The Bee @ Publika

My friends and I dropped by The Bee @ Publika, after having our breakfast fix at the Red Beanbag, to chill and chat as we did not want to be perceived as hogging the table at the Red Beanbag since they were very full that day.

Since our tummies were feeling quite full already, we settled for some drinks and snacks so that we could get to relax and catch up with one another.
 

We ordered a couple of snacks - Churros, Onion Rings and Sweet Potato Fries to share.

A Churro (sometimes referred to as a Spanish doughnut) is a fried dough pastry which is normally eaten dipped in chocolate (they are a bit similar to our Chinese crullers "yau char kway").

The Churros (with Nutella Dip) @ RM9 (for 4 pieces) were a big letdown as they were very dense in texture, almost to the point that I felt the dough was not cooked through.  They were not light and crunchy as it should be.  The dip was just a chocolate dip, nothing spectacular.

The Onion Rings (with Jalapeno Aioli) @ RM10 were edible, though I have eaten better onion rings than these.  The saving grace was the jalapeno dip which had a spicy kick to it.

 

The Sweet Potato Fries (with Aioli Blue Cheese Dip) @ RM10 were also "plain Jane".  You can find better ones at any Taiwanese street snacks stalls.
 

My friend had a Double Chocolate Cheese Cake @ RM8.50 a slice.  She said it was ok although I did not taste it as I am not a big fan of cheese.

 

We also ordered a couple of drinks.
 

Mango Juice @ RM8.50, House Lemonade @ RM7.50, Half & Half @ RM7.50 (can't remember what half & half was....I think it was half lemon juice and half lemon tea), Iced Caffe Latte @ RM11 and Hot Caffe Latte @ RM9.  The drinks were alright and the coffee was quite good.

 

My Personal Opinion

 

The cafe's ambience, with its alfresco dining area, comfy sofas and chairs, makes this a good place to catch up with friends, over coffee, in a relaxed environment.  My suggestion...come for the coffee, forget about the food!

 

Likes:  The cafe's ambience and the coffee.

 

Dislikes:  The food, though I only tasted the snacks.  But if they can't do simple snacks well, I can't imagine what the food will taste like.

 

The Bee

36B Level G2 Publika

Solaris Dutamas

Jalan Dutamas 1

50480 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-6201 8577

 

Top Hat Restaurant @ Jalan Stonor

My friends and I have not dined at this place before but, from the photos I have seen online, this restaurant, that is housed in a colonial bungalow, has an air of classical elegance and charm about it.  For those who love the cosy ambience and stylish décor, first and foremost in a restaurant, and food second, Top Hat @ Jalan Stonor is the place for you.

So, when the opportunity presented itself, by way of vouchers from a group buying site, we did not hesitate to buy as we really wanted to try their food since their prices are a bit pricier than the norm.  They offer classic Western dishes, with a blend of local Malaysian and Nyonya dishes, and their menu changes every 3 months.

We started with their Signature Top Hats (or otherwise known as 'kuih pie tee') @ RM12 for half a dozen.  Luckily, this signature dish of theirs turned out to be the dish of the day, otherwise they may have to change their restaurant's name...lol.  The 'hat' was light and crispy with a delicious filling of shredded 'sengkuang' (as it is known locally or 'jicama' in English or 'saa got' in Cantonese) and carrots with a garnish of chopped spring onions.  It went very well with the homemade sweet and sour chilli sauce.

We also ordered another starter, for sharing, the Grilled Prawn Salad @ RM38, which tasted ok.  The salad, comprising of thinly sliced red bell peppers, cucumbers, onions, etc., was refreshing but the prawns were meagre (both in size and amount) for the price we paid.

Next, came the mains, the first of which was the Pan-fried Salmon Fillet @ RM65, served with mushrooms and eggplant.  I found the salmon a tad overdone and the portion measly.

The Spaghetti Olio, served with tiger prawns @ RM45, was decent though nothing great.

Our third main of the day was the Grilled Rib Eye @ RM78, served with mashed potatoes and mushrooms.  This was "hands down" the worst dish of the day.  The piece of steak, to me, was of a low quality and didn't have any flavour to it (I can get a cheaper and more flavourful piece of meat, for less than this, from any steakhouse).  Worst still, it was overcooked to almost "well done" when I had actually asked for it to be done "medium" as there was no 'pink hue' whatsoever when I cut the meat open.  The only edible thing on the plate was the creamy mashed potatoes.

Our final main was the Grilled Lemongrass Chicken @ RM48, served with Nyonya fried rice and vegetables (a bit like gado-gado which is a mixture of bean sprouts, long beans, onions in a peanut sauce).  The chicken was chargrilled and you could smell the lemongrass as soon as the dish hit the table.  This turned out to be the best main of the day and, because it turned out so well, we ordered one more.

For dessert, we tried the Signature Tiramisu Cake @ RM18, served with fresh strawberry sauce.  It was a decadent dessert, super luscious and one of the best I have had.  The cake was moist and rich but yet light.  This was probably due to the strawberry sauce, which was a welcome delight, as its tartness cuts through the richness of the cream cheese.

The other dessert we tried was the Warm Chocolate Pudding @ RM18 with homemade orange ice-cream.  What can I say, it's a "sinful" dessert, and all my friends loved it, though I'm not a big fan of chocolate myself.  It was chocolaty as it should be and the slight sourness of the orange ice-cream provided the acidity needed to cut through the rich chocolate flavour.

We also had a local dessert, the Sago Gula Melaka @ RM10 (no pic), which was decent and not too sweet as you can control the amount of gula melaka you put in it.

Drinks are quite pricey too, the Watermelon Juice costs RM15, Orange Juice is RM17 and Iced Capuccino is RM16.

My Personal Opinion

The prices at Top Hat are above average, so eating here may cause a 'dent' in your wallet.  The food was so-so only (although they seemed to fair better with local and Nyonya dishes) but the desserts saved the day.  Come here, if not just for the ambience and décor, and the desserts, of course.

What I liked:  The desserts were great.

What I disliked:  The western dishes did not live up to expectations.

Top Hat Restaurant

No 3 Jalan Stonor
50450 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2142 8611/2144 1863 

Ming Palace @ Corus Hotel

Eating at a Chinese restaurant, located in a hotel, is not cheap.  So, when I saw a deal on a group buying site, I did not hesitate to buy this deal for my meal.

 

Group buying sites are a "godsend" for those eating on a budget and those who want to try new places but yet do not want to fork out too much money in case the food does not live up to expectations.

 

So, with RM400 worth of voucher in hand (for which I paid only about RM150!), off I went with 2 of my friends (and 2 small children) to Ming Palace @ Corus Hotel.
 

I ordered the 4 Hot Cuisine Combination @ RM80 as our first dish.  The 4 hot items comprised of fried money bags, (canned) abalone slices on a bed of braised vegetables, stuffed bean curd in a sweet, sticky sauce and fried (canned) limpets with celery, snow peas and carrots.

Overall, no complaints here.  The money bags, which were fried to crispy perfection, tasted very much like your fried "wantans" (only the presentation is a bit fancy in the shape of a "money bag").  The sliced carrots, snow peas and celery, sautéed with limpets, tasted light and refreshing, and the vegetables remained crunchy to the bite.  But my favourite item had to be the abalone slices which were tender and soft.
 



Next, we had the traditional roasted Peking duck @ RM80 done two ways.  The first is where the thin, crispy skin is sliced off the duck and eaten wrapped in crepes (very thin pancakes) with scallions and hoisin sauce.

This was brought to our table and the crepes assembled there and then (with a pair of chopsticks).  Obviously, from the picture below, they didn't do a very good job of it as it wasn't very pretty looking...hehe!
 

 

The assembled crepes were alright although I preferred to eat just the skin on its own because then you can taste the flavour and crispiness of the skin without it being marred by the hoisin sauce.  I got to do just that, as there were some pieces leftover, after all the crepes have been filled, and you can just hear the sound of the crackling skin in my mouth....it was yum!.  The crispy Peking duck turned out to be my favourite dish of the night.

The meat of the duck was then taken back into the kitchen to be chopped up and made into a noodle dish as the other course.

The Fried Cod Fish @ RM120 was not as I had expected.  I love cod fish to death, for its sweet tasting flesh, but the piece we got was over fried rendering it a bit too crunchy, thus losing some of its sweetness.  Although the fish was fairly fresh, we were given, in my opinion, a 'not-so-good' cut which (which seems to be near the belly of the fish).  This was a shame and, clearly, this dish was not worth the price we paid for.

The Soft Shell Crab with Salted Egg Yolk @ RM48 tasted ok.  It was crispy, although a tad salty, and would have been better eaten with rice to cut through the saltiness.

The Scallops with Asparagus @ RM45 was a plate of fresh scallops lightly fried with asparagus.  The scallops were refreshing, the asparagus still had a crunch to it, and the dish was a welcome delight after the saltiness of the previous dish.

All in all, it was a satisfying meal, especially knowing that we enjoyed a savings of about 60% with this meal.  It would have been even more satisfying had the (head?) waitress been more sincere and helpful towards us with our orders.

You see, the waitress told us that we would not be able to utilise our entire RM400 if we continued to choose the less expensive dishes.  So, taking her recommendation, we opted for the cod fish (and this was after we had already ordered 4+1 dishes).  Price of fish, as usual, in Chinese restaurants, is always seasonal.  She told us that she would let us know the price for the fish but, by the time she got back to us, we were already more than half way through our meal.

Because of the cod fish, our total bill came up to around RM450 (inclusive of Chinese tea, peanut, service charge & taxes).  My gripe was not that I had to fork out an extra RM50 but because the 3 of us had difficulty finishing the 6 dishes (if I had 1 or 2 more guests, I wouldn't have minded).

Although the overall service was pleasant, as evidenced by the waitresses diligently clearing our plates and refilling our tea, it fell short for me because the (head) waitress was not forthcoming enough with her information on the cost of the fish nor did she give us an option to cancel a dish (if we wished) since the actual bill exceeded our voucher value. 

To me, good service is not just clearing our plates and pouring our tea but also the sincerity and helpfulness to ensure that our dining experience is indeed a happy one.

My Personal Opinion

The food was good, not great, but the "service" could have been more forthcoming.

Likes:  Peking duck (crispy skin...happy days!) and abalone slices.

Dislikes:  Need I say more!

Ming Palace
Corus Hotel (1st Floor)
Jalan Ampang
50450 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2161 8888