Monday, December 15, 2008

Mastermind cafe

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If you happen to drive by Happy Mansion in section 17, you will notice a 'Cafe Phenomenon'...
Cafe's are mushrooming here, left right and centre... the latest addition being, MM Cafe (Mastermind Cafe).
Although it doesn't look like much from the outside, the interior of MM cafe is comfortably air-conditioned and furnished Starbucks style with tables and chairs as well as comfy sofas.

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The staff are young, friendly and helpful. Actually amazingly attentive compared to some other places where the part-time staff don't bother to look up or give you a friendly smile.

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As we have had so many bad experiences with Cafe food, we didn't expect much, especially at a crazy SET MENU price of only RM13.90. We thought, another place that goes for the price advantage vs. quality.
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Anyway, since our friend Lisa was with us, and she is like the Caesar salad guru, we had to try the Caesar.
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At RM8.90 it was good. Not fantastic but actually pretty decent. The amount of stuff they put in the salad was amazing.


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This is the Fish and Chips. Fantastically crispy, breadcrumbed batter with soft, flaky, sweet dory fish on the inside. Gorgeous. At 13.90 for the set (including ice lemon tea), we were really impressed with this dish. How many times have we had horrible, stale fish and chips at below par cafes... too many! This was a refreshing surprise. The serving of chips on the side was huge. Fat, plump chips (UK style) as opposed to McDonald styled thin ones. Crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside. Not bad at all.

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The Spaghetti Arabiata was part of the set as well. The sauce was faultless. The chicken breast chunks were huge and tasted like fresh chicken (no supermarket taste/smell).
The sauce had been simmered long enough to have all that gorgeous meaty taste fused into a tomato base - unlike that straight from the can sauce with that sour, metallic taste.
The pasta resisted the tooth... (but not the stomach! haha)
Impressive.

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Lisa's Chicken Pie. Lisa was the only one who ordered from the menu (not the set). The pie at RM9.90 was really value for money.

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Cutting the pie open, one could see loads of chicken, potato, carrots and other stuffings, which made this an above average pie (for the price).

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Check out that chicken chunk! Well... Lisa liked the pie, but for me, the best sort of pie is still the steak and kidney pie. Too bad they didn't have it that day.


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Here is the Suji Almond cake. At RM2.90, nothing to shout about. Not rich enough for those who like their Suji glistening and heavy with fat... ;P

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The tiramisu. Very so-so... not enough alcohol .. but at RM8.90, it was passable.
Verdict:
Stop by at MM Cafe for a quick and easy lunch. The parking is free and there is no shortage of space. We hope that MM Cafe will not be just a flash in the pan , the place being new and all, but we hope that the quality of the food stays this good.
Ideal place for Sunday brunch especially with kids.
Add:
AG-1, Ground Floor Block A,
Happy Mansion,
Jalan 17/13 PJ,
Tel/Fax: 03-7958 8728
Food:7/10
Service:8/10
MSG levels: nil
Salt levels: moderate

18 comments:

worldwindows said...

Mmmm... MM... Highly rated... Prices are modest. Yes I have enough of below par cafes offering stale and under-ingredient food.

minchow said...

Fat chips are the way to go - down with shoestrings! And that pie looks a total treat - Section 17 is really showcasing the best of them indie operators!

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

yeah got underdog to compete with the main "operators" of the place..

J2Kfm said...

i understand how you felt about most cafe food. mediocre and tasteless. only cheap.

backStreetGluttons said...

its true , it seems so easy to open cafes. but to come across a good one which stays long is not easy too, we believe the no 1 problem is getting good staff and with locals not wanting to work as sweet waitresses and handsome waiters the job of pleading with Burmese and aliens to smile is also not easy. we expect the local eating scene to get worse with less and less natural smiles and more and more frowns which is what happens when "all we want" is $$$ and more $$$ to send home to dear papa and mama

MochaSourcream said...

It has been a loooonnngg time since I last went to Happy Mansion... time to revisit the place... :)

Julian Si said...

Nice piccies, I love Section 17 :-)

Anonymous said...

Gosh so deceptive from the outside with overhanging clothing and u get such a nice choice of meal inside.

Ciki said...

Ww:
U too huh? Well try out MM then!

Faith:
U a fan of big chips? The bigger d better!

Joe:
Agree!

Ciki said...

j2kfm:
would have thought that the quality and pricing would be better in ipoh?

bsg:
yup yup.. what 2do.. going to the dogs

mocha:
time indeed

jules:
yea, me2

jen:
agree

myCoffee said...

What a quaint cafe! Thanks for sharing.

sc said...

wow, really good value for money! the caesar looks mouthwatering in your pics.

Big Boys Oven said...

definitely a place to drop by! :)

Anonymous said...

Shall drop by soon... thanks for sharing ^^

Ciki said...

mycoffee:
cheers

sc:
not the best.. but not bad!

bbo:
cu there!

jason:
u2!

HairyBerry said...

there's something about this area that makes it the perfect place for saturday tea. perhaps it's the tranquility or simply, the parking. hot chicken pie with cream, i'm gonna scream!!! yummy! ;)

Ciki said...

nic:
true true.. can start at 11am and finish at 3pm! (eh, you are starting to rhyme.. all the time... (did i just do it to..? lol))

Anonymous said...

this place is not far from food foundry... I should go try