I was in KL back in August for Raya as per usual. Makan was the order of the vacation. As per usual. Although, I’ve to reiterate that I did not partake in much of the Raya santan-filled goodies (not by choice).

Firstly, I’d like to say a couple of things about Mukha, this little jewel of an eaterie in the Rahim Kajai precinct of Taman Tun. Speaking to Man, the chap behind the bar, Mukha has been opened for about a year now. I chanced upon it whilst browsing through the TTDI Facebook wall and thought I should have a try. Especially when this is a place that does an all-day breakfast! We went for late lunch on a Saturday and managed to wrangle a table. The menu is a large blackboard behind the bar and you make your order at the bar itself as you would a pub lunch in England.

My brother and I ordered the steak sandwich just because it has been a while since I had one at the restaurant in the old Jaya on Section 14, PJ. Ayah had the lamb cutlet whilst my sis had the curry-like beef bamia. I have to say the steak sarnie was somewhat spartan in its appearance, but the taste made up for it. The strips of beef was tender and surprisingly not as dry as it looked, and went well with the Arab toast. Ayah thought the lamb was just OK as I have a feeling he always compare any lamb dish with his fav at Piccolo’s in Sheffield. The bamia was pleasantly mild (it is actually a Middle Eastern meat stew that is made with okra, hence my first impression of it as curry-like). The drinks list is largely coffee but I went for the virgin mojito with it being a balmy afternoon. Ayah’s iced chocolate was suspiciously affogato-like which made me wonder if they sent him the wrong drink (they do make affogato here if I’m not mistaken), but hey, he loved it. On a final note, the price is actually very reasonable, considering the cut-throat prices you’d get at lesser establishments, some of which are pretty close to this one. I did return a week later for Sunday brunch and yes, the brekky options are top notch for the price. Defo a place to return to many a time!

mukha
15 Jalan Rahim Kajai 13
TTDI, 60000KL
03 7732 2248

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I’ve never really been to Johor. I guess that one-day visit to SMS Muar with the debating team and 5 minutes on the railway station platform at JB en route to Singapore didn’t count. Really. My experience at kopitiams (genuine ones) is somewhat limited, so as a transient KL-ite I’ve no choice but to go to the chain kopitiams peppered around the city. I was at One Utama when our throats felt somewhat parched. No Starbucks, as I am in Malaysia – so I decided that we should head down to Kluang Station. The original eaterie is in, err… Kluang (obviously) but this out-of-Johor venture was made by a 4th generation descendant of the original proprietor at the station and this OU outlet was their first ever eaterie.

I had the obligatory roti bakar with kaya (ayah previously asked the waiting staff if they used charcoal and they sheepishly replied that they only have an electric toaster. Heh). I’ve had kopi (which ayah ordered with his kaya on toast) before so I thought of opting for their iced kopi with milk and gula merah. Not much chance of kurang manis options here, though. Also, I’m afraid that this was the first ever time of me seeing a Milo dinosaur which my sis ordered. Great stuff.

All in all, it was OK. Of course one shouldn’t compare this with the real shebang. Nonetheless, I bought a pack of their branded Hainanese kopi to bring back to Blighty (reminded me of scaring my coffee-loving South African boss who never had had robusta coffee roasted in butter before).

Kluang Station
LG337 1 Utama Shopping Centre
47800 PJ