Otherwise Cafe, SS4D, Kelana Jaya, Petaling Jaya (PJ), Selangor

Address:
No. 6, Jalan SS4D/14, Kelana Jaya 47301 Petaling Jaya (PJ), Selangor

Opening Hours:
Mon:
5:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Wed-Thu:
5:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Fri:
5:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Sat:
11:00 am - 11:00 pm
Sun:
11:00 am - 10:00 pm

Time Visited:
12:17pm, Sunday where the church nearby was just starting welcoming people in

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Ciabatta with Beef Rendang and a Latte

I never knew this place existed despite being so near my home. This is the route that I took when I wanted to avoid the massive jam outdoors especially during the call to congregate when a certain political party called upon the nation to assemble at the Kelana Jaya Stadium. Anyway, this place didn't exist that time. But it's so near my place!

If you're just passing by which would be weird since there's nothing around here except that one row of shophouses and a field there where people play basketball in, surrounded by the residential houses, you won't spot this place at all. It looks so dark from the outside and the sign is not very apparent and visible if you weren't looking out for anything here. But because I was there to purposely pay a visit to this cafe, I of course spotted it right off the bat. Parking is a breeze here since the row of shophouses barely has anything there on weekday evenings and weekends. In fact, I drove and parked right in front of the cafe!

The place looks antiquated with rusted steel settings upon wooden fixtures. The big door that looms as the entrance has a cow bell hanging at the door handle indoors to help alert the staff of the place that there's a customer that walked in. Being the first customer of the day, I stand upon the cash register and look at their limited menu. "You can go for the Ciabatta or croissant or you can go for the Nasi Lemak but the Nasi Lemak will have a 10 minutes wait since the rice is still cooking." chimed the tomboyish character across the counter. Having a feeling that the nasi lemak is the best seller here, I initially wanted to go for that but then gave in to having the Ciabatta with Beef Rendang instead. I called upon for a latte as my usual dose of coffee to drink there.

The place is filled with many items around and really look like and antique shop. 2 different pianos with the sign "Do Not Touch" decorates the dreary looks and for some reason gave me the goosebump feel of an era that gone by. Perhaps around the 40s or 50s. The soothing sounds of the songs on their sound system puts me at ease and really gave me goosebumps when I heard of a Nat King Cole song coming on. Yes, that place really did transport me back in time to an era that I never existed. Separated by a glass partition at the center, the left side of the shop looks more modern with bright lights and park like table and benches. I chose to stay upon the counter area and sat at a rustic looking chair with a rustic looking table that has that Singer sewing machine leg churn just like Rekindle in SS2.

I soon discovered that although they told me that the Nasi Lemak has a 10 minutes waiting time, the time they took to prepare the Ciabatta with beef rendang was just as long if not more. But the latte did arrived in around few minutes time. Coffee was good, aromatic and strong in it's coffee taste. The yellow mug that they served it in somehow suddenly reminded me back at the time where I tried out Coffeels Coffee at Kota Damansara. Must be due to the yellow color of the mug though Coffeels Coffee contains a blue rim surrounding it.

After waiting for awhile, the Ciabatta with Beef Rendang finally arrived. The Ciabatta by itself was nice to eat. Soft interior with a crispy crunchy bread skin making it fun to eat. On it's on, though it may be just bread, it's delicious to enough to eat it on it's own. The beef rendang though may be more suitable for the Nasi Lemak, yet I married it off with the western counterparts of the Ciabatta and the salad at the side. The beef rendang was nothing out of the ordinary but good enough to consume finish for me. It was put in a tin foil bowl to house it and keep it warm. The salad has quite an extensive amount of different ingredients from carrots to tomatoes to the greens and is dressed with the familiar Japanese sesame seed salad dressing.

The internet line was fast which is a plus point but the thing I really love about this cafe would be their ambiance.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM30. I feel that their food and drinks are slightly a bit too pricey with the Latte amounting to RM12 and the Beef Rendang Ciabatta Sandwich (well, sort of a sandwich since the beef rendang is separate from the ciabatta) at RM18 and that is that they don't even charge GST nor service charge. I guess you're paying for the environment. LOL.

Final Verdict:
7/10. There's no denying it, I just love it's antiquity themed approach. Other than that, coffee's good and food is above average but a bit pricey in my humble opinion.