Wedding Luncheon @ Oriental Banquet, PJ

Since October, I have been invited to a few weddings of friends and colleagues, and I am sure most of you have too.
Due to the work schedule and also my personal engagement with my own planning, I selected a few to attend.

The most recent was this colleague of mine, whom I attended his wedding mass followed by the luncheon at Oriental Banquet in SS19, PJ.
This is the second time this year that I attended wedding receptions in this restaurant.

Special Four Combinations幸 福 四 热 荤

The Chinese names of the dishes on the menu: (good for those of you who knows Chinese =)
彩 虹 卷
大 地 黄 金
海 蜇 八 爪 鱼
治 味 炒 鸡 丁 响 螺

Braised Shark’s Fin Soup with Seafood 双 喜 蟹 皇 鱼 翅


Roasted Crispy Shatin Chicken with Drunken Chicken Roll 手 扒 鸡 伴 醉 鸡 卷


Steamed Patin ‘Hakka’ Style 客 家 蒸 河 巴 丁


Boiled Tiger Prawns in Superior Stock 油 盐 水 浸 活 草 虾


Braised Assorted Mushroom wrapped in Chinese Cabbage 碧 玉 法 海 圃 团


I missed out the photo on this Fried Rice with Bean Sprout & Teow Chew Spicy Sauce 潮 醬 银 芽 炒 香 飯

Desserts:


Double-Boiled Honeydew with White Fungus 红 莲 蜜 影


Chinese Pancake 酥 皮 窝 餅


Weddings are always happy occasions, and I am always impressed with the bombastic and auspicious names created by the innovative restauranteurs and vendors when it comes to celebrating the occasion!

Oriental Banquet is also part of the Oriental group under the umbrella of Tai Thong Group, and is one of the popular venues for Chinese weddings in KL.

Delightful birthday treat @ San Francisco Steakhouse, Tropicana

Despite our plans for a lavish dinner (Oriental or ribs style) in conjunction with my daddy's birthday, we ended up doing none of the above.

We brought our dad to Tropicana City Mall and treated him to steak at the San Francisco Steakhouse instead; and yes, it was still one of his favorite meal to have.


The interior here was rather dimly lighted and the atmosphere was rather quiet and exuded a rather romantic feel, along with the strong sense of privacy.


We ordered a few main courses; and Daddy, being the birthday boy, was given the privilege to select his favorite item on the menu (of course, we do that too for ourselves ;)
His well done steak (RM65.90)


Others which we ordered
Half-rack lamb ribs (RM26.90)



Grilled Salmon (RM28.90)



Chicken Maryland (RM20.90)


We were also treated to a surprise complimentary birthday slice plus song from the friendly staff of SFS, led by their outlet manager, Mr Sean


Sean deserved a special mention here on my blog for his absolute fine eye for detail and hospitality to his customers.
He was extremely friendly and attentive to our needs.
We would also like to thank him for making my dad's birthday so memorable

Sean is in a pink shirt, unique from the rest of the staff since he is the outlet manager. He manages Satinni which is next door too.
(Hope his management took note of this post as well;)

It was overall a very pleasant dining experience, and the hospitality made it all the better.

San Francisco Steakhouse is part of the Tai Thong group along with the few other restaurants beside it and is easily noticeable when you are at the ground concourse of Tropicana City Mall.

Note: Pickyeater is in no way affiliated to the restaurant or the group and is only stating her personal opinion on her experience =)

Bitter Gourd Soup with rice by the road in JB

I wish I could tell you where is this place, but I am not sure of the place and I only know that my colleague stopped here on the way to the airport for lunch.
(The kind colleague offered to send us to the airport)

I was told that Bitter gourd soup is a pretty popular dish ordered in JB, and there are a few places famous for it.
Honestly, I don't fancy bitter gourd and it is one of the vegetables that I don't really like.

I did notice a lot of people having lunch at this rather shabby place by the roadside, and almost everyone ordered about the same type of dishes.

Bitter Gourd soup

It was cooked with generous slices of bitter gourd with lean pork meat and I think there were liver too (Sorry, Pickyeater is not comfortable with that)
The soup was rather clouded, but I think it was due to the ingredients in it.

Roasted pork, another popular item here too.


Stir-fried vege


Braised tau kua with fish fillet (thanks to my considerate colleague for ordering this especially for me :) despite me telling him that I am okay with the rest of the dishes. Thanks!)


I do not know the prices of the dishes but I heard it was reasonably priced.
Perhaps the locals in JB would know about this place?

Seafood feast @ New Lucky Seafood, JB

Deviating from my usual post on KL and Penang, I am bringing my readers to JB to this restaurant where my bosses treated us during our business trip there last two months.

We had our usual annual review meeting, and this year it was held in our JB office.
After a day long discussion and meeting, we headed to this restaurant; New Lucky Seafood which the bosses seemed to be rather fond of.

I only managed to capture most of the food; but at least I could provide the name of the restaurant yeah, this time, compared to my other makan trips in JB =P

Steamed Chicken, apparently this was one of the signature dishes here in this restaurant.


Stir-fried Cuttlefish with dried chilies (Kung Pow style)

Everyone joked that this is not a good dish to order during work/business meeting with the bosses, as in Chinese, it literally means "being sacked" (Chinese: Chow Yau Yu)

Steamed prawns with Chinese White Wine

The prawns were huge and fresh, and it was an appropriate way to serve them.
Me like! =)

Cod fish served in dual combo style

This is another favorite dish among everyone.
The delicate texture of cod fish was delicious in the steamed version and also juicy in the bites of the crispy version.

Warning; some disturbing exotic dishes to be served:

Stir-fried deer meat with leeks


Steamed frogs with essence of chicken


Take note that Christy aka Pickyeater is not an advocate of exotic food like these, and she is in no way supporting these!

The last dish was finally something normal and edible for me


I do not know the actual idea of the total cost but I do know the bill came up to about RM1,000+ due to the alcohol ordered by the bosses and colleagues.
I think the food here is a little overpriced and it was quite average in taste.

That's my personal opinion, but I did hear that this restaurant is quite famous in JB, is that so?

Dorayaki in the making

I was accompanying my family during their grocery shopping trip in Jusco when I passed by this stall, and was happy to see that it was the Dorayaki making process and it was in progress!

It looked so easy when I watched this guy do it.


Basically this is just the Japanese version of pancakes, and it is also well known to us Gen X & Y folks as Doraemon's source of survival and reward.


Well, it's not just for Doraemon these days, as I do love them too.
Red bean, strawberry for me! =)

My 2nd Visit to Orchid Bistro

Following from our first visit to the Orchid Bistro mentioned in the previous post, we went back the second time to try their local hawker fare and some light snacks during our late lunch.

Chicken Ham and cheese sandwich (RM4.50)


Mum said it was not bad =)

Claypot Loh Shu Fun (RM5.90)



Claypot Yee Mee (RM5.90)


Both gravy were too watery and diluted and it did not complement the noodles that well.

Cantonese Fried Koay Teow (RM6.90)


This was one of their recommended items, but it turned out to disappoint as well as the gravy was too salty for our liking.

Fish bites (RM3.90)

This was also one of the recommended items; and this was not bad =)

Overall, I prefer their western fare more to their attempt with the local fare as it was rather bland compared to the better versions I have tried in other cafes/bistros.
Then again, this is only based on my personal preference and it could differ according to individual liking =)

Grills and chops @ Orchid Bistro

Deciding your choice for lunch can be a chore sometimes, don't you think?
It is even tougher when you involve more than 2 people, each with their own opinion or sometimes, "Anything goes"

I still find it weird that it is always buzzing with eateries and endless choices when it comes to dinner but almost everyone is closed for lunch.
We ended up in Jusco in Cheras Selatan, and finally settled in Orchid Bistro among all the eateries.


We enjoyed the cool crisp air while we slowly browsed through the menu before making our selection
There were plenty, and we were spoilt for choices that we had a hard time deciding.

They also offer freshly squeezed juices; in their own special concoction with the labels for different purposes.
(Most of the combinations were rather unique)
This is their recommended Green Apple with Celery juice (RM5.90)


Orange with carrot

I find this unique that it combined both of my favorite juices; and I rarely find this anywhere (I don't think I have ever come across it before at all anyway)

If you are not into fruit juices, there is also this Coffee with Black Pearls


Somehow all of us decided to go for western on that day; and the prices of the food was quite reasonable too.

Combo set (Mixed platter) - RM13.90



Grilled Chicken Chop (RM9.90)


Chicken Maryland (RM12.90) - it was one of their recommended items


Sizzling Chicken Chop (RM11.90)


Grilled fish with lemon butter sauce (RM9.90)



The food was not too bad, and the pricing was reasonable and we enjoyed the cool dining environment within the shopping complex.
The service was a little slow and the staff seems a little confused sometimes, but that could be improved =)