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.

Comprendes Mendes, Petaling Jaya

No comprende? PJ's new Comprendes, Mendes translates Mexico's regional pork traditions into one unique pork taco restaurant.

Start with Cochinita Pibil, rooted in the Yucatán Peninsula: The pork is marinated with achiote, a seasoning of annatto seeds that contributes brick-red colour and peppery earthiness, patiently slow-braised, plump with pickled red onions and habanero salsa for a bright balance of aromatics and acidity.

Al Pastor reflects the char of central Mexico's Puebla, layering caramelised grilled pork with pineapple, salsa roja and cilantro atop the kitchen’s corn tortillas, fragrantly pliable from nixtamalisation, the traditional cooking and soaking of corn kernels before grinding them into flour.

Pozole Rojo de Cerdo is one of Mexico’s most culturally resonant celebratory soups, built on hominy, tenderly swollen corn kernels, in a spicy broth of fatty-fleshy pork with red chillies, cabbage and oregano.

Kaya Kopitiam, Desa Sri Hartamas

Capybara gyoza? Check out these charming cuties at Hartamas’ new Kaya Kopitiam.

These dumplings are diligently handcrafted, stuffed with a blend of shrimp and chicken, extra-succulent with a collagen-rich reduction of chicken feet, coated in cocoa-hued skin.

These capybara gyoza can also be purchased in take-home frozen packages, ready to steam, boil or fry for a family feast. Or have them pan-fried to order here with crispy bottoms, complete with dim sum, Hakka mee, hor fun and other meals.

Curiosité, Kampung Attap

Curiouser and curiouser: Curiosité is Kampung Attap’s hip new hideout for hojicha and shio pan in raw, repurposed rusticity.

Curiosité is currently soft-launched, 12pm-6pm. Meals will come next month.