De' Amour Cafe @ Kota Damansara (Sunway Giza) - Fantastic Smoked Duck Salad

My preference on social outings usually lean towards the weekends. So, when I received an invitation to try out one of the newest Western café in Kota Damansara, on a Wednesday night that is - my heart skipped a beat and hesitation crept in.

But, when I was told that I will be feasting on lamb shank, steak and scallops - being the glutton-monster that I am, of course I agreed!

Nevertheless, when I was stuck in massive traffic on that faithful night, after a relentless day at work and while listening to repeats of Wreck-ball and Wake me up on the radio, I thought - Jeez, this better be worth it.

De' Amour Café

You'd know a signboard is not popping enough if you have difficulties spotting it at first sight, particularly so if you are passing through an umpteenth of eateries along the way.

Being relatively new in the market, De' Amour Cafe decks-up mainly Western dishes, with a taste of European in between.

The interior was spotlessly furnished in white and pastel shades, with wooden floor boards and structural framework hanging off the walls.

Fresh Flower Tea. Rm7/Rm8.

 

While we waited for dinner to be served, we made small talk, alongside pots of freshly brewed and soothing flower tea. The bowl at the bottom with the litted candle - merely for presentation only. It didn't exactly provide much heating properties as I initially thought it would.

Grilled Fresh Lamb Rack with Crushed Pistachio. Rm38. 

The 250gm New Zealand lamb cutlets was served rare - a nice pinkish hue inside and battered with pistachio made charred brown on the outside. I was enthralled and couldn't wait to dig in.

The lamb was cooked soft and juicy, albeit being a little light on flavour. One dip into the sauce served - a dash of mild alcoholic aftertaste hit me. Red wine sauce! A pretty sophisticated version indeed.

Grilled Tenderloin Steak. Rm38.

 

 

Also cooked to a medium-rare texture but slightly firmer than the former, this 200gm grilled tenderloin steak was juicy and nicely seasoned. A slab of red meat in all it's glory and it really didn't need much condiments to add - good enough to be eaten on its own.

Baked Cod Fish with Lemon Butter Sauce. Rm38.

One of my favourite dishes of the night - oven baked cod fish!

The cod was marvellous. The white flesh was fresh, nicely flaked and the skin had a nice chew. It didn't take long for me to go back for seconds. The lemon sauce at the side was buttery yet not to lemonish. It complimented the dish really well, though I was much more keen to devour the cod on its own.

Chicken Parmigiana. Rm22.

  

With the baked cheese and tomato puree slapped right on top of the crust, the crumbed batter did not do much justice to the Chicken Parmigiana. Even before I could lift a portion onto my plate, the soggy and rough batter decided to crumble apart - extremely fragile like that.

Smoked Duck Breast Salad. Rm15.

Another one of my top picks for the night - the amazing smoked breast salad.

The smoked breast was clearly the rockstar of the dish. It was tender, chewy and nicely smoked - everything that you'd hoped for in a duck salad. Together wih a medley of crisp and colourful greens, tossed in Italian vinaigrette dressing, that got really sour towards the end, still, had an ace time gobbling it all up. 

Baked Scallop with Spicy Cream Sauce. Rm16.

  

I was really looking forward to the scallops that night, and favourably - it did not disappoint. Served on it's shell, these fuss free, cheese laden flimsy little baked scallop was pretty good.

Aglio Olio with Tiger Prawn. Rm23.

Sauteed with olive oil, dried chilli, parsley and slow roasted garlic, the dish arrived amazingly fragrant and tempting.

The prawns were succulent and bouncy, and the speghettini cooked al dente. But on my second mouthful, it overwhelmed my taste buds and got so blazingly spicy that it made my eyes water. However much tempted I was to twirl another fork-full, I refrained from going any further.

Classic Carbonara Spaghetti. Rm23.

Sadly, no oozing eggyolk this time. The poached egg came overcooked and just refused to budge!

Apart from that, the classic carbonara was delicious no less. I've always been a huge fan of bacon bits and De Amour's version was well received.

Porkie Sausage Platter. Rm22.00.

I had a fun feasting on the Thueringer bratwurst. The German inspired minced pork sausage was flavourful on every bite. On the flip side, I found the Hungarian sausage to be a little too-plastiky, my friend enjoyed it novertheless.

Mille Crepe

 Mango Jelly. Rm8.

Tiramisu. Rm8.

Rare Cheese. Rm8.

My first time trying jelly mille crepe and the mango jelly flavour was superb. No need to elaborate further alright?

Despite the restaurant being relatively empty when I was there, service wasn't exactly fantastic. There were times throughout the night when we were left hanging - unsure if there will be a next course or if its done. A little disorganised with a lack of courtesy if I may just add bluntly. Needless to say, food served speaks far more eloquently to me than its service.

Overall Rating: 6/10. It was easy picking out my favourites for the night - grilled steak, smoked duck salad, the stunning cod fish and sinful mango jelly mille crepe. All in all, it was a nice get together at De Amour - joyful company accompanied by decent food.

De' Amour Café is located at:
13-1, Pju 5/10, Dataran Sunway, Kota Damansara, 47810 PJ
03-6143 6660
Open 11:00 - 23:00

From NKVE, enter into KD/Giza area on the left, go straight and you will see 2 hawker centres, one on the left and the other on the right. Go straight, pass a junction and you'll see De Amour on the left hand side. It is a one way street so you won't miss it.