Friday, September 03, 2010

Il Lido

There seems to be a few "Il" whatevers popping up. Il Divo, Il Lido, Il Primo. Now, if the Ministry of Education were to set up a restaurant, it would be called Il Literate, and if MACC were to set up one, it'll be Il Legal. The President of MCA's restaurant is called Il Licit. Of course, if I were to set up one, it'll be called Il Lustrious. Ahem!

Il Lido has been touted as "could be the best Italian restaurant in KL" but food cognoscenti, Sean Yoong of Eat Drink KL. With such rare accolade, of course, I was thrilled therefore to have been able to dine there TWICE so far, once for Bald Eagle's Surprise Birthday Dinner (which I've yet to blog about), and once for an invited review, organised by our Makan- Fairy Godmother, as A Lil Fat Monkey calls her. I'm not sure if that term is endorsed by Marian or not.

We were greeted by the warm and bubbly Lyla, who is the PR Lady of the place. Il Lido hails from Singapore, (and therefore it must be good la right?).

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They serve a lovely herbed bread, with olive oil and balsamico, but I being the uncultured peasant that I am, prefer my bread with butter. You have to be careful not to overgorge yourself with this bread, as it's so delicious.

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The amuse bouche. I love the way that microscopic piece of salmon is placed on that gigantic plate. It's like how Seri Perdana in Putrajaya is way too big for just the PM. However, the salmon was a lovely teaser to the feast that ensued.

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A platter of Parma Ham, Rock Melon and Balsamic. Lovely thin strips of parma. There's something magical about the combination of the sweet rockmelon, and parma. I know its quite a normal combo, but whoever thought of it first, must have been quite a genius.

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Rucola Salad with Pecorino Cheese, Walnut and Pear. Walnuts also seem to be the natural marriage partner with pears. Its seemed written in the stars. I'm not sure what Rucola is, but it tasted like some baby spinach.

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Crab Salad With Avocado and Bisque Jelly. I love crab, and anything with PEELED crab, provided it doesnt have that freezer after taste, is always welcome. Such a pretty looking starter as well.

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Spinach and Endive Salad With Golden Egg & Red Onion Compote. The highlight for me was the fried egg, runny yolk on the inside, while the albumen forms a natural sac protecting the liquid gold within.

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Baked Eggplant and Mozarella Cheese...a mini mousakka, almost.

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Pan Seared Foie Gras with Saba Wine Must and Sweet Potatoes. I have to say that for RM59, it is a generous slab of foie gras, and seared to perfection as well. Totally melt in the mouth, the subtle sweetness of the saba wine must and balsamic in union with the sinful diseased liver, ah, we are close to heaven.

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Porcini Mushroom Cream With Truffle. I've only ever heard about such things, I hear they serve a lovely version in Senses, but with no yardstick to compare, I thought this was divine. I think when I return, I shall just have this soup, the foie gras, and their BREAD!

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I didnt take many human pictures this time, as I was totally engrossed in the food, but this particular one, juxtaposed against that unique background, makes for a nice shot. Of course the subjects are also photogenic.

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Rigatoni with Suckling Pig, Porcini Mushrooms and Truffle. Oh my gawd, if you like rich stuff, go for this dish. It's simply choking with goodness, but it is really too rich for me. Two pieces and I felt like I was about to do a Cheras Pomelo. Bits of luscious sucking pig, in a rich creamy based sauce fill the rigatoni, the way plaque would fill your artery.

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Pumpkin Tortellini with Sage. Lovely homemade pasta, so refined and yet comforting.

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Linguine With Jumbo Sea Prawns. The prawns were succulent and fresh, and okay, I think THIS dish, I could eat myself. (But not if I've had the Foie and Truffle Cream).
Good old pasta, this one, though it is gourmet.

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Wagyu Beef Cheek with Celeriac Puree and fava beans. The beef was worthy of its wagyu status, tender, but there was one element in the sauce that seemed to overpower the dish, which we couldn't quite place.

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For the pork lover, this is a must have dish. Sardinian Suckling Pig with Plum Sauce. If Sardinia itself didn't sound exotic enough on its own, this dish conjures up images of Marco Polo returning from his travels in China, and introducing this palatial dish in his hometown. Crispy crackling, a lovely layer of fat, and the tenderest of meat.

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Red Snapper Fillet With Egg plant Caviar. Honestly, by this time, my palate had ceased to function, as the brain cried out to the tummy, ENOUGH ENOUGH. Looked healthy and tasty enough.


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But there's always room for dessert. Some gelato...

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A gorgeous panna cotta, creamy, firm, not overly wobbly...encased in a picturesque sugar net. Such effort people take to decorate their desserts.


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Four types of creme brulee, all good.

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Classic Tiramisu.

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Molten Chocolate Cakes.

What can I say, but WOW, what a meal. I am inclined to agree with Sean's appraisal of the situation, and having dined here twice, (once as a paying guest...well, I didnt pay, but the hostess paid), and once for an invited review, both times have been beyond expectations.

Thanks Lyla for being a gracious host, and Marian for inviting.

Il Lido is situated right across the Aussie High Commission, on Jln Yap Kwan Seng. Tel: 21612291.

27 comments:

J said...

Niiiiiiicee :D
(um but just to be slightly devilish in advocation, went there just for desserts once n the molten choc cake was dry as a dormant volcano)

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

looks like ah pa is not that outdate la, eat in il lido twice d hor..fu yoh!

Sean said...

i have a semi-embarrassing story. a week or two ago, i wanted to refer to il lido's menu online for something. so i googled it and went straight to the menu page, and saw that it looked 90 percent different, with soooo many fascinating new dishes! then my jaw dropped when i noticed that prices seemed to have been slashed by nearly 50 percent!
so i immediately e-mailed lyla to ask her whether that revamped menu on their website was available already, and noted with amazement that they had lowered their prices.
before she could reply, i did more surfing, and realized that i had been looking at the menu of il lido singapore instead! sigh.

qwazymonkey said...

Well Marian signed off a recent email to me as "your fairy makan godmother". So yeah, it's endorsed! :P

Diary of Kay El said...

nice!!!! great pics!! and rucola is rocket....

Ciki said...

a sure path to GOUT eh.. ? jom lets go for body pump attack combat step to it quick! :P

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

wow, fbb. your pictures are GORGEOUS! You make me want to run to il Lido to makan now!! (except that I can't coz I'm stuck in the darned freezing office while chewing gum, pretending that it's roast pig)

I LOVE YOUUUU!

Hungry Lemongrass said...

I came back to stare at the pics somemore.

gfad said...

Such a cute couple, Cumi&Ciki. :) Imagine how cute little Cumis&Cikis would be - running and jumping around.. :D

Bread, Porcini Soup, Foie Gras, Jumbo Prawn Linguine and Creme Brulee - my dinner.

Il Licit & Il Legal.. LOL

boo_licious said...

Lovely pixs FBB. They make me want to lick the screen.

Julian Si said...

I agree, brilliant photos :-)

Mmmmh ... I am hungry now! Darn ... and I am here in Adu Bhabi!

But best bit is ... I love J's comment on the dormant volcano :-)

Nitezzz all from Abu Dhabi ...

Babe_KL said...

i must be the last in line to dine there since everyone practically been raving about this, must find time to go!

KY said...

LOL the opening paragraph

Cyrene said...

babe ..*blink blink*.. can I tag along? :P .. u take pic, u blog, i help eat hehehe

fatboybakes said...

cyrene, i am sure babe will gladly bring you along.

KY, i've just been told that Il means "THE". cis.

fatboybakes said...

babekl, yup, you must...

jules, soon bro soon

fatboybakes said...

aww, boo, thanks. coming from you, that is high compliment indeed.

gfad, i oso waiting for the grandchewdren from ciki girl.

fatboybakes said...

Thamby, so sarky!

ciki, aiyo, i need them exercise.

fatboybakes said...

diary of KL, oooh, rucola, aragula, must find out the root word.

monkey boy, yup, looks like it is endorsed.

fatboybakes said...

sean, hahahah, yar, that would've been wishful thinking, lowering of prices. by 50%...unheard of.

nipples, yes, the old man tries to keep up.

J - sorry about your dry dormant volcano.

Quay Po Cooks said...

Fabulours pics makes my mouth water...must check out this restaurant soon!

vialentino said...

my friend did a review at this place and she commented nice...is time for me to go and try...hehehe...lovely food pics1

Anonymous said...

my "favouritest" dish at this place is the tagliatelle with duck confit, foie gras and truffle shavings.

UnkaLeong said...

Root of the word = la ? See I so cwever. Hahaha..I've only had the pleasure of dining there once. Definitely warrants a revisit :)

fatboybakes said...

unka, not root of the word la, ROOT WORD...chis..

traveleo, that sounds like an arterial disaster....

fatboybakes said...

vialentino, yes yes, you def must go. bring your wife la, its quite loman...

quay po cooks, yes, def worth a visit.

Unknown said...

wah...
and again i say wah....

i like the desserts in the photos. especially the one with the 'sugar net'