The Insider at Telawi, Bangsar: Restaurant review

This fresh face in Telawi tries to tackle contemporary European fare, with a special interest in Italian and French cooking.

Soft launch menu

The Insider’s soft-launch menu proved intriguing for us to order four offerings; our favourite was the fedelini pasta immersed in a robustly briny, kitchen-made crab sauce, topped with oven-roasted freshwater prawns and buffalo mozzarella (RM38; a respectable illustration of why Italian remains our favourite cuisine).

Though the risotto in seaweed sauce with grilled Hokkaido scallops, tiger prawns and clams (RM58), potato gnocchi with slow-braised beef ragout, sauteed wild mushrooms and grated parmesan (RM28) and sliced duck breast with pan-seared foie gras, poached daikon and pickled kyuri in red wine sauce (RM68) all showcased sufficient merits too, each competently prepared enough to stamp this place as one with reasonable potential.

Wine

Drinking is encouraged – the house pour of Italian Mantellassi Cabernet Sauvignon starts at RM16 per glass; alternatively, check out the Wine Kick cocktail, blending a splash of red with cherry brandy, creme de casis and foamy pineapple juice (RM23).