Favola

Click here for earlier review of Favola (December 2).

The wide-ranging menu here makes multiple visits a must.

Roasted scallops with cauliflower and truffles. Absolute comfort food. The cauliflower _ chopped up to look like a bed of risotto _ tasted like the best kind of coleslaw.

Bocconcini with pistachio pesto & roasted peppers. A soft, very mild-tasting cheese, made from the milk of water buffaloes (ermm, maybe).

Risotto con Aragosta, with succulent chunks of lobster, green asparagus, lemon zest and green pea foam. A pleasant change from the usual overly creamy risottos.

BBQ Swordfish with olive oil, basil, capers, pecorino and sun-dried tomato dressing. The best swordfish ever, a reversal from the dry, bland ones that give this fish a bad name. Meaty but terrifically tender. The dressing imparted a rich but not overpowering flavour.

Conchigliani Marinara al Cortoccio (baked pasta parcels with seafood, extra virgin olive oil, fresh herbs and tangy tomato sauce). Expertly prepared.

Potato gnocchi with fresh tomato and basil sauce. Not bad, but slightly stodgy.

Venetian Pizza, topped with lobster, scallops, prawns, calamari and clams. No real complaints, though perhaps the pizza wasn't as crisp as it could have been.

Banfi Col di Sasso Cabernet Sangiovese 2007.

Favola,

Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur.