For my birthday, rif took me for a lovely lunch at Yuritei Japanese Tea House, located in Sentul Park Koi Centre (directly next to KLPAC). Since I’m pretty much a blind bat when it comes to Sentul, I just sat in the car admiring my birthday present from rif under the sunlight. *grins*At the carpark of the koi centre, a large, wooden Japanese door arch greeted us, and as we walked along the pebbled path, it felt as though we were entering a maze. Once we were inside, the scenery was breathtaking! I never knew such a place existed. What more, in the middle of KL city! The teahouse is mostly made of wood, with wooden floors and platform overlooking the pond, wooden tables and chairs, wooden ceilings and screen doors. We sat at the platform outside the teahouse, so we had a lovely view of the pond and its green surrounding. It was something I’ve seen in Japanese movies; only this time, I was experiencing it myself.We shared a plate of gyoza, something we tend to order whenever we dine at Japanese restaurants. One side of the dumpling was pan-fried till crispy while the other side had a slightly chewy texture. The minced chicken with vegetables filling was quite tasty; I enjoyed the crunchiness of the vegetables as it was a nice contrast to the chewy gyoza skin. My only complaint is the excessive oil, so if you don’t mind the few extra calories, douzo meshiagare! Like most times, I ordered the Chicken Katsudon set (RM25), a decision I came to regret 15 minutes later. The katsudon was over-fried, causing it to be dry and tough. It felt as though I was eating chicken jerky. I had to “drown” the chicken into my miso soup to make it slightly softer. Else, I would end up with dentures after the meal! Very disappointing.rif’s Salmon Cheese Fried Set (RM25.00) on the contrary was quite good. Freshly fried, the salmon and melted cheddar combo came enclosed in a lightly crisp bread coating. It was savoury, gooey and oh-so-moreish! This tasted so good, I contemplated changing my katsudon with rif’s salmon, whether he liked it or not…hehehe. But I didn’t of course; I stuck to my dreadful cardboard-like chicken. Both the bento sets came with an adorable triangle-shaped rice, side dishes, miso soup and some fruits. Lunch came up to RM66.70, which we thought was a pretty good deal considering the generous portions. But the best part of the meal was the serene ambiance and gazing at the kois in the pond.

Ambiance: 9/10
Price: 7/10
Food: 6/10 (pork-free)
Verdict: The food isn’t great, but beautiful scenery more than makes up for it!

Yuritei Japanese Tea House,
Sentul Park Koi Centre,
Lot 268, Jalan Strachan Off Jalan Ipoh,
51100 Kuala Lumpur
03 4044 0422
11am – 9pm (daily)

And this is my birthday present from rif – a diamond Tissot watch with white mother-of-pearl face! *jumps up and down in excitement* Now I have a dress watch, so I can match it with all my formal wear. I think the main reason he got me this watch was because I tend to wear my chunky Guess watch (which he got me for my 21st Birthday) everywhere…even with elegant evening gowns! It looked terribly out of place…LOL!