Star Cafe, Taman Desa

A star is (re)born: After nine months of renovation, Taman Desa's Star Cafe is set to soon shine anew, reinvigorated as a contemporary, cosy space with leafy first-floor views.

Sneak peeks promise smoky garlic butter-charred edamame and smooth matcha lattes to go with the greenery, plus bakes like tieguanyin-tinged burnt cheesecake. Thumbs up for one of the neighbourhood’s warmest, most welcoming crews.

Ari x Gato Tea & Dining, Damansara Perdana

Matcha and mixology bloom together at Ari x Gato Tea & Dining, Damansara Perdana’s new garden-fringed, Japanese-inspired cafe by day, cocktail bar by night.

In the morning, snack on crisp ebi katsu sando, layered with house-made lemon jam, garlic tonkatsu sauce and honey mustard mayo.

Match with the Matcha Journey, a tasting flight of three serving styles: The Mini Hot Matcha Latte, velvety-creamy with a grounded earthiness, Coconut Matcha Cloud, two-textured with matcha cloud over coconut water, and Yuzupine Matcha Tonic, an iced pick-me-up that blends matcha, pineapple and yuzu.

Lunch and dinner are for soulful sustenance of soba, somen, udon and chazuke. Sunset sees the rise of cocktails like wasabi vodka with torched tiger prawns, sake-spiked lattes, rum-laced hojicha and more.

Find Ari x Gato Tea & Dining at The Club @ Empire Residence, framed by glass walls beside a reflective pool to exude calm elegance, lovely even on cloudy days.

General Store, Kuchai Lama

 

Coffee, art and culture: General Store is a distinctive new cafe, part caffeine bar and bakery, part retail gallery for emerging Asian artists, part cultural playground for everything from skating pop-ups to tattoo art showcases.

Basking in natural light with wide views of the Kuchai neighbourhood, General Store is a welcomingly calm community retreat, spacious and lounge-like with comfortable sofas, hanging art prints and posters, plus shelves of colourful collectibles and vinyl records.

Pair the pistachio affogato with vibrant sips of lychee osmanthus and pomegranate cider coolers; a micro-bakery will launch soon, serving treats like Parmesan sourdough slices.

Find General Store 9am-6pm everyday at Kuchai Lama’s Dataran Loka.

Petite Lab Patisserie, Petaling Jaya

Luscious, layered desserts in a lovely, languid den: PJ’s new Petite Lab Patisserie is big on buoyant flavours with beautiful textures.

These creative concoctions, thoughtfully tuned with floral and herbaceous tapestries, span Spring (matcha joconde lined with passionfruit grapefruit compote, chantilly and mini choux, sandwiched in butter biscuits), Summer (mascarpone mousse with citrus cremeux and honey cake) and Peach Oolong (egg pudding with peach compote and oolong cream and crumbs). Impeccably imaginative, immaculately indulgent.

A Long Table, REXKL UP

Officially opening soon, A Long Table is well worth a long afternoon, offering a contemplative escape, partly influenced by Japanese teahouse traditions.

A side project of The Objects Store in REXKL UP, this evolving space balances practicality with poetry, reflecting inspirations from its founders' travels, embodying shibumi, a state of understated beauty. 

Its friendly team patiently brews a seasonal selection of green tea, most recently sourced from Kyoto's YUGEN, spanning single-origin sencha to gyokuro. Coffee is also available.

Sit by the gorgeously grained communal table, sip slowly, and watch shards of sunlight shift past the vases and lamps inside or the rains fall outdoors.

Sencha might be served in two thoughtful pours: The first at room temperature, delivering a deep umami intensity; the second steamy with a grassy, vegetal uplift. Pairings to enhance the experience could include slow-baked pear, delicately sliced.

A Long Table is now a work in progress, with more chairs and window shades to come, setting the stage perhaps for breakfast clubs and sunset socials.