MONA, Publika: Famous Salted Egg Butter Chicken Has Landed in KL!

Love salted egg yolk? Located in Publika, MONA, the sister restaurant of the famous JIBRIL in Subang Jaya, brings all things salted egg yolk to the folks of Kuala Lumpur.

This chic retro-Malayan restaurant gets its name from the character whom Lisa Surihani plays from the JIBRIL TV series, which founder Imran Sheik created and wrote. The golden era of Malay movies is celebrated here with P Ramlee movies playing on the screen.

The famous butter chicken from Subang Jaya has landed in Kuala Lumpur!

The bestselling item here at MONA is the Salted egg butter chicken (RM17.90) - which was first created in 2015 at JIBRIL. The chicken pieces are coated in batter, deep fried and then coated in a rich, thick salted egg butter sauce. The salted egg flavour is unmistakable and will certainly delight the salted egg lover in you.  This is served with white rice, lettuce and extra sauce on the side.

Malaysia's national dish, nasi lemak gets paired up with their bestselling item and the result is delicious. Served on banana leaf, the rice was fragrant and rich from the coconut milk, and is accompanied by a sweet-spicy sambal, peanuts, ikan bilis, boiled egg and a serving of the salted egg butter chicken with a twist. Sambal is added to the salted egg butter chicken to give it a spicy kick, hence the salted egg flavours are not so pronounced in this one.. still very tasty though.

Nasi lemak butter chicken (RM19.90)

Other salted egg dishes you can find on the menu are salted egg chicken wings, salted egg fried calamari, salted egg butter squid, and salted egg croissant (RM9.90). We loved the croissant - once you bite into it, the centre reveals a rich, salted egg lava sauce just like a "lau sah pau" (salted egg yolk custard bun). Must-try, good with a cuppa coffee!

We also tried a couple of non-salted egg yolk dishes such as the Saloma Steak (RM49.90) and Seafood marinara pasta (RM18.90). Named after the late P Ramlee's wife, Saloma, we had the striploin which was nicely cooked to medium doneness. If you'd like a more tender, flavorful cut, go for the rib eye (+RM10). For the sides, you can choose mash, fries or truffle fries.

We liked the Oriental duck egg noodles (RM17.90) which is inspired by Malaysian's favorite maggi goreng. Served in a cute takeaway box, the noodles were addictively spicy, topped with tender slices of smoked duck.

Unlike JIBRIL which is Halal, this outlet is pork-free but serves alcohol. The Cendol Colada (RM22) was excellent, made with Kahlua, Malibu, pineapple and a cendol base.

Non-alcoholic drinks are available too.

Book your table online:

Click here for the full menu.

Pork-free.

Opening times: 11am - 12am daily.

Location: MONA, D3-G3-8, No. 1, Jalan Dutamas 1, Solaris Dutamas, 50480 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: +6012 283 4785

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The Red Beanbag, Publika, KL

Withstanding the test of time is The Red Beanbag, a modern cafe in Publika / Solaris Dutamas which has been around since 2011.  This stalwart in Publika's dining scene continues drawing in the crowds and churning out consistently, well-executed meals, arguably better than ever.

While the restaurant interior remains the same over the years, the menu which is prodominantly Australian-inspired (think brunch) has been injected with unique Asian twists.

We started with the light, refreshing Beet It! Salad (RM28), which comes with beetroot cured salmon along with mesclun salad, avocados, pickled cucumber, cherry tomatoes, radish, red cabbage, nori seaweed and sesame dressing. The beetroot gives the salmon a pretty tinge of colour and I loved the addition of the creamy avocados, nori seaweed (umami) and the tangy pickled cucumber which gave it a nice sharpness.

Start your day right with beautifully poached, runny eggs. Order the The Atlantic (RM27), in-house cured salmon served with two poached eggs, ikura, wilted Australian baby spinach, sauteed mushrooms and fluffy brioche toast, drizzled with Hollandaise sauce. The presentation and flavours were absolutely spot on. And that brioche toast is so good!

The Black Sheep (RM32) features a huge, juicy lamb patty with lollo bionda lettuce, caramelised onions, gherkin, aioli sauce and fried egg, sandwiched between charcoal buns. The burger also comes with crispy, curry fries.

For those with a penchant for spicy food, we highly recommend The Kraken, which delivers delicious, punchy flavours. Squid ink spaghetti is served with a whole, grilled squid, shimeiji mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and a highly addictive spicy creamy sauce. The squid was perfectly grilled and tender, and was complemented beautifully by the spicy creamy sauce, inspired by the Malaysian sambal.

The Avocado Ice Cream (RM16) is the perfect remedy for the current hot spell. Three generous scoops of smooth, creamy, homemade avocado ice cream is served with brownie chunks and honeycomb and nutella fudge sauce.

My favorite cheesecake currently is burnt cheesecake, so I just had to try the version that they offer here. Hit the jackpot, as the Basque Burnt Cheesecake (RM15) was absolutely sublime - so smooth and rich with a lovely creamy centre.

Enjoy a cup of coffee by their award-winning barista. Cappucino (RM10)

Iced Green Tea Matcha by Niko Neko (RM14)

Reservations recommended. Book your table online here:

Click here for the menu.

Pork-free.

Opening hours: Mon- Thurs 10am - 6pm; Fri 10am - 10pm; Sat - Sun 9.30am - 10pm.

Location: The Red Beanbag, A4-1-08, Solaris Dutamas, Jalan Dutamas, 50490 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel: 03-2856 8814

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The World is Flat at The Bee, Publika, KL: Pizza, Sandwiches and Light Bites

The Bee at Publika is a well-known venue for music, comedy shows and events. Last year, The World is Flat took over the kitchen at The Bee, churning out innovative pizzas, sandwiches and other brunch items. This is the first overseas venture by the people who oversee a myriad of food concepts in Singapore, including Standing Sushi Bar, Tanuki Raw, Sumo Bar Happy and more.

The Bee offers both an al fresco dining area as well an indoor air-conditioned section. I don't usually do al fresco dining but the ambiance here was too nice to resist, with its vibrant mural and lush green plants. Great vibes and so Instagram-worthy too!

The food menu is available all day, from 11am to 11pm and feature nine types of thin crust and deep dish pizzas, pasta, sandwiches and snacks, with great punny names such as "Nacho Average Chips" and "Spam Wham!"

Snack away while you catch up with friends - we highly recommend the Truffle Fries (RM19) or awesome Curry Popcorn Shrimp (RM29); both great paired with a cold beer.

Instead of regular potato fries, the Truffle Fries are made using sweet potato, fried and then tossed in white truffle oil. Don't forget to eat it dipped in the truffle aioli... so yum!

Undoubtedly our favorite here, the fried lightly battered popcorn shrimp served with a beer cheese dip went down a treat. Crisp and absolutely addictive, we especially loved the curry spices coating the shrimp.

For those who love salted egg (who doesn't?), you'd be happy to find that the menu features quite a few salted egg items. We selected the Salted Egg Fried Chicken sandwich (RM30); one loaded sandwich with crispy herb fried chicken, honey butter, burnt onions, mozzarella and cheddar. We would have loved more of the salted duck egg sauce to make the taste more prevalent though overall, we enjoyed this - messy but sinfully good!

There is also a small brunch menu available (think eggs benedict, croque madame, beef hash, at RM27 each). We had the Pancakes, which comes with 3 large-ish, fluffy pancakes, served with sliced bananas, whipped butter and scrambled eggs. BabySumoKids enjoyed the pancakes, drizzled with lots of syrup and smeared with lots of butter.

Since The World is Flat is essentially known for their pizzas, we ordered both the Black Gold (RM25 for personal) and Fat Samurai (RM30 for personal). They also do a 12" version of all the pizzas. My vote goes to the Black Gold, a thin, charcoal crust pizza topped with crispy squid, seasoned fried prawns, burnt onion, portobello mushroom, salted egg sauce and three types of cheese. The pizza crust was light and the whole combination worked for me. I didnt quite enjoy the Fat Samurai as I found the flavours to be overbusy, but I think those who like okonomiyaki  may appreciate this.

 The Bee Specials

Lychee Oolong Iced Tea

They have a few retro pinball machines indoors..  

The World is Flat Food Menu

Pork-Free.

Opening times: 11am to 11pm daily.

Location: The World is Flat, 36, Level G2, Publika Mall, 1, Jalan Dutamas 1, Solaris Dutamas, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel: 03-7960 2160

Website: https://www.facebook.com/twifmy/



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Robataya Izakaya, Publika, KL

In Japan, izakaya is a type of informal Japanese gastropub where colleagues and friends gather for drinks and food after work. Situated on a bustling row within Publika is Robataya, a restaurant offering the Izakaya dining experience, with a vast menu comprising of sashimi, sushi, tempura as well as seafood and vegetables cooked on the robatayaki.

Start your meal with a sashimi platter; you can never go wrong with fresh, thick slices of raw fish. The Okan Sashimi Moriawase (RM70) that we had came with five types of seafood - salmon, maguro (tuna), hamachi, abura bozu (butterfish) and akaebi (sweet shrimp).

Enjoy one of these otsusume, a selection of small plates designed to complement your sake or beer. One of my favorites was the Ebi Furai (RM28), which features five large, juicy prawns deep fried to crispy perfection.

A must-try is the Saba Ichiya Boshi (RM48), a whole mackarel which is preserved with salt water for 24 hours before hitting a hot grill. We thoroughly enjoyed this moist, fairly fatty fish.Other than saba, there is also salmon ichiyaboshi (RM48) or icefish karaage (RM18), though we found these a little dry compared to the saba.

Another great snack to go with your sake is the Buta khusu yaki (RM19), grilled pork glazed in a salty-sweet sauce. We absolutely loved the tender, melt-in-your-mouth pieces of pork with a lovely smoky flavour.

We usually reserve hotpot for rainy days. The stars were clearly aligned as we set off for our review at Robataya and the heavens opened providing us with the perfect weather to go hand in hand with the newly launched seafood hotpot.

The Tokusen Nabe (RM198) launched mid September 2017, is a Japanese hotpot set which comes with baby lobster, Karatsuki scallop, Gindara kabuto (cod fish head), Age gyoza, Salmon kawa (fried salmon fish skin), pork belly slices, butterfish and asari clams. Diners can choose from 4 types of broth - kyushu paste, kimchi paste, miso paste or chef special paste. We had the miso paste broth, and by the end of our meal, the broth was sweet, thanks to all the seafood in the hotpot. The set also comes with udon or soba, which you can add at the end to the broth.

This set can comfortably feed 3-4 persons, and comes with side dishes such as wakadori karaage (fried chicken), chinmi mori (marinated jellyfish, seaweed and chuka idako) as well as Takoyaki Sarada (octopus balls salad) with a lovely sesame dressing. To end, banana ice cream will be served.

Opening times: Mon-Thu 11.30am - 2.30pm; 6pm - 11pm. Fri 11.30am - 2.30pm; 6pm - 11.30pm. Sat 11.30am - 11.130pm; Sun 11.30am - 11pm.


Location: Robataya Izakaya, D4-G3-09, Solaris Dutamas, No.1 Jalan Dutamas 1, 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel: 03-6211 2785

Website: https://www.facebook.com/robatayaizakaya




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