Dave's Bistro Bar & Grill @ 1 Utama, PJ

Dave's Bistro Bar Grill is one of the pioneers (to my knowledge) of non-halal eatery in shopping malls and I think this has greatly encouraged a drastic increase in porky establishments popping up across the city <thumbs-up>
  
The food served here is mostly Italian comfort food such as pasta and pizza topped with lots of pork, so it's not surprising that this restaurant is actually part of the Dave's Deli Group which served my first love - Shepherd's Pie...haha...anyway on with the review =)

   

Dave's Bistro Bar Grill

        

Oink :D

     
There are lots of piggy decorative items in the restaurant which further emphasize its specialty...
     

Salad with Pork Belly Shavings

This was yummy with lots of crunchy pork belly shavings and croutons. The ratio of salad leaves to meat was good too (as in high meat ratio...I'm a meat-eater =D). The sauce was also tangy with sufficient flavour to coat the leaves.

Bacon and Mushroom Bruschetta

Toasted baguette with bacon, mushrooms and tomatoes piled on top...always a fail-safe combination =P

Ham Pizza

This Ham Pizza is a must-try according to my friend. The dough is fluffy and very crispy, the cheese base is absolutely cheesy with succulent ham and juicy pineapples. Very yummy indeed =)

Close-up of the Ham Pizza

See the abundance of ham and pineapples? =D

Spaghetti Bolognaise with Smoked Pork Sausage and Peppers

The tomato sauce was rich and gave a robust flavour to the al dente spaghetti, juicy pork sausages and red capsicum. It is quite a large portion (I couldn't even finish it even though my favourite is pasta) so small eaters had better share it =P

Overall, Dave's serves good food albeit a little pricey but I would definitely return to sample new dishes and for the usual favourites. And most importantly, it's a porky place =D Think they still have the lunch / teatime promo at 50% for pastas so do take advantage of the offer.

PawPoints: 4 Paws

Pawket: Tomato

Dave's Bistro Bar & Grill
Lot G209, Ground Floor
The Promenade
One Utama Shopping Centre
Tel: 03 7725 4017
Daily: 10am - 10pm

Tonkatsu by Ma Maison @ Isetan Foodmarket, One Utama

Tonkatsu by Ma Maison has finally landed on our shores! <does a tonkatsu dance> Although it's been in business since early of this year, we only managed to sample it recently. It's conveniently located in 1 Utama near the cluster of restaurants within Isetan Foodmarket.

     

Logo

      

Condiments

   
As usual, they've got all the condiments to make your meal taste much better - sweet as well as spicy tonkatsu sauce, salt for purists, toasted sesame seeds, and tamari and sesame sauce to flavour the shredded cabbage. Both the spicy tonkatsu sauce and sesame sauce are a much welcomed addition from the usual condiments which are also found in Tonkatsu by Wa Kitchen.
      

Homemade Katsu Curry (RM 25.90)

   
The Homemade Katsu Curry set comes with the usual sides of shredded cabbage, pickles and tonjiru. I like how they serve the katsu and curry sauce separately so that the katsu remains crisp instead of soggy. The fragrant curry had plenty of bite sized chicken meat, onions, potatoes and carrots, and its consistency was just right. The katsu served is rosu katsu aka pork loin and the pork loin at Ma Maison is much better than the one at Tonkatsu by Wa Kitchen in my opinion. The ones at Ma Maison have a higher fats to lean meat ratio, rendering the katsu extremely moist and juicy <drool>
   
The red pepper pickles were new to me and they were quite sweet and went surprisingly well with the curry. The refillable shredded cabbage is supposed to be bland and healthy to counteract the cholesterol laden meal but we splashed liberal amounts of sesame sauce to make it much tastier (the tamari sauce had little effect as the taste was quite light).
 
The tonjiru had lots of ingredients like konnyaku, carrots, shiitake mushrooms and even bits of pork loin fats(!) 

     

Tonjiru

       

Rosu Katsu 

      

Wafu Negioroshi Rosu Katsu Set (RM 24.90)

     
The Wafu Negioroshi Rosu Katsu Set looked quite unique plus I thought the grated radish would help alleviate the heatiness of the dish. The set came with a special sauce plate, tonjiru, pickled radish, temari sauce, shredded cabbage and a huge mountain of grated radish and leeks on the katsu.
   
The negioroshi is meant to be added to the temari sauce which is a dipping sauce for the katsu. This unique addition lends a heavy and sharp zing to the katsu which is refreshing in a way but I think I prefer the spicy tonkatsu sauce sprinkled with ground sesame seeds. The white pickled radish was crunchy but tasteless and went better with the curry.
   

Wafu Negioroshi Rosu Katsu

      

Salty, Spicy, Bitter

   
All sets comes with refillable cabbage, rice and soup. For our review on other sets, check out this earlier post which was for the Singapore outlet. I think at this price, dining at Ma Maison is very worth it and we are already planning our next visit =)

     

    

PawPoints: 5 Paws
Pawket: Tomato
        

Tonkatsu by Ma Maison

Eat Paradise, Isetan
2nd Floor, 1 Utama Shopping Centre
Tel: 03 7727 3337
Daily: 11am - 9.30pm

Delicious @ Bangsar Village II

I'm pretty sure everyone has heard of Delicious, the eatery that most likely sparked the change in the eating habits of Malaysians. All of a sudden, dozens of cafe-style eateries serving light Western meals and simple, comfort food popped up across the Klang Valley. But since most people are familiar with its menu, I'll just showcase my favourite that I always order when I frequent Delicious =)

     

Spicy Seafood Spaghettini (RM 25.90)

   
I used to get this confused with the Seafood Linguine but that is a heavy version with thick, sundried tomato sauce and lots of cheese. This Spicy Seafood Spaghettini is very light and refreshing on the palate. It consists of spaghetti's baby sister tossed in oil, chilli flakes and coriander - my favourite combination =D Best of all, it comes with lots of squid and prawns of decent size. A squeeze of lemon and liberal sprinkling of ground black pepper immediately brings the flavour of the dish to another level. 

    

    

PawPoints: 5 Paws

Pawket: Tomato

    

Delicious

Lot GF-1, Ground Floor
Bangsar Village II
Tel: 03 2287 1554
Mon - Fri: 11am - 12am
Sat, Sun and Public Holidays: 9am - 12am

Dave's Deli @ Subang Parade, PJ

When I was young, Dave's Deli was my all-time favourite restaurant, all because of their truly scrumptious Shepherd's Pie. I might have strayed once or twice and ordered a Beef and Mushroom Pie or Tuna Focaccia but Shepherd's Pie is, and forever will be, my must-order item whenever I step foot in Dave's Deli. Unfortunately, the number of outlets seem to have dwindled and as far as I know, only the outlets at 1 Utama and Subang Parade are still around which is quite a shame as the fare has great wholesome flavour and relatively cheap.

     

You bet!

      

Shepherd's Pie with Coleslaw

   
Looks a bit plain but tastes wonderful! See how the mashed potato topping is baked to perfection? And the coleslaw dressing is so creamy, its coldness giving a nice contrast to the warm gravy.

     

Oozing goodness

 
Admittedly, there is now more mashed potato mixed with ground beef and the gravy a wee bit too salty but there's this home-cooked feel to it. The gravy-coated filling of ground beef mixed with diced carrots and peas is best eaten with a mouthful of yummy pie crust and soft, smooth mashed potato, finished off with another mouthful of chilled coleslaw. What a perfect meal!
 
If there were more outlets, I would definitely patronise it more often ^_^
 
   
PawPoints: 4 Paws
Pawket: Onion
    
Dave's Deli

1 Utama Shopping Centre
Subang Parade Shopping Centre

Menya Musashi @ 1 Utama, PJ

The newest ramen kid on the block is none other than Menya Musashi but it has gained fame at an incredible pace, thanks to its wonderful ramen which many rank as the tastiest in town. I highly recommend you to try it but if you're a healthy eater, best to avoid the place - scroll down to find out why =)
   
The ramen here is as authentic as those in Japan as evidenced by the numerous native Japanese eating here with their families and also by the yakuza-looking boss who walks around the restaurant to ensure that customers are happy and the kitchen is running smoothly. 

      

Menya Musashi

     

See the long queue even at 11am?

   
The owner really looks like the samurai painted on the scroll! He is an imposing figure with his tall and well-built stature, hakama and clip-clopping elevated wooden clogs. That's him on the menu below =P

      

Menu

   
The menu is relatively simple but that's the point of a specialised ramen-ya. It also helps to ensure that the ramen is served quickly.

      

Love the unique addition of mixed white, black and Szechuan peppercorns as well as chilli oil

       

Restaurant decor

      

Ice-cold green tea

   
I love the cold green tea here (there's no option for hot green tea). It has a very strong and refreshing green tea taste which is not found in the usual mall-situated Japanese restaurants. The fact that it is ice-cold helps "dissolve" the oil and fats from the ramen and cleanse your palate.

      

Kuro Musashi Ramen (RM 26)

   
This is the signature ramen with chashu and half an aji tamago. There are 3 choices for the soup base - shiro which is essentially white in colour and consists of onion-flavoured oil, kuro meaning black which is derived from the oil of fried shallots and garlic oil, and aka which consists of chilli oil to give it the reddish colour.
     
We had the kuro ramen and as you can see from the picture above, the colour of the soup really is black! Fret not as it is very fragrant and tasty. However there is a layer of oil sitting on top of the soup which will deter most healthy eaters and weight watchers, but if the oil is not present, the taste of the ramen would be less dimensional and bland. The method to disperse off the oil is to mix it all up, ramen and soup, and watch as the layer of oil magically melts away =)

• The ramen here is extremely springy and unstarchy - I'd rate this the best ramen in town at the moment as it definitely beats Marutama and a lot of friends have said it even tops Santouka
• The pork broth is heavily flavoured with garlic and shallot oil and is really satisfying
• The addition of bamboo shoots and finely sliced spring onions and leeks gives a nice crunchy coating to the ramen - ms. bulat gushed continuously about the bamboo shoots, saying it's the best she ever tasted and proceeded to finish them =P
• As you can see, the chashu here is a huge slab of juicy tender pork with appropriate ratio of lean meat and fats. It is so huge that even I feel two pieces is more than I can take O.O
• The aji tamago is perfect with solid whites and half-runny yolks

      

Musashi Tsukemen (RM 27)

   
I've always wanted to try tsukemen and finally, it's available in KL! The tsukemen is identical to the Musashi Ramen but the soup and noodles are served separately. The broth for the tsukemen is a lot richer, saltier and thicker with a lot more of finely sliced spring onions and leeks. This is to allow the broth to adequately coat and flavour the ramen when you dip it in before eating. It is indeed an unusual way to eat it and I suggest that everyone try it at least once. Although it is very tasty, I think I'll stick to Musashi Ramen the next time I return or perhaps eat it once a year as the dipping broth is just too salty for me.

      

Tsukemen eating method

   
The owner knows that tsukemen is not well known so he has included a tutorial on each table, how thoughtful!

     

Gyoza (RM 9)

     
We also had the gyoza which came in 5 pieces and the customary vinegar dip. It is sufficiently good with a good portion of yummy minced pork and vegetable filling and moist yet well grilled skin.
   
To close this post, I must reiterate (strongly) that Menya Musashi is really good and you should try it and see for yourself =D Oh and I just found out they've got another branch on Jalan P Ramlee near KLCC so I can go there during lunch on weekdays yay!

   
 
PawPoints: 5 Paws
Pawket: Tomato
     
Menya Musashi

Eat Paradise @ Isetan
1 Utama Shopping Centre
Daily: 11am - 10pm

Vietnam Kitchen @ 1 Utama, PJ

This is the first Vietnamese restaurant I dined at and will always be my favourite because of its big portions and cheap price tag. My friends and I somehow always meet up at Vietnam Kitchen to catch up :D

   

Vietnam Kitchen

   

Menu

   

Sliced Chicken and Spring Roll Vermicelli (RM 11.90)

    
Remember I mentioned this awesome dry version of Vietnamese noodles in this post? Well here it is on our very own Malaysian shores <yay!>
  
This dish is like a big bowl of noodle salad which I guess it is but it satisfies my meat cravings with juicy pieces of well marinated chicken and crispy deep-fried Vietnamese spring roll. You just douse the vermicelli together with slices of carrots, cucumbers, iceberg lettuce and bean sprouts with the sweet and spicy fish sauce dressing given and mix 'em all up! Eaten together with the sprinkled chopped nuts, this dish is extremely refreshing and light on the taste buds.
  
There is a downside to this dish though which is the spring roll tends to get a little soggy from the sauce pooled at the bottom of the bowl. Solution? Rest it on the bed of mint leaves =D

 

My favourite dish ^_^

   

Tossed vermicelli

   

Stir Fried Lemongrass Beef Vermicelli (RM 11.90)

JS had the Stir Fried Lemongrass Beef Vermicelli which was also very good. The beef slices were very tender and well marinated. The side vegetables and noodle dressing given are the same for all dry noodles.
  

Tossed vermicelli

   
All in all, this is one cheap and yummy restaurant. I have not eaten the signature Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup (RM 13.90) in a long time but last I tried, it was quite good. I have also tried the Beef Stew with Tomato Sauce and Rice (RM 10.90), XO Sauce Fried Vermicelli (RM 11.90) Saigon Seafood Fried Noodles (RM 13.90) and Sliced Beef Fried Noodles (RM 12.90) and all were good. The Hue Style Beef Noodle Soup (RM 13.90) is a little odd to my finicky taste buds but my mum prefers this version over the original.
  
Another reason why I like going there is because there is a 10% discount for Citibank card holders. It expires end of 2011 I think but it seems as though the promo has always been there so hopefully next year, it will still be valid.
  

PawPoints: 4 Paws
Pawket: Onion

  

Vietnam Kitchen
S312 2nd Floor
Highstreet
One Utama Shopping Centre
Tel: 03 7724 1366
Daily: 10.30am - 10pm