Lai Po Heen at Mandarin Oriental Welcomes Chef Thomas Fong from Doha
April 24th, 2024
Bangsar’s New Year baby springs into action this week, showing great potential to grow into something special. LA/PA – a catchy play on ‘lapar,’ the Malay word for ‘hungry’ – is a spin-off from the vibrant people who brought us Taman Tun’s Quar/Tet; we think LA/PA will easily equal the success of its big brother.
Photographers will find a lot to like about LA/PA – the folks of FRAL Design Studio have crafted a cheerful-looking & comfortable venue that Telawi’s crowds will flock to, with fun flourishes that include a secret passage to the restrooms. Plus, with the Quar/Tet team’s tuneful background, good music is guaranteed, with Future Islands playing on opening morning.
LA/PA’s trump card is ultimately its tantalising menu, more ambitious than Quar/Tet’s, more Telawi than TTDI, with imaginative recipes that will intrigue even the Klang Valley’s most jaded cafe visitors. There’s no French toast in KL quite like this one, featuring LA/PA’s own-made dark rye loaf seasoned with Herbes de Provence, garnished with kale-&-basil pesto & feta for a more savoury-than-sweet preparation with thoughtfully balanced nuances (RM19.90 nett).
LA/PA is big on brunch: Duck eggs are baked to an ultra-rich creaminess, laced with Aussie spinach & paprika, flavoured with garlic sauce (a nice change from the tomato-tangy baked eggs at most cafes). RM21.
LA/PA’s oven-baked rosti is well-executed; it tastes freshly prepared, with a good crisp & not too much grease, accompanied by a perfectly runny sunny-side-up & herb-tinged sour cream. But the so-so smoked salmon could probably be substituted with some other meat or fish to make this more memorable. RM25.
This one’s a should-order: Buttermilk pancakes (as fabulously fluffy as promised on the menu), beautifully textured with a grainy-fruity, mellow compote of quinoa & spiced orange, plus vanilla bean whipped cream for a lovely counterpoint. RM19.90. Note however that the kitchen might stop serving breakfast items later in the afternoon.
A wholesome spirit of experimentation streaks through LA/PA’s selection, seeking the equilibrium between full-blown flavours & full-fledged nutritional value. A respectable result: This burger with a creamy quinoa-&-bean patty, lavishly crowned with avocados & crunchy-cool cucumber raita in sesame seed brioche, partnered with plenty of potato & sweet potato fries. RM25.
We’d probably skip the lamb sliders though (RM35); nothing really wrong with them, but we have a hunch that several other items that will be added to the menu soon – such as a roasted quail pasta & a goat’s cheese tart – stand a stronger chance of leaving a lasting impression.
Pumpkin pie is such a rarity in KL that it’s worth ordering one whenever you spot it; LA/PA’s interpretation is very lightly spiced, with a more subtle, somewhat repressed pumpkin flavour, worth sampling nonetheless for its soft creaminess. RM7; note that if you’re reading this on Jan. 1, LA/PA’s offering a 20% discount off food & drinks today.
LA/PA takes its drinks as seriously as its food; cold-pressed juices, bottled daily, are available (the ‘Fat Buster,’ with orange, grapefruit, wild honey, lemon & lime clocks in at RM17), as are surprisingly satisfying flat whites (RM10.50), plus milkshakes topped with the likes of roasted peanuts & coffee beans (RM16; unavailable when we visited).
LA/PA: Your Neighbourhood Supply @ Bangsar
15, Jalan Telawi 3, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur
Open Daily, 8am-11pm
Tel: 03 2201 4395