Lunch With Datin at Chinoz

I've known Datin for many years now. We met long before she got married, long before she became the Datin she is today. She is a peculiar sort. She is fiercely loyal to her friends, is somewhat of a scatterbrain and somehow manages to rub people the wrong way on most occasions. She is a firecracker for sure. Pretty and fun but when handled wrongly it leaves you with painful burns. We met up for lunch at KLCC last week. We argued about the restaurant. She refuses to eat at restaurants not located on the ground floor. I say this because everytime we meet, we always stay on the ground floor of KLCC. She wanted to go to Chinoz, I didn't want to go. I've never thought much about the food and now that they've undergone major renovations, the appeal is even less. I may not have liked the food but I did like the look of the place. I liked the mosaic tiled floor and the slightly rustic feel to the place. Now, its modern day drab. The lovely floor is gone. The look is now white, beige and blah. The only thing I like is the noguchi coffee table and ceiling fans which they have thankfully retained. Anyway, I finally agreed to meet her at Chinoz because it was that or...Dome. *Shudder*

I was a few minutes late and when I got there she was in full Datin mode. Her sandwich had just arrived and it was not to her standards. To her defense, it was quite lame. She had ordered off the menu, a vegetable sandwich to be exact. It arrived as roughly chopped, semi-cooked vegetables lined up on two pieces of toasted foccacia. She was not happy and demanded for more vegetables. Meanwhile, I was pleased to find a Japanese menu. Yay! I ordered a dragon tempura maki. I notice "dragon" is frequently used to describe avocado, or is it prawn, in maki rolls. It does look like a dragon I suppose with the prawn head rearing up on one end and the long roll with avocado slices laid out to resemble scales on top. Datin's vegetables arrived. There was quite a lot more but they were still barely cooked. My maki followed soon after and it was just what I wanted. It was a big prawn and there was a lot of avocado on top. Well, it did cost me RM30++ for it. It was expensive but it was good.

Datin ordered a chocolate torte but she asked for them to remove the cream and balsamic strawberries. What? Yes, I nearly protested and was about to offer my services to remove the offensive cream and strawberries into my stomach but I didn't because I was actually quite full. I'm just a greedy glut. Anyway, it turned out to be a slice of chocolate molten cake. Quite nice. When the bill arrived, Datin said to me that this would be the last time she ever eats in Chinoz. I am horrified. Does this mean I have to meet her at Dome next time?!