Fiftig Seofon — Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur

Third visit, first review of Fiftig Seofon.

This cafe sits nestled alongside Rumah Tangsi, a heritage building with its own history and charm that deserves its own review. That same charm somehow oozes into this unique establishment, named after the olde English for ‘Fifty Seven’, based on the numerous ‘57’ I see around. Based on the proximity of its location to Dataran Merdeka, I can safely guess the name is also a tribute to the year Malaya gained its independence from the Brits. While there should be some colonial influence in here somewhere, to me this place just feels MALAYSIAN. Built with typical straits settlement colonial infused style, the strength of Fiftig Seofon is a fusion menu that is playfully malay leaning yet international and diverse, and a crowd that over the two days that I was pretty much encamped here, as diverse as the menu itself. Just today I witnessed a Malay makcik, in her enthusiastic attempts to take photos for a Chinese couple at the next table, accidentally spilled her drink into her food. The exchanges before and after this incident was actually so heartwarming it inspired me to write this review. Next was a big lunch group, which boasted almost every major ethnic group we have. The way they ate and laughed together reminded me of what a beautiful and blessed country we live in.

Food.

First of all, it’s HALAL without a shadow of a doubt.

To summarise, food is par for the course. I tried the Caesar salad with salmon, while personally I prefer my salads lightly dressed, there were no regrets with this one. The char kuey teow was hearty and comforting, and I enjoyed the grilled tiger prawn pasta very much. And yes,the dishes are playfully named so you need to read the description and I have trouble remembering what they were called. For dessert there is a decent array of cakes and pastries to choose from and I managed to try the Kouginn Amann. Crisp on the outside, flaky on the inside. Does exactly what it says on the tin.

Beverages. Perhaps my only downside here was the Mango and Passion Fruit smoothie, which wasn’t as thick as I hoped for. The coffees were good, I tried the Flat White, Iced Kopi and Hot Americano. Again, ticks all the boxes as far as coffee requirements go.

Ambience. It does get noisy and rowdy when there’s a big group, however the main dining area upstairs is just too charming and cosy to een be bothered. I noticed an equal split of friends, colleagues and families taking the spaces here on weekends. The place does have a strong claim to be THE brunch spot on weekends.

Finally, the bookshelf. My favourite feature that rests behind a pair of comfortable sofa chairs, stacked with gems that incredibly despite the varied genres, mimics my own collection of books. Whoever curated or owned these well read copies must have really similar reading interests as mine.

Fiftig Seofon is indeed a gem in the heart of historical Kuala Lumpur and I do recommend you give this...

Hello. I would like to comment on your hostess who was in charge on 26/5/24 (Sunday) during breakfast shift. I do think that she should be sent for Soft Skills and Effective Communication Course For Hostess as she was discourteous, impertinent, and brusque against myself and my friends.

Scenario 1 : I walked in at 8.40am simultaneously with a group of family. I requested a table for 3 and she answered she'll take care of that group of family. Seeing me alone, the head of the family courteously pointed towards me and suggested that she tend to me first. Surprisingly, she raised her voice saying that she will tend to me later after she settled with the group's table to which I just kept silent. Later, she called me from upstairs when everybody could listen "Miss!, Atas!" which I think she should come down and tend to me.

Scenario 2 : My 2 friends arrived at 9.45am. As soon as they walked in, she informed them in ill-mannered and insolent way that we all have to leave ASAP as the table was reserved for 10.30 session (while tapping on her wristwatch). She told my friends that she already informed me regarding this while in reality she did not.

Scenario 3 : When we were heading out, she did not even greet or thank us, let alone apologise for her impolite and audacious behaviour.

That was why I think that she needs to be educated first before she's placed on the forefront of the service.

If this was about us not reserving the table in the first place, then the website or IG should state that it is strictly for reservation only and not for walk in. Perhaps it is about something else then I requested for the CCTV to be reviewed in order to find out why she was behaving such way towards us.

It is worthy to note that this was the first time we visited the premise and we expected with such a legendary and beautiful premise rich in heritage it will come together with good service.

We can see understand if food is so-so but bad service ruins customer experience.

However, I would like to thank the 2 waiters who was very accommodative and attentive to us, helping us to take pictures as we were celebrating one of our friends birthday. Do expect waiters / host/hostess will be asked by the customers to take pictures as the ambience of the restaurant is very view worthy.

Looking forward for your prompt action regarding this...

Barely a year old, this outstanding place is already getting popular. With its perfect ambience, and visually alluring details set in a heritage building, if the aesthetics doesn't charm you, the food will.

Set in front of the famous Bank Rakyat building just behind Bukit Aman and Dataran Merdeka is this cosy small bistro which serves an amazing variety of dishes and drinks.

The dining area is limited and I do recommend you make your reservations to ensure a pleasant and comfortable dining experience because the food has big flavours and portions and you may order a lot.

The Kepak Kerbau or buffalo chicken wings were delicious. Soft, tender and juicy but bursting with flavour and a hint of spiciness takes the top spot for me. The Na+Choose came with creamy cream cheese, guacamole, tomato salsa and a good amount of beef slices which were juicy and tender and came a close second.

My ayam perch came with 2 pieces of chicken, drumstick and thigh. Enough to feed 2 people. The chicken was aromatic and had good flavour with the sauce tasting a hint of laksa-like.

Fried enoki mushroom was supreme. Light, crispy but buttery soft on the inside was a true delight.

Troublesome burgers beef patty is my must-have again. The patty was full of rightly seasoned ground beef but a little dry. It could have gone use some gravy perhaps just to keep it moist and interesting, but then it's something which tomato or chilli ketchup can help.

The pan-seared lamb chop was something else. Done perfectly with a pink centre it looked like a miniature beef tomahawk. The chunks of meat at the end were enough to feed a carnivore diet customer. Huge portions.

There are so many things to choose from the menu that repeated visitations are required.

Service can be slow when it's full house so make sure you order a starter or appetiser first to keep the hunger pangs at bay.

Wash all your food down with their refreshing drinks and make sure you take tonnes of this Instagrammable place.

Worth going? You...