Nasi Lemak Bumbung, SEA Park, Petaling Jaya (PJ), Selangor

Address:
Jalan 21/11b, Sea Park, 46300 Petaling Jaya (PJ), Selangor, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Daily, 5:30pm - 4am.

Time Visited:
About 8:30pm? I guess so, since it was just after my dinner. Sunday night

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Nasi Lemak Ayam with Telur Mata (bullseye egg/ sunny side up egg) and Teh O Ais Limau (Iced Lemon Tea)

DISCLAIMER: This was not a lone dining experience.

During the weekends, I had a fast food bender starting from Saturday evening where I feast on McDonald's. Still having some fast food cravings the next day, I went to KFC to eat in the morning to try the "Ayam Kicap Meletup" for the first time. And finally, in the evening, I went for an A&W feast, eating a 2 persons meal just to satiate that craving appetite in me. Since my friend wasn't really full then, he decided to take me to this Nasi Lemak Bumbung to try since I've never eaten here before.

When we arrived around 8 something pm, the place was brimming with customers. Mind you Nasi Lemak Bumbung is not a fancy restaurant place nor is it a restaurant shop on it's own at all. It prepares it's meal from a shop that sells Bah Kut Teh which is closed but they occupy the back portion of it. As for the seating area, it's all just makeshift tables and chairs setup outside of the bank beside and all along the back alley. So yeah, that's where you'll actually be eating. Either beside the bank that's closed by night or at the back alleyway. Since there's throngs of people at the place during that time, we had to walk quite a distance before we reached an empty table. Hell, Nasi Lemak Bumbung is at a corner and we were almost at the end! Ya, so that's how famous this place turned out to be. Most people are just there to eat their nasi lemak but there are some who order their mee goreng (fried noodles) to eat. As for me, I decided to try their nasi lemak.

It didn't take long for the food to arrive possibly less than 5 minutes. It's even faster than the drinks sometimes. Armed with minimal light at the back alleyway, it's laughable to see lights in star decorations at the area near to where their corner is. I can't imagine that spicing up the ambiance at all since it is after all.....a back alleyway. LOL. The Nasi Lemak gives evidence to them plating in a hurry with sloppy sambal hastily plonked at one side with splashes all around and a pathetic looking small drumstick chicken that barely contained any meat on it. As for my sunny side up egg, it's ruined in transition with the yolk already gone, very much drained from it's juices.

I soon evaluate the taste to see if it's good. The rice was fragrant but has a harder texture than what I'm used to. The egg didn't give off anything out of the ordinary and the sambal was just there to add a bit of a taste to it. The sambal didn't emit anything special and it wasn't the spicy kind. To me, it tasted more of the sweet kind and it wasn't enough to go with the rice portion so it's a good idea to order extra sambal. As for the chicken, now this has a unique taste that separates from the rest. It tasted of heavy Indian spices which I guess is what some people like but to me, it's still just a fried chicken with a little bit of a different flavoring.

Aside from the unique fried chicken taste, I guess the other thing that probably is the draw for people to come is it's cheap price. With the Nasi Lemak and the drink, it's only RM6.50.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM6.50 in total and as you can guess, there's definitely no GST nor service charge. LOL.

Final Verdict:
2/10. I still don't understand what's the draw to this place aside from the cheap price. This makes Village Park Nasi Lemak taste like heaven which I still feel it's overrated though many love it. 'Awesome' (read: awful) ambiance, 'lovely' (read: rude) service, 'great' (read: mediocre) food, I have to wonder why people like it so much aside from their quick dispense of the Nasi Lemak and the cheap price. Oh, and not that I'm racist or anything, I observed that 80% of their customers consists of Chinese.

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Lorong Seratus Tahun (LST), SS2, Petaling Jaya (PJ), Selangor

Address:
No. 56, Jalan SS2/66, 47300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.

Opening Hours:
Sun - Thurs: 7.30am – 11.00pm 
Fri & Sat: 7.30am – 12am 

Time Visited:
Around 7pm at dinnertime, Tuesday night, 2nd day of Chinese New Year

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Went with my family so I'm just gonna list down what I ate. LST Char Kuey Teow, Chee Cheong Fun and Kopi Ice

DISCLAIMER: This was not a lone dining experience.

It was the 2nd day of Chinese New Year and I was spotting around for a place to eat. Since my family was with me and they're people who are avid Chinese food aficionados, I hunted for some Chinese grub. After finding out 2 of the places I was thinking to go to were close, I finally decided upon Lorong Seratus Tahun in SS2, LST for short.

Now SS2 is a place that I frequent for dinner and usually end up at the Pelita Nasi Kandar (which by the way has increased their prices :( ) for dinner so Lorong Seratus Tahun is a place I know exist and has always passed by it for years but has never once stepped foot in it. Since being Chinese New Year where most Chinese eateries has closed for the holiday and my family was growing impatient with me rounding around, I think to myself that this is a good opportunity to try here and so we did.

The decor has a wooden feel like how Old Town Kopitiam and Papparich looks like and being in one of those SS2 shoplot, it feels a little cramp with their limited space. They also employ the self service ordering system where you have to write down your order on an order chit and pass to the waiter when you're done. There's also working call bells on each table but mostly it's unnecessary due to their very attentive staff and the confine spaces.

I was having the Char Kuey Teow and the Chee Cheong Fun with some iced coffee to keep me awake. They were quite fast in churning out the dishes even though they had quite a crowd at their outlet though not full house yet. The Chee Cheong Fun arrived within five minutes, just seconds away from my drink. The Char Kuey Teow though, took a little longer but still considered as fast in my books. I haven't even started with my Chee Cheong Fun and already my Char Kuey Teow has arrived.

The Chee Cheong Fun is served with Har Gou (shrimp paste) since they're supposed to be authentic Penang style type of dishes and that's how Penang Chee Cheong Fun is but somehow I find the shrimp paste a little lacking in something that I'm most familiar with the taste. But nevertheless, it tasted good and quite close to how Penang dispense it. Just don't feel like it's quite there. As for the Char Kuey Teow, it's also similar in style with Penang where they also put a banana leaf underneath it. It has a bit of the 'wok hei' in it. It's quite nice to eat but I prefer Robert's Char Kuey Teow at Section 17 and Sisters Char Kuey Teow way more.

This place may be a good place to quell the need for some Penang food when you have no other choice but if that's not what you're after, there are better versions of this food elsewhere if you know where to look.

Total Wallet Damage:
Um, since I was with my family, I forgotten to take note of the price hence I'm not sure. Sorry.

Final Verdict:
6/10. A place to quell the desire of Penang food but if you have no other better options available.

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Battery Acid Club, SS21, Damansara Utama (DU) aka Uptown, Petaling Jaya (PJ), Selangor

Address:
21, Jalan SS 21/34, Damansara Utama (DU) aka Uptown, 47400 Petaling Jaya (PJ), Selangor, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Tue-Sun:
9:00 am - 8:00 pm

Time Visited:
12:30pm, weekends which was a Saturday afternoon

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Eggs Benedict and a Latte (Hot)

If you're just passing by and you're not searching for this cafe, you're bound to miss this since it's in a row of shophouses that's not known for food and there's no signage to declare that this is a cafe.

That area is a place where people usually go to get to the houses since it's located at a housing area with just this lone row of shophouses there. Aside from the workshop that takes up the corner lot, I have no clue what the other shops does and if it weren't for Battery Acid Club, I wouldn't even be venturing over here.

The cafe takes on a simple and minimalist approach in it's design, clean and bright making the cafe look spacious yet chic and pleasant. It's emphasis on design really takes on a whole new level of look to me. They don't really put up any signage but if you're specifically looking for this place, you'll manage to guess which one it is due to it's use of glass wall windows and it's design despite not having any signage that tells you that it's Battery Acid Club cafe. I approached the counter and was warmly greeted by the person at the cash register. She guided me that for food the menus on the counter and the drinks menu is on the board up above. Even the board had a minimal style design with airport terminal flipboard style fonts and color and background. Simplicity at it's best.

They kept the toilets very nice and clean as I visited it before I stopped myself at a comfortable place. I had a hard time choosing my intended place of seating because it's just so vast looking and there's only the seating of a long bench with the wall as a backrest on the inside area. At first I wanted to sit closer to the front of the shoplot because there's lots of natural sunlight beaming through but then decided against it and sat nearer to the counter area instead since the air conditioning unit is directly above the first table at the front of the shop and it's blasting down there.

For your info, they stated a preparation time for their dishes on their menu and my eggs benedict is said to take around 10-15 minutes but it felt like it took less than that. The coffee was quick to be dispensed to me though and yet there's not degradation in quality at all, from the artwork to the ratio of the milk to coffee and the aromatic goodness of the coffee. It's a coffee that I love and it actually has a mild coffee taste. The sipping feels more creamy and smooth while the aftertaste consists of some chocolatey taste that lingered for awhile. During the time I was there, the blend was Colombian Supremo with El Salvador San Emilio.

As for the breakfast that I was planning in having, the eggs benedict arrived with a very pretty presentation. Not only was it's plating beautiful but the plate itself was gorgeous with a half black half white balance. My poached egg arrived bleeding though and seemed to have popped with it's yolk juices flowing contaminating the plate. The croissant was lovely. Crispy exterior texture all the way even though it's been left alone for awhile. Very buttery kind of taste too which is something that I like. The poached egg was done proper and it's the kind of poached egg that I like. The Hollandaise sauce was just heavenly with a tinge of wasabi in it to spice things up a bit and give you a kick. The meat which was written in the menu to be chicken slices was adored by me too. All in all, everything about the food and the coffee works very well for me, including the side of salad as well. Love how they incorporate some onions and tangerine in the salad which is something unique to me and rare to find in a salad.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM29. RM11 for coffee and RM18 for the Eggs Benedict. No GST nor service charge.

Final Verdict:
9/10. I love this cafe. Nice design and interior, good food and excellent coffee. On a side note, I also love the cheeky nature of the WiFi Password printed on the receipt which read "Title of the 3rd poster in the cafe, in small caps and no spacing. Have fun breaking the code =)" Splendid. XD

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The Ganga Cafe, Taman Bukit Pantai, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur (KL)

Address:
19, Lorong Kurau, Taman Bukit Pantai, 59100 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Tuesday to Saturday 8:30 AM – 9:30 PM
Sunday 10:00 to 3:00 PM
Closed on Mondays

Time Visited:
Lunch time, around 12:30pm (?) on a Friday afternoon, Chinese New Year week

Attire worn:
Business

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Masala Tea and their Biryani Rice Thali Set

DISCLAIMER: This was not a lone dining experience.

It was the last working day of the Chinese New Year week for me and my colleagues and after our food expedition where they brought me to their favorite places to dine on Indian cuisine which are Tetra and Om Shakti Chelo's Appam, they couldn't think of where to go on the last day. And that's when they started asking me and say they wanna follow me instead. Seeing that one of my colleague is a very strict vegan, I started thinking of pure Indian restaurants because she just won't eat if a restaurant isn't pure Indian that serves meat. Sure I could bring her along to a pure vegetarian restaurant but from what I know, her taste buds always leans to Indian food and so I was thinking of either The Ganga Cafe or Fierce Curry House, 2 of the Indian establishments that I have an eagerness to try but has not had the time to visit it yet. In the end, I let her decide and she chose The Ganga Cafe seeing that the restaurant is pure vegetarian only anyway and Fierce Curry House is not.

And so off we went on the food adventure in Bangsar. Fearing the mosque nearby at the place, it turned out to be not so bad though it did cause some congestion with people haphazardly parking alongside the road but it did little in stopping us in pressing on with our mission. We arrived at the scene a little close to 12:45pm I guess and to my surprise the place was full house and still there's more people awaiting to grab a seat. The owner was very friendly and suggested that she's gonna put some more chairs and tables in front of the next door shop which she chide that it belongs to them or something along the lines but my colleague were afraid of the heat and wanted to sit inside. After detecting her wishes, I led them in to a table that's seated with a couple and decided to sit at the empty table that's joined beside their table and we soon grabbed a menu to decide on our delicacy.

I soon found out that I must've caught them at a bad day because the service was really slow that day. It took them almost 10 minutes before I manage to flag someone down to take our order. I went with the Nasi Biryani Thali set where the Thali Set consists of 3 vegetables, a dhall and a curry and rasam. And to drink, I decided upon the Masala Tea. We soon learned of the horrors of that day. It's probably one of their worst day of business to date. They keep mixing their orders up, had a massive backlog of customer requests and were duly disorganized. Over at the open kitchen, you can see many cooks in there busy with something but nothing seems to be coming out of the kitchen. In fact, the lady boss has to step inside to try and organize whatever she can the entire time that we were there. I soon realized as I looked around the restaurant that most has not had their food served yet aside from a couple of tables and we thought to ourselves, this is bad.

We were asked of what we ordered again for about 3 times and they tried to bring us food that we didn't order twice. My colleague got so hungry that she took some finger food that they were selling to eat first. About over an hour later, our food finally arrived. Through my observation, we seemed to have gotten it way earlier than a lot of them who arrived before us. I pity them but I guess that was the start of when they regain their composure in organizing again. Hence our turn in getting our order first. I was very hungry and so I quickly took a picture and started eating right away. The food was lukewarm to me but my colleague complaint that it was cold and so she ordered a Nasi Tomato that is has to be hot to be brought to her. The food tasted good despite being lukewarm. One of my colleague like the curry which gives off a little sourness and not too spicy although it's a curry. The rasam was just nice for me in terms of taste, not too sour and I'm able to gulp down the whole thing as an appetizer. It'll be better if it's a bit warmer. The rice were grainy and little tougher than what I'm used to but didn't deter in taste and is still good despite a rougher texture. All the rest of the vegetables were good as well in taste but one things for sure, it's not as filling as we expected. The piping hot Nasi Tomato later arrived and that is a much fluffier and softer rice than the biryani.

As for the Masala Tea, it wasn't to my liking. The taste was okay but they didn't stir properly in their haste to serve it to us thus indicating to me that their water weren't hot enough when they poured it in for the mixture. There's a large chunk of gunk right at the bottom but of course I didn't gulp that down. As I got up and paid, they forgot to include some things and I reminded them of the Nasi Tomato that we ordered as extra but I forgot to tell them about the finger food that we had while we were waiting for our meals to arrive and so it looks like we weren't charged for it. Sorry. I didn't mean to cheat you guys. I weren't given a receipt too but that's a small matter. I kinda pity the owners being scolded with many angry customers left and right with many saying they have to leave so please pack their food which haven't arrive at their table yet. But despite that, the owners were still courteous and maintain a respectful front in the presence of the angry customers. What a day for them and what a day for us as well. LOL.

Total Wallet Damage:
In the midst of the confusion, I forgot to take note of the prices and I wasn't handed a receipt as well. Doesn't matter, they didn't get the full list of what we ordered correctly anyway.

Final Verdict:
5/10. Bear in mind that this was based on most likely their worst day ever and I'm not sure what caused such chaos. I'll probably give them another chance and will visit them again at such a time once more to see if the same thing happens.

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Ozen Zanmai, The Gardens Mall, Mid Valley City, Kuala Lumpur (KL)

Address:
LG K02, Lower Ground, The Gardens, Lingkaran Syed Putra, Mid Valley City, 59200 Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Daily, 10am - 10pm

Time Visited:
Around 7pm, Tues night

Attire worn:
Business

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Green Tea (hot) and Chicken Katsu Curry Rice (Large)

Just before a movie of Hail, Caesar! at Mid Valley Megamall, I decided to head for dinner before the stipulated time of the show.

I rolled the dice and landed upon Ozen Zanmai to try this time around which is located at The Gardens Mall. Situated at the Lower Ground floor, it's contained in one of those center section where it isn't a proper shop with doors and stuff to lock up but the built up area was large and Lower Ground sections are all allocated for food and beverage with this kind of settings anyway.

Being a solo diner, I sat at the bar section and look at the big menu to see what I can eat. Strangely enough, there's no drinks menu and yet they ask you right away what you wanna drink so without missing a bit, I naturally ordered hot green tea since it's a Japanese restaurant and that's the only thing I know for sure would be available. Although quite a temptation for me to order the Hot Pot, I decided to go for the Katsu Chicken Curry Rice instead. Feeling rather hungry, I ordered for the large portion instead.

It didn't take long at all for my grub to arrive almost instantaneous. When they say large, they really do meant it because the huge plate with a sea of curry at one side was a really sizable portion. Armed with steaming hot sticky rice it mesmerized me to quickly get to business and chow down. But first, I carefully mixed it all up so that the sea of curry would taint on the rice which would be better. This way, the curry wouldn't be spilling so easily and I don't need to eat the rice plain. Though the portion was huge, the taste wasn't that huge to me. It was just downright average. Everything about this dish was average, from the curry, to the rice, to the chicken cutlets.

As I was eating, I chance upon my eyes gazing of what seemed to be a great layer of dust on the side of the cold display case. Well, it wouldn't have bother me if it were just next to a wall or something but they put a container of clean bowls next to it which makes me feel unsettling because the dust may contaminate the bowls. Anyway, I highlighted this issue to the manager and hopefully they improve on this and won't make this mistake ever again.

Service in refilling the green tea and clearing dishes were rather efficient. There's never a time at all that I needed to ask for them to refill my green tea at all. They're always on top of it to ensure that my cup is never empty. Plates were cleared the second I finished my meal. And they also seemed to be quite alert to customers who call them.

There's not much to like about the ambiance though. But then again, it's just one of those middle sections that aren't even their own proper outlet with doors. The bar area is a little busy with disturbance though since they put stuff at the side of the empty area of the bar and with heavy menus and trays, I felt every thump when they put down the stuff and with every tap, I felt it though it's about two seats away. It gets quite annoying at times but I don't blame them, that's the place they put and there don't seem to be a cabinet area that's empty for them to put. Perhaps they may want to reconsider reorganizing how things are placed.

Paid, left and went for my coffee fix before the movie begins.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM25. RM23.80 for the curry rice and RM1.20 for the green tea. GST of 6% is included.

Final Verdict:
5/10. Portion is huge and will definitely get you feeling full with their large portion. Ambiance not much to look at and taste of the food is average.

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Epicuro, SS21, Damansara Utama (DU) aka Uptown, Petaling Jaya (PJ), Selangor

Address:
20G Jalan SS21/35,
Damansara Utama (DU) aka Uptown,
47400 Petaling Jaya (PJ),
Selangor

Opening Hours:

Tue-Fri:	11:00 am - 11:00 pm
Sat-Sun:	10:00 am - 11:00 pm

Kitchen closes between 3pm - 6pm but desserts and beverages are still available during these times.

Time Visited:
About 10:30 in the AM, Sunday morning. Valentine's Day~

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Pulled Pork Sandwich with Coleslaw and Sunny Side Up Egg and Mango Lychee

Valentine's Day~

It started on this fateful day and I decided to start it off with Epicuro. Hearing that the food is noteworthy from a foodie friend of mine, I finally decided to visit it and judge it for myself. When I entered the premise I was a bit surprised of the amount of people that's already inside while the 2 staff manning the restaurant front were frantically still preparing the place up. I sat myself down as they ignored my presence and continued on with whatever task they're doing. I didn't really care since they've already laid out menus on tables to ease them into attending to people when they come in. And so I peruse the menu in search of something that I would fancy for breakfast.

I soon decided upon the Caesar Salad and a fizzy drink called the Mango Lychee though at this juncture, I know I usually order a cup of coffee but struggled with myself to try something else instead. I flagged one of the busy waitress in order to get my order in and she hurriedly towards me. Unfortunately, they said they ran out of Caesar Salad. (What nonsense?! How can any restaurant run out of salad??? What a baffling statement). And so I decided upon the Pulled Pork Sandwich instead and added on the sunny side up egg.

It didn't take long for my drink and sandwich to arrive to me. I would say it was extremely quick. Perhaps of their anticipation on what were to be ordered and this is one of the items and not the Caesar Salad. Anyway, it looked great with the top portion of the french loaf lopsided boasting the magnificently seasoned egg with the rest of the ingredients hidden beneath it. There's a side of salad served alongside the sandwich and you can barely see the pulled pork with the bountiful of vegetables surrounding it but it's the gem key ingredient. Without the pulled pork in the sandwich, I would say the taste would be far less important with it making up 70% of the greatness of this sandwich. The coleslaw too proved to be a mostly unseen feature but produces great taste and you must have more of it once you've savored a taste of it. The rest of it falls into place with the egg leading the way in terms of taste and visual. As for the Mango Lychee in all it's fizziness, there's really not much to it aside from tasting like a typical soda pop with the mostly acute sweetness producing a fruity taste.

There seems to be a steady stream of customers approaching this facility and the busy state of the staff continues further right up till the time I left. They were courteous enough during my departure and handed me a loyalty card to entice me further in a return visit. Well, we'll see. :)

Total Wallet Damage:
RM30.95. Sandwich is RM16.90 and the drink is RM10.90. Service charge of 5% taxable (not worth it) and 6% GST imposed.

Final Verdict:
6/10. I'm not sure whether it's always this way but I find the service lackluster and to think they charge 5% for that too. Geez. Food was not bad though.

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S.Wine, Ben's Independent Grocer, Publika, Solaris Dutamas, Kuala Lumpur (KL)

Address:
Lot No. 1a, 83-95, Level UG1, Publika, No. 1, Jalan Dutamas 1, Solaris Dutamas 50480 Kuala Lumpur (KL)

Opening Hours:
Daily, 11am - 10pm

Time Visited:
6:30pm, Valentine's Day - Sunday evening

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Pan-Roasted Pork Chop with Spinach and Elderflower with Soda Water

Valentine's Day - forgot all about it until I came here for dinner.

I was out the whole day and were visiting around the whole of town for places to eat and when dinnertime arrive, I decided to come to S.Wine for dinner. It was still early, around 6:30pm but the place was already packed with people and that's when I'm reminded that it's Valentine's Day. Having lined up uniformly were rows and columns of 2 seater table and chairs where ample spaces in between to walk in between rows of the arrangement whereas for the tables side by side, that left off wanting a little more space to be desired. Oftentimes, I see people wanting the corner seat next to the wall instead of having people beside you left and right. I guess it's because it offers more privacy that way. So there I was although quite early for dinner yet there's already a place full of couples occupying the restaurant. Good thing for me is that they still manage a place for me.

Staffs of the place were very friendly and very attentive to customers needs and even though I'm just a party of one on Valentine's Day yet they still serve me without any biasness. I decided upon the pork chop along with Elerflower with soda water for drinks. As the name gives it away, S.Wine is a place where they sell pork and is much known for mostly it's pork dishes. That's why it's strategically located in the pork meat produce section of the supermarket. A full fledged open kitchen can be seen cooking away the various meat dishes to satisfy the hungry diners.

Judging from the crowd and my observation, this place is quite a romantic place to dine in with it's mood-setting lighting and it's incandescent bulbs. The only problem with the atmosphere is the many people packed in there. But then again, there's no way to solve this issue because the place don't leave much to arrange the tables and chairs. To me, I felt that they've already maximized it as best as they can. Other than that, that's the gist of the romantic settings, that and along with the fancy dinner.

The Elderflower with Soda Water took a moderate waiting period until it arrived. It tasted Indian-ish in taste due to the Elderflower but other than that, it's mostly sweetness and bubbliness from the soda water which didn't make this drink any more unique. The Pork Chop took it's time to arrive to me but having it cooked to order, it's understandable. The Pork Chop was well cooked but proved to be a little tough to me. They purposely left some layer of fat at the side so that it gives off a melting buttery taste to the side. The taste was well produced and it goes well with the cream sauce that's generously spread below the pork chop. It's mentioned in the menu that the cream sauce contains white wine and seeded mustard which probably contributed a little to elevate the flavors. Aside from that, the pork chop hides a slab of spinach and sauerkraut which interestingly is to my pleasure. I normally don't like sauerkraut due to it's very sourish taste like kimchi but this sauerkraut was not that way. It gave off a bit of a sourish taste but not very overpowering. In fact, I can taste the spinach as much taste as the rest in that mixture. The sauerkraut in fact tasted more like cabbage than sauerkraut due to the mild taste of sourness instead of the strong type. There's also hints of bacon in the mash mixture which I failed to detect if I didn't look at the menu.

All in all, a satisfying meal, an excellent service rendered from the staff despite running at full capacity of the restaurant, nice ambiance, the only thing that could be better is space-wise. But then again, they've already maximized the space of the restaurant and so I couldn't think of how they could further improve on that.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM48. RM38 for the pork chop and RM10 for the drink. 6% GST taxable.

Final Verdict:
7/10.

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My Feelings Coffee by LewisGene, Solaris Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur (KL)

Address:
No. 5, Jalan Solaris 4, Solaris Mont Kiara, 50480, Kuala Lumpur (KL)

Opening Hours:
Sun - Thu:
8.00 am - 12:00 am
Fri - Sat:
8.00 am - 1:00 am
close on Wednesdays

Time Visited:
8pm. Sunday night. Valentine's Day!

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Angeline's New York Cheesecake with Strawberry Jam and a Cafe Latte

It's Valentine's Day and I just had my dinner. I felt like coffee and so I headed over to Solaris Mont Kiara for it.

For some reason, this Valentine's Day, I seemed to have ventured more than I usually do with this being my fourth outlet for the day. As usual, being A-Lone Diner, I ventured on my own the whole day yet strangely, I kept forgetting it's Valentine's Day until I got to the 3rd restaurant where it was teeming with couples. LOL. Yet, it didn't feel like Valentine's at all with no signs of lovey doveyness at all. Oh well.

Anyway, again I'm reiterating that this is my fourth outlet for the day right after dinner. I spotted this place My Feelings Coffee by LewisGene and decided to give it a go. Not sure when it started but it should be fairly recent last year. I guess it must be the same owner from LewisGene Espresso? But if it is, why bother opening up another cafe on the same row? Well, I don't have the answers to that and I'm not here attempting to answer it but all I'm doing here is to find out whether their coffee is good and whether their desserts were good also.

The place didn't look much like a cafe but more bar-esque type with blue lights underneath the bar section area where their large counter area is. I find their layout quite confusing with things written everywhere and I'm not sure where to look if it weren't for the staff directing my attention to the right place. There are menu items written on top of the bar area, menu items written on top of the main entrance area, menu items written at the back of the counter area and for cakes, you have to walk towards a cake display case to see which is a different section on it's own separate from the counter area. That's where they prepare waffles also. I finally decided to go simple and just order the Cafe Latte and for cakes, I asked for recommendations and decided to go with the Angeline's New York Cheesecake with Strawberry Jam.

The staff of the place that consisted of foreign workers were very helpful and friendly. From the time she welcomed me to the time I paid and departed. Very good hospitality. But due to her accent, I sometimes struggle to grasp what she was trying to say. Yet, somehow I managed. The seating area too is a confusing layout with bar stools around the counter area, a square seating area hidden behind a wall and near the cake display case and then over at the back, there's more seating area which look as if it's a separate section altogether. I'm not sure why they decided to do such a confusing layout but that's what they did. The owners family chipped in to help when they arrived at the cafe.

Waiting for coffee and cake didn't take long. They were efficient enough to churn out a fairly presentable dessert dish and coffee though limited in manpower. They also made sure that all their customers are given a glass of water as well which strangely enough is put in shot glasses.

The cake arrived first before the coffee which is not surprising. Though the Angeline New York Cheesecake at the display case were just the plain cheesecake, they've the care to add the strawberry jam on top of it before serving to you on a sugar powder dusted triangle plate. Interesting presentation. The jam has the strawberry residue which seems to me like a compote and is very sweet if it's eaten on it's own. But when mixed with the cheesecake, it's just right. The cheesecake was creamy and contains a thin layer of a crumbly base that I didn't notice it was there until halfway through the cake. The sugar powder all around the plate didn't do anything for the taste but I guess it does look nice having that around. Not a bad tasting cake at all. As for the latte, the art was a step above amateur if you look at it and the composition of the coffee drink was good. My palate was agreeable with the coffee profile along with the milk ratio and a very clean finish with no coffee residue. The coffee has a chocolatey finish in it's aftertaste and has a mild to moderate aromatic taste while drinking it.

This place proved to be a popular hangout spot because as the night grew further in, there's more and more people coming even though it was getting quite late. I took my leave as it got more crowded and head on home.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM31.80. RM19.90 for cake, RM11.90 for coffee. There's also 6% GST but no service charge.

Final Verdict:
6.5/10. A nice chillout location that has a bar feel instead of a cafe but confusing layout. Cake and coffee not bad so looks like Brewmen's getting some competition opposite.

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Purradise Cat Cafe, Taman Tun Dr. Ismail (TTDI), Kuala Lumpur (KL)

Address:
No. 24A (First Floor), Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad 2, Taman Tun Dr. Ismail (TTDI), 60000 Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Tue-Fri:
2:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Sat-Sun:
11:00 am - 11:00 pm

Time Visited:
1pm. Valentine's Day. It was a Sunday. :P

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Latte for my free drink and some fun furry time with the cats. :D

After running some errands and finishing breakfast, I was on the lookout for a place to get my coffee fix.

I then decided to visit Purradise Cat Cafe. Yes, I admit. My initial idea of going to this place was more of having a cup of coffee and observing around the cafe with their cats and patrons but once I stepped in, the place totally changed my perception on what I wanted to do. Their first main door entrance is actually a controlled lock door and the 2nd door most likely is to prevent the cats from leaving the premise. As I entered the first floor cafe, I was taken aback a bit. There's already quite a number of people there with 2 couples being friends of the owner or probably members of the staff? The rest of the people there were merely members of the public who visited the cafe to have some fun time.

As I entered, I was greeted by the owner and he asked me whether it's my first time there. I answered yes and he explained to me on how things work in the cafe. RM15 for the first hour that comes with a free drink and subsequently RM3 will be added for every 15 minutes extra. A full day unlimited time merely costs RM39 while you get 30 minutes free (per pax) for every RM12 you spend on their ala-carte menu.

If you want value for your money, choose their blended drink or juices as those costs more. As for me, I just wanted my coffee so I asked for the Latte instead. LOL. Before touching the cats, you're advised to use the hand sanitizer at the counter to sanitize your hands beforehand. And feel free to use it when leaving as well. The environment is decked out with some play environment for the cats but most just laze around instead of pouncing and prancing around. I was particularly drawn to a black cat with white underbelly due to him lazing at a basket and was very docile when I approached him/her. I guess I'll imagine as a her and as my Valentine's date for the day. LOL. "The name is Patches." The owner described to me and told me that he's very fierce but can be quite pampered if you stroke him right. He didn't mind the gentle strokes on the head and some chin rubs but anything in particular lower seemed to have his kicking instinct kick in.

My latte arrived quite soon and I just ask the guy to set it upon an empty table in the corner as I continue playing with Patches whom I like to call, The Sleepy One. LOL. The others that I played with occasionally were Lembu, Miki (whom I call The Hidey One because it's always hiding in some place), Chiki (whom the one I call the Hyperactive One because it's always pouncing around especially when you play with it with those strings), Garfield (which I call The Explorer because it always curiously looks around at corners) and Luna, who laid in a basket at the counter when I was about to leave. I still like Patches the most with his one stubbed ear because he's very furry and nice to stroke and very docile which allowed me to stroke it easily. LOL.

All the cats are foster rescue cats where they're put in this environment to improve on their wellbeing and animal welfare. They're encouraged to interact with the humans and hopefully to find them a loving home to be adopted should anyone desires. Oh, and the latte was just so-so only but it doesn't matter. People come for the cats anyway instead of food and drinks. LOL. WiFi was just okay and weren't particularly fast. As for the playful brightly colored design of the place with cats in it, it does serve as a therapeutic and great stress reliever. There's just something about the cats and the environment that makes you happy even just by watching them and melts the stresses of life away. If you ever wanna forget about your problems for awhile, this is one good way to do so.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM18 only. RM15 for the first hour, RM3 for the extra 15 minutes. Drink comes with the first hour and there's no GST nor service charge. :)

Final Verdict:
6/10. Well, this is a first for me. Rating a cafe solely by the environment and nothing on it's food or drink.

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Coffee Sprex, SS25, Taman Plaza, Taman Mayang, Petaling Jaya (PJ), Selangor

Address:
No.9, Jalan SS25/23, Taman Plaza, Taman Mayang 47301 Petaling Jaya (PJ), Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Daily, 8am - 7pm

Time Visited:
Around 10am on a Weekend, Saturday morning to be exact

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
The All Day Big Breakfast where I change their unlimited house pouring coffee to a Latte

Just by the name alone, I thought nothing much about this place even though it's very near my house. But when I did some research about it before proceeding to visit here, I was astonished by what I found out. This place is actually run ENTIRELY by deaf people. Yeah. That's right. Deaf people. People who wouldn't be able to hear you. This sparked my curiosity to visit very much and I was very eager to see how this place fair with my judgment. Unfortunately, during Chinese New Year period, they were having a break from operating the cafe and so I had to wait for about a week before I'm free to visit this place.

Although I pass by this place many times, I've never spotted a cafe here before and after having a lookout at the row that it's situated on, I can see why. The cafe is merely occupying a half shop lot hence it's small. Along with that, their sign is rather plain, a white background with small wordings and difficult to read if you're just passing by. Being a place with just half a shoplot, it makes it a very small place and definitely not a place for a large group but of course, if you don't mind being closed together, this place can still accommodate. At least it's not as cramped as Butter & Beans at Section 17.

I entered the cafe and it gives off a very cozy and homely vibe to me. During my visit, there was only one person manning the whole cafe with another whom I think maybe is a friend? Because she didn't do anything except sat at a table. The friend there waved the attention to the person manning the place and that person signaled to me to wait which of course I understood and so I sat down and started looking at the menu. Pretty soon, the friend got up instead to take my order. I pointed to her that I wanted the All Day Big Breakfast and also pointed to her that I want a latte. She then gestured to me is it that I want to change their unlimited house pouring coffee and have the latte instead which I indicated to her yes. Then she ask me how my want my eggs by pointing to the picture of the big breakfast where there it's written 4 types of eggs to which I pointed to her that I wanted it Sunny Side Up. She understood and went over to the counter and conveyed to the person manning the cafe in their own way.

It took slightly longer than I expected for my big breakfast to arrive though the coffee came at an anticipated time frame. But that's understandable since there's only one person doing everything in the cafe. She's the cook, she's the cashier, she's the waitress and she's the maitre d'. I'm impressed. Not even a normal person can handle the way she did.

The coffee came in a very unique cup that's very ergonomic. It was shaped very much for a right-handed person to grip the cup very comfortably with the handle slanting towards you for a very nice thumb and index finger grip. The coffee was pleasant. Though there's no art or maybe she did try but of course it amounted to nothing, the taste was not bad and it was the kind of taste that I can easily get used to and like. I did find that there were some sediments when I reach the bottom and it was quite coarse. Other than that, not much complain about the coffee. Excellent with the milk. May not be a perfect ratio but it's close enough.

As for the big breakfast, it consists of 2 eggs (in my case it's sunny side up), a sausage (chicken bratswurst), bacon (pork), Luncheon Meat and 2 slices of bread that's halved into triangles with a slab of butter for the slight toast. The bread that they serve was wholemeal and that took me a little by surprise since a lot of places that serve bread like these usually just give white bread. It was only slightly toasted so not as crisp and was moderately lukewarm. The sunny side up eggs were nice and the yolk was runny....very runny. So I took care not to pop the 2nd one so as to not mess up my whole plate or contaminate the other ingredients before I get to savor how it is. The bacon as usual remained my favorite since I love, love, love, love eating bacon and this pork bacon emphasizes it. The luncheon meat was ordinary but nonetheless hearty and the Chicken Bratwurst were okay. It tasted very much like peppercorn and had that pepper spice feeling in it a lot.

There were pockets of customers that come in and it seems that most already know what this place is about.

Total Wallet Damage:
Only RM14.50. No service charge, no GST. Just the cheap price of RM9.50 and if it weren't for me adding on a latte which costs RM5, the RM9.50 would've covered you completely for breakfast since it comes with unlimited house pouring coffee from 8am - 12pm. In addition to that, there's also cereal of the day with milk to which I didn't get. Must be because I opt out of the coffee. Anyway, sure their ingredients may not be made from scratch themselves and most likely store bought the whole damn thing but still, it did provide a lovely taste and a very homely environment.

Final Verdict:
6.5/10. I'm impressed. This cafe is not only managed by deaf people on their own, but during my visit, there's only one person doing so and her time management on preparing the meal was so well done. Hell, even a fully functioning person with several staff find it hard at times to manage a cafe properly but they did it well enough to catch my attention. Not to forget, they provide cheap prices for their food and drinks which can easily fill you up and feels like home to me.

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Om Shakti Chelo Appam Stall, Lucky Garden, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur (KL)

Address:
6A, Lorong Ara Kiri 3, Lucky Garden, Bangsar 59100 Kuala Lumpur (KL), Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Presumably 10am - 11pm. Mon - Sat

Time Visited:
12:30pm, Thursday lunchtime.

Attire worn:
Business

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Okay. Not gonna publish full list but just the things I ate. One Sweet Appam, one Vade, one Curry Puff and one Masala Thosai. 

DISCLAIMER: This was not a lone dining experience.

Since it's still the Chinese New Year week, my colleagues decided to continue with their excursion towards the food they love and they brought me along.

This time around, they brought me to the place where there's aplenty of good Indian foods within the area - Bangsar. Although most of the time I venture towards the area where Bangsar Village II is and where the LRT is, they brought me to the Lucky Garden area which I haven't been to for quite a long while. They slipped into the congested area into a street where stalls of food were setup under attap zinc roof over the entire one side of the street. Parking here as I can see would be a major nightmare with very limited parking space and the narrow streets make it difficult to even double park for awhile. But fortune was upon us that day as a car came out right in front of the place that we wanted to go to when we turned into the street. So with gleeful hearts we went our merry way for food.

Om Shakti Chelo is a pure vegetarian stall that sells a lot of their light food stuff and they're particularly famous for their Appam. But I went beyond that to keep myself full and had a Vade, Curry Puff and a Masala Thosai as well in addition to the Sweet Appam. The Sweet Appam is served opened up on a platter that's about the size of the Appam where at the center, you will see that it's concentrated with the sweet coconut milk while the outer ring layer is crispy straight from the pan that made it. Some people may prefer the Brown Sugar version of it but my colleagues prefer the plain one that's with coconut milk. The Vade and Curry Puff were to me average in it's taste but bear in mind, it's vegetarian.

When the Masala Thosai arrived, me and one of my colleague were shocked at how big it was, well, at least mine looked really big. We thought there were two there and my colleague mentioned to him to separate it which totally caught the man by surprised. He then realized that we thought that there were two there and clarified that that's only one and the other one's coming. The Masala Thosai really hit the spot. Though a sweet Appam will not fill you up, a Masala Thosai as a top up might just do the trick. It was filled with lots of potato and some vegetable in it which in turn filled me up. However, it wasn't the filling that I most adore about the Masala Thosai. It was actually the Thosai itself. Crispy and has a nice taste which I can eat it on it's own. The Dhal that was served was just an added bonus. Even though there's 3 accompanying things (Dhal, coconut chutney and a curry) to go with the Masala Thosai, I still like it best without the additives.

The biggest downside about this place is that it's a makeshift food stall and it gets really hot sitting under an attap zinc roof. And if it rains, I'm sure the zinc roof will amplify the noise many times over. So I guess coming here during the nights would be a much better choice if you want a much cooler climate. But that's when the Malay stalls on one side opens up as well. Aside from this Appam Stall, there's also a very famous locally known to residents food stall at the other end of this very same place and that is famous for their Fish Head Curry and fried chicken called Anuar's Fish Head Curry also known as Bangsar Fish Head Corner. I've never tried it though. But I saw a very long queue at the stall and I'm told that's how it usually is. Perhaps one day I'll go check it out.

Total Wallet Damage:
Um, again I don't know the price. But I'm told that the appam costs just over one Ringgit.

Final Verdict:
6/10. Very good Appam, best I've ever tasted and cheap too (so I'm told). The only downside is the environment. But hey, good food don't always need to be associated with good ambiance.

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Tetra House of Briyani, Bandar Bukit Tinggi, Klang, Selangor

Address:
10, Lorong Batu Nilam 4a, Bandar Bukit Tinggi, 41200 Klang, Selangor, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Mon-Sun:
7:00 am - 11:00 pm

Time Visited:
12:30pm(?) on a Wednesday afternoon

Attire worn:
Business

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Tetra Mutton Briyani and Mango Lassi

DISCLAIMER: This was not a lone dining experience.

Regarded by some as the Best Nasi Briyani (in Klang), my colleagues purposely took the opportunity on the lack of traffic during this Chinese New Year season to head on over to Klang for their favorite Tetra's Nasi Briyani. Though I'm not an avid eater of Nasi Briyani, I do enjoy some eats out of the norm and this Nasi Briyani will splendidly do for me. So they took me down all the way on a journey that would normally take 1 hour plus should it be normal traffic.

Tetra House of Briyani looks like your normal Indian restaurant and is situated in a humble looking shoplot that just looks nothing out of the ordinary. The only decor that probably would most catch your eye would be the fountain next to the cashier counter. The tables are placed closed together with not much ample walkway for you to move around. Though they may seemed like a small unknown restaurant, they're actually well known among the local Klang residents and when we arrived there, there's already 2 big tables reserved for big groups. That leaves the other 40 - 50 odd places left for the public to sit on. We got ourselves a place next to the fountain and the guy started to come around to take our orders. I went for their Mutton Briyani and their Mango Lassi which both items are what they're most famous for.

It didn't take long till our orders came to us and that helps when you're hungry like the wolf. The mango lassi has a nice striking orangey yellow color and was served to me in a usual teh tarik ice glass. The mango lassi was thick and you can tell that it's made with real mango, a great fun type of drink to further bloat you up with it's creaminess. The sweetness was once complained by another colleague of mine but I find nothing of that sort with me. It tasted perfect; the right kind of sweetness where most of it derives from the mango taste itself and further enhanced by probably some sugar added together.

The presentation on the mutton briyani was nice and lovely. Served in a silver pot, the mutton all sits at a bottom with a whole hard boiled egg hidden underneath the briyani rice as well. Please note that the mutton that you see on my picture is merely for aesthetic purpose. They don't really serve it that way. It's all inside the pot. There's also 2 small servings, one with dhal and another with their cucumber salad of which both are also delicious.

The Nasi Briyani although may not be of striking yellow as the mango lassi, don't let the dullness in color fool you. It's soft and well cooked and works very well with whatever that's served together with. Smooth and easy on it's rice texture unlike the usual kind where it's usually more coarse. The mutton too was delectable. Soft and easy to consume. Nice and not too spicy in taste. Though the pungent spice taste in Briyani is not that strong, there's still a little bit of it. That kind of taste is the thing that puts me off the most in eating Briyani so I took care so as to not chew on those strong spices and sift it off.

The place filled up in a jiffy with lots of Indian and even some Chinese walking in to have their meal there. After tasting the Nasi Briyani, I can understand why my colleagues love it so much and regard it as the best in Klang or for them, the best Nasi Briyani, period.

Total Wallet Damage:
Um, I don't know really. But I'm sure it's not really expensive. That reminds me, I forgot to pay back my colleague cause I'm so used to paying first. D:

Final Verdict:
7.5/10. A really nice Nasi Briyani place and I can understand why some say it's the best. And yet, it's not really recognized in magazines and food awards. Well, I say keep this hidden gem hidden. We don't want it crowded with it's already small outlet nor wanting it to open another branch and then having their food quality standard start deteriorating. Try the Mango Lassi too. It's good. I heard that their masala tea is not bad either but I didn't try it. Perhaps I'll do so at another time.

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Stubborn Joe Cafe, Dataran Prima, Petaling Jaya (PJ), Selangor

Address:
No 21-1 Block E1, Jalan PJU 1/42, Dataran Prima, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Mon-Sat:
8:00 am - 9:00 pm

Time Visited:
3:45pm, Public Holiday! Tuesday afternoon

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Green Tea Latte (Hot) and a Chocolate Truffle Cake

It was the 2nd day of Chinese New Year and seeing that I was craving for some coffee and cake, I slipped out from my house and got away from my family to have some tea and coffee at a cafe nearby. The reason why I didn't bring my family is because they're the kind of people who don't really fancy cafe food and only love those franchise food (if there are offers) and Chinese restaurants. That's why I went ahead on my own even when my family is around. But it's afternoon where they're just at home taking a snooze anyway. LOL.

Being a public holiday, the area was totally deserted and look very much like a ghost town. The security guards that sat on plastic chairs and just look around doing nothing were curious as to why I was driving on my own within the vicinity. LOL. It was really easy to spot the cafe since I can go really slow to look around. I parked right in front of the cafe and walked right in while one of the cafe workers were busy outside talking on the phone.

I guess I took the workers by surprise by showing up since nobody noticed at all as I walked in. There's one worker sitting at the front most table playing on his phone and didn't notice me while the rest were at the back of the cafe doing God knows what. As soon as the worker at the front noticed that I'm actually a customer and not really one of his colleagues, he quickly got on his feet and started to attend to me. His reaction amused me because it looked like as if the boss just walked in and caught him doing nothing. LOL. I soon declared to him that I'm actually just here to try their coffee and cake and he showed me the menu as to what coffee was available. In the end, I decided upon their Green Tea Latte instead and selected their Chocolate Truffle Cake to go with it.
He quickly got behind the counter and started punching in the orders as he yelled out to his fellow colleague at the back to start making my drink.

The cafe has an interior designed theme with wooden mannequin men to indicate the table number and possesses shower heads posing as lights in between each tables as well. The wall was decorated with the complexity of blueprints and the patterned tiles gave an odd ambiance as to what I'm supposed to feel. I guess this is one of the attraction Instagrammers were drawn to, the quality of noteworthy picturesque viewpoints for their hipster needs.

The things that I ordered were quick to be brought to me seeing that there aren't anybody except for the workers there only anyway. For the first time in my life, I'm seeing a green tea latte being brought to me in a tall glass. I thought nothing much of it and took a sip of it. I'm sorry for being harsh but sorry to say, this was the worst green tea latte I've ever tasted in my life. The top was foamy and filled with green tea powder taste. It was repulsive to me and I had to bite some cake to get rid of it. As you sip more towards the center portion of the drink, the drink instead turned milky and all I got was milk taste, no green tea taste at all. Towards the end, you can see the sediments of green tea powder concentrate at the bottom and I was careful not to hit that portion. Should've stirred the whole damn thing in the beginning if I would've known it was that way.

The Chocolate Truffle Cake was a different story from the Green Tea Latte. It was fine, just fine. Chocolate taste just enough and weren't too sweet nor lacking in it. There were chocolate shaving on top that made those chocolate shavings into pretty rolls. However, it was soft enough to cut it and weren't those hard textured type. The cream on the cake was well balanced and enough for me to taste it but not overpowering the pastry at all. It was certainly an above average dessert.

I paid up and left the quiet time "hanging out" with the foreign workers there. LOL. One thing that strikes me as odd is that the cafe was completely silent. They didn't even bother playing any music in the background at all which is a first I've seen.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM19.40. RM7.90 for the Green Tea Latte (at least that was cheap) and RM11.50 for the cake. No GST nor service charge.

Final Verdict:
3/10. Sorry for being so harsh. I seriously dislike the drink. The cake was okay and the foreign workers were okay in attending to me but I really don't see the point of me visiting this place. Though the design is unique and may attract many of those hipster people for photo taking, it just doesn't work for me. Hope they fair better with their food like their cake.

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Philtre Coffee, SS21, Damansara Utama (DU) aka Uptown, Petaling Jaya (PJ), Selangor

Address:
44, Jalan SS21/35, Damansara Utama (DU) aka Uptown, 47400 Petaling Jaya (PJ), Selangor, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
It's not finalized yet but at the time that I visited, it was 8am - 12am, Daily with the prospect of Monday being an off day.

Time Visited:
Around 9:45pm, Friday night. You can call it a sobering up session since we stumbled upon this place after an alcohol tasting event.

Attire worn:
Business

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
My friend had the Piccolo Latte while I had a Flat White. Two slices of cake were ordered and they are Lemon Curd Cheesecake and Salted Caramel Macadamia

DISCLAIMER: This was not a lone dining experience.

After an eventful night with me feeling ecstatic and kinda high, me and my friend decided to go and grab some proper food since the event that we went to earlier only served light food.

We first wanted to go to Epicuro for dinner but surprisingly, they said they were closing even though their closing time was supposed to be at 11pm. "Oh well." We thought. And headed for the interesting looking place that does not contain any signboard yet. And that turns out to be Phitre Coffee. They still do not have a signboard up because they're newly opened, haven't officially opened and were still testing the market there. The owner coincidentally was there right at the entrance and seeing our curiosity getting the better of us as we look at their chalkboard outside, he invited us in to try out their stuff and provide him feedback on whether do we like it. Since we've already decided to do so without him encouraging us, we stepped on in.

Philtre Coffee takes on the approach of a Kampung Village sort of appearance with a lot of wooden structure and decor that were made from pallet, pallet woods, window grills and window doors which adds the charm of a homely setting. The place has a mixture of bright and low lighting area and has a huge space span inside. We settled at a place where it's near to the counter where the cake display case is also there. On top of it lies a simple menu where one of the items caught my eyes and that is the Charcoal Croissant. Although that piqued my interest, we just went ahead and ordered 2 cakes instead. One being the Lemon Curd Cheesecake and the other the Salted Caramel Macadamia. To drink (and sober up for me) she partook the Piccolo Latte which they said is to be their signature while for me, I just went with the Flat White.

Philtre Coffee have 2 versions of coffee house blend, one is the normal one while the other has a more concentrated coffee taste which they call it the Supreme. The Supreme currently consists of 3 types of beans, Brazilian, Honduras and Papua New Guinea. As much as I'm game to try the Supreme, they offered us to start off with their normal house blend. Once the picture taking finishes, I get to finally sit down and sip on my cup of java.

To me, their Flat White tastes a little too weak for me. The coffee taste is so mild that having the milk in it dilutes it further which I'm not really fond of. But what I do like about the coffee profile is that it has a nutty and chocolatey taste to it at the end and easy on the throat and palate to wash down. They said that they use medium to dark roast but I tasted far from it since it's so mild. Anyway, they said that their Supreme is the more stronger coffee profile but we didn't give that a go so I'm unable to judge on that.

As for the cakes, the Lemon Curd Cheesecake contains a sourish lemon taste but just the right sourness for me to tolerate and consume that eases into a vivid sweetness. Texture is dense and compact and the size shows that too. But of course I preferred the Salted Caramel Macadamia. The caramel melted away from the cake quickly though when time passes by at our very prolonged photo taking ways exposing the chunky big macadamia nuts lodged in between the precipice and embankment of the cake. Just as well too. The caramel proved to be too sweet for my taste but since it melted away mostly and were only tasted as I scooped from the plate, it's now at a more balanced moderate level. As for the macadamia nuts, I'd prefer if it were of smaller chunks because the big ones such as theirs are sometimes a little of a nuisance biting on it though I still need that crunch feeling there. The chocolate was superb as it takes up as the wrapping taste over the macadamia and the salted caramel; compounded brilliantly with it's companion ingredients to masterfully tone those two down.

We soon bid our farewell to our warm and friendly host as the night crosses over into the next day.

Total Wallet Damage:
I can't remember. I just remembered the cakes costing RM13 each. I also remembered that their coffee price was a wee bit on the higher side like inside a shopping mall too.

Final Verdict:
6.5/10. The ambiance is great. The place is spacious the cakes above average. It's just that I wish the coffee to produced a more stronger coffee taste.

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