I was so excited over the plan to lunch at Rakuzen. The last time i feasted over there was 1 year ago! Taking a look at the menu, i don't think much has changed. However, taking a look at the platters served on the table, i think even Rakuzen is jumping onto the bandwagon to cut cost. Sighhhhh which industry isn't affected by the global financial turmoil?
My friend were already there before me so they had started ordering and eating. There was grilled salmon, assorted sashimi platter, shishamu (pregnant fish). Without further delay, i ordered sashimi salad, unagi kabayaki, 2 more plates of grilled salmon, spicy salmon maki, salmon sashimi, hotplate unagi with egg and gravy, unagi sushi slices, soft shell crab and hot green tea. That was my first round of order, of course, i devoured those on the table as well :D .
Rakuzen serves ala-carte, ordered buffet every sunday from 12noon till 3pm. This ensures that the sashimi slices are fresh instead of those normal buffet where the sashimi slices have been placed on the tray for aeon years (ok, i am exaggerating here). Service was considerably good, taking into the factor that it was a full house and i think there were limited waitresses and waiters around as whenever we pressed the button for them, the similar 2 would serve us. Even though they looked exhausted and distraught, they maintained their smile, and even apologized for their slow response. Kudos to the workers in Rakuzen for their sterling, excellent attitude.
Dishes were served pretty fast. However, they did miss out a few orders but it was all right because we were stuffed to our throats! No harm missing out a few dishes. In between, we even intertwined some desserts before going on for our second batch of orders. For dessert, we were not spoilt for choices, there was only matcha ice cream and fresh fruit platter.
Our second attempt included beef sukiyaki, more sashimi, more unagi, tempura, adegashi tofu, assorted maki etc. We had to give up finally even before 3pm. Rakuzen doesn't offer loads of variety in their maki for the buffet spread but the sashimi is extremely fresh. However, the once sought-after soft shell crab has somehow gone down the drain. It certainly didn't taste how it used to be last time. Thousand apologies for not a single photos taken. I didn't have time for photos, not to mention that i totally forgot about taking photos the moment i saw the food spread :D For Rm55++, i think it's worth giving Rakuzen a try.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Port Dickson
It feels as though it has been one whole year since i last hiked and trekked. This weekend i missed it again. In exchange of scaling peaks, i went for a sun-soaked, salt-filled weekend in Port Dickson. It was no relaxing, laid-back weekend, the trip to Port Dickson was laden with activities non-stop, breaking only for meals and sleep.
Our company booked the 5-star Avilion for all. Avilion takes pride in its 5-star water chalets and villas. We arrived greeted by the scorching afternoon sun. The sun was merciless as it extends its rays all over the place. I was dying for a glass of refreshing cold juice to prevent myself from dehydration.
It was a rather long walk to our chalets. We walked pass swimming pools, restaurants, tennis court, lush greenery and finally we arrived at our water chalets. The concept was pretty cool. The chalets are built on pillars erected from the sea bed. The chalet is huge. We got a double bed instead of twin bed. Beside the king-size double bed, there is a day bed where you can laze about to hide from the sweltering heat. The best part is their washroom/toilet. It is an open-air concept washroom whereby you get to shower under the sun ie roofless. Rain or shine you will accept nature's course and rejoice with nature when you shower. It does take some getting-use to when it comes to shower. The bath tub however is "secured". The bathroom itself is almost as large as the bedroom. I love the bathroom.
In the evening,you could view sun set from your verandah or you can go to the nearest private beach to laze at the lazyman chair.
These breath-taking views were taken by my colleague Tay, donning his 7.1MegaPixel Canon camera. Very good shot i would say. All the water chalets are interlinked with bridges built with wooden planks. At times you do feel a tad worried whether the wooden planks can support the weight of everyone walking in and out. However, after staying there for 3 days, there wasn't any unfortunate incidents.
Besides the 24-hour infinity pool that is only open for residents of the water chalets, there is a kiddy pool and a public pool near the restaurants. The tennis court is just a stone's throw away from our water chalets. The walk through the whole village is enjoyable because of all the plants on your left and right. There is even a petting farm where you can play around with roosters, rabbits, peacocks. The animals there even have names! Evening comes and you will see loads of children and kids fooling around with the animals under the watchful eyes of an attendant.
The food at avilion was a letdown. With the price paid, the food should be of better quality. Service too was horrendous. During dinner, i asked for warm water but the waiter merely told me that they do not have warm water, period. This is not acceptable at a 5-star resort. The dinner food spread was meagre too. Not to mention the PA system provided by the resort was barely functional. The meals are mostly oriental. Breakfast consisted of pancakes, roti canai, salad, hash brown, omelette, fried bihun or fried noodles, nasi lemak. Lunch included salad ( the similar spread of salad used for breakfast), main courses that vary slightly from day to day, and dessert (almost similar daily). For dinner, we had 1 night of bbq dinner. I wouldn't say it is really bbq because they had only bbq lamb, beef and satay. The rest are again cooked food. Avilion should really improve on their food quality.
The atmosphere at night at avilion is serene, calm and peaceful, the only disruption and noise pollution would be from us, with squeal of laughters and murmuring voices scattered all over the place. It's a very good way to de-stress just by walking along the wooden bridge linking all the water chalets. You get to listen to crashing waves underneath you and enjoy the vastness of the sea. The only thing lacking would be the caress of the sea breeze. The air was very still throughout my stay over there. After some wandering around, you just wanted to hit the sack as the room is very inviting. I had lullaby on both nights, listening to the waves crashing onto the pillars and the shore. It is the best lullaby i have ever listened to.
Our company booked the 5-star Avilion for all. Avilion takes pride in its 5-star water chalets and villas. We arrived greeted by the scorching afternoon sun. The sun was merciless as it extends its rays all over the place. I was dying for a glass of refreshing cold juice to prevent myself from dehydration.
It was a rather long walk to our chalets. We walked pass swimming pools, restaurants, tennis court, lush greenery and finally we arrived at our water chalets. The concept was pretty cool. The chalets are built on pillars erected from the sea bed. The chalet is huge. We got a double bed instead of twin bed. Beside the king-size double bed, there is a day bed where you can laze about to hide from the sweltering heat. The best part is their washroom/toilet. It is an open-air concept washroom whereby you get to shower under the sun ie roofless. Rain or shine you will accept nature's course and rejoice with nature when you shower. It does take some getting-use to when it comes to shower. The bath tub however is "secured". The bathroom itself is almost as large as the bedroom. I love the bathroom.
In the evening,you could view sun set from your verandah or you can go to the nearest private beach to laze at the lazyman chair.
These breath-taking views were taken by my colleague Tay, donning his 7.1MegaPixel Canon camera. Very good shot i would say. All the water chalets are interlinked with bridges built with wooden planks. At times you do feel a tad worried whether the wooden planks can support the weight of everyone walking in and out. However, after staying there for 3 days, there wasn't any unfortunate incidents.Besides the 24-hour infinity pool that is only open for residents of the water chalets, there is a kiddy pool and a public pool near the restaurants. The tennis court is just a stone's throw away from our water chalets. The walk through the whole village is enjoyable because of all the plants on your left and right. There is even a petting farm where you can play around with roosters, rabbits, peacocks. The animals there even have names! Evening comes and you will see loads of children and kids fooling around with the animals under the watchful eyes of an attendant.
The food at avilion was a letdown. With the price paid, the food should be of better quality. Service too was horrendous. During dinner, i asked for warm water but the waiter merely told me that they do not have warm water, period. This is not acceptable at a 5-star resort. The dinner food spread was meagre too. Not to mention the PA system provided by the resort was barely functional. The meals are mostly oriental. Breakfast consisted of pancakes, roti canai, salad, hash brown, omelette, fried bihun or fried noodles, nasi lemak. Lunch included salad ( the similar spread of salad used for breakfast), main courses that vary slightly from day to day, and dessert (almost similar daily). For dinner, we had 1 night of bbq dinner. I wouldn't say it is really bbq because they had only bbq lamb, beef and satay. The rest are again cooked food. Avilion should really improve on their food quality.
The atmosphere at night at avilion is serene, calm and peaceful, the only disruption and noise pollution would be from us, with squeal of laughters and murmuring voices scattered all over the place. It's a very good way to de-stress just by walking along the wooden bridge linking all the water chalets. You get to listen to crashing waves underneath you and enjoy the vastness of the sea. The only thing lacking would be the caress of the sea breeze. The air was very still throughout my stay over there. After some wandering around, you just wanted to hit the sack as the room is very inviting. I had lullaby on both nights, listening to the waves crashing onto the pillars and the shore. It is the best lullaby i have ever listened to.
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