Sultan Lounge @ Mandarin Oriental

Click here for previous review of Sultan Lounge (April 19).

Kobe beef sirloin burrito with iceburg lettuce and remoulade. Is this worth RM132++? Might be tough to believe, but that's how much it costs. Definitely better than Kyros Kebab though.

Sheer Vanilla (vanilla vodka, cointreau, cranberry) & MO Boston, New England (calvados, amaretto, cinnamon, apple).

Sultan Lounge,

Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

Mun Wah Hokkien Mee @ Maharajalela

Endless plates of Hokkien Mee were whipped up throughout our half-hour here.

Sinful stuff, bursting with flavour. But more liver and crunchy pork lard would have been nice.

The fried fish cakes were also worthwhile. Juicy without being overly oily.

Mun Wah Hokkien Mee,

Jalan Maharajalela.

Sassorosso @ Yap Kwan Seng

Was there life before Sassorosso? Seems like a hazy memory.

An elegant outlet that offers the assurance of terrific Italian food. Even after more than two years in business and changes in key personnel, this place hasn't lost its flair for whipping up some of KL's best pizzas and pastas.

Pumpkin ravioli with air-dried beef. One of the finest raviolis we've ever had. Absolute comfort food, thanks to the sweet, creamy pumpkin mash encased in delicate ravioli skin.

Potato gnocchi with black truffles in butter sauce. Boasted a terrific texture.

Bigoli all'anitra, a dish that has been here since the start. A thick spaghetti from the region of Veneto, cooked with duck broth & duck gizzard ragout.

Pan-fried sole fillet in foie gras sauce with caramelised leek. An interesting recipe to perk up what might otherwise be a dull fish dish.

Sassorosso Pizza, topped with escargot, mushrooms, prawns, basil and mozzarella. Crisp and generously laden with flavourful toppings; if only all pizzas were like this, we'd be happy to eat pizza every evening.

Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2005. A light wine; one of the cheaper choices.

Sassorosso,

Lorong Yap Kwan Seng.

Tel: 2166-6428

Summer Palace: MIGF @ Putrajaya Marriott

Click here for previous review of Summer Palace (August 5).

A co-winner of the MIGF award for creativity last year, Summer Palace has a 2009 festival menu costing RM118++ without wine. Whatever happens this year, it's safe to say they won't win any prizes for pleasant, efficient service.

Trio of Neptune Ensemble (1. scallop and smoked salmon duet with pomelo in tangy tomato essence, 2. baked crab claw with cuttlefish paste wrap and golden egg floss, 3. crispy shrimp dumpling with spicy red dates sauce). Premium versions of dim sum.

Well-prepared consomme of scallop, geoduck, fish maw & green lip abalone.

Baked village chicken layered with spinach, duck liver onion bun and candied garlic dip. An intriguing threesome of wide-ranging tastes and textures.

Crystal noodles with freshwater prawns in superior crustacean broth. A unique variation of sang har meen; the gelatinous noodles were delectable, while the broth was wonderfully flavoursome.

A fascinating dessert of pineapple panache with lemongrass jelly and mango nectar scented with kalamansi. This somehow reminded my companion of childhood treats at some pasar malam.

Le Rime, Banfi (Italy) & Cherry Blossom (golden rum, martini rosso, orange).

Summer Palace,

Putrajaya Marriott.

Munakata @ Life Centre

Munakata's dinner promotion, which has been running for several months, offers unlimited orders of 40 items from a special menu for only RM60++. Not a bad deal at all.

Service is efficient and the food seems to be served reasonably fast if the restaurant isn't too busy. The warm Unagi Tamago (eel wrapped in cooked egg) and Hourensou Butter (grilled spinach in butter) probably arrived within five minutes of our order.

So-so salmon sashimi & addictive unagi kabayaki (we ended up having 10 portions of eel!).

Kaki furai. Crunchy and fairly fresh deep-fried oysters that weren't oily at all.

Forgettable seaweed salad and horrendously salty scallops with butter.

Decent saba shioyaki (mackerel with salt), salmon teriyaki & chawanmushi.

Satisfactory shishamo (smelt fish) and perfectly battered tempura moriawase.

Tender gyu saikoro steak with lumpy, bland, unappetising garlic fried rice.

Yaki soba. A house specialty supposedly. OK, but a waste of stomach space.

Beef pan-fried in ginger sauce. Succulent stuff, but another overly salty recipe.

Mixed fried seafood and fried chicken dumplings. Well-prepared enough.

Juicy, meaty chicken yakitori. One of our favourite choices for the evening.

Mediocre butter straw mushrooms and fresh, flavorful seafood teppanyaki.

Dessert choices are limited, but we went for the green tea & vanilla ice cream.

A nice chilled bottle of sake helped wash down a very pleasant dinner, all in all.

Munakata,

Life Centre, Jalan Sultan Ismail.

Tuscany: MIGF & More @ Putrajaya Marriott

A co-winner of the 2008 MIGF award for best creative dining experience, Tuscany is back this year with a festival menu that costs RM258++ with wine. Service here is exceptionally warm and accommodating.

Scallop & salmon trout parcel with basil sundried tomato essence. Would be better if the ingredients tasted fresher. That became a recurring problem throughout our meal.

Magret of duck with poached pear and apricot balsamic glaze. Forgettable.

Lentil lime soup with quail penne and cumin crisp. Stomach-warming stuff.

Sorbet of calvados and mint as a palate-cleanser. Not really necessary though.

Tarragon-baked Pacific Rock Oysters on haricot beans and asparagus spears. The oysters weren't fresh either, leaving a somewhat foul taste in our mouths.

Angus beef tenderloin with foie gras on fig morel glaze. Succulent and hearty, though it didn't taste as interesting as it sounded, no thanks to the bland foie.

Caramelized web of truffle mascarpone with cinnamon-infused berries & passionfruit coulis.

Macchiato with macadamia and pistachio jewels. Could have skipped this.

We also ordered items from the regular a la carte menu, but they turned out to be letdowns. The foie gras with mango and calvados was overly seared to the brink of ruin. And what's with the gratuitous use of alfalfa sprouts in so many of their dishes?

Spinach gnocchi verdi. Overcooked to the point of stiffness and stodginess.

Tyrell's Cabernet Merlot 2005 (Australia). Light & easy, OK with the food.

Tuscany,

Putrajaya Marriott.