Marquise Patisserie @ Bangsar Shopping

Christmas seems to have come early at BSC this year.

We were delirious with delight as soon as we entered Marquise, surrounded by chocolates, cakes and confectionery that looked worthy of Willy Wonka.

The chocolates in particular are seductively and lingeringly aromatic; many of them come with fruits and/or nuts, offering various combinations of tastes and textures that pack an explosive punch of pure pleasure.

Clockwise from top: Rocky Chocolate (white choc with glazed almonds & cranberries), Nougat Truffle (dark choc with dark nougat cream with almonds), Truffle Cassis (blackcurrent truffle) & Mendiant Clover (dark choc with caramelized hazelnuts, pistachios & dried fruits).

Chocolate Ivory (choc moist cake layered with choc mousse & enrobed with 53% dark choc). Reasonably moist and fresh-tasting, but if you're not planning to overdose on sugar in one sitting, then stick to the chocolates for your first visit here.

For Ramadan, there's an Aidilfitri gift pack consisting of handmade baklava, chocolate almond ma'amoul, dried cantaloupe stuffed dates & "tropical luscious" pastry. A bit pricey, at more than 30 ringgit for eight pieces, but it comes in attractive wrappings, in case that matters.

Marquise Patisserie & Chocolaterie,

Bangsar Shopping Centre.

Coff & Tea @ Solaris Dutamas

Despite the increasing fame of Solaris Dutamas, one of the first outlets that opened here has continued to languish in obscurity.

The food at Coff & Tea _ a mishmash of Asian and Western sensibilities _ is unremarkable; the Kari Laksa Special features a thick broth brimming with bee hoon, fish balls, hard-boiled eggs & veggies, but it isn't flavorsome enough to return for.

Tried ordering stuff that the menu listed as "special," including this Nasi Goreng Chef Special. The slight twist was that the rice was imbued with tomyam paste, which provided it with a mildly pleasant spicy-sour taste.

Mushroom, egg & chicken sausage omelet. Reminiscent of breakfast buffets at mediocre hotels. Not terrible, but not as soft and fluffy as it could've been.

Mee Mamak Special. Soggy and salty. But then again, I can't quite remember having ever tasted satisfying mee mamak anywhere.

Ginger-flavored tea and teh tarik.

Addenum, Oct. 5: This restaurant has since closed.

Coff & Tea,

Solaris Dutamas.

Tel: 6207-8272

Cellar Door @ Doubletree by Hilton

Billed as "a wine-lover's Eden," this beautifully tranquil bar features soothing music to help customers unwind after a tough day at work.

A proper menu of tapas should be available here eventually, but for now, the focus is on a vast variety of wine, cocktails and hard liquor.

Miguel Torres Santa Digna Cabernet Sauvignon Rose & Vina Maipo Moscatel Semillon. Both Chilean, both might actually work a bit better with food.

This wraps up our Doubletree by Hilton series. Click these for the hotel's other outlets: Tosca (Aug. 9), Makan Kitchen (Aug. 11), Axis Lounge (Aug. 29) & The Food Store (Sept. 2).

Cellar Door,

Doubletree by Hilton,

The Intermark, Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur.

iL Primo @ Kia Peng KL

Il Primo, Part Two. Click here for previous entry on this restaurant (Sept. 1).

Pan-fried foie gras with brioche. Decadently buttery, impeccably prepared.

Orechiette with stewed rabbit. A rustic recipe, brimming with comforting carbs and tender chunks of meat in a thick, savory gravy that tasted lovingly home-cooked.

Sixty-day grain-fed Tasmanian Aurora lamb chops. Die-hard carnivores might kill for these succulent slabs _ exactly medium-rare as requested.

Beef cheek agnolotti, made in-house with porcini mushrooms. Similar to a recipe at Il Lido, but not as sublime. The minced beef was coarse and grainy, while the pasta skin was a tad too thick and the sauce seemed one-dimensionally salty.

Pistachio & bacio gelati. Topped with more adornments than any gelato elsewhere. Kinda distracting, but the gelato was sufficiently smooth and sweet to recommend.

Lemon tart. Not too sour, thankfully. Moist and fresh-tasting.

Tiramisu with marsala wine. Not the best in town, but rich and creamy enough .

Chocolate pralines, to end on a satisfyingly sugary note.

Gran Feudo Crianza (Spain). A very pleasant blend of 70 percent Tempranillo, 25 percent Garnacha and 5 percent Cabernet Sauvignon.

iL Primo Restolounge,

Jalan Kia Peng, Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 2143-2798

The Food Store @ DoubleTree by Hilton

Salads, sandwiches and pastries are among the highlights at Doubletree by Hilton's bright, cheerful cafe (which is staffed by the most pleasant service team possible), but we zeroed in the scrumptious-looking desserts.

Vanilla mille-feuille. Tasted fresher than expected; the whole wheat layers were a nice touch, reminiscent of healthy cereal grain bars.

Chocolate St. Honore. Moist and dense, but unmemorable. If you're waiting for a chocolate cake renaissance, it's not happening anytime soon.

Coconut moelleux with coco mango cremeux. Fruity, but we're not fans of coconut or mango, so this wasn't our favorite (why did we order it? well, it sounded interesting!).

Amarenatta chocolate mousse with cherries. The sumptuous texture, swoon-worthy cocoa taste and perfectly plump cherries all combined for a luscious mousse.

Cookie cheese cake. Creamy but still reasonably light, with a subtle flavor that should please anyone who prefers desserts to be a little less sweet.

The Food Store,

Doubletree by Hilton,

The Intermark, Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur.

iL Primo @ Kia Peng

We had high hopes for iL Primo, the latest addition to the city center's increasingly crowded dining scene. Thankfully, it lived up to most of our expectations.

Despite its name, this isn't exactly an Italian restaurant; pasta is one of the highlights of the menu, but the best recipes seem to focus on seafood. In some ways, iL Primo feels like a familiar cross between Shook!, Favola and Il Lido, but it still retains a sense of uniqueness.

Service is excellent; this is one of those places where staff members put customers entirely at ease and cheerfully try to fulfill every request. We lingered here for hours on a weekday evening, but the time flew by effortlessly.

Fine de Claire oysters. Sweet and fleshy, with a straight-from-the-reef sorta freshness.

South Australian Pacific oysters. Surprisingly, it wasn't easy trying to tell the difference between these and the French ones; these tasted a bit more briny, which we kinda preferred (!).

Hamachi crudos. Not a smashing success, since the slightly-too-salty dressing of grape seed oil, rice vinaigrette & yuzu overwhelmed the natural sweetness of the delicate yellowtail.

Vialone Nano squid ink risotto with Australian marron (freshwater crayfish), New Zealand little neck clams & Australian Boston Bay black mussels. One of KL's best versions of this recipe, bursting with the full flavors of the ocean. The rice was impeccably cooked, with a creaminess that absorbed all the savory richness of the superbly fresh seafood.

Grilled garoupa fillet with sea salt & extra virgin olive oil. Moist but firm; nevertheless, while it was nicely prepared, this isn't the most memorable fish around.

Wood-fired tiger prawns with pepper, bearnaise & horseradish cream chive sauces. Can't complain about this either, but sometimes, prawns are simply prawns.

Nova Scotia North Atlantic lobster & Norwegian red king crab legs. Very much recommended; perfectly plump crustaceans, with a smoky succulence that could scarcely be bettered.

Santa Julia Torrentes '08 (Argentina). Refreshingly light and easy to drink.

So is iL Primo KL's best new restaurant of 2010? Nope, that honor still belongs to Il Lido, Mandarin Grill or Nathalie's (I favor Il Lido). But it's in the Top 10 _ we've made two trips here over the past week; a second entry, for meat, pastas and desserts, will be posted soon.

Parking is abundant; the restaurant building has a large private compound. Prices are high, so be prepared for a potential shock to the wallet.

iL Primo,

Jalan Kia Peng, Kuala Lumpur.