Morelli's @ Bangsar

Hidden in a Bangsar condo, Morelli's serves surprisingly porky Italian recipes.

The scarcity of customers here on a weeknight seems ominous, but Morelli's rustic pork sausages with couscous & spinach cooked in tomato gravy (RM22.50) deserve to be a crowd-puller, rivaling many higher-priced options in Bangsar.

Morelli's specialty pizza is heaving with hog produce _ salami, bacon, sausages & ham, partnered with olives, onions & capsicum (RM34.50). Savory but not over-salted, juicy without the slightest sogginess, it's far from a refined, truffle-oil-laced pizza, but it's still highly admirable.

Wild boar curry grilled sandwiches (RM9.50). More Indian than Italian, but why nitpick over something well-prepared? Unexpectedly fiery, it packs a wake-me-up wallop for the taste buds.

Only beer is sold _ Hoegaarden, Foster's & the like. Corkage charge for wine? RM30.

Caveats? The setting can look a little dark & depressing, with so few customers.

High ceilings mean ventilation is sufficient, though there's no air-conditioning.

And finally: with only one waitress & possibly one cook in the kitchen, patience is a virtue here. Note that Morelli's accepts only cash.

Morelli's,

Bayu Angkasa Condominium, Jalan Medang Kapas, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-2284-0700

Opens starting noon, last orders at 10:30pm. Closed Tuesdays.

Loco & Bier Bar

The two main empires on Changkat Bukit Bintang are consolidating their power; first, the folks on the northern tip who run Magnificent Fish & Chips, Havana & Racks have launched Loco, bringing Mexican cuisine to this street.

These "flautas" _ deep-fried corn tortilla flutes filled with crispy duck & spicy habanero dressing _ had us at "hola." Reminiscent of Malaysian fried popiah.

Thanks to a Mexican who oversees the menu, customers can be assured of authentic fare like tostadas _ mini-pizzas topped with refried beans, chicken, lettuce, avocado, shredded cheese & salsa pico de gallo (tomatoes, onions, chili & lime).

Chipotle garbanzo dip, a spicy version of Middle Eastern hummus or tahini, originating from central Mexico. Loco makes all these salsas & spreads in its kitchen, ensuring fresh flavors. Prices are fair; very few dishes here cost more than RM30.

The food is good & the margaritas are magic; the Coco-Loco (tequila, coconut milk, triple sec & pineapple juice) & Soursop Lychee pack a potent punch. Glasses at RM32++, jugs RM128++.

Honey & Amaretto Margaritas, both with two shots of Jose Cuervo Gold.

P.S. Where's Loco located? It takes over The Social's location at Changkat.

Next up, the force behind El Cerdo, Werner's & The Whiskey Bar in Changkat's south appears to have replaced El Cerdito with Bier Bar.

Bier Bar's own food menu might be unveiled next month, but for now, customers can order from El Cerdo next door. Chocolate churros, to help us keep the Mexican-Spanish theme going.

El Gaitero & Savanna, Spanish & South African ciders.

Tea mixed with white wine. Beer towers shaped like the the Eiffel Tower are also offered here, though we'll probably never try one of those.

We're predicting positive word-of-mouth for both Loco & Bier Bar. Good times!

Loco Mexican Bar & Restaurant & Bier Bar,

Changkat Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur.

Alt.Space

Puppy power! This pet-friendly cafe in Jaya One doubles as a "mobile office," where customers can rent work stations with printing & scanning facilities to remain productive all day long.

Spacious & cheerful-looking, though the service here seems to lack warmth.

Only simple cakes & pastries are sold at Alt.Space, but crisply juicy pork knuckles & other substantial fare can be ordered from Brussels Beer Cafe next door.

Alas, liquor can't be brought over from Brussels, so abandon all hope of sipping imported premium beer & cocktails. We settled for some juice & coffee here instead.

For a bit of booze, walk over to Frontera for shots of Mezcal, the Mexican distilled drink notoriously packaged with a worm in the bottle (or rather, moth larva).

Work is evil. And depressing. And it has sucked the youth from the marrow of our bones.

Alt. Space @ Jaya One,

Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Onde-Onde

Well-prepared Malaysian favorites are what Onde-Onde promises & delivers.

Fresh, crisp toast with butter & duck egg kaya. Would be even more enjoyable if they'd slather more of the rich kaya on the bread.

Curry chee cheong fan. Simple & satisfying; no frills, only a fulfilling, familiar feel.

Cincalok omelet. Can't complain about this; if you think you'll like it, you likely will.

Nasi lemak with chicken rendang. The rice could be more aromatic, but its accompaniments help to punch up the flavor. Good enough, ultimately.

Can't leave Onde-Onde without trying the onde-onde, right? Sweet.

Liquor is unavailable, so head upstairs to Amelio for a splash of Savanna beer.

Main entry on Amelio @ Desa Park City: February 20.

Onde-Onde,

Desa Park City, Kuala Lumpur.

The Carpenter's Daughter

Bakery-cafes are a dime a dozen in most neighborhoods now, but it's still encouraging to encounter a cheerful one that takes the craft of baking seriously, offering bread made daily with ingredients like organic flour, rock salt & olive oil.

The dine-in menu is limited, but this club sandwich _ sourdough bread with turkey ham, cheese & egg (RM14.90, no service charge!) _ showcases something simple but satisfying. Customers can also choose focaccia, panini or batard for their sandwiches.

Shepherd's pie, potato-hearty & meat-flavorsome. The Carpenter's Daughter also offers a breakfast menu that features French toast, omelets & more, but that's only available through 11:30am. The early bird gets the Eggs Benedict.

Pasta has a prominent place on the menu, though the options are unadventurous. Nevertheless, we can't really complain about the spaghetti vongole (RM17.90) ...

... or the beef bolognese (RM15.90), which boasts kitchen-made tomato sauce.

Cupcakes in paper cups, very cute. The Red Velvet (RM4.50) contains real beetroot, cocoa powder, free-range eggs, brown sugar & premium butter, though the result might not be as decadent-tasting as some customers prefer.

Dark Belgian chocolate brownie (RM8.90), a dense one served warm. Relatively healthy, not as cloyingly sugary as versions elsewhere. Other desserts here include brioche puddings, apple pies & lemon meringues.

Plenty of bread & pastries are available. That's what we should aim for next time.

All in all, we'd probably recommend this cozy hangout, but be patient with the staff _ they might operate a little slower than expected. Also note that some items such as scones run out by the evening, since they're produced fresh everyday.

The Carpenter's Daughter,

46G, Jalan USJ 10/1E, Taipan, Subang Jaya.

Open daily, 9am through at least 9:30pm.

S.Wine: The BIG Finish

Here's Part Four of our S.Wine Quadrilogy, finishing up with a fourteen-dish feast.

Earlier entries on S.Wine: March 16, March 18 & March 20.

Soup's up! Know the phrase, 'thick as pea soup?' It matches S.Wine's recipe precisely. Blended into a creamier-than-expected broth, rendered savory with smoky slivers of ham hock.

Craving Chinese? This pork rib & duck soup, slow-boiled with silken tofu & salted veggies, tastes nourishing & homemade. Familiarity breeds comfort; grandmothers would assuredly approve.

Ham-&-veggie soup, a tomato-based one with cannellini beans, barley & coriander. We gotta give a shout-out to Collin & Leong, the long-suffering leaders of S.Wine's week-old service team. They represent some of the finest folks on the BIG Group's front lines _ give 'em a raise, Ben!

A perfect pork-seafood pairing: apple wood-smoked bacon, fitted tightly around remarkably fleshy scallops with a spicy tartar dip. Succulence squared equals satisfaction quadrupled (it's a culinary-mathematical miracle!).

Roasted whole rib with crackling & apple sauce. For the first six days of S.Wine's existence, this dish taunted customers with its presence on the menu but was impossible to order because the chef insisted on perfecting the recipe. The crackling's chewy, but some want it that way.

More ribs, this time in a baby-back slab of twelve, soaked in kitchen-made BBQ sauce. Masterfully prepared, with a flavorsome tenderness that rivals KL's best. Some might feel deterred by the roughly RM80-ringgit price tag, but this must be shared by two or three.

Pork meatballs in tomato-capsicum concasse. The closest thing to Spanish tapas at S.Wine. If the restaurant ever extends its business hours through midnight, we'd love to nibble carelessly on these bewitching balls at the witching hour.

Minced sausage roll with tomato relish. How can we find fault with golden-hued puff pastry that's this light & flaky, without the tiniest trace of excess oil? Or stuffing that's so generously portioned & fabulously flavored with pine nuts, mushrooms & garlic? The truth is, we can't.

Chicken isn't spared from porkification at S.Wine: the coq au vin comprises chicken leg braised with pork stock, pancetta, white wine & herbs, served with toasted ciabatta. Note: dinnertime is the best time to be at S.Wine; that's when beloved '90s hits flood the air _ everything from Duran Duran's 'Ordinary World' to the Crash Test Dummies' 'Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm.'

Nyonya assam pork curry, sweet & rich like nobody's business. Perhaps some potatoes could be splashed in for extra enjoyment, but that's simply being greedy.

Thick buttered toast ('pain de mie' for Francophiles), filled with nearly-as-thick honeyed ham & Branston pickle spread. Notwithstanding the pork, this looks like something customers might find at Ben's, Plan B or Estate (it's a BIG world after all). But though we won't turn our snouts up at roast beef or chicken sandwiches, we'd rather hoof it to S.Wine for this.

On the menu, this failed to whet our appetite: salted fish pork patties. But on the plate, it turned out to be one of our favorites (don't judge a dish by its description?). Hit all the right notes for taste & texture _ S.Wine shoots, S.Wine scores!

Epitome of evil, sin incarnate: Russet potatoes roasted in duck fat & accompanied by bacon, to send us straight into a starch-fueled stupor.

Is there anything on S.Wine's menu that's pork-free? Only one: a quirky-cool dessert of Chinese black jelly topped with vanilla ice cream, then topped further with a splash of espresso.

Last call: Wine from Booze.it at Ben's Independent Grocer. Extra tip: S.Wine's smoking section comprises two tables in an intimate, spacious setting. Take a risk & take a table there, since few venture inside; for three of our four visits, we had the entire room to ourselves.

S.Wine Cafe Deli @ Ben's Independent Grocer,

Solaris Dutamas, Publika, Kuala Lumpur.