Darn.
:(
I had always wanted to dine at the Carat Club... but now, it's too late as it has joined the League of Dead Restaurants.
(It's not easy to open and maintain a successful restaurant in KL)
Anyway, with each passing (of a restaurant), there comes the opportunity for the birth of something new, in this case a restaurant called Ben's:
I liked the restaurant decor - simple, modern yet cosy with its wooden finishings contrasted with its bright neon yellow feature walls:
(It is also dimly lit enough to be a good date night restaurant - just that it is fairly packed and can be noisy)
The menu is really extensive, almost mind boggling, as there are a lot of different pastas, sandwiches, snacks and desserts to choose from, as well as a few heavier, meaty dishes and Asian fare.
It took a while for us to decide but after poring through the menu, we decided to start off the night with something relatively exotic, the Ox Tongue Salad (RM 19.90++):
The fresh greens, pickled onions and simple chunks of potatoes tossed with a light cream sauce (and a bit of mustard, I think) were excellent. It tasted carby, savoury yet piquant - wholesome food at its best...
However, while the accompanying slices of ox tongue were very tender, it also had a slight gamey taste that may put off people who are sensitive to this.
(Case in point: I liked it, but my dining companion said "YUCK"...)
For our mains, we had the Crabmeat Puttanesca (RM 23.90++):
.. and the Basil Pesto Spaghettini (RM 18.90++) with added Chargrilled Chicken (RM 6++):
First thing to note is that the pasta servings here are kinda LARGE. I think we could have shared one pasta between the 2 of us to make it part of a "just nice" 3 course meal.
(Vs. stuffing ourselves silly that day - Was SO full after that...)
Anyway, between these 2 pastas, I much preferred the Crabmeat Puttanesca with its flavorful tomato based sauce, bits of juicy crabmeat and capers. Still, it's not that the Pesto Spaghettini was bad, just that it was a little bit too heavy/ oily and the fragrance of the basil in the pesto was a bit too delicate.
For dessert, we decided to share the Chocolate Truffle Torte (RM 10.90++):
OK. To be fair: Maybe they were just having a bad day, because according to the nice waiter (when I tried giving feedback) - this cake is one of their most popular orders. Anyway, when I tasted it, I was a little let down as it had a slight flour-y aftertaste, gummy texture and was kinda hard.
:(
How hard?
Well, you can poke a fork in, waggle it around and it will still completely maintain its shape:
(Here. See - here's a photo of my cheeky friend waggling the cake around in front of my face)
Overall, I enjoyed dinner and spotted a couple of dishes (wagyu beef pie!) that I wanna go back and try....
(I suspect they need to take some time to weed out the not so yummy stuff in their menu though)
Anyway, thanks to Mr G the Workaholic Social Butterfly for taking time out of his busy BUSY work and social calender to have dinner with me :P
So it's: Nice modern yet cosy ambience, friendly service, good range of western and Asian food for reasonable prices (considering its in a high end mall) BUT nothing really bad, just that there are a few hits and misses on the menu......
Restaurant Review
Summary Sheet:
Ben's @ Pavilion, KL
6.11.00 & E.6.11.00, 6th Floor, Pavilion Shopping Mall, 168 Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur
Taste: 6
Ambience : 7
Service : 6
Price** : RM 55++ per person
Parking: OK
** Approximation - 3 course meal, excluding drinks
Telephone No.: 03-2141 5290
Opening Hours: 11am - 10pm
Official Website: Click here :)
NO PORK SERVED
MAP:
View Larger Map
OTHER REVIEWS:
- Eat Drink KL
- Cumi dan Ciki
- KY Speaks
- sushitalks
- Chocolate Cats & All Things Strange
TAGS: Food, Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, Restaurant Review, Ben's by BIG, Australian, Pavilion Shopping Centre, KL, Kuala Lumpur
Posts
Isn't this like part of the BIG group or something?
ReplyDeleteHaha, the photo ur friend poke the cake!
ReplyDeleteyaaaa, boo hoo about carat club! it was one of pavvy's nicer eateries (but luckily, ben's is also nice, huh!) :D the place looks really crowded in your pics; guess i'd need reservations to dine here next time!
ReplyDeleteto Michelle Chin:
ReplyDeleteYup. It's the newest addition to the BIG group. :)
(Wow. They are really churning out new restaurants pretty quickly, don't you think so?)
to choi yen:
LOL. Yaaarrrr. So funny right? :)
(Told him not to play with his food but he didnt listen to me)
to Sean:
Boo hoo. At least u got to try Carat Club. I never even stepped in. :(
does the restaurant serve halal food? i mean, i know that there is no pork. but is the food cooked with alcohol ?
ReplyDeleteTo mierabun:
ReplyDeleteI put "No pork served" instead of "Halal" because they serve alcoholic drinks in the restaurant. :)
As for the food, I don't think they use alcohol in the food. But there are so many items on the menu so I can't give a guarantee. If you want to be 110% sure, I guess it's best to ask the waiter when u r ordering. They are very friendly and I'm sure they'll double check with the chef.
who's the guy:p hahaha
ReplyDeleteto Ciki:
ReplyDeleteIt's the friend I brought to the gym once (quite a while ago). Remember him? At Empire....
:)
not bad this restaurant...will go for it when i get back to malaysia
ReplyDeletethefye.com <<<feel free to click
to kumfye:
ReplyDeleteYeah, the restaurant is not bad. :) Hope you will enjoy the food when you try it out.
(And thx. Will check out ur blog soon)
Don't think I can stomach the ox tongue. But I'll have the crab meat puttanesca when I go there! :)
ReplyDeleteto Bangsar-bAbE:
ReplyDeleteLOL. YWell, if you feel like something beef-y, I heard that the Wagyu pie there tastes good. :)
Woo...noisy ar the place? Noisy as in normal din, or is it so bad that it's not a good place to bring a date?
ReplyDeleteto UnkaLeong:
ReplyDeleteI think generally it should be ok, but it depends on who happens to be sitting at the next table.
(I had a group of fairly loud ladies at a nearby table that night)
Still, if it happens to be noisy just move a little closer to your date loh. :P
Been there twice, cheesecake+rocky cake was nice.
ReplyDeletePasta carbonara very creamy. Hhmm..I'm definitely goin back soon fr more desserts ;)
The pasta looks good!
ReplyDeleteto thenomadGourmand:
ReplyDeleteI wanna go back for the wagyu pie! :)
(Cool. Will try those desserts instead next round. I think I just had bad luck and chose the wrong one that night)
to Pureglutton:
TYeah, the pasta puttanesca was pretty good. :)
Yewww, Ox Tongue. I remember when I used to live in England, those were a common delicacy that can be bought at Supermarkets. But never did dare to give it a try.
ReplyDeleteto Thristhan:
ReplyDeleteHaha. Well, I'm usually quite squeamish when it comes to more exotic parts of animals as food, but if you can get over the slight "ew" factor, it tastes pretty good. :)
so many ppl rave about this place which means i really really ought to find my way there
ReplyDeleteto babe_kl:
ReplyDeleteIt's one of the better, more affordable options in Pavilion, but just be careful what u order. Definitely got yummy things on the menu but also got a few which are just ok. :)
(If I compare my visit and the others' visits)
All i could say is the customer service there was bad. Although it was pack doesn't mean they could treat the customer rudely albeit we were being polite. Call us unlucky or what.
ReplyDelete-Unhappy and gravely disappointed customers-
To anonymous:
ReplyDeleteHmmm dunno whats happening to the restaurants in the BIG group - personally, I have already started making it a point to avoid Plan B cos of the bad service but sad to hear that it's becoming a problem at Ben's too :(