Cool Cats Coffee, Plaza Pekeliling

Slinking into Sentul Selatan, Cool Cats Coffee is poised to purr in Plaza Pekeliling starting Saturday, 25 July, pouring black coffee lemonade, high mountain oolong tea and tepache to pair with caramel pudding, chocolate terrine and banana cake in an eclectically retro space of pastel-pink walls and Persian-style rugs. 

Ce Chad, Damansara Kim

Ce Chad is Damansara Kim’s new family-run sourdough sanctuary for thoughtful bakes by friendly founder Chad, who mills his own flour for wholesome, nutrient-dense country loaves, banana bread and more, raised with a 35-year-old sourdough starter.

Sourdough waffle sandwiches are served fresh and hot to order, tenderly stuffed with truffled scrambled eggs, balsamic and mustard, paired with home-brewed lychee kombucha and kitchen-brined lemonade. 

Also check out the crackly sourdough banana kok, an addictive biscotti-textured snack concentrated with the pure, natural sweetness of Pahang-cultivated bananas. 

Find Ce Chad inside Sunda Shelves independent bookstore. This Sunday, Ce Chad will host coffee omakase-inspired tastings by a Malaysian AeroPress championship finalist.

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.