WCAFE by WSPACE, Mid Valley City

Mid Valley might be a hive of human activity throughout the day, but WCAFE offers a calm, cosy refuge from the madding crowds. Tucked in an eighth-floor co-working space, it's worth checking out for barista-baked banana walnut cake (RM6; irreproachably fluffy) and brownies (RM6; irresistibly moist and flavourful). You may end up lingering over a croissant (RM6), piccolo latte (RM8) and osmathus apricot water kefir (RM10), reluctant to return to the clamour and chaos outside.


WCAFE by WSPACE
Level 8, Centrepoint North, Mid Valley City, Kuala Lumpur. Open Monday-Friday, 9am-6pm.

Pop Pizza, Mid Valley Megamall

Pop Pizza might be KL's first pizzeria that tackles the American interpretation of Sicilian pizzas, with their distinctive rectangular shape and thick, focaccia-like crust.

The Great Grandma (RM65) is a 14-inch, eight-slice behemoth that three or four people can share, baked for nearly half an hour in a gas deck oven, yielding a supple base that channels fresh-from-the-oven soft bread. It's sprinkled with fried capers, balsamic reduction and arugula, though its prime topping is sliced nuggets of breaded chicken and its most prominent feature is its crispy cheese edge that rises to nearly an inch high. All in all, a doughy, robustly savoury indulgence that might trigger pangs of guilt after a single slice.

Pop also operates two wood-fired ovens, the source of its Pop-Napoli pizzas with their signature sesame seed crust. Twelve-inch and hand-tossed, these are meant to come closer to Naples-style pizzas, though they come out crisp rather than tender here. The mozzarella for our Pomodoro (RM32) proved rather rubbery, the basil seemed sparse, but the tomatoes salvaged the situation - juicily ripe, sweetly fleshy marinated tomatoes, bolstered by a hand-crushed tomato sauce that tasted buoyantly natural.

Pop Pizza
LG-043 Mid Valley Megamall, Mid Valley City, 58000 Kuala Lumpur. Daily, 10am-10pm. Tel: 03-2201-1660

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com

Beauty In The Pot, The Gardens Mall

Serving the Chinese culinary equivalent of a tale as old as time, Beauty In The Pot promises the traditional pleasures of hotpot cooking in a cool, contemporary setting. True to its name, this is soul-warming fare that's wholesomely crafted to benefit inner beauty, but Beauty In The Pot's newest branch in The Gardens Mall is also lovely to look at, luminous in white marble and cherry blossom shades.

Newly launched on 8 November, this is the first Klang Valley outpost for Paradise Group's Beauty In The Pot, which enjoyed its Malaysian debut in SkyAvenue Genting Highlands in 2018 following stellar success in Singapore.

Be their guest and put their service to the test: Beauty In The Pot is spacious enough for 280 patrons, with private rooms that can seat 12 to 24 diners. There's even a small play area near the entrance.

Hot stuff: Beauty In The Pot's menu makes it clear that this is no ordinary hotpot hangout - the restaurant serves six soup bases, of which we tried four, each one thoughtfully and uniquely designed with ingredients that promote vitality.

The ideal introduction is the Signature Beauty Collagen Broth, the flagship scallop-and-pork-bone soup, painstakingly prepared over at least six hours every day. This complex, textured broth is rich with collagen, the coveted protein that's popularly consumed for skin health and heart health - this is one of those cases where you'll be eating something delicious that's also nutritious for your body.

The Signature Spicy Nourishing Soup is also invigorating, with its medley of Chinese herbs, including a whole ginseng - it's irresistible for spice seekers, though its comforting, curative heat, born of classic Oriental medicine, is distinctively different from typical mala soups elsewhere.

The Cooling Coconut Broth is as soothing as its description suggests, derived from a mix that includes fresh coconut water, chicken, chicken feet and snow fungus - delectably delicate, reliably rejuvenating.

The Vitamin C Tomato Sweet Corn Soup is for folks who crave a natural sweetness, with corn buoyed by the tomato's pure, clean tang - the antioxidant-loaded soup among this bevy of broths.

The remaining two broths on the menu are the Herbal Drunken Chicken Broth, made by simmering kampung chicken over a small fire for at least two hours, and the Longevity Wild Mushroom Broth, the earthy, vegetarian-friendly choice.

Broth prices range from RM27.90 to RM42.90 for an entire pot, while a quartet clocks in at between RM8.90 to RM12.90 for each individual broth.

With broths these excellent, you'll want impeccable ingredients to cook in them. From land to sea, the quality of Beauty In The Pot's components is undeniable - savour the best of both worlds with the meat platter (RM109.90; sliced pork belly, Spanish iberico pork, U.S. marbled beef cubes, sliced Australian beef) and the seafood platter (RM159.90; a ravishingly presented ensemble of 300-500 grams of live crabs, sea prawns, scallops, red clams and squid ring), packed with luscious protein for prime indulgence.

For a full-fledged feast with your loved ones, there's much more to keep the meal and the mood merry - the ebiko prawn paste is hand-shaped out of pure, premium and pristine prawn meat, crowned with roe for bursts of Japanese-inspired vibrancy (RM36.90); the fried beancurd skin is impressively crisp, requiring scarcely three seconds of cooking (RM10); the pomfret is Malaysian fish at its freshest, fleshiest and finest (RM68); the live drunken tiger prawns are a decadent delight (RM29.50); and the house-made fish tofu is a well-balanced blend of yellowtail fish, soybeans and egg white (RM3.90 per piece). Each of these is worth recommending, so it's easy to imagine returning here multiple times to explore the selection.

For a RM6.90 surcharge, patrons can acquire access to more than 20 condiments and sauces. We especially appreciate the compilation of recommended sauce mixes, like the crispy garlic spicy dip, the sesame oil dip, and the crispy soybean dip.

Beauty In The Pot is now in its soft-launch stage, with its official opening slated for 25 November, when the 'You Are My Queen' five-day promotion will also begin. Every group that includes at least one Queen (a woman aged 18 or above) will receive a discount on all food ordered. One Queen secures you a 10% discount, two will get you 20%, and so on, all the way up to a maximum 50%. This promotion is valid from 25 to 29 November at Beauty In The Pot, The Gardens Mall, applicable only to food items.

This will be followed by other promotions, like the Special Flash Makeup and Beauty Collage Ice Cream giveaway (29 November to 1 December), Pink is the New Black giveaway (2 to 6 December), and a collaboration for makeup with Urban Decay plus the beauty collagen ice cream in collaboration with Creme De La Creme (7 to 8 December). It's going to be a busy several weeks ahead for Beauty In The Pot!

Many thanks to Beauty In The Pot for having us here.

Beauty In The Pot

T-201B, 3rd Floor, The Gardens Mall, Mid Valley City, 59200 Kuala Lumpur.
Until 24 Nov: Open Mon-Sun, 11am-1230am. After 25 Nov: Open Mon-Sun, 11am-2am. Tel: 03-2202-1599

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com

Hoagies, The Gardens Mall

Hearty hoagies are the namesake of this cheerful new venue in The Gardens Mall, with no fewer than seven varieties of the submarine sandwich on the menu. True to its Philadelphia roots, the hoagie we had to try was the Philly-Me-Up (RM19.90; signature bun with sliced Philly steak, cheese, mushrooms, honey mustard, cucumber, sliced tomato, greens and fried egg). It might seem somewhat more of a Malaysianised rendition though, with beef prepared in what tastes like a wet, savoury stir-fry, with more of a chew than preferable.

The selection also includes a few Italian-American favourites like cannelloni; wash down with a decadently all-American Chocolate Brownie Milkshake (RM13). Service is buoyantly friendly.


Hoagies
LG-228A, The Gardens Mall, Mid Valley City, 59200 Kuala Lumpur. Daily, 10am-10pm.

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com