CRYSTAL JADE RESTAURANT @ MidValley The Garden

We love the look of this place. Pretty avant-garde for a Chinese outlet.

The Peking Duck seemed like a good bet, especially since there was a reasonably priced half-portion on the menu.

The duck was fine, but it was wrapped in something akin to pita bread, instead of the soft, fluffy pancakes that we prefer.

Suckling pig (oily, with an overly strong aftertaste) and siew yoke (OK only).

Traditional stewed garoupa head and belly. Tasted alright, but it kinda reminded us that we hate the hassle of eating bony fish parts.

Yummy rice dumpling laden with conpoy, salted egg, pork & chestnuts.

Pan-fried vegetables stuffed with shrimp mousse in hot stone. Not bad.

Health Wines Lizard Flat Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot (Adelaide Hills).

Crystal Jade Restaurant,

The Gardens.

CRAFT BREWS @ Mutiara Damansara

This comfy watering hole has opened near The Curve. Lotsa good grub & sparkling service.

The beers are the main attraction, so let's start this entry with drinks. Direct from Singapore's RedDot Brewhouse, we had the Monster Green Lager (brewed with spirulina) and English Ale (a ruby-red beer). RM17 for a half-pint, both were pleasantly smooth & not too strong-tasting.

Flying Dog's "Doggie Style" Classic Pale Ale and "Old Scratch" Amber Lager. Tasted like regular beer, but I'm really the wrong person to be giving any opinions on this, since I usually stick to wine and cocktails.

Skewers of roast pork wrapped with bacon. Succulent stuff, full of flavour.

Caramelized roast pork with onions, chillies and curry leaves. At first bite, this is sorta similar to Vintry's version.

Honey mustard pork back ribs. Tender and well-marinated, with an addictive sweet-salty taste that kept us munching tirelessly.

Caribbean Spice Chicken, marinated with RedDot Pilsner beer, peanuts and brown sugar. The meat was a tad too tough and surprisingly kinda bland.

Deep-fried eggplant chips coated in crispy salted egg batter. Ideal for snacking.

Tex-Mex Hickory BBQ Pork Back Ribs. Portions here are pretty hearty.

A big bowl of salad was meant to ease our guilt, but I'm not sure we finished it.

Craft Brews,

Menara Batu Kawan,

Mutiara Damansara.

Tel: 7722-3000

FONG LYE @ MidValley The Garden

Am always amazed at how crowded Fong Lye can get, but I guess the food is pretty satisfying and the prices are reasonable.

Taiwan-style fried clams. Worth ordering if you like clams. A hassle to eat with chopsticks, so we took the easy way out and asked for forks and spoons.

Baked sausage. Loved the texture, but there was something off-putting in the taste.

Part of the Three Varieties of Supreme Chicken set. Basically a three-cup chicken (I think), the meat was tender and went well with the gravy.

Side dishes that came with the chicken set.

Sometimes v hav to Que up for half an hour more ...but 2day @@ mayb is still at working hours ... =P

Fong Lye,

The Gardens.

Tel: 2282-8699