Pen My Blog: Celebrate this Christmas Season with Holiday Favourites at Aria Restaurant & Bar

There are many Italian Eateries in the heart of Malaysia but admittedly it is quite rare to find a good one that stands out.

A jewel that you absolutely do not want to miss this Christmas is a cosy Traditional Italian Dining called Aria Restaurant & Bar.

A well kept secret in the heights of Bukit Damansara, this restaurant is located right beside Dominos and is already glammed up with twinkly lights and cosy settings which adhere's to this year's Christmas celebration.

A warm thank you goes out to StarHero who invited us out to sample Aria's wonderful menu and I have to say they are the most friendly bunch of people that I have ever met.

#1 Menu

With regards to the Christmas menu, it was relayed to us that it would only be revealed to us on the day that we arrived.

So when we finally made it to the restaurant and had a look, you could say we were not disappointed.

#2 Locale, Ambiance and Environment

The Bar Scene at Aria Restaurant & Bar

Now before we get to the food, let's take a look at the locality, ambiance and environment of Aria Restaurant & Bar.

Placed in the central of multiple eateries in Bukit Damansara, this restaurant is quite easy to miss if you are not looking for it as the roads are mostly hitting a one way street. Parking is also quite a challenge but I was lucky enough to get a spot right in front of the restaurant on that day.

The menu and light reading samples

Walking inside the restaurant, I was greeted with warm lights, a decorated set up and lovely smiles from the staff. Indeed it was a good start.

Menus were set at the corner of the bar along with lovely reading materials which were available upon request for customers who were dining at the restaurant.

#3 Settings & Food

Table Settings

Our tables was set with a joyful red theme along with a generous distribution of candles and light decor.

Overall Review of the Restaurant

Ambiance:

The ambiance was very cosy for such a quaint place; so I do not have any complaints about it. The splash of red and added Christmas decor brought a great festive addition to the restaurant.

Cleanliness:

We can see that the sanitation for the restaurant is absolutely key here. No stains on the food plating and no spills on the floor - everything was well taken care of.

Staff:

The staff were very friendly and accommodated to our requests very quickly. They did an excellent job providing us with what we needed.

Fruit Punch

We were each also given a light and refreshing fruit punch to quench our thirst. Very tasty and not too sweet. Perfect.

After having a short introduction of the restaurant with Param and a warm chat with the team from StarHero, we settled in and began our foodie journey with Aria Restaurant & Bar.

#3 Food

The selection of Canapès

We started off the dinner with a generous selection of Canapès which held 3 selections of Bruschetta (Tuna, Mushroom and Tomato).

I am a big fan of tomatoes so it came to no surprise that my favorite was the Tomato Bruschetta. It was light on the lips and had a delicious tangy taste which delighted my taste buds to no end.

After polishing off our starters, we headed on over to sample the main dishes.

One thing that you must absolutely take note here is that do not be fooled by the buffet setting. Although I understand that many are accustomed to single servings, personally for me I liked it this way for we would have the upper hand in choosing what it is we wanted to sample.

With regards to this, I actually thought it was rather considerate of them to have set it up buffet style for us because if some of you are like me, who can't take certain things; like beef for example, this would be the way to go about it.

Roasted Tenderloin with Mushroom Porchini Sauce

I did not manage to sample the beef but I heard from the others that it tasted exquisite. It was one of the main faves for the night, so thumbs up for the lovely preparation.

Overall Rating *As reviewed by the majority* :

Mixed Vegetables

I loved the Mixed Vegetables. I was exceptionally keen on the brussel sprouts. All were well seasoned and served warm. Exceptional.

Overall Rating:

Spaghetti Aglio-Olio With Mushroom

There is not much to say about the Spaghetti Aglio-Olio as they are meant to be served plain but with the addition of the mushroom, these are definitely one of the better ones that I have had if compared to others.

Overall Rating:

Roast Turkey

Ah the Roast Turkey. Even the smell could send you to high heaven.
Well seasoned and well prepared, this tasted excellent when served with it's sauce and jam. The selection you see is actually carved carefully from an entire Roast Turkey.

Admittedly it is a little dry when you sample it on it's own but the flavors really started to flow when combined with it's delicious accompaniments.

Overall Rating:

Turkey Stuffing

As for the Turkey Stuffing, it was really delicious. I took 2 large helpings of it and was quickly impressed. A rather simple yet exquisite addition to the turkey that really took it's flavors to even greater heights.

Overall Rating:

My Selection

Overall Review of the Main Platter Selection

Taste:

The selection was well seasoned and prepared. As mentioned, the taste for the turkey and the mixed veggie was delicious however I do wished that Aria had explored more with the Spaghetti Aglio -Olio to make the taste a little bit more exquisite.

Menu:

The main platter selections are adequately suited for this coming Christmas season. However, I did wish they would have thrown in a little surprise out of the norm dish for us; maybe an addition of Tamales or Ratatouille, perhaps? to showcase a more varied menu.

Sampling the food

After finishing off our mains, we were pleasantly greeted with the sweet aroma of Creme Brulee.

The last dish of the day : Creme Brulee

Creamy and delicious this dish was the perfect end to a wonderful meal. The sugar coating wasn't as much as expected but the richness in the taste of the creme brulee did make up for that tremendously.

Overall Rating: