Portofino @ Lucky Garden, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur

This F&B outlet surely had caught my attention when I passed by. 2 days later, I received an invitation by Chef Keli which I gladly accepted. Could be the "The Secret" presented itself. Hehe. 

Striking blue signage that enough to catch ones' attention  

The lower level of Portofino definitely drew some similarity to Porto Romano where I see frames of pictures made up of movie posters hung neatly all around the wall. 

Intimate seating environment 

As I stepped upstairs, the ambiance drew a more simple and classy setting with ample space, that is very well suited for company events, or parties. I was informed that on every Tuesdays and alternate Saturdays, there are group of salsa lovers that would dine and enjoy some salsa moves throughout the night.

Ample space upstairs 

The name of the restaurant was taken after this beautiful Italian fishing village and famous resort vacation spot famed for its picturesque harbour. 

Named after Portofine,, Liguria 

Portofino in Bangsar is jointly owned by 2 Italians, Chef Keli, Lucas, and owner of Porto Romano. As I shared my conversation with these two gentleman blessed with good Italian genes, I immediately gathered that they were both incredibly passionate about running this F&B outlet. Chef Keli had vast background in the culinary field ever since young, and during a trip to Malaysia, he was shared the idea of setting up a restaurant. When back to Italy, the idea was proposed to his dear friend, Lucas and before we know it, Portofino was made possible, and they have recently celebrated their 1st anniversary on 6 Oct 2015. 

Varieties of spaghetti were the main highlight for my lunch. Apart from the standard pastas, I've not seen one restaurant offering this many varieties - from ravioli, pappardelle, gnocchi, tortellini, tagliatelle. All their pasta are freshly made, and Chef Keli ensures that he uses the best supply available and am highly particular with each ingredient used. He also goes personally to the fresh market for some selection of fish and prawns. 

The highly recommended pasta was their Cannelloni ai Fruitti di Mare/Seafood Cannelloni. The fresh pasta are cut into long shape, to form a round shape. Within it, it is filled with cuts of fresh prawns, squid, mussels, fish and bechamel sauce. I love this fresh and reviving outlook of Cannelloni. Love the 3 round shape of pasta, served on top of very yummy gravy, accompanied by a neat portion of salad and decorative chocolate sauce. The gravy was cooked using fish stock, and to ensure quality of every sip of taste that goes into the mouth, the stock was cooked using prawn head, red snapper and its bone, together with tomato paste, celery, red onion, carrot, parsley, and cooked for 3 hours.

The pasta was baked with perfection, with slight crisp on top, and the creaminess of cheese on top. I love the generous portion of seafood used that tasted so delicious. That's not all, I found more generous cuts of prawns below the pasta, and with sweetness of the gravy, this tasted heavenly. 

Seafood Cannelloni. Price-RM36

Secondly, we were served the Tortellini Caserecci / Homemade Tortellini. It was the fresh tortellini stuffed with chicken meat and beef bacon, then cooked with cream, mushroom and turkey ham. The texture carried a slight thickness yet chewy and soft when eaten, and love the extremely creamy sauce. 

Homemade Tortellini. Price-RM38 

Each tortellini were filled with so much of chicken and beef bacon, and I could taste the freshness of the meat. 

All the goodness goo-ing out of the tortellini 

Thirdly, we had the Squid Ink Pasta. This was freshly made using black ink from squid. The tenderness of the pasta was apparent, and it was extremely fresh. The gravy has the fishy sweetness taste to it, and a hint of basil. Yumms.. 

Squid Ink Tagliatelle. Price-RM36

I thank Chef Keli to use cream quality that tasted so incredibly good that made this Gnocchi so luscious. This is made using mashed potato, flour, salt, pepper and parmesan cheese, and then cooked with imported cooking cream, blue cheese, and bacon. This indeed was my first time trying 'potato dumpling'. 

Gnocchi with Gorgonzola Cheese. Price-RM36

In the past, I have been recommended tiramisu which I was disappointed after I tasted it. I can't wait to taste what is this bowl of tiramisu made of. 

It was made using a long process, to ensure the authenticity of the tiramisu could be savored by its customers. First marsala being cooked, and then mixed with mascarpone, whipping cream, and combined with italian fingers soaked with almond liquor, kahlua and coffee, to derived with this bowl of tiramisu. The softness and the creaminess of the mascarporne was indeed melodious, and coupled with the apparent taste of alcohol, this was indeed a blissful bowl of tiramisu. 

Tiramisu. Price-RM16

The spoon of goodness

My meal ended pleasantly with a plate of dessert that brightened my mood instantly. This has to be one of the best well presented plate of dessert. This pannacotta tasted perfect - soft, and creaminess of the cream made me so delightful. The tinge of orange, and lemon zest gave the taste of this pannacotta an extra umph.  The fact that I'm so full and I can still feel how delicious this was, it must be divine. It indeed was one of the best dessert I ever tasted.

Tasted so good and so beautiful to see. Pannacota. Price-RM14

Flanked by the really tall chef, Chef Keli and Lucas 

I was indeed so pleased with the food quality, and more so of the passion that I felt that brimmed through Chef Keli as he explained to me on each and every dish served. The hospitality extended by both Chef Keli and Lucas were so warm. After this visit, I had the feeling of falling in love during my 1st date, and I can't wait to go for the next date, which I in fact had done so, the week after.  

Food - 9/10; Price - 9/10, Service - 9/10, Ambiance - 9/10 

Portofino
No 1 Persiaran Ara Kiri, 
Lucky Garden, Garden,
59100 Kuala Lumpur 
Tel : 03-2094 8490 

Business Hours : 
11am-11pm daily 

Pork-free (serves halal meat)

Kee's Creampuff @ Subang Jaya

Having tried Kee's Creampuff since their opening, it will soon celebrate their 3rd anniversary come July '15. During this time, I have seen that they have received good media exposure, and their product extension plan seems to be going on well, where they introduced their savoury creampuffs during late September 2014. 

Makes you wanna go in to have a bite or two 

Using orange as its core color, one will see the vibrant color making up big signages outside, inside, wall color, and any items that represent their brand.

Inside seating 

Kee's Creampuff carries 3 range of puffs, from classic creampuffs, their original taste, premium creampuffs which sees option of flavors such as blueberry, chocolate banana, cookies and cream, and in total, it has 15 flavors, which includes their specialty flavor, the durian creampuffs.  

For those who isn't up to have creampuffs, they also offer cakes, tea and coffee. 

Yummy tasting creampuffs and cakes on display 

Kee's Creampuff has attractive set meals, which in fact is a good idea to opt for.

Options of set meals 

In the past I have tried their range of classic and premium creampuffs, and I was really curious on how their savoury creampuffs taste like.

Kee's Creampuff is baked made out of choux dough mixed with mozzarella, cheddar and parmesan. To add on more elements, they infused parsley and thyme in their puff. 

I took their savoury puff set, which came with choice of 2 puffs, garden salad and chips, and 1 cup of americano or tea. With RM1.50, we can upgrade to cappuccino, latte or hot chocolate. 

The puff carried a slight crisp on the top part of the puff. Within the puff, they gave real generous portion of the filling. 

We opted for the sour cream and chicken ham bits. This was extremely delicious, and was truly appetizing due to the sourness taste from the sour cream and the chicken bits gave a good texture to the taste bud. 

The curry chicken with walnut prove to be a good combination, as the curry tasted yummy, ain't too spicy, chicken was in good size, and overall the crunchiness of walnut makes this a much recommended choice. 

Savory Puff Set. Price-RM13.80 

Curry chicken with Walnut (L) and Sour Cream & Chicken Ham Bits (R)

Kee's uses arabica made of Columbia beans, supplied by Hot Shots at Publika. The bean is of single origin, thus one will be able to taste how this Columbia beans taste like.

This indeed was a good cup of coffee, creamy and strong coffee flavor. 

Latte which came as part of our set (normal price-RM8)

The other available set was the Creampuff Tea Set, that comes with 2 creampuffs and an americano or tea. The price of set differs by selection of the type of creampuffs, with price differs from RM9, RM10 or RM11 for choices of classic, premium or durian puffs, respectively.

We took the durian puff set which is priced at RM11 (ala carte price would have been RM5.60 for puffs + RM7 for tea = RM12.60).

Seriously, the durian creampuff was insanely yummy, filled with its pure, creamy durian pulp. Kee's Creampuff's recipe for their puff differs from those available in the market,with theirs carrying a much softer texture. The durian paste was light enough for me to not me want more, yet thick enough to satisfy my craving for durian.

Durian Puff (normal price - RM2.80 per pc) 

Doesn't this make you wanna gobble down the durian puff? 

The tea bag they used was of good quality, and gave blossoms smell of the calming flavor of the chamomile. 

Chamomile Tea, which is part of Creampuff Tea Set (normal price - RM7)

This is indeed the right food, for someone that is looking for light food, dessert or party food. 

Kee's Creampuff 

Subang Branch (HQ) 

30-G Jalan USJ 9/5Q, 

Subang Business Centre, 

47620 Subang Jaya 

Tel : 017-384 2813 

Business Hours : 10am - 9pm (Tue-Fri), 10am-8pm (Sat), 10am-7pm (Sun)

Closed on : Mondays 

Bangsar Branch 

12A (1st Floor), Jalan Telawi 5,
Bangsar Baru 

Tel : 013- 277 2748 

Business Hours : 11am - 9pm (Tue-Fri), 11am-8pm (Sat), 10.30am-7pm (Sun)

Closed on : Mondays 

FB link, here

Antipodean @ Telawi, Bangsar

My dear friend, Janis, has been expressing how much she loved Flat White from Antipodean, and so, when she brought another mutual friend, Chloe, to try this out, I collectively received good feedback from these 2 coffee connoisseur.

Did some search online on blogs for this place, and somehow, the food and place looked really enticing. My chi-muis agreed to meet up here, and so we had our dinner together.

I liked the setting of Atmosphere, with cool use of black and red. And it was surely apparent, that they are serious about coffee. Info I gathered from KLue is that they uses quality coffee beans roasted by Indonesia's top specialty roaster, Merdeka Coffee, which is a boutique coffee company dedicated to sourcing, selecting and roasting the best Indonesian coffee. With its fair-trade policy, they only purchase their coffee from small Indonesian growers

Inside Antipodean

1st thing to order - Flat White.. Finally get to taste! Me too really liked this, like the 'kau'-ness (thickness) in the coffee (as some flat white I tried elsewhere, are usually rather bland), and just the right after-taste feeling, of the coffee lingering within.

Flat White. Price-RM8

Order are to be made from the big size menu ie. as written on the 'blackboard' wall. Just thought that they should also have hand-out menu, for easy reference.

Antipodean's menu

They have decent amount of selections, but confined to limited choices within a selection. Eg, they sell pasta, but there isn't many types of pasta dishes to choose from. Well, suppose this is acceptable, as long as what's offered is good.

Breakfast is served throughout the day, and thus we ordered the Big Breakfast. Came with toast, choice of bacon, chicken, beef or pork sausage, mushroom, scrambled egg, and hash brown. We took the pork sausage, which was tasty, and I super loved the saute-mushroom, which was saute to perfection, and just liked chewing and feeling the texture of the mushroom. :)

Big Breakfast. Price-RM18

This has to be my No 1 favorite Asian salad. The sauce that came with this plate of salad was really yummy.. It has the right balance of sourish taste, which made everything that went along with it, tasted so good, even the fried onion was good... It has quite a fair bit of shredded chicken too.

Burmese shredded chicken salad. Price-RM15

We placed the rest of the orders, after Jane arrived, the 'very-soon' mummy-to-be.

The pasta (conchiglie) has this chewiness, that somehow went pretty well with the feta cheese. The pumpkin, too, fills in as the right combination with this pasta dish, and it was sweet.. Nice! Gives a feeling of 'healthy' despite having feta cheese in this dish.

Pumpkin, sage and feta cheese pasta. Price-RM17

I took a bite of this croissant, scramble egg with bacon. I liked the open sandwich style, as it gives us the impression, wow, there's so much to eat.. In fact, nothing will not taste good taken with bacon, as bacon has the natural aroma and saltiness that perks up your appetite.

Croissaint, scrambled egg with bacon. Price-RM16

We too had the grilled chicken with tomatoes, green bean, and balsamic vinegar... The chicken was tender, and carried a level of sweetness (think was marinated with honey as well), and topped with the balsamic vinegar, 'perfecto'!.

Grilled chicken with tomatoes, green bean, and balsamic vinegar. Price-RM18

Lots of packed coffee, ready to go

A small area for the kids. Parents will surely appreciate this corner, to keep their children a little busy

We somehow will make 'special' effort to meet, prior to a chi-mui close to giving birth (same case with Rina the other time, but too bad, she could not join us this round). Can't wait to see the little Jane popping out.. must be as good looking as the parents.. :)

From L : Jo, me, Jane, Clarice

Antipodean Cafe

20, Jalan Telawi 2, Bangsar.
Tel: 03-2282-0411

Business hours :
8am-10pm

S'mores @ The Sphere 1, Bangsar South, KL

Met up for Chloe's farewell, as she is leaving to Shanghai soon. This was my first time to Bangsar South area, and was recommended to have lunch at S'mores by Chloe and Pacino whom work around this area.



After placing order, I was like 'hai em hai ka' (for real or not?), as their set meals come in such a reasonable price..

Each set comes with choice of drink (lychee, tea or orange juice), followed by soup, main meal accompanied by 2 side dishes (2 side dishes doesn't apply to pasta order), followed by ice-cream as dessert. Whaaaatttt a deeeeeal! I was also pleasantly surprised that the portion of the main meal was in fact, biggg...



For the drink, I liked my lychee drink.

Here's the starter for 4 of us - mushroom soup

Quickly took a shot of us for remembrance, and if its not apparent, I gotta say we were 4 souls in highly good mood, thus the great conversation. We were so relaxed, and it did not felt like, we have spent a good 3 hours, just like that..



From L : Chloe, whom is leaving to Shanghai soon; Pacino, the pro photographer; followed by me & Shereen, my BFF, the expert in mind & soul



Every of the meals ordered tasted excellent. Bet no one regretted their choice. :)



Shereen took the chicken pesto cream pasta. I tried hers... I was immediately hit with a 'wow' feeling.. or maybe a double 'wow... This creamy sauce, despite it is cream based, doesn't give the overwhelming creaminess, and the chicken was well grilled, that it brought so much flavor to the taste bud. Thumbs up for this.

Chicken Pesto Cream. Price-RM12.90+ (lunch), RM15.90 (dinner)

Chloe took the aglio olio with tuna. The tuna surely brought the right combination to the pasta. Also nice.

Aglio Olio with Tuna. Price-RM10.90+ (lunch), RM13.90 (dinner)

Pacino recommended this as a must have to me, as a 1st timer. The Australian white tuna fish was grilled to perfection. I liked the dense texture of this fish, giving me a real solid feeling. Not sure if there is such a way to describe fish. The 2 side order - corn cob was ok, however, i really liked the mash pumpkin. Healthy tasting yet yummy.

Australian White Tuna. Price-RM14.90+ (lunch), RM18.90+ (dinner)

Pacino had the Swiss Chicken Corden Bleu. I forgot to ask a bite on this, however, it really did look irresistible, when it was cut open, showing what awaits, inside this piece of chicken.

Swiss Chicken Cordon Bleu. Price-RM13.50+ (lunch), RM18.50+ (dinner)

Printed frames of picture, all over the wall.

Bar counter within the restaurant, with circles used as the main deco

Back side of the restaurant.. Sufficient seating area

S'Mores, the place to be, for good food, good price

I will very very soon be visiting S'mores for the 2nd time...



S'mores

Unit G2, GF, The Sphere 1, Avenue 1,

Bangsar South 8,

Jalan Kerinchi,

59200 KL

Tel : 03-2240 0069



Business Hours :

12pm-1am (Mon-Fri), 5pm-2am (Sat), 6pm-1am (Sun)



Email : reservation@smores.com.my

Website : www.smores.com.my

Hummingbirds Coffee Bar @ Telawi, Bangsar

Change of tenants for the better, why not? Capitalizing on Beatrice Looi's name, this corner shop lot at Telawi is now occupied by Hummingbirds Coffee Bar, which its popularity in Facebook is apparent.. Best of both world for the owner and partner, this cafe shares space with Beatrice's collection.

Seeing some of my friends liking this place on Facebook, I can't wait to try it out myself..And since Illa and I were around here, suggested to her, to hang out here for the afternoon.

Spot the Hummingbirds Coffee Bar

We immediately liked it when we stepped into this cafe, with such charming setting.

Hummingbirds - favorite of many

There were many varieties of cupcakes, macaroons and cakes displayed on the cake shelf. The friendly staff patiently explained each one of the offering to us.. More choice means more difficult to make a choice.

Should we have this, that, this or that? Aiya, not easy deciding la..

We ordered the pot of Camomille Tea, for sharing. And we both loved the piece of cookie that came with the tea. Yummy! Crunchy! Fragrant! But oops, forgot to ask what it was...

Yummy tasting cookie, that accompanied our Camomille Tea

We chose the Raspberry Macaron, crispy, and with thick filling inside. Like the soury taste from the raspberry.

Red Velvet cupcake came in such bright red.. hmm.. the sweetness was just right for me, however, the texture was way too dense, for my liking. I prefer more airy and fluffy cupcake.

Raspberry Macaron. Price-RM5 each, Red Velvet Cupcake. Price-RM6.50

Red Velvet, bursting with 'redness'?

The chocolate fudge cake with ice-cream, was simply divine. Moist chocolate cake with chocolate sauce, companied with vanilla ice-cream, no combination could be better.. This dessert that came with a price of RM16, ouch!

Chocolate Fudge Cake with Ice-Cream. Price-RM16

Illa and I, had an enjoyable afternoon

We didn't realized that we have sat here for hours, yacking away... Thanks to the cosy environment and the staff/owner here who were especially friendly and attentive :D

Hummingbirds Coffee Bar
21, GF, Jalan Telawi 3,
Bangsar Baru,
59100 KL
Tel : 03-2201 5889

Business Hours :
11am-10pm (Mon-Thu), 11am-12mn (Fri-Sat), 11am-pm (Sun)