Twas the night of tapas, tortilla's & table talk to celebrate a truly wonderful Dad!!!

Deciding on the place to go was hard enough... spent the whole week ding-dong-ing on which restaurant to makan this time. And when we finally decided (1st choice) we called for reservations only to find out the place was fully book for the next 2 weeks. In case you were wondering, it's the KL Tower revolving restaurant, Sri Angkasa. Koko, thought the idea was great since dad and him were avid photographers and the view up there at sun down would be imaginably breathtaking! The sky line of KL and a multitude of shimmering diamonds upon the otherwise dull looking office blocks.

2^nd choice - Senditos Tapas at StarHill Village, a spanish kinda restaurant set amidst other uppity gorging joints like Shook! and Li Yen.
The interior had an ancient rustic feel to it with a small chandeliers hanging down and brass like /stained glass mounted lamps. Based on a recommendation by my mom's colleague, the outcome was at least predictable, the only worry would be what is Granny going to eat?! (We sorted that out, read on…)

So the night unravels as the Chan's & one Ooi sat upon a nicely laid long table and surveyed the extensive menu. My first introduction to tapas a couple of months back gave me an idea of what tapas is and an inkling of its serving size. So when the waiter came by and asked if we’s like some, I carefully picked out a few from each category. Similar to Chinese Dim Sum, if we pick the wrong one you’d just have to gobble it regardless. After all it’s rather small, downing it wasn’t really the problem, choosing the best out of the list was the dilemma. We finally decided on:

1. Stewed Oxtail: Well flavoured meat in a thick brown sauce. The meat literally detached from the bone – Yum!
2. Seafood Tortilla: Unlike the Mexican semi-circle hard crust shell, this tortilla was a Spanish version of seafood Egg foo yung. It was nice and moist with a lot of veggies too!
3. Deep fried Calamari: Ring-y squids coated with batter fried till golden brown served with a sour cream and chives dip. Was alright.
4. Grilled mushrooms: Thinly sliced button mushrooms seasoned with a whole lot of herbs (couldn’t specifically tell what) and grilled. It’s a wonder the moisture was locked in. Actually tried this recipe before (Remember Hazel, during our detox?)

So that was communal starters for the table. I guess the rest of the family didn’t really have a clue what tapas is, so when it was served, Ray asked “What’s this?” Hahaha given we were ‘posh’ restaurant they bought it and gulp it down. But being frank I’d not reserve my comments in saying this: “It’s really a Spanish dish hiding behind Chinese recipe”. Ok, over and done with for the starters.

It didn’t take them long for the main meals to come streaming in. We had 7 different types laid on the table. 4 out of 7 on the table ordered pasta. The pastas were served in a creamy (cabonara like) sauce, I must say the seasoning was on the mild side but not too bland. The portions were quite generous and not to mention the accompaniments. Large calamari’s, gigantic prawns, thick slices of nice cooked fish fillets, chicken and oysters!!! (Ray had her first taste of oyster and went goo goo ga ga over it, that was only cause I forced her to taste it)

Mama had difficulty deciding on which she wanted, normally she’ll rely on my recommendations, but since it was Spanish, I wanted her to explore for herself and choose one that’ll really suit her craving. She went for the safe and unthreatening dish – Stuffed Chicken Breast with Spinach. Amazingly she finished almost ¾ of the dish (a compliment to the chef!) Or credits go to her starving tummy…

I resorted to fish and not just any ordinary fish – I had SALMON!!! My favourite. It was my first time having it grilled this way. The skin had a slight crumb to it with a nice blend of spices. Biting into it, first crusty and then sinking into the meat… ahhh

Of everyone, Ko had the most Spanish like choice - Seafood Paella. It came in a thick deep set pan and the whole pan was literally filled with food! Glutinous rice seasoned in brown sauce (not too sticky, neither too wet or dry) with a good mix of veggies blanketed between. On the top was a fine variety of seafood; calamari, fish, clams and two ginormous prawns! The sight of it was a wonder, watching my bro finish and lick the plate clean was a greater wonder!

And if you think dinner was over, it wasn’t. There’s always room for dessert! And the meal wouldn’t be complete without the sealing of something sweet. There were 11 desserts, one I particularly wanted to try – tiramisu. Sadly some fortunate soul took the last piece that night. Again resorting to 2^nd choice, we had 4 picks out of the 11 selections on the menu.

1. Bread pudding: A mini portion with large juicy raisins. Love it!
2. Snow White: Lemon Cheese cake that melts in the mouth, the cheese is not too overpowering and the tang from the lemon subdued the creaminess.
3. Vanilla ice-cream and dark red cherries: Complimentary for birthday man, I love the ice cream. Can tell it’s not cheapskate as the vanilla taste lingered on and the there wasn’t a strong milky-ness to it.
4. Chocolate Temptation: A small slice of choc upon choc layered pie. The inside is somewhat like a truffle layered upon choc mousse and a thin layer of solid choc and finally a choc crust. And a generous drizzle of hot choc sauce. Ohhhhhh…

   
   
   

   That was our dinner, I didn’t intend this to be a food review but it turned out to be one. Oh well, after all is tasted, savoured and reviewed, one thing I can surely say “Food is just the thing that is served on the table but love is the thing that satisfies the innermost of our beings”. When love is shared around the table the memory and significance lasts a lifetime… for 10 years down the road, I’d probably wouldn’t be able to give the same review my taste buds did this time around. Having said a lifetime, it’s occasions like this that mark a milestone for me in my lifetime. Celebrating the life of one I call – Dad.

A million things I got to say about this man but I’d leave that for his ears only
A million choices I have to make in life but the million does not include this
The choice of choosing my parents
The choice of choosing my family
I’m forever grateful for the choice He made
When He handpicked me to be daddy’s girl
When He handpicked me to be part of this family
A million lessons I’ve learnt along the way from this man I call dad
I’d never trade a million treasures for the things I’ve gained along the way
Love you Dad…

The family that dad's brought together. The greatest thing a father can do for their children is love his wife. The Chan's and my sweetheart behind the camera.