Mandarin Palace

Mandarin Palace has seen better days, but it's still a quaint, nostalgia-imbued place where you can almost feel the ghosts of long-dead diners hovering around.

The outlet hasn't escaped the hairy crab craze. In fact, it's trying to entice customers with recipes such as the Hairy Crab Roe Siu Mai _ seemingly the most decadent of dim sum. These morsels succeeded brilliantly, in a moist, melt-in-the-mouth way.

Alas, the other dishes failed to impress. The steamed hairy crab with glutinous rice was a letdown. The crab had only a moderate amount of roe, while the rice was dry and hardened.

Steamed hairy crab with ginger. Tasted like ordinary steamed hairy crab.

General Tso's Chicken. This was the first time we've spotted this deep-fried, sweet-and-sour dish in KL. Not bad, but not unusual-tasting actually.

House white wine. Thankfully, they serve it by the glass.

Mandarin Palace,

Federal Hotel.

El Meson

El Meson, supposedly Spanish for The Tavern, is a breath of fresh air at Telawi, offering non-halal tapas and other European specialties. It's like a cross between El Cerdo and La Bodega.

The Andalusian bean soup with pancetta is a thick, hearty starter, with lotsa kidney beans and cured pork belly at the base of the bowl.

Calamares Rellenos (squid stuffed with minced meat sauce). An interesting change from the typical squid recipes. Imagine fresh, not-too-chewy squid immersed in a gravy that looked like rendang but tasted like a rich bolognaise.

Paella with pork, chicken and chorizo. We weren't impressed with this initially, since it tasted somewhat Oriental and lacked the aroma of saffron. But it was still well-prepared _ a far cry from the mushy paella at many other outlets.

Confit of milk-fed suckling lamb leg with couscous and roast potatoes. Our favourite for the evening. The lamb tasted almost like fowl, with a fall-off-the-bone texture that made every bite a delight. Rather steeply priced at RM128, but it can easily be shared by two.

The size of the roast suckling pig was also kinda daunting, but the crisp skin and succulent, flavoursome flesh made it pretty addictive. Definitely as good as El Cerdo's, even though the "breaking the plate" ceremony isn't practiced here.

Penamonte Tinto (Tinto de Toro, Spain).

El Meson,

Jalan Telawi 3, Bangsar Baru.

Teeq

Click here and here for previous reviews of Teeq (Oct. 19 and Nov. 1).

This marks our third trip to Teeq in barely a month. It's official: we like it here!

A mind-blowing fusion of Japanese & Tex-Mex favorites: California Temaki, wrapped in a crisp nacho shell with chipotle mayonnaise. The combo worked surprisingly well, as the savory shell actually complemented the sweet sushi.

We had eaten two-thirds of everything on the menu during our previous visits, so we settled for less appealing stuff this time. The sashimi moriawase tasted fresh enough, but it was an unremarkable, humdrum selection.

Carrot, orange & ginger soup with fromage blanc. Warm comfort for a stormy evening, though the citrus component overpowered the other ingredients.

Pan-fried sea scallops with lemongrass, wild ginger, coriander and deep-fried eggplant. Slightly on the oily side.

Garlic-sauteed woodland mushrooms. An aromatic treat for mushroom fans, but oily too.

Deep-fried fruit spring roll with mango chilli froth. Filled with either cempedak or nangka (dunno the difference), which aren't our favourite fruits.

Crunchy mixed fruit and passion fruit crumble. Great for sharing.

Jungle Breeze (vodka, peach, cranberry juice) & Cheong Sum (lychee, watermelon schnapp, vodka, watermelon juice).

Spice Island (pastis, cognac, pear puree) & Kalamansi Rita (tequila, citrus schnapp, kalamansi)

Teeq Brasserie,

Lot 10.

Pak Loh Chiu Chow

Diners can't really go wrong with any of the outlets at Starhill's Feast Gallery.

Teochew-style "tai ngan yi" served cold. An intriguing recipe. The fish seemed pretty fresh, with a firm flesh and mild flavour.

Braised fish maw in sesame sauce. A deliciously different way of eating fish maw, with a nutty, toasty taste that was thoroughly addictive.

Braised meat combo of duck, pork, pig intestines, marbled pig ear, boiled egg and beancurd. Bite into a bit of everything at one go for a fun mix of sweet and salty flavours.

Wok-roasted pork. Made to order, requiring 30 minutes of preparation. The sizzlingly crispy result is worth the wait.

Rice porridge with abalone, dried scallop and seafood. Not our favourite dish of the evening. We kinda prefer regular porridge that isn't quite so soupy.

Fried rice with prawns, minced pork, kailan and turnips. OK but forgettable.

Glutinous rice wine and 'shao hsing chia fan chiew' Chinese wine.

Pak Loh Chiu Chow,

Starhill Feast Gallery.

Medina

An oasis of authentic Middle Eastern fare in the heart of Bangsar.

Carrots with parsley & garlic. A bit too mushy & overcooked for our liking.

Hummus, the house specialty of chickpeas with tahina sauce, garlic, parsley & olive oil. Well-prepared, but hummus isn't exactly an exciting recipe.

Couscous Royale, topped with lamb, chicken and veggies. Hearty comfort food, overflowing with succulent meat skewers and warm, delicate eggplant.

Lamb tagine, a lamb shank stew with honey and almond. The meat falls off the bone with ease and tastes superb with the sweet, nutty gravy.

Thankfully, wine is served. Can't always count on it at a Middle Eastern outlet.

The Medina Restaurant,

Jalan Telawi 5.

Tel: 2287-4644

Hutong

This "heritage gourmet village" brings together street food from specially selected hawkers and vendors who have thrived throughout KL, Ipoh, Penang and Singapore for decades.

Our first stop at Lot 10's much-hyped, non-halal food court was the kiosk of Ipoh Nga Choy Chicken, a 32-year-old business.

The chicken rice, kampung chicken & liver were satisfactory, but not the best we've ever had. There must be more flavourful chicken and more lip-smacking rice elsewhere.

Most of the high-profile stalls were closed by the time we arrived for dinner, but luckily, Hon Kee Famous Porridge from Petaling Street still had potfuls of porridge left.

This was the first time we've ever had porridge with raw fish. We didn't know we were supposed to throw the fish into the porridge and let it cook, so we ate it sashimi-style, taking a slice with every spoonful of porridge. Still, we loved how it tasted _ this was our favourite for the evening. Oh, and the side dish of fried pork intestines was sinfully crisp.

Since the bak kut teh, Hokkien mee, popiah and beef noodle stands were all shut, we checked out some kiosks that we might have otherwise skipped. The Georgetown, Penang outlet had quite an array of choices, ranging from Hokkien Prawn Mee to Penang Rojak.

Their Hainanese Roti Babi was an artery-clogging creation that would have tasted as terrific as Yut Kee's if only they had been more generous with the stuffing.

The char kuey teow was full of the essential wok hei, but kinda lacking in the cockles, prawns and other ingredients that would have made it more enjoyable.

Singapore's contribution to Hutong is Kong Tai, which attracts a pretty long queue despite having only two items on their menu.

Their fried oyster omelette looked pretty appetising, especially with the plump and juicy oysters. Would have been better if they had used more egg and less flour though.

Singapore Hokkien Prawn Mee. Despite its bland appearance, it wasn't bad at all; scoop it up with the fresh, sticky-sweet chilli sauce and it's actually rather addictive.

We also sampled the siew bao, pineapple tart and salted egg tart from Mr Siew Bao, which uses a recipe from the reputedly well-known Seremban Kee Mei Siew Pow. Tasted all right, but we were probably too stuffed by now.

Yam and potato balls that might have sat on the showcase for too long.

Average-tasting yao char kuey and tau foo fah.

Hutong,

Lot 10.

La Vaca

Click here for previous review of La Vaca on Nov. 11 (the feast of fried bone marrow, steak tartare, ox tongue and other beefy treats).

We made this second trip back to La Vaca _ barely a few days after our first visit _ to sample some more stuff that caught our attention.

Generous slices of air-dried Spanish beef to wrap around lusciously sweet rock melon.

U.S. veal porterhouse steak with butter sauce. A lean, tender cut.

Hungarian beef goulash with spaetzle. Our favourite for the evening. We mopped up every last bit of the thick stew, which brimmed with a rich, robust flavour.

BBQ Beef Short Ribs. A hearty, succulent slab of meat, ideal for healthy appetites.

The menu includes several seafood and chicken items for anyone who doesn't take beef. The Florida crab cakes are highly recommended. Packed with fresh crab meat and marvelously breaded without a hint of excess oil.

A carafe of Melbourne Lounge Cabernet Merlot.

After-dinner digestives of Jagermeiser (German for Hunter Master with 56 herbs) and Underberg Miniature (with herbs from 46 countries).

La Vaca,

Changkat Bukit Bintang.

Tel: 2143-2268

Spazzio

A tiny cafe with friendly service, offering a compact selection of sandwiches & snacks.

We shared a hearty bowl of salad, comprising cabbage, blue cheese, yogurt sauce & garlic. The cabbage was fresh & crisp, with toppings that provided a strong wallop of flavour.

White Russian (vodka, kahlua, milk) & Bikini (vodka, sour mix, light rum, milk).

Spazzio,

Pavilion.