Nanking @ Petaling Jaya

Taking yet another vegetarian route for Chinese New Year.

Nanking's "Great Blessing Set" kicked off with an "abalone" yee sang, which was filled with reasonably fresh, crunchy ingredients.

"Shark fin" soup. Tasted nearly like the real thing, except that it was impossible to replicate the firm, fleshy feel of crab meat.

Dong Po "pork." Evenly divided into a "fatty" top layer that tasted like springy fish balls and a "meaty" lower layer that seemed like melt-in-the-mouth pork.

Pan-fried Szechuan "prawns." A crisp, spicy crowd-pleaser.

"Cod fish" in ginger sauce. This somehow managed to have a fishy flavour, though the texture was not flaky enough to pass off as cod.

Beancurd roll with broccoli. Pretty ordinary-tasting.

Fried rice. Kinda starchy and stodgy, but still palatable.

"Grace Felicity" dessert. Rather powdery, with a strong, strange taste of corn.

Nanking Vegetarian Restaurant,

Jalan 19/3, Petaling Jaya.

Hanifa @ Nagasari

Long after midnight, once all the kitchens at Changkat Bukit Bintang have closed, this is the most convenient outlet nearby to check out for hearty grub.

They were out of nasi briyani during our recent visit, but the nasi kandar looked fairly appealing. Too bad it turned out to be one of the worst we've ever tried; the fried chicken was bland, the fish eggs were chewy and the curries tasted watered down.

The Maggi Mee Goreng fared as badly. Mushy and flavourless.

Roti telur. Forgettable; no better (but no worse) than most versions elsewhere.

Restoran Hanifa,

Jalan Nagasari,

Bukit Bintang.

New Formosa @ SS2 PJ

Click here for previous review of New Formosa (August 25, 2009).

Salmon yee sang. Not the best ever, but OK for the occasion.

Taiwanese crunchy popped rice with seafood. Best eaten while piping-hot. The crisp rice offered a nice textural contrast to the chewy squid and soft fish maw.

Steamed herbal tiger prawns in bamboo. Tasted comfortingly nutritious.

Roasted chicken stuffed with glutinous rice, chestnuts and other goodies. A fun platter to dig through; we savoured every bit of the tender, flavourful meat.

Fresh mixed veggies, with hearty portions of sliced pumpkin & gingko nuts.

Hunan ham in honey sauce, served with "silver thread bread." A sweet, sinful treat, though it was messy to eat the ham with the bread as a sandwich.

Bamboo Rice. Salty but addictive, with lotsa melt-in-the-mouth yam & dried shrimp.

New Formosa,

SS2, Petaling Jaya.

MO Bar @ Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur

A slick, stylish bar that would benefit from a later closing time (last orders are currently before midnight, waaaaay too early for night owls).

MO Bar is set right beside Mandarin Grill, enabling customers to simply step next door for cocktails and snacks here after dinner.

Potato crisps and crunchy pastry batter with aioli, perfect for nibbling.

Tasting bites of Caesar Salad (with the surprising inclusion of soft, slippery anchovies instead of the usual beef bacon), Lump Crab Cakes (crisp & well-prepared) & Smoked Salmon Loin (generously sliced & very fresh-tasting, unlike most smoked salmon elsewhere).

MO New York Ginger Mojito (ginger-infused rum, lime, mint) & MO Chiang Mai Sweet Lemongrass Martini (vodka, honey, lemongrass).

MO Munich (vodka, apple schnapps, cinnamon) & MO Boston (calvados, amaretto).

MO Bar,

Mandarin Oriental,

Kuala Lumpur.

Giovino @ Changkat, Kuala Lumpur

Our Giovino trilogy has turned into a quadrilogy. There's so much to try here.

For earlier entries, see these: Feb. 4, Feb. 7 & Feb. 9.

Kreatopita (baked minced pork in filo pastry). A terrific snack; not too filling or oily, despite lots of succulent chunks of pork encased within.

Piadina (sandwich-like toasted pizza). A light, crisp pleasure, bursting with flavour, thanks to the ham-&-cheese stuffing. Best eaten while piping-hot.

Buccatani Amatriciana (thick pasta with bacon & onions in herb tomato sauce). Satisfying enough to rival the offerings of any Italian outlet on this street.

Pork Milanese. Wonderfully juicy meat, pan-fried with breadcrumbs.

Baby pork ribs with Bearnaise sauce. A hearty serving, but not the best option here; stick to the established pork outlets elsewhere for more tender and flavourful ribs.

Duck breast salad, with grapes, gorgonzola cheese, pine nuts & mustard dressing. Another generous helping, but duck breast can sometimes be too chewy to enjoy (probably the result of being the healthiest part of the fowl).

Pork schnitzel. Somewhat similar to the Pork Milanese, except that it seemed to have melted gooey cheese and ham inside.

Warm chocolate flan. Perfectly prepared.

Complimentary limoncello, much appreciated.

Mimosa & Singapore Sling.

White & red wines.

Midori Illusion & Champagne Martini.

Long Island Iced Tea & Kir Royale (creme de cassis, prosecco).

Rossini (strawberry puree, prosecco) & Champagne Flamingo (vodka, campari, prosecco).

Giovino,

Changkat Bukit Bintang.

Loving Hut @ Puchong

A pleasant suburban outlet with plenty of wholesome vegetarian options.

"Rainbow enzyme" yee sang. Basically a fruit-filled version, with lots of grapes, jackfruit and dragonfruit to provide the platter with a natural sweetness.

Mixed combo. Excellent variety, especially the selection that looked like eel but tasted like hash browns. Also loved the "shark fin" omelette, the "fish" tempura & "venison" chops _ none of which seemed overly processed, artificial or laden with MSG.

Green veggies with wolfberries and shimeji mushroom. Fresh and crunchy, but otherwise unmemorable. Maybe we're just not into real veggies.

Treasure pot, comprising bean curd, mushrooms and arrowhead roots. Not unusual, but still very tasty comfort food, with a terrific herbal flavour.

Longevity Seaweed Steak with yellow bean sauce. If we were blindfolded, we'd have sworn this was a freshwater fish.

Brown rice. Hurray for eating healthy!

Warm red bean dessert. Perfectly prepared, not too sweet.

Loving Hut,

Jalan Puteri 2/7,

Bandar Puteri Puchong.

Tel: 8976-1811