Checking out a couple of cafes with some interesting ideas in Subang, kicking off with Meteora, where customers consume cakes, churros & coffee under the inscrutable stares of Audrey Hepburn & Uma Thurman.
Variations on a theme: Toast with corned beef, sunny-side-up, onions & potatoes (RM13.90) & with beef bacon, scrambled eggs, cheese & mushrooms (RM14). Easy to enjoy, but easy for kitchen-equipped folks to execute at home at a curtailed cost.
Meteora gets creative with some of its burgers, especially an Indian-inspired one with tandoori chicken, mint sauce, cucumber, onions & papadum (RM12.90, with RM3.50 surplus for potato wedges) that shares the menu with beef burgers topped with tomato relish, gherkins & caramelised onions, though the buns taste a tad dehydrated & the patties seem under-seasoned.
Churros & pancakes on one platter (RM11.90), a nice touch in theory, but the churros could be fresher & the pancakes fluffier.
The disconnect between design & delivery dampens Meteora's desserts as well - cheese cake quenelles cushioned with cookie crumbs & crowned with salted caramel drizzle, served in a glass (RM9) sound like a deconstructed delight, but the substance is sapped of fun & flavour, a description that may extend to the cakes too. But we have to thank them for trying.
Meteora is a very friendly neighbourhood hangout nonetheless; perhaps order a coffee & play a card game with your buddies.
Next up: Meltz, which also offers a diverse menu, with Marlon Brando casting his watchful gaze on patrons here.
The Carnivore Hot Dog (RM18), with an 8-inch, 120-gram sausage, half-beef, half-chicken, soaked in beef & cheese sauce with turkey bacon, served with optional onion rings. While hot dogs are generally known to be a guilty pleasure, everything from the meat to the bun on this plate tasted over-processed, evoking more guilt than pleasure.
Meltz's 'fondue' (RM29) misses the mark too - the chocolate sauce is cloying, the butterscotch sauce seems strangely sourish, the fruits prove listless & the marshmallows & brownies feel like empty calories.
Props to Meltz for doing some things differently nevertheless - the Waffogato (RM17) is an intriguing cross between a waffle & an affogato, though it scores primarily for novelty value. Note: Our visits to both Meteora & Meltz were several months back, so the menus & prices here might have matured since then.
Kiwi fruit smoothies (RM8) & coffee, maybe not the main reasons to make it to Meltz. Again, this is a place we wish we could be more enthusiastic about - it's another welcoming cafe that's eager to please, & we would have liked to endorse its offerings.
Meteora
54-1, Jalan USJ 9/5P, Subang Jaya. Daily, 11am-11pm (1am Fridays & Saturdays)
Meltz
41, Jalan SS 15/4B, Subang Jaya. Open Tuesday-Sunday, 12pm-1130pm
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