The Diner on Maarof

After reading numerous posting on Shivz, particularly from Joe's... I knew that someday, someday I would be coming here for dinner. But it was like 6 months ago when I read those postings... lol!! Better late than nothing :) Anyway, with the baby along I knew that we couldn't go out too long... so we packed our stuff and drove to Bangsar immediately after Sher Ryn's feeding. Lucky for us that we found a parking spot right in front of the restaurant itself, saving me the hassle to walk all the way (you know how difficult it is to find parking in Bangsar Baru).

Actually I was expecting a lot of diners as it was already dinner time. According to Joe, the restaurant's concept is to provide value for money food and ambience.. but the whole place was almost empty. On the outside... Have I gone to the wrong place??? I walked outside again just to make sure... next to Maybank (check!), Shivz Diner at Maarof (check!), on Jalan Maarof (check!!)

And inside... actually there was only another table of family having dinner. Oh well! At least the setting looked comfortable. We chose a table at the corner end so that we could place the stroller (can you spot my wife and the stroller??)

The interior was quite dim, providing a relaxed environment but then I spotted the club-like bar which was very bright. For once I thought that the whole place would turn into a clubbing scene after certain hour.. lol!!! Oh yes, Bollywood songs were also playing non-stop too... to my dismay and it was quite loud too.

We started our dinner with soup and appetisers. The bruchetta platter (RM8) came first... where the toasted baguettes were topped with mushroom, capsicum, tomato basil and eggplant. While I thought that the ingredients were fresh, the breads were quite hard to chew & rather cold. By the way, I think that they were out of eggplant, as there were two baguettes with mushroom :)

Wild mushroom soup (RM8) - the soup was hot, rich, not overly creamy and prepared with fresh mushroom... just the way I like my soup to be! The complimentary garlic bread was fresh and crispy too. Still I prefer the version with heaps of mushroom chunks in it.

Lemongrass dory (RM15) - it wasn't a hard decision to make as I am a huge fan of lemongrass. I pointed to the dish straight away to the waiter upon sighting the word "lemongrass"... LOL!!! This dish is a pan fried dory marinated in lemongrass mousse and served with cilantro sauce. I hardly tasted the lemongrass flavour due to the strong taste of cilantro sauce. However the meat was firm and flaky. And I love how they actually placed ginger shreds on top of the sauteed potatoes, which were then placed under the dory fish. Accompanied with fresh vegetables, I enjoyed each and every bite. Thumbs up!

Rack of lamb (RM32) - grilled rack of lamb with fresh rosemary sauce and comes with baked potatoes and sauteed vegetables. The rosemary sauce was a killer!! But then the lamb was slightly under-cooked. She promptly informed the waiter at the end of the dinner in which he apologised and promised to improve the quality in the future.

A glass of Shiraz Cabernet for her and a glass of Tiger beer for me. They only have one selection of wine so we had no choice. The wine was quite sour-ish too! My beer??? Ahhhhhh.....

Leo's verdict - the total bill came in at RM91!!! There were no service and government tax charged. Reasonable price for the dishes and service was not bad too... but at that time we were served by a waiter with heavy Indian accent so we had to listen carefully on what he was trying to say. Apart from that... this place is definitely worth a visit! I've set my sight on some other dishes in the menu (now if I could only find the time)

The place : Shivz Restaurant