By TAN BEE HONG
IT IS 10.30am on Sunday, and I am trawling the streets of Bangsar Baru, looking for a parking spot. I am there for a morning tete-a-tete with friends at Fittie Sense, a restaurant that claims to be ‘Fussy about Food’.
Maybe it’s worth waking up for, after all. The all-day breakfast menu is a two-page affair filled with colourful pictures of dishes.
These include the hearty all-day breakfast (RM34) comprising chicken or lamb kofte, two kampung eggs, tomato, roasted pumpkin, mushroom and wheat-free toast, and the dragon bowl (RM18) of coconut chia seed pudding with dragonfruit kefir smoothie and house granola.
If you’re just peckish, have an energy ball (RM5), a little loaded bomb made with nuts and seeds, banana, dates, coconut oil and a touch of honey.
Customers can also craft their own breakfast by ticking off a list of ingredients, and the chefs will put it all together.
Meanwhile, we sip on gold rush (RM13), a turmeric latte with cinnamon and a touch of molasses, a beetroot latte (RM13) scented with rose petals, and a zippy pitaya grapefruit kefir (RM12).
I am undecided whether to have lamb pita (RM19) with Lebanese slaw and house garlic aioli, or the signature zoodles aglio olio (RM18), a vegan offering of zucchini noodles, tomato, mushroom, chilli, capers and lemon.
We take so long to make up our minds that we ask for the a la carte menu, available only after 11am.
The two children in our group share an interest in the Keto salmon omelette (RM34) comprising four kampung eggs topped with Norwegian salmon, broccoli and asparagus. There’s plenty of salmon cut in chunks, interlaced with sprigs of asparagus and broccoli florets.
One friend has the FS bolognese pasta (RM24) – semolina pasta topped with lean beef topside, bolognese sauce and grated cheese.
I ask for grilled citrus seabass (RM46) with vegetables, almond flakes and a tangy lemon-orange dressing. The fish is pan-seared with ginger and fennel and topped with toasted almond flakes. The broccoli and kailan are lightly steamed to maintain a satisfying crunch.
Another dish, Cajun chicken chop with quinoa pilaf (RM28), is a grilled chicken thigh on a bed of millet-quinoa pilaf surrounded by chopped lettuce and cherry tomato. Avocado mash and coriander on top completes the pretty picture. This is a dish for hungry tummies.
Lamb kofte and baba ganoush (RM30) is an aromatic, spicy ground lamb kebab with meat from grassfed lamb. It is served with sidekicks of marinaded beetroot, cauliflower tabbouleh and mashed, roasted eggplant.
Fittie Sense also caters to vegetarians and special diets including celiac, high protein Paleo or low-carb-high-fat Keto. There are regular and vegetarian daily specials, and on Sunday, there’s stevia-baked cheesecake with Tahitian vanilla (RM19 per slice).
For dessert, we share a slice of orange, polenta and poppy seed cake (RM16) made with almond meal, polenta, molasses, olive oil, eggs and poppy seed, as well as a slice of carrot cake (RM16), baked with beetroot, orange, almond meal, coconut flour, unrefined brown sugar, eggs, cinnamon and ginger.
Vegetarian Specials
Monday: Vegan veggie harissa skewers with millet quinoa pilaf
Wednesday: Sweet potato kofte Shakshuka with toast
Thursday: 3-bean moussaka with tomato, eggplant and sweet potato
Friday: Chocolate avocado date & pecan tart
Saturday: Tofu green curry with basmati rice
Sunday: Cauliflower, eggplant & spinach biryani with mixed rice pulao
Tan Bee Hong is a food critic cum blogger at fatphoenix.my. She can be contacted at phoenixbee@gmail.com.
