Aria, Bukit Damansara

It was not my intention to eat at Aria at the beginning. We were at Bukit Damansara during one of those packed festive season and could not get a place to eat. We settled for some pub grub, which left me sorely disappointed..

But didn't you try Aria? The food's pretty good.. My friend told me the next day when I complained.. Actually, I didn't really notice Aria, as it was at the quiet end of the block. Keeping that in mind, I decided that I should try it the next time I'm over at Bukit Damansara. A couple of months later, I did managed to made my way there. Aria's a cozy little place, service was just ok. We started the meal with Black Mussel with White Wine sauce (RM22) This was a fantastic starter, the mussels were thick and fresh, the sauce was thick, aromatic with white wine and very sweet. The crisp bread were perfect to mop up all those yummy sauce..

The Grilled Portobello mushrooms Salad (RM22)Came out rather skimpy. When they meant mushrooms (plural), it means 2 pieces. And it's the smallest portobello I've set my eyes on. Well, to be fair, the mushrooms were grilled to juicy perfection, with crisp cheesy top. Just that its so very little to satiate me.

The Seafood Zuppa (RM25) was next..

The amount of seafood stacked on the bowl was generous- but we were not impressed by the seafood, it was the flavour of the soup that got our votes. It was light, not heavy with tomato flavour, filled with sweetness from the seafood and a hint of smokiness in the soup. Very satisfying.

The pastas were next.. Linguine Aglio Olio Smoked Duck (RM28)

Though the pasta was cooked al-dente, the pasta was a tad too oily and salty. Eat it with smoked duck and olives added to the saltiness. Only order if you like your food salty.

Spaghetti Alla Opus (RM32) was next. And yes, if you find the name familiar, Aria is run by the same management as Opus, hence some similarity in dishes..

Though this dish scored low for finesse (seems like they just dumped the whole thing on the plate), again they scored high on the flavours. Fantastically addictive, sweet sauce, seafood fresh and springy, the pasta nicely al-dente. Delish.

And lastly, our meat for the night..

Pecorino Lamb Cutlet (RM55)

This dish didn't leave me impressed. The lamb rack was deep fried and the crust tasted suspiciously akin to KFC batter. The lamb was fully cooked, while I prefer ed mine still pinkish and juicy.

Of the dishes I've had, I feel that Aria does well in seafood dishes but average on the rest. I'll definitely pop by again, there's still a number of dishes which caught my eye, but didn't have the stomach space to try it this time ;).

Aria is located at 44G&44M, Plaza Damansara, Jalan Medan Setia 2, Bukit Damansara, KL. Tel: 03-20950016.