KAMPUNGBOYCITYGAL A MALAYSIAN FOOD & TRAVEL BLOG

Gourmands celebrate the opening of Samplings on the Fourteen in Berjaya Time Square Hotel six months back. It wasn’t until recently that we finally stepped into the restaurant upon Siew Yee’s gracious invitation.

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(NON-HALAL)

CAUTION: Not for the famished/starved and the on diets with weak determination!

Time flies, one week to go and it marks the end of my internship. I feel the fleeting of every moment, deeply. Everyone asks me, “Do you know what you’re doing after graduation? I feel a little bit overwhelmed because there are so many things to be considered, the pathways are blur – to continue with master or to join the rat race and ascending the corporate?

Enough of ramblings, let’s get back to the food. It was a lunch get together for the trainees aka cheap labour in my company. With a mere few hundred of allowances, we need to get a PLZ (peng leng zheng) place. Noble House lunch buffet is perfect for corporate slave with budget who emphasize on value! The RM 39++ comes with a bowl of complementary braised shark fin with crab meat and crab roe while the RM 50++ set entitles you to a bowl of double boiled stuffed shark fin in chicken wing.

As a fast growing restaurant group with a premium reputation, specializing in Fine Cantonese Cuisine, Noble house is the third outlet of Oriental’s Group of Restaurants. Noble House is awarded as The Best Restaurant 2007 by Malaysia Tattler too.

The peking duck wrap is a sinful indulgence, just arrange the crispy and oil laden skin on a large plate and serve it with pancakes and cucumber, spring onions and hoi sin sauce.

Garoupa fish fillet with pamelo pulps is very good. The fillets were exceptionally light and crispy while the pamelo pulps and lime sauce give it a very refreshing touch.

Kampungboy loves the smoked chicken. The delicate smoke add good flavor to the meat and it still remain tender and juicy.

Siu Yuk, the crispy roast belly pork is finishing really fast. The skin is very crispy (never stale) and the meat has the perfect balance of leans and fats.

Deep Fried Goodies

Adjourn to the hot pot selection with braised duck, braised fish, bak kut teh, la mien, ipoh hor fun, etc to fill up your tummy. Other than that, my friends gave two thumbs up to the porridge selection and pan fried section with yummy goodies such as dumpling (wo tip), cheong fun, radish cake (lobak gou).

I need not to elaborate much on the food as you can read WMW’s review here and Jackson’s 2 cents over here and here. The buffet spread is a good one, not to say stunning or exceptionally good, but for the price that we pay, it was a GREAT value for money. Perfect for a family occasion or friends get together.

Obligatory pictures of our usual delicious long haired kakis just for the team. A group shot of happy gluttons with bulging tummies and contented smiles.

NOBLE HOUSE
No.19, Jalan Delima, Off Jalan Imbi, 55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel : 03- 2145 8822 Fax : 03- 2141 3822

That special day is here again, 26 August. On our anniversary I’d like to remind you how very special you are to me. You will never know how it thrills my heart every time I see you.

Over the pass three years, we’ve had our troubles and woes, but our love for each other had no attached strings. I am so very grateful for your unconditional love and support in a world full of conditions. I would like to dedicate ‘Everything’ by Michael Buble to you as the chorus matches the rhythm inside my heart so much.

And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It’s you, it’s you, You make me sing.
You’re every line, you’re every word, you’re everything.

You’re a carousel, you’re a wishing well,
And you light me up, when you ring my bell.
You’re a mystery, you’re from outer space,
You’re every minute of my everyday.

And I can’t believe, uh that I’m your man,
And I get to kiss you baby just because I can.
Whatever comes our way, ah we’ll see it through,
And you know that’s what our love can do.

Happy anniversary. Looking forward to many more years with you!

I thought that we won’t be having any celebration this year as Kampungboy needs to work on both Saturday and Sunday. I made him a simple, hearty and filling dinner on Saturday night.

I was a lousy cook back then, my cooking skill is still pathetic till now but I guess when you love food, you should know what good food should taste and you pick things up along the way. Fortunately I have that cooking card up my sleeve for when I decide to come out with something decent. Black pepper pork blade steak with a side of mashed potato, fresh poached broccoli and angel hair pasta with fresh tomato sauce was served in a jiffy once he came back. Kampungboy has always appreciated my cooking, especially the love infused dinner on our anniversary eve. LOL

It comes to my surprise that he doesn’t have to work on Sunday and I get to hung with him the whole day. Feel like stuffing ourselves up, we headed to Rakuzen at Chulan Square for a little taste of Japanese elegance. The exquisite taste of Japanese food often comes at a price but not for the buffet lunch priced at only RM 55++ per head.

The minimalist design of the interior reflects a traditional Japanese architecture. The dining space and wooden interiors appeal to those with a penchant for coziness and intimacy. It has an open concept kitchen that allows the chef to take the limelight away with all the slicing, tossing and flipping actions going on.

As starter, we order the spider maki, the crispy rendition of soft shell crab in the Spider Maki complement the rice and seaweed very well.

The miniature and reddish brown coloured octopus (chuka lidako) took some courage to eat but I found it quite delicious and not at all chewy. The thinly sliced seasoned scallop (chuka kurage) is crunchy and I love the welcoming hint of spiciness.

Our choice of taro sashimi is impeccably fresh and properly presented. The silky, custardy piping hot tofu squares in a clear soy sauce based sauce is absolutely delicious. How could I missed out my favourite, the yummy and healthy snack – Boiled green soy bean (Edamame)?

However, our assorted tempura was served lukewarm instead of pipping hot. We suspected that they made it in advance and piled them up because of the big dining crowd. It is soggy and greasy, a sign of old oil. The batter was not diaphanous but thick.

The assorted skewered grill (kushiyaki moriawase) was disappointing, they over grill the chicken, as it result in a hard and tasteless meat. I love to have my grilled chicken (yakitori) with some tare sauce (mixture of mirin, sweet sake and soy sauce) but it is not served in Rakuzen. The smelt (Shishamo) with huge egg sacs inside is utterly tasteless too. The grilled Shiitake Mushrooms is a total rip off too, dry and tasteless.

The unagi combines a rich flavor with an appetizing texture, crisp on the outside but tender on the inside. The flavour is too rich in fact, they must have splurge on the kabayaki sauce.

With a limited dessert selection, we settled for scoops of aromatic and macha ice cream and fruit platter.

The service was slow; we were informed by the serving staff that it takes longer time for the food to reach you after the first order was taken. Is it some kind of policy? Ambiance wise, Rakuzen has one of the most pleasant settings. The starter selection, sashimi selection and sushi selection was good but the same does not go to the skewered grilled item and tempura item. The quality of all you can eat buffet is not as good as ala carte. They adopt a more personal approach through their ala carte menu but it usually costs you a bomb. It actually varies across individuals, value for money or quality in food?

That special day is here again, 26 August. On our anniversary I’d like to remind you how very special you are to me. You will never know how it thrills my heart every time I see you.

Over the pass three years, we’ve had our troubles and woes, but our love for each other had no attached strings. I am so very grateful for your unconditional love and support in a world full of conditions. I would like to dedicate ‘Everything’ by Michael Buble to you as the chorus matches the rhythm inside my heart so much.

And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It’s you, it’s you, You make me sing.
You’re every line, you’re every word, you’re everything.

You’re a carousel, you’re a wishing well,
And you light me up, when you ring my bell.
You’re a mystery, you’re from outer space,
You’re every minute of my everyday.

And I can’t believe, uh that I’m your man,
And I get to kiss you baby just because I can.
Whatever comes our way, ah we’ll see it through,
And you know that’s what our love can do.

Happy anniversary. Looking forward to many more years with you!

I thought that we won’t be having any celebration this year as Kampungboy needs to work on both Saturday and Sunday. I made him a simple, hearty and filling dinner on Saturday night.

I was a lousy cook back then, my cooking skill is still pathetic till now but I guess when you love food, you should know what good food should taste and you pick things up along the way. Fortunately I have that cooking card up my sleeve for when I decide to come out with something decent. Black pepper pork blade steak with a side of mashed potato, fresh poached broccoli and angel hair pasta with fresh tomato sauce was served in a jiffy once he came back. Kampungboy has always appreciated my cooking, especially the love infused dinner on our anniversary eve. LOL

It comes to my surprise that he doesn’t have to work on Sunday and I get to hung with him the whole day. Feel like stuffing ourselves up, we headed to Rakuzen at Chulan Square for a little taste of Japanese elegance. The exquisite taste of Japanese food often comes at a price but not for the buffet lunch priced at only RM 55++ per head.

The minimalist design of the interior reflects a traditional Japanese architecture. The dining space and wooden interiors appeal to those with a penchant for coziness and intimacy. It has an open concept kitchen that allows the chef to take the limelight away with all the slicing, tossing and flipping actions going on.

As starter, we order the spider maki, the crispy rendition of soft shell crab in the Spider Maki complement the rice and seaweed very well.

The miniature and reddish brown coloured octopus (chuka lidako) took some courage to eat but I found it quite delicious and not at all chewy. The thinly sliced seasoned scallop (chuka kurage) is crunchy and I love the welcoming hint of spiciness.

Our choice of taro sashimi is impeccably fresh and properly presented. The silky, custardy piping hot tofu squares in a clear soy sauce based sauce is absolutely delicious. How could I missed out my favourite, the yummy and healthy snack – Boiled green soy bean (Edamame)?

However, our assorted tempura was served lukewarm instead of pipping hot. We suspected that they made it in advance and piled them up because of the big dining crowd. It is soggy and greasy, a sign of old oil. The batter was not diaphanous but thick.

The assorted skewered grill (kushiyaki moriawase) was disappointing, they over grill the chicken, as it result in a hard and tasteless meat. I love to have my grilled chicken (yakitori) with some tare sauce (mixture of mirin, sweet sake and soy sauce) but it is not served in Rakuzen. The smelt (Shishamo) with huge egg sacs inside is utterly tasteless too. The grilled Shiitake Mushrooms is a total rip off too, dry and tasteless.

The unagi combines a rich flavor with an appetizing texture, crisp on the outside but tender on the inside. The flavour is too rich in fact, they must have splurge on the kabayaki sauce.

With a limited dessert selection, we settled for scoops of aromatic and macha ice cream and fruit platter.

The service was slow; we were informed by the serving staff that it takes longer time for the food to reach you after the first order was taken. Is it some kind of policy? Ambiance wise, Rakuzen has one of the most pleasant settings. The starter selection, sashimi selection and sushi selection was good but the same does not go to the skewered grilled item and tempura item. The quality of all you can eat buffet is not as good as ala carte. They adopt a more personal approach through their ala carte menu but it usually costs you a bomb. It actually varies across individuals, value for money or quality in food?