My Very First Blog

One week before Chinese New Year, I was invited to a "lou sang" dinner at Grand Imperial Restaurant at the Hartamas Shopping Centre in Sri Hartamas.

It was a 9-course dinner priced at RM1,088. There were ten of us and we started with the fresh salmon fish 'yee sang'.



OK, the green chillies are not supposed to be served with the 'yee sang', but it was placed there when I took the photo! LOL! The two white plates contain the raw salmon fish.



The above photo shows the 'yee sang' up close before we added in the fresh salmon fish.

After we added the salmon fish, I had no time to take photos as everyone started to use their long chopsticks to stir the 'yee sang'. As you know, stirring the 'yee sang' (or what we call 'lou sang') is considered auspicious and I would not want to miss out on the action! Haha!

See how long the pair of 'lou sang' chopsticks is compares to the normal chopsticks that we use to eat with!



Within minutes, this was what remained of the big plate of 'yee sang'.



Since I love 'yee sang' a lot, I guess I ate most of it! LOL!

After that delicious 'yee sang', came the shark's fin soup with crab meat and crab roe.



I wondered why it was orange in colour! This is my bowl of shark's fin soup.



Unlike shark's fin served in some restaurants, this one used genuine shark's fins. Can you see this big chunk of shark's fin? Yummy!



I know! I know! We are not supposed to be eating shark's fin right? But I was invited and this dish was already on the table. It would be pointless to reject it!

Next on the list was roasted whole smoked suckling pig. Now I know some of you don't eat pork, but this was really delicious! Sorry about that!



See that huge pig head on the plate? I kind of felt sorry for the pig actually!



But the meat dipped into a little of the sauce was scrumptious! And I have to say it went down very well with a glass of red wine, courtesy of my friend!



The next food on the menu turned out to be my favourite dish for the night! It was steamed garoupa fish with chop ginger and preserved bean paste.



The flesh was smooth and it was tasty! I love this dish a lot!!



After the fish, came the deep fried sea prawns with garlic, salt and pepper.



I found the prawns a little too salty. Did not really like this one!

Next was braised top shell fish with mushroom, dried oysters and 'fatt choy'.



I am never a fan of this type of dish but I guess it was healthier than all the fried prawns and roasted pig we had earlier!

Finally, it was time for fried glutinous rice with waxed meat. I was already quite full by then, but I could still take in some more, haha!



It was not bad although we could not finish it! So in the end, we had to 'ta pau' (take away) whatever remained on the plate.

After resting our stomachs for a while (giving our stomachs time to digest all those food!), we were served desserts. The first dessert was chilled mango puree with sago and pomelo.



It may not look very appetizing, but believe me, it was quite delicious! Can you see the slices of pomelo I scooped up?

The second dessert was steamed 'nian gao' and lotus paste pastries.



The steamed 'nian gao' with shredded coconut was nice.



The lotus paste pastries were not too bad either.



Overall, I would say the food here were quite good although slightly pricey, but I would definitely return for the steamed garoupa fish!

Before we left, I took a quick snap of the front entrance of this restaurant.



And just in case you would like to book for a Chinese New Year dinner there, here are the details.

Grand Imperial Restaurant,
Lot F33-F35, First Floor,
Hartamas Shopping Centre,
No. 60, Jalan Sri Hartamas 1,
Sri Hartamas, 50480 KL
Tel : 03-6201 3777
Fax : 03-6201 7226

Gong Xi Fa Cai and Happy Chinese New Year, everyone!

Today is the second day of The Tiger Year and I hope you all are having a great time!

Last week, I went to six shopping malls in Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur for a photo-taking marathon of the Chinese New Year decorations. I would like to share some of the photos here today.

Let's start with 1Utama.



They have giant cats instead of tigers! I thought it's the Year of The Tiger! Well, I guess tigers are cats too, haha!



What are these cats called? Prosperity cats or something? You can usually see them in front of shops waving at customers to enter. I notice they always wave with the left hand. Anyone knows why? I usually wave with my right hand as I am a righthander, haha!



Do you notice the moles on the cats' faces? What do these moles signify? Anyone knows? Please share your knowledge with us, thank you!



Next, it's Mid Valley Megamall.



I have to admit I didn't quite like Mid Valley's decoration this time. What do you think?



I did not like the many wires criss crossing above the pagoda and the flowers to hang those dragonflies - they just spoilt the whole scene!



If Mid Valley was bad, then the next door Gardens Mall was much worse!



What the crap is that? And I hate those paper or plastic cuttings dangling from the ceiling! Definitely did not the suit this prestigious looking mall!



Next, I went to Pavilion.



Lots of red lanterns welcome visitors at the entrance of the mall.



The photo above is from outside looking in, photo below is from inside looking out.



Pink colour trees lined the street outside the mall.



I saw this rickshaw and quickly snapped a photo of it!



It seemed that Pavilion was having a Prosperity Rickshaw Ride for RM10 per ride. I am sure tourists would love to sit on that rickshaw!



Inside Pavilion, a Bridge of Love greeted me. I wondered if this was done in conjunction with Valentine's Day.



The Bridge Of Love from a different angle.



There's a crane at the other side of the bridge.



Entering the main atrium, I saw more cranes!



And huge gigantic red lanterns hanging from the ceiling!



What attracted my attention was not the huge lanterns, but the picturesque scene of cranes flying below the beautifully shaped trees typically found in China's landscape.



Don't you just love those cranes and trees? Reminds me of old Chinese paintings!



I think I'm giving Pavilion two thumbs up for their Chinese New Year decoration!

When I went to Suria KLCC to see if they could top Pavilion, I was disappointed! Take a look.



I thought those small red lanterns hanging from the ceiling looked kind of empty and uninteresting.



On the ground, things were looking pretty boring.



There was a girl performing a song on a musical intrument.





I was certainly not impressed with KLCC's Chinese New Year decoration this year.

Last stop - The Curve.



Oh, I love the designs especially the wall which is typical of old Chinese architecture. Besides, the curvature of the wall fits in nicely with the name of this mall!



And I like the many colourful lantern balls hanging from bamboo trees! Beautiful!



I was mesmerized with these lanterns!





This is the main stage in the middle of the hall.



Snapped a photo of the lanterns looking up from below the tall bamboo trees.



I was amazed at the many bamboo trees with colourful lanterns hanging covering the whole place!



I was impressed! The Curve did not disappoint!



It was a pity I did not have time to cover other malls like Sunway Pyramid, Berjaya Times Square, Bangsar Village and many more.

So which shopping mall do you think have the best Chinese New Year decoration this year?