Did you know that there was a cosy and very quaint Japanese restaurant – Kyoto Lab – nestled directly above the buzzing hotspot called The Pool KL? Bet you didn't.

There was an elevator which took me directly to the upper floor of the restaurant.

Upon entering the premise, I was impressed by the simple yet creative and unique interior already

As I took my seat, I noticed something peculiar right above me.

See the ceiling lamps? There were so many of them & actually tins containing wine, biscuits, soy sauce & oil before



The owner of the restaurant then shared how most of their interior and furniture pieces are actually reused items. How ingenious! I felt as though I was talking to Robinson Crusoe before he even finished his story

The table base and legs were also the metal carriers previously used in the construction industry too.

After checking out Kyoto Lab's highly innovative and resourceful interior decor, I was ready to be wowed by what they have to serve already.

I began to develop pretty high expectations! Surely the food ought to be as good as the outlet looks

I was given the cocktail menu to select my drinks & was spoilt for choice.

There were three pages of creative & never-seen-before cocktails! Ever heard of The Fish Bowl, Spicy Mango Madness, Skittles Bomb (as opposed to Jager Bombs), Pink Elephant, Milo Ais cocktail.. and especially Chemistry Lab Experiment?

The pleasantly sweet chocolate-hazelnut flavour complemented the vodka in the martini excellently!

It wasn't garnished with the usual olives, but with Koko Krunch instead

The next cocktail I had was the best-selling Watermelon Slush (RM40)

It was served in a heart shape carved in a giant watermelon half. How lovely!

I loved its distinct slushy & chunky watermelon & lychee taste, with a good hint of vodka & midori.

Tasted very refreshing & sweet! Something most girls would most likely fancy.

The final cocktail that I am going to write about (because at this point, you must be thinking – where's the food? So I'll let you discover the other cocktails yourself!) is a cocktail named Coco's Nutz (RM28) .

I swear I can't be the only one who found that name particularly amusing. Teehee.

I enjoyed its milky, creamy texture with a good blend of Malibu, Rum & fresh coconut juice. So rich!

Heck, it's no wonder it bagged the Winning Cocktail in 2011's JTI Horeca Bartending Contest

Okay, on to the food! I wonder if the cocktails were served to alter the receptivity of my tastebuds?

I'm joking; of course it didn't! I actually had the cocktails sparingly in between meals, not all in one go!

One of my favorite entrees was the Salmon Potato Salad with Truffle Oil (RM18)

I love salmon. I love Potato Salad. I love lettuce. When combined, I trust it will be absolutely divine.

Another light bite I had was Sashimi Nouyeou Salmon Trout (RM25)

Sashimi lovers will be in for something really different!

Far from the traditional, plain, raw sashimi, this splendid take on sashimi

boasts a zestful but not-too-overpowering sweet & sour flavour with each bite





Next up and hot off the griller, was Kyoto Lab's skewered grilled meat.

Let's take a look at some of them!

Chicken/Beef Yakitori (RM8)



I have always fancied skewered meat doused in teriyaki sauce and this certainly did not disappoint.

Both the chicken and the beef were very tender and bursting with teriyaki goodness)

Gyuniku Asparamaki (RM10).



This was arguably my favorite dish of the evening

Being a pro-health junkie, I took so much pleasure in relishing this skewered asparagus wrapped in grilled beef strips served with Teriyaki sauce & sesame seeds. I ABSOLUTELY MUST have it again!

Scallop Misoyaki (RM15)



The soft & melt-in-your-mouth scallops marinated sweet & salty miso sauce will never be enough!

One bite gets you hooked – not even joking



Is it epic mealtime yet? The following dish was pretty damn marvellous to me.

The Green Monster Lamb Burger with Mint Sauce (RM28)





I love lamb! Served with potato wedges & onion rings, the Green Monster's lamb patties packed a punch!

It was so juicy and the taste of well-done lamb with mint sauce ruled my tastebuds. Thumbs up

The following "burger" blew me away & made me appreciate steak a little more! (I was never a fan, tbh)

Portobello Mushroom sandwiched between two thick slabs of medium steak with grilled Zucchini

Australian Grain-Fed Chilled Tenderloin (RM60)

You have no idea how I ravaged the poor thing.

I devoured the portobello mushroom (heh, I love my vegetables more than my meat), but each time I sank my teeth into it I made sure I had a bite of the thick, succulent tenderloin as well

A Chinese-style lunch with mom and dad at Foong Yean Chinese restaurant @ Jalan Tengah, Penang.

Here's what we had. I definitely recommend this humble, no-frills Chinese restaurant for small, family dinners!

Seaweed and egg soup

Stir fried tofu, mushrooms, chicken chunks and prawn

Soy steamed fish

Scallops with brocolli, corn, mushroom and carrots

Aubergine and prawns

Very good ratings from all of us! We loved it. Price is cheap too!

It was delightful! I haven't had good Chinese food in a while. This certainly quenches my cravings!

Shot some photos of the beautifully decorated interior.
Very, very Middle Eastern yet extremely contemporary.yes

I loved the play of lights, perfect usage of wide spaces and their stained glass decor!

Greek Salad.
It had a generous helping of tomato, cucumber, capsicum, olives and creamy feta cheese.

Chilli Potato.
Fried Potato Cubes with Coriander, Tomato and Garlic. Very flavourful and mildly spicy!

Baba Ganoush. Eggplant Dip with tomato, onion and olive oil served with bread.
I wanted to try this non-creamy and coarse version but I didn’t exactly like the texture of this although I enjoyed its smokiness and flavour!
Opt for the creamy version if you can! It’ll be heaps more delicious.

Hummus.
It was topped with Sauteed Sliced Lamb.
This one takes the cake! Perfect consistency and the lamb slices made it all the more tastier!

Shish Kebab was good!
Shish Tawook and Lamb Cubes with Saffron Rice was even better. I just love Saffron Rice!

After lots of catching up, chit-chatting and talking about almost everything under the sun, we felt like having a sweet accompaniment to our otherwise savoury dinner. Yup, you can probably see where this is going.

THIS CALLS FOR DESSERT!

Caramel Cream. It wasn’t at all cloyingly sweet but more of a mildy sweet, creamy touch!

I could have plates and plates of it and still yearn for more.

Baklava. This is a traditional middle eastern finger pastry filled with nuts.

My buddies seemed to like it, but I was yet to acquire its sweet, sticky, chewy texture.

After some four hours of hanging out, the night was exactly what I had in mind, to say the least. yes

We had shortlisted a few places to check out but I was glad we chose this one instead.

I was aiming for something casual; a night of relaxation, wonderful conversations, comfy seats, good company, delicious food and bountiful shisha flavour and In House, Publika befitted my night perfectly.

The waiters were relatively friendly and our shisha charcoals were changed regularly too. Entertainment-wise, the television channels projected onto the big screen was good enough. Why need any more entertainment when you’re with good company, eh?

Looking around made me soon realize that I haven't stepped into Pizza Hut for quite a while.

Today's entry will be quite a nostalgic one. The interior of the Pizza Hut outlet brought me fond memories of all the Pizza Huts I've dined in when I was growing up

What does Pizza Hut make you think of? Pizza, right? but today, I'm going to share ONLY Pizza Hut's signature side-dishes and not the pizza instead.

Favorites Platter
A delightful platter of all-time favourites. A combo of Toasted Chicken & Cheese Rolls, Criss-cut fries

and New Orleans Drumettes that's lip smacking tasty complete with carrots and cucumber sticks with Cool Lime Dip.

The rolls are awesome, no joke right there!

Spaghetti Aglio Olio

Succulent prawns and roasted Shitake mushrooms tossed with red capsicums, fried garlic and roasted onions.

Garnished wish fresh parsley and chilli flakes.

I'm always a fan of Aglio Olio pasta so yes, I approve of this!

Meatballs Bolognaise Spaghetti

Meatballs, minced meat and roasted onions simmered in tomato sauce and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.

Tempura Prawn Garlic Rice

Aromatic garlic rice served with roasted onions, fried garlic, chicken loaf, crabsticks, silced mushrooms,

diced red capsicums and tempura king prawns.

The tempura prawns were gone within a split of a second. What? Don't look at me! *whistles*

Imagine eating your favorite choices of food in the dark, or just with your eyes closed. Easy, you say.

Now, imagine yourself NOT KNOWING what food has been served to you… while eating it in the dark.

You can't see your fork & spoon. You have no idea where your drinks are.

You smell something delicious, but can't quite discern what the food on your plate is.

Is it soup? Could the main course be chicken? Pasta, maybe?

This might be ice-cream. Or is this a potato? Wait, was that pastry I just ate?



Not so easy anymore, is it? Yeah, I thought so .

On the exterior, it looks just like any other restaurant but the interior comes with a twist – blanketed in total darkness.



Upon stepping foot into the dining area, I was required to deposit my gadgets and basically anything that lights up, into a safety deposit box.

I felt so odd being away from my iPhone as this means I am unable to post live updates to Twitter, Instagram and Facebook nor take any photos! Yeah, the social media fanatic in me cries in vain.

But I relented, as having any light in my possession will defeat the purpose of this dining in the dark concept.

As I walked in, I was led by a visually impaired guide who had me put my hand on his shoulder (ala human train).

I knew exactly what 'the blind leading the blind' felt like at that very point.

So my guide successfully led me to my seat – don't ask me how he did it. I wanna know just as much LOL

I sat down and all I could feel was the rounded edges of my table and my cushioned chair.

Cautiously, I ran my hands all over the table for that glass of water in question, lest I knock it over by accident.

As though having my careful movements well figured out, the waiter personally passed me that glass by hand.



The surprise menu fit for fine dining was thoughtfully designed and carefully prepared so that it was bite-sized with no knives required (lest we cut ourselves!).

The four course meal didn't only consist of four meals.

Each course came with at least three to four varying types/flavours that gave my palate a wonderful experience and my mind an exciting challenge trying to recognize what I'm eating!

It was so fun trying to identify and debate what was on our plates together based entirely ONLY on the smell, the taste and the texture of the food.

Definitely no awkward silence during dinner – a plus point!

I experienced a heightened sensation, powered by my tastebuds alone.

Wow, now that's a first!



I wish I had photos of the food to show you, like all my other food/restaurant reviews.

But alas, no gadgets were allowed inside! Besides, I wouldn't want to SHOW YOU what you won't be able to see, right? Definitely not going to spoil the enlightening experience for you. wink



The optic nerve is overridden, giving way to your other senses to take over.

Every sound, every movement, every taste, every breath is an adventure!

After dinner, I left the dining area feeling more than satiated.

The food was delicious! Apart from the whole new adventure I've just experienced first-hand, the food came in an excellent variety and the portion was just right. yes



A restaurant in total darkness. A completely new sensory experience. Go on.. try it! I dare you to.

DINING in the DARK KL, the very first of such restaurant in Malaysia.