HEA, Petaling Jaya

Dessert and do nothing at PJ’s new Hea, a charming hideout for creative house bakes in Section 19.

Don’t miss the Kaya & Eggs, a fluffy-thick slice of pan-fried butter cake layered with pandan cremeux, indulgent with yolk-inspired mango gel on coconut chantilly.

Also try the Banana Butter: Comfortingly warm banana cake, decadent with almond butter, bruleed banana and miso caramel.

Other playful twists on familiar favourites include Miso Honey Corn Focaccia with a nectarous umami kick.

Grab a chair for leisurely lounging over the Calamansi Lemon Tart and Banana Leaf Matcha, its bittersweet fruitiness balanced by salted foam and Biscoff crumbs.

Lattea With Qi Pastries, Puchong

Lattea with Qi Pastries is Puchong’s new pastry purveyor, with veteran dessert-makers whipping up wonders like the Royal Noir, decadently regal with a crisp Valrhona coating that conceals more Valrhona chocolate and a hazelnut filling laced with caramelised nuts. 

The sourdough pain au chocolat is crackly to the bite, creamy to the chew, dark and dreamy with Valrhona chocolate lattes.

Garuda Nasi Padang, Ara Damansara

Fonda by Calle Taco, Taman Desa

Mexican-Malaysian chap fan by the pool? Taman Desa's new Fonda by Calle Taco puts a playful spin on economy rice, with a weekly-changing menu of cross-cultural mash-ups.

Recent choices spanned orange curry sauce siakap to black varuval chicken, beef rendang with charred pisang tanduk to mixed veggies walnut lodeh and corn masak lemak with pumpkin, rich and robust with savoury spices that pop. Even condiments prove creatively compelling, from orange budu hot sauce to sambal belacan mango.

Chicken and beef tacos in soft corn tortillas, burritos and quesadillas are available, alongside flavourfully addictive emping belinjo crackers with adobo barbecue sauce and telur mata.

Fonda, inspired by Mexican mom-and-pop eateries for home-style comfort fare, welcomes the public inside Faber Ria Condominium. Reservations are highly recommended.

Antra Mediterranean Grill, The MET Corporate Towers

Antra is Mont Kiara’s new modern Mediterranean restaurant, breathing fire and smoke into everything from grilled sea bass to grilled broccolini and nectarines, nine floors up at The MET Corporate Towers.

Start with house-smoked trout, silken with full-bodied sultriness, brightened by pickled wasabi on crackly masa tostadas for layers of textured contrast.

Go for gnocchi, creamy with kitchen-strained ricotta, crunched up with focaccia croutons, fragrant with sage, earthy with gently grilled seasonal maitake, nutty with brown butter.

Executive chef Emir Farid and his team do luscious justice to lamb with crisply caramelised, succulent-fleshed racks, lively with pomegranate jus and plump piquillo peppers, charred on the outside, stuffed with firm-grained rice within.