Booze & Bites KL #1: Boozeat x Eat Drink KL

Eat Drink KL has collaborated with the awesome folks at Boozeat to produce our first joint magazine, called Booze & Bites KL.

In this debut issue, we chat with Pierre Boyer & Edouard Cossy, two champions of cognac & Champagne respectively, to understand what makes their brandies & bubblies special & how to appreciate them. Both men offer lots of cool, interesting & potentially surprising information.

We also feature two Malaysian restaurateurs, Sugania Naidu of Hoppers & Eugene Chiu of Chiu's, & their frank opinions on how to bring more creativity to the food scene, beyond the Western brunches served at a typical café.

There’s more! In our inaugural glimpse into key people who work behind the scenes, we chat with Tommaso Gocze of Bangsar’s Vineria to learn the philosophies of an Italian chef who’s been cooking since his teens (look out for his suggestions on how to prepare classic recipes with booze).

We also have a handy list of recommended wine bars for the next time you crave an evening of vino & fun.

And finally, you'll discover details of key offers, special promotions & unique services currently offered by Boozeat as well.

Copies of Booze & Bites KL will be made available soon in selected areas in KL. If you can’t get your hands on a copy, you can check out the full e-magazine at www.boozeat.com/magazine ... & if you have feedback, do email [email protected]

Happy reading!

Laurent-Perrier x Boozeat Champagne Dinner @ Vineria BSC

Champagne house Laurent-Perrier & Malaysian e-commerce platform Boozeat recently collaborated with Bangsar Shopping Centre's Vineria Italian restaurant to host a Champagne dinner to underscore how bubbly can be paired with every course of a meal, from starter to dessert. Couplings included fresh Irish oysters with Laurent-Perrier Brut NV; deep-fried squid, prawns and cod fish with Laurent-Perrier Vintage 2004 Brut; grilled smoked duck breast with Laurent-Perrier Vintage 2006 Brut; and vanilla panna cotta with Laurent-Perrier Cuvee Rose NV. As Edouard Cossy, Directeur Export Regional at Champagne Laurent-Perrier, stated at the event, each Champagne can easily stand up to a companion dish. Thanks to Boozeat for having us here.

Granite Kitchen @ Centrepoint Bandar Utama

Granite's tagline - Heaven Is Upstairs - holds true if you're seeking a potential paradise for pork; the menu seems to be ever-evolving, but when we visited, highlights included a wide range of house-made sausages & roasts that spanned East & West, with Indonesian-inspired babi guling & Filipino crispy pata sharing the menu with European suckling pig & German knuckles.

We started with a sausage platter; there were no fewer than 10 types, all crafted in Granite's kitchen. The Thai Sai Krok Isan comprised pork mixed with glutinous rice & Southeast Asian herbs (RM22+), & the German Knockwurst had smoked ground veal & pork (RM23+) - both were moist & rustically textured, ideal for patrons who loathe mass-made sausages, though the Thai sausage edged out its German rival for flavour. Other options included Taiwanese sausages, Italian sausages infused with red wine & French ones with smoked cheese, each matched with crisp bread & a creamy mash of potatoes & sauerkraut.

Granite's most recent reinterpretation of babi guling showcased roast pork belly with substantial fat & satisfyingly crunchy skin, with plenty of spicy Balinese-influenced condiments that proved more flavoursome than the meat (RM28+; we added a further RM5+ for brown rice instead of white). The Deutsches Ribs was a reasonably priced choice, featuring fairly tender flesh braised with a veggie stew (RM38+). Wine & cocktails remain available; a mix of Prosecco & passion fruit puree costs RM25+.

Granite Kitchen & Lounge Bar

First Floor (above money-changer), Centrepoint, Lebuh Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Daily, 2pm-2am. Tel: 03-7733-5571

Stay up to date: The Eat Drink KL newsletter is sent by email to subscribers every Monday; it's the Klang Valley's foremost weekly round-up of new restaurant openings, F&B promotions & other tasty tidbits. Subscribe to Eat Drink KL Weekly for free via this following link: https://confirmsubscription.com/h/d/5106C196432BB23D

The Eat Drink KL mobile app is now available, connecting restaurants & customers to promote a positive spirit of community. Every restaurant on this app rewards users with a 6 percent discount, instantly & conveniently, everyday, all day long. In return, users share photos of their experiences at these eateries, creating a new community of restaurant lovers. For every transaction, at least RM0.10 will be channelled to a charity of the month.

For iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/my/app/eat-drink-kl/id958657326?mt=8

For Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.eatdrinkkl.EatDrinkKL

Buckle your seatbelts: Eat Drink KL is partnering with Uber to take restaurant lovers on new adventures across KL & Selangor! If you haven't used Uber yet, it's time to begin! For new users, just follow the steps below to redeem free rides:

1. Download the Uber app from the App Store, Play Store or Windows Store - and register your Uber account.

2. Apply the code EATDRINKKL as your first promotional code & you'll receive 2 Free Rides worth RM30 each.

3. Request a ride through the app and ride for free to any destination (with two ride values of up to RM30 each).

Milk The Cow @ Melbourne & Say Cheese @ Amsterdam

A cornucopia of cheese - check out Milk The Cow's Grundlegend Fondue (Grundlegend is German for ‘fundamental,' a fitting description, as this is the ultimate fondue), remarkably rich, blending Truffle Pecorino, Swiss Emmental, Gruyere L Etivaz, Remy Martin VSOP Fine Champagne Cognac, Monmousseau Brut Etoile & Truffle Honey. Pair with a very unique milk-&-cheese cocktail: Rum, cereal-infused milk, Midnight Moon Dutch cheese & truffle honey. Lactose-intolerant customers, beware!

Milk The Cow Fromegerie

Fitzroy Street, St Kilda, VIC, Australia

No lack of fromage either - or should we say, kaas - at this Schiphol shop, where Dutch cheeses take centre stage, easing the pangs of travellers trapped in transit at Amsterdam's airport. Sample the Reypenaer VSOP or Wijngaard matured with ginger.

Say Cheese, Lounge 3, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Mamasita, Josie Bones, Ombra & Tonka @ Melbourne

One of Melbourne’s first authentic Mexican restaurants and still its most revered - the staggering popularity of this first-floor eatery is underscored by the long line of patrons who patiently stand on a stairway every evening, sometimes for up to an hour, awaiting a table at Mamasita, which declines to accept reservations for groups of fewer than eight people. Once inside, expect a boisterous setting where everybody appears to be talking simultaneously at the top of their voices while munching on moreish platters of tacos topped with braised ox tongue, pickled vegetables and spicy Ghost Pepper mayonnaise. Don’t leave without sampling the ceviche, with raw cobia fish piquantly marinated in lime, chilli, mint, green tomatoes and coconut milk.

Also well worth checking out for an evening out on the town: Josie Bones for offal fare like leek & bone marrow croquettes & sweetbread nuggets with tartare sauce, washed down with Victoria's own Lucinda Estate Pinot Noir (Macedon) ...

... as well as Ombra for salumi & cichchetti & Tonka for a nightcap of alcoholic lassi, with rum, mango, yoghurt & pistachios.

The Eat Drink KL mobile app is now available, connecting restaurants & customers to promote a positive spirit of community.

For iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/my/app/eat-drink-kl/id958657326?mt=8

For Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.eatdrinkkl.EatDrinkKL

Every restaurant on this app rewards users with a 6 percent discount, instantly & conveniently, everyday, all day long. 

In return, users share photos of their experiences at these eateries, creating a new community of restaurant lovers.

For every transaction, at least RM0.10 will be channelled to a charity of the month.

Stay up to date: The Eat Drink KL newsletter is sent by email to subscribers every Monday; it's the Klang Valley's foremost weekly round-up of new restaurant openings, F&B promotions & other tasty tidbits.

Subscribe to Eat Drink KL Weekly for free via this following link: 

https://confirmsubscription.com/h/d/5106C196432BB23D

Note to subscribers on Gmail: The newsletter may be in the Promotions folder of your inbox.

Check out the latest edition of Eat Drink KL: 100 Favourites, with 100 recommended restaurants for April-June 2016. This eBook is available to read or download at this link: http://issuu.com/eatdrinkkl/docs/ebook

Buckle your seatbelts: Eat Drink KL is partnering with Uber to take restaurant lovers on new adventures across KL & Selangor!

If you haven't used Uber yet, it's time to begin! For new users, just follow the steps below to redeem free rides:

1. Download the Uber app from the App Store, Play Store or Windows Store - and register your Uber account.

2. Apply the code EATDRINKKL as your first promotional code & you'll receive 2 Free Rides worth RM30 each.

3. Request a ride through the app and ride for free to any destination (with two ride values of up to RM30 each).