Aria Italian Dining & Whisky Bar @ Plaza Damansara KL

It's obvious. We are at the peak of rainy season. Drizzles of rain splattering loudly on my window at this very point in time. As much as I want to get up, my bodily urge was prompting me to stay in and sleep the rest of my day off. Come to think of it, not a bad plan for the coming weekend.


Aria

One of the reasons I'm particularly ruffled at the idea of going to Aria was because I havn't had Italian for awhile. To be fair to thyself, most eateries jumble-up doses of Italian with the rest of their Western menu anyway.

I was welcomed with a laidback, dimly-lit, bar-like ambience when I stepped into Aria. A pretty congruent trend with the rest of the restaurants in the area if I may just add.

Having been around for close to 2 years, this cosy neighbourhood restaurant offers a traditional Italian dining experience and is popular for it's pasta and pizza dishes.

That evening, I was there to sample their upcoming Christmas menu.

With all honesty, I was half expecting nicely plated, creatively presented, Christmas inspired dishes. Imagine my disappointment, when I was told that dinner will be served buffet style. Nevertheless, as long as the food is amazing, I have no qualms plating-my-own.

As a 'dedicated' food blogger, I had my dinner, dish-by-dish. So how'd you find my amateur plating skills?

Bruschetta Platter. Rm18.

First up, we had canapés - the Bruschetta platter - tomato and basil, sautéed mushroom and tuna on a cheese cracker. 

I wasn't too fond of these party-sized finger food. The tuna versions were tasty but the tomato and mushroom ones were seriously lacking in flavours, and looking rather dull on stale cuts of dried bread. I gobbled it all up anyway - hungry perhaps?

Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Mushroom Porcini Sauce. N/A.

Roasted beef that appeared to be somewhat on the dry side, served with savoury mushroom porcini sauce that was a tinge tone-down for my liking.

On the other end, the Italian salad was delicious - brussels sprouts, zucchini and carrots, tossed in olive oil and mild Italian vinaigrette dressing. My neighbour couldn't stop talking about the salad the entire night - so much praises.

Roasted Turkey. N/A.

Imagine chicken breast but with a slightly firmer texture - that's turkey meat.

And this - was another one of those dry-turkey outcome that I truly detest. It was bland and unappetizing. The sauces did not do much justice to the overall flavours of the dish also. The turkey stuffing at the side was alright, but yet again, scarce in flavours.

Aglio Ogio with Mushroom. Rm25.

I was told that the Aglio Olio is one of the best sellers at Aria. With either mushroom, bacon of asparagus as options.

True to it's claims, the dish did not disappoint - thankfully. It had great flavours, spaghetti cooked el dente and with a hint of spiciness to tickle the taste buds. I ate with gusto!

Crème Brulee in Shooter Glass. Rm20.

Someone said - the square ones tasted better than the round ones, since we were quicker to finish ours. Besides, it does look I could plant a tree in there right?

The crème brulee was really good - rich, creamy and with a toffee brown crust made decadently sinful. Definitely one of the better versions I've had. Can I have another please?

Full menu Here.

Overall Rating: 5/10 for the food, ambience and company. Let me zoom in a little on the food - it's obvious that the food I tasted that night was merely average, with most of it leaning towards the bland side. To be fair, most of the dishes sampled, is part of their Christmas menu and not the standard Aria menu. The highlight of my meal would have be the crème brulee and the pasta.

Aria is located at:
44G Plaza Damansara, Jalan Medan Setia 2, Bukit Damansara, 50490 Kuala Lumpur
+603 2095 0016