il Lido. That building by the end of the street.

Whenever I pass through Yap Kwan Seng street,
I am always curious with that building by the traffic light.
It's il Lido Italian Dining + Lounge Bar.
I pestered my dad to bring us there cause I know the price won't be pretty.
And my wish came true last Sunday.
With a little help from my little sis, he said yes.


The space was tastefully decorated. Modern & luxurious.
It wasn't very crowded that night, we were the third table.


Mom after reading the menu: How do I order?


Her very last meal before sending her back to school.
Another week of decent food deprivation.


All four of us had the classic set. The set consists of five dishes with coffee.


Amuse Bouche
They served us freshly baked Foccacia with virgin olive oil & balsamic vinegar.

The first dish. We laughed when we saw this!


We were amused by how huge the plate is just to serve a couple of beans plus a slice of cheese.

My very Chinese daddy was definitely not used to fine dining.
Considering that he was famished at that moment.


Appetizer
Pan Roasted Scallops with Cannelini Beans, Carrot Jus and Bottarga.
My favourite dish for the night.
Pan fried scallop, added with some sauce and fried shallots.
Beautifully done I must say.


Pasta
Squid Ink Taglierini with Crab and Saffron.
Pasta matched with chunks and chunks of crab meat, mostly from the claws.
Absolutely divine.


Main Course
Angus Beef Short Ribs Braised in Barolo Wine.
I am never a fan of fully cooked beef because the meat gets really chewy.
However, this one is an exception.
The meat is tender and juicy, complemented with some fragrant sauce.
Just perfect.


Dessert
Traditional Tiramisu.
There you have it. The most anticipated dish for the night.
Completed with sweet sour berries: strawberry, blackberries,
raspberries & gooseberries.
The tiramisu was impeccable.


Coffee & Petit Four.
An Italian meal wouldn't be complete without coffee.
The aroma was simply heavenly, it transported me back to my days in Italy.
An espresso after dinner is a must for my host parents.
Petit Four, the bite-sized sweethearts.
It includes dark chocolate with a touch of coconut,
white chocolate & almond biscuit.
These cute little creatures are perfect with coffee.


My very rare full course fine dining.
This is probably only my second or third time dining in such divine restaurant.


The dinner was simply exquisite.
I am pretty much impressed by il Lido. Impeccable Italian cuisine, outstanding service & lovely ambiance.
A marvelous place to spend the evening.

Oh, Cafe cafe is another splendid restaurant as well.
Serving French cuisine, they serve the most amazing foie gras & wagyu beef. The tiramisu is a must-try too.
I felt as if I was in old Paris when I dined there.
Hopefully I get a chance to dine there again so that I could have a post about it.

What are your rules?

Well said.
I live on these rules.
This is what I believe.
And I intend to keep it up.
This year is an emphasis on "Travel Often", next year as well.
Peace. : )

Vandalism For Love. The Romantic Graffiti.

Verona, 

the things that I remember about this city:

Romeo & Juliet, 

The Arena, which looks like Colosseum, just a smaller version of it,

Ahh! And that double chocolate gelato.

Verona is famous for Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet.

We went to Juliet's house.There's a corridor right outside Juliet's House.

Lovers would draw graffiti all over the wall, the gate and even on the tiny machines that are supposed to show you the story of the famous pair.

 There's also a bronze statue of Juliet in the courtyard. 

Tourists would touch her right breast, they say it would bring good luck. 

Juliet's Balcony. This balcony is supposedly to be where Juliet cried out to Romeo. 

This is a must-do for couples here in Verona.
I need to find an Italian hottie to come with me next time. Tehee.

Look what I found. The union of China &Taiwan.

The Arena, a mini version of the Colosseum.

The streets of Verona. As usual, it has the unique beauty of Europe.

The market in Verona. They sell from fruits, veggies, masquerade masks and toys. 

Around the city of Verona.

The ancient red brick wall surrounding Verona.

Must-have #1 in Italy : Gelato!

Must-have #2: Cappu.

Coco Tei, the descendant of Hajime.

A few months back, I drove to Hajime for dinner but was upset to see its bungalow abandoned.
My favourite spot for Japanese food had gone missing.

Luckily, Google helped me out which led me to Coco Tei.
It is located next to my supplier for breads and pastries, Levain.
Apparently, Hajime closed down and is reincarnated into Coco Tei.

Ohyesss, I rejoiced with happiness.

We sat near the counter as my dad doesn't like taking his shoes off.

The restaurant was full after half an hour, even the bar section!
Luckily we arrived earlier, if not we would have to wait for our table.

The interior was pretty good, slightly bigger than Hajime.
But I prefer Hajime's, the feeling is more cosy and homey.

My dad ordered the Unagi set. One bowl of rice is definitely not enough!
The whole set has Unagi, Miso soup, rice, salmon salad & pickles.

Craving for fish? Then this Sushi Tara set definitely could feed your cravings. The set came with sushi with different types of raw fish, plus a piece of cod fish, salmon salad & Miso soup.
The cod fish is awesome, I had to trade my beef with my sister for more cod fish!
A must try, if you are a fish lover.

I had the Beef Teppanyaki set. The beef was heavenly. The meat was thick and juicy, the texture was perfect. Matched with some fried garlic, splendid! However, it is pretty unusual to match it with fries. The set includes Miso soup, salmon salad, rice and some weird pickles.

The bill total up to about RM170. I considered this fine Japanese dining, quite pricey for a student like me, yet small portion. But the food quality & experience is definitely worth it.