KAMPUNGBOYCITYGAL A MALAYSIAN FOOD & TRAVEL BLOG

Lotus Root with Fish Paste

Grand Imperial is one of my favourite dim sum place in KL; you’ll see us stuffing ourselves silly with dim sum when the pay cheque’s out. During days when moolah runs low, we’ll resort to our favourite neighbourhood dim sum restaurant Jin Xuan.

My colleagues have raved about the food, and one of them chose to have his wedding reception here! We took their words for it and dropped by one morning. There was no turning back ever since. Usually we are here early to enjoy a quiet morning sipping Chinese tea and reading newspaper, just before the crazy crowd, otherwise known as the lunch crowd, comes in.

Lotus Root with Fish Paste. We were all enticed by the name so I put a big tick on the order sheet. I love the crunchy texture of the lotus root. The fish paste was really smooth and springy too.

The gun tong gao 灌汤饺 (RM12) is probably one of the most expensive dim sum item in the menu but it was worth every single cents. The huge dumpling was filled with a generous amount of pork meat, shark fin stripes and dried scallops. The soup was so clear and so sweet that it’s almost like a sin if you can’t finish em’ all.

Xiao Long Bao 小龙包. The broth within was sweet and flavorful but the skin was too thick for my liking.
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Alexis Bistro & Wine Bar, a place that has been blogged to death. Beautiful cakes, extensive wine list, jazz performances; there isn’t any reason to hate Alexis though. I just realized that I have not written anything about this uber cool place despite having numerous tea sessions here.

Thanks to MAS, we had a great buka puasa session one week before Hari Raya with the presence of Red Mummy and Iza. Red Mummy is cute and bubbly as usual, in contrast to Iza’s usual quiet self. :p

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Bangsar Seafood Garden Restaurant, a stunning and lavish seafood restaurant that has been one of the number one stops in the city for over a decade for gourmet food lovers. Thanks to Jade for inviting us, Ivy and Vkeong over for a night filled with food and laughter.

If you’re looking for a great ambiance while digging in for food, you couldn’t do any better than BSGR. The restaurant comprises a high-ceiling floor with serene water features that create an unique dining experience.

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Awareness towards healthy eating is growing and I often find myself torn – to be a granola-eating idealist or of just screw it, eat everything? As time goes by, I do realize that the same old universally applicable principles of variety, moderation and balance still work no matter what. So, here I am, alternating from one to another and most importantly, enjoy my food!

However, KampungBoy is very skeptical towards anything “healthy” or “organic”. He can’t stop rolling his eyes inwardly when I suggested lunch at Yogitree. Sigh, men and their carnivorous gluttony.

Tucked at a corner near to Isetan’s departmental store, Yogitree has never failed to caught my eyes. Mismatched furniture in a uniform color tone, chalk blackboard with specials written all over it, gorgeous cake showcase – these items blend in with the entire restaurant’s soothing atmosphere.

Yogitree emphasize on going back to basic cooking and the use of fresh, natural and largely organic ingredients. They also boast daily blackboard specials that will make your mouth water! On another side of the restaurant, there is this yoga specialty shop where yoga fanatics can find themselves busy picking and buying attires and equipments over here.

I spotted some other interesting items with Asian flavors such as hainanese chicken rice (with brown rice and organic chicken, can you imagine?) and nasi lemak where most the expats around us were having. It does make an excuse for a revisit, no?

Here’s some fruit juices to start our day! Simple and unpretentious, the fresh watermelon juice has a clean fresh taste to it.

Here comes the Full English Breakfast (RM 25) that comes with bacon, chicken sausage, organic eggs, organic home made baked beans, mushrooms, toast, fresh juice, coffee or tea. The portion isn’t exactly big, but just nice for a satisfying brunch. I thought the home made chicken sausage is so tasty and would be a great deal less fat than regular sausages. Compared to canned baked beans, our home made baked beans are considerably tangier and the beans are firm. Those baked beans were cooked from scratch and it sounds so intimidating to us (given up hopes to replicate it at home!)

KampungBoy secretly loves it because he stops offering me his food after I took a small bite on everything.

Quiche Lorraine with Bacon (RM 15). Even if it is ridiculously expensive at such small serving portion, I love it to every bit. It was creamy, rich and flavorful with tiny strips of bacons here and there.

Famous for their desserts that use real butter and organic flour, you definitely want to leave room for that wonderful homemade cakes/pies – churned right there! Our Pure Chocolate Truffle Torte (RM 12) is excellent, dense and moist but not cloyingly sweet. KampungBoy ended up having more of it than me!

Cute lil Girl – not for sales

All in all, Yogitree is a very charming, relaxing restaurant with excellent food so go with an empty stomach because you will leave with you belt open. It has totally changed KampungBoy’s perception towards healthy eating too. Healthy food can be as mouthwatering as creamy pasta or a sumptuous pork burger if it is done the right way.

The Yogitree
F-237B, Level 1,
The Gardens, Midvalley City,
Kuala Lumpur.
Contact: 03-2282 6213 | Opening Hours: 10 am –10 pm daily

 

To celebrate a friend’s birthday, we decided to splurge on some hearty Chinese food. The choice is rather obvious because we chose to meet at Mid Valley, which house the two of the outlets from Crystal Jade Restaurant chain in Malaysia – Amuleto & Crystal Jade Restaurant. Crystal Jade has been expanding. Other than the existing outlets – Crystal Jade Lai Mian at Lot 10 and C-Jade Express in Mid Valley Megamall, we now have Crystal Jade Kitchen & C Jade Meal 3 at Pavilion too.

Each restaurant carries different concept and serves different kind of food. Crystal Jade Restaurant at the Gardens is beautiful and swanky where one will be immediately be struck by the impressive interior upon entry – fitted with wood paneled walls, red velvet chairs, and rows of red terracotta warriors displayed low-key music in the background.

 

 

Since the restaurant is fully seated by the time we arrived, the seven of us were led into one of their private dining room with magnificent view overlooking mid valley city.

Feeling rather famished and greedy, we ordered two dinner sets for four. The serving portion is just nice for us to taste a little bit of everything.

 

 

Special Four Person Set Meal (RM 208.00)

Roasted Pi Pa Duck in Hot Plate – It is called Pipa Duck because of the resemblance of the butterfly cut to a pipa (Chinese music instrument). The skin is crispy and the meat is very tender and juicy, only to be spoiled by the overly salty gravy.

 

 

Double Boiled Watercress Soup – Slow cooked for hours, the hearty watercress soup makes a great tummy warmer.

 

 

Three Cup Chicken – Served in a piping hot stone bowl, it is very aromatic, with abundant amount of Thai basil and ginger. The gravy (made of soy sauce, rice wine and sesame oil, 1 cup each) is great to be eaten with rice.

 

 

Deep Fried Prawn with Butter and Cereal – The shells of the prawn can be eaten as it’s fried to crisp! The prawns were fresh, firm to the bite and sweet, which was well-complemented by slight sweetness of the cereal.

 

 

Steamed Egg Plant with Shrimp – A simple dish as such as done perfectly. The delicate and silky egg plant has soaked up the delicious gravy, and the flavor permeate the dish.

 

 

Fried Rice in Assorted Grain in Hot Stone – The fried rice is lack of a hint of wok hei to make it tasty. The guys, who were skeptical towards anything organic, do not enjoy the assorted grain.

 

 

Almond Cream – The Chinese almond dessert is smooth and milky, giving a perfect ending to our meal.  

 

 

Premium Four Person Set Meal (RM 318.00)

Crystal Jade Roasted Duck – The roasted duck is nothing to shout about with its not so crispy skin and lean meat.

 

 

Braised Sharkfin with Seafood and Bamboo Pith – it was flavourful and rich, with spot on taste. Bamboo pith provided the crunch in this sweetish-savoury soup.

 

 

Pan Fried Stuffed Vegetables in Hot Stone – Most of the stuffing were very generous and it was quite a delight eating the fresh and bouncy fish paste by itself.

 

 

Steamed Soon Hock in Preserved Vegetables – Fresh from the tank, the meat is lean and moist with a mild flavor. The topping of preserved vegetable make it promisingly delicious.

 

 

Braised Seasonal Vegetables with Assorted Mushroom and Shrimp Roe – The vegetables are cooked just nice with a nice crunch, while the assorted mushroom and shrimp roe make the dish “glam”.

 

 

Birthday Noodles – A symbol of longevity in Chinese culture, it is a must for us to order the birthday noodles for the birthday boy. The noodles are awful though, mushy in texture and bland in taste.

 

 

Chinese Herbal Jelly with Mango & Pamelo – The jelly has a mild herbal taste but thank god that the mango puree and pamelo are added to make it palatable.

 

 

The Auditors

 

Happy Birthday to Jeff! Wishing you all the best on your future undertakings!

The total bill comes close to RM 600++. With most of the food is tasty (but not earth-shattering) and excellent services, this is a great place to take guests, visitors or a date, or just a fine restaurant to choose when you have a craving for Chinese food. Just be ready to spend a fortune!

 

Crystal Jade Restaurant
Lot T 210
3rd Floor
The Gardens
Mid Valley City
Kuala Lumpur
Tel No: 03 – 2283 3129
(Non Halal)