Krung Thep: Noodle Bar By Day

If noodles fuel your food fantasies, Krung Thep's Noodle Bar By Day could be your afternoon delight, with the exuberant sounds of stir-frying echoing throughout the open kitchen. KL's hottest new Thai restaurant of the past six months has introduced a fun concept that replaces its a la carte menu with a selection of eight noodle recipes exclusively for lunch.

There might be oodles of noodles here now, but our best bets succeed in fearlessly currying favour: Kao Soi Gai takes inspiration from northern Thailand's rich, creamy staple, layered with two renditions of rice noodles in one brothy, softly spiced bowl, with the noodle base smoothly boiled and its topping thickly crunchy, rounded out with tender chicken and tangy Chiang Mai mustard greens for lip-smacking spoonfuls of lovely, lively textural contrasts (RM28).

Fermented rice noodles with tenggiri fish curry also turn out soothing and soulful, their rustic appeal lent a luxe sense of refinement by an onsen egg, the kind of comfort fare that makes noodles perennially popular (RM28). Many customers admire Krung Thep's a la carte menu for imaginatively elevating Thai classics with accomplished flair, mastering the myriad nuances of this cuisine - that culinary confidence easily extends to Noodle Bar By Day as well.

Everyone will likely have their own preferred noodles here: Fans of claypot-cooked fare can choose the glass noodles, buoyed by a discernible tang that's deliciously balanced by the crustacean sweetness of baked sea prawns (RM42). The kitchen ensures that each ensemble boasts depth and dimensions, with plenty of wallop, kick and punch - in this case, with green chilli sauce on the side for fiery extra dynamics.

No lack of sultry fried noodles either - naturally, there's Pad Thai, complete with essentials like prawns, tofu and toasted peanuts, cooked with duck egg for a little extra luxury (RM26). For meaty noodles with a firm bite, order the Kor Gai, with charred chicken, aromatic herbs and sriracha sauce (RM26); for a vegetarian-friendly choice with a slick, juicy chew, have the Pad See Ew Veggie, with oyster mushrooms and assorted local greens in soy sauce (RM23).

Other options comprise noodles with beef and kailan or with beancurd and mushrooms.

Some customers can't live on noodles alone, so rest assured that Noodle Bar By Day also offers seven small plates to accompany your meal, not including its complimentary appetiser of decadently crisp fried chicken skin and vibrant ulam leaves with sriracha, tamarind and smoked aubergine dips. The small-plates section is headlined irresistibly by duck egg omelette with crab meat (RM25), but browse further and you'll spot other intriguing possibilities like wing beans, prawns and egg with chilli jam in coconut milk dressing (RM38) and white cabbage made briny with fish sauce, prawn oil and dried prawns (RM22).

This might be a noodle bar at heart, but it's also the triple threat of a dessert bar and wine bar. The Thai milk tea ice cream is a crowd-rouser that our entire table loved, with the full-bodied lushness of cha yen transformed into ice cream, crisped up with croutons and earthy dehydrated mushroom slivers (RM18). For a more delicate but equally enjoyable ice cream, the coconut ice cream is a reviving tropical treat with red rubies, jackfruit, coconut syrup and toasted peanuts (RM20). Meanwhile, mango may seem a Thai cliche, but Krung Thep again puts a fine spin on a classic, substituting conventional sticky rice with nuttier, firmer black glutinous rice, finished with luscious coconut slices and coconut milk cream - brilliantly beachy (RM22).

Krung Thep's Noodle Bar By Day

G05, Ground Floor, Republik, Jalan Medan Setia 1, Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur. 

Noodle Bar By Day is available daily, 1130am-230pm.

Krung Thep's full a la carte menu, excluding the noodles, remains available during dinner.

Tel: 03-7622-8760

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com

Tapestry Dining: Dinner Menu

Brunch enthusiasts have been flocking to Chow Kit's captivating Rise & Shine by Tapestry - but now, this space can finally be savoured past sunset, when it takes on a dreamy, dramatic glow in the beautifully lit dark. Tapestry Dining's exemplary evening menu sources sustainable ingredients from local farmers and fishermen for culinary creations that can be traced to their roots.

Dinner at Tapestry is all about soulful, heartwarming cooking, fuelled by fresh, flavour-packed produce.

Start with the seasonal fibre, confidently prepared for full-bodied textures: A vibrant bumper crop of vivid-hued, Kelantan-cultivated vegetables from Gua Musang yields everything from carrots to capsicum, Chinese broccoli to courgettes, their earthiness enhanced by an understated char, retaining their rich crunch with a cardamom yogurt dip for extra punch (RM28).

From Pahang's village of Janda Baik, the purple and white corn should easily harvest the entire table's endorsement, buoyed by a bite that's naturally sweet and nourishingly juicy, made crisp with a scattering of dehydrated sweet potato skin and creamy with subtly spicy sambal-spiked aioli (RM32).

Tapestry's kitchen moves effortlessly from the fertile land to the streams and sea of Malaysia's west coast, from small plates to larger ones, each sharing-suitable.

Kuala Selangor spawns the lemon sole, fleshy and fork-tender, its gentle tang complemented by vine tomatoes, cushioned by sweet potato mash (RM48), while Tanjung Malim brings sturgeon to the surface, gorgeously grilled, great enough to eat on its own but enlivened further with assam pedas butter and pickled shallots (RM75).

Plenty of thought and skill have been poured into these recipes, resulting in impressive nuance and depth - fish can be delicate, and in the hands of Tapestry's chef, it's a genuine delicacy.

Part of Tapestry Dining's identity is as a modern grill, so it's fair to expect smoky succulence from its Perak-origin poultry.

Ipoh-bred spring chicken is a prime pleasure, smooth and moist - true to form, Tapestry succeeds in matching it flawlessly with a complementary sauce, this time in the form of roasted red pepper (RM55).

We hadn't realised that Kampar has a noteworthy duck farm, but its fowl was raised well - the confit duck leg is something to sink your teeth into (RM66), a luscious specimen that's a credit to its species, with the whole thigh and drumstick sitting pretty on a sumptuous stew of barley, black beans, black-eyed peas and chickpeas. There's a surprise component to this - a side dish of duck fat financiers, a dense, decadently savoury take on the petite French cakes.

Sabah and Sarawak are respectably represented in Tapestry Dining's edible equation, the former by seafood, of course. From the bountiful shores of northern Borneo comes squid, a far cry from rubbery, a tantalising testament to both its provenance and the proficiency of Tapestry's crew, robust with XO sauce for concrete proof of Asian inflections (RM58).

Fish and crustaceans from the Land Below The Wind share the cast-iron spotlight with whole grains from the Land of the Hornbills, as Sarawak's indigenous-sown Job's tears form the foundation for a Malaysian 'risotto' that speaks with what evokes an oats-and-nuts conviction of its terroir - a should-try for folks seeking a distinctive dish capitalising on local elements (RM66).

Sarawak pineapples sweeten up our final course, the South American tres leches, sizzling with table theatrics - buttery house-baked sponge cake, nectarous with a layer of pineapple compote, poured over with a three-milk blend of condensed milk, evaporated milk and heavy cream - it's safe to order this for dessert, since it'll be a surefire smash with most patrons (RM25).

Service is assured and amiable at Tapestry, encouraging us to linger with a glass of Italian orange wine constantly close by.

Tapestry Dining

28, Jalan Kamunting, Chow Kit, Kuala Lumpur. Dinner menu available Wed-Sun, 630pm-1030pm. Tel: 03-7622-8720

Royal Canton: Lunar New Year 2020

You have until the end of this month to enjoy a meal at Royal Canton, which wraps up its time in DC Mall on 31 January 2020.

Royal Canton's Lunar New Year menu hits all the essential notes, with mid-range menus that span everything from hot and hearty poon choy to steamed dragon tiger grouper with superior soy sauce, double-boiled black chicken soup with matsutake mushrooms to glutinous rice with Hong Kong waxed meat and yam cubes, auspicious koi nian gao with shredded coconut to sweet soup with red dates, longan and white fungus.

We hope to see Royal Canton resurface again someday in a new home.

Royal Canton

DC Mall, Jalan Damanlela, Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur. Tel: 03-2731-4628

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com

Satay Pappasu, Petaling Street

Like many of Petaling Street's recently revived shop-houses, Satay Pappasu charms with an interior that nods to nostalgia in its effort to entice today's social media generation. Its satay selection includes Australian lamb, beef tenderloin, beef stomach, and sotong - lean, with a sturdy chew.

Satay Pappasu

143, Petaling Street, Kuala Lumpur. Open Tues-Sun, 1130am-830pm.

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com