Four SeasonsLondon, Empire Subang

This restaurant used to be at Capsquare in KL before moving to their present location in Empire Shopping Gallery. For the record, this is a branch of the Four Seasons located on Gerrard Street and also Queensway in London. The  place is decorated with many ‘ornaments’ including  what looks like bamboo steamers to me.

If you plan to come in a large group, it would be wise to make a reservation as this business in this restaurant is rather good and it seems to be full during lunch and dinner. For the record, they do not have huge round tables which are typically seen at major Chinese restaurants.

We ordered the two combination which is made up of roasted pork and chicken (RM29) – both were good, but the crunchy crackling of the roasted pork left a lasting impression.

Stir fried squid with salted eggs (RM25.80) – it wasn’t easy to resist this plate of fresh squid as the texture of the squid which was coated in batter and salted eggs was simply phenomenal!

Stir fried broccoli with beef (RM25) – crisp broccoli absorbing  the delicious taste from the  gravy and tender beef make this dish my favourite!

Double boiled lotus root soup (RM12.80) – perhaps my standards for soup is high – the one served  today just didn’t meet my expectations as it was rather tasteless and the lotus root wasn’t cut the way I like it. I would prefer them cut them into ‘rings’ .

Our drinks:-

Address : Lot 30 , Lower Ground Floor

Empire Shopping Gallery

SS16/1 , Subang  Jaya

Mastercard & Visa accepted

Hiba, High Holborn

After  trying and falling in love with Persian food, we couldn’t resist entering this outlet called Hiba located in High Holborn. Hiba serves Lebanese food. A quick glance at the menu tells us that it looks similar to Persian food. Lebanese cuisine, I was told, is a cuisine that respects the riches of nature.

This time around, we left the choice of food to the waiter. He recommended that we take the platter for two (£35), as in doing so, we would be able to savour a variety of Lebanese food. We agreed and waited anxiously for food to be served.

While waiting we sip our drinks. These are  fruit cocktail (£2.45) and mint tea (£1.95). Mint tea is served in a normal-sized teapot but is drunk in what I call a rather tiny glass. Mint tea is said to be a good cure for indigestion.

Mint tea

These are what we ate:-

All in all, it was a perfect meal.

Dessert

Address:  113 High Holborn

London WC1V 6JQ

Tel : +44 20 7831 5171

Pizza Express, Whiteley’s

It was raining outside and we had no choice but to find something quick to eat inside a shopping centre. That was how we ended up at Pizza Express. I notice that there were many mums /dads having lunch with their children there.

 

 

 

 

 

I was very thirsty and ordered 2 drinks – both of which are bottled – elderflower presse (£2.80) and raspberry lemonade (£2.80). Both were refreshingly good and I loved them.

 

 

 

As I was feeling a little adventurous that day, I decided to try the four seasons pizza –which is a complete pizza made of 4 different toppings.  Magherita, mushroom, anchovies and pepperoni was what I got. Well, the pizza was just average.

 

 

To have a more balanced meal, I ordered a side salad for £3.50. Although it was without any dressing, this salad was delicious as the vegetables used were very fresh.

 

 

The kids had it better. For £6.45 each, kids get to choose from a Piccolo Menu. If you are wondering what piccolo is, it means small in Italian. But I would say the entire set meal isn’t that small…if you know what I mean. Piccolo menu consists of starters , main (a choice of pasta or pizza) and dessert.

 

 

This is the starters which looked quite interesting to me – some baked buns which tasted really awesome and a  piccolo salad made of capsicum, 2 slices of cucumber and a single baby tomato cut into 2.

 

 

This is the main course – macaroni. I was shocked that the pasta was not well cooked. Some portions remained  as hard as stones!

 

We had strawberry & chocolate sundae for dessert.

 

Address: Whiteley’s Shopping Centre

Queensway  W2 4SB

Alounak, Westbourne Grove

It is not difficult to locate Alounak, a restaurant in Westbourne Grove that specialises in Persian cuisine. As I walked in I noticed that the place is filled with lots of people, and based on my observation, hail from the middle east.

We ask for some mineral water and are given 2 bottles of Evian which cost £1.30 each. The tiny bottles are of course insufficient to quench our thirst. Hence we ask for more water, but this time we opt for simple tap water. It arrived in a jiffy – in a jug that looked a little unpleasing to me.





Hot pepper sauce

Since there were only two of us, we decided to order 2 main course to share:-

I ordered the Alounak special (£13.80). I figured out that since it was their signature platter, I should be safe. I was given the choice of bread, salad or rice. I chose rice as I haven’t eaten rice for well……let me count…a few days! Even before the platter reached my table, the fragrant aroma did. Wow! I just couldn’t wait. A skewer of mixed lamb and chicken fillet and some minced lamb served with grilled tomato. As I sunk my teeth into the mixed lamb, I knew instantly that it was no problem wiping clean the entire platter!

This is chicken on the bone (£9.10). Once again we had a choice of bread, rice or salad. For this, we chose salad. Consuming the well-marinated pieces of chicken was such a delight. We enjoyed every bite of it! The salad made the meal more balanced. With olives, tomatoes and a squeeze of lemon, it was indeed one of the better and healthier salads that I’ve had.

I’ll definitely remember this place. And if I have the chance, will come back for sure.

Address : 44 Westbourne Grove

London W2

Tel :  + 44 20 7729 0416 / 4158

Mr Kipling minced pies

Known as Britain’s favourite minced pies, I found Mr Kipling’s minced pies, prominently displayed on the shelves of Tesco near Tralfagar Square. Priced at £1.80 per box, with each box containing 6 pies , I decided to buy a box to try.

 

I put them in the microwave for approximately 2 minutes – and the fragrance overwhelmed the entire apartment. When I sunk my teeth into the minced pie, what I tasted was something really sweet. I must admit that I do not have a sweet tooth. Hence this wasn’t something I like – well, perhaps this wasn’t my ‘box of pie’ afterall.

Tortilla, London

I would consider this a fast food chain. The concept here is simple - you choose your food, well, I would say the same way you do in Subway.

First, decide on what you want to eat. Then choose the fillings and finally the toppings.

Pork bowl - with pork and lots of shredded vegetables, this bowl of wholesome goodness was such a delight. I loved it!

I then had this wrap - with chicken. I opened the paper wrapping only to find another layer -this time foil

I opened up the foil hurriedly and this is what I saw.

One bite into the chicken wrap and ohhh....rice!

Warm & delicious - this was the perfect food on a freezing cold night like this!

Address : 6 Market Place

London W1W 8AH

Tel : + 44 20 7637 2800