Happy Mansion is perhaps the first area in PJ to be “hipsterized”, with Food Foundry, My Elephant, and other eateries having established at these three old blocks of low cost flats nested within Seksyen 17.
Pizza Mansion, Seksyen 17, Petaling Jaya
One of the latest addition is Pizza Mansion, brought to you in fact by the same people that were involved in other eateries around the area. The pizza house promises an ambiance that’s a mixture of old and new, with dark green and yellow color scheme that reminds me of green hornet era. I love it.
The menu had ten different pizzas to choose from at the time (first week of opening) with four side dishes, coffee, soda, and some craft beers.
The pizzas are priced from RM 20 to RM 35 each, all with the same size that serves two average adult with moderate hunger just fine, or one really hungry big fella, I assume.
zucchini eggplant chickpea pizza, truffle mac & cheese
We ended up with Zucchini, Eggplant, and Chick Pea pizza (RM 28) to go with Truffle Mac & Cheese (RM 20) for a totally meatless afternoon meal.
truffle mac & cheese
We got the mac & cheese first, and it came bubbly hot. It was creamy, torched just nice, and had a generous dosage of truffle paste that made this classic dish that much better. We really enjoyed this.
freshly baked, absolutely sumptuous
The pizza too was rather good, the crust isn’t overly thin (think Dominos), or overly thick (think Pizza Hut), but soft, fresh, and of course, freshly prepped and baked. The toppings did not disappoint either, thinly sliced zucchini and egg plant, with some sun dried tomato and copious amount of cheese and tomato paste, yums.
This is now my favorite pizza place, for now at least. 😀
Address: Pizza Mansion Block B, Happy Mansion, Jalan 17/13, Section 17, Petaling Jaya, Selangor GPS: 3.123148, 101.634671 Hours: 10 am to 5 pm
When it comes to places to wind down and have a glass of alcoholic beverages or two, we are certainly spoiled for choices in Klang Valley. However, if you are looking for a comfortable spot with a good selection of wine and proper food, suddenly there aren’t many choices anymore. For those around Kuchai Lama area, however, there’s C Chateau Cafe and Wine Bar.
C Chateau wine bar at Kuchai Lama
C Chateau Wine Bar is situated at the row of shops facing Dynasty Garden Condominium at Kuchai Entrepreneurs Park, with usually a better parking situation compared to the rest of the commercial area.
selection of wine at C Chateau wine bar
Inside, the restaurant is tastefully decorated and carries a good selection of wine both from old and new worlds at a reasonable price point. Additionally, there is also an in-house bartender who shakes up your favorite cocktails for those who prefer your drink to be a little fancier. This is however, not a yumseng beer place.
On Saturdays, there will also be a live band singing at a small stage set up by the side of the restaurant, giving the place that extra soothing ambiance.
white, red wine, butterfly cocktail, gin & tonic
For our visit, we tried a glass of their red & white wine as well as a butterfly cocktail and a classic gin & tonic, both concocted up by the friendly bartender, a friend whom I’ve known since before the turn of the millennium via this little old computer program called IRC that some of you old farts might remember.
Interestingly though we only manage to meet up in real life earlier this year, and yes I can vouch for her cocktail making skills.
iberico short ribs, baked portobello mushroom
While drinks and mood are pretty good at C Chateau, what about food?
Well, for that they have a relatively small but sufficient menu created by a young chef who has a pretty creative touch in his dishes.
We sampled four different dishes for the two of us, starting with the Fantastic Iberian, slow Iberico short ribs with special spices rub, and burnt lime. The dish was well cooked with meat easily peeled off the bone, while just a tad salty and strongly seasoned if you eat it as it, it was perfect to go with wine for sure.
New Zealand lamb rack, Vietnamese spring roll tempura
Another meat dish we had was Rack and Ruin – or pan seared New Zealand lamb rack served with infused Chinese wine risotto. I thought the risotto was rather interesting, utilizing Chinese wine to add a different dimension to the rice that was prepared al-dente style. It was quite a unique taste that I find myself gravitates towards.
Our favorite though was the Vietnamese Spring Roll Tempura, a mix of sweet corn with spring roll ingredients and a prawn tempura wrapped in Vietnamese spring roll sheet resulted in an explosion of freshness and crunchy delight. You should absolutely try this.
wine, dinner, and dessert of homemade cheese cake
Last but not least, Bello Mello, or baked portobello with tomato salsa and pickled onion, should satisfy anyone who loves mushroom.
While they don’t exactly have a proper dessert menu, the homemade cheesecake we had at C Chateau was quite delightful.
Overall this is certainly a competent restaurant and a wine bar with pretty good ambiance worthy of checking out, especially for those who wants to have a relaxing evening enjoying some tasteful alcohol without hearing the constant “YUM SENG” from your neighboring tables.
Address: C Chateau Wine Bar
No 14, Jalan Kuchai Maju 9,
Kuchai Lama, Kuala Lumpur GPS: 3.089199, 101.686731 Tel: 012-929 0108 Hours: 11am to 2am
On the 15th of December, I was invited to a tea appreciation day hosted by Dilmah Tea at Sheraton PJ, and little did I know that the date coincide with International Tea Day, a day that has been celebrated since 2005 in tea producing countries.
Dilmah Tea Appreciation at Sheraton PJ
For the Tea Appreciation session, Dilmah brought in Sensory Evaluation consultant and Oenologist Edwin Soon to share with us the origin of tea and the science of flavors behind it.
Oenologist Edwin Soon explaining the history of tea
To be perfectly honest, I did not know that the different types of tea – Black, Green, Oolong, and White tea were all made from the same Camellia sinensis plant. The difference is in how the tea leaves are cured.
Basically they are as follow:
White: wilted and unoxidized;
Green: unwilted and unoxidized;
Oolong: wilted, bruised, and partially oxidized;
Black: wilted, sometimes crushed, and fully oxidized
Dilmah Tea and food pairing
Well, there are indeed other plants that we make tea from, but those will be in the category of herbal tea or flower tea, proper tea all from the same species of plant.
Additionally, tea plants at different elevation and climate will also produce leave that different flavors, with many high quality tea plants being cultivated up to 1,500 m above sea level.
who doesn’t love a proper Hi Tea?
For the afternoon tea pairing session, we started off with lamb curry puffs paired with Dilmah The Original Earl Grey, most quintessential British tea in contrast to the local, slightly spicy flavor.
Then it was salmon maki roll with Green Tea Jasmine Flower, a fitting companion many of us are familiar with. We then also had a Hi-tea set with Ratatouille turnovers, spinach and cheese quiche, and smoked salmon canapes.
Miss World Malaysia Thanuja Ananthan was sharing the same table
For sweets, we had pandan sweet pancakes with corn custard, together with Pure Chamomile Flowers, a tea that does not have any caffeine and perfect for late night. We then finished off with chocolate brownie paired with Moroccan Mint Green Tea.
Overall, it was a lovely afternoon well spent, and we (with Sharon & Wilson) got to share the same table as former Miss World Malaysia Thanuja Ananthan (did not find out who she was until more than half way through), lovely person with energetic personality!
This was also the second time I attended a Dilmah event, first being way back in 2013!
KL city has no shortage of places to choose from when it comes to classy restaurants offering quality adult beverages and delicious food, around KLCC and Bukit Bintang area, you’d be spoiled for choice – Mosto Wine Bar & Restaurant is one of such places, and one with a very important distinction compared to the rest.
Mosto Wine Bar and Restaurant, One KL
Located at the ground floor of One KL, the condominium building with the tag line “94 units, 95 swimming pools“, Mosto is a restaurant with almost over-the-top fine-dine style decoration, and fortunately, not over-the-top prices for what it has got to offer.
For me though, the most important distinction this place has is the availability of some dozen or so free parking space right in front of the eatery, something that is rarer than pink unicorn in the heart of the city.
Gran Tegliere Di Salumi E Formaggi
We started the night with Gran Tegliere Di Salumi E Formaggi (RM 99), the fancy name stands for Italian signature cold cuts served with assortedcheeses, honey & house made focaccia bread. The way the prepare this is a bit of a show, with the chef operating a semi-automatic type of meat slicer that churns out those delicious meat & salami with consistent thickness.
The type of cuts you get may vary as it depends on what the restaurant can its hands on. For our session, I particularly like the cut with embedded olives.
Cocktails & Risotto Con Salsicola E Vino Rosso
While we did not have wine at Mosto, we did sample two of their cocktails – Amaro Tonic, and Junglebird (RM 38 each), the former was a more masculine drink with Amaro Montenegro, Prosecco and tonic water, while Junglebird is made from dark rum, campari, pineapple juice, and simple syrup, giving it a sweeter, more fruity taste.
Back to food.
After the cold cut we had the Risotto Con Salsicola E Vino Rosso (RM 48), or Carnaroli risotto with salsiccia & red wine reduction. A comforting food that does well to fill up the stomach in a warm, fuzzy way. I do enjoy the chunks of cheese on top.
Rigatoni All’ Amatriciana
If you are a pasta person, Rigatoni All’ Amatriciana (RM 38) should satisfy, there’s bacon, tomatoes, and pecorino cheese in the dish. It is proper al dente, so if you don’t like your pasta firm to bite like the Italians do, you’d want to specify it to your server.
Pancia Di Maiale; Cassoeula, Verza Maiale E Pollo
Those who know me well would have guessed that Pancia Di Maiale (RM 58) is my favorite dish of the night, and that would be a correct statement. Roasted pork belly with apricot jam, honey mustard & garlic sauce perfectly executed with those super crispy skin and meat/fat layers that were done just right. Love it.
Cassoeula, Verza Maiale E Pollo (RM 78) or slowcook pork prepared in casserole with chicken, pork sausage & cabbage was a dish that I found perhaps packed a bit too much meat of differing texture, giving me a feeling of something with a sort of identity confusion.
Garlic Prawns, Deep Fried Chicken Parmesan
For those who aren’t looking for something to go along with beer or cocktail and not a proper full meal, there is a selection of bar snacks as well. We sampled two from the menu – Garlic Prawns (RM 25), and Fried Chicken Parmesan (RM 19), I can imagine both going very well as happy hour companion dishes for sure.
molten chocolate cake, tiramisu
The dessert menu here isn’t extensive, we tried the Molten chocolate cake (RM 25) and Tiramisu (RM 20). The cake molten chocolate cake was competent, but if I have to pick one, the tiramisu would be the one to go for, they did not skim on the alcohol making this.
Back in late 2015 I was involved in The Star R.AGE food fight competition, it was one of the highlights of my online writing career to stand along the likes of Chef Wan & Chef Darren Chin as one of judges of the cooking competition. One of the finalists of the competition was Ahong Yeang, who was already running a small restaurant at University Hospital then.
Sometimes around Q3 21017, Ahong moved on from his previous joint and opened Grub by Ahong & Friends at Seksyen 17. I finally visited a couple weeks ago.
Grub by Ahong & Friends, Petaling Jaya, Seksyen 17
Grub by Ahong & Friends is located at the small rows of shops right behind Happy Mansion (possibly the birthplace of hipster food in PJ?). Parking can sometimes be a bit challenging for those who can’t walk more than a couple dozen steps, but alas, the walk back to the car after a good meal can be a healthy exercise.
Grub serves a selection of Western dishes at very reasonable prices. The restaurant itself is minimalist but comfortable, with a few tables and open kitchen at the ground floor, and more seating area upstairs. Yes, there’s air conditioning.
beet root salad & wine
To keep prices low, Ahong came up the system of ordering by pencil & paper as well as self-serviced drinks you pick up from the counter where you also find cutlery, plates, and glasses. Corkage is RM 7 per pax but if you spare a glass for the good chef then that is waived. Grub also carries a small selection of wine.
We started the night with beet root salad (RM 13.50) that came with roasted beetroot, fresh fruits, feta cheese, rockets, honey, and nuts. A simple mesh up that leaves me wanting more.
local seafood bouillabaisse, wagyu steak
For main I picked steak, the picture above is wagyu rump, wagyu ribeye is priced at RM 145 but they ran out that night. Again another spot on execution with no fuss and great ingredients.
My partner in crime picked the local seafood bouillabaisse (RM 25) which is served with grilled white fish, clams, squid & prawns in lightly spiced seafood soup with pasta & sourdough bun. A comforting dish if you’re looking for something lighter. Also their sourdough bun was actually very good as well.
carrot cake, chocolate tart, fruits in ice, Ahong
We rounded up dinner with carrot cake (RM 10) and chocolate tart (RM 12), and were also served Grub’s signature fresh fruits in tear-drop ice that is on the house.
Overall it was a great no-fuss dining experience. We ended up spending another couple hours chatting with Ahong until his staffs lowered the shop grill half way. Fantastic night and will definitely go again.
Address: Grub by Ahong & Friends 608, Jalan 17/10, Seksyen 17, Petaling Jaya, 46400 Selangor GPS: 3.122187, 101.635438 Tel: 016-923 2983
