Insta Weekly: Umeshu - Stoked - Villa Danieli Wine Dating - Kampachi Sake Appreciation

Oh dang it. Lost track of time. It's late and I'm typing this while I'm running on fumes. Gotta make this as short as I can before I fall aslee.......

1. Homemade Umeshu @ Kinme

This Japanese restaurant has the best homemade Umeshu I've ever tasted. Well, I haven't had the pleasure of trying everything in the market, but the ones I've tried, I didn't like. This one I tried, I REALLY liked. Maybe because it was the last drink after a night of a wonderful meal and great company, but it was seemed perfect with just the right balance of tart & sweetness. Each glass was served with a full pickled plum which was delicious to nibble at.

Chef Voon (ex Iketeru) ages his own umeshu using japanese plums (ume) and sochu.  It's sold in jars too for around RM2XX  (I can't remember),  and as you can see there are loads of plums in there, likely sufficient for every drink. Need to get back there to get me a jar.

More: https://www.facebook.com/kinmerestaurant


2. Stoked Charcoal Oven Restaurant & Bar

Taking over the ex Ribs By Vintry is new kid on the block - Stoked. This casual fine dining restaurant's been barely opened for a month but they must be doing everything right because it's already packed during peak hours. Since it's still part of the Vintry Wine Group - expect a humongous variety of great wines to go with the food which are mostly curated with their 300kg cast-iron oven named Bertha and locally produced products.

We tried what seemed like close to 20 beautifully plated food that night which were delicious but these stood out for me - the USDA prime rib eye, roasted portobello mushrooms, baby octopus and the sticky date pudding desert. Of course, various recommended wines were paired beautifully with the dishes too. That Chianti man, mmm mmmmum (Oh btw, I have a penchant for soft, feminine, light, fruity, flowery wines)!

This new restaurant & bar also features chilled wine dispensers which dispenses various reds and whites in three sizes: tasting (25ml), half-glass (75ml) & full glass (125ml) which starts at a ridiculous low entry of RM5. Check them out at: https://www.facebook.com/stokedrestaurant

I've been told to expect something interesting to come our way with their wines & flight tasting sessions - I can't wait for it to finally happen so that I can properly share it with you. :D


3. Villa Danieli Wine Dating

Sheraton Imperial KL's hosting a wine tasting session every last Thursday of the month. It's not your usual stuffy, sit down wine & food pairing dinner - it really is more of a journey where guests get to "hook up" with different wines at every "pitstop", paired with food that's specially created for the night. Plus the beautiful setting of the Italian restaurant, Villa Danieli, just sets you in the mood. More about this soon, but in the meantime keep an eye out for it at: facebook.com/sheraton.imperial.kuala.lumpur


4. Kampachi Sake Session

Kampachi aspires to run 2 sake tasting events a month at the Plaza 33 outlet. It's a 1.5-2 hours session packed with sake tasting of various Junmai (pure rice) sakes (officially we had 4, unofficially, the friendly bar manager brought out more to try :p) at different temperatures - warm and cold, paired with Japanese bar bites & impeccable hospitality that Kampachi is known for. This will probably run for months and months times infinity because Kampachi (likely) has the most Junmai labels in the local market. Follow them closely on facebook.com/KampachiOfficial if you want to keep an eye out for the next session, as it's strictly on RSVP basis only.

Until next week, drink safe!

Insta Weekly is a weekly summary of boozy updates from my Instagram.com/fireangel80 with the hashtag #angeltini. Feel free to follow me if you enjoy daily updates on booze, food and other random stuff by a girl from Malaysia. Cheers!