Purple Pasta Restaurant & Cafe@ Oasis Ara Damansara – RM5 Pasta/Spaghetti Review – Best Restaurant To Eat

With the constant rise in cost and inflation, there are not many places where you can go for a decent meal at a very reasonable price but we were surprised when we were invited for a food review session at Purple Pasta Restaurant and Cafe which is located at D-G-06, Block D, Oasis Square, Ara Damansara 2, Jalan PJU 1A/7A, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

 
You wonder how true it is when they are able to sell their pasta/spaghetti at RM5.00 per plate. One might wonder whether they will cut off certain ingredients or the serving is of a extremely small serving. Nowadays, even if you ever had lunch at a coffee shop, it will easily cost more than RM5.00 and you probably have to sit on uncomfortable chair and a very hot environment.

The setting of Purple Pasta Restaurant & Cafe@ Oasis is simple and modern concept. There are different sections within the restaurant that will cater for different groups of people coming into this restaurant. There is an alfresco area where you can have a sit-down session with your friends in an open environment.

There is also a little cozy corner, where some soft sofa sets are, where you can hang around after lunch for some quiet reading or after dinner, coffee session to have some small chats with your friends.

and of course, the sit down area for your breakfast, lunch or dinner.

To start off our session of this review, we had the Garden Salad, which have lettuce, tomatoes, arugula, crotons, parmesan cheese top with a concoction of Japanese mayo and balsamico vinegar.

The light flaky crotons, was a perfect combination with the fresh green and the buttery powdered parmesan. Indeed a classic starter for a hearty meal ahead.

The dressing was of the right taste with a well balance of mayonnaise and vinegar which blended well with the crisp salad.

Next, we had, two of the top RM5.00 Pasta/Spaghetti.

The first one is the LAMB MARINARA. The tomatoes based sauce which was made in-house was not too sourish and it was topped with a generous amount of herbs.

The Lamb meatball was succulent and didn’t have the strong gamey lamb taste which makes it taste good. At RM5.00, it was very worth it.

The next pasta we had, was the AUTHENTIC CARBONARA, this version is very different from the other carbonara serves elsewhere which, we are used to i.e. flour and milk based.

From the onset it looks quite plain but the sauce is made up of yellow egg yolk, with parmesan cheese and guess what, roasted anchovies. It is then top up with a runny poached egg.

For fans of eggs, you got to try this. Make sure you let the runny eggs flowed into the pasta and mix it for a wholesome meal. For me, I would have preferred to slurp up the runny egg yolk.

For those that can eat a little spicy, you can add in some chilli flakes to give it that extra zing.

Both the above pasta, are part of the RM5.00 offering, there are other RM5.00 pasta of which, are CHICKEN CARBONARA, MUSHROOM CARBONARA, CHICKEN MARINARA, MUSHROOM MARINARA, CHICKEN GRAVYNARA, LAMB GRAVYNARA. You can sample these reasonably price pasta without burning a hole in your pocket.

The Purple Pasta Restaurant & Cafe@Oasis is embarking to introduce a few new premium pasta and dishes into their menu, which we have the privilege to sample and to provide feedback to the owner.

One of the first dishes to be tasted was the FRA DIAVOLO MUTTON. This pasta is a creation by the owner /chef himself, which he uses a base tomato sauce and a generous amount of dark chocolate to enhance the unique flavour of the sauce.

The use of the dark chocolate infused into the sauce are also able to kill off the gamey mutton smell and taste. The end result, the sauce was very addictive till the last drop. With a generous serving of mutton meat, the overall feeling of this dish was one of a premium taste.

The second dish we sample was the SALMON TARTARE – this is another fine example of the creativeness in the preparation and the choice use of the ingredients to bring forth the special premium taste. The Salmon are cured in-house with Rock Salt and Brown Sugar for at least 12 hours.

The combination of fragrant pear and ebiko add a new dimension and texture to this dish. The sauce was subtle yet complemented well with the slightly salted cured salmon which enhances the overall flavours of this dish.

The next dish was PRAWN CEVICHE – this dish is very challenging to most people who does not savour upon slightly raw or raw food.

CEVICHE is a form of cooking which uses the natural process of acid to cook the fresh seafood, in this case the PRAWN – no heat whatsoever was used in the cooking of this dish. Served chilled, you can actually taste the slight rawness and the tangy meat when eaten. Combined with vinaigrette onion and purple cabbage, it was a very unique and distinct taste.

The next dish i.e PRAWN THERMIDOR is as close as it is to eating LOBSTER THERMIDOR, as far as taste wise is concern. The chef is able to recreate close to the same taste of this premium dish.

The art of cooking the sauce and the use of Super Size Tiger Prawn, which have a firm and slight tangy rough texture, make it ideal as a close replacement to the lobster.

 

Lastly, we had the POACHED CHICKEN AND SMOKE DUCK - again with some creativeness, the chicken breast are sliced to pieces before poaching into the Earl Grey Tea, which gives it a distinct tea taste onto the chicken meat.

Placed in between the poached chicken slices, are the smoke duck slices that allows you to have 2 different taste of 2 poultry meat. Served on a bed of smashed potatoes, it was the perfect partner to the meat.

We hope that the owner will be serving up these specially created dishes, later at the Purple Pasta Restaurant & Cafe@ Oasis. Do check it out before you order.

By the way, if you are a coffee lover or fan, you might want to check out the TRIO SUGAR LATTE.

It is a latte served with this special azulette sugar which is purple in colour and look like the sparkling red rubies.

The Azulette sugar tasted quite similar to that of the cotton candy that we eat.

The other coffee is the PICCOLO COFFEE, this blend is a little stronger as it is more concentrated compared with the normal latte.

So, there you have it, a café that serves delicious tasting pasta at a very reasonable price or should it be cheap price and some nice coffee to finish off your delightful meal.

Crave Café @ Oasis Ara Damansara - Breakfast Like A King With Crave BIG Breakfast.

Like the saying goes “Breakfast like a King, Lunch like a Prince, Dinner like a Pauper”. With that in mind, we head over to try out the BIG breakfast at Crave Cafe located at BG-03, Oasis Square, Jalan PJU 1A/7, Ara Damansara, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.     

Crave café is inspired by its owner Australian love affair. So the décor and outlook pretty much size it up like the outback with comfortable dining area and sofa seats where you can hang out with your buddies for a nice get together.

Here at Crave Café, the line of coffee and tea are from the famous Toby's Estate Arabica Coffee in Sydney and are of the Woolloomooloo Blend from Sydney Australia. Toby coffees are of the mild roasted type and are not the type where you can get the coffee kick, which are suitable for those that prefer a not so strong coffee.

One of the advantages of a mild roasted coffee is, it leaves a little sweetness in the beans, so technically you don’t really need to add any sugar into the drink.

We had the opportunity to try out a few interesting coffee flavors one of which is the Dirty Chai Latte which I have not tried before. It is a one shot expresso mixed with Chai syrup and topped with cinnamon powder. I should have ordered a double shot as I like my coffee stronger.

For non coffee drinkers, you could opt for the Toby Breakfast Blend Tea, it has a smooth taste and a strong floral aroma.

The first breakfast set we sample was none other than the Crave BIG Breakfast which has 2 sunny side up eggs, sausages, beef bacon, baked beans, roasted tomatoes and mushrooms served with ciabatta.

The mushroom which was lightly sauteed was very tasty especially eaten with the toast, topped with some slices of sausages, bacon and eggs.

Next we had the Pancakes with Caramelised Banana & Maple Syrup – The pancakes was very fluffy and of the right texture. Eaten with the combination of the maple syrup and caramelized banana, the taste was just right. There were also sprinkles of cashew nuts too.

The third set of breakfast that we had was the Salmon Scramble – It is smoked salmon nestled on a bed of scrambled eggs served with focaccia. The scrambled eggs were very light and fluffy.

The saltiness of the smoke salmon and the sprinkle of parsley topping was a perfect combination with the focaccia. This dish is for those that prefer a lighter wholesome breakfast to start the day.

  

Crave Cafe will be introducing a new item to their breakfast menu – as of now, this dish has not been named but it is served with fried eggs, beef bacon and avocado paste with ciabatta.

The white paste is actually cheese spread which you can spread on the bread or eaten as it is. The strong avocado (green) paste was a perfect blend to the bacon and fried eggs.

For Lunch menu, you try out the Chicken Parmigiana, which is breaded chicken cutlets baked with Parmesan cheese and served with tomato sauce base. The Chicken cutlet is coated with parmessan cheese and oven baked.

You can taste the crispy chicken with the flavored cheese wrap around it. Slurp it up with the accompanied tomato sauce, it makes a tantalizing sweet sourish meal. The thinly slice baked potatoes was a perfect side dish to compliment this dish.

The Next Lunch menu dish was the Seabass With Spicy Sauce. This dish will be for those that prefer a little spicier food, the fish is first coated and deep fried and served in a bed of spicy sauce with a bowl of Buttered Herb rice, green beans and carrots.

For desserts, we started off with the

Gula Melaka Cake – I find this cake a little unique and it is an acquired taste to like this especially so, if you are those that loves anything Gula Melaka or sweet stuff. I don’t think you can find this cake in any places. You can taste the tiny pieces of Gula Melaka crystal in every little bite of the cakes, it has that slight crust bite feeling when eating this cake.

Nutella Mille Crepe Cake – It is a nutella infused crepe cake. Look at the multiple layers of nutella crepe.

Salted Chocolate Cake – this is another specialty cake serves at the Crave Café. The whole cakes is chocolate based and in the middle, there is a thin layer of melted salt which you can taste. It is a very interesting combination of the rich chocolate taste with a tinge of saltiness in every bite.

In conjunction with the Ramadan, Crave Café is having a Ramadan promotion.

Ramadan Buka Puasa Promotion

Crave is having a promotion which comes with a homemade Soup, a choice of Main Course, a slice of homemade Cake and a Dragon Fruit Juice.

Main Course Selection:

Honey Glazed Roasted Chicken with mashed potato and grilled vegetables

OR

Seabass in Spicy Cream Sauce served with Butter Herb rice

OR

Beef Stroganoff with Steamed Rice.

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Fine Chinese Cuisine Dinner at Royal Flush Restaurant Ara Damansara By Best Restaurant To Eat

These days Chinese dining is more of experience rather than just filling up the tummy with nice and delicious food. One such place is the Royal Flush which is located at Central Piazza, Oasis Square Ara Damansara, No 2 Jalan PJU 1A/7A, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.

The Oasis Square is a new place to be seen at i.e. new happening place. There are many upmarket restaurants that have been set up in this place. The court yard is filled with many water features and a walk around this area is very relaxing with the sound of water fountain along the way especially after a tiring and stressful day the office. Taking a brisk walk around this Piazza in the early evening can be rejuvenating your senses.

The façade of the Royal Flush does stand out prominently at the entrance of the Square. The Chinese Palace based décor and impressive theme really gives you a feeling on what to expect from this restaurant. The large huge red door is very prominent and reminiscent of the door of the Forbidden City although it was much smaller in comparison.

 The décor and furniture arrangement was classical Chinese theme.

 As it was still Chinese New Year, our first dish was the Royal Flush Yee Sang with Salmon. The supervisor that serves our table introduce each ingredient with good wishes i.e. from the salmon fish as “Nin Nin Yau Yue”, the red packet as “Hong Wan Thong Tau” and so forth, it was quite amusing and fun way to start off our dinner.

 I always find the Yee Sang these days serves at restaurant are overwhelmed with crackers. It becomes more of a crackers meal rather than a Lou Sang dish. I usually do not order this dish unless it is with business associates for the “Yee Tau”.

 Next on the course is the Double Boiled Top Shell With Ginseng Root. There are many ingredients put into this soup, i.e. Kampong Chicken, Dried Scallop and etc. The Top shell that was accompanied are cut into thinly slice and it was also very chewy and a perfect substitute match to the soup although abalone slice would have made it a perfect combination. 

 We were expecting a very strong ginseng taste as most ginseng soup especially those from Korean restaurant had a strong and herbal taste. To our surprise, the taste of ginseng (American ginseng) is quite mild and coupled with the Kampong Chicken, slurping the warm and tasty soup was a good kick-start for the night.

The next dish is the Steamed Kampong Chicken with Dried Scallop. I find this dish a little disappointing as the whole steamed chicken is laden with the dried scallop sauce and it made the chicken very gooey and starch like. So, you can’t really taste the original sweet taste of steam chicken.

I preferred Steamed Chicken by itself or served with superior soya sauce. This method of cooking also ensured that the meat stays succulent, juicy and firm.

Our next course is the Steamed Dragon Garoupa Fish With Superior Soya Sauce. This is a live fish and you can really taste the freshness and the smooth texture of the garoupa. You can’t get any fresher than this.

The sweetness of the fish was accented by the light soy sauce dressing topped with a generous amount of parsley and chopped spring onions.

Next is the Fried Prawns with Butter Sauce. There are many variations of Butter Prawns that I have eaten but in Royal Flush, the prawns are first fried and are coated with the butter sauce topping rather than actually cooking the prawns in the sauce.

Taste wise, it was a little too bland. The sauce was not strongly infused into the meat and did not do any justice to the big prawn that was served.

Next on the table was the Sea Cucumber Seasonal Vegetable With Abalone Sauce. The chef had added in the fish maw and oyster into this dish. It was a good combination as the oyster was very well blended with the fish maw which was soft with the sauce heavily infused into it and the sea cucumber which was firm and springy. You get the best of the both world.

The use of broccoli was a right choice as it was able to soak up the abalone sauce and made a perfect change from too much of meat dishes before this.

The last main course for the night was the Lotus Leaf Waxed Meat Rice. It was the Royal Flush version of “Lap Mei Fan”. Personally I prefer “Lap Mei Fan prepared using plain white rice (the oil and flavours will be infused into the white rice making the rice extremely flavourful), but here we were served with the version of a mixture of Glutinous rice and white rice.

As with glutinous rice, somehow the flavours of the waxed meat did not penetrate or blended in very well and again like the prawns the wax meat are served separately and henceforth you find it a little more drier than if you would have cooked with the rice.

To end our evening, we were presented the Mango Cream with Sago and the popular “Kwai Fah Ko”, a dish which have herbs and wolfberries infused into the layers of clear brown gelatine. It was not too sweet and was a nice finale to our sumptuous dinner.

The mango cream was a nice finale for a hearty meal as it carries a light sourish taste – good to assist in the digestion.

Although the cost for the dinner was on the high side, nevertheless the entire experience of dining at Royal Flush makes it fulfilling to our every senses i.e sight, feel, taste and etc.