Brix Restaurant, M City Ampang

If you respect restaurants that rely on homegrown produce, bookmark Brix, which harnesses local beef, freshwater lobster from Hulu Langat, organic chicken from Nilai and more for its modern European-inspired creations. 

With an open kitchen that promises a transparent peek into the crew's cooking, Brix is steered by chef Rexxa Iskandar, who spent 15 years honing his craft in New York and Singapore before returning to Malaysia.

Customers can order Brix's highlights individually or in a set meal of four dishes for RM140.

The braised beef tenderloin makes a hearty, meaty starter, with Japanese inspirations in a seaweed crust, hints of furikake seasoning and bonito flakes, umami-rich in a rice vinegar reduction, comfortingly laid on pumpkin puree (RM45).

Next, crush your corn cravings with thick, potently sweet cream of corn, crowned with sous-vide chicken and complete with a corn roll (RM35).

Brix offers handmade fresh pasta, so we had to check out the capellini, rounded out with a robust seafood reduction, enriched further with brown butter, finished with a firm, fleshy lobster roulade (RM45).

We can't resist a competent roast chicken either - Brix's is laced with notes of honey and vanilla, showered with chicken jus, plus a side of potato puree and truffle cream (RM40).

Brix is generous with complimentary baked tidbits before and after the main meal, a nod to Rexxa's roots as a pastry chef. Possibilities span house-baked cempedak and chocolate financiers, poppyseed rolls with butter, plus petit fours for dessert, served on recycled wood tableware by Malaysian makers Dapurware. Service is warm and welcoming, with Brix's entire team eager to ensure an enjoyable experience.

Brix Restaurant

R-6-G, Ground Floor, M City Ampang, Jalan Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur. Tel: 03-4266-9492

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com

Hummingbird Ampang

Fans of sweet treats might flock to this charming cafe for cosy comfort. Gelatos and sorbets by independent maker Hummingbird & Mallows promise cool respite, with flavours like a classic caramelised hazelnut for a lovely gelato and the nectarous Alphonso mango for a luscious sorbet. Baked temptations also soar - try the hybrid creation of a brownie base topped with a layer of burnt Basque cheesecake.

Hummingbird Ampang

15G, Jalan Mamanda 7/1, 68000 Ampang, Selangor. Daily, 11am-8pm. Tel: 011-5767-5863

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com

Eat Drink Laugh Café by DSCVRY, Taman U Thant

Eat Drink Laugh Cafe might be merely a five-minute drive from KLCC, but it feels like the closest thing to a countryside escape, with a calm, cosily charming green garden where the city's clamour is removed and routed.

The cafe is run by the DSCVRY physiotherapy centre, so it makes sense to savour something wholesome here, especially with these surroundings. Nourish the stomach and nurture the spirit with Eat Drink Laugh's dragonfruit-filled smoothie bowl, revivingly fresh and luscious (RM20.90), paired with date milk (RM13.90) and orange juice (RM10.90).

Eat Drink Laugh Café by DSCVRY

243b, Lorong Nibong, Taman U Thant, 50450 Kuala Lumpur. Daily, 8am-430pm. Tel: 017-307-4583

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com

Insieme Italian Restaurant, Ampang

More than 10 years ago, we walked into an Italian restaurant in Solaris Dutamas, before Publika even opened, and found a chef from Bologna and his Malaysian wife serving up rustic Italian meals that evoked family-run trattorias. That restaurant, Osteria RealBlue, soon nurtured a reputation for handmade pastas, crespelles and cotoletta - it even served bistecca alla fiorentina, that titanic Tuscan steak.

The fun times fizzled out after Osteria RealBlue moved to DC Mall, where it eventually closed. So it was a pleasant surprise when we visited Jalan Ampang's Insieme (Italian for 'together') this year and found Osteria Realblue's Sherry Goh, who lived in Bologna for nearly two decades before returning with her Italian husband to Malaysia, running this restaurant.

This is a much more modest set-up compared to Osteria, with only a few tables in a small space. The menu is well-represented by everything from Insieme's own-made gnocchi and garganelli, taglierini and tagliatelle, with accompaniments that span amatriciana sauce to wild boar ragu, true to Italian traditions (mostly RM25-RM35).

If you're in the mood to splurge, dine on the dishes with the prized Umbrian black truffles of Norcia, scattered heavily over lightly cheese-laced risotto or with pumpkin-and-pork ravioli (RM200 each). The nutty truffles come in thick slices, yielding an unmistakably aromatic crunch. Pair with a Tuscan Montalcino (RM28).

Insieme Italian Restaurant

Hock Choon Supermarket, Lot 1F-09, First Floor, Jalan Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur. 

Open Monday-Saturday, 11am-8pm. Tel: 017-738-0163

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com

The Enclave Gastrobars, Bangsar & Ampang

It's 5pm on a weekday evening, on what seems like the calmest street in Bangsar. A tinkling piano accompanies Norah Jones' unmistakable voice, wafting gently out of The Enclave Gastrobar's speakers. Two women enjoy early drinks at their table, seated beside vintage local advertisement artwork from half a century ago.

Step inside The Enclave and it feels both reassuringly familiar and reinvigoratingly fresh. Founded by a Malaysian former banker who spent nearly two decades in London, The Enclave is meant to evoke the British neighbourhood pubs that populate Hampstead and Islington, representing the heart and soul of those suburbs.

The Enclave nonetheless carves out its own distinctive identity that seamlessly brings together Blighty and Bangsar. Its location is meaningfully considered; The Enclave's owner lives a stroll away, and he loves Lorong Kurau for its leafy, family-friendly composure, reminiscent of a soothing getaway to Ipoh or another place that's less hectic than KL.

Inside, the brick walls are lined with black-and-white photos sourced from a personal collection, offering an authentic glimpse into long-vanished eras - for a feel of what Brickfields looked like in 1888 or Petaling Street in 1930s, or Malayan-period Malacca and Cameron Highlands, The Enclave is an eye-opening saunter through history.

The Enclave was born more than three years ago and still thrives with regulars seeking a reliable sanctuary from the cosmopolitan chaos; it has since expanded to Ampang as well. When we last visited, the restaurant was decked in decorations for Christmas 2016; this time, it was cosy in crimson for Lunar New Year 2020. But its continued presence remained comforting, bearing the hallmarks of a place where people make happy memories.

The Enclave's food menu is both compact and extensive - it's only one page long, but you could easily eat here every evening for two weeks and still have more to explore. For merry munching, the Asian-inflected chicken makes for a crowd-rousing starter or side dish to share, bone-free for convenient enjoyment; have it in Korean garlic sauce for that lip-smacking Seoul effect or with Malaysian sambal serai for aromatic KL notes (RM20 each), moist and tender, rich and robust, sweet and savoury and spiced, best served with beer.

Many of The Enclave's main courses clock in scarcely north of RM20, even for the hearty fish and chips (RM22), featuring dory fillets, beautifully batter-fried for an appealingly golden, lightly crunchy bite, with flaky, clean-tasting fish for a juicy chew, complete with addictive fries and a textured house-made tartar sauce. For more British pub grub, the bangers and mash are another can't-fail classic, with thick, densely creamy potatoes to satiate carb cravings, plus some sauteed vegetables to make it a balanced dinner (RM22).

Other temptations here hopscotch across the globe, taking inspiration from Italian shores for the savoury-briny pasta aglio olio, tossed with a choice of prawns or clams with sauteed garlic in olive oil, red chilli flakes and parmesan (RM22), to the Middle East for mouthwatering shawarma, plumply packed with a choice of chicken, lamb or sardines (RM22 for the chicken), to back home in Malaysia, for a creation that's genuinely cooked with love, South Indian-influenced mutton fried rice that's potently punchy (RM24).

Speaking of potent, the bar component of The Enclave Gastrobars is equally enticing - classic cocktails span Margaritas to Sangrias, meeting the mark for Texan and Spanish traditions (RM30 each), with everything else from whisky and bourbon to gin, vodka and rum also accounted for.

All-night-long draft beer packages are also an attraction, with unlimited parking for 10 mugs of Tiger at RM125 nett or five pints at RM100, 10 mugs of Heineken or Guinness at RM170 and five pints at RM125.

Our visit was to The Enclave in Bangsar, but the Enclave in Ampang has similarly inviting vibes (additional photos courtesy of The Enclave). The Enclave in Bangsar also often hosts themed trivia quiz nights - past events have revolved around Quentin Tarantino, Star Wars, Game Of Thrones, The Avengers and more; February's quiz night (Saturday, 8 February, 6pm) will focus on Harry Potter.

Many thanks to The Enclave Gastrobars for having us.

The Enclave

1, Lorong Kurau, Bangsar, 59100 Kuala Lumpur. 

30, Persiaran Ampang, Desa Pahlawan, 55000 Kuala Lumpur.

Daily, 5pm-1am. Tel: 011-3126-2643

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com