nutmeg, bangsar

nutmeg

"one of the two distinct spices from a fruit produced by the evergreen tree, native to banda islands of indonesia, often called the spice islands. best used grated fresh."

breakfast

"the first meal of the day, usually eaten in the morning. some might even say it is the most important meal of the day"

nutmeg, bangsar

"a cafe, located in bangsar village 2 - adheres to their motto of 'good food from our kitchen' by serving breakfast food all day long from am to the pm (lunch & dinner options available too) and boasts of their 3 must haves - classic reuben, their namesake big breakfast and their gravlax sampler"

my years of watching food network has taught me a few things about nutmeg. one of which that i found quite intriguing is that nutmeg is painted to be the secret agent of spices because it gives that special something that people can't pinpoint initially with the first taste.  perhaps that's the reason behinds the cafe's name: being secretly special. my other theory is the warmth it intends to bring with their offerings in similar fashion the nutmeg imparts warm flavors.

the same secretly special warmth was reflected in the nutmeg cafe's decor - an eccentric mix of vibrant artistry with hints of vintage industrial chic and modern baba-nyonya. i love the use of the mason jars as lamps at the counter where you could watch the chefs hard at work, preparing the dishes as the aroma wafted from the open kitchen into the dining area.




with brunch, lunch and dinner options aplenty, surprisingly it took me no time to pick my plate of choice when my eyes zeroed in on something that i've been craving for since returning from the states and haven't really been able to find anywhere else so far.

 but first...

drinks - iced teas :: nutmeg mixed fruit tea | black tea, mint, orange juice, pineapple juice (rm 9)

i was set for a cuppa iced tea but could not quite decide on which one. since alicia perez, the artist behind the chalk artworks at nutmeg was waiting on our order, at my inquiry, she responded with a recommendation: the nutmeg mixed fruit tea. to be honest, i skimmed through the description very quickly and dear ol' silly me thought it was tea with the nutmeg spice (because of its name instead it was actually the cafe's namesake) and was surprised of its absence; only to laugh at my silliness after. 

the iced tea tasted tropical, where the pineapple dominated with the occasional orange flavor sneaking in. the main star, the black tea was as subtle as the mint - so much so that more mint infusion could take the drink to another level of refreshing goodness. {mw} wasn't too thrilled with it. my take - it was pretty nice albeit slightly too sweet for my liking.

lunch & dinner - sandwiches :: bagel & lox | toasted bagel , cream cheese, choice of house-cured gravlax, capers (rm 21)

a quick history on bagel & lox. 

bagel met lox in new york city, got married and came into my life my 5th year in the states after bagel became my minor obsession. gravlax is of nordic origins where raw salmon is cured in salt, dill and sugar while bagel's coming into existence is a mystery. yet they are a match made in heaven where cream cheese and capers join the yummy matrimony (with the occasional presence of raw onion). i've been craving for lox & bagel ever since i moved from the states.

the toasted bagel had a crispy exterior contrasting the slightly chewy insides but was almost borderline dry. what i assumed was half a block of cream cheese (would have been a whole lot better if the consistency was of a schmear) was spread on the bagel that i scraped off enough for another serving. the side salad was a delightful crisp field of greens tossed in a vinaigrette that combined light berry sweetness and tartness.

HUGE kudos to nutmeg for getting the gravlax aboard on the flavor train. fresh raw salmon, which was mildly salted paired perfectly with periodic briny burst from capers and the tartness of the cream cheese granted desirable yummy mouthfuls. the one small thing (and i'm nitpicking in this case) was i wished the lox was slightly more salty, which i eventually was fulfilled when i finally reached on the last slice which i suspect was from the end of the cured salmon block. on the flip side i have to admit that the mild saltiness allowed the salmon's natural flavors to shine.

all day breakfast :: nutmeg gravlax "croissant-wich" | smoked paprika gravlax topped with scrambled eggs, toasted croissant (rm 26)

not very dissimilar from my dish,  {mw} offered me a bite off her croissant-wich. the eggs were fluffy and seasoned perfectly with the buttery, chewy pastry and finally made whole by the same fantastic gravlax with a hint of smokiness from being mildly paprika-ed. {mw} gave her nodding approval for the dish and from the small bite i had, i'd give a preliminary concurrence :)

breakfast comforts :: hotcake stack | three pancake stack . vanilla ice cream & chocolate hazelnut praline ganache (rm 16)

instead of breakfast for dinner, this is more dessert for dinner! {krb} wanted something "lighter" and was determined to get a breakfast dish when i first told him that they served breakfast options for dinner, which to him, was quite an interesting concept. unfortunately, the pancakes were probably the least successful where it ended up dense and almost chewy instead of the fluffy pillow-like airiness that it should be. the chocolate hazelnut praline ganache was delectable though - mimicking the flavors of nutella.

 
nutmeg cafe, which was initiated by two brothers-in-law, has turned heads for its novelty idea (probably one of the firsts in malaysia) of serving breakfast food all day - be it for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner. while there were a couple of misses in execution, nutmeg's gravlax had me at first bite. :)

"good food from our kitchen?"
 yes, yummy but not out of this world...

.....with maybe the exception of the gravlax.

nutmeg | location
ugf-28a, bangsar village II

2 jalan telawi 1

bangsar baru

591oo kuala lumpur

disclaimer this is written based on personal experience and opinion. experiences and taste buds may vary for others.