Juniper
The launch of Guardian Malaysia’s OBA 2017 was held at the recently opened Nicsmann 1940s By Lewre @ The Starling Mall yesterday. I was informed that the restaurant had its official opening the day before, i.e. Monday this week hence you can see the words “Grand Opening” at the entrance.
Nicsmann 1940s By Lewre @ The Starling Mall is spacious and at a glance, I can see several sections which can host private events and functions. It’s casual fine dining so I guess one can expect Continental cuisine with an emphasis on seafood. This is reflected in their rather posh-looking menu which list the achievements of the restaurant’s founder, acclaimed world renowned shoe maker extraordinaire who came from humble origins, Datuk Lewre Lew. Flip open the first few pages of the menu and you might be a bit startled by the prices which are in the hundreds but the more budget-friendly dishes are in the next few pages. By “budget-friendly”, I mean most dishes are RM25 and above which is reasonable for a restaurant like this situated within a mall.
Patrons can hang out in a bar area partitioned from the rest of the dining area. This is where you will find what looks like arcade machines but which are actually dart machines, I’ve never tried my hand at darts either by throwing them manually or via machine. It looks interesting, there are 3 such machines. Looks like the ideal place to hang out after work or on weekends.
During the event, some of the media ordered tea and coffee. As these drinks were not part of the package, Guardian would incur additional charges for hot beverages. Never mind that. Even plain water would incur a charge of RM2! We were all served watered down orange juice which tasted more like orange cordial to me. Not everyone can take sweet cordials. What if the person is diabetic?
Main course was spaghetti carbonara with pepperoni chicken. This dish is on the menu at RM26. The spaghetti was cooked al dente which is good as I like firm to bite pasta. The sauce was creamy and thick. I would say the taste was average. It wasn’t inedible but it wasn’t something I would go back to the restaurant and order as I believe some herbs could have been incorporated to improve the flavour.
Overall, service needs an improvement because I had to clear two of my plates myself by leaving them on another table. I carried them past 2 or 3 waiters who were standing doing nothing and no one came to take them away from me. A lady at my table requested for the orange cordial with no ice from a waiter and it took a few minutes before he understood. Yes I understand many waiters’ first language is not English but this is a restaurant that charges premium prices so one’s expectations are naturally higher.
Although we had just a few choices for the buffer lunch, that would have been adequate had the food been impressive but it was regretfully not. The best thing about the buffet was the strawberries. You can’t get it wrong with strawberries.
