Monday, April 20, 2009

Dining Out @ Blackboard, Desa Sri Hartamas, Kuala Lumpur


kicking off with tapas

A quick one for today - my meal with friends last Friday. A relatively new place in Desa Sri Hartamas, the Blackboard has no fixed menu; you order from the handwritten dishes on a big blackboard. Items are based on whatever is fresh from the Pudu market and run by an French Canadian chef. However old favourites are usually found on the blackboard like the chicken liver parfait and tortilla. We kicked off with tapas items first. Chicken liver parfait (RM9.50) was a little misleading - I expected a tall glass of a mix but got pate. Luckily the chicken liver pate was smooth and nice. However, we felt it lacked much kick aka a little brandy would have been better. Marinated sardines (RM10.50) was not bad and the potato tortilla (RM9.50) was nothing fantastic either. What we really liked was the grilled chicken hearts (RM9.50) as they were tender and a little on the spicy side. To drink, we had Californian Robert Mondavi Rose 2007 that was light, fresh and very pretty to look at.


main meals to share

We fared better with our mains, that we all shared. All-time favourite was the glazed mirin salmon served with an assortment of fresh mushrooms (RM32.50). Everything was light tasting, not overpowering and very fresh. Next favourite was the braised lamb loin with a tamarind sauce and couscous (RM32.50). While we didn't like the couscous (the water they added was too strong tasting, probably unfiltered), the lamb chunks were tender (but not overly) and the tamarind sauce was delicious. The braised beef loin with potatoes (RM29.50) was pretty good too even though I felt some chunks were a little lean. If you went for the fatty bits, it was delectable as they melted in the mouth. Least favourite was the roast chicken leg (RM26.50) as we didn't quite like the sauce. However the mashed pumpkin with the chicken was yummy stuff.

The ambience of the place is a little stark - two seperate areas with the bar in front and the restaurant at the back. The bar is all black with a live band while the restaurant is all white walls and mirrors with black tableclothed tables. People seem to be packed in the bar area while the restaurant was relatively full of people. Our only complaint was the air conditioning is not enough for the space as it was quite stuffy and hot within. For bigger pictures, see the Flickr set.

Blackboard
No. 60, Jln 27/70A
Desa Sri Hartamas
Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 017- 7353 0953

(Pork free. Restaurant used to be where Lanna Thai restaurant and Strudels used to be. Same row as Char Siew Bistro and Celicakes.)

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. This review is time sensitive; changes may occur to the place later on that can affect this opinion. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from this place for writing the review.

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13 comments:

J2Kfm said...

yeah, i read this in the paper few days ago. or a week or so (i'm outta touch with time).

interesting, given that one does not need to ponder endlessly over the many items in the menu.

Bangsar-bAbE said...

The food looks good, and reasonable too! Must make it a point to check this place out when I'm in the area... =)

Anonymous said...

Nice food photos...esp the appetizers.

Sugar Bean said...

Wow, interesting that they actually don't have fixed menu. So you'll get surprises everyday. Hehe, another new place in Desa Sri Hartamas to check out.

thule a.k.a leo said...

Hmm... didn't go to Sri hartamas as often nowadays... used to be fav hangout between my wife and I...

Rarebeet said...

I've always loved this kinda of concept. Small specialised menu prepared daily. However I wonder how that would work over here with us Malaysians who loveeee a bit of everything on the menu.

Ciki said...

nice! was just cari-ing makan in the area the othr day.. must keep this in mind, thx boo!

teckiee said...

sound like something for the easily bored with food person like me. no same menu.

qwazymonkey said...

kinda like forest gump's chocolate box: you never know what you're gonna get. Will try one day and see what's on the TODAY'S SURPRISE menu!

Angie Tan said...

Looks delicious!

Prices seem reasonable for the location. Might give this a try one day. :-)

I like the concept of the menu.

Julian Si said...

Hmmm, I think I may still give this place a "go"!

Hartamas dining landscape changes so very very fast... hmmm.

Leonard Loh said...

I love the whole blackboard idea and the changing menu.. and of course chicken liver parfait oh-la-la...

You gotta love Hartamas for that..

boo_licious said...

j2kfm - yup, only 5 main items to choose from and we ate 4 mains already.

Bangsar-babe - something new for this place, as it has been quite down esp since Solaris opened up.

Thanks Mei Teng.

Sugar Bean - beats another Korean place in Hartamas, as that seems to be sprouting everywhere.

Leo - can hang out during daytime instead?

paprika - it doesn't as I read that the appetizers are regular stuff the customers ask for. If you read the other reviews, you kinda suss it out also.

ciki - no worries dearie.

teckiee - yes, I reckon better for their mains vs appetisers as that seems to be quite the same stuff again and again.

qwazymonkey - maybe it is just alternatives of what I ate?

Angie - very eco also, saves paper to print the menus!

Jules - ah, tday is Wednesday and it is Sin Kee day. Yum yum, envious of you eating that.

Leonard - chicken liver parfait is just plain old pate though. The alcoholic me says more brandy though to make it richer and tastier like Flamenco's version.

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