D'Empire Brasserie @ Solaris Mont Kiara

Pan-seared Canadian Cod
Nestled in the maze of pubs, cafes and eateries within Solaris Mont Kiara is this rather cozy corner bistro-like restaurant serving basically European/Italian fare. Twas was a friend's birthday and there was a big group of us. A variety of dishes were ordered although unfortunately, I only managed to take pictures of those that were within my vicinity.

Some starters were ordered but I was a little late and forgot what was served. However I do remember their personal pizzas were really good. Laddened with hearty ingredients with a thin and somewhat crispy base, it was how I like my pizza to be (sorry, no pic). The same thing can't be said about the soup that we ordered though. I couldn't really remember whether was it seafood minestrone or seafood chowder.

Seafood minestrone or seafood chowder? Presentation was better and not as above, we redistributed it into smaller bowls, hence the "messy rim".
I was expecting a thick type of soup for it was mentioned in the menu that it came with some bread. As a matter of fact, the soup was rather thin and lacked of flavour despite the rather generous seafood given. There was also no bread in sight but we did not pursue the matter as we were given an additional complimentary small bowl of the soup (sucker for free stuff, lol). Also, I doubt the bread would help the rather 'thin' soup much.

For my main, I ordered their special of the day which was not on their menu, Pan-seared Canadian Cod (apx. RM60 / pictured above). How was it? To be frank, it's rather easy not to go wrong with a good piece of cod as most of its flavour comes from its thick and creamy flesh. However, my main was just slightly overcooked and there wasn't anything partcularly exciting about the way it was cooked or the accompanying condiments. Overall, it was still decent

Seafood Pasta done aglio olio style
2 types of pastas were also ordered, one is seafood and the other is spicy sausage (or something that sounds similar). Both are done aglio olio style. My friends who ordered did not have any complaints. I stole a few bites and find it slightly too bland, even for an aglio olio style pasta. Also, the addition of chinese parsley seems a bit out of place, rendering the dish to taste like noodles cooked chinese-style.

Spicy Sausage Pasta done aglio olio style
Desserts were nothing to shout about (hence no photo too) and I would give it a miss although I wouldn't mind returning for their yummy pizzas.

D'Empire Brasserie
22 Ground Floor,
Jalan Solaris 4, Solaris Mont Kiara,
Kuala Lumpur
Tel : 603- 6203 6887

Dinner @ Sassorosso Italian Restaurant, KL

I have to be honest here. I first discovered this restaurant when I was looking for another restaurant, took a wrong turn and ended up along the street where Sassorosso was located. I was impressed with its charming facade from the outside and made a note to return for a visit. Unfortunately, I soon forgot about it until a friend suggested to dine at this place recently.


Clockwise from Top-Left: Sassorosso - interior, Sassorosso - exterior, bottle of Fiano di Avellino (white, Italy) which was pretty enjoyable, Complimentary Bread Basket.

From the outside, the restaurant looksto be very classy and elegant. The interior, although tastefully-decorated gave a rather warm and less formal ambience. Once seated, it wasn't long before we were served with the complimentary bread basket (which would have tasted even better if served a tad warmer).

We started with Beef Carpaccio with mustard sauce, wild rocket salad, tomatoes confit and parmesan flakes. Paper thin slices of quality raw beef, it was a classically good starter to our evening meal.

Clockwise from Top-Left: Starter-Beef Carpaccio with mustard sauce, wild rocket salad, tomatoes confit and parmesan flakes; Siciliana Pizza, Grilled Whole Sea Bass, Squid Ink Pasta with Fresh Scallops and Broccoli.

We opted to share three main courses. The first to arrive was the Siciliana Pizza. A combination of mozarella cheese, ricotta cheese and parmesan with fresh basil and eggplant with a tomato sauce base on a wonderful thin-crust pizza, the pizza was just excellent! I would even add in to my list of favourite pizzas. On the other hand, the Squid Ink Pasta with Fresh Scallops and Broccoli was less remarkable although pleasant. We were getting stuffed by then but wait, the highlight had yet to come. And when it did, we were "wow-ed" by the serving size of the dish. Grilled Whole Sea Bass with Mixed Vegetables, it was meant for 2 persons but it was definitely more than adequate for the four of us. Granted, we were already feeling half-full by then. To be frank, I didn't like the first few mouthfuls. I thought the grilled fish had a strong "fishy" taste to it (actually, not surprisingly given the absence of local spices that most of us prefer in our local version of "ikan bakar"). However, as my palate slowly grew accustomed to its simplicity, the grilled fish turned out to be tastier than my first impression of it.


Desserts: (Clockwise from Top-right) Good strong cup of coffee, Tiramisu and Panna Cotta.

Finishing off with a couple of desserts, their Panna Cotta and Tiramisu managed to satiate our sweet tooth but I doubt they would linger in our thoughts after the dinner was over.

Sassorosso
9 Lorong Yap Kwan Seng, Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 603 21 666 428 Fax: 603 21 666 429

Lunching at Prego, Westin KL

Wanna have a good and decent Italian lunch yet do not have the luxury of time? Go to Prego at Westin Kuala Lumpur for their executive set lunches. They have some good set lunch choices that are hearty and yet not too heavy for lunch.

For around 60 ringgit, you get to choose a combination of starter and main, or main with dessert. Since there are 2 of us, we chose a different combi each.

One of the highlights of dining at Prego is their simply divine bread basket. Served with some spicy tomato dip, one becomes full from the bread before the actual meal before you know it. Make sure that the bread reaches you warm.


We chose the Air-dried Beef served with Melon, Fig jam and Toast. Wonderful choice for the classic combination was just lovely.


As for mains, we had Mushroom Saffron Risotto. One look at the dish and you can guess that it was indeed tantalizing.


Another main that we chose was the Stuffed Pumpkin Ravioli. Sweet creamy pumpkin puree encased in slightly chewy skin. I lurrrrrve this a lot. Downside? Only 3 pieces were served. I think I can easily consume at least half a dozen of these by myself. (Now you see what I mean when I said their set lunch is rather light?)


For dessert, we wanted something light so we had Pannettone with Homemade Vanilla Ice-cream. No frills here but pair it with a cup of freshly-brewed coffee,

it is enough to satiate the sweet tooth and provides a sweet ending to a lovely meal.

Service was fast and prompt. You can easily finish lunch under an hour's time from the time you sat down at the table.

(Click here for links to my other reviews on Prego)
Prego Restaurant
Westin Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.

Simple yet Exquisite (at Prego, Westin KL)

One of my favourite Italian restaurants in town is Prego at Westin Kuala Lumpur. And my favourite dishes there? The simpler, the better.

Starting with the complimentary bread, I really, really like their bread. Wonderfully soft with a good crust, it is simply delicious when dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar or even their homemade tomato dip that they usually provide together with the bread. I always have to remind myself to go easy with the bread before the meal. LOL.

Another favourite of mine at Prego is one of their house specialties. I forgot the exact name of this appetizer but it is softly poached eggs on a bed of salad with sprinkles of black truffles on top. Simple yet so exquisite in taste.

Pasta. The pre-requisite to a good Italian restaurant. And of course, I do like the pastas at Prego. Seen here is also one of my favourites. Mixed Seafood in Tomato-based Sauce (aka Marinara). Fresh seafood in a thick and slightly tangy tomato sauce, it's simply good. But I'll recommend not to have this with fettucine (you get to choose your own choice of pasta) but to go with either angel hair, spaghetti or even penne. With fettucine, it just seems "too much".

Besides pasta, their pizzas are pretty awesome too. And not forgetting their mind-blowing Sunday Bubbly Brunches as well, of course!

Prego
The Westin Kuala Lumpur, Jalan Bukit Bintang
Phone: (60)(3) 2731 8333

Dinner @ Villa Danieli, Sheraton Imperial KL

I used to frequent Villa Danieli quite often in the past whenever I crave for good Italian food. Then they changed the head chef and I stopped going for awhile. This recent trip was my first in quite a long white and I was looking forward to see if anything had changed since my last visit more than a year ago.

Going into Villa Danieli always reminds me of entering a rustic Italian cottage. Although it is so-called 5-star dining, you certainly wouldn't really feel so. In fact, I always find the ambience to be warm and comfortable with (as how one friend describes it) no "hauty-pouty" pretense.

You can't go wrong with the bread baskets served at fine-dining restaurants such as this. Really good bread. One has to exercise self-constraint not to over-indulge otherwise you will be full even before the first course arrives!
And that was why I chose to go straight to the main and save some room for my favourite part of the meal - desserts.

The pan-fried cod that I had. Give me a really fresh and succulent slab of premium cod fish done in any way and I will be happy. And that was precisely how I felt about the dish. All that I remember now was that I had no complaints for this dish but little of anything else about it. *lol*

Another main that we ordered that night was their Lamb Cutlets done medium rare (although a little bit too rare and "wet" for my liking if you know what I mean). Er, not usually a fan of lamb, I can only say it was "ok lar"....
Always the highlight of every meal for me - desserts. Here, we ordered that desserts sampler meant for 2 persons (although I think I finished most of it...hehe). Consisting of 5 different types of desserts whipped up by the chef, I think it was a good deal at only RM50.

And in order of preference, here's what we sampled. Warm chocolate cake (fondant), strawberry sorbet, tiramisu, a mini slice of almond layered cake and white chocolate mousse (which I found just "bleh").

We also ordered a bottle of South Africa Sauvignon Blanc to accompany our dinner. Not bad, light and fruity, just how I prefer my white wine to be.

We finished the meal with some complimentary petit fours; home made chocolate truffles which were simply divine!

So what did I think at the end of the meal? It was satisfying although pricey (as expected) but not outstanding. Not somewhere where I would actually crave for their food. I still prefer VD of the early days.

Villa Danieli
Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur
Tel : 0327179900

MyCoffee Eats: Pizza Uno, USJ

Pizza Uno's AUSSIE pizza (small)
My first visit to this quaint pizza & pasta place was way back when it first opened quite a number of years ago (long before it started branching out). I remember my first impression was the price was rather cheap for good quality and authentic pizzas and pastas. The shop used to be very crowded to the point that you will often see a small crowd of people waiting for tables outside on the pavement. It was not a surprise that it became rather legendary especially among Subang folks. Since then I have been back a few times but much lesser recently.

I went back last week. A friend dropped by and we wanted to go another place but it was closed, so I suggested to her this "cheap and delicious pizza place".

It was a weekend night and the shop was quite crowded but not like its yesteryears. We sat outside under a big 'red' umbrella (you will see how this became an important fact later). The waitress who served us was pretty knowledgeable (thank goodness not one of those non-locals or even locals who just gave you a blank stare and a frown). She suggested some specials of the day but since it was my friend's first time there and mine too after a LONG time. we opted for their staples instead. We ordered a jug of Sangria to share (after working it out that 2 glasses of house wine would cost the same) and also a Marinara Pasta with home-made spirelli and a small 'Aussie' pizza with beef bacon, salami, capsicum and egg (see pic above).

Sangria
Sangria came first, it was rather diluted but taste-wise, quite alright. Would say, better than average (but definitely not in the same league as Prego's, which makes the best-ever sangria).

Home-made spirelli Marinara
Both my friend and I share a similar favourite pasta, which is Marinara. Hence, we have high standards on what qualifies as a good Marinara. Pizza Uno's Marinara hasn't quite make it to our list of favourite Marinara. Firstly, the sauce was a bit watery and slightly too sweet. We like our sauce to be thick. Not a lot of ingredients too, just 2 large prawns, 2 mussels and I really couldn't remember anything else. The Aussie pizza fared better. Adding an egg to the pizza was a bit uncommon but I like it together with the salami, bacon and capsicum (and I like how the egg created a "bull-eye" effect on the pizza - hehe). It kind of reminds me of a standard Aussie breakfast fare in a pizza form.

Sadly, the price is no longer considered cheap. Sangria costs about RM30 per jug (this price is ok la), but both the small-ish pizza (about 7" or 8") and pasta costs about RM19 and RM25 respectively. We ended up paying about RM42 per person. My friend asked me, "I thought you said this place is cheap?" I could only mumbled, *ahem...*

Now what about the "red umbrella" effect that I mentioned earlier? Well, notice how all the photos taken have a red-ish tint?

Pizza Uno
USJ, Taipan Triangle 4, Jalan USJ 10/1B (Taipan Triangle), Subang Jaya.
Tel: 03-5633 0721

MyCoffee Eats: The Olive & sevenatenin9

After a taxing RPM (studio cycling) class at the gym on Friday, my tummy was protesting and screaming "Feed me, feed me!" Popped over to this restaurant, The Olive at Plaza Damas in Hartamas which a friend recommended.
I was famished so imagine my misery when the waiter told us that we would have to wait quite a while as 2 big tables of patrons just arrived and ordered before us with full 3-course meals. I was already dreading this when I entered the restaurant and sensed that they were understaffed that night.
My friend and I ordered a mushroom soup in the hope that it could be served first before the mains so as to appease our growling stomachs. Our hope was in vain. By the time our other friends joined us, nothing edible had arrived yet. No even a complimentary bread basket. As my other friends ordered, we saw a very appetizing pepperoni pizza (not listed on the menu though - strange!) so although I had already ordered a soup and a pasta main, I said yes when my friend suggested to share another pizza. In fact, I would have readily agreed even if he had suggested an entire cow because that was how hungry I was. And it was way past my usual dinner time, mind you.

So, we were definitely caught unaware when the food arrived all at once. Here they are:


Home-made Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup. Nice but a tad too rich/creamy/milky.


My friend's pasta: Fettucini Salmon in Tomato Cream Sauce (rather nice!)


Another friend's order: Spaghetti Carbonara (this is good as well, not overly creamy)


My order: Linguini Marinara (I wasn't too pleased with this. I like my Marinara loaded with seafood and comes in a red, thick and rich tomato sauce. This sauce is a little too thin for my liking).


Additional Order: Pepperoni Pizza (I like my pizzas like this. Thin and rustic. Nice!)

Wanted but couldn't manage dessert after this.

The Olive Italian Cuisine @ Plaza Damas, Hartmas
Tel: 03-6203 5832
___________________________________________________________
On the other hand, what I had at sevenATEnine (Ascot, Jalan Pinang) paled in comparison to my dinner at The Olive. Not in terms of quality and taste, but in terms of quantity and size...haha. What to do, my friends weren't eating and I would have felt uncomfortable to be the only person eating a full main dish when the rest weren't eating. So I ordered this:

Smoked Duck Salad with Asian Pear
It tasted good and I like the asian-influenced dressing and the combination with the nashi pear and watercress salad. But although I wasn't expecting a big serving, I wasn't exactly expecting to see such a small serving. Probably finished the salad in less than 5 mouthfuls! haha.
Also, the menu had changed since the last time I dined there a couple of months back. It was scaled down and prices seems to be slightly higher, particularly for non-mains.

sevenatenin9
http://www.sevenatenine.com/main.html