Pronto Grab and Go (Coffee) @ Bangsar South

I’m not entirely very sure when they opened a small cosy corner in Bangsar South. This place is located at Horizon Phase 2, Tower 8, Avenue 5. I liked this place, a very good place to have your morning coffee with your friends before heading for work. I think this place live up to its name: Grab and Go. It’s not a big place but big enough to for 8 people.  They draw their menu on a big chalkboard. Looks neat and for someone who are not sure what latte or cappuccino mix is about, it is shown in their menu diagram.

They don’t really have much choices when it comes to their coffees. The friendly girl at the counter told us they will eventually add more in time. So far they have the usual coffee mix both hot and cold. They even serve chocolate drinks and some pastries. What disappointed me about this place is that they serve standard size go cups (slightly smaller than medium). So for an addict like me, that is rather disappointing. Also their serving for macchiato was small cup (smaller than their standard cup). I was disappointed because I always enjoy a good macchiato anytime.

Latte

Visual Observation: 3/5

Coffee and milk looks creamy and smooth. I just wish their coffee art was better.

Taste Evaluation: 5/5

I love their smooth coffee, its not too strong, that you had to add sugar but not too light that it taste like flavored coffee. I think their latte was quite good, not amazing but quite good. I enjoyed every sip (which was not enough T-T).  

Overall conclusion: Good

I liked their friendly and quick service. It’s always nice to have a good coffee and a friendly barista. I will try their drink again.  

No government or service tax. 

P/S: I am a regular at this place despite the small portion. I've tasted the Milk Chocolate and The Boss. Both were good. Yum!

Updated: I always thought the word 'Pronto" means fast. But i stand corrected by my Italian friend Fabio, He said Pronto means "Ready". He also said Italians answer their phone by saying "Pronto" rather than the standard "Hello".
Thank u !! :)

Oyster King and Espresso Lab @ One Utama review

Oyster King

My friend Wanie and I was walking around thinking about what we wanted to eat, since I’ve already had a heavy lunch, I thought we could do something light. I remember seeing this Oyster King in groupon promotion but as usual it’s always packed and I’m not very sure how I feel about oysters since I don’t think I’ve ever ate it before. I think la.

I have to apologise about the lack of pictures because I didn’t know I was going to do this blog.

So we ordered Oyster noodle soup, deep fried oysters and oyster wantons. And No drinks LOL

So guess what, the first thing I did notice was that the workers were foreigner, not saying I have a problem with that but please make sure the one at the counter taking your order knows English at least. We had to repeat our orders a few time.

It took less than 10 minutes before all the food came to our tiny little corner table.

Visual Observation: 5/10

Looks good, not sloppy. Not a impressive display. The plate was oyster shaped and comes with a small area that contains the sauce. Portions are small for both fried dishes, so if you are ordering for large group than better to ask if they serve a larger portion.

Taste Evaluation: 3/10

Wantan

Ok like I mention before, I don’t know if I ever tasted oysters before this, so I was shocked that it tasted so salty. Like really salty. So I dipped my wanton in the sauce that came with it and nearly choked because the sauce was also salty. I really wish the sauce was sweet so that it could balance it out the saltiness from the oyster. But other than that it tasted good. Not rubbery or anything. Just salty.

Wantan Noodle Soup

I like this one better. I think it really goes well. The gravy was thick, thin noodles and had half boiled egg. The gravy balanced out the salty taste. Personally I recommend dipping and soaking your wanton and deep fried oysters in the noddle soap gravy before eating it.

Deep fried oysters

This is pretty much the same with wanton, also salty. It has crunchy exterior and chewy interior. This dish also came with dipping sauce and it was ……..u guessed it salty :P. Taste good no complains.

Overall conclusion: Can be improved

I would say, if they change the sauce to something thicker and sweeter, it would be awesome.

The service was fast (maybe because there was only two customers)

The dish was served hot and clean. Not sloppy.

Best of all not government or service tax. So basically it’s a cheap and affordable, Recommend for those who want to taste something light and different.

Espresso Lab

We took a while to find this place because, mainly because I had this impression it was a store instead of an outside booth\stall. You know what I mean, like an actual store/cafe?. …..errk no …just me …ok never mind then.

So we finally found the booth\stall, and there was single guy at the counter. He smiled and ask us to take our time in selecting our drinks. Ok this guy was also a foreigner and I think he is Filipino, but he can speak English well. This is who you need at the counter.

Wanie and I decided to go with the usual. Iced Latte for her and Cappuccino for me.  Yums !!

Visual Observation: 6/10

Iced Latte

The normal glass used for iced coffee. Nothing impressive. (not sure what I was expecting actually). Clean and not messy.

Cappuccino

Oh dear god, I made a mistake by asking for on-the-go cup, because I had the impression we were going for a walk right after we got our drinks. So instead of the big mug, I got a black take away paper cup. The plus point is that the barista (is what you call a person who makes coffee) made this cute leafy coffee design for me. I loved it.

Taste Evaluation: 3/10

Iced Latte

It taste good, rich coffee taste. Strong, but not too strong. Since this is my friend’s drink. I’m going with her comments. Like all coffee drinks (well mostly of course) they don’t come with sugar in it. So I recommend to take a sip, determine how bitter or strong your coffee is before you make a run for sugar syrups or packets.

Cappuccino

Strong coffee, but not too bitter. I usually like my cappuccino without any sugar, unless the coffee itself is too strong/bitter own its own. I think the milk balance it nicely and it’s smooth and taste nice with my sugar cinnamon bun (bought from lavender bakery).

Overall conclusion: It’s not bad

We would say that we are impressed with the taste rather than its visual observation. I mean, visual is nothing if it don’t taste good. (Works only on food not on ladies).

I wish the barista would have recommended more drinks for us to try. Like if he could have told us to try out any signature drinks that is Espresso lab’s speciality would have been great. Best of all not government or service tax.

We will be back next time to try other drinks.