Ben's General Food Store, Bangsar Village

Coming straight off his Lego camp, Idlan was understandably hungry. He did not have lunch earlier, although he had a late breakfast. Straight away, he told us he wanted pizza. We were settled at The Loaf earlier, but since it did not offer pizza, Dina, our guest, suggested we head across to Bangsar Village and try Ben's.

Again, it was quite a find. We went there a couple of months ago, but could not get a seat, and had to settle for an alternative place. Now, we understood why the place was packed during lunch.

I did not have the chance to peruse through the menu, but they mainly offer Italian and fusion food. We went straight for pizza and milkshake. It was a ten inch, thin crust pizza, and Idlan finished them all on his own - with the help of sprinkling of parmesan of course.

I did managed to sample half a slice. It was very nice. Nice crisp base, tangy tomato topping and nice smooth mix of mozzarella and cheddar. Served piping hot, in a nice little place and a personal roll cutter.

Idlan and Anita did some groceries while I was with Idlan. Irfan joined us later and we ordered another pizza for take-out.

The pizza has arrivedIdlan working on themOne more to go

Since it was a quick stop, we would definitely be returning. It must be the Raya spirit, as I was kind to both restaurants - The Loaf being the other - I entered this afternoon.

The restaurant was located on the Ground Floor of Bangsar Village, right by the main foyer, directly opposite Village Grocers. I have to warn you that the place tended to be packed during weekends, especially lunchtime ….

P/S - we had a slightly different experience the next time we came here.

The Loaf, Bangsar Village

Even though Bangsar Village had been the place we roam regularly, today was the first time we stopped over into The Loaf. The myth was it was a simple bakery. The fact was far from that. It was way more than that. It was a proper bistro, serving a wide range of food, from local, to Italian and Western.

We went there to join Dina and Azmel, friends from the times Anita was in the UK. We met after Friday Prayers, while Idlan was at the Lego camp.

I ordered salad and salmon panini, even though I have had lunch earlier. Anita had some salad, but the best order was from Irfan, who had mushroom soup, garlic bread, chips and fruit punch. Dina and hubby had some pasta, and we managed to sample some of their food. No, much to Idlan's disappointment later, they did not do pizza - we went across to Ben's for that later.

The ambiance of the place was really cozy, complete with fake trees with sound of chirping birds coming off them. The lighting was really nice, and the tables were well spaced apart. There were also seatings by the walkway, but those were closed this afternoon.

Langkawi sunset on the right and fruit punch on the left

The nicely presented mushroom soupThe garlic bread was really good - Irfan finished two orders of them. The fruit punch was excellent - which again Irfan had two portions of. My panini was rather too salty - which I suspected came from the cheddar cheese they used but the salad was fresh. The balsamic vinegar to top my salad off was a bit too strong for my liking. I had a slightly different mocktail, called Langkawi Sunset, which was excellent as well.

The pasta as it happened was a revelation, and we soon realised that we should have ordered those instead. We were too full to order dessert, and by the time that was due, Idlan had finished his camp. He wanted to have pizza.

I would definitely return to The Loaf soon, to sample some more of what they had to offer. The menu suggested that it was suitable for either lunch, tea or dinner. I did not think that they offer breakfast. The waiters there were also very informed of the menu and described the food very well, to help us decide on what to order.

Irfan munching away at his garlic breadThe panini had arrivedMy potato and avocado saladAzmel and Dina were doneDina said that, she personally preferred the outlet at Pavilion. The menu there was slightly different apparently. She had been a veteran at The Loaf, even holding a store membership card to accumulate points and get discounts.

The outlet was located on the Ground Floor of Bangsar Village II, right next to Delicious, by the main foyer. This outlet definitely got our seal of approval.

Iftar at Sudu

Earlier this evening, I was treated for Iftar at Hilton Kuala Lumpur, after attending a meeting there prior. The meeting ended just about Maghrib time, and I was served with dates at the conference room before being ushered down to the restaurant for the meal. When I was invited down, the usher asked me, "Dr Haris, would you like to come with me. We are taking the lift downstairs to Sudu for your meal." What? Sudu? Sudu literally translated as 'spoon' in Malay. Surely the could have come up with a more catchy name.

But anyhow, to Sudu I went. It was a buffet, and since I was already late, they have had a table reserved for our party, and the rest of the crowd has already been sat, starting their dinner already. Getting food was a breeze.

The restaurant itself, to be honest lacked real estate. It was pretty cramped, and we had to tussle to get to some of the corners to pick up our food. They had separate areas for starters, main meal, desserts and drinks. For starters, I had some beef kebab and satay, plus some kueh before moving on the the mains.

For the mains, I had some biryani with some chicken. I must say that the satay was a lot better than I expected. There was also lemming lemang but according to a friend of mine, it was rather too soft in the middle. The peanut sauce however was very tasty. The biryani was on the dry side, but was not bad at all.

After a good chat, I went for the dessert. And this was when I came across the sushi corner. Why not? Half a dozen slices of sashimi later, I was back to have some fruits and guess what? Some sotong kangkung as well. It was never going to be as nice as the one from Penang. In fact, it was pretty bad.

To top things off, I had some ais kacang and more fruits. I knew that I was piling up the calories, but at least I did not sample the lamb roast - or kambing golek! I'd probably have a coronary if I did so.

Yes, the place was cramped, and we were seated outside the actual restaurant, but in a comfortable corner. The service however was excellent. The waiters and waitresses were very attentive, and nothing was too much to ask. The tables where cleaned and plates were cleared without being asked, and they addressed us very professionally. They had staff manning all the stations, from kebab - which were freshly sliced and prepared to our request, to the nice ladies behind the ais kacang and sotong kangkung counters. But I was sure that that quality of service came with a price. According to my cousin who commented on Facebook, it would likely be more than RM100 per head. The dinner was not exactly extravagant, but I can see why it could cost that much.

There was limited information on this joint from the hotel website here, but the reviews online has not been too kind. Would I recommend it? Not really especially with the excellent Latest Recipe next door at Le Meridien. The combination of low lights and cramped space did not make for good photographing opportunity unfortunately.

Wadi Hadramawt

In the last few years, we have done Chinese, Indian, Minang, Western, Thai, so we thought we try Arab this year. Before everybody went overboard, the reason why we tended to go out for a big meal during my birthday was because I share it with my father-in-law - and Dr Mahathir as well if you must know - so, the family was actually celebrating his birthday and I just tag along for the ride. It tended to confuse my boys though as both their father and granddad share the same birthday.

Anita picked up Wadi Hydramawt. Every time we drove by Jalan Ampang, she kept looking at the restaurant and this time, she wanted to give it a try. Booking was straight forward, she asked for a private room upstairs and we turned up just after 8.30. Walking up the stairs proved a nuisance both for my kids and parents. So, be careful if you we planning to venture into the private rooms. We did not pre-order our food though.

Taking time to orderLet me start by commenting on the venue. It was a converted bungalow building, more of a colonial touch, right of Jalan Ampang, to your left if you were driving up from Ampang Park towards Jelatek. The building did look extravagant from the outside, and there were ample parking space for the patrons. It was attended full time apparently, so it was well-lit and safe. You have a choose of eating at the open verandah, or inside the building - our room were upstairs on the first floor. Pretty cosy but was crowded when we arrived. Sitting in the room, with the air-conditioning on cut us away from the buzz happening around.

The menu was straight forward, and we all took orders of rice with either chicken, lamb or fish. And here is a tip should you were there for a visit - order the set rice meals, such as chicken mendy rather than fish. The fish took a good half an hour to be ready, and were the laser to come. All the other rice meal I was sure were pre-cooked. The drinks came fast, so was the salad. Being a Sunday evening, I could appreciate that the restaurant was fully booked, but what did not help was they were clearly short staffed. And the staff on show were a mix of local and Arabs, and the Arab waiters could do with some English classes, as their Malay we non-existent. All that said, the waiter assigned to our table was courteous and did not mess our order at all. His English was another story.

So, what did I sample? Olive and hummus salad for starters, then chicken mendy for mains, with side orders grilled chicken - which looked and tasted pretty much like tandoori - and lamb with brinjal curry. For drinks, I had some freshly - and I really mean fresh - blended mango juice. We also had a variety of salads, and my children and father-in-law had fish for their main meals.

My chicken mendyTime to tapau!

On the whole, the food was better than expected. I couldn't resist the comparison with Al Rawsha, another Middle Eastern restaurant we frequent. The menu was comparable, and so was the price. I have to say that Al Rawsha's food was a touch better, with greater variety. The service at Al Rawsha was a bit slower though from what I experienced before. Al Rawsha's "castle" near Bulatan Pandan was much bigger however, although during peak hours, parking there could be a pain despite having attendants to help out.

On the whole, if you were craving for some Middle Eastern food, you could do much worst than here. Be prepared to pay a premium as it was not cheap. I might come here again on the odd occasions, and I would recommend you do the same as well from time to time. More information available here in their rather extravagant website.

Night at an Indian

In the UK, most of the halal restaurants were run by Indians and Pakistani. There were Indian restaurants everywhere that it was often joked that the national food of the UK was curry. Every once in a while, we loved to have du ne'er at Indian restaurant. In fact, my boys, Irfan especially loved Indian food - especially if they came with papadom. One of our favourite was Spice of India in KLCC. However, we noticed lately that the service and the quality of food has deteriorated. We also had an incense last year where thSave & Closee waiters actually served some foreigners before us, and since then he have yet to return.

We were rather apprehensive when we entered the Spice of India branch at Pavilion the others evening. But it turned out better than expected. The service was very good considering that the place was full. Food came fast, the waiters we're efficient, and I must say that the food was better than the branch in KLCC even though the menu was similar. It was a great night out in the end. Irfan had his papadom of course while Idlan reluctantly finished his poori. The cheese in spinach that I had was exquisite and the meat and chicken dishes were tender as expected.

It looked like we probably return here again in the future, but I couldn't really go there'd too often as the meal there were not really cheap. the restaurant also appeared crowded and if the service was slow, I was sure that my boys would be restless. The small dining area also cause some of the fumes to fill the room a times, and luckily we had our inhalers in the ready just in case. The pace between the tables were also rather small. So the restaurant area could have been bigger.