Kuala Lumpur’s very own Rumah Rum will be relocating to a new nest just 200 metres up the road. The new nest promises a tweaked concept, with a broadening of focus covering not only some of your favourite tiki tipples, but also Malaysiana and British cuisine to match.
JungleBird: One Flew Over
To KL-ites, JungleBird needs no new introduction as the bar has won countless awards, ranging from The Bar Awards Kuala Lumpur, Tales of the Cocktail and Asia’s 50 Best Bars for three consecutive years in 2018, 2019 and 2020. The construction of the new place has mostly been done by the owners themselves, taking much queue from Sago House in Singapore.
Bird Food: Malaysiana Meets British
In addition to the being mostly hand constructed by the founders themselves, the new location also promises food to match. For those not acquainted, and as macabre as it may sound, JungleBird serves one of the tastiest Kunyit Fried Chicken which they affectionally call the JungleBird “KFC”, amongst other local favourites, including some delicious British inspired sandwiches.
“This has been a life changing experience for us personally. As soon as we knew we were going to have to look for a new space, we decided to be as involved as possible with the build of the new outlet. After consulting a handful of design firms locally and also partly inspired by close friends of ours who built their own bar in Singapore, we agreed that we would boldly attempt to achieve this renewed vision by rolling up our sleeves and getting our hands dirty. Thanks to the countless hours we spent pouring through YouTube videos, everything you see in front of you has been smashed, plastered, painted, sawed and joined by us, bar electrical and plumbing works (which we figured was best left to the professionals!). I still can’t believe that we’ve managed to do this ourselves and I am immensely proud of how we’ve come together and built a bar with our bare hands.” — Joshua Ivanovic, Founder JungleBird Kuala Lumpur.
“Every detail of the build has been meticulously thought about, discussed and debated (sometimes furiously!) over every waking moment over the past couple of months. It was rather fortuitous that we had more time on our hands this year to be able to tackle this project. We literally went back to the drawing board when designing this new space. We asked ourselves if we had a do-over and could take things to the next level, what would we do. There were so many things we felt needed to stay in order to stay true to the original site, but we also wanted the new site to project a noticeably different feel so we went with a lighter, brighter, airier design and used lots of natural materials and textures. We filled the space with a lot more greenery and edible plants (grown from scratch in the months leading up to the build) as compared to the old venue which we didn’t have the luxury of doing so.” — Lolita Goh, Founder JungleBird Kuala Lumpur.
“The updated menu took a few months to rewrite and develop and is the product of the journey that we have embarked on together at JungleBird, spanning the last few years. Our travels, experiences, conversations with ourselves and our loyal customers have allowed us to develop a creative, sincere and exciting new cocktail program that uses fresh locally sourced produce where possible. Our next menu will consist of a selection of beverages created specially with the intention of reflecting the rich cultures and individuality of the many rum producing nations around the world.” — Divyesh Chauhan, Founder JungleBird Kuala Lumpur.
Remaining Key 2020 JungleBird KL Dates
JungleBird Kuala Lumpur will continue to operate at its current location (15M Jalan Medan Setia 1, Plaza Damansara, Bukit Damansara 50490 KL) until Saturday 12 December 2020 and will relocate to the new outlet (61M Jalan Medan Setia 1, Plaza Damansara, Bukit Damansara 50490 KL) starting Monday 21 December 2020.
JungleBird Black Tot Day – Thursday 11th December 2020
Preview Weekend – Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 18th to 20th December 2020
Soft Opening – Monday 21st December 2020
Christmas Eve @ The Bird – Thursday 24th December 2020
Boxing Day Charity Special – Saturday 26th December 2020
New Year’s Eve – Thursday 31st December 2020
Closed New Year’s Day – Friday 1st January 2021
JungleBird KL
61M, Plaza Damansara,
Medan Setia 1,
Bukit Damansara,
50490 Kuala Lumpur
+603 2011 5715
Operation Hours:
Daily, 10.00 am to 12.00 pm
| PHOTOGRAPHY: NZ PHANG & NICHOLAS NG | WEBSITE: JUNGLEBIRD |