The Pressroom @ Bangsar Shopping Center

Click here for previous review of The Pressroom (November 23).

Our second visit to The Pressroom resulted in a fabulously fishy feast.

Herring with pumpernickel. A marvelous combo; the coarse bread's sugary taste was the ideal counterpoint to the saltiness of the smooth, slippery fish.

Griddled king prawns with garlic and parsley butter. A breathtakingly simple recipe that allowed the prawns' natural sweetness to shine.

Grilled sardines. Fresher and more flavourful than supermarket sardines in tomato sauce.

Gravlax with potato rosti. Messy, creamy comfort food. Mix a slice of the dill-cured salmon with the rosti and a dollop of cream for a spoonful of sin.

Crayfish salad. A luscious pleasure, comprising chunks of succulent crayfish.

Seared monkfish with crushed potatoes and tapenade. A hearty slab of fish with a meaty bite. And just like everything else here, it tasted supremely fresh.

Queen scallops with squid ink risotto. Perfectly prepared; the scallops were plump and juicy, complementing the rich, firm risotto for a decadent treat.

Poached sea trout salad. A relatively healthy item. The fish tasted like it might have left the ocean only a few minutes earlier.

Grilled halibut with bearnaise sauce. We're still working to recognize both the look and taste of halibut. Can we repeat the same description that we used for the barracuda here last week? Sort of like seabass, but with a milder flavour.

Lobster risotto with saffron and seafood provencal. The aroma of saffron was kinda lacking (strange, since the saffron linguine that we ate here previously was perfect), but this still scores points for its luxurious creaminess.

Torres, Vina Brava, Garnacha Blanca, Catalunya, Spain 2008.

The Pressroom,

Bangsar Shopping Centre.

O Gourmet @ Bangsar Shopping Center

BSC's posh food hall is a cheerful space that's timed perfectly for this festive season. Stock your cupboards with imported chocolate, cheese, wine, salads, spices, sandwiches, as well as both halal and non-halal cold cuts.

One highlight is Bar Italia's gelato kiosk, which allows customers to sit on stools surrounding the counter while savouring some soft, smooth ice cream.

We shared sugary scoops of vanilla, stracciatella (choc & cream), tiramisu (mascarpone & coffee), white chocolate and gianduja (choc & hazelnut).

A Slice Of Heaven's outlet is the other popular attraction here; it's astonishing that they never run out of cakes for the steady stream of patrons.

The Blackforest Kirsch and Chocolate & Cheese were both top-notch, bursting with the fresh creaminess that we adore in our cakes.

O Gourmet,

Bangsar Shopping Centre.

El Meson @ Telawi, Bangsar

Click here & here for past entries on El Meson (Nov. 20 & Nov. 26).

A third trip to this place; there's just so much to try on their menu!

A top-notch platter of cold cuts, featuring Iberico ham, serrano, parma, pancetta and salami, with melon and olives. Could have eaten this all night long.

Pickled herring with garlic confit on toast. Slippery, salty and sourish.

Gazpacho (chilled tomato soup with grated egg and serrano). Superbly refreshing and surprisingly flavourful, considering how bland gazpacho can sometimes be.

Crispy fried trotter. A tender and juicy cut, well complemented by the apple sauce.

Aubergines in red pepper sauce. Forgettable.

Linguine with rabbit, olives, garlic confit and herbs. Not the star of the evening; the rabbit was even tougher and chewier than usual.

Oxtail braised in Moscatel with matchstick potatoes. A hearty portion, but the meat tasted lacklustre, while the potatoes could have been less salty.

Blood Orange Sorbet with orange slices and cointreau. A perfectly prepared cold dessert that included lots of tiny sultanas.

El Meson's Special (skyy berry, malibu, midori, cranberry juice) and Hurricane Carolyn (malibu, captain morgan, light rum, cranberry juice).

El Meson,

Jalan Telawi 5, Bangsar Baru.

Coca @ Subang Parade

One of Subang Parade's better outlets, Coca has earned a reputation as one of those hardy survivors in the cutthroat restaurant business.

We chose a bunch of stuff for our steamboat selection, including seaweed rolls, top shell, sea asparagus, garoupa fish fillet, organic golden mushrooms, stuffed young corn and fish glue.

Ta-da! The mixture was satisfying enough, but not the best we've ever had.

Deep-fried stuffed freshwater prawns. Reasonably priced and nicely prepared.

Coca Special Curry Live Crab. The curry was sweet, tasty and not spicy at all, but it kinda overpowered the crab. Still, we mopped it up with the bread.

BBQ chicken. Our favourite for the night. Astoundingly succulent & flavourful.

Mango pulut with durian paste. A hearty portion, but mediocre & overpriced.

House white wine to wash it all down.

Coca Restaurant,

Subang Parade.

Tel: 5632-8766

El Meson @ Telawi, Bangsar

Click here for previous review of El Meson (Nov. 2o).

We hurried back here to try the tapas that we had missed the first time around.

Boquerones (fried Spanish anchovies wrapped with bacon). We had mixed feelings about this. It had a nice smoky taste but was rather dry and hard.

Piquillos Rellenos (Spanish peppers stuffed with beef and minced pork). Our favourite for the evening. The soft, sweet peppers were oozing with loads of creamy, flavoursome meat.

Calamares a la Plancha (griddled baby squid). Super-fresh stuff, prepared in a lovely recipe that allowed the squid's natural taste and texture to shine.

Manchego and serrano croquettes. An addictive snack, not overly oily or salty.

Iberico pork strips with honey and paprika over a bed of caramelized potatoes. The pork was nice and tender, but the star was the melt-in-the-mouth, subtly sweet potatoes.

Prawns wrapped in pancetta with apricot sauce and julienned crispy leek. On the other hand, this one WAS slightly too oily and salty. Still worth trying though.

Sauteed chicken liver with sherry and onion marmalade. The best chicken liver we've had in years. The sherry made it awesomely tender and imparted an extra sweetness that turned each mouthful into a taste of heaven.

Iberico pork shoulder with potato & bacon dauphonoise and baked apple. The meat was bit too bloody for our liking (especially since it was pork, not beef or lamb!). Nevertheless, it was a generous portion, with well-selected sides.

Sangria (red wine, rum, orange liqueur, sprite, fruit pieces), Cafeini Martini (kahlua, creme de cacao, butterscotch, espresso, milk), Very Berry Mojito (bacardi razz, monin fruit, monin mint, soda, lemon).

Juicy Lucy (gin, orange juice, cranberry, soda, monin blood orange, monin wild mint), X-Rated on the Beach (x-rated, peach schnapps, pineapple juice), Toasted Almond (skyy vanilla, kahlua, amaretto, milk).

El Meson,

Jalan Telawi 5, Bangsar Baru.