A (Half) Free Meal from Ristorante L’Opera
November 10, 2008 | 800 views
Overlooking the pathway of Bintang Walk, in between KL Plaza and Lot 10 Shopping Centre, Ristorante L’Opera has gone through a major facelift a year ago
Sporting new looks and a dazzling one at that, Ristorante L’Opera is an Italian fine dining restaurant, situated in the heart of the city. With an adjacent lounge bar, perfect for a drink or two, the restaurant seemed a tad intimidating, had it not for the CIMB Credit Card’s Buy-One-Free-Promotion, which ironically, ended on the 31st of October 2008.
Sorry, my posts are all delayed. =P
Beef Involtini (RM60)The combination of modern decor, and rustic charm, enhanced by the warm, yet delicate ambience, provided a comfortable dining experience, amidst the chaotic rush of Bukit Bintang.
The Buy-One-Free-One promotion refers to any starters, or main courses enlisted under the Chef’s Special menu. Not too worry, as the choices are taken from the main menu themselves, not some make-do replicates of REAL dishes.
Bariguole Slipper Lobster (RM60)Of course, though we were not exactly famished at that moment, after a heavy brunch and all, we still opted for the mains, as such a tantalizing promotion does not come often, I’m afraid. But I could be wrong.
We ordered the Beef Involtini, which is tenderloin stuffed with emmenthal, sage and balsamic sauce, served with crushed potatoes. One can’t go wrong when ordering the most tender part of a cow, right? Well, partly true.
The melted emmenthal cheese provided much of the flavour for the lightly salted and grilled beef. The beef itself was good, tender enough to warrant little chewing, and juicy enough to be relished without erm … juices. The crushed potatoes were slightly too saltish, but provided a contrasting and slightly spicy flavour to the otherwise bland tenderloin cuts.
The other dish (the FREE one) was the Bariguole Slipper Lobster, a crustacean related to the TRUE lobsters, yet smaller in size. Baked with globe artichoke, chateau baby vegetables, and served with saffron potatoes, the chopped bits (yup, you get only ONE slipper lobster’s meat, and not an exactly ‘well-endowed’ one at that) of slipper lobster were thankfully fresh, firm and not dry. But the accompanying saffron potatoes were simply broiled, and bland. And the green peas was not thoroughly thawed. Frozen peas in fine dining?! Ouch.
All in all, a satisfying lunch, sans the dismaying service and the non-attentiveness of the staff. But let’s not go there. I’ll stop the rants and ramblings now. Still nursing a sore throat and overwhelmed by fever. Damn the weather … Whoops. 
Location : Ground Floor, Piccolo Galleria, 101, Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur. Tel No : 603-2382 0111/603-2382 0222.
Wow! Superb food presentation!
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Buy one free one, worth it!
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It is a good idea to attract customers with the buy one free one promo…
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a ‘well-endowed’ lobster? darn creative description! haha!
is this piccolo mondo last time? long time din eat in this area already…hehehe…
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I’ve been to l’opera twice. For the amount they charge, the restaurant does use ‘cheap’ ingredients. (e.g. in the lobster they use is of the frozen variety yet they charge a premium for it.
(n.b. frozen peas are certain as good as fresh peas – unless you are able to buy them fresh and cook them on the spot which even a lot of restaurants in england have problems with, frozen peas are invariably better. In fact some Michelin star restaurants used them… that said.. not properly thawed peas are disgusting)
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eh..i got CIMB card too! Aiyahh.. (blaming voice)..ur post 2 weeks late la..
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looks good … will try the next time i’m there
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Wa, all the food looks yummz esp their presentation
Btw,I have tagged you on my blog, you are the only guy among the roses so have fun doing the meme.
Regrads,
Elin
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allie : yup, its a fine dining outlet nevertheless.
little inbox : true, imagine a starter and a main course, then you’ll get an exact duplicate for FREE.
ck lam : most are deterred by the price as well as the place. intimidating. guess this is a rather subtle (or not) way of promoting to the masses.
nic (khkl) : yeah, this was Piccolo Mondo. never eaten there b4 though. but judging from the crowd at the P.Mondo at Midvalley, well, I dun have high expectations.
genuiness : thanks for the enlightenment. biting into those still-half-frozen peas was not exactly a good exp.
thenomadgourmand : so so sorry. I’ve forgotten about this. =P
duckie : erm, but the promo ended. the meal would’ve costed RM120++ for that 2 mains, on average day.
elinluv : thorn among the roses? haha … thanks!
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Hmmm, a face lift reno?? That shows that I’ve not been to BB Walk for quite some time.
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The place looks good at night too but it’s usually empty.
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aiyoh no cimb card here. but then promo ended dah so no biggie.:P
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great that you had a more than the half free makan in spite of lousy service ( who gets good service nowadays anyway ! )
the only way to cure a sore throat is not to eat, which is impossible
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Frozen peas? Hmmm, not sure how I like the sound of that, away from my neighbourhood Western food uncle’s stall! Still, free lobster is free lobster and any proper use of artichoke scores points in my book!
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NKOTB : hahaha. since the opening of Pavilion, who wants to walk all over the place, right?
jason : of course lah. so intimidating. prices also higher end.
jasmine : yeah. sometimes CIMB n Citibank gives pretty good deals.
BSg : and I’ve been a bad, bad boy. ate Nam Chau toasts just now. the pleasure of breakfast not gone, though chilled to the bones now.
550ml jar of faith : hmm, bout the artichoke, they were a tad too soggy than crunchy. but still … ok i guess. better than the peas.
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Good thing your slipper lobster was fresh. I had a bad experience on that – the texture of the “lobster” was like mashed tofu – yucks.
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Ooo.. i love the way you write “Bariguole Slipper Lobster, a crustacean related to the TRUE lobsters, yet smaller in size”!!! true or un-true.. it still looks divine! haha
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never had the urged to go there even though i went pass this place 4 days in a row last week! hahaha..oh well.
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pureglutton : mashed TOFU?!! yuck. that had to be gross! did they exchange that plate for you then?
cumi & ciki : hahaha… relatives ma…but smaller only. hehe ..MUCH smaller.
sc : understandable. I never was tempted to enter Piccolo Mondo and then L'Opera all this while. too posh …
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This is what we really call fine dining. Even our wallet also kena wallop till damn fine. hahaha…..
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j2kfm, u have gone upmarket…the food presentation is very opera….tic..
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Seems like a place that doesn’t warrant a return visit based on your mediocre verdict food review but most importantly the service (non-service kind that is) that is dished out by the staff?
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wah im a cimb cr card holder too..next time inform me ya
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email2me : hahaha. how true is that. all finely minced and chopped.
jencooks : I’ve not gone upmarket. just that the promo kinda hard to resist mah. plus I was merely tryin my luck at that restaurant.
wmw : erm, to put it mildy, yes. but the chef was courteous enough to usher us to our seats and made us felt comfortable. the same cant be said about the waiters.
kampungboycitygal : oh sure! haha … I got to know from the booklet they sent me.
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Frozen peas in fine dining?! Ouch! pretty unacceptable. either you dont put it in or change your ingredient! and i can see the carrot is also came from frozen pack! This is insulting the name of “FINE DINING”. Good chef do not allow this to be happened!
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gill gill : yeah that’s rather true. brought down the quality of the food a notch.
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