A strange foreign invasion has unfurled this month in Taman Desa: GravyBaby offers Blighty-style pies baked by a British former military club chef & inventive cocktails mixed by a French bartender who flew into KL from a stint in Buenos Aires.
The pies have it: GravyBaby's specialities prove pretty satisfying. We like the fish pie, comprising smoked haddock, cod, salmon & prawns, with buttery mash, minted mushy peas & London East End Parsley Liquor sauce (RM26), lamb & redcurrant hotpot pie with mash, spicy Boston baked beans & meat gravy (RM26) & pumpkin apricot tagine pie with vegetable gravy (RM20) - thick but tender crusts, sliced open to reveal tastily prepared fillings, served fresh & warm, paired with enjoyable sides. You'll also find other tempting options like braised steak & ale pie or blue cheese, potato & leek pie - a credit to the team led by Gravybaby executive chef Paul Elliot, who spent the past few years helming the kitchen at London's Army & Navy Club.
The menu is extremely extensive - expect various salads (such as black rice with quinoa, cannellini beans, edamame & ginger sesame dressing for RM18), soups (creamy spiced roasted butternut squash at RM18), sandwiches (crab meat with rarebit on rye for RM31) & cakes (white chocolate, mascarpone & raspberry sponge for RM23), each of which conveys certain merits, plus hot dogs, waffles, cheese boards, & more - it might all seem too much for a neighbourhood cafe in Taman Desa, though GravyBaby has franchise aspirations; a second outpost is slated to launch later this year on Jalan P. Ramlee in the city centre.
GravyBaby's cocktails were created by mixologist Tony, who'll be in KL for several weeks. The bar currently opens at 7am, so if you need one, you can have a drink before heading to the office. Our favourite is the Side Truck - Bourbon, Vermouth & hibiscus, served in a teapot with dry ice (RM36) - but others might prefer the Smoking Grass (RM36; Bourbon, ginger beer, honey, lemongrass smoke), Baby Bouquet (RM36; gin, white cacao, lemon, lavender), Meringue Colada (RM36; rum, coconut water, apricot, calamansi, topped with fluffy coconut meringue), a Gin & Tonic (RM36; Hendrick's, cucumber, juniper berries, herbs) or even a Peanut Butter Milkshake that's spiked with frangelico (RM31). Finally, cocktail culture cometh in Taman Desa!
GravyBaby
5A, Jalan Desa Jaya, Taman Desa, Kuala Lumpur. Daily, 7am-11pm
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