Revisiting Tao @ Sunway Giza

One of my requirement of a good buffet is when we get to order from the menu!

That means, we get to eat anything without having to queue for it.

Furthermore, it will be fresh and hot when served to our table!

I have been to Tao twice, and was glad to have better experience 

on the second visit than the first. Means improvement, eh?

This time, I was determined to get together few of my close friends

in the mission to try out as many dish as possible at this outlet.

And it was the best deal ever when we were there on a weekday! 

We paid RM48++ per pax for lunch buffet from 11.30am to 2.30pm.

Now tell me that it's a good bargain! 

Edamame, even more delicious when served with salt - a simple but must-have starter!

Abalone slices. Simply delicious! We had three plates of these. 

Sashimi lovers would be impressed by the variety of raw seafood
offered at Tao. We had salmon, tuna, octopus and prawns which are undoubtedly fresh!
I don't quite enjoy the octopus as it's a little chewy - very gum challenging!

We too had some Adegashi Tofu which I find simple but very tasty.

I love how the slightly fried tofu is still soft inside, and simple ingredients

like ginger, shallots and seaweed could make the dish so satisfying.

One of our regrettable order is the huge plate of Cheese Baked Scallops.
It do sound very tempting, and the look of it may have you blown away,
but the fresh scallops are covered by thick mayonnaise and the taste of scallops are barely there.

Fried Softshell Crabs and Tempura Moriawase are the two fried

dishes that one would bound to order in a Japanese restaurant.

Although these dishes may be quite on par with other outlets,

I find Tao's a tad too oily. 

If there is one dish that would makes me very happy,

that would be the Unagi - yes, Unagi, without the Don.

With their new extensive menu, I can now enjoy a wholesome dish of grilled unagi itself!

Steamed Cod Fish from the buffet line is one of the fastest to finish!

The aroma and natural sweetness is enhanced 

with slight garnishing of spring onions and ginger.

We had so many fish dishes and it all have been very satisfying except
for this one here. I forgotten the name of it, but it's some grilled fish,
and it wasn't very memorable.

Grilled prawns! My favourite! There are plenty of fresh seafood displayed 

on the buffet line. Fish (please please please don't forget the salmon), 

scallops (oh-my gawd), mussels (yuhmmm), prawns (slurrrpppp),

beef (nom nom nom...) just to mention a few!

Some are for teppanyaki and some to be grilled on the spot!

We had a plate of what I mentioned above, and I finished it before snapping a photo.

We were also tempted to order a dish comprising of some shell thingy.
Couldn't remember the name, cause it kind of disappoint us at the end.

Sushi is available from both the menu and buffet line.
One of our menu-ordered-sushi is topped with smoked salmon.
It's actually not bad, but I guess we were way to full to enjoy it fully.

Another sushi we ordered is tasted good.

Ebi tempura sushi topped with mango and avocado.

A refreshing twist! 

And irregardless of how full we are, there is ample of space

for free-flow ice-cream with various toppings!

..... not forgetting, chocolate toppings too!!! 

Verdict : One of the best buffet I've tasted. In terms of variety and quality,
Tao has improved alot over the years. I'd love to go there again soon!

Satisfied guests of the day : Vince, Rachel, Heeyang, Eric, CC and myself

Details for Tao @ Sunway Giza, Kota Damansara

Address : Jalan PJU 5/14, Kota Damansara
47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

Contact No. : 03-6248 2826

Website : http://tao-cuisine.com/ 

yummylicious!

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G3 Kitchen & Bar @ Jalan Telawi, Bangsar

The best month of the year is always N.O.V.E.M.B.E.R.

Why?

It's my birthday month!

So what?

I get to celebrate!

Then?

There's plenty of birthday treats.... food for me.. for freeeeee!!! Yippiieeeee!!!

The G3 Kitchen & Bar is the very first stop of my birthday treats/
Brought by Vince, I was told that they serve pretty good breakfast.

So here goes...

A healthy person picked a healthy cup of juice consisting of orange + ginger.

An odd combination and but the heck, it tasted just fine and refreshing.

Healthy juice - RM12

Vince got himself a typical breakfast drink - cappuccino. 

I wouldn't say that it's great, and it tasted just like an average cappuccino.

Probably they should have add a little more hint of coffee in there.

Cappuccino - RM9

For starters, we ordered grilled scallops with orange and carrot salad.

For a RM26 starter, we were served two huge scallops and it were fresh and juicy.

Love the unique combination of salad with a slight taste of fruit dressing.

Grilled scallops with orange and carrot salad - RM26

The scrambled eggs with salmon however, was a disappointment.

The eggs tasted bland. And the existence of salmon was almost unnoticeable on that dish.

The only consolation for me is the hash brown, which wouldn't have gone wrong.

Scrambled eggs with salmon - forgotten the price.

When Vince ordered the Spiced Lamb Burger with Tazaki, Feta and Fries, 

I was thinking "why larhhhh?".

I wasn't impressed by my first try of lamb burger at Antipodean, and it

somehow left me uninterested to try it again.

I was lucky as G3 shed a whole new light about lamb burger.

The patty was thick and not too dry. Love the little spiciness in it too!

Spiced Lamb Burger with Tazaki, Feta & Fries - RM22

This place is probably another eatery that I may want to try again.

There are also a whole list of wine selection and amazing wine display for one to choose!

A quick verdict for G3

Ambiance - 8/10 (Service was good and it's a comfy place)

Food - 6/10 (Scrambled screw it up, sorry)

Price - 6/10 (A little to the high side, especially for the starter)

Details for the interested

Address : 19, Jalan Telawi, Bangsar Baru, 59100 K.L
Contact No : +603-2282 9019

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Zen Japanese Restaurant @ Sunway Pyramid

It's gonna be a night of forced diet today.

Mum has left for the night to great aunt place in Serdang.

Leaving me behind, alone, lonely, food-less at home.

Hunger makes me think about food, particularly Japanese - my favourite!

And recently someone asked me where to get good Jap near Klang.

To be frank, Klang offers nothing but bak kut teh.

So the first thing that came into my mind is Zen @ Sunway Pyramid!

It's just 15 minutes drive away from home - IF I'M THE ONE DRIVING!

(Vvroooommmmm!!!)

Reminiscing my visit there although it has been a month or two back... 

Do enjoy the simple and almost-forgotten reviews... :)

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I love the choice of salad in Zen. 

We ordered the salad with snow crab which is simply delicious!

Love how the aromatic miso dressing jive with the crunchy leafy salad with juicy crab meat...

For appetizer, we were introduced to Zen's cheese baked scallop with Japanese mushrooms.
I remember that this dish is quite pricey - around RM14 per piece.
But it was all worth it looking at the succulent scallops drowned in the
generous portion of my favourite mushrooms.
I could have both myself - but mum always say... "sharing is caring"... :)

And how could one skip the sashimi section in the menu??!!!

For a new sashimi lover like me, we made a good pick 

for variety of sashimi - from salmon, tuna, to octopus.

Zen do serve one of the freshest sashimi I've tasted.

One of my must-have dish in a Japanese restaurant - unagi!
I love how thick flavorful unagi melts in my mouth..
We ordered an Unagi Roll and oh-myyy... the unagi is superb!

Mini Sukiyaki pot with seafood - it makes me wanna sing!

This hot pot with simple yet delicious ingredient like prawns, 

scallops, tofu, mushroom, vegetables are then cooked with miso soup. 

Served hot, this dish completes our dinner with a warm warm tummy... :)

Feeling satisfied with the sukiyaki... singing... 

"It's all because of you... I'm feeling sad and blue.. 

You went away.. Now my life is just a rainy day..."

 I guess this blog post didn't really help me tonight.

Dinner is three beautiful pears given by the office for the Health Week. 

Am looking forward to visit Zen again.

Heard they've got buffet too! Hoorray! 

yummylicious!

Address: 3 Jalan PJS 11/15, Bandar Sunway, Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

Phone:+60 3-7492 4922

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Favola @ Le Meredian, KL

To celebrate Barry's birthday, 

I've arranged for a dinner at Favola, Le Meredian. 

It is an Italian Restaurant with creative renaissance era setting,

the environment there is just purrrfect! 

With my advance booking and request, they placed us in a

cozy rounded sofa seating at the back for a more peaceful dinner..

... and to take more photos without embarrassment! *now call me genius!*

They welcome us with breads that looked really hard,

but oh boy, it was soft and warm inside!

Served with three dips, we were pretty stuffed even before

we started with our appetizer!

Barry particularly like the bread stick!

Zuppa di Funghi Calabrese

Assorted mushrooms cooked in milk with garlic rustic bread and Swiss cheese

The mushroom soup is thick and with small chunks of mushrooms.
It was really good. The rustic bread is quite unusual as mushroom soup is
usually paired with garlic bread. But it was a not-bad combination
and we truly enjoyed our appetizer.

Being a mushroom soup lover, I feel that Favola's version
is compatible with ones served at Dome or even Levain. Yuhmmmm....

Seared Jumbo Sea Scallop with Mushroom and Truffle

These scallop... yuhmmmm... big and juicy!

Seared to perfection with my favourite mushroom, 

with bits of truffles on top, it's a dish that make us begging for more.

The mushroom may be a little salty by itself,

but to eat it with the scallop, the taste really compliments each other.

These jumbo scallops reminds me of the huge scallops

Kayvin ordered all the way from Japan!

Check this out!

Beef lasagna

Traditional beef Bolognese with chunky wagyu beef cheeklayered 

with fresh pasta, cheese crust and truffle oil.

Unlike the normal lasagna with thick layer of pasta

in between small tiny chunks of minced beef, the lasagna served

in Favola is mind blowing! (wow.. obvious exaggeration) 

But this dish is truly amazing - I love how the beef balognese taste,

so rich in taste of tomato and herbs. Baked with thin layer of pasta 

in between and topped with cheese crust. 

How could one resist this dish in Favola?!!

2 scoops of Italian gelato

Gelato! (reminds me of the minions)

Illy inspiredTiramisu

Layers of soft sponge soaked in freshly brewed Illy coffee, 

panna cotta, mascarpone foam and topped with cookie croutons 

and the Cassata made with rich Häagen Dazs Vanilla, 

Strawberry and Pistachio ice-cream.

Barry's birthday cake comes in a form of Favola's signature dessert, the tiramisu. 

After a hearty meal, and I'm glad the birthday boy enjoyed it,
we both stroll along the pool for more photos!

Happy Birthday again old man!

We've known each other for almost 9 years now, I guess?

It has been very comforting knowing that you'll always be around

when I rise, when I fall, and mostly... when I'm hungry.

Every year I would wish you the same, THE BEST in everything you do,

but this year I'd like to emphasize that you have THE BEST OF HEALTH.

Coz that's the most valuable treasure one could possess.

May you have a blessed year ahead!

Address: Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur, 2 Jalan Stesen Sentral, Kuala Lumpur Sentral, 

50470 Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Phone:+60 3-2263 7888

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Tao Authentic Asian Cuisine & Sushi @ Sunway Giza

My dear readers, I would like to declare that I AM OFFICIALLY BROKE! So if any of you want to food-hunt, please do not invite me because I will be very tempted to join! I would need to ikat perut for the rest of the month because of the food spree I had recently. *sigh*

Today we had buffet at Tao Authentic Asian Cuisine & Sushi @ Sunway Giza. This is the meal that have ripped off what is left in my purse.

About Tao, we had buffet lunch which is from 11am - 4pm, but we arrived late because buddies are working half day. As this is a buffet lunch, the food displayed outside is self service. But what attracted me the most is that we are free to order as many dishes / plates we want from the ala carte menu which offers alot of varieties!

The waitress is kind enough to introduce us the TOP TEN dishes in the ala carte menu. In total we had about 20 different dishes including ala carte and from buffet line.

I took tons of photos but had just uploaded a few photos featuring either the best or worst dishes we had. Fair rite?



Buddy Chew ET came back from Doha and we bring him around to fulfill his craving for food! It is actually because of him that we went to Tao..

Sashimi - Chew ET said the scallop is not so fresh but the rest is okay.



Abalone - In my opinion, the slices of abalone is thick and juicy, accompanied with the sauce that makes it so flavourful till the last bite! This is actually my favourite dish and we had two plates of it.


Grilled oyster with cheese. For those who love oyster, I bet you would like this dish! The cheese is very creamy and thick. And guess there is some salad underneath the layer of cheese too.



Salad cheese prawn which is another favourite of mine. The prawn is big and crunchy. If there is just a littleeee bittttt moooore spaaaace in my tummy, I would have order another plate of this dish.



Grilled scallop. I'm not very sure what is the topping but it sure taste like a combination of cheese and otak-otak! Although the topping is delicious, I have trouble tasting the scallop because it was overcooked and thus shrink into a tiny miny 'something' (because it does not taste like scallop).



Self-picked teppanyaki ingredients and cooked on the spot by the chef. Barry and Alicia picked the ingredients and I think this is actually not bad!



Tako - big disappointment to me because the crust was so hard that when I tried to cut it, it rolled from the table to my bag on my lap! Creating a messy stain on my Longchamp! I seriously would prefer the tako kiosk in Jaya Jusco or wherever it may be. There is no filing inside this tako too. Not even a small tentacles of a octopus!



One of the top ten ala carte dish! This lamp chop is yummy and I just hope there is more flesh than the bones.



Self-picked assorted seafood. I love the grilled prawns. The teriyaki chicken is not bad too. The rest is just so-so.


My choice of soup ended up to be another disappointment. Abalone soup as claimed, but abalone is no where to be seen. Instead, there are chunks of chicken and a quail egg. The soup does not taste like it have been boiled with an abalone... :(



Steamed lala - my choice too. I am not very good at locating good food because this dish proves that I have failed in ordering food. First of all, a steam lala should have lala. This plate of lala is so tiny meanie that I could not taste the supposedly-fresh-seafood. It was cooked with too much chilli making the gravy very hard for us to telan.



A bowl of fruits to call it a day.
And not to mention, Joyce self-proclaimed "JY's tomato choco fondue!!!". I saw the chocolate fondue mountain and could not stop myself from looking for something to dump inside the mountain! Look left, look right, nothing... nothing... (talking like Russell Peters and his Indian accent)... yeah nothing... No strawberry, marshmallow or whatsoever.. so I find whatever I could at the salad bar which is the baby tomatoes! Cucuk everything in the satay stick and yessshhhh there it goes inside the mountain of slurp slurrpyyy!!!

Well now I am broke because we spent RM70 p/pax... but I have got a very satisfied tummy! If there is gonna be a next trip to Tao, I will fill my stomach with the abalone slices, grilled prawns, ebi tempura, lamp chop and the cheese shrimp!

Yuuummmmmylicious! :)

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