Lunch @ Espressamente, Bangsar Village

Have been a cranky person the whole day. I blame the lack of sleep, and the physically strenuous activities yesterday. Hardly had the energy to open my eyes, yet even more, to function properly. I think the only thing that was on my mind was food and sleep. Because that was the only thing that I can properly do well.

My pick-up point would have to be lunch, where we had Sandwiches, Pastas, & Coffees at Espressamente @ Bangsar Village, an Illy's based cafe. My mum had been raving about their set promotions, so we decided to give it a go. My dad, sis and I ordered the Sandwich Set: a juice + any sandwich of your choice (RM16). My youngest sister had the Pasta Set: soft drink + any pasta of choice (RM17), whilst my mum had gotten herself the Coffee Set: any Illys coffee + any cake of choice(RM14). Considering that most of the a la carte items on the menu were above the RM10 range, I'd say these are definitely value for money.

The drinks came first, and I have to commend that they didn't skimp on the juices as these was fresh and not overly sweet. Both of my sisters orders came next, and the pasta came with a side of sliced baguette with garlic-infused olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and a small serving of parmesan cheese. Not bad.

There were mix-ups with the order, and my dad and I had to suffer a very very long wait that had forced me near tears. (I warned you that I was a very cranky and moody person today.) Despite being one of the first few to order during the lunch hour rush, our food came last. My sisters and mum had moved on to dessert at this point. But the manager had been very gracious to apologize and offered desserts on the house. I was just too happy to finally get my food!

I ordered the Foccacia Pollo: grilled pesto chicken, mozzarella cheese, mushrooms, olives, tomatoes and arugula leaves layered in between two thick slices of chilli foccacia bread. The ingredients were fresh, taste appropriately balanced and and the foccacia bread was soft and chewy. It was good, although I find the pesto a bit bland. But I love the combinations, and the portion was big enough for me to struggle to finish it (which I eventually did).

We had the apple crumble and chocolate cake for dessert. The chocolate cake was smooth, rich and very chocolatey without being too sweet. My preferred the apple crumble as it had a good bite, and a nice balance with the crumble.

Of course, Illy's is known for the quality of its espresso-based coffees, so it's almost criminal for a coffee-lover like me to give this a pass. I had the Marocchino: a shot of illy espresso, a dash of chocolate and topped with steam milk. Imagine this as a concentrated Mocha served in a shot glass, but to not be drank like a shot although the end result is the same. The coffee was velvety smooth and darkly rich, and I savoured it in small sips the best I can. And the caffeine effect came almost instantly, which was exactly what I needed, and I was my bright sunny self again (to the delights of my family, who had unwillingly became victims of my crankiness).

Now that I am fully charged-up with caffeine, need to roll-up my sleeve and get back to that overdue workload of mine. Shall blog about my caving and white water rafting trip once I get the pictures from my friend.