Eat Drink KL: September 2015

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Afternoon Tea Mantou Sliders & Evening Posh Nosh @ The Gastro Project

The Gastro Project has recently introduced two intriguing promotions: An Afternoon Tea menu that features creative sliders constructed with mantou buns & fun fillings, as well as Posh Nosh three-course dinnertime sets that change every fortnight, carefully crafted by the restaurant's new chef Yuz with an attention to complex details.

The Afternoon Tea selection is available six days a week, Tuesdays through Sundays, 2:30pm-5:30pm. It's a reasonably priced affair - RM16.90++ for two mantous & complimentary serving of coffee or tea - sufficient for a satisfactory snack.

Cute creations - customers can choose from a diverse & distinctive selection of four savoury mantous and two sweet ones, all thickly stuffed, many showcasing a strong sense of contemporary, cross-border trendiness: Steamed mantou with fried chicken, red radish slaw & sriracha aioli; steamed mantou with lamb kofta, tzatziki sauce & fried mint; grilled mantou with beef patty, tomato salsa & fried quail egg; fried mantou with tempura fish, shaved cucumber & Oriental chilli sauce; fried mantou with custard, strawberries & a side of sweet condensed milk; & fried mantou with vanilla ice cream & shaved chocolate.

Seguing into the evening, The Gastro Project's new Posh Nosh menu runs Thursdays through Sundays from 7pm, offering the outlet's interesting interpretations of gourmet fare. For the first two weeks of October, the well-executed set starts with crisp wild mushroom arancini with garlic puree & truffle oil, followed by a fish lover's main course of pan-fried barramundi with tomato salsa & coriander mariniere sauce, concluding with a luscious panna cotta with fresh Thai basil & coconut cream.

The Posh Nosh menu costs RM98 nett - October's final two weeks will feature a perky starter of chilled tomato consomme with herbs & olive oil, a meaty main of Black Angus sirloin with charred onion, leek etuvee & wild mushroom jus, & a textured dessert of caramelised banana with chocolate crumbs, toffee sauce & vanilla ice cream. Thanks to TGP for having us here.

The Gastro Project
25 Jalan 17/56, Section 17, Petaling Jaya. Open Tues-Sun, 11am-12am. Tel: 03-7931-6465

The Eat Drink KL mobile app is now available, connecting restaurants & customers to promote a positive spirit of community.
Every restaurant on this app rewards users with a 6 percent discount, instantly & conveniently, everyday, all day long. 
In return, users share photos of their experiences at these eateries, creating a new community of restaurant lovers.
For every transaction, at least RM0.20 will be channelled to a charity of the month.

Stay up to date: The Eat Drink KL newsletter is sent by email to subscribers every Monday; it's the Klang Valley's foremost weekly round-up of new restaurant openings, F&B promotions & other tasty tidbits.
Subscribe to Eat Drink KL Weekly for free via this following link: 
Note to subscribers on Gmail: The newsletter will be in the Promotions folder of your inbox.

Check out the latest edition of Eat Drink KL: 100 Favourites, with 100 recommended restaurants for May-August 2015. This eBook is available to read or download at this link: http://eatdrinkkl.cld.bz/2015 

Buckle your seatbelts: Eat Drink KL is partnering with Uber to take restaurant lovers on new adventures across KL & Selangor!
If you haven't used Uber yet, it's time to begin! For new users, just follow the steps below to redeem free rides:
1. Download the Uber app from the App Store, Play Store or Windows Store - and register your Uber account.
2. Apply the code EATDRINKKL as your first promotional code & you'll receive 2 Free Rides worth RM30 each.
3. Request a ride through the app and ride for free to any destination (with two ride values of up to RM30 each).

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Meja Kitchen + Bar @ TREC KL

Meja Kitchen + Bar is the first restaurant to be fully opened at TREC, KL's much-touted new F&B-lifestyle enclave. Reputedly founded by the folks behind the Klang Valley's Movida bar-club chain, Meja serves a hodgepodge of Western & Southeast Asian offerings that might seem too familiar to truly thrill, with Caesar salads, buffalo wings, spaghetti carbonara, sirloin steaks & spicy garlic seafood pizzas sharing the menu with nasi lemak, tom yam soup, beef hor fun, cucur udang & curry laksa.

We tried the chicken nachos & the ayam betutu for a two-hander sampling of fowl; both proved competent but not compelling. The nachos (RM30) form a circle around a superfluous centre of salad leaves, with each tortilla chip topped with a reasonably flavourful mix of chicken chilli con carne, pinto beans, tomato salsa & jalapenos, accompanied by guacamole & sour cream (strangely on the side) - it's all a bit too neat for nachos. The ayam betutu (RM28) comprises Balinese-inspired, foiled-cooked chicken leg in savoury gravy, partnered with steamed rice, sambal matah & veggies, showcasing sufficient skill but scant soul. Still, on a positive note, service at Meja is warm & efficient, & the Chilean Carmenere can be enjoyed for RM25 by the glass.

 TREC's Electric Boulevard phase hadn't sprung to life when we visited on a recent weekday, though Japanese joint Hacha Mecha & speakeasy-influenced bar Ikki should be in business by the time you read this. Zouk's outdoor cafe-bar remained completely calm between 6pm & 8pm; other upcoming outlets - Artebar & Live House - appeared to be works in progress.

Meja Kitchen + Bar
10-11, Electric Boulevard, TREC, Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur. Daily, 12pm-3am

The Eat Drink KL mobile app is now available, connecting restaurants & customers to promote a positive spirit of community.
Every restaurant on this app rewards users with a 6 percent discount, instantly & conveniently, everyday, all day long. 
In return, users share photos of their experiences at these eateries, creating a new community of restaurant lovers.
For every transaction, at least RM0.20 will be channelled to a charity of the month.

Stay up to date: The Eat Drink KL newsletter is sent by email to subscribers every Monday; it's the Klang Valley's foremost weekly round-up of new restaurant openings, F&B promotions & other tasty tidbits.
Subscribe to Eat Drink KL Weekly for free via this following link: 
Note to subscribers on Gmail: The newsletter will be in the Promotions folder of your inbox.

Check out the latest edition of Eat Drink KL: 100 Favourites, with 100 recommended restaurants for May-August 2015. This eBook is available to read or download at this link: http://eatdrinkkl.cld.bz/2015 

Buckle your seatbelts: Eat Drink KL is partnering with Uber to take restaurant lovers on new adventures across KL & Selangor!
If you haven't used Uber yet, it's time to begin! For new users, just follow the steps below to redeem free rides:
1. Download the Uber app from the App Store, Play Store or Windows Store - and register your Uber account.
2. Apply the code EATDRINKKL as your first promotional code & you'll receive 2 Free Rides worth RM30 each.
3. Request a ride through the app and ride for free to any destination (with two ride values of up to RM30 each).

Monday, September 28, 2015

Rak Somtam Urban Thai Eatery @ Kota Damansara

Terrific Thai temptations that tickle the taste buds & linger in the memory - Rak Somtam is well worth the trip to Kota Damansara, helmed by a Malaysian restaurateur & his Thai wife, with a kitchen crew that hails largely from north of our border.

Start with som tam (RM12.90) - fulfilling the promise of its name, Rak Somtam serves one of the most satisfying shredded papaya salads we've tried in the Klang Valley, with each juicy, crunchy bite supplying a bevy of invigorating flavours, beautifully balanced in their complex, sweet-sour-spicy nuances, complemented by creamy salted eggs and crispy peanuts.

We were also pleasantly surprised by the braised pork leg (RM21.90), with irresistible layers of meat, fat & skin that proved even more succulent than expected, served in a mellow, aromatic broth that was far from cloying or artificial-tasting. A dish of harmonious flavours & textures that's likely to haunt our dreams & stir up strong yearnings from time to time.

Thumbs up as well for the pork neck salad, with compellingly tender slices of well-marinated meat enhanced with fiery chillies, & the Chiang Mai-inspired pork belly curry, a rich recipe with voluptuous chunks of meat in mildly tangy gravy laced with lemongrass & other potently fragrant elements. Both of these aren't on the formal menu yet but should be available on request.

BBQ pork skewers (RM10.90 for three sticks), braised glass noodles with prawns (RM21.90) & sticky rice (RM2.50) all help to reinforce our confidence in the kitchen's competence. Don't skip dessert - the coconut ice cream (RM10.90) is a buoyant medley of soft, subtle-in-flavour ice cream with corn, peanuts & attap-chee. Many thanks to Rak Somtam for having us here.

Rak Somtam
17-1, Jalan PJU 5/4, Dataran Sunway, Kota Damansara, Petaling Jaya 
Open Thurs-Tues, 10am-3pm, 5pm-10pm (closed Wednesdays). Tel: 03-6144-6621


This restaurant is available for bookings under TABLEAPP, which enables customers to make instant reservations at Malaysia's top restaurants, while saving time and money in the process. Reserve your table at this restaurant by clicking here.

The Eat Drink KL mobile app is now available, connecting restaurants & customers to promote a positive spirit of community.
Every restaurant on this app rewards users with a 6 percent discount, instantly & conveniently, everyday, all day long. 
In return, users share photos of their experiences at these eateries, creating a new community of restaurant lovers.
For every transaction, at least RM0.20 will be channelled to a charity of the month.

Stay up to date: The Eat Drink KL newsletter is sent by email to subscribers every Monday; it's the Klang Valley's foremost weekly round-up of new restaurant openings, F&B promotions & other tasty tidbits.
Subscribe to Eat Drink KL Weekly for free via this following link: 
Note to subscribers on Gmail: The newsletter will be in the Promotions folder of your inbox.

Check out the latest edition of Eat Drink KL: 100 Favourites, with 100 recommended restaurants for May-August 2015. This eBook is available to read or download at this link: http://eatdrinkkl.cld.bz/2015 

Buckle your seatbelts: Eat Drink KL is partnering with Uber to take restaurant lovers on new adventures across KL & Selangor!
If you haven't used Uber yet, it's time to begin! For new users, just follow the steps below to redeem free rides:
1. Download the Uber app from the App Store, Play Store or Windows Store - and register your Uber account.
2. Apply the code EATDRINKKL as your first promotional code & you'll receive 2 Free Rides worth RM30 each.
3. Request a ride through the app and ride for free to any destination (with two ride values of up to RM30 each).