Talent rises to the top: Launched this past month at Damansara Perdana, Talent Lounge is a place that's difficult to define but easy to recommend, thanks to its cool concept, welcoming setting, friendly people & satisfying food.Food is what we're focused on here; on that note, Talent Lounge's cafe delivers, with Sarawak-born chef Shaik Rhyszard (formerly of Mukha) commanding a kitchen that specializes in nutritious favorites _ like this combo of smoked salmon & quinoa (RM23) _ tackled with skill.Poached eggs with alfalfa sprouts & hollandaise sauce over spinach (RM18), also pure pleasure. Other potential highlights on the all-day-breakfast menu include pancakes & French toast (customers can choose a savory version with beef bacon & mozzarella cheese or a sweet sensation with honey & homemade jam).Many thanks to Talent Lounge's event manager Azlan for inviting us here; these baked eggs (RM18), creamy with ratatouille & coupled with rye bread, proved a very pleasant breakfast, exactly the kind of food that helps to boost our spirits.Snacks include what's simply & deceptively labeled 'chicken wings' (RM12) on the menu. What emerges is more interesting, glazed in stickiness with an unexpected kick (it's mustard!) & with crispy breadcrumbs for extra texture. Sandwiches, pastas, burgers & meat & fish mains are also available; it's a full-on, something-for-everyone menu.Italian coffee is currently served; expect Ethiopian single-origin to be considered in the future.Finally, affogato, with a fun surprise: Pillowy-sweet Turkish Delight on the side.

Jam & Kaya brings the Klang Valley's best year yet for independent cafes to a triumphant close; visiting this winsome venue is a potent reminder to value the people who pour their hearts into creating these places. Dismissing these cafes without knowing their stories is blatant disrespect.Brunches are a treat here; the Eggs Royale (RM21) feature irresistibly delicious poached eggs, resting atop thick slices of smoked salmon & crisp leaves in a croissant.Available through 5pm, so late risers like us can mercifully still have breakfast for lunch.The menu remains a work in progress, but it's excellent to see these baked eggs that borrow inspiration from the Tunisian-origin recipe of 'shakshouka' ...... creamy with a thick, tomato-rich base that conceals soft chunks of eggplant. RM18.90. Dinner specials include chicken ballotine, beef stew with potatoes & salmon with couscous.Pancakes are a pleasure here: try the one with salted caramel & macadamia nuts (RM16.50). Other varieties come with caramelized bananas & yes, even jam & kaya.Save space for dessert; these babies are a star attraction in their own right.Praline cheesecake, very rich, sumptuously smooth. Gotta try the tarts next time.Coffee's constructed with Colombian beans; not a bad latte, definitely.Love the hot chocolate here, mixed with tiny, crispy chocolate balls for extra enjoyment.

Another cafe for brunch enthusiasts surfaced this week, seeking success in Damansara Utama, the increasingly noteworthy F&B hub that welcomed a parade of standouts like Obanhmi, Capital Nasi Dagang, The Good Batch & Ecole P this year.Epicuro scores points for its feel-good casualness & for keeping its recipes relatively interesting. The presence of pork is welcome; the star attraction so far is undoubtedly the sandwich of savory pulled pork crowned with a sunny-side-up (RM18 nett).Not into pork? Try the juicy turkey ham sandwich, bolstered with handmade nutty-peppery, garlicky-tomatoey romesco sauce (RM15 nett). Not into meat at all? No fear, Epicuro has got you covered, with a croissant filled with creamy eggs, buna-shimeji mushrooms & rocket leaves.Come in, the coffee's fine: Sumatra Mandheling single-origin French-press (RM8).

This Penang-based porridge specialist, which runs multiple branches in Georgetown, has expanded south to the Klang Valley, opening outlets at Scott Garden & SS2 in recent weeks.laksa-paste porridge with beef & egg (RM10.80). These prices are reasonable, considering each bowl is pretty big, & the soft, smooth texture should satisfy fans of congee. But the flavors seem too weak & bland to leave a lingering impression.herbal porridge with raw salmon (RM11.80)Zhou's calling card: the creativity channeled through its congee. Here's where patrons can have piping-hot pumpkin porridge with frog legs (RM11.80 before taxes)

No need for snow: Bangsar is freezing over, suddenly & strategically in time for Christmas, transformed into an ice cream wonderland by the milky magicians of Telawi's new Inside Scoop.At least half-a-dozen people _ Edmund, Shiew Li, Derrick & their friends _ appear to labor behind the counter, a clear indication that Inside Scoop is a team effort. The ice cream is produced fresh on-site, channeling skills from a co-founder's Italian gelato-making training.The current flavors favor the classics & the crowd-pleasing choices: Vanilla bean to hazelnut, tiramisu to cookies-&-cream, Valrhona chocolate to pistachio, blueberry cheesecake to durian, pink grapefruit sorbet to strawberry yogurt.Inside Scoop scores strongly for both texture & taste, beautifully lush in smoothness, pleasurably concentrated in purity of flavor.The results straddle the line somewhere between ice cream & gelato, leaning closer to the latter.Edmund's fave: Pistachio, a true treat that distills the deep, distinct essence of this culinary nut.Pink grapefruit sorbet, also an acquired taste. Waffles with ice cream are available here too; each generous scoop of ice cream costs RM7.80, two's RM12.80 & three's RM17.50 (with a surcharge of RM1.50 per scoop for premium flavors like Valrhona choc).