Ben’s – 31 August 2016

We were in Suria KLCC as I needed to shop. I had birthday vouchers and it was the last day to use them. But before we went shopping, I needed to fill my tummy with salad and decided on Ben’s as I love the salads there.

The entrance to Ben's. They used to have a bicycle but have removed it.

This was not our 1^st visit, in fact we've made several visits since it opened its doors back in 2011 at KLCC and the food never disappoints me, except for 1 occasion when I ordered rice and Assam stingray fish; the fish was not fresh and tasted rotten, and I had to request for change for another dish. They have since removed that dish from the menu.   

Check out the menu. The price has indeed gone up from the last time I visited the cafe.

These were the dishes that we ordered:-

 

Roasted Chicken Pie with béchamel, leeks, onion and thyme in a puff pastry casing served with a side of house salad and hand-cut potato chips – RM30.00

The portion was reasonable; served with salad and shoestring french fries (I did not get the hand-cut potato chips as mentioned in the menu). The pastry was freshly baked with pieces of juicy chicken. One cut on the pie and you can hear the crispy crust sound. The house salad comes with lettuce, cherry tomato and nuts together with its own house dressing, and tasted good.

Steak Frites -250 gram Black Angus striploin, mountain of fries and drenched with beef jus – RM78.00

This portion was also reasonable. My husband requested for the steak to be rare. The steak was juicy and chewy as how you like it for rare steaks and with the beef juice, it was just perfect. 

Ben’s House Salad mesclun mix of lettuce, baby spinach, arugula, avocado, cherry tomatoes, edamame and 7 seed mix tossed through our signature house dressing – RM20.00

Every time when I’m at Ben’s, this is the salad that I never failed to order. I remember it used to be RM16 and the price has increased. It was still made the way I like it. Surprisingly, the top shredded vegetable was actually green apple. I’m not complaining as it still tasted very nice as the way I like my salad to be.   

Lemonaid and Lychee Lime Frosty – RM12.00 each

Both drinks were very refreshing indeed.

The service in this cafe was alright. It used to be small but they have extended the café to cater for more diners. A nice place to enjoy your meal, if you don’t mind the noise as it’s always busy, anytime of the day. Overall, the food was good and the price is towards the high end. Will I come back? Yes, of course. Any food you order, it tastes good and worth your money even though it's expensive.    

The section where they make your drinks and the dessert counter

Dining area

Dining area

The details of the cafe:

Ben’s  

Lot 140, 1^st Floor, Suria KLCC

Kuala Lumpur City Centre

50088 Kuala Lumpur

Tel & Fax: 603-2163 1655

Opens daily from 10.00a.m-10.00p.m.

Kedai Minuman dan Makanan Ah Fatt (opposite Seapark KFC)

The entrance to the coffee shop

This coffee shop is directly opposite the Paramount KFC and Mediviron clinic. 

Until Mr Fatt took over the running and management of the coffee shop about a year ago, every time I passed by this coffee shop, I noticed it always had dimmed lights.  

Mr Fatt is a family friend and we used to buy hawker’s food from him in the Leng Seng corner coffee shop. He moved on to other coffee shops in the Klang Valley and is now back in PJ. A guy with 30 years' experience cooking hawkers’ food! I’m here for his food every Wednesday.

The owner, Mr. Fatt

Check out the menu and prices

These are some of the dishes available at his coffee shop:-

Stingray fish (RM15.00 onwards depending on the size). I highly recommend this fish as it's nicely marinated and you must eat it while it’s still hot and crispy. The soft bones of the fish can be easily chewed and swallowed. Good for kids as well. The sambal cili is a MUST to have with the fish.

Chicken fish (RM15.00 onwards depending on the size). Also highly recommended as its meat is soft, juicy and tender. The fish bones are big so you can easily spot them.

Fried oyster (RM10.00). The fried oyster is based on the Penang style. 

Lobak (price depending on what you choose). You can order just the lobak itself or lobak with fried taufu. Also, another Penang style lobak.   

Fried carrot cake (RM5.00). I normally order fried carrot cake for my dinner. With a little bit of chili, the carrot cakes are nicely fried and very appetizing. 

 

Fried chicken wings (RM3.00 per pair). Marinated with a slightly sweet taste.

Noodles- Cantonese, Hokkien Fried & Loh Mee (RM8.00 for 1 person, RM16.00 for 2-3 person and RM22.00 for 4 persons and above)

Leng Chee Kang, hot or cold (RM3 per bowl). It has everything that you want from a bowl of Leng Chee Kang. However, the only thing missing from this Leng Chee Kang will be the quail egg that I always look forward to. Perhaps, I need to inform the owner to add in the quail egg.  

The service in this coffee shop is fast and it is easy to get parking at night.

  

The details of the coffee shop:

Kedai Minuman dan Makanan Ah Fatt
Jalan 21/19, Seapark
46300 Petaling Jaya
Selangor Darul Ehsan
(Opens everyday. Will close 1 day a month subject to owner's discretion) 

AK Balloon Run 2016

• 28 August 2016
• Main Entrance @Avenue K, Kuala Lumpur   
• Flagged off at:-

           7.30a.m. for 7km

7.40a.m. for 5km

• Price – RM58.30 (inclusive of admin fee of RM3.30)
• Race Pack –Pink t-shirt, drawstring bag and registration bib
• Goodies – Medal, 4 balloons, vouchers

I decided to join this run as the venue of this run is very near to my home and I will be running in front of my home. How’s that!!! Best thing is you will be running with balloons and toilets are easily accessible anywhere.

I walked to the venue at 6.40a.m and went straight to the redemption counter to collect the balloons. Each runner was given 4 balloons. The rule was simple, run with the balloons and you must complete the run with 4 balloons, otherwise there is a penalty. For example, you finish your run in 1 hour and if you pop 1 balloon, 10 seconds penalty will be added to your finishing time, i.e. 1 hour 10 seconds.

I tied the 4 balloons to my waist and it was sticking out at my buttocks. After collection of balloons, we were asked to go to the starting line, given a pink ribbon (which I put it around my neck) and were asked to do simple exercises as a warm-up. There were so-called celebrities as emcees and leading the warm-ups but have to say, I don’t know them at all and they didn’t appeal to me.        

Check out the balloons at my buttocks

We were flagged off early at 7.25am. OMG, it was difficult to run with stupid balloons right at your back as you need to be gentle not to pop any of them. Some runners decided to throw the balloons on the road and into the dustbins nearby.

It was very nice weather and the run was very pleasant, running in the city along Jalan Ampang, Jalan Sultan Ismail, running to the clubbing area, i.e. Beach Club and out to Pavillion Mall, passing by Pullman KLCC, high-end condominiums along Jalan Stonor and Jalan Binjai, e.g. Troika and Corinthian, and back to Jalan Ampang again. 

Route map

Reached my home

There was only 1 water station in front of Pavillion Mall. The organiser served mineral water. We were given another pink ribbon (which I put around my neck with the 1^st ribbon) in front of 1A Stonor condominium. What are the 2 ribbons for? I don’t know…….

Upon arrival, we were given a bottle of mineral water and medal. I managed to finish the 6.5km run (according to Rinnie’s app) in just less than 50 minutes. Guess what? Our numbers were recorded by several marshals along the run and recorded again when we finished. We were not informed of any penalties for not having 4 balloons and not informed of the reason for having the 2 pink ribbons. Hmmmmmm………….defeating the purpose of running with balloons!

There were cash prizes and vouchers to be won for each category. There were games sessions, e.g. questions and answers to win vouchers and lucky draw, which we couldn’t be bothered to participate in. Instead, we were playing with the “recording live” on Facebook and snapping pictures with more balloons and the KLCC Twin towers. Upon completion, most runners just dumped their balloons on the street of Jalan Ampang and I saw some people popping them. The organisers will have had a tough time clearing Jalan Ampang before the road opened again.   

Check out the pictures below:-

Our balloons

Showing off our medals

Pink medals

I didn't pop my balloons

More balloons

Our medal in front of KLCC

Bonjour Garden – 18 August 2016

We were just walking, heading towards Jaya Grocer at the Intermark Hotel's Mall, when we saw this café, Bonjour Garden, in front of the food court and Jaya Grocer. The café was selling buns, breads, pastries and cakes and later we found out that they were serving food and beverages as well.

We looked at their menu and decided to give that café a try. They serve breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner, an all-round cafe. From their interesting menu, they served the All-day Breakfast, pasta, pizza, chicken and lamb chops, salad and sandwiches.

These were the dishes that we ordered:-

   

Combo A – Lamb chop with pumpkin soup and ice lemon tea – RM36.00

The portion was huge; 2 big pieces of lamb with black pepper sauce, marinated baked potatoes and salad. The lamb was marinated and you are supposed to have it with black pepper sauce. Of course I would prefer mint sauce anytime over black pepper.

Steak sandwich  – RM30.00

Husband requested for the steak fillet to be done medium rare, and it was tucked in between Ciabata and served with French fries. Quite a large portion for 1 person. 

Rolls and pastries to bring home – RM3.30 for chocolate roll (85 gram); RM7.25 for Steak and Cheese Pie; RM2.00 for Strudel Apple (55 gram) and RM3.05 for plain croissant. 

The service in this cafe was alright. A nice and cozy place to enjoy your meal. Overall, the food was alright and the price is very similar to any other café.   

The details of the cafe:

Bonjour Garden  

Lot LC-0108 Intermark Mall, The Intermark

No.348, Jalan Tun Razak

50400 Kuala Lumpur

Opens daily

My Pokemon Go adventure

I was going through the App Store on my phone on 4 August 2016 and I stumbled across the Pokemon Go app. As I wasn’t sure what the craze was all about, I decided to give it a try and downloaded it. I tried to enter into the app but I was told to sign in with my Google account. It was past midnight and I decided to let my brain rest and went to bed instead.

On 6 August 2016, I didn’t know it was the official launch of Pokemon Go in Asia. I was walking my Gummi Bear at Desa Parkcity and playing with Salaree and that’s when I discovered so many people playing with Pokemon.

I realized that I had downloaded the app and decided to sign in. Obviously, I didn’t know how it worked and it was trial and error for me. I just follow the instructions on my mobile screen.

So Day 1, obviously the app allowed you to catch your very first Pokemon, i.e. Bulbasaur. Thereafter, I was just looking around, trying out all the buttons that it allowed me to press. So, when I saw more Pokemon appearing, what I did was I took a photograph of it, thinking that it will be dropped and registered into my so-called album, Pokedex.

My 1st Pokemon catch

Mummy is playing Pokemon Go

Both of them getting super bored while waiting for me catching Pokemon

On Day 2, call me stupid, lame, I continued to take pictures of the Pokemon and not knowing how to use the Pokeball. I didn’t know that you have to throw the Pokeball to capture those Pokemon that you saw. So Salaree went swimming and I was looking for the Pokemon at my condo’s swimming pool and what I did was snap a picture, until I wondered how come all those Pokemon was not inside my collection album, Pokedex and I’m not going up a level, when all my friends are already in Level 6?

Stupid me for taking picture of Pokemon instead of catching them

Stupid me for taking picture of Pokemon instead of catching them

While waiting for my students to arrive

Then I realized, “Oh Shit”, you must throw the Pokeball to catch the Pokemon!!! I didn’t know what the stupid ball was at first. I was so disappointed as I’d seen so many Pokemon that I did not capture. Worst still, I activated my incense to lure more Pokemon to me. Oh well…….I guess other Pokemon hunters benefited from my incense. I did go back to the swimming pool to try and capture the Pokemon I saw earlier, but of course, not all of them were there. Worse still, I used up all my Pokeballs!!! What should I do next?

There were tips in the app so I decided to read it. Now, everything makes sense to me. You need to go to the PokeStop and get your Pokeballs and other items from it. Oh well………………

Day 3, no such thing as giving up, during lunch time, I made sure my Pokemon app was on all the time and I discovered a place where there are lots of Pokemon. As I was queuing up to buy my lunch (Nasi Ayam Kunyit) at the food truck in front of HSBC, there were so many Pokemon appearing at the same time and I was like “OH MY GOD”!!! I just continued to capture each and every one of them and all of the sudden; I’m already Level 3.         

By Day 4, I was already Level 6 as I went back to the same spot during lunch time to capture all my Pokemon. Then at night, my husband and I decided to walk to KLCC park and capture more Pokemon. It was to our surprise that there were hundreds of youngsters all busy catching as well. I was there for about 3 hours and joined in the fun as well.

Now, Day 7, I’m in Team Mystique (blue) and Level 10. And still catching……….  

Lesson to be learnt, read all the tips before you play, otherwise you'll end up like me being STUPID!! Hopefully, no longer stupid when choosing team and battle my Pokemon.