Leornado's Dining Room & Wine Loft

I told myself that I HAVE TO get this post out by tonight...if not, I'll never get it done & there will be more posts waiting for me to get to them...bah.

Today is not exactly a great day for me, especially the end of the day. In fact, this week's gonna be a mad rush of work for me :S *sigh* I have 'til Friday to complete my tasks & I'm really fighting against time. My organization has given us 3/4day work on Friday, so we're leaving office at 3pm, which cuts down my "operating hours" by at least 2.5 hours. I totally rejoice in having such early off-work times, but I dread the fact that I have work to complete by then...

Anyways, here's the long awaited post! Enjoy! ;)

*****
Date: 4th October 2009, Sunday
Venue: Leornado's, Bangsar
Occasion: Celebration dinner
Halal: No

Aaron was longing for some good pork knuckles. The only place that I know of with such menu is Checkers. The only place that serves pork knuckles is at Euro Deli, Damansara Kim. Hmm...this foodie is SO inexperienced, but thank God for EB, who gave us a fantastic recommendation ;) *applause*

On that Sunday night, before Aaron left for Kuantan, we had a lovely dinner at Leornado's, Jalan Bangkung, Bangsar for 2 reasons:
1. To fulfill his cravings for a porkilicious dinner
2. To celebrate a special occasion together

Leornado's from the outside

Leornado's Menu

Snapshot of what Leornado's is all about

The lovely set up of the dinner table

The neat glasses

The 1st thing that "wow-ed" me was the ambiance of the restaurant. Lighting is certainly not really good for photography, but hey, such ambiance is just great for a simple dinner for two :) The service was very warm & friendly, & I can dare say that what they have recommended to us were pleasing :) The only thing that we didn't really enjoy was the pasta. It was also unfortunate for us that we didn't have a humongous appetite, so we couldn't try their famous pork knuckles *sobs* That particular dish itself could make 3-4 persons very happy! There were only 2 of us :( Oh well, there's always another time... :)

Complimentary bread with vinegar & olive oil
This really reminds me of Italiannies. But I prefer the bread at Italinnies cos it has mixed herbs & is more fragrant. Leornado's french loaf pieces are just soft on the inside, slightly "crisp" on the outside, & only has the fragrance of the bread - no herbs.

Leo's Portobello Bacon (RM20.00/set)
"Grilled Portobello mushrooms stuffed with bacon, tomatoes, cheese & oven-baked."
This is "da-bomb"! SOOO good! Tonnes better than the ones I had at Belly Good @ Sunway Mentari! *drools* The Portobello mushrooms were tender AND juicy *drools unstoppably* The melted cheese did not overpower the fragrance of the bacon & the entire stuffed mushroom was just "the perfect marriage"! *I want more!!*

Ranjit's Pasta (RM28.00/serving)
"Mushrooms, bacon, chili padi, & garlic"
This pasta was a 'lil too salty for my liking. The taste of this dish somehow reminded the both of us of the instant noodle's seasoning *lol* Yes, it tastes VERY Malaysian! It was recommended by the waitress, otherwise we may not have ordered this. I reckon there are better pasta options available on the menu; I've yet to try the rest...

BBQ Pork Ribs (RM43.00/serving)
"Pork ribs, roast potato, corn salsa, spicy BBQ sauce"
The flavour was actually quite appetizing - tangy & slightly spicy. The meat was well marinated, but we felt that it was a little dry & lean. Some fat will do this piece of meat good! Hahahaha...fatty ribs...is it possible? :P

Despite it all, we showed no mercy to the pork ribs *wink*
Oh yes, Ruthless I am :D

Dining area - 1st floor
Small juice & dessert "bar/counter" at the end of the dining room

The dining area
This place is suitable for couples, families, groups of friends, & they even cater to functions. There are 2 sections of the dining area: smoking (outside) & non-smoking (inside).

What's next after dinner...?

Dessert: Affogato (RM16.00/set)
"Vanilla ice cream, shot of espresso, flamin sambucca"
The name poked our curiosity, so we decided to order this. No regrets at all!

Magic - Flaming the Sambucca
Sambucca is a type of liquor. What happens here is that they pour some Sambucca into a glass & flame the liquor slowly by tilting the glass.

Completing the dessert
Once the Sambucca is "on flame", the liquor is then slowly poured into the glass containing the scoop of vanilla ice cream + shot of espresso. As Sambucca is a type of alcohol, it vapourizes & some of its vapours will gather onto the sides of the dessert glass.

Power dessert!
Take this & you can "hit the ceiling". The espresso was so thick & when it "weaves perfectly" with the Sambucca, which actually taste & smells like the Korean Soju, it gives the "kick" & a "oo-la-la" experience :D To describe its taste in a short sentence: Sweet, aromatic, & makes one "high"...a must try!

Outside Leornado's
See that box that I'm holding? It's a complimentary gift of a box of postcards in conjunction of some Merdeka celebration (yes, it's way past Independence Day) & the restaurant's "gift of the month".

Map to Leornado's

View PerutBesi in a larger map

Leornado's Dining Room & Wine Loft
61-1 - 61-2, Jalan Bangkung
59100 Bukit Bandaraya
Bangsar
Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: (+603)2096 2226
Business Hours: Daily, 5:00p.m. - late
Other reviewers: Julian Si


Ratings:
Presentation: * * * *
Price: * * *
Environment: * * * *
Taste: * * *
Service: * * * 1/2


Overall:

- Ruth