Food, Innovation, Quality: FIQ's Gastronomy lives up to its acronym; this cheerfully friendly cafe, which opened this month in a relatively less familiar section of Subang Jaya, looks poised to become a big, irrepressible hit.
Innovation truly is FIQ's middle name: The team that toils in its open kitchen strives to present recipes that transcend regular cafe fare while still preserving suburb-suitable prices. This spinach risotto with carrot puree, crispy brined chicken & fried onions (RM22+) succeeds on both of those ambitious fronts.
Roasted potato gnocchi with mushrooms, herb-tinged walnuts & caper-raisin emulsion (RM18+ for a starter-sized serving). To be clear, FIQ's members haven't sprung out of nowhere; they've worked at various Malaysian hotels in the past, honing their craft & building their confidence to run their own restaurant.
Pasta is made from scratch here, Tuesdays through Sundays; temptations include tagliatelle with duck confit, basil-laced melted butter & veggies (RM24+). The food looks so vibrantly alluring, we wanted to order everything on the one-page menu.
Creamy carrot soup with beef bacon, fried shallots & extra virgin olive oil (RM12). And there's still more to indulge in, from salted beef sandwiches with miso mustard to a mac-&-cheese that sounds like pure comfort food.
FIQ's desserts feel like an addiction, not an afterthought. The best bet: S'mores (RM10+), the calorie-intensive camp-fire favourite of marshmallows, crackers, hazelnuts & gooey chocolate ganache. There are also brownies, baked alaska, raspberry granita & pumpkin bread pudding here.
We'd love to have paired this meal with a Merlot, but FIQ's isn't that sort of venue. Still, this Snickers-&-peanut-butter shake ensured there was no space for complaints. The soundtrack's fine here too, with mid-tempo John Legend, Mariah & Alicia tunes for lunchtime.
The coffee's very much worthwhile too; single-origin Ethiopian, if we correctly remember what amiable restaurant manager Shahaman said. (Correction: Our memory betrays us. It was Sumatran!)
All in all, we like FIQ's. The food is well-prepared & it's clear that tons of thought, love & energy went into making this place. Expect to hear more about FIQ's Gastronomy in the months ahead.
FIQS Gastronomy Subang
34 Jalan SS19/1D, Subang Jaya
Tues-Sun, 12pm-1030pm. Tel: 03-5613-0473
FIQS Gastronomy Subang
34 Jalan SS19/1D, Subang Jaya
Tues-Sun, 12pm-1030pm. Tel: 03-5613-0473
34 Jalan SS19/1D, Subang Jaya
Tues-Sun, 12pm-1030pm. Tel: 03-5613-0473
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As a separate initiative, the latest edition of Eat Drink KL: 100 Favorites for January-March 2014 is now online, featuring 100 pretty nice eateries, including more than 20 new entries for this quarter. This eBook of restaurant recommendations is available for free, convenient reading on computers, tablets & smartphones at this link: http://eatdrinkkl.publ.com/Eat-Drink-KL-100-Favorites-Jan-March-2014 (This link expires March 31, 2014; see blog entries after that date for new link).