Garden Lifestyle Store and Cafe

As we crossed the connecting bridge between The Gardens and Mid Valley Megamall, we noticed a new cafe occupying the spot where Little Penang used to be.

My attention was further attracted by the live singing that was coming out of a 'piano cage'.

We made a mental note of the place and returned later to give them a try.

I really liked the ambience of the place. Holding true to their garden concept, there were plants, both flowering and non-flowering, everywhere. Perhaps I have the influence of my parents - I seem to prefer places with greenery.

We wondered if the food would be of the same standard as its set up. As our orders were served, we progressively became impressed with not just the food, but also the service of its staff.

While waiting for our mains to be served, we enjoyed a pot of mixed fruit tea (RM12.90).

It tasted a little like sour plum tea and we found out that the most tasteful bit was the bit at the bottom of the pot.

The spaghetti marinara (RM18.90) arrived first. I was impressed with its presentation, and even more so with the fresh tomato and basil sauce. The clams, prawns and mussels were also fresh.

It made me look forward to the Peking duck pasta (RM23.90). When it arrived, my good friend looked at me and asked, "Why did you order pan mee at an Italian restaurant?"

I nearly choked on my tea. "Excuse me, this 'pan mee' here is called linguine, okay?" What I had was linguine cooked in brown sauce with wild spinach and shredded duck slices. Although the duck could have been more tender, it was still a dish that I would not mind having again.

Both of us chocolate maniacs could not resist the temptation of dessert with some amount of chocolate, which led us to decide on a slice of harmony cake (RM8.90).

The blend of hazelnut with orange was refreshing. We thought it went down well with all the other flavours.

How did we feel with our impromptu decision to dine here? All our positive feedback and encouragement were recorded in their feedback form. We left feeling very satisfied.

Garden Lifestyle Store and Cafe
Lot F-001, First Floor, Mid Valley Megamall, Mid Valley City, Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: +60 3 2282 0271, Fax: +60 3 2282 0418
Open 10:00am to 10:00pm daily

My birthday in 2011

This year, for the first time in my life, I received a birthday present way in advanced. And it was a really pretty present - a Swarovski snowflake, all thanks to my lovely student. Okay, ex-student/friend.

Then, back home, on the night before the actual day, my Kembangsari girls gave me a surprise disguised in a yumcha session at Little Star Cafe.

I was both happy and embarrassed at the same time, as Miss Teoh's entire extended in-law family was there and helped sing the birthday song! Aiyo, paiseh la but thank you all so much!

After working hard during the first half of my birthday, I spent the rest of the day enjoying myself. Perhaps it was my lucky day, we managed to get a parking spot right after we passed the boom gate. We quickly went up to the cinema to grab our tickets for the current Taiwanese blockbuster, You Are The Apple Of My Eye (那些年, 我們一起追的女孩).

As only single seats were available, we had to settle for Gold Class seats that were side-by-side. Not that I was complaining. It was my first Gold Class experience and it was great. It was worth every fifty-five ringgit spent (because I did not know how comfortable the seats and blanket were!). Will be sharing my thoughts on this movie in a later post.

To fill up our hungry tummies, we dined at Garden Lifestyle Store and Cafe, which now occupies the lot which Little Penang used to occupy. Initially attracted by just their environment, we were later impressed by their food and service, too. More on that soon.

How would my birthday be complete without ice-cream? We went to none other than Häagen-Dazs.

It did not stop there. After I got back to Sydney, I had something cute from a cute person.

Seriously, am just glad that I have all of you in my life.