Sparkalite, Forty Licks & The Brew Culture

Here's how to spend a weekend afternoon: It only takes a spark to get a (barbecue) fire going, but the Intercontinental Hotel's Sparkalite Sunday lunch keeps the bubbly flowing for three hours.

Thanks to the Intercontinental's team for inviting us for this spread of meat and seafood on a buffet that targets families seeking a stress-free, stomach-stuffing Sunday.

Slip an extra shrimp on the barbie? No worries, mate (can we call you mate?)!

Beef, lamb and chicken, in their primal form and processed into sausages, alongside prawns, cod fish, slipper lobster and more. Protein-deficient patrons can nurse themselves back into the pinkest of health.

Eggs are served sunny-side-up here, partnered with turkey bacon and cheddar cheese to build an "Egg Buddy" that might be an albumin addict's best friend.

Or coddle your egg to create a palate-pampering mix with sausage and sun-dried tomatoes.

No energy, much less patience, for MyBurgerLab's hour-long queue? Head here to the Intercontinental's Serena Brasserie for Angus beef sliders that should satiate those burger pangs.

If it's not a Sunday without a roast, then rest assured it's a Sunday here.

Oysters, shucked on order. I had 25 of these; wouldn't mind a dozen more.

The fruits of the sea blossom bountifully at The Intercontinental's Serena Brasserie, from salmon and tuna sashimi to cod fish and chips.

Children can be both seen and heard here, laughing out loud at a corner where they can learn to make lamingtons and savor a sugar rush at a Candy Station.

And true to the culinary heritage of the Intercontinental's Aussie executive chef Darrell O'Neill, lamingtons feature prominently on the sweets section.

The Intercontinental won't move our cheese: it's all here, stinky mouse-bait at its finest.

Consenting adults will nonetheless ask, why should we fork out RM198++ for this meal? The answer, my friend, is flowing in the wine icebox.

So here's how Sparkalite deserves its name: a free flow of Italian prosecco, Aussie brut and French bubbly ensures that spirits will stay sky-high from noon through 3pm.

Plop in some blueberries or strawberries for a splash of fruity fun.

Or color me bad with monin syrup (we do it all for love!).

With wine waiting in the wings, designated drivers must remain diligently on duty. Housekeeping notes: the buffet's RM120++ for teetotalers, RM60++ for children 6-12.

What to do after 3pm? Check Forty Licks Ice Cream's Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FortyLicksIceCream); on some Sundays, they migh! t be ope rating at Plaza Mont Kiara's flea market.
Main entry on Forty Licks: August 28, 2012.

Forty Licks will also be at Jaya One's Food Bites market Sept. 29, spicing up a "Yellow" theme with non-cowardly flavors like popcorn and, possibly, pineapple with pepper.

For a too-sunny Sunday, the remedy's a Bandung ice cream float. Better than air-conditioning.

And for folks in this neighborhood, cap your weekend with coffee at The Brew Culture in Plaza Damas 3 (that complex opposite Hartamas Shopping Center).

Toasted hazelnut-flavored latte and Columbia Huila single-origin coffee (RM10 each).

House-made chocolate chip cookie. Excellent; we'd toss a steaming-hot cappuccino onto the lap of anyone who claims otherwise.

Books aplenty on The Brew Culture's shelves. Mainly in Mandarin, but there's Life Of Pi here.

Sparkalite Lunch @ Serena Brasserie,
Intercontinental Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.
Forty Licks Ice Cream @ Plaza Mont Kiara.
The Brew Culture @ Plaza Damas 3, Jalan Sri Hartamas, Kuala Lumpur.
The Brew Culture opens through 9pm but is closed Tuesdays.