Garibaldi, Bangsar Village 1, Kuala Lumpur

Late June saw us make a visit to Garibaldi, Bangsar Village 1. We decided to try the degustation menu  at RM160 per pax.

We were served breadsticks and freshly baked focaccia. The breadsticks were served on a base of coarse salt that was dyed pink.

 

Kav: The breadsticks were mediocre. However, the focaccia was to die for. It was freshly baked, warm, soft and crispy.

Shiv: Excellent way to start our dinner. The bread was heavenly and the breadsticks were presented beautifully. However, I am not a big fan of breadsticks, so this was just OK for me.

Mien: Breadsticks were very ordinary. The focaccia was nice, hot and my bread knife just sliced through it. The hint of cheese made it more amazing.

Gaj: The focaccia was lovely and it was so good that it melted in my mouth.

We were then presented with the Chef’s Daily Special Creation, Stuzzichino, which was quinoa with an edamame bean.

Kav: This was really something different. It was delicious and the texture was very similar to couscous. The edamame bean complemented the starter perfectly. Loves!!!

Shiv: Had a natural, earthy taste to it. Loved it!

Mien: I did not like the combination of the edamame bean with the quinoa.

Gaj: I loved this starter, it was yummylicious.

The first dish was Carpaccio Di Pesce, which is a King Fish Carpaccio with Orange segment, Pine Nut and Golden Trout Caviar.

Kav: This dish was a combination of many flavours. The strong fish flavour went perfectly with the pine nuts and caviar. However, I was not a big fan of the orange segments as it overshadowed the fish flavour, but this could also be because I am not a fan of fruit in savoury dishes.

Shiv: I was pleasantly surprised despite the fact that I am not one for sweet elements in my savoury dish. There was a party going on in my mouth!!

Mien: I did not expect it to taste that good considering the fact that I thought the combination was odd. Found the carpaccio to be too fishy, but the citrus effect of the orange sliced through the strong fish flavour and made the dish really good.

Gaj: The fish had a great smokey feel and the dish had a piquancy to it. It was presented beautifully and it reminded me of the beauty of summer.

Dish number two was linguine, which was a flat spaghetti pasta with crab in white wine sauce and sweet cherry tomato.

Kav: The pasta was delicious, it tasted of the sea. The white wine sauce was slightly creamy and the crab flavour was strong and it carried the pasta entirely on its own.

Shiv: OH MY GOD! It was an orgasmic experience. Best dish of the night, hands down!

Mien: Really liked the pasta, I could taste the crab essence – flavoured very well.

Gaj: This dish was..........'wait-for-it’.......... AMAZE-BALLS!

Next up was the Straccetti. It was home-made fresh pasta with smoked duck breast on borlotti bean purée.

Kav: The pasta was too meaty and poorly flavoured. The purée did not coat the pasta well. POOR!!!

Shiv: As a duck lover, I enjoyed this dish moderately. I think they should have used tagliatelle instead of pappardelle as it would have complemented the dish better.

Mien: Tasteless. Flour-y. Dislike.

Gaj: I do not enjoy duck generally, and found this dish to be too floury and too pungent.

For the main course, Garibaldi’s degustation menu offered a choice of Merluzzo (Roasted Atlantic Cod)  or  Cappone (Boneless Chicken stuffed with Chestnut and Ricotta cheese, served with sautéed spinach and foie gras sauce). The four of us, being cod fanatics, obviously decided to go with the cod fish.

We waited awhile for this one, but when it arrived, it did so in splendour.

The fish arrived in a plastic-like closed package for each one of us, and had to be cut open by the waiter.

It was steaming hot and the aroma of the fish in its broth hit us at once.

Kav: I believe that cod fish is one of the easiest things to get right as it is an oily fish full of flavour. However, this was a real letdown as the fish was not fresh. I felt like I was eating a very poorly flavoured rubber band!!!

Shiv: Major disappointment. The fish was not fresh and the poorly flavoured broth did nothing to help the dish.

Mien: Highly^^∞ dissatisfying. I love fish, but this was out.

Gaj: As someone who loves cod, it saddens me that this dish was not up to par.

*Since we unanimously found this dish to be a bit wanting, we decided to inform the waiter of our disappointment. He then notified the sous chef, who attended to us promptly. Upon discussing with the sous chef, who was very obliging and polite, he offered to serve us the other choice of the main course, Cappone to compensate for our dissatisfaction. We happily agreed.

Kav: This dish was way over the top. I felt like the cheese overwhelmed all other flavours. I enjoyed it initially, but as I went on, the foie gras and cheese were too heavy and the flavours clashed.

Shiv: The chicken breast was really tender. The sautéed spinach was to die for. The combination of foie gras, spinach and chicken was a match made in heaven. It was a filling dish.

Mien: Hate foie gras, hence I could not enjoy this dish. Quietly enjoyed my sautéed spinach.

Gaj: I felt like the combination of foie gras and chicken was too heavy and did not quite enjoy this dish.

The degustation meal ended with Zabaione, which is mixed fresh berries in Porto wine sabayon with pistachio gelato.

Kav: The combination of the mixed berries, Porto wine and the pistachio gelato was magical. However, I personally felt that the sabayon was too sweet.

Shiv: The berries used were fresh and the Porto wine did not overwhelm the dessert. The flavours complemented each other well and it was a fantastic way to end the meal.

Mien: I am not big on sabayon but I loved this dessert. The pistachio gelato was just exquisite. Would probably go back and order the pistachio gelato by itself.

Gaj: The pistachio gelato was yummylicious and the cream that accompanied it was nothing short of delicious.

*The degustation experience concluded with a choice of coffee or tea.

Since we were there for a birthday celebration, they served us a complimentary tiramisu without liqueur.

Kav: The virgin tiramisu was not bad, though I was not overly impressed.

Shiv: Average. Not memorable. *Yawn*

Mien: Very mediocre.

Gaj: It was just alrite.

*On a previous visit, we tried the tiramisu with almond liqueur. We unanimously agreed that it was distasteful as the liqueur used did not complement the mascarpone cheese well. It tasted chemical-ly.

To our pleasant surprise, we were served an additional dessert, strawberry sorbet, on the house.

Kav: Strawberry flavoured cough mixture!!! Ewwwww…..

Shiv: Unfortunately, we were not impressed with this dessert, as the strawberry flavour tasted artificial. On the whole, this dessert lacked the freshness that you would normally expect in a sorbet.

Mien: BAD SHAPE!!!!

Gaj: Not a big fan.

Verdict: WOK OFF!

Below expectations. The one thing that we all agreed on was that the starters were decent and the first dessert was amazing! Garibaldi did not live up to its hype.

GARIBALDI ITALIAN RESTAURANT AND BAR,Lot. 10 & G22, Bangsar Village 1,
Jalan Telawi 1,
59100 Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
 
Tel: +603 2282 3456/57

Opening Hours:
Restaurant: 12PM-3PM and 6PM-11PM daily
Bar: 12PM-12AM (Weekdays)
12PM-1AM (Weekends and eve of public holidays)