‘Ploy’ means gem in Thai, and this place is quite a jewel for cocktail- and wine-lovers alike. I love the décor, which is simple and elegant and features a very clever take on the jewel theme with faceted walls and metal room dividers. There’s a private room available for booking, featuring a sea-of-lightbulbs ceiling, another nice touch.

The other thing I love: the fact that drinks have been given a lot of significance on the menu, and real thought has gone into their conceptualization.



The cocktails are characterized by perfect balance – seriously, kudos to the bartender – as well as innovative flavour combinations. The Tomyamtini is a winner: mango and vodka infused with lemongrass, bunga kantan, kaffir lime leaf and the lightest bite of cili padi imaginable. Really delicious, one of the best cocktails I’ve had in the past weeks. Other cocktails feature house-made Gula Melaka syrup, Thai basil, cucumber, etc. Many of these are plays on classic cocktails – you can have your Caipirinha as you know and love it, or you can opt for Ploy’s tweaking and add ginger. Either way, it’s still got that great balance.

Tiger and Guinness flow on tap. The spirits list is fairly long, with all the usual suspects and then some – Sagatiba cachaca and absinthe share space with the bar standards.

The wine menu is small but very respectable, with the cool cult factor added by the Aussies (who take top billing at Ploy) like Bird in Hand, Two Hands and Glaetzer’s Amon Ra, France’s Mischief and Mayhem and the New Zealand Cloudy Bay TeKoko. And if you want a taste of Lebanon, there’s Chateau Musar too. And for dessert, among the usual late-harvest, sherries and ports, there’s also the Spanish Tio Pepe – the world’s best-selling sherry which is only now finding its way onto KL’s wine lists.

It’s similar to the spirits list – the gang’s all here but with unexpected additions to liven up the party.

There’s a selection of about six wines available by the glass, and these are premium tipples too, like New Zealand’s Cloudy Bay.

Non-alco drinks haven’t been neglected either, with Ploy’s simple but really cute idea of adding flavoured ice cubes to infuse into non-alcoholic drinks – Thai tea ice cubes in tea with condensed milk, lemon ice in iced lemon tea and chocolate ice cubes in low-fat choc milk – so your drink evolves as you sip rather than getting diluted. There is also a good selection of mocktails, (featuring fresh, fruity flavours often with a herbal tinge), smoothies, coffees and flavoured teas.

Food-wise, the menu features Thai and Japanese food – all very prettily-presented in petite portions. Many dishes tend to be on the salty side comparatively, but that works out well for the drinkers – try the deep-fried baby squid, and I’m pretty sure you won’t stick to just one order.

Lyra Deanna

2012-02-10