8.80)

The snow ice looked like they were layered crepes lying atop each other and it was indeed a delightful sight (or at least, it was for me:)
Served with chewy QQ balls and aloe vera, I think, and it melted quite soon, but hey, this is a tropical country and our room temperatures can be quite high too.

Look, it's melting!


Tiramisu (MYR9.80)


Yes, I was extremely interested in the strawberry grazing the top of the tiramisu :-P




Another snow ice ordered by me; Matcha Green Tea Snow Ice (MYR8.80)
Yes, I just love the combination of green tea and red bean with ice very much, and I was curious if this would be as good as their ice blended drink.


Melting fast too in our room temperature, and I was just so anxious whether it would just melt or crumble all over the plate and make a mess on the table, haha :-D




Chilled Mango Sago Creme with Pomelo (MYR8.80)
You could choose for it to be served either in a bowl or a cup, and I clearly remembered hubby requesting for this to be served in a cup, and it came in a bowl!



Sighs, and I clearly remembered stating/repeating that we wanted a cup when we made our order, oh well.



A Western Dessert this is; Mango Napoleon with Vanilla Ice-Cream (MYR10.80)
(This required 15 minutes for the preparation as stated in the menu)



This seems to be a rather popular place among the young and the old, and I can see the growing trend of dessert houses like these; particularly popularizing the concept of Taiwanese desserts.
Prices can be quite steep, or at least it is to me and the portions are alright.

It is not really fair to compare the two Tong Pak Fu as they serve totally different things, but personally, I would vote for the one in Penang as their desserts suit my preferences more.
What say you?

A sweet post towards the weekend so that you can have a sweet and enjoyable weekend!~ :-)

Seafood platters @ Manhattan Fish Market

To celebrate my dearest mummy's birthday, we brought her to Manhattan Fish Market in Mid Valley as she is, like me, an avid fan of fish; especially fish & chips.





MFM, in conjunction with the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations during that time, was introducing new choices on their menu which adapted the local Malay tastes into their signature platters.




Since there were five of us, we have decided that it would be easier to just order those platters to share.
I guess we overestimated ourselves as Bro opted for two big platters and one side dish to share.

The sharing platters, as you know, comes with sets of soups and drinks and desserts as well.
Mushroom soup



Seafood platter (~RM49.90)

This is for about 2 pax for sharing, I think

Spice Platter (RM70.90)


There were not much difference between the two; except for the rice and the serving gravy

We topped up an additional few bucks to order the Fried Combinations at only RM5.90 (NP: RM10.90)


It consisted of deep fried mushrooms, calimari rings and prawns

Mango pudding for dessert


We were overstuffed when we were done with our meal; furthermore with the endless refills of the drinks.
The total bill costs approximately RM110++.

Manhattan Fish Market it one of the reputed best fish & chips in town in our country too; and I think everywhere too, around the world.