Checking out a couple of cafes ensconced between the city & Cheras.
First up, Lavazza at Viva Home, which has an ambitious menu for a shopping mall venue. Couldn't resist ordering this foie gras risotto; the liver is fine, but the rice is mushy, drowned in some sort of pea-&-brown-sauce gravy. Pricey for RM69.90+.
Duck confit spaghetti (RM18.90+). The menu describes the duck as having been "slow-cooked & bathed in oil for four hours." Unfortunately, it might have been soaked unrelentingly in salt too throughout that tortuous time. Maybe the kitchen had a bad night.
Guinness-laced onion soup. Not the broth of our dreams, but flavorsome enough, served with some strange cheese-laden toast.
Lavazza's macarons err on the side of being biscuit-like. Better luck next time.
Cocktails are available, absolutely affordable. Think RM19.90+ for a Margarita.
Next up, Caffeinees, nestled in a super-spacious Kampung Pandan bungalow.
The selection is sweeping, but we opted for some grainy goodness. From the West, here's the "Valencia Seafood Rice," kinda like paella but not quite. Moist, hearty fare, tangy with tomatoes & savory with squid & shrimp.
From the East: Chinese fried rice with egg, anchovies & some sort of chicken satay. A mishmash of Malaysian elements, not bad but not terribly thrilling.
Caffeinees serves no wine _ a deterrent against the possibility of our returning here.
Lavazza @ Viva Home.
Caffeinees @ 16, Jalan Kampung Pandan, Kuala Lumpur.
