Food, Glorious Food!: March 2015 Edition (Stacks By Las Vacas, Crab Factory, Red Lobster, FIQ's Gastronomy)

This was meant to be a February post, but it's been a hectic couple of months on the work front, thus the lateness of this instalment. Anyway, it was sometime in January that I had a sudden craving for Ravioli. Well, maybe it was triggered back in December when we paid a visit to London's Borough Market and this Italian stall had fresh Ravioli that instantly had me salivating. But we were there much too early and we left without me getting a bite of it.

A month or so later, the craving came and so I had to scour the net looking for tips on the best places that serve Ravioli. Search punya search, we decided on FIQ's Gastronomy at SS19 in Subang Jaya. It was slightly tricky to find, but Waze got us there.

We quite like the decor; simple and bright. Then we looked at the menu and... found that RAVIOLI WAS MISSING FROM IT! I called the waiter and enquired and was told that they had stopped serving Ravioli cos it was difficult to serve it fresh. I felt the world crashing on me. Well, maybe not. But I was majorly bummed. Arghhh. But I was determined to still have a good time and ordered the best they had to offer, including the Risotto, which was slightly above average.

We also had pasta with soft-shell crab and the duck breast. Must say that all the dishes were well prepared and we'd give an overall rating of 3.5/5.

We ended dinner on a sweet note with the Smores. Yes, yes, we wanted more! I mean, just take a look at the pic lah...

Onwards now to a couple of (high-end) seafood places. The first of which is the Crab Factory, located in SS2! (Yeah, not so high-end, I know). In fact, walking in too, you won't be wowed by the decor, although it is rather nicely done.

The story goes that the owners went to Louisiana, USA and got inspired by its melting pot of cultures, including the creole and cajun cooking. Another thing that you must know about the place is that it features communal dining, which means you and your family could be sitting on the same long table with others. Now check out the prices...

Yup, a bit on the high side. With a minimum order of 500gms for most of the main seafood offering, you should come prepared with more than just that one credit card. Haha.

But it really is a cool place with above average food. And here's how you do it: Choose the seafood, then choose the sauce (and how spicy you want it to be), then choose the side (potatoes, sweet corn etc). Next, put on the plastic bib supplied, wait for the food to arrive and get cracking (literally)! And oh yeah, the food will come in plastic bags, like so...

We've been there a couple of times and so far, we've had no real complaints. We'd recommend the scallops (although it is a tad too much for a small party to gobble down half a kilo of scallops), the prawns and of course the star attraction, the crabs! And as you can expect, the whole experience will be rather messy, especially if you order the extra spicy sauce; you won't have enough hands to crack open the crabs, eat, and wipe your hidung meleleh.

And what about the damage you ask? All of the above plus a few drinks, came to RM377. (I still choke a little just thinking about it). Oh, before we forget; you MUST call to make reservations as they don't accept walk-in customers.

If you fail to get a table there, you can make your way to Red Lobster at Quill City Mall (Opposite Sheraton Imperial KL). This is the chain's second outlet after Intermark, and we went there on the second day of its opening (As an aside, my office now is right smack in central KL and is only a stone throw's away from Quill City Mall. Loads of great makan places, especially local, so will be sharing more!)

Anyway, when we got there, we were swarmed by their army of waiters! Yup, there's so many of them and so eager to please. We started things off with the complimentary Cheddar Bay Biscuits, which were pretty darn good. No, we didn't turn down their offer for more : )

For appetisers we ordered the Coconut Shrimp and Clam Chowder. The Coconut Shrimp was a tad too sweet for our liking, but the Clam Chowder was out of this world. A definite must-try!

For the main course, we ordered something with lobster, naturally; the Bar Harbour Lobster Bake (RM109.90) which came with linguini, scallops, shrimps, mussels and of course, lobster.

It may not look much, but it fed the three of us well. The linguini though was under-seasoned, but everything else was cooked perfectly. Although somehow the lobster didn't taste extra special.

Overall, a strong 3/5, and we'll definitely be back again soon to try the other stuff (and also to see if they can actually season the linguini well!)

OK up next, is a new burger joint located at IOI City Mall. It's not just any burger place, but it's operated by my favourite steak people, Las Vacas. Ladies and gents, I present to you, Stacks by Las Vacas!

We were invited to its official launch and it was great to see some familiar faces from the Las Vacas clan. Hehe. But here's the thing; this is strictly a burger and sandwich place for now, so no steaks or ribs.

Of course this being a Las Vacas spinoff, you can expect good quality meats used for the patties and fillings. We managed to try the "Godfather" and one type of sandwich and they were both good.

However, when we went back there again a couple of days later, they forgot our chips, and a couple of the staff members looked rather blur. Teething problems, I guess. And oh yeah, their unique desserts are worth trying too. But again, do not ask for steaks, OK?