Johor Kaki was invited to lunch at the newly opened Vivo Pizza & Panini outlet at Setia Tropika Welcome Centre.
Inside, Vivo at Setia Tropika is spacious, neatly laid out, clean, bright and very comfortable with air con and soft plush sofa seats.
We started off with the Vivo salad (RM8.90). Cherry tomatoes, lettuce, and crispy oven baked croutons dressed in Thousand Island sauce. Very simple, very fresh and very clean.
Excellent.
I ordered the Norwegian Salmon Steak (RM22.90) because I wanted a tasty yet healthful choice :D
The large slab of salmon steak was nicely done. Tender and moist, the signature salmon flavour was complemented by savouriness from the large chunk of garlic herb butter.
The French fries were not greasy and went well with the warm tomato salsa sauce.
I tried the Beef Lasagna (RM17.90). Layers of pasta sandwiching layers of minced beef and tomato stew, and then topped with melted Mozzarella cheese.
Creamy, tangy, savoury and beefy. Layers of different types of softness from the melted cheese, minced beef and pasta.
We had the classic Hawaiian Pizza (RM13.90). It's topped with chicken bologna slices, chicken chunks, pineapple chunks and onion rings held together by melted Mozzarella cheese,
At Vivo, the crispy pizza crust is made at the shop using flour, water and yeast - something not done even at some well appointed restaurants who buy their crusts "OEM" i.e. generic, factory made and frozen.
Every time I am in Vivo, I will order their Volcano Chocolate Lava Cake with Ice Cream (RM15.90). One of the best lava cakes in town, I must say.
Always enjoyed it.
My cup of cappuccino. Nowadays, with so many trendy specialty coffee bars sprouting up all over JB, coffee must not only have good body, taste great and smells nice, it must also look pretty with nice latte art.
Vivo's cappuccino has good body, tastes good, has nice aroma and latte art that looked better than those at some of the specialty coffee bars that I have been to.
Vivo restaurants are comfortable, family friendly places to chill with good food and drinks at reasonable prices.
Restaurant name: Vivo Pizza & Panini at Setia Tropika (Vivo has 13 branches in Johor, Malacca and KL)
Address: GF2, Tropika Welcome Centre, Setia Tropika, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/cWFQ3
GPS: 1.548800,103.718061
Hours: 11:30am to 10:00pm (extends to 10:30pm on weekends)
Certified Halal
Date visited: 21 Mar 2014
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Today, we were invited to visit the Vivo American Pizza & Panini outlet at AEON JUSCO Tebrau.
The interior of Vivo pizza outlets are all spacious, bright, clean, inviting and family friendly.
The main purpose of our visit was to taste Vivo American Pizza & Panini's.... pizzas and Italian rolled bread sandwiches!
We had the Smoked Chicken BBQ Pizza.
And, the Premium Prawn Pizza.
The first thing that I noticed about Vivo's pizzas is the size. They start at 8 inches (RM16.90), which makes even their smallest pizza good for two people to share. I like this because I, and possibly others too, see pizzas as bonding food to be shared and enjoyed together with family and friends.
Vivo's pizzas have a medium thickness crust with good bite. The dough for the crusts are hand made at the outlets.
Looking below the crusts at other pizza joints, I often found it saturated with sticky grease. Not so at Vivo Pizza. The entire browned crust was dry, firm yet it has flex and nice mouth feel.
The colourful ingredients covered by a layer of melted mozzarella cheese are all freshly cut, diced, chopped and peeled. For example, the prawn pizza is topped with shelled fresh prawns. (Only fine dining Italian restaurants would do this.) We can feel the crunchiness of the toppings of Vivo pizzas, unlike mushy canned or frozen ingredients in lower quality pizzas.
I am delighted by the Vivo pizzas that I tasted today. The melted cheese was savoury without being overly salty. The toppings were crunchy and were a mix of interesting textures. The crusts were equally lovely.
I actually do not expect such artisanal pizza except at higher end Italian fine dining restaurants - so, kudos to Vivo for making quality pizza accessible to more people.
Besides the pizza, we also tried Vivo's crispy chicken panino (plural panini) or Italian rolled bread.
Vivo's crispy chicken panino comes with fries and house made Italian rolled bread at RM13.90.
The rolled bread, slightly crisp outside and bouncy inside wraps a large slice of fried chicken which is also crispy outside and still juicy inside. The fresh lettuce, tomato and cucumber slices added texture to the panino, not to mention the much welcome vitamins :D
We couldn't resist two rounds of Vivo's Volcanic Chocolate which is one of my favourite lava cakes in Johor Bahru. The cake overflows with warm dark molten Danish chocolate. Combine the warm chocolate with sweet icy vanilla ice cream, it's a pair that melts resolve and puts an end to many diet plans.
I am happy to discover Vivo American Pizza & Panini. Good food, cheery environment and reasonable prices.
Restaurant name: Vivo American Pizza & Panini (AEON JUSCO Tebrau outlet)
Address: AEON JUSCO Tebrau, Johor Bahru (Vivo has a total of 12 outlets in Johor Bahru, Segamat, Malacca, KL and Singapore)
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/LtWM4
GPS: 1.549441,103.796350
Hours: 10:00am to 10:00pm
Certified Halal
Date visited: 25 Nov 2013, 10 Dec 2013
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Johor Kaki was invited to visit the Vivo American Pizza & Panini outlet at Bukit Indah. I have seen Vivo outlets around JB but have never stepped in before because there are so many choices in town and I tend to go for local businesses.
I was happy and surprised to find out that Vivo is actually the brainchild of passionate Johoreans whose love for food led them to partner a Chicago (USA) traditional pizza house to bring specialty pizzas into our region.
A note: For my first visit, we focussed on Vivo's chicken dishes as we did not have sufficient stomach space for pizzas on that day. It was our third food tasting of the day. I make it a point to eat all the food served at the table and get a real feel for the food during invited food tastings. I actually eat all the food instead of just taste test a few sample pieces. The disadvantage of my approach is that I cannot review so many dishes in one sitting, and so would need to return for additional sessions.
These were the dishes we tried at Vivo.
Garlic Bread RM5.50
Vivo executed this basic item very well. The airy, fluffy bread had a good thickness and the garlic butter spread was savoury without being overly greasy. If you like garlic bread, you are likely to be pleased with Vivo's rendition.
Honey Baked Chicken Wings RM15.90
The honey baked chicken wings were well marinated with Vivo's house blend savoury sweetish sauce. Made with chilled chicken, the marinade penetrated right through the chicken fibres. Well done, every part was evenly cooked yet still fairy tender and slightly moist. This baked chicken wings will appeal to people who like deep strong flavours.
Baked Chicken Chop RM16.90
Vivo is proud of their baked chicken chop which has a crisp layer outside with the juicy more tender flesh inside. Deeply marinated with a mainly savoury, slightly sweet sauce.
The grilled chicken chop is served with this buttered rice with a nice savoury flavour and not overly greasy. The good quality grains were fluffy and separate easily.
Tropical BBQ Chicken Chop RM17.90
The chunky tropical BBQ chicken chop is also well marinated with Vivo's own BBQ sauce. Grilled till the savoury sweet outer layer is caramelised with some charred bits. Underneath that wrinkly caramelised skin was the still juicy tender chicken meat. The sweet and robust savoury flavour will appeal to people who like stronger flavours.
Seafood Spaghetti Aglio Olio RM19.80
This seafood spaghetti aglio olio actually wowed me and was my favourite of the evening. The well executed al dente pasta had good mouth feel and was infused with a rich seafood broth of distinct savoury flavour. Lightly stir fried in garlic and olive oil making the pasta fragrant and slick without tacky greasiness. It was lovely. And, it had a generous shower of spicy chili flakes that gave the whole dish an interesting zing. The NZ mussels, fresh shrimps and small cubes of salmon completed the whole dish.
The staff kept wanting to take away this plate of spaghetti to make room for other dishes which Vivo wanted to showcase. I kept holding onto this spaghetti until I ate it up all up completely. I love it.
If you like savoury and spicy seafood spaghetti, this is for you too. I certainly would be happy to eat this again and again.
I enjoyed the tasting at Vivo today and am looking forward to try out the other dishes, especially the pizzas in their menu.
Restaurant name: Vivo American Pizza & Panini (Bukit Indah outlet)
Address: AEON JUSCO Bukit Indah, Johor Bahru (Vivo has a total of 12 outlets in Johor Bahru, Segamat, Malacca, KL and Singapore)
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/1sXlc
GPS: 1.480958,103.6545
Hours: 10:00am to 10:00pm
Certified Halal
Date visited: 25 Nov 2013
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