Din Tai Fung @ Mid Valley Gardens, Malaysia Week

This is for you 3 hungry tummies! Sorry it's taken a while =)


Also, to all my dear readers and fellow bloggers, I'm going to be away for the next week and a half in Malaysia attending a wedding and eating up a storm...

So I thought I'd celebrate by taking you on a few past culinary adventures in the Land of Food... enjoy...


There a lot of food reviews regarding Din Tai Fung (in Malaysia), and I'm waiting anxiously for them to open up in Melbourne (they're already in Sydney)... They are originally from Taiwan, and have recently expanded across the globe, showering us with their delightful xiao long baos...


Not being a fan of most Taiwanese cuisine, I was pleasantly surprised when Big Sis and Big Bro took both Madam Mummy and I here...


We started off with a cold Jellyfish dish (vinegar, sesame seeds and chili)


Followed by some spicy chili won ton (dumplings)


And of course, the famed Xiao Long Baos... (I somehow missed a picture of the vinegar and freshly julienned ginger --> Although, you can see it in the corner of the pictures ^_^)

I'm only a recent convert to Xiao Long Baos... (and I still kick myself for not trying one of the best ones in Crystal Jade in Hong Kong)

These were actually quite good... but I still love the one's in Melbourne's Hutong


Next was an assorted arrangement of delicacy... my favourite... century eggs!!

These were done quite interestingly, served with steamed tofu, salted egg yolk and caramelised pork floss...


Put that all on a spoon and pop that straight into your mouth for a delicious mouthful of texture


Cha Jiang La Mien (Noodles with minced pork and tofu and broad bean sauce)

This was so-so, nothing spectacular.. and was pretty averaged


Of course, we had desserts as well.. =)

Big Bro ordered a glutinous black bean dumpling served in a red bean soup


Mum ordered a ginkgo with yam (taro) soup...



I would definitely love to go again if time permits on my next visit.. or maybe *hopefully* if they do open up in Melbourne, then I'm the first one in!

*Disclaimer: All food ratings are purely based on my own experiences and how I feel about the service, food and quality

Food/ Cuisine: Chinese
Dining Style: Restaurant
Overall Food Rating (Based on the Dining style): 7.5/10
Restaurant ambiance: 7/10
Service/ Attitude: 6.5/10 (They are a tad slow, and insisted on speaking only Chinese...so I kept replying back in English *meh*)
Value for money: 7/10

Address:
Lot LG-207
Lower Ground Floor
The Gardens
Mid Valley City
Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia

Tel:(03) 2283 2292

Din Tai Fung
is open daily

How to get there:

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Lake House Restaurant @ Daylesford

Lakehouse...



That's where everyone apparently goes to when they visit Daylesford...



The Age Good Food Guide Review awarded it a whopping 2 chef's hat... read the review here...



So, as a dutiful foodie, I of course cannot pass up the opportunity to dine in this fine establishment...



Although I was tossing (the Boy and I) between Lake House and Sault, the latter which was featured in the Melbourne Entertainment Book, which would have meant a discount...



We thought we'd try our luck first with Lakehouse and if they turned us away, we'd go to Sault...



Because we were so full from Scones and Chowder, we had to take an hour's break walking around the town of Daylesford and visiting their Sunday market...



According to the Good Food Guide, Lake House closes at 3pm and Ssault at 4pm, hence why we went to Lake House first...This was at 2pm, mind you.

Not only we were greeted cordially at the doorstep, we were invited to wait in their lounge area, whilst they cleared a table for us! Talk about service...



As we were seated at our table, I promptly took in the surroundings and happily snapped all angles... AND... *JENG* *JENG* *JENG*



Unbeknownst to me at that time, I took a Papparazzi shot.. of Hamish Blake... of the popular duo, Hamish and Andy on a date!!!



Anyway, coming back to food...



We were given ample time to look through the menu...



The good thing about visiting a place like Lakehouse in a group of 4, is that we can try most of everything on offer.. which is what we did... except for the Veal (since none of us, but the Boy ate beef)



Pink sea salt!



Each of us were provided with a different plate (can be bought for $65)



The paintings on the plate are done by the Executive Chef and Managing Director, Alla Wolf Tasker herself.



How talented is she??



One more to go...



All 4 of us decided to forego the entree option and take on a main meal and a dessert instead...



I had the lamb... delicious!! Everything a lamb should wish to be upon sacrifice! It came with a rolled up crispy layer of lamb crackling and fat that literally melted in the mouth...!



Big Sis had the duck and that was very nice as well...



The Boy had Pan Seared Snapper...with scampi's and vegetables



Look, Ma! Foam!!!



Big Bro had the most exciting dish... unfortunately, the Boy had hold of the camera at that time and didn't understand my nudges under the table to catch the effect...

(This was the apple sauce that came with Big Bro's pork dish)



Big Bro had the pork with cranberries(which came shrouded in smoke in a glass casing).. and the Boy failed to capture that moment.. *sigh*



On to the desserts.... Big Bro and Big Sis decided to have the tasting platter for 2, which consisted of (my memory shall serve me here...), Marzipan, Pavlova, Chocolate Souffle, Coconut Sorbet, A vanilla panna cota, and a Grand Marnier Grape sorbet...



The Boy had the peanut butter dessert, chocolate cigar and a shot of dark chocolate and Amaretto (Which I had)



My own dessert, when it arrived was so pretty, I didn't want to eat it.. but the sight of my Rose' sorbet melting away convinced me to hurrily scoop the contents in my mouth...

Raspberries, a nectarine ... and I can't remember what the other one was.. but it was just so pretty!!!



I didn't want it to end!



I know many have said that the Lake House is pricey and over rated.. but I beg to differ.. the quality of the food (fresh) and the service that came along with it, was well worth it.. many other establishments (especially those around the CBD area) would do well to learn from this place... after all, it has been around for 30 years.. and you don't last that long in this industry if you weren't very good...!

Overall Food Rating: 9/10
Restaurant ambiance: 9/10 (Service was exceptional)
Value for money: 8/10 (They only had one choice for lunch on Sunday's... $65 for a 2 course meal, they also had an option for 3 courses but I apologies, I can't remember the price for it.. I think it was $85)

Address:
4 King Street
Daylesford
VIC 3460

Tel: 03 5348 3329
Fax: 03 5348 3995

E-mail: info@lakehouse.com.au

Website: http://lakehouse.com.au/

How to get there:

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Chowder House @ Hepburn Springs (Daylesford)

Next stop on the menu (after Lavendula) was to go to Chowder House for some good chowder...



I came here based solely on Ms Tinymouse's suggestion... and it was worth it... HOWEVER, I did have a little tiny bitty gripe with them...



You see, when Ms Tinymouse tried the food at Chowder House slightly over a year ago, the price for their Chowder was less than $13 (She can't remember exactly)... but it seems, that in recent times... after a certain food critic (Matt Preston) reviewed this place, the price has increased to $16.50 for the large bowl. (You can see the article at the bottom right of the picture above, and read the Article here.)




Because we were so full with Lavender Scones, we decided to only order 2 chowders...



However we were politely told, that if that were the case, we would be charged for using CUTLERY!!!...



The only other option was to go for "half-serves", which apparently would have worked out to be the same as the cutlery charged.... ($16.50 for a proper bowl of chowder, and $12.50 for the half serves)



Despite that slight unpleasant-ness.. the waitress who served us was fantastic.. she didn't come across as rude or anything like that at all... I just didn't like the policy introduced =(



However, all things aside... The chowder was fantastic.. and surprisingly full of goodies...

Big Bro and the Boy had Smoked Cod Fish Chowder, which was extremely rich and intense... delicious!



Big Sis and I had the Clam Chowder, a much lighter version compared to the one the two Boys had, but delicious nevertheless



Big Bro fell in love with the Ciabatta bread given and attacked all of mine and Big Sis's (I was much too full from scones)!

Overall Food Rating: 8.5/10
Restaurant ambiance: 7/10 (Very quaint and homey)
Value for money: 8/10 (Grudgingly, only because the bowls were full of clams and seafood, and not stinged upon)

Location:
97 Main Rd
Hepburn Springs
VIC 3461

Tel: 03 5348 2221


How to get there:

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