taco

Dementors and Daiquiris? KL's latest cocktail parlour is partly inspired by spellbinding fantasy sagas like Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia, but its concoctions also tackle controversial real-life themes like euthanasia and recreational drug use (!), making it a bar that breaks boundaries but not enchantments. Even securing entry into Potions is a more complicated drama compared to most speakeasy-style spaces: Find the Chinatown back-alley door, climb the stairs within a small courtyard, then look for the old wardrobe - open it to penetrate this magical realm of mixology, with crumbling cabinets packed with books of sorcery, preserved insects and replicas of animal skulls. Springing straight out of the Goblet of Fire, Lord Voldemort's murderous snake Nagini strikes through Nagini's Venom (RM40). Potions describes this as a blood-replenishing elixir to counter the snake's potent poison - this supremely striking cocktail is prepared to evoke the look of the snak...

Timothy isn't timid; Timothy might be timely - Chinatown's latest cafe transfuses a classic kopitiam with a contemporary lifeblood, bringing a distinctive culinary edge to a street best known traditionally for ayam kampung goreng, beef noodle soup and chapati with chickpea masala. Taking its name from a combination of letters from the names of its head chef Tariq and his team, Timothy is eclectic as far as its kitchen is concerned - Southeast Asian inspirations run deep, but there's as much of Malaysia as there is Melbourne in its influences, with strains of Bangkok, Jakarta and other regional capitals also echoing across the menu. You'll find a diverse range of themes coursing through these concoctions - many are meant to be wholesome, most are produce-driven, but every one is intriguing, with an imaginative wit that's illustrated by the moniker of each recipe. Which other cafe would call its signature dish 'Gayithri Feels Nauseated'? Named for one of Timot...