Kampachi @ the Pavilion

It had been a long time since I had last tried Japanese cuisine. I finally managed to do so last week, when I visited Kampachi. Kampachi is considered one of Malaysia'a most renowned Japanese restaurant chains, and the branch I had visited was their Pavilion one, located on the 6th Floor of the Pavilion, next to Al-Amar's and a stones-throw away from Ben's.

Upon taking our seats, we were served by courteous and an attentive waiter by the name of Ikmal, who gave us top-notch service. He had an extensive knowledge of the menu and helped us immensely in our choices. 

We had order two plates of Endame, which we snacked on until our food came. A favorite if my dad, the pods were lightly salted and the peas were thoroughly cooked, whilst maintaining it's crunchiness. There are quite a lot of these peas in a serving, so even a plate is enough to keep you going.

The Katsu Curry Rice worth RM42, is a good enough portion to share between two. The turmeric-flavored curry complemented the tender breaded chicken served on the side. It was so delicious, that whatever rice was left was used to clear the excess curry left over, until the plate was spotless. I will admit, however, that RM42 is simply too high a price to pay, for such a dish.

We then had the Unagi Kamameshi, with RM48. This dish, a simple unagi and rice, was served in a clay pot - and required 7 minutes of cooking. The unagi was well cooked, and had a good texture to it. However, the proportions of unagi and rice were not at all satisfactory. There was just too much of rice inside, which we could not do anything with once the unagi was eaten.

The last dish to arrive was the Ten Zaru Udon. The dish, featuring a side of tempura, featured a plate of udon noodles which was supposedly Kampachi's specialty. The noodles had a nice consistency to them and were served cold, with a tentsuyu dipping sauce. The tempura side consisted of a good assortment of prawns and vegetables, coated in a thin-yet-crisp tempura batter.

All in all, we satisfied with Kampachi as the dishes we ordered were of a good quality. It should be noted that the service we received was exceptional, and Ikmal was absolutely courteous and hospitable. The ambiance was haphazard in some instances, but probably because it was Saturday night.

Presentation: 6/10

Ambiance: 5/10

Service: 9/10

Overall Taste: 7/10

General Impression: 8/10

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Cheers,

BrianandRepublic

The Athena

My family and I have paid many visits to The Athena for their set lunch. I can distinctly remember my father taking us there for the first time - we were amazed at the value for money that we got and the quality of the food that was served. We continued to visit the restaurant many times afterwards, but stopped a few months ago.

Last week, my parents and I found ourselves at the Pavilion once again, and seeing as we had not tried The Athena in ages, we thought we'd give it another shot. The Athena is located on the Ground Floor, in between La Bodega and Michaelangelo's at The Pavilion on Jalan Bukit Bintang. Our visit this time, however, was completely different from the rest.

Upon taking our seats, it took us 10 minutes for the waiter to come and take our order. We requested for warm water, but the waiter had told us that we were required to pay RM4 for a bottle of mineral water - eventhough other tables were clearly drinking water from the tap. A white lie right there...

For my mains, I had Spaghetti Aglio e Olio with Smoked Salmon from the set menu. This was accompanied with with a Cream of Carrot Soup, worth RM19.90. The soup seemed fresh, and was of a nice consistency. The mallow taste left a nice feeling in my mouth, though the bread that it was served with the soup was slightly stale.

The Spaghetti Aglio e Olio was of a generous portion, though the spaghetti on the other hand, was overcooked - not al dente. There was also right amounts of oil and garlic, though way too much salt! The salmon was salty too, and that didn't help either.

I chose a Tiramisu for desert. The tiramisu was firm, with a nice ratio of cream to ladies fingers, and the chocolate that was drizzled onto it was a nice complement. The only downside to this dish was that it was way too small a portion. Before I knew it, I had finished the entire slice, leaving nothing to take a picture of.

My father on the other hand, ordered Chicken a la Pimentos from the set menu as well. He was served with Minestrone Soup as a starter - worth RM21.90. The minestrone soup lacked in flavour and was too cold. It almost tasted like flavoured water. The bread served with this, too, was slightly stale.

The Chicken was tender and the sauce (along with the mustard) complemented it very well. There wasn't, however, much potatoes - which were soft and fluffy, but not well seasoned. As for the vegetables - they were all cooked well, apart from the undercooked carrots.

My dad decided to try the Chilled Marscapone with a Spicy Strawberry Sauce and Balsamic. It was an interesting choice of dessert, with the subtleness of the marscapone, 'spiced up' by the spicy/sweet/tart flavour of the strawberry sauce and balsamic. The dessert, however, was only served 20 minutes after we had all finished our food.

My mother ordered the Seafood Salad from the a la carte menu, worth RM28. This dish was, in metaphorical terms, a big plate of shit - especially when considering the price we paid. It did not look great, and the dish was essentially boiled frozen seafood (yes,the fishy taste was there) on a bed of raw greens, drizzled with olive oil. For RM28,we thought to ourselves…wtf is this?!?

On the whole, it was rather surprising to see such a change in standard. Even though I have my doubts on if I choose to return again, I most probably will - and only then will I be able to make my judgement. Personally, I suggest that you try other places for lunch and save The Athena as a last resort - but in the end, its up to you.

Presentation: 6/10

Ambiance: 6/10

Service: 3/10

Overall Taste: 5/10

General Impression: 4/10

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Cheers,

BrianandRepublic

Dragon-i Signature @ The Pavilion

My household often receives guests from India. These guests are often people I don't know - distant relatives who are, for example, my grandmother's sister's brother-in-law's daughter. Some of them come with bitchy attitudes, while others tend to be genuinely nice. Recently a gentleman - priest and headmaster, had dropped by. We were keen on giving him a taste of Chinese food.

Our destination was Dragon-i Signature at the Pavilion. I have been to their establishment at the Pavilion quite a few times now, and have constantly been impressed at their standard of food and service, though it was interesting to see if it had changed. Dragon-i Signature is located on Level 1, right opposite the Food Court at the Pavilion on Jalan Bukit Bintang - and serves Shaingainese food.

As an appetiser, Dragon-i always serves its customers Beans which have been Steamed in Tea. The beans were soft but retained a bit of crunchiness. The delicate flavour makes you want to eat more and before you know it, its all gone.

Our first dish to arrive was the Fried Rice with Seafood, Char Siew and Yam, worth RM16. The delicate flavours blended perfectly. The tender meat, soft yam and the crunchy vegetables blended perfectly with the rice which wasn't excessively oily at all.

The next dish that arrived was the Sauteed Spare Rib with Signature Sauce - worth RM22. The pork was crisp on the outside and tender inside - which made the meat easily come off the bone. The only downside to this dish was that the sauce was excessively sweet and overpowered the subtleness of the pork.

After that, we were served another pork dish which was called Sliced Pork with Assorted Paste, Black Pepper and Bean Sauce worth RM18. This dish was served with some steamed rice-paper rolls. The thin strips of pork in this dish were tender, and the sauce that flavoured it had a nice sweet/salty balance. The pork strips contained enough of fat to give the dish its 'yum' factor, and with the rolls - we were all in for an interesting but yummy treat.

Our vegetable dish was the Stir Fried Spinach with Garlic and Mushroom, worth RM18. The spinach was soft and well cooked, but not overcooked as it it still retained a bit of crispness. The only complaint I had for this dish was that it tasted incredibly bitter for some odd reason, and that there were hardly any mushrooms in it.

The final dish to arrive was the Fried La Mian with Black Pepper Chicken - worth RM15. The black pepper sauce perfectly complemented the noodles, which we could see being made right before our eyes, in the kitchen. The the pieces of chicken were tender, and the capsicum was sweet - and both ingredients were present in abundance.

On the whole, the service there seems to have slowed down, as they were rather unresponsive at times. The quality of food seemed to have decreased too, though not by a significantly large amount. If you ever do choose to eat at Dragon-i Signature, you probably won't be let down. The food was still tasty and of a reasonably high quality, though do bear in mind that prices there are a bit steep. After all, quality does come at a cost.

Presentation: 7/10

Ambiance: 8/10

Service: 6/10

Overall Taste: 7/10

General Impression: 7/10

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Cheers,

BrianandRepublic