[Review] Bel Pasto, Aman Puri

In my previous post for Bel Pasto, Kepong Baru I mentioned that they have another branch at Aman Puri before the opening of the Kepong Baru branch and I have never been there. So, this time I paid a visit to the Aman Puri branch instead to try out the menu there and to see whether it is better than the Kepong Baru branch as claimed.

It is located at the shop lot opposite the Shell petrol station and McDonald's at Aman Puri, next to a corner restaurant. The exterior and interior have similar design as of Kepong Baru's branch but it is narrower in comparison to the later.

This time I came with my family instead and we are able to order more off the menu. We tried from starters to pasta, main dishes as well as pizzas. For starters we ordered the soup of the day followed by garlic bread. 

 The soup of the day appears to be chicken soup and it is different from what we usually drank. The chicken soup is more like what we will cook according to the recipe for chicken soup, that is a blend of celery, potatoes and carrot cubes as well as cubes of chicken meat with chicken stock. Well, nothing much to shout out about the soup. Very original taste of the chicken soup recipe, which to be honest, similar to what I will usually prepare at home as well.

The garlic bread is served with a good layer of garlic butter on one side. It is served in 5 pieces for a plate, just nice for a family of five. Also nothing much to shout out about the garlic bread and it is good as starters while waiting for the dishes.

We ordered a few types of pasta including macaroni, penne and lasagne. As described previously, the tomato sauce is prepared by themselves using fresh tomato. The presentation is also plain and simple unlike the fancy decorations that you found in other Italian restaurants.

Then here comes one the lamb shank. We noticed it has a chef's recommendation icon there and decided to give it a try. Their lamb shank is served with salad and tomato rice, which is slightly different from other restaurants that has different side dishes to accompany it. The lamb shank has a very heavy taste and I don't think many will like it. The usual gamey smell when having mutton is strong in this dish and have to be eaten together with the rice in order to minimise it.

On the other hand, the pizza is worth trying. The pizza we order has four different types of toppings but we opt the beef for other ingredients which is mushroom and tomato. The pizza is called a Pizza Quatro, which explains of having four different toppings. The crust is very nice with soft and chewy texture, accompanied by nice wheat aroma. The pizza is a good try.

Last but not least will be the Tiramisu. The Tiramisu definitely worth trying for every visit. As described in my previous post, the Tiramisu is prepared using the original recipe that uses lady finger biscuits dipped in thick coffee and layered with mascarpone cheese. It will not disappoint.

I guess I have wrapped up for both branches and already have a rough idea on which to order for my next visit if I fancy for any Italian food nearby. Read up about the Kepong branch from this link: http://gavincty.blogspot.com/2012/10/review-bel-pasto-kepong.html

[Review] Italiannies - Subang Empire and The Curve

This set of pictures have been laying around in my hard disk for half a year now and finally I have the time to dig them out, give them some touch up and published online. Since it has been so long ago after my visit, I have forgotten most of the names of the dishes that we ordered and probably just able to show some pictures. The pictures are not really up to standard as well due to the low ambient environment and the hunger that hasten my finger to simply compose and snap away. Nevertheless, hope I'm able to share something, and it will be a proper review.

Italiannies, an Italian restaurant that is quite common as we can spot it in many major shopping malls. They have 6 branches around Klang Valley, with Paradigm Mall as the latest one as I just checked their website. The restaurants has a very traditional Italian ambient and their waiters and waitress always make you feel at home. I have been to two branches, the first one was at the Subang Empire last year, and the recent one will be at The Curve. I will start off with the Subang Empire first then continue with The Curve at the second part.

I went to the Italiannies in Subang Empire during December last year. It was a Wednesday night and expected less crowd in the shopping mall and the restaurant as well. We took our time to read the menu and order what we wanted. As usual, we are served with some bread with a plate of oil and vinegar mixture to go along with it.

 

Some condiments are found on the table, such as olive oil (I suppose), vinegar, salt and pepper. I would say they are part of the decorations on the table because of the fancy glass bottle containing the olive oil.

 

I forgotten what we ordered for drinks, probably Cappuccino and Mango shake. I will just show the picture instead. 

My girlfriend ordered Shrimp and Mushroom Linguine and according to her, the taste was just OK only for her. Just a pass, I suppose. Sorry for the different white balance for both pictures.

I myself ordered a pizza which I couldn't remember the flavour. Apparently they removed it from their latest menu because I can't seem to find it anymore. It was a typical thin crust pizza with toppings of chicken cubes, traditional tomato sauce, some capsicum and not forgetting the Mozzarella cheese.

Well, that's basically everything we ordered during that visit. I'm not an Italian food fan and do not really know how an authentic Italian food will taste like. So I will just give my opinion, based on my thoughts of the food. My second visit is with my family at the Curve. This time, we ordered a lot more than my previous dine in in Italiannies.

As usual, we were served with bread and a plate of oil-vinegar mixture like what I had in Subang Empire.

As for drinks, we ordered ripe mango fruit shake, cafe latte, cafe mocha and ice latte.

For starter, we ordered a platter called Quattro platter, which is actually a combination of deep fried risotto balls, calamari, fried lemon cheesy balls and zucchini strings. It comes along with two types of sauces, which is the typical tomato sauce and another one is cheese sauce I believe. The fried lemon cheesy balls gives you a mouthful of cheesy sensation and will not be suitable for those who are not fancy with the smell of cheese. Calamari is good and fresh, while the risotto balls is a good try as well. However, the zucchini strings and onions are not really my type, probably will have their own fans, but not me.

We ordered a Chicken Lasagna as well since we never tried it in an Italian restaurant before. It tasted very good with a very strong taste of cheese in it.

Not forgetting to accompany the dinner with traditional Italian pizza. We ordered the Tropicale flavour since we liked pineapple within our pizza.

 Last but not least, a house specialty of Sizzling Roasted Chicken, which is served in a pan with a generous amount of vegetable in it like potato and onions. This is something very special as we do not usually eat it else where except in Italian restaurants. The soup (or sauce) is nice with very rich taste, I guess wine was added into it but not too sure about that.

Overall, both dining experience in Italiannies was good and would come back if I have a sudden crave of something unique.

I do apologize for such an informal review, or I should say just mere sharing as I'm no expert in Italian food. I hope the pictures will compensate some text for me in conveying the message.

Do visit http://www.italiannies.com.my for an in depth recommendations on their menu.