Bibitus @ Changkat

Click here & here for earlier entries on Bibitus (January 14 & April 21).

Potato blinis with sour cream, moluga caviar, lemon & cauliflower black truffle foam. Creamy comfort food, easily gulped down in less than one mouthful.

Squid ink rice with prawn, baby squid & oyster. A bit bland at first bite, but the seafood was fresh and springy enough to make this worth recommending.

Crab sandwich reinvented _ grilled foccaccia with salted egg white mayonnaise, crab meat, polenta, espelette pepper-dusted soft-shell crab, dried tomatoes & rocket leaves. A masterful combo of delicious flavours and diverse textures.

Pan-seared Japanese mulloway with saffron risotto & romesco thickened bouillabaisse sauce. The spectacularly creamy rice was bursting with the flavour of saffron, even stealing the spotlight from the succulent fish.

Balsamic marinated strawberry sorbet. Not bad, but we're not major fans of sorbet, since we prefer the lusciousness of ice cream.

Yellow watermelon sorbet. Sounded fascinating, but tasted forgettable.

VDP Gros Manseng-Sauvignon, Brumont, 2008. Thus endeth the Bibitus trilogy!

Bibitus,

Changkat Bukit Bintang.

Al-Halabi @ JW Marriott

A strikingly beautiful outlet, nestled one floor below the JW Marriott's lobby.

The menu here is as impressive as the decor, with several recipes that only a small handful of KL's Middle Eastern restaurants seem to offer.

The complimentary bread was excellent. Warm, fresh and fluffy.

Spinach with olive oil. Can't get healthier than this.

Shakshouka (fried eggs with tomatoes). Tasted nearly like Chinese scrambled eggs, except that the Chinese might not use tomatoes, right?

Saj bread with olive oil & zaatar (a condiment of herbs, spices & sesame seeds). Rather salty, but would satisfy any carbohydrate cravings.

Mini-pie topped with meat & muhammara (a walnut and pepper dip). Hands-down, the yummiest item that night, thanks to its brilliantly nutty flavour.

Dessert platter of baklava. Supremely sweet.

Rice pudding. Seemed like a Middle Eastern version of tiramisu.

Steaming hot Arabic tea.

Apple shisha.

Al-Halabi Lounge,

JW Marriott.

Olive Lounge @ Pacific Regency Hotel Suites

A sedate, intimate lounge on Pan Regency's 23rd floor, where customers might find themselves entertained by either a live jazz band or piped radio music from LiteFM.

A pool table is available, but thankfully, the patrons here rarely seem raucous.

Tomato & basil arancini, with mozzarella & aioli. A bit too bland to recommend; the rice grains inside the balls were rather mushy and gluey.

Beef burger with mango chutney, fried egg, rocket, onion, cheese & tomato. Left no lasting impression. Just not the most flavourful or most succulent burger in town.

Grilled mushroom risotto with rocket salad & goat cheese. Nothing wrong with this per se, but it was a reminder that if we crave a really rich, creamy risotto, it's best to head to the tried-and-tested Italian restaurants instead.

Long Island Iced Tea & White Russian.

Olive Lounge,

Pacific Regency Hotel Suites,

Menara Pan Global, Jalan Punchak.

Bisou @ Suria KLCC

Strategically located outside TGV KLCC, all the better to supply moviegoers with sweet treats to smuggle into the multiplex.

Cupcakes are the main lure. Here we have the Vanilla Garden (chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting) & Chocolate Dementia (choc cupcake with choc ganache).

Love Me Tender (choc cupcake with peanut butter) & Bling Bling (vanilla cupcake with nutella). The cakes are moist and fresh, generously topped with creamy frosting.

Sesame-laced Black Kiss & The Morning After (coffee cupcake).

Mini-pavlova. Not bad; can be polished off in a few bites.

For entry on Bisou @ Bangsar Village, click: July 24, 2009.

Bisou,

KLCC.

Prego @ Westin Kuala Lumpur

One of my favourite Italian restaurants in the city centre, all things considered.

Prego succeeds with these elements: service that puts customers at ease, a setting that makes them want to stay, and food that's generally good.

Soft-boiled eggs with crisp polenta, rocket, balsamic & black truffles. Nicely done, but would be even tastier if they had been more generous with the truffles.

Crab & arborio rice cakes with almond aioli. Satisfyingly crisp and chunky.

Gnocchi with parmesan & brown butter. A bit too oily to thoroughly enjoy.

Tagliolini with black truffle shavings & parmesan. An utterly decadent treat for carboholics who also love cheese; far creamier than any carbonara, but addictive to the last bite.

Salt-crusted sea bass with steamed new potatoes, fennel & lemon butter sauce. Seemed fairly fresh, since it was moist but firm. Fans of fish should have no complaints.

Black mussels & clams with cherry tomatoes, white wine, garlic, parsley & bay leaves. Reasonably juicy and flavourful.

Hazelnut chocolate from Turin, topped with hazelnut ice cream. Met expectations, with a light, smooth texture and a subtly sweet, nutty taste.

Three-chocolate semi freddo (milk, white, dark). Creamy and chilly.

Not sold at Prego, but eaten here: Delectable By Su's "7 Sins of Chocolate."

Prego,

The Westin Kuala Lumpur.

Sakura Sakura Hakata @ Subang

Simple, honest Japanese fare is the highlight of this rather cramped outlet, which claustrophobic customers might want to avoid.

Salmon mayo maki. Really dainty pieces, easily gulped down in less than one mouthful. Might have liked it more if they used sashimi instead of cooked salmon.

Grilled squid with garlic. Served sizzling, perfect for a rainy evening. Thankfully, it wasn't as chewy as squid tends to be.

Prawn & quail eggs wrapped with bacon. Juicy stuff, impeccably prepared; we could have spent the entire meal munching on these.

Vinegared mackerel. Slightly sour (of course), but tasted fairly fresh.

Ebi namaharumaki. Can't really fault this, since it was generously stuffed with plump prawns and crunchy veggies, but it was forgettable.

Sakura Tsubo Shochu with plum.

Sakura Sakura Hakata,

4, Jalan SS 12/18,

Subang Jaya.