The Slopes in Restoran Kung Jung

Have been wanting to try this Korean BBQ ever since we came to Kuala Lumpur 1.5 yrs ago, and yesterday we finally got to join the crowds of Koreans & Japanese customers at:

Restoran Kung Jung
Lot No. 3.1, Level 3,
PNB Darby Park,
Jalan Binjai, 50450 KL
Tel: 03-21667181/5181

Kids' menu: Nil. The 8 different appetisers were delicious, and Sam willingly accepted the potato & fish cake dishes.

The BBQ chicken hubby ordered was wonderful wrapped with the plum sauce & lettuce leaf. I heartily regretted not ordering more BBQ dishes, esp. since the barbecuing was done at another table by the waiter, so we didn't have to worry Sam would get scalded by the hot charcoal fire at our own table.

The "seafood chowder" surprised us by being so spicy, but as it was being cooked in a claypot on our table with a whole crab (chopped into manageable pieces), 5 large prawns & ladles of clams, it was wonderfully flavorful by the end of the meal. The tofu absorbed too much of the spicy soup for Sam's delicate tastebuds, but he loved his serving of fresh prawn & crab.

Baby chair: a nice sturdy wooden affair that matched the restaurant's furniture.

Kids' utensils: Ikea's plastic bowl & cup, with a metal set of small spoon & fork. The waiter even gave Sam his own paper placemat, which unfortunately Sam spilled water all over 5 min into the meal.

Service: Pretty good. The waiter only provided the plastic kids' utensils upon request, but he was friendly & chatted with Sam amidst his work. And of course he recommended the good food. ;)

Entertainment: Nil. The LCD TVs near the ceiling are all tuned to ESPN, a clear indication of the office crowd clientele.

Sam found his own playground at the entrance to the restaurant though, which featured 2 small ramps, one on each side of a centre flower display. So we had to take turns placing our orders while the other half supervised Sam's running up & down the slopes.

Fav Feeding Bowl to Pack

I started the habit of carrying a feeding bowl with lid in my diaper bag when Sam 1st started eating solids nearly 2 yrs ago. At that time, the bowl was for mashing up the foods for the baby to eat. After Sam started self-feeding, the bowl became my best friend in restaurants that don't provide plastic kids' utensils.

All this time I've bought multiple brands & types of feeding bowls, some collecting dust aft one time use, others still wonderfully sturdy aft months of abuse by the adventurous toddler.

Now that most eating places stock plasticware for kids & Sam's learnt not to throw the ceramic plates on the dining table, my latest fav: The First Years' TumbleMates Bowls with Snap & Stay Lids.

This is the green one with Fish & Chips leftovers from lunch today at Madam Kwan's (Pavilion outlet). Sam can never clear his plate at lunchtime, not even with kid-size portions, and it used to be a trifle embarassing asking to tabao the leftovers (esp. when it's only a teeny portion) for Sam to eat after his afternoon nap.

Now, I'll pop an empty bowl into the diaper bag before leaving home, assured the lid will keep the bowl clean. Any leftovers from Sam's lunch goes into the bowl, & I can simply warm it up in the microwave later & feed Sam directly without washing another container.

This bowl has no handles, & the lid really is leak-proof, so it's great for on-the-go. If I fill it with soup or such, I add a plastic bag, but so far there's been no accidents when I place it flat at the bottom of my diaper bag.

I got my set of 3 (blue, green & yellow) in Great Eastern Mall's Choo! Choo! Train, & have seen it sold in Metrojaya departmental stores too. Price? Hee, sorry, I forgot already........

The Fish at Crystal Jade

We'll be leaving KL soon, so we're now making use of our limited time to eat in our favourite restaurants one last time. My hubby's fav Cantonese haunt:

Crystal Jade Restaurant 翡翠酒家

The Gardens, Mid Valley City,

level 4, Lot T210

Tel: (603) 2283 3129

We love the place for the good food, & the extensive menu, which offers much, much more delicacies than its sister restaurants in Singapore. And of course, the good service - I never have to ask for the kid's utensils & the waiters are always ready to help pick up the toy cars Sam landed on the floor.

Baby chair: the plastic & metal version which I always find a trifle too flimsy. But at least this one was in good condition.

Kids' utensils: Ikea's colourful plastic cup, bowl & plate. A little metal set of fork & spoon was provided, just the right size for little Sam.

Entertainment: Nil. Sam loves the 4 tanks of live seafood at the entrance to the restaurant. We usually have to let him watch his fill while we placed our orders, then cajole him into his seat only when the food is being served.

Kids' menu: Nil. This time, Sam was in a 'prawn' mood - he polished off 3 "har gao" (虾饺) in total. I got the brain wave of getting Sam to eat some vegetables - one whole delicious "jiu cai jiao" (韭菜饺) - by peeling off the skin of the dim sum & mixing the vege with his rice.

The Restaurants in The Venetian, Macao

Location: The Venetian Macao~Resort~Hotel, in Taipa, Macao.

After all the child-friendly restaurants in KL & Singapore, it was an unpleasant surprise to find that Macao is not as toddler-friendly.

Maybe I was just plain unlucky: we had almost all our meals in The Venetian, where we were staying, for convenience, & most of the restaurants we tried have baby chairs that did not come with safety belts!

No, I don't mean the belts have fallen off or are broken out of misuse. The chairs we were offered were in good condition, partly cos I think The Venetian is still relatively new (only just 1 yr old in Aug).

The safety belts are simply not part of the design of the baby chairs! Some of the chairs, in fact, have no barrier between the legs either! They resemble more like mini chairs than the usual baby chairs I've gotten used to.

While these mini chairs look great, comfortable, & are probably a great hit with older children, they were a source of constant worry to me, making my meals as stressful as not having a baby chair offered. As such, I didn't take as many photos as I wanted too.........

There were several restaurants in The Venetian that specified "No kids allowed". Since we could never manage a proper 3-course fine dining meal with Sam anyway, I didn't really mind giving those a miss, as of those within the casino itself.

Only 1 restaurant was introduced as child-friendly in the guidebook provided in the hotel room: the 3 Monkeys 3猴子餐厅, located in St Mark's Square (shop no. 2412a). However, as hubby & I were not really into western cusine for this trip, we gave it a miss. Sam was highly amused by the giant monkey soft toy at the entrance to the 3 Monkeys though.

We tried all the 3 breakfast places offered in our package:

- blue frog bar & grill 蓝蛙酒吧餐厅 (level 1, shop no. 1037)
There's no baby chair available. Luckily the place is not very popular for early breakfast, so we got one of the semi-circular high-back seats & ordered the set breakfast off the menu, while Sam walked on the cushioned seat.

- Cafe Deco Macao 峰景餐厅 (level 1, shop no. 1036)
The breakfast buffet was very popular, think it's due to the wide range of Chinese & Western styled foods available. We ate there twice, & on both occasions had to wait a bit for the busy waiters to find us a baby chair. Sam had his fill on cornflakes, muffins, pork patties & chicken sausages, & tasted his 1st samosa, which he loved.

- Fogo Samba 巴西扒房 (level 3, in St Mark's Square, shop no. 2412)
I was surprised the Brazillian place offered delicious Chinese congee & fried noodles in their breakfast buffet, besides the usual fruits, salad, bread & pastries.

Though the selection is not as wide as Cafe Deco, their unique way of serving freshly roasted meats made it an interesting experience. We had to stop Sam from playing with the tongs used to take the slices of meat the waiters cut directly off the grill at our table. May I add that the roasted pineapple is wonderful when still warm!!!

It was rather fun to have the 'alfresco' dining under the Venetian sky (painted ceiling). At least the background to the photo looks more interesting. ;P

We had our 1st dinner at the Festivita Food Court 琳琅美食广场 (level 3). While there were no baby chairs available, we were able to stack 2 chairs up so Sam could reach the table comfortably.

I loved the wanton soup noodles in Old Neptune Restaurant 海王老记粥面菜馆 (level 1, shop no. 1032). But it was a trifle irritating not to be offered the baby chair: the waitresses assured us the baby chair was too tall for the low wooden table, & that Sam would be better off sitting on cushioned wooden seats with us.

As hubby said: why bother stocking the baby chairs then??? But the waitresses were right: Sam was the right height to self-feed (albeit with ceramic bowls & spoon, no plastic ones available), while we adults ate slightly hunched over.

And fortunately for the tanks for live seafood in the restaurant, Sam was happily entertained till the food was served.

Our last dinner was in the Grand Edo Japanese Restaurant 大江户日本料理 (level 3, shop no. 2311). The food was great: big live oysters deep fried Japanese style, plum-flavoured somen (an uncommon item), wonderful yuzu sherbet served in a yuzu (japanese pomelo).

But I couldn't fully enjoy myself, cos part of my brain kept worrying about Sam in his beautiful wooden mini high chair. There was no safety belt, no mini table to the chair - Sam was seated right till the arm rests of the mini chair touched the table. Thank goodness he didn't attempt to rock the chair that night!!!!!

If I had known Macao was not so toddler-friendly, I would have waited till Sam was a bit older before I visit. What a waste of all the good food!!!!

For travel blog on The Venetian, Macao, itself, you can read it here.

Victoria Station & its Red Train

Location: Victoria Station, along Jalan Ampang (next to Hock Choon Supermarket).

Baby chair: the grey Rubbermaid is sturdy & held my Sam well when he tried to rock in it.

Entertainment: None intended. But Sam loves the red train outside the restaurant, which also seats diners.

The proximity of the restaurant to the busy Jln Ampang road meant Sam could happily point out taxis & buses during the meal. I've given up sitting in the interestingly decorated train cabins, as Sam couldn't see the road from there, & he would always wanna play on the steps leading to the cabins.

There's a tank of live lobsters near the toilets, which Sam was fascinated with during the past visits (which he's forgotten now, luckily).

Kids' utensils: Nil. We have to make do with the ceramic plates. Fortunately, this time we got a small fork (used for our oysters) for Sam to eat his fries with.

Kids' menu: Nil. I usually order a fish dish for myself, so Sam can partake the fries & the fish (minus the sauce). The portions have shrunk though, compared to my 1st visit 6 months ago, so this time I have to order a side dish of fries to fill up Sam.

Service: Ok, no complaints.

Noble House & its Fish Pond

Location: Noble House (阳城酒家), at No. 19 Jalan Delima (off Jalan Imbi)
Baby chair: the foldable metal & plastic version. Usually I don't like this type of baby chairs, but luckily this one's plastic white table top was somehow fastened down, so Sam couldn't raise it up & down (as he did in other restaurants).

Kids' utensils: Ikea's plastic bowl, fork & spoon, fully colour coordinated! I asked for the ceramic white tea cup to be retained for Sam to drink from, a recent skill he enjoys.

Entertainment: None at the table. Sam was, unfortunately for us, interested in the big fish pond at the entrance to the restaurant building (ie. outside the dining area), & spent the pre-food-arrival time commenting on the size of the koi there.

Kids' menu: Nil, as usual for Chinese restaurants. Sam ate the usual braised peanuts appetiser while we ordered the food, and loved our soups. For once, he ate some spinach - finely chopped & mixed with tofu, then deep fried & covered with sauce - one of their signature dishes (至尊鸳鸯豆腐).

Service: Ok, as far as child-friendliness is concerned. The kids' utensils were offered without prompting.

Cane Baby Chair in the Zun Express

Location: the Zun Express (尊厨靓汤), LG floor of MidValley The Gardens.

Baby chair: 1st time I see a baby chair made fully of cane! So pretty!!!!!

Lucky they have baby chairs, else we were prepared to eat elsewhere, cos the seats of the restaurant are those round Chinese-style stools - totally unsuitable for Sam's active buttocks!

Kids' utensils: the complete set of Ikea's colourful plastic children's cutlery - fork, spoon, bowl & plate.

Entertainment: Nil.

Kids' menu: Nil. Sam was in a prawn-only mood & refused to try my pork-chop rice & the delicious char-siew pastry (叉烧酥), eating only his daddy's fried prawn noodle. He loved my wonderful soup (八珍汤) though. ;P

Service: Pretty good. They gave the kids' utensils without any prompting, which was good. The food was served quickly after we made the order, so we didn't have to worry about Sam's hungry stomach.

My only complaint is their frequent clearing of our empty plates, an obvious hint for us to leave & not linger after the meal. I guess they were anxious for more tables to be available for other customers, since the restaurant was full by the time we finished (it was nearly empty when we started, filled up really fast!).

The Statues in Dragon-i Signature

Location: Dragon-i Signature (龙的传人-上海经典), level 1 of Pavilion.

Baby chair: the white Ikea version.

Entertainment: Nil.

Kids' menu: Nil. But the braised peanuts that was served as starters was a healthy snack for Sam while we placed our orders. And today, hubby's chicken soup & la mien became Sam's food-of-the-meal. Really, it's a case of like-father-like-son!

Kids' utensils: the complete set of Mickey Mouse plastic utensils - fork & spoon (a trifle too large for Sam), bowl, and cup.

Service: Great! Perhaps the waitresses remembered us from our previous visits. Today, they provided the kids' utensils before I requested for them, right after they brought us the baby chair.

Maybe cos we were early (the crowds only started coming in around 1pm, when we've finished our meal), 2 different waitresses had the leisure to come & chat with Sam, a welcome move.

One of them helped to pick up his toy cars from the floor, the other provided extra serviettes for his dirty mouth. Sam acknowledged his popularity by waving goodbye - without prompting - to all the waitresses when we left.

But the table allocated to us today wasn't the most ideal. Being placed next to the decorative statues, Sam explored the display case with his spoon several times during the course of the meal. Imagine our efforts in keeping his spoon clean for eating.........

I'll definitely remember to keep Sam away from the walls in future!

Cute Cutlery at Sushi Zanmai

Location: Sushi Zanmai (寿司三味), 3rd floor of MidValley The Gardens.

Baby chair: the white Ikea fav of many eating places.

Kids' utensils: this has got to be 1 of the more unique kids' cutlery I've seen recently - a metallic Hello Kitty teaspoon!

Oh! the koala bear plastic plate is cute, & the dessert fork is just the right size for Sam, but there's something girly about the Hello Kitty spoon that makes me, the mother, wanna use it too!

Entertainment: Nil. Unless you count the sushi belt, but we didn't want to risk Sam clamouring for the dishes on the conveyor, so we had chosen a table as far away from the belt as possible.

Kids' menu: Nil, but that's not a problem in a Japanese restaurant. This time, Sam loved the prawn sushi balls on the black plate (from the belt), & even refused to eat his usual fav, fish (from hubby's nabe set).

Service: could have been better. Had to request for the kids' utensils twice before they presented the set, and that's when we started before the lunchtime crowd arrived.

A point to note when dining in a sushi belt restaurant: the typical design of such eating places are often very compact with fixed tables & seats. The baby chair will usually end up on the corridor-side of the table, so be sure to request for a table at the end of the corridor where there's less human traffic.

Dim Sum in KLCC's Spring Garden

Location: Spring Garden Chinese Restaurant (荔苑), level 4 of Suria KLCC.

Baby chair: the plastic baby chair was clean but the safety strap between the legs had broken off. I was too tired to ask for another chair, & fortunately for me, Sam wasn't in a shaking mood today either.

Kids' utensils: I love the fact that they always provide a short bendy straw with the colourful Ikea plastic cup, even though Sam doesn't always use the straw. They also provide small spoon & fork (though metal) with the Ikea plastic bowl.

Service: pretty ok. The waitress knows to place the baby chair on the wall side & not the corridor side. Kids' utensils served promptly when requested, with the cup (wisely) 1/4 filled with water.

At the end of the meal, the waiter even gave Sam his own hot towel, which he happily followed our example to wipe his mouth with.

Entertainment: nil.

Kids' menu: Nil, as expected for a chinese restaurant.

Dome Cafe at Gleneagles Intan

Location: Dome Cafe, ground floor of Gleneagles Intan Medical Centre, hospital wing.

Baby chair: a plain sturdy wooden affair, complete with safety belt.

Entertainment: Nil. But I got a table in view of the hospital's drop-off & pick-up point, so Sam could have his car-watching.

Kids' utensils: Nil, a big minus, as the plates used in the cafe are heavy ceramics.

Kids' menu: the separately designed Junior Menu has both drinks & food for children. I ordered Sam's fav fish & chips, which was reasonable with its thick slab of sole.

Have no chance of trying any of the drinks though, since Sam doesn't really like chocolate and every drink on the Junior Menu is of that flavour.

Service: service was average, prompt. About the only complaint I have for the entire affair is that the takeaway for the remaining fish & chips was a single paper bag, which means the paper was totally oily by the time I got home.

Sakae Sushi in Suria KLCC

Location: Sakae Sushi, on level 4 of Suria KLCC.

Baby chair: a booster chair that raised Sam so high, his knees are nearly level with the table!

Actually, now that I look again at my own photo, I realise the booster seat could have been lowered to a more comfortable position. But I wasn't enlightened then, & the waitress didn't even secure the bottom strap to the seat (she only secure the strap to the chair back, & even that took her 2 tries), so Sam spent his whole meal "1 head above the rest"!

Kids' utensils: a plastic bowl and a soup spoon was provided upon request. Now what on earth makes them think a toddler of Sam's age would use such a large soup spoon instead of a teaspoon??

Service: refer to above segments.

Entertainment: Nothing specifically designed to entertain children, but Sam's interest was held by the LCD displays - meant for taking orders electronically - at the other tables. He spent the meal commenting on the photos of food flashed on the screen: a "nooooooo" every time I asked him if the dish looks good!

Kids' menu: I didn't realised it when I was ordering (being in a rush, I just got the 1st sensible dish I saw), but there's actually some junior meal served in a fancy boat-shaped plate available. This I only found out when watching the LCD display while I was eating.

A note on the menu - there's acutally fried lotus root chips (renko chips) available, which Sam loved. At least I didn't feel so guilty about giving him fried food & he's actually eating some kind of vegetable!

Little Penang Cafe in Suria KLCC

Location: Little Penang Cafe, on level 4 of Suria KLCC.

Kids' utensils: Nil! And that's a headache in the place, cos their bowls & plates are all ceramic! Luckily Sam wasn't in a play-with-plate mood that day........

Service: average. Waiter did not offer any alternatives when informing me they had no plastic utensils for my child. I had to ask specifically for a bowl & spoon - and they gave a ceramic soup spoon!

Baby chair: a nice wooden affair.

Entertainment: Nil. In fact, the full pane windows opening to the shopping aisle are a terrible distraction to my little boy, cos now he's tall enough to scramble over the low window ledges.

Kids' menu: Nil.

The TV in LiJin

Location: LiJin (Chinese Fusion Cuisine), in level 6 of Pavilion.

We decided to eat there simply because we wanted to repay our 'debt': Sam had embarassed us too many times in the past by running into the restaurant to watch the live seafood tanks, so we thought we should at least eat there once.

Service: Good, maybe cos we're one of the 1st few customers. The waiters wisely placed the teapot & order receipt on the opposite side of the table, & served the food from the other end too.

Baby chair: a pink metal affair, looks more suitable for a coffee shop than the mid~high end restaurant.

Kids' utensils: a normal plastic plate and a pair of red plastic fork & spoon (slightly too big for Sam's age, I thought) were provided upon request.

Kids' menu: none, as usual for a Chinese restaurant.

Entertainment: that's about the only thing I would consider going back to LiJin for (cos the food's really not value for money!).

We didn't sit near the wall of live seafood tanks cos that's supposed to be the smoking section, but turns out there's a TV mounted near the ceiling in the non-smoking section. Sam was kept occupied by the playing of a DVD - repeated after abt 40 min - consisting of clips (no sound) of ocean creatures & nature scenes, so I could eat my dinner in peace.

The Fish in Kiku Zakura

Location: Kiku Zakura (菊樱), in Upper Concourse level of Avenue K.

Service: Oh, it was good! Maybe it's because the place was deserted at 7pm on the Saturday night, but the waitress was very nice: I asked the restaurant to prepare a table with a view of the fish tank while Sam was still running on the ramp along the corridor, & the waitress very wisely placed the baby chair directly facing the fish tank. Hence, Sam was happily entertained throughout the meal. A great blessing!!!

Baby chair: The clean sturdy-looking wooden chair was comforting at 1st sight with its safety harness. However, halfway through the meal, I found Sam no longer facing the table. Apparently, the chair can be rotated around on its legs (dunno for what reason. for ease of storage?), & Sam had loosened the locking peg by simply shaking around in his seat!

I spent the rest of the meal trying to forestall Sam shaking to loosen the peg on purpose!

Kids' utensils: No plastic versions available. A metal teaspoon & a small ceramic bowl was provided after I requested for utensils for Sam. Fortunately for me, Sam wasn't in a playing-with-bowl mood today. ;P

Kids' menu: Nil. However, the menu includes ochazuke (rice with various ingredients in tea), which is perfect when Sam's not in the mood to chew rice.

Entertainment: No planned ones. However, the fish tank, so obviously for good fengshui, turns out to be a great distraction for Sam. He kept wanting to show the fish his cars & made several tries asking the fish to stop swimming!

The ring-shaped chopsticks holder provided also turned out to be an unexpected toy. Sam had a lot of fun wearing it as a ring on his finger & charting it around on his toy cars.

Child-friendly Tony Roma's

Had a very good lunch today. Well, as good a lunch any mum can get when she's alone with a tired & hungry male toddler.

Brought Sam to Tony Roma's at Midvalley Megamall, cos saw they were having a promotion: children <12 yrs can eat for free on Mon ~ Wed, provided the adult ordered a main entree, of course. So, I tried my luck, and I'm definitely going back again, even if I have to pay the next time!

Firstly, they have both baby high chairs & booster seats for older children. Then, they provide crayons & an activity sheet (colouring, maze, puzzles) for the kid to play. Sam, being his 1st exposure to crayons, scared me to death by putting the crayon in his mouth!! Luckily I got it out before he bit it!!!

The starters for the kid's menu is carrot & celery sticks with dip. The waiter very wisely served this when I was still going through the menu & Sam was going "mum-mum-mum". And when I was scrambling for a wet wipe to clean Sam's not-so-clean hands, they promptly provided a wet wipe for the task!

And they didn't hurry me to order drinks or anything like that, just let me take my own time to read the usual menu after I've order fish & chips (RM$16.90) for Sam.When I've decided on their set lunch, fish & chips too (great value at RM$19.90, includes soup, coleslaw & drink), the manager even reminded me I've already ordered a juice for Sam, so do I want the extra drink?? Wow! I'll gladly give them the extra business just for this kind of service!!!!

The fries were good, makes me feel a bit less guilty abt letting Sam eat them cos they still have the potato skins on. ;P

And the fish were really, truly lightly battered! Cos picky Sam doesn't like to eat the batter, I usually have to spend a lot of effort scraping off the batter (& usually end up eating it myself) at other restaurants before I can feed it to Sam.

But Tony Roma's version had a very thin batter layer, which Sam barely noticed through all the fish, so I could spend the time eating my own delicious fish instead. Great!

I felt bad not finishing the dessert (Dirt Cup = choco pudding + Oreo crumbs) from the kids' menu. But silly Sam refused to take even a single bite, and I was feeling full & fat after eating half the dessert, so..........next time then!

When we were done, they served up another 2 warm wet wipes, one for me, 1 for Sam. Never have I been offered a wet wipe for the child before! The feeling was wonderful!

I'll definitely bring Sam back there again! Maybe next time let him try the Cheezy Pizza or the Chicken Strips while I enjoy a proper steak.............