Category Archives: ~ Bars / Clubs / Restaurants ~

Campari yo

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Have never been too familiar with aperitifs, ie liqueur that are specially created to be taken before a meal, which induces appetite. To me, all booze are aperitifs!

Except absinthe.

Red juice

Italian red juice

Anyway, Campari, a bitter, is one of the better-known ones. I think i’ve had it before, but to make sure knocked quite a few back at an event organized by Campari’s distributor, Albert Wines & Spirits.

The distractions

The distractions

It went down at Vineria.IT, a restaurant n lounge at BSC, Bangsar. Was happy to see Ben behind d bar. He wasted no time gettin me wasted.

First on d list of three special cocktails for d evening was Apricot Negroska. Quite a drink. Starts lollipop-ish and ends with a bitter zing (when the Campari hits). There’s apricot jam in it! Haha. Awesome.

n

A perfect start to d evening. What a beau colour for a drink

The event was to launch the Campari Calendar, which is a limited edition special one, of which only 9,999 copies are made every year for d world. This 11th calendar is called Campari Milano.

Olga Kurylenko, some Ruskie i guess

Olga Kurylenko, some Ruskie calendar model i guess (December page)

Tho some take it neat, Campari is normally taken with soda or grapefruit juice. Its also an essential ingredient in certain cocktails.

g

Healthy or wat

Ben fixed one called Ginger & Citrus Gobbler – Campari, Skyy, acacia honey, Jamaican Root Beer, orange & grapefruit. Yummy and light-tasting.

With fellow alco Ben Bitch

With fellow alco Ben Bitch

By far my fave cocktail was d last – Campari 150. BTW, its also Campari’s 150th anniversary this year.

The 150 is Campari, Matusalem rum, lime juice & Monin passion fruit syrup. Awesome! I could drink dis baby all night n d next morning. The clincher is the rosemary sprig that hits your nose before each sip, giving that herbal aroma that goes perfectly with d mix.

D one dat got me there

D ones dat got me there

Never thought it was possible to get pretty whacked on aperitifs, but i did.

Hmm what we were doin?

Easy come, easy go

Brain damage: 7.5/10

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Rediscovering Uncle Chilli’s

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The last time i hit Hilton’s restaurant & bar Uncle Chilli’s (7955 9122) was probably back in college. So checked it out recently for a little dinner, with a lil help from dining reservations portal QGuides.

Uncle Chillis serves uncomplicated, good quality Western, and Chef Carloz recently created a new a la carte menu.

u

Starter was a mojito, and moved to a Classic Caesar. Pretty good, considering i’ve never had a salad before. Thankfully there were bacon bits in it, which i aimed for like a sniper.

My first n hopefully not last salad

My first n maybe not last salad

The mojitos were comin, then this dude from QGuides, Frat Mustard, decided to up the stakes.

Glen, a good choice

Glen, a good choice

Frat Mustard & his twin

Frat Mustard & his twin

After whacking a rich n creamy crab bisque and several whiskies, it was time to choose d main course. i went for Uncle Chili’s Burger ($25.30), which is accompanied by salad (that word again), fries, spicy salsa and some green shit. Guacamole probably.

Mouthful

Mouthful

It was so goddam huge that i needed it cut in 4, and tapau-ed some extras.

Other guests at the table had these –

Braised lamb shank

Braised lamb shank

Tomato-glazed black cod, who's atually white

Tomato-glazed black cod, who's actually white

Uncle Chilli’s has been renovated and is lookin pretty good now. There’re good options in terms of seating, with casual as well as fat cat set-ups.

Cushy

Cushy

A band entertains after 9pm

A band entertains sometime after 9pm

There’s a good deal goin on, but only till March 15: on most nights, there’s A Table for Three, A Bill for Two – order three items from the burger, sandwich, pasta or pizza menu and get d lower-priced thing for free. There’s happy hours as well.

Checkout menu here.

Dont confuse Uncle Chilli’s with American Chili’s tho. The former is run by five-star hoteliers, the latter by five-star chimps.

Brain damage: 7/10

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If u like Guinness…

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Dark magnet

Dark magnet

…u’d luuv Spaghetti Grill (2287-2220). They serve it ice-cold, like Chilis, but without the complimentary ‘people-haters’ managers. It’s located at Megamall, facing The Gardens.

And the price is ridiculous – $11.95++ or $13.75 nett a pint. Cool thing is, happy hours is all day, all nite! And it aint just for Guinness – other beers & liquor too. You can get a Scotch whisky (Grouse) for 7 bucks.

Bites called 3D

Bites called 3D

Happy customers

Happy customers

U know when you’re halfway or nearing the end of your pint of beer/Guinness, and it starts to taste crap coz of the rise in temperature? Dat really sucks, and seriously affects the taste of the drink, making u less likely to order another. This problem dont exist at Spaghetti Grill, cos the thick-glass mugs are stored in the freezer until needed.

It remains real cold till d last drop! No shit.

Now that what i call a COLD ONE

Now that what i call a COLD ONE

Its got a full bar

Its got a full bar

Gangsta

Gangsta

The outlet is owned by the same company that owns Chilis, hence the similar set-up. But the manager here, Ashok, is a nice guy. He could teach Chili’s managers a thing or two, or a thousand.

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Apa punya manager

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A reader, KL Chong, sent me his experience at American Chilis / Chilis Bar and Grill, Bangsar, where there’s a weirdo dude who runs d joint. This is to add to the list of incidents already documented here.

Here’s what he gotta say:

.

I was there with my buddy & his pregnant wife for some food and beers (the wifey had juices). Their happy hour is from 3pm – 7pm as stated so when it was about time, the waiter asked if we wanted more beers so of course I OK and said yeah, 1 more round. Then my buddy said, why not we order 2 each. We called the waiter and conversation went somthing like this…

Me/Buddy: “We want to order 4 mugs”.

Chili’s Waiter: “No no, you cannot do that. You cannot park your drinks”.

Me/Buddy: “Yeah, we understand, so just bring all the 4 mugs out at once”.

Chilli’s Waiter: “No No, we cannot do that, its against our policy”. There’s only 2 of you, so you can only order 2.

Me/Buddy: “WTF!!!???!!!”

Buddy: “OK, my wife is next to me, she order 1 lah”

Chilli’s Waiter: “Oh no, she’s drinking juices”

Me/Buddy: I want to see your Manager.

Restaurant Manager of Chilli’s Grill & Bar Bangsar Shopping Complex outlet, Mr. Purusothaman Perumal came over.

Me/Buddy: “We want to know why we cannot order 4 mugs”.

Puru: ” We don;t allow parking”

Me/Buddy: “No no, we understand that. We want all the 4 to come out at once”

Puru: “Oh, we cannot allow you to order so many beers because #1, we cannot maintain the freshness of the beers if you order so many….#2, We may at our discretion to withhold selling of alcohol if we feel that the customer has drank too much. This is written in our company rules and regulations.

Me/Buddy: “Where is it written?”

Puru: “Oh, of course, we cannot write everything out…that’s not possible”

Buddy: “OK, I didn’t drive, my driver is at the front”

Puru: “I know, still I cannot sell you”

Me: “THAT IS A LOAD OF BS!!” Maintain freshness?? You are a restaurant!! Not some beer specialty shop! What are you talking about?! And what qualifies you the authority to gauge the level of alcohol I can take?

Puru: “Oh, we go through some special training and courses with so & so …blah ..blah..blah…

Me: “OK, show me your identification or certification”

Puru: “Oh, I cannot show you”

Me: “Even a plainclothes policemen stops me on the road will show me his ID if i request. You cannot show me yours, what qualifies you to tell me I’ve exceeded my alcohol level?”

Puru: *doesn’t answer*

Me: “Give me your card, I will write a complain to your headquarters”

Puru: “Go ahead, just google on the internet to find our HQ.”

End.

.

Brilliant. How NOT to run an establishment.

Obviously the owning company, TAS Leisure Sdn Bhd, aint doin shit about it.

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