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The best mocktails in KL

For a drink without the hangover, make your way to these bars for the city's best mocktails

Written by
Sammi Lim
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Don’t mock these thirst quenchers – they pack just as much of a punch as their boozier counterparts minus the hangover. We skip the dated Shirley Temple for a sip of sultrier concoctions around KL.

'The Four Elements' at Olfactory Bulb, RM14
  • Bars and pubs
  • Kota Damansara
Three’s a crowd, but four’s a party, especially when green tea, grapefruit, bitter lemon and sour plum come out to play. This mocktail with character makes your lips pucker and heart flutter for nostalgic reasons: the Four Elements is asam boi (the local, preserved plum drink) all grown up. Garnished with a lime slice and a whole cili padi, this sweet, salty and sour concoction left us thirsty for more.
'Potter' at Jibril, RM7.50
  • Bars and pubs
  • Subang

Seeking out this bar is half of the fun. You won’t find Jibril in Waze’s directory, so look up ‘Sangkaya SS15’. Once at the ice cream parlour, go in and lean against the ‘brick’ wall until it gives way, and then step through the dim entranceway. This ‘Harry Potter’-esque element of fun carries through to the menu. Jibril’s best-selling mocktail, the Potter, sees butter-flavoured non-alcoholic beer topped with butter cream. Fans of JK Rowling’s fantasy novels need no telling that this mocktail pays homage to the fictional Butterbeer. Served with a solitary, spherical ice cube typically reserved for chilling whisky, the Potter brings the following words to mind: ‘liquid gold’. The mocktail’s caramel accents are likely to induce cravings for movie popcorn.

RM7.50

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'Peranakan Ale' at Limapulo, RM4.50
  • Restaurants
  • Peranakan
  • Bandaraya
Never judge a mocktail by its colour. Easily mistaken for teh-o ais, Limapulo’s Peranakan Ale isn’t much of a looker. That being said, a single sip was enough to wow us over as ginger, spice and everything nice tickled our taste buds and fizzled up our noses. This piquant drink also took the edge off Limapulo’s spicy Peranakan plates. The kitchen staff remained rather tight-lipped about the recipe, but we did manage to wheedle out the three main ingredients: gula Melaka, raw sugar and limau kasturi.
'Crowded Street' at La Mexicana, RM16
  • Restaurants
  • Mexican
  • KL City Centre
La Mexicana’s mind-blowing assortment of margaritas often overshadows its non-alcoholic drinks, which is a darn shame. Despite its name, the Crowded Street mocktail doesn’t pack too many flavours or ingredients together. Orange and mango juices meet splashes of grenadine and Sprite to tropical effect. This cheery beverage wrought false nostalgia for that sun-kissed, fiesta-filled holiday in South America that never actually took place.
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'Pan Pan' at Mama San, RM24.20
  • Restaurants
  • South Asian
  • KL City Centre
Teetotallers will be pleased to discover a unique range of mocktails and healthy juices at the acclaimed Balinese restaurant Mama San. We sipped on the Pan Pan, a tangy blend of French beans, yam beans and Granny Smith apples, to compensate for scarfing down Mama San’s rich and delicious curries and stews. Plus points for the garnish fashioned out of apple slices.

See more bars in KL

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  • Bars and pubs
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