Food Explorer & Home Chef
EQ Kuala Lumpur hosted the media to a special Aperitivo Hour and Wine Tasting at Bottega Lounge recently and introduced them to Sandro Bottega, President of Bottega SpA, one of the world’s largest producers of grappa and sparkling wines, and distributor of Italian premium quality …
Setting out to be different from other mall resto, Marinero Mediterranean Dining & Bar Lalaport is tastefully decorated to convey Moorish vibes. The place is very spacious, including a private dining room and al fresco dining as well as a bar area. The food is …
Heineken is on a mission to encourage Malaysians to stop ghosting their friends. The brand recently launched ‘The Ghosted Bar’, a campaign encouraging Malaysians to #WorkResponsibly.
Based on a recent YouGov survey commissioned by Heineken, it was discovered that 41% of employees in Malaysia have ‘ghosted’ their friends due to work obligations, whilst 91% of Malaysians believe that having a good social life helps with managing stress levels at work.
The campaign was brought to life through a series of ‘Ghosted Bar’ outlet experiences, in which Heineken hopes to encourage Malaysian employees to prioritise a better work-life balance. The outlet experiences will be taking place at selected bars across Malaysia over a month. At the experiences, Heineken offered engaging activities that bring to life the #WorkResponsibly notion while allowing friends to reconnect with one another.
During the launch at The Beer Factory @Hartamas in Kuala Lumpur, guests used the Ghosted Bar Command Centre to invite a friend to come to the outlet. When the friend accepts, they received an exclusive #WorkResponsibly Grab code for the ride over. Upon arrival, the entire group enjoyed a complimentary bucket of Heineken as well as a unique Heineken serving ritual experience.
Guests were also entitled to take part in the Heineken Live Draw where they stood to win a variety of prizes worth a total of RM100,000. Speaking of prizes, ‘Good Vibes Festival Squad Goals’ tickets, exclusive Heineken Dining experiences and even exclusive Heineken Private Birthday Party experiences, are up for grabs! What’s more, guests and their ‘unghosted’ friends can also capture their experience at the Unghosted Moments photo booth, and even share it on social media.
“Heineken wants to encourage working responsibly by reminding employees not to ‘ghost’ their friends because of work. We hope that this campaign inspires employees to clock off on time and prioritise their social life. With the month-long outlet activations, the brand aims to get fans to reach out to ‘ghosting’ friends to share the Heineken ‘Ghosted Bar’ experience together,” said Willemijn Sneep, Head of Marketing at Heineken Malaysia Berhad.
Alongside the exciting activities lined up, fans could also create a personalised GIF to send a friend as a reminder to #WorkResponsibly via the online Ghost Generator. More information on ways to generate the GIF can be found here.
Info on the ‘Ghosted Bar’ experiences, to register, and/or to find out more details about the ‘Ghosted Bar’ here: ghostedbar.heineken.com. The experiences will take place on Tuesdays to Fridays, from May 9 to 31 between 6pm and 10pm, at selected bars in Penang, Ipoh, the Klang Valley and Johor regions.
Small really cozy cafe which you’d imagine reading a book and spending a lovely afternoon. Good coffee, and pleasantly surprised at the good food and flavour fusion. Even drinks have been given a spruce-up with interesting thirst-quenchers such as Sparkling Yuzu Matcha, Strawberry latte and …
Not quite your typical Chinese restaurant, the interior of Chinese Palace reminds you of an era long forgotten, with photographs of old mini buses and other scenes of old Malaya on the walls, and strong green and burgundy hues as the background canvas. A successful …
Step into the wilderness with Ferria, a luxe rainforest-themed restaurant located at The Westin Kuala Lumpur, offering sumptuous grilled fare. The lush green and rattan seating, together with the hanging vines, dining chairs in tropical prints create an inviting chill and relax kinda ambience, while the stained glass with flora and fauna motif add a burst of colour and funky, playful overtones.
The menu offers the freshest of seafood and meats with their chefs specialising in charcoal grilling. The specialty grill bar has a variety of meats, poultry and seafood selections such as lobsters, freshwater prawns, black cod, wagyu beef, lamb and chicken.
For our review, we tried the refreshing Watermelon Poppers – not too sweet and a pleasant start to our meal. The Amazon Greens & Crunchy Nut Salad, consisted of Baby Spinach, nuts and a rather mild house dressing with tinges of mushroom in the flavour notes. A welcome change from the usual Caesar’s Salad, but the crowd fav was the Jungle Jewel – pearl corn kernel grilled in chicken schmaltz (fat) – beautifully grilled with a lovely, smokey scent. Nicely done, this!
They also have an XL River Monster Roll with a big freshwater prawn in the centre of a homemade milk brioche, served with crispy french beans (instead of fries). The beans were strangely addictive and the roll, soft and comforting, with more bite coming from the savoury prawn, providing different play of textures. The Tarzan Arrabiata Pasta came with a large tiger prawn on top of the noodles, as well as soft shell crab and mussels. More tomato-ey than spicy, the pasta makes a good carb call.
For more tummy-fillers, Wild-Spiced Lamb pizza feeds two, and comes with plenty of toppings and cheese. The lamb wasn’t too gamey and makes a nice change from the usual beef pepperoni options.
The Rocky Wild Chicken was well-marinated and probably showed off Ferria’s forte in grilling the most. The meat was tender and juicy, and makes quite an impression with its unique flavour. Friends were divided in their opinion of this but I really enjoyed this.
Dessert was unique – Grilled Crystal Pineapple that came with a scoop of coconut ice cream and vanilla butter crumble, and Wild Expedition Tiramisu, generously topped with coffee and cocoa. There are also cleverly named designer mocktails and cocktails available such as Amazing Green, Wild Wild Passion, Concrete Jungle, Monkey Business, Jungledew, Sunset Safari, Jungle Juice and more. Some hits, some misses, depending on how strong you like your cocktail.
Ferria is a welcome new addition to the Bukit Bintang scene and gives you another option to hang out. Prices are surprisingly decent, especially considering it is right next to Westin KL.
Add: 199, Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur. tel: 010-303 1122
Pssst … I found really awesome Negeri food at Kampung Lah. Where? @kampunglah.my – that’s the name of the resto, new in town since last October. A hidden gem, decor is simple, cozy, as if you’ve stepped into someone’s home in the kampung. There’s even …
Looks like Isaan Thai food is trending now as yet another resto jumps on the bandwagon. Formerly serving a fusion of South-East-Asian cuisine, Mera in Damansara Kim, P.Jaya now has an Isaan chef helming the kitchen, serving up more robust flavours and delivering taste notes …
It’s not easy to find a good Malay restaurant that is suitable for entertaining foreign guests which reflects the many facets of Malay cuisine and presents an adventure for the palate.
Adu Sugar in Bangsar, KL is one such restaurant – the food is breath-taking and a joy for the senses. The interior of the resto itself is quite eclectic, showcasing paintings of chef Adu Amran’s family which he painted himself, alongside stuff he’s collected and designed. In fact, it was his artistic renditions on canvas that saw the resto through the pandemic as chef Adu Amran Hassan managed to sell his works of art and that kept them afloat.
Beyond the Balinese vibe in the decor though, the food is distinctly Malay with a spotlight on Johor where Adu hails from. And these days, the menu is 50% vegan as well as he’s looking into plant-based food and healthy eating. Recently, he created vegan belacan (shrimp paste) which he touts tasted 80% like the real thing!
For my first visit, we tried starters such as deep-fried tempeh, ladies fingers and quail, so simple but amped up thanks to amazing sauces. For mains, we had the signature Young Jackfruit Rendang – fibrous yet tender, enriched with rendang herbs, santan and kerisik – quite special indeed. Ikan Asam Pedas was on point with the flavours, sour, spicy all at once. So many other resto fall short when it comes to this dish. The unusual Pucuk Paku Urab had a touch of kencur leaves and ginger, sprinkled over with toasted pine nuts and coconut – fragrant, slightly sour with lime juice, perfect wake me up and palate changer.
The Laksa Johor is a must try, with its herb-rich spicy gravy laden with ikan parang while the pesto rice was the best surprise. Initially, my cousin didn’t want to have this as she said doesn’t sound like authentic Malay food but it is really chef’s spin on nasi ulam using Thai basil, daun kesom and a host of other herbs. It’s so good that you wanna eat this by itself, though it’s also great with the curries.
The next round, I had Nasi Ambeng, a Javanese-influenced rice dish which comes with Ayam Masak Kicap, Puyuh Penyet (deep fried quail), sambal goreng, coconut serunding, fried noodles, fried vegetables, ulam and salted fish. A complete meal by itself, there’s enough to be shared among two or even three people.
Prices here are not to be sniffed at, but then this is not some gerai by the roadside either as there is so much more heart and passion poured into each dish, not to mention the high quality ingredients used. Adu Sugar is the kind of place where it’s a full-on experience – it’s not just about having a meal – you absorb the ambience, drink in the layers of flavour and enjoy each morsel leisurely.
Add: 10A First Floor, Lrg Ara Kiri 2, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur. call 03-2201 1441.
For Ramadan this year, EQ’s famed Malay Chef Muhammad Hajral Lisarni has prepared a gastronomic splendour at Nipah. A lavish spread of evergreen flavours that are true to the traditional methods of Malay food preparation, Citarasa Nipah’s buffet features both traditional and innovative takes on …