Fatbaby Ice Cream & Cocktail Solutions

The newborn Fatbaby is heating up KL's homemade ice cream scene, offering a cool collection of flavors now available for delivery & soon to be sold at Marmalade Cafe.

Fatbaby is the brainchild of Ng Hui Ming, who spent the last decade as an actuary in the UK before returning to Malaysia in 2012. Her first brush with making ice cream came in London, when a session on these frozen treats captivated her at a Le Cordon Bleu course that she took to learn more about baking.

Hui Ming now churns out RM25, one-pint tubs that can be picked up on advance order at Publika, Jaya 33, Sunway Giza & Empire Shopping Gallery. Starting March 30, smaller tubs will be stocked at Bangsar Village's Marmalade Cafe.

Our favorite of the bunch (eaten at Bangsar Shopping Center's Seek-&-Keep weekend market): Cornflakes, brimming with sweetly satisfying, crispy-crunchy bits that evoke Kellogg's-clogged memories of simple childhood pleasures.

Swirly salted caramel. Fatbaby has nailed the texture for its ice cream, with a lush softness that's exactly the way we like it.

Peanut butter alert! This one tastes like pure peanut butter, for better or worse.

No artificial flavoring, coloring or preservatives go into Fatbaby's ice cream; a tub of this one contains only milk, cream, sugar, eggs & hand-chopped chocolate.

Fruity flavors are available, with freshly grated coconut stirred into this Coconut Candy flavor.

Other varieties include mango sorbet, espresso, banana, tea, apple crumble & marmalade.

And for coffee addicts, this not-too-sweet ice cream is marvelous for making an affogato.

See Fatbabyicecream.com for ordering instructions. Or visit Marmalade later this month.

What pairs well with peanut butter ice cream? A Margarita, maybe. Here's another welcome initiative: Cocktails delivered to our doorsteps, freshly made to order by English mixologist Joshua Ivanovic, formerly of TwentyOne & Circus.

 Classics like the Mai Tai, Mojito, Cosmopolitan, Strawberry Daiquiri & Lychee Martini are available in bottles that could each easily fill two or three glasses, at only RM76 for six bottles (that adds up to scarcely RM5 per cocktail serving). Brilliant for both convenience & cheapness.

Orders must be placed at least 12 hours in advance & all cocktails are prepared without preservatives. Rest assured, they taste the way they should, potently better than watered-down renditions at two-thirds of KL's bars.

See cocktail-solutions.com for ordering instructions.

Estilo Tapas & Charcoal Grill @ Publika

Wrapping up our trilogy on Estilo, one of Publika's hottest/coolest hangouts this month. 

Earlier entries on Estilo: March 11 & March 15.

Tackling tapas: Crunchy croquettes, thematically conceived _ some filled with chicken & egg, others with mushrooms & truffle oil.

Get stuffed: Save stomach space for Spanish peppers padded with minced beef (RM18++) ... 

... & baby squid puffed up with savory minced prawns (RM18++).

Creamy oven-baked goat's cheese in crisp filo pastry, beautifully balanced with pumpkin jam & caramelized shallots (RM16+).

A mash not monstrous: Truffle-scented potatoes, with no gravy required.

Estilo, a no-pork place, serves fun variants of paella, including this fowl one filled with turkey chorizo, chicken & French beans. Two or three can share this RM54+ serving.

Charcoal-grilled Aussie Black Angus rib-eye, RM72+ for a succulent 200-gram steak.

Another plate of protein power: Suckling lamb (RM38++), sliced thinly for easy eating.

Estilo's house-made meat sauces: Blue cheese, green chili, peri-peri & black pepper.

Estilo's list of desserts is short but, well, sweet: The best bet might be the apple tart, cooked to order for a 15-minute wait, served fresh & warm with vanilla ice cream.

Mexican Coffee, splashed with Tequila Patron XO Cafe.

Two types of Sangria, one with white wine, X-rated & strawberry liquor, the other with red wine, rum, orange liquor, sprite & fruit pieces (RM25+).

Martinis are marvelous here; try the watermelon one (complete with olives nevertheless).

Estilo Spanish Tapas Bar,

Lot 34, Level G2, The Square, Publika, Solaris Dutamas, Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-62039883

Nook, W XYZ & Mai Bar @ Aloft Kuala Lumpur Sentral

 Sniffing out the F&B options at Starwood's Aloft KL Sentral, the city's latest hotel, which features everything from a Polynesian-inspired rooftop bar with hand-carved Tiki totems to a twenty-four-hour lobby pantry for midnight munchies.

Aloft's main stop for solid sustenance is the first-floor Nook, whose intriguing interior represents Poole Associates' creativity (the folks behind 7atenine, WiP, EEST & QBA).

Lots of natural light, plenty of space & heaps of buffet offerings for RM78+ at dinnertime. 

From prawns, mussels & smoked salmon on ice to salads & a noodle counter that whips up a bare-bones rendition of Sarawak laksa ... 

 ... to East-&-West hot food that includes milk-roasted chicken, pan-fried orange-soy snow fish, briyani gam Johor, sambal tempe & kari ketam ..

 ... to dim sum of 'ma la' style beef, squid in belacan sauce & steamed egg in aloe vera sauce ...

 ... there's enough to keep customers going back for seconds, thirds & fourths ...

 ... all the way to desserts that might be defined more as 'guilty' than 'pleasure.'

Nook does not officially serve alcohol, but wine can be brought over from Aloft's bars, thanks to friendly servers & venue managers like Mr Maran.

 Nook closes at 10:30 pm, following which peckish guests can check out Re:Fuel, a pantry that conveniently stocks the likes of bircher muesli, Greek yogurt, Nicoise salad, muffins, nasi lemak, loh mai kai, salmon bagels, mushroom pies, egg sandwiches, cheese cakes & coffee.

Further socializing & pool-playing can be had at the comfortingly calm, lobby-level W XYZ Bar. 

Standard bar snacks, plus the tried-&-tested selection of liquor, are available here. 

Seeking a less sedate evening? Head up to Aloft's poolside Mai Bar, on possibly the 14th floor.

Take a table beside Tiki statues created by Australian artist Tony Twigg at the alfresco lounge or sit indoors; both sections offer OK views of KL's skyline.

For novelty value: Mai Bar's 'Out of the World' cocktail, a Mai Tai served in a Tiki cup alongside a mixer of pineapple juice, vanilla & cinnamon.

Everything might look blue, but who would have guessed that Mai Bar serves a jackfruit cocktail? It's as good a reason as any for now to visit this 482-room, 300-million-ringgit hotel, which will be linked later this year to the upcoming Nu Sentral mall.

Aloft KL Sentral, Jalan Stesen Sentral, Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-2723-1188

Across The Road @ Bangsar

Real-life text exchange: "Where to have dinner today?" ""Across The Road?" "Across my road?" "No, the outlet's name is Across The Road. A new pub in Bangsar."

This British-managed eatery, hidden in a commercial row opposite Menara UOA, is a friendly hangout where customers can munch on hearty fare like this three-cheese Ploughman's Lunch (RM34), porky bangers & mash, fish & chips, beef wellington & shepherd's pie.

The food's not bad; these shortcrust pastry tarts topped with goat's cheese & caramelized onions (RM14) could actually become an addiction. Prices seem fair too.

Some Italian recipes pepper the menu: the best bet might be the house-made tortellini with ricotta cheese, spinach & shredded chicken (RM25). Creamy but not too heavy, surprisingly.

Wine's available at RM17++ per glass. All in all, a nice little addition to Bangsar.

Bonus soul food: Less than a mile away from Across The Road, we ventured into a friend's private kitchen for some home-cooked fare.

Avocado reigns, blended by our talented friend into a beautiful soup with cheese & sour cream, topped with bacon & dill. Since restaurants can serve all manner of pumpkin & mushroom broths, why can't they offer this?

Baked avocado with a runny egg & more bacon. A lovely brunch alternative to Eggs Benedict.

Across The Road,

38-1, Jalan Bangsar Utama, Kuala Lumpur.

Open daily 10am through at least 1030pm.