Bijou Cafe • Ara Damansara — Restaurant in Petaling Jaya

As a frequent customer of this cafe for late night catch up with friends, I normally have decent experience with the drinks (coffee is good not great, but good hangout spot although it gets crowded at night)

So I thought to drop by to try their food for brunch. Ordered the cheese burger and a fried chicken burger for myself and my partner.

Beef burger was decent, nice smashed patty, buttered buns, lettuce was crispy and had good texture, caramelised onions although cut too big for a burger, added a welcome layer of flavour. Solid 3.5/5

The accompanying wedges were a tad bit overcooked for my liking but still not the end of the world.

However for the fried chicken burger (which for some reason costs more than the cheeseburger) was extremely disappointing.

As you can tell from the photos, the fried chicken was oversized and barely fit into the burger. Eating this was a mess (not a huge issue tbh) But unfortunately, the taste was down right sad. It is akin to a cheap ‘ayam gunting’ you buy from a pasar malam for RM5 - the chicken was also overcooked, the aftertaste reeks of cheap, recycled oil is and it was more crust than meat. 1/5

But then again - this is a cafe, you don’t go to a cafe for a good burger, theres KGB/insert burger shop of choice here for that.

What added insult to injury was the rude service - when calling for the staff to pack the food, the young malay guy (wears a puka shell necklace) rolled his eyes and immediately looked away. I then approached the counter to ask him again, he looked away and just asked his other colleague (who was very friendly btw) to assist.

Not so sure what I did or said to annoy/upset him but after serving mediocre food at inflated prices - the chicken burger wasn’t the only thing that left a bad taste in my mouth.

Shame as I did enjoy the weekly night runs. Perhaps I am too old for their crowd.

If you enjoy overpriced mediocre food with inconsistent service, give them a try.

Core Cafe right down the street is better (and quieter, again I may be...

The service was great and the ambience is spot on. The layout and overall vibe of the café are perfect, making it a really nice lepak spot. The front crew puts in a lot of effort, and I truly appreciate their friendliness and welcoming attitude.

Unfortunately, all that good work is overshadowed by the consistently poor quality of the food. I’ve visited this café several times and tried various dishes, but I usually make sure to eat beforehand because the food has never impressed me. This time, I ordered the GongBao Teriyaki and it was especially disappointing. The beef bacon was dry, stringy, and tough, coated in an overly sweet sauce that didn’t complement the dish at all. The rice was almost like pulut, far from what you’d expect. After several attempts, this was the most dissapointing one. I couldn’t even bring myself to take a second bite.

The drinks are hit-or-miss, but that doesn’t bother me much. What truly saves the experience is the service. The staff, especially the girls working there, are genuinely friendly and helpful. If it weren’t for them, I would have given just one star.

I really hope they consider changing or improving the menu because this spot already has everything else going for it. It has so much potential, and it would be great to see the food match the quality of the service...

Rarely someone to leave a bad review but my experience here was too disappointing.

First, airconds & fans are obviously not enough for a glasshouse concept in Malaysia. It is super hot inside.

Second, I ordered a Beef Salami Sandwich that costed RM24 but it was literally Cheese + Beef Salami on a Focaccia… Tbh if it tastes good it’s alright but it was left unfinished cuz it obviously looks like a dish just simply put together.

Third, we asked for drinking water cuz we saw other tables were SERVED free drinking water but we were rejected and was asked to pay. Huh?

Forth, expect everything self service cuz you can barely see any waiters walking around ready to assist you.

Fifth, the plastic fork broke and we walked to the counter & kindly requested for another one. Saw metal forks at the counter & asked if we could have that. The barista questioned us “tau tak kita ni soft launch”??? What is that supposed to mean? Are we supposed to be treated like that cuz it’s soft launch?

I hope it’s not the hype feeding the baristas pride but I seriously think that improvements of the food & service should be made because no customers want to come in & walk off being treated...