FACES Magazine - December, 2005

Already a landmark in Bandar Utama, JOANNE WONG pays a visit to Bernard’s to see why this place has remained a favourite hangout for the young and old alike.

Bernard’s restaurant which opened its doors six years ago is now a landmark in Bandar Utama. Situated just south of the ever popular 1-Utama shopping complex and next to Mc Donald''s drive-thru, Bernard''s restaurant is located on the frontage of the ground floor of a very distinctive beige building called Centrepoint.

Opening a restaurant business during the tumultuous Asian economic crisis in 1999 was seriously a risky business, but according to Mr. Bernard Nah, the founder and owner, he envisaged that a restaurant business was probably the most feasible business to venture into at that time. So in, April 1999, Bernard’s was established and since its doors were open, Bernard’s restaurant has gained a reputation as one of Malaysia''s top food establishments that serves quality food.

Originally the concept of Bernard’s restaurant was intended to be a jazz ''hang out'' for the corporate and local customers to enjoy a good meal and to ''wind down'' after a hectic day. But little by little the restaurant started to gain its popularity and reputation as a family-oriented restaurant and customers came back again and again to enjoy the pork-free'' quality food in a calm and soothing eating ambience with their families and friends.

The interior of Bernard’s is kept light and homely with walls painted in warm reds and yellows or decorated with murals. On one end of the restaurant, customers will have refreshing views of marine life in an aquarium the size of a miniature car.

Watch beautiful aquatic fish brimming with colour and life dart in and out amongst beautiful pieces of coral. As for the music, Bernard’s plays a wide range of good music ranging from pop to rock, retro to classic, and the top 40 hits as well and if you prefer live entertainment, come every Thursday and Friday from 9pm onwards.

As for the food served at Bernard’s, it is of course ‘pork-free’ and compromises of an extensive range of Malaysian and western cuisine. The Deep Fried Assam Prawns which originates from Penang, is a dish of fragrant prawns stir fired in tamarind (assam jawa). The Freshwater Prawn Noodles is a Cantonese dish which is made up of delicious noodles cooked with huge freshwater prawns. This dish is something that everyone should try. The sauce is delicious and had quite a strong taste of ginger while the prawns are fresh and simmered to perfection.

The delicious Prawn Mee which comes with crunchy fresh prawns, slices of chicken, eggs and your choice of mee hoon or mee is not too be missed as well, though the soup is not very spicy but still manages to give you a kick. For red meat lovers, the NZ Ribeye Steak is just the thing for you. The steak which is grilled to perfection comes with a choice of mushroom, garlic or black pepper sauce, golden fries and salad.

For those who opt for a healthier meal, try the Ten Goodness Special. This wonderful dish if made up of carrots, green and red peppers, corn, cauliflower, small prawns and a combination of mushrooms; abalone mushrooms, asparagus mushrooms, Ling Zhi mushrooms and straw mushrooms. All this wonderful ingredients are cooked together and then wrapped in a fook chook skin just like a parcel. This dish comes recommended as the taste of all the fresh ingredients mixed together is just scrumptious and the colours of these different ingredients, makes the dish look really appetising.

If you prefer western food, try the mouth watering Lasagne, Vongole and Pan Fried Fish Fillet which are all new additions to the menu. The Lasagne which comes in a deep white dish has generous helpings of beef mixed in cream, tomato and parmesan cheese with sheets of pasta in between and the Vongole is spaghetti marinated with olive oil, red chillies, parsley and calms. As for the Panfried Fish Fillet, it is a generous portion of fish pan fried lightly and topped with lemon. The fish is served with potato wedges, coleslaw and tartar sauce.

Some of the house specialities at Bernard’s are Bernard’s Speciality Noodles which is wanton noodles fried with a generous portions of chicken, prawns, eggs and onions all wrapped up in an omelette parcel, Bernard’s Nasi Lemak which has fragrant steamed santan rice, a hard boiled egg, ikan bilis, fresh slices of cucumber and your choice of chicken done in ‘kampung’ style, beef rendang or squid sambal and Bernard’s Delicious Chicken Rice which is boiled chicken bathed generously in a special sauce, steamed rice, bean sprouts and clear chicken soup which can rival even the famous Ipoh chicken rice.

If you feel that you don’t want a main meal, you could always order some finger food to nibble on such as Calamari Rings, Garlic Bread or Tempura Prawns . There is also a wide array of drinks in Bernard’s. There are juices, soft drinks, mocktails, an extensive range of cocktails and coffee liquors and other alcoholic beverages.

For the drinkers, Bernard’s offers ''Happy Hours'' all day long for Tiger and Carlsberg draft except for every Thursdays and Fridays (9 pm – 1 am). Not forgetting the ladies, Bernard’s offers 2 complimentary premium cocktails on ''Ladies Night'' every Thursday from 7pm onwards.

As Christmas is just around the corner and if you have not planned anything for Christmas Eve dinner, come and dine at Bernard’s as a special menu has been prepared just for this special day. The Christmas Eve meal starts of with Tabouleh salad and Cream of Pumpkin soup followed by a choice of three main dishes.

There is the Traditional Roasted Turkey with mushroom and chestnut stuffing served with cranberry /turkey gravy accompanied with vegetable medley, Pan Fried Norwegian Salmon served with mushroom ragout and green apple glace or Lamb Shank which is Italian style lamb shank soaked with wine and brushed with sauce served with mashed potato and vegetable medley.

Lastly for dessert, there is the traditional Christmas Pudding with crème Anglaise. This delectable meal is RM65.00++ and comes with a complimentary glass of house wine. What’s more, there will be surprise door gifts and special lucky draws on Christmas to make your day more memorable. For those early birds, a 10% discount for reservations before 20th December 2005 will be given though a 50% deposit upon booking will be required.

One of the best things about dining at Bernard’s regardless if it is for a special occasion or just a night out, is that the food is prepared in such a way that you feel as if you are eating at home and if you are wondering, that is a compliment - nothing beats a home cooked meal!

So if you are wondering where to go for dinner or if you are too lazy to whip up a meal for your family, or if you want somewhere special to celebrate or to simply hang out with friends, come to Bernard’s where good food, affordable prices, wonderful service and a homely relaxed atmosphere awaits you. www.faces.com.my

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