Monday, January 4, 2010

Albion, Jalan Berangan, Kuala Lumpur. Hail Britannia!

(non halal)

After disappearing for three weeks, I returned to Changkat Bukit Bintang and was amazed by the changes. The dizzying turnover of restaurants along this small stretch of road matches an acne outbreak on the face of a pubescent teen. Engka Portobello has disappeared, which was disappointing as it served reasonably priced and delightful food. Reggae Bar popped up. Some new Spanish restaurant seems to be under construction next to Werner's.

A new restaurant that has popped up is Albion (which means the Islands of Great Britain, Gaelic, if I am not mistaken) which is located next to Bar Italia along the quieter stretch parallel to Changkat. Chic and smart, with a slightly spartan yet contemporary setting, it offers modern British cuisine and has been open for about 2 weeks now. The menu is not too terribly extensive, but please bear in mind that this is a new place and they are just breaking into the scene.


Starters are fairly interesting here. Besides the usual offerings of Parma Ham and Melon, there is Fishcakes with Strawberry Salad and Blue Cheese Salad. I had the Chorizo a la Plancha (which means grilled Chorizo in Spanish) and it came as a Bruschetta look alike with the Chorizo sausages bathed in sourish tomato paste and basil. The dish is no eye candy, but tasted delightfully fresh on a humid Sunday night.


For mains, I had seared duck fillet with Blackcurrant sauce. The duck was a little bit too tough but blackcurrant sauce that came with it was a welcome departure from the normal as the fruitiness of the sauce tempered the gaminess of the duck. The potatoes would have been better if they were Dauphinoise.


For dessert, I had the Toasted Mature Fruitcake (which was mature enough to vote in the coming GE) that came served with Vanilla Ice Cream on top of some candied pineapple rings. Although the fruitcake was nothing to shout about, but the way it was served with the pineapple was brilliant as it cuts down the satiety. Albion probably warrants some return visits again.

I am terribly excited about Cilantro's re-opening and must find time to dine there soon (although both the Queen and Goddess of KL foodblogs did not attain food nirvana there).


Just to end this fruity post, Rainier Cherries are available from Imbi market now! These are pale and pink and sweet, not the usual tart read ones that are used for cooking, but sold at an exorbitant price in KL.

Here's to wishing all of you a HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010!

And I hope that your LIFE IS JUST A BOWL OF CHERRIES THIS YEAR.






10 comments:

Thailand Club said...

welcome back Paranoid

now we can again view ur exclusive KL gourmet journal, also benefits my friends visiting KL

thanks and wish u a wonderful 2010 fighting with tiger :)

Rebecca Saw said...

good tht this was better than the BKT u had in Pavillion!
As for THICK helbal BKT, do ask Unka. We started off our year w a bowl of those. It was herbalicious alrite..jz tht I dont think u can get up at 7am in the mornin! ;p

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

Welcome back, Paranoid Android! Happy 2010!

thule a.k.a leo said...

welcome back!!!
venture out of your comfort zone la...

Paranoid Android said...

@TC: Thanks! This year is a bit tough for me. Too many assignments. Hope to land in Bangkok too!

@TNG: Ha ha! I have a solution to the problem of waking up at 7am. I'll sleep at 9 am.

@LL: Happy NY to you too!

@Thule: I wish I could. I work very irregular hours and long hours from Mons to Fridays and my ME day, which is Saturday, is usually spent at home and around home. After running around like a chicken who lost it's head most of the time, I go to low gear mode and chill.

boo_licious said...

But but but, I want Brit stodge!! Must give Albion a spin one day but food kinda does not inspire me to run there.

Cheer up! Now u have 2 places to eat to perk up yr life - Sage and Cilantro even though it is best to leave Cilantro to chill for a while to achieve its greatness.

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

yeah u r back!!

hmm time to break the piggy bank for all these new restaurants!

minchow said...

Shoots, this Imbi market sounds like THE new joint! I gotta get some of them cherries!

Thailand Club said...

if land in BKK, let's go to sample food together, PM me at email

UnkaLeong said...

Welkam Back bro! See you soon ;)

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Unless stated otherwise, all the posts and food here is paid for by the Paranoid Android. He dose not receive any financial compensation for posting in this blog. The views expressed here are an opinion and as usual, taste is subjective and varies among people, time and mood as well! Please feel free to contact me at humanist dot philo at gmail dot com. Unless otherwise stated, the photos here belong to the owner of this blog. You are free to use it for any non commercial purpose. As courtesy, just drop me an email and credit the photo to the blog. Thanks for dropping by!

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