Eat Drink KL: January 2020

Friday, January 31, 2020

Jibril, Subang Jaya: 2020 Menu

It's 3pm on a Tuesday afternoon and Jibril is packed with patrons, filled with tables of twentysomethings catching up with each other on their latest hijinks. They've all succeeded in discovering the restaurant's not-so-secret entrance, a discreet door that opens up a brick wall into a whole new world of tantalising temptations.

Jibril has thrived for half a decade now, becoming its own institution in Subang Jaya's SS15 college enclave. Described as Malaysia's first Muslim-friendly speakeasy-inspired restaurant, it might still feel like a hidden gem, even though all the cool kids in the neighbourhood know about it.

Nearly five years after we visited Jibril for the first time, we recently returned for a peek at its latest pleasures. Fun fact: You'll currently see a poster for the upcoming Malaysian movie Daulat on Jibril's entrance - Jibril funded the political thriller, slated for release in multiplexes this year!

The ideal introduction to Jibril is the salted egg butter chicken rice platter, a creation for which Jibril has become renowned, bringing together the lush savouriness of salted egg chicken thigh meat with the creamy sweetness of butter chicken.

Feast on it in the newly updated and upgraded Salted Egg Butter Combo platter, which adds tiger prawns and squid to the mix, all coated in genuine salted egg yolk sauce (RM26.90 per plate or RM49.90 for two plates) - diners can then double the decadence by dunking the chicken, prawns and squid in a rich buttermilk sauce on the side.

You can also order each component separately if you want only chicken, only tiger prawns, or only squid on your rice platter (the salted egg butter chicken starts at RM15.90 per platter; on weekdays, 3pm-6pm, a large group can order five platters for RM55).

If you want an even punchier platter, try the Nasi Lemak Butter Combo (RM28.90), which reunites the triumphant trio of chicken, tiger prawns and squid, coated this time with salted egg yolk, buttermilk, plus sambal for the extra kick of spiciness, rounded out with santan-saturated rice, hard-boiled egg, peanuts, anchovies and cucumber for nasi lemak that's definitely, determinedly distinctive. It's robustly hearty enough for even the most princely appetite; you can also order nasi lemak platters with individual servings of chicken, prawns or squid starting from RM19.90.

If you're here for a lighter snack, Jibril does those with confident flair too - on rainy days, the wild mushroom soup with garlic toast is classic comfort fare, served steaming-hot and earthy (RM11.90). If pastries are your irresistible delight, then tuck into the salted egg croissant, bursting with luxurious salted egg lava within its fresh-baked flakiness (RM8.90). Prefer a more locally influenced teatime treat? The Pisang Goreng XL could be the most indulgent version of this beloved street snack, with extra-large, sweetly ripe bananas blanketed in crisp, fluffy batter, completed with coconut ice cream for the perfect coupling of warm and cold contrasts (RM12.90).

For folks who live far from Subang, there's now happy news: Jibril offers its own independent delivery service, with no minimum order! Order at order.jibrilss15.com with a coverage of up to 35 kilometres (the team has even delivered to colleges on the outskirts of Selangor). Delivery fee is a reasonable RM5 within five kilometres (add RM1 for every additional one kilometre). Orders will be sent to you promptly, but it's probably prudent to order around one to two hours before your meal, depending on how far away you live from Subang.

Jibril is also known for its non-alcoholic mocktails, which showcase a sense of originality and imagination. The Coco is a creative tropical refreshment that coconut lovers will adore, aromatic with the nuances of coconut nectar (RM9.90), while the Potter is a triumphant tribute to Hogwarts, a liquor-free interpretation of butterbeer that's thickly decadent (RM8.90). Other reviving concoctions include the Lisa, a shake-like blend of dark cocoa and vanilla with the fruity punch of strawberries (RM12.90), and the Mockarita, tangy with orange and lime, with salt for the final kick (RM7.90).

If you're planning a celebration at Jibril, the restaurant also offers table decoration packages, including tablecloth, table settings, centrepieces, candles, balloons and a complimentary slice of cake that can be scribbled with wishes for birthdays, anniversaries and other occasions.

All in all, it's an exciting time to be a fan of Jibril, with interesting promotions coming up throughout this year (watch out for the Valentine's specials next month). Many thanks to Jibril for having us here.


Jibril
25, Ground Floor, Jalan SS15/4B, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor.
Operation Hours: Monday-Sunday, 12pm-12am (last orders 11:30pm)
Email: jibrilss15@gmail.com
Tel: 6010-245-8056
Social Media: @jibrilss15 (FB, IG, Twitter)

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com

Alcea Coffee, Cyberjaya


Named for the alcea flower, beloved by the wife of Alcea Coffee's co-founder, this is one of Cyberjaya's top stops for thoughtfully brewed coffee.


Sip on a Ethiopian Ayehu pour-over, relying on naturally processed beans from a sustainability-practising farm, beautifully light and pleasant, with official tasting notes of strawberry, rose and chestnuts (RM20). Alcea's filter coffee prices range from RM15 (Ijen Plateau, Indonesia) to RM58 (Boquete, Panama); if you're fortunate, the baristas might have a small sampler glass at hand for you.

Prefer espresso-based coffee? Try the creamy-smooth, noticeably nutty flat white, a single-origin Brazilian from the Fazenda de Lagoa plantation that's meant to convey dark chocolate dynamics (RM12).



Customers can't live on coffee alone - banish hunger with the mutton curry fettuccine, featuring meat and pasta that both prove tender, with the fettuccine richly absorbing the curry's flavours (RM18).



Alcea Coffee
D1-03-06, Tamarind Square, Persiaran Multimedia, 63000 Cyberjaya.
Open Mon-Wed, 9am-7pm; Fri, 3pm-10pm; Sat-Sun, 9am-7pm. Tel: 013-399-1248

Thursday, January 30, 2020

Big Bottle, Petaling Street

Big Bottle might sound like a watering hole, but it springs one intriguing culinary surprise: Zao cai fen gan, the Foochow speciality of mustard greens fermented in red rice wine that's beloved in Sarawak's Sibu town. Served soupy with thick vermicelli, pork and prawns, this is a piping-hot bowl that's hearty, punchy and tangy - the perfect rainy-day pleasure.

Borneo-inspired artwork adds to Big Bottle's East Malaysian vibes, though instead of tuak, craft beers line the chillers.

Big Bottle
134, Petaling Street, Kuala Lumpur. Daily, 8am-2am.

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Caffeine, Kuwait

Hipster cafes have overrun the world, including in Kuwait, where Caffeine serves locally inflected open sandwiches topped with labna yogurt cheese, za'atar spices and espresso balsamic to complement coffee relying on beans from across the globe.