Lifestyle

Cilantro Restaurant & Wine Bar @ Micasa Hotel KL

By Leigh
Updated May 20, 2017 Filed Under: Travel, food and the finer things in life 4

Cilantro Restaurant & Wine Bar

This is a long overdue post. I celebrated a birthday lunch at Cilantro Restaurant & Wine Bar on 7 April 2017. A Friday.

They only serve lunch on Fridays at RM200 nett per person. Their dinner set menu costs RM428 per person for a 3-course meal. A 4-course meal will set you back RM518 per person. My last splurge on a meal was at Vasco’s at Hilton KL back in February. So to minimize the damage, I naturally opted for the lunch set.

Cilantro Restaurant – Menu by Chef Takashi Kimura

Cilantro Restaurant – The Food

The food was up to par for the price we paid. One thing that fell short was the Grilled Japanese Sea Bream Fillet. We had a choice of the fish or Wagyu beef. For future reference, when in doubt, please just go for the Wagyu.

Capellini and Provence Asparagus with Wild Garlic Leaves

Hokkaido Scallop with Soramame and Jus

Grilled Japanese Sea Bream Fillet with Hotaruika

Wagyu A La Plancha with Mushroom Bordelaise

Pina Colada

Some Fancy Named Tea

End.

Please do give this place a try. It’ll be suitable to have luncheons and talk business here. They spice up and vary their menus often. The food was excellent (except for the fish). Service was excellent. The restaurant had a good overall vibe about it and we truly had a good time there.

Photography improving? Do let me know of your experience if you’ve been there for dinner! I’m really tempted, but the price… Anyway, back to refocusing on the Freedom Fund!

Cilantro Restaurant & Wine Bar,
MiCasa All Suite Hotel,
368-B, Jalan Tun Razak,
50400 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Lunch: Friday only (12 pm-2 pm)
Dinner: Monday-Saturday (6 pm-10.30 pm)
Closed on Sundays

Tel: 03-2179 8082

Vasco’s @ Hilton Kuala Lumpur [Review]

By Leigh
Updated February 23, 2017 Filed Under: Travel, food and the finer things in life 2

Vasco’s at Hilton KL

Went for the buffet lunch at Vasco’s located at Hilton Kuala Lumpur to celebrate an overdue Valentine’s day (sort of). I still think the whole V-day is a big conspiracy ginned up by the jewelry, card and flower industry. The amount of money people are willing to spend on that particular day still astounds me.

Before you start pegging me for a hypocrite:

1. I try to always celebrate Valentine’s day after February the 14th; and

2. We are part Hilton Premium Club and got this buffet for FREE!

We of course like the civilized people we were, called ahead and made reservations. I’ve been here a few times and the menu last Saturday was quite a let down compared to my previous visits.

I started off with some kimchi and seafood. The kimchi was horrible like what I could get at Jusco or Giant. Vasco’s used to serve fresh oysters and crabs as well as salmon sashimi, it has since been reduced to prawns, mussels and butterfish sashimi. A real let down.

Next up was their salad and some cold cuts. Nothing special. Had those to add some greens to my meal.

Vasco's at Hilton KL — *Hello! Roasted chicken served by a friendly chef*

Verdict

I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

Overall, the buffet was a total disappointment. One of the best dish they used to serve was this awesome steamed seabass, which they’ve decided to take off the menu. Their briyani and curry used to be delicious as well, it has since been replaced by something you could get at a your local Pelita restaurant.

All that being said, I did enjoy their pasta which was cooked for you on the spot as well as their pistachio flavored gelato. The chefs stationed there were all really friendly and polite as well. Enjoyed myself asking and learning about the food.

End.

You’d be paying RM158 per head for the lunch buffet on weekends. I got to know that they hired a new executive chef who changed the entire menu. Seems like a huge cost cutting exercise if you ask me.

So, my thoughts? I’d rather fork out an extra RM40 and gorge myself on some free flow wagyu beef at Hanare @ The Intermark. However, I did get to eat for free here so I’d better stop with the complains.

Have you guys been to Vasco’s recently? Were you let down in a similar fashion?

Thanks for reading!

Tosca – Double Tree by Hilton

By Leigh
Updated October 11, 2016 Filed Under: Travel, food and the finer things in life 0

Tosca Trattoria Italiana

Let’s take a break from all the figures and posts on stocks. Over the weekend, a client of mine invited me to tag along with his family for dinner at a posh little restaurant called Tosca at Double Tree by Hilton KL. The place is located at The Intermark in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. We had trouble locating the restaurant but eventually found it by the pool at the hotel.

Appetizers

The dinner buffet was by invitation only for Hilton Premium Club members and it came with a free flow of alcohol. We got to pick from a selection of Chardonnays, Tiger or Heineken beer and Strongbow apple cider. Dinner started with caesar salad prepared in front of us, they made a big deal out of it being “prepared right in front of our eyes” but it was just a waiter preparing salad. Nothing to shout about. The Chardonnay that I started with however was well worth it.

Caesar Salad

Tosca — *Oh and I ordered mushroom soup*

Main

For me, the best part of the meal was the roast beef. They cooked it just the way I like my beef – medium rare. I had my beef with really amazing ravioli. Of course I paired these with red wine. There was also roasted chicken but I only had eyes for B-E-E-F.

By this time, I’ve quite a bit of wine to drink. I took a break and had some cold cuts together with a pumpkin risotto.

Dessert

And lastly, came dessert. We were all feeling tipsy and really full by this time. I almost decided against getting dessert but fortunately I didn’t. Dessert was also prepared in front of us and served with Kahlua liquor. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth but the dessert served today was one of the better ones I’ve had.

After dinner, we sat by the pool and ended the night with a few more glasses of wine. Of course financial matters were discussed throughout the dinner but I will not bore you with the details.

It was a truly enjoyable night for me and I’m really grateful to have a friend and client who has been nothing but generous since we started working together. I was told it cost a little over RM100 per pax here.

Have any of you been to Tosca before? Or tried Hanare (one of the best Japanese buffets I’ve had) here at the Intermark?

I hope to return to Tosca again. Till then, thank you and thanks for reading.

Hanare at The Intermark – Free Flow Wagyu Beef

By Leigh
Updated November 20, 2021 Filed Under: Travel, food and the finer things in life 2

Hanare @ The Intermark Mall

Weekend buffet price – RM260 per pax (including addon for freeflow wagyu)

Hanare – 2020

Celebrated a birthday again today at Hanare. I’m forever grateful to be surrounded by good friends.

With the conditional movement control order still in place, Hanare switched to an ala-carte buffet. Some dishes like fresh oysters and soba were gone.

The wagyu beef was as good as ever. However, the new policy is that customers will have to add RM50 per person to get unlimited wagyu. Without the additional RM50, you’ll only get 120g per pax. As a result, the bill came up to around RM260 per person which I think is pricey.

I didn’t take too many pictures this time around. Enjoy nonetheless!

Hanare – 2019

I’m back with another Hanare post for 2019!
Food was good as usual but I noticed that Malaysians are spending much more on food than I thought. The place was almost full.

The Food

Follow me on Instagram: @dividendmagic for regular updates I don’t post on the blog.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Dividend Magic (@dividendmagic)

Hanare 2017

I find myself at Hanare again today on 9 July 2017 to celebrate another special occasion. Hanare made a major change to their buffet – Free flow Wagyu beef is only available on Sundays at RM180 per pax. On Saturdays, they’ve switched to an a la carte buffet and you’re only entitled to 120 grams of Wagyu beef at RM160.

We arrived at 12pm sharp and got seated right away. Had a slightly unconventional start to the buffet with Matcha ice cream as everyone else clamored to get their Wagyu beef and sashimi.

Hanare @ The Intermark 2017 — *Ice cream first!*

After taking our time with the ice cream, we moved on to get ourselves some fresh sashimi.

As per Hanare’s policy, each customer was entitled to 3 pieces of fatty tuna. The tuna given this time around was much, MUCH tastier compared to last year’s. Melted right off in the mouth.

I then had some Chawanmushi to prepare myself for some grilled meat! The Chawanmushi was steamed to perfection and I actually had 3 of them.

Started off with some seafood – grilled scallops and prawns.

Filled ourselves with some Japanese red meat. Medium rare as always. We had 3 plates of these. I’m pretty sure that’s past the 120g limit for your Saturday a la carte buffet.

Hanare 2016

April seems to be the month where I spend the most every year. Many of my close friends’ birthdays fall on the fourth month of the year. Celebrated a birthday at one of my favorite Japanese buffet restaurant – Hanare located at the Intermark Mall, Kuala Lumpur.

We made a reservation online via Table App and upon arrival they didn’t seem to be able to find us on their list. Luckily they still had some empty seats left. I guess a phone call is still more reliable.

First stop for me at any Japanese buffet is the sashimi. Loaded up on salmon bellies while we waited for the wagyu beef to be grilled.

Had a few pre-grilled stuff. I never fail to have a shishamo or two whenever at a Japanese restaurant. The ones here were a tad too tough and dry for my liking. Each person was entitled to 3 pieces of toro (tuna belly). The ones today were fresh and melted in our mouths.

Finally our food from the grill came. Best part of the whole buffet – Freeflow Wagyu. Awesome as always and it is the main reason I frequent Hanare. Scallops and prawns went really well with it. =D

Next up was the specially flown Hokkaido oyster which was in season. Each customer is entitled to only one piece each. It was really fresh and I just had lemon slices and a little special oyster sauce with it.

Dessert at Hanare are really commendable as well. They also serve Haagen Dazs ice cream for you sweet toothed people out there.

So, after a very filling and delicious meal, total damage – RM391.78 which comes up to a little under RM200 per person. Expensive I know, but I’d recommend everyone try this and enjoy authentic Japanese food. I’ve been spending a little too much this month, coupled with my recent watch purchase – the Seiko 5, I’ve spent close to RM1,200 in a month! Not exactly setting a good example of frugality but I’d say it was money well spent.

End.

RM195.90 in 2016, a year later? RM209.90. And in 2019? RM208.80!!
So Hanare charged the same as it did 2 years ago. But it got cheaper because we abolished GST.

2020 Update: The bill has gone up to a whopping RM266.80 per person now.

I’ve been coming to Hanare for a few years in a row now. Usually for special occasions and they’ve never failed to let me down. While glancing through their Facebook page, I’ve noticed some bad reviews and complaints by customers, mainly on the slow wait time for their Wagyu beef and Teppanyaki. I think Hanare has already got a handle on the issue and they’ve actually stationed two chefs there.

The service has always been outstanding as well. We got moved to a nice corner as one of their reservations was canceled. Their resident chef taking the time to explain the various cuts of sashimi, even giving us some salmon belly sashimi to savor. It’s the little things.

So please, give them a try! Hanare’s Facebook page can be found hERE.

Do you guys have any nice Japanese restaurants to recommend?

As always, thanks for reading.

My New Watch – Seiko 5

By Leigh
Updated April 9, 2016 Filed Under: Travel, food and the finer things in life 8

Seiko 5 – SNKE03K1

I will be detracting from my usual posts on stocks today to talk about my new watch – the Seiko 5. It cost me RM799 for this piece, the dividends from March 2016 more than paid for this watch.

It may not be in the same league as some of the higher end watches, but I wanted to learn about automatic watches and opted for the ever durable Seiko. If you don’t know what an automatic watch is, I’d suggest a quick google search to know more, but basically it winds itself with the movement of your hand, ie. no batteries.

I’ve always loved watches, always wearing the ones my dad owns but I’ve finally decided to purchase my very own piece.

Unboxing the Seiko 5

I bought mine online and it came packed in layers of bubble wrap. The Seiko 5 range boasts hundreds of different watches, most of them a little too sporty for my liking, the SNKE03K1 however looks beautiful and is classy as hell. This post might be a little image heavy but I’d like to show you how beautiful my Seiko 5 really is.

Seiko 5 - SNKE03K1 — Peeling away the layers

Seiko 5 - Automatic — Automatic movement

Men should wear watches

Alright enough pictures. So why the sudden fascination with watches you say?

Once upon a time, a watch was a necessity, something both men and women put on their wrists every morning and took off only at night before bed. As cell phones and later smartphones started becoming more common, the watch suddenly seemed old-fashioned.

To me however, without my watch, I’d all but feel naked. Now I’m not against smartphones, I still love my Samsung Galaxy, I love the way smartphones have changed my life. But, still, a watch will forever hold a place among my daily outfit. I like how I have several watches for different occasions, I actually make sure my time piece matches my outfit on important events.

The Seiko 5 however, will be my default every day watch – my daily beater.

I know this post has nothing much related to stocks and investments. But the watch is a gift to myself and I’d like to think that I’m not just a miser who saves and saves. I too sometimes indulge.

Cheers and thanks for reading!

Lifestyle

Cilantro Restaurant & Wine Bar

Cilantro Restaurant – The Food

End.

Share this:

Vasco’s at Hilton KL

Verdict

End.

Share this:

Tosca Trattoria Italiana

Appetizers

Main

Dessert

Share this:

Hanare @ The Intermark Mall

Hanare – 2020

Hanare – 2019

The Food

Hanare 2017

Hanare 2016

End.

Share this:

Seiko 5 – SNKE03K1

Unboxing the Seiko 5

Men should wear watches

Share this:

Learn Investing