Tabla Bar and Cafe Lorong Sahabat Off Changkat Bukit Bintang

Before you ask,it means "Drum" in Tamil (I think)

What used to be "The Red Victorian" just around the corner from Havana has been imaginatively transformed into an Oldies Bar and Kitchen complete with a trio of musicians playing a selection of English,Indian and Chinese instrumentals using drum,violin and recorder.
It's quite a bold concept in an area where all the bars seem to merge into one, Tabla certainly stands-out as being a bit,well,...different.
And I mean that in a good way.
The interior is modern-chilled out with lots of red and black and has an interesting selection of photos and posters on the wall (check-out the Japanese soldiers in front of Masjid Jamek).
There is a nice long bar plus a patio outside.
The atmosphere is relaxed and laid-back and the staff seem pretty friendly.
The red under-the-bar lighting makes everybody glow with health.
Beer prices are quite reasonable at RM 11 for a mug of Tiger,which works out to about RM 12.70 after tax and there is the usual 3 pints for RM 55 promotion going on at the moment.
The Food Menu seems very interesting-lots of Indian dishes,Mutton Vindaloo at RM 17 seems pretty good plus there are the usual pizzas,fries and snacks.

Some of the pizza toppings have taken fusion food to new level-or even gone too far! but some may like it.

Tabla will be a good "after-work" bar or a place to drop-by for a couple of beers before heading somewhere else..I'm not sure I could spend a whole night there-as there is something about the red lighting that makes you feel a bit drowsy after a while....but isn't that the point of a chilled-out bar in the first place? 

All in all,Tabla is a bloody good effort at offering something a bit different.

Duck King Restaurant Food-Court Level Pavilion Mall Jalan Bukit Bintang Kuala Lumpur

After opening one of the two best food stalls in Lot 10 read about it hear! You would have thought that the people who run Star Duck/Duck King would know how to do things.

I normally can't be bothered to add a caption!

Alas,No.
The recently opened Duck King Restaurant at the food-court level in Pavilion *should* be fantastic-but it's not.

Tastes like instant Noodles-but ten times the price!

Whether it's just "teething-problems" or not I don't know but we were sadly disappointed with our recent visits.
They have opened near the Supermarket end,a place that has had rather a lot of tenants...maybe it's just in a poor location....
Or,maybe we just selected the wrong dishes.
First,the noodles were no better than a packet of Instant Noodles you make at home.
Secondly,the Carrot Cake was powdery.
Third,the Fried Rice was bland and tasteless
and Fourth...
The service was..hmmm..."clueless" would be too severe a criticism but they were a bit "all-over-the-place"

Scallops were nice tho...

The only saving grace was that the scallops were rather good.

Powdery-Carrot Cake

Now,as I said there are always teething problems when opening a new restaurant but I wasn't impressed at all,especially when I love their little stall in Lot 10.
If ever you're hungry in Pavilion Mall and you don't mind spending a bit of money there is still no better bet than Crystal Jade which you can read about here!

Celsius Bar Farenheit Mall Bukit Bintang (Revisited)

I wrote about Celsius Bar back in October here! and I wasn't too impressed-it smelt like a construction sight,which to be fair,it was.
It's located on the back corner of the pointless Farenheit Shopping Mall on Bukit Bintang.
I don't usually venture onto the main street of Bukit Bintang at night because I don't really need a foot-massage and I don't meed to buy a fake watch. I find the whole street unbearably tacky and somehow too frantic.
But..after dinner one night in Pavilion,a stop at Celsius was almost on the way home-so what harm could it do to pop-in and see how?
I have to say I was pleasantly suprised!
It didn't smell of concrete or glue and was quite busy with a good "after-office" crowd.
The decor is a bit "over-the top" with disco-balls,fibre-optics and the bar counter and pinnacle keep changing colour but I guess it makes a change from staring at fake Irish wood or a crappy re-run of a South American football match on TV.
And-in what must be a first for a bar in KL,the music was actually at an agreeable level..not too loud so as to make conversation an impossibility but neither too quite to make it sound like those 70's and 80's rock concerts you went to have really screwed-up your hearing!
So,the atmosphere is pretty OK.
The crowd quite agreeable
The staff seemed pretty switched-on.
Beer prices before 9pm are reasonable (2 pints of tiger for RM 35)
After 9pm?
Best not to ask-you'll be paying "club-land prices"
There are so few bars along Bukit Bintang,apart from the soulless Hotel Bars- that I'm sure that Celsius has got it's own group of regulars who go for a few chill-out beers after work and then the party-people arrive at 11pm onwards.
All-in-all, not a bad bar.