My extravagant Birthday dinner @ Chin's Stylish Chinese Cuisine

This year, hubby decided to planned for my birthday dinner on his own, so I haven't a clue where he would be taking me. We were driving towards the place and when his Waze app announced we have arrived at the destination, I looked up and saw Royale Bintang Hotel. I was slightly disappointed as I have already told him I do not want to have buffet dinner at hotels for this year. He also went along with it and said yeah we are eating at this hotel.

But after parking at the opposite side of the road near the pier, I knew he was bringing me to somewhere else. Chin's Stylish Chinese Cuisine! I have always wanted to try the food at this place. I was beyond excited. As we entered the restaurant at around 6pm, it was empty but for us. It is located at the end of a bridge that connects the mainland with the restaurant built higher above the sea level. The interior was bold and eclectic, with a different air from all the other fine dining restaurants. And I love their hand-painted dining plates on every table, with so many different designs which are apparently available for sale if you like them. Even the ceiling was decorated with tasteful modern artwork and beautiful chandeliers. This world-class restaurant which has been established since 1987 in London has been awarded multiple awards including Malaysia's Best Chinese Cuisine Restaurant from 2010-2012, and had received good reviews from several top newspaper/magazines in the UK in the past. I have also noticed many celebrities have visited this restaurant before including Michelle Yeoh, Fan Bing Bing, Harith Iskander among them.

There was only one prefixed menu for those dining for two with RM188++ per pax and a few options for those with a minimum of 4 pax with price range starting from RM77++ per pax. We did not order any wine or champagne as neither of us drink. The 5-course menu is fascinating and we could not wait to try them.

Before they serve the first course, hubby gave me my birthday present. It was wrapped- first time! Haha. He even recorded a video of my expression because he was very sure I will like my present. Made me all the more curious... After unwrapping the present, it was none other than the latest model of Casio camera Ex-ZR3500. I have wanted to buy a camera for travel and blogging purposes for some time and had mentioned that I like the same camera model that my wedding make-up artist is using. He even secretly contacted her to find out which model and went in search of it but the model has been discontinued so he chose to buy the latest model which is even better! He can be so sweet~~ 

First course is the appetizer called Four Happiness- consisting of spinach leaves in mustard, citrus winter gourd, sesame prawns on toast and "gele mountain" hot chicken. This dish is very appetizing and the every bite is seasoned to perfection. I especially like the citrus winter gourd with its acidity.

Next in line is the soup- Sichuan flamed cod fish, named so because they light it on fire when they serve it to you! It is so good, I love the spiciness and the fish is tender and flavourful.I savoured every sip of the soup.This is probably my favourite dish of the night.

Third course we can choose between foie gras with laurel blossom and braised premium abalone (20gm). I have been wanting to try foie gras ever since I started watching shows like Masterchef so I ordered that while hubby chose the latter. Mine turned out to be so tender and exquisite. It practically melts in your mouth. FYI, foie gras is a popular luxury French cuisine made from duck or goose liver. But hubby enlightened me about the cruel process of how they make this food item and I guess this is the first and also the last time I shall eat foie gras. 

Coming to the fourth course and although the food portion for each course seemed small, I was surprisingly already started to feel full. The next course is their specialty dish, Chin's aromatic crispy duck. You can be sure every table would order this as they are famous for this dish. It is same as the Peking crispy duck that I have had the fortune of tasting in Beijing few years back. It brought a lot of good memories back. The duck was shredded by the waitress at our table and she demonstrated the correct way to eat them, which is by first applying a dash of Hoisin sauce onto the chinese pancake, then you can add 2-3 pieces of cucumber and a pinch of scallion before adding some shredded crispy duck on top. It was hubby's first time eating this dish and he love it! He had so many pieces that before the fifth course came, he admitted he was finally almost full.

Second last course is the house special- lobster on noodles. The lobster flesh is so fresh and chewy and I like the noodles too.

Last but not least is the dessert- black sesame seeds ice-cream with crispy pudding. By then I was already too full but the sesame seed ice-cream is very flavourful and it was the perfect ending to a perfect meal.  

Overall, we were satisfied with the excellent food and the service. Top-class. Price is definitely on the high side (total damage OMG RM432! ) but we feel that we got what we paid for. Thank you hubby for the most wonderful birthday dinner a girl could wish for.

      

Brunch at Xi Xiang Kaya Kopitiam @ Gurney Paragon Mall

It has been some time since I last visited Gurney Paragon Mall. A new Xi Xiang Kaya outlet has opened on level 2 of the mall right next to Padini concept store since 16th of November 2015. I was drawn to the place immediately as it was bustling with people and the staff were friendly and greeted us 'Welcome' even when we were few feet away from the counter. My husband has actually been to the Simpang Ampat branch and gave an acceptable feedback so we search for a table to have our brunch.

As I screened through the two page menu, I realized the options are quite limited but I managed to find what I wanted to order- a chicken curry pie and a cup of almond milo. Hubby has tried their hand-made spicy noodle (dry ban mian) before and has already passed judgement that I Mum Mum's ban mian is better and cheaper. So he decided to try their chicken rice instead.

3 branches in Penang

Menu page 1

Menu page 2

We waited (quite a considerable of time), but the waiter was very friendly and polite to us so we waited patiently. My chicken curry pie turned out smaller than expected- it was the size of a 'karipap' and not the size of a standard pie. But it made up for its meager size with its taste. It was not spicy and contains potatoes and some small chunks of chicken. I would have preferred to have it served as a mail meal with a bigger portion rather than as an ala carte dish.

My chicken curry pie RM7.90

Hubby's chicken rice was also quite nice with an appetizing gravy to go with it. I always feel the gravy decides whether a chicken rice dish is good or bad.

Chicken rice RM11.90

Almond milo tasted exactly like almond (heng jin) 'cham' with milo. Nothing to shout about and I feel it is quite pricey at RM4.50 per cup.

My cup of Almond milo RM4.50

Total damage

Overall, the price is on the high side- probably expected for its location but according to hubby, the price at the Simpang Ampat branch is exactly the same. It is still worth a try for those of you who have not tried it yet.