Restaurant Esquire Kitchen needs no introduction. It is one of the oldest established brands in the Klang Valley. Having started their very first outlet in 1974, today they have a total of 15 outlets across the Klang Valley. Their unique offering of Shanghainese and Sichuan Cuisines for the past 39 years has surely won the hearts of many. After a long time, today we decided to head here for dinner. My preferred location is their outlet in Damansara Jaya as it is rather quiet at nights and there is no difficulty in finding parking at this time of the day.
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| Restaurant Esquire Kitchen in Damansara Jaya |
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| The Entrance |
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| Ongoing Promotions |
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| Ongoing Promotions |
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| Interior of the Restaurant |
When we reached here, it was around 8 pm. I expected it to be rather quiet but there were around 5 large tables that were occupied. As always, their service was very good and efficient. Most of their staffs are senior people who have been with the restaurant for a very long time
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| Chinese Tea @ RM 2.00 each |
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| Sauces |
One thing that I immediately observed in this restaurant from reading their menu was that their food was relatively cheap but their drinks were on the pricey side. For example, we both had Chinese Tea and it was charged at RM 2.00 per glass which is very expensive. Well, it's an established brand and we can't complain much. After going through the menu, we placed our orders and then the kitchen staffs got to work.From my observation, the kitchen staffs were the most efficient ones and they were basically churning out a dish every two to three minutes. Even for us today, we started getting our dishes in about 10 minutes and within twenty minutes, all the dishes that we ordered were served on the table.
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| Plain Rice @ RM 1.50 |
Rice here comes in a medium sized bowl and is priced at RM 1.50 which is fairly reasonable.
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| Sichuan Style Egg Plant @ RM 15.00 |
The Sichuan Style Egg Plant dish was really good. The Egg Plant had been slightly fried first and then stir fried again with the sauces and other ingredients. The taste was perfectly balanced with a slight note of garlic at the end. The Egg Plant was also sliced to the right size and surprisingly it had a sweet and juicy taste. We loved this dish and I would rate this at 9.5/10 .
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| Esquire Bean Curd with Minced Meat @ RM 16.00 |
Another good dish here. The bean curd was delicately fried and topped with a sauce that was lavish with dried prawns. The soft taste of the bean curd and the crunchy taste of the dried prawns blended perfectly. A truly great dish here and it is sufficient for four. I would rate this dish at a perfect 10/10 .
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| Vegetable Soup @ RM 13.00 |
This was a little disappointing. The taste was flat and bland and a little too oily. Would have been better if there were more vegetables added or even some pork would have done the trick. Although for the price, it comes in such a huge portion which is perhaps good for five pax, nevertheless the taste was just average. I would only rate this at 5/10.
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| Paprika Chicken @ RM 19.00 |
This was another good dish. It was typically chicken slices cooked in dark soy sauce along with dried chilies, spring onions and cashew nuts. The thick soy sauce and the dried chilies created a great aroma around the dish which brought out a slightly spicy aftertaste. Having added cashew nuts in the dish was another great idea which definitely boosted the taste. The chicken slices too had absorbed the sauces well and every bite was heavenly. I would rate this dish a perfect 10/10 .
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| Shanghai Pan Fried Dumplings @ RM 7.20 |
Their dumplings were nice but definitely not the best that I have tried. The setback was their skin. It was too thick and in some areas inside the dumplings, they were empty which is not how it should be. Otherwise, their fillings were made rightly although not perfectly. I would rate this dish at 7/10 .
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| Fish Slices in Thai Sauce @ RM 19.00 |
Another nice dish here. Thin slices of fish were coated in flour and deep fried. They were then garnished with the sweet and spicy Thai sauce along with some pickled cucumber strips. Although looking simple, we enjoyed this dish. The fish too was fresh and there was no stale taste or smell. It would have been even better if there was a little more Thai sauce as the flour absorbed the sauce too quickly as it was poured at the center leaving the slices on the side to be a little dry. I would rate this dish at 8/10 .
On the whole, we were happy with the food, service and responsiveness of the staffs. I find their food prices to be very reasonable although the drinks were slightly expensive. The shop layout was also nicely designed and it was clean. I would definitely return here again to try their other dishes.
Address: No. 49, Jalan SS 22/19, Damansara Jaya, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 1100 - 2200 Daily
Telephone: +603 7729 6563
