It is hard to find quality bistro these days. BUT thankfully Chef Darren Chin decided to open his little retreat named - Bref by Darren Chin, an alternative way to enjoy his work of art in an affordable manner. Bref by Darren Chin is a contemporary Parisian Bistro that public can enjoy dining delicious meal, at a moderate priced meal.

Went there as a couple, that have my seat placed at the kitchen counter. At the kitchen counter, you will be able to experience open-kitchen concept, witnessing how the young Chef de Cuisine runs the show. The waiter will brief you on the menu and give you some recommendation!, but please be aware that the menu is seasonal and will change periodically.

 2016 BK Wines “One Ball” Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, Australia (RM 42.00, by the glass)

Knowing what I will feast later on, this glass of white wine was the right decision I ever made. Vibrant and full of brightness, able to cut through extremely high fat content and cleanse my palate. Comes with a fruity sensation such as blueberry and orange, then leaving behind pepper, cloves and very obvious honey.

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Food

 Complimentary Antipasti - Crusty bread accompanied with Giant mammuth olives, piquillo peppers, pepperoncini & onion jam.

Loving the warm crusty bread. The mix giant mammuth olives, piquillo peppers pepperoncini and onion jam was outstanding.

 [Antipasti] - Torchon of foie gras fait a la maison (RM 55.00)

Two pieces of round seasoned foie gras accompanied with Chiang Mai's wild flower honeycomb at the side. The fattiness of the foie gras blends well with the authentic honeycomb from Northern Thai, gives a creamy nutty sensation on the tongue. Sadly, not my type of dish. Anyway, good experience thou.

/pro-tip: looking for combo with this dish? order a glass of champagne of any kind OR sweet wine of any kind. For cleansing palate wise, you may ordered like what i did above or you may ask the server to recommend you a few wine with high acidity characteristics/

[Pasta]- DC's Signature (RM 75.00)

Prior to my experience in Bref, was wondering what's the hype with this dish that the netizen had been raving about? Surprisingly, this is the best dish I ever had in my life. A plate with cold somen, covered with aged ponzu, topped with  Hokkaido bafun uni and roasted celeriac. Great texture within the somen, the aged ponzu blends well with the noodle. What more when there's exquisite ingredients on top of the cold somen. Portion of the noodle was on-point. Very satisfying.

 [Main]- Australian grass-fed rib eye steak au poivre (280-300gms) (RM 120.00)

An Australian grass-fed rib eye steak with roasted celeriac cream, buttered kale. To me, this dish is just "so-so", no Wow factor. Maybe an aged Wagyu can impress me. The size is just right for two pax, but if you are a bodybuilder, the portion is awesome for your gains.

 [Pasta]- Spaghettini with fresh red prawns from Kuala Selangor (RM 58.00)

"The simplest meal is the hardest to cook" - Ah Xian (2018), during his interview with Chef Darren Chin, got me curious and wondered why would Ah Xian said so? It is true, a simple pasta dish like this may look so simple but when it comes to preparation, it is another story. Thus, this pasta is pack with great taste and aroma. Pasta texture was on al-dente, the tomato passata taste great with seafood broth mixed in. Simply delicious.

Dessert

 Chocolate (RM 35.00)

Have you tried tasting local cacao? It is as good as imported cacao. The 60% & 70% cacao was used in Chef Han's Chocolate Royale, planted and grown by the Semai hill-tribes in Sinderut, Pahang. Garnished with boozy macerated cherries, dark chocolate creme and chocolate crisps. Taste delicious, minimal sweetness and leaving behind pleasant creamy mouthfeel.

Score

Price & Service: 4/5
Ambience: 3.5/5

New established 5-star hotel, Alila Bangsar located in the heart of vibrant Bangsar district where guests are able to access and experience the richness of local vistas and point of interests. This hotel features recreational facilities such as gymnasium and outdoor "tropical-styled" swimming pool. Apart from that, guests are able to experience executive in-house restaurants as well as enjoy mixology in the bar with infinity skyscraper view. Alila Bangsar has 143 guestrooms are located on floor 35 to 40, offering the best city-view for its guests during their stay.

I booked a studio room for one night via Booking.com with reasonable offer that comes with breakfast, only at RM 290.00 per night.

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To access to the hotel lobby can be a little confusing for first timer... First, head to ground floor and you will see a Concierge. Let them know your name and your purpose, and they will lead you to another lift. That lift will then lead you all the way up to 41st floor of the building, that's where the hotel lobby is!

We proceed to check-in. Check-in process took about 5-10 minutes, depending on the situation. After that, there will be a guest relation officer to guide us to our room. There will be another designated lift to access to the hotel rooms. Sounds like a maze, isn't?
While on the way to our room, the guest relation officer will explain about the hotel, facilities and everything that you need to know.

As we are heading to our room, we pass-by an area called Alila Living Room. This area situated at every guestroom floor where there are unlimited supply of local snacks, coffee and tea, so that you can keep your mouth busy during your entire stay.

Alila Living Room

Meet our 38sqm Studio Room, at 37th floor. This studio room was clean, minimalist and neutral palette colors interior which provides sense of comfort for its guests.
The amenities of the room are well-equipped such as the 4K-HD flat screen TV, minibar, working desk, USB, electrical and media ports as well as toiletries. Speaking of toiletries, such as toothbrush and shaver are available upon request. The toilet are quite cool in the sense of its comtemporary, chic urban styled interior.
No bathtub by the way, if you are wondering.
The mattress and the pillows are very comfortable, which I can sleep soundly at night without waking up in the middle of the night.
Air conditioned works great.
The only problem in the room was the television channels are not working. Apparently, they used IPTV channel and what cause the channels to buffer was the internet speed. Weird thing was... the internet connection worked well on my phone.
 

I have no problem with the water pressure despite living up high at 37th floor. A good water pressure system helps to save water and time spent in the shower room :) This is what 5-star hotel should be like.
Also, the shampoo and shower gel in Alila Bangsar was quite satisfying that it gave me sense of luxury. Good quality shower and shampoo liquid and very aromatic, unlike other hotels that provide cheap and low quality gels.
One of my favorite spot in Alila Bangsar was the tropical-styled outdoor swimming pool. I dare to say its different than any other hotel swimming pool, which I truly enjoyed chilling here in the entire afternoon. Great place for everyone to dip themselves in the 1.2 meter depth pool or you can read your book on the beach bed while sipping on a cocktail.

In the morning, it will be buffet-style breakfast in Entier. Buffet counter may seemed a little pathetic due to its limited choice of food. They provide a la carte menu with extensive choice of food menu.

Malay Set, picked from the menu.

International Breakfast, picked from the menu.

Hello! Its been awhile since I blog! Nevertheless, for those who are coffee enthusiast like I do, I'm sure you know what's going to happen in less than two weeks time!

Malaysia Coffee Fest 2018 is happening soon, this coming 12th to 15th July 2018, in 1 Utama Shopping Centre! Very promising event for those who are coffee fanatics or new to Malaysian coffee scene! I've been there and done that! Of course, till today I'm proud that I have never give up on coffee life or whatever that is related to the coffee industry. Coffee scene in Malaysia has been growing tremendously over the past few years, it all started with our local barista compete on World Barista Championship which the Malaysian coffee scene gained recognition from the eye of the locals and internationals.

 Who's going?