Well, talk about indulgent! The prices in Malaysia are about a third of the prices in Australia and as a result we could afford a ten course dinner on New Year’s Eve. What a great time we had. We managed to spread it out from 7:30pm – 12:00 midnight without too much trouble at all. We needed to really, in spite of the delicate sizes of the courses, we were filling up slowly over the evening so needed the ‘wait’ time between courses to rest. We had a lovely trainee hotel management student looking after us and he was very willing to travel at our speed. It was a lovely evening and even the musical duo, provided for our enjoyment, wasn’t too distracting.
Our meal was in the Tosca Restaurant in the hotel beside the pool. A lovely setting and cool enough, with the fans on and the night air wasn’t too hot so, quite acceptable.
The 10 courses.
The courses are listed so I will add the images in order so you can see what we consumed very slowly and happily. Oh, and the wine was magnificent too.
1 Hokkaido scallops carpaccio2 Foie gras terrine3 Porcini Arancini – with shaved truffles4 Crab raviolo5 Pan roasted cod fish6 Rack of Lamb7 Boston Lobster Squid Ink Risotto8 Wagyu beef9 Madagascar Vanilla ice-cream10 Valrhona Chocolate Mousse
Two more exciting food adventures that were shared in Kuala Lumpur were High Tea, at The Ritz Carlton, and New Year’s Eve dinner, consisting of ten courses of really lovely food.
First the Ritz Carlton.
The front doors of the Ritz Carlton, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaThe day was humid, as we expected, but the air conditioning was at a reasonable temperature. I found that the air con was often on much colder than I found pleasant, but I carry scarves for these times. We were taken across an amazing foyer to the room in which we would be served.
Ritz Carlton Foyer Room for high teaThe choices were, as expected, but the food was delicious. Quiches and pasties on the bottom, sandwiches in the second level and sweets at the top.
Beautiful to look at and equally to eatI have decided that in my old age I am increasingly pleased if I can drink my tea from Fine Bone China cups. I love them. The delicate service we had at the Ritz was beautiful too.
Tea service, in an exquisite patternWe were given an extensive menu of teas from which to choose, and the consensus on the day was, the Ritz Carlton blend (Only available at the Ritz Carlton) and the reliable and tasty Orange Pekoe. After our feast I bought a bag of each. Into the bag, I was also given, a small metal tea strainer. Very nice. The staff were lovely, friendly, very attentive and knowledgeable. If they didn’t know the answer to a question, they found out very quickly. We were treated very respectfully and all the beautiful china and food was presented exquisitely, and we all really enjoyed it.
During the meal we had a string ensemble playing not far from us which was lovely to hear.
Musicians for teaOverall it was a wonderful afternoon.
The Christmas decorations were still up all over the city and as we were leaving we found a gingerbread house downstairs. The outside was real gingerbread stuck to polystyrene blocks. Some people like to go into these structures. Can you see who it is?
Flew into Kuala Lumpur (KL) on the funniest flight we have ever had. We seemed to have found our way into Business Class on the flight from Singapore. The pilot informed us that the flying time to KL was 45 mins. As soon as we boarded, the steward was offering fruit juice. We settled in and the flight attendants started bringing around the food. We had to find our trays first, but we did locate them in our arm rests. Once we had them in place a table cloth was issued, and a tray with a bag of nuts, a Lindt chocolate ball and a small bowl of about 6 short satay sticks. Then drinks were offered, I had water.
Within about 8 mins, max, they were collecting trays behind me and as I had almost finished my meal, I was eating the peanuts, I handed over my tray and they were in such a hurry they did not take my napkin, but later retrieved them. In another 15 mins or so I heard the captain say “Cabin crew, prepare the cabin for landing”. We just laughed. So hilarious, we had just settled in, had a meal and here we were putting our seats upright and preparing for landing. I hadn’t even put my seat back so I could make it upright.
On the drive in from the airport, we were introduced to the fluidity of the rules in some areas of Malaysian laws. The driver of our taxi assured us the way he drove was fine. We didn’t think so. No seat belt, continuous right indicator, 140kms per hour at times and straddling lanes, using his phone. He seemed sober, but just a little casual in his application to his duties. We did get to the hotel though!
We arrived in the afternoon so went straight to our lovely hotel #Double_Tree by Hilton, in Kuala Lumpur. It is in a building with 34 floors, and 3 levels below for food and shops. Useful shops like, a supermarket, food hall, chemist, phone shop, sports store, Massage place, beauty therapies, and gift shops. If you didn’t want to leave the place you could stay very comfortably there. There are about 5 restaurants and a huge pool, gym, sauna and steam room. All pretty nicely laid out and clean.
The hotel foyer, decorated for Christmas within an inch of its life.
We had access to the Executive Lounge on the 34th Floor for breakfast – included – and when we needed somewhere to hang out. As we did today while we waited for our room to be made up. Breakfast was well done with variety for Malaysian or western tastes.
We could see the famous Petronas Towers a bit from our hotel – on each landing near the lifts. We went for a walk to it and entered the very classy Suria ILCC Shopping Centre. Full of classic labels with very ‘busy’ staff filling their days with creative persuits like face gazing.
Stylish SecurityBored in LaurentA Harrods Cafe, in the heart of Kuala LumpurThe Petronas Towers, about one kilometre from our hotel. An easy walk, but a little sweaty in the tropics.The pool. Sublime! Ive had three morning swims and the water is wonderful.