I shall come clean. I love cocktails. There I’ve said it. And Mandarin Oriental’s Casbah has some of the best ones in KL. The Arabesque lounge bar—a worthy successor to Pacifica—has comfy sofas, twinkling lamps, intimate seating arrangements and is exactly the sort of place you can easily lose a few hours in.

With names like Spicy Mango Chelada (mango chilli infusion, fresh lime, Tiger beer) and Opiate (Bombay Sapphire gin, midori lemon, absinthe), it’s tough to decide which cocktail to start the evening with. But eventually we kick off with the relatively harmless sounding Spanish Lemon Drop (Belvedere vodka, sherry and fresh lemon).

It comes in a martini glass, dipped in paprika-flavoured sugar which adds a surprisingly punchy kick to an otherwise conventional drink. Two glasses in and things are getting slightly blurry round the edges.

But, we persevere and go on to sample a Guava Cosmo (Belvedere vodka, fresh lime, pink guava and cranberry), a Chocolate Espresso Martini (fresh-pulled espresso, Bailey’s and white cream de cocoa) and the piece de resistance, the gorgeous and glorious Magic Mo’Kool Berry Bliss (cotton candy floss, fresh lemon, Absolut mandarin vodka and cranberry juice). It tastes exactly like it should: sweet, tart and refreshing. It is also absolutely lethal.

The extensive food menu is equally as tempting, featuring mezze and tapas from North Africa, Spain and the Eastern Mediterranean region. A typical offering would be Boquerones (marinated anchovies with garlic and olive oil), Sambousek (pastry parcels stuffed with savory shanklish—a rich Turkish sheep’s milk cheese) and our favourite dessert, Churros (fried dough fritters with spiced chocolate).

Mandarin Oriental KL, KLCC
Tel: 03 – 2380 8888
www.mandarinoriental.com