Last Saturday, my food crawl with friends brought us to the Damansara Perdana area looking for a newly opened café serving wholesome comfort food with emphasis on bacon, bacon and even more bacon! The place is Fork D World @ Damansara Perdana and JoAnn Tan's first foray into the restaurant business.
A home cook with a bubbly personality best describes JoAnn who has been cooking since she was 10 (which I found out when she engaged me in conversation later), a time when the rest of us were probably still playing with our "masak-masak" (cooking toys). It's precisely this perky persona that has her injecting a bit of humour into the name of her café and the description of some of her dishes.
Finding the place was a little bit tricky (especially for one of us) as this one-month old cafe's signboard was still not up. Luckily, one of their staff was sharp enough to spot a hungry entourage and came out to beckon us in! :D
We ordered a couple of starters (for sharing) from their nibbles menu. This was the Bacon Twist @ RM18 which featured four twists of puff pastry encased with sharp cheddar and wrapped in bacon. Anything wrapped in bacon...is wrapped in love! ;)
The twist was baked to perfection with its fragrant and slightly charred bacon, the crispy puff pastry and the gooey cheese all worked in unison to create a moreish bite of food!
We enjoyed the Bacon Twist so much that we went with an extra order of the Bacon Bombs @ RM18 which came with eight little nuggets of mozzarella cheese, encased within a crusty puff pastry, and (again) wrapped in love. These were deep fried to crunchy perfection, finished with a sprinkling of brown sugar (which it didn't need, in my opinion), and skewered with some cherry tomatoes for a burst of freshness.
The menu described it as 'da bomb' and I suppose it was though, personally, I liked the bacon twist more. Some may say that RM18 is a bit much to pay for just 4 twists or 8 bombs but I beg to differ. These are streaky bacon we're talking about and they don't come cheap (if you've bought them before to make breakfast at home, you'd know). I paid more than RM14 for just 6 pieces of streaky bacon (and that's last year's price). These dishes probably need 4 pieces of bacon each, so RM18 is, in fact, quite reasonable.
Our last item from the nibbles menu were these Cheesy Bacon Garlic Toasts @ RM10 which I thought the little ones would like...but ended up the adults adored it too! Nothing quite like a garlic toast made with fresh garlic and topped with bacons crumbs and just the right amount of cheese. I could eat the whole plate myself.....yum! =)
After these itty bitty bites, we were ready for something more substantial and you'll be glad to hear that their breakfast menu is available all day. We skipped the usual big breakfast and went with Eggs Florentine @ RM18. The Eggs Florentine version here is made up of poached eggs on top of a bed of rocket (instead of the usual recipe made with baby spinach), streaky bacon and sautéed mushrooms with a drizzle of hollandaise sauce on rye bread.
I also loved the fact that the poached eggs here are done free style, and not in a mould (like many places). I think this method produces a much softer egg white than the slightly rubbery ones done in a mould. But I wonder how long they can keep this up as it's difficult to do it this way when the kitchen becomes super busy. The oozy egg yolk passed the eggs cooked to perfection test. I think substituting baby spinach with rocket gives the dish a slight bitterness and peppery flavour that I liked. Overall, a very good and successful dish that I will gladly have seconds.
Next up was the Baked Eggs Breakfast @ RM18, a common dish on many cafes' breakfasts menus but what attracted me to this one is the description of the eggs baked in a bacon cup. Look at the bacon doing a peekaboo from underneath the eggs...and to know that it's lining the bottom of the cup makes you want to dig in straight away! ;)
The baked eggs remained runny even as we ate because it was served in a porcelain dish (and not a heat retention vessel like a cast iron pan, in some places, which would continue to cook the eggs). It was served with some hard but very crunchy sticks of toast which were excellent for dipping into the baked eggs.
With two egg dishes already, I decided to go with a Salmon Pot Pie @ RM18 from their pies+tarts+quiches menu. This beautiful golden crust of the baked pot pie was filled with salmon chunks, carrot, potatoes and celery in a cream sauce.
The salmon chunks within were incredibly soft and tender (unlike some really overcooked salmon chunks I've had before)....and the cream sauce was not overly thick and creamy (like some that can be cloying in the end). And what can I say about the puff pastry...wow....extremely thin, light and crisp! You'd want to tear off every last bit of the pastry. This is a pot pie I won't want to share coz I'd want the whole thing for myself.....my favourite, hands down! ;D
To finish off, I thought we'd go for a light dish with a zesty flavour. I ordered the Lime & Chilli Shrimp Pasta @ RM18 from their pasta menu. Finally, a refreshing pasta that's not 'heavy' (creamy based) or swimming in oil. This pasta with sautéed shrimps, tossed in chillies and spring onions, was simple but scrumptious.
Just as we were coming to the end of our meal, Jo-Ann reiterated that we must try her brownies and so Orange Chocolate Brownie @ RM12 it is then! I'm not much of a brownie fan but I did find the brownie moist with an oozy, chocolaty layer inside. My friends seemed to enjoy the decadent brownie.
As we had plans to head somewhere else for coffee, we opted for their fresh juices for this round and they were all decent.
Skin Care x 2 @ RM12 (a mixture of lychee + watermelon)
The predominant flavour was watermelon
Green Juice @ RM12 (a mixture of apple + cucumber + celery)
You can taste the celery in the mix
Hot Rock @ RM12 (a mixture of apple + carrot + watermelon + ginger)
I liked the subtle hint of ginger at the end
All the juices were served chilled with no added ice (to dilute the taste) and, of course, no added sugar. Don't they look vibrantly colourful sitting prettily in a row?
The service is warm and friendly, especially Jo-Ann's, and it was a nice gesture on her part to offer to keep the food warm for a friend (who turned up late).
My Personal Opinion
Overall, it's not among the prettiest café in terms of décor and ambience as the design is very simplistic but the food speaks volumes. I was pleased with everything we had that day as all the dishes turned out to be more than decent. But, if I had to choose, my favourites would have to be the salmon pot pie, eggs florentine and bacon twist.
It's a great place for those who live or work around the area to enjoy warm, satistying comfort food, made well, at reasonable prices. They also offer real value set lunch deals (on weekdays) for RM12.90 (inclusive of drink). I would certainly like to return to try their mains or to revisit some of my brekkie favourites (if only it wasn't so darn far from where I live).
So, if you've had a crappy day, you might want to go Fork D World.....and enjoy yourself! ;D
Fork D World Bistro
D-G-3A Ritze Perdana 1 Commercial Lot
Jalan PJU 8/2 Damansara Perdana
47820 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
Tel: 03-7731 3827
