Mandarin Grill @ Mandarin Oriental

Click here for earlier entry on Mandarin Grill (Feb. 11, 2010).

Heirloom tomatoes & mozzarella with basil & aged balsamic. A tasty twist to the typical Caprese salad, thanks to the fleshy, full-flavoured tomatoes.

Foie gras au torchon with pear & ginger chutney, beetroot puree & spiced bread. The traditional form of foie gras terrine, but a bit differently rendered from most versions in KL, since the liver is wrapped in a towel before being slow-cooked in a pan.

Black Angus steak tartare with mascarpone penne rigate & sourdough bread. The melt-in-the-mouth beef elevated this above other steak tartare recipes.

Semolina gnocchi romaine, with roasted eggplant & coriander oil. A pleasant change from potato gnocchi; less starchy and more reminiscent of couscous.

Wagyu beef burger Rossini, topped with foie gras, porcini mushrooms & truffle mayo. At RM185++, this is probably the priciest burger in the city, but it's worth trying. The beef patty was succulent by itself, but the chunk of pan-fried liver made it sublime.

Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Brut champagne.

Mandarin Grill,

Mandarin Oriental,

Kuala Lumpur.

Room Eighteen @ Berjaya Times Square

A bright, spacious mall outlet with warm service & whopping servings.

The obligatory yee sang was the ideal thing to whet our appetites.

Waxed meat with steamed rice. The salty sausages seemed to be of a reasonable quality, with a sticky sauce that gave a sweet flavour to the rice.

Mini "poon choy." Chinese comfort food at its best; a treasure trove of succulent roast duck, pork & chicken with mushrooms & veggies.

BBQ combo. Not the best in town; the siew yoke was too dry, the duck was mediocre, while the char siew leaned too far toward the fatty side.

Steamed garoupa fillet with bean curd sheets. Not as terrific as an entire fresh garoupa would taste, but decent enough to satisfy any fish cravings.

Poached bean shoots in superior stock. Forgettable.

Prawns with chicken floss. Addictive, thanks to the eggy-tasting floss.

Assorted dim sum. Loved the meaty siew mai & the crisp yam balls.

The fish balls & fried spring rolls were so-so, but the sesame balls were a sweet, sticky treat. Always nice to find a place that serves dim sum in the evening.

Room Eighteen,

Berjaya Times Square.

Conservatory @ Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur

For late-night drinks after Favola and Prime are closed, head to Le Meridien's lounge without fear of being kicked out (though last orders are before 1 a.m.).

The Ramel Coffee (double espresso, caramel syrup, cadbury chocolate powder, condensed milk, milk foam) & Coffee Frappe (coffee ice cream, kahlua, cream, ice) will help keep you awake for long conversations past your curfew, even if you haven't slept for over 18 hours.

Sit far away from the stage though, since the live band is typically loud (unless you don't mind staying silent throughout their performance and savouring their versions of "Endless Love" and "Greatest Love of All.")

Conservatory,

Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur.

Havana @ Changkat Bukit Bintang

Click here for earlier entry on Havana (Sept. 29, 2009).

Havana has expanded its menu even further since last September, with more specialties from New Orleans that aren't easily available elsewhere in KL.

Po-Boy (baguette dressed with Creole mustard, lettuce & tomatoes, stuffed with catfish & served with fries). Way better than Bubba Gump's version; this seemed authentic, with a succulent catfish fillet in a super-tasty sandwich.

Fried eggplant, marinated in Cajun spices, coated in cornmeal & served with aioli. Absolutely addictive; crisp on the outside, piping-hot inside.

Crab Rockefeller (Eastern Seaboard crab, seasoned & baked). Not a bad dip at all; the crab tasted meaty and fairly fresh.

Gumbo (chicken & andouille sausage stewed in okra broth with rice). A spicy, flavourful recipe, but would be better if they served more stew to help smother the rice.

Jambalaya (tomato rice & andouille sausage with chicken & seafood). The least impressive item that evening; a bland, boring concoction that tasted like local tomato fried rice.

Beignets (fried pastry covered with snow sugar). Simple but scrumptious. Not fluffy enough to qualify as a light dessert, but more of a carb-lover's dream come true.

Bourbon & Pecan Pie. Terrific stuff; a nutty, fresh-tasting warm pie.

Banana Foster Bread Pudding, made with rum, cinnamon & cream. We went bananas over this, gobbling up every sweet, comfort foodish mouthful.

Havana,

Changkat Bukit Bintang.

The 1885 @ E&O Hotel Penang

This entry wraps up our Penang series. A highlight was dinner at one of the island's most elegant settings, with impeccable food and well-honed service.

Bread with three flavours of butter (salted, pesto and sundried tomato).

Amuse bouche of beef wantan.

Preparing the Caesar Salad, tossed with garlic, olive oil, anchovies, mustard, topped with parmesan and croutons, served with smoked salmon.

This salad has become a cliche, but when it's executed with careful attention and a top-notch array of ingredients, it's 100 percent satisfying.

A fresh-tasting seafood sampler of soft-shell crab with cilantro salsa, seared tuna with ponzu dressing & coquille St. Jacques (scallop) with gazpacho dressing.

Cream of cauliflower soup. Luxuriously thick; who says soups can't be decadent?

Baked baby lobster tail. Meaty and succulent.

Spinach & Crab Cannelloni with seafood chili con carne, asparagus & soft shell crab. An intriguing combo of tastes and textures. The cannelloni was packed with fleshy chunks of crab meat, which had a creaminess that was nicely balanced by the tangy seafood.

Smoked lamb tortellini tossed with virgin olive oil, garlic, roasted pumpkin, pine nuts, young edamame beans & shimeji mushrooms, finished with crumbled Roquefort cheese. Delicious, but this needs to be shared because it's waaay too rich.

Preparing the Peach Melba, flambeed with Cognac by the table.

A melt-in-the-mouth sweet treat, served with vanilla ice cream and berries coulis.

Pumpkin & Ginger Cobbler with Russian caramel sauce and ginger ice cream. It's a risk to order cobbler, since this dessert can turn out too stodgy or dry. Thankfully, this warm, comforting concoction steered clear of those pitfalls.

Amaretto & Cognac Parfait with fruit salsa & vanilla sauce. Refreshingly cold.

Saint Clair Fire Road Chardonnay 2007 (New Zealand).

Terramater Paso Del Sol Merlot (Chile).

Dessert wine: Gianni Gagliardo Villa Moscatel 2007 (Italy).

The 1885,

Eastern & Oriental (E & O) Hotel, Penang.