gimt

Welcome to the forum, traminer! I should prob. say that to myself too since my first post was at the beginning of the thread! Haven't got anything to add since my most recent visit to spore was all chinese restaurants, the usual, Lei Garden and East Ocean... I went to Whitebait & Kale, and the whitebait seemed like the biggest pull for me. Had the pie, which was good but I needed more than that for dinner. Heard their fish and chips is excellent! Cheers, Gim

Hi Shiewie, Went to Le Bouchon last week and the dishes that were good were actually the simpler ones. I guess when they say french countryside style, it's unfair to expect swank, extravagant meals. (that said, they do fly in their foie gras and caviar weekly). For starters, I had the scallops salad, neither the scallops nor the salad (or sauce) tasted particularly good. The escargots, which most of the table had, is a much safer and rewarding dish. For my mains I had the double candied lamb rack (diff betwn dbl and triple is the amount of lamb, rather than candy) which was (simply) good and perfect with the merlot that we had that night. I did speak to the proprietor, Philippe, a friendly, amusing host but he did not mention any special dishes apart from recommending the salmon and the veal (dishes which my cousins tried and mentioned were good). Tonkichi, Thanks for the info on Akane, will save that for a special ocassion, I suppose. Cheers, Gim

Tonkichi, How pricey is Akane? More than S$100 per pax? Sounds very tempting though, with a master sushi chef and fresh fish. Shiewie, I liked the Roasted Double (or Triple, for an extra RM20) Candied Rack of Lamb Provencale at Le Bouchon. I would agree that it's a little hit and miss at Le Bouchon too (like most/all western restaurants in KL) but I'm actually going there tonite so I'll be able to give you more suggestions tomorrow (will try and speak to the Chef about some special dishes). I'm not sure whether Chinoz in KL in under the same management, it seems like different food, more Italian at KLCC. Wasn't very impressed with the food there, actually. Mediocre thin-base pizzas and the like. Cheers, Gim

Tonkichi, That sounds totally unacceptable. Sometimes it's shocking how some restaurants can place so many people (sous-chefs, kitchen staff) under insane stress levels to make the food (near) perfect, only to fumble up in their service/delivery. Its such a shame. Then again, it can be difficult working with your spouse. SG, Here's the website for Le Bouchon - http://www.lebouchonrestaurant.com/ I should add, before you get your hopes up, that the atmosphere in Le Bouchon is slightly rustic, but very countryside-ish. As with what I hear about Spore, if you speak to the chef, he'll arrange some special dishes for you that are not on the menu. It's located on Changkat Bukit Bintang, in the Imbi area. There are many new restaurants and bars in that slightly odd location, hence some people loosely refer to it as Msia's "soho". Prices are about RM120-150 per person, while Cilantro is slightly more, at RM 150-200 per person. Personally I would consider the food at Cilantro better than Le Bouchon in general. I don't believe Cilantro and Chinoz have websites. Tried to google them and didn't find any. If you want, to get an idea of their food, you can message me or write me an email and I can forward you some of their menus/ winemakers dinner menus. In terms of Japanese, I understand Kampachi still has a considerable lead ahead of the pack. Another Jap restaurant that I used to be keen on is Genji, PJ Hilton and we've known their sushi chef for at least 10years but apart from their sushi (which comes in fresh on Tuesday and Saturday), made by Richard (sushi chef), the other foods are mediocre. Kampachi still does the best Kobe Beef in town. I'm going to another newish Japanese restaurant in town called Ozeki which had good reviews during the recent KL Gourmet Festival. (in general, jap restaurants in spore are probably much much better) Cheers, Gim

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, I'm based in KL and here my favourite restaurants are cilantro and le bouchon and recently I've had some fantastic meals at Chinoz, Bangsar (during winemakers dinners). After that, it becomes even more hit and miss. (or simply miss). Hmm... it's a little difficult to establish a relationship with the chefs in Spore because I only go down about one every 2-3months, and only for a night or two. I'll remember Saint Pierre and lookout for the (now) infamous wife. Apart from that, perhaps I'll try and pin down Gunther from Lighthouse or visit Les Saisons. Now to plan my next trip! ....

Hi everyone, This is my first post here so maybe I can get some pointers... I haven't eaten extensively in Spore but I have dined in a few restaurants that are supposed to be good - Les Amis, Sebastien's, etc. Personally I found that the food in Les Amis wasn't particularly inspired. It was good, no doubt, kind of like 3rd Floor in KL where the food is prepared well, the ingredients are good/fresh but there's still something missing... heart? soul? That's what I'm trying to find. It doesn't have to be extremely formal or in a hotel-type setting, but a nice atmosphere and good service are expected. I'm generally fond of French food and I've found a few great chinese restaurants, but where can I find a French/Italian/Western restaurant in Spore that really "blows you away"? Cheers, Gim