T.B.F Brunch Bar Desserts at Sunway Giza, Kota Damansara: Restaurant Review

Duck bacon strips accompanied by Harry Potter-inspired butterbeer? For an all-day-brunch menu that takes out-of-the-blue detours into red-hot new territory, it may be worth travelling to TBF, The Beer Factory’s revamped outpost in Kota Damansara.

Potato Hot Cakes

TBF’s hits include fluffy-fruity potato hot cakes, tinged with berries & topped with ricotta cheese (RM26 before taxes), an alluring alternative for pancake fans who want to experiment with a change of texture. Served morning through night for now; by February, TBF plans to have a separate selection for its Melbourne-inspired brunches & a tapas-focused menu for dinner.

Golden Duck Bacon Strips

Here’s what everyone will come for: Golden duck bacon strips (RM26), salty-sweet, with a firm bite & fulfilling chew, evocative of bakkwa. Fun snack; note it’s served at room temperature (or in our case, slightly below), not warmed, to preserve its crunch.

Eggs Atlantic

Eggs, the essential brunch component, are well-represented, from a reinterpretation of Eggs Atlantic – poached eggs over a ‘sandwich’ of smoked salmon in crispy potato waffles (reminiscent of rosti) doused in hollandaise sauce, altogether addictive.

Baked Eggs

To comfort-food baked eggs (RM22), runnier than the norm, thickened with red pepper coulis, spinach & minced chicken.

Nangka-Topped Tom Yam Fried Rice

TBF’s playful streak extends to Asian recipes: Check out the nangka-topped tom yam fried rice with lots of accompaniments, including chicken wing, prawns, squid, crackers, pickles & a sunny-side-up (RM18). TBF’s menu maestros are also plotting a lychee fried bee hoon soon; dare we hope our favourite local fruits – mangosteen & ciku – might also appear here someday?

Crowd-Pleasing Fried Chicken Wings

Tender fried chicken wings, luxuriously coated in salted egg yolk, served steaming-hot, certain to be crowd-pleasing. RM21.

Soft-Shell-Crab Buttermilk Pasta

Soft-shell-crab devotees will worship the buttermilk pasta (RM33), crowned with one whole crab PLUS another crab chopped up & hidden amid the pasta strands. This princely portion should be shared; it might end up being too cloying to finish alone, especially since there’s nothing in the bowl to cut through its richness.

‘Revenge Of The Ballerina’

TBF’s desserts display cheeky imagination too: The ‘Revenge of the Ballerina’ (RM28) is meant to be smashed up in a violence-fuelled frenzy & spooned up for stress-relieving pleasure.

Oreo Garden

Crispy-creamy Oreo Garden (RM18), a more soothing finish to this meal. Plus point: TBF’s service team members are enthusiastic & eager to oblige, though they can sometimes suffer memory lapses if you make off-menu requests for, say, wine or water.

Gimmicky Coffee Concoctions

TBF’s coffee concoctions might be more gimmicky than genuinely delicious though – it’s cool to see milk ice cubes poured over with coffee for the Reverse French Vanilla Piccolo Latte (RM16), but a more satisfying balance of flavours might tip in favour of a proper barista-prepared rendition. The thrill here is in putting the piccolo together, not in sipping it.

Deconstructed Mocha Macchiato

Deconstructed mocha macchiato (RM18); a better type of chocolate might have made a difference for this one.

Deconstructed Rum and Raisin Affogato

While harsh rum overpowered the Deconstructed Rum & Raisin Affogato (RM26), the Klang Valley’s most alcoholic affogato.

Plenty of Liquor

No fear; there’s plenty of liquor to accompany TBF’s tasty temptations, from Harry Potter-inspired butterbeer (RM35; beer with a butterscotch sweetness, made here at TBF, served in a Huggaz bottle cooler) to asam boi Mojitos (RM28) to regular ol’ wine.