I’ve always been a fan of fine dining – come to think of it, isn’t everybody? Hmm I’m pretty sure if we all had enough moolah to throw around, everyone would be flocking to those fine dining spots and posh eateries already.

Chef Jerome, the Executive Chef
cooks up a storm!
In this new menu presentation, we were served with fine portions and a good combination of foie gras, mussel soup, cod fishes, roasted beef and caramel custards.

Le Bouchon isn’t like an outlet like any other set in the row of the thriving F&B square of Changkat Bukit Bintang. It’s one of the premier ones which for your info, is an 8-time award holder of the Malaysian Tatler’s Best Restaurants.
scuba diving
Lemme take you around for a lil visual tour, shall we?

Upon entering, you will be greeted to the likes of many wine bottles all arranged by indexes and organized in order. Also, a wooden coffee table for two for those wine-lovers out there to chill.

After walking down a few flights of steps, you’ll come to an intersection where a door on your left leads you to the kitchen. You obviously do not go in there… however, you can peer at those hardworking chefs preparing your meals via the glass pane just like I did!
There will also be a little fishpond at the corner laced with more wine bottles.
Authentic interior decor
There are a few different sections for you to choose from though – the mainroom, the private room and the couple room. Plenty of room for different occasions!

Okay, time to vanquish those gastric juices already! To kick-start the whole session, we were served with some bite-sized cookies and warm house bread. Following which was the Appetizer itself, Terrine de Foie Gras maison.

Next up on the line is the Soupe de moules noires au safran et legumes aromatiques. Nevermind the extremely long dish name. It’s basically black mussels and saffron soup with aromatique veggies. Good things come in small portions, I couldn’t get enough of this! Every last drop was worth a voyage into wonder.

Let’s take a closer look at those springy yet tender mussels.

Man, they were succulent
As we moved on to the main courses, I could not help but to rub my hands together with glee.. especially when I knew there was gonna be some fish on the plate. Long-time readers of benjicajessdotcom will already know that I’m a lover of all things fishy. (Pun unintended)

Served with asparagus, this roasted codfish was to die for.
I’d give them brownie points for the beetroot sauce too!
Get ready for the name of this dish in French. It’s called *deep breath* Filet de morue roti au sirop d’erable et piment, asperges vertes a l’ail, beurre blanc de betterave. Woots! Try saying that in one breath LOL

As cosy as it is, there were immaculate sculptures with fine carvings as well. Check out this statue of a medieval angel atop a mantelpiece of the makeshift fireplace.

Back to where I left off, we had Roasted Beef Tenderloin. I instantly took a liking to it as was glazed with Bordeaux wine sauce and it was perfectly done. Not anything close to overdone toughness yet not undercooked with those bloody traces of flesh.

It came with ratatouille veggies and sauteed potatoes
with smoked duck bacon

Heavenly. This is a winner for all you carnivorous meat-swashbuckling lovers out there. According to Chef Jerome, the cattle imported over are all grass fed. Unlike those grain-fed ones. Anyway, more beef pictures for you?

The steak made us full to the brim.. with absolute goodness! Ahyes.. I’m pretty sure I wont be touching another slab of meat for the next couple of days. Heh. Don’t wanna overkill, yo! <
span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">But make no mistake, that Roasted Beef is one to get your teeth sinkin’ into.
Dessert came to wrap up our dinner session with sugary sweetness of a caramel custard. It was Creme Brulee with raspberries – known in French as Creme Brulee aux framboises.

Loved the texture.
My tastebuds sang in unison upon tasting it
The upper crust layer was hard and sweet, but once you scoop it up with your spoon a smooth milky taste of custard follows through. As I hit rock bottom, the raspberries ended my experience with a sourish-sweet spring of fruity delight.

It was not often that cousins reunite after moving off to a distant place. In this case, Madelene and I never saw each other for almost half a decade. Except bumping into each other at a nearby coffeeshop back in Penang. And now, a cosy Italian Restaurant.

Two gurls, a camera and a pizza place
This is one place I must recommend. Cipolla Ristorante Pizzeria is the name, and fabulous Italian food is their game. It’s located in Bangsar, KL.

The ambience is one to marvel at. Dim lighting and rustic atmosphere really sets the mood going. Don’t plant notti images in your own head just yet but honestly, it is a really romantic get-up.

The food here is absolutely mouth-watering. Its portions are enough to feed the whole of Africa! Okay well, I’m exaggerating here but yeah, you catch my drift. It sure as hell made me full even before I finished!

We started off with the appetizers and soup.

My fave being the Pumpkin Soup.
(which reminds me of bestie Joyce too)
I was pretty fascinated with the way they sprinkle those condiments on my soup. It’s a glow in the dark shaker!

The snacks served with olive oil – on the house!
And proceeded to the main courses.

Anyways, you guys should check out this place! We gurls dig it. Lovely place for some dining and soothing music.
FYI, prices range from RM30 and above per main course

Eccucino, the central coffee house and restaurant of Prince Hotel & Residencies. I was stoked upon seeing all their Christmas decors and the wholesome Christmas menu! Totally reminds me of the real Christmas spirit!

I see snow!

The first thing which got me heading towards was of course, the carving station. Loved almost everything there! On the sides were Bread Stuffing and Cornbread Stuffing with thyme, dried fruits, sausages, bell peppers, beef bacon, apple and more. That really tasted swell!

Roasted Turkey with Giblet Gravy was the main attraction of that station but they also had various sauces for us to choose from - I chose one of each, just to have the best of both worlds! Or this this case, best of 5 worlds

My pick would definitely be the either the Chipotle Cranberry sauce
or the Cranberry-Orange Compote

Other fabulous dishes on the buffet table was the Chick Pea Salad with Smoked Chicken Breast and Grilled Zucchini. A healthy yet delicious alternative though! Those chicken strips are just right and tender to my tastebuds

Miss those signature Italian meatballs with that heavenly yum of a gravy? Gulp it all down this Christmas – and you don’t have to head all the way down to Ikea to get your hands on those!

In this Christmas Menu, the New England Clam Chowder was made in abundance too. Bet mom will love that heaps! But one of my fave soups of all time would definitely the Pumpkin Soup.

At each and every food review or even casual foodie outings,
the Pumpkin Soup would be my choice of starter soups.

Some lovely French Pastries to to add to that perhaps?

Comes in all shapes and sizes!

It was dessert time after that gastronomic haul of more food such as Barbequed Duck Breast, Creamy Potato Salad, Steamed Salmon, Minced Lamb Salad, Roasted Sirloin, Sauteed Prawns, Stewed Lamb Shank and too many that I won’t be able to list them all down before the cows come home.
So let’s take a look at those desserts instead!

The Yule Log
with little santas atop! Whee ain’t they cute?

The very popular Dresdner Stollen!
Aww look at lonely Santa

Fairytales of the Gingerbread Man and the Gingerbread House takes me a loooong way back when I was just a child of 5 spending Christmas with my folks back home. Check out their Gingerbread house with lotsa snow and ornaments!

The legendary chocolate fondue!
Dip them with Marshmellows and you’ll never go wrong

At the other end of the table, there was an ice sculpture of a Christmas Tree. Edward Scizzorhands much?

With this, I’m glad that you won’t go devoid of ideas of where to eat your Christmas Dinner! Amayzeeeng with a capital A. So, head down to Prince H0tel & Residence with an empty stomach and you’ll be sure you’ll leave bursting your buttons! Such an amazing job well done by their team of chefs lead by Chef Donald Pezar!

Picture fresh oysters wrapped with dried seaweed, grated white radish
and spring onions with citrus soy dressing. Ya got it right there.
We were taken to Enju, that incredible Japanese Restaurant I can vouch for. Other cocktails may flow and go every other day but this is one cocktail to remember. It’s aptly called the Kaki Oyster Cocktail.

I suppose the Christmas spirit of giving has already got into their F&B team, as they also served us freshly made Hokkaido Spider Crabs flown in just the night before all the way from Japan!

One plate was not enough.
And THAT was an understatement. If there was anything I’d recommend,
this is the 1st thing I will suggest at Enju, Prince Hotel & Residence
Randomly, we also caught him battling it out with a gigantic fish. I tell you ah, even if I were to attempt fishing for each and every hour of my life, everyday for a year I won’t be hooking up with a beauty like this (pun unintended!)

Tradition has it that come every Lunar year, the Chinese folk would celebrate and gather together as a family on the eve for a reunion dinner to usher the Chinese New Year. Even the furthest far-flung member of the family would make a trip back to their hometown to celebrate this joyous occasion with their loved ones.

But in this modern and urban era, most families opt not to go through the hassle of preparing and cooking up scrumptious dishes after dishes in huge portions to suffice everyone's appetite. Simply said, it is definitely much easier to eat out.


Lemme share with you how your family can do it yet maintain the personal touch during your reunion dinner – just like in the comfort of your own dining room.

The 1st thing that made my jaw drop was the beautiful garden they have at the entrance of this mansion. Lush green grass, Chinese Lanterns hanging by the potted plants, the red-brick pathway and boulders embedded into the ground will certainly recreate the ambience of al-fresco dining to a whole new level

Chinese style home-cooking cuisine has never been this easy


The first dish we were served was the very popular Yee Sang. Believed to bring prosperity, health and wealth, the Yee Sang is a must-have every Chinese New Year for everyone to devour. Complemented with a special sauce, this dish is one which carries legacies of tradition yet still loved by all until toda

But how do the Chinese eat this dish? Neatly with fine table manners like the rest of the dish? Oh no. Simply incorrigible, but that's as far as traditions take us! Only for the Yee Sang in particular, this dish is to be messed up as savagely as possible – the more mixed up the better.


When the next dish arrived our table, we were astonished and rather amused at the bright green melon placed before us. Surely we aren't expected to munch down the entire melon with our bare hands?

The Shark Fin, Crab Meat & Dried Scallop Soup served in Winter Melon was simply novel! It's smooth texture was warm to taste and the ingredients were a good handful! Such love. I've always had a thing for Shark Fin's Soup even as a child. This version of it was simply marvelous, if I do say so myself.

But we didn't only have a melon plopped to our table, we also had a Coconut to our pleasant surprise!

Aptly called the Black Chicken Soup, this traditional Chinese soup bursts with aroma, flavours and natural fragrants of the herbs and chicken. Matched extremely well with a sheer coconut taste! And yes, the chicken is really black.

Next up, was the Stir Fried Prawn with Oats and Fragrant Salted Eggs. The carrot carving of a pagoda as the centerpiece was indeed eye-catching. This dish is a personal favorite as well, but nothing comes as close as the one I had today. The aroma was to die for!

Roasted Chicken with Herbs *points to above picture* was superb too. Totally reminds me of Nando's Chicken but obviously this one was prepared and served in Chinese style instead. Very tender with each bite too

The Double Boiled Soup too, was very tasty, a typical dish during every Chinese meal! You know how one would always associate rice, soup and chopsticks with the Chinese? Yup, this soup is definitely a must-have to complete this Chinese New Year feast as well

The next dish was enough to get our appetites running a marathon across the universe and back into our stomachs. It's deep aroma coming from the insides of the kitchen tells that it could only be nothing but the Braised Pork Trotters. You can recognize its distinctive smell from a mile away!

Cut up in the center, we could all anticipate the succulent meat as we proceed to chomp it down



As expected, it was tender, juicy and bursting with flavour. Someone's gotta thank the Chef for that! Amazing work done. I can certainly forsee my granny salivating if she reads this and views the tantalizing photographs of the Pork Trotters above. She's a pork fan yo!



Next up on the menu was yet another soup, but a thicker and spicier one. It was the Assam “Tom Yam” Garoupa Fish soup. It's thick gravy was fantastic – too spicy for me, but then again I'm one whose tastebuds generally fail me in front of spicy food!

I had to down gallons of water in between each spoonful of this Tom Yam soup but I insisted on finishing my lil bowl. It's extremely tasty like that! So what if it's spicy? Nothing stops me from savouring a palatable dish. So heads up to peeps who loves spicy food! Very recommended

The following dish is another non-halal meal, it is the Braised Pork in Tangy Sauce, served with adorable little white Mantaus! For those who have no clue on what a Mantau is, this is it! *points below*

Those white Chinese pastries, meant to be dipped into the fruity Tangy Sauce and eaten with the Braised Pork! A dish which comes usually with Dark Soy Sauce, House of Tang gave us a new variant of it instead. Oh, do check out the glory of lean meat and pork lard braised to perfection below!

Now, let's have something lighter shall we? After all the irresistable meaty tastes, it's now time for some greens and staples. TheBraised Dried Oyster with Fatt Choy, Top Shell & Sea Cucumber and Blenched Brocolli was a personal favorite as I've always had a thing for brocolli! Love it when it's cooked this way.

The 2nd photo is KL's version of Hokkien Mee. Nope, not Penang's version of Hokkien Mee (a.k.a Prawn Mee). There are shrimps accompanying it too The 3rd photo is the Claypot Pork Belly with Lotus Root whereas the last one on the right is the Steamed Rice with Waxed Meat in Lotus Leaf.

One of the lightest, simplest dish served was the French Bean with Preserved Olives and Minced Meat. Never underestimate the power of a simple meal. It was superbly crunchy to taste and the minced meat packed a punch too! I think my mom would like this – she favours green beans!


Towards the end of our oriental gastronony, the Chef behind the scrumptious feast came out to mingle with us. You gogo Chef Koh! We paid him compliments which I reckon will turn his ego to the size of the Nile River! haha. What else could we say? It was indeed a spectacular menu for this coming Chinese New Year

This wholesome dining experience comes nothing short of a perfect power combination of ambience and eats. They say you can never get the best of both worlds but in the House of Tang, you're proven WRONG to your bottom dollar. Each and every meal was perfect to taste and the homely yet elaborate environment will make you not wanna leave!