Atlas Bistro, Shoppes at Four Seasons Place, KL

Tucked away in the basement of Shoppes at Four Seasons Place is Atlas Bistro, a beautifully designed restaurant located within a gourmet market offering fantastic all-day dining options. With its modern, contemporary design and its laidback ambiance, this is the perfect venue for a catch up with a friend, a business lunch or simply come for the delicious, honest food.

The menu at Atlas Bistro is crafted with the classics in mind with subtle touches elevating the dishes to the next level. Helming the kitchen here is Head Chef David Wong, who has the freshest ingredients and quality products to call upon at Atlas Gourmet Market, ensuring the best dishes are served to their customers.

We are often advised to start the day right with a good breakfast,so take heed and try the Hash, Cheese & Egg (RM35) from the Breakfast Menu (available from 10am to 12pm). A mighty fine dish, this is inspired by the Californian breakfast of potatoes, mix peppers, onions, mushrooms, beef bacon, two sunny side up and melted mozzarella cheese. Diners can also add on RM5 for any coffee with any order from the Breakfast Menu.

If you had to choose one dish to  try in Atlas Bistro, make it the Mussels in Curry White Chocolate (RM45). The unusual addition of white chocolate into the sauce works like magic, giving a subtle sweetness as well as gloss and creaminess to the mildly spicy, tangy sauce (infused with spices, fresh turmeric, red chilli and finished with a squeeze of lime). A perfect accompaniment to the juicy New Zealand mussels.

For mains, we had the classic Angus steak stew with mushroom and dauphine potatoes (RM59). A terrific stew, with deliciously tender meat and a rich, flavorful sauce - this is comfort food for the soul! We also loved the Dauphine potato, essentially mashed potatoes in choux pastry, deep fried to golden perfection.

Other than meat, you can also get fish and chips, halibut and Norwegian ocean trout (RM59) here at Atlas Bistro. The pan seared ocean trout is finished with Tahini mint and herbs, in a lovely star anise sweet pepper sauce, sprinkled with pomegranate and pistachios. Again, the combination gives a unique edge to the dish; truly enjoyable to the last bite.

There are also a variety of salads, sandwiches, burgers, pasta as well as a fantastic array of meats to choose from. For the latter, diners can choose from the fantastic range of meats from Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Choose your preferred cuts and breed from Kyushu tomahawks, Miyazaki tenderloin, Sanchoku Wagyu ribeye, Black Angus or Bultarra Saltbush Dorper lamb cutlets. There is also an in-house dry-aging equipment where meats are kept in a climate-controlled space for a minimum number of days. Once you have selected your meat, the restaurant will cook it to your preferred doneness, for a fee of RM15 (or RM25 for the tomahawk).

Atlas Fine Meats

For dessert, we indulged in the rich Chocolate mousse with pistachio and raspberry sauce (RM28), made from 70% dark chocolate for that silky smooth taste. Absolutely sinful... yum!

Kusmi tea from Paris is also served in the bistro and is exclusively available for purchase at Atlas Gourmet Market

Pork-free.

Opening times: 10am to 10pm daily.

Location: Atlas Bistro, Lot B1-02,3,5,6,7,Shoppes @ Four Seasons Place KL, 145 Jalan Ampang,
50450 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel: 03-2856 8805

Website: http://www.atlasgourmet.com.my/bistro.php



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Cook & Brew, The Westin Singapore

Located at Level 33, Cook & Brew is The Westin Singapore’s specialty gastro-bar, serving a modern interpretation of classical bar favorites and local comfort food, with a meticulously curated list of fine wines, cocktails and 112 different craft beers from 22 countries. Helming the kitchen here is Executive Chef Aaron Foster who hails from Ontario, Canada.

We had the pleasure of having dinner here during our stay at The Westin Singapore last month. Upon entering the restaurant, we were ushered to our seats, which comes with a magnificent night view of the Marina Bay. The restaurant's interior features raw wooden floors, lavish dark red leather bar stools and a sumptuous black marble-topped bar.

For lunch, the menu is more casual, however come night time, the dinner menu features lavish single-portion, shared-plate or communal family-style delights. Furthermore, beer pairings are suggested for all the food dishes in the menu, so guests can explore the combinations for the best dining experience.

To start, we had the Prawns and King Crab (S$21), a cold appetizer consisting of grapefruit, strawberry, spinach, barley, shishito pepper, taro, wild rice, mustard and chili oil. This was a light and colorful salad, with lovely plays on textures. We also had the steamed clams (S$16) which was served with house-cured pancetta, leeks, chili, heirloom carrots and cooked in Magner's cider and herbs broth. We took the suggested pairing of Magner's cider with this starter.

One of the signature dishes here is the Fancy Fish & Chips (S$46), a luxurious take on the classic English dish whereby fish is replaced with beer-battered and butter-poached Nova Scotia lobster. This was a delicious, refined version of fish and chips - the batter was light and crispy and the lobster meat was taut, fresh and sweet. It is served with thick-cut, duck fat-braised Pont Neuf potatoes and house-made gribiche, a type of sauce popular in French cuisine.

Meatlovers are guaranteed to love the Tomahawk Bone-In Rib Eye Steak (S$126). This is perfect for sharing as it comes with 28oz of juicy, flavorful steak, as well as shoe string fries, a rocket and Parmesan salad, and garlic mayonnaise. The steak was perfectly cooked to medium rare with a beautiful crusty exterior. Fantastic!

Check out their online menus here.

Location: Cook & Brew, Level 33, The Westin Singapore, 12 Marina View, Asia Square Tower 2,  Singapore 018961.

Tel: +65 6922 6948

Website: http://www.cookandbrewsingapore.com/

Nearest MRT: Downtown Station

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Gastropub: Estate, The Intermark, KL, Malaysia

It is no secret that I am a big fan of The Big Group's restaurants, especially Ben's General Food Store, Plan B and Tate. Estate was opened sometime in November 2011 and is part of The Estates (also made up of Tate, After Ate, and EST, the newly opened steakhouse) in The Intermark, KL. I actually visited Estate about 2 months ago, but never got around to blogging it as it got lost in my backlog pile. Better late than never.

Estate is a modern interpretation of a gastropub, hence you will find updated versions of British pub classics such as fish and chips, chicken tikka masala, roast beef and Guinness braised beef stew amongst others.

Pretty tomato salad with burrata

Raw cement floors and exposed ceiling gives the restaurant an industrial edge while maintaining a stylish yet casual look. A unique feature wall, made using front covers of old radios provides a backdrop for the stage where local and international bands play on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Nice British backdrop

The wall is covered with radio covers - cool huh?

Bread basket with salted Echire butter (RM10)

Recenly, we have an infatuation with burrata cheese, so we were happy to try the tomato salad with burrata cheese (RM39.90) here. The dish was definitely very attractive, thanks to the use edible flowers and fresh basil. The burrata was creamy while the tomatoes were fresh and juicy. If all salads were this pretty and delicious, we wouldn't mind eating salads more often. A lovely start to our meal.

Surely after a healthy salad, we can indulge in a little deep fried food? The Parmigiano-Reggiano Egg Croquette (RM19.90) served with tartare sauce and micro greens was well worth the calories.An oozy runny egg in the centre makes this a gorgeous starter.

I've read about beer-butt chicken before in the newspaper/magazines but have never actually tried it before. It is served with the beer can intact in the bottom (LOL when we saw it), chicken upright and all - very cool. There is a firing time of 45 minutes for this, but it is worth the wait. After we finished photographing the chicken, the waiting staff took it back to the kitchen for carving. The chicken meat was moist, and is served with gravy, bread sauce and roast potatoes. On the menu, it says that this serves 2 but I would recommend that you share this amongst 3-4 persons.

Beer Roasted Whole Chicken (RM79.90)

It looks like it's dancing LOL!!

From their bar menu, we tried the Wild Mushroom and Truffle Pizza (RM35.90). This is similar to my default order whenever I visit Ben's General Food Store in BV, except that this one has truffle shavings on top of the wild mushroom, mascarpone and truffle oil.

The hand cut Wagyu five striploin cheese burger (RM79.90) was nice but the price is a little steep for a burger. I would say the Plan B cheeseburger for RM23 is as good as this, albeit with a different cut/breed of meat. Served with sesame bun with handcut fries, gherkin and aragula salad with white balsamic dressing.

I loved the Roast Black Angus beef tenderloin (RM89.90), beautifully cooked to medium rare. It is served with Yorkshire pudding, duck fat roast potatoes, grilled asparagus and gravy.

I felt stuffed by the time we finished our mains, but there is always room in my stomach for desserts! ALWAYS. All the desserts that we sampled were delicious.We started off with the Chocolate Crepes (RM15.90), served with salted caramel sauce and chocolate ice cream. I really liked the addition of the salted caramel sauce.

If you like Snickers, then you'll most probably love Estate's take on the "Snickers Bar" (RM19.90), made of peanut chocolate cracker, caramel mousse and salted peanuts with milk chocolate ice cream. This is quite a rich dessert, hence would be suitable for sharing.

Your mum may at sometime in your childhood packed a P B & J sandwich, short for peanut butter and jam in your lunchbox. I like the version here (RM19.90), consisting of peanut butter parfait, salted peanuts sandwiched between salted butter toast, boysenberry jam stacked together and served with coffee ice cream. The sweet-salty flavours worked well together.

EST, the South American steakhouse by The Big Group  located just next door to Estate

Full set of photos here, including menu.

Pork-free.

Location: Estate, Lot G-01, Ground Floor, The Intermark, 182 Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel:  +603 2163 5732

Website: www.thebiggroup.co

GPS Coordinates: 3.161620, 101.719670

*This is an invited review.

Wurstkuchl, Regensburg, Germany

There are a few things closely associated with traditional German cuisine. Amongst them are bratwurst (sausages) and sauerkraut (pickled sour cabbage). I had one of my best encounters with these two during my last visit to Regensburg, a city situated to the north of Munich in Bavaria. The city itself is quite a nice place to visit, with its beautiful medieval city centre named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Bratwurst and sauerkraut

A stroll alongside the river brought us to the Wurstkuchl by chance. The smell of freshly grilled sausages was wafting through the air and we were led towards a tavern crowded with tourists and locals.

We were drawn to the aroma of freshly grilled sausages..

As I found out later, this eatery has been around for centuries, dating back to the 1100s, existing first as a site office and then converted into the eatery it is today. It first served as a foodstand for dock and construction workers. After a change of owners, the bratwurst and subsequently a menu was introduced.

The sausages here are grilled on an open charcoal grill and apparently the recipe is only known to a select few members of the staff. Raw sausages are also sold in containers for those who want to buy back to enjoy at home. Whether the same char-grilled effect can be obtained at home is another question!

We took our seats at the outdoor area, which turned out to be quite a chilly experience!(Weather was cold with occasional showers throughtout the week)

The menu was short and straight to the point. Not much of a choice here! We had a serving of 6 bratwurst with sauerkraut (€7,50) and a potato soup (€3,50) which seemed particularly fitting for the cold weather. The potato soup was not on the menu we were given but we spotted an elderly couple having it and decided to order it as well. I found out later on their website that they do have a separate menu for their lunch; serving other classics such as schnitzel, roasted meats, and dessert.

The bratwurst was definitely different from what I've tasted from my previous visits to various eateries, roadside stalls and restaurants. The sausages had a definite meatier texture to it and went very well with the homemade sweet mustard, a must have with Bavarian sausages. The sauerkraut, which is sourced from a local farmer, was as good a sauerkraut that I've tasted before; a perfect accompaniment to the sausages.

The potato soup was thick, warm and homey; comfort food for us in the cold outdoor surroundings. Slightly like a German version of ABC Soup, according to my fellow diner.

Bread to go with the soup (€0,80 each)

Wash it all down with a cold beer

All in all a rustic, traditíonal, no-nonsense German experience by the Danube river. Although I would recommend not sitting outside during winter!

Opening times: 8.00am to 7.00pm daily

Price: €20 inc. tips for 2 persons. A tad pricey for sausages, soup, bread and 2 beers but definitely a good experience for visitors to the area.

Location: Wurstkuchl, Thundorferstr. 3, 93047 Regensburg, Germany (right next to the Old Stone Bridge (Steinernen Brücke))

Website: http://www.wurstkuchl.de/