New Places

Ooh LaLa (RM28) is exactly what you imagine it to be - local lala clams stir-fried with Bentong ginger, curry leaves, and served in a spicy, creamy sauce. We appreciate the generous portion, and clams were well-seasoned - although I personally prefer more kick from the ginger and curry leaves.

Return to childhood with Kaya balls!

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Laksa Pesto Pasta (RM28) proved to be hit in our group. Fettuccine pasta is tossed with its special homemade laska paste and herbs (evoking hints of ulam with bunga kantan accents) and served with briny prawns, calamari and lala.

@thokohmakan

Perfectly oven-roasted bird yielding moist and succulent flesh, and finished with a blow-torch flambé to render the skin crispy. It is served with roasted vegetable and chef's special gravy (we detect pumpkin).

Vegetarians would appreciate the Chick-peas Offering (RM26) 🍔 - featuring a vegetarian patty made from mashed potatoes, chickpeas and herbs, and served between two pandan buns spread with pesto aoili.

We especially like the fried onion 🌰 marmalade that came with the patty, as well as the sweet potato fries. As meat-lovers, we thought the flavours were on point, although we do appreciate a bit of crunchy texture for the patty.

See full review on @thokohmakan on Instagram.

We enjoyed Therefore's contemporary spin of ayam percik 🐔(RM29). The chicken thigh was perfectly marinated and tender - the gravy had the right amount of lemak, spices and heat.

See full review on @thokohmakan on Instagram.

We enjoyed the squid ink spaghetti 🦑 (RM39) - it comes with two sizeable Hokkaido scallops and topped with flower crab meat 🦀 and ikura. The pasta had a nice bite with the the various seafood flavours complementing each other.

See full review on @thokohmakan on Instagram.

Don't be alarmed by Blonde's duck breast 🦆 that is served medium rare. Blonde's Seared Dry Aged Shanghainese Crusted Duck Breast (RM55) was perfectly cooked with tender flavourful meat and a lovely seared exterior. We especially like the crunchy bits on the top.

See full review on @thokohmakan on Instagram.

We checked out fresh-faced Playte at the refurbished Republik F&B enclave in Damansara Heights.

Helmed by three young chefs who met at Le Cordon Bleu: Playte showcases local ingredients done in contemporary and European cooking techniques.

Star local ingredients include Bario rice, pomelo, belimbing, and jicama.

Currently only operating for dinner service, dishes are meant to be shared in small plates. We took a dish each from the four categories: raw, small, mains, and dessert.

First up was Mackerel from the Raw category: morsels of fresh mackerel flesh served with starfruit and calamansi-based sauce, dill oil, pomelo, pickled cucumber and fried broccoli. The result was a refreshing and acidic starter to set us up for the evening.

Next up was the popular Ox Tongue (from the Small section). This was truly exceptional: tenderly-braised ox tongue topped with cured yolk(!) in XO sauce was perfectly balanced with the sharpness of the pickled onions and salsa verde. We enjoyed this very much.

For Mains, we settled on the Chicken to complete the trinity of 🐟, 🍖 and 🐔. The poultry dish features a duo of poached chicken breast and thigh - the former was super tender and juicy while the thigh was slightly seared to give that extra crispiness and added texture. Protein was served in shaoxing wine buerre blanc, and topped with clams, braised daikon, and deep-fried kailan leaves.

Gula Melaka ice-cream immediately called out to us from the Sweet section: we love the caramelised gelato served with cookie crumbs and topped with candied nuts. A perfect bittersweet finish for the night.

Top points for service - granted it was a quiet Tuesday night, but we appreciated the attention we received from the chefs behind and front of the kitchen counter. We also had the best seats at the counter as we watched the kitchen whip their magic!

Highly recommended - we really enjoy places like these who aim to showcase local ingredients through contemporary techniques.

See full review on @thokohmakan on Instagram.