Bröom Artisan Bakery, Taman Paramount

If bread is your balm in troubled times, Bröom might bring you a bit of comfort in carbs, in a soothing space that speaks of solace and serenity. 

Fun fact: Bröom's name might look and sound Scandinavian, but it's also a nod to brooms, a reference to time spent on contemplation while cleaning up after long hours of service.

Head baker Ryan Wong honed his craft in London and Melbourne for more than six years before returning to Malaysia. 

His offerings span Danish smørrebrød to French bostock - the former features tasty toppings like cold-smoked salmon with herbed remoulade and sprouts over dense, dark rye bread (RM15), the latter is laced with bananas, blueberries and almonds for a fruity, nutty brioche (RM10).

Croissants also showcase extra effort - the hojicha chocolate croissant promises cacao-rich pastry pleasure (RM12). The country sourdough is worth taking home, lightly tangy with a soft but substantial chew, while the coconut macaroons (RM3) and triple choc cookies (RM10) are decadently textured delights.

Wash down with the Coffocado, blending espresso with layers of milk and avocado (RM18).

Bröom Artisan Bakery

27, Jalan 20/13, Taman Paramount, 46300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Open Wednesday-Monday, 830am-530pm. Tel: 03-7865-7082

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com

Get Baked, Paramount Garden

Croissants that come close to pastry perfection; country loaves and butter blended with kombu or mentaiko: Get Baked - PJ's latest destination for oven-fresh delights - promises more carbs than our calculators can count, forcing us to postpone our Rebel Wilson diet plan for the sake of flaky, fluffy fulfilment. Deliveries are now available.

Get Baked's Pastry Box (RM60) is a sampler of mainly laminated, substantial-sized beauties.

The classic croissant is compelling enough on its own, crafted with impeccable credentials - a firm, puffy flakiness that's irresistibly crackly to the bite, yielding to rich, yeasty layers for a buttery-tasting chew.

A mix-and-match medley of matcha and chocolate line the other viennoiseries, including the pain au chocolate matcha, making it necessary for you to enjoy green tea if you order this box.

The standout is the bostock - like an extra-decadent French toast, moist and syrupy, with the thick-cut, fluffy tenderness of brioche, blanketed with matcha-flavoured, frangipane-style custard and a generous shower of almond flakes. If bomboloni, Paris-Brest and caneles were all the rage across KL's dessert parlours in 2020, bostock deserves a turn at the spotlight in 2021.

Order the classic croissant and the matcha bostock, and you need look no further for your fix.

Bread and butter are the other highlight.

The pain de campagne  - French sourdough - (RM14) is marvellously comforting, with a dense but delicate crumb and a light fermented flavour. This is one to bookmark for bread buffs.

The kitchen also blends three types of smoothly luscious butter (RM25-RM27 each) - roasted garlic, kombu and mentaiko.

The garlic is the headiest, with a spicier-than-expected punch from plenty of chillies. The kombu and the mentaiko are intriguing studies in subtle contrasts - both are umami-imbued in briny fashion, but the kombu boasts a beautiful balance of oceanic and earthy undercurrents, while the mentaiko is mildly fishier.

While all three butters are worthwhile, by the time we finished our loaf, we had only half a jar of the kombu remaining, compared to two-thirds of the roasted garlic and the mentaiko.

Get Baked was meant to officially open today, January 16, but current circumstances have compelled it to switch to deliveries first instead. It shares a space with a full-fledged restaurant, Journ, making this venue a bakery by day and an experimental eatery by evening.

Get Baked x Journ

21-A, Jalan 20/16, Taman Paramount, Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Tel: 03-7877-9188

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com

Wild Yeast Bakery Cafe, Damansara Jaya

Bassoonist-turned-baker Terence Chong orchestrates a symphony of sourdough at his new cafe, conducting a choir of crusts in sandwiches with names like Smoked Salmon Concerto and Egg Mayo Mushroom Sonata, played in the keys of Beef Minor and Chick Major.

Crisp, densely textured toasts hit the right notes with a reasonably deep tang, harmonised with fillings like chilled prawns with ebiko, wasabi and mustard in the Singing Shrimp (RM23). Open-faced tartines might strike a chord with fans of fromage, jazzed up with heady goat's cheese and honeyed fig jam (RM20). We're even thrilled to trumpet the calamansi juice (RM8), which stays mellowly and melodiously on tune with Wild Yeast's philosophy of honest, homemade comfort.

Wild Yeast Bakery Cafe

15, Jln SS22/11, Damansara Jaya, Selangor. Open Tuesday-Sunday, 930am-5pm. Tel: 016-621-8492

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com