From Venicia to Veneria: Bangsar's Hidden Gems

Mention seafood and Bangsar in a sentence and the extravagant Bangsar Seafood Garden Restaurant comes to mind. It wasn't until I read a post on masak-masak in November that I realised the existence of another seafood place in that neighbourhood. And a pretty good one at that too.

Bangsar Venicia is nicely tucked away in a quiet corner on the 2nd floor of Bangsar Puteri condominium. Being away from the usual eating/drinking areas, it's easy to see why not many of us have heard of this place. My dinner mates that evening was a little surprised that I drove them into a condominium and was rather skeptical of the quality of food. Even more so, when we were greeted by a-blast-from-the-past interior of the restaurant. I think they were giving me the 'Are you about this?' face. One look around and all you'll see is green table cloths, matching green banquet chairs, maroon curtain partitions dividing the kitchen workspace and the dining hall, fading faux plants, and rattan sofas in the lounge. Felt like we've walked through a time portal and ended up in the 1980's!

All judgments aside, we ordered and food quickly arrived. From the look on everybody's faces, I could tell that they were even more surprise at how good the food turned out. And at the end of the day, that's all that matters.

We were really impressed with the slightly spicy and tangy Nyonya Fried Fish (RM38.00), memories of a good Siamese Laksa came flooding back. I would also highly recommend the Salted Egg Yolk Squid (RM10), which was well-coated with egg yolk and the crispy squid was fresh. McCutie thoroughly enjoyed the Lemon Chicken (RM12.00) and went on declaring it one of the best around town. Lord only knows how far one has gone around searching for the perfect lemon chicken. The sauce here is light, sweet and full of lemon zing. We have no complaints either as we quickly finished up the chicken and ordered a second portion.

The rest of the meal was made out of Black Pepper Venison (RM12.00), Stir fried Greens (RM8.00) to match the tables and a bowl of Pickled Vegetable (Ham Choi) Soup with Seafood, Pork & Tofu (RM10.00). Mediocre at its best.

Once again, we have outdone ourselves and tested the limits of stomach capacity. We soon vacated the premises as a queue of patrons was quickly forming up. Thank God we were here for an early dinner. As the night was still young, we went across to Bangsar Shopping Centre to walk off the food.

However, slightly less than hour later, we were craving for some coffee and dessert. For all intents and purposes of making a great title for this post, I ushered everyone over to the newly opened Veneria.IT. I could tell who my true friends are by the things they would put up with for my blog. We chose to sit on those large couches on the outer deck lounge as the night was cool from the rain earlier. We had a great view of the cool (or is it hot?) pizza station and the fiery oven which heats up to a sweltering 600°C. Pizza making is very much like making Roti Canai. It's such a spectacle to watch.

Dessert was a simple affair comprising of the heavenly coconut-filled Fiordilatte Tiramisu (RM18.00) and 3 scoops of Bar Italia's popular gelato (RM9.00/scoop). We lounged and played many rounds of Wheel of Fortune on the iPhone for the rest of the evening. Good friends and good food, never a bad combination.

Whether you're in the mood for some Chinese grub or a hoity-toity European meal, Bangsar never fails to impress. We've now come to the end of the post. Oh wait, you're only here for the comics, aren't you? Don't worry. I didn't leave it out. Here you go:

 

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Restoran Bangsar Venicia
41-02-02, Level 2
Bangsar Puteri Condominium
41, Jalan Medang Serai (off Jalan Maarof)
Bangsar

Tel:03-2094 2010

Business Hours: Open for lunch and dinner. Closed on Tuesdays and Sunday lunchtime.

Vineria. IT

G-133, Ground Floor

Bangsar Shopping Centre
285, Jalan Maarof
Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-2287 7889