Midi 57 @ Bangsar

The Bangkung Row has been heating up this month, thanks to the entry of two Italian eateries that take their business seriously _ first, Madisons, spearheaded by an Australian chef, and now, Midi 57, whose kitchen is energized by an Italian.

Run by the folks behindBangsar Shopping Center's Le Midi Mediterranean restaurant,Midi 57 takes over the corner lot previously occupied by D'Ceilo.LikeMadisons, it's a pork-loving outlet.

Midi 57 features a relaxed feel that works for both romantic dates and family dinners; kick back, put yourselves in the hands of the friendly service team and enjoy some rustic bread, served with rosemary olive oil within a minute or two of placing your order.

The single-page soft-launch menu contains no real surprises, but customers craving simple Italian fare would probably have no problem with this leaf-loaded salad of herb-roasted piglet with tomatoes (RM27++).

Spaghetti carbonara (RM30++), brimming with bacon and black pepper, enhanced with an egg-and-parmesan sauce. Other pastas here include the familiar vongole, pesto and aglio olio varieties, alongside house-made fettuccine, tagliolini and ravioli with pork ragout and what-not.

Midi 57's Campagnola wood-fire pizza (RM33++) is well-executed enough, topped with plenty of pork sausages, a sunny-side-up egg, tomatoes, mushrooms and mozzarella. If it's pizza with panache and pasta with a porky punch that you want, Midi 57 might be worth considering.

With a nice red to pair with the food, the minutes turn into hours before we c! an notic e.

Needing more to munch, we walked over to Madisons, where the crowd was easing up at 10pm.
Earlier entries on Madisons:June 4andJune 20.

Madisons' fritto misto (RM27++) comes in a snack-sized serving that's much easier to manage compared to most other Italian restaurants' sharing-for-two battered seafood platters.

Slow-cooked pork belly croquettes (RM20++), moist, meaty and marvelous with corn puree.

A nice surprise: complimentary sous-vide OP rib-eye. Unfortunately, we couldn't really do justice to this humongous portion of bra! wny beef iness, since we were too stuffed by now.

Madisons' cocktails are less extensive than Leonardo's next door, but the classics are present.

From Mojitos to Margaritas, everything's fairly priced and fairly potent.

Comparisons between Madisons and Medi 57 might not be warranted; both are different enough to thrive on the same street, though we hope Medi 57 will install more powerful air-conditioning (the temperature might seem a little too warm) and perhaps add more adventure into its menu.





Backpack Ride to Sg. Sendat, Ulu Yam, Selangor

6:30am I reached Setaiwangsa Station for a LRT ride to KL Sentral from my house on my Dahon Speed P8.7:20am - We assembled at McDonald's KL Sentral where I met a few new friends in the name of folding bikes.8:15 on a first train to Rawang9:00am : Boarded a second train to Batang Kali.9:25am - Reached Batang Kali Station9:30am - It was time to take out ourmachineryfor the adventure.9:45am - A group photo at the Train Station10:10am - We reached the town of Hulu Yam Bharu.
10:30am - We took a break at this warong for tea and some packed food.

11:15am - we were on our way to Sg. Sendat Waterfall.

11:30 am - Radzi was the first to complete the toughest climb of the day


One by one completed the climb.
11:35am - And lastly the sweeper at the end of the line has verified all have safely reached this point.11:40am - We reached the next stage of riding on dirt trailbeforearriving to the picnic site @ Sg. Sendat Hulu Yan forest reserve.
11:45am - Wereachedour destination - Sg. Sendat Waterfall.

Photo courtesy of Chris NgAnother photo by Chris Ng.
Chris & Sam wereenthusiasticallytaking photos of the beautiful scenery.

A ! nice gaz ebo for us to rest and have our small picnic.

Time to fill our stomachswith some food.

1:45pm - After a short downfall and a good rest we headed out of the forest reserve. There were more people coming in for their recreations.2:10pm - Heading to Hulu Yam Lama for a brief visit & food hunt.2:15pm - The cowboy village of Ulu Yam Lama3:00pm - Sam took us here for the original Ulu Yam Loh MeeBottles of herbal drinks you don't normally see. My first at Hulu YamThe famous original Ulu Yam Loh Mee eaten at the original shop at its origin.I like this chili pickles with my Loh Mee - spicy and tangy.
Delicious fried saito fish cake and its sauce.
3:10pm - We ate too much and it was time burn it out on the infamous flyover of Ulu Yam Lama.3:30pm : My friends and their folding bikes at Batang Kali Station waiting for a train back to Kuala Lumpur.4:10pm - Train from Rawang to KL Sentral5:30pm - My last train ride of the day at Setiawangsa; unpack, unfold &rideback to home.
It was another wonderful day for folding bikes and something different from other...this one was a backpack ride. See you again for another ride.