This restaurant reportedly has 3 outlets in Penang before venturing out of Penang to open its first outlet in KL...The Little Nyonya Cuisine @ Pavilion. As you approach the restaurant, you'll be confronted with a cut up of Axian (Jason Yeoh) who happens to be the shop ambassador.
The décor of the place does have a traditional nyonya feel to it with its colourful ceiling, patterned floor tiles, marble tables and colourful wooden chairs. I would soon find out that the design and décor of the place would end up to be the only things I would be impressed with.
We started with their Pie Tee @ RM7.50 (for 5 pcs) since it's a dish that's synonymous with nyonya food. When the dish arrived, I was surprised at how tiny the pie tee cups were (RM1.50 a pop isn't exactly cheap). The pie tee shells were just on the verge of being crispy but the filling (of julienned jicama and carrots topped with fried shallots and sesame seeds) was a bit scarce (you can see that it wasn't quite filled to the brim)....and there wasn't any chilli sauce in sight. When I asked, the waiter said that it's in the pie tee already.
Upon closer inspection, I realised that they had drizzled the chilli sauce into the pie tee shells...and, obviously, the drizzling wasn't quite even (with most of it landing inside one of the pie tie shells)! Why couldn't they just serve the chilli sauce by the side and let us deal with how much chilli we want to put in >:(
Another signature dish of theirs is the Deep Fried Otak Bean Curd @ RM11.50 made up of 10 cubes of fried bean curd stuffed with an otak-otak filling.
The light coating on the bean curd cubes yielded a crispy exterior but it was the otak-otak filling that we weren't so ecstatic about. It was unlike any of the otak-otak flavours we have come to love. The mushy otak-otak filling and the bland soft bean curd didn't create a very pleasant texture. It was mush on mush!
I went with a simple main of Nasi Lemak Special @ RM10.50 which came with a fried chicken drumstick and the usual condiments of half a hard-boiled egg, "ikan bilis" (dried anchovies), peanuts, cucumber, papadum and sambal.
The fried chicken had a decent enough flavour although the skin wasn't as crispy as I had hoped. I wasn't liking the slightly mushy rice though which didn't have much of the coconut milk taste but instead had a strong lemongrass flavour going through it.
As for the sambal, it wasn't just plain sambal but had ikan bilis in it. The taste was more savoury than sweet which I appreciated.
The other main we had was the Tom Yam Fried Rice with Pandan Chicken @ RM12.50 with three tiny pieces of pandan chicken, a fried egg (that was fried to death), papadum and a fresh sambal. The rice was fried with corn, carrot and peas (those frozen type, I think), prawns, egg and shredded kaffir lime leaves. It was just passable as it was a bit lacking in tom yam taste.
The pandan chicken wasn't anything close to those you'd find in Thai eateries.
The White House White Coffee @ RM4.60 (that was what was stated in the menu) didn't meet my expectations either....it was more like a "White House...Down"! :p
My Personal Opinion
Based on the fairly affordable prices (seeing this is a shopping mall), it would appeal to the office workers in the vicinity as a quick lunch but certainly not good enough for those looking for some good nyonya food.
They're probably leveraging on the name (and pull) of Axian (Jason Yeoh) who is the shop ambassador (I think he may just regret endorsing this place). I was surprised to find the place rather quiet though for a weekend service.
Okay-lah, maybe some of my choices wouldn't exactly qualify as nyonya food but the little I had wasn't good enough to entice me back to try more! ;)
The Little Nyonya Cuisine
Lot 1.59.00 - 1.66.00 Level 1
Pavilion Kuala Lumpur
168 Jalan Bukit Bintang
55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2110 5546
The outer layer of the bean curd look so unappetizing :P
ReplyDeleteYeah, the coating was not done with finesse but was still crispy (even with lumps on it) but it was the otak-otak filling we weren't feeling! :D
DeleteThe pai tee filling is so loose...and does not look all that great. Nasi lemak at a nyonya place...and worse, tom yam fried rice and pandan chicken. Sounds more like Thai to me. At best, I would say the nasi lemak looks good...but not much santan taste in the rice, you said. No, thank you, then.
ReplyDeleteI've tasted nasi lemak rice with pandan leaves, ginger, even shallots...all good, but lemongrass....way too pungent :(
DeleteWhat a disappointment! I guess I can give this place a miss. Maybe the one on Penang is better.
ReplyDeleteObviously from RG's comment below, the one in Penang isn't all that great either.
DeleteThe first statement of your personal opinion is correct. The one in Queensbay Mall, we only go there as one of the lunch options (also only when most other restaurants are full), it is not somewhere that we go because we think the food rocks.
ReplyDeleteSome of my Penangite friends love the food here. Not me, I thought they were just meh, Can eat lah, but not terribly enjoyable, almost like OldTown food...
Hi 5! So you would equate this place with Old Town food which means it's really bad....coz I don't eat Old Town food! ;D
Deleteshould not pour the cili sauce into the pai tee shell. some may not like it spicy. Like my son.
ReplyDeleteExactly. Some children won't have the chance to eat it after that.
Deleteooo, maybe putting the chili themselves on the pai tee allows them to provide a slightly reduced portion compared to supplying chili sauce on a separate container :)
ReplyDeleteWell, they're charging RM7.50 for 5 pcs....that should allow them to (at least) provide the chilli sauce separately.
DeleteI seldom go to Pavilion these days. Hahaha at your statement that he may regret endorsing this place. Places where he endorsed usually have many people going there to eat but since this place looks quite empty on a weekend, the food must be really not that nice gua like you say.
ReplyDeleteI agree those places he endorses (from his shows) have a following but that is different. This one he's paid to be the shop ambassador, I think.
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