Cafe Vienna @ KLCC

Cafe Vienna has opened its second outlet, bringing more culinary variety to KLCC.

Earlier entry on Cafe Vienna @ Lot 10: Nov. 9, 2010.

Bohnensuppe, a German broth that's rustic, thick and chunky, brimming with cannellini beans and slow-cooked with turkey ham, carrots, potatoes & paprika. Served with garlic bread, this soup is both hearty and healthy-tasting.

Frikadellen. Pan-fried beef dumplings with potato salad, gherkins & mustard. Popular particularly in Denmark, this essentially tastes like mushy burger patties. Comfort food for carnivores who might feel too lazy to do much chewing.

Frittatensuppe. Strips of fluffy pancake mingling with a vegetable soup that's reminiscent of Italian minestrone, with the tangy touch of tomatoes.

Balkan meat pie with sour cream. Not bad at all; the baked filo pastry is warm and flaky _ not too dry or greasy. Nicely packed with a moreish mix of minced beef, onions, garlic & herbs.

Black truffle fettuccine. A competently prepared mound of carbs, with a fair portion of truffle shavings, but somehow lacking in a rich, heady aroma to make us swoon.

Spanakopita with spinach & ricotta cheese, served with Greek salad. Crisp outside, creamy and savory within; a fine finish to this European gastronomic expedition.

A RM100 bottle of Astica Merlot-Malbec (Argentina, 2007) complemented the food.

Cafe Vienna,

Suria KLCC.

Fugu Neo

A nice neighborhood Japanese joint, with few frills but fairly satisfying fare.

Inventive rolls are the highlight. The David Maki _ sorry, the origin of that name eludes me _ features tuna, salmon, yellow tail, shrimp, avocado, scallions & wasabi tobiko, all wrapped in white seaweed, which tastes less salty than regular nori wraps.

Pattaya Roll, stuffed with soft-shell crab with avocado, fried beets, cashew nuts & Thai chili sauce. None of these rolls taste earth-shatteringly revelatory, but they're all enjoyable. Generously packed with fresh ingredients that combine well together.

Pink Lady Roll, with salmon, tuna, capelin roe, egg & avocado in pink soy wrap. Prices are reasonable; most of the makis cost around RM20-30.

Sake and wine are also available. But no fugu, despite the outlet's name.

Fugu Neo,

Jalan SS 22/25, Damansara Jaya, Petaling Jaya.

EEST

Oink! EEST recently revamped its menu, serving pork for the first time ever.

Earlier entries on EEST: March 1, 2010, May 6, May 27 & June 11.

Tofu with pork floss & century eggs. Our favorite for the evening; the bean curd's texture was irreproachable _ delicately crisp on the exterior, luxuriously silken within. Combined with chewy pork floss and inimitably luscious eggs, the result could drive a man to incurable tofu addiction.

Spare ribs stuffed with cheese. Use your fingers and rip the succulent, steaming-hot meat off the bone for primal carnivorous rapture.

Wok-baked glazed pork belly. One of those creations that might be terrific with beer. Kinda like a cross between pork lard and 'keropok ayam.'

Brown stewed tofu with roasted pork belly. Tasted home-cooked, in the best sense.

Pork-haters, fear not: plenty of non-porcine pleasures are still provided, including this Forest 'Long Jin' Tea-Smoked Unagi. A savory snack, supplying crunchy bites.

Fermented Chinese tea, with a potent plum-like flavor.

Creative Japanese-influenced cocktails: Hanamachi (sake, jasmine, strawberry) & Umigary (Japanese cucumber, vinegar, ginger, vodka, plum sake).

EEST,

The Westin, Kuala Lumpur.

Cascade

Peaceful outdoor dining by the pool, with a boundless view of KL's skyline.

When the sun sets, Cascade serves a 120-ringgit buffet spread where quality reigns over quantity, with relatively satisfactory results.

Seafood on ice, sushi & sashimi _ they're all here, of course. But a few quibbles: the (excellent) oysters ran out really fast and weren't replenished for some time, while the salmon sashimi was only supplied on sushi rice and not on its own for the first hour.

Succulent shrimp & smoked Norwegian salmon. An appetizingly perky start.

Salads help to keep things light and healthy; a heavy meal wouldn't be the best way to spend a muggy evening here without air-conditioning (or even a breeze).

Fresh enough? Check. Well-presented? Check. Delicious? Check.

Grilled and roasted meat are also available, some of them cooked to order.

Spectacular Chinese-style roast duck, divinely flavorsome and fatty. The lamb & chicken satay paled in comparison but remained acceptably juicy.

A selection of Aussie ribeye, sirloin & tenderloin, with lamb chops too. Tender and hearty, but with scarce patches of sweaty pink, signaling that our order for medium-rare had emerged medium instead.

Mojito & Cascadia Paradise (gin, malibu, pineapple, orange, grenadine).

Chardonnay (Errazuriz, Chile). Wine & cocktails are not included in the buffet price; unfortunately, everything is costly by the glass (RM36++ wines & equally expensive cocktails).

Our other complaint: the buffet only starts at 7 pm. Half an hour earlier would be better.

Cascade,

Mandarin Oriental, Kuala Lumpur.

Gridiron

Wanna kick back with some booze and watch your favorite soccer stars kick some balls around? This 'sports cafe,' bursting with TV screens on every wall, might be the place for that.

Grasshopper (creme de menthe, creme de cacao, cream) & Illusion (midori, vodka, pineapple juice). Decent drinks, though not the cheapest in Bangsar.

Gridiron,

Jalan Telawi 2, Bangsar.

Confeitaria Nacional

Portugal, Part III: This bustling bakery, founded in Lisbon in 1829, has belonged to the same family for five generations. It's like a Dynasty of Dough!

We stopped here for a tea-time pastry snack to sample the "pastel de nata." Astonishing egg tarts, perfectly blending a crispy, warm feel with a creamy cinnamon flavor. Numerous notches above the mass-market versions in Malaysia.

Confeitaria Nacional,

Lisbon.

Vive La Vida

This Puchong watering hole is pretty popular, but while we were won over by its wide selection of booze and warm service, we can't recommend its food.

This Spanish suckling pig seemed like a highlight, but alas, the meat was infected by a putrid stench that permeated every bite. We couldn't finish it.

The pork ribs were only marginally more palatable. Tough, bony and coated in a cloying barbecue glaze with the synthetic flavor of bottled ketchup.

Jose Cuervo Gold Margarita (Jose Cuervo Especial Gold Tequila, Cointreau, sweet & sour mix) & Nutcracker (whisky, frangelico, amaretto, egg white, sweet & sour mix).

Yering Station Pinot Noir (2007).

Vive La Vida,

IOI Boulevard, Puchong.