Sassorosso

Chef Giovanni  is the man behind Sassorosso, which means red rock. This restaurant is tucked away along the quieter part of Yap Kwan Seng and when you do find it, you find a gem.

I would not say that prices here are affordable and as such I only dine here on very special occasions. I was there this afternoon with a very special guest from overseas  (who simply adores great wine & food). I am so excited to  write about the lobster spaghetti which is absolutely awesome here. Al dente pasta served with an entire lobster which I would describe as fresh, bursting with flavour and absolutely succulent was what this platter was all about.  Be warned however, that it comes with a very hefty price tag ..RM2xx!!

Address:  9 Lorong Yap Kwan Seng

50450 Kuala Lumpur

Tel : +603 2166 6428

Opening hours : Mon-Sat : 12-3pm, 6-11.30pm, Sunday 6-11.30pm

Amex, Master, Visa accepted

Italiannies

This is what I would label as an Italian restaurant, albeit one that has been very much ‘localised’. I like the concept where a long table is placed at the front of the restaurant. This is where pizza is made. In fact, I must admit that I did stand there watching the guy make pizza for at least 10 minutes before we finally decided to dine there.

Kids eat for free with every paying adult – meaning that you get a free meal for one child with every main course (adult portion, that is) ordered – definitely a good deal, I must say.

We ordered warm water –which by the way is complimentary. Bread is also served after you have placed your orders. I like the soft and fluffy white bread here.

Mushroom soup (RM9.90) –chunks of mushroom in creamy goodness – this did not disappoint!

Ham and mushroom pizza (Rm37.90) – baked til crisp and golden, even the base of the pizza was delicious. I would say this pizza is best suited for the ultimate cheese lover.

Spaghetti Bolognese – free of charge! The spaghetti was cooked to the tooth and was exceptionally good.

Angel hair pomodoro (RM24.90) – a tad too sour for my liking as the chef has been a little too generous, in my opinion that is, with the tomatoes.

Pizza Margherita – free of charge once again as this is a kiddy portion. My son said it was superb – it was warm, crispy and had lots of tomatoes & cheese – that’s his definition of a good pizza!

Address : Lot G16 Ground Floor

Paradigm Mall

Petaling Jaya

Credit cards accepted.

Ben's Kitchen, Publika

Being a member of the Big Group which owns not only quite a number of F&B outlets in Klang Valley , but also a grocery, my expectation of  Ben’s Kitchen was definitely very FRESH food.

Clean, airy and spacious were the first words that came to my mind as I walked into Ben’s Kitchen on a busy Sunday noon.

These were the drinks we ordered:-

Watermelon juice – fresh, juicy and delicious – RM10.90. Apple elderflower frostie was my choice. With a hefty price tag of RM11.90, it was truly worth every sen as it was totally heavenly, but be sure to drink it all up fast as the colour changes with time due to oxidation of the apples.

Watermelon lychee (RM9.90) –a little too sweet and iced peach tea (RM8.90)

For starters we had Ben’s House Salad (RM15.90). The portion was huge and filled with yummy-licious avocado, carrots, cherry tomatoes, edamame, mesclun and arugula. The dressing was something I never found out as it was simply called Ben’s House dressing.

Chunky mushroom soup (RM14.90) was a huge surprise as the bowl was really huge! Haha…. And what better way to eat this than to have an additional serving of garlic baguette (RM5.90).  This was because the soup came with only a slice of bread and that was no way sufficient for such a BIG bowl of soup!

Note the way the baguette is served - in a tin!

Fish & chips (RM29.90) – a crispy crust and fresh fish inside – the perfect combination for fish & chips. Love it a lot!

Spaghetti carbonara (RM23.90)

My choice of nasi ulam (RM25.90)  – don’t be put off by the blue-coloured rice. A lot of painstaking effort has been put in to make it so. And this was evident from the taste. The ulam (raw veggies) on the side tasted great when dipped into the rendang sauce, or simply eaten with the blue rice. One complaint I have, though, was that the chicken wasn’t really cooked on the inside.

Note from the writer : They serve water with some lemon juice in it. So there is actually no need to order drinks J

Well, I would say Ben’s Kitchen exceeded my expectation in terms of freshness and cleanliness !  I will definitely try out the other outlets within the Big Group.

Address : Lot 37A & 37B Level G2

Publika

1 Jalan Dutamas 1

Solaris Dutamas

50480 Kuala Lumpur

Tel : +603 6205 2768

Mastercard, Visa and Amex accepted

Allegro Café SS15 Subang Jaya

I must say that it wasn’t easy for a first timer like me to locate Allegro Café. I’ve driven along this road at least a million times and never once have I noticed it. So this time around, I looked hard and I mean really hard as I wanted to have authentic Italian fare for lunch.

Ah, finally, I found it. Located on the first floor, the white and black signboard certainly isn’t attention grabbing at all. After walking up a flight of stairs we are relieved to see a very welcoming sight. In fact, the restaurant looks like a living room. To say that I was astonished with the layout would be an understatement.

Ice lemon tea (RM6) and vanilla milk shake (RM11) –somehow, I always find that Italians make excellent milk shakes! Love it.

Mushroom soup (RM11) – with cream of wild mushroom and herbs, this soup went very well with aromatic the garlic bread (RM5).

Allegro salad (RM15) – if what I interpret of the menu is correct this menu varies from day to day depending on the chef’s creativity. What I got today was not only colourful, it was very delicious too. I would definitely order salad if I come here again.

Spaghetti Bolognese -  al dente pasta served with minced beef and fine Italian tomato sauce always make a great plate of yummy goodness…and this is what Allegro serves. Perfect!

Pizza magherita – although the pricing is slightly steep at RM 25, this pizza was worth every penny as the combination of  mozzarella, oregano, tomatoes and cheese was not only aromatic but very  mouth-watering. I love the cheesy goodness of it.

Chicken cordon bleu (RM32) – what you get here is breaded chicken breast stuffed with turkey ham and mozzarella cheese and a choice of pasta or salad. I chose the latter.  I must say this is by far the BEST chicken cordon bleu I’ve ever had in Malaysia! The crispy chicken and the cheesy mozzarella was simply irresistible.

I am already thinking of what to order the next time I come here. Yes, it was EXCELLENT.

Address : 11A, 1^st Floor, Jalan SS15/4

47500 Subang Jaya

Tel : +603 5631 5682

Mastercard & Visa accepted

Opening hours: 12.30pm-3pm, 6-11.30pm (Mon-Sat), For Sundays, please call.

Modestos Capital Square

I am at Capital Square on Jalan Munshi Abdullah once again and opted to sit outside. I do recall my last visit here where I sat in the restaurant and was ‘food’ to the mosquitoes! Well, the downside of taking a table outside the restaurant was of course I had to inhale lots of second hand smoke, no thanks to the smokers around me.

 

Today I took the opportunity to try the ala-carte menu. I ordered the minestrone soup. Priced at RM15, it came in a huge bowl. The soup had lots of potatoes, carrots and onions. But I would have preferred my soup to have more…SOUP! There was hardly any soup in this huge bowl and I spent three quarters of my time eating potatoes and carrots.

 

 

This is spaghetti aglio with added prawns (RM19) -  although the prawn serving was generous, I dod not like the way they were  cut into tiny pieces – it somehow gave me the impression that they were leftover prawns. Anyway, it tasted alright, but I would love this more if the amount of chopped garlic had been significantly reduced.

 

Address: Lot G-02/03/03A, Ground Floor, Cap Square Centre,

No 7, Persiaran Cap Square, 50100 KL.

 

Opening Hours:12 noon to 3 pm / 5 pm to 3 am

(Closed on Sunday)

Tel : 603 2697 4020

Master & Visa accepted

 

 

Sassorosso Italian Restaurant , Jalan Yap Kwan Seng

I had a truly memorable chance to dine at Sassorosso  as I was invited for a birthday celebration there. Why I call that a truly memorable chance was due to the fact that the ambience and food, too swept me off my feet. Yes, it was that good.

When I was first told that the party would be held at Sassorosso, I had a hard time trying to remember the name. So I  went to look up its meaning – Red Rock.  Then came the challenging part of trying to locate the outlet on the party day itself. I finally found it (located inside a house) but I must warn you that parking is rather limited, so be prepared to walk……just a little distance.

 

I noticed how cleverly the owners have done up the place. The table we were at was actually in a room with clear windows. However, we did not feel any heat from the scorching afternoon sun as plants were used as a layer of ‘protection’. It was indeed very pleasing to the eyes too as those plants also serve as a natural curtain!

This is what I had – barramundi. Notice how carefully the fish had been placed at an angle on top of a bed of vegetables. I love the detailed manner in which the chef has arranged the food and how he (I guess it must have been a he) has decorated my dish.

 

And for the record, they have an excellent wine list.

 

Address: 9 Lorong Yap Kwan Seng

 50450 Kuala Lumpur

Telephone:+6 03 2166 6428

Opening hours : Mon-Sat    12-3pm, 6-11.30pm

 Sun  6-11.30pm

Amex, Master & Visa accepted

Trattoria, Menara Hap Seng

The name of this place says it all – it is an Italian eating establishment that isn’t very formal…..well, I hope you get what I mean.

A look at the menu tells me that ala-carte is a little too expensive for me (considering I haven’t got my salary for this month yet), so I had a close look at the set menu.

There are many sets available ranging from pasta to pizzas and of course sandwiches – all sets costing from RM19.90 to less than RM25.

My choice - Set C Panini : Club Sandwich pork bacon, chicken, lettuce, tomato and egg. Comes with french fries, a soft drink (choice of diet coke or ice lemon tea), soup or salad , and a tiny tiramisu.

This is the soup – it looked plain and boring yet was very tasty. You scoop how ever much you would like …….er….subject to a limit which is of course as much as the bowl could hold!

Club sandwich –I can easily label this as modest yet plentiful. It was a beauty to my eyes and a feast for my tummy. Love it! The pieces of bacon were done to perfection and every bite of this sandwich left me yearning for more…and with that I ate up all the sandwiches …and the fries too (even though I have never been a fan of french fries)

Overall, I would say I love the ambience as it gives you the feeling that you are dining alfresco, but then again you are not exposed to the elements as this place is covered..well, if I have confused you, then do drop by Trattoria and try the various set lunches they have.

Address : Menara Hap Seng

Jalan P. Ramlee

50450 Kuala Lumpur

Tel : +603 2022 0460

Credit cards accepted

La Roma Bella, London

A beautiful Italian restaurant located right across the road from the British Museum, La Roma Bella, was a true gem that I stumbled upon.

The servers are friendly. The minute I opened the door and stepped in I knew I would love this place –and I really did.

The restaurant is divided into 2 main sections. The cashier is located in the first portion of the restaurant. In the back portion where I chose to sit, tables were lined up in 2 neat rows.

I ordered a hot chocolate and was a little let down that the saucer had a chip. But that didn’t stop me from enjoying my super duper yummy hot chocolate which was silky smooth.

 

 

I ordered a breakfast set  -Full English breakfast – with hash brown, roasted tomatoes, mushrooms, baked beans, scrambled eggs, sausage and bacon, this was really awesome. And oh, how could I have forgotten the toast  which was made to perfection. I really enjoyed this platter a lot.

 

 

I also had a magherita pizza – this I would say has been the best pizza I’ve ever eaten in my life. The thin crisp pizza was definitely top notch. Margheritas are supposed to be light pizza and this was in every way just that.

 

 

Address : 62 Great Russell Street

London WC1B 3BG

 

Bella Italia, London

I walked into this Italian restaurant called Bella Italia in Queensway. I was pretty sure I saw another restaurant by the same name along the same road a while ago. A check with the waitress confirmed that yes, they do have another outlet just nearby.

 

 

 

The menu clearly shows they do pizzas and pasta. I browsed through the mini card on my table which showed a ‘Bella New Year’ 3-course meal going for £19.95 but decided not to go for it.

 

I settled for a magherita pizza priced at £6.95. The menu promised that the pizza would be as traditionally pizzas should be – thin and crisp, topped with sauce specially made in Italy with 100% Italian tomatoes – wow! I just couldn’t wait. This was what I got:-

 

With tomatoes, mozzarella and fresh basil, this pizza was very aromatic. I took a bite and knew instantly that I had fallen head over heels in love with the pizza here.

Finish your pizza & this is what it says!

The orange juice I had (£2.50) was nothing near our Malaysian version. I then recalled that someone once told me that in London they made fresh orange juice just with oranges – no sugar added. No wonder it was a tad too sour for me.

 

Raspberry and rose (£2.15) – this was indeed  very thirst quenching.

 

This is polpetti America (£9.95) – quite an expensive plate of spaghetti..almost RM50. I had to keep telling myself not to convert to RM. Well, polpetti refers to Italian meatballs. I was told that a dish of spaghetti and meatballs, though often associated with Italian food, is virtually non-existent in Italy. Therefore the ‘America’ is the name of this dish is probably so because Americans often think that spaghetti should be served with huge meatballs. This dish was simply awesome.

 

This is spaghetti Bolognese which comes with a complimentary drink & some carrot-cucumber sticks and of course ice cream(£5.25). The al dente texture of the pasta along with the well-cooked sauce made this dish very appetising.

 

 

 

Entree

 

Ice cream

 

 

Address : 55 Queensway

London W2 4QH

Tel : +44 20 7792 2880

Credit cards accepted