For my birthday, Vics, MK and Gene decided to celebrate it in a little more upscale manner. Upscale on the budget I mean... Maybe to reflect our maturing years or the guys maturing wallets? ahhahaha!
So off we went to Isthmus, KL. It is located in Northpoint Midvalley. No, it is not North Court of Midvalley. If you read this wrong, you may be circling North Court for many hours and never find this place. It is actually across the road from the big San Fransisco Coffee House.
There are 2 ways to get here.
1. Park car in Northpoint. The way to the parking lots is a sharp corner form the main road. So
be careful.
2. Park at Midvalley and walk across using the pedestrian bridge.
Vics and I opted for the former as it was a weekend and we didn't fancy driving around aimlessly in the Midvalley parking. Furthermore, the weekend rates doesn't differ that much from the Northpoint parking rates. Our 2 friends however, was unfortunate to wander around North Court.
I took this photo from my seat. The interior exudes a chic, yuppie feeling. But you won't find yourself worrying about it when the cooling interior is a welcome change from the hot and humid weather.
Long dangly lights form the ceiling. I bet it looks even better when it's night.
When it came down to eating, we all decided to go with the set lunches as we didn't want to order too much food and end up not being able to finish it. So the final decision was 3 set lunches of lamb (RM30 each) , and 1 set lunch of spaghetti(RM26). We also ordered the WoW platter to share. Each set lunch came with complimentary Fizzy Punch and coffee or tea at the end of the meal. I decided to order some dessert as well.
This here is the WoW Platter. Note the portions...and note 4 people....
In the middle, is the avocado and eggplant in a green sesame coriander puree. On the top right corner, you see the 2 things that looks like burger patties? Those are lentil patties. Bottom right is the oyster shooter. The blue things you see over there are blue lotus dumplings and of course, salmon. Price :RM52.00
You can also order all the above separately. However, the WoW platter is a good way to sample most of the appetizers available at Isthmus without breaking your bank.
I am not a big fan of avocado so I will be biased towards it! Vics on the other hand commented that the avocado was nicely done.
The lentil patties tastes really good and for those bean-hating people out there, fear not! You can't taste the 'bean' taste in it. I think it is pan-fried as the top is dry and crunchy and the insides were a little moist. It came with sour plum chili sauce.
As for the blue lotus dumplings, I was informed by Vics that the coloring used came from the bunga telanga. The shape was delicate and for the briefest moment I thought it was a pity to eat something so cute. Nevertheless I dug in and inside of those blue dumplings were minced chicken. The taste was slightly unusual but good. Perhaps, my usage of 'unusual' came from the feeling that the dumpling skin encasing the minced chicken was a little too thick for my liking. There was too much 'flour' taste and not enough 'meat' taste.
The fresh salmon roll had a dressing of mayo with a hint of wasabi in it. As for the shooters, it was supposed to be oysters in vodka. I was a little apprehensive getting liqueured in the afternoon but it was worth a try. Nevertheless, all I could taste in the shooter was chili-lime(think chicken rice chili) sauce with the tiniest hint of vodka! The oyster was good and there was no sea-smell accompanying it. I just ate the oyster without the chili-lime as I could feel my taste-buds not comprehending it. Too overpowering!
For the set starter, I chose tomato soup. Slightly tangy and with a hint of spiciness, it makes a good soup on a cold day. It really opens up your appetite.
MK is seen here with the other starter that comes with the set lunch. His was a salad with lovely virgin olive oil dressing.
My main course was seafood spaghetti with clams, squids and big prawns in it. The portion was quite generous for me and I ended up giving away some to the guys. The rest had the lamb loin.
The lamb was tender and was quite good. It had juices retained in the meat.
I shall upload the photos of the main course later once I get it.
After lunch, came the dessert. Normally I don't order dessert but since this lunch was in occasion of my birthday, I decided to give it to myself. I ordered a Milano Tiramisu with Kahlua liqueur (EM 15). It tasted heavenly with hints of Kahlua in the cake. See the brown layers? That's where the Kahlua is.
In the background, you can see our Fizzy punch and coffee.
Vics had the Nashi Pear done with wine reduction and black sesame ice cream(Rm 15). I liked the pear. The wine could not be tasted but the cooking method reduced the sweetness of the pear until it was just right. (photos uploaded later)
Isthmus is a place for the yuppie crowd. Although pricey, it is a place to open your tastebuds to new ideas. They also do cocktail events.
Isthmus, Kuala Lumpur
Unit B-G-3 Ground Floor,
Northpoint, Midvalley City,
No 1, Medan Syed Putra, 59200 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2282 8122
Halal: Opening Hours 12-3pm,6pm till late. Closed on Sundays.
Raspberry cooler with water.
Local mussels cooked in The Apartment style. Comes with fresh bread. It can easily feed 3. The Apartment dressing is made from lime juice, chillies and ginger. It's very good.
Lemon Sole with mashed potatoes and watercress (I think) salad. Leng Chai ordered this out of curiosity. I loved the mash but not so fond of the salad. There was no dressing on it. Some balsamic vinegar would have been nice.
My dish of Andrew's Pasta. My personal recommendation is to find a friend to eat this with you. The portions are quite big! The pasta comes with baby potatoes. 
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