Lugarno Seafood Restaurant, Lugarno, Sydney

15/02/2009 - Dinner at Lugarno Seafood Restaurant

Main:
Hot and Cold Seafood Platter for two

Side dishes:
House baked bread with olive oil and vinegar

Beverage:
A bottle of Cabernet Savignon 2000

Dessert:
2 flat white.

Total cost for 2 = $232

Ratings
Food quality = 8/10
Ambience and cleanliness = 8/10
Value for money = 8/10
Service = 8/10

Lily's Comment: Excellent.
This is our very special restaurant. We have dined here several times and never disappointed with the quality of cuisine and service provided. The restaurant is located near the lake. They have limited parking, so on a busy night, you may have to park off street.

Masuya Japanese, O'Connell Street

14/02/2009 - Dinner at Masuya Japanese Restaurant.

Entree:
Softshell crab, Rainbow Sushi, Sashimi Boat

Main:
Salmon teriyaki x 2. Rice on the side. Miso Soup
Wagyu Beef
Tempura (Seafood and Vegetables)

Beverage:
Red wine 1 glass
A bottle of sake
Ice Lemon tea

Total cost for 4 = $260

Ratings
Food quality = 7/10
Ambience and cleanliness = 7/10
Value for money = 8/10
Service = 2/10

Lily's Comment: Good
We were very disappointed with the service. It was Valentine's evening. As expected, service would be slow on a busy night like this. However, the service was extremely below standard. I reckoned there's a cut in the service headcount due to the economic slowdown. We had a booking for 8:15pm, and got our table on time. When the waitress sat us down, she only gave us 1 menu to look at. So, we had to take turns to scan thru' the menu. I had to ask for another menu twice and waited for a good 10 minutes before someone finally presented us with the second menu.

We didn't mind the long wait for the food to be served. But it's more the fact that the service was always incomplete. When the entree was served, we weren't even given the soya sauce on the little plate. We had to request for it. The soya sauce should have been served right at the start just when we sat down as per normal practice . And then they missed out on my glass of wine when the drinks were served. I had to reorder it again. Then it was Sean's turn. The three of us finished our main meal and Sean's wagyu beef was no way in sight. The captain was very apologetic when we told him about the missing main meal. We suspected that the kitchen had forgotten to cook the beef. It was the most uncomfortable dining experience for all of us, as the minimum service did not even exist. Shirley paid the bill without even leaving 10cents of tips as they did not deserve it. If this is how the service is heading, I'm sure we will not be regulars anymore. Very disappointing!

Chicken Rice at Bukit Bintang, KL

What can I say, the picture says it all. The best chicken rice (roasted or bbq) in town. The limau kasturi is the best lime drink we've ever had.

We also ordered side dishes such as been sprout with soya sauce, siamese tofu, to complement with the chicken rice which also came with a clear peanut broth/soup. Mind you, they are thrifty with the steam peanuts in the soup, I counted mine, I only had 4 peanuts.

The price is reasonable, the chicken rice set costs about RM8.90, the limau kasturi is RM3.60.

Shook, Star Hill Feast Village

Feb 2009 - Dinner at Shook

We caught up with an old school friend, Sally and had dinner at the Shook.

Sally and I shared a Chinese meal. We ordered a hot and sour soup, stir fry beef with spring onion, a szechuan prawn, a Cantonese seafood noodle, and rice. Sally had ice lemon tea and I had a teh tarik.

Kevin decided to have western, he had a beef carpacio, and steak beef with soft shell crab. He also had a campari.

Total cost for 3 = RM460

Ratings
Food quality = 10/10
Ambience and cleanliness = 10/10
Value for money = 9/10
Service = 9/10

Lily's comment: Excellent. The best fine dining restaurant I've ever been. The service staff made an effort to order my teh tarik from another nearby restaurant at the Star Hill Feast Village when it wasn't on the drink menu. It appears that expatriates like to dine here. The food quality is excellent. I had the best hot and sour soup ever! Not a fan of beef, I really enjoyed the stir fry beef with spring onion. The cantonese seafood fried noodle is so delicious, the kway teow was fried to a bit brownish which give it a little burnt taste, which is the secret to a good cantonese fried noodle. Kevin also enjoyed his cuisine very much and he was so impressed with the 6 star service provided. The menu catered for all type of cuisine, Japanese, Chinese, Western, etc. I've dined there once about 2 years ago but was not that impress with the service, I reckon it has improved.

Kampachi Japanese Restaurant, Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur

Feb 2009 - Dinner Kampachi Japanese Restaurant

We dined twice at this upmarket Japanese restaurant at the Pavilion. The Japanese cuisine that we had both times is excellent.

Entree:

Beef cappaccio, soft shell crab.

Main:

- Salmon fillet set

- Sashimi set

The combo set came with rice, miso soup, salad, japanese egg dish.

Beverage:
Japanese Tea that came in a pot

Plum Wine

Total cost for 2 = RM400

Ratings

Food quality = 8/10

Ambience and cleanliness = 7/10

Value for money = 8/10

Service = 8/10

Lily's comment: Excellent. One of the better Japanese restaurants in KL. It's upmarket and expensive, but isn't Japanese cuisine always expensive....One can also purchase the various types of Japanese tea to take home. I felt that my first visit was better than the second time. I like the fact that you don't have to dress smart to dine here. You get away with just thongs and shorts.

Angus Steak House Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur

Feb 2009 - Dinner at Angus Steak House

Kuala Lumpur the city where you can always find fine dining. It was nearly 10 pm when we walked into the Angus Steak House at the Pavilion. The well manered captain said that the last order was in 5 mins time. Not wasting anymore time, we were ushered to a private corner station, there were only two tables occupied at that time.

Entree

I was still full from the nibblys at the cocktail, so I did not have any entree. Kevin ordered the dinner set which came with 3 types of entrees, the cheese balls, soup and salad.

Main

Kevin had the steak and I ordered the seafood grill.

Dessert

Kevin's set dinner came with a cheese cake.

Drinks

Kevin had the virgin mary mocktail, and I had the ice lemon tea.

Total cost for 2 = RM270

Ratings

Food quality = 8/10

Ambience and cleanliness = 8/10

Value for money = 8/10

Service = 9/10.

Lily's comment: Excellent. It's like French dining. All the waiters and service staff were properly attired in black and white. My seafood grill which comprised of prawn, cuttlefish and scallop were grilled to perfection. Kevin's steak was juicy and excellent! Despite dining at the late hours, the cook did not deter the standard of the cuisine.

Top Dining Spots in Kuala Lumpur

I highly recommend these restaurants in Kuala Lumpur.

- Angus Steak House, Pavilion. Kevin had the steak set and I had the seafood grill.
- Kampachi Japanese Restaurant, Pavilion. We dined there twice. Up market Japanese cuisine.
- Shook at Star Hill Feast Village. Expensive but quality cuisine and good service.
- Tea House at Star Hill Feast Village. Dim Sum or Yum Cha place.
- Society Cafe at Lot 10 for various Malaysian local cuisine.
- Bukit Bintang Chicken Rice. You must try the limau kasturi - I reckon it is the best lime juice drink in KL.
- SzeChuan Restaurant at Park Royal Hotel.