Nathalie's Gourmet Studio @ Solaris Dutamas

It took us a bit longer than expected to finally hit Nathalie's Gourmet Studio, mainly because of its inconvenient hours: it's only open at 9am-6pm and closes on Sundays.

Nevertheless, this smallish, well-hidden outlet is well worth a visit. If you live around Mont Kiara or Sri Hartamas, chef Nathalie Arbefeuille currently whips up some of the best food in your neighborhood. Head here soon, before the crowds discover it.

The menu is compact: 5 starters and 5 main courses, alongside a smattering of desserts.

Roasted vegetable mille-feuille. Chunky and creamy. Still light enough to be an appetite-whetter, but much more substantial than a leafy salad.

Fennel soup with tomatoes, basil & parmesan. Tummy-warming comfort food. Seemed more like frothy, fragrant milk instead of soup.

Cheese tart with tomato chutney, poached egg & tapenade. Break the runny yolk and mix everything up for spoonfuls of savory scintillation.

Cod fillet in cremolata with hazelnut dressing & pumpkin puree. Meat is scarce on the menu, but even a hardcore carnivore might be temporarily appeased by this fleshy, flawless fish.

There's an entire display counter filled with about a dozen types of macarons, ranging from caramel and nougat to chocolate and coconut, from lime and blackberry to vanilla and passion fruit. Absolutely impeccable, with crisp crusts and airy yet luxurious centers.

Strawberry succes. Kinda like a cross between meringue and ganache, if that even makes sense. Tasted like the best kind of candy, but stay away if you despise very sweet desserts.

Vanilla "mystery" with caramel & praline sauce. Turned out to be dense, nut-covered mousse. Extremely addictive, even if you aren't eight years old.

Mango & passion fruit profiteroles. A far cry from ones sold at shopping mall bakeries.

Veggie juice and house red wine. Alas, alcohol options are severely limited here.

Nathalie's Gourmet Studio,

Solaris Dutamas.

Art's Cream Gallery @ Pavilion

After finding success elsewhere in Asia, Art's Cream Gallery has spread its wings to KL, opening its first gelato outlet in Pavilion.

There were so many tempting flavours, so we ordered the three-scoop cups. First off, chocolate toffee with Snickers, pecan butternut and cookies & cream. Tasted excellent, though the texture seemed somewhere between gelato and ice cream.

Pistachio, coffee with toblerone and vanilla with chocolate chips. If we were forced to choose between this outlet and Gelatomio Lounge in Pavilion, we'd probably pick the latter for its more creative preparations and alcohol-based varieties.

Ivory Passion. Some sort of fruit mousse cake. Kinda dry, but we still finished it.

Art's Cream Gallery,

Level 6, Pavilion.

Nagasari @ Bukit Bintang

A supper stop at Nagasari to savour their bread selection.

Ghee Dosa. A humongous serving that could satisfy two people.

Onion Oothapam. Fluffy but lacked flavour.

Roti Telur. Not bad, but we were hoping for more variety in their gravies.

Murtabak Kambing. Perfectly prepared, with lotsa tender, flavourful meat.

Nagasari,

Jalan Nagasari, Bukit Bintang.

Dumplings @ Dragon-i, Pavilion

Dragon-i's "Wrap of Eternal Love" promo marks an early start to the dumpling festival.

A 1-kilogram glutinous rice dumpling behemoth, comprising abalone, dried scallops, pork belly, chestnuts, peanuts, lotus seeds, salted egg yolk & mushrooms. The rice wasn't flavourful or sticky enough, though the ingredients at the centre were OK.

Dessert dumplings with Hokkaido red beans. Also rather bland. We might need to head elsewhere to satisfy our dumpling cravings this year.

Dragon-i,

Pavilion.

EEST @ The Westin Kuala Lumpur

For earlier entries on EEST, click: March 1 & May 6.

Jellyfish "flower" with aged black vinegar. Had a nice, springy bite to it. The vinegar provided a tartness that helped to make this anything but bland.

Japanese cucumber with chili & oil. Crunchy, but skip it if you're not into cucumber.

Salmon in green curry. The fish was moist and juicy; thankfully, its natural sweetness wasn't overpowered by the creamy curry.

Honey-glazed black cod with champagne. Forgettable; tasted like regular cod.

Hakka-style braised Hillside lamb neck. Something went awry here; despite being very tender, the lamb was way too gamy, with an almost foul flavour.

Wagyu beef cheek Malay rendang. Super-succulent; anybody who's ever complained about tough beef at Hari Raya open houses would love this.

Pho bo (Vietnamese noodle soup with beef brisket, tendons, tripe & tenderloin). A hearty helping, also with lots of melt-in-the-mouth meat.

Saffronitas (tequila infused with saffron, lime, sugar syrup, cointreau) & Hua Mulan (shiraz, rum, brown sugar, lime).

EEST,

The Westin Kuala Lumpur.

Zipangu @ Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur

Definitely one of KL's most alluring Japanese restaurants.

The sashimi seemed super-fresh, though the selection was run-of-the-mill.

Marinated crab organs with shredded crab meat. Can't go wrong with most of the seafood here; the crab tasted like it might have been in the ocean only hours before this.

Pot-au-feu with pan-fried foie gras, eel & winter melon. A perennial favorite; too bad the portion seems much punier than what it used to be several years ago.

Conger eel fritters with cheese salad. A letdown; the fritters contained more batter than eel, while the cheese was served as cold, stiff slices.

Braised beef. Not as tender as it could have been, but recommended for anybody who enjoys chunky slabs of beef with some bite in them.

Steamed clams in sake. Meaty and well-prepared, but basically forgettable.

Grilled barracuda. Not too fishy-tasting, but not outstanding either.

Soy bean soup with crab in stone pot. Would have loved it if the crab meat had been ripped out of the shell beforehand, but it was still tasty enough to recommend.

Avocado vegetable roll. Thanks to hearty helpings of creamy avocado, this was the most satisfying maki possible without any sashimi or soft-shell crab in it.

Chinese Chardonnay. Prefer the usual European, U.S. and Aussie wines.

Zipangu,

Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur.