Quite a regular, Hanim Mohd revisits WIP to try out the new items in its newest and improved menu.
AS soon as dine-in at eateries and restaurants is permitted for fully-vaccinated patrons, WIP which by now stands for Whipped in Place and no longer a Work in Progress, is all ready with some interesting new items in the menu and better ambience.
Still residing at the ground floor of Bangsar Shopping Centre, the restaurant that is owned by SOUled Out Group, has fixed a better ventilation to its open air dining, retaining its urban garden tropics ambience lent by the stacked-together bamboo ceiling, wood paneled pillars and water flowing with small fountains at the far side of the floor.
"Our vaccinated staff are equipped with face shields and face masks, and we practise strict dine-in requirements so that diners can dine-in without any qualms," says group marketing head Nelson How.
And I am here with a companion to try out some items from its newest and improved menu which was created by Chef Azlan Mansor.
The afternoon starts with three mocktails prepared by bar maestro, Alvin Au Yong. They are Djinn & Tonic, Fresauiri and Penicilin brew.
Served in a tall glass decorated with a piece of pandan leaf and pretty edible flowers is Djinn & Tonic, inspired by gin and tonic, is a concoction of pandan tea, honeydew melon and lemon juices.
Inspired by daiquiri, Fresaquiri is a concoction of chrysanthemum tea, strawberry puree, hazelnut syrup, and fresh lime juice. Our third mocktail is Penicillin brew which is a concoction of Genmaicha tea, fresh pear and lemon juices and ginger honey served with caramelized ginger.
As non drinkers, we don't know how to appreciate them. However, on a positive note, the presentation is very pretty. I find that they are more on a sour note perhaps as a result to substitute the alcohol factor.
From the Western kitchen, we are served with Miso Honey Glazed Black Cod. The pan fried black cod fillet is marinated in honey and miso. It comes with fried lotus root, sautéed mushrooms, purple sweet potato mash and edamame.
Not only is the whole plate a work of art, it's also delicious. The miso honey sauce is ingenious and I can't seem to get enough of it.
Then, Espetada made a grand entrance. This Portuguese cuisine of skewered grilled lamb loin and Black Angus beef is sparingly well seasoned with herbs. These chunks of meat are later thinly sliced for serving. Both choices of meat are excellent, it almost melts in the mouth.
The marbling of the Black Angus beef makes it juicy and tender that we enjoy it on its own although there are three types of sauces. There's a side of roasted baby potatoes in wedge form and vegetables. A lot of care has been given to the vegetables that every morsel of it is well seasoned.
Seafood Tom Yum Fettuccine is our pasta dish. This Thai-inspired dish is scrumptious. Tiger prawns, squid and scallops are added to the spicy creamy tom yum sauce then tossed with the pasta.
Cream is used instead of santan as in any original Thai recipes and it pays off as it goes well with pasta. The sauce coats and sticks nicely with the fettuccine leaving not a single strand bland.
Oxtail Consommé is our soup for the day. It is an Asian style oxtail soup steeped in spices and vegetables like celery, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes. It comes with garlic toast fingers made from "kopitiam" bread loaf.
For me, the soup is not hearty enough, missing some citrus while the toast doesn't have much garlic. The vegetables are done right to my liking though.
Short Rib Nasi Lemak is my favourite dish of the day. The s Nasi Lemak is on a high level. Staying true to the authenticity of this national dish, Chef Azlan perfectly braises the short ribs in spicy sambal. It is the star of the dish.
The big plate of Nasi Lemak is served with the usual accompaniment of cucumber slices, fried peanuts and anchovies, homemade sambal, papadum and hard boiled egg.
Kerala Style Fish in Banana Leaf is chosen for us from the Indian kitchen. Having watched many Kerala cooking programmes, I'm excited to try this dish known as Pollichathu (translated as fish grilled in Banana leaves).
Apparently, a local Keralan fish known as Pearl Spot fish is normally used for this dish. Since it's not available here, Spanish Mackerel (tenggiri) is substituted. A lot of spices and coconut are involved in the making of this dish.
It comes with spiced flavoured rice. It's how I imagined it would taste but my companion finds that the spices are not intense enough. Mind you, unlike me, she doesn't even have a drop of Mamak blood in her!
Lava Cake and ice cream ends our meal on a sweet note. A scoop of Häagen Dazs vanilla ice cream complements the molten lava cake very well. To offset the sweetness of the dessert a bit, a cup of Black Americano Coffee perfects our afternoon at WIP.
WIP CAFE & RESTAURANT
G1 11, Ground Floor, Bangsar Shopping Centre, 285, Jalan Maarof, Bangsar,59000 Kuala Lumpur.
012-6505722
Noon - 10pm
Bar snacks, soups, salads and appetisers to Western, Asian, Indian and pasta and pizza mains.
Short Rib Nasi Lemak
From RM20
Pleasant ambience and cosy.
Staff are attentive and efficient
Give it a try
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