Ben’s General Food Store, Bangsar Village: Pizza and Salad Heaven!





I have been reading raved reviews of heavenly pizzas and scrumptious salads in Ben’s General Food Store in Bangsar Village recently. Ben belongs to the BIG group which has several restaurants under their umbrella. Although fairly new in the shopping centre, news has already leaked out on its wholesome food with affordable prices!

Silly me did not read carefully but went to Bangsar Shopping Centre instead of Bangsar Village I. Regardless, I was determined to indulge in Ben’s, hence I quickly drove over to the correct shopping centre. Arriving around noon on a lovely Sunday, Ben’s General Food Store was already almost filled up. Lucky me snatched the last few seats in the store… J

Long white wooden communal tables dressed up the interior of this classic American grocery store with a modern twist. Panels of faded white wood with enameled white plates with blue rims added the rustic décor charm.

Rows of sparkling and still water bottles lined up against the printed chalkboards featuring specials of Ben’s.

Condiments placed neatly in wooden drawer boxes are found everywhere in Ben’s.

The store has two sections featuring a dining area and a general food delicatessen. One can choose air conditioned or dine al fresco as both are equally comfortable and chic.

I love this cute concept of the filtered water designed which I saw the servers filling up bottles of water for the customers. I also love the fact that chilled big bottles of water were provided to customers to help themselves unlike places where you need to keep reminding the wait staff to refill your water.

Ben’s straight-to-the-point simple one page menu which I like as it simplifies ordering… decisions, decisions, everything looks great!! (maybe not so simple after all… wink wink!!)

The moment I walked in, my eyes were glued to the salad bar featuring at least 10 types of salads. Everything looked absolutely fabulous and I wished I could order them all. Ben’s salads looked nothing like those leafy greens but were a myriad of colors, textures and flavors that were unique and yet absolutely attractive! I saw Marinated Button Mushrooms with Barley, Orecchiette Pasta Salad, Three Bean Salad, Eggplant Chicken Salad with Kicap Manis Garlic Dressing, Cod Salad with Coconut Dressing, Panzanella Bread Salad and so forth. Ordering a salad at Ben’s is a tough decision… XD…

See this simple Caesar Salad and yet, the boldness of the presentation seems to catch my attention!

I locked in my order of their famous milkshakes to try out their Pina Colada Milkshake. Unfortunately, this was too sweet and too creamy which I thought was a bit overwhelming. Still, it did not deter me as I waited patiently for my meal! J

I caught a pizza work in progress and couldn’t resist asking what this lovely meaty pizza was. Il Carvnivore, I swear you will be on my order on the next visit… evil grin!

Mmm… when Salsiccia Pizza at RM19.90 was placed on our table, my other half and me was immediately impressed! Chunks of spicy lamb sausages crowned a medium thick pizza base filled with red sauce dabbled with melted cheese. The pizza was so rustically created with amber edges of golden melted cheese against puffed up dough.

Ah, see how the gooey cheese resisted against its will to let go of that delectable lamb sausage…hehehe! Two words summed up this pizza… Utterly Scrumptious! The pizza dough was not too thick and not too thin, hence it had a crispy base but a doughy middle. It was every bit as good as the rave reviews and I was in pizza heaven. It took every will power in me to stop ordering another pizza since we had more food coming. J J J

A small mix up occurred and my salad and other dish never arrived till I had to remind the servers. Fortunately, they were helpful and quickly checked out my order with a smile!

We decided to be adventurous and ordered the Eggplant and Soba Noodle with Sesame SoyBean Paste Salad at RM9.90 per portion. Served cold, the noodles were perfumed with fragrant sesame and soy bean paste, adding great depths of flavors to the savory salad topped with huge chunks of grilled eggplant. It was a burst of flavors and I would definitely order this again.

Fish Pie priced at Rm19.90 caught my eye and I decided to go with my intuition and order this hot deli item which comes with a side order of salad. My previous experience with other fish pies left me with a memory of overcooked the seafood and curdled thick white sauce. This one arrived with minimal presentation and let looked amazing even before I dig in.

The fish pie was filled with an amazing white sauce that was creamy and lusciously filled with tender pieces of fish, prawns and mussels. I like the fact that there were no other vegetables fighting for attention in the pie but rather the focus on fresh seafood. The pie was crowned with gorgeous fluffy golden mashed potatoes which I kept spooning into my mouth! This is one of the BEST fish pies I have ever had in Malaysia so far… J

After swooning at the fish pie, I turned my attention to the sunshine mix of Scorched Sweet Corn and Crabmeat Salad. Oh goody! Another outstanding salad from Ben’s which was bursting with sweetness and freshness through out the flavors. Crunchy and juicy, the corns were lovely against the fresh bits of crabmeat. So satisfying and this definitely changed my mind about not liking salads.

I also spied a delectable range of desserts and had already made up my mind to save room for one! Choosing one that I have yet to try, the Pear and Cherry Frangipane Ala Mode priced at Rm9.90 was the best dessert decision ever… hehehe.

A huge scoop of Vanilla ice cream balanced nicely on the warm Pear and Cherry Frangipane tart filled with lovely almond paste was simply-to-die-for!! The crumbly and aromatic almond paste meld perfectly with soft pear slices and cherry; creating a perfect waltz. Cold ice cream raised the level of sinfulness to the tart. J J

I also spiced a Sticky Date Pudding which I am saving for the next visit.

Their signature cakes of Black Forest and Banana Cake ALa Mode also caught my eye… sigh… I need more stomach space…

After a heavenly satisfying meal, I check out their next door for their food store. The delicatessen has a lovely range of international brands food stuff like cheese, sauces, condiments, spices, pastas and even fancy dinnerware. I saw my favorite Stone Wall sauces there… omg…

It was hard to resist the temptation to buy something in that store. Even the rows of bread looked so tempting but I refused to cave in. Smiles…. I’ll be back!!

This is the easiest post I have ever written as Ben’s General Food Store impressed the hell-out-of-me! Great quality wholesome food at really reasonable price, I could see why the words were out making this place swarmed with loads of customers each day. Imagine homemade goodness without those processed deep fried stuff and you will be queuing up at Ben’s like me!! J J J

Ending this fabulous post with the lyrics from the song~ Ben by MJ

Ben, the two of us need look no more
We both found what we were looking for
With my friend to call my own I'll never be alone
And you my friend will see, you've got a friend in me!

Ben… I’ll be back soon with my party eating monsters!

Ben’s General Food Store

Bangsar Village I
G17 & G18, Ground Floor,
No 1, Jalan Telawi Satu
Bangsar Baru,
59100 Kuala Lumpur

Contact:
Khairul / Yunus
+6 03 2284 8790

Opening Hours:
11:00am - 10.00pm daily
9.30pm: Bar & Kitchen Last Order

Website:

http://www.thebiggroup.co/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BensGeneralFoodStore.big?ref=ts

* No reservations, first come, first serve. Be here early or be square!