Christmas/Year-End Dinner @ Le Meridien, Kuala Lumpur

My boss who is based in SG came over to KL and the team, comprises of 5 members including me had a meetup with him in KL Sentral.

We had some simple activities before our dinner. One of the activity is 'Breakout' indoor escape game which is scenario based game that challenges our problem solving skills. Not goin to elaborate further here but you can look for more details in its website.

Our game ended at 6:45pm and we adjourned to the 'Latest Recipe' restaurant which is located at Le Meridien hotel for our dinner.

The hotel is still looking very much the same since my last visit (more than a decade ago)

Been to this restaurant twice before...also during year-end, hence for both times they were having Christmas buffet.

There were several other companies who were also having their team dinner on that same day as us. Some came prepared with their own door gifts....

Well, my focus is on the food, so let's dig in:

My first round is always Japanese food - sushi, sashimi, tempuras, miso soup.

Then followed by Chinese, Malay/Nusantara, Indian and western....

and finally desserts...

I did not manage to try these...too full already!

chocolate fondue, with marshmallow and fruits

It was a great dinner, we enjoyed it so much!

And lastly, a group photo with our handsome boss...

Note: someone said that he look like Arnold Schwarzenegger

😂

Christmas Decoration at IOI City Mall, Putrajaya

This year, IOI City mall goes full fledge with Christmas decoration in the East Court (new wing). Compared to last year, this new wing is now fully occupied (if not, more than 90%) with high-end brands and has more crowds now.

The outdoor is not left out too...

This is the stretch of outdoor alfresco dining with various well-known restaurants & cafes such as Cafe Chef Wan, Kenny Hills Bakers....etc

Back to indoor: The mall East Court with an LED screen display, featuring various brand's ads.

One year plus after its opening, business seems thriving with more shops opening in this new wing.

Meanwhile at 'The Symphony' located in the old wing....it still have some 'charm' with fountain and outdoor picnic/seating area. By evening, youngsters and some families would leisurely hang out at the open area to enjoy the fountain.

Before leaving, I 'tapao' a box of gochujang boneless chicken strip for dinner.

RM16.50nett

This portion is too much for one pax, therefore i split it into half for next day's lunch.

This is the non-spicy gochujang...it tastes like the sauce used in Chinese dish 'pai kuat wong' (pork rib king)...except that this is chicken (instead of pork).

Nak Nak is a local brand, subsidiary of K-fry and it specializes in Korean fried chicken. They also sell burgers, loaded fries and milkshakes. In short, it is Korean fast food, by a Malaysian company.

Peace Cafe @ 3rd Level Skycasino

After exploring FUHU @ Crockfords, next is to try out Peace Cafe, which is located at the same level in Skycasino.

This was a lunch set meal, consists of pandan mochi, a canned drink and a stewed pork with sea cucumber, mushrooms & black fungus. Quite tasty to eat with rice.

the only thing to complaint is that the pork is too fatty.

For dinner, I had scallop & abalone claypot rice. It came with the same dessert (mochi or yogurt) and drink.

It also serves supper for late nite owls (like me). I had charsiew bao (bbq pork bun), siu mai and a cup of hot Chinese tea. This seems like a breakfast for some.

The following day, I had soup noodle with bacon and fish balls. I like their springy wanton noodles.

For lunch, lamb shank with rice. Just meh! too gamey😖

Dinner was fried rice with sunny side up egg, luncheon meat & prawns. It was served with scallop soup (so flavorful!), mochi (dessert) and drink.

I rearranged the prawns so that they look neater for instagram😂

Supper was fish porridge.

[Below] The cloudy morning view of the iconic Genting logo on top of the building.

December Birthday 'Gifts' - Part 2

continuation of the free 'gifts' that i claimed for my birthday....

 4. Ole-Ole Bali

I heard about this place being so generous to treat anyone with an extravagant Nasi Campur meal (Balinese style) on their birthday. This has been around for quite some time but i never try it coz i was skeptical of such claim. After googling and watching some Youtube/TikTok videos, i finally believe that this is real. So, on my birthday, i purposely made a visit to Ole-Ole Bali in IOI City Mall to claim the free meal. This 'offer' is free to public, just need to show the IC to prove your birthdate.

The 'Nasi Campur' meal is worth RM44 in the menu!

[Below] Side view

[Below] Side view from another angle. The dishes include:

grilled lemongrass prawns, squid, fish, beef rendang, sate lilit, lawar kacang (beans salad), rempeyek (anchovy crackers), sambel terasi and sambel goreng.

It was a weekday and i went there around 4pm+ when the place was quite empty.

This place is nicely decorated with dim lights.

The ambience is like a 5-star Balinese resort....

Their decorations are so extensive with Balinese gong, bamboo lights, payung ('tedung Bali'), coconut husk hut, etc....which transform the corner into a mini Balinese resort.

I paid nothing at all for this wholesome dining experience. Just walk-in, eat and walk-out😆

Delicious dishes, my favorites are beef rendang, sate lilit and rempeyek. 

Kangkung, grilled squid and fish taste good too!

I wish to come back again on next year!

~~~~~~~~~~~

5. Baskin-Robbins free one junior scoop ice-cream

Lastly, the next free gift which i never fail to claim on every year is BR ice-cream!

this time i had the 'pistachio' flavor.

There are more gifts from various merchants but I'm contented enuff with these five😁

~~~~~~~~~~~

Unrelated to the above, i also had a few rounds of BR ice-creams complimentary for Digi & Celcom subscribers. My entire family and I have both Digi & Celcom lines, so we had some ice-cream feast...

The complimentary one-scoop ice-cream is limited to 11k quota per day nationwide from 8th to 10th December and is claimable from 2pm till 4pm.

Here are what we had:

[Below] 'Cookies n Cream' flavor

My verdict: tastes like Oreo cookie with milky vanilla.

[Below] 'Jamoca Almond Fudge' flavor

My verdict: tastes like tiramisu. It has almonds, so there's some crunch.

[Below] 'Caramel Praline Cheesecake' flavor

My verdict: tastes like caramel, milky, but can't taste any cheesecake, sweetest compared to the rest.

cheers!

The queue around 2pm++ on a Saturday, in Pinnacle mall.

So far, I have tried quite a few flavors (from previous years until today), and here are my favorites from most to least:

Macadamia Nuts 'n Cream

Pistachio

Cookies n Cream

Jamoca Almond Fudge

Chocolate Chip

Caramel Praline Cheesecake

From the above, you'll notice that i prefer nuts and some crunch for my ice-cream😋

~~~~~~~~~~~

Here's my simple birthday cake from annoying sister.

A small size cheesecake from Berry's (RM28)😂

December Birthday 'Gifts'

It's December and what's more exciting than to celebrate my birthday....woohoooo!!! *besides Christmas

That's because there are lotsa free 'gifts' that i could claim....

Here are the items that I have claimed for my b'day:

1. BananaBro - free squid ring with any purchase

I became a 'member' since 2 months ago and during these period i have received a complimentary 'chicken varuval' (as member's welcome gift) and this time a free squid ring as my birthday gift.

Here's my extravagant meal😃

My kinda happy meal, coz the default 3 veg dishes, rice, curries & papadam in BananaBro are free-flow.

Look at this golden crispy squid ring, although not free-flow, but the portion is more than enough for a solo diner...definitely recommended for sharing.

2. Two Pesos - free extra meat with any hotpot

I became member just 2 months ago (almost same time as BananaBro) and similar to BananaBro, they have member's welcome gift too.

Also, another complimentary extra meat for my birthday.

I purchased the 'Quick Easy Lunch' set with fish meat and claimed the 'extra meat' (Australian beef).

Total bill came up to RM14.85nett for this solo hotpot meal. Quite worth it!

3. Family Mart sofuto

This is no 'stranger' to most FM members....all u need to do is to install the app, become a member via the app and instantly received a free sofuto (any flavor) worth RM3.90

Currently the seasonal flavor is Taro Coconut and it is quite popular till out-of-stock by evening.

I went there again on another day and managed to claim this FOC😋

 

Sweet taro and coconutty taste like aiskrim potong....I wish this sofuto flavor can be available for a few more months.

to be continued with more 'free gifts'.....