We got invited to Favola restaurant at Le Meridien, KL Sentral recently for a cooking demonstration by Chef Fabrizio from the The Westin, Beijing Financial Street.

I really enjoyed his natural, simple way of cooking authentic Italian food with high quality produce and good technique. He really let the taste of the ingredients be at the forefront of the dish without over-seasoning.

It’s refreshing to see when most Italian food in KL is a horrible mash of cheap olive oil, canned tomato and over-cooked pasta.

We got to see him create a delicate tomato and eggplant millefeuille. The deep-fried aubergine really gave it an alluring texture alongside the tartness of the tomato.

A lobster and cherry tomato spaghetti, this is a really simple, elegant and tasty dish. Again using the small, fresh tomatoes allows the lobster to remain the star of the dish without getting coated in sauce.

And a seafood risotto, I learned something new here – the seafood was deep fried in semolina! It gives it a wonderful, grainy texture without being overpowering.

Favola serves some really good Italian food, I love their wood fire baked pizza – awesome!

You can check out Inspiring Italy at Le Meridien, Kuala Lumpur from the 4th until the 12th of June 2011.

Address:

Favola Italian Restaurant
Level 8, Le Meridien Hotel,
2, Jalan Stesen Sentral, Kuala Lumpur Sentral,
50470 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-2263 7434

Website: http://www.discoverlemeridien.com/

Twitter: @LeMeridienKL

Location on Google Maps (It’s at KL Sentral).

Foursquare venue: Favola Italian Restaurant @ Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur

Others that wrote about it:

kimberlycun
cumidanciki
KYSpeaks
masak masak

An interesting concept this time, Japanese influenced Korean BBQ. Who says the Japanese and the Koreans can’t get along? I guess food solves all conflicts? The location was Jalan Damai, Ampang (if you know where Rahsia is, it’s on the same road just off Jalan Ampang).

The turn-out was quite good and the interior was nice and spacious and clean!

The food was coupled with sparkling wine this time starting out with the Jacob’s Creek Sparkling Chardonnay Pinot Noir. The starter was Edamame, Morokyo (mixed vege), Tofu Salad & Gyu Tataki (slice roasted beef).

The sauces and marinades used were really tasty without being overpowering and went very well with the wine.

Following that the charcoal grill was fired up and we got to the white meat course; Tori (Chicken), Saba (Mackerel) & Hotate (Scallop).

We self cooked on the hot grill, you could get a nice smokey charcoal flavour with some careful maneuvering. The scallops were fantastic, and surprisingly I enjoyed the Mackerel (generally not a big Mackerel fan).

Following those delights it was time for some carbs! Onigiri (rice ball), Chijimi (Korean pan-cake), Kakuteki (pickled white radish), Moyashi (bean sprouts) & Chrisya (lettuce).

And then, what everyone had been waiting for! The meat course, delicious wagyu beef, cow tongue and much more served with Jacob’s Creek Sparkling Rose.

The collection above contains Jyo Tan (prime beef tongue), Jyo Bara (prime shortrib), Jyo Rosu (prime ribeye), Karubi (bone-in Kalbi), Wagyu Bara (premium Wagyu shortrib) & Wagyu Rosu (premium wagyu ribeye).

To be honest I wasn’t entirely sure which was which (apart from the tongue and the ribeye) but they were all delicious especially paired with the fruity sparkling rose which wasn’t too rich.

To finish was a simple dessert which reminded me of Chinese ‘tong yuen‘.

The lunch was a great bargain at only RM80 nett per person!

To get on the list you can call Yik Peng at 016 313 1873 or e-mail to:

RSVP – rsvp@millennium.net.my
Lenny – lenny@millennium.net.my
Yik Peng – yikpeng@millennium.net.my

Address:

Kannichikan Yakiniku Ampang Branch
51, Jalan Damai,
Ampang
55000
Kuala Lumpur

Location on Wikimapia (just off Jalan Ampang).

There are ‘higher class’ and more expensive Korean restaurants in Ampang than Woo Ga Chon – but I like the simplicity of this place and it’s cheaper than the rest (and still good!). Plus their pork is fantastic and the Bulgogi and Bibimbap is nice too.

The sign board is as nice and big and bright as the logo on www.partypoker.com or a Vegas casino so it shouldn’t be too hard to find, it’s at the other side from the 7-11 (Ampang Hilir) and you there’s always ample parking there.

The interior is nice and clean and simple, they have both kinds of seating with the Korean floor seating and the western table and chair arrangement.

As with most Korean restaurants you get a free flow of sidedishes (mostly varieties of kimchi) some of which are great, some of which are not so great (depending on your taste). 2 of my favourites are the claypot egg thing and the kimchi soup.

When you have the side dishes and your salad + condiments it’s time to get the meat on the BBQ! We usually go for pork as it’s delicious, maybe 2 pork (Dae Ji Gal Bi & Mok Deung Sim) and a beef. The pork is about Rm20-27 per portion, the beef slightly more.

One of my favourite things to eat at Korean restaurants is Bibimbap, something like the Korean version of claypot rice. The Bibimbap at Woo Ga Chon is very good, it has a nice crisp layer of rice on the outside and plenty of ingredients to get it nice and sticky and tasty.

My number 1 favourite thing to eat is Bulgogi and steaming hot white rice! The Bulgogi here comes as a single person portion along with a bowl of rice, good to order one for sharing with some other things.

Here’s the meat ready for consumption, dip it in the sauce, wrap it in a lettuce leaf with some kimchi and you’re ready to go!

We’d definitely go back to Woo Ga Chon even though it’s changed owners the quality is still great and you’ll quite often see Korean people dining there so the authenticity is pretty good. Expect to pay about RM20-30 per person for a satisfying meal (without alcohol).

We give it a We Ate This 7/10.

Address:

Woo Ga Chon Korean Restaurant
G20 Jalan Sulaiman 1, Taman Putra Sulaiman,
68000 Ampang

Tel: 03-4270 4211

Location on Wikimapia.

Others that wrote about it:
KY Speaks
Rojaks
munster

Unsurprisingly our friend KY was also there, along with Eiling and I went along with Kimberly.

I think Chinoz on the Park (at KLCC) has recently revamped and renovated, I like the new look it’s very light and spacious.

The menu looked tempting and we got started with a sparkling wine, the Bin 555 Shiraz.

We got to meet a real chief winemaker too, Nigel Dolan! Quite an experience. Anyway with the Bin 555 Sparkling Chiraz came the Consomme – Wild Mushroom with Oxtail Ravioli. The Sparkling Shiraz was fab!

Honestly speaking the consomme made me think of marmite soup! The Ravioli was very nice though, it had a good texture and a nice solid meaty/salty taste.

After that came the Foie Gras Bon Bon with Caramelized Apple served with Show Reserve Cabernet Merlot.

An interesting meld of textures with the soft and the crunchy, but a bit of a waste of Foie Gras in my humble opinion, I found the wine a little dry for this course too.

After that came the main courses with an option of Salmon and Trout, with 4 of us we had two of each so we could sample. The Beef was Oven Roasted Beef Fillet with Caramelized Shallots, Roasting Jus.

It was cooked just nicely – pink in the middle and tender. The gravy (jus) had a strong rich flavour without being over-powering. The wine served with the Beef was the Show Reserve Shiraz – I really enjoyed this wine.

The Salmon was to DIE for, absolutely melts in your mouth. It was Confit of Salmon Trout with Poached Oyster accompanied by Dill & Cucumber Veloute – served with Show Reserve Chardonnay.

Dessert was served after that, nothing much to shout about – green tea and white chocolate mousse.

Group shot!

From left to right: Eiling, Me, KY, Nigel Dolan, Kimberly and Chris (who blogs at the cork brothers).

With the quality and amount of wine + some nice food it’s quite a bargain at RM100nett per person.

To get on the list you can call Yik Peng at 016 313 1873 or e-mail to:

RSVP – rsvp@millennium.net.my
Lenny – lenny@millennium.net.my
Yik Peng – yikpeng@millennium.net.my

Address:
Chinoz on the Park
Esplanade (G47)
Suria KLCC
50450 Jalan Ampang
KL

Location on Wikimapia (It’s in KLCC at the garden).

Tel: 03-2166 8277

It’s something like a buffet, but it’s not eat-all-you-can style, you get a ‘passport’ which you stamp as you take food and then pay for at the end (PLEASE don’t lose the passport as it’ll cost you RM200!).

Yes we do eat at The Curve a lot, but we haven’t even covered a quarter of the eateries there, there’s just so many!

When you find a table you can ‘chop’ it with the sign board as you’ll be wondering around finding food, it’s a good idea.

There’s plenty to choose from with section for potatoes, mushrooms, fruit, pasta, salad, meat, pizza, desserts and much more!

It does have a very market feel with lots of fresh/raw ingredients around and plenty of things to take pictures of.

Plenty for the meat lovers amongst you too.

We started out with the fresh mushroom soup, it was pretty good and plenty of croutons!

And the Caesar salad, it still can’t beat Italiannies though.

We followed that with the Lamb Shank, which was ok – served with potatoe wedges which were nice.

And the stone baked pizza, which was good – heavy and the toppings and lovely chewy cheese.

We tried a couple of desserts, both of which looked much better than they tasted.

All in all it was ok and quite expensive, I think for the price you can find similar types of food (but much nicer) even in The Curve itself and definitely outside.

They are always packed though, so they must be doing something right..Perhaps we just missed out on the good dishes. They have a kind of buffet deal on Tuesdays too, well they used to, I’m not sure if they still do.

All in all we give it a We Ate This 5/10.

Address:

G87, Ground Floor
The Curve, Mutiara Damansara,
47800 Petaling Jaya

Location on Wikimapia (It’s in Curve!).

Offical website: http://www.marche-malaysia.com/

Tel: 03 7728 9200

Others that wrote about it:
KL People KL Food
zestful
KampungboyCitygal
Meiyen
Ahmok

I was very disappointed due to the fact it was touted to be serving the excellent Pork Ribs that everyone in Singapore gets to enjoy.

When the finally opened in KL it was disclosed they had in fact decided to go non-pork..Anyway seen as though we were in Pavilion and there wasn’t much else we fancied I thought we should try out Tony Roma’s.

It’s a fairly standard setting for a western style restaurant, plenty of wood, quite comfortable, has booths like Chili’s and TGIF.

Wherever we eat we will surely have hot/buffalo wings to compare the standard, we love both Chili’s and those at TGIF even though they are slightly different. The wings here didn’t disappoint, even though they are served on such a huge plate (which makes the portion look smaller) the blue cheese sauce was really strong and tasty.

They are a little pricey though (RM17.90), as much as a ‘party’ portion at TGIF or a full pound at Chili’s.

The thing everyone has been raving about is the Onion Loaf, which once had in Singapore was thoroughly disappointing. We opted for the half loaf, and it was absolutely yummy!

I’ll definitely be going to Cineleisure to check this out and see if it’s as good, it’s pretty reasonably as well at RM12.90 for the half loaf. Very crunchy, tasty onion, not too much batter and goes perfectly with the sauce.

Next up we had one pasta dish, the Shrimp Pasta…which was HUGE! A little too large really, it was like the Italiannies portions labeled ‘To Share’.

It wasn’t just a lot of pasta too, there were a LOT of shrimps for a dish of this price (RM29.90).

And of course I went there try the ribs, I went for a half-rack as the whole rack was a bit too heavy on the pocket..there are 4 sauces to choose from, you can have the ribs basted in them if you request it when you order – or you can just use them as plain dipping sauces.

In basic terms there is Tony Roma’s original, a smoky one, a spicy one and a sweet one. I had the ribs with the original sauce. The portion looked a little small for the price (RM48.90) but the ribs were excellent quality. I have to say I’m not sure if I’d pay so much again.

The side dishes were superb though, I went for a jacket potato and ranch style beans. Really nice!

Overall I’d say Tony Roma’s is a little pricey but the food was very good. We’d give it a satisfying We Ate This 7/10 – it’d make 8 if it were a little more reasonably priced.

Address:

Lot 1.15, Level 1,
Pavilion,
Kuala Lumpur

Location on Wikimapia (It’s in Pavilion!).

Tel: 03 2143 3378

Others that wrote about it:

Bernsy
Vkeong

Cavells is a reasonably new restaurant and has been open around a year in Hartamas, rather than focusing on one kind of food it tries to give a good range of European fare with solid Spanish and Italian dishes on the menu.

We visited to test out their new range of Tapas, it’s one of the few places offering authentic Spanish Tapas rather than the common fusion stuff found in many places. Of course we also wanted to try some of the hyped Sparkling Shiraz from Henry Martin (award winning wine!).

The restaurant has a very nice relaxed atmosphere, the boss Aaron Carvalho has good taste in music too preferring to pump out some 80′s classics to set the mood.

There are currently 10 Tapas dishes with the chef planning to expand soon depending on the reception of these…ones to try are the meatballs (with 7 spices) a little crispy and juicy at the same time – the Spanish name is Albondigas Con Salsa.

The Ropa Vieja is a blend of Jewish and Arabian food, seasoned beef…yummy! Also try the Chochifrito which is a similar dish with lamb.

The Mussels are delicious too, known as Mejilloues on the menu.

The Chili is a special personal recipe from Aaron, rather nice but I’d prefer it a little more spicy.

We tried the mushroom soup as recommended and it was very good!

We’ll definitely be heading back to try out their main courses!

Address:

Cavells Restaurant and Bar
18 Jalan 27/70A
Desa Sri Hartamas

Location on Wikimapia.

Tel: 03-23000841

Business Hours: Daily, 12pm to 2am, Happy Hours, 6pm to 9pm.

*As this was a food tasting it’s hard to give a rating*

When I felt like treating myself, or felt like something hearty and healthy I often headed to Marmalade. Or even if I just wanted something like a salad. Saying that though their large salads aren’t exactly light! It used to be located near the Kiosk, it moved last year I think inside Plaza Mon’t Kiara. It’s in Block E (Sunrise) where the Argentinian Steakhouse used to be. Same row as Subway and Khana Peena.

They also have another branch at Bangsar Village 2 now. The new interior at Plaza MK is nice, more spacious than the old place – very white and fresh with a nice high ceiling. They have a decent range of drinks and some of their juices are nice but I find them rather over-priced…definitely stick to iced water!

The tomatoe soup (RM8) is ok, it’s very rich though. I much prefer their salads and thoroughly recommend the Sounds of Havana salad! We had soup this day as it was cold, needed a belly warmer! The soup of the day varies (obviously).

This is definitely my favourite thing at Marmalade along with the Havana salad, the chicken pie (RM16)! It comes with creamy white sauce, lovely soft pastry, chunky mash and succulent lumps of chicken in the pie…delicious. Definitely better than the beef pie which is a little dry.

Tell me that’s not juicy! I think I’m drooling now..

Another favourite is the Moroccan Lamb Shank (RM22)! Another fantastic hearty dish served with ample broccoli and a good side of spinach rice, a really unique flavour and cooked to perfection.

Another thing I love about Marmalade is their vast array of deserts, I often try something different there. The carrot cake is good, lemon meringue is good…the mini cupcakes were ok, but then I’m not a big cupcake fan (RM2.40 for 2).

My favourite desert is the huge, juicy apple crumble (RM9.50) served with hot custard. I just have to have it when I visit Marmalade, I haven’t found a crumble as good as this anywhere else in town, is there one?

All in all we’ve never been disappointed when visiting Marmalade, some of their dishes aren’t that great and I’m sad they removed the ham and cheese frittata as the salmon and avocado option is a little rich – but the things that are good are really good and we keep going back over and over! We give it a We Ate This 8/10!

Address:

Block E-01-02 & E-01-03,
Plaza Mon’t Kiara,
No 2 Jalan Kiara,
Mon’t Kiara,
50480
Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-6201 1743

Others that wrote about it:

masak masak
chocoholic memoirs
zique
psychedelic life
babe in the city

You can always see the grey haired uncle there with a very ‘action’ face.

We always go there for the Siu Yuk Min (Siew Yoke Meen) – it’s superb, dark greasy and has oodles of meat. The Roast Pork (Siu Yuk) is fried with plenty of garlic and mixed with the noodles. No one can imitate Seng Kee on this! It’s the champion.

They use Sang Meen (The same type generally using in Wantan Mee).

Another must try is the Sang Cheung (I’m really not sure if it’s fallopian tubes or intestine – I’m pretty sure it comes from pigs though!) It’s also fried with plenty of garlic and some chili padi – excellent!

And of course the famous Lou Shu Fan! Very good, some people seem to prefer Murni (*ptooi*) but I think this one is good – with the raw egg.

Remember to stir well before eating.

The Hokkien Mee is not bad, but that’s not what you go there for.

As for prices I’m not really sure, but it seems to work out about RM10 per person if you have a reasonable sized group.

We’d rate it a satisfying We Ate This 7/10. It’s not that clean or comfortable, but it is convenient and the food is pretty good.

To get there just take a left immediately after Nando’s when you are heading towards Petaling Street (Jalan Sultan) – just keep heading straight and Seng Kee will be near the end on your right.

Location on Wikimapia.

Others that wrote about it:

zique
juliansi
peachjon
Babe in the City
julie the biscuit
Kampung boy City Girl

Yo! Sushi is Datuk Farah Khan’s latest venture into food following Dome and taking a break from her usual Fashion Boutiques with the Melium Group. It’s one of her favourite places to eat back in UK, so she started the franchise over here, the first branch is the one we visited in Pavilion and the second is in Gardens, Mid Valley – I’ll definitely be trying that one too, make sure it’s up to scratch!

It’s also the first time I visited Pavilion KL.

It’s a conveyor type concept, but with better quality food. Better quality food, but not at cut-throat prices. That’s the whole concept anyway, it’s aiming for the lifestyle crowd, not too expensive, but not cheap, high quality! A concept I agree with personally, I don’t mind paying slightly more for top quality.

The decor is nice, modern and light and clean. The food is prepared in the middle so you can see everything and the staff are cheery.

There are a variety of dish prices from RM3 (Green) to RM16 (Grey) – the majority are Orange (RM10) and Purple (RM8) for the good stuff.

The range of Salmon Sashimi is great! They have normal plain, Sesame Seared and Dill-Wasabi Marinated….This is the Dill Salmon – Yummy!

After that some more Salmon with the lovely ISO (Inside Out Roll) Salmon and Cream Cheese….yummy. They have all kinds of interesting Rolls.

Then some Butterfish Sashimi – it was nice, but a bit chewy and meaty for me. I’m a big fan of Salmon really and that’s about it, I’m not fond of Tuna Sashimi either – I find it bloody.

Teriyaki Mushrooms – very juicy and succulent, nicely seasoned and not overpowering.

This is the trademark Yo! Roll, a great combination of creamy Avocado, Salmon and coated with fish Roe (the good kind that pops in your mouth!).

After speaking to Eddie Kong the manager for the outlet, he recommended us two dishes. The first was also mentioned in The Star article as a bargain at RM14 when it costs £5 in UK! The Black Cod marinated in Miso paste (salty) and Mirin wine (sweet), served with some crunchy deep fried Lotus root. Absolutely delicious!

The second recommended was the Hairy Prawn…which isn’t actually hairy ok? It’s just the fine batter it’s fried in. I found it a little too oily and the prawn rather overcooked, something suited to kids I think.

To finish off it was time for another dose of Salmon Sashimi, the first one was so good…we just had to have another! The plain variety this time, you can see how thick and fresh the pieces are.

Dessert was some Japanese ice-cream, they have 3 varieties (Black Sesame, Green Tea and Red Bean) and the great thing is you can mix and match! We had one scoop of Black Sesame and one Red Bean.

A couple of glasses of top notch Sake to end the experience with the friendly manager Eddie, and that was that.

We thouroughly recommend Yo! Sushi!

Yo! Sushi provides an excellent Sushi experience, good food and reasonable prices worthy of a We Ate This 9/10!

Address:

Pavilion Mall
Level 1 Pavilion Kuala Lumpur
168 Jalan Bukit Bintang
55100 Kuala Lumpur

Location on Wikimapia (It’s in Pavilion!).

Tel: 03-2148 8588

Official Website: http://www.yosushi.com/

Others that wrote about it:

April Cherrie
masak masak
Paprika
Thomas Yap