Mizu

Mizu exudes a sense of secluded serenity that eludes the rest of TTDI Plaza.

The complimentary appetizers left us longing for more, more, more!

Yellow tail carpaccio-style with cili padi and wasabi soy sauce. A real knockout; the sauce perfectly complemented the fatty fish, while the cili padi zapped our tastebuds with a nice zingy aftershock.

Foie gras and spring onion roll. A Mizu classic that we try to always order.

Braised ox cheek. Wholesome, hearty comfort food.

The Mizu roll basically comprised tempura prawn, eel and avocado. Not bad, but if you order only one maki, make it the foie gras roll.

Foie gras with daikon. Superbly prepared; the generous portions of pan-fried foie gras tasted sensational with the radish in a delicate sauce.

Nama Kiku Masamune helped wash it all down.

Mizu,

TTDI Plaza.

Tel: 7728-6498

Rick's Cafe Casablanca

The best deal is town is at Rick's Cafe Casablanca: an a la carte buffet for RM 38++ for lunch and dinner every weekday. You can order as many dishes as many times as you like. Despite the low price, the quality of the food is truly top-notch.

Smoked duck with spinach & garlic confit. Whetted our appetite for the delights to come.

Roast pepper and mascarpone risotto. Easily the equal of any KL Italian outlet's offering.

Halloumi cheese with rocket, orange and mint. A refreshing salad.

Slow-roasted leg of lamb with harrissa. Wonderfully pink in the centre.

Seafood paella. Bursting with the aroma of saffron and packed with seafood.

Tagine of butter fish with black olives & pickled tomatoes. This looked like a sour combo, but it tasted excellent. All the ingredients blended perfectly to create a delectable dish.

Mussels in ceviche dressing. A different, delicious way of preparing mussels.

Seafood couscous with bell peppers. The best couscous I've ever had. Period.

Charmoula marinated chicken skewers. I don't order chicken much because it's usually cooked in relatively boring ways, but this was very good. Succulent and flavourful.

 
Brandade of butter fish with baguette. Not my favourite dish, but it's more a matter of personal taste; this would appeal to anyone who enjoys salty spreads.

Clockwise from top left: Bacon and black olive ice cream (one of the strangest ice cream flavours I've ever had, but it was tasty!), blue cheese ice cream (tasted exactly like blue cheese) and saffron gelato (this had real saffron in it too, not just some subpar flavouring).

Halle Berry (strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, vodka), Corner Stone Sparkling and Artisan's Bend Shiraz.

Rick's Cafe Casablanca,

One Bangsar.

Tel: 2287-1618.

The Apartment

I love flipping through the menu here; everything sounds mouthwatering.

Sure wish I could get my apartment to look as spiffy as this!

Duck & mango salad with lemongrass, spring onions, ginger & lime leaves in Thai Nam Pla dressing. Thumbs up. Oodles of duck with a piquant flavour.

Apartment Salad (avocadoes, green chillies and coriander drizzled with whole grain mustard dressing and toasted spiced almond flakes). I lurrrrrve avocadoes, so an entire salad built on them is pure pleasure for me.

Buffalo mozzarella, tomato and basil salad with balsamic dressing. Heaps of tomatoes; a very tasty way to consume a week's worth of antioxidants.

Red mullet spaghetti. Mediocre; the spaghetti was kinda limp.

Squid stuffed with shallots, mint, parsley and parmesan in tomato white wine sauce. Way too salty, though the squid was satisfyingly fresh.

AK-47 and Chocolate Orange Martini.

Bali Dream and Optimist cocktails.

The Apartment,

The Curve.

Tel: 7727-8330

Eddy's Cafe

Nestled on Starhill's Relish floor, Eddy's Cafe offers tried-and-true fare ranging from chicken chops to char kuey teow. It's a cosy place, though it's not exactly pulling in the crowds.

Ginger wine soup with chicken. Not bad; loads of tender chicken chunks in an aromatic soup.

Hakka Choy Poh Bee Hoon. Decent, but slightly overpriced.

Eddy's Cafe,

Starhill Gallery.

Tel: 2145-1812

The Daily Grind

Remember all the hype when The Daily Grind first opened?

The buzz has grown quiet since then, but this place is still faithfully churning out those burgers.

The foie gras burger has evolved from its earliest incarnation. The foie gras now rests above the beef patty instead of being part of the patty. It's still an enjoyable burger, thanks especially to the tasty bun. The grilled portobello slices, balsamic palm sugar and onion cranberry jam are generous additions.

Spicy seafood gumbo. A version of the classic New Orleans dish, this was OK, but maybe we should just stick to ordering burgers here.

The Daily Grind,

Bangsar Village.

Tel: 2287-6708

Kindori

Kindori features "blast-frozen" ice cream with no added sugar and zero preservatives or colouring. It might sound gimmicky and it's rather pricey, but it seems like one of the healthiest ice cream brands around.

Flavours from top clockwise: blueberry and strawberry combo; wasabi; sumiyaki coffee. The tastes were subtle yet delicious, with a creamy texture. Definitely a worthy alternative to Baskin-Robbins et al.

Kindori,

Berjaya Times Square.

Viet Passion

One of Chulan Square's most enduring outlets, with a well-earned reputation for reasonably good food and warm, efficient service.

The lotus root salad with prawns was a huge, hearty serving. Definitely not as wonderful as Sao Nam's version, but still a decent offering.

The Vietnamese crepe was a solid choice. Crisp pancake stuffed with delicious chicken meat, accompanied by fresh, crunchy leaves.

The steamed seafood in coconut was an enjoyable, subtly sweet soup that would have been better if it contained more seafood.

The fluffy fried fish with mango sauce came in an interesting presentation. Tasted fairly fresh and was affordably priced.

Lotus seed rice. Not bad, but kinda forgettable.

The eel curry was one of my favourite dishes that evening. Piping hot, sumptuously rich curry filled with lots of flavourful eel slices.

The duck in orange sauce didn't fare quite as well. The meat was tender but tasted past its prime, while the orange sauce was overpowering.

Mixed Bean Drink (red bean, yellow mung bean, cendol, coconut milk), 4 Treasure Drink (water chestnut, jelly, yellow mung bean, sea coconut) and Thousand Seed Drink.

Happy Days (malibu, peach schnapps, advocaat, orange juice, pineapple juice, cream), house red wine and Per F'Amour (cointreau, parfait amour, orange juice, egg white).

Viet Passion,

Chulan Square.

Tel: 2141-3838.