Nero Fico @ Damansara Heights

Insalata di Cesare Romaine- RM30

Mention Italian and instantly the Nero Group of Restaurants will be in mind. About a month back, I unexpectedly paid a visit to Nero Fico, an Italian restaurant brought to you by the very same people that brings Nero Vivo and Nero Teca to the dining scene in KL.

For appetizers (I'm not a fan of raw greens but I could tolerate with Ceasar salad), we had the Ceasar Salad- which is quite a common thing in every Western menu. Nero Fico's version has the usual fresh crispy Romaine lettuce tossed in Cesar dressing, topped with anchovies, parmesan flakes, poached egg and beef bacon in cube blocks. I'd rather the more simple bacon streaks or bits that doesn't require much of jaw exercise, really... & yes, RM30 is too expensive for a plate of raw fiber.


Veal Scaloppine alla Valdostana- RM68

The menu is small, there were only about 7 types of poultry mains and I didn't want to go for pastas, so I opted for the veal chop. 'Veals' are meat of young cattles and is known to have tender texture. I went for my usual 'Medium' and was quite pleased with the outcome- pinkish and juicy meat. The veal chop came with turkey ham and fontina cheese (not for the lactose intolerant as the cheesy taste is strong) and served with rosemary sauce and roasted potatoes.


Homemade Ravioli- RM26; Pizza Valtellina- RM30

The Homemade Ravioli is stuffed with crab meat and supposingly served with some kind of mushroom truffle sauce but it was too bitter for consumption and we had it sent back to the kitchen. Not sure if the chef re-cook it or tweaked the sauce, but the second serving was alot better.

We love the parma ham pizza from Il Padrino and tried our luck on the Pizza Valtellina hoping it'll be something similar. The Nero Fico's version uses bresaola instead of parma ham. Bresaola is air-drief salted beef, named after the originating place Valtellina (a valley in the alps of Northern Italy) and is thicker in nature compared to paper thin parma. Essentially, the Pizza Valtellina has tomato, mozarella, bresaola, rocket salad and parmesan. This would be a better deal compared to the equally expensive Ceasar Salad.

Nero Fico has great ambience, dim lights, dark layout, candles and smell of wine with live band later in the evening as well. Just like any fine Italian places in KL, this will set you back a couple of hundreds for a fine wine & dine evening where ang moh is ready at your service instead ;-)


Nero Fico
Lot G-01 Ground Floor,
Wisma Perintis,
47, Jalan Dungun,
Damansara Heights 50490 KL.
Tel: 03-2089 5312

[disclaimer: the opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. please dont sue me, i dont have money. kthxbye.]

La Suisse @ Bukit Damansara

Appetizers- Raclette cheese; Garden Salad with bacon; crab bisque sharks fin soup; baked escargots

La Suisse sounds like a really fancy name for a restaurant but in fact is a humble little shop in Bukit Damansara, deco with little and no resemblance to a high class pay through your nose steakhouse but food with flavours that packs a punch!

The Raclette cheese was something new to me- typically heated and scraped to the diner's plate as the name is derived from French, meaning "to scrape". It has a creamy mild taste but too much of this can be a little difficult to stomach! The crab bisque sharks fin soup was something special as well as I didn't expect to see a Chinese delicacy in a Western style soup.


Medium grilled steak; Vege sides

The mains was a big slab of medium grilled sirloin to share. It was really good as the outsides were charred but the insides still tender, juicy and pinkish. Man, what I'd do to have this for dinner!


Desserts- Walnut Parfait; Red Wine Cherries Crepe

These two desserts are the chef's specialty, each with its own distinctive difference as the Walnut Parfait is cold ice cream block with bits of walnut, topped with chocolate and caramel sauce and the match made in heaven combination of strawberries with whipped cream. The crepe, on the other hand is a combination of hot (the cherry sauce) and cold (the vanilla ice cream) drowned in a little bit of red wine flavour.


La Suisse
8, Medan Setia 2,
Bukit Damansara,
50490 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-2094 6587

[disclaimer: the opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. please dont sue me, i dont have money. kthxbye.]

Il Padrino's Offer That You Can't Refuse

Inarguably one of the most quoted lines in the century

Il Padrino in Italian means The Godfather- yes, the universally popular icon played by Marlon Brando. And here's an Italian restaurant that is named after what some would say the greatest American gangster film and delizioso dishes up that even the Mafia Boss would approve.


Assorted Bread with Balsamic Vinegar and Oil

What I like about Il Padrino's complimentary bread set is the carbs in a variety and assortment of shapes and forms and makes eating bread never a dull moment.


Crema Di Funghi- RM18

Without even having to go into mains, the mushroom soup has already warmed the cockles of our hearts. Rich, creamy and generous portion to share- the picture above is one half of the soup as the attentive waiter helped us to separate our soup into two bowls knowing that we will be sharing.


Pizza Il Padrino- RM32

We actually read about Il Padrino on the food section of the papers and what attracted us to give this place a visit is the Pizza Il Padrino where parma ham is used to give it a different flavour (salty side) complimented by a refreshing combination of tomato slices, buffalo mozzarella cheese, rocket salad (not my fav vege though) and sprinkles of oregano on a handmade oven baked thin crust. The taste is simply magnifico! Parma ham is one of our lookout points when it comes to Italian cuisines.


Costolette Di Agnel- RM42

Costolette Di Agnel means Lamb Chop and this was more than just a lamb being chopped. The Mafia instructed to have his lamb in medium and luckily the instructions were obeyed so no other things were chopped off that night except the poor but tasty roasted lamb rack which proves to be more than just a winner that night. Beautifully grilled outside, the meat was pinkish, juicy and tender.


Sfogliatine Di Mill- RM18

The dessert was a delight with the wonderful orchestrated texture of flakiness from the phillo pastry layered with vanilla custard cream, strawberry slices and fruit sauces. It took as much effort to eat this than to make it as we resisted from destroying such a beautiful piece of edible art.


Where the Mafia Boss have his drink and eats with his fork

Service is good, ambience is wonderful, the Boss says, "Fantastico!"


Il Padrino
Unit No. 50-G-1, Ground Floor,
Wisma UOA Damansara.
Tel: 03-2093 8596


[disclaimer: the opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. please dont sue me, i dont have money. kthxbye.]

Jin Xuan Hong Kong Dim Sum

This will be my final post under http://to-eat-or-to-live.blogspot.com. From Thursday (12/02), I will be changing the domain name to http://yilinglim.blogspot.com. So, to those who have linked me, please do remember to update your links :) Thanks!

*****

Affordable dim sum places are hard to come by especially in KL. Most of the good places are either in hotels or places like King Crab or really too expensive until unheard of. I was introduced to Jin Xuan Hong Kong Dim Sum by E awhile back.



I reckon it's gaining popularity among the people from Damansara as for both times I was there, the place was crowded and people were lining up to get a table! I wonder if it has affect the business of Hong Kee which is also situated in the near vicinity.























The variety of dishes is commendable, I saw plates of cheese baked crabs and was so tempted to get one but E stopped me :( Tastewise, JXHK's dim sum fared a little above average, better than those el cheapo dim sums you get at coffeeshops and even better than Hong Kee's, but IMHO, King Crab still has one of the better tasting dim sums around Klang Valley. Price wise it is affordable, not too sure about the prices per single item though.



Related Post:
Eiling's In Dim Sum Heaven

~~

I will be in KK from Monday-Wednesday! I know! It's Public Holiday tomorrow, but I have to work :( Ok, update more when I get back! Cheerios :)


Jin Xuan Hong Kong Dim Sum
59, 61 & 63 Jalan SS21/19,
Damansara Jaya,
47300 PJ.
Tel: 03-7729 6866

[disclaimer: the opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. please dont sue me, i dont have money. kthxbye.]