Chaiwalla & Co Container Cafe @ The Curve

Ideal for this Instagram age, Chaiwalla & Co could be the Klang Valley's first "container cafe" _ an eye-catching construct of converted cargo containers, plopped into The Curve & unwrapped this Christmas week.

If the name sounds familiar, it might be because Chaiwalla originally launched in Johor Baru earlier this year, reportedly conceived by two Malaysian childhood friends, one a former seafarer.

'Honest tea' is Chaiwalla's catchphrase, though 'hipster tea' seems equally apt; customers can choose a beverage base of tea, milk tea, coffee or fresh milk, add flavors (caramel, winter melon, vanilla & more) & fillings (including basil seeds & nata de coco), plus select a sweetness level.

Saffron-&-rose-flavored milk tea with yogurt pops & zero added sugar (RM5.80 nett). Enjoyably mild-tasting, without the curse of cloying artifice, & sufficiently thick, though filled with a bit more ice than expected. 

Coffee with honey & coffee jelly. Ultimately satisfying for a refreshment on a hot afternoon; worth the price. Service is fast & fairly friendly.

 Pastries & brownies are also available; expect to see more photos of Chaiwalla pepper KL's social media networks for months to come.

Need more drinks? Coffea Coffee has opened its latest branch at The Curve too, adding to its outlets at Bangsar, Sunway Pyramid & Subang. Note: Chaiwalla is on The Curve's relatively placid end, outside RadioShack & Borders; Coffea is amid the restaurant-packed Piazza zone.

Chaiwalla & Co Container Cafe

Ground Floor (outdoors), The Curve, Mutiara Damansara

Daily, 10am-10pm

The latest edition of Eat Drink KL: 100 Favorites for January-March 2014 is now available online, featuring 100 pretty nice eateries, including more than 20 new entries for this quarter. The eBook can be read & downloaded for free, convenient reading on computers, tablets & smartphones. 
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Epicuro @ Damansara Uptown

Another cafe for brunch enthusiasts surfaced this week, seeking success in Damansara Utama, the increasingly noteworthy F&B hub that welcomed a parade of standouts like Obanhmi, Capital Nasi Dagang, The Good Batch & Ecole P this year.

Epicuro scores points for its feel-good casualness & for keeping its recipes relatively interesting. The presence of pork is welcome; the star attraction so far is undoubtedly the sandwich of savory pulled pork crowned with a sunny-side-up (RM18 nett).

Not into pork? Try the juicy turkey ham sandwich, bolstered with handmade nutty-peppery, garlicky-tomatoey romesco sauce (RM15 nett). Not into meat at all? No fear, Epicuro has got you covered, with a croissant filled with creamy eggs, buna-shimeji mushrooms & rocket leaves. 

Come in, the coffee's fine: Sumatra Mandheling single-origin French-press (RM8).

The rest of the menu at Epicuro, run by a small team spearheaded by a Malaysian former engineer who returned last year after a decade in Germany, should be unveiled in stages from the middle of next month; expect a wider dinnertime selection of salads, soups, burgers & pastas (the specialty might be a spinach cream creation with bacon & toasted sunflower seeds). 

Epicuro

20G, Jalan SS21/35, Damansara Utama, Petaling Jaya

Currently 11am-6pm, Wed-Mon. Will be extended to 9am-11pm eventually

The Oct.-Dec. inaugural edition of Eat Drink KL: 100 Favorites is now available in an eBook for free, convenient reading on computers, tablets & smartphones. It comprises reviews & information for 100 pretty nice eateries that span various locations, cuisines & budgets. Please click here: http://eatdrinkkl.publ.com/Eat-Drink-KL-100-Favorites-Oct-Dec-2013 (This link expires Jan. 2, 2014; see blog entries after that date for new link).

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La Scala Italian Restaurant @ Mayang

Returning to La Scala for more Italian inventions. Earlier entry on La Scala: Nov. 26.

Squid-&-pistachio tartare accompanied with salmon, a pleasingly conceived amuse bouche.

Need more marine mollusks? La Scala's selection of starters also includes octopus carpaccio with panzanella salad (RM48++). Lovely-looking plating for this too.

Need more carpaccio? Chef Lucio Russo serves a beefy one as well, theoretically elevated through the use of Italian organic Fassona Piemontese meat, topped with a salad of wild leaves, balsamic dressing & parmesan slices (RM56++).

Need more cattle? It's convenient how one dish flows into the next: Try the oxtail, braised Vaccinara-style for satisfying succulence & deep-fried in crisply battered cubes (RM46++), coupled with dill mayo & 'Bloody Mary' tomato sauce.

Cheese lovers can have a field day at La Scala: Ravioli surfaces in a colorful foursome of flavors, one filled with taleggio cheese & walnut pesto, another with mozzarella & eggplant, the third with pecorino cheese & porcini mushrooms & the final one with ricotta & spinach. RM62++.

Gorgonzola cheese risotto (RM48++), something for admirers of simplicity. 

There's cheese in this delicate dessert too: Amalfi coast Buffalo Ricotta cheese mousse with sliced pear in lemon syrup. RM26++. 

Seeking a spot with cool views to hang out at on the night of New Year's Eve without being suffocated by crowds? La Scala's alfresco terrace bar is open for business. Could be fun here.

La Scala Restaurant & La Terrazza Bar

183, Jalan Mayang, Off Jalan Yap Kwan Seng, Kuala Lumpur

Open weekdays for lunch & dinner, & Saturdays for dinner. Tel: 03-2161-2291

The Oct.-Dec. inaugural edition of Eat Drink KL: 100 Favorites is now available in an eBook for free, convenient reading on computers, tablets & smartphones. It comprises reviews & information for 100 pretty nice eateries that span various locations, cuisines & budgets. Please click here: http://eatdrinkkl.publ.com/Eat-Drink-KL-100-Favorites-Oct-Dec-2013 (This link expires Dec. 31, 2013; see blog entries after that date for new link).

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Zhou Restaurant @ Scott Garden, Old Klang Road

This Penang-based porridge specialist, which runs multiple branches in Georgetown, has expanded south to the Klang Valley, opening outlets at Scott Garden & SS2 in recent weeks.

Zhou's calling card: the creativity channeled through its congee. Here's where patrons can have piping-hot pumpkin porridge with frog legs (RM11.80 before taxes) ...

 ... herbal porridge with raw salmon (RM11.80) ...

... & laksa-paste porridge with beef & egg (RM10.80). These prices are reasonable, considering each bowl is pretty big, & the soft, smooth texture should satisfy fans of congee. But the flavors seem too weak & bland to leave a lingering impression.

 A better bet: the congee steamboat; a RM40 serving is sufficient for two or three diners, who can choose from a selection of flavor bases including Szechuan spicy, tomyam, curry, prawn & fish.

Lots to toss into the steamboat: Prawns, broccoli, egg, crab meat, crab sticks, battered fish fillet, fish maw, fish balls, Taiwan-style sausages, mushrooms, sliced pork & fried beancurd skin.

The result's thick, hearty & fulfilling, thanks largely to the multitude of savory ingredients.

Not into congee? Zhou also serves a small variety of East Asian-inspired fare that range from Hong Kong's sweet-salty Swiss chicken (RM18 for half a chicken) ... 

 ... to crisply addictive, deliciously spiced Taiwanese fried chicken (RM11.90).

Roast duck, siu yok & char siew are available too; all in all, Zhou has both hits & misses, but it's probably still worth a mention.

Zhou Porridge Restaurant,
1-17, 1st Floor, Scott Garden, Old Klang Road, Kuala Lumpur.
Daily, 11am-midnight. Tel: 03-7980-1277

The Oct.-Dec. inaugural edition of Eat Drink KL: 100 Favorites is now available in an eBook for free, convenient reading on computers, tablets & smartphones. It comprises reviews & information for 100 pretty nice eateries that span various locations, cuisines & budgets. Please click here: http://eatdrinkkl.publ.com/Eat-Drink-KL-100-Favorites-Oct-Dec-2013 (This link expires Dec. 31, 2013; see blog entries after that date for new link).

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Baba @ Amsterdam

Adult content ahead: Checking out a popular coffee shop in Amsterdam's Red Light District.

The highlight here: Hash brownies laced with cannabis. Taste like regular brownies, moist & chocolatey. Our fingers turned slightly tingly & we became a bit sleepy an hour after eating this. But that might have been mainly in our mind.

Space muffin, containing hashish. Addictive; we'd have eaten more of these if only they weren't reputed to work as both sedatives & laxatives.

Bonus: Store-bought, hemp-based cookies. Safe, with a bitter, medicinal taste, but no effects.

Ah, if only we could have brought these all back home.

Blurry photos mirror our foggy memories of this particular evening.

Baba,

Somewhere in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

The Oct.-Dec. inaugural edition of Eat Drink KL: 100 Favorites is now available in an eBook for free, convenient reading on computers, tablets & smartphones. It comprises reviews & information for 100 pretty nice eateries that span various locations, cuisines & budgets. Please click here: http://eatdrinkkl.publ.com/Eat-Drink-KL-100-Favorites-Oct-Dec-2013 (This link expires Dec. 31, 2013; see blog entries after that date for new link).

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Inside Scoop Ice Cream @ Telawi, Bangsar

No need for snow: Bangsar is freezing over, suddenly & strategically in time for Christmas, transformed into an ice cream wonderland by the milky magicians of Telawi's new Inside Scoop.

Taking over the venue vacated by Little Wonton (which has moved to Taman Tun Dr Ismail), this ice cream shop is all about the quintessential melt-in-the-mouth delight, perhaps the most universally beloved of any dessert. Whether you're seven or 77, ice cream can seem irresistible.

At least half-a-dozen people _ Edmund, Shiew Li, Derrick & their friends _ appear to labor behind the counter, a clear indication that Inside Scoop is a team effort. The ice cream is produced fresh on-site, channeling skills from a co-founder's Italian gelato-making training.

The current flavors favor the classics & the crowd-pleasing choices: Vanilla bean to hazelnut, tiramisu to cookies-&-cream, Valrhona chocolate to pistachio, blueberry cheesecake to durian, pink grapefruit sorbet to strawberry yogurt.

The results straddle the line somewhere between ice cream & gelato, leaning closer to the latter.

Inside Scoop scores strongly for both texture & taste, beautifully lush in smoothness, pleasurably concentrated in purity of flavor.

Edmund's fave: Pistachio, a true treat that distills the deep, distinct essence of this culinary nut.

Durian flavor, cursed/blessed with a pungently telltale stench; this might be the one ice cream that KL's hotels should consider outlawing.

 Pink grapefruit sorbet, also an acquired taste. Waffles with ice cream are available here too; each generous scoop of ice cream costs RM7.80, two's RM12.80 & three's RM17.50 (with a surcharge of RM1.50 per scoop for premium flavors like Valrhona choc).

All in all, Bangsar's hottest attraction might soon also be its coolest, harboring a potential for greater risk-taking & experimentation in the months ahead. Give Inside Scoop space to evolve; as those of us who enjoyed Cielo Dolci on its opening day would remember, even Cielo wasn't armed with a nasi lemak flavor in the beginning.

Bonus Bangsar treat: Cross the road from Inside Scoop to pop-up caffeine bar Nowhereman Coffee, which started selling glazed nuts by local entrepreneurs Nutty Nuts this past weekend.

A fun snack, but maybe not ideal for those of us who prefer nuts to be completely savory instead of nearly candy-sweet. Still, to steal one of Nutty Nuts' catchphrases, this would work for patrons who'd rather be nutty than nice this Christmas. 

Inside Scoop

9, Jalan Telawi 3, Bangsar Baru, Kuala Lumpur. Near Nosh.

Business hours not finalized, but likely to be noon through 11pm everyday for now

The Oct.-Dec. inaugural edition of Eat Drink KL: 100 Favorites is now available in an eBook for free, convenient reading on computers, tablets & smartphones. It comprises reviews & information for 100 pretty nice eateries that span various locations, cuisines & budgets. Please click here: http://eatdrinkkl.publ.com/Eat-Drink-KL-100-Favorites-Oct-Dec-2013 (This link expires Dec. 31, 2013; see blog entries after that date for new link).

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