Bricks and Barrels

(photo grabbed from Bricks and Barrel's FB page)

Bricks and Barrel just had its soft launch earlier this month and had its grand opening along the shops behind St Patrick Irish Bar. Currently they are running some beer promotion with happy hours whole night long. Perhaps they feel the pressure not only from St Patrick Irish Bar but the newly opened OverTime opposite the Bangunan Sri Kinta/Old Fire Brigade Station which had their opening on the same weekend as well. Compared to OverTime, B&B seems a bit inferior as OT is a chain pub and has some foothold in the Klang Valley.

Ratatouille (RM20) is a sautéed vegetable dish comprising eggplants, zucchini, onions, tomatoes, garlic, green peas, carrots (depending on the recipe and the cook, it may be baked or simmered to make it a stew). The version served in B&B is accompanied by a pork sausage and a slice of buttered toast. I find the garlic toast complemented the vegetable stew very well.

We poked a few jokes on the English Roasted Pork. Why need to bear the tag of being “English” like how Berlin Bier House tagged theirs as “German” since Siew Yoke is a common item among Chinese in Malaysia. =p Taste wise, we are still hooked on the fresher version made by the Chinese stalls. The crackling skin and savoury marinated meat made me crave for some now. But the version served in beer bars must be those pre-prepared, frozen type. Hence, they are not near the good ones we normally have.

MeZZaLuna Pizza (RM28) - Hope I got the name correct. I did not get to take a bite into this but it seems like a fully vegetarian pizza with generous portions of mushrooms and olives. Very Mediterranean-ish....

The Hawaiian Pork Pizza (RM30) is more of my preference. Thinly sliced pork sausages with some charred and dried sides provided great smoky aroma which complemented well with tangy pineapple cubes. The pizza base is even thinner than a Mac Book Air lid. Seriously, its a great snack and one person can easily whack a whole regular serving by himself. But its very considerate of them since if you were downing booze, thick pizza dough will cause your stomach to bloat in no time. So this thin and crispy is just brilliant!

 The BB Chicken (RM26) is something similar to Chicken Roulade. Whole chicken thigh was encasing a filling of chopped pickled vegetables (looks like preserved Chinese vege). The chicken meat was tender with a slight smoky aroma on the surface. It was well presented with a drizzle of minty and herbs dressing, alongside assorted vegetables and mashed potatoes. Overall, this dish is slightly above average but not extraordinary.

Closer view of the filling inside the chicken.

Currently they are having happy hours ALL NIGHT LONG! But I do not find their promotional price much appealing, at RM80nett for a tower of Tiger. Eurohouse is currently running at RM60 for 3-7pm and RM70 from 7-9pm, RM80 for 9pm onwards if I'm not mistaken. A bucket of 5 bottles of Tiger here at BB is at RM60, which I feel its quite expensive when you brag its a "promotional price". Perhaps a lot has been spent on the decor/renovation here, that's why prices here is a bit steep for Ipoh market.

I did not manage to get many photos on that night because there was a electricity breakdown at some circuit points, causing the bar area to have a night club atmosphere. There was NO live band on a Thursday night, neither were there any background music. Later around 9pm we left because there was a TOTAL BLACKOUT! Tough luck, but I doubt I will be back again on my own initiative. The crowd here is mainly comprised office crowd. If you are hunting for "successful men in their career", here's the place. But if you wish to ogle at younger gals, go to the pubs in Ipoh Garden East's Bandar Baru Medan, or like my own preference, EUROHOUSE. =)