9ft Oven, Sri Petaling

9ft Oven is Sri Petaling's new shio pan specialist, baking up eight varieties of salt bread: Original, Lemon Dill, Osmanthus Honey, Shoyu, Navel Orange, Herbed Garlic, Pumpkin and Banana Chocolate. The flavours prove restrained but rewarding, subtly uplifting, lending nuance to the savouriness, lightly crisp on the crust, pillowy-soft within, crafted with Le Gall cultured French butter, Nisshin Seifun's Camellia Japanese flour and Maldon sea salt.

Fleur Bakehouse, Petaling Jaya

Fleur Bakehouse flowers as PJ’s new viennoiserie purveyor with Peranakan and Asian twists.

Try Fleur’s soft dough decadently blanketed with butter, kaya and coconut flakes for classic kopitiam flavours; shio pan stuffed with Muar-sumptuous, tomyam-tinged otak-otak; croissants crafted with a blend of European and Asian flour for a crackly-flaky bite and tender-stretchy chew; and childhood-nostalgia sausage rolls with a savoury-juicy snap, topped with ajitama-style egg.

Fleur is founded by the Cendul F&B group that runs THB Bistronome in this Section 19 locale of Menara Access World, as well as N.I.C.E. Bistronome, Doux Doux and La Lune in Section 17. Chef-founder Andy Choy hails from Penang, explaining Fleur’s Peranakan inspirations.

BAB Shawarma & Grill, Taman Tun Dr Ismail

BAB is TTDI’s new modern Syrian shawarma stop for spit-roasted meat as wraps, hummus plates, rice bowls and even steak-and-fries.

This thoughtful shawarma experience harnesses fresh-not-frozen chicken and Angus beef, marinated in kitchen-ground spices, subtly conveying cardamom and cumin for the chicken, cloves for the beef.

Channelling chef Ameer Alzalek’s balance of classic tradition and contemporary techniques, the beef wrap is bundled with shaved meat, tender, tasty and textured with tahini, tomatoes, onions, parsley and pickles.

Fun fact: Wraps are enfolded in two types of flatbread, moistened with meat drippings for fuller flavour, sturdy but supple, perfectly paired with ayran yogurt drinks.

Other comfort-fare indulgences include chicken with creamy-rich hummus and beef loaded on fries with Parmesan cheese, tahini mayo, lemon garlic butter and chives. Even the spicy toum garlic sauce is addictively nuanced in its smooth lusciousness.

BAB is Arabic for door, representing this restaurant as a welcoming gateway to the Middle East’s most beloved street food.

Coffee On Thursdays. Sea Park

Serving every Thursday and selected weekends (including today!), Sea Park’s new Coffee On Thursdays brings together caffeine and ceramics.

Coffee On Thursdays pours with @thefirstbrew_, a Malaysian-born speciality drip-bag brand that currently showcases Rwanda Gateko and Ethiopia Sidama Doora single origins.

Friendly founder Ian first experienced filter coffee while travelling in Tokyo over a decade ago; through The First Brew, a labour of love that took two years of R&D, he works to offer convenience for consumers to prepare their own terrific hand-brews at home.

Coffee On Thursdays is a space for coffee education, experimentation and exploration, with Ian as a passionate guide. It also promises playful espresso-based concoctions like dirty lattes and white chocolate mochas with lactose-free milk. Future creations might span wasabi lattes and kimchi cold brews.

Coffee On Thursdays (the name nods to how Ian and two friends enjoyed cafe-hopping on Thursdays) shares its studio with @e.leven.e.leven, which runs ‘claydates’ for hands-on pottery experiences.