Lifting off with leafy loveliness: Acme's "Dunkin' Salad" is a simple low-carb substitute for bread with olive oil. This dynamic duo of honey romaine with a lemony dressing whets the appetite without stuffing the stomach. But no double-dipping, please!
Our favorite recipe at Acme so far is the grilled watermelon salad, thanks to titanic chunks of tender poached crab flesh, the sweet umami kick of mirin soy mayo sauce & the nutty crunch of toasted almonds. If we could order only one thing here, this is it.
Deep-fried cheese raclette, wine-poached pears & green apples. Another fun creation, with the juicy crispness of the fruits mingling well with the creaminess of the salty cheese.
A tale of two soups: black & white onion ones, bridged with a cheese stick. Visually intriguing; both onion-based, but they taste worlds apart _ the beefy black is the robust French version with caramelized onions, while the white evokes a milky Irish recipe.
Mushroom soup of morels, rice wine, ginger & man tao pua croutons. Could mushroom soup be richer or more luscious? One of the most satisfying ones we've had this year.
Spaghetti al caccio e pepe, the classic Roman concoction with parmesan & cracked black pepper. Ideal if you're seeking pasta stripped down to the basics, but it might lack the wow factor for customers desiring something more complex.
For an East-meets-West change from sea bass & cod fish, order the conveniently bone-free, massively meaty roasted stingray _ "ikan pari" given the Italian treatment with artichokes, capers, confit lemons & butter.
Succulent, slow-cooked smoked duck rendang, partnered with fragrant barley-laced nasi lemak & string beans. Near-perfect: we'd love a fully loaded plate of this with egg & anchovies.
Tangled up in tangy tropical notes: pineapple & coconut share the spotlight in a Pina Colada cake. Yes, we like Pina Coladas & getting caught in the rain (unless it causes traffic crawls).
Crunch time: Acme could have made this meringue plain & boring, but lacing it with raspberries proves that nothing half-baked ever comes out of the kitchen.
Belvedere vodka with Fever Tree mixer, alongside an Aperol-sparkling wine cocktail.
Dom Clos du Caillou Bouquet de Garriques, Cotes du Rhone.
Acme's upper-level loft is perfect for private functions, less boisterous than the outlet's main hall.
Acme Bar & Coffee,
ABC @ The Troika, Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-2162-2288
Such high praise for the watermelon salad!
ReplyDeleteI guess some fresh truffle shavings on that pasta might make it less ordinary :D
Baby Sumo: oh yeah, the salad's amazing! the watermelon is juicy but with an interesting smokiness from being grilled, and there's so much succulent crab meat in each serving. it's almost like they killed two whole meaty crabs for that amount of flesh! heheh, yeah, the pasta paled in comparison... :D
ReplyDeleteMissed the Sun brunch last week. Arrghhh I almost cannot tahan dy, hv to come here soon!
ReplyDeleteRebecca: they're open all day long, everyday now, I think, so you can even drop by here at 3pm on a Wednesday for a teatime treat! :D
ReplyDeleteYou must love this place. You've been here again and again and again...
ReplyDeleteFood is certainly good. Enjoyed the pasta for lunch over the week.
Missyblurkit: oh yeah, I think it's a very nice hangout indeed. Glad to hear you enjoyed the food here! Hopefully we'll bump into each other at ABC someday! :D
ReplyDeleteNothing in the pictures, I don't want! Hahah I was like whoaaa while scrolling down for more photos :))
ReplyDeleteCurious of th taste of th grilled watermelon salad thing
At last...a salad with cheese n green apples :)
ReplyDeleteD mushroom soup looks luscious n d Italian-inspired stingray looks great :D
I'm planning to bring a friend here. Where should I go?
ReplyDeleteI mean... What should I order?
ReplyDeleteI'll finally be going there this weekend! Their salad looks really good. That must be one of their speciality
ReplyDeleteWe love that watermelon salad with crab too! I think we tried 2 salad that nite, both are very nice!
ReplyDeleteDef agree on de simple yet excellent salad, my galfrens r still talking about it :)
ReplyDeleteOoh stingray..never thought I'd see a version of this outside a ikan bakar stall!
ReplyDeleteRad: yaa, this is a feast for both the eyes & the mouth! i think i've managed to try 70 percent of the menu here so far, but there's still another 30 percent to go! :D
ReplyDeleteUlric: yeah, there's definitely a lot of extra thought put into the recipes here! no old-fashioned basic caesar salads or plain mushroom soups! =)
Michelle: the watermelon-crab salad, the black-&-white onion soup, the mushroom soup, the chili con carne puffs, beef bacon-wrapped snails, burrata cheese & grass-fed tenderloin! :D
ReplyDeleteEiling: yeah, the salads & starters here are really worthwhile! it's difficult to decide which ones to order, cos everything sounds good =)
CK: heheh, ya, i think the watermelon-crab salad would be everyone's favorite! my friends enjoy that one the most too! :D
ReplyDeleteAugustdiners: it's unanimous! all hail the watermelon-crab salad! wonder if other restaurants will start doing their own version =)
Dropsofcontentment: heheh, i'm not really a fan of stingray, but it was interesting to have it here! and it seemed meatier than the ikan bakar versions too! :D
Ikan pari! Never saw it done this way as a Western dish.. interesting! You've been blogging about Acme so much now it makes me want to go there right now!! :D
ReplyDeleteIamthewitch: oh yeah, it seems like quite an inspired idea for them to use stingray instead of cod fish! :D and yeah, I'd recommend Acme to anyone & everyone right now, heheh =)
ReplyDeleteOmg... And what happens when you have tried everything in the menu? :p
ReplyDeleteThe owner must know you super well by now and even more by then!
Rad: heheh, the menu is quite wide! i'm only 80 percent through at the most! :D
ReplyDeleteI have to say you were totally right about the watermelon crab salad. Superb. :D
ReplyDeleteKenny: phew! i'm relieved (but not surprised at all) that you enjoyed it too! :D
ReplyDelete