F1 Paddock Club @ Sepang Perdana Suite

Last weekend, I was fortunate enough to have watched the GP2 Series finals and the F1 Malaysian GP qualifiers from the Paddock Club at the Sepang Perdana Suite.

The club is without a doubt, the most exclusive seating area from which you can watch the race, with views of practically half of the circuit.

Upon arrival, you are escorted to your table, donned with a Hermes tablecloth specially designed for the Paddock Club.

With access to the Perdana Suite, you are given special views of the main grandstand, as well as a top-down view of the pits and of the podium.

Drinks at the Paddock Club are free flowing. One can have anything, with a wide-array of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. As I arrived in the morning, I ordered myself a cappucino. This was followed by...

...an affogatto later in the afternoon. It wasn't strong, however it did do me reasonable justice. Certainly allows you to have more than one cuppa without feeling any guilt (if you're like me, trying to cut the caffeine).

For breakfast, we were served some oatmeal with raisins, which I found incredibly satisfying

 We also had a bowl of fruit at our disposal. I had with my oatmeal, some freshly squeezed guava juice. A healthy breakfast to start the day!

In between breakfast and lunch - as the buffet spread was being set - we were given a selection of small snacks.

I managed to pick up a king prawn dish with an aubergine base and garlic aioli aside. My juice was topped continually whilst I watched the cars from the balcony.

Our lunchtime spread was a buffet, consisting of numerous items. My first plate, pictured above, consisted of the following. 

The roasted vegetables infused with thyme jus was sweet and perfectly cooked. Prawns with a turmeric-infused cream sauce were succulent. The pandan chicken in a sweet peanut sauce was a bit of a let-down unfortunately - but the roast beef compensated it - unbelievably soft and tender, possibly being the best I've ever had. As for the cod, there was a great texture to it: firm, yet flaky. 

I also had a rigatoni with a spicy lobster bolognese. The rigatoni was perfectly cooked, and the sauce provided a great accompaniment - however the lobsters were a bit dry and overcooked.

Other items on the spread included Mashed Potatoes, a Potato and Wasabi Soto, Smoked Aubergines, Celeriac Mousseline and a Coriander-Lemon Rice.

Throughout the race, you can pretty much ask them to serve you anything you want to drink, be it Beer/Champagne/Juice/Coffee or Tea. We consumed around 8 bottles of S.Pellegrino. 

Try avoiding the bread with dip we had - addictive, but it fills you up immensely.

After lunch, lay an assortment of delectable desserts that lasted the crowd through till the end of the day - we indulged in this till the very moment we left. The desserts were made with good quality ingredients and tasted great!

The panna cotta with raspberry glee was smooth, with a perfect balance of sweet and sour

Meanwhile, the chocolate mud cake with vanilla sauce was decadent, yet not overwhelmingly sweet - giving you the urge to have one more (as I did, an hour later).

Mud cake no.2 came with chocolate sauce and some apple strudel with strawberries and cream. The strudel was crisp, however I found the filling albeit a little tart for my liking.

Before leaving, I had myself some Darjeeling tea and biscotti. The teabag was a product of Fortnum & Mason - a company founded in 1707, and renowned for their teas.

I also had some mango mousse. It was smooth, however I found the fact that they paired it with a  strawberry a bit weird. Talk about an identity crisis.

The strawberry macaron was fantastic - eggshell-like exterior and a meringue-like interior: just how every macaron should be.

The experience included a walk around the F1 pits, some up-close-and-personal experiences with some of the drives, free merchandise, amazing service as well as a swanky pass around your neck. Not to mention the priority parking, and the sweeping views of Sepang. Here are some of the shots I managed to take:

Panoramic view from the pits.

RedBull car coming through...

We saw the teams busy at work in their garages.

Up close and personal with a McLaren car.

What's F1 without the pit-chicks?

We were given a tour of the Sepang media centre.

The one and only Michael Schumacher himself. With him, Nico Rosberg and Mokhzani Mahathir.

Jenson Button (above) and Fernando Alonso (below) cruising right below our noses.

A quick pit-stop during the GP2 Race - before the F1 qualifiers.

F1 Teams at work. McLaren boys take first and second places for Sunday's race.

The Paddock Club will set you back USD4200 for 2 days or USD4600 for all three days. Personally, I would purchase the tickets once I'm out of school, working, and (hopefully) have a reasonable amount of money with me :P

Ultimately, the value you place on the ticket depends on just how much you love F1. And I do. Very much. Hence the unofficial endorsement.

So long Paddock Club, till we (hopefully) meet again in a few years to come!

Presentation: 8/10

Ambiance: 7/10

Service: 9/10

Overall Taste: 8/10

General Impression: 7.5/10

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Cheers,

BrianandRepublic

Breakfast Buffet @ Quality Inn, Madras

When visiting Madras, Chennai, it is important to bear in mind that hotel rooms here are pricey (probably even more pricey than a few in our own Kuala Lumpur). Though we managed to come across Quality Inn Sabari, a hotel located on Thirumalai Pillai Road in T. Nagar, Chennai.

Quality Inn Sabari is not a 5-Star luxury hotel, though it does offer you spacious rooms which are of considerable luxury, comfort and great service - all for a reasonable price, and central location. The above picture was my room -  a deluxe room, slightly more spacious than their normal ones. 

Two of those rooms came up to a total of Rs10000 (around RM640), including luxury tax. Each night at a room entitles you to a complimentary Buffet Breakfast. As you can see from the picture above, it was rather decent.

Being in India, local delicacies such as Idli, Thosai, Appam and various Chutneys and Curries were served. Everything was fresh and hot, and I absolutely loved it. It's not much in terms of splendour, but it was good and authentic food.

There was an Omelet Bar. The toppings were decent, though there were no meaty toppings, such as ham, available. I had about 3 of these because the omelet servings were unbelievably small. Though being a buffet, I had no complaints about going back again to get more.

Along with the omelet, there was some decent western fare available. These items such as Chicken Sausages, Baked Beans and Mashed Potatoes weren't that good, but were relatively decent (apart from the mashed potatoes, whose presence on the spread took me by surprise).

The one things I absolutely love about this buffet is their free flow of coffee, made to order. I indulged in two Cappuccinos that day, which went down very well with some of the Pastries on offer.

Other things on the spread include Fresh Fruit, an Assortment of Cheeses, and a variety of Juices. On the whole, my experience at Quality Inn Sabari was wonderful, with a spacious room, great service, a satisfying breakfast - all at a reasonable price. Definitely worth having a look at - if you plan on staying in Madras.

My buffet:

Presentation: 5/10

Ambiance: 5/10

Service: 7/10

Overall Taste: 6/10

General Impression: 6.5/10

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BrianandRepublic

Seri Angkasa Revolving Restaurant @ the KL Tower

I love nothing more than dining with a good view, and one day my mother surprised me - taking me to the Seri Angkasa Revolving Restaurant atop the KL Tower. The KL Tower is hard to miss, located at the heart of KL, on Jalan Puncak, right off Jalan P Ramlee.

My mum and dad have given me negative views of the restaurant, after having visited it a few times themselves - so my expectations were not really high. At the end of the day, I came for the view more than anything else.

The restaurant mainly serves a buffet, which you have to pay for downstairs before entering. There is no set cuisine as the buffet line, priced RM135 per person for dinner, consists of Japanese, Malaysian and Western dishes.

The Carrot Soup was surprisingly good. The creamy, tangy soup was accompanied with pesto and some croutons which heightened the soup's flavour and provided some crunch. So far so good…so I thought.

Some dishes from the Cold Cuts Section included (clockwise from the top) Fresh Oysters which were large and meaty, Potato Salad that tasted mediocre, Salmon Sashimi which looked old due to the brownish tinge, and some Marinated Grilled Chicken which was tough and dry.

The Japanese Section consisted of (clockwise from the top) Jellyfish Wrapped with Rice, Inari, Tamago, and what seemed like Jelly shards Wrapped with Rice. Each sushi piece had too much of rice. Guessing that they were trying to cut costs.

A selection from the Western Section comprised of (clockwise from the top) Pan-Fried Fish which tasted soft and soggy, Beef Stew which was tough and unappetising, Roast Chicken with Brown Sauce, hard and dry, and lastly Potato Croquettes; the only good thing on my plate.

The Malaysian Section consisted of (clockwise from the top) Beef Satay with Peanut Sauce, Rojak, and some Asian Beef Salad. The satay was tough and far from authentic. The rojak was stale though the sauce tasted satisfying. The the salad was way too sour.

More from the Malaysian corner: (clockwise from the top) Sweet and Sour Fish which had more batter than fish, Beef Rendang which was surprisingly good, Stir-Fried Cuttlefish which was soft though too bland for me, Plain Biryani and Lemang Rice, both of which were not bad, though I've tasted better.

The Dessert Spread looked rather satisfying, though looks can be deceiving. Most of the desserts, with the exception of theBread and Butter Pudding, tasted bad and of low quality.

On the whole, the Seri Angkasa Restaurant didn't manage to live up, even to the low expectations that I had. The food was good, don't get me wrong, but for RM135? Seriously? You must be bloody joking!

If you're in for a view, don't even consider Seri Angkasa. Tanzini at the G Hotel and Twenty+one at BSC are great alternatives. The RM135 meal also includes your choice of orange or mango juice, and coffee or tea after your meal.

Presentation: 5/10

Ambiance: 6/10

Service: 4/10

Overall Taste: 4/10

General Impression: 2/10

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Cheers,

BrianandRepublic