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

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.

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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!

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Yes, the Bloody Mary Bar was FA-approved.

Thanks for having us Tujo, we had a blast!

- Jon

27 October 2017

The Brasserie @ St Regis hosts Chef Ryan Clift and Hennessy

We were fortunate enough to witness the brilliance of Chef Ryan Clift (of the famed Tippling Club) recently.


Chef Clift took over the St Regis' Brasserrie from the 26th to the 29th Oct for a 4 course lunch (RM338 or RM438 with Hennessy Cognac pairing), 6 course dinner (RM438 or RM538 with Hennessy Cognac pairing) and Sunday brunch (price starts at RM298 or RM468 with Hennessy Cognac).


We were invited to sample a 5-course permutation of the menu thanks to Hennessy Malaysia.


After an assortment of breads, the first course was a bowl of condensed tomyam mousse, served with a pair of char-grilled capsicums. Honestly, it's not a great looker but the capsicums tasted so damn good! This was paired with a refreshing Hennessy Highball (lime, lemon, passionfruit, syrup, soda and VSOP).



The smell of vinegar permeated the air from the Petuna ocean trout with beetroot, smoked ox tongue and horseradish cream. The brilliant red "coral" from the beetroot was quite a sight and the dish was a taste explosion of contrasting sweet and sour flavours. This was paired with easy-going and sweet The Radicle cocktail made with muddled raspberries, syrup, lemon a bit of absinthe and the VSOP Hennessy.


The Roasted Leek & Potato Consommé, with Parsley Root, Parsley Chlorophyll, and Wild Herbs was quite vegetal and looked too cute to be eaten, like it was a tiny little terrarium. It was surrounded by a creamy soup which was Clift's mother's recipe. A little taste of home and heartiness made wholly from white wine. The Wild Turbot followed after, with faux squid risotto, lobster and turnip on watercress emulsion. Having them all with the Hennessy XO was swell.


The A4 Toriyama wagyu (with horseradish burrata, Japanese fruit tomato and artichoke) was easily the highlight of the night. Served wrapped with wafer thin slices of home-cured wagyu beef, the umami-ness of the combination made my mouth water. Washed it all down with the XO, it was perfect.


We had a taste and even the scent of outer space as a bonus. We had some cool-looking condensed cheesecake pills (delicious), mandarin and Madras curry sorbet space rock, and the smell of space on that comic card. Clift said that he was given the permission by NASA to access to an astronaut's used space suit to figure out the scent - which he had emulated on this card. This prelude to dessert was truly out of this world.


The actual dessert was Texture of Coconut - which was a coconut dish presented in different textures, accompanied by the Coco Loco cocktail which was a twist of a Brandy Alexander with the addition of yuzu sake.

Much of what we’ve been fortunate to sample was nothing short creative. Thank you for this wonderful opportunity, Hennessy.

- Jon

25 October 2017

Draught Anywhere with the New 325ml Carlsberg Smooth Draught

The first thing that will come to mind when you hear "Carlsberg Smooth Draught" is probably, "Oh, it’s Carlsberg Draught, like from a tap".

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Well, not quite, but you won't be too far off from the truth.

Carlsberg Malaysia introduced Carlsberg Smooth Draught last year with the intention of replicating the "smooth feel" of a draught beer in a can/bottle via a different brewing technique (and based on my personal observation, I think the slightly lesser ABV also contributes to the smoothness).

Carlsberg Malaysia’s Managing Director Lars Lehman wants you to enjoy (what is) Probably the Smoothest Beer In The World anytime, anywhere - be it in a plane, out in the desert or probably at the peak of a mountain.

Unveiling the smaller 325ml sized bottle was great excuse (hurrah!)  to throw a party earlier this month at the Eight Gourmets Gala (EGG), Pinnacle Sunway.

The introduction of the 325ml bottle completes the brew’s existing portfolios of the 580ml bottle, 320ml can and 500ml can, to make it even more accessible to outlets that prefer to offer the small-sized bottles in their outlets (like nieghbourhood bars, modern F&B outlets, golf clubs.... ).


In conjunction with this launch, if you purchase 1 bucket of Carlsberg Smooth Draught in 325ml bottles, you'll get a free retractable USB cable all October. In November, if you purchase 4 big bottles of 580ml or 2 buckets of Carlsberg Smooth Draught in 325ml pint bottles, you get a free multipurpose lighter.

In addition to that, golfers can get a sleeve of TaylorMade golf balls with the purchase of 2 buckets of Carlsberg Smooth Draught in 325ml pint bottles across all participating golf clubs.

For more - check out www.facebook.com/CarlsbergMY or www.probablythebest.com.my.

Meanwhile, I came across this funny little video by MGag about how times have changed, complete with a feature of Carlsberg Smooth Draught, of course.


Thanks for the fun party, Carlsberg. Until next time!

- Jon

#ProbablyTheBest
#DraughtAnywhere

22 October 2017

Funky Fireball Friday @ Souled Out

If you're an American, this drink of the devil needs no introduction. If you're not,  a quick read about Fireball whisky on its website describes itself like this:
“...just imagine what it feels like to stand face-to-face with a fire-breathing dragon who just ate a whisky barrel full of spicy cinnamon. Live it, love it, shoot it – what happens next is up to you”
“Taste like heaven, burns like hell…”
Yup, it's pretty much a party drink.

Fireball Cinnamon Whisky is a mixture of whisky, cinnamon flavoring and sweeteners.. The product originates from the cold depths of Canada in the mid-1980s, and for a long time was little known outside of Canada until recently. It is bottled at 33% abv and so sweet that American college frat boys chug this straight from the bottle. And now, it is available in this part of the world.


If you're wondering how to get yourself a taste of this, wonder no more as Souled Out Desa Hartamas recently launched its Funky Fireball Friday. What this means is that every Fridays, there will be Fireball whisky cocktails.  Of course, what's a Funky Fireball Friday without Fireball bottle and shots promotions? Go get it.

Get your happy on with the Fireball Mojito, Fireball Citrus and Fireball Espressotini.
The Funky Fireball Friday at Souled Out will run until 10th Nov 2017. So, the next time you have a party where shots and 5 second pours are in your agenda, try it with the Fireball. It's easy to chug because it's sweet and would probably hurt you less than tequila, gin or regular whisky. Win!

- Jon

#funkyfireballfriday