Category Archives: ~ Bars / Clubs / Restaurants ~

Not your regular wines

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Been to quite a few wine dinners n tastings over d years. The most recent one was different. There were only four wines, and they were pretty much out in the left-field, as far as taste is concerned.

Waiting..

Sip session was at a joint called Las Delicias in Citta Mall, Subang, and organized by SixCents. (It’s a site to pick up free vouchers for F&B outlets.)

The squad

A sommelier, Bernd Eisermann, lead us through the tasting, starting with the whites of course.

‘Sup Johnny

Johnny Q (12.5%, $150) from the Quarisa winery in Southeastern Australia is a chardonnay, with some viognier grape in da mix, a strong varietal i havent tried before. I found a very floral bouquet. And then thought… it smells better than it tastes. I got a lot of acidity. Long finish. My friend liked it tho. Weirdo.

Sommelier dude

The next white was an Austrian, Gut Holzer (13%, $150). The grape – gruner veltliner.

Who??

It’s Austria’s own grape variety, and it’s known to be a food-drinking wine, with little making it out of Austria alive.

Survivor

I got a nose of chardonnay-ish floral. On the sip, i found in-your-face honey notes, but immediately, dryness. Weird. And then a long, almost-bitter finish.

Didnt know what to make of it. So had two more glasses.

The third vino was a red, Yves Cuilleron’s (France) Gamay (13%, $180).

Vin-de-pays (aka country wine)

The gamay grape is from the Beaujolais region. I found the wine dry, a lil fruity, and  a lil bland.

Then we had a malbec, not from Argentina as is the norm, but France, Combel la Serre (12.5%, $180).

Another Frenchie

This guy gave me a whiff of fruit, esp raspberry. It tasted balanced and easy-to-drink, but too bland for me.

I dunno, maybe my palette was on leave dat nite. Or the wines probably need some gettin used to. The second or third glass tends to be better. But the first sip? Not good.

Tasting crew

Everybody seemed to react differently to all four wines. I basically didnt enjoy them all, but others did, finding different nuances from me. Am not sure if others felt the bitterness of the gruner veltliner grape, which wine drinkers are calling the gru vee grape. Haha.

The enjoyment for me was definitely trying different styles of wines from different producers.

 

Brain damage: 6/10

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Good Ol’ Ronnie Q’s

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Ronnie Q’s (2282 0722 ) is a restaurant-bar that’s definitely an icon of Bangsar. It’s been quenching thirst for 20 years now! Amazing. Probably a million litres of beer have been swallowed here.

It’s the original neighbourhood pub, on Telawi 2. Dozens of bars and clubs have come and gone in the Telawi area since Ronnie Q’s first opened as pioneer (Canteena too, but it died recently), dozens, but Ronnie Q’s has remained strong.

The laid-back, friendly atmosphere and good drinks and food has ensured that owner Ronnie can look forward to many more years.

Large space

I guess i’d describe it as a classy traditional sports-bar. It’s seen some renovation over the years, and has kept up with the times, but maintains a British pub feel.

Sports feature heavily here.

The bar’s length is probably the longest in Bangsar

It’s a GAB outlet, so beers on tap are Guinness, Tiger, Kilkenny, Paulaner and Strongbow.

Food is a supporting act and is mix of western and local. The regular favourites are the wild boar dry curry, and Spicy Mutton/Pork ($16.90), both served with toast. Great with beers.

The wild boar is tender, while the spicy pork is a laid-back, medium-spicy curry. Easy-going with great flavours.

The mutton dish is rich, a lil sweetish, and way spicier. The kind u keep nibbling at with a cold antidote in the other hand.

The Spicy Mutton is an awesome snack

The lamb satay is unique; done sweetish, kinda caramalized, and reminds me of lap chong.

Lamb

Had to have the Pork Ribs. It was a great call. The meat’s juicy, medium-tender, coated with a bbq-style sauce, and very fresh.

Yea baby

You’ll also find stuff like Fish n’ Chips ($20), All-Day Breakfast ($24.90), burgers & dawgs (pork/beef/chicken/lamb), Bangers ‘n Mash ($22), chops, sandwiches and snacks.

Met Batboy

The semi-outdoor area

At happy hours, you’ll get sets of two pints at these prices, all NETT: Guinness ($41), Kilkenny ($43), Tiger ($34.20) and Strongbow ($47). And during Euro 2012, u’ll enjoy happy hours all day, all night.

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Belgian Beer Fest

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..goin on now at all Brussels Beer Cafes.

An interesting variety of beers are available at Brussels.

The details

A new one was unveiled at the launch last Tuesday – Hoegaarden Rosé. On tap!

It’s basically Hoegaarden ale infused with raspberries. It was a lil too sweet at first, but funnily enough, it grew on me.

New hoe hits town

For now, the Rosé is only available at the Jaya One outlet.

The main beers being featured for the festival, which is from June 6 – 16, are Hoegaarden, Stella Artois, Grimbergen, Leffe & Belle-vue.

When i was in Brussels (the real one in Belgium), there were tons of beers, especially those made from fruits. There was strawberry, apple, cherry, raspberry, banana, grape, etc etc. Had a blast trying them all.

Colours galore

I can vouch that they’re all great drinks.You can get a platter of all beers in tasting sizes, called the Combo, and it comes with a food platter too. For $93.70 nett, u can get the pair. Or just the beers for $68.20.

Get there before June 16.

The platter. 200ml a pop

Jager and egg? How about no?!

Dax was made to down a Jager submarine (pint) by 6pm

Time to get dizzy

Brain damage: 7.5/10

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Dining in Comida

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Checked out Comida (6211-2662) recently, a joint with good Mediterranean & Western food in Publika.

The joint

It’s got an interesting menu, with a range of pastas, pizzas & burgers, among others, and it’s the home of what i call the BFP, Big F ‘in Pizza, a 24-inch monsta.

Good f 'in luck

Had some tapas to kick off. A kick-ass. The  Prawn Aubergine Tapas ($17.60, all prices NETT) rocks due to its gravy. Additional bread was ordered for some dunking.

Biggie hits d road

The Comida Burger ($23.10) is a beef patty (200gm), a good blend of meat, sauteed shrooms, beef bacon, bbq sauce, and some green stuff; and the patty is flamed just right to be still juicy.

Not a giant, but decent size

The highlight of d meal was the Creamy Pesto Prawn ($29.70) , a spaghetti-based dish, with prawns sauteed in olive oil & homemade pesto cream. Few pasta dishes can come close to this one. It’s all in d cream. So good that again bread was ordered to scoop d remnants of d pesto cream.

This dam ting has got me craving for it at random times.

Wont last long. Do not share

You could also try this (off-menu) – the Prawn Masala – a spicier, reddish version of d above. Enticing.

Another notable pasta is the super n simple Duck Confit Spaghetti ($28.60), which features duck slices in a pasta drenched with olive oil n peppered with sun-dried tomatoes. I assume the outlet’s strength is mainly in its pastas.

They’re also risottos & paellas. For a snack, the spicy anchovies, or the spicy chicken wings are a good bet.

Casual dining for sure

If ur a big-time eater, u cd go for d BFP challenge – if u can slaughter the 24-inch pizza in 20mins, its on da house. U also get a $50 voucher, and a Comida VIP Card. So far, 26 winners.

D outdoor sec is cool too

I hear the Comida De Postre puff is a mean hot-seller, with peanut butter on d inside, choco hazelnut sauce on d outside, topped with vanilla ice-cream. My preferred dessert however was more basic – Red Sangria ($19.80) as u’ll get loads of fruits in your face.

The Long Island Tea rocks, with none of dat cheap-shit liquors in it, but d good stuff. At $23.10, sweet deal.

Long Island being gang-raped

 

Chomp chomp

It’s a GAB outlet, so u get d three for $$ deal, in this case, it’s $55 nett  for three pints of Guinness/Tiger all night. Also the happy hours daily – 5-6pm, it’s $5.50 nett for a mug of Tiger or half Guinness Draft, then $6.60 (6-7pm), and $7.70 (7-8pm). Nice.

An event called 12 Strings happens every Sat nite from 9pm, featuring different musicians weekly. Worth hangin out. Been finding my ass there almost every week now.

Wall art

Comida’s reputation for good food means it has catered for, among others, Sum 41, Simple Plan, Deftones, Avril, as well as all artistes at the Future Music festival like Grandmaster Flash, FloRida, Chemical Bros, etc.

They’re also with FoodPanda, if u rather have d food delivered.

Mexican, or Mexican't?

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