A couple weekends ago Suanie, Nicholas, and I arranged a trip down to Seremban to lepak a bit at Era Square, a pretty new commercial area just right to the yet-to-be-opened Terminal 2 interstate bus terminal. We met up with Cheeser the local girl there, and of course, the first agenda after the 45 minutes drive from KL is to get our stomach stuffed.
the awesome prawn, and live oyster from Canada
Due to the power that be, we had an invitation to eat at Kensington, a nicely decorated Western/Fusion restaurant. The owner Grace Chia had prepared a total of 8 dishes for us, she was super friendly and actually sat us through the whole meal to tell us everything about the individual dishes and how they (with her husband the chef) got into this business.
Grace actually lived in UK for quite a number of years and have been involved with satisfying stomachs of the public for over 15 years. Kensington at Era Square is their latest venture.
KY, Grace the owner, and Ringo (Cheeser)
Now lets get to the food, shall we? Since there are so many dishes and Grace had laboriously explained each of them to me, I think I shall just list them one by one here.
Prawn Mango Salad (RM 18.50) - This is one Suanie’s favorite, an American recipe that has the prawn cooked with fresh mango (seafood and fruit, interesting heh?). The slightly sourly sauce is particularly excellent, very buttery and flavorful.
Aromatic Crispy Duck (RMR 18.50) - A quarter duck peeled off from the bone, served with lettuce, cucumber, and plum sauce. I find this to actually taste better than the Schezuan duck I had at Soho, 1 Utama. The fresh vegetable compliments the taste of duck meat and the sauce very well.
prawn mango salad, aromatic crispy duck, live oyster, and baked potato
Live Oyster (RM 6.50) - Flown from Canada, fat and juicy. You can have them cheese baked for an extra buck.
Baked Potato - Somehow I have lost the description for this dish, but if you like potato and cheese, do not miss it!
Filet Steak with Shitake Sauce (RM 31.50) - A generous serving of beef with the shitake mushroom in with cream and a touch of wine. I gotta admit that this dish did not look like a proper steak and I had doubts about it. However, a bite the red meat confirmed what Suan kept telling me “You gotta try this, it’s great omg!”
filet steak, lamb shank, chicken veronique, and mushroom soup
Lamb Shank (RM 18.50) - A huge piece of lamb shank serve prepared with black pepper sauce. The meat is very tender and it definitely tastes better than those you can order from the particular chain restaurant famous for their cakes. A very good value too.
Chicken Veronique (RM 15.30) - Chicken breast cooked with grapes (yes grapes!), cream, and white wine. While chicken breast is chicken breast, the sauce made all the difference, a very interesting taste with actual pieces of grape in it. Though I’m not used to having chicken served this way, I like it.
Mushroom Soup and Garlic Bread - When the mushroom soup came, I was already more than half full and wasn’t exactly overly keen on “just mushroom soup”. Grace proved me wrong, the soup actually have bits of onion, potato, shitake mushroom, and celery in it that made the taste and texture that much better. Goes very well with the garlic bread too!
Suan doesn’t eat oyster, so I had extra. Grace the friendly owner
This is certainly one of the best lunches I’ve ever had. I really really wish Kensington can open a branch just outside next to my house. The price is very affordable, and the food is excellent, combined with a comfortable dining area, there isn’t anything to complain about.
I am sure I will go there again, after all, going to Seremban can actually be faster than heading down town KL sometimes.
Kensington is situated at Era Square, just 5 minutes from Seremban Toll
Address:
Kensington Western Restaurant
34, Jalan Era Square 3,
Era Square,
70200 Seremban, N. Sembilan
Tel: 06-768 7288
Related Posts:
- KY parties - Trilogy Bistro at Era Square, Seremban
- KY eats - La Esquina Spanish Restaurant at Era Square, Seremban
- KY eats - Dim Sum at Min Kok, Seremban
- KY eats - Char Siew and Hakka Noodle at Famous Seremban Favorites Restaurant, Aman Suria, PJ
- KY eats - Rakuzen Japanese Restaurant at Chulan Square
By Cheesie on Jan 24, 2008 | Reply
wtf! i did the same thing with the pic! all 4 in 1.
By suanie on Jan 24, 2008 | Reply
let’s go!
By Bee Nee on Jan 24, 2008 | Reply
i see food! sea food! omg so lame i think i need to get some sleep.
By kimberlycun on Jan 24, 2008 | Reply
i wanna go! omg the oysters….
By Kuzco on Jan 24, 2008 | Reply
It can be a fattifying experience!
The prawn dish looks very tempting..
By KY on Jan 24, 2008 | Reply
Cheesie,
My whole site all collage pictures what….
Suanie,
Come pick me up!
Bee Nee,
luxury of sleep at working time.. grr
Kim,
Come pick me up!
By hcfoo on Jan 24, 2008 | Reply
Wooa… that live oyster is simply irresistible…
By twosuperheroes on Jan 24, 2008 | Reply
Didn’t know there’s such a good restaurant in Seremban! So feel like trying it since it’s on the way to Malacca. OH btw..KY, is there wine in most of the dishes?
By michelle on Jan 24, 2008 | Reply
haha, there’s loads of nice places to eat at in seremban! kensington’s is one of those places, but there are certain things you must try, ie :
1) king’s beef noodles, which is really near the store (or really near pasar besar seremban)
2) quinn’s (or queen’s?) beef noodles in kemayan square
3) a small roadside stall near the store also sells some really nice sui mai and little tidbits.
4) fei chai restaurant or fat boy restaurant in kemayan square is packed every night without fail, good food at really affordable prices and relatively fast service (when you take into account the number of customers) as well!
and lots more!
By KY on Jan 24, 2008 | Reply
hcfoo,
don’t work up too much zinc in your body ok.. you’ll need to find a release eventually.
twosuperheroes,
Only some of the dishes, not all, but you can request to exclude the wine too.
michelle,
OoO, nice list. I shall head there again one of these days.
By Michelle on Jan 24, 2008 | Reply
Eh, so far away. You’re so cruel lah!!! Why not feature something in Connaught so I can feast happily.
==
At least KL also okay lar….
By jason on Jan 24, 2008 | Reply
saw ur quote in the star today
By xin on Jan 24, 2008 | Reply
wow. everything looks so good! i must drop by there next time i go bek home town!
By Nicholas Chay on Jan 25, 2008 | Reply
Let’s go for the BBQ crabs next time!
By Simon Seow on Jan 25, 2008 | Reply
I also wish they will open one branch next to my house. *praying hard*
By crysV on Jan 25, 2008 | Reply
Eh eh! I’m from Seremban! *waves at KY* lol, but I’m not AT seremban now
next time come visit me! 
By KY on Jan 25, 2008 | Reply
Michelle,
Take a bus! KTM goes there too.
jason,
Just 3 paragraphs. hehehe, I saw it too.
Nicholas,
BBQ crab sounds good!
Simon Seow,
Are we praying the same god?
crysV,
I’m sure you’re happy with your spaghetti in Italy.
By Lyrical Lemongrass on Jan 25, 2008 | Reply
Saliva dripping.
By Friedbeef on Jan 26, 2008 | Reply
Those picutres look absolutely mouth watering…Note to self. Do not visit KY’s blog unless I have immediate access to food…
By alex on Jan 27, 2008 | Reply
wow…a new western restaurant
gonna try it out
By KY on Jan 28, 2008 | Reply
Lyrical Lemongrass,
Grab a tissue!
Friedbeef,
Eat more laa, it’s good for you.
alex,
Yeah, mouth watering.
By FeR on Feb 1, 2008 | Reply
I can’t believe I’m reading write-ups on where to eat in Seremban! Wah! Seremban so femes dy!
There’s another Kensington in Oakland Commercial Square (near Columbia Hospital and Tesco), did Grace mention she had another branch? Will usually frequent that one because it’s nearer to home but not anymore because food and service getting more and more unsatisfactory.
By zaza on Feb 27, 2008 | Reply
eh?
i’m from seremban. dunno got nice place to eat there. har har.
halal or not?
By KY on Feb 27, 2008 | Reply
zaza,
It is pork free.