Farewell Lunch @ West 57th Street Cafe, Pavillion

When I first started working, I came here often for company lunches as I find the food delicious.  Fast forward a few years later, I realized it was so long ago since I stepped back at this beautiful cafe again.  So when it was the last day of my intern's stint, I brought the team for a lunch at West 57th Street Cafe @ Pavilion.

More commonly known as the Zang Toi Cafe, its dishes are rooted deep into the Hainanese food tradition, bringing a more Asian touch into the Western dishes.  They have various set menus, and one of it which I usually order is the West 57th Set Menu B (RM 20.90) as the choices includes their signature Hainanese Chicken Chop and the huge West 57 Club Sandwich.

For drinks, it was the Zang Toi's Signature Tea Punch, a fruity tea infused with mint, orange and lime peels.  In a way, it tasted like ice lemon tea mixed with orange juice.  It was not too sour or sweet - just nice.  Only setback, they should have strained those annoying bits of peels away as I don't fancy things getting into my way when sipping through the straw.  Another surprising thing was that the tea punch was actually refillable, which was not available previously.  This is quite a plus as I find the serving so small that you can finish within seconds.

For the mains, I usually order the club sandwich, but since I am on a diet mode, I couldn't bear to stuff myself with the huge sandwich anymore.  Instead, I ordered the Hainanese Chicken Chop, which KS has repeatedly claimed was his favourite.  Indeed, it was delicious but definitely not as memorable as expected.

The deep-fried chicken chop was nice and juicy in the inside, with its skin still on.  Although a bit oily, the chicken was fragrant and seasoned nicely.  To go with it is a sweet and sour tomato-based sauce with button mushrooms and mild black pepper flavour.  However, I felt it was lacking some saltiness to balance the flavours appropriately, which would otherwise be perfect.  The coleslaw was a bit too creamy, drowning with too much mayonnaise.  Of all, I love the crispy curly fries the most.

The last to arrive is the long-awaited Banana Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Ice-cream, drizzled with warm chocolate sauce.  A few years ago, this dessert was definitely a signature dessert to die for and almost everyone who have been to Zang Toi Cafe will highly recommend this heavenly dessert.  Even I felt that no other places could do a banana chocolate cake as well as them.

However, eating it again today, I felt very disappointed - super disappointing.  The cake was very dry and lacking a buttery fragrance.  Also, the banana slices looked as though they are a character on their own and didn't blend in naturally.  How should I put it - it was a dead piece of dessert which failed to tell a captivating story.  Everything is on the plate but they are just not co-operating as a team to deliver.  A pretty sad ending, I must say.

Overall, West 57th Street Cafe is quite a nice place to dine in as it is quiet and quite laid-back since it is tuck deep inside Parkson.  Food-wise, it is reasonably decent but don't have too high an expectation.  It's just not the same as before anymore.

West 57th Street Cafe (Zang Toi Cafe)
Parkson Pavilion
Lot 4-42, Level 4
Pavilion Kuala Lumpur