Duck and Mango Salad (RM15.90+)
Before I stepped in to the Apartment, I was envisioning loads of problems especially since I kept reading negative reviews abour the food. Maybe I set my standards to expect the worst but the food we chose that night actually tasted quite good. However, I could see room for improvement in terms of service and some of the menu items. I read in the papers how the management of the Apartment (which is the same as TGIF, Italiannies, Laundry) was inspired by Jamie Oliver's philosophy for simple yet great tasting food. When you flick through their cute paper menu stuck on a clipboard, you'll see Jamie Oliver classics like Chicken in a Bag and Duck and Aubergine Pasta. I'm sure there will be variations made to his recipes to adapt to our palate and to what is available here. Another point to note is there is also a place called The Apartment in Melbourne. Based from what I read, it's also decorated like a living space but they serve lunch in the day time on communal tables and at night, it transforms into a club and lounge.
Zesty Herbed Sole served with Olive Salsa, Thyme Mash and Rocket (RM25.90+)
Back to the food, we ordered a salad to start the meal and was highly recommended the Duck and Mango Salad. Although the portion was small it was excellent. I liked the thickly sliced sweet yellow mangoes mixed with shredded duck meat, slivers of spring onions and thinly sliced lemongrass and kaffir leaves. Tossed in a Thai Nam Pla sauce, it was sweet, sour and salty. Definitely a keeper and I wouldn't mind just eating this refreshing salad on my own for a light lunch. To satisfy my curiosity, I googled "Jamie Oliver mango salad" and got a reference to a Thai Mango Salad with Griddled Prawns. Looks completely different so maybe this one is their own creation?
Chicken in a Bag (RM17.90+)
For the mains, Splashie Boy ordered the sole which was described in the menu as Zesty Herbed Sole. Sadly the fish didn't taste very zesty or herbed but more like plain pan fried sole fish (known to us Ikan Kurau). The olive salsa with the chopped black olives was unusual but quite dry and needed a dash of olive oil. What was nice was the thyme mash - lightly mashed potatoes with hints of the herb. There's a similar recipe on Jamie Oliver's website but using monkfish (that expensive one which tastes like lobster meat) and black olive sauce and lemon mash.
Top View of Strawberry Mint Parfait
Of course since I knew it was a Jamie Oliver inspired, I had to sample his famous Chicken in a Bag recipe. If you're a fan of Jamie Oliver, you'll know that he developed this quick and easy way to cook in a tin foil bag. Just assemble ingredients, place in the bag, roll up the foil and throw it in the oven. The Apartment's version is different from Jamie's version as they use cream instead with the chicken breast cubes, seeded mustard, leeks, marjoram and cannelloni beans. A few new potatoes are also chucked in to make it more substantial. Although it may not appeal to those who're watching their waistline, it's pretty good comfort food. I liked how the marjoram enhanced the dish, another Jamie Oliver philosophy.
Strawberry Mint Parfait (RM8.90+)
To end the meal, we chose to share the crowd favourite - the Strawberry Mint Parfait. I liked the simple and clean flavours of this. Served in a tall clear glass, you could make out the seperate layers of cubed sponge fingers, mint flavoured cream and chopped strawberries.
Overall, I thought my meal was satisfying and maybe the little quirks found in the food could be due to an inexperienced kitchen who is still finding their way around. I guess one way is to revisit it when things have calmed down. My major complaint is the service - too many pink coloured t-shirt clad wait staff hanging around with too little things to do. Could be a temporary hitch since they're new but this definitely needs improvement as it's irritating to see so many people stand around and ignore you when you want service.
The Apartment
G72-74 and 152
Ground Floor and First Floor
Western Courtyard
The Curve
Mutiara Damansara
Petaling Jaya
Tel No: 03 – 7727 8330
(Halal. Open from 11.00 am to 11.00 pm. Note that on the first floor, they have a bar.)
*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from the restaurant for writing this review.
Tagged with: Jamie Oliver + The Curve
Other reviews:
looks like i may need to give this place a longer rest b4 i go haha..but the dessert does look quite scrumptious
ReplyDeleteAh ha!..... might try later.... hey I saw the apartment also have greentea cheesecake..hmmm.... but I wonder if the top their greentea cheesecake with red bean puree.
ReplyDeletemango salad huh. I can't wait for mangoes to be in season here. Overall, that looks like a decent place to be in.
ReplyDeleteoh.... you had a good experience here! lol at da "too-many-pink-coloured-shirt" ekekekee... so true.. i find their kitchen crew not well trained... i really look forward to visit this place again maybe next year? cause i really like their decor ;)
ReplyDeleteJust pass by the restaurant earlier during lunch. Seems cosy inside and I saw dinning chairs that looks like a bed. Pretty good concept I would say. :)
ReplyDeleteAnyway talking bout Jamie Oliver, I did wish for his restaurant "fifthteen" to open one branch here in Malaysia.
Joe - You can always just visit for their dessert.
ReplyDeleteBBO - must be new. Yeah, usually people pair it with red beans or white chocolate since those 2 flavours go well together.
daphne - it's a nice concept just that it needs time to wrinkle out their problems.
meiyen - I guess they need to sort out their problems.
mikelee - I don't think he even knows where Msia is on the map! It's a nice concept - interior wise, just that they need to polish up a few things and they're good to go.
my frens who tried said the food was not that good..hence, i decided not to go..well, at least not so soon..guess it's quite ok after all..
ReplyDeleteI also heard a lot of bad comment for apartment that lead my delay visit to apartment. They told me the food is very bad and the service also. I think is maybe just open therefore unable to control it.
ReplyDeleteHope it will improve when i visit to apartment.
sc and adrian - kinda sad as it's a nice concept. Hopefully they improve.
ReplyDeleteThe parfait is interesting.
ReplyDeletewent there last night, had the duck pasta and lamb curry. service was a li'l slow, food wasn't great, especially for the price.
ReplyDeletetomato sauce for the duck pasta was too sour and watery, they were stingy with the duck meat and it was mushy and didn't taste much like duck, pasta a bit on the soft side.
lamb curry was somewhat better, but nothing to shout about, pepper too overpowering, rice portion a bit small.
Is my 2nd time visit the apartment, the new year eve with my 2 gal fren. We was told by the GM who's the guy standing infront of the door. He said if we want sit on the 2nd floor we must open a bottle of champagne so we decide to take.We go in at 8:30 around 10pm the staff come to our sit n ask us if we still want to sit there we have to buy another of bottle of champagne he was told by his "General Manager". Even we haven't finished our food n the champagne yet. The staff was chase us for few times. It make us very very angry coz destroy our last day of the year 2008. I would like to ask The Apartment Management, It is the way you serve your customer ?? Pls tell your GM, he want a regular customer or one time customer ??
ReplyDeleteis it seriously halal?
ReplyDeleteunless the champagne is halal, u moron
ReplyDelete