East Vs West: Minmax & Acme Brunches

East or West, which is best? Here's our chance to put two brunches to the test.

MinMax at PNB Darby Park deals in dim sum, but outlaws pork ...

... so it's pretty much fowl play all the way, from the claws ...

... to the egg yolks, salted and turned into a creamy custard for these hot, fluffy buns.

Pan-fried chicken-shrimp cakes, stuffed with chives and swimming in sweet-sour sauce.

Something hard-to-find: deep-fried chee cheong fan. More crisp, less grease, mercifully.

MinMax has balls, brimming with gooey yam and meaty gravy.

Budget watchers will be relieved that prices here are OK. Two can eat freely for under RM80.

Verdict: Minmax serves satisfying dim sum, making a strong case for Chinese brunches.

Here's where the West takes a stand: From MinMax, we crossed the road and sauntered into The Troika's Acme Bar and Coffee, which has scrapped its weekend buffet and replaced it with a "Breakfast Club" that runs 9:30am-5pm.

Happy to see us: organic eggs with potato hash, sweet onions, chopped peppers, mushrooms, cheese, turkey ham and sea salt.

Crunchy French Toast, boasting brioche bread coated with corn flakes (snap, crackle, pop!), vanilla pods and sliced fruits, drizzled with pomegranate reduction syrup.

Can't call it a complete brunch without Eggs Benedict, made extra savory with kitchen-made salted beef. 

Frittata with fresh ricotta. Most of these cost in the mid-twenties range.

Addictive bundles of pleasure: flaky pastry crusts with chocolate filling.

Brunch cocktails: Fizzy Bucks (freshly pressed orange juice, sparkling wine, grenadine) and Pomegranate Wine Cooler (pomegranate juice, sparkling wine, sprite).

Add a bottle of Santero Moscato, and it's clear that the West is wonderful too. It's a tie; both win!

MinMax @ PNB Darby Park, Kuala Lumpur.

Acme @ The Troika, Jalan Binjai, Kuala Lumpur.

Chicken Vs Fish: Kong Sai & Lan Je

Chicken or fish? Time to investigate two reputable names that specialize in one or the other, starting with Puchong's Kong Sai, where fowl is king of the roost. 

Kong Sai's kampung chicken might be the toast of the village, slick and smooth, served with the restaurant's signature ginger-chili soy sauce. 

Steamed chicken with salted fish, for something more flavor-packed. 

Chicken feet, free of bones, soaked in a tangy-spicy Thai-influenced kerabu sauce. 

Kong Sai's chicken rice is unmemorable, but it's still better than plain white rice. 

Pork tries to hog the limelight, but pork rib curry with potatoes and pepper pork stomach soup, while both serviceable, might not be stars in their own right.

Stuffed tofu balls, steaming hot and meaty. Kong Sai also has branches in Paramount Garden, Subang's SS15 and Dataran Mentari Sunway.

Lap cheong omelet, filled with sweet-savory sausages that fortify the flavor of the egg. 

Yau mak in fermented bean sauce and taugeh with salted fish, all fresh and crunchy.

 Next, it's fish's turn: Let's look to Lan Je, which has outlets in Subang (the one we visited), Rawang, Balakong, Kota Damansara, Desa Aman Puri and Taman Lensen.

The "one fish for one person" principle is Lan Je's method of coaxing customers not to share their steamed tilapia, enticing many with the relatively low price of about RM16 per plate. 

Garlic and ginger combine with fresh fish and fermented bean sauce for a satisfying treat. Specify whether cili padi should be incorporated or not; we had both the spicy and non-spicy varieties, but ended up scraping away most of the chilies. 

More ginger (so much, really!) to partner with prawns (RM20 for a half-kilo). 

Cuttlefish with celery, alongside gravy-soaked tofu, both respectable enough to order.

Skip the non-seafood snacks though: the sui kow is OK but unmemorable, while the sweet-sour chicken balls are a little too starchy. Lan Je is a no-pork eatery.

Wrapping up this comprehensive look at Lan Je's menu with greens, from kangkung with garlic and sweet potato leaves with bean curd sauce to bitter gourd with eggs and four-angled beans with belacan. 

Like Kong Sai, Lan Je gets pretty packed pretty early. They're both winners in our book! 

Kong Sai,
Jalan Puteri 5/2, Bandar Puteri Puchong.
Lan Je (closed Tuesdays),

Jalan USJ 1/1B, Regalia Business Center, Subang Jaya.

Amadeus @ Life Center

Rock us again, Amadeus! Earlier entry on Amadeus Bistro & Wine Bar: August 14, 2012.

A harmonious combo: poached egg, grilled asparagus and Hollandaise sauce.

Staying in tune with our fowl mood: rustic-looking duck terrine mixed with pistachios.

Duck confit. Too many renditions elsewhere are stringy or shrilly salty, so we always appreciate one that hits the right notes, like Amadeus' does.

Sachertorte, the classic Austrian creation of choc sponge cake, apricot jam and dark choc icing.

Something somewhat special: orange-spiked tiramisu, for a trumpet blast of tangy flavor.

If chocolate be the food of love, eat on: Ferrero Rocher-topped dark-and-white-choc cake with custard cream layers.

A chorus of cocktails: Amadeus Delight (vodka, gin, apricot brandy, sweet and sour, lemon juice) and Mozart (vodka, southern comfort, amaretto, orange juice, grenadine).

Also unique: sweet, honey-laced grappa, for a pitch-perfect coda to the evening.

Amadeus,

Mezzanine Floor, Life Center, Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-2162-2788

Bonjour Garden & Roti Man Bakery

Visiting two suburban bakeries, both satisfactorily stocked with doughy delights. 

First, Kota Damansara's Bonjour Garden, which features fountains and ferns for a striking setting.

Supervised by Kobe-born, Paris-polished master baker Yukichi Matsubara (formerly of The Loaf), Bonjour offers everything from custard-filled buns to pastries topped with Gula Melaka, but we only had space for sourdough. Not bad, but not entirely representative of Bonjour's capabilities.

Fancy ordering breakfast at 9pm? Bonjour's rise-and-shine sets, complete with chicken sausages, eggs, baked beans and thick slices of bread, remain available through nightfall.

Hot meals are on the menu too, ranging from steaks to fish and chips. Prices are reasonable _ not cheap but comfortably far from extravagant. 

Bonjour also has a kiosk that's operating at Isetan 1 Utama's Eat Paradise through Sept. 30, so that's another avenue to check out Matsubara's creations.

Next up, The Roti Man Bakery in Sri Petaling.

The Roti Man serves residents of my neighborhood with fluffy, fresh-tasting treats like sweet potato buns and pumpkin rolls.

Our preference: pumpkin! There's something about it that simply tastes better.

No surprise that bread loaves are a big deal here, with enough choices to make heads spin.

We love this dense dark rye one, offering many mouthfuls of almonds, walnuts and raisins.

Bonjour Garden,
Central Park Building, Jalan PJU 5/13,
Dataran Sunway, Kota Damansara. Walking distance from Sunway Giza.

The Roti Man Bakery,

Jalan Radin Bagus, Bandar Baru Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur.