*** Before I get into the good bits, let me put this in first. For lunch, if you are expecting a quick meal – get in, order, eat and you are back out of the door all within 30,45 minutes – not gonna happen. Not because they are full house, no, it is rather a case of them serving the food late? Apparently for dinner, they are almost always full house, for lunch though, it is relatively quiet. So, I guess most of the kitchen staff work the evening shift? where as half or quarter of that works the noon shift? I had no issues, I was there with my man, so I was super comfortable and we had plenty to talk about to pass time, love the place and on top of that, our server was really friendly and was chatting away with us. So, 20 minutes passed just like that before the starters arrived. However, if you are there for your first date because the ambiance and the food totally fits the purpose – unless both of you are all chatty and mesmerized with each other from the start, it would be seriously awkward, lol, having to look at each other for 20 long minutes before the food arrives. Get what I mean? If you are gonna have a lunch cum business meeting, this would totally be the place to do it. Good ambiance, good service, good food while also having plenty of time to talk business, Manja totally would make the cut. I was there for my lunch date with my man and we were chatting away only realizing 15 minutes in that “Hey, food isnt here yet”, and then we got back to chatting. Some eateries you go to, it is blatantly obvious that food is taking ages to arrive and it keeps bothering you till the food actually physically arrives, but Manja isnt one of those. Here, you realize it and then it is quickly forgotten and when the food arrives, the time it took to arrive is totally forgotten cause the food taste awesome. So yea, now moving onto the food review….

During the recent holidays, a lot of people were out of town, which meant – the road were clear, yay! So, I took this opportunity to head into KL city centre and grab something to eat there. I usually avoid eating in this area specifically, especially during brunch/lunch hours because roads would be congested and parking spots are limited but today would be the perfect day to head there. For today, I decided on trying something at Old Malaya. Old Malaya consist of one stretch of colonial houses tucked in a relatively quiet corner off Jalan Raja Chulan.

What I like about Old Malaya as a whole is that it managed to retain its old school charm. The exterior of this stretch of shops, which basically comprises of about 7, 8 units, is all white and is a picture of elegance. The interior though, is up to the individual units’ choice. Old Malaya is home to eateries that specializes in Western cuisines, Steaks, Indian cuisines, Malaysian cuisines and Italian cuisines. Manja specifically offers a mix of Western + Asian.

Blue Claw Lobster Slider (Small Plate), 46 Ringgit

I rarely eat lobsters but I love it and this dish came recommended, so I thought why not. Man, this was goooooood!! So goooooood!! I almost wishes I came alone, so that I could have both those mini burger lookalikes all to myself rather than having to share. They refer to it as ‘Small Plate’, to me though – its a starter, it arrived first anyways and its bit size fits the bill. All it takes is 2 mouth fulls and poof!! it is gone, making its way into your tummy.

So, this dish basically comprised of fresh river lobster + lobster butter + bearnaise dressing + buns. Loved it! This was a first time for me – eating lobster in a burger sort of way. The meat was crunchy on the outside while soft in the inside and the dressing gave it a moist buttery feel to it which worked well and provided a gel like effect which complimented the bun and the meat well. This was sooooooo good! I only wished they had this exact burger in XL size, I would be the first in line ordering it, lol.

Kampung Bakar Seafood rice, 58 Ringgit

This was another “so gooooooooooood” dish. Indonesian fried rice has its own distinct taste, the kind that as soon as you eat it, you kindda know that it isn’t the local, yea – this was exactly that and much more. Each aspect of this dish was well executed. Let me start with those calamaris – this was da bomb! It was soft and chewy and it was marinated in some curry & spices that offered it a kaboom! a burst of flavors and texture.

There was 3 cili sides that accompanied this dish – sambal belacan, sambal matah and sambal cili. All 3 were unique in its own way. Ya, I know – you are most probably wondering that it is chili, how different can one be from another? I cant explain it to you but it is different. I liked Sambal Matah the most, it is a mix of a variety of chili peppers, shrimp paste, fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, vinegar, onions and garlic.

The fried rice + boiled eggs + fried chicken. The whole dish was excellent. The distinct Indonesian flavoring was there and man, it was yummmy! Loved it. Spicy, sweetish effect with a burst of flavors. I do not know how else to describe the dish except utterly delicious. I loved it!