Eat Drink KL: Telawi

Showing posts with label Telawi. Show all posts

Monday, June 25, 2018

Appa @ Telawi, Bangsar

Appa marks a labour of love for Penang-born proprietor-chef Carolyn, paying tribute to her grandmother who once ran a food stall on the island. These are the homegrown recipes handed down in their family - bak kut teh with various cuts of pork, slowly simmered with aromatic Chinese herbs, served with onion rice and yu cha koi (RM18), blue-tinged nasi lemak with babi bakar, boiled egg and sambal (RM18; the babi bakar had run out when we visited, so we substituted it with wild boar masala) and dim sum fare like steamed pork dumplings spiked with salted egg (RM6), warmly served with heart and hospitality.

Trivia: Appa is a reference to the Malay phrase 'apa-apa' (whatever), the playful response that Carolyn (a former tax consultant-turned-restaurateur) would make whenever her grandmother asked her what she'd like to eat for their next meal.

Appa Bar & Bistro

8B, Jalan Telawi 2, Bangsar Baru, Kuala Lumpur.

Currently open Tues-Sun, 4pm till late (will launch lunch service soon). Tel: 016-557-9062

Monday, January 15, 2018

R2 @ Telawi, Bangsar

A modelling academy premises, transformed into a fashion-forward wine lounge: R2 (pronounced R-squared) is Bangsar's newest hidden bar, a relaxed, intimate space where you'll find a solid selection of bottles and glasses at reasonable rates (R2's founders also run La Cave, another wine bar in Telawi). R2's man behind the bar, Lagos-born Jude, is an affable presence, making this a genuinely pleasant place for escaping from the neighbourhood's crowds.

R2 Bar

First Floor, 32, Jalan Telawi 2, Bangsar Baru, Kuala Lumpur. Open Thursday-Saturday, 7pm-2am. Tel: 012-284-6530

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Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Shawarma King @ Telawi, Bangsar

Beginning its reign in Bangsar this month, Shawarma King boasts a crown jewel of a shawarma wrap that's royally stuffed with tenderly grilled lamb and chicken, crisp vegetables and no fewer than five sauces, conveying nuances of garlic, onions, mint and more. A princely portion that costs RM19.20 is capable of feeding two persons.

Other relatively more basic shawarma wraps are also available (a straightforward chicken version starts at RM13.70), with accompaniments like hummus, fattoush, baba ghanoush and tabbouleh. Service is genuinely warm and welcoming at this casual space, spearheaded by a team that includes a Syrian-born, Saudi-raised co-founder and a Syrian chef. Long live this King.

Shawarma King

8, Jalan Telawi 2, Bangsar Baru, Kuala Lumpur. Currently open daily, 6pm-3am. Will commence lunch service in mid-January.

Sunday, January 7, 2018

Maiko Tea Cafe @ Telawi, Bangsar

Matcha maniacs, meet MaikoTea Cafe, potentially KL's premier destination for drinking green tea. This new cafe, tucked inside Bangsar's ILOHA Culture Centre, represents the work of Kyotonabe's Maiko Tea, which has cultivated tea for decades, first starting out as a wholesale business run by farmers in 1950.

You'll find no fewer than half a dozen varieties of superior-grade green tea to sample at MaikoTea Cafe, but the most swoon-worthy experience comes from the Gyokuro 'Takumi,' which won the highest Platinum Award at a Japanese tea awards competition in Tokyo in 2015.

MaikoTea Cafe's Malaysian show-runner Alan (who brought the brand to Malaysia after spending time at Maiko Tea's plantations in 2017 and being tutored by Maiko Tea maestro Yamashita Toshikazu), personally and painstakingly prepares the Gyokuro tea, first cooling down the boiled water before serving the tea in several rounds that showcase a captivating evolution of flavours.

The Gyokuro tea is gorgeously unlike the typical green tea you'll experience at most Japanese restaurants in KL. Picked only by hand and manually pressed, it has a rich, rustic fullness that lies somewhere between sweetness and umami, concentrated and compellingly transporting, aromatically ambrosial, without traces of bitterness (the tea is shade-nurtured for a few crucial weeks before harvest, curtailing astringent catechins).

In the end, the remaining tea leaves, soft but pleasurably textured, can be consumed as a surprisingly delectable fibrous salad.

A tea dessert selection is also available: Try the matcha affogato (RM14) and the hojicha parfait (RM18), which both feature the cafe's own-made tea ice cream - everything is well-executed, with a terrific balance of flavours and textures.

A limited savoury comfort-food menu for warm meals is currently offered. Customers can also purchase tea to take home.

Maiko Tea Cafe

21-1, First Floor, Jalan Telawi 2, Bangsar Baru, Kuala Lumpur.

Open Wed-Fri, 11am-8pm; Sat-Sun, 10am-8pm. Tel: 016-505-0280

Sunday, November 12, 2017

Raw Meets Neat Promotion: AD Bar @ Bangsar

By EDKL Writer A.A.

Free-flowing sake with an all-you-can-eat spread of salmon sashimi? Alternatively, refillable glasses of red and white wine, paired with a veritable buffet of grilled Australian beef? For two hours every Monday and Tuesday evening, AD Bar is absolutely the place to be in Bangsar.

AD Bar's newly launched Raw Meets Neat promotion takes place from 7pm till 9pm on the first two days of every work week, bringing a potent end to the Monday blues and the Tuesday greys.

For RM88 per person, you can feast for two hours on slice after slice of fresh Norwegian salmon sashimi, delicately delicious, while sipping on Raimon Isuke sake, topping off your tokkuri as often as your heart desires.

Alternatively, if you prefer a more robust, full-bodied marriage of meat with vino, the bottomless beef-and-wine partnership, also at RM88, puts together as much umami-rich sirloin as you can consume in 120 minutes, meticulously torched at the counter for a light char, complemented by cherry tomatoes and buttered mushrooms, with De Bortoli Coopers Crossing’s peachy Chardonnay and blackcurrant-driven Cabernet Sauvignon for the ideal liquid companions.

AD Bar hasn’t forgotten its roots though - this remains a relaxing, rustic cocktail bar at heart, with a medieval-inspired decor.

A new set of cocktails was also introduced this month, all of which cemented AD Bar's status as a nifty place to spend an evening with pleasurable potions. Any of these should satisfy your cocktail cravings - Oopsie Daisy (RM38; gin, yellow chartreuse, lemon juice, egg white, elderflower syrup, assam boi), Wonderland (RM42; whisky, raspberry, pineapple syrup, mint leaf, bitters, lemon juice, egg white), Irish Decaf (RM42; Patron XO Cafe, kahlua, Baileys, whisky, egg white), Old Chimenea (RM42; Lagavulin 16-year-old whisky, apple juice, lime juice, gula melaka, bitters) and Louis XIV (RM38; kahlua, vodka infused coffee bean, espresso, caramel syrup).

AD Bar also has an a la carte menu for light bites, in case you need a complete meal on regular evenings. Many thanks to the team here for having us.

AD Bar

21A, First Floor, Jalan Telawi, Bangsar Baru, Kuala Lumpur. Open Mon-Thurs, 5pm-1am, Fri-Sat 5pm-late. Facebook: Fb.com/adbarbangsar ; Instagram: adbarbangsar