Eat Drink KL

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

uberX Reduced Prices: Rides Now Cost Less Across KL


For those of us who love using uberX to get around KL, there's reason to celebrate: uberX has reduced its rates by up to 15 percent starting January 18 this year, making it cheaper for us to reach restaurants, run errands & travel in fuss-free comfort. Over the past several weeks, we've taken multiple rides that underscore how uberX is now increasingly preferable to driving.

If you're working in Damansara Uptown & you're heading to 1 Utama for a shopping break, or better still a business or leisure lunch at Ante (our favourite new restaurant in this mall), our recent 4.4-kilometre ride from Uptown to Utama cost only RM7.01 - a nice result, since we saved on parking charges at 1 Utama & the extra time it would have taken to find a parking spot there.

Time for tea? uberX could take you from Bangsar to Foo Foo, Taman Tun Dr Ismail's newest destination for desserts, for RM13.44 (according to our ride experience, excluding a RM2 toll fee on the SPRINT highway, which is added to your total bill) - a fair cost, considering the 24 minutes required for the journey, door-to-door.

Even a trip from the suburbs to the city centre won't weigh too heavily on your wallet now - if you're searching for an off-the-beaten-path spot for dinner one evening, it could be worth travelling to the new Sarang, which serves Peranakan temptations near Bukit Bintang. Our 12-kilometre uberX trip between Desa Sri Hartamas & Sarang on Jalan Galloway cost only RM12.32.


And finally, in this season of festive feasting with the family, leave the car behind & rely on uberX - share a trip together from Bangsar to Desa Sri Hartamas for just RM7.26; get dropped off right in front of Steaks & Lobsters for a happy prosperity toss!

If you haven't used Uber yet, it's time to begin! For new users, follow the steps below to redeem your first two rides for free:
1. Download the Uber app from the App Store, Play Store or Windows Store - and register your Uber account.
2. Apply the code EATDRINKKL as your first promotional code & you'll receive 2 Free Rides worth RM30 each.
3. Request a ride through the app and ride for free to any destination (with two ride values of up to RM30 each).

Many thanks to uberX for partnering with Eat Drink KL!



Gourmet Doughnuts @ Chequers Bakery, TTDI

Taking doughnuts to the next level, TTDI's friendly neighbourhood cafe Chequers recently unveiled a first-floor bakery that specialises in imaginative savoury & sweet doughnuts worth devouring, alongside an array of house-baked bread & pastries.

Our favourites are the savoury doughnuts, which pack plenty of surprises, often featuring various components moulded into the shape of doughnuts. We love the Frittata doughnut, comprising double-stacked layers of thick, fluffy omelettes laced with sauteed spinach, capsicum, mushrooms & cheddar cheese - essentially an egg recipe transformed into a doughnut. There's even a mac-&-cheese doughnut that's marvellously executed, heated to order & served warm. Flavours & textures prove complex & sterlingly well-tuned, spanning globe-trotting influences like a Chicken Tikka-inspired doughnut (a memorable russet potato-based doughnut topped with chicken, jalapenos, scallions & fiery mayo) a Mexican version (with grilled chicken, crusted corn tortillas, mozzarella sauce, chipotle sauce & garlic aioli). There are options for carnivores (a chia seed doughnut with slow-roasted beef ribs & house-made BBQ sauce) as well as vegetarians (a raised spinach doughnut with portobello, oyster & button mushrooms, plus ranch dressing). For RM5 a doughnut, a fair deal - three doughnuts suffice for a light lunch.

The sweet doughnuts also provide for playful pleasure, with rich glazes & frostings blanketing each baked-fresh-daily creation. We like how these doughnuts are very tasty but far from cloying - a white chocolate glaze is balanced with coconut & orange zest, a tiramisu-influenced dark chocolate glaze with coffee powder is finished with pistachios, while the creaminess of a Malaysian combination of pandan cream glaze & gula melaka caramel is offset by the crunch of oats. Also RM5 per doughnut.

 The Chequers bakery's capabilities extend beyond doughnuts; customers can also drop by for a complete lunch, with starters like piping-hot bread balls stuffed with spinach & cheese, topped with quail eggs & a choice of beef bacon, turkey ham or smoked salmon (RM10; cute & fun), heaps of sandwiches made with Chequers' own-baked croissants, ciabatta or focaccia (the Cajun chicken makes for a hearty meal, piled high with grilled thigh meat, lots of avocado, turkey ham, butterhead lettuce, tomatoes, capsicum & honey grain mustard, for RM25), & inventive pastries like Shogun (RM17; crispy puff pastry with bulgogi beef, seaweed, shiitake mushrooms, a sunny-side-up egg, pickled radish & spicy teriyaki sauce). Beverages showcase a wholesome bent; Chequers does its own infused teas, smoothies & pressed juices. If you haven't been back here in awhile, it might be worth returning, especially since the main cafe has also vastly expanded its menu beyond its mainstay of waffles to also cover everything from pastas to pancakes, enchiladas to lasagna & lamb racks. Many thanks to Chequers for having us. 

Chequers Bakery
First Floor, 153, Jalan Aminuddin Baki, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur. 
Bakery opens 8am-8pm daily, except Wednesday. Tel: 03-7733-3068


The Eat Drink KL mobile app is now available, connecting restaurants & customers to promote a positive spirit of community.
Every restaurant on this app rewards users with a 6 percent discount, instantly & conveniently, everyday, all day long. 
In return, users share photos of their experiences at these eateries, creating a new community of restaurant lovers.
For every transaction, at least RM0.20 will be channelled to a charity of the month.

Stay up to date: The Eat Drink KL newsletter is sent by email to subscribers every Monday; it's the Klang Valley's foremost weekly round-up of new restaurant openings, F&B promotions & other tasty tidbits.
Subscribe to Eat Drink KL Weekly for free via this following link: 
Note to subscribers on Gmail: The newsletter will be in the Promotions folder of your inbox.

Check out the latest edition of Eat Drink KL: 100 Favourites, with 100 recommended restaurants for Jan-Mar 2016. This eBook is available to read or download at this link: http://issuu.com/eatdrinkkl/docs/ebook

Buckle your seatbelts: Eat Drink KL is partnering with Uber to take restaurant lovers on new adventures across KL & Selangor!
If you haven't used Uber yet, it's time to begin! For new users, just follow the steps below to redeem free rides:
1. Download the Uber app from the App Store, Play Store or Windows Store - and register your Uber account.
2. Apply the code EATDRINKKL as your first promotional code & you'll receive 2 Free Rides worth RM30 each.
3. Request a ride through the app and ride for free to any destination (with two ride values of up to RM30 each).

Monday, February 1, 2016

The Pantry @ Lorong Kurau, Bangsar

Here's one pantry that may be worth raiding: Lorong Kurau's latest restaurant radiates a relaxed charm that remains true to this Bangsar street's halcyon neighbourhood sensibilities, while tackling a contemporary cookbook's canon of free-range baked eggs tinged with truffle oil & Maldon sea salt, herbed quinoa salads with pomegranate molasses, & togarashi-spiced soft-shell crab sliders with gochujang aioli, plus plenty of bread & pastries baked right here at this laundry-shop-turned-eatery.

The Pantry's menu is made for indulging, constructed for customers who refuse to count calories or watch their waistlines. We enthusiastically devoured the duck confit burger, comprising moist meat layered with cheddar cheese, wild rocket, tomatoes, pickles & onion marmalade, sandwiched between a sliced soft brioche bun, with irresistibly crunchy duck crackling on the side (imagine crispy pork lard, but in bigger, even more satisfying chunks) & a substantial serving of sweet potato fries (RM33 nett).

For your protein fix, the salt beef & cheese crostini could be a popular choice, coupled with cornichons & Dijon mustard on house-made classic sourdough bread (RM25; prepared to order & paired with a salad or sweet potato fries). But our weakness for fried chicken forces us to favour the boneless buttermilk-cooked chicken for its confidently flavoursome juiciness, the thick batter shattering scrumptiously at each bite (RM29; with fries & kitchen-assembled coleslaw with walnuts & dried cranberries).

Desserts range from the elaborate - French toast brioche brulee with passionfruit curd, freeze-dried raspberries, coconut flakes & gula melaka caramel (RM19) - to the elementary - rose & raspberry-glazed croissant (RM10) - each fulfilling in its even-handed flavours & textures. There are reasons to order the coffee - it's capably executed, & part of the proceeds from every cup is channelled to the SUKA Society children's advocacy group. Wine is not available, but there's currently no corkage fee.

The Pantry KL
9 Lorong Kurau, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur. Soft-launch business hours: Tues-Sun 830am-530pm (but open Monday, Feb. 1)


The Eat Drink KL mobile app is now available, connecting restaurants & customers to promote a positive spirit of community.
Every restaurant on this app rewards users with a 6 percent discount, instantly & conveniently, everyday, all day long. 
In return, users share photos of their experiences at these eateries, creating a new community of restaurant lovers.
For every transaction, at least RM0.20 will be channelled to a charity of the month.

Stay up to date: The Eat Drink KL newsletter is sent by email to subscribers every Monday; it's the Klang Valley's foremost weekly round-up of new restaurant openings, F&B promotions & other tasty tidbits.
Subscribe to Eat Drink KL Weekly for free via this following link: 
Note to subscribers on Gmail: The newsletter will be in the Promotions folder of your inbox.

Check out the latest edition of Eat Drink KL: 100 Favourites, with 100 recommended restaurants for Jan-Mar 2016. This eBook is available to read or download at this link: http://issuu.com/eatdrinkkl/docs/ebook

Buckle your seatbelts: Eat Drink KL is partnering with Uber to take restaurant lovers on new adventures across KL & Selangor!
If you haven't used Uber yet, it's time to begin! For new users, just follow the steps below to redeem free rides:
1. Download the Uber app from the App Store, Play Store or Windows Store - and register your Uber account.
2. Apply the code EATDRINKKL as your first promotional code & you'll receive 2 Free Rides worth RM30 each.
3. Request a ride through the app and ride for free to any destination (with two ride values of up to RM30 each).