I have never been to Rakuzen and only heard that it is a most expensive place so I did not bother going there. This time round due to a pre-New Year gathering with the girls from Cell Group, I had the chance to see what is the rave about this place.

As per expected, all the prices are over the top especially the sashimi.

S.Miso Zen (RM 48)

The miso soup in a special claypot, is just simply fantastic with the great taste, kept at a position that it was not overly salty like other miso soups. There a few super tiny oysters and mussels inside with mushrooms and cabbage.Yakinuku Zen (RM 40)

The thin sliced beef is quite delicious. The salad at the side is quite tasty. I love the Chawanmushi is amazing, very smooth with ginkgo, mushroom and fishcake. My friend said that she has never eaten so much chawanmushi in her life!Dragon MK (RM 38)

My friend ordered the Dragon california roll because she mistakenly thought that there are only 4 pieces inside instead of 6 pieces as served usually in other restaurants. The deep fried prawns are also deliciously tucked inside.SSM Tempura Zen (RM 55)

There were 3 pieces of tempura ebi inside and also brinjals and also vegetables, all beautifully coated with tempura flour. The cooking is not overdone and the tempura does not have small crumbs on it like what I had at Mid Valley Food Court. This set also comes with sashimi like maguro, salmon and another special fish in white that was Hamachi. The sashimi are all very fresh and thick. Hama SSM Mori - Sashimi (RM 55)

We thought the portion is as big as the one shown in the photo in the menu but when it arrived, instead of in a boat, it came served in a small Japanese side dish plate! We were so shocked that one of my friends who has big eyes, the eyes popped out, well almost, silently! It consisted of meagre slices of thick salmon, maguro, octopus, scallop, hamachi which were all no doubt fresh. My friends end up still wanting to order by opening the menu to browse for more food.

Suzune Wabi (RM 99)

Since it was a New Year celebration, we ordered the sparkling sake for RM 99 which turned out to be fantastic, and much better than the traditional sake I have tasted for my first time recently. I guess I am more a cocktail person after all. Details:

Rakuzen

G-41/42 Ground Floor

Tropicana City Mall

3, Jalan SS20/27

47400 Petaling Jaya

Tel: 03-7710 7000

We were doing a lot of shopping at the International Food Convention at Mid Valley Convention Centre when we finally had time for lunch. We had lunch at Gogung Korean Restaurant which serves delicious food at affordable price and wonderful quiet ambience.

We ordered the Kimchi Jeon beef soup with rice set. There are 5 Banchans consisting of spinach, preserved white fungus, ladies fingers, the ubiquitious kimchi and bean sprouts.

The Kimchi soup has straw mushrooms inside and also tofu, my favourite glass noodles, egg and mushrooms. The soup is so thick and tasty, simply superb!We also ordered the Yuk Gae Jjang (RM 24) which is the best Korean Pancake ever. I specially requested for it to be super spicy. Amongst all the Korean Pancakes I have tried, this is admittedly THE BEST.The Green Tea (RM 9) for 2 pax is quite tasty, clear and smooth.I wonder why every time I come here, there were not many people but the food is quite reasonably priced. Probably because of the misconception that the restaurants here look expensive.

Restaurant Details:

Go-Gung Korean Restaurant (managed by Koryo-Won)Lot 212, Level 3,The Gardens, Mid Valley CityGPS Coordinates: N3 07.145 E101 40.538Tel: 03 2287 2981

What better way to start the new year with coffee to keep one awake. So here I am at Character De Coffee which is again, obviously my first time here.

Character de Coffee is a small coffee place, 1 shop lot, in Kuchai Lama. Inside, you find yourself in an environment whereby a few teddy bears welcome you. On the wall are decorations that are vintage and reminds one of childhood or the scene in the old classic English movies.The food here is very reasonably priced. Can you believe it that the price of Western Food only costs RM 13-15 per plate?

I ordered the Seafood Aglio Olio for a whopping RM 13.90, which is a difficult deal to get nowadays. The spaghetti is not overly oily like how people normally do it. There are three big prawns, 2 pieces of octopus and some small dices of capsicum inside. The taste is just ok. My friend ordered Hainanese Chicken Chop (RM 13.90) which came in the smallest portion ever. My friend was not very happy with the portion but then again how much can one expect from a RM 13.90. As for me, I like the sauce which is thick and sweet and sour and have a lot of capsicum and tomatoes.The Avocado Juice (RM 9.90) seems to be more expensive than the food here. The taste is not strong enough and has too little avocado inside, and incomparable to Avocado Juice in Philippines.The Flat White (RM 8.90) has too little coffee taste inside. The leaf design is very beautiful on the foam. The Flat White has very little flavour inside too. I think it is safer for me to have cappuccino.

A few of us active food reviewers gathered together at Garage 51 on 19 Dec 2015 (Saturday) evening at 7pm. This time round it was on our own pockets. It was my first time doing this with them. I was contemplating the whole morning whether I should come since I had a pile of year end work piled up from the recent work trip of Vegas. Finally, after completing some of my work, I made a last minute decision at the nick of the hour to attend the food reviewers' gathering at Garage 51.I have heard so much about Garage 51 but I have never actually gotten the chance to dine here. Since it was a food reviewers' session, they all ordered the entire segment on main dishes served inly after 8 pm.SERVICE:

The service is just awesome! The waiters here are super friendly and ever ready to snap photos for us so it is the perfect place to hang out whereas usually places like this have terrible service due to lack of manpower and too busy place.

Chicken Parmigiano with Mashed Potatoes and Salad (RM 18)

The chicken is deep fried but it was definitely not chicken chop. I love the mashed potatoes which did not taste like the instant ones sold at the mall or at the hawker's or hawker stall at a food court or kopitiam. There was a big dollop of cheese on top.Grilled Salmon Spaghetti with Lemon Cream (RM 24)

This dish looks really simple. Anyone can whop this out but the trip lies in grilling your salmon in such a way that the salmon is not over-grilled till it's hard. The cream sauce is not as creamy as carbonara.Spaghetti Aglio Olio with Smoked Salmon (RM 23)

The spaghetti is usually a very common dish but they managed to make a common dish delicious and I applaud them. The salmon pieces are in very small chunks and pieces.Penne Basil Salmon Pesto with Grilled Chicken (RM 16)

This is one of the best pesto and spaghetti in Klang Valley. I am not a fan of the chicken breast meat used but thank god the pesto sauce remains rich and tasty and managed to coat the pasta. The piece of deboned chicken on top makes everything looks easy.Australian Beef Sirloin Spaghetti Aglio Olio (RM 19)

The 4 pieces of thin slices used to make our breakfast. The beef is just nice .Smoked Salmon Sandwich with Fries and Avocado (RM 20)

The thin piece of avocado is somewhat insufficient for me. I crave for more. The sandwich is just plain and I did not feel much of the avocado. The french fries are all too soggy and not to be eaten by human beings. Can you believe it that we actually asked the friendly waiter to cut this sandwich into 10 pieces? Seriously? Anyway, he understood us and was more than happy to help.Pan-fried Dory Fish with Carbonara, Fluffy Cream, Basil, Pesto and Strawberry sauce (RM 22)

Among the rest of the food, this is THE WINNER For me because I loved the thin corn flour pastry used to make the crispy wrap and eaten together with salsa, diced avocado, cheese, olives, tomatoes.Next up, is dessert galore!

DESSERTS FOR CHRISTMAS 2015

For Christmas 2015, there are special desserts called the Messed Up Family (RM 18.90). Being bloggers, we have ordered everything on the banner. This is the current hot item so much so that one can see every table ordering this.

1. The Santa

There is milk shake at the bottom with 2 big pieces of chocolate brownies and a lot of Garrett style chocolate flavoured popcorn overflowing at the bottom.2. The Cousin

This has pretzels as the crown with dark chocolate brownies below. Way right below is a mug of chocolate shake. The shake is very dark and thick with a syringe at the side. At first, I wonder what is the purpose of the syringe then my dearest friend Xin Yee explained to me that it is left there for us to pump in more milk shake when needed.3. The Son

Firstly, I am not sure of why this is the name. There are pretzels laid surrounding the top of the mug and marshmallows at the top. The milk shake is of nutella with hints of awesomeness (according to the menu) but I thought it would have been better with more nutella.4. The Father

OK, this has chocolate teddy bears surrounding the top of the giant mug. It reminds me of the chocolate biscuits babies and children eat. There are cereals and Coco Crunch on top and chocolate peanut butter milk shake at the bottom so naturally this is my top favourite.Garage 51 has many awards on its hat, amongst which:

Best Cafe by TimeOut KL,

Top 5 New Hidden Cafes in KL - Malaysia Tatler

Top 20 Must-Try Coffee Places in KL - SAYS.com

Great Gourmet Coffee and Cafe Food - New Straits Times

So naturally, the coffee love (yours truly) could not help trying the Mochatella (RM 16), one of my favourite things to order as it contains thick mocha ladden inside the ice cubes drank with milk and nutella. This is simply remarkable and I would have finished every sip if it isn't because it was dark. Hot Dark Chocolate

It looks like a great one looking at the dark brown colour. One can sense the richness of the chocolate. Finally, it's present exchange time! Due to my last minute arrival, I did not get to exchange presents.

I am a BIG COFFEE LOVER.....BUT I HAVE NEVER MADE A CUP OF COFFEE USING A COFFEE MACHINE...well, duh I am a commoner of the public, not that I am of royal blood hahaha....Anyway, now that I have gotten a chance of a Coffee Appreciation Class or more accurately, called Latte Art Class at the most appropriate place, Coffee Stain by Joseph at Publika, I jumped at the chance. I rushed from office to class for 7-9 pm.We had the privilege of a Yemen head barista named Yeman to teach and guide us.

The purpose of barista education for the public is not to waste the coffee beans and to educate the public on how to make coffee the correct way.

I would like to share some of the steps in making coffee using the Simonelli coffee machine. With the help of patient Yeman, I was able to follow the class with his every step and navigation:

1. Take out the water filter. Cleanse. Press out the water.2. Grind the coffee3. Level Up. Temping4. Clean water filter to remove small particles

5. Lock and extract coffee

6. Steam the coffee - We had a lot of practice of this step. According to Yeman, practice makes perfect.7. Pour out the coffee with cup at 45 degrees.The Result. Alright my heart shape is smaller than my other friends but then the Fun is much more!3 D Coffee Art:

To create 3D coffee art, it is important to have a very thick, hard and dry foam and a very thin stick to draw the eyes of the cartoon or figurines with thick sauce.

Yeman showed his prowess and skill in 3D Latte Art, something that not many upscale coffee places have.The normal Latte Art Class here is for the duration of 3 hours for RM 288, and it is done very privately with personal touch as there are only 2 pax in a class.More Details:

Add: Solaris Dutamas, 1, Jalan Dutamas 1, Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaTel: 60362112022(Solaris)Website: http://www.coffeestain.my/