Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Night Of A Thousand Calories (EDITED)

Our continuing gastronomic adventuring brought us to the casual Al-Rausha Restaurant, which is hidden in a quiet housing area just off the ever busy Jalan Ampang…
(this restaurant was highly recommended by Alvin…. even though he had never eaten there before)

Hmmmm….

Anyway,… I kinda forgot to take a photo of the general restaurant area (my bad!) but just imagine an open air tropical hut theme and a nice airy garden area (watch out for the mozzies tho) set in a roomy bungalow…..

Anyway, onwards to the food review….

The Dinner:

First of all, let’s sort out the over-rated dishes….

… starting with the roasted chicken which came highly recommended by a visitor on the Friedchillies bulletin board….

Although flavoured with an interesting array of spices, the chicken failed to rock our world… (Perhaps we were expecting too much?)… Still, very decently priced, at about RM15, for the whole bird no one complained…

Hmmm, I Feel A Little Sunburnt...

Next, there was the tomato based chickpea stew thingy….
(Ok, ok… so maybe next time I should pay more attention to the actual names of these things)
This stew, although interesting, was a little on the bland side….
Again, nothing earth shaking…

Bubble bubble, Toil and trouble.

Moving on, here are some dishes we tried that I highly recommend:

*drooool*
Mmmmm….
Have a look at the Lamb Mindhi that I tried that night.


I Heart You, Lamb!
So simple yet so delicious!

Wonderfully marinated and slowly cooked, this generous portion of tender lamb comes served with a mountainous serving of yummy rice (absolute carbohydrate HEAVEN) and condiments such as the tart garlic sauce and the smooth yogurt sauce.

A HUGE serving for around RM20, it could easily feed 2 normal people or well, one Ken.

Oh, and did I mention that it tastes SO good.

:)

If you want to opt for something a little healthier though, do try the baked fish.
Also very well marinated, the fish is succulent… The only downside is that it comes served with laughably small side dishes, namely five aneroxic french fries, one mouthful of coleslaw and a dollop of yogurt sauce.


Nemo Had A Niggling Feeling That He Shouldn't Have Trusted The Fisherman

If you want a dish with a little variety, there is the Mixed Grill….
An array of tender juicy meat (lamb, chicken, etc) is served with, again, laughably small servings of side dishes….


DON'T Make Up Your Mind. Have It All!

There was also a mind-boggling variety of drinks on the menu, mainly consisting of one hundred and one different varietals of mixed blended fruit juices….

Here’s one that Julian ordered…..
It was supposed to be strawberry and banana….


Funky Fruit Juice
O_o

Ooh Err… Them strawberries were probably exposed to some toxic waste or something…
(Look at it glow with that eerie fluorescent pink!)

*lol*

Knock yourselves out…. It’s worth a try at least, right?
(The Mango Smoothie comes highly recommended though)

Overall, Al-Rausha was an excellent casual dining experience…
With its very laidback ambience, it is definitely not a setting for a romantic candlelit dinner but with it’s delicious food at very decent prices (presented oh so beautifully on plastic plates), it’s a restaurant that I look forward to going to again with friends to hang out….

(Oh, and please be patient with the waiters…. It seems like most of them don’t have a very firm grasp of English or BM)

[ BEGIN EDIT ]
Went back to Al-Rausha recently (July 2006) and I'm sad to report that the food quality has deteriorated somewhat - The lamb is no longer as tender as before (although the rice is still irritatingly addictive) and the fish is only ok.
:(

With that, I have downgraded their rating (for taste) from an 8 to a 6.5... Maybe they were just having a bad night (chef sick, etc) but hey, it's still a good reason to downgrade the rating 'cos a good restaurant HAS to have consistent quality
[ END EDIT ]


Restaurant Review
Summary Sheet:

Al-Rausha Restaurant

No. 78, Jalan Damai, Off Jalan Ampang, 55000 Kuala Lumpur.

Taste: 8 6.5
Ambience : 5.5
Service : 6
Price** : RM 35/++ per person
Parking: Ample
** Approximation - 3 course meal, excluding drinks
Telephone No.: 603 – 2143 9151
Opening Hours: 11am – late

HALAL,



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7 comments:

  1. well gee, a couple of people suggested it as a place to hold my wedding party but after reading your review......i think I'd better keep looking round

    :-(

    ReplyDelete
  2. to kandidiaterri:
    Sorry to reply to your comment so late!

    I hope your wedding went fantastically and that you found a great place to have your party...
    :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Have you tried the food at Souk Beirut in Dataran Jelatek?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Have you tried the food at Souk Beirut in Dataran Jelatek?

    ReplyDelete
  5. to anonymous:
    Sorry... Haven't tried that place before...
    (Where's Dataran Jelatek? Hmmm.. I think I'll go Google it now)

    ReplyDelete
  6. No offense but, this slightly ignorant review is hilariously and uniquely chinese-malaysian. I cant believe that you didn't one time mention that this is "ARABIC" food. Instead you tagged it in food.mmw as "indian" food??! SERIOUSLY? how different can the two be??? Makes more sense to say cantonese kuey teow is indian food. Might as well label everything Malay as chinese. Greek as Italian. For crying out loud, how dumb can one that belongs in a racially diverse country get when it comes to different races and culture especially those that aren't Asian or Caucasian. ARAB. A LARGELY unique culture, history, heritage, civilization and race, who are not Indian, European or Asian who populate the middle-east and north Africa. Speak a COMPLETELY unique (and historically influential) language of their own called ARABIC. Many of them here in Malaysia now a days. Very noticeable as they look different and talk different. hello? get it in your heads. I, an Arab, probably know about the Chinese (and their food) more than you. I probably also appreciate your chinese/malaysian culture and heritage more than yourself. Peace out.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Um. dude. Sorry that you are offended but actually, I didnt tag it as Indian food.
    (In fact it is actually tagged as Arabic food if you check the bottom of the post)

    I dont relink my posts anywhere - must have been done by whoever runs that site..
    (I know there are several sites that "borrow" my reviews but I cant keep track/ correct all of them)

    ReplyDelete

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