antipodean sits next to the aging la bodega in telawi. even the name is a hint to the background of the owners, two kiwis who are attempting to bring a new cultural spin to a poorly copied food and beverage scene in KL. a cafe that roasts its own coffee daily and can correctly make a ristretto was not uncommon in the US of 20 years ago, but is long long over due here. well trained and energetic staff, with owners who seem to always be close by help make this a stand out new location for those who grudgingly accept poor service as the norm.
the menu is a nice mix of all day breakfast items that go far beyond the "english breakfast" norm and light cafe fare designed with a playful sense of balanced fusion. the food is simple, but sports freshness and quality of ingredients that stands apart. it is also presented with a sense of style that reminds one why nouvelle cuisine works at all levels, even in the cafe.
the two best things about the place have been the fact that they are non-halal, meaning i can have pork with my banana pancakes, and that they are flexible and focused on customer service. last week i asked one of the owners if they could make me a breakfast sandwich on croissant. to do this, they needed to take one of the menu items and convert the eggs from scrambled to "over easy". this would let me pick the croissant up and eat it the way my mother used to make.
the breakfast sandwich was one of longest lived craving items from the time when i first came here. mcdonalds has pseudo-mcmuffins, but the chicken sausage takes any enjoyment of breakfast away, so i have long ago stopped looking for a sandwich during breakfast. when the owner said, "sure, no problem, we can do that" and sent it over, i was in heaven. i knew i had found a new place to call home.
this morning i tried to replicate the experience. a few minutes after ordering the other owner came over and said, "i have some good news, and some bad news". which was a polite way of saying he had bad news. the kitchen, as he explained, was not able to cook an egg any way other than scrambled without falling into chaos. yesterday, people had come in and asked for eggs other ways but hard boiled had come out soft, soft boiled had come out wrong. rather than helping me enjoy home, i was back into the standard malaysian environment of "the good news is we do it one way, even if it isn't the way you want it".
i said okay, finished my tea, and packed to leave. i moved over into bodega after i decided that if i was going to be disappointed by food options i might as well have better music. some how, moving to a place that never offered to be different or to provide great customer service seemed better than having it offered and then taken away.
antipodeans are the people who live on the opposite side of the world. only 4% of the worlds land mass has an antipode. new zealand and malaysia are both those that do, but it is uncommon. this cafe opened with the promise of being equally uncommon, having quality, creativity and service. sliding into a lowered customer service because staff is not capable of cooking an egg other way than a single way, is the slippery slope to be as mediocre as the competitors.
go and have a coffee, try the orange/lime soda or the very good french toast. talk to the barrista or the owners and get to know why small coffee shops are a welcome change from the corporate caffeine giants. support these guys and hope that the trend of better quality F&B continues the recent trend in KL. but when you go, do me a favor, ask them to be flexible and teach their staff to make an egg more than one way.
the world should not always be scrambled, trust me and try it "over easy".
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment