Verona Trattoria @ Seksyen 17, PJ

Verona Trattoria is a cosy Italian restaurant located in the depths of Seksyen 17. We nearly could not find the restaurant as it was located in a secluded area and facing away from the road. It is best to make a reservation as the restaurant was quite full even on a week night.
     

       

              

Remembering the awesome French Onion Soup I had at Logenhaus in Taipan, I decided to order French Onion Soup here to try. Unfortunately it was quite a letdown due to the different cooking method. The soup had a thin consistency, almost like bouillon and the lone crouton floating on the soup was hard yet soggy.
               

Jamie Oliver rocks!

               

This is THE most awesome black pepper ever and it's thanks to Jamie Oliver that we got to try it. Seriously I'm just going to stock my kitchen with lots of tellicherry black pepper. I can't even begin to explain how good they are but Jamie's website describes them as having a rich and fruity flavour. The chef probably regretted putting it on our table when we requested for black pepper as we sprinkled liberal amounts onto all the dishes =P Be warned though that a little of this pepper really goes a long way...

               

Pizza Quattro Stagioni (RM 38.90)

                   
This thin crust pizza was topped with grilled capsicum, mushrooms, ham and pepperoni. The ingredients were definitely fresh and you can taste its superb quality. The picture does not do it justice as the place was quite dim.

                   

Lasagna (RM 29.90)

           
The Lasagna was very delicious with a rich and meaty sauce. The lasagna sheets tasted freshly made and were absolutely tender.
               

Calzone (RM 29.90)

             
Doesn't the Calzone look like a giraffe? =P I like how it looks like a giant curry puff and am always sad to see it deflate with the first cut =( There was a generous amount of chicken ham and black pepper pepperoni in the calzone. The sliced capsicum and button mushrooms all tasted extremely fresh even though they have been baked in the oven. The calzone itself was cheesy and the crimped parts as usual always tasted much better.
           

Goodies in the puff

           

Warm chocolate cake with vanilla ice-cream (RM 17.90)

       
Actually I'm not too sure if this is a warm chocolate cake or the molten lava cake as we were billed the molten lava cake but this warm chocolate cake did not yield any flowy bits. Irregardless, this cake was AWESOME!!! =D It was warm, and chocolatey and moist and definitely one of the best we've eaten!
              

Porky people rejoice! for Verona Trattoria is a non-halal joint =P We have been meaning to return to try the other items in the menu because looking at other bloggers' pictures of the food just makes me want to head there immediately, but the location really is quite out of the way. Do make a trip here and I promise you won't be disappointed (just don't order the French Onion soup =P).
   
         
PawPoints: 4 Paws
Pawket: Olive
                   
           
Verona Trattoria

8 Jalan 17/54
Petaling Jaya
Tel: 03 7960 2890
Wed - Mon: 12pm - 2.30pm, 6pm - 10pm

Kingyo Japanese Restaurant @ Life Centre, KL

Kingyo is the new Japanese restaurant in Menara Life Centre, taking over from Munakata. It is a relatively quiet restaurant, even more so on a week night. Here's our review of their Teppanyaki Course Menu.

       

          

Menu

           
The choices were quite good and we had a tough time deciding which to go for. In the end, we had Course B and Course E.

                  

Nice ceramics but not the best I've seen

                

Salad

           
The salad came in a chilled bowl which meant that the vegetables were extra crunchy and refreshing. The salad sauce was very creamy too.

              

Zensai

               
The appetizer consisted of a maki which was coated in very crunchy salmon roe but its taste was average, marinated jellyfish and blanched prawns that were sweet and crunchy. Seems like a lot of items at Kingyo are crunchy huh? On a side note, wonder if they reuse the decorative chrysanthemum flower? =P

               

Teppanyaki condiments

             

Butterfish and Oyster Teppanyaki

             
The butterfish was naturally sweet and its flesh firm whereas the oysters were just cooked and retained a hint of rawness. 

                   

Salmon sashimi

           
The sashimi were fresh and juicy and each slice was thick and chilled.

               

Clockwise from top: Salmon, Vegetables, Oyster and Squid Teppanyaki

           
The grilled salmon flesh was moist but the skin was very crispy. The oysters here were juicy and fortunately, the squid was not tough. I love the vegetables which had a crisp texture.
                 

Beef and Vegetables Teppanyaki

               
The grilled beef was very good - nicely done and not tough at all.

              

Tempura

             
Tempura here is good with a light and crispy batter.

               

Miso soup, rice and pickles

             
Love this combination - I should try just eating these 3 items for breakfast like normal Japanese =P There were 3 types of pickles which I enjoyed thoroughly. Unfortunately, the same can't be said of the miso soup which was salty by my standards (which means it may be very salty for some) and had no seaweed!! Only a few blobs of scallion and tofu were floating about in the soup.

                 

Fruits

              

Overall, I quite enjoyed the food at Kingyo. I liked that their teppanyaki items were all generously sauteed in butter and had the delicious fragrant melted butter aroma. The waitresses however don't seem to be very experienced.
           
         
PawPoints: 4 Paws
Pawket: Cheese
                    
Kingyo Japanese Restaurant

G-05 Ground Floor
Life Centre
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03 2163 7888
Daily: 12pm - 2.30pm. 6pm - 10pm

Maruhi Sakaba @ Taman Desa, KL

Maruhi Sakaba is a popular yakitori joint at Taman Desa. If you follow Google map, most likely you will not be able to find the restaurant as it is located a block away from the indicated location. The signboard is so small I wonder why they even bother putting it up, with Chinese characters only O.O Somehow by chance, I spotted the restaurant and managed to skip several rounds of circling the square. The tip is to look for Public Bank and Maruhi Sakaba is located a few doors down the street.

See the extremely small signboard? 

Yakitori bar with non-existent decor

Menu

The menu is relatively limited compared to Sumi-Ka at SS15 but there are more choices written on a board at the far end of the yakitori station. The board includes daily specials as well as recommendations of their main staples.

L-R: Spicy chilli sauce, salty bean paste sauce

The green chilli sauce on the left was extremely spicy, sort of like pan mee sauce but also very addictive. The one on the right was slightly too salty for me and tasted like Chinese bean paste.

Maruhi Sour (RM 45)

Yep, you read right. It costs RM 45 for this big kettle of Maruhi Sour which apparently is some sort of alcoholic drink. It is very mild though and as its name suggests, a little sour =P

A shot of Maruhi Sour =P

Pickled Cucumber (RM 5)

Crunchy and slightly sourish, the pickled cucumber slices help to cool down the body after digesting meat that came straight off the grill.

Edamame (RM 3)

Not a bad portion for RM 3.

Pork Liver (RM 4)

When the pork liver was first delivered to our table, it was still kind of raw so we sent it back with instructions for it to be fully cooked. When it returned, it was extremely well done which meant it was quite hard and chewy. Despite that, it still tasted nice if you are a regular pork liver eater.

Pork Tongue (RM 4)

Many of our friends did not want to try the pork tongue but those who tried it agreed that it actually tasted really good! Chewy but with meaty flavour, I thought it was one of the best skewers we had that night. Will definitely order this when I return.

Pork Belly (RM 4)

The pork belly was awesome! Definitely the star of the show, it was crispy and flavourful with the salt marinade. RM 4 for a stick really is not too bad at all.

Chicken Thigh (RM 4)

The chicken thigh was moist but its flavour not too outstanding.

Chicken Skin (RM 4)

Chicken skin was quite crispy and well flavoured with salt.

Maruhi Don (RM 15)

A home style version of oyakodon, this minced meat rice bowl with egg is extremely comforting. The bowl is large enough to be shared by two if you're ordering yakitori as well and they are generous with the amount of minced pork given.

Tamagodon (RM 5)

Can't remember the name of this dish but it's just a simple bowl of rice topped with an awesome fried egg. So simple and so good. My friend had this with pork belly skewers d^_^b

Yakibuta Don (RM 15)

The Yakibuta Don came with 2 strips of grilled pork belly, grilled okra and grilled eggplant, topped with yakitori sauce, scallions and toasted sesame seeds. Every ingredient was really good, even the vegetables. It is a good choice to order if you are unsure of what to eat ^_^

All rice bowls come with a relatively large bowl of light miso soup. There is not much miso taste, hence not very salty, but it is very good in alleviating the oiliness and heatiness of yakitori. The soup contains lots of seaweed and scallions which I really like.

We also had grilled intestines which were super chewy and sort of like soft bone. Grilled with salt, there was not much taste of intestine. Another item was enoki mushrooms wrapped with bacon which were good too.

Overall, every item we had at Maruhi Sakaba was awesome and I can't wait to return. Do note that you will not be able to escape being blasted with the smell and fumes of grilled meat =)


PawPoints: 4 Paws
Pawket: Tomato


Maruhi Sakaba

6A, Faber Plaza
Jalan Desa Jaya
Taman Desa
Tue - Sun: 6pm - 10.30pm

Xiao Long Bao and Noodles @ Din Tai Fung

Well, I'm sure everyone is already well-acquainted with Din Tai Fung and its famous xiao long baos. Anyway here are my 2 paws on Din Tai Fung's scrumptious food =)

        

Their signature dish

     

Wantan Soup La Mian

     
Don't really know why JS ordered this since it looks soooo PLAIN but he should be comforted by the two bulbs of xiao bai chai ^_^
     

Shrimp Pork Wantan Soup 

     
Their wantans are really bouncy and chockful of shrimp and pork meat filling. Not a fan of Hong Kong style wantan soup though as it tastes too shrimpy to me.
       

Xiao Long Bao

       
This is their signature dish which is as good as they claim to be =)
       

Delicate stuff

               

Hot and Sour Soup La Mian

         
I love Sichuan food so this hot and sour soup suits me just fine. Very peppery and the thin somen like noodles absorb the flavours nicely. Also love the soft silky tofu bits and crunchy woodear fungus.

             

Grouper Fish Dumplings

           
Grouper fish dumplings are a welcome change to the usual wantans and xiao long baos. Quite delicious actually and not fishy at all.
         

Shrimp Fried Rice

         
I love having fried rice at Chinese restaurants as the chefs do it so well with lots of fluffy egg, crunchy shrimps and the nice aroma of wok hei.
           

Spicy Shrimp Pork Wantan La Mian

         
An interesting variation of the usual wantan noodles, the spicy la mian includes a dash of chilli oil and tasted really good.
       
         
PawPoints: 4 Paws
Pawket: Onion
                    
Din Tai Fung

Various malls

Awesome Canteen @ Taman Paramount, PJ

Awesome Canteen is garnering quite a bit of interest for their quirky burgers and old school style decor. They have artfully renovated an old shoplot in Taman Paramount so the place looks bright and inviting, thanks to the clever incorporation of a skylight.

Menu

Menu

Menu

Counter

Soup of the Day

The price for their soup of the day varies but the Mushroom Soup which was served that day seemed quite little for its price. It is served in an enamel tin mug with a slice of toasted garlic bread. Did not try this but the soup looked thick and hearty.

Kangkung!

To keep with the times, the staff served every table with a small dish of stir-fried kangkung - on the house of course since it costs next to nothing =P It was extremely well executed, super fragrant with the taste of fried anchovies and shrimp paste. I was so tempted to ask for a bowl of rice to go with it...

Baked Japanese Curry Rice (RM 18.90)

Again I did not try the Baked Japanese Curry Rice but the curry smell was quite strong so I assume it must have been good?

Paleo Chicken Burger (RM 18.90)

The Paleo Burger comes with a choice of chicken or beef and is served with a side salad, scrambled eggs and Dorritos. Unlike the usual burger, the portobello "bread" is a single piece which covers the patty so we were all quite disappointed that there is not extra portobello mushroom at the bottom of the burger. I only tried a piece of the mushroom and I must say it is very juicy.

Roast Beef with Roasted Vegetable Sandwich (RM 21.90)

Finally my dish where I can comment on! =D I had the roast beef sandwich which came with roasted vegetables and Dorritos. The thick cut sandwich slices were toasted and went well with the beef which was neither tough nor dry. The entire combo was very light and refreshing and the flavours of roast beef and juicy roast vegetables complemented the other very well.

Really fresh greens

See the roast beef?

Sambal Chicken Burger (RM 16.90)

The Sambal Burger, also with a choice of chicken or beef patty, is truly a fusion of local flavours. It's like a nasi lemak burger minus the rice. The burger comes with fries and coleslaw. Again no comment as I did not try it.

Sambal and cheese?

Awesome Canteen is a nice cosy place, perfect for a quick catch up with friends. They should probably increase the number of menus though as there was not enough to go around. Refillable water is available at a charge of RM 3.90 per table.


PawPoints: 4 Paws
Pawket: Tomato



Awesome Canteen
19 Jalan 20/13

Taman Paramount
Tel: 03 7865 8048
Tue - Sun: 11am - 10pm