Cova, The Gardens Midvalley

Got a call from Nigel asking me whether I was free for dinner. It's been awhile since we met up and I looked forward to some catching up time with him. Jason joined us too and we decided to do dinner in Midvalley. I was 45 minutes late, no thanks to the horrendous jam (due to the heavy rain earlier) which had built up just before the toll which exits to the Federal Highway. Fancy paying to use a highway where it was a bumper to bumper crawl! I called Nigel to apologise and asked him and Jason to decide where to eat and let me know so that I can head straight to the venue. As I finally stepped into Midvalley, I got a call..."We're heading to Cova, see you there!". Great! I looked forward to trying the food there since I read this review.

Most people chose to sit out in the alfresco area, leaving the indoor area almost solely to us three (there was a couple at another table).

Right behind where we sat was this, the artsy "partition" separating the restaurant from the public area in the mall. The overall place has a minimal yet modern interior, a nice ambiance to me.

Nigel and I brought our big cameras and soon enough a photography class was in session. He was patient and kind enough to give me some pointers as I am still rather clueless with the new camera. (I've been so busy that I haven't really had time to figure it out yet). Jason had to listen to all that camera talk, poor guy. Anyway, I'll still be using my old Panasonic Lumix to take food pics as sometimes it's just more convenient (and a whole lot less conspicuous! Hahaha...). I will definitely use the biggie for my travel pics for sure.

Of course, we had ordered first before we had all that talk else we'll starve to death! We had the Cova Platter (RM23.50/USD7.40) for starters which is made up of grilled items whereas there is another Cova Combo Platter which is made up of fried items. We opted for the grilled option. Coincidentally, the combo platter of four different grills mix came served in 3s, just right for us.

The beef rolls were lovely though it needed a bit more salt. However, you can dip them into the accompanying sauce and it can be forgiven :o). Lovely enoki mushrooms wrapped with a tender slice of beef. We thoroughly enjoyed it.

























I gave my share of mussel away to Jason as I'm not a fan. So I can't comment on how this tasted but I didn't hear them two complaining :o).
























Hey! This isn't grilled! The most ordinary item (and tasted ordinary too) of the four, It was like some samosa filled with shredded turnips.























Skewered Grilled Chicken was tasty, even without any sauce. The meat was well marinated, tender and moist.

Jason already told Nigel that he knew what I would order (while they were waiting for me) and he was right. It definitely had to be the Duck Confit Vermicelli with garlic and mushrooms (RM28.50/USD9) for me. There were asparagus too with the pasta and it was simply delicious with a generous amount of duck confit which were tender. If you order this, tell them to cut down on the oil (as in all duck confit pasta, there can be a bit too much). However, I would still rate this better than the duck confit in Delicious.

Nigel wanted something of a local flavour and ordered the River Prawn Noodle (RM28.50/USD9) and he enjoyed it; thumbs up! The prawns were huge!

Jason's Grilled Honey Chicken sandwich (RM16.50/USD5.20) was a lovely sight. It came with thick fries which impressed Nigel. Jason enjoyed the sandwich and finished it without a single bread crumb in sight (except for some fries as he was really full!).

The three of us had a great time catching up and enjoyed ourselves that night. The staff here were friendly and service was prompt. I would definitely come back again for the food or even to chill as I like this place. Plus the corporate set lunch here is quite a deal at RM28+. You'll get the soup of the day, main course, dessert of the day and a glass of fresh lime juice! In addition, Cova gets cookie points for opening till midnight from Wednesday to Saturday (few restaurants do in Midvalley/The Garden)!

Cova - cafe.lounge.bistro
Lot F-226-B, 1st Floor
The Gardens, Mid Valley
Lingkaran Syed Putra
59200 Kuala Lumpur

Tel : 03-2287 6260
Opening Hours : 10 am till 12 midnight (Wed to Sat), 10 am till 10pm (Sun to Tues)

"Life is a combination of magic and pasta." - Fellini