Ben’s General Food Store

Whenever we have lunch meetings in the office, chances are high that we’d be eating those delivered-to-your-doorstep fast-food pizzas … you know which ones I mean. Those are not exactly my favourite kinda food. And that’s why I usually avoid eating pizzas out of the office environment, if I can help it. Unless of course, if it’s pizzas freshly made in an Italian restaurant… you know, those hand-made thin crusted types baked in firewood ovens. Yeah, call me a pizza snob, if you will… but those are the only kind of pizzas I would go for, willingly.

Funghi Truffle Pizza (RM22.90)

While Ben’s General Food Store is not an Italian joint, the pizzas served here are really good. The thin crust is crispy round the edges – see how puffed-up the sides are… signs of an excellent pizza dough baked at just the right temperature. Their Funghi Truffle Pizza was a firm favourite with us. Chopped fresh basil, laced with truffle oil and extra virgin olive oil were perfect foils for the sliced fresh mushrooms in this light super-tasty pizza. Oh, there were also dollops of mascaporne cheese and this was what lifted the pizza to a different level of cheesy creaminess.

Il Carnivore Pizza (RM24.90)

The Il Carnivore Pizza is a meat lover’s delight. Slices of beef pepperoni, beef bacon, cheesy sausages and lamb chorizo were liberally strewn on a tomato puree and sticky mozzarella-laced thin pizza. Every bite was delightfully cheesy and full of meaty goodness.

B.I.G Lasagna (RM18.90)

I was surprised I actually liked the B.I.G. Lasagna here. Usually I would stay away from lasagnas. The B.I.G. Lasagna really lived up to its name – it’s a big portion, people! Creamy melted cheese, minced meat, pasta all interlayed with each other and slathered with a thick robust tomato topping – this was a meal by itself.

Caesar Salad (RM11.90)

Marinated Button Mushrooms Salad (RM19.90)

The salads were average, I would say. The much-touted Marinated Button Mushrooms Salad had some boiled barley on the side – I liked these but didn’t care much for the briney mushrooms.

The rest of the hot deli items we ordered didn’t really impress me much. The Moroccan Lamb Balls were just average. The piece of lamb shank in the Lamb Shank Pie was cold (horrors!) and we had to send it back to be reheated. Desserts were also just run-of-the-mill kind.

So, yeah… go for the Pizzas – they were really the highlight of our meal there. I would go back there just to have that Funghi Pizza again and try out the rest on their menu. On the evening that we were there, the place was packed and noisy. This is not the place for you to linger … the long tables had chairs placed pretty close to each other so you may have to endure your meal neighbours’ conversations. Besides, those cold metal chairs aren’t exactly good for lounging… so, have your pizzas and go! 🙂

Moroccan Lamb Meatballs (RM17.90)

Lamb Shank Pie (RM18.90)

Black Forest Cake (RM9.90)

Ben’s General Food Store
Lot G-17 Ground Floor
Bangsar Village I
Jalan Telawi 1, Bangsar
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 2284-8790
Open: 9.00am to 10.00pm daily
Website: http://www.thebiggroup.co