Mum's 56th Birthday, Hi Tea @ Dorsett Regency Hotel, Kuala Lumpur

Throughout the years, my Mum has always enjoyed buffets/hi-teas , especially those from the 5-stars hotel. When asked on why she is so into buffet dining, my Mum commented that she loves the wide spread selection of the food where it enhances her appetite.

It was my Mum's birthday during last February, and again she insisted on buffet dining. This time round, we decided to have a hi-tea at Checkers Cafe of Dorsett Regency Hotel in Kuala Lumpur.

Checkers Cafe at Dorsett Regency Hotel Kuala Lumpur

My mum fell in love with the lime tree

Chinese New Year was still ongoing during the time of visit and as such, the cafe was in a reddish mood, decorated with red cloth and cherry blossom.

Very relaxing ambiance

We were the only customers in the whole cafe upon our arrival. The numbers picked up eventually, but only by another two tables. Nonetheless, we were grateful as it gave us an absolute relaxing environment to enjoy our hi-tea.

1,2,3 - Time to survey the food spread

We started by this corner where it have a few chef preparing some fresh food such as satay and fried stuff.

The Chef Corner

Here are some of the spread from the Chef Corner.

Sushi
There were only two types of sushi featured here, makisushi and inari sushi. How I wish there were some sashimi especially salmon.

Chawanmushi
Japanese steamed egg in a cup that consists of some meat and ginkgo beneath.

Mixed Fried Stuff
It is hot from the wok. Onion rings, calamari rings, crab claws and some fish balls were the notable one.

Those that dislike oily food may find the steamboat platter rather interesting.

Steamboat with variety of ingredients
From vegetables, meat to seafood, just pick your favourite one and blanch them all.

We noted something special being featured in the buffet spread.

Fish Head Noodles

Fish Head Noodles
It was decent but could have been better with thicker condensed milk, at least for me.

Next, we look into the appetizer and the main course corner.

Appetizer and Main Course Corner

I must admit that some of their appetizer looked too good to be appetizer. Some of them were prepared and presented in a very artistic way.

Love the colourful spread that look so cheerful

Ready salad in a tea cup

Fresh Garden Salad

Luncheon Ham
Lovely luncheon ham that has a soft yet tender texture.

Mussels, Oysters and Prawns

Steamed Dumpling

Dim Sum
A below par dim sum.

Stew Beef with Vegetables

Fried Clam in Kam-Heong Style
Pretty decent though but cannot be compared to those from the hawker which tasted much better.

Assorted Buns

Mixed Fruits with shrimp paste a.k.a Rojak

In conjunction with the Chinese New Year festival, there was also a platter of Yee Sang added to the spread.

Yee Sang

Assorted local fruits

Whenever I'm at a buffet, I'm always excited to check out the spread at the For the Checkers Cafe, I must say that their desserts corner did not disappoint.

Desserts Corner

Fruit Punch
Consisted of tropical fruits, longan and lychee.

Ice-shaved desserts
Mix your own ingredients for a customize bowl of ice-shaved dessert.

For those with sweet tooth

Local Delights - Kuih Koci
Glutinous rice to compliment with cocunut flesh that were dunked in gula Melaka.

Local delights - Kuih Lapis

If the local delights do not appeal to your taste, worry not because they have plenty of cakes to choose from.

Plenty of cakes and pastries to offer

Cakes, cakes and cakes
I had no chance to try even one of them as I was too full with food.

Assorted pastries and cookies
My personal favourite would be the fruit tarts and chocolate cookies.

Chocolate Fondue
This made my day, as I've always love to dip some fruits and pastry into it.

No Baskin Robbins or Haagen-Daz ice cream but they offer some pretty decent ice cream to satisfy our ice cream craving.

My customize ice cream

Busy with the food

A little bit of this and that

The hospitality and the services of the Checker's Cafe attendant were excellent. Not only did they continuously offering to help us to snap pictures, they manage to fulfill our demands.

Firstly, we wanted to have a personal Yee Sang for toss. Our initial demand was rejected by one of the attendant citing that we need to order a personal platter separately as it is not included as part of the buffet. However, later on, another attendant together with the manager on duty prepared a special mini plate of Yee Sang for us, using those ingredients from the main Yee Sang platter.

Our customize Yee Sang by the attendant

Tossing for a better health and wealth

My second wish to the attendant was to have a birthday cake for my mum but I was told that prior notice was required so that they could prepare the cake. Well, I was a little disappointed at first but I was caught by surprise eventually. The attendant creatively prepared a slice of cake that came together with candle as a birthday cake for my mum.

My lovely Mum with the special piece of cake

You are getting younger Mum!

Happy Birthday Mum!

Although the hi tea were of nothing spectacular, but looking at your parents enjoying themselves is the best gift you could get when you buy them some meal. I promise to buy them more meals in the future and hoping with many happy returns. Happy 56th Birthday Mum and hope you have had a great one!

Back to the old school of sephia

Family portrait

Overall, I would say that the hi-tea spread at Checkers Cafe of Dorsett Regency KL met my expectation but nothing of spectacular. It might have a wide selection when it comes to dessert, but the main course was slightly off the track. The good thing is that, they have discounts for senior citizens who are above 55 years old.

This hi-tea at Checkers Cafe of Dorsett Regency KL starts from 12pm to 4pm and available on the weekends and public holidays. It is priced at RM 60++ per person with kids aged from 4 to 12 years old and senior citizens eligible for a 50 % discount.

Atmosphere: 8/10
Food: 5/10
Spread: 5/10
Price: 6/10
Verdict: Apart from the excellent hostess service, there is nothing much to shout about the food.

Checkers Cafe Coffee House
Dorsett Regency Hotel Kuala Lumpur
172, Jalan Imbi
55100
Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Tel: 603 - 2716 1000
Fax: 603 - 2715 5000

Restoran Hai Thian @ Bandar Putra Permai, Seri Kembangan

It was the birthday of my senior cousin brother. A little celebration was thrown amongst the close knitted relatives to mark this memorable day. We were invited for a dinner at Restaurant Hai Thian located in a fairly new township of Bandar Putra Permai.

This would be my first time visiting this restaurant which has a rather interesting name, Hai Thian, which literally means "sea sky". Nonetheless, I was hoping that the food served on the night would be as interesting as well, if not better.

Restaurant Hai Thian

The restaurant was nicely setup with some ancient touch of Chinese settings. While I was quite impressed with their settings, however it is not the case for their ambiance as I find the noise level here were higher than a usual Chinese restaurant.

A Saturday night and it was very crowded

As I was looking around, my attention was caught by some drawings on the restaurant's pillar.

Ancient Chinese wordings art

Our dinner started momentarily where we were each served with a personal serving of appetizer.

A little Buddha statue on the lid?

From the outlook of the bowl, I'd guess that it would be some kind of shark fin soup. And, I was wrong the moment I uncovered it. It was actually the authentic Chinese premium soup of all time, the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.

Buddha Jumps Over the Wall
The bowl consisted of a big juicy scallop, pieces of fish maws and a chunk of escargot. It was a bowl of soup that are full with goodies that are supposed to heal you. It tasted very rich but it is not something that I fancy a lot.

Two Combination of Prawn Platter
It came in two flavour, breaded prawn with Nestum and fried prawn coated with mayonnaise. The fried prawn coated with mayonnaise tasted very ordinary while the Nestum prawn fared a little bit better with the Nestum fragrant blending in well with the prawn. Nonetheless, the prawns served were very fresh, offering a spongy texture.

Special Steamed Tilapia Fish
It is called "Yau Wat" style in Cantonese, which literally means the fish is prepared by soaking the fish briefly in the oil. Having said so, the end result is a very oily cuisine. Though it surprisingly tasted good with the shallots and the fried garlic blending in well, it is a big no no for diet watcher.

Stir Fried Green Pea with Scallops
It was served with a generous servings of fresh and juicy scallops. Apart from it, I'd particularly like the light seasoning where it brings out best the sweetness and the freshness of the green peas.

Two Combination of Chicken Platter
One of it was the roasted chicken while the other one was the fried breaded chicken. A pretty ordinary cuisine.

Braised Pork Ribs
The meat were braised so well that you could felt the meat were melting in the mouth. Not only that, the gravy were brimming with flavour too and it went so well with the accompanying man tao(bun). It was one of my favourite dish for the night.

Braised Longevity Noodles
Every Chinese believed that longevity noodles is a must during a birthday occasion. I used to enjoy this dish a lot, but on that night, I just had a very small portion of it. Tasteless is the word to define it all.

Longevity Bun
Looked cute, but I can't consume them as I'm allergy to the lotus paste within.

Sweetened Longan Syrup Dessert
It can only be better if they were served with herbal jelly.

The Jelly Birthday Cake

My parents with Sister Lai Fong and the Birthday Man

Happy Birthday Cousin Brother with many happy returns!=)

I would reckon that some of the food that I ate that night were not something that I usually will have for a dinner. Overall, the food were rather enjoyable even though there were some misses. If you'd ask me whether will I revisit this restaurant, my answer will be a straight yes.

Thank you cousin brother for inviting us to the dinner. We hope you have enjoyed on that night as much as we do.

Atmosphere: 5/10 (slightly noisy)

Food: 6.5/10 (non-halal)
Price: Unknown
Verdict: Love the stir fried green peas with scallops and the pork ribs!

Restoran Hai Thian
No. 9, Jalan BPP 8/2
Bandar Putra Permai
43300, Seri Kembangan
Selangor
Malaysia
Tel: 603 - 8943 5002 / 603 - 8948 8781 / 603 - 8945 4160
Business hours: Lunch 11 am - 2.30 pm daily; Dinner 5 pm - 10.30 pm daily
(Closes on every Monday except if public holidays fall on the Monday)