Li Yen @ Ritz Carlton

A Chinese meal is usually a communal affair. What better way to celebrate Chinese New Year than to share a meal with your loved ones at Ritz Carlton's award winning signature restaurant - Li Yen. 

The restaurant was lavishly decorated with sparking lights and traditional Chinese furniture. The ambiance was rather cozy and inviting despite the grandeur decor. 

Prosperity Vegetarian Yee Sang (RM88) - This Chinese style raw salad largely consists of shredded vegetables, peanuts, pomelo, crackers, plum sauce, pepper, sesame seeds and lime juice. The tradition of tossing and mixing the ingredients has always been an intimate family affair. 

Peking duck is one of my favorite Chinese dishes. Unfortunately, eating Peking duck can be considered a ruthless act, since the poor duck is force fed during the last three weeks of its life and are not allowed to move, to produce thin skin and tender meat. But how could anyone resists this delicacy? Being a five star hotel, the Peking Duck was wrapped by the wait staff before serving. It can be quite disastrous when they overdosed on the amount of sweet sauce. 

Scallop stuffed with fish paste topped with crab meat sauce (RM88). This dish was surprisingly very bland despite the vivid color. Apart from the fresh scallops, there was nothing mind blowing about this dish.

Braised Dried Oyster with Sea Moss (RM100) - Sea Moss a.k.a "Fat Choy" had extremely soft and fine texture. While, the dried oysters were firm and meaty with a hint of earthiness. 

Li Yen Signature bean curd with Honshimeji mushrooms and spinach. (RM40). Tofu on its own can be rather bland in taste, but this is precisely its strength since different combination of ingredients and condiments will yield different taste every time. The amalgam of tofu, mushrooms and spinach was very well presented and sung beautifully with some rice. 

Fried Rice with Duck Meat -  The fried rice had sufficient "wok hei" and it was my favorite dish for that night.

Deep Fried New Year Cake. The final product was crackly and flaky with hot sticky new year cake bursting out. 

Verdict: SOMEWHAT SMITTEN

Senja @ Saujana Resorts

Surroundings & Atmosphere – Nestled in the heart of The Saujana Hotel, this charming Italian restaurant only opens at night from 7pm to 1030pm. Senja’s interior white décor as well as outdoor patio overseeing the lake offers guests the finest dining experience around Subang area.

The Food – We ordered an antipasti which comprises Marinated Salmon, Anchovies and Seafood’s Salads (RM45), a Vegetables Soup for my dad (RM28), Pizza Primavera (RM38), Pizza Quattro Stagioni (RM49), Fillet of Seabass for mum (RM72), Beef Tenderloin (RM85) and Pave of Salmon with Squid Ink Risotto for myself (RM85).

Menu – Senja menu is a blend of honest Italian cooking with a contemporary touch. Chef Giovanni takes pride in its authentic Italian menu as it prepare most of its food from scratch.

The freshly baked bread was delicious, thanks it textured and appetizing spread.

Honestly, I didn’t have a chance to taste this bowl of soup since my Dad slurped up the entire bowl within minutes.

Even though the Seafood Salad was fresh and not overcooked. I felt there was something missing, perhaps some additional herbs will do good to this dish.

The Smoked Salmon was pleasant - not too smoky and the quality of the meat was good. I wished I had a few more pieces of these yummy fish.

The briny Anchovies was sharp and pungent. Just look at the colors of the anchovies skins.

This dish was a piece of art. The red pepper puree lifted the dullness of the fish and added a unique twist to it. The Seabass was not over cooked and the puree completed the dish by giving it a little zest.

The presentation of the food was superb, however the salmon was overcooked. Nevertheless, the Squid Ink Risotto was rich and tasty.

The Beef was tender and juicy, however I didn't quite like the milky taste.

Since I'm lactose intolerant, I won't be able to comment on these two beautiful pizza.

Overall – I always enjoy dining at Senja since it is so close by my house. The food is good but slightly overpriced. Honestly, I wouldn’t have come back here over and over again, if it wasn’t for my Saujana card.

Verdict - SOMEWHAT SMITTEN