Fong Lye Taiwan Restaurant The Gardens

For many years, I have walked past this restaurant. In fact, since it opened its doors how ever many years ago. For the first time, VK brought me here for a pitstop before our movie. He made a few recommendations and left me to make my own decisions.

I remember their drinks to be quite expensive and made a mental note not to order drinks should I visit again.

He had made up his mind on what to order even before stepping in. I think it was a ramen-looking dish with pork slices and a roasted chicken drumstick.

And then the glutton in me could not resist the temptation of pork leg. Argh, I know it is super unhealthy but it is pork leg!!! How can one not like pork leg?! The braised pork with noodle set was not too bad. Would have preferred the noodles to be cooked slightly longer for that chewy texture.

They now have a bigger, fusion version open just round the corner. Prices are steeper but they have teppanyaki and hotpot options.

Fong Lye Taiwan Restaurant
Lot T208, 3rd Floor, The Gardens, Mid Valley City, Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: +60 3 2283 8699
Open daily 11:00am to 10:00pm
*Cash only

Häagen-Dazs Mid Valley Megamall

We all know there are brands of clothes, brands of electronics, brands of cars.

There are also brands of ice-cream and one of the more pricey brands out there is Häagen-Dazs.

When we walked past the shop, we browsed through the menu and the item that caught our attention was the Sushi Platter. We walked in and placed out order. Unfortunately for us, it was not available that day.

We settled for Love in Paradise (RM29), an indulgent platter of scoops of Belgian Chocolate and Crème Brûlée ice-cream, a piece of dark chocolate cake, chocolate seashells and strawberries.

Hm, the strawberry could have been a riper one but we both thought that on a whole, it was worth every ringgit, especially on the velvety smooth ice-cream and the sinfully rich dark chocolate.

Häagen-Dazs Mid Valley Megamall
Lot SK-01, 2nd Floor, Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: +60 3 2282 0766, Fax: +60 3 2284 2766
Open 10:00am to 10:00pm daily

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