Pinchos, Changkat Bukit Bintang

Ah Pinchos....One of the first places we were taken by friends when we moved to KL. One of the first places I took family when they came to KL, and also the place all my workmates usually go to when we all have a day off.

Pinchos is a tapas bar / restaurant found on the main road of the busy Changkat strip. It's Spanish owned, and run by a team of friendly Filipino staff.

It's nearly always busy, and you often have to make a reservation before arriving. Today we just turned up so we were put deep inside the cave-like interior.

When you arrive you are given a paper menu, which looks like this:

As you can see above, we ordered a Spanish omelette with onion and potato RM15 (approx $5).

This was excellent, with lots of potato and onions heavily involved along with the egg.

The pork and beef meatballs RM19 (approx $6) looked like this:

Despite my efforts, I couldn't get a clear picture of the inside of these, but the pork is thinly shredded and is combined with the beef mince, giving them a nice flavour and interesting texture. The acid test for any meatball ordered in a restaurant is 'are they better than the ones I can make at home?', in this case the answer is a resounding yes.  My only gripe is that the sauce is very rich and if the portion was any bigger, this would be an issue.

The Manchego cheese and tomato on toast RM19 (approx $6), is an absolute favourite of Erin's.

Excellent cheese, subtle tomato and a drizzle of quality olive oil on some toast - a deliciously simple plate of food.

In a rather predictable turn of events, more food was ordered. First up was the Spanish Chorizo on pan-fried bread RM25 (approx $8).

High quality, spicy and salty chorizo with some fried bread underneath, how could this possibly be anything other than a winning combination? One of my favourites.

Next was the pan-fried eggplant with parmesan and tomato RM13 (approx $4).

This worked extremely well when combined with the lovely fluffy white bread that comes with your meal.

For dessert we had the chocolate mousse on toast ?!

This was a nice surprise, especially because I don't particularly like chocolate mousse.

Although I was initially skeptical, the bread worked really well, allowing you to eat this thing like a cracker. Another nice touch was the chunky salt grains on top of the chocolate, giving it that irresistible mix of salty and sweet. The texture of the mousse was unlike any other I've tried before - the whole thing was simply a winning combination.

Overall - I'd give the whole Pinchos experience an excellent 4 / 5

This is the best tapas bar you'll find in KL and one of the best you'll find in Asia. For me it ticks off all the boxes: the decor is cozy, the atmosphere is lively but unobtrusive, unlike many of the places on this street, and most of all the food is excellent; I've been here a number of times and almost everything I've tried is great. Tapas works if it's all worth sharing - in Pinchos it certainly is!

Tarbush, Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur

Erin and I first really discovered middle-eastern food in Seoul, living in the expat enclave of Itaewon, where there was the only mosque in the city. There was one restaurant in particular, called Petra that had amazing food, and we went a few times every month.

Unlike Seoul, there is no shortage of Middle-Eastern people living in KL; I spend a lot of time talking with Iranians, Libyans, Iraqis, Saudis etc. at work, so where do they go to get their fix of their own cuisine? Well so far, our experience of Arabic food in KL has been rather limited so we thought we'd put that straight this weekend.

When searching for good Arabic restaurants in KL, Bukit Bintang often comes up as the place to go. A short walk down the main street and you'll go past numerous shisha restaurants and see middle-Eastern men with their burka-clad wives in tow.

In the middle of a parade of shops on this busy street is Tarbush.

After we sat down, the waiter brought us some complimentary soup:

It tasted like chicken and lentil soup. It also came with some crispy croutons.

A few minutes later it looked like this, a very promising start!

First off we ordered some fattoush with aubergine. RM17 (approx$5).

This came with a lot more on the plate than previous versions of fattoush I've had, with three types of pepper, aubergine, lettuce, cucumber, tomato, lemon and some crispy crouton pieces.

The salad came with a lovely balsamic dressing which combined with the juices of the other ingredients to excellent effect. When Erin orders a salad and I get a meaty starter, I don't usually try to steal so much, but I did with this!

Overall - An excellent fattoush 4 / 5

Next up was the falafel RM11 (approx $4).

I'm generally a big fan of falafel, which is somewhat of a surprise because deep-fried ground chickpeas don't sound particularly appetising to me on paper. It's something I've really discovered since living abroad, in middle-eastern restaurants in Seoul's sleazy Itaewon of all places...

These five pieces were a decent size for a starter, and the restaurant generously gave us more than enough pitta, which we soon started filling with a falafel-fattoush combination.

What you see above is what looks like a middle-eastern taco, but with a yoghurt and tahini mix replacing the sour cream. I'm not sure if you're supposed to eat it this way but it tasted great.

Overall - Finally a KL falafel fix - 3.5 / 5

We were feeling pretty hungry and predictably ordered too much, here was another starter - arayes RM22 (approx $7).

I've never had good chips in a middle-eastern restaurant, and still haven't...

These things were basically fried flatbread stuffed with minced lamb, as modelled expertly by my lovely assistant below:

I must say, these were very enjoyable but tasted like something that should have been eaten after a night on the beers rather than a starter. We didn't even come close to finishing them...

Overall - best shared among a big party, not a couple 3 / 5

Last up was my main course, which was lamb maklouba RM28 (approx $9).

This was a ridiculously-sized plate of food, and it came on an oversized plate that Alan Partridge would be proud of. An old favourite of mine, lamb maklouba comes with aubergine and nuts served on a fragrant heap of rice.  In the picture below you can see the fried aubergine on top of the lamb shank.

The lamb was tender and fell apart with ease.

I like my lamb to be pink inside because it can get quite dry if overcooked. My only criticism of this whole dish was actually that it was a bit dry, it needed a sauce to link the different elements, which were better than the sum of their parts. Nevertheless, it was a highly enjoyable main course and I would order it again.

Overall - Not the best Maklouba I've had (still Petra in Seoul) but satisfying nonetheless - 3 / 5

We left Tarbush feeling uncomfortably full but satisfied. We will return to try their mixed grill.

Slightly chaotic road outside

Senya Izakaya, J P Ramlee, Kuala Lumpur

I've spent the last 15 months or so ignoring Senya Izakaya, purely because of the ladies standing outside yelling 'Irasshaimase' and trying to persuade me to come in. There's nothing wrong with trying to attract customers, but in putting me under pressure to make a quick decision, I'm invariably forced to make a quick decision to keep walking. This time however, my trip had been planned 10 minutes prior, giving me enough time to prepare myself and deal with the overly enthusiastic women outside.

Despite having lived in Japan a few years back, I've never completely taken to Japanese cuisine outside of sushi, yakiniku and ramen. I do however enjoy the odd drink with pub grub in a Japanese izakaya (pub), and being an Izakaya, Senya offers an eclectic mix of Japanese dishes to be enjoyed while having a cool pint, or warm sake on the balcony upstairs.

A novel and effective feature of Senya is the i-pad menu, which means that human contact can be kept to a minimum if you're feeling anti-social.

I went in a group of three, and we ordered some beers, which were RM22 a pint. Two of us also ordered the same food - the Hokkaido Pork Don, also RM22 (approx $7).

Although the picture above is slightly misleading, this was actually a very large bowl of rice topped with charcoal-grilled pork, covered in a sweet Japanese barbecue sauce.

The pork had a real melt-in-your-mouth quality to it and the sweet sesame sauce was addictive, also giving the rice a really nice flavour.

Overall - 3.5 / 5

The other dish that we ordered was a Japanese izakaya classic - the hamburger steak RM20 (approx $6).

Although a downright bizarre combination of food (what's that spaghetti doing there??), this was another enjoyable example of Japanese pub grub. The burger was a home-made, thick and juicy patty, which came with lashings of gravy and cheese on top.

Overall - The definition of enjoyable slop - 3 / 5

We also ordered some gyoza.

These looked promising but didn't really have much inside, which is always a shame....

Overall - 2 / 5

Senya is in the middle of one of KL's most well-known nightlife streets and makes a cheap and pleasant pre-drinking venue. I might not be walking past so often in the future.

Din Tai Fung, The Gardens Mall, Kuala Lumpur

There are a range of Chinese restaurants, often found in the various malls of KL that have multiple outlets within the city, and Din Tai Fung is probably the most famous of the lot. Originating from Taiwan, Din Tai Fung is found throughout Asia, and has recently spread to the U.S and Australia. The DTF in Taiwan has even been given a Michellin star, something I treat with a touch of skepticism based on my experience of Michellin starred Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong. However, with all its commercial success, this franchise must be doing something right...

 Today we went to the branch in the Gardens Mall on a Sunday afternoon - it was packed as usual..

While we waited 5 minutes to get a table, we were given this order form, good if you already know what you're having. Luckily we did!

First to arrive was the pork chop fried rice. RM 16 (approx $5).

Although technically one dish, the two components come separately. The pork chop had been marinated in Shaoxing wine and arrived as a plate of glistening goodness. The pork itself was pleasantly lean, juicy, and was gristle free.

The egg fried rice that came with the pork was for me, much better than your typical Chinese fare. Erin and I speculated as to why Din Tai Fung's fried rice is so good, we thought maybe due to more oil or egg but couldn't be sure.

Either way it has a lovely, fluffy texture and would make an excellent side dish even without the pork.

Overall - both components were done very well 4 / 5

Next up is the star attraction of Din Tai Fung - the xiao long bao. RM 12.90 (approx $4).

These are what have made DTF so famous and successful. I've eaten in outlets in Korea and in Malaysia, and the one consistently excellent dish is this. The balance between thickness of the skin and the quantity of the soupy-pork mixture inside is spot on.

As usual, they are to be dipped in vinegar with ginger, allowed to cool and then swallowed whole. These ones are an explosion of flavour when you bite into them, and are very hard to beat.

Overall - Still the best xiao long bao I've had - 4.5 / 5

Last to arrive were these Taiwanese spring rolls RM 6.90 (approx $2).

These little spring rolls were a bit of an afterthought for us. They contained minced pork and were relatively grease free. They were decent but nothing really to write home about. 

Overall - Good but unspectacular 3 / 5

Judging by the review scores, you might think Din Tai Fung is the a contender for best Chinese restaurant in town. It is however, a bit of a one-trick pony, the xiao long bao are great, as is the fried rice but everything else we've tried there has been nothing out of the ordinary. That said, we go there quite often because it does do these few dishes extremely well, and is very good value.

Dim Sum chefs hard at work

WIP, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur

I used to think WIP was just a play on the Chinese/Indian mis-pronunciation of VIP, however it actually means Work In Progress....WIP is primarily a bar, and a noisy one too - it's literally across the road from where we live and the thumping bass can be heard almost every night until the early hours. It does however, do food and has a comprehensive, eclectic menu serving all kinds of different cuisines. This failure to focus on one area of specialism is often a slightly worrying sign as it's almost impossible to do everything well.

We arrived after 10pm for some much needed post-work drinks and comfort food.

Happy hour beers are RM17, happy hour mojitos are Rm19. WIP considers itself a bit of a mojito maestro:

As it turns out, the Mojito is pretty average with too much sugar and not enough alcohol.

After 10pm, WIP has a snack menu which still has quite a variety of options on offer. We went for the humus and fattoush.

The first impressions of this dish were that it was a pretty decent-sized portion of pitta and humus. Secondly, that the fattoush looked nothing like fattoush, where are the mixed greens that should come with the tomato?

The combination of pitta, fresh tomatoes and humus makes for a satisfying bar snack. We had no complaints over the flavours, and would order it again.

Overall - 3 / 5

Next up was the Mexicana Pizza RM27 (approx $9).

This came with peppers, jalapenos, and loads of spicy minced beef on top.

While this pizza certainly isn't going to win any awards any time soon, it makes for very enjoyable pub grub. The beef was well spiced and loaded with oregano, it almost tasted like something you'd russle up at home after coming back from the pub. The advantage of this one is that you don't have to leave the pub...

Overall - Enjoyable slop - 3 / 5

With its various water features, fire features and liberal use of fairy lights, WIP is an interesting and stylish place to have a drink. I'd recommend going before 10 0'clock when the music is more chilled, the happy hour is in force and the food menu is at its most ambitiously comprehensive.

I just wish they'd turn the music down...(that's where we live in the background)