La Familia Italian & Mexican Artisanal Pizzas & More @ Taman Tasek Johor Bahru ☏ +6019 895 5564

La Familia | 61, Jalan Glasiar, Taman Tasek, 80200 Johor Bahru ☏ +6019 895 5564 ⏰ 12 noon to 11pm

Newly opened La Familia serves excellent artisanal pizzas and tortillas - I tried them 👍 They also serve pasta which they also make in-house - I want to try them soon. Judging by their pizzas I am confident that their house made pasta will be nice too.

Vilaggio Restaurant in Skudai Johor Bahru ⭐⭐⭐✱✱

We went to Vilaggio, an Italian themed restaurant in Skudai Baru in Johor Bahru.

Basilico Italian Restaurant in Johor Bahru Mount Austin

I was invited to visit Basilico Restaurant at Mount Austin (near the Austin Height Water Theme Park) in JB which specialises in Italian staples like pizza and pasta. I like this young, small restaurant as everything is made from scratch from fresh ingredients, so the food we tasted was delicious.

Oasis the Italian Restaurant at Thistle Johor Bahru

We were invited for dinner at the poolside Italian themed Oasis restaurant at Thistle Hotel Johor Bahru.

Oasis Restaurant at Thistle Hotel Friday Night Italian Buffet JK1147

Restaurant name: Oasis Restaurant at Thistle Hotel
Address:  Jalan Sungai Chat, 80100 Johor, Malaysia
GPS: 1.462046, 103.743922
Hours: Italian buffet on Fridays 6:30pm to 10:30pm. RM88 nett for adults. Children 7 - 12 years old 50% discount (i.e. RM44). Free for children 6 years old and below.
Tel: +607 222 9234
No pork, no lard, no Halal cert


Aerial day time view of Oasis Restaurant by the pool

I was invited to taste the Friday night Italian buffet at Oasis Restaurant in Thistle Hotel Johor Bahru.



We can enjoy poolside dinning on cool breezy nights.

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Or, we can opt for the Oasis' well appointed interior.



The appetisers, mains and desserts are presented buffet style. In addition, we can also have make-to-order pasta and pizza a la carte style.



Appetisers and sides include cheese platters, grilled zucchini, smoked salmon and more. Condiments include various pickles, dressings, comfit and oils.



Chef at the roasted lamb station.



The juicy, aromatic roasted lamb shoulder looking seductive under the warm glow of the orangey lamp ;-D



The tender, juicy and richly flavoursome slice of lamb shoulder was served with a choice of Rosemary, garlic and mint sauce. I like this delicious lamb.



Herbs Crust Salmon with Hollandaise Sauce.



Roasted Tenderloin Beef with Shallot Reduction.



I like this Chicken Picata with Tomato Salsa. The meaty chunks of tender flavoursome chicken thigh were wrapped in eggy batter and mildly savoury Parmesan cheese. Pan seared and baked. Yums!



Aglio Olio pasta which I ate with Arabiatta Prawn Sauce.



Chef Adnan making my pizza order with the wood fired oven.



The freshly baked Hawaiian pizza.



The meat lovers' pizza.



The fruit and dessert station.



There's a lot to choose from but my tummy only had space left for a few sweet nibbles. I am jealous of those petite ladies who have dessert stomachs.



Lim kopi (drink coffee) in my room at Thistle Hotel in Johor Bahru and enjoying the view of Dataran Merdeka JB and Straits of Johor.

Acknowledgement: My thanks to Thistle Hotel Johor Bahru for your hospitality. As this is an invited tasting, the food is not reviewed.

Date visited: 5 Jun 2015

Return to Johor Kaki homepage.

Tosca Italian Restaurant at DoubleTree by Hilton Johor Bahru

I was invited to the media launch of Tosca Trattoria Italiana, the Italian Restaurant at DoubleTree by Hilton Johor Bahru.

The rustic, earthly yet contemporary interior at Tosca was simple yet classy. Located on the 13th floor, the windows overlook the Straits of Johor.



I like this private room - we can gawk at watch the chefs busy at work while we dine in style and comfort :D



The well stocked bar at Tosca.



There is also poolside alfresco dining which I think will be great for a romantic evening :D



Executive Chef Jaffery at DoubleTree has over 25 years of experience, that took him around the world before coming here to Johor Bahru. Chef Jaffery's philosophy is quality ingredients prepared to perfection with simple techniques. It's an approach to food that I subscribe to as well :D 



At Tosca, all pizza dough and pasta are made from scratch in the kitchen. Chef Yuzry demonstrated pasta making for us and showed us the squid ink fettuccine he made.



Tosca is equipped with this special Zesti wood fired pizza oven capable of extremely high temperatures (700°C). This is the only such oven in Southeast Asia, at the moment.



We tried our hands at making pizza under the tutelage of Executive Chef Jaffery and Chef Yuzry. Xiang Yun from The Star newspaper on my left.

To round up the media event, we were hosted to lunch at Tosca.



There was a wide range of antipasti (Italian style starters) to whet our appetite.



The hearty mushroom soup was a grainy blend of a few types of mushrooms dressed with whipped cream, olive oil and sprinkles of finely chopped parsley leaves. Deliciously earthly, savoury and mushroomy.



After seeing Chef Yuzry's demonstration of pasta making, I ordered this Fettuccine Alfredo to try.

Fettuccine Alfredo is the most basic of pasta dishes, made with (flat and broad) fettuccine tossed in melted Parmesan cheese and butter. The melted cheese and butter smothered the eggy pasta with a smooth and rich coating.

Personally, the most elemental, basic way is the best way to enjoy pasta and noodles (including wanton mee 云吞面 and mee pok 面薄 :P ).

Tosca's al dente and richly flavoursome Fettuccine Alfredo was excellent.



Chicken breast stuffed with spinach and mozzarella cheese, and served with grilled vegetables and baked potato.



The tender clean tasting subtly sweet chicken breast was complemented by savoury gravy enveloping it's surface and savoury melted mozzarella cheese stuffed in it's inside. The gravy soaked spinach added to the layers of savouriness in this flavoursome dish.

I liked this too.



We rounded up our lunch with a sweet and cold Pistachio Semifreddo dessert. The frozen mousse and ice cream blend was another winner.



I enjoyed the small sampling of Tosca's food today and look forward to trying the pizzas made with that mighty Zesti wood fired pizza oven :D


Entrance driveway at DoubleTree by Hilton Johor Bahru

My thanks to Grace, Karen and Lena for the invite and hospitality.

Restaurant name: Tosca Trattoria Italiana
Address:  12 Jalan Ngee Heng, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/KIaRs
GPS: 1.465216,103.760182
Hours: Lunch | Dinner
Tel: +607 268 6868
No pork, no lard, no Halal cert

Date visited: 26 Aug 2014

Return to Johor Kaki homepage.

CLOSED "W" Espresso Sporting Club at Country Garden - French Fine Dining with Passion and Flare

I've been to "W" Espresso Sporting Club at Country Garden at least 5 times now in the past half year.

Gianni's Trattoria in Taman Pelangi, Johor Bahru

I was invited to the media introduction for the new Gianni's Trattoria which will be opened in Permas Jaya in July 2013. The media introduction was held at the Gianni's Trattoria in Taman Pelangi - a famous and established Italian restaurant in Johor Bahru.



This was my first time at Gianni's Trattoria. When we arrived we were efficiently ushered to the "Urban Lounge" on the second floor where the media introduction was held. (Next time, I have to come back to experience a lunch or dinner at Gianni's Trattoria in Taman Pelangi - something that I had been planning for some time already :) )



A big, towering gentleman came in and started to scrape the big wheel shaped block of cheese with a large knife. Chef Hans Durst the owner of Gianni's Trattoria needs no introduction. Without any cue, we started to take photos of Chef Hans performing this strange scraping "ritual".

The friendly Chef Hans then shared with us that this is Parmiggiano Reggiano - the King of Italian Cheeses from the region of Parma of Italy. The unique taste and flavour of Parmiggiano comes only from the special combination of the right cows, grass and climate found only in Parma, and nowhere else. This block aged for 24 months, weighs 150kg. Parmiggiano is available in JB only at Gianni's Trattoria(Taman Pelangi) and the upcoming branch in Permas Jaya, opening in July.



Would you have guessed that Johor's best known Italian chef is from....... Germany! Hans has experience in the restaurants of Germany, Italy, France, Kuwait, USA, Australia, and was the Executive Chef of Grand Hyatt, Singapore before coming to Johor Bahru.

Tonight, Chef Hans let us have a taste of Gianni's Trattoria's offerings which will be served in both the Pelangi and Permas Jaya branches.


Parmiggiano on focaccia and bruschetta 

First was the Parmiggiano cheese, of course. The Parmiggiano cheese "shavings" were feathery light. It was a delightful blend of slightly sweet and savoury. We ate it with focaccia bread dipping it in olive oil with balsamic vinegar. I said many times before that with bread, cheese and olive oil like this, I don't need anything else to have a great meal :)



The Antipasto Platter was a kaleidoscope of carpaccio, Kalamata olives, artichokes, mushrooms, squid rings, melon, ham, and capsicums.



I am a cheese lover and this Caprese with big globs of creamy Mozzarella cheese dressed with Arugula salad and drizzled with Balsamic vinegar was one of my favourites of the evening.



Rolled Salmon Pizza alla Nobile.



This Black Ink Pasta Aglio e Olio with Fresh Prawns was just wonderful. I was thrilled by the aroma of the umami seafood flavours as the waiter made his way serving the dish guest by guest down the line - and I was last person drooling and waiting in the line :P I love that thick el dente spaghetti coated with that savoury smooth seafood sauce. I would order this when I visit Gianni's Trattoria.



Mediterranean vegetables with Australian Angus beef done medium well. Juicy, tender, beefy, just marvellous.



Mediterranean vegetables with New Zealand lamb. Tender, moist and with that lovely lamb flavour and aroma that makes lamb my favourite meat.



Sauteed Alaskan Cod. The snowy white flaky meat - tender, moist and mildly flavoured, it soaked up that sweet savoury sauce perfectly. 



Butternut Pumpkin Soup - warm, full bodied, smooth blend of sweet and savoury. One small cup is not enough for me :P



Gianni's Trattoria's house made alcohol free Tiramisu. Chef Hans asked us to guess if alcohol was used in the Tiramisu and none us could tell that it was alcohol free :P Flavoured with top grade coffee, just the right level of sweetness, it is very easy to overindulge in this classic Italian dessert.  



Throughout our evening, Jessica from Gastrolution shared with us the fine points of the fine foods and spirits we were enjoying. Jessica is no ordinary Sommelier. She has worked in an Australian vineyard harvesting and hauling grapes, so you can say she knows her wines from the ground or roots up :)



One of the fine drinks we had at the event, courtesy of Gastrolution.

After enjoying this sampling of Gianni Tratttoria's delightful offerings, this classic Italian is firmly in my must visit list. I can't wait for their Permas Jaya branch to open :P



Restaurant name: Gianni's Trattoria (Pelangi Branch)
Address: 101, Jalan Serampang, Taman Pelangi, Johor bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/y7MZf
GPS: 1.484195,103.770943
Hours: Lunch (11:30am to 3:00pm), dinner (6:00pm to 11:00pm)

Restaurant name: Gianni's Trattoria (Permas Jaya Branch)
Address: 9, Jalan Permas 10/2, Bandar Baru Permas Jaya, Masai, Johor
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/4qlHm
GPS: 1.495915,103.816112
Hours: Lunch (11:30am to 3:00pm), dinner (6:00pm to 11:00pm)

No pork, no lard, no Halal cert, alcohol served

Date visited: 19 Jun 2013