Amaze K Cafe, Kota Damansara

The deal: RM15 for RM30 cash voucher for food and drinks at Amaze K

What we got:

Amaze K is a hidden gem located in the more industrial part of Sunway Damansara (a street away from where Ad Hog is). We were pleasantly surprised by how affordable a lot of the menu items were.

Cement, steel and bricks - rather standard set-up for cafes nowadays, but one we like nonetheless

Mushroom soup (RM5.90)

Tastes somewhat run-of-the-mill, but thick and creamy enough to keep us satisfied.

Smoked duck spaghetti (RM11.90)

The smoked duck spaghetti was done aglio-olio style, but the pasta suffered from being too wet. Not our favourite spaghetti, but we appreciated the amount of smoked duck thrown in despite the dish costing only RM12.

Hainanese chicken chop (RM15.90)

Amaze K's Hainanese chicken chop fared much better - crispy deep-fried chicken drenched with tomato sauce, topped with shredded onions and diced carrots, with sides of fries, tomato slices and chopped green beans. Portion is commendable, and the sauce was good too (give me tomato sauce over brown sauce anyday). Yup, we liked this dish.

Iced latte (RM9) and carrot juice (RM5.90)

Amaze K's coffee is Espressolab-supplied, so rest assured that your caffeine fix will be, at the very least, decent. The fresh carrot juice, thankfully, wasn't (overly) diluted, which we get sometimes when restaurants try to skimp on quality and make a quick buck.

Sa-yung (RM12 for 6 pieces)

Before we made our way to Amaze K, we contacted the cafe to pre-order their sa yung, or 'Chinese doughnuts' (a one-hour pre-order notification is needed so that they may prepare and serve them fresh). We specifically asked that it be packed for take-away before we left, and we were pleasantly surprised when they handed us our doggy bag when we were almost done with our meal. Not only were they observant, but they didn't need any prompting as well, so kudos for that. 

No photographs of the sa yung, sadly, by the time we got home several hours later after running some errands, they were not as pretty to photograph. We had some in the car while they were hot, and they were a delight to eat - crispy on the outside, light and airy on the inside. 

Value-for-money would be the most appropriate phrase to sum up our experience at Amaze K. Would we return? Yes, definitely. 

Tax: None

How much we paid: RM30.60

Wood & Steel, Kota Damansara

The deal: RM10 for RM20 cash voucher for food and drinks at Wood & Steel

What we got:

French onion soup (RM7)

Thick and rich, the French onion soup (the only soup choice available on the menu) was a decent pick. If we had to nitpick, I would say we would've preferred garlic butter over melted cheese on the baguette slice, and the soup could do with being hotter instead of just lukewarm.

Champion's breakfast (RM15)

Chef's recommendation - Stuffed chicken (RM20)

For the main courses, we had the champion's breakfast and the stuffed chicken. The baked beans in the breakfast set was interesting--it didn't taste like the normal baked beans you get straight out of the can, and somewhat reminded me of chili con carne minus the meat. I really enjoyed it. The cocktail sausages were lightly spiced and also tasted good, while the scrambled eggs and accompanying button mushrooms and cherry tomatoes were decent. The toast, on the other hand, was rather plain, with parts of it slightly burnt.

The stuffed chicken would've made a good option for the health-conscious, if it weren't for the fact that it was a bit too oily to be termed healthy. The chicken wasn't 'stuffed', per se--it was basically veggie sandwiched between two slices of chicken breast, topped with cheese and sprinkled with herbs. The chicken was accompanied by slices of garlic bread, cherry tomatoes, baby carrots and brussel sprouts. A small bowl of sauce was also provided, but I thought it rather unnecessary as the heavy taste would drown out the milder taste of the chicken. As pointed out earlier, it was oilier than I expected, but proved to be a decent dish nonetheless.

Cappuccino (RM10)

Piccolo (RM8)

We are no coffee connoisseurs, but we found the cappuccino and piccolo to be good enough.

Tax: None

How much we paid: RM30

Cross-Legged, Kota Damansara

The deal: RM8 for RM16 cash voucher for food and drinks at Cross-Legged.

What we got:

Upon stepping into Cross-legged, we were greeted by a very cheery lady. That gave us a pretty good first impression of the place--until we saw the menu, that is. While the prices weren't what you'd call exorbitant, I was taken aback by how much the price of the menu items have increased compared to the menu provided by the deal site--from RM15 to RM20 for a plate of pasta? Talk about a 33% increase! 

We had considered giving their broccoli prawn soup a try, but scraped that idea in view of the price increment. 

 Lemongrass chicken pasta (RM20)

Cream chicken potato pasta (RM20)

While we've got to give them props for being inventive and choosing to dish up pasta that isn't your typical aglio olio/bolognese/carbonara, we though both pastas were only decent bordering on average. It got slightly cloying towards the end, truth be told.

French toast (RM13)

The French toast, however, was a different story. Topped with sliced sausages and diced tomatoes, and drizzled with a bit of maple syrup, it was both light and fluffy--a delight when eaten warm. Cross-legged's version of this generally simple dish was unlike any other I've tried. Despite it not being a main course, the French toast was hands-down my favourite order.

All in all, Cross-legged is a decent place to visit; a cosy cafe with nice hostesses, but we felt the more than marginal jump in prices may come as a surprise to those who'd visited the cafe only a month before.

Tax: None.

How much we paid: RM29