La Casa, Publika/Solaris Dutamas

Address:
A4-G2-7, Solaris Dutamas, Kuala Lumpur

Opening Hours:
Tues-Fri: 11am-10pm 
Sat-Sun: 10am-10pm

Time Visited:
Around noon on a Sunday afternoon.

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Black Pepper Steak & Iced Lemon Tea

The iced lemon tea was really sour but then again, due to it's sourness, I regain my appetite to eat in an instant even though I just ate not too long ago before this meal. There's syrup provided as well, so the sourness is bearable. In fact, I kinda like it.

The Black Pepper Steak is just your usual steak with black pepper sauce. The black pepper sauce was delightful and the steak that I ordered medium well was cooked to perfection. I'm impress with the speed of delivery on the food. I think it's just over 5 minutes.

During my presence there, there were ample of vacant tables especially indoors. When lunch time approaches, many congregate and it filled up the restaurant. The staff there were very eager to serve you and take your order. In fact, a little too eager. I had to ask them to give me a moment to peruse the menu further a few times.

The meal surprised me. It was delicious, fit for fine dining material. Unfortunately, the price reflect that too.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM63.80. Bear in mind that this is merely a one person meal, me. The pricey part is the steak which amounts to RM48. There's 10% service charge and a 6% goverment tax involved. The steak no doubt was tasty but a little too small in amount to charge RM48.

Final Verdict:
8/10. This place impressed and surprised me to garner an A from me. Too bad it's too pricey to visit often. Their eagerness in taking your order lean towards borderline annoying but it didn't cross the line yet.

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Artisan Roast Coffee, Taman Tun Dr. Ismail (TTDI)

Address:
4 Lorong Rahim Kajai 14, Taman Tun Dr Ismail
60000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Mon – Fri:  8am – Midnight
Sat & Sun:  9am – Midnight
Holidays:  9am – Midnight

Time Visited:
Around 10:30am on a Sunday morning, but no rain is falling.

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
A Flat White and a Kelly's Special.

I have to admit, I sure love the coffee that they serve here. It's exactly the type that I like. And the way they brewed it, magnificent. I also saw that they have Nitro Coffee (which unsurprisingly, they said it's sold out). One fine day, I'm gonna try it out and compare it to the one at Brewman.

As for their breakfast, well, I ordered a Kelly's Special. Kelly's Special is a breakfast consisting of roasted capsicum, egg mayo, avocado, a sunny side up egg, turkey ham and toast. One of the toast is a little burnt underneath where they tried to hide it but I discovered it. Anyway, it wasn't a big deal. Still can be salvaged and is edible. The plain toast is hard to eat anyway without anything on it. I quickly paired it up with the egg mayo for taste. The rest of the items were okay but it wasn't really that fantastic.

During my presence there, they already had a number of patrons chomping on their breakfast and sipping on their coffees. I'm surprise of the amount of people they garner on a weekend. On weekdays, it seems to be at a more slower pace with the trickle of customers. The people that were there were mainly residence from nearby. Mostly expats which they seem to have taken over TTDI. Although they had a decent amount of crowd, there's still plenty of seats left. So for a single diner/coffee drinker like me, it wouldn't be a problem. In fact, there's quite a number of people who goes there alone like me.

On a weekend, parking is relatively easy to find as oppose to weekdays which is a nightmare. I would definitely want to return again and try their Nitro Coffee next time.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM32. RM10 for the coffee and RM22 for the breakfast. The coffee is really something but the breakfast...meh.

Final Verdict:
7/10. Almost an eight but didn't quite make it due to an uninteresting toast. :P

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CAFFEine, Setiawalk, Puchong

Address:
G-09-1, Level 1, Block G, SetiaWalk, Persiaran Wawasan, Pusat Bandar Puchong, 47160 Puchong, Selangor, Malaysia, Puchong

Opening Hours:
Mon:
1:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Wed - Fri:
1:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Sat - Sun:
12:00 pm - 11:00 pm

Time Visited:
Around 1pm on a chilled Saturday

Attire worn:
Casual

Item Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Latte

Started off the day pretty late. My dad came down to my place for a getaway from the family and he complained on how late I was waking up which was around 10:45am. He couldn't wait for me to take him for breakfast and therefore he prepared a packet of instant noodles for himself. I was unfazed by his comment and proceeded to my plan of action with him out of the way.

Seeing as to how late the cafe opens (which is 12pm), I had a rest at my room before I proceeded onwards towards Puchong. Being the year end and the holiday season, the roads were very clear and not a sign of congestion in sight.....yet.

I initially wanted to visit the cafe straightaway and see what meals can I partake but when I was around the corner, I decided to park nearby and walk across for free parking. I then passed by a Chinese Kopitiam restaurant where I'm tempted to eat there instead seeing as to how long I have not had Chinese food. I then proceeded to sit and eat there a plate of Roast Chicken and Roast Pork rice. Not that great but decent enough.

I then wanted to walk across using the pedestrian bridge to Setiawalk but due to roadworks, the bridge was closed. :(
It then started to rain and that's when I decided, screw it, I'm driving there.

When I exit the parking lot, it turns out that the cafe was just a level above me which was perfect. It was on the same row as GBK which I'm familiar with.

While there, there weren't a single customer in sight but it's pretty clear they're opened. Well, that's the challenge of being on the first floor of Setiawalk. The 1st floor is always literally dead with pedestrians.

I entered and were greeted by a mild mannered person. Despite the politeness of the one attending at the cash register, I just wasn't all that please with his explanation and answers to my questions. It just shows his lack of confidence attending to me or was pretty darn sleepy. Although there were many interesting beverages that were written on their wall menu, I decided to just go for their Latte.

The art was pretty artsy but that's as far as my excitement went. No doubt the coffee was okay but it just wasn't my type of coffee. I think they called their own blend of coffee Magic. Hmm. Anyway, it would probably please some sweeter coffee lovers' palate because that's what it is. The blend of coffee was creamy, mild, chocolatey and sweet as oppose to how I like my coffee, strong, bold coffee flavors. It's okay if it's sweetness comes from the acidity where I had at Exhibit Cafe in TTDI but this coffee blend taste chocolatey.

This place is good if you wanna hide and escape from the world since it's upper floor location seems to alienate the cafe from the busy streets downstairs.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM9. For a latte? That's real cheap. A cheaper than usual price than other cafes.

Final Verdict:
5/10. It's a very quiet place to chill and relax. However, I just didn't like the Christmas songs they were playing because it's all too somber in it's mood and it's bringing me down. Why can't they put more cheery Christmas tunes to uplift the spirits instead? Well, that is the reason on why I gave it a 5 instead of a 6.

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myBurgerLab, Sea Park

Address:
14, Jalan 21/22, SeaPark, 46300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor 
Opening Hours:
Tuesdays - Sundays: 5pm - 10.15pm
Time Visited:
Sunday evening around 5:30pm
Attire worn:
Casual
Item Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
None. I arrived just after a short drizzle and already I'm seeing an insane crowd inside the small confined space of the shop. Outside seats 2 person whom I believe are waiting for a seat or their meal and a group of around 6-7 people talking to one of the staff on their order.

Seeing that insane amount of people inside such tiny dining area is enough to deter me from even walking in. That's what happens when media get a hand on helping you promote. You get crazy amount of customers till you can't handle. Watching that level for just burgers has increased my level of stress significantly since I'm just a lone diner and queuing to order on an already full to the brim seating area just isn't worth my time to investigate. I don't care if it takes you to heaven and back and make you feel high like you're on drugs, I'd rather have a chilled and relaxed dining place with food that's good enough than a phenomenal gourmet burger with the stresses of dining. And so I decided to take my business elsewhere.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM0. Unless you count the petrol cost to drive there which I don't know the amount.

Final Verdict:
0/10. If you're a lone diner, avoid at all cost because you're never gonna have a good dining experience from such a famous, popular outlet. If you're determined to get a burger, you're definitely gonna wait long for one seeing the amount of people and the only way you're getting a seat is if you share the table with someone else while you cram yourself up with other people. Not to mention the stress of empathy seething on you (if you're the kind of person who's like me who is very well aware of your surroundings) seeing the crowd awaiting their turn to have a seat.

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Three Little Birds Coffee Cafe, Sentul, Kuala Lumpur

Address:
D7, Jalan Sentul,, 51000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Opening Hours:
Mon-Thur: 8am-11pm
Fri-Sat: 8am-Midnight
Sun: 9am-10pm
Time Visited:
Around 10am on a Sunday Morning
Attire worn:
Casual, of course. It's Sunday morning, for God's sake!
Item Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Peanut Butter Chocolate(?) Cake and Mocha, (Dark Chocolate)

 For this adventure, I decided to park my car at the LRT station and took the LRT and KTM Commuter. While the LRT is still in a state that I still remember, the KTM has improved themselves through leaps and bounds. There's a dedicated lane for Touch N' Go users and as for the dispensing of tickets, they've gone back to manual (at least the KL Sentral station appears to be so) with the tickets resembling a cinema ticket and there's a person manning the exit/entrance to collect it. At least that's what it looks like to me.

The KTM train has nice comfortable spaces and seats but it's a little too rocky. Sitting at sides with you being rocked back and forth just makes me feel queasy.

I finally arrived at the Sentul station where upon coming out of the station, it looks as if I've stepped into a bad neighborhood where the place looks like a slum area. Stepping out onto the highway area looks much better although it still didn't make me feel much easier because the place looks quite deserted with cars zooming by on the main road.

I walked towards where Three Little Birds Coffee Cafe, Sentul branch is and the building looks futuristic. But the buildings in itself looked kind of scary on a Sunday because it looks deserted with all the offices closed. There were 2 buildings that face each other across the road. One is named D6 and the other D7. The Three Little Birds Coffee Cafe is a little hard to find since they had 2 opposing address written on their website, the address is written D7 but the description of the "Find Us" section says they're in the building of D6. Furthermore, they're located within the building and can't be seen from the main road. Adds a little to my frustration. After some scouting around, I finally located them within the D7 building, hidden away from the main road and facing the adjacent apartment building next door.

The ambiance was quite soothing and relaxing due to them being hidden away and the serenity inside the building with some nature infused into it adds to the calmness. As I press the button to open it's sliding door and enter, there were already some patrons seated inside. They were well staffed and were eager to serve as they await my order at the cash register. After placing my order, I helped myself to some water which is visible enough for me to detect that it's self service. The cake didn't take long to arrive but the mocha came about 5 minutes later. The seats weren't as comfy as I'd like it to be but adequate for my rest.

The Peanut Butter cake taste as expected and nothing out of the ordinary. Just your plain Jane kind. The Mocha they served reminds me of the weird taste in some places' mocha but from this experience, I've learnt that this weird taste comes from the dark chocolate mixed together with their coffee. That is the taste of mocha that I dislike. Despite a Sunday with the entire building's offices closed, yet Three Little Birds still manage to draw in customers and is a quiet enough place to chill but I must say that the seating is not comfortable enough for a person like me to stay long. For a lone diner like me, finding a place to seat wouldn't be a problem since there's still ample of places left when I was leaving. Not sure about the weekdays. They probably pull in more people on weekdays.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM28. The prices of Three Little Birds are way higher than market price but I have yet to taste anything distinctive that warrants such costs.

Final Verdict:
6/10. Don't see why I would wanna come all the way here to have some cup of coffee when it's not that addictive to me.

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The Good Batch, Damansara Utama (Uptown)

Address:
53, SS21/1A, Damansara Uptown, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
Opening Hours:
Tue - Fri:
11:00 am - 12:00 am
Sat:
9:00 am - 12:00 am
Sun:
9:00 am - 11:00 pm
Time Visited:
Close to dinnertime, around 6:46pm on a Friday evening
Attire worn:
Business
Item Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
A Californian (V) and Hanami Tea

Described in the menu, the Californian (V) consists of two organic scrambled eggs (organic or not, there's no difference to the taste), a side of capsicum and onion confit, fresh white button mushrooms, a vine of cherry tomatoes (which are 3 in total) and a lightly toasted bread.

The Hanami tea is lovely. Flowery in smell and taste and light. A tea that's suitable for my taste. Gryphon Tea in Malaysia at the moment is only available through Coffex Coffee, the official distributor (aside from the restaurants/cafe that purchase from them, of course). It's a Flowery Green Tea Blend that's unique. Anyway, enough of that wonderful tea. Now let's get down to the breakfast that I ordered for dinner which they called as "Mains".

The bread was fluffy and sublime even though no butter was added and it's just plain bread yet it taste wonderful. The cherry tomatoes did their job as well and the button mushrooms were in it's element. The capsicum and onion confit was somehow strangely pleasant to eat while though I'm not a salad person, the small salad pile was bearable enough for me to finish off. A little disappointed that they didn't toss the salad when they dress it because all the dressing were at the top and being on my plate that's close to other things, it's not easy for me to move it about. The scrambled eggs were seasoned just right but unfortunately, there were egg shells in them which ruined my mood of eating. This would've been the perfect meal were it not invaded by the intruding egg shells on my scrambled eggs.

Lighting of the place is as dim-lit as my room which puts me at ease. The place does have some woody feel to it which gives out a quaint atmosphere.

The wait staffs were attentive and know their boundaries on when to approach me. It made me feel at ease and not a slight bit of discomfort although being a lone diner. After me, there were one more individual who entered the premise on her own and appears to be solo as well. Hence, it's safe to say, it's comforting enough for a lone diner.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM34.10. Contains 10% service charge and 6% government tax.

Final Verdict:
7/10. If it weren't for those eggshells in my scrambled eggs, I would've given it an 8.

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Chee Cheong Fun Stall at the roadside, SS2

Address:
Jalan SS2/66, Petaling Jaya, opposite the Tyre Shop which is an Indian car wash at night
Opening Hours:
6pm onward (Closed on Sunday)
Time Visited:
A Wednesday Evening, close to 8pm
Attire worn:
Business
Item Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Some fish balls, fu chuk and 4 round pieces of chee cheong fun.

Despite being at a location where I frequent for dinner, I have never tried this Chee Cheong Fun stall in SS2 before but I do see a lot of people who buy and eat from that stall. At long last, after being in PJ for more than a decade, I had finally went to this stall set by the roadside to try it out.

During my time there, there were quite a number of people lining up awaiting their turn to grab their grub. However, they had 3 people attending with the old woman being the boss of them all I guess and so my turn wasn't that long. Had to admit that I did accidentally cut queue in front of a couple because they were just standing at where the picking of the ingredients was with their plate in their hands and so I walked nearer to where the aunty was and awaited for my turn there. Pretty soon, the aunty still cutting away and serving one of the customers told the couple to step to where I was because they were blocking people from picking their ingredients. Guess I had the instinct on what to do. :P

During the taste, where my chee cheong fun was lavished with sweet sauce and chili, I find it a bit disappointing. I was hoping to have a really nice chee cheong fun since I'm used to eating the one from Section 17 which was fantastic but unfortunately, the taste didn't live up to my expectation. The sauce taste watered down and the chili the same. Can't believe many people line up just for this.

During my time there, the tables were almost full but I was lucky enough to have a table for my own. But then again, if you're a lone diner, it wouldn't be a problem to share table with other individuals since it's common in Kopitiam style restaurant, what's more a stall by the roadside.

Just make sure you come on a day where it's not about to rain because it's open air and when it starts to rain, it's a run for your lives situation. XD

Final Verdict:
4/10. It's a stall by the roadside for god's sake. Ambiance of course will suffer. LOL. But if the food is great, then it will make up for it but unfortunately, this one disappoints me. I'd rather travel to my old home area, Section 17 for a great plate of Chee Cheong Fun.

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Tous Les Jous, Empire Shopping Gallery, Subang Jaya

Address:
Lot GK08, Ground Floor, Empire Shopping Gallery
Jalan SS16/1, Subang Jaya,
47500 Selangor
Opening Hours:
7.30am – 10.30pm (Daily)
Time Visited:
Around lunchtime on a Tuesday workday. Almost 12:30pm.
Attire worn:
Business attire
Item Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Cheese Mushroom & Bacon Omelette & a Hot Latte

Parking can be horrendous here but around 12:30pm, it should be fine in finding parking especially on the B3 level.

My latte came in less than 10 minutes time in their own branded mug. The latte was mediocre and lacks the depth that I like but at least they try their hand on the coffee art. LOL. This place is self service and the seating capacity is quite limited due to them being a bakery as well where they display their pastry items in front of the counter which takes up space. During the afternoon, sunlight penetrates through an untinted window making it difficult to seat at 2 of the sofa seats unless you don't mind the direct sunlight on you making you hot.

A little disappointed with the cheese mushroom and bacon omelette just wish it was more phenomenal than ordinary. I left the tomato and salad untouched as I'm not a salad person.

Well, basically, a lot of people come in and stay for quite a while so be prepared to have no seating if you're alone. As for me, I came early so it wasn't a problem because not many people had started their lunch break yet.

Being at a place on it's own instead of directly in Empire Shopping Gallery sets it at a disadvantage in the afternoon due to the hot sun. It's entrance sliding door makes the entrance less likely detected when it's closed which might baffle some on where the entrance lies.

Final Verdict:
6/10. Ambiance ain't that great and coffee is lacking. Even in a group, it would be hard to find a seat during lunch hour what's more a lone diner.

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Rekindle, SS2

Address:
25, Jalan SS2/64, Petaling Jaya
Opening Hours:
Tues-Sun, 1030am-1130pm
Time Visited:
A Sunday evening. Around 4pm
Attire worn:
Casual
Item Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Latte

To tell you the truth, I frequent this place often due to the vicinity not having any other decent enough cafe for my coffee fix and this area is a place that I come by quite often for dinner.

Well, the Latte in itself is quite tasty in nature, they expertly brewed it with their own blend of coffee and had made the coffee art skillfully. Getting them to serve a glass of water is like asking them to jump off a cliff. However, the person taking my order is mild mannered enough and offers helpful suggestion while patiently awaiting my decision. I sat down at a place close to the door. Order came within 10 minutes.

During that time, it wasn't that pack with people but still quite a number. Noise level weren't all that distracting till I can't think and my seating was a little chilly in the beginning but the warm coffee puts me back into the right temperature.

Overall, the experience was moderate and if I were in an anxious state, it does calm me a little. And so out of a scale of 10, I give it an 8.

Final Verdict:
8/10

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A-Lone Diner: The Introduction

In some countries in the world, dining alone is not difficult as most of their restaurants do cater for lone eaters where you don't feel the stress of finishing off quickly for hogging the table and the service puts you at ease instead of making you feel uncomfortable that they could've made more money if you brought someone along or pack your meal home. Malaysia is slowly adapting to cater for solo individuals. This blog is nothing but my muse of penning down my experiences as a solo diner. Hence the name, A-Lone Diner.....carrying a double entendre. A Lone Diner or Alone Diner.

In a month, I probably dine by myself 90% of the time. I owe it to my quiet nature, my inept ability to hold a conversation and my difficulty in withstanding most people.

Dining alone does have it's perks for me.
1) I don't have to stress myself out on what to say.
2) I can be antisocial and play with my phone without people nagging at me doing so.
3) I can take my time finishing my meal without the overbearing feel of everybody else waiting for me because I'm a slow eater. (Unless the staffs of the restaurant glares at me due to their shortage of seatings)
4) I can leave whenever I want without waiting for the rest to finish because we're in the same car. (I'm often designated as the driver and for the life of me, I can't understand why.)
5) I can go for after meal desserts or beverage somewhere else without having the others to tow along or tag along.
6) I have time to think and take a breather without feeling the need to rush. A lot of ideas and inspiration that I get comes from sitting at a cafe, sipping on a cup of coffee.
7) I can watch and observe the world go by without a care in the world.
8) I can go wherever I want and not needing a consensus of whether others are okay with it.

But why dine alone at a restaurant and not pack your food and head on home/office to munch or order delivery? Well, I'm a picky eater. I like my meals hot and fresh from the kitchen. I always find packed food a little lacking for my taste. Also, I get ideas and inspiration from going places and through observations. If I'm only at home and office, then all I can think about is work and other unimportant stuff. But that doesn't mean I don't pack food or call delivery. Oh no. Sometimes, I just don't feel like moving at all and that's when it comes into play.

With the intros done, I hope I can keep myself entertained in typing words off into this blog. XD

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