Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Empress Cafe, The Curve

I remember an outlet named Bayou in Mont Kiara. It used to be rather well-known when Mont Kiara and its surrounding area (Desa Hartamas) started getting popular. Some of their better-known dishes were Vietnamese Beef Noodles and Nasi Dagang (or was it Nasi Bokhari) but I remember being bowed over by their Embuk, which was similar to a wet popiah. To my dismay, the outlet later closed down.

However, not too long ago, I read that they re-emerged under a different name, Empress Cafe at The Curve. The first thing that came to mind was to go and have their Embuk again.
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Interior of Empress Cafe

Their menu is rather extensive with offerings of local, Asian and Western dishes. After ordering, we were served a very nice warm soft bun with butter. So old-school ya?!
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I went straight for their Embuk which I have been craving for.
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Embuk (aka Popiah)
Stuffed to the brim with ingredients, I like it a lot (ya, I like my popiahs to be really fat!) although I wasn't as awed by it as I used to be. Maybe it's because since then, I also found other similar "fat" popiahs at less than half the price...

My lunch partner ordered a more hearty meal, the Kampung Fried Rice.
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Yummy Kampung Fried Rice
It looked very appetizing topped with a perfectly fried egg not to mention the fried rice had a very nice colour (yes, the colour does matter in determining a good fried rice). I stole a few bites and although I am no fan of fried rice, I really have to give my thumbs up for it! Accompanied with their addictive sambal chili, each bite was simply a delight!

We were given some complimentary desserts after the meal. There's no name for this dessert. Just some sweet red bean paste encassed in a puff pastry served with some chilled heavy custard. Although simple, it was rather good and I enjoyed it.
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Complimentary dessert - Red Bean in Puff Pastry

On my way out, I spied some traditional coconut candies on their counter top. I remember as a child, I used to be fond of this Indian sweet so I bought some.
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Traditional coconut candies
The coconut candies were quite a delight! No doubt it was sweet (as expected) but not intolerably so. Best savoured in small bites though.

Empress Cafe
Groundfloor, The Curve
Mutiara Damansara

15 comments:

ai wei said...

the interior looks classy. i like it. the curve seems to have lots nice eateries. the Red Bean in Puff Pastry is well present o

Unknown said...

whoa another place to go at the curve!!

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

looks like this review shows that the place has improved abit..as compared to some earlier reviews..maybe its finally time to give it a try

Anonymous said...

Hi there you have a great blog,lovely recipes. Feel free to visit my blog too :)

Jeena xx

click here for food recipes

myCoffee said...

Hi ai wei,
Yeah, the red bean puff was rather nice. But not sure if this is available on their menu or not since it was complimentary.

Hi citygal,
Worth a try if you ran out of ideas of where to eat in The Curve! ;)

Hi joe,
Well, I am not sure about the other dishes since we only had the popiah (embuk) and a simple "kampung" fried rice. Both were to our liking although rather pricey for such simple dishes.

Hi jeena,
Thanks for dropping by! Sure, would love to visit your blog too! :)

MeiyeN said...

oh been here for months but never tried yet cause no reviews from bloggers except jackson (living in food heaven) been here i think.. sounds good, will try this place next time ;)

~Christine~Leng said...

this place looks nice! Lots to discover at The Curve :) It's been a while sine I last visited the Curve. Shall check it out. Thx!

Anonymous said...

I like the fried rice! The presentation is like a fresh prespective to a plain-old dish...haha!

daphne said...

i think my comment didnt appear. blogger has been giving me some problems =( the screen went blank!

The place looks lovely to hang out. I like the presentation of the fried rice (Although sometimes I cant justify having fried rice outside due to the pricing!). Love the way the fried egg is going to sooo ooze out!!! yum!

myCoffee said...

Hi meiyen and christine,
I find this place is rather easy to miss due to its location. It's right at the corner facing Cineleisure.

Hi Terrence,
Ok la, next time you come to KL, will bring you there ok? :)

Hi daphne,
I have been experiencing some weird stuff with blogger too. And I thought it's just me...

Big Boys Oven said...

is it pricy? I think some can be expensive.... I was shock with thier dessert... looks horrible!!...lol

Chef Jeena said...

Looks like you had a great time eating out in a lovely restaurant. I love coconut ice yum! I would love to exchange links with you, I have already added your link to my blog. :) I look forward to more of your posts. :)

rokh said...

ok, a place to look out when i don't know what to eat at the curve

myCoffee said...

Hi bbo,
The complimentary dessert did look somewhat "amateurish". But taste was alright la. But their cakes look much, much better....

Hi jeena,
Ok, no problem.

Hi rokh,
Can try. And they have quite a good variety of cakes too.

Anonymous said...

hi.. empress cafe closed down @ the curve... anyone knows where they moved to?