Kitchen Creature @ Centrepoint Bandar Utama PJ

Kitchen Creature is relatively new in Bandar utama's scene. Occupying the same spot as where Manhattan Fish Market used to be, I spotted them from the day they started renovation until the day they opened for business. From time to time Jenn & I would come here for quick lunch or dinner, especially when we felt lazy to venture far. Parking is definitely a breeze compared to the ever popular 1Utama Shopping Centre.

So when my friends came looking for me one day, I suggested this place for dinner. Definitely look impressive from outside!

All of us raved on the interiors too - neat, organised and brightly lit with a lot of pendant lights!

Menu was printed on a piece of paper similar to our buku latihan (exercise book) during our school days!

Creamy Wild Mushroom Soup @ RM5.80 - loved the crunchy croutons with each and every scoop of the soup. Quite filling as the plate was rather huge!

Grilled Lamb Chop @ RM16 - served with choice of brown, mint or signature chilly lime cilantro sauce. A chunky portion of red meat without the gamy taste normally associated with lamb

Chicken Cutlet @ RM11 - breaded, boneless chop with sweet peas and fries. For that price, once can't complain much :)

Grilled chicken, calamari & shrimp @ RM29 - with sauce, chips and buttered veggies.

Marinara @ RM13 - spicy with seafood. For the amount of seafood they put in, it’s a steal. I liked the sauce as well.

House special root beer @ RM4.50 - with ginger slice.. DILUTED!

Limey George @ RM7 - ribena, sprite & lemon. Refreshing although diluted.. I mean, VERY DILUTED!

Leo's verdict - "No Frills Dining" actually means great foods & great value with no extra costs of any kind. No Government tax and no service charge. This is the unique selling point of the restaurant. All the portions were very generous and taste-wise although not the best in town but the selling point IS the price! I wondered why there were no complains by other bloggers when they attended the food tasting organised. Or did George Creature practice different standard for regular customers? Hmmmm... can't give out any final verdict first! I have to go there the second time to see if the standard remains the same or not... since it's so near where I live

Disclaimer:
1) I'm not paid to promote/endorse any particular event, restaurant or person in this blog. ALL are based on my unbiased personal opinion.
2) My reviews are based on my personal taste and preference and therefore may vary for others.

Pizza Uno @ Centrepoint Bandar Utama

When one speaks about Italian food, I gotta admit that I am not as adventurous as most of you! The most expensive Italian meal that I'd ever had was at Villa Danieli of Imperial Sheraton Hotel but that was during my birthday last year. Even if you ask my opinion on Il Padrino or anything that starts with Nero, I'd just scratch my head and gave you all those blank stares :) don't get me wrong, I love Italian food but the truth is I won't purposely go looking for Italian restaurants unless they are really that DAMN good!

However, there is one particular place that holds a special place in my heart - Pizza Uno! But the first time I came to this place was not with Jenn but with my MBA classmates. It was year 2002 and I was still living in Puchong at that time and not very familiar with PJ or BU area. Then I realised that Jenn liked it here too when we went out for movie some time later (we were still normal friends at that time). When we started dating, we would come here whenever there was a craving for Italian food. Both of us simply love the ambience and the dining atmosphere at Pizza Uno. Things got a whole lot easier when I bought a house in Bandar Utama, as it's about 5 min away from our love nest. It's a good thing that we share a lot in common, especially in food...

Red and white wine bottles are placed on a barrel at the entrance.. to let you know that they serve wines in case you are in the mood for one :)

Tables are placed outside to accommodate diners and it is usually packed during dinner time.

There are weekend specials which are not available during normal weekdays. Initially I was planning to have my usual dish but the specials really piqued my curiousity. Therefore I went for their crab meat spaghettini, which is the smaller version of spaghetti. They were very generous on the crab meat but the whole dish was lack of flavour and frankly, quite bland eventhough spiced with lime and chilly.

Jenn opted for Herb-scented chicken with mushroom risotto - chunks of juicy roasted chicken with creamy arborio rice and mushroom. This was very good flavour-wise and the chicken meat was juicy and tender.

A bottle of mineral water for both of us... with a slice of lemon in each glass. Over-priced but they don't serve water so no choice.

Leo's verdict - whenever Jenn & I craved for pasta or pizza, we would normally come here to eat... convenient location and comfortable settings. Not necessary the best place for Italian food, but the quality is OK enough to warrant a visit (by the way, I am not a fussy eater so don't take my word for it... it's solely based on my taste bud). Apart from the dishes I mentioned above, their garlic prawn pasta is to die for and there's one particular dish that I want to mention here - Napoli Pizza, which is the anchovies pizza. Some might think that it's very salty but somehow I love it! The crust is thin, crispy and prepared using wood fire.

Black Canyon @ Centrepoint Bandar Utama

Reading so many blogs on Thai food recently made me craving for one myself. But to be honest, those high end Thai restaurants out there are WAY out of my budget for the moment. Too many commitments at the moment so I can't simply splurge on high-end dining. Well, once in a while during special occasion wouldn't hurt much I guess :)

With a baby around, those eateries nearby my house suddenly seemed to attractive, partly due to Sher Ryn's inability to stay awake for more than 3 hours. BU Centrepoint is a decent place to grab quick dinner near my house as the parking is ample and not congested. Less than 5 min drive and wah lah... I'm there!

There is only one place for Thai food in Centrepoint, and it's Black Canyon. However, this place is famous for its drink rather than its food. Personally I really like their coffee range.. now this is where the disclaimer that it's based on solely my opinion... and it's better compared to those mega-chain coffee stores around Klang Valley.

Beside a-la-carte, they also offer value set for lunch and dinner to choose from. We settled for Set D - chicken green curry, spicy stir fried combination of prawn, chicken & chilly, stir fried mixed vegetable with oyster sauce, stuffed omelette + 4 steamed rice @ RM39.90

Apart from the chicken green curry (not many chicken meats were found inside though) and stuffed omelette (minced meat with slight spicy sauce) which I thought were quite delicious (don't put high expectation ok?), the remaining two dishes were so so only. Most of the dishes were high in MSG contents!!! I had to douse my throat with lots of water once I got home :(

Additional spicy prawn tomyam RM12.90.. not really spicy as suggested by the name. The broth was quite salty to be honest. However the prawns were fresh and big too!

Black Canyon Iced Coffee - milk mixed with the old black devil poured into glass over crushed ice. My favourite coffee drink... beats the hell out of Starbucks or Coffee Bean's iced coffee... milky texture with some crushed coffee beans on top!

Fresh Thai tangerine juice RM5.50... it seemed overpriced as I can easily get this for only RM1 or RM2 on the streets of Bangkok or Chiang Mai (well, these are the only 2 places in Thailand that I'd gone to). But then this is Malaysia, and I couldn't complain much as the drink itself is fresh.

Leo's verdict - perhaps I should just stick to the drink and drink only. For coffee lovers, please drop by to try their Black Canyon iced coffee... at least once! Forget about their food if you are Thai food lovers, as you'd definitely be disappointed!