Darren treated his daddy and I to lunch at Athena, together with his family, in celebration of Father's Day on Sunday, June 21st. It is a modern Mediterranean dining, located at The Pavilion in Jalan Bukit Bintang with quite an impressive decor. First time for us all!
Food on the whole was quite good with simple presentation and reasonably priced. In my opinion, it's a notch or two lower as compared to Fig & Olive at Sunway Pyramid, Bandar Sunway, another joint serving Mediterranean cuisine.
John had Mediterranean Fish Fillet (RM22.90), Yanti had Authentic Mediterranean Beef (RM22.90), Dylea had Pasta Aglio Olio Salmon (RM19.90) and I had Pollo Alla Pimentos with marinated chicken (RM22.90). Our value lunches included soup of the day and dessert. Darren, on the other hand, had Roasted Leg of Chicken that included only a glass of Iced Lemon Tea (RM14.90).
A wonderful time spent together that included some shopping afterwards and an early dinner at Pizza Hut.
David, our elder son and his family were in Ipoh that weekend, so their absence in KL were truly felt by us all. Nevertheless, David decided to treat both his daddy and I to lunch at Chile's Grill and Bar, Suria KLCC the next day. A first visit for John and I but not for our son at this Texan-Mexican food fare! We were impressed with the large portions served, that were attractively presented and tasted good too! It's usually very crowded and noisy at this joint during the weekends and dinner time. Fortunately, we were there on Monday and slightly earlier than the usual lunch rush!
Three of us shared a plate each of Triple Play, Classic Nachos and Grilled Chicken Caesar which totaled a little over RM100/= including drinks. Yummy and affordable!
Sharing below are some captures taken that day.
Thank you so much, my darling boys for this joyous moments. Your dad and I really appreciate your thoughtfulness and love.
Last Saturday, 20 June 2009, my beloved spouse John and I went on a day pilgrimage to the Church of St. Paul the Apostle at Kuala Kubu Baru, Ulu Selangor with almost 90 other pilgrims, mostly from our parish, Church of St. Francis of Assisi. The pilgrimage was organized to celebrate the year dedicated to St. Paul (Pauline Year) as proclaimed by the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI and in order to gain the plenary indulgence. Our Spiritual Director was none other than our beloved Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Valentine Gompok.
Hehe, John and I were like happy kids, a little too excited that we didn't sleep too well and got up before 6 am to prepare ourselves for the pilgrimage. Left home at 7.10 and arrived at SFA Church very much ahead of the departure time. :-D
Just before departing to KKB at 8.10 am, we had the rite at the beginning of the pilgrimage at our church's ground. Then, each pilgrim was given a bottle of mineral water and a pack of egg sandwiches and banana cake as breakfast before boarding the air-conditioned bus.
We reached St. Paul's Church about 9.40 as envisaged and was welcomed by the PPC Chairperson, Mr. Colin Teh and his spouse, Dolly as there was no residing Parish Priest currently. A very meaningful Mass was celebrated from 10 am. with Fr. Valentine as the celebrant (thank you, Father!), ending almost one and a half hours later. After some photo sessions and signing of the pilgrimage book, we walked to Kuala Kubu Baru town nearby for lunch, led by Colin and Dolly.
Lunch for us and our retiree friends was simple: just Teochew porridge/rice with the traditional accompaniment (egg, salted vege, tow foo, pork and fish). Cost only RM42 for 7 persons that included an unknown Indian pilgrim, who preferred Chinese food. We decided to treat the latter and shared the cost among 6 of us.
Returned to St. Paul after lunch. More photo-shoot and cake-cutting by all the fathers present, celebrating Father's Day, a day earlier. Cake was graciously donated by Julie, one of the pilgrims.
Before leaving the Church of St. Paul the Apostle at 2 pm, we concluded with the rite at the end of the pilgrimage.
Arrived home safely about 3.40 pm. Praise and thank the Lord!
We thoroughly enjoyed this wonderfully joyful and enriching pilgrimage. A big thank-you to George Yeow, who did a great job in organizing this pilgrimage - prayerful and meditative yet not too heavy! And, it costs only RM15/pax with packed breakfast and transport included. Throw in a few more ringgit for lunch and you have a wonderful half a day pilgrimage, a real spiritual treat! Impossible to believe, huh?
Sharing below some pictures taken in and around the church that was established in 1965, located along Jalan Rasathurai in the town centre of Kuala Kubu Baru, Selangor (Tel: 03-60641467). A simple Catholic Church with a life-size sculpture of St. Paul inside and outside, a well-maintained church grounds with a lovely Blessed Mary Grotto and beautiful garden trees or shrubs like Solanum macranthum (Giant Potato Tree) and vines such as Passiflora coccinea (Red granadilla), Thunbergia laurifolia, and Quisqualis indica (Rangoon Creeper).
There's much talk about the happening at Look Out Point or Pusat Pelancongan dan Menara Tinjau (in the Malay language) that our retiree group decided to try out one evening about 2 weeks ago. Ten of us car-pooled in two cars and arrived there effortlessly as our chief navigator and initiator, Michael had been there a few times.
In fact, we've been there previously with him too, about one and a half years ago during the day time after a hearty lunch at a Chinese Restaurant with a fishing pond nearby, located somewhere in the forest region of 14th mile, Hulu Langat if I recalled correctly.
Unfortunately, it was too hazy for us to enjoy the magnificent Kuala Lumpur night skyline that would have included the Petronas Twin Towers, Menara KL Tower and Menara Telekom in Petaling Jaya, which were totally invisible that night. What a disappointment! I tried taking a couple of shots with my point-and-shoot camera Canon PowerShot A60, but was a fiasco! Anyway, nothing spectacular would have been achieved without the inclusion of the majestic buildings mentioned.
So, we focused on the menu available instead, at Look Out Point Western Food Restaurant where Michael had made reservations earlier. Service was good and food ordered were surprisingly served quite soon. I can't honestly say that the food was excellent, but was quite tasty no doubt, though the beef steak was a little tough. Most main courses were simply presented, nothing fancy, just accompanied with some fries and a couple of cauliflower or brocoli florets, or alternatively with mashed potatoes, slices of cucumber and tomatoes. Thus, I had no interest in photographing them.
Nonetheless, pricing was reasonable. Our total bill for 10 persons amounted to only RM272/=.
Included below is the business card of the restaurant's manager, just in case you are interested.
View some fantastic nightscape photos, shared by a blogger and be enthralled!
And, day pictures at another site and some additional info here.
