Whenever I write food reviews, I make sure I give constructive criticisms. That was something rif, Shum and Jeen trained me to do ever since I started blogging. But there are some places I find hard to write about without bordering the mean-zone. [email protected] is one of them.

I didn’t plan my visit here; it happened by chance when I was in Menara UOA and didn’t want to walk too far for lunch. [email protected] was crowded, disorganized and understaffed. No one bothered to bring us the menu until 10 minutes later and after I requested for one.

We both ordered the set lunch; Jeen’s was RM14+ and mine, RM18+. The mushroom soup was bland, watered down and artificial tasting. Serving size was also quite pathetic — half a small bowl. Jeen’s onion rings took a while to arrive, and from the looks of it, the batter was too hard.

The grilled moza chicken sounded good, but it was disappointing. It reminded me of one or two ‘fantastic’ deals from certain group-buying sites — appeared promising, but short on delivery. For the price I paid, the chicken was small and grilled until tough. The mozzarella cheese on top was a tad hard and barely did any good to the already dry chicken. I didn’t care much for the fries and salad.

Jeen’s aglio olio took forever to arrive. It came 20 minutes after my chicken was served. The paste was mediocre; cooked with chicken ham, onions, garlic, mushroom, chilli flakes and herbs. Ironic how I’m paying more for my set, yet Jeen’s main course was more ample than mine.

Dessert was vanilla ice cream, which I enjoyed more than my starter and main course. With the set lunch, you get a choice of soft drink or ice lemon tea. I had the latter.

If you ask me, the food portion and quality didn’t measure up to the price tag they come with — the food at [email protected] was bland, lacking effort and forgettable. I reckon many people eat here out of convenience. Someone did tell me they make good coffees. I might try the coffees (when it’s not peak hours) just to see if there’s anything worth going back for.

Ambiance: 6/10
Price: 4/10
Food: 3/10 (pork-free)
Verdict: Eat here only out of convenience or if you’re a highly tolerant person.

[email protected]
Unit 2-7, Second Floor,
Menara UOA Bangsar,
5, Jln Bangsar Utama,
59000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2282 2242