Dinner at Pizza San Fransisco

While my mum and I were staying at the Palace of the Golden Horses, we decided to hop over to the Mines Shopping Center for some dinner and we stumbled upon an establishment named Pizza San Fransisco.

We both didn't even have to think as the decision to eat there seemed mutual. So we both went into restaurant to sit down and place our order. Pizza San Fransisco is located near the entrance of the water canal, on the ground floor of the Mines Shopping Center, on Jalan Dulang, Mines City.

My mother ordered herself a glass of Mixed Fruit Juice worth RM7.90. When ordering this drink, you have an option of choosing 3 juices from a list, which will then be mixed together. My mother chose a mixture of carrot, orange and apple juice. The drink was refreshing and of a large portion. There was no excess of sugar or ice added.

We were then served the Mushroom Bruschetta worth RM7.50. Upon looking at it, I thought to myself 'What the hell is this?'. The bruschetta was bathed in cream and not before long, the bread had became a lump of mush. Though the flavours were alright, the experience was horrible - being one of the worst bruschetta's I've ever tasted.

We were then served Nachos with Beef, Cheese and Jalapenos and served with Guacamole and Sour Cream worth RM13.90. As soon as I tasted the dish, I instantly noticed that the 'guacamole' was not made of avocados, but rather with mashed green peas. Even after asking the manager, I was told that it was 'guacamole' and not mashed green peas.

Despite the abundance of meat, the meat was of bad quality and the dish as a whole was cold. Furthermore, I was appalled by the fact that the manager got worked up and lied to my face about the guacamole, assuming I was some sort of a retard. A white lie right there on the menu.

Our last dish that we ordered was the Beef Lasagna worth RM15.90. The lasagna was of average quality and had too much tomato puree. There wasn't enough of cheese present. The beef on the other hand, was present in large quantity and was of good quality.

On the whole, Pizza San Fransisco gave us an average dining experience, with the exception of the mushed peas and the rude manager. Their prices however, were quite reasonable - though they had used that to compromise on quality.

In conclusion, I wouldn't recommend this establishment to you if ever you find yourselves at Mines Shopping Center. There are plenty of other restaurants which seemed to be a lot more popular, and serving much better food than what we had at Pizza San Fransisco that night.

Presentation: 4/10

Ambiance: 4/10

Service: 2/10

Overall Taste: 5/10

General Impression: 3/10

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Cheers,

BrianandRepublic

Tapas @ El Meson

It had been a long time since my dad and I tried tapas, and so we decided to head over to El Meson and give the place a try - rather than the our usual La Bodega. El Meson is a Spanish restaurant located right next to Madam Kwan's, on Jalan Telawi 3, Bangsar Baru - right opposite Bangsar Village II.

Upon arriving at El Meson, we were told that the kitchen was closing at 10. I found this quite odd, considering the fact that tapas was meant to be 'late night eating'. Nonetheless, we sat down outside and ordered three varieties of tapas dishes from the 'hot tapas' section of the menu.

Before the tapas was served, we were given a complementary Basket of Baguette Slices with Garlic Aioli. The bread was soft and warm while the aioli - an emulsion of olive oil, garlic and egg yolk - complemented it nicely. My dad on the other hand, felt that the aioli was too bland and tasteless for his liking, as he prefers more bolder flavours.

We were then served Queso Frito worth RM14 (no picture available), which was essentially deep fried goat's cheese with tomato jam. The cheese was crisp on the outside and soft and stringy inside. The tomato jam complemented the fried cheese well as it added flavour to the cheese, rather than overpowering it.

We were then served Champinones worth RM16, which was button mushrooms in a garlic cream sauce, flavoured with white wine. The mushroom flavour was a bit too bold for my liking though the sauce curbed it - being mallow in taste. Unlike my dad, I did not fancy this dish very much as I felt the sauce was not thick enough.

Lastly, we were served Albondigas - meatballs in a tomato sauce, also worth RM14. Though simple in nature, the dish tasted fantastic as the meatballs were wonderfully prepared, being crisp on the outside and juicy inside. The tomato sauce did not overpower the flavour of the meat, but rather complemented it very nicely.

On the whole, I really enjoyed my time at El Meson. The menu had a considerable variety of tapas, which I felt were very well prepared. I feel that this establishment poses a threat to La Bodega, due to the fact that in my opinion, La Bodega has slightly dropped in quality.

When in Bangsar, I highly recommend you try El Meson if ever you're in the mood for tapas, as the restaurant offers good service and good quality food with a considerable amount of variety. Our total bill came up to around RM60, including a glass of lime juice which my dad had ordered.

Presentation: 7/10

Ambiance: 8/10

Service: 7/10

Overall Taste: 7/10

General Impression: 7/10

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Cheers,

BrianandRepublic