The Booze Blog Portal - Alcohol, Bars, Malaysia and Beyond.

Showing posts with label Cocktail. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cocktail. Show all posts

09 December 2017

Have a Mele Kalikimaka @ WIP

Since in we celebrate a tropical Christmas in Malaysia, WIP wants to bring you to a Hawaiian Paradise with its Hawaiian tropical-themed menu and festivities this coming Christmas (‘Mele Kalikimaka’ is a hawaiian phrase for ‘Merry Christmas’).

This Christmas Eve, WIP will be throwing the luau featuring Hula dancers, ukulele bands and fire breathers. For RM150 nett per adult and RM 100 nett per child, you'll be able to enjoy a buffet of unique Hawaiian-inspired delicacies and drinks.

In anticipation for the luau, the culinary team have whipped up some delectable specials from now till Christmas Day:

Image: Continuum PR

  • Kuleke Platter @ RM88 (sliced roasted turkey, fresh water prawns, chicken Merguez & spicy beef sausages, roasted baby carrots, sautéed vegetables, red wine poached pear, grapes, and fresh strawberries with a chocolate dip).
  • Aloha Beef Burger @ RM35 (homemade beef patty, beef bacon, Emmental cheese, grilled pineapple, tomato, and onion, topped with teriyaki sauce).
  •  Huli Huli Chicken @ RM38  (a popular dish in Hawaiian cuisine that features grilled chicken that’s been barbecued over mesquite wood, and basted with a sweet huli huli sauce which is a combination of pineapple juice, ketchup, soy sauce, sherry vinegar, brown sugar and ginger). 
Of course, there will be a selection of Tiki-style cocktails (RM35/glass) to accompany your solids, afterall what's a Christmas without some Christmas spirit, eh?

Image: Continuum PR

  • Toucan -  a balanced sweet and sour cocktail with a rum base, Aperol, fresh pineapple, pink grapefruit and lime juice.
  • Batida - Cachaca, coconut water, and banana. An ikat tepi super filling banana dessert drink.
  • A-Maize-Ing -   a rum citrus cocktail with um, velvet falernum syrup, fresh lime juice, and bitters.
  • Maui Fizz - a light refreshing mix of rum, fresh lemon juice, chai spice syrup, coconut water, egg white, and soda. 
  • Orinoco Fog - a spirit forward number from a mix of rum, gin, cognac, dry curacao, orgeat syrup and fresh lime juice. 
For more information on the WIP Christmas Specials or the ‘Mele Kalikimaka’ Christmas Eve Luau, visit the WIP Facebook page: http://fb.com/wip.kl

Note: WIP will undergo a major cosmetic facelift to refresh the brand in anticipation of its 10th Anniversary. The facelift is taking place in two phases: the first phase involving the main entrance, mall entrance and restroom, which will be completed by the first week of December; and the second phase that will see a complete refurbishment of the interior, which will take place in January 2018

 - Jon

19 November 2017

Goa by Hubba

There are 22 major languages in India with over 700 different dialects. Fact. That is an astounding mind boggling number of variants for Indian cuisine and ways curries you may never try in your lifetime.


Goa is quite a popular touristic destination, that we we know. Air Asia flies there. It is supposed to be a hippy coastal city where grass there is popular, not necessarily greener, if you get what I mean (I only heard about it from friends who have been there!).


Well, a little part of Goa(n) cuisine is now featured by a watering hole that used to be known as Hubba Hubba. Now rebranded as Goa by Hubba, it's located on the ground floor of Ramada Suites KLCC. Don’t be confused by the hotel name. This is actually off Changkat Bukit Bintang.


Goa by Hubba now features a brand new food menu and cocktails inspired by Goa cuisine and flavours. The menu was created in collaboration with Le Cordon Bleu Celebrity chef Sapna Anand. Sapna, a native of Goa herself, brings to the table delectable dishes like the Fire Roasted Bone Marrow, Cochin Seafood Stew, Goan Beef Cutlets, Allepey Grilled Fish and more. Many of these dishes were also inspired by her mother's own recipes.


To complement the new menu, they have created new cocktails inspired by spices from Goa-style flavours of rasam, raita and lassi. Exotic kooky cocktail names like Kinky Kokum, Masala Mantra, Ass Whuppin Chai Masala got me tickled. FA really loved their gleaming copperware.


For the after office happy hour crowd that just needs a little something something to kill some time while waiting for the rush hour traffic to subside, there's still their beers on tap to accompany some of their Goan-inspired nibbles to keep your mouth busy.


Congratulations Michele Kwok and the Soul Society team on this new baby, and thanks for having us!

- Jon

13 November 2017

21 Years On and Still Souled Out

It's a Black Light 21st Birthday Bash at SOSH! (image: souled out)

I remember a time when Souled Out used to be the few places on the fringes of PJ area for great food, drinks and lepaking with friends...having a difficult time making my mind up from their colourful, thick food menu that offered a wide mix of western cuisine and local-favourites, before finally settling down with my go-to fried beef noodles, sake san pizza or the sinful gosht palak... Then washing it down with their happy hour priced cold pints of beer and their infamous mojitos.

I can't believe it's been 21 years and they have since branched out from Sri Hartamas to five other locations at Ampang, Bangsar South, Kota Kinabalu and Taman Tun Dr Ismail.

A post shared by Fireangel (@fireangel80) on

To kick off their 21 years journey, SOULed OUT threw a big party and soon, they'll be rolling out a new menu and all-new outdoor kitchen in the months to come.

Happy Birthday again, Souled Out! You're finally old enough for a drink! :) A big congratulations to Michele Kwok, Freddy Choo and the entire service team.

Here are some pictures of the night:

Giant bowls of Glow G&Ts!

Awesome glow in the dark cupcakes!

Glow in the dark drummers! (image: souled out)

Glow in the dark dancers! (image: souled out)

06 November 2017

The Bacardi Legacy Cocktail Competition finally comes to Malaysia!

The title pretty much says it all. This may be new to us in Malaysia, but any bartender worth his salt know that this has been going on for nearly a decade all over the world and it is one heck of a big deal.

Avante, Bacardi 8 Old Fashioned, Haole and the Chai Sour.

The Bacardi Legacy Cocktail Competition is a global competition which requires participating bartenders to not only create a Bacardi rum cocktail that has the potential of being a modern-day classic which would get listed in bars, but to also run their own promotional activities to market their drink to both consumers and bars.


The first stage begins locally in each participating country, where the national winner will then compete in the regional stage. The regional winner moves on to the global final to compete with the best on the planet - in 2018, that will be in Mexico City. This year, the winner was the animated Ran Van Ongevalle from Belgium, with his Clarita. You could check his performance out on Youtube to get a sense how next level this competition is.

A post shared by Fireangel (@fireangel80) on

The boys at Bacardi, along with SEA Brand Ambassador, Richard Paiva, also took the opportunity to throw a little party, inviting media and the bartending community to check out shots and shots of the Bacardi 8 Anos, an 8 year old rum. We also were also treated with Bacardi cocktails by guest bartender Syafiq Rahim from 28 Hong Kong Street, Singapore at Jack Rose.

Syafiq messing around for the camera
Looking forward to see what our local boys can bring to the stage next year. Make us proud!

https://www.facebook.com/BacardiLegacySEA/
https://www.bacardilegacy.com

29 October 2017

Eat Drink Play @ Tujo

Tujo’s Brasserie and Grill may just be one of the most well kept secret in the heart of KL for diners and drinkers. Seldom mentioned but highly praised by its regular patrons, this place shares the same DNA with its sister outlets, SOULed OUT, WIP and Hubba Hubba (and now the recently launched Goa by Hubba, we'll get to that in other post) of pairing a well thought-out menu with great service.

A post shared by Fireangel (@fireangel80) on

They have just recently rebranded with a new tagline of Eat Drink Play and added some naughtiness into the BAR-sserie. Now when you venture inside you'll feel like you've entered into glasshouse surrounded by lush greeneries, right in the middle of the concrete jungle.

From the menu side of things, here are some highlights from their new food menu:


The Tomahawk, a 1.3kg Sanchoku Wagyu from Australia is now on the menu, along side the cheesy raclette and various grilled meats and seafood with an assortment of marinades.


There's the  lemon pepper halibut and black miso haddock plus a whole lot of other new stuff like the short rib nasi lemak, pastas, pizzas, salads, soups and other light bites.


On the liquid side of things, Tujo's introduced a  new range of cocktails. These 16 new cocktails feature local ingredients and are inspired by everyday Malaysian drinks with an alcoholic twist. There's the Hang Li Mau (a limau ais inspired rum concoction). The ABC (Alcoholic Batu Campur with tequila and Irish cream liqueur). There's also the Milotini (milo dinosaur) and Seniorita Mawar (Sirap bandung) among others.


But what got FA got all excited was this DIY Bloody Mary Bar. For RM60++ you get to make your own customised bloody mary (it's decently strong) with a mix of salts, garnishes and condiments for 2 hours. And you know what goes well with Bloody Marys? The fresh raw oysters from their new oyster bar!

A post shared by Fireangel (@fireangel80) on

Yes, the Bloody Mary Bar was FA-approved.

Thanks for having us Tujo, we had a blast!

- Jon

27 July 2017

Locker & Loft's Shake and Take

At one point of his life, Deepak of The Thirsty Blogger told himself, “I’ve had enough of this nonsense” - alcohol prices were going off the charts in prices (no thanks to imposed taxes) which led to too many unscrupulous players in the industry, "cheating" customers.

Then Deepak said FTS and went on to open a bar with his business partner - giving birth to Locker and Loft.

The man himself, Deepak.

10 November 2015

Insta Weekly: Gyukingu's new outlet - #CocktailTrailKL - Crackhouse Comedy Club - #MyTigerBites Finale - NewMan's #Cpa2015

Hoo boy. We've just come into the second week of November and it already feels like the end of it. Expecting a mad rush of parties and events towards the end of 2015 (to meet sales targets or to use up the allocated A&P budget I suspect, hehe). Here are 5 to start with:


Gyukingu Japanese BBQ's New Outlet + Wine Pairing 


Congratulations on the opening of the second outlet in Hartamas (just next to Old Town Coffee)!

03 November 2015

Insta Weekly: 44 Bar has moved - KL Oysters Festival - Mortlach launch - Heineken Sundown Party - The Good Batch - Cocktails of 2 weeks -

I know, I know I've been tardy last month. Got too caught up with some crazy offline commitments. But after this week, things will go back to normal again. This I can promise all 5 of you. Without further ceremony:

44 bar has moved!


44 Bar said goodbye The Row @ Jalan Doraisamy and said hello to Dr. Inc @ Bangsar.

Until December 2015, check them out at their new location for your American craft spirits, bespoked gin tonic happy hour sessions and bottle-aged cocktails (truly special stuff) fix. There might be more stuff coming once they have properly settled down - if there is, I'll definitely let you on, on it.


08 September 2015

Insta Weekly : Happy 58 Years old, Malaysia - Keep Your Peels - Arran Whisky Fling - Junior @ #tikitakeover44 - Taps' Better Beer Festival

Long post ahead! So no need for a filler introduction! Just go go go!

1. Jungle Bird for Merdeka #58




I've made the Jungle Bird quite a few times already just to practice. Practice practice practice makes perfect! If you're a true blue Malaysian  then this is one cocktail you should learn to make (and perhaps an Old Fashioned) to impress guests or a date, because if there are only 2 things that we are all unitedly proud of, it's our F(ood) and our B(everage).

04 September 2015

Post-event Report: 44 Bar & Taps Beer Bar Presents Beer Bourbon Bacon!


10 August 2015 was the Beer Bourbon Bacon event jointly brought to us by 44 Bar and Taps Beer Bar, held at Tap's Mont Kiara branch.

First up - HOW FREAKING COOL IS IT THAT TWO AWESOME BARS GOT TOGETHER TO HOST AN EVENT?

Sorry about the caps, but this kind of collaboration hardly ever happens in this market, if ever. If you can name me 3 - you win liao loh! But as far as I can remember, ZILCH.  But I digress, as usual.

Anyway, using extensive research methods (Googling), I deduced that this event is inspired by annual festivals of the same name held all over America. Imagine a giant pesta with loads of craft beers, bourbons and all kinds of food with pork.

If you were thinking - Ya right, no way an event where you need to pay RM88 would draw any crowd, it's sooooo expensive. Well, I hate to say this but you're wrong from the sheer fact that Taps Mont Kiara was maximum packed (which is unusual for a Sunday afternoon) with locals and mat sallehs alike. Even the floor upstairs was opened and the seats were filled up!

So what went down that day? Read on!

31 August 2015

Insta Weekly: Maruhi Sakaba - The Great Beer Bar - #MyTigerBites - 44 Bar Promos - Neroteca Brunch - DIY Old Fashioned

Last weekend, a good friend proposed that I should consider migrating from blogspot to wordpress, because it's more flexible and the layout allows me to come up with a very sleek, magazine-like feel.

He showed me a test site, which I really like. But I'm not sure if I have the time/energy/intelligence to toggle around with the coding. Wordpress, while is infinitely more moudable than Blogger, requires quite a bit of HTML knowledge to mess around with. I find myself not having enough time to even update this blog more than once a week (which I should because I have quite a few feature posts in the back burner argh!).

But I know that with Wordpress, readers would enjoy my blog more simply because it will look better, plus there are even more awesome, cooler usable widgets that comes with it. Oh man. How do I account for the opportunity cost of time vs traffic?

Let me mull over it for a bit more. I'm a really slow thinker. Meanwhile, here, the weekly update which I make myself to commit to (at least!):

1. Maruhi Sakaba - an Iazakaya that doesn't break the bank. 



24 August 2015

Insta Weekly: Celebrated International Rum Day with a Grog - Kronenbourg 1664 Wednesday - Monkey Shoulder Launched in Malaysia - The Glenlivet Guardians

Oh my. One of the most surreal experiences of the year happened last Friday. It never occurred to me that someday I'll find myself swimming in a pool filled with popcorn in a dress, but it happened. Read on to find on what on earth happened.

1. International Rum Day - 16 August.


Didn't want to make a common rum drink (daiquiri, punch, mojito) to "celebrate" so decided to make something called a Grog with Sailor Jerry spice rum in.

18 August 2015

Insta Weekly: Cosmo - Nikka Coffey - Asahi - Vom Fass Whiskies - #MyTigerBites - Longrow - Beer Bourbon Bacon - 1K on Insta

Another happening week last week. So much so that I'm already getting a back log of event posts which I haven't  publish... oops! So without further ado:

1. The Best Cosmopolitan I've Ever Made



SATC made the Cosmo super popular way back when. It's actually not too difficult to make. All you need is some vodka, cranberry, cointreau and lime juice and an orange peel for its citrus scent. I prefer to put in a touch of sugar syrup for some viscosity. Also, if you don't have an orange peel around, 1-2 dashes of orange bitters work fine too.

11 August 2015

Insta Weekly: Jagermeister remedy - Angostura Fling - Matusalem Rum Party - 44 Bar & BBB event - Beer Day - JW Gold - Singapore Sling

So as soon the the raya festivities ended, the parties came back. I don't suppose a long introduction is needed because last week was quite a happening week, so prepare yourself for a long update ahead:

1. Jager Hot toddy

05 August 2015

Cantaloupe, Claret & Fuego Bars @ Troika Sky Dining

In conjunction with Fuego's August cocktails promotion, a few of us were invited for a #TroikaCocktailsCruise  event where we were introduced to Troika Sky Dining's bars by docking at each bar to sample their cocktails before cruising on to the next..... I loved this cruise even before it began. :p

For the uninitiated, Troika Sky Dining is located on the 24th floor of The Troika (along Persiaran KLCC) and is popularly known for its insanely gorgeous view of the KL twin towers and fine dining restaurants. It houses 3 restaurants which are segregated by cuisines: Cantaloupe for French, Strato for Italian, and Fuego for South American.

There are tonnes of reviews out there on its food and breathtaking views which Google can ply you with. But with me, you know we'll be paying particularly close attention to (or geek out at) the liquid side of the business, right? So let's get to it, shall we!

Bonjour Cantaloupe Bar!

03 August 2015

Insta Weekly: Homemade Drink - Wedding Planning - Kampachi Birthday

I turned 35 last Sunday! Happy birthday to me!

It was a bit of a bummer because just a few days before I started coming down with the bug and had the full blown sore throat, flu and slight fever  - it was like I was going through a growth spurt but not quite... maybe sideways? :)

It was an excellent birthday. Spent it with loved ones. Had tonnes to eat and drink. Presents are always a great bonus. And lots of wishes on facebook too, lol. I loved it all!

So I went to bed early last night from a full day of festivities and still recovering from the bug.. which is why this post is a day late. I've lost my voice today and am coughing nonstop. :( Not a lot to update from last week anyway because haven't really been feeling very excellent - probably because the bug was coming, lol.

1. Bailey's + Jameson. 


28 July 2015

Insta Weekly: Ice cubes - Homemade Cocktails - National Tequila & Daiquir Day - Whisky! Whee!

So I "predicted" before that events would be slow during the fasting and Raya months ... and I've been right so far. :)

Not complaining  though - it gives me more time at night to practice making drinks and experimenting with stuff like below:

1. Made: Cheapskate giant ice cubes


I keep wishing my ice didn't melt so fast, diluting my shaken cocktails too quickly while not chilling it fast enough. Large ice blocks would fix that. I've been pinning for those expensive silicon extra large ice cube molds available on Amazon for years. But it was very difficult for me to be enthusiastic about forking out RM20 bucks + RM40 insane delivery charges just for some rubber-substitute ice trays.

20 July 2015

Insta Weekly: Homemade cocktails - Launch of Hana @ Sunway Pyramid - 0% ABV beer - Gin Madness.

Last week I had an insightful conversation with a very famous wedding photographer who happened to be a very old friend of mine. He said I should really work on improving my photography skills if I wanted to take this content generating thing seriously. Because more often than not, it seemed that I don't put in enough effort into the composition of my photos - and readers these days, they love a good picture over wall-of-texts posts any day. 

Can't say that he doesn't have a point (double negative!). If it wasn't true, Instagram, Facebook sharing, and Pinterest wouldn't be as popular as it is now. And thanks to Twitter, I'm inclined to think that if a post is > 140 characters, no ones attention span can take it anymore.

Thing is, I'm one of those old-generation bloggers who's used to rambling on and on and on.... and old habits die hard. 

So what I really really want to know from you is this:
1. Do really good DSLR-quality pictures matter?
2. Do pictures matter more than words?
3. Long posts are okay, or just keep it short like Twitter?
4. Do you need a good combination of decently okay pictures with some accompanying drivel?

Because if it's #4, I hope I'm already complying by leaving you with Insta Weekly updates like this one:

12 July 2015

Insta Weekly: A Really Special Whisky Tasting Session - DIY Old Fashioned - Troika Sky Dining Bars - Souled Out

The best drinking times are not the ones with the best locations or the best drinks (though those are nice to have) but are the ones shared with great company. It's a privilege to share some good times with old friends and a pleasure of making new ones through such sessions. Bonus is when I get to try and learn new stuff along the way. So here's a shout out to all of you for spending your good times with me at these events below, the ones before and the ones that will be coming our way. Yam seng!

1. Tasting Some Stuff I Can't Afford. :(


We had the utmost privilege of meeting up with Eiling and  Luc Timmermans (of Thosop fame), both of whom are internationally-famous independent bottlers, for a whisky tasting party at their recent Malaysia visit. During these sessions, we bring some of our more down-to-earth stuff to taste and compare with Eiling & Luc's stuff of legends. Our palates get spoilt rotten and our lives are never the same again everytime we see them.  <3

02 July 2015

Insta Weekly: 44 Bar The Row - DIY Cocktails: GnT, Manhattan & Jungle Bird - Janice of O+A - Labuan & Kota Kinabalu.

Oops. Last week's insta weekly report's late because I spent the last weekend travelling across Labuan and Kota Kinabalu, which I'll tell you about once you get past my other equally-exciting boozy adventures of the week, hehe.


1. 44 Bar's Found a New Temporary Home @ The Row, Kuala Lumpur

Left: Juicy fruity Tango Mango. Middle: Kick-ass Bottle Aged Cocktails. Right: Potential crowd favourite: Donkey Kick

The 44 Bar that we know and love (previously ex-APW) has popped up at The Row along Jalan Doraisamy. The Row may sound unfamiliar to you - but how about its former name - Asian Heritage Row? That's right, The Row IS a souped up ex-Asian Heritage Row filled with new third wave cafes, quaint eateries and other instagram-genic shops that hipsters would love.