The Westin KL Again!..

The Westin Executive Club at its view

We spent our Christmas Eve at The Westin KL again this year.  I did a review on the hotel here and here.  Gotta get this post out of the way before this year slips by in no time!  How time flies!  Today is already the last day of 2011!  Gosh!  I can't think of what I have accomplished in the whole year of 2011 now that it's almost gone!

Back to this post, this time we opted for an upgrade to the executive club room on the 33rd floor.  The room size was no different from the usual one.  Only that with the upgrade, we get to enjoy having complimentary breakfast and evening cocktail at their Executive Lounge located on the same floor where our room was.  On top of that, we get to help ourselves to non-alcholic drinks (juices & can drinks) throughout the day.    The spread of buffet breakfast was somewhat limited so hubby and I went down to The Living Room for breakfast the next morning.  They had this grilled BBQ steak counter last year, not this time though.  Nevertheless, we enjoyed the widespread of buffet breakfast thoroughly.  Burps!

The boy had awoken and was lying on the heavenly bed playing on his iPad when we came up from breakfast.  We then took him to The Westin Executive Club just across our room to have something light for breakfast before going down to the pool for a swim.  What I loved about the club was the staff there didn't bother to ask you for your room number, not at all, you can just grab something to eat, walk back to your room to relax and walk back in again to eat.  The boy made himself at home, had a few finger food, few sips of juice, played his games on the internet in the computer room, walked out, helped himself to more food and juice, declared he's full and dashed back into the computer room for more internet games.  No one bothers, so liberal..  Daddy had a cup of coffee while the boy was eating.  I had always been a small eater so I just roamed about the place snapping pictures. 

@ hotel lobby

Dinner @Room Eighteen, Fahrenheit 88

Food wise, nothing to shout about, I just wanna clear the vouchers purchased earlier. 

It was already 5.30pm by the the time we made it to the hotel lobby.  We fetched the boy from his Aikido class and braved through the jam around the golden triangle before we finally got there.  As the evening cocktail started at 5.30pm, we left our luggage in the room and walked across to the executive club.  For those who love alcohol, you can mix your own cocktail with gin, vodka, rum, whiskey, tequila and whatnots.  Hubby had a small glass of whiskey mixed with don't know what and his face turned all red!  Different types of snacks including sushis and cheese cakes were served.  I loved the cheese cakes to bits and had 3 pcs of it.  Yummy! 

X'mas decor at Fahrenheit88. 

Looked familiar to me especially the sleigh which I had seen at Pavilion KL last year.

We were so bloated after the evening cocktail earlier at the hotel followed by dinner not long after.  We took our time strolling around the malls within the vicinity and took some pictures.

X'mas decor at Pavilion

Didn't go for a ride on the mini merry-go-round.  My boy said he's too old for that. Hahaha..

Swimming in the pool the next morning before check-out.  Had a break in between to enjoy his lolly ice.

As the hotel extended our check-out time to 1pm, we rested in the room while the boy enjoyed soaking in the bath tub after the swim.  Checking out was a breeze as this could be done at the Executive Club as well.  The staff even offered to extend our access card so that we could come back to have another round of complimentary evening cocktail later on! How nice of him!  We didn't accept the offer though as both of us were not alcohol inclined. ;)

After checking out, we left our car at the hotel and walked across to The Pavilion KL.

Part of the 143 United Buddy Bears on display in front of The Pavilion KL

Enjoying his 3-scoop gelato ice-cream @Art's Cream Gallery, The Pavilion

Tokyu Street in The Pavilion KL



Still full from our breakfast, we ordered something light from Food Republic, a plate of fried carrot cake, fried rice and fried oyster to share.  The place was super crowded, my boy had to resort to writing a note that read "Reserved for Leong ('s) family" which he folded to make a stand and placed it on the table.  LOL..  He was left alone at the table while daddy and mommy went hunting for food and drinks.  He later told me he was annoyed by the people who came non-stop asking for permission to take away our chairs. Hahaha...

This post will be my last for the year 2011.  I have so much to catch up on my blog and I still have loads of photos unsorted.  Never mind, there's always a next year to do that.  Hahaha..

By the way, where are you guys going for New Year countdown tonight?  Ours will most likely be on our bed.. snoring away.. Hahaha.. We are going up the hill tomorrow for a night's stay to mark the end of the school holidays.. School reopens next Wednesday and I am glad I can finally claim back my daily 6 hours' ME time! Yeah! *evil grins*

Before I end here, I would like to wish everyone who comes by my blog, "A Happy New Year 2012"! :)

Merry X'mas & Happy New Year!

It's Christmas Eve!!  We are going for a short getaway this afternoon. :)

Here wishing my blogger friends........

Merry X'mas

&

Happy New Year 2012!

Revisit to Master Toast@The Scott Garden, Old Klang Road

Hubby's squid sambal with rice.  He gave both thumbs up!

It was the first weekend after we came back from our Bangkok trip.  My fridge was literally empty so we went to Tesco, The Scott Garden for some grocery shopping.  We woke up late, had our brunch quite late so naturally we had our lunch late too, around 3 pm when we were done shopping.  Hubby wanted to try their squid sambal he didn't get to savour on our last visit there.  So here we were again at Master Toast.

My plate of spaghetti bolognese... taste wise, so so only

My boy, still full from his brunch ordered fried nuggets that came with

A big portion of fries

2 glasses of mango smoothies to be shared among us

The boy with his X'mas pressie.. Yes, X'mas came early for him this year! :)

Dinner @Tony Roma's, Siam Paragon, Bangkok

We ordered neither of their signature steak combos

Instead, we ordered this

and this... scroll down for the real pictures

Bread roll with butter and french butter.

The bread was warm, slightly hard on the outside but soft inside, what a lovely way to kick start our meal.

Iced water for 3 pax - 35 Baht

Half Onion Loaf  served with BBQ mayo dipping sauce - 195 Baht

Eventhough it was their smallest portion but the serving was still rather big!  We had a hard time trying to finish it. The rings are all tangled up somehow in what actually looks like a loaf of bread, size-wise anyway, and the onions are thin-cut and sweet which, mixed with the grease flavor from the deep-fried batter and salt produces just the right flavor.  It’s the ultimate junk food – fat and salt – with the sweetness of dipping sauce, something that tastes like thousand island sauce to balance it and there’s probably thousands of calories in one loaf but who cares?? :)

Our cheeky boy with his newly acquired lighted doggy key chain or some sort

The boy's Bacon cheeseburger - 395 Baht

It was huge and the unfinished portion went to our official Bandaraya's tummy. Burp!

Family Feast - 995 Baht (St. Louis style ribs served with BBQ chicken, fried shrimps, corns on the cob and coleslaw.  The portion was HUGE!)

The menu says it's ideal to be shared by 2 but we couldn't finish it, had to pack and take away the corn cobs and one chicken thigh.  .

The pork ribs were simply out of this world!  Tender and flavorful, with the sauce that complement the meat so brilliantly. We literally sucked the bones dry. Tony Roma's, famous for its ribs around the world certainly lives up to its name.  Why can't we have this in Malaysia?  :(

We planned to go back again for the pork ribs only this time but somehow didn't get around doing it.. I will surely come again on my next visit there hopefully soon!

By the way, any suggestions on where to go for the best pork ribs around town?


 

 

We Caught Puss In Boots In Bangkok!

We could only made it to the cinema to catch Puss In Boots when we were in Bangkok, our first movie since the school holidays started!  Funny as it might sound, but we had been down with flu and fever even before the school holidays started. :(  

We went to SF Cinema City on the 6th Floor of MBK Mall.  It was just a 5 minutes' walk from our hotel using the connecting skybridge.  There were only 2 types of tickets available on that night for 'Puss In Boots' show: VIP and Digital (3D).  The boy opted for VIP that cost Thai Baht 250 (approx. RM25) per ticket.  He doesn't like watching movies in 3D as he claims it causes headache and eyes strain.  I must agree with him on that.  We went to watch 'Arthur Christmas' in 3D last week and I really disliked the experience.    

Welcome Drink that comes with the ticket

Mommy, Let's Toast!

We were seated at their nicely furnished VIP Lounge while waiting for the show to start

Inside Cinema 6 where there were only 7 patrons including us threesome!  For the premium price that we paid, we were provided with a blanket and comfortable settee chair to  laze on while enjoying our show.  

One thing worth mentioning here.  Before a film is screened the Thai national anthem will be played. Everyone, both Thais and foreigners stand throughout the anthem  in a show of respect to the beloved King of Thailand.  A pleasant experience, especially to our boy, I must say. :)  I did that 2 years ago while watching an IMAX movie with hubby at Krungsi IMAX, Siam Paragon where he had to kick me in the butt to get me off that comfortable settee when the anthem was played.  Kiahahaha... 

Gai Wo Bao (Chicken Nest Bun) 鸡窝包

Chicken Nest Bun.. what a weird direct interpretation.. Hahaha.. It's basically a lo mai kai (steamed sticky glutinous rice with chicken) wrapped in a bun.

Hubby brought home 2 nicely boxed 'Gai Wo Bao' the other day.  Gai Wo Bao is one of the famous item originated from a dim sum restaurant in Sri Petaling.   Hubby bought them from a dim sum restaurant in Bandar Puteri, Puchong, guess they have a new outlet there now though I can't confirm that. 

To me, it's just a combination of a big bao (minus the filling) and a lo mai kai.  For RM5.80 or was it RM5.50, I would rather have a big bao and a lo mai kai separately, more filling to the tummy at almost the same price.  Sorry, I am practical person by nature if you don't know it already! tee hee hee..

Bangkok Trip - Day 1

My plate of mixed rice RM6

The boy & daddy had KFC for lunch

After checking-in our luggage, we took a brief stroll to Food Garden at LCCT for lunch.  We had more than 2 hours to kill there before catching our flight to Bangkok.  Compared to the eateries within LCCT premise which are always packed with people, Food Garden which adopts food court style, is spacious with plenty of seats for patrons. 

Pre-booked 3-pc pancakes for the boy.  One went into the boy's tummy when this pic was taken.

The meal comes with a cup of 100ml water when pre-book online

My loyal companion

About to land at Suvarnabumi Airport..

Were those paddy fields submerged in flood water or mere fishing pond?

A shuttle bus waiting to transport us to the airport arrival hall

My boy so happy to get a seat

Too bad.. all of you gotta wait for the next bus

Students from Alice Smith Int. School KL, occupied almost half of the plane were there for a holiday..

Who says tourists shun Bangkok? Look at the sardine packed shuttle bus!

We walked down to 1st Floor of the airport to buy taxi coupon from the public taxi booth.  We never had any unpleasant experience with any airport taxi drivers in Bangkok after our many visits to Bangkok.  Not this time though!  Should have gotten on the train located on the basement floor.  We managed to do just that on our trip back home and I will blog about it soon.  It's so so so CONVENIENT, PUNCTUAL, HASSLE FREE & ECONOMICAL!

Walking to the public taxi stand

By the time we checked-into our hotel room, it was already 6.30pm Bangkok local time (Malaysian time 7.30pm).  I wrote a review here about this hotel during my trip there with my dad and sister last year.  We rested and refreshed ourselves in the room before going out for dinner.  Since I stayed in this hotel before, I was quite familiar with the hotel surrounding. 

We took a 5 minutes stroll to Tesco Lotus, Rama 1 Road and decided to have dinner at this Chinese Restaurant called Mr Chow.  I am game for Thai Food, Tom Yum Goong in particular anytime, but with the boy tagged along, we played safe and had our usual Chinese meal for our first meal in Bangkok.

Crysanthemum Tea with lotsa crushed ice. free refillable with jasmine tea.  Guess this's the norm there as everywhere we go, we have more ice than the beverage itself.

A tray with sauce, chilli, pepper etc and not forgetting tissue box too.. a norm there too..

very service oriented.

Chinese Fried Rice

Pork Noodles

Fishball Noodles

Fried Wanton

On our way back after dinner.  Can you spot the plant trimmed into the shape of an elephant in the background?

On our way back to the hotel, we saw this pad thai roadside stall located next to Siam@Siam Hotel.  We ordered 2 plates of pad thai before we wrapped up our first day in Bangkok and retiring to bed.  40 baht each.  Taste wise, nothing to shout about, a bit too sweet to our liking... not a single piece of meat or prawns detected, only some taugeh, eggs and dried bean curd.  We'll give this stall a miss the next time we pass by.. 

More updates on our Bangkok trip coming up soon.. :)