Porto Bello

Experience was meh. I found out of their spot from a review over facebook and thought of trying it out since it’s pictures look good and the name is unique.
My mom and I went there for dinner and as we were pretty filled from our snack time in the evening, we thought of ordering some sides and one main dish, considering that we might not be able to finish the food.
Well we ordered a mushroom soup, a sautéed mushroom and also a Chicken Pie (their signature, and it looked amazing on pictures)
The mushroom soup arrived and it tasted good. Then followed by the sautéed mushroom, which tasted like normal home cooked style. Then it took awhile for them to serve out main dish, We didn’t really bothered because we were not really hungry. I was just talking to my mom the whole night.
And when the main dish arrived, it was kinda disappointing.
– They ran out of pies, they should have informed us about it BEFOREHAND. And not informing upon serving the dish and said «Sorry we ran out of pies, here’s your dish.» And the waitress just walked away. Can you believe this? OMG this is crazy.
We can always say that we don’t need it or maybe switch our dish to something else if they were to give us the announcement earlier. GOSH. I didn’t even bothered snapping a pic of it. Regretted not doing so man.
Well to be honest, I wouldn’t want to go back to them again. If you are ok about it, you can go ahead.

Sometime back, Leon had a friend visiting Malaysia and asked me if I wanted to join them for some food and laughs? The friend was putting up in One World Hotel so decided to have the meal around the neighbourhood. Leon picked me up and we then picked up Jonathan, his friend from the hotel lobby.
We drove around Damansara Uptown and then decided on Porto Bello. Porto Bello is a good place to hang out. It is cozy and unpretentious and you just fit in, sneakers and all. Leon ordered the Portobello mushroom & chicken, Jonathen had the salmon and I went for the smoked chicken
The food was great. The Portobello mushroom & chicken was a high end version of a burger, succulent mushroom on fluffy puff pastry with a layer of nicely marinated chicken. Jonathen orderd the salmon as he wanted to test the chef’s skill. The salmon was cooked perfectly and served with beetroot purée, creamy potatoes and a beume butter sauce. My smoked chicken was another good choice. It’s half a fowl with a sweet savoury sauce. With help from the 2 guys, we wiped the plate clean!
We had a good time hanging out and promised to look up Jonathan the next time we head for Melbourne!

Porto Bello is a new player in Damansara Uptown, and they have already gained some loyal customers in a short period of time. They are located opposite of UOB Bank in Uptown, pretty near to the famous Village Park Nasi Lemak. Being a hot spot for delicacies, the place could be a parking nightmare; but I would be more than willing to embrace the traffic in order to drop by Porto Bello again.
If you like mushrooms as much as I do, try their Mushroom Soup. By incorporating different types of mushroom, the soup was really earthy and nice. It would definitely be a good way to start your meal. They have some killer Escargot too — perfectly baked in delicious garlic cheese. I would strongly recommend the Braised Beef Bourguignon too. The beef was braised till fork tender with red wine. On the other hand, I was quite disappointed with the portion of their Sauteed Wild Mushroom. Despite the delicious earthiness of the sautéed mushroom, I was hoping for a more decent portion.
Apart from their ala carte menu, they have set lunch during weekdays too. Starting from RM9.90, each set meal comes with 1 soup of the day and 1 drink of your choice.

In Uptown, one restaurant attempts to make sure it stands out amongst all its competitors, with its signature Portobello mushrooms as its anchor, and has worked well for itself.
Well, for me anyway.
Its signature dish is (presumably) the Portobello mushroom and chicken pie, a combination of a slice of Portobello mushroom being meshed together with a puff pastry that hides the poultry, thus giving it an element of both tenderness and crispiness together. Its texture is easy to the first timers, and I liked it very much (possibly because of my never ending love of mushrooms).
If you are not up for that dish, you may try their pastas or their smoked chicken, which is coated with a sweet-​savoury barbeque sauce that is bound to leave the person asking for more. I, for one, liked the chicken very much, though it is recommended that you eat it with another person; its serving is near to two, and will bloat you to the Heavens if you are not careful.
All in all, a good restaurant if you are up for something new and something to try other than the dreary food that is offered by most of their competitors. The ambience and the lighting is perfect for a nice date, and you will learn to love and appreciate mushrooms as much as I do too!