Hani Eatery, Bangsar

Early birds can flock for a taste of Hani at Bangsar’s latest hidden cafe, which rises and shines this week with a menu that infuses Japanese inspirations and ingredients into playful, pretty pleasures. 

Hani Eatery opens bright and sharp at 8am - exactly enough time for a light breakfast before the laptop beckons.

Hani is a graceful space, blessed with beautiful corners, with wide windows that let the sunshine in to warm the first floor of this Lucky Garden shop-lot.

For now, hot dishes of don and udon are only served starting 10am, but desserts and drinks help make the morning better.

Green tea is a primary colour throughout, particularly the cakes, all baked in-house, from the Yuri Matcha Roll Cake with Jasmine Cream (RM15) to the Yuri Matcha Tiramisu with Berries (RM16) to the Mokuren Genmaicha Short Cake with Seasonal Fruits (RM15). 

There’s a tempting twist to every type of treat here - check out the Carrot Cream Cheese Madeleine (RM7), Scone Tart with Strawberry Jam (RM7), Lotus Biscoff Cookie (RM11) and Chocolate Cookie with Matcha Ganache (RM11).

Refreshments span original coolers like the Momo-Ira (RM16; green tea, grapefruit, white peach, calamansi) and the Kuro no Kohi (RM16; espresso, Earl Grey, grapefruit, white peach, lemon). Alternatively, warm up with oat-milked single-origin hot chocolate.

Hani Eatery

20A, Lorong Ara Kiri 2, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur. Currently daily, 8am-6pm (kitchen 10am-430pm).

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com

Proper, Bangsar

Proper is a pleasure to pop by, with a warm, friendly crew and hot, fresh coffee to enjoy. Take a table at this new Bangsar cafe's leafy alfresco area and take a little time to watch Lucky Garden go by.

Proper

2, Persiaran Ara Kiri, Lucky Garden, Bangsar, 59100 Kuala Lumpur. Daily, 7am-7pm.

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com

Lasilicious Bakery & Cafe, Bangsar

When life gives you Lasilicious, order a lemon butter cake at this bakery-cafe that’s fresh in Bangsar; the cake is densely moist, as lemony-buttery as we’d hope for (RM10 per slice). 

Looking for something less sugary but still decadent? Lasilicious’ thickly slathered avocado sandwich with a creamy fried egg should help you look on the sunny-side-up of life (RM12).

Fun fact: Lasilicious is a play on the name of its founder, Thulasi. 

Lasilicious Bakery & Cafe

14, Persiaran Ara Kiri, Bangsar, 59100 Kuala Lumpur. Daily, 8am-10pm. Tel: 011-7246-9374

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com

Kimasu by N97, Bangsar

Bangsar's new hidden Japanese restaurant conceals intriguing chambers of secrets, including a crimson teppanyaki counter surrounded by samurai, plus private rooms with nature-loving themes of bamboo forests and cherry blossom mountains.

If you enjoy dinner with a show, Kimasu's friendly crew is eager and enthusiastic to please, bringing out the fire and smoke, plus the spatulas-in-the-air acrobatics.

The corn-fed Teppanyaki chicken is capably cooked, fleshy with a bite, rounded out with mushrooms, zucchini and negi (RM55). 

What makes it extra-special is the choice of flavoured butter to grill the meat with - truffle, kombu, garlic, or our personal pick, uni, bringing a lightly briny sweetness of sea urchin to the butter.

As a bonus for customers who love a lot of taste in their teppanyaki, the meat also comes with three kinds of salt - truffle, kombu and binchotan - plus truffled shoyu.

Teppan white toast, stuffed with medium-rare MB9 wagyu beef, sprinkled with dashi-marinated ikura, is Kimasu's signature katsu sando, a solid snack (RM98). 

Other enjoyable orders include the sashimi salad, a hearty heap of fresh cubed fish tossed with a wasabi-goma dressing (RM35), and the Kimasu 97 Roll, a satisfactory maki layered with sole belly and unagi, complete with chives, ikura and tobiko (RM78).

If the chef offers you a complimentary creamy custard for dessert, say yes, please, and thank you.

Kimasu 97

Lorong Kurau, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur. Currently open 6pm-11pm by reservations. Tel: 011-1230-6697

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com