Pop hits from the '80s and '90s set the ideal mood for a booze-filled evening.
The White Knight Of Pandan (a lime and lychee martini with pandan) rode in to save the day, backed gallantly by the Le Commandant (can't remember what was in this).
Peach Julep (peach and kentucky bourbon with fresh mint over crushed ice) and Morrello (dark cherry Manhattan with spices).
Bloody Mary and Spicy Martini with basil and strawberries.
At the end of the row that houses Bulldog, Aunty Nat and Saffron, this new Japanese outlet is drawing decent crowds to its outdoor garden setting.
The sashimi selection was fresh but not particularly exciting. A bit overpriced too.
Lots of pork options on the menu. The Buta Shishilo Itame comprised tender pork slices with non-spicy Japanese chillies.
The Buta Kakuni was steamed pork belly. Lurvely fatty chunks of meat in a sweet sauce.
Ice-cold sake to wash the food down.
Isaki Japanese,
Clockwise from top right: Love, Life & Chocolates (three scoops of dark chocolate ice cream blended with peanut butter and whipped cream), Temptation (their signature hot chocolate with 62% cacao dark choc), Shai Scream shooter (cacao white and butterscotch cream), Aaron's Dream shooter (Irish cream and cacao brown).
The Death by Chocolate cocktail was a mix of cacao brown, vanilla ice cream, vodka and Irish cream. All the beverages would certainly please a chocolate fan, but none of them truly wowed us. Maybe we had set our expectations a bit too high.
The bar, where the eager-to-please, all-male employees work their magic.
The staff recommended their Caesar salad, which used melted Swiss cheese for a slight twist.
This was the most fascinating item (wasn't on the menu, but you can ask for it). Chicken satay laced with dark chocolate. Mouthwateringly tender with a flavour that I can't quite describe, this was one of the best satays I've had in recent years. The peanut sauce was more buttery than saucy and the mantao-like bread was OK but paled next to the satay.
There's also a fair range of rosti. We had the one with diced bacon, a jalapeno sausage and creamy cheese sauce. Perfectly adequate if you want some non-sugary carbs.
Schokolart,
SushiGroove has a lot going for it: a distinctively cool ambience, an unbeatably vast range of makis and relatively affordable prices. It's not a bad destination if you're craving Japanese food, but you probably won't be blown away by how anything tastes.
The Kinky QQ roll comprised spicy tuna and goma with crispy crackers. Pretty much comparable to the stuff at Sakae Sushi.
The Ziggy roll mixed soft shell crab with chilli padi for an extra wallop.
Rock & Roll! Tender beef with mozzarella and mushrooms in onion butter.
The Baby Dragon seemed appropriate for the CNY season. Shrimp tempura, unagi and crab salad with avocado and tobiko.
The firecracker roll was deep fried with salmon marinated in a mystery sauce.
SushiGroove,
Robson Heights is only offering set menus this week, depriving customers of their signature dishes. So ... no honey-glazed pork ribs, sigh. They even ran out of some items on their sets and provided inferior substitutes instead.
At this point, every salmon yee sang seems to taste the same.
The chef's special herbal chicken was unavailable. Its replacement, the fried chicken with onion rings, was crispy and juicy but the plum sauce was overpoweringly sweet.
The fish was fresh, but we chose the cheapest kind to avoid inflating the bill.
The prawns came in a cloying sesame sauce instead of being braised with cereal as promised in the menu.
Robson Heights Seafood Restaurant,
The God of Fortune made an appearance at this Pudu establishment, handing ang pows to the kids and oranges to the rest of us.
The RM28.28 yee sang was value for money, with a generous portion of salmon...
... but the HK veggies with yam, fried rice with goose liver sauce (barely any!), and prawns with egg white and broccoli were bland... 
... while the Shanghai duck and roast pork were rip-offs. Dry and overpriced.
The "claypot poon choi" (basin feast) saved the day as far as food was concerned. Pork, chicken, duck, prawns, sea cucumber, mushrooms, fish balls, scallops and preserved veggies bathed in a deeeeeeeeelicious gravy. My first time trying this, and I hope it won't be the last!
Dorsett Regency's buffet outlet is your typical hotel coffeehouse. No surprises.
Steamboatish stuff that I ignored. This guy was really busy between 7-8 pm.
The grilled selection of chicken, beef, lamb, prawns and fish was the other popular choice.
Checkers Cafe,
A florist, bakery and cafe rolled into one, Little Collins is a comfy, unpretentious place to grab some no-frills grub. Unlike many of Solaris Mont Kiara's other outlets, it closes pretty early, so be there before 7 pm to be safe.
The Ultimate Scrambled Eggs didn't exactly live up to its name, though we wiped the plate clean anyway. The oregano toast was decent, but the eggs were kinda bland despite all the onion, tomato and beef bacon that went into this. 
The Terrace Club Sandwich was a better choice. A triple-decker sandwich dipped in egg and pan-fried, this oozed with cheesy fillings and was comfort food at its yummiest.
Little Collins,
Hidden on a perch above Maybank in Solaris Mont Kiara, this tiny bistro is worth hunting out for its fresh Japanese fare and convivial atmosphere.
Lotsa customers were ordering this item: the only maki on the menu, stuffed with unagi, cream cheese and heaps of healthy veggies.
Shochu with plum juice. There's also a fair number of classic cocktails ranging from Bloody Marys to Long Island Iced Teas if you prefer those.
All decked up for Chinese New Year, The Lounge @ Starhill lured us in one evening, but when we were told that snacks would take half an hour to prepare, we settled for a couple of drinks.
The Kamikaze was a heady brew of vodka, gin, rum and lime juice, while the Lafarfallas Dream was a non-alcoholic (but still tasty) blend of non-fat yoghurt, strawberries and bananas.