Tea-ing in Style at Harrod's KLCC

Did y'all know that one could actually have some food at the very cozy cafe in Harrod's KLCC? Me neither, until I saw some tweets/fb statuses about the famous Harrod's afternoon tea set. It just so happens that me and a couple of girlfriends from way back when have been meeting up for food. The modus operandi has always been that one person would pay for the eat-out, and we have been taking turns. Not much different from a structured "kutu" scheme that our moms and aunts used to indulge in. The other unspoken rule is that the place chosen has always been a little on the up-scale side, bordering gourmet, if you will. *Cheh cheh cheh - cultured lah konon*

So, aaaaanyways.... It was my turn to host and I chose to have tea in style at Harrod's with my girls. Before that, I did a little research on the place and found this very useful review on masak-masak blog. She wrote it in May 2009, so adalah terlambat sikitla kami yang baru nak pergi menerai ni kan? (Oh, she took great pictures too)

Vitals: Lot No 137, First Floor, Suria KLCC - it's opposite California Pizza Kitchen, next to Godiva.
T(+603-2166 6000)

I got word that the afternoon tea is only served up till 6pm. Also, it was also worth noting that the cafe is very intimate and there are not very many seats available. So, it really seemed like a good idea to call in for them to reserve us a place as well as keep a few sets of afternoon tea for us working mommies. (Rushing through mad #kltraffic after work, well.. we were bound to reach KLCC after 6pm, right?)

1. Entrance to Harrod's KLCC. There's the display of bags, coin boxes, pastries etc. Walk in and head to the left for your ultimate tes-ing experience.
2. My Old Grey (eh, ye ke? ke Jasmine, eh?) - everyone got the stylo little teapot with strainer and such
3. Butter - salted and also the sun dried tomato variety.
4. Mira showing off her scone. Mine had jam and clotted cheese on it.
5. The whole set - 3 types of sandwiches, fruit tartlets, some choc bites and 2 pieces of scones. (each)

Each Harrod's Afternoon Tea set is priced at RM60. We took a set each, which in retrospect I think is a little membazir. For a party of four, I really think two sets and two additional orders of pot of tea(at RM20 each) would be more than sufficient.

Let me just tell you, the experience is awesome. Syok jugak borak-borak over tea ni. So English. So wannabe. hihihihihihi. The ambience is just so perfect for chit -chats, really. Seems that the clientele do not leave. Chit-chat.Chit-chat. Sip tea. Chit-chat. Chit-chat. More tea, anyone? One lump or two? (Ke kitorang je camtu?) hihihihihihihihi We were truly enjoying ourselves tremendously, living the lifelah, kata orang. That was until we saw what the table next to us was having.... We decided that we just had to order dinner right there and then. :)

Here's what we ordered:

1. My soup of the day - pumpkin soup. Comel that little cream dollop in the middle, kan?
2.Lobster Thermidor for the craving mommy, Mira.
3. Salted Beef Sandwich
4. Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding

Lemme get the prices out first and foremost:

• Soup of the Day RM20
• Lobster Thermidor RM100
• Salted Beef Sandwich RM38
• Roast Beef and Yorkshire pudding RM50

Everything was shared amongst us. So we had the order in the middle and the waiter set up empty plates for everyone. There were four of us ladies and we only ordered 3 entrees. Which was more than enough, I thought. OK, side note here; the lobster - so not the place to have one. It wasn't fresh live lobster to begin with. But since we had a craving pregnant woman amongst us, we ordered it anyhow. Fortunately, the food were generally good tasting. I especially liked the Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding. Sedaaaapppp!!! Mixed reviews on the Salted Beef Sandwich. I liked it (but not screaming like, kinda like); but Shan thought it was just OK.

BTW, the mineral water? Ty Nant Sparkling /Still is priced at RM15 per bottle. I really liked the place. Nice corner of the Earth to lose yourself with your companion / girlfriend to sit and talk and talk and talk. One should really try it. I, for one would highly recommend it! :)

-dillz blogging out-

Shopping-shopping Bandung!

Apa gunanya pergi Bandung kalau tak shopping kan? hihihihihi

We went craaaazy at Pasar Baru for textiles and telekung. (Definitely NOT one for the men coz we literally spent 4 hours at Pasar Baru getting our loot!) I'll share with you my favourite outlets too. For textile, we went to Vogue Textile and Tailor at Lantai 2. It looks a little like the insides of a castle - with gold coated pillars and what not. The Sales Assistants are very friendly and helpful, don't be surprised if you are being entertained by the brother to the owner himself. Siapa nama dia, ya? Ram, rasanya. Real dashing young man (with two kids already?).

Really nice cotton fabric going at Rp25k per meter, the chiffon ones at Rp12.5K per meter, with satin lining at Rp15K per meter. Our brocade set siap 6m lace and 4m lining was only RM90. Seriously murah and mata dah jadi rambang, OK? Pilih. Pilih. Pilih. Beli. Beli. Minum air Teh Sosro kotak. Pilih. Pilih. Pilih. Beli. They take credit cards too, so don't waste your cash here! Wallawei....Suffice to say that my little family are all set for our Hari Raya stocks. hihihihihi

For telekung, go up to Lantai 3 to Toko Garuda 35 and talk to Milala. He gives the best deals - at wholesale price. I got a really nice telekung for Mimy's wedding hantaran and one for yours truly. Then a couple of those mobile, foldable, parachute-like fabric telekungs for jalan-jalan. Sangat puas hati. :)

Next are the Factory Outlets (FOs). We only went to three that are worth mentioning. I loved Grande Resort Outlet at Jalan Ir. H. Juanda. I got loads of tops, pajama pants for myself. there were some stuff for the kids too. I was truly a happy camper. The other place that was worth it for me is Rumah Mode Factory Outlet - more so on the kids' selections. My best buy would have to be the costumes I got for them - High School Musical cheerleading outfit for Khadra, Cars racing suit for Khaleeq and fairy outfit for Khaleeda. Each going at Rp139K. Oh so worth it! :) The last FO that I went in was Stamp FO where I got all the swimming towels and panties/underpants for the kids! Gumbira does not even begin to describe the euphoria inside me!

Mission completed. Saya happy!
-dillz blogging out-

The Other Side of Bandung

Was on a sans-kids holiday to Bandung with Inche @azrulx and other adults of the Zaghlol clan a few weeks back. So, before I totally forget about it, I'd better blog about itlah, kan? It was one of those el-cheapo tickets from AirAsia - like RM160 per pax and we booked it like yonks ago. By the time it was actually time to go; 2 people chickened out of it , even - @emazag had to study for her exams and @nazz2121 had a make-up class for his MBA. (Apasal I am referring to people using their twitter nick nih?)

We stayed over at Grand Serela Boutique Hotel which was right smack in the middle of the shopping district. So much so that the earlier group consisting of my sister @ewazag, BIL @eski7 and Banati walked along Jalan Riau to get to the FOs the day prior to our arrival. ;) My mom and dad opted out of the crazy walkathon. (Wise choice, if I had to say so myself! :)) Me and the hubs got the Deluxe room while the rest got the Family room - adalah menakjubkan sebab adalah merupakan bilik duplex, with two twin beds at the bottom and a Queen-sized bed at the loft.

Anyways, we also did other stuff besides shopping that is, albeit only that one daylah. The other side of Bandung, if you will which would be the main focus of this entry. :)

The driver that we hired, Pak Nanang (+612-81-214 76468, sila mention Ibu Ewa) took us to Tangkuban Parahu in the morning. It is actually a national Park with a few volcanic craters - one active and a few dormant ones- in it. The journey took us about 1.5 hours (kot? I forgot already) in the APV. Agak pening, ok sebab jalan turun naik bukit/gunung and berpusing-pusing. Our first stop was at the lower Kawah Dorman Domas (Ye ke? Memandai je kamu.. Lain kali blog lambat-lambat lagi, kan dah tak hengat!) and a tourist guide was already waiting for us. He (and his assistant) said they could take us on a half hour walk along the dedicated trail to the active crater. Can boil egg maa.. Got reflexology and can also dip your leg into the hot spring. Bagus untuk kulit, katanya. The price was just Rp 250K for an hour for our whole group. Seems like a good deal. Rupa-rupanya kami hampir di-taken advantage of! With a little kid in the group (read: the adorable Shoshoff) and my mom with a bad knee, rasa-rasanya boleh siap segala nak rebus telur tu in 1 hour, to and fro? I think not. He said, Rp500K for 2hrs, etc. and went down to Rp400 for lebih dari 2 jam pun takpe. Jadi, the moral is, you need to agree with the guide on the price up front. Kalau tak the price would be so ridiculously expensive. Bisa tarik rambut, deh!

Hujung-hujung tu , kitorang skipped the guide altogether and drove up to the dormant crater, Kawah Ratu and took some pictures there. Another thing, be careful of the mobile street merchants. So many souvenirs sold at almost unbelievably high prices. If you are comfortable, hanggle and buy. I got a stack of pretty cool rattan pipe while we were up there. Else just nicely say "No" and move on with your life. :)

On our way down, we asked if we could take some pictures near the tea plantation. Pak Nanang went into one and we jumped out for some photo op. *Cheh, nak menunjuk sling bag Longchamp dia tu la sebenarnya..*

Next stop was at a strawberry kebun called Kavling Stroberi. They have a few kebuns and we went harvesting at kebun 6. It's like a little gated tempat tanam sayur with strawberries planted in little dirtbags. Tak banyak pun buahnya, tapi thrill je lebih. They charge Rp15K per head to pick your own strawberries and each oz. priced at Rp6K. Not too bad, actually coz each one of us got a strawberry ice-blended drink at the end of it. (Adalah sedappp!!!) The picked berries? We ratah only. Sedap. Even without anything. Or a little bit of sugar. (Can't believe they don't have creme to eat them berries with.)



Next up was Kampung Daun - a cultural village where people can lepak and eat. The walk up was a little long - it took us maybe 15 minutes of walking. Along the way, my mom bought some local kuehs and delicacies. Mana lagi nak try kan? At least nampak macam bersih. But the ambience is oh so perfect. Macam jalan-jalan nak pergi kolah air terjun - sejuk, shady and very very relaxing. There were little ,comfy huts along the climb, where groups of people were having their meal. Looked like they were having fun too. We were placed at the very top balai - on a long table with very comfortable extra cushions. The food was wonderful and unexpectedly reasonably priced. We were definitely pleasantly surprised. :) Berbaloi datang sini. Serious.

After Kampung Daun we went back to the hotel. By then it was almost 4.30pm. So, we dropped by Roger's Spa to make an appointment for cremebath and reflexology a little later.


So, in conclusion, sapa kata pergi bandung untuk shopping saja, haaa???
-dillz blogging out-

Tak Ngantuk Pun?

I was getting a little sleepy over our early lunch today when I remembered what my hubby bought me over the weekend.

It's a headphone, yaww!

Selama alam ni pun, I have been using the earphones that came with my ancient and ever obsolete iPod Nano. Memang la macam susah sikit since saya pakai tudung. Nak kena godek-godek baru jumpa lubang telinga, kan? At the back of my mind though, I have always, like always wanted a cool headphone. Lagi pulak one that can lipat-lipat and be stuffed easily in my handbag. Macam senang, kan? Dan sangat style!!!
It's the Sennheiser PC-100 II model. We got the one in black. Jangan la tanya saya brand ke tak brand ke hapa. Entah-entah cap Ayam je. As far as I know this is as chic as it gets. And have I mentioned it yet, adalah style? I loike!!!!!

Harus terus pasang iTunes.
Dung.Dung.Dung.Dung. (Bass tu..)
Lagu Bad Romance, babe..

hihihihihihi

Terima kasih ya Inche Azrul. Sekarang, saya tak mengantuk lagi!

-dillz blogging out-

Out of Coverage Area

been coughing the whole night and morning.
have been getting bouts of asthma attack since 4 days back.
nose is running a marathon.

guess it's time to take a break.

Saya dapat MC ini hari. :)

-dillz blogging out-