Last Friday, we stepped foot into another new restaurant where we had been anxious to try since their opening, Ben's General Food Store. Another place that had been blogged to death, Ben's General food store had been receive favorable reviews by many bloggers. So last Friday, we definitely had a 'Good Friday' celebration of our own with my uni mate, Wennie.
We worked up an appetite after badminton, went home and shower, and at 7.30 pm we were all dolled up and ready to rrrrrumble!
Bug drove us to Bangsar Village (NOT to be confused with Bangsar Shopping Centre!). Ben's General Food Store is located near Starbucks, in Bangsar Village I, not very hard to find I believe.
We were greeted by a warm and homey atmosphere in the restaurant. It was a little on the cramped side, much like a high school cafeteria which I had seen in America TV shows. There were funny sign boards mounted around the restaurant.
Did you know that pizza was one of the most searched words in Google?
(Ans: Nope, I didn't. LOL)
The menu itself was a simple piece of paper printed with their offerings. Ranges from pizza, to roast chicken, to lamb shank, to chocolate cake.. Really, anything western and italian. I'm starting to drool already!
Simple menu
We had such a hard time choosing what to order! Between three of us, we ordered one main dish and one pizza to share.
G-R-E-E-D-Y!!!!
It was a shame that the portobello mushroom and the lasagna was sold out at that time. So we had to try something else. Oh bother! Next time, we could come back again for those!
Each of our main dish came with a complimentary salad. So up we got from our seats to the salad bar to choose our dish.
The salad bar
Majority of the salad was half gone when we were there. To be fair, it was almost 8.30 around that time. Very good business! We placed our order, and went back to our seats. To get to our seats, we had to pass the dessert counter. I literally had to drag Wennie away from it.
The dessert counter. Mmmmm..
So we sat there and waited anxiously for our food. Of course, it is pictures time! Wennie was feeling so happy, so I had to milk it for all its worth no?
A picture together with Wennie
It was when the bottle of water arrived at the table, that I realised the influence of Aussie culture in the whole set-up of the restaurant.
The bottle which I usually see in the Aussie restaurants
Shortly after that, our first drink came which was the Nutella Milkshake (RM11.90).
Nutella Milkshake (RM11.90)
A beautiful combination of Nutella spread, hazelnut, milk and vanilla ice cream. You definitely can't go wrong with this combo. This drink gives a creamy after taste, with a strong hint of chocolate and wafers. It is not diluted unlike some that I had tasted in Sunway Pyramid. Two thumbs up!
Wennie trying the drink
The first food that came to our table was the Morrocan lamb meatballs (RM 17.90) with some kinda barley salad.
The whole ensemble
The lamb meatballs (RM17.90)
To be honest, it did not look very impressive for the price to pay. 5 meatballs? Come on, you've got to be joking right? It all changes after the first bite. The lamb meatballs was juicy, and simply delicious. Seasoned with enough spices, it was very flavourful and tender, minus the tangy lamb smell. However it could be a bit pricey for 5 meatballs, and would not be filling for a big eater. I didn't care much for the barley-like salad though. Then again, I don't really like eating barley beans so there.
Next up is the lamb shank pie (RM29.90) with Roasted Cod Fish and Pineapple salad.
Lamb Shank Pie (RM29.90)
I initially thought that the lamb shank pie would have a pastry crust, with bits of lamb inside. How wrong I was! It came with a very own lamb shank, topped with bits of mash potatoes. The lamb shank was very tender, falling off the bone tender. Likewise with the meatballs, there was no tangy smell from the lamb. The mash potatoes was good and creamy, and is best eaten with the lamb shank sauce. The salad on the other hand was the roasted cod fish and pineapple salad. I found the salad to be quite bland and pretty much forgettable.
Bug digging in
My fish pie came in the last. I had the middle-eastern kinda salad topped with yogurt and mint.
Fish pie (Rm21.90)
I had read many reviews on the fish pie, and I have quite a high expectations on the quality and the taste. Basically, the fish pie is a slab of fish, topped with some mash potatoes. It tasted pretty bland, and the fish doesn't taste fresh to me as it was pretty hard. In fact, it felt as if it was de-frosted from the fridge, and then cooked and slapped with mash potatoes, and then presented as a fish pie. It was a pretty dry dish, and thus it was a bit hard to swallow. I took some sauce from the lamb shank to enhance the taste. Not really a recommended dish. The salad took some getting used to, as the yogurt and mint was quite strong. Next time, I'm going for the caesar salad.
Me and me fish pie
The insides of a fish pie
After our main dish had came, our pizza dish arrived a little late. Their reasoning was that there was too few ovens, but too many orders. Fair enough. We ordered their funghi pizza, otherwise known as mushroom pizza (RM22.90)
Funghi Pizza (Vegetarian - RM22.90)
A famous blogger had said that their pizzas are one of the best around KL. Now I know why. It was simply a delicious tasting pizza. Topped with mozzarella, wild mushrooms, mascarpone cheese and truffle oil, this pizza is simply to die for. The wild mushrooms lent an earthy taste to the pizza, while the mascarpone cheese was not too filling. The pizza crust was thin and crunchy, which shows that it was perfectly hand tossed. My only gripe was that there was not enough cheese, as I was looking for the strings of cheese; but that is a personal preference.
We finished our dinner with some dessert. We simply could'nt resist ordering one cake, and it has to be the most sinful, and delicious one of all: The classic chocolate cake.
Classic chocolate cake a la mode (RM9.90)
Their chocolate cake was topped with chocolate sauce, and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. However, I was starting to doubt the quality of the sauce that they used as I could see the edge of the sauce is tinted with the oil (Refer picture). Nevertheless, the chocolate cake was good, but a little on the dry side. I prefer my cakes moist and fudgy.
Our total bill came up to RM106.15 after 16% tax. The reason why it was not so expensive is because they had undercharged us the pizza. Before you judge us, in our defence, we did not realise it until the next day when someone commented on our photo. So I guess, we were pretty lucky aren't we?
The total bill
Verdict: The food offerings had a few hits and misses. I particularly enjoyed their lamb dishes, but I do not really care much for the salad and the fish pie. Love the pizzas, I'm gonna come back here just for their pizzas! The milkshake is a must-try while their chocolate cake was pretty normal in my opinion. The price wise is bordering on the high side, but if the food is good then I don't mind paying for the quality. Ambiance wise is nice, though it was a little cramped. I'll definitely come back again to try their lasagna and the portobello mushrooms.
Ben's General food store
We hopped by next door to see what else they were selling, and we came across these interesting stuff:
A yummy display of cakes and desserts
Store interior
Red rock deli - My favourite chips when I was in Aussie! Costs a whopping RM18 per packet. To think that I was complaining for Lay's potato chips which costs RM10.
They also have Koko black chocolate - An exclusive Aussie brand (Yes, again!)
Assorted sweets
The next door shop carries alot of imported brands and expensive food, such as truffles, vanilla pods, foie gras and etc. A student like me could only look, and not buy because it is just too pricey for me. Wait till the day where I start earning big bucks, then I could afford to shop in these places. Could not wait! Hehe!
I had an amazing Friday night spent with great company and good food. So how was your 'Good Friday' celebrations? :)
Ben's General Food Store (Nearby Starbucks & Nandos)
G17-G18, Ground Floor,
Bangsar Village I,
No 1, Jalan Telawi Satu,
Bangsar Baru,
57100 Kuala Lumpur
Click here for their extensive menu!
Click here for the driving directions to Bangsar Village 1 from Monash University using NPE highway.
Love, Bee
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