Mantra Nothern Indian Cuisine @ Sunway Pyramid

Had a cozy dinner @ Mantra's @ Sunway Pyramid. They specialize in Northern Indian Cuisine.

I ordered the Hyderabady Briyani, and Rogan Josh Lamb. Friend ordered Sambal kangkung belacan because he felt he needed something closer to home.

Overall, the Briyani was so-so. Spices weren't as strong as before. And the lamb was mild too. Kangkung belacan was normal. Overall the bill came up to about MYR 61. It was pricey for the mild-satisfaction.

I did enjoy the presence of a group of northern Indian families (It sounded like they spoke Hindi). Another clue was that they came in at about after 8.10pm. If memory serves me right, Northern indians would normally have their dinner around that time?

It was a small gathering, so they had a small buffet happening. Very nice and cozy scene.

2.5/5

Sunflower Hotel @ Melaka

I am thoroughly satisfied with my stay @ Sunflower Hotel (Melaka) last weekend. The place was clean, pleasantly deco'ed, and the price was reasonable. Oohh ohh! Location was fabulous too!


The place has been around for more than a year (so I was told), and yet to have still maintained its standards of operation and cleanliness simply leaves a good impression. Unlike 'MyHome' budget hotel chain littered throughout PJ, that place is filthy, pricey and let's be honest, is more of a prostitute den then anything else (I won't bother explaining my experience there, unless of course... someone asks nicely).

Overall Impressions:

I stayed in the single room. It was furnished with a single bed, a small desk, small clothesline, and an LCD TV with access to a few Astro channels. Simple, yet comfortable.

Unfortunately mine did not come with an attached bathroom, but no qualms there, as there were ample shower/toilet stalls and they are all very well maintained. I was even comfortable going barefoot into the bathroom, and that says a lot.

The corridors to rooms were wide and pleasantly lid, with CCTV's installed at key angles. You do not get any sort of lingering horrific feeling even when walking out to the toilet in the middle of the night.

The reception is staffed by one person per shift and they were well mannered. The lady who attended to my check-in was more than happy to answer to my every inquiry. The stairs leading to the upper floors are wide and at the top, you are greeted with a nice mini patio with a running mini-fountain. Very pleasant indeed.

Not forgetting that there's a nice cafe/restaurant next to the Inn (also by Sunflower management) that serves pretty good 'dai chao' stuff in the day. The whole menu rotates into a more western/italian fare at dusk. I ordered mushroom cream chicken chop + rice and it was delicious! Reasonably portioned.

Price

It was reasonable. At about MYR 50++ per night for the single room. I have no complains there. And guess what? The stay comes with breakfast too! And pretty good! You get a choice of either fried mee hoon with some condiments or a whole set of American breakfast + coffee! Heck! The fact that a budget hotel even provides breakfast is just... noteworthy!

Location

Let's get one thing straight, the place is not smacked in the middle of the Melaka's city centre, but it's not far too (@ Taman Pertam Jaya, Padang Temu). A mere 6-7 minutes drive away in fact! Which is pretty good in my books. There are a couple of shops at the location, e.g. Mini markets and Ayamas as well as some other eateries, so it's not entirely desolated. Overall awesome!

Final Thoughts:

Now I can't guarantee that the place would maintain its high standards in the years to come, but for now, I award this place 5/5 until I can find a better location. Expectations met through and through and I will be sure to stay at the place again in my future visits, which I foresee that there's more to come! Kinda in loved with Melaka at the moment.

Forums (Feedback from patrons:) http://www.tripadvisor.com.my/Hotel_Review-g306997-d1774868-Reviews-Sunflower_Hotel_Malacca-Melaka_Central_Melaka_District_Melaka_State.html

Official website: http://www.sunflowerhotel.com.my/

Buffet Lunch @ Fuzion Cafe (Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa)

Yet another short write-up. One word: AWESOME

I recall the pricing per adult pax goes to about MYR 100+ (The last time I inquired was for dinner). In my opinion the variety and quality more or less justify the high price. Ambiance is great, the seating arrangement isn't too crowded. My only complain is that the ventilation could stand to use a little improvement. If you are afraid of getting your clothes stained with the smell evaporated oil, then be seated away from the grill. It's a little warm there too.

Variety: There's a salad bar, sushi bar, dessert bar. Main courses consists of: Indian, Western, Chinese, Malay, Italian. Pretty good range. They rotate the menu on a regular basis, so you won't get the same stuff the next day I reckon.

What really caught my attention most today was the Salmon Pizza... My God... the slice of Salmon on top of the thin crust was just superb. My only regret was not to commandeer another slice! Another yummy dish was the stuffed chicken leg. It even went well without the sauce!

I dare proclaim that, out of so many buffet places I have ever been to my whole life... this is the one place I never got sick off, and I am so game for another visit in the not so distant future! Once I have the dough to spare of course.

5/5.

Official website: http://kualalumpur.sunwayhotels.com/eat/fuzion.aspx

Kinnaree Thai Restaurant @ Palm Square Jaya One

I am not going to do a whole lot of write-up for this, just my brief thoughts of the place.

The food was pretty authentic thai fare in my books. I didn't quite pay attention to the menu as someone else took charge of the ordering. They went for the presumably expensive set because the bill came up to a hefty $$$. There were 2 tables (of 10 pax) and each table got a set of the dishes.

I have a minor gripe on the food lining for the set though. Yes, we should come to expect that most thai dishes are spicy, but they need not make everything as such. And they could have branched out a tad on the variety. It's mostly sea food (Which I have a strong aversion to). Some land-animals would have been nice.

What we had (Please look out for the exact names from the site's menu):

1) Fish cakes- was so-so, I had better ones elsewhere.

2) Papaya tempura- Quite nice.

3) 2 types of fish- One fried, and one steamed- in spicy lime sauce (I love the latter as it was de-boned).

4) Tom yam soup with mussels and varied sea food (This version of tom yam came with a little coconut milk). Not bad.

5) Spicy sea food dish- not for me.

6) Fried fresh water prawn- definitely no-no for me.

7) Tofu with minced meat and basil leaf.

8) Minced chicken in basil leaf.

As you can see, a lot of redundant dishes. That's what I meant about the whole affair not being varied enough. 

Ambiance- The deco is alright, but what I hate most about the place is that it's pretty DAMN HOT. EVERYONE in my company were sweating profusely. It was a bit rediculous in my opinion, if the reservation was made for 6.30pm... they should have at least started coowling the whole place down 10-15 minutes earlier.

Throughout our dine-in, they started bringing out portable air conditions/fans to supplement the coowling of the entire restaurant. This is really BAD. In fact, it's the same situation as the other upstairs restaurant: Kissaten. This gives me the impression that the entire upstairs layout was an afterthought by the Jaya One developer. No centralized air condition or design to mitigate the heat.

The entire sweaty, and somewhat unpleasant temperature was more or less offset by the staff's superb service. Kudos to them for being so attentive and well mannered. It makes the whole experience all the more bearable.

Overall. 3/5. (In my opinion, the food was still overpriced, better you browse and customize your order instead of going for the set).

Worthed a 2nd visit

Official website: http://www.thaiinspired.com/

Out of Africa Restaurant and Kudu Bar

Out of the blue, I decided that I need to get my taste buds acquainted to my not so usual daily cuisines, hence the place came up.

I actually saw the restaurant a while back when I was celebrating a colleague's birthday at 'Splash Pizza' located just next to it. It's got a very African vibe to it so I figured then, to place this on my to-visit list.

It never came to that for a while until yesterday. Met up with an ex-colleague for the dining experience.

Suprisingly, the place was fully booked, so we were seated under this leafy shade outside. It was cloudy/rainy weather, so the place was ideal.

Ordered the corn bread for starters. It was a little bland, and I was expecting it to be sweeter with stronger hint of corn. I made the mistake of scraping too much butter over. MYR 6

My friend ordered the ostrich fillet steak. MYR 58

I ordered the Braaied Boerewors. With Pap and vege at the side. MYR 39. The dish was so-so. Sauce was ok.

It gets cozy at night. With the pool lid up. Makes a nice hang out place.

Overall it was a so-so affair. The food was ok but so totally not justifiable with such a high price. the portion's considered to be pretty teeny weeny too. You are better off with Tony Roma's/Chilli's or even TGI Fridays if portion is your thing.

There's actually a very nice bar tucked inside though. I would definitely come for a 2nd-visit just for the bar atmosphere. It makes a nice gathering place with friends. You can book space for special functions too. They cater buffet style meals for said functions.

2.5/5.

http://www.outofafrica.com.my/location.htm