Buffet dinner at Italiannies Pasta Pizza & Vino, The Gardens

Last Sunday, we went to Italiannies Pasta Pizza & Vino at The Gardens Mid Valley for a family occasion. The first time I came to this restaurant was for family occasion too, last year. Immediately I like the ambiance of this restaurant, not to mention the food is good with reasonable price too. Now, they are having this buffet in the evening.

The buffet is for appetizer and dessert only, excluding main course. However you can top up RM20 to add a main course dish at your choice from a list. For us, we did not add any main course. In fact, all of us including the small one were so full from all the delicious food being served. :)

3 different choices of crostinis - tomato basil pesto, tuna and grilled chicken pesto.

Any mushroom lover? The stuffed mushroom was great! The tart tasted much like egg tart, and very rich in "milk". If you like Portuguese egg tart, you probably will like this too.

Wide selections of salads and the salad dressings.

Yum yum! I love the olive. :)

Bread with butter and strawberry jam.

There were 2 choices of pizza available. And mushroom soup. 

The mushroom soup tasted heavenly (alright, I admit I'm a mushroom lover. :D). It was rich and creamy. And it was definitely not from those instant soup powder if you know what I mean.

Selections of cakes and kuih for the desserts. As I was so full, I only tasted the Chocolate & Hazelnut Cake. It was very rich, and sweet too. :)

3 choices of fruits - water melon, honey dew and seedless grape.

Free flow of rose cordial and soya bean, with cincao and sago for you to add into the drink.

There was no seafood available, however with the price charged I think it was fair. And the staffs did a great job replenishing the food. As soon as the food was almost emptied, the staff would quickly replenish it. We had a good time there. Lynn was a little picky and wanted to choose her own food but Hao just walloped everything that I served him. Everyone was so full that there was no room for the birthday cake. 

As far as I know, the buffet is only available for dinner. And advance booking is recommended.

Location:

Lot S209, Second Floor, The Gardens
Mid Valley city, Lingkara Syed Putra
59200 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2283 3675
http://www.italiannies.com.my/

NOTE: This is not a paid post. This is solely my personal experience dining in this restaurant and it may not represent the truth.

My Big Book of Bible Stories by Phil A. Smouse

Title:        My Big Book of Bible Stories SubTitle:  Bible Stories! Rhyming Fun! Timless Truth for Everyone! Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc. Imprint:    Barbour Books Pub Date: 10/01/2011 ISBN:       9781616262372 Author:     Phil A. Smouse If your kids love Dr. Seuss, they’re sure to enjoy My BIG Book of Bible Stories—17 favorite stories, featuring hilarious rhymes and bright, fun illustrations, for preschoolers through early readers. Brand-new from award-winning author and illustrator Phil A. Smouse, My BIG Book of Bible Stories includes clever retellings of key scriptures, from Creation, Adam and Eve, and Jonah through the New Testament stories of the Good Samaritan, Jesus and Nicodemus, and Peter. My BIG Book of Bible Stories is perfect for reading to younger children, while early readers will enjoy working through the brightly-colored pages all by themselves. About the author Phil Smouse has written and illustrated numerous books for children, including Jesus Wants All of Me, an award‐winning adaptation of My Utmost for his Highest. But, he says, “Despite my best efforts to fabricate an impressive résumé, other than the books, etc., I’m just Daddy.” Phil and his wife have two children and live in Monroeville, Pennsylvania.

This is a paperback book with 256 pages. I would say each story is given sufficient attention and details that it is not too brief and yet not too much for the little one to understand the full story. Each story rhymes. So it is easy to read. I like the illustration in this book, big and clear picture with vibrant color. Usually half or 2/3 of the page is filled with picture. And yet the text is not too small. I enjoy reading it to my kids at night before bedtime. And they love the story too and fascinated by beautiful illustration. It is a good gift book to give to young children.

I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.


Note: I receive the ARC of this book from the publisher via Net Gallery. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

OMG Pancakes!

Do you like pancake? It was not my favorite until I met my hb and after we have got married. Pancake is not really one of my mom's menu in her kitchen so I seldom eat it. But after tasting the pancake that hb made for our breakfast, I started to love it. Hb was a scout. And he is the type that cannot go hungry. So die die also he would cook something whenever he went camping with the scout team. And the easiest thing to cook when you were camping? Pancake. That's how he started to cook pancake. And since he can make good pancake, why should I bother to learn to make, right? *Wink* (I'm sure you know what I mean, LOL!)

We used to have pancake for our breakfast every weekend. But not so frequent anymore. Our kids do love pancake. Sometimes hb will add raisins to the pancake; sometimes we eat with peanut butter and jam; and sometimes we just eat the plain pancake by itself. And since pancake is selling so expensive outside (I cannot understand a simple food made with the cheapest ingredient with just flour, egg, milk, sugar and some butter can cost so much?), we hardly buy the pancake to eat. I still love the soft yummy pancake made by hb. :)

And when I come across this book from Net Galley, I could not resist not to request it. I have never expect it can be so much fun making pancake!

Title:         OMG Pancakes! SubTitle:   75 Cool Creations Your Kids Will Love Publisher:  Penguin Group (USA) Imprint:     Avery Pub Date:  10/04/2011 ISBN:       9781583334430 Author:     Jim Belosic When Jim Belosic started making pancakes in unusual designs, he was just trying to earn some cool cred with his daughter, Allie. Little did he know how happy he’d make her—and the millions of fans who eagerly await his latest creations on the Internet. Pancake unicorns, beehives, and even bridges, ferris wheels, and construction cranes have all risen to life through Jim’s artful use of squeeze bottles, tasty and nutritious coloring and flavor techniques, and fearless creativity. Now—with a little help from Jim—everyone can turn breakfast into art. Filled with delicious recipes, four-color photos, and step-by-step techniques, OMG Pancakes! will be devoured by families and crafty foodies alike.

Note: The images taken are from the uncorrected advance proof for reviewing purposes and author may make changes on the final printed book.

The book covers the tools required for making pancake.

Recipes for making standard pancake and other types of pancake, for example pumpkin pancakes, banana pancakes. It also tells the natural food coloring used for the pancake.

 The author also shares the tips and tricks, on adding juice coloring to the batter, how to draw with the squeeze bottle, guidelines on cooking etc.

For each recipe, it shows the preparation  needed, step-by-step how to create the pancake shape, and how to fit those pancakes into the plate for the intended shape.

The author has divided the recipes into 5 categories:

• Animals (Real and imagined), Insects, and Ocean Life (e.g. alligator, lion, caterpillar, crab)
• Pancake Food (e.g. bacon 'n' eggs, spaghetti, ice cream cone, hotdog)
• Holiday Themed Pancakes (e.g. pierced heart for Valentine's Day, Easter chick, ghost and pumpkin for Halloween)
• Activities and Adventure (e.g. kite, football, tic-tac-toe, wand)
• Just for Fun (e.g. balloons, earrings and bracelet, flower pot)

I think this book is a must for those dads and moms that love to cook for their little one at home. I'm sure kids going to enjoy eating those pancakes! And you can use your own imagination and creation to come out more pancake recipes for yourself! As for me, I'm going to ask hb to make some pancakes from this book this weekend. :D



Additional info about the Author

Jim Belosic is an advertising and marketing specialist and founder of Belosic, ADG, a boutique advertising firm in Reno, Nevada, where he lives with his wife and two children.

• www.JimsPancakes.com has 25,000 Facebook fans and has received more than two million views there and on YouTube

• Jim and his pancakes have been featured on Rachel Ray

• The perfect gift for the winter holidays and Father’s Day

Note: Note: I receive the ARC of this book from the publisher via Net Gallery. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.