Hubby's Birthday Lunch @ Lafite, Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur

Since we didn't get to dine in Lafite for my birthday (they were closed for a private event), we decided to dine here for Hubby's birthday lunch. Because I was so busy, I sort of forgot to blog this. Please note that this showcase lunch is no longer available.

Starting early February, they have changed the set lunch format, it is now 3-course set lunch at RM99++, comprising of chef's daily inspiration of teasers (changes weekly), main course selection (pick 1 from 5) and tasting of petite sweets. I have not tried the new set lunch yet, but I have tried the new a la carte menu for dinner and it is absolutely divine - will find time to blog that one in the next week. Just for your information, dinner now is either 3-course (RM195++) or 5-course (RM275++) - the menu is seasonal. No more tasting menus too.

If you don't know already, Lafite has a new chef de cuisine John Nash. Be awed by his cooking and creative flair.

We have been to Lafite several times for its showcase lunch (Click here to read about our previous visit). During our last few visits, the desserts were showcased, this time it was the appetizers. At first, we had mixed feelings since we thought most appetizers won't work well if served cold. We thought wrong, as somehow the chef managed to come up with appetizers which worked well in the showcase.

Bread

The new winter butter which we enjoy - it is made of maple syrup, figs, raisins and apricots.

Showcase appetizers

So, basically we were given an empty plate and can walk up to the showcase as many times as we wanted and then once we were done with the showcase, let them know and they will ask the kitchen to prepare the main courses. We didn't dare eat too much in case we were too full (we did eat our fair share) and spoil the enjoyment of our mains and dessert.

Tropical shooters

Potato soup with lumpfish caviar - this was pretty good, very smooth

This was my favorite one from the showcase - foie gras mousse with rye bread and a sweet "ja! m" which you squeeze on yourself... I lost count of how many I ate... but it was a lot. LOL

Fun food

We also liked this - the simple cured salmon with horseradish cream, love the herb leaf sandwiched between the crisp. So pretty.

Was happy to see scallops, but dismayed to see that it was served with kiwi (which I am allergic to). Luckily, the waiting staff said he could get me some without the kiwi, and he brought out 4 plates for me. Yay! How's that for good service.

Roasted scallop with kiwi and orange glaze

Without kiwi ;)

I also loved this one - goat's cheese with apricot and cranberries - but it was very filling so I think I only ate 3-4 LOL

Spiced tuna with pineapple and citrus.

Caesar salad with dressing in one of those cute tubes again

Sweet potato parfait with marshmallows and hazelnuts

Feta cheese with melon

Smoked duck wrapped with vegetables and lemongrass sauce

For mains, there were 5 selections - Hubby picked the black cod with olives, tomato and onion. Beautifully flaky, I had a few bites and I preferred this over mine. The beef short ribs with horseradish, carrot and celery root was also nicely prepared but perhaps fish was more suitable cos it was lighter and more suited after a heavy *ahem* round of appetizers. There is still black cod in the current lunch menu but paired with other ingredients.

Black cod

Beef short ribs

There were 3 dessert choices, luckily I didn't order the Mont Blanc Minutes (chesnut/meringue/mango) since it contained kiwi. Even if I did, Hubby would be forced to swap his dessert with mine LOL. I had the apple tatin (cinnamon/gratine/caramel), which also had an apple granita, mango leather and apple crisp. Both desserts were okay but not particularly memorable.

Mont Blanc Minutes

Apple tatin

Some fresh fruits

Nice Christmas tree

*Note: This showcase lunch is no longer available. Current lunch menu is RM99++.


Verdict: This was good, I can't wait to try out their new set lunch offerings.

Opening times: Lunch Monday to Friday 12.00 - 2.30pm; Dinner Monday to Saturday 7.00pm - 10.30pm. Closed on Sundays and public holidays.

Price: RM88++ per person, including coffee/tea.

Location: Lafite Restaurant, Lobby Level, Shangri-La Hotel, 11 Jalan Sultan Ismail, 50250 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel: 03- 2074 3900

Website: http://www.shangri-la.com/en/property/kualalumpur/shangrila

GPS Coordinates: 3.1541, 101.706297

The Volvo V60 Entertainment, comfort and style.

For this installment, we were done with the move (like finally!) and since we were too tired to drive it out far ( I was aiming for Melaka or Ipoh actually), we thought we would reward ourselves with a trip to the famed Semenyih Fish Valley Restaurant atSri Haneco Industrial Park, Jalan Kachau.

Haneco what???
Yes, that was my reaction as well when my friend forwarded the address to me.
Oh well,we figured that even if we got lost, at least we got lost in a Volvo!

Anyhow, the Volvo V60 comes with a Garmin navigational system so its time to make full use of it.

Since its going to be a long drive, we got our phones set up on bluetooth for some entertainment. The radio stations works as normal, with us having to adjust the frequency and saving it into the V60 system.

The cute fin you see below ! is the a ntenna, something jakun people like me got all wide-eyed.

The centre console.

This is how it looks like from the side and my automotive friends told me its called the floating panel. Learnt something new eh?

It has a lot of buttons, I know. But they are simple to use.
The keypad is for making calls! So all you have to do is sync your mobile (must be a smartphone la) via bluetooth to the V60s system and you can call and access the music files from your phone. But of course, a thumbdrive or ipod works just as well.

Dialing for me!
So how do you communicate?
Via the system of course! You do not have to hold the phones to your ears (else that would have been defeated the purpose of this in the first place). Reception was loud and clear, and yes, the whole car listens to your conversation.

Tada! Sappy love songs playing
Wheres my Move Like a Jagger??

Anyways, the sound system is pretty incredible. We turned our V60 into a mini Zouk, upping the bass and whatnots and zipped on the highway for fresh steamed fish. Yay!

We shall not reveal the speed but the ride was smooth and COMFORTABLE as expected. Look at! those s eats. mmmmm zzzzzz.

Acceleration!

The Volvo V60has this tiptronic gear system.Yes yes, I know some of you who are not automotive savvy are googling it now. Heck, Im learning too!
The Volvo V60 is auto, or can be manual (tiptronic you can drive in manual mode if you shift the gear knob to the left). How many gears? Ermm.. let me get back to you on that!

And heres the usual convenience features. Little compartments here and there for knick-knacks. Coffee tumbler, milk bottles, an open bottle of Johnny Walker. .
Note: There are little smart features that are not very obvious but thoughtful; like the lights (see below) in the cup holder. It does help especially at night, no fumbling around and risk spilling your drink!

More connections:Auxiliary audio input. USB.

Ok, thats it. Enough about the insides.
Heres the drive.The V60 T4s fuel consumption for combined driving of city & highways is 7.4 litres per 100km. Depending on your budget (which by the way if youre an owner of a Volvo you shouldnt be whining like us mere mortals about fuel cost) this should still be considered reasonable.

And some safety features of which Volvo are famous for needs to be highlighted.
Lets start with this cool one called BLIS, which gives you bliss in driving..ermmmm..ok, lame joke. ;p
BLIS:Blind Spot Information System. On both left and right mirrors.

The light goes RED as warning if there are any cars in your blind spot. Very very handy!
I love it as I had many near misses because of the blind spot many times!

Other safety features are the common ones like Child Safety and not so common ones like the supportive tech! nologies to help avoid collisions wherethe car brakes automatically -Pedestrian Detection with Full Auto Brake & Collision Warning with Full Auto Brake. I didnt get to test those out as I was way too busy shifting & packing my stuffs!

Anyhow, I watched this video on youtube that pretty much explains it. Driven by a hot irresponsible lady too! ;p

The Semenyih Fish Valley Restaurant atSri Haneco Industrial Park is famed for its seafood. If it wasnt for the Volvo V60, I wouldnt have driven so far out for seafood. Heck, theres so many seafood restaurants around and driving 40kms just because the prices are marginally cheaper? I wonder if these people ever thought of the cost of fuel!

Amazing relevation the old aunties waitresses here takes orders using iPads! And you order using their interactive menu complete with pictures and prices.

My friend bought his own fish, so we only paid the cooking fee. Its cool that they allowed that!
Else our bill would have come up to a much higher amount as fish are usually expensive, even if its of the freshwater variety.

Credit to be given wheres its due, the food here was actually good!
It wasnt too oily or overly seasoned. Vegetables retained their crunch, chicken meat were tender, curries were fresh and flavoursome and our fish were cooked to the perfect degree of doneness. Not bad at all!

All the above for RM140.00. There were 7 of us so it amounted up to RM20.00/pax. Not bad eh?

The drive home was past some trunk roads, in parts barely lit and bumpy.

The V60 handled it in ease, as expected. And heres wheres I suddenly found appreciation of the powerful lights of the V60.

Roads were well illuminated for our drive back.

Address of Fish Valley Semenyih:
PT 16367,
Sri Haneco Industrial Park
Jalan Kachau,Semenyih, Selangor
Contact, Tel: 012-382 5518/ 016-278 4092`

POINTS covered in this post for the V60:
Entertainment system
Dashboard features
Navigational system
Comfort level on long drives
Ease of driving:Manuevering and control
Safety features: BLIS (Blind Spot Control), Pedestrian Detection & Auto Brake
Acceleration torque and power
Fuel Efficiency
Lights

For earlier posting on the Volvo V60:
Key Integrated Remote Control (KIR)
Power seat settings
Awesome boot space
Electronic handbrakes
and my new home > click HERE!