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

Ben's General Food Store @ Bangsar Village 1, KL

Yet another brainchild of Ben's Independent Grocer (BIG) Group, this restaurant/ deli/ grocer specialises in pizzas.
       

Minimalist sign

       

Menu

        

Top: Caesar Salad (RM 11.90), Bottom: Marinated Button Mushrooms (RM 11.90)

     
As usual, fantastic innovative salads but somehow I just can't quite get my head round barley as a salad ingredient. Feels like it belongs in liquidy form more =P
         

Orecchiette Pasta (RM 11.90)

     
This salad took some getting used to for me. The rocket was pungent and the pasta combo had the earthy, olive-y taste as the only binder was olive oil. And I never liked peas > . > I wouldn't recommend this unless you like eating healthy greens...
         

Breakfast Pizza (RM 19.90)

     
This crispy pizza was yummy with breakfast ingredients heaped on it. The runny yolk and tomato sauce slathering went extremely well with the beef bacon and chicken sausage bits. One of my favourites along with the salmon pizza below.
         

Funghi Pizza (RM 22.90)

     
The Funghi Pizza had a slightly earthy taste due to the use of truffle oil and wild mushrooms as toppings which melted in the mouth with the mascarpone. I think it's good even though I'm not a big fan of the strong earthy taste.
       

Salmone E Spinaci Pizza (RM 24.90)

     
Another of my favourites, this is a melt in your mouth pizza due to the gooey mascarpone and I particularly like how the flavours of the cured salmon, spinach, and dill as well as a squeeze of lemon just come together effortlessly.

         

Il Carnivore Pizza (RM 24.90)

       
Pizzas with meat just can't go wrong so it's no surprise that this one laden with beef pepperoni, beef bacon, chicken cheese sausage and lamb chorizo on a base of tomatoes and mozarella does not fall short of expectations.

      

Pescatora Pizza (RM 29.90)

       
The mixed seafood pizza which contains mussels, shrimp and squid was good but nothing outstanding.

       

Peach Cobbler Ala Mode (RM 9.90)

       
The peach cobbler has a subtle peach flavour (so obvious but what else am I supposed to say?) and the accompanying vanilla ice-cream makes it taste even better.

       

Classic Chocolate Cake Ala Mode (RM 10.90)

       
Fantastic moist chocolate cake covered in dark chocolate sauce from BIG (it's available at Plan B too). Was awesome with the vanilla ice-cream.
     
I don't like the metal tins in which the pizzas come though...they have an uneven base which makes it difficult to slice through the pizza. The pizzas themselves are quite good and I like the wide variety offered here that is not too common in other shops.
     

      

PawPoints: 4 Paws
Pawket: Tomato

     
   
Ben's General Food Store
G17, Ground Floor
Bangsar Village 1
Tel: 03 2284 8790
Daily: 10am - 10pm

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

Garibaldi Italian Restaurant and Bar @ Bangsar Village, KL

We were supposed to go to Garibaldi in Bangsar Village but had a hard time finding the place. For one, the restaurant was listed on the directory board in Bangsar Village II and not Bangsar Village I. When we finally reached the correct location, there was no signboard with the name Garibaldi but one with the name Garibar @.@ Anyway in we went and it's actually one and the same.

     

Bar of Garibaldi

        

Pumpkin Croquette

 
The Pumpkin Croquettes were hot and crispy with a oozing mashed potato and pumpkin cream - really good.

     

Potato Wedges

   
The potato wedges were tossed in paprika and were very addictive as they were crispy yet fluffy. 

     

Chicken Parmigiana

   
The Chicken Parmigiana was slathered with tomato sauce and melted cheese and served with the same potato wedges. The meat was not dry and the breaded parts were crunchy. As you can see, the slab of meat is really quite large and quite worth the money.

      

Lamb Shank

   
The Lamb Shank is HUGE and really tender. Served atop a bed of mashed potato and carrots in a red wine reduction, the lamb shank was really good. It got quite cloying after a while as there's just too much meat.

      

Chocolate Pavet

 
The flourless chocolate cake was yummy but the almond-vanilla sauce had a really overpowering almond scent which I did not like at all >.< The raspberry, blackberry and blueberry were all preserved and had the notorious cherry cough syrup and sourish-bitter fever medicine taste >.< They tasted nothing like the fresh berries I had in Scotland >.<

    

Signature Apple Cake

   
The apple cake was served with homemade vanilla gelato and chocolate sauce. The raspberry, blueberry and blackberry made their appearance again and I left them well alone >.< The apple cake was a little bland but went well with the gelato. Not sure if it was from sampling different cakes alternately but I also detected some marzipan flavour in the gelato >.<
   
All in all, great appetizers, yummy dinner and disappointing dessert. Prices are quite steep here so don't think I'll be returning anytime soon.
   
   
PawPoints: 4 Paws
Pawket: Salami
     
Garibaldi Italian Restaurant & Bar

LG10 & G22, Bangsar Village I
Tel: 03 2282 3456
Daily: 12pm - 2.30pm, 6pm - 10.30pm

Plan B @ Bangsar Village 1, KL

Another crowd favourite that took us a little longer than usual to blog about, Plan B is part of the BIG group which has a fantastic chain of restaurants serving quality light-tasting food, a much welcomed change from the heavy Western meals that we are accustomed to over the last decade.

  

Moroccan Lamb Meatballs (RM 22)

   
The Moroccan Lamb Meatballs is paired with spaghettini coated in a thick smoky tomato sauce with eggplant. The huge lamb meatballs were very aromatic and well-spiced. I had this on two visits and my grouse is on the 2nd visit, there was so much oil in the sauce that when I was done with the dish, the oil covered at least half the plate =.= Since the dish was prepared well on my 1st visit, I'll close an eye to this and recommend you try it. People averse to the gamey smell of lamb may want to opt for another dish.

   

Chicken Burger (RM 23)

    
The Chicken Burger is a healthy option with a slab of lightly grilled chicken breast smothered in herb mayo and avocado and feta mash. The black and white sesame seed dotted bun is layered with lettuce, tomatoes and extremely crispy turkey bacon. There is a side salad and sweet potato crisps.
 
JS enjoyed the burger as the chicken was not dry and the light flavour was well complemented by the herb mayo and avocade and feta mash. My favourite bit of the burger was, of course, the turkey bacon which was as crispy as it looked and tasted exactly like pork bacon =D

 

B's Chocolate Cake (RM 11)

    
To rid my tongue of the oily pasta, we ordered B's Chocolate Cake. What a big portion huh? I never expected THREE slices (constitutes as one serving) of moist chocolate cake to be served. The chocolatey goodness was coated with even more liquid chocolate goodness in the form of a thick chocolate sauce and went extremely well with the vanilla ice-cream. So sinful but so yummy!
  
I tried the Prime Beef Pie (RM 22) on an earlier visit which had wagyu chunks and button mushrooms encased in a puff pastry and served with a side salad. The beef was tender and the pastry was good to mop up the leftover beefy onion-y gravy. It was a tad too salty though.
 
As everyone already know, Plan B is a good place to hang out and chill with your friends and catch up whether over drinks and dessert or yummy meals.
 
PawPoints: 4 Paws
Pawket: Tomato

  
http://www.thebiggroup.co/planb/
  

Plan B

G5, Ground Floor
Bangsar Village 1

Tel: 03 2287 2630
Daily: 8am - 1am