Coffee Famille

One of the Klang Valley's coziest coffee corners, with a homey intimacy that's very welcoming.

Liquor-laced concoctions are among Coffee Famille's pleasures; the happily named Joy Keeper (RM25) features an espresso tinged with rum and topped with vanilla ice cream and a raisin.

Black and White (RM23) _ kahlua, vodka, milk and espresso.

Mix it all up for a comfortingly creamy concoction.

Teetotalers, try the Rwanda Maraba coffee (RM24++); the menu describes it as having "a crisp lemony acidity with notes of flowers and an aroma of grapefruits." Maybe someday, we'll have acquired the experience to detect all that.

Other creative combos flow throughout the menu, including this apricot-accented Nice Day (RM17), which blends coffee and fruit tea with milk and gula Melaka. No worries, it's nicely mixed, not sickeningly sweet.

Rose, rose, we love you: Wild Dream (14) of iced black coffee, rose honey and milk foam.

There's food too: the house-made rosemary bread sandwiches are excellent, their warm aroma partnering perfectly with fillings like chicken ham, veggies and cheese.

Moist, fresh cheesecakes are also available, soft to the fork's touch.

Coffee Famille,

Sunsuria Avenue, Persiaran Mahogani, Kota Damansara.

Tel: 03-6150-5126

Tues-Sat noon-10pm, Sun 10am-8pm.

A rising star in Section 17

The Squid Ink Tagliatelle lingered in my memory days after... perfecto!

PETALING JAYA, June 23 There are at least three dishes at Verona Trattoria we are thinking of having again after eating at the Italian restaurant last week.

One is the Tagliatelle al Nero di Seppia, or squid ink tagliatelle with cherry tomatoes, black olives, basil and sauteed squid in wine sauce. The others are the Insalata Marinara or seafood salad, and the Vanilla Panna Cotta.

We added to that a pizza the Siciliana with a topping of anchovies, black olives, capers and tomato. Last week we had the Pork Salami and Pork Bacon Pizza, and thought there was too much meat on the pizza, though we liked the thin crust a lot.

The Siciliana rose to the occasion, with an exceptionally crispy crust. The back of the pizza was speckled brown, and the edges too. It exuded a delicious aroma from the baked anchovies and the mozzarella cheese. The saltiness of the anchovies was balanced by the capers and tomato; the black olives were an added bonus. I enjoyed every bite of this pizza.

You can't go wrong with this beautiful Insalata Marinara.

We had started with the Insalata Marinara, with mussels, clams, prawns and squid sitting on a bed of mixed lettuces, cucumber and tomato, and tossed with a tangy orange dressing. The clams were fresh, fleshy and sweet but the prawns tasted boiled instead of having their flavours defined by sauting. But overall the salad was pleasing.

I could just have the Squid Ink Tagliatelle and be immensely satisfied. Last week the aroma of the garlicky wine sauce, basil and the taste of the al dente squid ink pasta, cherry tomatoes, and the squid rings stayed in my mind. The sauce generously coated each strand of tagliatelle, the strong garl! ic comin g through, with fiery shots from bits of cili padi. It was so good.

Last week too we had looked at the specials and ordered the Penne Puttanesca, Pork Salami and Pork Bacon Pizza, and the Roasted Pork Belly with rosemary pork gravy served with rock melon and mixed salad. We also had from the a la carte menu the Risotto with Saffron and three types of mushrooms.

The Penne Putanesca has anchovies, slices of grilled eggplant and cherry tomatoes in a zesty tomato sauce, lifted with a little chilli. The flavours are intense and are wrapped around the al dente penne pasta. I particularly liked the mushy eggplants smothered with the scrumptious sauce.

Now this is what I call tiramisu... a must-try in Verona.

This restaurant is also about pork dishes. The Roasted Pork Belly we had was rather fatty but the crackling was very crispy and we liked that. At least the meat was served with a light rosemary sauce, big cubes of sweet rock melon and a salad.

I always look forward to risotto in an Italian restaurant. The Risotto with Saffron and three types of mushrooms had been recommended. It was a little light on saffron but the texture of the rice was perfect. It was expectedly creamy, and generous with the mushrooms.

On to the desserts: We shook the Vanilla Panna Cotta and it wobbled obligingly. It was superb, with tiny black specks from the vanilla pod delicately perfuming it. It embraced the palate with its soft creaminess and we loved it. It had no need of the chocolate sauce on the plate.

Now this is what I call tiramisu... a must-try in Verona.

The Tiramisu was so light and creamy. Digging into the glass was an absolute delight, with the head! y flavou rs of Italian Savioardi biscuits soaked in espresso and marsala wine, layered with mascarpone and fresh zabaglione cream, with the top layer lavishly dusted with chocolate powder. Tiramisu in a cup like what we had is not to be mistaken for the Tiramisu cake.

Chef/owner Enzo Dente gave us a Molten Lava Cake and a Steamed Banana Cake on the house. Both were memorable, especially the banana cake. I breathed in the delicious aroma of fresh banana as I ate the moist, warm cake.

When we went back again, we had the Sticky Date Pudding, but it did not hold a candle to this delightful banana cake.

The prices: The Insalata Marinara is RM22, Squid Ink Tagliatelle RM27, Tiramisu RM15, Vanilla Panna Cotta RM10, Roast Pork Belly RM38, Siciliana Pizza RM28, Penne Putanesca RM32.

Verona Trattoria is located at 8, Jalan 17/54, Section 17, Petaling Jaya. Tel: 03-7960 2890. Non-halal, it is closed on Tuesdays.

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A Korean Feast @ Serena Brasserie, InterContinental Kuala Lumpur

I love Korean food, especially kimchi, bulgogi, bibimbap and japchae. Earlier this week, I was invited to Serena Brasserie at InterContinental KL for their Korean food promotion which runs from 18 June to 15 July 2012. This promotion is in collaboration with Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation and features three Korean chefs(Kim Jae Sun, Hyun Soon Ahn & Jun-Young Heo) specially flown in from Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas and InterContinental Seoul Coex to cook up a feast.

A Korean feast...

The menu is created using the Korean chefs extensive experience and focuses on staying true to the characteristics of Korean food using ingredients that they managed to source locally in KL. 20 dishes are featured per night, including samgaetang (Korean ginseng chicken soup), yukjoe (Korean beef tartare), bibimbap (mixed rice), Daehajjim steamed king prawns and Eomandu steamed fish fillet dumplings.

Yukhoe (Korean beef tartare)

Waitresses in traditional Korean dresses (hanbok) complete the Korean experience!

One of the great things about this buffet is that you get to try a little bit of everything, especially if you're new to Korean cuisine and never know what to order when you visit a Korean restaurant.

On the way to the hotel, Steph (my friend) and I were dis! cussing and guessing how they would serve dishes like bibimbap and samgyetang in a buffet. The Korean chefs have cleverly served the bibimbap in mini portions, small mound of rice with mixed vegetable toppings and beef, still maintaining the essence of the dish. The samgyetang usually uses a whole spring chicken, instead the Korean chefs have stuffed a chicken roll with the glutinous rice, ginseng, jujube to create the same taste for diners here.

I love the cabbage kimchi, it's not too tart ...and you know, kimchi is good for your health so eat up!My other favorites were the Korean hot noodle soup (comforting), haemul-pajeon (Green onion and seafood pancake - fried a la minute hence still crisp and hot), japchae (stir fried potato noodles with fresh vegetables), bulgogi (Korean barbeque beef - tastes just like the ones who any good Korean restaurant in KL) and the soe gabijjim (braised beef ribs - meat so tender and flavourful). And of course not forgetting the awesome yukhoe, Korean beef tartare, paired with raw egg and sweet Korean pear which I had several helpings of.

Cabbage kimchi

Bibimbap

Korean hot noodle soup

Yukhoe, this time without the raw egg

Gimbap (rice rolled in laver), a popular Korean street snack

Pans after pans of pajeon being dished out - because everyone loves them!

Haemul-pajeon (green onion and seafood pancake)

A little bit of everything.... try them all if you can!

Sujeonggwa - Korean traditional fruit punch with cinnamon and pine nuts

Other than the Korean dishes, you can also feast on the local, Western and other Asian cuisine such as Japanese. I was! impress ed with the grilled beef fillet - it was tender and also cooked to medium rare, just how I like my meat. Always leave room for desserts - the eclairs, devil fudge cake and panna cotta is good.

Satay and beef fillet

Nicely cooked beef fillet!

Crabs

.. and lots of other fresh seafood such as oysters, clams and prawns

Prawn salad

Tuna and butterfish sashimi

Sushi