Monday, February 08, 2010

Dave's Pizza, Pasta & Grill @ One Utama

One of the few non-Halal restaurants in One Utama Shopping Centre's old wing....

[ BEGIN EDIT ]
(May 2010)

1) Major Renovations at Dave's Now
They are investing a (reportedly) freaky amount of money to make the restaurant ambience nicer+more comfortable... So, keep your eyes peeled for when they reopen on Thursday, 10 June 2010. :)

2) Great Weekdays Promotions
(Look out for this when it's back open in June!)
50% off all pastas (except specialty pastas).
Available: 12noon - 5pm, Mon till Fri.

If you would need any inquiries regarding reservations please don't hesistate to write to them at davespizza@yahoo.com.


Signing off.
J

PS/ Thanks to Mr Darren Chin for the update. :)

[ END EDIT ]


My goodness - this non-Halal restaurant has actually been in One Utama for years, but this is the first time I've tried it...
(Erm, better late than never?):
Neon lights...

Inside, it's comfortable but very dimly lit... Romantic lighting? I guess so:
Kinda dim inside...

Overall, the ambience is normal, I guess - not many distinctive features. Check out the interesting B&W photos on the wall though:
Pervy magic trick?...

It's a man making spaghetti magically appear from a lady's cleavage??? *LOL*

Anyway, they have a decent range of Italian food (pizzas, pastas, etc) and a few fusion options (eg. Green curry spaghetti). We didn't feel very experimental that night, so we started off with the Oxtail soup with Red Wine (RM 28++), which is supposed to be one of their specialties:
The oxtail soup...

Overall, the soup was good:
- robust flavour: meaty and spicy (as in spices, not chilli),
- thick but not gloop-y texture, and
- the meat was tender (pretty much falling off the bone).
(Still, it's pretty expensive! - Almost 30 bucks)

Next up, the Stuffed Mushrooms (RM 20++):
Our plate of stuffed mushrooms...

Fresh mushrooms + Bits of Bacon + Cheese. *J is happy*
(It was pretty simple, but done well - would definitely order these again...)

For my main, I tried the Spaghetti Bolognese with Smoked Sausage (RM 28++):
Italian noodles...

Good points: It's decently priced for that size of serving, and I liked the savoury yet slightly tart tomato based sauce.
Bad points: Tasted like slices of supermarket sausages. :(

Thankfully, the Baked Cod with Squid Ink Spaghetti (RM 60++) fared much better:
The baked cod...

It's one of their speciality pastas so as you can see, the price is in a whole different range (double the price!)... but there was a pretty generous piece of tender, tasty cod atop some yummy al dente pasta so it was a good eat.
:)

It's not that I wasn't full by then but can't not have dessert, right? *greedy grin* - we chose the classic Italian Tiramisu (RM 15++):
The dessert...

It turned out ok, but was just a little too sweet for me.
Also, texture-wise I thought it was a tad like panna cotta, which I didn't quite like since this is supposed to be a tiramisu...
(Strange? A bit...)

Belly bulging, I rolled myself over* to GSC to watch Legion a.k.a The Angel & Humans vs Zombies cliched horror movie. All in all, a good night out. :)
(*Again, I completely overate! *sigh* Am too greedy, I know.........)


So it's: Decent range of non-Halal Italian food - some with fusion elements, friendly service BUT ambience is just ok, some hits and misses on the menu and the price is a little on the high side for some dishes....

Restaurant Review
Summary Sheet:


Dave's Pizza, Pasta & Grill @ Ground Floor, One Utama Shopping Centre (Old Wing, near Burger King)

Taste: 7
Ambience : 6
Service : 6
Price** : RM 70/++ per person
Parking: Difficult on weekends

** Approximation - 3 course meal, excluding drinks
Telephone No.: 03-7725 4017
Opening Hours: 10am till late

NOT HALAL


OTHER REVIEWS:
- Alimento Para Todos
- Livin' Life
- Winnie Kepala
- Scrumptious Eats and Travels
- ahmok.com

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18 comments:

  1. I passed by this shop many times as well, while on the way to Friday's, or Canton-i.
    They had some promotions back then, forgot what, but rather worthy.

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  2. yeah... this place has been here for the longest time!!! From the time when I was still a student :P
    I can teach u where to park without having to worry

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  3. i used to waitress there! back in 2000!!!!

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  4. to J2Kfm:
    I think they have half price on some of their pastas for weekday lunch.... but I haven't tried it before - heard from a friend. :)

    to thule a.k.a Leo:
    Ooh, park where - do tell! :)
    But better to sms me lah,... so that the secret doesn't get out to the general public. Haha...
    (So selfish horr?)

    to j:
    Oh wow. Really? So can you get an alumni discount if you go there ah? :)
    (Wouldn't mind going back again to try some of the other dishes)

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  5. nice article. I would love to follow you on twitter. By the way, did any one hear that some chinese hacker had hacked twitter yesterday again.

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  6. RE: "It's a man making spaghetti magically appear from a lady's cleavage???"

    I think he's more interested in resting his noodle there... :P

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  7. Bravo! I agree ... love the food here :-) First explored it last year, and possibly best pasta at any price!

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  8. which reminds me that I don't have your phone number :P

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  9. to Life for Beginners:
    There are quite a few ways to interpret that sentence, and don't you know it. :P
    (Haha... U cheeky witty fella...)

    to Julian Si
    Oh ok. :)

    to thule a.k.a leo:
    Oh yeah horr.. Silly me!
    I will email you now. :)

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  10. to anonymous:
    Nope. And I don't have twitter - sorry! :)

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  11. dunno if my old favourites are still on the menu but by far, the honey-mayo turkey ham pizza was da bomb back then!

    oddly enough, i haven't eaten there in i think a good 4 years

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  12. oohh... havent tried it but it's not cheap loh!
    So far hv heard gd reviews so muz b worth checkin it out!

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  13. to j:
    Honey-mayo turkey ham? Sounds yummy! I'm sold. Let's go back so you can stuff our faces while you reminisce over your waitressing days... :)

    to thenomadGourmand:
    I've only tried so few dishes but yeah, so far I've only heard good reviews of that place too...

    Just don't order that spaghetti with the sausages! - Trying it with some of the other toppings would be better, I think..... :)

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  14. oh dear.. that was squid ink? it didn't taste too bad.. i didn't know =)

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  15. to sooj:
    Well, good squid ink pasta is not supposed to taste bad! :)
    (How'd you think they got the pasta so black anyway... haha)

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  16. Dear Blogger,
    My name is darren chin, i am head chef and owner of Dave's. i stumbled upon your blog while Googling our restaurant. thank you for your fair comments and patronage. We will definitely look into the quality of the sausages for the pasta. As for the tiramisu it has the texture of pannacotta due to us using a mousse base mixed with mascarpone cheese, hence the texture. We also do have many other popular items like our gourmet pizzas with bacon, capers and cheese, our aglio olio pastas, if you like our stuffed mushrooms you should try our special stuffed portobello mushrooms with bacon and cheese or our slow roasted belly of pork(available on weekends only) As for our ambiance: we are actually undergoing a major renovation change where we have invested close to 500k to improve on the outlook and comfort-ability of the restaurant.As we are scheduled to open on June 10th. As for promotions, we have a 50% off all pastas(except specialty pastas) from 12-5pm mon til fri.If you would need any inquiries regarding reservations please dont hesistate to write to us at davespizza@yahoo,com
    i would be happy to assist/(or cook)for you in any way if you would like to make a reservation.i hope to hear from you soon.

    thank you.
    note: as restaurateurs We do take pride in everything we do in the restaurant and strive to do our very best to please the every discerning customer. Hopefully when you scrutinize our restaurant(or other restaurants)you would consider these things:
    1.staff(kitchen and service) in restaurants work on their feet 12-14hours p/day
    2.we as owner operators take almost everything in consideration(including your comments)to strive to be better, but please give your honest comments when being served in the restaurant.
    3.every restaurant has its own characteristics and should be respected.As i have read almost all your food reviews and even though your experience in that particular restaurant(ie:klimts) might be bad or good i think you should not judge the restaurant based on one experience.
    4.As a person(like yourself) who apparently loves to eat and write about it and publishes it on the net for the whole to world to view. should consider these facts that i have mentioned.
    Thank you again with best regards.

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  17. to Darren Chin:
    Thank you for your feedback. I'll definitely take it into account, and it's interesting to find out what you think of my words... :)
    (I will add the info about your promo/ renovation...)

    Also, thank you for contributing to the general public through the creation of delicious food. I think the fact that your restaurant has been around for this long is proof that you are doing it right... I hope I have not offended you with my way.

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  18. The blog is cool

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Appreciate your thoughts, opinions and feedback. :)