Juniper
One of the reasons why I purchase dining vouchers is because it gives me a reason to visit a restaurant I wouldn’t have gone to were it not for the deal. An example is Palate Palette which as everyone in the Klang Valley knows, has been around for years but I never got round to going there because parking on the street is impossible nearby. Of course, if I purchased a dining voucher, I would have a compelling reason to go there, availability of nearby street parking notwithstanding.
The walk from Pavilion to Jalan Mesui is not at all far but under the scorching sun, it can seem like more than a 5 minute walk. No wonder not many people in Malaysia like to walk even if it is a very short distance. By the time I got to Palate Palette at noon, I was literally one hot mess. Perspiring profusely, the first thing the waitress did after taking our orders was bring me a stack of tissues without me asking for it.
Palate Palette has a cosy ambience and it’s probably a place where customers linger for hours over drinks. The drinks menu is extremely extensive, so much choice. Hot beverages like teas and coffees are RM7 while alcoholic drinks are RM20 and above. If you fancy a Blow Job or a Kick In The Nuts, you can get those at Palate Palette but before you get funny ideas, they are Kahlua, creme de banana, Bailey’s and cream & Sauza gold tequila, sambuco, Frangelico and grenadine respectively.
My dining voucher entitled us to choose from 8 pastas and a soup of the day (happened to be pumpkin soup) each. I chose my favourite pasta, Pasta Carbonara but I was also tempted by the Chilli Shrimp Aglio Olio and Pesto Presto which has basil pesto, almonds, pine nuts and parmesan cheese.
The pumpkin soup was tasty, I could tell it wasn’t from a can but it wasn’t thick enough. This one was too watered down and I guess it was okay for a dining voucher deal but not acceptable if I had to pay full price (RM16) for it.
Asparagus and smoked chicken pasta (penne)
Pasta Carbonara
I don’t know the rudiments of making pasta or the sauce but I do know when the sauce is too watery and that was the case with these 2 dishes. I like the sauce in my pasta to be thicker so that the pasta is coated with it but when the sauce is too thin, it slips off the pasta.
The smoked chicken in the 1st pasta above was not so tender while the beef bacon in Carbonara was crispy and dry. It’s not that the sauces were lacking in flavour but they could have been improved if they had been slightly thicker. It made me wish I had gone for the drier pasta dishes like the Chilli Shrimp Aglio Olio and Pesto Presto.
Both dishes were very satisfying in terms of quantity, they were very filling. If I do make a return visit, I’d try other (non-pasta) dishes.
