The Hot Chocolate Cafe, Medan Damansara

I've driven past this place numerous times but never made it a point to try it out. A quick check on my blackberry found reviews on this place like...

"Tucked deep into the Damansara Heights neighbourhood, Hot Chocolat makes for a good hideaway eatery. The laid-back and unpretentious atmosphere puts you right at home."

"Another great place for Italian. This time it's at a cosy little place in Damansara Heights. Sitting at a corner shoplot amongst the quiet Damansara Heights neighbourhood lies Hot Chocolate Cafe."

"QUIET ambience, easy parking and lovely Italian food - that's the lure of a little cafe tucked away in Damansara Heights, I HAVE many reasons for going back again and again to The Hot Chocolate Cafe."

...To put it bluntly i wish i had just kept it that way.

The decor and ambience was kind of haphazardly laid back and the place looked kind of tired and i'm sure it has seen better days.
I was greeted by a chiller with some sad looking "Royal Chocolate cake" and the waitress that only recommended the high price items on the menu( which was of an Italian Thai spread).
So we decided on Pesto Salmon ($26) which had a watery cream and bits of cili padi and beware lots of tiny little bones in the salmon.
The other order was Abbacio Roma (lamb chops $22) which was as tough as anything you can imagine. It came with sad looking veg and a really sour mint sauce generously poured over the chops. You can get the same dish at Mama Chops & Papa Grills for less minus the frills. And before i forget an order of cold stale garlic bread.
So far so bad, as i gestured to the waitress to clear the table and to order the the signature chocolate cake she instead brought me my bill and thankfully end this ordeal.
I'm really easy to please foodwise, but as a rule of thumb i will find it very difficult to come back to a restaurant that serves dishes that i can make better.

Rear-seat dilemma for parents with four children

(pic of irresponsible parents endangering their children by overloading.)

By V. CHANDRASEKARAN/TheSTAR


SUNGAI PETANI: Parents with four children are confused as to how they are to seat all their children into the back of the car without being caught for overloading.

“We cannot leave a child behind in the house when going out, neither can we afford to buy another vehicle to adjust to the new requirement on rear seat belts,” lamented trader Nordin Ahmad from Bandar Perdana Jasmin.
Nordin, 44, drives an Iswara Aeroback and is worried how he, his wife and four children would fit into their car without running the risk of being stopped by a policeman.
(Its statements like these that is why we have such high fatalities when a road mishap occurs, its not about being able or not to afford a bigger vehicle. Its this fuckin 'Tidak Apa" attitude that contributes to road fatalities.)

Road Safety Department director-general Datuk Suret Singh has warned that motorists with more than three rear seat passengers could be fined for "OVERLOADING".

“I am a low-income earner and have no other choice but to use only my Iswara for family travels. It is unfair to hold the driver responsible for ferrying more than three children in the rear seats,” said Nordin whose children ranged from seven to 13 years of age.(Its mentalities like these that we have first class infrastructure with 3rd class users.)

Restaurant operator Yeow Boon Fey, 44, from Taman Legenda Indah, said he would now have problems going out with his four children, aged between three and 15, his wife Yong Nyok Ching, 40, and mother Kong Yoke Mooi, 68.

“Tell me, what should I do? Should I buy another car or leave behind my mother or some of my children? I am confused.
( For starters JPJ should revoke this fuckers driving license, we don't need morons like these on our roads. Statements like these really gets to me! Hello fuckhead the law says "NO OVERLOADING" which is the No.1 cause of high fatalities on Malaysian roads.)

“The authorities should be less rigid when imposing the regulations. We are not operating taxis but only want to take our family out in our car,” said Yeow, who has a Viva fitted with rear seat belts.
(A Viva is ideally designed to carry 4 passengers and for fuck sake can't you get it in your head? have you ever heard of the word SAFETY!!)
Kindergarten teacher Suzana Abdul Aziz, 38, from Taman Seri Jenaris, who also has four children, aged between five and 12, said although her family had a second car, they relied on their Iswara for balik kampung trips.

Mohd Desa Saidin, 42, a clerk at the National Registration Department in Kulim and married with four children aged between six and 13, said wearing rear seat belts was no guarantee that accidents would not endanger passengers’ lives.
“Even with all the safety measures, there are fatal accidents. What about accidents involving buses where many passengers die? Buses do not have safety belts,” he said.
(Another selfish fucked up statement, hell i know there are no guarantees in life but what harm is there to adhere to the rules for your families safety and others!!)


I'm all for the rear seat belts ruling and for the enforcement of overloading in passenger cars. I'm not discriminating againts big families, but when you decide to pack your car up like a sardine can and endanger other motorist around you its not about being rich or poor. Its about being a responsible person.