Yesterday, on a whim, we decided to have a nice dinner out to celebrate our wedding anniversary. I know
we've celebrated it a week early by going to Equatorial Bangi-Putrajaya and spending a night there, but hey one doesn't celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary often, right?
We went straight from Bangsar to Bangi after picking up Raimie from his grandad's house and arrived at the hotel just a few minutes before 7.00pm. The hotel car park was already full by this time! Raimie wasn't too keen going when we informed him that we are not spending the night there, but just for dinner. My son is pampered enough to love his hotel stays.
Unlike Cafe La Vista which was a full house, Kampachi Restaurant was quieter. And that's how we like it.
The place looks different on Saturday as they have a buffet promotion every Saturday and the table partition got put away. When it was up, it lent a certain feeling of privacy for patrons.
We were seated at the exact same table as our
previous visit there. Interesting.
We chose the two sets dinner that is on Ramadhan Break Fast Promotion : the Take set (RM58++) and Sakura set (RM68++).
Photos while waiting for food to arrive. Man, my face look fat. ^-^
Drinks - as always, hot green tea for me and iced green tea for Zaini and Raimie. We were also served kurma and air sirap. Which got me questioning why is it that there must be air sirap when one break fast? Hehehe You get air sirap at fast food outlet, cafes even posh restaurants during breaking fast time here in Malaysia.
First to arrive was Yasai Sarada (green salad) for the Sakura set. Way too much dressing on the greens for my taste.
Then came the Take set's Chawan Mushi which was duly handed to Raimie because Raimie loves chawan mushi.
Take set's Shichimi Tofu (grilled beancurd with chilli peppers and bonito). Absolutely heavenly. A must try. I love this dish. Sweet, salty and spicy all mixed together in harmony.
Then came Take Sets's Tempura - prawn, fish and vegetables. All fried to perfection and they came to our table still hot.
Next was the Temaki - Ebi Tempura Temaki for Sakura Set and California Temaki for Take Set.
Tori Teriyaki for the Take Set came after, served in a big plate. The portion was way too big for both of us! I thought that all portions come in small size and boy was I wrong. Both Zaini and I can't even finish this dish.
Followed by Sakura Set's Kinoko Foil Yaki (mushrooms grilled in foil) and Seafood Teppanyaki. Big big prawns. Yummy! Especially when eaten with hot hot rice.
Then came our Miso Shiru (miso soup) with rice. Take Set gets Steamed Rice (it was nice to have a piping hot rice for a change) and for Sakura Set it was Fried Rice. A bowl of rice is good when one can enjoy it eaten simply, and I enjoyed my steamed rice.
Sakura Set's Tori Teppanyaki (chicken), Gyuniku Maki (beef roll) and Yasai Itame (assorted vegetables). The beef was deliciously juicy. Mmmm...
Raimie had something from the ala-carte menu : Oyakodon that came together with a bowl of miso soup.
Our meal ended with dessert. We chose macha ice cream and pancake ice cream.
Dinner was nice and relaxing because it was rather quiet at Kampachi. Sandy, the staff there was very attentive looking after us. We were urged by Sandy to take our time eating them but we know our limits and the two sets we ordered were actually too big for us. We certainly didn't want to over indulge, we tried and finished everything except the chicken dishes and Raimie's oyakodon. I probably should thank the Chef (who was walking around checking on all the guests)for a satisfying dinner but I did not. Chef, the dinner was delicious. Thank you.
Walking back, I was flattered when Sukhbir at the Front Desk greeted me, although I didn't notice it at first. He knew me by sight already! Such an ego booster. And I like my ego to be boosted. Hahaha
We went back early, spending just an hour for dinner. We don't like to dwell over dinner. Got more important stuff we can do at home. *wink* *wink*
Would we return for another visit?Definitely. Not for buffet, so Saturday's dinner would be out. We like the intimate feel we got yesterday, so the next visit would be during a weekday.
We got a nice quiet dinner for our anniversary at
Yuzu last year too.
Plant City, Florida is just south of Interstate 4 and not very far east of Tampa. The city is called the Winter Strawberry Capitol of the US. Even the water tower looks like a giant strawberry.
When we arrived in FL in mid Feb. 2009 harvest was in full swing. They are huge, juicy. full-flavored strawberries, that you could get ill from eating so many. 
It is very interesting how they are grown. The beds are raised so the fruit never touches the ground. 
On the western outskirts of the city is Parksdale Nursery. It is a regular nursery & farm stand selling all sorts of local plants, flowers, trees plus fruits & veggies. 
But what makes them unique is during the season they serve humongous strawberry shortcakes. The wait on a Sunday afternoon was about 30 minutes, but the line moved pretty fast! There is a large patio type area with tables where those who want to indulge can sit and enjoy. Under all the whip cream is a little cake, ice cream and tons of strawberries.
The large map of the US has pins in it where visitors have come from. Gene marked Belen, NM and I pinned Los Lunas, NM. Other parts of the map were packed with pins so we tagged where we lived the longest.
And of course there is a large gift shop with all sorts of Florida gifts and souvenirs including these giant strawberry pinatas.
