Vanity Mansion

Click here for earlier entry on Vanity Mansion (March 29).

Slowly but surely, Vanity Mansion is expanding its offerings. Now they have satisfyingly thick slices of complimentary bread, which wasn't provided previously.

Wilted romaine lettuce with smoked anchovies & poached eggs. A well-prepared recipe with a creamy blend of flavours, but the portion was too puny for the price.

Grilled king prawns with Espelette pepper angel hair pasta & capsicum puree lemon butter sauce. Fresh-tasting crustaceans with a mild-flavoured pasta. But the description on the menu was more tantalizing than the actual offering.

Pan-seared foie gras with sherry caramelized apple tart tartine & spiced chocolate sauce. Can't go wrong with foie gras; wish the serving size had been chunkier though.

Baked pineapple flan with creme fraiche custard & meringue. Tasted like a fresh-fruit version of a pineapple tart, if that makes sense.

Chocolate mousse with lime cinnamon creme chantilly & vanilla sauce. Sumptuously sweet.

Greed (white rum, galliano, orange marmalade, monin spicy mango, mango juice) & Sloth (dark rum, blue curacao, monin lychee, monin cucumber, lemon juice).

Wrath (kiwi vodka, wild strawberry liquor, monin strawberry, lemon juice, cranberry juice) & Gluttony (gin, cointreau, orange marmalade, lemon juice).

Vanity Mansion,

Jalan Kamunting.

Japanese Suishin

There's no lack of Japanese restaurants in Mont Kiara, but Suishin is still a welcome addition, with a menu that offers something for everyone.

We zeroed in on several yakitori items during a supper stop here. The skewered chicken skin proved to be crisp and sinfully fatty.

Chicken with fish roe & fried egg strips. The meat was tender and seemed well-marinated, though the roe made little difference.

Chicken tail. Had a pleasantly smoky taste and a fragrant aroma.

Sashimi in chef's sauce. Probably not the best way to savour the clean flavours of the raw fish, since the sourish sauce was rather overpowering.

Amberjack head. Superbly meaty, satisfyingly succulent flesh.

Gavi di Gavi Italian white.

Suishin Restobar,

5-1, 1st Floor, Jalan Solaris 1,

Solaris Mont Kiara.

Tel: 6203-6642

Hutong & Isetan FoodMarket

Click here & here for earlier entries on Hutong (Nov. 16 & Feb. 13).

Imbi Road Pork Noodles. A recent addition here. We had a hearty helping of loh shi fun soaked in minced pork, which came with a soup comprising meatballs and dried sausage.

Happy to see that Ho Weng Kee (from SS2) was still open that evening.

Finally tried their noodles, but it failed to live up to expectations. The char siew was tough, while the noodles tasted ordinary; the light and pillowy wantan was worthwhile though.

Returned to Hon Kee Porridge to check out some of their side dishes.

We ordered the works: pork innards, pork meatballs, crispy pork intestines, raw fish & century egg. Absolutely delicious!

Also hopped over to Isetan's supermarket on the same floor for wine, which we drank at their "bar," paying a mere RM30 for two small bottles that yielded four glasses.

Refreshingly chilled. If only we could have brought this over to Hutong.

Hutong & Isetan FoodMarket,

Lot 10.

Ecoba

The buzz has been building steadily for Ecoba over the past two months, making it one of the most anticipated new outlets so far this year.

It's a terrific-looking place, with a cool, spacious interior and a lovely alfresco section that overlooks a peaceful garden.

Food hasn't been available this week, but we look forward to what the kitchen is cooking up. Expect a mix of local and Western favourites, possibly similar to what most upscale KL pubs might offer.

For now, there's beer to quench everyone's thirst after a long day at the office.

Ecoba,

PJ Trade Centre, Damansara Perdana.

Movida

Movida has enjoyed a fair share of hype in recent weeks, swiftly becoming the most popular watering hole in Kota Damansara's Sunway Giza mall.

It's a stylish two-story venue that seems to appeal to a wide clientele, ranging from youths snacking on pizzas to middle-aged beer guzzlers.

Smoked salmon on mesclun leaves, tossed with citrus oil, grapes, pineapples & cheese balls. A tangy salad that came in a surprisingly generous portion.

Deep-fried whitebait, tossed with paprika & chili flakes. Could have been more crisp, but at least it wasn't too oily. Good for guilt-free snacking.

Fettuccine pesto, with scallops, parmesan, pine nuts & basil. Not the best in town; the pasta was a tad too starchy and the pesto sauce was weak.

Mojito Madness! Buy one, free one.

Grasshopper & Spanish Fly cocktails.

Movida,

Sunway Giza, Kota Damansara.

Pacifica

Click here & here for earlier entries on Pacifica (April 27, 2009 & Oct. 23, 2009).

Fresh bread, lovely spreads (tuna in olive oil, Echire & passion fruit butters).

Amuse bouche of bouillabaisse, capsicum crisp & lobster ice cream (a bizarre sorbet-ish item with the flavour of chilled lobster).

Oyster shooters (French Tsarskaya in vanilla margarita, a blend of sauza tequila, vanilla & fresh lime, alongside French Fin de Claire in absolut vodka, tomato & celery). A slippery treat that should be slurped down all at once.

Roasted monkfish loin with fava bean cassoulet. Similar to one of Pacifica's offerings during last October's MIGF promo, except that this monkfish came with potato gnocchi and was soaked in a superbly flavourful star anis broth, instead of the MIGF version's unmemorable Madeira broth. Tweaking a recipe can produce more satisfying results after all.

Boston lobster poached in its own oil with cucumber vinaigrette. Fresh-tasting and succulent; also a variation of an MIGF item, but with an additional side of lightly battered lobster with a horseradish-laced, densely textured mousse.

Halibut fillet steak with Cafe de Paris butter sauce, chanterelle mushrooms, oxtail tortelloni & lettuce chiffonade. A complex combo, though the fish was not the star of this platter; we preferred the pleasantly earthy mushrooms, as well as the tortelloni, which provided a beefy meatiness to complement the firm, fleshy fish.

Chocolate oyster (Albaco choc shaped as an oyster, filled with green tea crumble, vanilla custard & Meyer's lemon jelly). A creative dessert, with a sweet, powerfully rich flavour.

Sauvignon, Marques de Riscal, Rioja (Spain).

Pacifica,

Mandarin Oriental.