Cungdinh Vietnam

If One Bangsar is indeed forced to close when its lease expires at the end of this year, we might lose one of the city's best Vietnamese restaurants.

Charcoal-grilled minced beef wrapped in wild betel. Fragrant and flavorsome.

A sampler of starters, mainly Hue traditional food _ prawn cakes, banana-leaf rice paste with minced prawns, tapioca rice cakes & spring rolls. Can't vouch for their authenticity, but they all seemed impeccably prepared.

Danang thick noodles, topped with prawns, chicken, sesame crackers & peanuts, served with mint, shredded banana flower & water spinach. Sounded like a complicated recipe, but it had a nice wholesomeness that made it taste almost home-cooked.

Tiger prawns broiled with rice wine. Plump, sweet crustaceans.

Hue noodles, buried and hidden beneath baby clams, starfruit, herbs & peanuts. Mix everything up for a nutritious, guilt-free noodle dish.

Charcoal-grilled snake fish. Fresh and tender enough to recommend.

Steamed seafood rice. We loved scraping out the succulent coconut flesh.

Can't leave without having the Vietnamese coffee.

Cungdinh Vietnam,

One Bangsar.

Zens @ One Bangsar

One Bangsar's uncertain fate (will it be forced to shut by the end of 2010?) leaves us fearful for outlets like Zens, which has been serving fairly good Korean fare for over a year.

The usual spread of accompaniments; the portions seem slightly smaller than what we're used to elsewhere, but maybe that helps curb wastage.

Kimchi soup. Nicely laden with clams and other fresh-tasting ingredients.

BBQ pork ribs. Reasonably tender and well-marinated.

Three-layer pork strips. No complaints; non-halal Korean outlets can be hard to find.

Burn, baby, burn!

A steamed egg accompaniment. Comfort food-ish.

Bibimbap. A bit bland; it seemed like an ingredient or two might be missing. Gogung at The Gardens still does my favourite version of this.

Complimentary dessert. The perfect end to our meal. Not too sweet.

Wild strawberry bokbunja. A pleasantly fruity change from wine and sake.

Zens,

One Bangsar.

Regal House @ One Bangsar

Can three Chinese restaurants survive at One Bangsar? Of course, Bangsar Seafood Garden has the edge, but House of Tang is still hanging in there after over a year. The latest entry is Regal House, which offers non-halal fare that's worth a try.

Kataifi wasabi prawns. A creative experiment that came out crisp, hot and not oily at all. Too bad the flavours were too subtle to leave a lasting impression.

Double-boiled chicken soup with sugarcane and water chestnuts. Lacked the sweetness that we prefer in Chinese soups, but tasted healthy and nourishing.

Steamed pomfret. Seemed reasonably fresh, but not really memorable.

Roast duck with wasabi sauce. A strange, superb creation, borrowing both French and Japanese elements; the meat was lusciously tender and flavourful _ everything that the best kind of duck should be.

Steamed pork. Slightly too salty, but addictively juicy.

TerraMater Paso Del Sol Chardonnay (Chile).

This post marks the one-year anniversary of Eat Drink KL. It's been fun so far, 461 entries later. Thank you for reading.

Regal House/ Regal Chinese Kitchen,

One Bangsar.

Vincenzo @ One Bangsar

A brief stopover for delectable desserts.

Baked chocolate pudding with vanilla ice cream. At a time when this recipe has become a cliche, Vincenzo's version is still one of the city's best, with a taste, texture and temperature that border on perfect.

Amaretto coffee tiramisu. Provided a nice alcoholic wallop.

Cointreau Orange and Rum & Raisin gelatos. Also wonderfully laced with booze.

Bacio Gelato (chocolate & hazelnut) and Chocolate Chilli Gelato.

White Sangria (orange, mango, pineapple, lime, brandy, white wine) and Red Sangria (same ingredients, except with red wine instead).

Vincenzo,

One Bangsar.

House of Tang @ One Bangsar

House of Tang has a few misses on its menu, but it still serves far more hits.

Hokkien Mee. Packed with prawns & pork liver, though lacking in wok hei.

Boiled Sunshine free-range chicken with Chinese wine. We love ayam kampung, so we had high hopes for this. Alas, the meat might have been way past its expiry date, since it had a strong "old chicken" stench.

Thankfully, the other platters proved very satisfying. The steamed pork with Chinese sausage and pumpkin was tender and utterly moreish.

Ming prawns flamed in Chinese wine. Marvelous. A robust taste of wine completely permeated the prawns, somehow without overpowering their fresh, natural sweetness.

Wok-fried spare ribs blanketed in salted egg yolk. Sinfully creamy stuff.

A dim sum menu remains available in the evenings. The prawns with Honmeiji mushroom dumplings were piping-hot, moist and delicate.

Siew long bao. The skin was a tad too thick, but the soup & stuffing were perfect.

Siew mai roll with cheese. A tasty recipe; thankfully, the cheese wasn't too strong.

Golden Sand buns, filled with a rich molten centre of salted egg yolk.

House of Tang,

One Bangsar.

Bangsar Seafood Garden

Thanks to Bangsar Seafood for this dinner. It was a treat, much appreciated.

Boneless chicken with fruit sauce ensured a terrific start to our meal. Awesomely tender; if Wagyu chicken ever existed, it might taste like this.

Wasn't as enthusiastic about the red snapper in bean sauce. The natural flavour of the fish seemed overwhelmed in this preparation. But hey, I still took multiple helpings.

Salted egg yolk crabs were what I anticipated the most. They didn't disappoint; this platter packs a powerful punch for the palate. Would definitely order it whenever I'm back here.

Stewed Chinese cabbage with dried scallops and mushrooms. Probably the healthiest item that evening. Guilt-free comfort food to warm both the stomach and the soul.

Omelette with crab meat. Imaginatively presented and tasty enough, but not especially memorable. Then again, I'm not a huge lover of omelettes anyway.

Seafood fried rice. Not rave-worthy, but nicely done. Fluffy and not oily at all.

Stir-fried prawns in special curry. Loved this. A thick, rich concoction that provided a magnificent workout for the tastebuds.

Steamed bean curd. Looked alarmingly yellow, as if it had been sprayed with kunyit powder. But thankfully, it tasted perfectly fine.

Butter crabs. I wish I could remember how this tasted, but the whiskey wiped out my memory at this point. Am sure it was as deliriously divine as it looks.

The restaurant is offering a cool promo this Ramadan, with special menus priced from RM498+ that feature various assortments of nine dishes (not the ones above) and a free kilo of crabs.

Bangsar Seafood Garden,

One Bangsar.