Haven @ Ampang Hilir

Haven: Round Two. Since our breakfast at this cozy organic-focused cafe proved so satisfying, we were happy to have a leisurely weekend lunch here too.

Earlier entry on Haven: July 24.

Our meal transformed into a carnival of carbs, kicking off with this Mahogany Fried Rice, comprising wok-fried brown rice with mahogany leaves, French beans, carrots, spring onions & shiitake mushrooms. Got wok hei? More or less.

Organic macaroni, parmesan & corn kernels. Comfort food, pure & simple.

Stir-fried beetroot vermicelli with shredded veggies, cherry tomatoes & free-range egg strips. Nearly as flavorsome as street food, but certainly less oily.

More beetroot? Munching on these Aussie organic chips nearly left us in a carbohydrate coma.

Haven uses a special juicer to squeeze out every last drop of fruity goodness (fruits = sugar = carbs, right?). Try the Melon Thirst Quencher (watermelon & more watermelon) & For The Bones (organic broccoli, spinach & pear _ it doesn't taste as weird as it sounds).

How do you like them apples: a duo of juices a day _ Full of Fiber (red & green apples, extra pulpy) & Jumpstart Your Tummy (red apples, lemon & honey) _ keeps the doctor away.

Haven is a calm space _ except when loud children sometimes invade. Pray they stay away.

Haven Cafe,

12, Jalan Ampang Hilir, Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-4252-3100

Chilli Rush

Heat-seekers can scorch their taste buds at Chilli Rush with fiery, fearsome fare that erupts up the Scoville scale with geyser-like fury.

Chicken wings are the red-hot specialty here, calibrated in increasing intensity from 1 to 10. The lowest level is for toddlers & the timid, while the peak of punishment contains Naga Jolokia, or the "ghost pepper," recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the world's spiciest.

We kicked off with "Level 3" wings, soaked in a sauce that's slightly sweat-inducing, similar to many varieties of sambal that accompany nasi lemak.

Vegetarian wings, made of mock meat, with "Level 6" Habanero sauce. A few years ago, when Frontera first opened nearby at Jaya One, we brazenly chewed on pure Habanero chili there and ended up helplessly sprawled on the restaurant's sofa in a cold sweat for half an hour. Mercifully, we managed to maintain our dignity at Chilli Rush.

"Level 10" chicken wings, coated with northeastern India's Naga Jolokia chili. We only took several bites before surrendering. For comparison, Naga Jolokia has a Scoville rating of about 1 million heat units _ more than 10 times that of "cili padi." These wings crackle with a high-voltage spiciness that persists on the palate and burns slowly in the stomach. Even when hell freezes over, these babies might remain ablaze; too hot to handle, but way too cool to miss.

Beef burger, with house-made patty, punched up with a thin layer of "Level 5" sauce. The meat was deliciously lean, kinda like a cross between a steak and a regular burger patty.

Skittish about culinary pyrotechnics? Try something less penetratingly painful: spaghetti tossed in Indonesian gado-gado sauce with grilled chicken satay. Excellent, with every strand of the noodles blanketed in scene-stealing peanut gravy.

Anxious to cool down, we hopped over to The Bee for The Last Polka's current indulgences: strawberry cream cheese, French toast & coconut kaffir lime-flavored ice cream.

Chilling out some more with Chardonnay.

Wolf Blass Shiraz, a steal at Chilli Rush for RM70+ per bottle.

Ultimate Mudslide cocktail.

Chilli Rush,

Jaya One, Petaling Jaya.

Tel: 03-7960-7368

Souled Out @ Ampang

Souled Out has opened its second outpost, storming into Ampang with the kind of food, cocktails & vibe for which its long-entrenched Hartamas trailblazer is renowned.

A familiar fusion favorite: the Sake San wood-fired pizza, abundantly topped with salmon sashimi, cherry tomatoes, lolorosso, mayo & a touch of wasabi. This seemed more impressive when we first tried it several years ago in Hartamas, but it still nicely encapsulates Souled Out's doctrine of dishing out comfort food filled with fresh ingredients.

Sunset Beach (vodka, melon liquor, amaretto, cranberry juice) & Strawberry Dreams (vodka, bailey's, strawberry ice cream, strawberry puree, strawberries).

Cosmopolitan Long Island & Watermelon Mojito. Souled Out's cocktails are potent enough to please, though the current selection at Ampang is not as wide as Hartamas'.

For even more challenging cocktails, take a five-minute drive to Tate at The Intermark, where manager-mixologist Kevin's latest creation is his own spin on the Bloody Mary, featuring the freshest of tomatoes, roasted capsicum & a triple whammy of pepper, chili flakes & Cayenne pepper for a spectacularly complex spiciness that lingers on the palate.

Earlier entries on Tate: June 30 & July 27.

To wrap up, some more shots of Souled Out, our recent refuge from rain.

Souled Out,

Menara HSC, Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-2181-1626

Cafe Takahashi

This casual, cheerful cafe serves Japanese-inspired food with intriguing twists.

Unagi burger. Without the bun, it would have been regular teriyaki eel, ensconced in a fresh salad of lettuce, tomatoes & pickles. Not a bad thing, since the unagi was warm, juicy and flavorful. Carb-haters can simply skip the bread and think of this as a delicious eel salad.

Tamago & banana pizza. A perfectly prepared thin-crust treat that doubled as dessert; the combination of luscious strips of omelet with ripe slivers of banana was an unexpected delight, blending beautifully with the creamy cheese and a subtly sweet sauce.

Banana-avocado shakes. Thick and tasty, though the banana overpowered the avocado.

Cafe Takahashi @ Pavilion,

Tokyo Street, Level 6, Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur.

En Ginza Cafe

This spacious, welcoming hangout seems suitable for resting the feet after a shopping spree, but while we like its casual vibe, we have mixed feelings about its fusion food.

Seaweed-flavored fries with wasabi dip. A simple snack; not sure how to describe something that fades in the memory almost immediately after it's consumed.

Spaghetti in tomato sauce with mussels, scallops, prawns & squid. Supposed to be topped with shirasu and laced with sake, but the shirasu at least appeared absent. What remained was a run-of-the-mill pasta recipe. To be fair, there's much more on En Ginza Cafe's menu, so maybe other items might taste better.

Bread fans should nonetheless make a beeline for this cafe, since lots of doughy delights line its shelves, including freshly baked rolls stuffed with pumpkin paste.

Blue cheese bun. An agreeably stinky alternative to conventional cheese-topped buns.

Coffee art! Say Hello, Kitty, to this latte. Or was it a cappuccino?

Can't recognize this winking character, but it was cute all the same.

EN Ginza Cafe @ Pavilion,

Tokyo Street, Level 6, Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur.

Ploy @ Damansara Heights

Ploy: Round Two. Earlier entry: July 22.

This round at Ploy yielded both hits & misses. The tuna, scallop & avocado "mille-feuille" on sushi rice looked like a cool creation, but it tasted like a regular maki at an upscale Japanese restaurant. Not a terrible thing, but not terrific either.

Salmon with "laab" shoyu & lime sauce. Sashimi, suffocated in sourish saltiness.

Crispy baby squid in sesame sauce. Works as a bar snack; as addictive as it sounds.

Butterfish marinated with shoyu, sake & mirin. Ploy's version of char siew; the fish boasted a honeyed smokiness and a firmer bite than expected.

Notable desserts include the durian gelato, made with the highly valued "raja kunyit" breed for a singularly sweet flavor with a mildly bitter aftertaste.

Durian panna cotta, blending Asian & European sensibilities in one creamy confection. If there's one thing to admire about Ploy, it's the risk-taking here.

Thrab thim krob _ Thai red rubies with water chestnuts & shaved coconut ice. Refreshingly cold and well executed, ensuring a satisfactory finish.

Thai-inspired cocktails: Basil Mojito & Ginger Cosmopolitan.

Ploy @ Clearwater,

G-02 Work @ Clearwater,

Jalan Changkat Semantan, Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-2095-0999