Cafe Vienna

Oozing with oodles of old-world charm, Cafe Vienna offers all the allure of Austrian cuisine in the most unlikely of locations _ next to Tower Records at Lot 10.

Kaese spaetzle _ soft egg noodles with Gruyere cheese, sauteed onions, turkey ham, mushrooms & parsley. Pleasantly aromatic, with a herbal scent to balance the savory creaminess of the cheese. Gobble it while it's hot, since it gets soggy after 10 minutes.

Tafelspitz. Simmered beef brisket, with boiled potatoes, carrots & broccoli. Not the juiciest cut, but the horseradish cream gave it a nice, nippy kick, with a rustic feel that made it seem like the closest we'll get to Austrian cooking in KL for now.

Wiener Schnitzel. A hearty veal cutlet, ideal for satisfying masculine appetites. Impeccably made, with tender meat nicely coated in breadcrumbs and fried without an overdose of oil.

Stricken by a sudden obsession for all things saccharine, we demanded no less than six different desserts, kicking off with the Salzburger Nockerl, a sugar-dusted souffle with chocolate sauce. Not as light or airy as we had expected, but that's a minor quibble, especially since the desserts here only cost between 12 and 18 ringgit.

Germknoedel, a bun-shaped, steamed yeast dumpling stuffed with plum jelly & topped with melted butter & poppy seeds. Recommended for fans of fruity flavors, but beware: it's surprisingly filling, with a heavy, doughy texture.

Topfenpalatschinken. A complicated name for a fairly complex recipe _ baked pancakes filled to bursting with creamy custard, ricotta cheese & lemon. Mild-tasting, but in a positive sense, without any sharpness from the cheese or sour foulness from the lemon.

Satisfyingly crisp apple strudel. One of Julie Andrews' favorite things, as immortalized in song. Strangely, I haven't met anyone else so far who insists this is their most beloved dessert.

Sachertorte. Moist, decadently rich chocolate sponge cake, with a thin but luscious filling of apricot jam in the middle, served with whipped cream.

Kaiserschmarrn. Shredded caramelized pancakes with apple & plum sauce. Slightly stodgy and a little less fluffy than promised, but still a sweet treat. For better or worse though, this is somewhat similar to what Paddington House of Pancakes provides.

No place is perfect, of course. Cafe Vienna's fatal flaw _ an accursed corkage charge of RM70. Naturally, we were forced to opt for the outlet's Chilean Cono Sur Merlot instead.

Cafe Vienna,

2nd Floor, Lot 10.

Tel: 03-2141-7858