Pietro Ristorante Italiano, Damansara Heights

What a year 2011 has been! And in a blink of an eye, we are in 2012 now!

Fantastic how time flies without us noticing it....

Well, I had a good wrap up year end, spending good time and fine meal with a group of entertaining friends..hehe

Mr Chardonnay arranged for us to meet at Pietro, a restaurant the opened its doors not too long ago, to try out it's italian fare.

We read some mixed reviews on this place, but decided to try nonetheless, who knows, we might just like it..

Started off our meal with some Warm Asparagus salad (RM30)

Though this looks simple but it was delish- the warm, young asparagus and the lightly melted shaved parmesan was a great pairing.

The Caprese Salad (RM28) was a more popular dish among my friends..

Fresh, sweet tomatoes neatly arranged with thick cuts of bufallo mozarella, a sprinkling of chopped basil and kalamata olives. A good combination that I cant complain.

The Salmone Pasta (RM32) did not take that long to reach..

Creamy al-dente pasta with generous amount of smoke salmon and a dollop of lumpfish caviar. This was scrumptious, I was glad the sauce was not too thick and enveloped the fettucine perfectly.

The D'antara Pasta (RM33) was not so popular..

Though the penne was cooked al-dente, the sauce was a mixed of tomatoes yet sligthly sweetish, which some find it a mismatch with the slightly salty smoked duck breast slices.  

The Lamb Shank (Rm52)

This had a better reception..hahaha..the lambshank was fork tender, served with creamy mash and sides of carrots and cucumbers. It was a decent dish.
But the Quattro Formaggio pizza (RM32) got my crown for deliciousness for that night..

The cheeses was so aromatic (or some may call it pungent :p) that i was salivating just by smelling it. And yes, it did not disappoint at all. The crust was thin, crisp at the edges and the cheese! oh need i say more...the mildly burnt top, the great melting flavours of 4 cheeses (parmesan, mozzarela and i cant recall the other 2 :p) was simply divine!

And the restaurant was sweet to prepare something for my BD..tee hee 

Yummy, fudgy chocolate brownie. Thanks Pietro..
We wanted to have other desserts, hence the classic Tiramisu (RM20)

I was glad that it's not too sweet, this dessert was satisfying with the cream cheese and the slight kick from coffee liquer.
Chardonnay loves the Panna Cotta (RM16)..

Smooth, velvety, melt in mouth.. 
Overall I had a great time dining there, a wonderful was to end 2011 :)


Bangunan ECM Libra, Jalan Damansara Endah, Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur.

Vivo American Pizza & Panini, Tropicana City Mall

I can be very bias sometimes..

I tend to make a hasty decision for not dining at a place with it's outlook. That does not mean that the restaurant is dirty, smelly etc..its just a 'feel' that I get. No chemistry I guess, hah. Weird, eh?

Sadly, Vivo was one of such restaurant. When I saw it opening its doors at The Curve a couple of years back, I never had the urge to want to try it.

But recently, Vivo opened a branch at Tropicana City. I was there to catch a movie and while cracking my head on what to have for dinner, I recalled Ms. D persistent effort to convince me to try the food in Vivo some time ago.

Hmmm, why so insistent?

Curiosity got the best of me, we went to Vivo without much hesitation..

Power juices seemed to be popular..

We tried a couple..

Cant remember the names of these, but one was thirst quenching while another was a tad too sour..

The Green Tea latte was a nice way to warm the belly in preparation of the food..The slightly bitter green tea (powder) was balanced by the tame milk.

Ms D said the baked seafood pasta was worth trying..

And so I did.

The pasta was tongue scorching hot when it was served. The top layer of cheese was wonderfully burnt and melted, clinging on to the spaghetti underneath. The tomato cream sauce, - rich and gooey complemented the mild flavour dory fish slices and pasta. A rather satisfying dish, you should give it a try if you prefer creamy based pasta.

The pizza, on the other hand, came with some quirky flavours..

SH wanted to try the Funghi (Mushroom) pizza, and so we ordered one.

You get to choose to have it thin crust or the normal pizza base. Ours was thin.

I was surprised that Vivo was very generous with their ingredients. Loads of mushrooms accompanied with a scattering of feta cheese and almond slices. So far, it sounds normal right? The quirkiness came with the sauce used for the base of the pizza. Rather than the usual tomato base, they opted for pesto. Not that it's bad (the worst base I've tried was caramelised ginger sauce base for a duck pizza..ewww), it's just acquired taste. So this pizza got a mixed vote, some of us enjoyed it, while others don't.

Amy opted for a more norm pizza..

Topped with salami, chicken slices and lots of vegetables. Pretty decent, I liked the fact that the capsicums are bursting with juices when I bit into it.

I've tried their chicken tenders too (which I didn't take a picture of, sorry!), which is great to snack on. It's like a cross between A&W fried chicken batter with Chilli's chicken crisper.

I must admit, there were some items in Vivo that I did enjoy. Vivo is has almost similar clientele akin to Pizza hut's. But if I had to choose between these 2, I'd rather do Vivo.

Vivo American Pizza & Panini is located at Tropicana City Mall, L1-55, First Floor, Tropicana City Mall, No. 3, Jln SS 20/27, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Porto Romano, TTDI

Taking a break from Penang food, let's see what we've got now back in Klang Valley....
I've passed by Porto Romano numerous times but somehow, never thought of trying it. SF did try on one fine day and she got SL and I to join her for another meal there..

Porto Romano is a cozy little restaurant, you'll feel just at home the moment you step in. We promptly took our seats and check out the menu. Having a nice array of antipasti, soups, pastas, pizzas, risottos, seafood, meats and desserts to choose from, it took us quite a while to decide what we'll be having. As we were not too hungry that night, we decided to just have mains..

Though I'm always a sucker for pasta alfredo, I wanted something tomato-ish that night and we had Porto Romano spaghetti and Salmon with Fettucine.

The Porto Romano spaghetti was an absolute delight, the tomato based sauce was sourish and sweet at the same time; with a hint of slightly burnt garlic which gives a wonderful aftertaste. The combination was so addictive, we were lapping up the sauce as much as we could ;p. The pasta was done al dente, accompanied with a generous amount of fresh seafood.

The salmon with fettucine was also good, though it still paled in comparison to Porto Romano spaghetti. The sauce used for this dish was different compared to the previous; it was tomato with cream, hence, the sauce texture was thicker and tasted richer. Again, the fettucine was done al dente, and we had a generous amount of salmon in this dish.

The Mediterranean pizza was served last and it looks scrumptious...Porto Romano's version is thin crust, topped with beef pepperoni, ham, mushrooms, onions, cheese and some other toppings which I cant recall. The pizza was tasty, loved the slightly charred, crunchy crust. My only gripe would be the 'wet' toppings. Not sure why the toppings were rather, erm, wet (even the base of the plate was wet).. Some toppings actually slide of the crust when we tore it from the pizza. Yes, slides down and leaving you with the crust and base in your hands. Oh well, still tasted good..

We ordered tiramisu for dessert. It was just ok for me, something was missing, a certain flavour which I cant pinpoint. Total bill was RM113 including drinks and after dinner coffee.

And this is the picture (or suppose to be) of the tiramisu... Before my camera decided to konk out for good.. :-(. Just got the diagnostic, this baby will be costing me RM400 to fix it (which incidentally is only 14 months old! just after my warranty period :-( ). Should I have it fix? Or invest in a new one? I'd better decide fast before my photo stocks runs out!

Porto Romano is located at No 28, Persiaran Zaaba, Taman Tun Dr Ismail. Tel: 03-77100509.