Alex - Here have what I know

Luk Yu Tea House is a kaleidoscopic mosaic of motifs from over 60 different Chinese ethnic groups, which include antique glazed ceramic tiles, stained glass and a magnificent lattice of metal-on-glass. The restaurant is tucked into an asymmetrical space next to an escalator and an upper mezzanine floor rises up alongside the escalator. There is also courtyard seating and a display area for traditional Chinese artworks; at intervals, you can watch a calligraphy master at work.

This exquisite restaurant specializes in Hong Kong-style dim sum and Chinese cuisine; it also offers an impressive range of teas housed in antique display cabinets, such as the popular Silver Needle Jasmine tea, native to China’s Hokkien region. And look no further than Luk Yu if you wish to try the Da Hong Pao tea, cloned from the original plant, whose leaves went down in history as the most expensive tea sold in the world.
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At one of KL’s most stylish Japanese restaurants, time-honoured Japanese tradition meets contemporary design. All the warmth and hospitality of the country is apparent from the minute you walk through the bamboo structures at the entrance; inside, the restaurant is adorned with hallmarks of life in rural Japan, from the simple rice pots to the hand-painted rice paper screens and hand-carved wooden family crests on the wall.

Gonbei’s cuisine celebrate the simple, clear flavours of Japanese cooking; in its home country, each style of cooking is celebrated as a cuisine in its own right, so there are four cooking counters to cater to this - whether you feel like fresh sushi, aromatic teppanyaki, robatayaki or crisp tempura. A glass or two of sake can be had at the fifth counter which stocks over 80 brands of sake and over 50 varieties of shochu, including the limited edition Kamenokou 17 (Junmai Daiginjo) shochu from Hyogo.
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Chiu Chow Oyster Omelette (4 servings)

150g fresh oysters
20g cornflour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fish sauce
pepper to taste
3 eggs
30g spring onions, chopped
120g potato flour

oil, for frying
coriander leaves
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Specialising in distinctive, down-to-earth Chiu Chow cuisine, this is the sister restaurant to the famous Pak Loh in Hong Kong. Through the doorway shaped like a sauce pot, the restaurant is painted in green, gold and red, with one of its outer walls made completely out of curving strips of bamboo.

Beyond the felt cut-out of dragons stalking through the clouds lies a semi-private area, with two large tables made of heavy, antique wooden doors studded with brass, and the wall painted a peculiar, softly glowing copper-gold. An adjoining private area done up in red continues the theme of Oriental opulence, with traditional brass door fastenings as decor accents.

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Spicy Lemongrass and Ginger Flower Steamed Fillet of Barramundi with Roasted Eggplant and Pumpkin Jus (4 servings)

spicy lemongrass sauce
6 stalks lemongrass, sliced
1 stalk ginger flower (bunga kantan), sliced
5-6 bird’s eye chillies, sliced
5 tablespoons Thai chilli sauce
10 pickled onions, chopped
zest from 3 limes
lime (or calamansi) juice to taste
sugar and salt to taste
250ml corn oil
40g dried chillies, soaked and drained

pumpkin sauce
300g pumpkin flesh, cubed
1 litre chicken stock
1 star anise
1cm cinnamon stick
4 cardamoms

180gx4 slices organic barramundi fillets
4 tablespoons spicy lemongrass sauce
4 baby eggplants (nasu), quartered
8 tablespoons pumpkin sauce
sea salt
freshly-ground white pepper
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Slow-Braised Hillside Lamb Shank with Madras Spices and Gorgonzola (4 servings)

4 chilled Hillside lamb shanks, trimmed

seasoning spices
1 tablespoon meat curry powder
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and crushed
1 clove garlic, smashed and chopped
12 curry leaves, crushed
sea salt and pepper to taste

olive oil for braising
2 tablespoons grated parmigiano
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Sea breezes seem to blow through Fisherman’s Cove, thanks to the bamboo and canvas sails that surround it. Younger sibling to the famous Fisherman’s Cove at the Pangkor Laut Resort, the restaurant specializes in seafood prepared in various styles, and is one of the few two-storey outlets in Feast Village. Downstairs, the atmosphere is casual, cheerful and relaxed; the moodily-lit mezzanine floor is geared more for romance and seats just 32, with intimate bamboo booths topped with woven mats, and lamps fashioned from bubu, traditional Malay bamboo fish traps.

Behind the open kitchen, glass tanks full of the “catch of the day” await diners - these include lobsters, shellfish, crabs and an assortment of fish. The western-style menu incorporates Asian influences and is eclectic enough to please everybody; Chef Wai’s forte is seafood, but he cooks meat dishes with equal aplomb and finesse.
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No, it’s not massive boobs. Peter Holder, editor of Men’s Style Australia, reveals the secret signs that make men drop the rock.

We’re still a simple lot, us men. But when it comes to defining the perfect wife, carriers of the Y chromosome have come a long way since the days when the answer would have been a deaf and dumb nymphomaniac whose dad owns a chain of liquor stores.

I think we’ve also moved on from the notion that the perfect wife can be found among the small group of supermodels roaming the world. The only men following the dream are a) seriously cashed-up, b) rock stars or c) idiots. Only a) and b) stand any chance of success. He who sees Gisele Bundchen as the complete package hasn’t thought things through. Pretty? Yes. Sexy? Always. A tiger in the, er, jungle? One can only imagine. Financially secure? Um, duh. Okay, so she doesn’t look too bad on paper, but most men would be way out of their depth with her on the marital front. I blame former model Jerry Hall, Mick Jagger’s ex. She gave too many men the idea that supermodels were the perfect brides when she said that if a woman wants to keep a man, she “must be a maid in the living room, a cook in the kitchen, and a whore in the bedroom”. I’m not sure Jerry’s statement holds up - men are much more independent in the kitchen these days.

The thing is, we have evolved. And we now have a much wide criteria for Mrs Right. (Note: The people quoted are real, but their names are not).
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Could he be giving off cues that say he’s absolutely smitten with you? David Smiedt points’em out.

The dating jungle is all about survival - the blend of instinct and experience that turns you from hunted to hunter. Between the pauses in conversation we scan our date’s body language, intonations and expressions as a guide to our own performance. Are we winning them over or are they inventing a killer migraine that will cut short the evening?

This process is made all the more complex by the fact that dates art rarely encumbered by honesty. We present to this person the version of ourselves we believe they will find most impressive. What’s more, the underlying principle of dating - that it’s the first step to a substantial and possibly lifelong relationship - is probably wisely ignored as this could transform what should be a fun, flirtatious diversion into a Dr Phil marathon. Coming on too strong can be just as crucial a mistake as indifference, so we scramble to find a romantic middle ground in which we appear interested but not clingy, interesting but not self-absorbed and so on. At the same time, we are constantly seeking out little, subtle signs that our charms are working their magic.

Being a man, I am in no position to comment on these cues whet they’re transmitted by women. On more occasions than I care to admit, a date who I thought was attracted to me was signalling nothing more than politeness and the desire for the bill to be brought to the table. At other times, I have been taken aside by female friends at parties and toll to stop acting like such an arrogant fool towards a woman who was clearly attracted to me. Both she and I knew this didn’t happen too often so intervention was clearly requires before the moment was lost. Which it unfortunately already was.

Not surprisingly, women find reading men’s subtle signs of attraction just as perplexing as we too know the perils of coming on to strong. The time has thus come to settle these muddy waters and provide a field guide to the behaviours men exhibit when under your spell.
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