Hailam Kopitiam Bangsar may well be seen as another copycat restaurant but as the saying goes, “Never judge a book by its cover”. Indeed, that’s what we did not do, as we marched straight ahead inside, hoping to find something that makes this restaurant unique. And boy, were we glad we did! Firstly, their Toasted Sliced Bread with Butter & Kaya was oh-so-crumbly and light! I finished eating a piece only to find that my shirt was filled with fine crumbs, but it was so good! Eat it once it’s served, when it’s warm and the butter was just slightly melted within. What makes it different Instead of using the bread supplied by Hailam Kopitiam’s central kitchen, this cafe gets its supply of Hainanese bread from Ah Weng Koh in Imbi Wet Market. Yes, you can only find such brilliant toasts from the Bangsar outlet.Their Nasi Lemak Special with Rendang Ayam came with the whole works – sambal, a whole boiled egg, fried anchovies, peanuts, chicken in curry gravy, slices of cucumber and fragrant santan (coconut milk) rice. I especially loved the rendang ayam (chicken) which was served with thick, coconut-y gravy that wasn’t overly spicy. It gave the rice that much flavour, while the chicken remained deliciously tender and moist.The Hailam Tomyam Fried Rice did not look too enticing but it had all the elements of a nice plate of tom yam fried rice – sour, spicy, savoury and a hint of lemongrass flavour within. The chicken chop was surprisingly tender and juicy, with no sign of dryness at all. In fact, it was not even oily – the skin was only lightly battered and very crispy. This was also when I found out that instead of using the frozen supply of chicken chop from Hailam’s central kitchen, they painstakingly get their supply of fresh chicken from the market daily, therefore these chops are not frozen. Highly recommended!I was most certainly impressed by their toasts and chicken chop. Those are the two main reasons that make this kopitiam different, and the same reasons that would keep me returning for more.

It was my first time dining in a Croatian restaurant and I had no idea what to expect. Our first dish was Marco Pollo Pasta, essentially penne pasta with mushrooms, smoked chicken and a dash of cream. I personally don’t fancy penne but this was done pretty well – al dente and very tasty. The flavour of mushrooms was distinct, and the very creamy base made this pasta so good that I did not even notice the chicken’s presence. Sarma is a traditional Croatian dish that consists of sour cabbage rolls filled with minced beef and rice cooked in a light tomato gravy. On the side was a bed of mashed potatoes with a lightly charred top that gave it an aesthetically pleasing outlook without affecting its taste. The combination of sour and savoury gravy with minced beef was perfect with the smooth and velvety mashed potatoes. It’s comfort food indeed.When the dish of Kobase or home-made chicken sausages was served, I was nothing short of amazed! Look at the brilliant hues of colour across the spiral sausage. It was almost too pretty to be eaten. Each piece was savoury and tender, served with sautéed potatoes and roasted capsicum on the side. Growing up in Malaysia, the sausages we have will never be enough as a complete meal, but this, this will fill us to the brim and more.If there’s one thing Dubrovnik is proud of, it’s their signature dish of Lamb Peka. In fact, it is so good that they made a video out of it! A traditional way of cooking hailing from Croatia, Peka means cooking of meat with an open fire. In this case, the lamb was prepared and marinated with plenty of herbs (think rosemary, thyme, paprika, etc) before being baked up to 3 hours in their wood fire oven covered with an iron bell, until the lamb becomes juicy and tender.This dish requires such patience and time to cook that we had rather high expectations especially after watching the video. Fortunately, our expectations were met and even exceeded when we took a bite of the extremely tender and juicy lamb. The burst of flavours from all the herbs, the ease with which it melted in our mouth, made the wait so worth it. It’s hard to describe how good it is so you’ve got to try it to know it!

Finally for dessert, we had the Royal Chocolate Cake which consisted of bitter chocolate top sitting on a crunchy hazelnut praline base, topped with a cherry. The chocolate top was dense and firm, almost like a hardened version of chocolate mousse but so much more chocolatey. Towards the bottom, the praline case and the hazelnut gave it a nutty crunch, one that I could not get enough of. Best of all, this was not overly sweet – just perfect.The Crepe Suzette was served with 2 crepes cooked in a citrus orange sauce, flambéed with Cognac and topped with plenty of orange zest. The tangy and sweet flavours from the orange sauce made this quite an interesting dessert to complete our satisfying dinner.

I have always spotted Ah Wang Bak Kut Teh to be crowded with people. Situated just under the flyover next to Tesco in Old Klang Road, it was only minutes from where we stay. Perfect!
As usual, the place was packed to the brim again that night. We had to wait for about 10 minutes for a table to finish and be cleared. Thankfully, the ordering process was prompt and food was served in a jiffy.Since there were 3 of us, we ordered a serving of 3 portions BKT with primarily lean meat. We did the mistake by specifically asking for lean meat in our BKT, because the pot came with ONLY lean meat! But I guess we learnt from mistakes. Apparently, you have to specify clearly what you want in the soup. Luckily I asked for beancurd sheets (fu chuk) during the order or the pot would just be filled with lean pork.Don’t forget to order the Chinese Crullers which go hand-in-hand with the savoury soup. Dip them in for a short while and give it a good bite to experience the burst of flavours, literally.Apart from the BKT, we noticed almost every table ordered fish. Following suit, we asked for recommendation and decided to order the ‘Si Chap Fish’ or translated to soy sauce fish. It was steamed fish topped with a spicy concoction of soy sauce, garlic and chilli among some, so it was spicy and savoury. What was more notable was the freshness of the fish – the flesh was smooth, firm and flaky. This went very well with rice too.The vegetables here were fresh and cheap, priced at only RM5 per plate.The BKT here is flavourful but still lacked of flavour compared to the ones in Klang. Of course, given the big difference in distance, I wouldn’t mind trading off a little in quality for convenience sometimes, especially when it’s a rainy Friday night and traffic is a nightmare. If you love the light and clear version of BKT soup, do give this a try!

It was our maiden visit to Mezze and once we entered, our first impression was that the restaurant reeked of smoke, probably coming from the cigarettes and cigars at the bar area which was just next to the dining area. We asked for a table upstairs instead but were informed that the section upstairs was closed on that night. We had no choice but to switch to a table further in, in the hopes of alleviating the smokey smell.I have heard from a few friends that we had to try the Spaghetti Carbonara if we ever dined in Mezze. What makes it different was the raw egg yolk that it was served with, in a shell. The presentation itself scored some points, even before we started eating. We mixed the whole egg yolk onto the pasta before digging in. Perhaps we shouldn’t have put in the whole yolk because some of us found the pasta to be overly creamy afterwards, almost soggy. I didn’t mind that it was creamy but thought that it lacked flavour. My choice was the Funghi au Truffle pizza, topped with sauteed mushroom, tomato, mozzarella, oregano, rocket and a drizzle of truffle oil. From the looks of it, I’m guessing they have a wood-fired oven, which gave the pizza the occasional charred edges and crispy crust that I love. The crust was sufficiently thin and light, and had the right amount of cheese on top. The addition of mushrooms and a light drizzle of truffle oil gave a subtle earthy taste. Majority of our dining group preferred the Salmon Pizza though, which looked quite similar except that it’s topped with slices of smoked salmon. Again, I loved their thin, light and crispy crust layered with cheese. I also thought the addition of rocket leaves not only made the pizza appear more attractive, it balanced out the savoury and cheesy flavour perfectly.The best dish that we had that night had to go to the Chargrilled Spatchcock Chicken or spring chicken. Our first impression was that the chicken was small – but it was so good! It was skilfully marinated and meticulously grilled to a shiny golden finish that was bursting with flavour in every bite. The skin was crispy and thin with no apparent layer of fats, while the meat remained juicy and tenderly delicious. Although the food at Mezze was rather good, we were pretty turned off at the end of the dinner when the smoky environment became almost unbearable. There was no proper separation between the bar and bistro area, and since the whole place was enclosed and air-conditioned, it meant that the smoke was circulated internally. At one point, a few of us even had watery eyes such that we decided to leave earlier than expected. I really hope something would be done to improve the air ventilation here or at least give diners the option to dine upstairs. I’m sure diners would appreciate this gesture to protect them from second hand smoke.

Recently, we went to Jarrod & Rawlins for their Full Works breakfast set. To be honest, by the time we reached it was already near 12pm, so I guess our breakfast turned into lunch

The Full Works – It was a complete set of meal including a glass of orange juice and a cup of coffee. The meal included two giant piece of toasts with butter, two organic eggs sunny side up, sausage, bacon, grilled tomato, hash brown, mushrooms and Heinz baked beans. So wholesome and hearty! Just what we needed to kick start the day. The toast especially was huge and filled half of my stomach by the time I finished a piece.
I especially loved the mushrooms, bacon and sausages. They’re so savoury and were bursting with flavour, perfect to go with my toast. Oh and don’t forget the sunny side up! Breakfast is never complete without eggs. The portion was also generous that we could share comfortably.Apart from the breakfast set, I also ordered the Spicy Seafood Marinara of Prawns, Mussels & Calamari. This was also served in a sizable portion with plenty of fresh seafood. It was not exactly very spicy, but had a stronger tomato influence instead. The pasta was done al dente but I thought it still lacked a bit of herbs to bring out more flavour. Still, this was a hearty and tasty meal enough to last me until dinner!Even though I thought the price of the breakfast set was slightly on the high side, I could tell that the ingredients they used were of good quality – organic eggs, authentic pork sausages, and the likes. I definitely wouldn’t mind returning again especially during the weekend when I can turn my breakfast into lunches.