Pints and more at Tom Dick & Harry's, TTDI

Tom Dick & Harry's has done well for itself, despite having chosen to open its doors on a competitive stretch in TTDI.

We like to come here time and again because it's a comfortable place to get your pints, the service is fast and friendly even when the heat is on. They really ought to do something about the recurring power outage though.

We didn't start trying the food menu until recent visits, when it was apparent that more and more tables were dinner as well as drinking ones.

The recommended Chicken Chop - a huge slab of deboned chicken fillet breaded and served with brown sauce. It's mystifying how many places get this wrong even though it's a difficult dish to stuff up. Fortunately, TDH's is one of the better ones tried and tested. Very good with cider.

Less stellar was the Pork Ribs Curry, which was served with poppadums and toasted bread. Perhaps this dish just isn't meant to read off a pub menu, but it just didn't do much for us beyond being a token curry dish in a Malaysian joint. The pork ribs were extremely tender admittedly but the stew was too watery and lackadaisical to warrant recommendation.

These cold ones we come back for frequently. Nuff said.


They also have what looks to be a fabulous weekend breakfast menu. Can't wait to hit it next!


Tom, Dick & Harry's
Lorong Rahim Kajai 14
Taman Tun Dr Ismail
60000 KL
Tel: 03-7710 2122

Sunday Relief at Bulldog Pub, Hartamas

I've always enjoyed Sunday as a day designed purely for the pursuit of recovery of the body, soul and mind. After a highly eventful Friday and Saturday, I was looking forward to some reprieve come lunchtime Sunday, when we made our way to enjoy what the Bulldog pub in Hartamas would offer.

We started with a pint each - Strongbow cider and good ol' Tiger.

We waited for a while for our food, approximately half an hour, even though the tables were barely filling up the whole time we were there.

I ordered the Roast Pork, because I'd been stealthily eating healthy all week and I'm quite frankly, sick of it! It arrived an arrangement of pork slices, apple compote, with roast spuds and buttered vegetables (even though I had specifically requested for that to be replaced with fresh vegetables). They served the brown onion sauce on the side, which was appreciated - you decide how heavily and at what pace you want to douse the meat. I didn't send back the buttered vegies either because I was quite ravenous at that point.

While the pork was well roasted, it didn't pack a whole lot of flavour beyond the gamey pork, and I felt it was too tough to warrant much praise. The apple compote nicely accompanied the pork slices, but the brown sauce was a tad too salty.

He went with the Toad in the Hole, which I'd remembered from Bangsar-Babe. He was happy with it, particulary with the Yorkshire pudding crust in a savoury context. The pork sausages were again too salty which betrayed its store-bought origin.

Personally, I loved the glorious mess of the salty sausages drenched in the brown onion sauce, accompanied with the soggy pudding pastry. What's not to like??

The kitchen does need to work faster as I can't imagine how they could deal with the pace when the heat is on. The meal at Bulldog sent me into sluggish mode for the rest of Sunday, but if that's not what recovery is about, then I don't know what is!

Back to Basics at Sid's Pub Bangsar

Reently learned that Sid's opened up another outlet in Bangsar South, much nearer to my workplace and home than the original outlet at TTDI so off we went to check it out one lazy, HOT Sunday afternoon. It'd been a while since I last ventured to the Pantai area and I was surprised to see how the Village (essentially UOA's Bangsar South showhouse) was already nicely inhabited by an Old Town, a Secret Recipe, a 7-11 and Sid's. All the basics to convince you this is going to be prime real estate! Investors, get your cheque books out!

The cool tranquil pub interior offers refuge from the blazing mid-May Malaysian sun. Entrez s'il vous plaît!!

Signature Sid's dark wooden furniture, paraphernalia-adorned walls, one very well-stocked bar. In addition to its proximity to home, this outlet has the advantage of more room, both indoors and out...

...and Strongbow Cider! Much preferred to Blackthorn's served at TTDI's. We have the pub all to ourselves for a delightful couple of hours.

On another visit on an uneventful Friday evening saw a more decent crowd, chugging back them pints. The very decent pub grub at Sid's did not fail us that evening.

Mel's Pork burger. Very meaty tasty patty, the plate flowing with fries. Despite the fact that this filled her up plenty, Mel thought the patty wasn't all that generous - "you just cannot compare this with Ramly's!"she wisely observed.

At this point, unexpected company burst through the door and joined us, lending further hilarity and stomach space for food sampling. Thank you for the pre-birthday surprise, folks!

Eevon's Bacon Butty - I should've snapped a pic of the last few mouthful of her sandwich, which looked like it held about 2 inches thick of bacon.

Vicky has mash and lamb sausages with baked beans. Mash tasted powdery, she proclaimed and left it pretty much untouched.

The pièce de résistance of the evening was the Nevis Burger - basically double-patty and all the add-ons you can handle. When this arrived, the whole table watched entranced as the glistening leaden fat dripped from the top of the grease tower languidly to form a mounting pool of sin at the base of the burger.

AUMMMM!!!!

He collects it, he opens up his mouth wide, he brings it in and he scores! The evening's unquestionable hero for throwing frivolous table decorum out the window as he wiped his plate clean. For what are birthdays if not the most elementary reminders of our individual mortality in the larger scheme of things and the futility of denying ourselves enjoyment while we can?

And on that note, will be back, again and again!

Working class heroes at Sid's Pub, TTDI

So much has been said about Sid's online (like here and here) that I couldn't possibly say better or differently. But I will say this - Sid's is the ultimate catharsis for mid-week pallor, induced by non-negotiable work deadlines and harsh office lighting.

Draught liquid gold soothes the frayed old souls...From L to R: Good ol' Tiger, Blackthorn cider bites and the perfect Guinness pint.

Because we are sensible beings who know it is not proper to ingest pints of happiness without lining the stomach, we also sampled some of Sid's menu of hearty pub fare.

Selective vegetarian H's meal of Veggie Burger (or sandwich rather), bun substituted with wholemeal bread. S'okay, says she. Fries could be thicker, I thought. But good call on not stinging on condiments though, including a bottle of HP sauce all to your own table!

My Ploughman's platter with Scotch Eggs. It came with a fresh crusty bread loaf, which was the only thing that was remotely warm on my plate. Order only if you're trying to match the temperature of your beverages. It'd been years since my last encounter with Scotch Eggs that I just had to have this. 1 and a half Scotch Eggs down, I realised I could've done myself a bigger favour by removing the yolks. The mustard, gherkins and cranberry sauce were very apt accompaniment.

Whitebait fritters - we were expecting tiny, tiny whitebait so when this turned up the size of skinny sardines, we were slightly taken aback. Still, more bite and more flavour! I found the buttered bread triangles somewhat odd, but does add that homey touch, I suppose!

It's very difficult to limit selves once the guzzling gets going, especially when we're having so much fun feeding off each other's negative mid-week energies and nitpicking on the working day. However, we made it out by 11PM, smelling like roses and ready to do it all over again the next day.

A pint, or five, Online Pub and Brussels Beer Cafe

Some evenings, you just need that solid, no-frills pint, when dressy cocktails and uniformed wait staff just won't do. I was fortunate to have a friend point me in the right direction one night after work, to Online pub at Damansara Kim.

This is really back-to-basics pubbing - a working man's neighbourhood watering hole, where the beer's always cold, the satisfied "aaahhh" after your first sip always guaranteed.

The central bar counter area, lined with old rickety bar stools. In fact, the place itself seemed a bit rickety as a whole, which is part of its charm. There is definitely a sense of having left that weight on your shoulders once you enter. No pretenses, no confusion over what the place is for - you come here for a few quiet pints after work before you bugger off home.

Apologise for this nasty piece of photography but by this time, I think I was well into my third pint :-P Online has a simple, sufficient menu and they serve up a mean lard-laden Hokkien mee. I think the intent is to make sure any inhibitions are shot, or as long as you're at Online - have a pint, have five! Fill up on lard, it doesn't count if it's consumed while intoxicated!

The exterior of Online pub, spartan and understated. Plenty of parking around in the evenings too.

Two days later, on a fine Sunday afternoon, we felt compelled to visit the famed Brussels Beer Cafe at Jaya One for some European ales. While I enjoy draft Hoegaarden as much as the next drinker, I am partial towards Stella.

Mmmmm.... Sunday afternoon beer buzzes... the pints were drained before one could say "beer belly". We probably went a bit overboard that afternoon. Pints at Brussels, while tasty and worthwhile enough, are hardly in the same $$ bracket as Online pub, and we were abit taken aback by our own indulgence, when the bill was presented to us 3 hours later :-S

Drinking on an empty stomach is a no-no, as anyone with half an appreciation of the wonders of inebriation, would tell you. We were delighted to find that Brussels serves pork but the kitchen was closed, it being the after lunch lull when we were there, but they rustled up a bacon and egg sandwich for us to share. It was a modest affair, garnished with very wilted lettuce but redeemed itself with fat, fat fries, which were polished off as quickly as our early pints!

There's great joy in discovering nooks and corners for a cold one, or several. Where's your favourite pub?