Ben's Restaurant @ KLCC.

A while ago Sollie and I had lunch at Ben's, a somewhat new Western-Asian fusion restaurant in KLCC located at where the California Pizza House used to be. For the life of me I cannot recall what made us WANT to try that place -- it could have been Sol's idea but I cannot be sure.

And you know how people say first impressions are important? Well, we had a very good first impression of this place. And I must say, I chose the right dish as my first try, so yeah, this place is a definite must-go-to-again place and stays on my list as having a "thumbs-up" :p



One thing I found really cute about the place is their menu. Sol and I actually spent a good amount of time studying it, not just because the variety of food they have there is substantial, but because of the FONT itself. Haha. It looked like it was totally handwritten but that wouldn't be practical would it? However what made us suspect that it could be handwritten was the inconsistencies in the loops and shapes of the alphabets -- some "A"s looked non-similar and yes I know that totally sounded like something out of C.S.I.



Decor-wise, the theme is black. Rather dull colour but it was nicely done and gave off a very reserved, classy appeal. Not too classy that you feel coming in with your jeans and T-shirt makes you look like a ho-bo but classy enough that you FELT classy WITH your jeans and T-shirt (if that made sense at all). Tables are adequately spaced and we arrived just before the lunch crowd descended, so we got good seats. It can get quite packed during rush hours apparently (as with most KLCC F&B outlets, of course).



I ordered this for myself : Crispy Duck Confit Spaghetti cooked in aglio. IT WAS AMAZING. It could do without the cow-load proportion of grass on top but the spaghetti itself was fantastic. I am a big fan of most spaghettis cooked aglio-style so I usually order something along those lines if I go to a new place, as a means of measuring a restaurant's standards. It was not too oily, it had the right amount of spices that contributed very nicely to its taste, and the duck itself was succulent without being watery (a.k.a hanyir). Definitely a signature dish, and apparently this runs out pretty quick during the rush hours.



I cannot recall what this is called exactly but this is basically Nachos with Tomato Sauce and Cheese Dip. Think CHILLI's Bottomless Tostada Chips... okay maybe not so similar as that. This was a great appetizer and was served in a moderate enough proportion so as not to overwhelm our entree.



Sol ordered Spaghetti Carbonara. If I usually order Aglio Olio style spaghetti as a means of measurement, she would order carbonara style. And for something that is made with milk and meant for kiddies (no offense Sol :p) this really had some kick to its taste. Nowhere near as delish as Sunway Giza's D'Italiane's Spaghetti Carbonara but decent enough. Portion looks huge though and Sol had some trouble finishing it... which is usually the case with carbonara. You get full pretty quick and it is not something that I would usually order for myself anyway.



And because we were so impressed by that first visit, we came back to Ben's a few days later with our whole family. My parents, bless their hearts, are not big fans of Western-style food and had a go at their Asian cuisine... to their disappointment. Presentation looked nice but I have to agree the food tasted bland and lacking. Methinks someone in the kitchen excel at Western cooking but fail miserably at Asian foods -- as Asian foods rely heavily on the different spices and even a good amount of salt/sugar so when used very minimally the taste will definitely be compromised. The above is actually the nasi lemak with chicken rendang -- not very tasty in my opinion.

Our overall verdict with regards to :

The Food : 7.5/10. Variety was available in terms of Western and Asian cuisine, but the Asian cuisine left much to be desired. What we have tasted of the pastas though, was excellent.

The Ambience : 8/10. A nicely-decorated place that looks both classy and business-like.

The Location : 8/10. It's in KLCC, and now there is also one in Pavilion. Prime locations to attract customers.

The Pricing : Moderate high, as is standard with the upper-end restaurants in town.

Baby-friendly? : There are baby chairs, but that's just about it. Letting an infant or a toddler loose in here is akin to asking for trouble because of the crowd and the slightly cramped space between tables when the place gets busy.

Address :
Ben's
Lot 140 First Floor
Kuala Lumpur City Centre
50088 KL

Big Brother Restaurant and Grill, @ The Strand, Kota Damansara

Credit for this particular pic goes to here, because of all things we forgot to take the front part of the shop. Swell.

Big Brother, the menu.

We've discovered this place by accident actually. I can't actually recall how or why, considering this area is flourishing with of new restaurants like how wild mushroom blooms after the rain. Probably due to its uber red signboard screaming from the main road and also due to the fact the halal sign (plus point), clearly can be seen from the road as well. Probably we were hungry that day, no idea where to go, decide to seek out new gastronomic frontier.

Mushroom soup, coupled with garlic bread. A bit oily to my taste but its homemade alright. 6/10

Oh yeah, I remember, one of my pregnant friend actually suggested me to check this place out. She was raving about the Big Brother's Chicken Chop. She's not kidding, it is indeed superb!

Banana blueberry smoothie. 8/10

This place is owned by one malay dude, Brother Hadi, who can be seen regularly here. One of the specials about this place is that, they do one mean  Chicken Chop! In fact, I believe, its the best I've ever tasted! (IMHO) Its one of the house specialties.

Grilled chicken chop with melted cheese, sitting on top of homemade mashed potatoes (you can choose french fries if eating mush food is not your fancy), side salad and coleslaw, drowned with uber delicious gravy. Perfect 10/10! Coz I dreamt about it. RM12.90 for this babies, yum!

What I love about this place is that, the portions here are HUGE. Their menu not only consist of western food, they've also included a section for local food as well. Once I took my uncle's family to dine here, 2 of them took the Malaysian fried rice (no picture here), which in my opinion is good enough for 3 people's portion! Not only that, for that kind of portion, whats great about this place is that their pricing is not as expensive as what I've expected (quality-wise and portion-wise). Its great for those who wants to try good western food, in a huge portion, in a clean environment and also, easy on the wallet. In fact, they too, have specialty drinks, like the one we've tried, Banana Blueberry Smoothie, which was yummy. (why is it that everytime I drank any banana based juice, my mind would always wander off saying it tastes like kuih cekodok blended?)

Spaghetti Bolognaise, not watery, flavorful, with that right ummph 8/10

Mac and Cheese (Kids menu).

They even have kiddies menu for the little tummies. In fact, my sister (not-so-little), ordered their Mac and Cheese on the pretext that she wanted to have one side dish as well. (And also to diet) When her pasta came, we laughed because the portion that came probably for one fat kid. Because its huge! Heck even I think it was a bit too much for a kid menu (but then again, why complain when its good right?) Then her side dish came....

Side dish : Cheesy meatball 8/10

Meet the side dish, Cheesy Meatball. Which consist of 4 knuckle size cheesy meatballs, covered in cheese and tomato gravy. Diet plan can say bye bye!

This place has gain great popularity as time goes by, in fact at certain nights, the place is full of families, you can't get any seats. If you're planning to have friends lepak session, best to book the place first.

We tasted a couple more dishes from this place but sometimes, when one is too absorbed in eating, we only realized this when the foods all gone. Will update more as we go as this is definitely one place will come by again!

Our overall verdict with regards to :

The Food : 8/10. Its great considering the taste, portion and pricing. However some food tend to be a bit oily. But from what I've tasted, everything is homemade, none taste like from canned or instant food. Definitely a plus point there.

The Ambience : 8/10. Family oriented, one place that's great for family or friends outing. Cool lepak place. However, do pronounce correctly or get someone who can understand the menu to get your order, one gripe about this place is that some of its waiters tend to mix up orders due to language barrier. Once I ordered Salmon Salad, but the food came, Grilled Salmon. Best to order when Brother Hadi is around.




The Location : 9/10. The Strand Kota Damansara. Turn right from the mainroad when you see Sunway Giza. And take another right after you see Onking electrical store. You can actually spot this place from far away due to hard-to-miss red signboard, with the logo of chubby 'Big Brother' with a chef hat on it. Same row with CIMB Kota Damansara.

The Pricing : Decently priced. They even have super saver lunch set meals (RM9.90+12.90 per set)

Baby-friendly? : There are baby chairs, and the whole place is catered for families.

Address:

Big Brother Restaurant and Grill

No. 3G, 3-1, Jalan 5/20,
Pusat Perdagangan Kota Damasara,
PJU5, 47810, Selangor

03 6142 7678ddress