ChubSquared

Earlier this year we attended the Great British Circus at Aeon Big in Ampang and stumbled upon this cafe. We made plans to return to try it but forgotten about it until recently when we were deciding on a brunch place. Definitely located off the beaten track, we got lost once before finally locating it (even while using Waze!) The interior is very minimalistic with a homey feel, suitable for a weekend brunch date with menu options right up my alley. What's this called : Breadcrumbed Fish What's in it : Breaded fish with mashed sweet potato and salad. Chubsquared thoughts : Fish is usually my first choice over other meats but I unfortunately did not like this one because it was just way too dry. I was really surprised to see no sauces were offered with this which made us request for chili sauce. What made it worse was the mashed sweet potato was also dry and hard making it equally difficult to consume. I would not order this again. What's this c...

Took a well-deserved day off recently and decided to finally head to the St Regis for a meal. Had a craving for mash potato so we opted for Western cuisine over the other renowned Japanese restaurants. Although this was on a weekday, we were surprised to see the entire restaurant was empty. Not sure if it is also the same on weekends? Regardless, we settled down and was contented to get the undivided attention of the waiters who was never more than a wave away.  What's this called : Bouillabaisse What's in it : Traditional rock fish soup with garlic croutons and aioli. Chubsquared thoughts : I love soup (must not be from a can). Amongst the soup selections this was the only one with the chef recommended hat and sounded the best, so we obviously had to opt for it. The yellow thing in the mini saucer is actually egg and not butter, to be eaten with the accompanying sourdough bread. The soup was ABSOLUTELY delicious, with a flavor so intense and aromatic, tha...

We were in Publika on a weekday after a meeting, unsure of where to lunch when we stumbled upon this cafe. As we had cravings for Western cuisine, we decided to give this place a try since their brunch options very much appealed to us. A quick google search revealed this cafe has been around for at least 2 and a half years now with some even praising it as "a hidden gem". How could we not have found this sooner?? Service was friendly and brisk, but bear in mind this was on a weekday with only 3 tables occupied.  What's this called : Cave Man Breakfast What's in it : Grilled turkey ham, chicken sausage, sauteed onion & baby spinach, baked cannelini beans, fried potato rosti, and 2 eggs scrambled on wholemeal toast. Chubsquared thoughts : I am a huge fan of big breakfasts because I love variety and this attracted me due to the potato rosti and cannelini beans which I am a fan of. Everything on this casserole was of good quality and taste - sc...

Nestled in the vicinity of Masjid Jamek on a very quiet street, LOKL is a cafe worthy of your time during a weekend to have brunch or dessert. Its the kind of place you would go to relax, read a book, or have a chat with your friends. We were there on a Saturday morning for brunch and found it a pleasant place to linger around after finishing our food. This cafe has been around for several years now but we unfortunately did not know about it until recently. They serve good comfort food that syncs with the ambience so do not expect any fancy fare. This is a pork free cafe. The menu What's this called : Biscuit & Gravy What's in it : Southern buttermilk biscuits and chunky chicken sausages in gravy. Chubsquared thoughts : This is a typical Southern American breakfast dish consisting of soft dough biscuits drenched in meat gravy. It is rare to see this in Malaysia and even more rare to find a decent one. I felt the biscuits could have had a bit more ...

One fine Sunday, the plan was to go for chicken rice ball at the Colonial Cafe at Majestic Hotel since we had a craving for it. However, upon setting our eyes on their "Colonial Sampler" menu, that plan went flying right out the window and we settled on having that instead. Why you ask? Apart from the chicken rice ball also being in that menu, everything we have been planning to try at that restaurant was also included! It was a no-brainer decision.   The Colonial Sampler menu What's this : Hainanese chicken rice ball Chubsquared thoughts : Yup, you only get ONE rice ball. Not complaining though because as can be seen from the menu, there's alot to finish and it would not be a smart move to stuff myself during the first course when there are four more to go before dessert. To those wondering where the chicken is, it is inside the rice ball. I would suggest eating the entire ball together as that's the best way to get all the flavors. And to thos...

Adding its name to the list of globally renowned hotels in Kuala Lumpur is the newly opened W Hotel. Commencing operations in August this year, this is W's first ever hotel in Malaysia. Being a fan of this hotel chain, we naturally had to check out their food offerings, beginning with its dim sum cuisine at Yen, a modern Cantonese restaurant which twists the usual menu offerings into something you can only get at the W. This is a pork free restaurant.  What's this : Shanghainese chicken dumpling with hokkaido snow crab meat in crab roe sauce. Chubsquared thoughts : Yen's take on Xiao Long Bao. The dumpling skin was perfect; not too thick or too thin. It came away easily to reveal the chicken filling which was tasty and cooked well. However, I felt there was insufficient sauce within the dumpling. I usually like my Xiao Long Bao to be bursting with soup upon first bite but this did not happen here. Still, I would overlook this matter since the dumpling as a who...

There's a new kid on the block at Gardens mall : Yu. Taking over the space left by Han Room which has now shifted to the upper floors, Yu is a modern fine-dining Chinese restaurant operated by the same group behind Ruyi & Lyn at BSC. The 2 restaurants differ vastly in terms of ambience. While Ruyi & Lyn gives off the speakeasy / high end disco bar vibe and is dark and noisy, Yu is the total opposite. It has warm bright lighting with an elegant quiet setting, perfect for that business meeting or family meal. This restaurant is pork free but not halal because they serve alcohol. As can be seen from the picture above, the layout of the restaurant is like a circle with the tables arranged around the bar. There are private rooms available for booking should you require them. Each table is given this tray of sauces which is refillable. All 4 sauces except the green one vary in terms of spiciness as they all have different amounts of chili present. The green sau...