De' Parlour @ Pandan Indah

I noticed De' Parlour @ Pandan Indah, a restaurant specialising in western cuisine, opened in my neighbourhood during the pandemic (circa mid-2020) but never gave it a thought to try as most western restaurants in my taman ain't good.  Besides that, most of them tend to serve localised western food to cater to the majority of the tastebuds or demand here.

There isn't much demand for western food here (unlike dai chow restaurants that are always crowded)...and many such western restaurants have come and gone.  I think that's probably attributed to the type/mix of people living here preferring Chinese food over all else (unlike more affluent tastebuds in neighbourhoods like TTDI, Damansara, Bangsar, Mont Kiara and such).  So you can understand my apprehension at trying out this western joint since localised western food isn't on my wish-to-eat list.

But seeing that they've been around for 3 years already (and had survived the pandemic!) gave me confidence that their food may be somewhat decent, so we walked in one weekend evening.  The interior certainly looked elegant and tastefully designed (like a proper western restaurant, I thought to myself, possibly the best looking restaurant we have here for now).

It was quite deserted when we walked in on a Saturday night (!) to see only two occupied tables.  Can't say I'm surprised since many seem to choose the venue only when there's some sort of celebration (birthdays usually) as evidenced by the numerous photos on their FB Page (which actually made me first notice the rather quiet background devoid of customers)...hehe (as evidenced in my photos and witnessed by myself too)! :O  

Once seated, we were given the menu by a Chinese gentleman (who I believe is the owner or co-owner if I recognised him correctly from their Facebook Page) who spoke to us in Chinese, which I wasn't expecting, before we promptly make known to him that we don't speak Mandarin.  This was the first western restaurant I've been to that converses in Chinese (not only that but the menu also has a Chinese translation!) to cater to the mostly Chinese-speaking community of this neighbourhood (luckily he's equally adapt at speaking English).

Perusing the menu, I was glad to see that they're definitely not serving localised western dishes with the likes of atas (premium) food ingredients like miyazaki, wagyu, octopus, caviar and foie gras...and truffle seen on the menu.  We started with a shared appetiser of Garlic Chilli Prawns @ RM40 which stayed true to its name. The prawns (there were 6 pcs) were garlicky alright with a good dose of spicy flavour from the chilli flakes.

The medium-sized prawns were firm and fresh (with 2 pcs each) resting on a buttered and absolutely pillowy piece of bread (there were three slices of bread in total).  The bread benefitted from the overflowing chopped garlic which made it the perfect vehicle to soak in all the garlicky flavours.  It was great starter for sharing. ^o^

My son wanted their Signature Creamy Mushroom Soup with Truffle Oil @ RM22 and the soup was fairly thick with the right consistency and full of the requisite mushroom flavours except for an unpleasant aftertaste that lingered in my mouth...and from the description on the menu, I just knew it had to be the truffle oil! >_<  Not everyone is averse to the taste of truffle oil (my son was indifferent to it).

Fresh truffle is opulent and delicious...and then you have the evil twin of fresh truffles...the ghastly truffle oil! O_o Commercially produced truffle oil (that comes out of a bottle) is nasty (perhaps there are different grades of truffle oil and some can be better).  Celebrity chef, Gordon Ramsay, has made known that he thinks it's one of the most pungent, ridiculous ingredients known chefs.  For some, it may be lost on them...but for me, it tasted just vile...pungent with a chemical aftertaste that lingers in the mouth.  I shudder at the thought of ordering the other mushroom soup, their Signature Truffle Mushroom Soup with Truffle Paste & Truffle Oil (yikes!).

With an order of soup, you can add on a basket (or more like a plate) of Garlic Ciabatta Bread @ RM10 even though the mushroom soup came with a slice of toasted baguette already.  This bread was equally fluffy and soft like the earlier one.

Moving on to the mains, my son had the Aglio e Olio with Beef Bacon @ RM36 which was spaghetti tossed in garlic and chilli flakes with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese.  Overall, the taste was decent with a fair dose of garlic and chilli flavours according to my son.

I liked the look of the seared beef bacon and the slices were plentiful.  There may seem to be a fair bit of olive oil on the plate but tossed that together with the pasta and the resulting taste didn't feel oily as it had some spiced flavour and juices (from the cherry tomatoes) that stopped it from being cloying.

You can choose the spiciness level (you can ask for spicy, less spicy or extra spicy...this was spicy) and your choice of protein such as seafood (RM42), salmon (RM35) and smoked duck (RM30) besides beef bacon for your pasta.

My husband had the Roasted Chicken Leg with Hot Sauce @ RM42 served with mashed USA potatoes (that was chunky and coarse) and sauteed vegetables of broccoli, carrots, sugar snap peas and baby corn.

We went for this more unique chicken dish (swayed by the words "limited serving each day on the menu") as the other would be the more common grilled chicken chop with black pepper, mushroom or BBQ sauce.

The chicken was irreproachable in tenderness like any grilled or roasted chicken should be...it's difficult to fowl-up (lol) an easy-to-nail roasted chicken dish.  I thought the sauces were what saved the dish from being just a mundane chicken dish.  The sauce at the bottom had fresh, zingy and spicy flavours while the one on top was some kind of brown sauce. ^.^

I was craving for steak and so I ordered the Moo Moo Sirloin @ RM85 (there was no ribeye on the menu) which is made up of Australian Grain Fed Beef Sirloin with Brown Truffle Sauce.  I'm not sure why the flower was there...is it to make the plating pretty?  I'm sorry but I'm going into chef mode a la Gordon Ramsay here and say...why put something on a plate if it's not edible (and by that I mean we would not want to eat crysanthemums, flowers which we use to decorate our homes, unless they're food grade edible flowers)! >_<

First thing I noticed when the dish arrived was that the steak was devoid of any charring.  Without a good sear, the steak wouldn't have that nice seared crust to seal in the juices or have that smoky taste that I've come to adore.

Cutting through the middle to see how the steak was done, I felt a lot of resistance on my knife...and knew instantly that it wouldn't be a vey tender piece of meat.  As you can see, the meat was also cooked beyond the medium rare doneness I requested and it was underseasoned as well.  I expected a lot more from a RM85 piece of meat! O_o

But the worse thing was yet to come.  Pouring some of the brown truffle sauce at the side, the nasty taste of truffle oil was even more pronounced in the sauce.  And yes, I ordered the sauce (all their steaks come with this sauce only) + brown sauce is what I usually go for and I thought the truffle oil taste wouldn't be so apparent in a brown jus.  The best thing on the plate ended up to be those thick-cut fries and roasted vegetables of red + green capsicum and onions served with the steak...haiz.

I had a double mix of Orange & Apple Juice @ RM15 and requested for 3 glasses of water without thinking twice, not knowing then that water was chargeable at RM1/glass as it's usually free at western restaurants/steakhouses I've been to (it was listed as filtered water by Coway in the receipt...gee, premium water, is it?) @_@  Though RM1 glass is a negligible price to pay, I think a restaurant of this calibre (with its pricing) should at least not charge for water in principle.

At the start of the meal, after ordering, we were offered free membership and I did take it (at this point I obviously have not tasted the food yet) since I knew the points gained from this meal would be quite substantial (not to mention the sign up points) + there was even a tempting slice of free Mille Crepe Cake (I chose Cappuccino Oreo Caramel) thrown in.

Who says no to free cake, right?  But alas, the cake was too firm (and a little cold) for my liking, the result of being in the chiller for far too long I reckon. >.<

My Personal Opinion

I came here with high expectations for 3 reasons...1) the reviews were pretty good (it garnered a 4.2 rating on Google), 2) it managed to survive the pandemic and 3) judging from the photos of the food I've seen online which looked really inviting and delicious...but, in the end, it didn't quite hit the highs I was hoping for.

I think they wanted to differentiate themselves to be a more premium western restaurant based on the premium ingredients they use (one of which was the truffle) and the prices they charge (possibly the most expensive restaurant we have here).  Many restaurants put truffle on the menu as the ingredient has always been associated with something luxurious...and it is when fresh or real truffles are used whether grated or in the form of shavings (I've had both in foods like siu long bao, over eggs and on fries)...and they taste great...but the cheaper imitation, not so great.

For a meal that cost close to RM300 (for the three of us), there are many better options I can think of where I'd come away more satisfied but, having said that, they aren't all bad (and certainly not a lost cause altogether) since there were some dishes that they did get right.  I think they're better at making generic/common western dishes (like pasta and easier to nail proteins like chicken or fish and dishes with a local twist or flavour).  If I do return, I'd certainly stay far, far away from steaks (my bad actually, should have known better since they're not a steakhouse specialist) + stay clear of anything truffle-related on their menu (the same thing with foie gras too, not good quality ones can also be a bit nasty tasting). ^_~

De'Parlour

2G Jalan Pandan Indah 4/33

Pandan Indah

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 013-391 1316