Vintry, Wine Bar and Restaurant, Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur

When you enter the restaurant, on your left there are high tables with high chairs, a very bar like concept and on your right are rows of wine bottles segregated by country. The wine cellar-like ambience and the cozy lighting only added to the charm of this place.

We started the meal with a bottle of wine, which we chose from their wide selection. We decided on their Felsina Chianti Classico Riserva 2007, a Sangiovese from Tuscany Italy (RM277).

Kav: Loved this wine, it was of medium body and had a bit of a smokey, fruity flavour to it.

Mien: Good wine…. not too heavy!

Shiv: I’ve always wanted to try a Sangiovese, and this was my first experience. Absolutely loved it! Light and made for a perfect starter wine to a meaty meal.

For starters we had Sautéed Mushrooms, which were sautéed button mushrooms with garlic and basil (RM16).

Kav: The mushroom and garlic pair was earthy and packed a punch. The sweetness of the Basil complimented the dish perfectly. Loves!!!

Mien: THE BEST DISH OF THE NIGHT…. just enough garlic… and the touch of the basil… amazing…

Shiv: Wow! Really good. They were super generous with the garlic, which I loved, and the mushrooms were flavoured really well.

Gaj: Probably the best dish of the night! The garlic complemented the mushroom really well.

We also had the Vintry Roast Pork, which is their signature dish roasted and crackled with their traditional home-made recipe (RM 8/100g).

* We requested for condiments of chilly sauce and mustard.

Kav: Liked this. The crispy edging and the fattiness of the succulent pork was delish. However, I have tasted better roast pork.

Shiv: It’s hard to get roast pork wrong, and this place didn’t, thankfully. Liked it a lot, and was left wanting for more.

Gaj: The roasted pork was fair, was NOT jumping for joy, which is my usual reaction to roasted pork.

Since we were having a whole load of pork-y goodness, we decided to order a vegetarian pasta to cleanse our palates. We ordered a Spaghetti Aglio Oglio, pan-fried with extra virgin olive oil, garlic, basil, pine nuts and chili flakes (RM20).

*This dish was chosen from the Ribs by Vintry menu.

Kav: The garlic-y flavour with the earthy pine nuts was really good. It was a very minimalistic pasta with simplistic flavours.

Mien: They actually ordered this cause of me :-P... hmm not flavoured well.. bland!!! Loved the pine nuts... but could have done with a bit more garlic and chilli flakes.

Shiv: Was not flavoured well at all, and there was a pool of olive oil at the bottom of the bowl when we were done (sickening!). Would not order this again.

Gaj:  I did not enjoy this pasta, was too bland and the pasta was not al dente.

Our next order was a full on pork dish. Braised Pork Ribs, braised in their red wine herb sauce, served with rosemary baked potatoes and grilled asparagus (RM49).

*This dish was chosen from the Ribs by Vintry menu.

Kav: OMG, the best ever dish of the night!!!!! It was a burst of flavours in my mouth. Sweet, savoury, and sour flavours which complimented the pork brilliantly. The gravy was so good that I use it to eat the fries and also put some on the burgers. Yummylicious!!!!

Shiv: What a dish! A must try for all you pork-lovers out there (you know who you are). The sauce was perfection, and the ribs were succulent and flavoured really well. The ribs were meaty, and they managed to retain the juices somehow. Sheer brilliance!

Gaj: Amaze-balls! The sauce complemented the dish very well, must be the red wine =). The pork ribs were cooked to perfection!

Our love for scallops prevailed and we decided to order their Sautéed Scallops pan-fried with roasted capsicums and bread crumbs (RM39).

*This dish was chosen from the Ribs by Vintry menu.

Kav: The scallops were stale and not juicy. It lacked flavour. Disappointed!!!

Mien: STALE… STALE… RUBBERY… STALE… YUCKS!!!

Shiv: Un-fresh! Un-flavoured! Unsatisfactory!

Gaj: NASTY! The scallops were not fresh!

We almost named our blog Banging Bangers, so what can we say, we love ourselves some good ol’ sausages. Thus, our next order of business was Three Musketeers, a platter of pork sausages on a bed of mashed potatoes and sautéed cabbage (RM39).

Kav: This was probably one of the worst gourmet sausages I have tried. Three out of the four sausages were sweet. Only the white sausage was nice, it had an herb like savoury taste to it.

Shiv: Ok, seriously, it takes little to impress me with gourmet sausages, but for a porky place, Vintry serves absolutely crap sausages! The skin lacked the ‘snap’, and the filling was so bland. And honestly, who makes sweet mashed potato?!

Gaj:  Totally unimpressed by their sausages. The sauce was sweet, yuck! The cabbage tasted like sauerkraut. Not a big fan!

Next up we tried their Piri-Piri Pork Burger, which was a minced pork patty with grilled aubergine and tomato salsa, topped with almond picada (RM25).

Kav: The patty was very ordinary and the salsa was not well flavored. The chips were dry and not crispy.

Shiv: The pork burger here was so disappointing. The patty lacked juiciness and the only thing that made this palatable was the fact that we used the red wine herb sauce from the braised pork ribs dish to ‘re-season’ the burger.

Gaj: Again, unimpressive! The patty was just not up to par! The mediocre salsa and aubergine did nothing for me or the burger.

We also tried another burger which was their Blue Cheese Pork Burger with piquant Blue cheese sauce, topped with fried pork bacon (RM26).

Kav: I love blue cheese, however the blue cheese sauce was just cloying and I felt like I was eating a blob of cheese!!! Dislike!!!

Shiv: The cheese over-whelmed the lackluster patty – not because it was too pungent, but because the lack of meatiness of the pork failed to cut through the strong cheese.

Gaj:  I usually don’t mind blue cheese, but this was a tad much for me. The sauce was disgusting and the fried pork bacon did not save the day.

The last dish we ordered was their Cereal Chicken, crispy chicken slices topped with crunchy cereal, curry leaves and cili padi (RM18).

Kav: This tasted like a sad excuse for Chinese style butter prawns except that in this case it was chicken. POOR!!!

Mien: NESTUM chicken more like… Just plain sweet and bad!!!

Shiv: Wow – what an epic failure! I could hardly taste the chicken as there was way too much cereal, and the whole thing ended up tasting floury.

Gaj: I was looking forward to this dish as I love cereal chicken, but it was so disappointing.

By the time it came to desserts, we were already stuffed silly. However, we decided to go for two desserts.

The first one was an Affogatto, a scoop of vanilla ice cream in a rich coffee espresso with whipped cream and cocoa powder (RM12).

Kav: Delish!!! The ice cream was good and the coffee was divine, and both flavours were perfectly balanced.

Mien: The best dessert of the night! Good coffee and ice cream result in a good Affogatto!

Shiv: Can’t go wrong with Illy (yes, I know I’m beginning to sound like a broken record!). This was surprisingly one of the best affogatto’s I’ve tried, and I liked the fact that they brought the espresso shot separately – so  it was still hot when we poured it in. Perfection!

Gaj: Very very good! The coffee was amazing and the ice cream was of good quality.

For the second dessert we tried their Tiramisu, a blend of Italian lady finger biscuits soaked with Mascarpone cheese, liqueur and coffee (RM15).

Kav: At first when I had this, it felt like I was eating a whole load of cream. Then we asked them for a shot of espresso to be added into the dessert. I liked it after the additional shot.

Mien: NOT TIRAMISU… more like cheese cake, without the base… honestly all freaking mascarpone cheese… and NO SPONGE BISCUITS!!! NOT TIRAMISU… SO ANGRY THINKING ABOUT HOW PEOPLE MAKE TIRAMISU WITHOUT THE BASIC TIRAMISU INGREDIENTS!! ANGERRRIIIIIIIINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!

Shiv: Agreed that Tiramisu shouldn’t be called so unless it has all the necessary elements! Thank god we had that extra shot – made it taste actually good. (Otherwise, Mien might have had a coronary!)

Gaj: After the shot of espresso, this became more edible! Not bad – but request for a shot of coffee!

Verdict: WOK OFF

PRICE: Expensive. (Total = RM586.96 for 11 dishes & 1 wine bottle – 4pax)

AMBIENCE: Chilled out, cozy, wine cellar-like ambience which is perfect for a get together with buddies.

SERVICE: Could be better (waiters/waitresses were sparse and some were unfriendly).

FOOD: Below average – certainly did not warrant the hefty bill. However, their wine selection was good.

VINTRY DAMANSARA

130, JALAN KASAH,
MEDAN DAMANSARA,
50490 KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA

Tel: +603 2094 8262

Email: sales@vintry.com.my

Website: http://www.vintry.com.my

Opening Hours:

Mon-Sat: 12.00pm till late. Kitchen closes from 3.00pm till 6.00pm.

Closed on Sundays and on certain public holidays.

Espressamente Illy, Bangsar Village 1, Kuala Lumpur

“What shall we have for dinner?”

“Hmmmm….. Shall we try out Espressamente Illy since soooo many people have talked about how good the food is?”

And of course… that is exactly where we ended up!

Like most Italian restaurants, we were welcomed with a bread basket which came with an olive oil and balsamic vinegar dip. The bread served was normal white baguette.

Kav: The garlic-infused olive oil and vinegar was pungent, and flavoured the bread well. However, they could have used fancier bread.

Shiv: Although the bread was ordinary, I loved the idea of the garlic pip placed in the EVOO. Added a nice garlic-y flavour to the dip, and made for a pretty good starter.

Mien: Mediocre… nothing to shout about!

We had a starter, Crostini con Salmone e Alici, which is crostini with Tasmanian smoked salmon, horseradish, fresh dill, capers and anchovies (RM21).

Kav: The salmon and capers were salty and oily and the anchovies packed a punch. The dill also added freshness to the entrée. Beyond amazing!!!

Shiv: I absolutely adored this appetizer. It was tangy, yet not overwhelmingly sharp. The capers and anchovies, along with the sweetness of the dill, complemented the fresh salmon (that was smoked just right) perfectly. Would HIGHLY RECOMMEND this one!

Mien: Salmon was fresh and the anchovies were not too fishy - just right. However, I could not taste the horseradish! Bread was too stretchy!

The pastas we ordered arrived promptly thereafter. The first was the Spaghetti Aglio e Olie, spaghetti with garlic and chilli tossed with extra virgin olive oil (RM18).

Kav: The olio was earthy and flavourful. Love the garlic bits found in this dish. However, would have preferred if there was more garlic and at least one other ingredient.

Shiv: Was not wowed. The pasta was under-flavoured, and there was a pool of oil left in the bowl after polishing off the pasta.

Mien: Could have been flavoured more.

The second pasta was the Spaghetti al Pesto, spaghetti with chicken and Portobello mushrooms in basil pesto sauce (RM23).

Kav: As a pesto fanatic, this is probably one of the best pestos I have tried. The earthiness of the portobello and the flavour of the pesto was a good marriage, and the parmesan set the whole dish off to a new level.

Shiv: The pesto can easily be one of the best I’ve tried. Really strong basil flavour (in a good way) and the portobello was seasoned very well before being tossed along with the pasta. Hands down the best dish of the night! Small bone to pick (no pun intended!): The chicken chunks were too big.

Mien: REALLY GOOD! We were informed by the waitress that this dish was one of their bestsellers… and AMEN to that! One of the best pestos I have tasted! Just the right amount of pasta and sauce!

Mien and Shiv decided to “stop” with the mains as they wanted to have coffee and a dessert. Kav on the other hand wanted another main dish.

As such, Kav ordered the Vegetariana alla Griglia con Pollo, mixed grilled vegetables with marinated chicken breast served with basil pesto, pine nuts and toasted ciabatta (RM22).

We were so impressed with the food, we requested to have a quick chat with Chef James to pay him a compliment. To our surprise, he came out from the kitchen carrying our last dish of the night (more on Chef James at the bottom of the page).

Kav: I expected this dish to be perfection, as the bar was set pretty high for pesto dishes. However, it was a little bland, and the chicken was dried out. Also, the aubergines were not cooked till soft. Disliked the bread that came with this – it was as if the moisture had been sucked out of it. (Microwaved, perhaps?)

Shiv: Liked the earthiness of the bread, and again, they can do no wrong with the pesto. The vegetables were also grilled to charred-perfection (except the aubergines, which were slightly undercooked). I loved this dish so much, that I actually ended up finishing most of it!

Mien: Had a bite to taste. Hmmmm… found it very mediocre, will not order it again. The pesto saved this dish for me!

An Italian café definitely calls for a Tiramisu sampling, and Mien and Shiv chose to order the Tiramisu to share (RM15). Kav could not resist a mouth, and dug in as well.

Kav: Was overly sweet and the chocolate shavings had a cheap oily aftertaste. Not a big fan.

Shiv: Very poor. Where do I start? It was far from authentic; too sweet; and the sponge fingers was so dried out (you can actually notice that in the pic). Even the amazing coffee flavour, laced with liqueur, couldn’t help this one out.

Mien: DISAPPOINTING!! The Illy coffee is the only thing saving the tiramisu! There was something sickeningly sweet and ‘cough-mixture-like’ to the tiramisu, in my opinion!

Mien ordered the Caffè Fondente, a single espresso shot served with chocolate and topped with emulsified milk (RM12) while Shiv, the Caffè Latte Grande, large version of the Caffè Latte (RM13). Kav decided to go with the Hot Chocolate.

Kav: The chocolate used was really good, but I found the drink to be overly milky and sweet. Will not order it again.

Shiv: With coffee, my motto is: Go big or go home! And let me just say, this was a large cup of coffee-perfection! The flavour was STRONG and aromatic. It has since become the numero uno coffee in town – for me at least. Also, note the pretty tulip latte art. Errmmm… Starbucks who?!

Mien: The Caffè Fondente was mind blowing! Strong coffee flavour, yet it didn’t overpower the chocolate. AMAZING!

We were so impressed by the food, that Shiv and Kav brought a friend of theirs to the restaurant a week later!

The second time around, Shiv and Kav ordered two mains:

❶ Insalata Mediterraneo, mixed salad greens with artichokes, semi-dried tomatoes and feta (RM23).

Kav: Love love love! The sourness of the artichokes set off the entire salad. The chef could have been a little LESS generous with the oil though.

Shiv: Very fresh and well dressed. The artichokes were cooked well, and the feta added a burst of flavour. Overall, an A+ for this dish.

❷ Belezza Panino, grilled chicken breast with roasted pepper, aubergine, kalamata and melted mozzarella and pesto on wholemeal (RM19).

Kav: Love the bread used, but this was only mediocre. Tasted like something I could put together at home.

Shiv: The pesto was heavenly, again, and the olives added a nice twang. Tasty, but not superb.

And of course, no meal is complete without dessert and/ (or) coffee.

This time around, Kav ordered the Caffè Fondente, a single espresso shot served with chocolate and topped with emulsified milk (RM12).

*In a shocking twist to the saga, Shiv did NOT feel like having coffee! =)

Kav: Officially the best mocha I’ve tried. It was creamy-chococafe goodness.

Two desserts were ordered – first being the Affogato, vanilla ice cream in a shot of espresso (RM19).

Kav: The ice-cream was really bad – tasted cheap!!! Coffee was excellent, as expected.

Shiv: Did not live up to expectations, as you would imagine a café such as Illy, with its superior coffee selection, to make a mean affogato. The vanilla ice cream used tasted sub-standard, and although the espresso at the bottom of the glass was really good, I would still grade this as a fail.

Next up was the Panna Cotta, Italian creamy dessert served with wild berry coulis (thick sauce made from puréed and strained vegetables or fruits) (RM14).

Kav: TOO __ __ __ __ __ ! (Fill in the blanks guys. Clue: It’s a bad word in my dictionary.) Would have been really good otherwise as it was light and creamy all at the same time.

Shiv: Really enjoyed this one. There was a nice vanilla flavour, and although it was slightly sweeter than I would have liked, the texture of the cream and the tanginess of the coulis made this an absolute treat to the senses.

VERDICT: WOK ON!

PRICE: Slightly on the pricey side, but well worth every penny.

AMBIENCE: Modern, eclectic and sophisticated. (Love the portraits that adorn the walls.)

SERVICE: Staff are friendly, and attentive. Also, Chef James was kind enough to pay us a visit at our table to talk about his experiences (Thanks, Chef!).

FOOD: Excellent. Please head to Espressamente Illy right this moment if you’re in need of a coffee fix and something to whet your appetite!

ESPRESSAMENTE ILLY

LOT NO. F-12 & F-13,

FIRST FLOOR, BANGSAR VILLAGE 1,

BANGSAR BARU,

59100 KUALA LUMPUR

Tel: +603 2287 7078

Website: http://www.espressamenteilly.com.my/

Opening Hours:

10.00 am – 10.00 pm daily

*Note: Chef James is of Sarawakian origin and started off as a dishwasher 15 years ago in a restaurant. He has since worked his way up the ladder, and is now a chef at Espressamente Illy. He has previously worked in numerous other restaurants and dabbled in various cuisines i.e Italian, Spanish, etc.