Nosh & Epicurious @ Bangsar

Blazing into Bangsar's Telawi neighborhood, Nosh opened for business this weekend, bringing us an amiable cafe offering admirable culinary creations.

Nosh's temptations underscore the passion & prowess of Ann & Judith, a two-woman team spearheading their maiden enterprise together. Waking up early becomes less excruciating thanks to the Noshling, toast topped with poached egg, smoked salmon & Hollandaise sauce, served with cherry tomato relish.

Egg-powered brunch items are available at Nosh 10am-3pm on weekends & public holidays. Scrambled eggs with mushrooms, spinach, beef bacon, potato chips & grated parmesan help to set the tone for a leisurely morning.

Sure, customers can order lattes, but a better choice might be the Nutty Obsession, a cocktail of rum, espresso, hazelnut syrup & ice cream.

Nosh's opening isn't the only exciting event in this enclave. Folks can also head to Bangsar Shopping Center 10am-6pm this current weekend of Oct. 27-28 for the Epicurious Brunch, featuring street food stalls spread across the mall's concourse.

Highlights include Andy's BBQ, serving banana pancakes stuffed with hickory-smoked chicken, topped with gula melaka & served with a sunny-side-up.

Sounds like a strange combination, but eccentricity sometimes breeds excellence. 

Also well worth checking out: Mexican-born Paulisima Gallegos' tacos. 

Soft handmade corn tortillas, steaming with lots of tender beef, well-flavored with black pepper, garlic, caramelized onions, wild rocket leaves & jalapeno salsa.

We also liked Kee's Creampuffs' creative brunch mix of deviled egg, turkey ham-topped gougere & chocolate puff but somehow neglected to take a picture of it.

Other stalls include Yay Sammich, Brownies by Lex & Fat Blossom Cupcakes, all of which we'll feature more extensively eventually; meanwhile, familiar favorites at Epicurious comprise the likes of Swich Cafe, Craft Bakers, The Potong & Forty Licks Ice Cream.

Swich's one-of-a-kind comfort food constitutes savory sensations: pizzas topped with soft-shell crab, salted egg & curry aioli, as well as a pastry-lasagna amalgamation with Singapore-style chili crab & hard-boiled egg.

Decadence reigns: Valrhona choc cake with burnt salted caramel.

Main entry on Swich Cafe @ HP Towers Semantan: July 20, 2012.

Wash everything down with icy-cold Smooshie Juices or belly-warming Hot Shots Coffee.

Like the latte, love the tangy blend of green apple, lemongrass & rambutan.

Epicurious Brunch @ Bangsar Shopping Center 

Nosh @ Telawi 

Nosh,

7, Jalan Telawi 3, Bangsar Baru, Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-2201-3548

Closed Mondays.

MIGF: The Restaurant @ The Club Saujana

The Club Saujana Resort's restaurant remains one of the Klang Valley's most enjoyable eateries, its oasis-like beauty partnered with fabulous food and sterling service.

Earlier entry on The Restaurant: March 11, 2009.

The Restaurant's MIGF menu costs RM210++, not the cheapest but one of the most worthwhile, thanks to its thoughtfully conceived six-course selection.

Not exactly part of the MIGF courses, but an amuse bouche of crab cannelloni packs a nice little carb-protein punch that's certain to get the gustatory juices going.

The highlights of this meal come early: foie gras ice cream with foie gras terrine, smoked duck and wantan-topped pear sounds like something that'll trigger instant gout attacks, but there's no disputing the short-term gratification from this sumptuous, savory spread.

One of 2012's tastiest fish dishes: grilled salmon medallion, still pink and scarcely cooked within, with a moat of whipped Hollandaise sauce, horseradish and parsley oil.

Lamb patties with croutons-meet-croquettes morsels of pulled lamb shoulder. Complemented by potato goulash in paprika gravy and sour cream.

One for the fish fans: Halibut poached with olive oil, served with halibut-stuffed ravioli, asparagus and semi-dried tomatoes.

Beef extravaganza: Black Angus striploin and braised cheek, magnificently meaty, plated with baked cepes mushroom ravioli, garlic-roasted spinach and celeriac puree.

Cake and Mousse: Dark chocolate with mango praline and sorbet. The surprising mix of tastes and textures for some of these courses can be breathtaking.

Here's a happy experiment, not on the MIGF menu, but a potential future entry on The Restaurant's main menu: a hot, crispy-creamy chocolate bonbon with mousse made of champagne-steeped rose jelly.

Thanks to The Restaurant's chef extraordinaire Alexander Waschl and blogger Wackybecky for the invitation to enjoy this excellent meal.

The Restaurant,
The Club Saujana Resort,
Jalan Lapangan Terbang Saas, Shah Alam.

Simply Mel's & S'Mores

Returning to Simply Mel's to sample more mouthwatering marvels from its voluminous menu.

Earlier entries on Simply Mel's: July 18, 2011 & Sept. 11, 2011.

Vivid colors inform the vibrant flavors of Mel's recipes, embodied in onion-filled fritters that might leave some folks feeling stuffed at the very start of the meal.

Fish is favored here, with something new to try for each visit. Love the white pomfret simmered in sourish "singgang" curry, a lip-smacking way to enjoy this smooth fish.

Squid in Malaccan Portuguese Debel Curry, a tongue-scorching treat for chili-craving customers.

Mel scrapes out the savory black insides of 'buah keluak' to make a convenient prawn sambal, amazingly addictive but probably crazily calorie-loaded.

Seccu curry, another super-spicy one, this time with slices of tender beef.

Counter the creamy curries with nourishing soups, like this bowl with meatballs made of corned beef & chicken, supplemented with stewed carrots, cabbage, macaroni & potatoes, scented with cinnamon & cloves.

We love the name for this one, "foler sabola kung tao." Fundamentally a simple preparation of stir-fried spring onions with tau kwa bean curd in garlic sauce.

Kristang-style chicken soup, with croutons for extra texture.

No matter how overfed you feel, try to order desserts; Mel's cendol wins my vote as the most satisfying I've had this year, thick, smooth & richly fragrant.

Also more than worthwhile: pulut tinted with "bunga telang," paired with homemade kaya.

Mel's serves wine, keeping the mood here light & merry every evening.

After dinner at Mel's, night owls can head downstairs to S'Mores, which has a terrific happy hour promotion of three cocktails for RM50 nett before 9pm.

From pomegranate Margaritas to passion fruit Mojitos, there's fruity fun for everyone.

Potent enough for the price, though probably too sweet for some.

Main entry on S'Mores: March 17, 2010.

Simply Mel's & S'Mores,

The Sphere, Bangsar South, Kuala Lumpur.

Wagaya @ Solaris Dutamas

Taking over the location vacated by Ten (which is moving to Marc Residences), Wagaya marks another foray into Malaysia by an Australian-based F&B enterprise.

Wagaya operates well-known outlets in Sydney & Brisbane; its first Kuala Lumpur branch features the same izakaya-style concept, with a menu that's nearly identical to that of its Aussie counterparts _ except that pork is absent here.

Sea urchin & mushroom spaghetti, similar to a carbonara. Irresistibly creamy, with more than sufficient uni to make the roughly-RM30 price tag seem like a steal.

Sushi roulette: one of these six pieces of salmon-topped rice contains a ferociously explosive scoop of wasabi within (or not; we ordered this thrice over the course of two nights; sometimes it stung, sometimes it flopped). Fun nonetheless to try with friends.

Shio ramen. Not terrible, but the broth here pales in comparison to richer ones elsewhere, while the slices of teriyaki-like chicken remain unmemorable.

Grilled "chikuwa" fish cakes with cheese, a sinfully satisfactory supper snack.

The remainder of Wagaya's menu mainly comprises pub grub like mini-pizzas topped with chicken, rice cakes and mushrooms, as well as plates of nankotsu, chicken cartilage that's easy to eat but equally easy to forget.

Service at Wagaya is friendly; the touch-screen ordering at each table is a convenient touch.

Nadeshiko (sake, grapefruit juice, grenadine) & Lychee Spumoni (lychee liquor, grapefruit juice, tonic). Cocktails here are inexpensive but impotent.

Orange-laced beer (burp!) & Cassis Oolong Tea.

 Thanks to kindhearted blogger AugustDiners for alerting us that Wagaya was opening this week!

Wagaya,
D5-G3-5, Solaris Dutamas, Kuala Lumpur.
Open daily for lunch & dinner.