Eat Only Lar!

Not too long ago, we went for a food review in D Legends Bar with Chris and Christine and Ai Wei following an invitation from Hans, the owner of D Legends Bar.

Located in Taman Tun Dr. Ismail, the bar was rather easy to locate. The interior was rather impressive, dim and spacious, and ventilation was very good as the air was fresh.

The neighbourhood bar has been well-known for their reasonably priced menu and delicious good food. We were intrigued to discover how their food was like that night.

We were served with Pork Satay. Priced at RM24, this bar bite was served with their home made chili peanut sauce and side salad. It was remarkably good, one of the best pork satays we have tasted so far. They placed special emphasis into making the satay itself flavourful and they were proven successful. Different from usual Malaysian satays, D Legends’ meat was thicker and it was fragrant and bursting with spices and flavours, it was so good that it can be eaten on its own!

Our second dish was the Golden Prawns priced at RM18. The prawns were dipped in batter, rolled in coconut and crumbs and deep fried until golden brown. The prawns were nice to snack on, paired with their pineapple chili padi chutney, it was flawless.

Next up was a dish not so common in Malaysia – Churros, more commonly known by the Malaysians as Spanish Yao Char Kway. Priced at RM16, these deep fried Spanish skinny doughnuts were dusted with cinnamon sugar and served with thick hot chocolate sauce. Although we have sampled better, we have to admit that their version was unique and the hot chocolate sauce was seriously addictive. A plus point would be that their Churros were not too oily too!

We were fortunate to sample Heaven is Pork Pizza. Priced at RM28, this 10 inches kitchen made thin crust pizza was made with a special masala recipe from India. It was generously topped with chicken strips, trio of capsicum, onion rings, cheddar, mozzarella and crumbled feta cheese. The grilled pork pizza was juicy and bursting with natural flavours, very cheesy and extremely delicious! We highly recommend all to try this out!

We also tried their Kickin’ Ancho Chili Chicken which was priced at RM22. The Acho chili seasoned chicken breast topped with chicken ham, BBQ sauce and melted mozzarella cheese was served with creamy mash, gravy and a dressed salad. The chicken portion was huge and it was cheesy and juicy, it was good until the last bite, we love this dish a lot too!

This was the Fried Parmesan Chicken Sandwich. Priced at RM22, this crispy chicken fillet was served with their very own buttery light brioche bun, spicy tomato pesto, wild rocket and ground parmesan. The serving came with fries and chili sauce. The size of the sandwich was huge and the chicken was thick and moist with flavours. Definitely worth a try!

Priced at RM22, the Cuban Pulled Pork Quesadillas did not fail to impress us also. The flour tortilla was stuff with tender pork shoulder, caramelised onions, melted cheese and it was served with salsa and sour cream. Similar to some of the food above, the quesadillas were juicy and cheesy, a very nice snack to go along with beer!

D Legends Bar serves various types of drinks – draft beers, bottled beers, liquor bottles, cocktails, wine etc. We took a sip of the Strongbow and it was nice, although we aren’t big fans of alcohol.

Do check this place out if you love meat and pork, their food is reasonably priced and the taste is great! Other than that, they started offering set lunches now from 11am to 3pm. You’ll be able to get one free soft drink and fruit with the purchase of any mains, pasta or pizza. For more information, do check out their Facebook page!

Bar Information
24, Ground Floor
Jalan Datuk Sulaiman
Taman Tun Dr. Ismail
60000 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-7725 6270

Accommodation in London is not cheap, that is for certain. Looking for a hotel in London has always been a bit of a chore, but luckily we were able to get a promotional price for the Hilton London Metropole Hotel the past few times we were in London.

Located on Edgware Road and right outside the Edgware Road tube station, the Hilton Metropole is convenient and easily accessible. The tube from Edgware Road station also connects easily to the rest of the underground lines and the heart of London is just several stops away. It is also within walking distance from Paddington Station.

The photo above and prior to that shows two different King Guest Bedrooms that we stayed in during our times in London. We knew the quality of the hotel was assured and it did not disappoint at all. The staff at the Hilton Metropole were polite and ever ready to help. The rooms were clean and the beds comfortable with all the necessary amenities provided for. Just a point to note, the bouquet of flowers on the bed was not provided for by the hotel. So don’t expect to receive flowers upon checking into the room.

Over the times we have stayed there, we tried a couple of items from their room service menu. This was the Sweet Potato and Paneer Cheese Tikka Curry, priced at £12.25. Served with cumin rice, the curry was slightly sweet and buttery. It served well as a lazy midnight snack and we definitely enjoyed the cottage cheese!

Another item we tried was the Malaysian Style Penang Chicken Curry. For £13.95, we got a generous amount of chicken breast pieces in a curry sauce which was not Malaysian Penang style, but good enough by British standards.

On our last trip to London, we requested for a room on a higher floor.  We snapped this photo from the window of that room. It was nice to look out over London at night. Those were good memories and something that we definitely miss.

The Hilton London Metropole Hotel is a good bet for a comfortable and convenient hotel for a visit to London.  Though not the best food around, the room service is a good treat from time to time. We will recommend this hotel to anyone spending a couple of nights in London!  For reservations and more information, check out the Hilton Metropole’s website.

Hotel Information
225, Edgware Road
London W2 1JU
United Kingdom
Tel: 020 – 74024141

As we mentioned in our previous post, since it was our last few days in London, we decided to indulge in a fancy treat before we came back to Malaysia. Having afternoon tea was one of our to-do things in our list. We did a bit of research on the internet and found The Palm Court which was part of The Park Lane Hotel. Since it was available for booking, we decided to visit this place.

The Palm Court was beautiful. The art deco lounge was elegant and sophisticated. There was a harpist who played the harp throughout our dining session. The ambiance was perfect.

We decided to go with their Summer Perrier Jouet Afternoon Tea. It was priced at £41 per person excluding champagne. We started the afternoon tea with a selection of sandwiches and savouries. We had Smoked Chicken, Watercress and Tarragon with Salad Cream, English Brie with Gooseberry Chutney, Egg and Cress with Crème fraiche, Honey and Mustard Roast Ham with Wild Rocket and Roast Salmon, Cucumber and Dill Mayonnaise. Suffice to say that all of them were very good and we enjoyed the sandwiches a lot.

After that, our scones and desserts were served in a two-tier stand which was brought to us after we finished our sandwiches. The bottom tier consisted of seasonal scones which were served with Perrier Jouet Strawberry Jam and Devonshire Clotted Cream. The scones were very fresh and delicious, excellent when eaten with the exquisite strawberry jam and clotted cream, we were very satisfied with it! On the upper tier we had two Eton Mess, Peach, Almond and Vanilla Tart. The desserts were very good overall, we loved all of them!

Other than the food served before, we were also offered to choose additional desserts from their dessert tray. We picked a Chocolate Almond Cake, a Pistachio and Almond Cake and a Vanilla Panna Cotta with Peach. Our favourite was the Pistachio and Almond Cake, the top was sweet and creamy while the cake was light and fluffy, it was a winning combination which won our heart!

Also included in the Summer Perrier Jouet Afternoon Tea was two serving of teas from their selection of loose teas. Pictured above was the Flowering Red Amaranth from the oriental tea selection. The presentation of the tea was fantastic, it was served in a transparent teapot where the hand-tied green tea wrapped around an Amaranth flower can be seen. It tasted very good as well, light and infused with the fragrance of green tea. My better half had the Moroccan Mint Tea which was refreshing and reviving. Their teas were very good overall.

As stated in the menu, the Summer Perrier Jouet Afternoon Tea also includes a palm court gift. At the end of our tea session, we were given two teacups as a souvenir. Happily receiving the gift, we brought them back to Malaysia. For more information about The Palm Court, please visit their official website.

After the fulfilling meal, we decided to have a walk in the park. Since we already been to Hyde Park a couple of times, we decided to visit Regent’s Park instead.

These photos were taken in the park itself and it was a nice stroll in the evening during summer time when the weather wasn’t cold.

We visited Queen Mary’s Gardens and the park was beautifully decorated with blooming flowers. There was also a garden café and an open-air theatre in the park.

We had a great time in the park, it was something that we miss a lot in the UK.

Restaurant Information
The Park Lane Hotel
The Palm Court
Piccadilly
London W1J 7BX
United Kingdom.
Tel: 020 7290 7328

We divert now to a few establishments in London which we visited back in August. It was our last visit to London before our flight back to Kuala Lumpur, so we wanted to make the most of it!

Whilst walking through Selfridges, we took the opportunity to purchase some Pierre Hermé macarons which we know to be good. On this occasion, we had a box of 7 macarons for £15 and consisting of, from left to right: Lemon, Licorice & Violet, Coffee, Apricot & Pistachio, Rose, Milk Chocolate & Passion Fruit and Pistachio. Our favourites were definitely the Milk Chocolate & Passion Fruit and Pistachio. Rest assured, one can never go wrong with these macarons!

Dinner that night was at Gordon Ramsay’s Maze Grill. We’ve wanted to visit a Gordon Ramsay restaurant for quite some time already, so we decided to have something a little fancy which we aren’t able to find back in Malaysia.

Although one of the cheaper variants of his restaurants, the Maze Grill was still fancy and elegant with the waiting staff polite and very helpful.

They specialised in steak here and the selection was top notch. Our waiter introduced the various types of meat they had and explained how each one would be like. The selection ranged from a cheaper (relatively) Aberdeen Angus grass-fed steak, aged 28 days to the expensive Wagyu ‘9th Grade’ Gold Style steak.

Having placed our order, we were served some bread to start off with. We could tell that it was freshly baked. It was very good and did well to whet our appetite.

To try a wider range of items, we got a 3-course dinner set priced at £24 from which we were able to select one of three item per category in the Set Menu. We started off with a Chilled Gazpacho Soup. It was served cold and had an acidic taste from the tomatoes in the soup, along with a touch of herbs which lent it an added dimension. We found it very appetising and enjoyable!

The main course of the dinner set was Confit Pork, Smoked Aubergine and Bok Choi. We found the pork belly to be too fat to our liking and we would’ve preferred it with a better balance. However, the flavour of the pork itself was good.

As for the set dessert, we chose to have the Maze Grill Summer Pudding. A blend of berries surround a spongey pudding, this was something unique to us. We found it to be just alright.

The star of the night was the steak. We ordered the mid-range Creekstone Prime USDA Corn-Fed Rib Eye, priced at £43. It was definitely pricey, but totally worth it! The steak was succulent and infused with flavour. It had an amazing texture when bitten into and was a joy to consume. We were glad to be able to try such a quality steak on one of our last days in the UK.

Upon paying the bill at the end of the meal, we were served with some biscuits. The biscuits were sweet and crunchy and we thought it was a nice touch to round off a good experience.

Our dinner at Gordon Ramsay’s Maze Grill was enjoyable as a whole. It isn’t suitable for those on a budget, but we wanted to treat ourselves on our last trip to London before flying back to Malaysia. The steak was definitely worth every penny and it is no wonder why it is their specialty! We found that the steak was good and probably the wiser choice to order from the menu compared to the rest of the ala carte selection. For more information and bookings, do visit their website.

Restaurant Information
10 – 13 Grosvenor Square
London
W1K 6JP
United Kingdom.
Tel: 020 74952211

We read a newspaper article about Yamagoya Ramen recently and we decided to visit them since we love exploring new food places all the time. After reading a couple of food blogs, we learnt that Yamagoya Ramen in Solaris Dutamas is the first branch of this famous chain from Kyushu, Japan, with over 140 franchised outlets in Japan.

Located in Solaris Dutamas, we generally find that restaurants here are rather difficult to locate, the directory was not updated and it was fairly difficult to navigate, nevertheless, we found the place after exploring the mall for a while.

The restaurant was clean and cozy, decorated with traditional Japanese calligraphy.

Near the entrance of the restaurant, the machines which were used to produce the ramen can be seen through a transparent glass display. Ramen are made and served fresh in the restaurant.

Their menu was rather simple and mainly focused on ramen. We started our dinner with a plate of Gyoza (焼きギョウザ). Priced at RM11, the fried dumpling was served with vinegar and it was fresh and juicy. It was a good start to the meal!

Priced at RM24, we had a bowl of Mukashi Special Ramen (昭和ラーメン) since it was one of their most famous dishes. We had a sip of the soup and we knew it was going to be good. The tonkotsu broth was delicious, it was creamy, milky and very flavourful! The bowl of noodles was filled with slices of Char Siu, bamboo shoots, beansprouts, ear fungus, spring onions and semi-hard boiled egg. The ramen itself was flavourful, eaten with the treasures served with the noodles, it was excellent! Also, we loved the soy sauced egg, Yamagoya’s was exceptionally good that we almost wanted to order more separately.

We also had the Spicy Tobanjan Ramen (激辛ラーメン) for RM22. Slightly similar to Mukashi Ramen Special, it was served Char Siu, bean sprouts, ear fungus and spring onions. We also had a separate plate of Spicy Tobanjan sauce where we mixed with the soup. The broth turned red and it had a spicy kick to it, it was very good, we loved the ramen a lot!

Overall, we were very impressed with the standards of their ramen. We thought it was as good as Santouka Ramen in Pavilion. If you’re looking for authentic Japanese ramen, this would be the right place for you!

Restaurant Information
A2-G2-8, Solaris Dutamas,
No.1, Jalan Dutamas 1,
50480 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-6206 2220