vkeong loves good food, travel and photography!
Cafe
Figaro Coffee Company @ Citta Mall, Ara Damansara
Nov 30th
On the day we went to Presto at Citta Mall, we actually wanted to have our breakfast at Dr.Cafe. But after looking at their limited selection of food (mostly sandwich and cakes) we decided to head to Figaro Coffee Company instead – which happens to be just next door.
Figaro actually hails from Philippines, where it is considered one of the most successful chain of Filipino coffee shops. In fact, from what I read they are established even earlier than Starbucks in Philippines.
There are plenty of coffees to choose from here – taste wise OK but will hardly please the aficionados. We had the Cappuccino (RM12.90) and Butterscotch Vanilla Latte (RM12.90)
Burgers & Coffee @ Coffee Ritual, Damansara Uptown
Nov 20th
Coffee Ritual, a cafe style restaurant specializing in coffee and crepes ended their operation at Section 14 about two years ago and has relocated to Damansara Uptown. The menu is revamped but still retains their style of serving set meal, as well as preserving the options of adding up coffee and desserts to main courses for a more complete/worthy meal.
Coffee Ritual’s forte now is burger and is heavily featured on the menu with few options of meat like chicken, beef and mutton. Hence, it would not make sense not to try any.
The burgers are served on a wooden board, fries in a bucket with the greens and pickles on the side. An interesting presentation concept but not very practical if everyone at the same table (al fresco area) orders this since it takes up quite some space. It might not be the best burger around but we still enjoyed the juicy and not watery patty, which has a simple yet fulfilling beef flavor.
Penang Hawker Food @ Gurney Delight Cafe, Kota Kemuning
Oct 31st
I am extra picky when it comes to Penang food found outside the state – whether in a hawker center, cafe or restaurant. Most of them are just bad if compared to the real deal, which is understandable so I have always distanced myself from such places. So, are there really no good eateries in Klang Valley to cure the homesickness of Penangites? Well, there is one called Gurney Delight Cafe at Kota Kemuning.
The menu features all the familiar Penang’s signature specialties such as Assam Laksa, Hokkien Mee, Char Koay Teow, Curry Mee etc and they are reasonably priced @ RM5.50. Well, except for a few that are more elaborate.
The Hokkien Mee (also known as Prawn Noodle in the rest of Malaysia) is a must try here, true to the authentic Penang style where the soup is already mildly spicy on its own – so tasty we slurped up every last drop. Price wise it is more than reasonable considering the generous amount of toppings that include some pork ribs as well.
2nd must try – Hokkien Char, something that is underappreciated outside Penang. So far as reputation is concerned, this dish is equivalent to the KL’s Hokkien Mee, which kind of explains why they don’t do well in each other’s territory. Seasoning aside, both of them actually share quite a number of similarities since they are of Hokkien origin. Taste wise, Hokkien Char emphasizes more on the seafood flavor and the quality of sambal belacan, whereas a good Hokkien Mee is usually judged based on the ‘wok hei’. Regardless, they must be topped with ‘chee yau char’ and eaten with a dollop of sambal (the soul of the dish) for maximum enjoyment.
Rant – Marmalade Cafe @ Publika
Oct 7th
I couldn’t care less about Marmalade Cafe‘s cute decor and cheerful ambience because the service is slow and inefficient despite being half full. Food is average at best and the staff is biased towards foreigners. Well, you know the ‘we came first but we got served last’ scenario. And if you see any function going on, my advice for you is to just turn around and walk away.
Moroccan Lamb Shank @ RM26 – looks promising, comes with generous portions and the meat is tender. Problem is, the sauce lacked of flavors while the tasteless rice is nothing but a stomach filler. And what do you know, it took them a ridiculous 40 minutes to serve this.
