rinnah’s consumer views|what a consumer really wants and thinks about products and services

A great many moons ago (but still within this year), some bloggers and I gathered at Yook Tho Hin (PJ) Restaurant for a post Chinese New Year lunch. Being the very hungry folk we are, we decided to indulge in a seven course meal to celebrate the New Year.

First up was the ubiquitous Yee Sang that is present at nearly every meal during Chinese New Year. For the uninitiated, yee sang is a salad-type dish that is served with a number of sauces and usually with raw fish (salmon). The best part about eating yee sang is the part just before you eat, when everyone gathers around to “loh hei” or toss the salad while reciting auspicious sayings. As you can see, it can get a wee bit chaotic and messy!

There was also the usual seafood sharksfin soup as the second course. Even though some time has passed since then, I remember that Yook Tho Hin’s version was not too starchy and pretty delicious too!

My fellow bloggers were raving away about the fried prawns with salted egg but being allergic to most types of seafood that comes with a shell, I could only watch them tuck into those gargantuan prawns (look at the size of ‘em!) and drool.

Luckily for me, there were other dishes that I enjoyed tremendously. Like the baked herbal chicken. The chicken was so tender and soft it literally fell off the bone and while I personally would have enjoyed a stronger herbal taste, this dish got the thumbs up from me.

We also had two vegetable dishes, braised vegetable and tofu and the vegetarian dish of vegetables and mushrooms but after the tofu dish, my camera ran out of battery!

We were very full after all that good food, but there was still dessert to come – the usual tinned fruit in syrup and fried pastries – plus a special surprise of a birthday cake for me. =)

For all of the food we feasted on above, we paid about MYR32.00 per head (8 pax x MYR32.00 = MYR256.00). Considering that we were then still within the 15 days of Chinese New Year (when most Chinese restaurants tend to inflate their prices), I found the prices to be reasonable, especially for such good food. The company, of course, was excellent, as always.

The restaurant is fully air-conditioned on both levels, but it would be wise to call ahead and reserve your places on weekends as space is limited.

Yook Tho Hin (PJ) Restaurant
No.13, Jalan SS21/37
Damansara Utama
Petaling Jaya
Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
Tel : +60 3-7729 6534
Note : The restaurant is located at the same row as HSBC in Damansara Uptown.

Read other blogger reviews here :
Connie
Paris Beaverbanks
Peteformation

Recently, I attended a wedding function at Cititel Hotel, Mid Valley.

With no offense intended to the bride and groom, I personally do not fancy Cititel as a suitable venue for a wedding reception. My reason? Cititel is a hotel that caters primarily to business travelers and tourists looking for a centrally located hotel between KL and PJ. Also, I am not a big fan of Mid Valley Megamall and its surrounding areas. However, I was prepared to give Cititel the benefit of the doubt when I received the wedding invitation card.

Image credit

My poor experience with Cititel began the moment I drove up to Mid Valley. Following the directions to the hotel’s main lobby, I attempted to locate the entrance to the hotel’s parking. For reasons known only to the hotel management, the signages directed me instead straight into Mid Valley Megamall’s basement parking. This meant that I would not be able to get my parking ticket stamped for a flat single entry rate (MYR 6.00, I believe) and instead would have to pay Mid Valley Megamall’s hourly rates. And it was not because the hotel’s section of the basement parking was full, as I saw a number of empty spots available.

The poor experience continued at Cititel’s lobby. You know how most hotels have a little signboard telling you what kind of functions are going on for that day? Well, again I couldn’t locate one to tell me at which floor the wedding reception would be held at. Not very visitor-friendly, I have to say.

The final thing that sealed the deal for me was the poorly installed backdrop on the stage. You know how there normally is styrofoam lettering on a curtained backdrop telling you the nature of the function? Well, less than half way through the function, one of the styrofoam letters fell off into the foliage below because it was not stuck on properly. Less than half an hour later, the whole styrofoam board on which the date was printed, followed suit. So you have a bare backdrop to the stage because the sign fell off. I think it was a case of shoddy preparation on the hotel’s part.

Would I hold a function (of any sort) at Cititel, Mid Valley? If I had a choice, no.