Italian Restaurant Kuala Lumpur Via Pre KUL Bukit Damansara Affordable Authentic Italian Cuisine

Fans of Italian Cuisine, you can take note, that there is a new Italian Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur Via Pre KUL located in the quiet neighbourhood of Bukit Damansara.

Via Pre KUL Address

25, Lorong Setiabistari 2
Bukit Damansara

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Via Pre which stands for Jalan Pre in Italian is the name of a road in Genova Italy. Their Penang Restaurant Via Pre Penang has been operating for more than 3 years now.

The owner has decided to start the KL branch to serves affordable and authentic Italian cuisines to folks in Kuala Lumpur. By the way, Via Pre KUL is a pork free restaurant.

Its root can be traced to the co-founder of the popular Italian Restaurant which is Neroteca. All the menus are scrutinized by him to ensure that you will be able to enjoy an authentic Italian taste.

To ensure the authenticity of the dishes, almost all the ingredients used in the restaurant are imported especially from Italy, up to the flour that is used to bake the bread while the pizza flour which hails from Napoli are fully imported and freshly made on a daily basis.

Our review started with a starter which is Bresaola (RM29.00). The Air dry beef loin which has a slight salty taste is used to wrapped the fresh mozzarella cheese and then served with button mushroom pikes, with a light touch of Evo oil and fine balsamic dressing making the right blend of texture and taste to this appetizer.

Nyonya Food Melaka The Tranquerah Damansara GLO Kuala Lumpur

The Tranquerah located at Damansara GLO Kuala Lumpur is imbued with an old world atmosphere, which makes for an enchanting and authentic Nyonya Food Melaka dining experience. The focus in The Tranquerah which was awarded by Malaysia Tatler Dining - Best Top 5 Nyonya Restaurant in KL & PJ 2015 and it is renowned as one of the restaurants to go for its Nyonya delicacies.

The Tranquerah Damansara GLO Kuala Lumpur Address

LG09, Lower Ground Floor, GLO Damansara, 

No 699, Jalan Damansara

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

There is a huge difference between the different Peranakan Dishes that are available, you can check out the details on Wikipedia but the 2 most popular are the Nyonya Melaka and Nyonya Penang that are often mistaken as the same by many. The Nyonya Penang has a sourish tone like the popular Assam Laksa, while the Nyonya Melaka has a richer flavour like the Buah Keluak dishes and the Ayam Pongteh.

The menu at The Tranquerah is specially curated by the Nyonya celebrity chef, Florence Tan, which serves authentic Malacca Nyonya Cuisine. A few of their signature dishes are Ayam Buah Keluak, Ayam Pongteh, Gerang Asam Fish, Udang Masak Lemak Nenas, Tamarind Prawns, ltik Tim soup and Pai Tee.

One of the most popular delicacies in the Nyonya Melaka dishes is the Buah Keluak. Little is known about this ingredient as one of the delicious ingredients. We were told that this Buah Keluak (Pangium Edule) is poisonous and needed to be treated in the right way to enjoy this delicious offering.



Buah Keluak is a rather mysterious fruit. The whole plant is poisonous, and yet the seeds are painstakingly prepared and eaten as a Nyonya delicacy. The fresh fruit and seeds contain hydrogen cyanide and are deadly poisonous if consumed without prior preparation. The seeds are first boiled and then buried in ash, banana leaves and earth for forty days. The method relies on the fact that the hydrogen cyanide released by the boiling and fermentation is water-soluble and easily washed out. Check this out on Wikipedia.

So naturally our first dish that we reviewed is the Keluak Pasta (soon to be introduced in the standard menu). From the look of it, our first thought was a black pepper pasta, but once it reaches our mouth, you can taste the Buah Keluak which has a slightly bitter nutty taste that’s almost reminiscent of a good single origin dark chocolate with an added spiciness from the use of some black pepper to prep it out a little. A great taste to start our review.

Penang Holiday Macalister Mansion Penang Day 2 And Day 3

Continuing on our Penang holiday, we took a short drive and soon arrived at the Majestic Macalister Mansion Penang for our second night Penang Holiday to enjoy more Penang Food.

Macalister Mansion Address: 

228 Macalister Road,

10400 George Town, Penang

It was like we are in the midst to turning back time with the Victorian style mansion that will be hosting us for our night stay.

A stunner in so many ways, this concept venue with a keen focus on dashing design is set inside a refurbished 1900s colonial-style mansion, with a facade of white Greek revival pillars, intricate trellises and a giant bust of Sir Macalister.

Macalister Mansion – a five-star boutique hotel, with an illustrious fine-dining restaurant, cafe, a cozy wine lounge and cigar den which shout out the best money can buy – is a subtle tribute to Penang’s rich colonial past.

Afternoon Tea Living Room Macalister Mansion Penang

Living Room Macalister Mansion is a perfect place to have Afternoon Tea especially for ladies that likes to take a nice picture as the decor in this All Day Dining Restaurant at Macalister Mansion will transform one to the Victorian style Afternoon tea setting.

Living Room @Macalister Mansion Address

228 Macalister Road,

10400 George Town, Penang

With the nice decor, having the Afternoon Tea at the Living Room will set you in the mood for a nice afternoon setting.

There are wall stencils of cats, clocks and a fireplace, hanging greens and square tile floors, and chairs in every conceivable material (wood, plastic, metal etc.), colour and shape.

Deck with Victorian style tables and finely crafted settee, it makes one wonder of the charms of the colonial era.

Dining Room Macalister Mansion Penang - 8 Course Chef Set Dinner Menu

What makes our 8 Course Chef Tasting Set Dinner Menu Dining Room @ Macalister Mansion Penang (Malaysia Tatler's Best Restaurant for 2013 and 2014) special is that you do not need to worry what's for dinner, you are game on to experience the multitude of surprised dishes that the Chef has in store for us.

Dining Room @ Macalister Mansion Penang Address

228, Jalan Macalister, George Town, 

11400 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

The decor is pure colonial couture with all-white furniture accented by a giant faux white tree in the centre of the room, exudes a full elegant, classy and romantic ambiance.

The kitchen at the Dining Room is headed by Chef Johnson Wong (who was trained in a Michelin-starred restaurant) and his menu of modern contemporary cuisine that favored local produce (which changes every two months) is just so tasty and his humble, friendly manner makes the meal a relaxed one.

As mention earlier, the only menu available is a 4-course dinner where patrons can choose from. Other than that you don't expect pages of dishes to choose from but for us tonight, we are here to taste out the 8 Course Chef Tasting Menu. The menu according to Chef will only be revealed at the end of the dinner. This concept of Chef Tasting Menu is quite popular in oversea especially so in Japan (Omakase - Chef Choice).

Penang Holiday Hotel Equatorial Penang Day 1 And Day 2

Hotel Equatorial Penang

To celebrate the completion of my son 'O' levels exam recently, we plan to take a leisure Penang holiday with the family and decided to check out 2 very popular hotel in Penang island. Our first day of our stay is at the popular Hotel Equatorial Penang.

This hotel is one of the first 5 Star hotel in Penang. Set 77 m above sea level, Hotel Equatorial Penang offers a 360 degrees panoramic and scenic view of Bukit Jambul and is located strategically to the Penang International Airport, the two Penang Bridges, and the bustling hub of Bayan Lepas which is just a short drive away. It is also a 20-minute drive from the UNESCO certified heritage city of George Town.

Hotel Equatorial Penang Lobby

Upon arrival at the Hotel Lobby for our 3 Days 2 Nights Penang holiday, we were greeted with a voluminous, airy and natural lit lobby, where you will be amazed by the architecture design of this 26 years old Hotel that was refurbished recently.

Night View From Hotel Equatorial Penang

The Hotel Equatorial Penang has many facilities for its guest among them is a fully-equipped fitness centre, massage and spa facilities, indoor squash, outdoor tennis among the many facilities that we will be checking out later.

Kampachi Japanese Restaurant Hotel Equatorial Penang Weekend Buffet

During our stay at the hotel, we decided to check out Kampachi Japanese Restaurant @ Hotel Equatorial Penang which is a very popular Japanese Restaurant in Penang especially for their weekend buffet promotion.



Kampachi Japanese Restaurant @ Hotel Equatorial Penang Address

Lower Ground Floor Hotel Equatorial Penang

1 Jalan Bukit Jambul , Bayan Lepas, 11900 Penang, Malaysia

The Kampachi Weekend Buffet offers a wide variety of Japanese dishes from fresh seafood, Sashimi to the special Teppanyaki and also the other popular Japanese cuisines which are served during the weekend buffet.



As we enter the restaurant it is almost filled to the brim, a testament to the popularity of this restaurant to the Penang folks.

The first not to be missed dish is the Sashimi as there is a wide variety which includes the crowd favourite Salmon and Tuna which is prepared by Chef Cheah.