ILHAM Tower's new Neo Bar is an ode to liminality (the beauty of being in between), balancing structure and surprise, nostalgia and novelty, memory and mixology.
Both a gallery and a sanctuary on the 37th floor, Neo Bar is a striking stage for cocktails by Roman-born Giovanni Andrea Magliaro and his team, featuring a storyboard of Malaysian recollections, framed by the Petronas towers and city lights.
Kurang Manis translates the kopitiam cry to the liquor-loving experience, a highball for a sky-high bar, a tall potion of pisco with chinotto, bergamot, ginger tincture, orange bitters, preserved plum soda and lime, a Peruvian chilcano spin on KL limau asam boi.
Childhood Truce is playfully inspired by ice cream carts serving Neapolitan ice cream, blending cocoa liqueur and avocado vodka with chia seeds, cushioned with strawberry panna cotta, capped with vanilla 'air' for a whimsical dessert-drink dream.
Neo also champions sustainability with a separate Sip-Cycle menu, repurposing ingredient remnants from the bar. Filthy Gajus is a deliciously dirty shake-and-stir of tuak with cashew distillate, kaffir cordial and lacto-fermented tomato, edged with tomato salt, boldly savoury-tangy with nutty, earthy nuances.
