Italiannies @ The Gardens Mall, Kuala Lumpur

The best way to enjoy Italiannies - bring friends and a big appetite.

And that was what we did. We brought our family for lunch one weekend - that's 5 hungry mouths to feed!

It's been a while since we've visited this outlet, but I was glad that their service and food was still good. It pays to visit the restaurant early since service is considerably more attentive.

Complimentary bread was served while we waited for our food to arrive.

Balsamic vinegar and olive oil to dip the bread in.

For starters, we ordered a Quattro Platter (RM27.90) to share. A combination of deep fried risotto balls, calamari, fried lemon cheesy balls, and zucchini strings, along with marinara and alfredo dips, it was a very indulgent starter. However, not ideal for anyone on a diet since everything was deep fried. This was definitely more than sufficient for 4 adults to share. Baby C loved the calamari and keeps sneaking another piece into her mouth when (she thinks) we weren't looking. My favorite was the fried lemon cheesy balls, though it is quite rich and one can't have too many of them.

Everything deep fried!

Lemon cheesy ball

The Caesar Salad (RM16.90) was decent, fresh salad leaves served with toasted foccacia croutons. After all that deep fried stuff, we needed this to balance it all.

For every adult main course purchased, you are entitled to a kids main course for FREE! Choose from magherita pizza, parmesan fish fillet, and several types of pasta. We went for the spaghetti alfredo (worth RM7.90), which is Italiannies favorite sauce. Though this photo of the pasta does not look like much, but the pasta was actually quite nice. We loved the rich and creamy sauce and how it coats every strand of pasta. (OK I ate more of this than Baby C!)

My personal favorite from lunch that afternoon was the 4 Cheese Pizza (RM17.90). A lovely thin crust pizza topped with Philadelphia cream, mozzarella, Parmesan and gorgonzola cheese. Simple yet so delicious.

The seafood risotto (RM31.90) came laden with quite an impressive amount of seafood such as mussels, prawns, scallops and squid, though the mussels were puny. The seafood has been sauteed in white wine and then added to the Arborio rice which has been simmered with clam and chicken broth. This dish was actually quite tasty... BUT I wouldn't class it as a risotto. For me, it tasted more like a paella than a risotto. But as I said, if you blindfolded me and asked me to eat this dish without telling me its name, I would happily eat it all. I would say that it is well worth the price that we paid for the portion and amount of seafood.

For every RM100 spent in Italiannies from Mondays to Fridays (all day long), you are entitled to a free bread and pudding. Luckily for us, we were holders of The Gardens Club card so we got to enjoy this promotion too (note: we were here on a Sat).

The bread and butter pudding was moist and soft, and was served warm with cream/custard.

For an Italian restaurant located in a shopping mall, the food standard is pretty good. Prices are quite reasonable, unless you go for a meat main course. There is currently an ongoing lunch promotion on weekdays (12pm-5pm); prices start from RM15.90.

Price: Total bill was RM145.90, which includes 4 drinks.

Location: Italiannies, Lot S209, Second Floor, The Gardens Mall, Mid Valley City, Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-2283 3675

Website: http://www.italiannies.com.my/index.html