Lunch at Common Grind

It was the day after Valentines, Chinese New Year Eve. With everything happening at home, we didn't make any special dinner plans. As I had some time during lunch, I decided to go out for quick meal with Anita.

Anita wanted to go to The Row at Jalan Doraisamy and check on the cafés there. Not many were open during lunch. We settled for Common Grill located the end that street.

No grinding seen ...If you prefer sitting outsideWe prefer the air-conditioningA serene surrounding in the middle of the city, with greens all around. They served sandwiches and pasta as warm selections. More pastries and coffee than anything else. But the ambiance was nice.

Both of us had some pasta and they were delicious. My mocha wasn't half bad. A nice place to chill actually but the problem would be parking. That area was not exactly blessed with plenty of space for the car. But there is a Monorel station nearby or you could park at Quill City Mall just across the road.

Checking out the menu ...We started with some iced lemon teaInvitingThe place was worth another look should I need a quiet place to meet up with friends.

Maison at Pavilion

Since my father in law been discharged, getting some time away from the house with Anita had not been straight forward. We managed a couple of hours last weekend since Anita wanted to do some shopping at Pavilion. We ended up having a late lunch at one of the new café there called Maison.

Located on the second floor of the complex - where there used to be an Italian café - the place was only recently opened. They served mainly desserts and sandwiches with a distinct French flavour. The set menu they had there was reasonably priced and since Anita was starving, she went for the lunch set while I just ordered one from the standard selection set.

A nice ambiance

For that, we got starters, mains and dessert - and a generous portions at that. Plus coffee or tea at the end.

Anita went for roasted Angus beef and it was enough for the two of us to share. I had some chicken terragon which actually wasn't as great as the beef. The dessert was a delight. We had bread and butter pudding with some gorgeous vanilla custard to top it.

My chicken tarragon Definitely worth a visit. Nice ambiance, friendly waiter and waitresses - all local. Good took some time to be prepared but it was worth the wait ... Definitely with come back and try another item from the menu.

The Pantry

One of the advantage of staying around Bangsar is the number of cafe around where we live. Some were better known than others, some were right hidden gems. But lately the turnover rate of those cafes were pretty high, reflecting the uncertain economy.

The entrance with the rustic doorPleasant and uncluttered The special for today - linguine marinaraWe found a new place to sit a couple of Sundays ago about 5 minutes drive from the apartment. Nestled at a residential area in Lorong Kurau, The Pantry looked plain on the outside but really cosy once you stepped in. The rustic door helped the ambiance somewhat and inside the soft music in the background just set the mood for you to relax.

Tea for AnitaAnd coffee for me ....Anita went for the linguine marinaraI had the salted beef with plenty of cheese and fries The items on the menu were staples in these cafe but the highlight must be the pasta. It was fresh and delicious, served in portions just nice for a late afternoon snack or a spot of early dinner. The coffee was not bad either.

On the couple of occasions we had been there, the place had been relatively quiet but the quality of the food appeared consistent. It was not a bad place to spend an hour or so on a Sunday afternoon having a conversation or just catching up with things.

Sampling the ambiance ....

Ornaments and bitsI might be going there more often should I have some free time. I kinda like the place ....

Update on Sunday, August 13, 2017 at 11:23AM by Haris Abdul Rahman

Just found out that The Pantry will be closed and today was its last day ... Details here.

The Third Floor Cafe

Big books. And good coffee. On a Sunday afternoon. Sounds like a perfect way to end the week.

That was what I had earlier today when I ventured to Isetan at Lot 10 as I got a spare couple of hours. The initial plan was to see a 3D printing demonstration but I realised that the timing was not right. I had to be back home before the program started. So, the hour sipping coffee and browsing books at the third floor at the Isetan store sounded fine to me.

Just in case you were so enamoured and wanted to go to Japan straight away, there was also a travel agent on the same floorIt was rather difficult to term the place. Was it a cafe with books, or a cafe at a bookstore. Seemed like most people were doing a bit of both. The coffee was OK, not the best in town, but the books there were something else especially when you venture towards the travel books section. Great material, in heavy minded volumes. The books on urban landscapes and street photography definitely tickled my fancy as lately I found those to be the kind of photography I like - or more like the only photography my schedule allowed me to do plenty of.

I decided against buying the books as I had to trek back to another store where I parked my car and I had a couple of stops in between. Maybe I would come back to buy some books. It would complement the volume I had in my living room nicely.

The cafe counter

Apart from the cafe and books, the third floor were also dedicated to workshops for origami as well as all things Japanese. Take that day for instance, there was a Japanese artist who came to do a demo on 3D glass printing. There were more activities laid out for the rest of the year - which you had to enrol and pay for of course. I might just bring Idlan there one of these days if the event was right ... he loved origami.

Lot 10 hosted - and still hosts - the first Isetan Store in Malaysia. There were a few others now but the one in Lot 10 had been renovated into what was termed a “Japanese Concept Store”. It had ample space with plenty of room to browse around. There were no items cluttering the walkways and it did not have the typical “pushy” salesperson common in KL. You can just walk around without being bothered. Definitely a place worth visiting ....

A Hidden Gem

Tucked away along a busy bus stand in town, I found this hidden gem of a stop. This particular Starbucks appeared out of nowhere and with the hustle and bustle of Medan Pasar bus stop at its front, entering this cafe certainly felt like stepping into a different locale from the outside.

As far as the Starbucks chain went, there was nothing special about this branch but the location was something unique. It was located next to Hotel Cosmo - which in itself was a find. It was just 250 m from the Maskid Jamek LRT stop and 100 m away from Medan Pasar. Strategic location when I was out and about with my camera.

When I was there on a Saturday afternoon, there was hardly a crowd. I ordered my drinks and sat myself at one of the corners quietly, I did not see anyone entering for the next 20 minutes. Brightly lit, soothing music at this location certainly worth another visit. Maybe this would be my hub for my street photography from now on ...