PLOY at Changkat Semantan, Damansara Heights – new menu for 2013

A fan of Ploy since its early inception as pla dib @ The Heritage Village, Seri Kembangan, I have visited a few times for events at its current outlet in Damansara. PLOY – Work@Clearwater, Damansara Heights, KL

Even the food served during events (which can be bad at most times in most restaurants) was pleasurably good. And thus when I received an invite for a tasting of its 2013 menu, I didn’t hesitate to accept.

I went expecting the fun, atypical dishes that Ploy is known for. However, what I got was some passable new creations that seem pretty similar with its current menu.

PLOY – Work@Clearwater, Damansara Heights, KL-002

Japanese and Asian inspired salads are always interesting on the palate, but both salads I sampled that night didn’t spring any surprises. If I had to order one, my preference goes to the Tuna Wakame Salad, solely due to the fresh tuna and the addition of wakame.

TUNA WAKAME SALADTuna Cube, Avocado & Sesame Shoyu Dressing – RM23.00.

PLOY – Work@Clearwater, Damansara Heights, KL-008

GOLDEN NEEDLE SALAD: Tofu with Avocado, Broccoli & Wafu Dressing – RM15.00.

PLOY – Work@Clearwater, Damansara Heights, KL-009

The next 2 hot dishes were served after a period of time that I would have probably reached home or finished a lengthy blogpost. Considering that it was 2 supposedly crispy hot dishes, I’ll leave it to your imagination how cold salted deep fried kabocha and codfish balls tasted like.

TEMPURA SURPRISESeabass wrapped in Oba Leaf – RM15.00.

PLOY – Work@Clearwater, Damansara Heights, KL-010

PLOY – Work@Clearwater, Damansara Heights, KL-011

KABOCHA TEMPURASalted Egg Pumpkin Tempura – RM8.50.

PLOY – Work@Clearwater, Damansara Heights, KL-012

The Crab in A Wrap saved dinner with its spicy zing that pretty much perks up both the mood and appetite. I however, failed to be magically transported anywhere in this less than magical goat cheese puff. Perhaps a little restrain in their naming would augur well for the expectations of the diners.

CRAB IN A WRAPSoft Shell Crab wrapped with Mango, Avocado with Spicy Kani – RM28.00.

PLOY – Work@Clearwater, Damansara Heights, KL-013

PLOY – Work@Clearwater, Damansara Heights, KL-014

MAGIC PUFFHomemade Crispy Pastry with Goat Cheese, Truffle Oil and Wild Rocket – RM32.00.

PLOY – Work@Clearwater, Damansara Heights, KL-015

To be fair the hint of truffle oil and pungent spread of cheese over pretty well made puff pastry does make for pleasurable nibbles. But it’s RM8.00++ per piece. It’s truffle oiled yes, but but…..

PLOY – Work@Clearwater, Damansara Heights, KL-016

At this point the Chef sent some piping hot Kabocha, sort of a gesture to make up for the earlier cold one. Needless to say, this was much better, though frankly the salted egg element of it was merely the salted egg crumbs (the darker orange bits you see below) and not coated together with the batter encrusting the kabocha.

PLOY at Changkat Semantan, Damansara Heights - new menu for 2013

The Pasta from Heaven (RM28.00) was, well understandably cold, considering the descent from the above.
Taste wise it was as cold and uninspiring.

PLOY at Changkat Semantan, Damansara Heights - new menu for 2013-002

How did my pizza came cold I have not idea (this was before photography as I touched it as soon as it was served on the table). The pizzas I remembered having here even during a packed event was crispy and hot.
I had a quick chat with Chef Daniel after the meal and he explained that there some logistics and timing issues that evening and thus the dishes weren’t up to even his own expectations. It’s alright Chef, we understand.

SMOKED DUCK BREAST WITH CHICKEN HAM PIZZADucks and Chicken do get along especially on our Ployzas! RM28.00.

PLOY at Changkat Semantan, Damansara Heights - new menu for 2013-001

The best dish of the night was saved for last. The tasty spicy rice was almost like comfort food, albeit a tad burning on the palate.
THE GODFATHER SPECIALSalmon Don with Ikura, Avocado, Royu and Nori in Tempura Flakes – RM22.00.

PLOY at Changkat Semantan, Damansara Heights - new menu for 2013-003

The crispy tempura, firm salmon cubes, buttery avocado and toothsome rice makes this such an appetizing dish with its flavors and contrasting textures.

PLOY at Changkat Semantan, Damansara Heights - new menu for 2013-004

We moved on to desserts and the desserts were the usuals on their ala-carte menu.

Menu - PLOY at Changkat Semantan, Damansara Heights-002

I wanted their Durian Gelato since I enjoyed it during my lunch at Pla Dib. However our desserts were selected for us already that evening so I got to sample the Durian Panna Cotta, Creme Caramel and Sticky Date Pudding instead.

PLOY at Changkat Semantan, Damansara Heights - new menu for 2013-006

The highlight of desserts was the durian panna cotta as the rest were pretty ordinary. Wobbly, creamy and pungent, I would personally prefer it with a stronger durian flavour since I’m a durian fan.

PLOY at Changkat Semantan, Damansara Heights - new menu for 2013-007

PLOY at Changkat Semantan, Damansara Heights - new menu for 2013-008

As I have mentioned earlier, I had always had high regard for the food here at Ploy and was slightly surprised that some of the dishes I sampled tonight was pretty mediocre.
I do appreciate Chef Daniel’s explanation of the challenges he faced that evening in serving our food so perhaps what we sampled that evening didn’t do the actual dish justice. If I do ever return I would definitely order my favourite Black Squid Ink rice and of course the durian pannacotta.

Also I must mention that Ploy does offer some pretty great concoctions for their drinks; alcoholic or otherwise. The group of us sampled quite a large number from the menu and generally there were no complaints.
I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Ploy as a good place to chill with a drink or two with some friends.

PLOY – Work@Clearwater, Damansara Heights, KL-006

Menu - PLOY at Changkat Semantan, Damansara Heights

Menu - PLOY at Changkat Semantan, Damansara Heights-001

Now if Ploy does provide food delivery like they do here, that would just be fabulous! I can have my favourite Ployzas and dishes from Ploy every week!

This Post Has 6 Comments

  1. ooo, some of the dishes do look nice, and the recipes sound tasty, so i guess if they’re executed better next time, they could be a success 😀

  2. Brenna

    Agree on the drinks, though same complaint would be the prices. Most of the food are decent or so-so only.

  3. Peach

    Like you I’m very fond of their black ink rice too!

  4. ulric

    The food looks colourful…but do the flavours gel into a blissful experience?

    1. rebeccasaw

      Unfortunately no lorrr… but you must go try the black squid ink rice :))
      And their nitrogen durian gelato! Also I heard their Emperor Burger is good. Wagyu or something 😛
      Just give the chef some time to tweak the new menu.

  5. Nabiya

    I dunno, I feel like if the food isn’t up to your standards, don’t serve it to your customers. If you already know it’s not good enough, why bother?

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