Comedy High @ Samplings on the Fourteenth, Berjaya Times Square Hotel Kuala Lumpur

Back during our dating days, we enjoyed going for comedy nights in London or our local theatre. Recently, we attended a comedy night called "Comedy High" at Samplings on the Fourteenth in KL on 17 January 2012 which pairs food with comedy. This was the first comedy night at Samplings, in collaboration with The Comedy Club KL. 

For RM99++ per person, we got a 3-course Western meal plus 1 hour of stand-up comedy entertainment after. We have been to Samplings before during MIGF for its fine dining fare so we know the food is good. 

A small stage placed at the corner of the restaurant 

Still retaining its fine dining ambience

Dinner starts at 6.30pm and show starts at 8.30pm and ends at 9.30pm. The meal is also inclusive of 1 glass of complimentary Carlsberg beer. Food portions are quite small, but sufficient to fill your stomach.

The view from Samplings on the Fourteenth

Looking down

We started off with the curried pumpkin cappuccino. Since we sat directly under the air-conditioner (hence it was pretty cold), I was certainly glad to be spooning mouthfuls of this warm, delicious soup. It was quite light (not the creamy type) as well. There was 2 choices for mains, and we took one each. Out of the two, Hubby's choice of Chermoula Marinated Chicken Breast served with fondant potatoes, garden vegetables and chicken jus was better. I took a few bites and despite it being the breast meat, the chicken was very moist and flavorful, owing to the chermoula marination. I had the pan fried sea bass fillet served with saffron potatoes and garden vegetables, which was also nice but would have been better if there was more sauce.

Dessert was a coconut tiramisu, which was also pretty good but it was too small for me. I like my desserts BIG!

Curried pumpkin cappuccino

Chermoula marinated chicken breast

Pan fried sea bass fillet

Coconut tiramisu

The show started at sharp 8.30pm (hooray for punctuality!), hosted by a local talent Rizal van Geyzel. The 1 hour show featured comedians Steve Northcott and award-winning Phil Nichol (he was won "Best Comedy Show" in the Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Awards). I have to say we were fully entertained, the venue was filled with laughter from the diners, a truly enjoyable (and different) evening. I have posted 2 videos below (performance by Phil Nichol) to share with you guys.

Rizal van Geyzel

Steve Northcott

Phil Nichol

Phil Nichol, the funny man

For those interested, Samplings will be holding another Comedy Night on Valentine's Day (14 February 2012), which includes a five course set dinner menu, a glass of sparkling wine, a rose for the lady and a glass of complimentary Carlsberg beer for RM158++. The next event will feature Australian comedian Greg Sullivan and local talents Andrew Netto and Rizal van Geyzel. 

Service: Good. Since it was cold, the restaurant provided me with a scarf to use :)

Price: RM99++ for food and entertainment. Complimentary parking for diners.

Location: Samplings on the Fourteenth, Berjaya Times Square Hotel, 1 Jalan Imbi, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  

Tel: 03-2117 8000

GPS Coordinates: 3.142637, 101.709538

Tate, The Intermark Kuala Lumpur

If you've been following my blog for a while, you'll notice that we mostly do lunches and sometimes dinner (for special ocassions) and hardly any drinking. Back in November, we stayed in Doubletree by Hilton for my birthday. After our meal in Frangipani, we were back at the hotel peeking into Estate (at that time it wasn't opened yet). The manager Kevin came out and we started speaking to him. I remember reading on Sean's blog about Tate, but have never "seen" it whenever we were in The Intermark so we asked Kevin as to its whereabouts. 

And there it was... hidden behind an inconspicuous white two-way door, we did not notice its location until Kevin pointed it out to us. I shall not reveal exactly where it is; for those who haven't been before, looking for it is half the fun.

Look for the top hat and you will have found the entrance to Tate

Tate is a watering hole with a difference. It is the first establishment in Malaysia to embrace the speakeasy concept.

For the uninitiated, speakeasy bars were commonplace in the United States during Prohibition in the 1920s when the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcoholic beverages was illegal. Secret drinking dens were formed to fulfil the desire to consume alcohol. It is believed the term "speakeasy" originated in Pennsylvania in 1888, where the ladyboss would hush her customers by saying "speak easy boys", when they get too rowdy to keep from drawing attention to her illegal business.

Once you have found the white door, enter and be greeted by this knight in shining armour. Inside, the place is dimly lit exuding a mysterious yet classy ambience. There is also a pool table, three private rooms and a cigar room. Charlie Chaplin played on the TV before us. We were the only two in there (for a while), so it definitely felt exclusive. 

Private space

Pool table

Famous quote from sporting icon Muhammad Ali.

We made a deal and switched off from our devices (no phones, no iTouch allowed) -- just some quiet time, enjoying our drinks and playing the "Chit" card game provided to us... it was rather entertaining. :)

Tell me..

A game of chess if you're up to it

The bar

Hubby had Macallan 12 years whisky on the rocks (RM24). The whisky here was served with an ice ball, which is designed to melt at a slower rate compared to common ice cubes.. resulting in consistently flavoured chilled whisky from the first sip to the last.

I wanted to order a Mojito but the mixologist said he would make me a special drink depending on what I like. I asked for something fruity, and he came up with a Mary Hendricks (RM38) for me... the primary ingredient being Hendricks Gin.

Call this number if you're really lost... hehe.. 

Can you find it?

Location: Tate, The Intermark KL.