Casbah - Mandarin Oriental, Kuala Lumpur

Oldham Hall 23rd year reunion / ET's wedding weekend ... Party Number 1 was at Casbah on a Friday night, after dinner at Menara Hap Seng's Elegant Inn :-)

Hotel: Mandarin Oriental
Located: Near KLCC, Kuala Lumpur
Tel: +603 2380 8888




We had whiskies, beer, stout, and many cigars (Thanks to duty-free prices and ET's generosity, I brought these back from AUH International) ... ET was the guest-of-honour, myself + WL + NWJ + RF joined him, and TC arrived in time from HK as well ;-) For about 2 hours of drinking, the 6 of us spent about RM$450. Not too bad!

Service was excellent throughout the evening. Music was interesting though - They played Rick Astley and other 80s tunes most of the night, which of course I loved - However, it seems they played more "contemporary" stuff after we left ... Wonder if the old-school music was just for us!

Fine cigars over Chinese New Year - Cohiba and Partagas

TC, ET and myself enjoyed a really nice treat on Day 5 of Chinese New Year this year :-) Cigars and fine whiskey!

Partagas - Serie P, No. 2

We didn't savour one, as all of us chose TC's Robustos instead!

And the divine ... Cohiba Robustos. Lovely packaging, and a even nicer smoke! Purchased from Abu Dhabi International Airport Duty-free, I think this cost about RM$1000 for a box of 25. Not cheap, considering AUH has the 2nd cheapest duty-free for cigars anywhere on Earth ... but truly wonderful.

Romeo y Julieta : Short Churchill

Purchased from: AUH (Abu Dhabi International Airport), 2010
Humidor: 22°C and 70% RH


Enjoyed this with my BIL at Chamas, Intercontinental Abu Dhabi, last night, and it was good! Nice solid and even burn, and according to some professional reviews, it needs some aging (I have had mine for 2 years!). It exhibited a lot of creamy smoke, and I had no problems not re-lighting the darn thing, it stayed lit (Perhaps that was thanks to good aging!).

Ring gauge: 50
Size: Medium (12.4 cm)
Type: Robusto
Taste: Woody

Favourite happy hour place - The new WIP, Bangsar Shopping Centre

Tiger's a fantastic beer ... especially when served at WIP, Bangsar Shopping Centre (BSC) ... I think its my favourite drinking hole at present!

Some occasions call for a celebration ... A box of Romeo y Julieta No.2's which I brought back :-) Cheers, guys!

The food here's pretty good too, especially the Calamari. So good we ordered it TWICE one night!

The best Happy Hour ever ... Nothing like WIP to help one relax after a day at the office, or a day out! They have such a cool and innovative policies, such as

1) IOU - Have one drink, whilst your 2nd HH (Happy Hour) drink sits in a cold place :-)

2) Parking - You can order a bunch of cheap drinks at the end of HH, get a bunch of "parking tickets" and claim them through the night!

Sometimes one has to brave a little traffic to get here :-) Its worth it!

Partagás Serie P No. 2 cigar - Excellent!

Thanks for the Partagás Serie P No. 2, bro!
We enjoyed this with some Johnny Walker Blue Label sans-ice one evening, ah bliss ...


ps - Cigars-review.org describes this better then I ever could!
This cigar is a powerhouse. A full bodied Piramide at its best. Much smoother & less harsh in flavour than the Monte No.2. A very enjoyable cigar, being full bodied, smooth, and full of flavour that is very enjoyable with its after taste. The best cigar I have smoked to date, but there are so many more that this cigar has set the bar very high.

A tale of cigars - Hoyo de Monterrey & Mini Romeo y Julieta

One night in WIP, Bangsar ... we were in luck :-) Our dear friend brought out her entire stash of cigs, and I had brought along two as well ;-)


Hoyo de Monterrey - Epicure No. 2
One of our favourites at the moment as you can see from this recent review
Provided about an hour of happy puffing time!


Romeo y Julieta - Mini
Thanks to Beermonster for letting us try these ... bitter! But grows on you ... and nicely packaged, so couldn't complaint!
We normally enjoy the popular Number 2 so this was the first time we went to a smaller gauge R y J!

Hoyo de Monterrey - Epicure No. 2 cigar

One of our favourites at the moment ... flavoursome yet mild-moderately strong, and just a fantastic after-dinner cigar :-) Ah ... quite perfect!

At the duty-free in Abu Dhabi, its priced a little higher then Romeo and Julieta, but below Cohiba. Good value!


stogieguys.com
When it comes to premium cigars from the forbidden island, Hoyo de Monterrey generally takes a backseat to more familiar brands like Cohiba and Montecristo. My recent sit-downs with a few Epicure No. 2s, however, suggest Hoyo shouldn’t be so easily dismissed.
José Gener established Hoyo in 1865 in Vuelta Abajo, a fertile region of Cuba nestled in the southern part of the Órganos Mountains. In 2001, Cigar Aficionado called this place the “land of the world’s best cigar leaves.”
Take a good look at an Epicure No. 2 and it’s easy to see why. This is a clean and elegant stick that measures four and 7/8 inches with a 50 ring gauge. It sports a beautiful, seamless, yellow-tinted wrapper that’s almost flawless and a nostalgic red, white, and gold band.

A story of pork, vino and cigars - Vintry, Damansara Heights

All the new about landslides in this quiet area of Damansara Hts has not dampened our spirits to visit Vintry once again :-)


Add: Vintry @ Bukit Damansara Heights - 130 Jalan Kasah, Medan Damansara, KL
Located: Behind Jake's / Sri Ayuthaya's / Victoria Station's row in Damansara Heights' OCBC
Tel: +603 2094 8262

Is Rib Shop no more? Looks like its now Ribs by Vintry!


We just spent the perfect late-tea/early dinnertime this year, chilled out, good value, excellent combination of vino + cigar + meats!

Our choice of wine, was a well priced Cab Sauv, RM$66, Stone Cellars by Beringer (2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, from the Napa Valley of California). It went really well with the siew-yoke, ribs AS WELL as the cigar!

Roast meat ... Siew Yoke , its time for "starters", 100g worth. Nice mustard dip alongside!


This easy puffing RM$48 Romeo and Julieta No.2 was from the friendly folk at Embershoppe

Add: Lot G39B, Ground Floor, The Curve,Jln PJU 7/3, Mutiara Damansara, PJ

Tel: +603 7725 3525


Finally, at 6pm the kitchen opened, and soon after ... we were served our "mains" ... BBQ Pork Ribs, enough for 2, served on a REALLY delicious bed of mashed potatoes. Succulent, tasty, and perfectly to be eaten with our fingers!

The total for all the above was RM$160 ... bargain!

Montecristo No. 5 - Cigars from Havana, Cuba

Size: No. 5 - 4" x 40 (102 x 15.88 mm) Perla, a tres petit corona
My experience: Not the mildest of petit cigars, with a lingering after-taste. Puffing time was about 30 minutes ;-) whilst sipping Famous Grouse.


Pay in the region of RM$100 for five No.5s, at duty-free prices.


Wikipedia
Montecristo is the name of two brands of premium cigar, one produced on the island of Cuba for Habanos SA, the Cuban state-owned tobacco company, and the other produced in La Romana, Dominican Republic for the Franco-Spanish tobacco monopoly Altadis SA.
The Montecristo brand was created in 1935 by Menéndez, García y Cía,[citation needed] then the owners of the popular H. Upmann brand of cigars. Having just purchased the H. Upmann marque from J. Frankau & Co., Menéndez and García decided to produce their own subset of the regular H. Upmann line, called the H. Upmann Montecristo Selection.
The name for the brand was inspired by the Alexandre Dumas, père novel The Count of Monte Cristo, which was supposedly a very popular choice among the torcedores (cigar rollers) in their factory to have read by the lector on the rolling floor.

Justus van Maurik - Petit Panatella cigars

Thanks to T for my first golf-puff ;-) Found the Panatellas mild, easy with little after-taste. Integrity in the leaf holding together was average.

hollandcigarhouse.co.uk
The “Petit Panatella” is the slimmer version of the “Sublime” panatella cigar of Justus van Maurik. It has the same great quality and its smooth character. Being slimmer and having nearly the same length as the “Sublime”, the “Petit Panatella” has a very elegant appearance. The cigars are packed in an elegant box.



Wikipedia
Justus van Maurik (Amsterdam 16 August 1846 - 18 November 1904), or Justus van Maurik Jr. was a Dutch author and cigar maker. He was the grandson of the similarly named Justus van Maurik.
Justus was a typical Amsterdammer, he was first known as a writer of farces and humorous plays. In 1878, his first novel, Mie the porster appeared. Hundreds of stories followed. His readers knew Maurik would provide both a smile and a tear: a laugh from his witty depiction of human types, and a tear from his touching stories. Many of his books were illustrated by the graphic artist Johan Braakensiek.

Don Diego - 4 Perlas Cigars

Good value at under RM$20 per cigar. An easy puff :-)


Cigar.com - Don Diego cigars have been around for over a generation and today are rolled in the Dominican Republic. It is made by Altadis USA, makers of such brands as Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, and Trinidad.
Don Diego’s central component is its Connecticut shade grown wrapper that is silky and smooth making the cigar very mild with virtually no finish.
The Don Diego is the perfect cigar for those enthusiasts who don’t want a lot of body or an overbearing flavor. By all measures it is exactly what one would expect from a smooth Dominican cigar and it is fairly strait forward on the palate.
The brand has a lot of history and is considered a classic. Taste the lighter side of the Dominican Republic with a Don Diego.

Wener's on Changkat - Roast lamb leg magic!

Add: 50 Changkat Bukit Bintang, KL
Monorail / train: Raja Chulan (Monorail)
Tel: +603-2142 5670
Opening Hours: 5pm - 3am (Mon - Sat, closed on Sundays)

Been wanting to eat at Werner's on Changkat for some half year now since it opened, but only managed to have some drinks here when it first opened. It was worth the wait!


Vodka-Cranberry (RM$25) and Tanqueray & Tonic (TNT! Gin and tonic @ RM$25) ... Good cocktails!


Starter 1: Deep fried Manchago cheese (RM$18) - Sinful and delicious!


Starter 2: Garlic prawns (RM$18) - Simple, pretty good.

Starter 3: Caracoles 6 snails / escargots (RM$18) - Creamy and enjoyable, like an escargot sandwich!

Their signature dish, as recommended by Andreas (Very personable manager) and the friendly waiter who served us ... Lamb Leg. RM$130. Succulent, delicious, juicy, and perfectly cooked-through. Huge as well, easily serves two!

The lamb was served with these lovely vegetables. Meditteranean style.

CNY indulgence! Romeo and Julieta - Romeo No.2 , light and easy :-) Well worth RM$44 from your local cigar shop!

Overall, a good eating experience, budget about RM$130 per person including drinks, and have a good meal! A nice change from the more casual sister-restaurant, El Cerdo!